Rotary knobs are much more rugged than almost any other common switch type if they are well made. They are commonly specified on military and industrial gear for this reason (and a few others).
Also honestly given the location and the likelihood of multitasking (say typing something on an HDTV, switching to a phone to type out a lengthy text message, and then back to a tv) I can't see an automated solution working well. You could do some NFC so that the slot would recognize a new thing being placed, but you'd still need an a way to switch away from it.
Also honestly given the location and the likelihood of multitasking (say typing something on an HDTV, switching to a phone to type out a lengthy text message, and then back to a tv) I can't see an automated solution working well. You could do some NFC so that the slot would recognize a new thing being placed, but you'd still need an a way to switch away from it.
Charging would be a useful feature though.