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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1154153
Remote can be completely controlled with your voice, and it works well! Voice recognition is accurate and very fast, and doesn't stumble over movie titles or actor's names. It's a testament to how far voice recognition has come that it's not just Google and Apple who are pulling it off rather seamlessly. The voice recognition isn't limited to strict navigation, either. Your voice can be used to populate search fields, taking most of the pain out of using on-screen keyboards. Once Caavo identifies the proper source for your desired content, it automatically switches to the necessary input that you've connected to the rear of the device. You don't have to remember if your favorite movie is on Netflix, your DVR, or Amazon Prime, you just speak the title and let the Caavo do the work. Even better, this can all be done from a powered off system, so you can go from a blank screen to playing your favorite show just by speaking one search—the Caavo will power on your TV, audio equipment, search for the content, find a source, switch to the source and start playing! If you do have to physically use the remote, Caavo has included their own innovations there, too. A short press/long press functionality for each button doubles the power, and a hover mode explains what each button does with an on screen prompt. Of course, the prompt is context-sensitive based on your current input, so you'll never be left guessing which button does what. This worked surprisingly well, and while it may drive my parents nuts, I appreciated the robust functionality built into the small remote. This universal search and control is all great, but what if you don't know what you want to watch? Well, Caavo has you covered. They are making an effort to establish curated content for TV viewing—think of music playlists but for your eyes. Caavo does this in a couple of ways. First, they compile thematic content from industry veterans into pre-selected lists—Halloween horror movies, indie art films, or 80's action movies, for example. The other method of content curation is allowing users to build their own Watchlists. By sharing these and making them public, it gives other Caavo users a way to explore a friend or stranger's taste. They are both very cool ideas, and while I still have a lot of streaming content to catch up on, I definitely know some TV addicts who will love perusing this feature. After using the Caavo Control Center + Universal Remote for a few weeks, I've grown to really like the ease and accuracy of the voice control. Triggering it with a single button on the remote eliminates both nerdy activation phrases, as well as false activations. The universal search also gave me great piece of mind and made my day-to-day choices much easier. Finally, one of the features I was most thankful for is that all my old remotes continue to function, and don't interfere with the Caavo system at all. I didn't even tell the other members of my household that the Caavo was hooked up at first, and they continued to watch TV just like any other day. For a small upfront cost, and an additional, one-time lifetime subscription payment, the Caavo is easy to recommend. While I wish it had more than 4 HDMI inputs, the rest of the tech surrounding the Control Center works well and makes life easier. If you already have a compatible streaming player and one or two other input devices, Caavo could really clean up your living room and your TV habits. For more information, visit: www.caavo.com