SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – How many remotes does it take to watch television, stream Netflix or record your favorite show on DVR?
The Ray Super Remote wants to declutter your coffee table and become the central nervous system of all of your home entertainment systems. The touch-screen device, released Tuesday, is designed to control TVs, cable boxes, DVRs, video game consoles and Internet streaming players such as Roku and Apple TV. What’s more, it runs on software that learns viewers’ preferences so it can list programs suited to personal interests.
“As we looked at ways to reimagine TV, it seemed like the remote control needed the most help,” says David Skokna, CEO of New York-based Ray Enterprises. “We think we have a big opportunity to do something magical.”
Priced at $199, the remote won’t be released until May or June, but pre-orders are being accepted online at http://www.ray.co . It requires a Wi-Fi system and pay-TV boxes to work properly.
This isn’t the first attempt to build a smarter remote control. Logitech and a few other electronics companies have been making universal remote controls for years. More recently, a variety of mobile apps have been offering ways to turn smartphones and tablets into multipurpose remote controls.