Caavo Control Center Smart Remote and Home Theater Hub with Voice Control-Lifetime Plan

For anyone saying this product is tricky to set up or difficult to use, I have one question....did you ever try to set up and use a Logitech or any other universal remote? I've used about a dozen different universal remotes over the years, from logitech to Control4 and even gave the new Fire TV Cube a try (neat, but fail), and to me, Caavo's vision is the future of the home entertainment remote and hub. For me personally it's a five star device. HOWEVER, for some people (as previously mentioned in other reviews) who need ARC capability to view their smart TV apps, or need like 8 inputs, or need total control of their TV hdmi inputs in addition to the Caavo inputs, this might not be for you. But for those of you who have three or four components plus your TV and soundbar and like to watch a combination of traditional cable, Blu Rays, and streaming from multiple apps like I do, then I suggest that you buy this device immediately. First of all, it takes no time at all to unplug cables from your existing components and add them to your Caavo hub, which is then connected to the TV. I will add that this replaced a traditional hdmi 4-port switch that cost $40 alone with zero other capability, which shows the value of the Caavo remote before even considering the smarts behind it. So once all hooked up to the Caavo, it takes it away from there and the entire setup is done through its on-screen user interface (which is fancy but could be fancier). The unit goes through all the prompts itself to detect which devices are hooked up, and then with a little input from me I was up and running in roughly twenty minutes. It detected my Hisense TV, Fire TV and Blu ray player, and I helped it determine my cable provider and the input for my PC, as well as choosing Sonos for my soundbar brand and logging into apps. Compared to what I used to have to do to set up a logitech remote (both PC and mobile-based), this process had me in awe, and I was giddy at how easy it was and how flawlessly the process went. From there, I gladly signed up for the $20/year subscription (it's a no brainer) to utilize the universal search feature, among others, and began to tinker with the remote. WOW.... I am seriously impressed, not necessarily by the look or quality of the remote, but by the sheer power and functionality that it contains (and it does feel quite nice in the hand, too). The ability to use my "universal remote" as the super smart A/V brains of my living room is astounding, and searching across multiple devices and services with results organized immediately in one place is glorious and is the future of home entertainment. And then comes the "cool" factor of searching for a show or movie, selecting to watch it in Plex or wherever, and having Caavo root through all the devices/apps/menus so that it literally goes right to that show and starts it without me having to select Input/Plex/Movies/Forrest Gump/Play. A big time saver and really neat. This is not to mention that once set up, the remote and switcher have worked very reliably and fast. And the new Caavo user interface that is now overlayed on my TV screen makes accessing and viewing all my devices, apps, and media so darn easy that it brings a smile to my face, not to mention my wife's! Thank you Caavo for finally establishing a new direction for the home hub/remote control industry and setting the bar as high as you did with this product, and I look forward to more products and innovations soon.

A long time Harmony universal remote user, I saw a review for Caavo on CNET and was intrigued. Harmony works fine (when it works), but it's setup is complex, it is a pain to add/change components, is slow, and often needs 2 or 3 'tries' to get everything on. As someone who wants a unified remote that can handle my setup (which is always changing, now is Apple TV/Sonos focused, with some Xbox and Fire Stick use) and be easy for my wife/kids to use, I jumped on this and ordered one (as well as a few of their lighted cables). A week in, the Caavo --not without some flaws -- is WAY better than expected. It's like a Harmony that works, on steroids, and does a ton more. You expect with a universal remote that it can turn everything on/off with a click, and seamlessly control multiple components. Caavo does this really well --but now using it, it's really the 'point of entry' in what it is trying to do, which is unify and simplify your entertainment experience. First off, the 'magic trick' is that Caavo automatically recognizes what you plug into it. You don't have to tell it or plug your remote into a computer. You plug your devices into the HDMI ports and it automatically recognizes and configures them. It was amazing. Caavo found every device I threw at it (6 in total, Apple TV, LG TV, Firestick, Xbox 1, a Sony BD player, and a Sonos Beam--more impressive as the Sonos wasn't directly plugged into the Caavo). Harmony I remember having to figure out which year/model my TV, BD player, etc. was. Caavo recognized everything and I was set up (including my favorite TV apps) in about 10 minutes. Personally had no issues on setup, everything worked the first time. Another 5 minutes and I set it up with the Alexa function in my Sonos Beam (which is super cool in that I can turn it on/off via voice, search for shows, and even find my remote by asking Alexa). Plus the remote itself is really good - responsive, elegant, logical (I like the little stand that props it up on the bottom and helps you figure out which side is up -- take notes Apple!!!) So now in about 15 minutes I have a one-remote solution. Everything works seamlessly, and way better than Harmony. Have not had any hiccups in a week of use so far. Great for people that want to simplify their setup. But this really was only the entry point on what is proving to be one of my favorite devices I have (like Eero, see my review for that). The cool stuff I like: -Universal remote works with everything and buttons map logically. The coolest feature is it if you lightly touch some of the buttons their function (for that device) show up on the TV. Genius! I tap one button and on the TV it explains it's the 'Home' button on Apple, etc. No hunting in the dark. -EVERY remote now works with universal functionality. This isn't advertised much, but now my old remotes not only still work, BUT they act as 'universal' in that they trigger the whole system through the Caavo. So if I want to use my old Apple TV remote (which sorta sucks), when I press a button, EVERYTHING turns on -the TV, soundbar, etc, and goes to the Apple TV home screen. Same with my Xbox controller. And in fact, I can be on Apple TV, and grab the Xbox controller, and it switches to Xbox! Again, they need to tout this feature a lot more. -Voice search - just started using this, it's really cool. Basically, it's a universal search to go with the universal remote. There is a button you can press on the remote to ask it to search for programs or switch a device. In my experience, it works a ton better than the Siri on Apple TV, both in recognizing what I'm asking, but also locating shows. Twice now my kids have asked to watch something I didn't know, did voice search on the Caavo, and it found it. And it finds it not only on the device but the available services it's on, and it knows (from setup) which ones you use, so with a click now you go right to the show you want to watch. This works WAY better in my experience than the universal search within the Apple TV app The stuff I don' like -The service plan. As others have noted, Caavo is $99 but charges $2/mo or $20/y for a 'service plan'. After using it, I get it as it's not just a universal remote, but really has a lot of sophisticated search and discovery features. But I'd rather pay for this upfront. I'd like a lifetime service option and would easily pay another $100 for that upfront -- this device is worth 2x what they are charging -Switching to apps on Apple TV can be a bit slow. I think this is because (from what I've read) the way Caavo actually controls Apple TV (it uses some type of AI that literally scrolls across the screen for you), and it's not any slower than me doing it manually, but I'd like this to be faster -the App needs work - I like the app they have (downloaded it yesterday), but other than making lists it has limited functionality. I'd like the app to be able to launch programs directly, and maybe have a remote control feature like the Apple TV has. Anyway, reading some of these reviews, I think those people need to spend time with the Caavo to appreciate it. This long time Harmony user is now a Caavo fan. The Harmony is being retired...