Silicon Valley start-up Caavo has entered the ring in the battle to control HDMI 1, introducing a new retail set-top designed to unify all TV devices into a single input.

The Caavo Control Center, which retails at Best Buy for $100, plugs into the TV’s primary input, and connects up to four devices—pay TV set-tops and streaming boxes like Roku and Apple TV—along with a sound bar or AV receiver.

It can be voice controlled using Google Voice or Amazon Alexa.

Caavo bills the system as an entertainment hub, automatically switching from live linear TV, streaming content, DVR programming, and gaming devices. Compatible devices include streaming media players such as Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV; gaming consoles including Nintendo, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox One; and pay TV set tops from Comcast, Charter, Dish Network and DirecTV.

Related: Caavo’s Universal TV Device Controller Goes on Sale for $399

The 4K-enabled Control Center uses a combination of infrared (IR), Bluetooth, IP and HDMI CEC, and auto detects what devices are connected to the TV during set-top.

Once activated, users can simply say, “Watch The Big Lebowski,” and iterations of the 1998 Jeff Bridges comedy classic from across platforms surface on one unified UX.

In addition to the $100 price of the device, users will need to pay a monthly subscription price of $1.99.

“When Caavo introduced our first entertainment hub in February of this year, we solved unified search and control across multiple platforms, which is great if you know what you want to watch,” said Andrew Einaudi, a former Microsoft engineer who is the CEO and co-founder of Caavo Inc, in a statement. “Today, there is so much great content available, we made our unified search even stronger and introduced hand-picked guides, editorial recommendations and community features to promote sharing and discovery of great entertainment with Control Center.”

Founded in 2015, San Francisco-based Caavo has been privately funded with $32.5 million, according to its Crunchbase profile.

The start-up is attempting to solve a problem the pay TV industry is well aware of—that is, the need for operators and device makers to make their set-top the device connect to the TV’s primary input, HDMI 1, and have all platforms unified under their UX. 

As promised, Caavo on Wednesday (February 14) opened up sales of a new TV-connected device equipped with a voice remote and software and a UI that can command and control a wide variety of other devices, including streaming players, set-top boxes, MVPD-supplied set-tops and gaming consoles.

RELATED: Caavo’s Smart Universal TV Device Controller Starts Shipping February 14

Caavo has limited the initial run to 5,000 units, selling them for $399 each. That “Deluxe Set” includes a customizable top-case (offered in three wood-grain finishes), lifetime service, as well as cloth-covered HDMI and Ethernet cables, HDMI extender and IR accessories.

The Caavo device is equipped with eight HDMI ports that can connect to other TV-connected devices, and uses a lightweight client to detect them and then tie them together with a unified interface.

Instead of requiring the user to toggle manually between separate devices to hunt down what they are looking for, Caavo strives to be smart enough to bring them all together on a single platform and experience, allowing a user, for example, to search for and access a show or movie from individual apps or from a recording made to a local DVR from any of the various devices that are connected to Caavo.

RELATED: Caavo’s Pitch: One Device to Rule Them All

Caavo, a CE company that includes the late Blake Krikorian among its co-founders, has raised about $32.5 million.

Initial product reviews of Caavo are a bit mixed, as most pointed to the device’s current lack of support for high dynamic range. Here’s a snapshot from three of them:

-Caavo “is like a little TV butler,”The Verge’s Nilay Patel explained, noting that Caavo can help build watchlists based on what services they subscribe to (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, etc.). Though he sees Caavo as a great idea, it’s also a product “that needs a little more polish.”

“After using a review unit for several days, it’s clear that Caavo has the most interesting idea about the future of remote controls anyone’s had in years. It’s also clear that it’s a very complicated, expensive idea that isn’t quite ready yet.”

Patel set up Caavo with a TiVo Roamio Pro, an Xbox One, a Chromecast and Apple TV, and said it took him about 20 minutes to get it all connected and running.

He said the biggest limitation was no support for HDR Caavo does support 4K today, but told Patel that there isn’t a chipset it can use to support both in an eight-port HDMI setup.

-CNET’s David Katzmaier gave Caavo an overall score of 6.9. While giving Caavo high marks for its unique universal remote control and HDMI switching system, he said the product’s lack of support for HDR, Dolby Vision and  Dolby Atmos “is unforgivable for a product this expensive.”

