Caavo will ship its fancy $400 universal remote in February
If you're unsatisfied with traditional remotes like Harmony, you'll soon have a pricey alternative.
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
If you want one clicker to control a rack full of AV gear, I recommend the excellent Harmony Smart Control for $70. If you really want to splurge on something even better, grab the Elite for $250.
But maybe even that do-it-all clicker isn't good enough for you. Maybe you want "a new kind of television experience." One option is Caavo, a universal remote/HDMI switch from a startup company of the same name.
The company says it will ship in February for $399. Preorders are not yet available, but a company representative said Caavo will likely offer them sometime before the ship date. The initial run is 5,000 units, and people who buy one will also get a set of custom cables and lifetime service.
As part of the ship date announcement, Caavo says it has closed its second round of financing to the tune of $17.5 million for $32.5 million total, now employs 100 people and has seeded 300 devices to users for early feedback.
I got a peek at the Caavo earlier this year and came away impressed. It's powered by software with deep hooks into devices you already own and streaming services to which you subscribe. It has a custom user interface, supports voice commands from the remote as well as Alexa, and works with Apple TV, Chromecast, DirecTV, Dish, Fire TV, Nintendos, Nvidia Shields , PlayStations, Roku, TiVo, Xbox, Xfinity and more.
We'll have an in-depth review early next year.