Caavo Control Center, something much more than a universal remote despite having just replaced my Harmony, is out with a humongo update today. First and foremost, beyond managing the connected television devices that they continue to iterate on, the company has picked up TiVo’s original whole home torch and is expanding control deeper into our dwellings with Sonos integration. In the first cut, your Sonos speakers and groups can be accessed via your device list, where currently playing music can be reviewed (with album art) and minimally controlled.
Beyond dipping their toes into the smart home, Caavo is also releasing a fairly impressive suite of features under a “family care” heading… that I’ll probably never use. From the Caavo mobile app, alerts can be sent to the television screen – either by commandeering the majority of the display (above left) or with a smaller, more subtle overlay (above center) to communicate (one-way) with whomever’s viewing. Potentially related, Caavo can now trigger mobile alerts indicating when content above various ratings is being viewed. But wait, that’s not all. A thumbnail of currently playing content can also be accessed from within the mobile app or another linked Caavo.
More practically, the mobile app update now includes full-on Caavo remote control. Although there are several benefits to the physical remote, that’ll I’ll go over in a future post. But I also have a gripe or two to share as, for example, my Fire Television “project” TV isn’t yet supported (but slated for summer support).
As it happens, I go way back with Caavo founder and CEO Andrew Einaudi, plus many on his team, as a former Sling Media colleague. Back in the day, amongst his various roles, he wireframed every existing (and envisioned!) Slingbox. And boy did we have some crazy ideas, that we fortunately never launched, like the one impractically designed to hang off the top of the television and one I lovingly refer to the “flowerpot Slingbox” (above) that they dug up for me (and recycled years later as the 120 in India).
Anyhow, I assume Caavo (and their investors) have realized achieving momentum and a critical mass at $400 is a tough sell for a startup pitching something completely new (just ask the early TiVo). But at a new and much more palatable $60 price point, along with this continued product development, they should significantly improve traction. Although, while the requisite higher service fee may be a profit center, it’ll remain a marketing challenge. I do wish them well as the company clearly wants to enhance the television experience (to now include home) and they’re coming at it with a fresh take versus “just another Harmony.”
Wow! These new features sound GREAT! I’m very impressed by these initiatives. Excited to see where it’s all headed. Go, Caavo, go!
Sadly I am disappointed that Dolby Vision (or Dolby Vision pass-thru) is no longer in their plans. The work around they intend is acceptable but not ideal. Having the DV device connected to the TV directly and Caavo only controlling the DV device adds a bit of clutter and complexity.
I was really hoping for a redesigned remote…
This article reminded me to check up on Dolby Vision support. It looks like they’ve given up, based on the support article. I’m not sure how this is any better than a Harmony Hub if you’re using Dolby Vision. And, I’ve gotten used to the Harmony remote, moving to the Caavo one looks like a step backwards for no gain in functionality.
It’s obviously different math if you don’t want Dolby Vision.
I like the product. Not using it much these days due to lack of Dolby Vision on Apple TV 4k.
Looks like they’ve something in pipeline. https://support.caavo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026115832-Dolby-Vision
First I’ve heard of this device. Does Caavo’s voice control interact with/substitute for TiVo’s VOX?
Caavo can be a secondary interface that brings all your devices together. So a voice search through Caavo would grab content from all sorts of sources and I assume play/pause via Caavo voice is a no brainer. I even saw it type c-a-a-v-o directly into the Fire TV App Store to install its own companion app. It’s all bonkers. Im still exploring and learning plus there are some rough edges as would be expected of a newish thing.
I got one back in November and had it front ending my Denon X6400. I thought at first that it was stripping Atmos, then I realized it was stripping everything and was just passing stereo. Their support was useless and the first software update didn’t fix it. Now I have it plugged into a Heos Soundbar and it works well, but still does some odd things. I haven’t tried bringing it back to the main system as it’s a huge pita to set it up unless it works for sure.
The Sonos integration is interesting, I did the update but haven’t played with it yet since it isn’t on the main system.
Hey Dave, Ashley Madison ads? Really?
Outside of periodic sponsorships, I don’t choose the ads. It’s all programatic based on all sorts of criteria, not the least of which is who’s out there bidding. I’ll reiterate to my account manager that we prefer higher quality, family friendly stuff. Thanks for pointing it out. And I do think they’re having some issues this week given some jacked up reporting.