It also took him a couple of hours to get the system up and running with source devices that included a Verizon Fios HD DVR, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Roku Ultra, Amazon Fire TV, Nvidia Shield, Apple TV 4K, Oppo Blu-ray player, an Onkyo receiver.

“The Caavo's setup is as easy as it can be for a complex home-theater system, but that doesn't mean it's fast,” he noted.

He also noted that cheaper options such as the Logitech Harmony hubs and hub/remote combos also do a good job for consumers who find themselves “juggling multiple remotes.” He was likewise hopeful that a next version from Caavo would be less expensive “perhaps less visual flair” and support for HDR. “If that happens, Harmony will have a problem on its hands.”

-Wired’s Jeffrey Van Camp gave Caavo a rating of 7 out of 10, calling it the “ultimate universal TV remote,” but lamented that setup “can be laborious and frustrating, depending on your devcies.”

Though Caavo’s price isn't right for everyone, Camp said he’s the “ideal customer for Caavo,” given that he has at least a half dozen remotes and game controllers strewn about.

Some things were hit and miss. His Roku set up fine, but the Fire TV did not. He also ran into some trouble integrating his Sonus sound bar.

“For all its proposed convenience, it’s clear that Caavo is still a very new, beta product that looks more elegant than it works (at least, for now),” he wrote, later bringing up its lack of support for HDR and Dolby Atmos as a significant shortcoming, as well as its inability to deeplink into apps on a game console.

But had liked Caavo’s voice recognition system and said the product “switches between devices better than anything I’ve ever used.”

“Setting up the Caavo could be a lot easier, to put it mildly, but for me the juice was worth the squeeze,” Van Camp noted in the review wrap up.

Caavo is for TV lovers, so perhaps it's appropriate that the startup picked Valentine's Day 2018 to start shipping its first product. 

A new TV-connected device that can command and control Apple TV and Roku players, MVPD-supplied set-tops, Blu-ray players, TiVo boxes, gaming consoles and other TV-connected device from Caavo will start to ship Feb. 14, 2018, the startup announced today.

Caavo, a CE company that includes the late Blake Krikorian among its co-founders, said it will offer 5,000 “limited edition” units about a year after it revealed itself to the world. Those Deluxe Sets, priced at a lofty $399 each, will come with a set of custom Caavo cables and unlimited lifetime service.

RELATED: Caavo’s Pitch: One Device to Rule Them All

The commercial debut is a bit later than expected. Last year during its coming out party, Caavo anticipated launching the product in June and to start shipping by September 2017.

Caavo said a group of 300 users have been testing its platform, using their feedback to define the commercial product.

Caavo also announced it had closed a $17.5 million Series B round, extending its total to $32.5 million, with Time Warner Investments and Lauder Partners joining in. Other investors include DCM Ventures, Greylock Partners, Sky, Hearst Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank in helping build Caavo.

The Caavo device is equipped with eight HDMI ports that can connect to the range of aforementioned devices, and uses a lightweight client to detect them and then tie them together with a unified interface.

Instead of requiring the user to toggle manually between separate devices to hunt down what they are looking for, Caavo strives to be smart enough to bring them all together on a single platform and experience, allowing a user, for example, to search for and access a show or movie from individual apps or from a recording made to a local DVR from any of the various devices that are connected to Caavo. Voice navigation is supported through integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

“Content has never been better, but access to that content on the biggest screen, your TV, is really a struggle,” Caavo co-founder and CEO Andrew Einaudi said last year during a presentation made at Recode’s  Code Media event in Dana Point, Calif.

“Call it what you want, the real allure is that Caavo brings together all of TV,” the company noted in a blog post today. “It unifies devices – cable, satellite, streaming boxes and sticks, gaming consoles, DVD and Blu-ray players – and services, apps and content into one simple experience.”

But there are some shortcomings, as The Verge’s Nilay Patel, who got a demo of the product, explained that Caavo supports 4K video but not High Dynamic Range, making it a “tough sell for people investing in new 4K TVs and boxes – the same sort of people who might otherwise spend $400 on a universal control system for all that gear.”  Caavo told him that it hopes that silicon technology will soon catchup to support eight-port HDR and can be introduced in future releases of the product.

