Caavo — a relatively new player in the universal remote space — today announced a pretty major retooling of its Caavo Control Center system. It's a box into which you'll plug all your devices (well, up to four of them, anyway), plug it into your TV, and use a single remote to control all the things, with a dedicated custom user interface on top. (We've got a full review coming but were waiting on this update before doing so.)
Here's what's new, in the big strokes:
- The price of the basic Caavo Control Center is down to $59. That'll get you all the necessary parts — the box and the remote.
- The add-on service plan for the Control Center software is now $39.99 per year. (Or $3.99 a month, or $129.99 for a lifetime subscription.) That's more palatable, but still an additional expense that you'll need to consider.
- Caavo can now control your Sonos system right from the remote.
- There's a new "Family Care" set of features, which let you see what's happening on another Caavo-controlled TV. You also can get notifications when another Caavo TV has been turned on, or if someone is watching something you might prefer they not watch. And you also can send a text message to another Caavo-connected TV instead of talking to the person like a human being might.
- The Caavo app (it's on Android and iOS) allows for remote management of all your Caavo boxes.
There's a lot to like here, for sure. It's more affordable than it has been previously. You now have more control over more of the things.
Stay tuned for our full review.
A new kind of universal remote
Caavo isn't just a universal remote — it's a complete control center with its own user interface atop your TV, and everything connected to it.
More: The best universal remotes
Caavo Expands Ecosystem To Make the TV the Hub of the Home
Launches Family Care for Parental Monitoring and Messaging
New App to Control Your TV From Anywhere; Adds Sonos Integration
Drops Retail Price of Control Center to $59.95; Service Plan Now $39.99 yearly
San Francisco, CA -- May 1, 2019 -- Caavo, a San Francisco-based startup on a mission to unite entertainment for everyone, announces it has expanded the capabilities of its platform to create one simple interface for everyone and everything connected to your TV and smart home. Available today, Caavo now provides more meaningful tools and resources to bring families together with Control Center.
"Control Center transforms the TV into the first-ever shared home interface," says Andrew Einaudi, CEO and co-founder of Caavo. "We want everyone to be able to use the TV and everything connected to it. As we expand the Caavo ecosystem of TV and Smart Home, it is an honor to partner with exciting entertainment brands like Sonos."
Family Care
Caavo introduces Family Care, a suite of monitoring tools that give parents and caregivers the ability to check in, monitor and notify family members of TV use in the home:
- Monitor: Check-in and see what's playing on any Control Center you've been given permission to view on your home TV or via the Caavo mobile app using Telescope™
- Manage: Set content notifications for any Control Center within the home. For example, receive a notification when R-rated content is launched through Control Center in the kid's room, or get notified if Grandma's TV hasn't been turned on.
- Message: Any TV connected to Control Center can be sent messages from your mobile app. The message will appear as a pop-up, or as a full takeover of your screen. For example, send a message that it's time for a kid to turn off the TV and go to bed.
Universal Control Of Your TV - Anywhere
Want to play Animal Planet for your dog while you're at work? Now you can control your Control Center remotely using the Caavo Control mobile app. Available for iOS and downloadable in the App Store, the Caavo Control mobile app now provides full universal remote functionality including: + Turn the TV on/off, switch sources, tune to a channel, launch apps, play movies from anywhere. + Play a movie for your grandparents in their living room if granted permission to manage their Control Center from your Caavo Control mobile app.
Sonos Controls on Your TV
Connect Control Center with your Sonos system for a new way to manage the music playing in your home. Using your TV, you can skip to the next song, pause, and play music on any Sonos speaker throughout your home.
- Control music in every room with a Sonos speaker from Control Center.
- When Control Center is paired with Sonos in a room, play and manage music by selecting the Sonos tile with the room's name.
- While the music is playing, Control Center will display the album cover art on your TV.
Pricing
Starting today, the retail price for Control Center has been lowered to $59.95 and is available at Best Buy, Amazon.com and Caavo.com as well as select Home Depot and Walmart stores. Using Control Center requires a service plan for a richer interaction: $3.99/month, $39.99/year and $129.99 lifetime. For consumers who would like to purchase two Control Centers to access Family Care and Sonos multi-room integration, the Caavo Two Room Starter Kit includes two one year service plans, two Control Centers and four Spotlight HDMI cables for $349.99.
