In an age of increasingly sophisticated entertainment systems, the television remote has remained shockingly stagnant. Apart from the occasional Netflix button, most remotes have failed to adapt to changes in the viewing experience; at its worst, a bad TV remote is an active impediment to you kicking back and watching your favorite show — part of an intelligent home entertainment system, acting unintelligently. The Savant Remote + Host, out this December, is a TV remote system (not just a remote) that fully understands and exploits the possibilities of smarter entertainment systems and smarter homes.
To start, it recognizes voice commands — for example, if a user were to hold down its speaker button and say “HBO,” the remote would be able to find HBO and put in on, even if the user was watching a Blu-ray at that moment, or if the TV was off. It’s also well constructed, with backlit buttons and a quality aluminum design. Its touchscreen is a game-changer, adding the intuitiveness of a smartphone to a remote control. The remote also supports multiple user profiles, which streamlines the user experience further, and can be used to control over 380,000 compatible devices, from AppleTV to Sony, Samsung, Sonos, DirecTV, Xfinity and more.
The Host system, meanwhile, acts as a hub for all Savant products. While the Savant system currently focuses on home entertainment, it already has devices to control light fixtures, and add-ons are planned to expand its capabilities to more smart home devices. That means that taken altogether, the Savant Remote and Hub are the much-needed home entertainment master key.