The new Caavo works great and simple to use once setup.
While I have HUGE issues with any remote that requires that I talk to my cable box to do normal channel surfing, I think that this review of the product sums it up entirely...
(from Amazon)
"Pros...
Easy to set up.
Integrating HDMI switch was a great idea, even though my TV has 4 inputs.
On screen menus.
Hardware is well executed and works well.
Voice search works well for Roku, but no better than Roku remote.
Cons...
Not backlit.
Unfamiliar button layout can be confusing.
FFWD/REW and Skip implementation is strange.
Far too many long press functions.
Button hover ID is useful, but placed in the worst possible spot on the screen.
Some functions through HDMI take too long.
Limited control of AVR (power and volume only).
Guide is simplistic and hard to read compared to DirecTV.
Subscription services are of dubious value to me.
Voice search for DirecTV is very limited. If the voice command system was smarter, it would help. Since there is no keypad, you should be able to say, "DirecTV channel XXX" to go directly to a channel.
I was eager to try this out, and up through setup was quite impressed. I have tried just about every universal remote out there in an attempt to make controlling a complex system easy for my wife. Several versions of Harmony over the years up through Elite, Inteset, One-For-All, Philips, GE, RCA, etc.
None of them do everything that I need. So far, the closest is my Harmony Smart Control. I wish it had one extra activity button, but there are workarounds. Also, wish it was backlit for use in the bedroom at night, and was a bit larger with more space between buttons. But it controls everything, has a familiar layout and is easily reconfigurable using the phone app."
Anyone who has used a good universal remote knows that HDMI switching is something built into your TV or into your A/V receiver, so you don't get any advantage from a secondary HDMI switch. Anyone that channel surfs (still) really needs a keypad. Anyone that uses a remote in the dark should expect a decent backlit remote. I get what they were going for, but I can't imagine this being something anyone non-tech-savvy would be comfortable with at all. Especially if they had something bullet-proof previously.
