Advanced Television

ruwido’s Good Companions

September 8, 2011

Colin Mann @ IBC

Home input device and interaction mechanism specialist ruwido has launched its ‘companion box’, a solution that connects smartphones to the television in the living room to individualise content offerings and personalise the viewing experience.

The companion box consists of both hardware and software solutions. The hardware component is able to send Infra-Red (IR) commands and to connect to the living room WLAN (or set-top box WLAN). The software comes in the form of an application for a smartphone.

This software is developed in close cooperation with our customers to enhance their service offers. In the initial version, the companion box enables users to control all their infra-red devices in the living room ranging from the DVD player, sound system and set-top box to controlling lights or a jalousie. Given that the specification is publicly available devices can also be controlled via WLAN or other RF transmission systems.

The application on the smartphone provides the control mechanism for all IR-, and RF-controlled devices in the living room. It also enables the use of scenarios to support specialised usages. The party setting scenario combines a set of commands enabling the user to immediately listen to the music for a party, control the volume directly on the mobile phone and have the TV turned off.

Ferdinand Maier, Managing Director, ruwido, said the companion box was all about individualisation and making the multi-device, multi-function experience in the living room a far more enjoyable and less complicated process. “With such a variety of different functions available, we are literally putting control into the hands of the user. We’re not replacing the remote control, but providing the private functionality users seek to enhance their experience on all public devices in the living room – including the main TV screen. With the different tasks that can be performed, users will get far more out of their entertainment experience, leading to increased satisfaction and reduced churn,” he predicted.

 

 

 

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