Good idea, imperfect execution – Variety

The new consumer electronics manufacturer Caavo is back with a new gadget supposed to simplify streaming on multiple devices. After announcing for the first time a limited edition device at $ 399 in early 2017, Caavo presented Monday a new gadget for the general public. The new $ 99.95 control center Caavo promises to unify streaming on up to 4 devices connected to the TV.

The device allows you to control, for example, an Apple TV, a Roku and a Fire TV, all with a single remote control. In addition, Caavo Control Center searches for content on multiple apps, then activates the device of your choice without having to manually switch entries, or search for multiple streaming apps, juggling multiple remotes.

Caavo Control Center does this by combining several technologies in a single device. It is equipped with an IR blaster that allows it to control TVs, sound bars and AV receivers, as would a universal remote control.

Caavo also uses the data interfaces of streaming applications and devices to directly control Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and other streaming services. It aggregates data from these streaming providers to provide universal search and adds new discovery and referral services to its devices.

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Much of this technology was already available in Caavo's original device, announced in February 2017 by the company, which was finally delivered earlier this year.

However, equipped with 8 HDMI inputs to connect game consoles, broadcast boxes and other equipment, the first-generation Caavo hardware has been designed for home theater enthusiasts with considerable disposable income. The company even limited the number of devices manufactured to 5,000, and quickly stated that she had more.

The new Caavo control center reduces the number of HDMI input ports to 4, but also offers the same technology. "We have not reduced the functionality of the box," said Ashish Aggarwal, Caavo co-founder, in a recent interview with Variety.

Aggarwal acknowledged that the company could reduce the price to $ 99.95 for "economies of scale". The company is also asking consumers to sign up for a $ 1.99 per month service plan to use Control Center.

One of the lessons the company learned from its early users was that juggling multiple devices was not the only problem people were struggling with. That's why Caavo is now trying to answer another question, according to Einaudi: "What do you do when you do not know what to look for?"

With Control, Caavo introduces an organized selection of visualization recommendations for multiple services. The company also allows the user to compile and share their own video playlists, and track everything you've watched so you can easily find it.

"We love entertainment," said Einaudi. "We want easier access and more democratized."

During a brief test of the Caavo Control Center in recent days, it was generally running as expected, and could alternate between a Chromecast, an Apple TV, a Fire TV and a game console. It could launch applications on Apple TV and Fire TV and find content on multiple apps and devices. And the voice search and commands, which currently rely on Caavo's voice software, have worked quite well.

However, the device also had disadvantages. At this point, Caavo has to rely on its image recognition intelligence to control anything on Apple TV, and it still takes a lot of time. The use of YouTube in particular has been terribly slow.

It would take 30 to 45 seconds for the Cavo Control Center to start playing a YouTube video on Apple TV if the device had already accessed content on another broadcast box – a painful waiting period during which device would display inspirational quotes. a bit like a smart TV version of the Forbes.com front page so hated. YouTube's performance on Roku is much faster, according to company representatives.

Caavo does not currently integrate with native voice assistants on streaming devices. To access Siri on Apple TV, Alexa on Fire TV or Roku's voice search on Roku devices, you still need to get the remote from the device. The company said it was working on integration with third-party voice implementations.

Application support is limited to approximately 20 applications. This includes the most popular video apps, including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Video and HBO Now, but not a single music app. You will not be able to find content from Spotify, Pandora or Apple Music with a Caavo search.

You can still use the Caavo remote to manually launch and control any application on a streaming device, but you can not use voice commands to launch unsupported applications. For example, "opening ABC News on Apple TV" did not open the installed ABC News app, but rather suggested a 3-year old ABC News video on YouTube. Caavo representatives said the company was looking to add support for music apps and that it would allow its users to launch any installed application with voice commands soon.

But the biggest disappointment is Caavo's new content discovery features. Not only could his lists and suggestions use a little refresh of the user interface, but the company's recommendations for official content also seemed often outdated or inaccurate. A list of "America's Top 10 Movies" suggested that the Disney classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" would be available for free on the Amazon Prime video, but that was not the case.

The same was true for several other titles. "Content windows and partner APIs are constantly evolving," the company said in response to a question about the problem. "List maintenance is cloud-based and we update them all the time."

Caavo is finally trying to solve a real problem for consumers. Large consumer electronics companies seek to associate users with their services and the ecosystems of their devices, and competition between these companies often makes it more difficult for consumers to use their devices. The conflict between Google and Amazon that has resulted in the disappearance of YouTube Fire TV is an example.

But in the end, these device makers still have an advantage over a third party like Caavo. And with companies like Amazon, Google, and Roku increasingly focusing on content rather than applications, discovery is also becoming less of a problem.

This does not mean that universal remotes are useless, especially for large users. And with some necessary updates, Caavo may well become the best device control solution on the market. But many casual consumers have an interest in buying a streaming device or smart TV that covers 90% of their needs, then occasionally resorting to casting or Airplay to fill the gaps.