Patel likewise recognized that Caavo “is targeting a very small market here,” adding later that the startup is also planning to develop less expensive versions with fewer ports.

Patel, who saw Caavo working in tandem with a Roku player, Fire TV device, Apple TV and a Dish Network satellite DVR receiver, and a PlayStation 4, was keen on the device’s ability to retain centralized “watchlists” that track what the viewer is watching across those platforms.

The Verge also reported that Caavo, at launch, will support apps from Amazon, DirecTV Now, HBO Go, HBO Now, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Vue, Plex, Showtime, Showtime Anytime, Sling TV, Starz, TBS, TNT, and Vudu. So there’s plenty of room for growth in that area.

Though Caavo aims to untangle what can be a mess of TV-connected devices, other gadget experts were skeptical that the launch price will attract a sizable user base:

The Caavo TV unifier starts shipping in February. Several friends and former colleagues work there and I'm rooting for their success. But am concerned with potential market given premium pricing. https://t.co/4wuQisBo6hpic.twitter.com/J4NYVeA2zh

— Dave Zatz (@davezatz) December 19, 2017

Caavo, the CE startup co-founded by the late Blake Krikorian, came out of stealth mode this week to reveal a product that enables consumers to integrate and control multiple TV-connected devices from one over-arching platform.

The Caavo features eight HDMI inputs that can connect to a wide range of devices, including streaming players like Roku, Fire TV devices, MVPD-supplied set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and gaming consoles. A lightweight client on the Caavo can detect and control them all from a unified interface and can, for example, link the viewer directly to a show or a movie available from individual apps or retrieve a show that’s recorded to the local DVR.

The idea is to help consumers manage a growing array of devices and to remove some of the manual struggles required when having to switch to different HDMI inputs or know which apps offer access to specific types of content.

“Content has never been better, but access to that content on the biggest screen, your TV, is really a struggle,” Caavo co-founder and CEO Andrew Einaudi said during a presentation at this week’s Recode Code Media event in Dana Point, Calif.

“We own a giant pile of boxes,” and Caavo aims to address the challenge of managing them all, added Einaudi, an exec who hails from Microsoft, Sling Media, Jawbone and EchoStar.

While the Caavo does not run any applications or play any content directly, it deep-links to content and the apps across the devices the consumer owns. The Caavo also comes with a voice-based remote control and will support a “skill” for Amazon’s Alexa platform.

In the demo, they asked via Alexa to play Stranger Things via the Caavo, and the device turned on the TV and accessed the series on Netflix via the app running on an Apple TV without requiring the user to drill through the Apple TV UI to get there.  

RELATED: Sky Invests $2M in CE Startup

The demo showed Caavo connected to a Dish set-top, Roku player, Apple TV, PS4, Xbox One, Chromecast adapter, Fire TV box and Blu-ray player. The system is also set up to detect and access the right device. For example, if the user begins to use a PS4 controller, the Caavo will auto-switch to the Sony-made gaming console.

Caavo is also designed to learn the user’s preferences in terms of which device to access for specific apps like Netflix or Hulu. That preference will be set the first time the user searches for a title, noted co-founder and tech lead Ashish Aggarwal.

But, at a starting price of $399, the Caavo won’t come cheap. The product, which uses pegs to manage the cabling for all the devices it’s connected to, is set to launch in June and start shipping in September.

Founded in 2014, San Francisco-based Caavo has raised about $17 million, according to CrunchBase. Investors include Greylock Partners, DCM Ventures, Sky, Silicon Valley Bank and Hearst Ventures.

U.K.-based Sky said it has invested $2 million in Caavo, a TV-focused consumer electronics startup based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Caavo was founded in 2015 by Andrew Einaudi, Ashish Aggarwal, Vinod Gopinath and Blake Krikorian, the entrepreneur and co-founder of video place-shifting pioneer Sling Media who died August 3 at the age of 48.

Caavo has not announced product plans, but Sky said the startup’s vision is to “improve the in-home entertainment experience for consumers, by offering easy-to-use and beautifully designed products.” Caavo’s currently sparse Web site includes a contact email address with the message: “The missing link between your TV and you.”

RELATED: Sky Plows $45M Info Iflix

Sky’s backing of Caavo follows other investments it’s made in early-stage companies such as Pluto TV, Roku, Whistle Sports, and Jaunt, a VR-focused startup.