Podcast #1123: Sofabaton X1 Smart Remote Control

On this week's show Ara discusses the addition of some inexpensive acoustic panels to his recording room and we have a listener review of the Sofabaton X1 Smart Remote. We also read your emails and take a look at some of the week's news.

News:

• Apple TV+ ups monthly subscription to $9.99
• YouTube Has Around 1.5 Million 'NFL Sunday Ticket' Subscribers, Will Lose Over $1.2 Billion This Season
• YouTube TV lagging, ruining Sunday Ticket viewing for NFL fans
• Netflix's New Ad Chief Touts Growth to 15 Million Users

Other:

• CSS Audio for your DIY Speaker Kits

Sonic Acoustics Panels

• $25-30 for a 12 pack Hex Shape
• 14" X 12" X 0.4"
• No adhesive included.
• Simple Installation

Amazon has plenty of acoustic panels to choose from including many with decorative prints. The entire treatment cost me $100.

Sofabaton X1 Smart Remote Control

I was looking for a product for my father-in-law to simplify the 3 remotes needed to control his TV, cable, and Roku. The Sofabaton is described on Amazon as "The most advanced X1 universal remote comes with a hub that can control most of your home entertainment devices. The powerful database is compatible with up to 500,000 IR & Bluetooth devices, From your TV, and gaming console, to your AV receiver and Blu-Ray, even your Philip Hue, Sonos Speaker." At the time of purchase it was $189.99. Here are my thoughts on the product.

Packaging / Presentation

The packaging was nicely done, similar to what you expect from a high end phone...each of the included components nestled neatly in their allotted spots.

Remote Description

The remote is narrow, about 2 " x 7 1⁄2 " long. It's a matte black finish all the way around with a slightly rubberized feel to it. The screen itself is relatively small - a little less than 2"x 1 1⁄2 . As you would expect with that size, the button layout is minimal. It has a scroll wheel - up, down, left, right - and basic buttons below such as volume, channel, etc. The buttons are lit for night viewing or a dark theater which is a nice feature. The included hub is a glossy black and about the size of a glass coaster or a deck of cards. Also included are 3 infrared blasters - one single and one with 2 blasters on 1 wire. Lastly, there is a power adapter for the hub and another USB-C cable to charge it.

Programming

Programming has to be done via the sofabaton app on your phone. You must link the hub and remote together, then add your devices. They are searchable if you don't know your model numbers. If you know your exact model, obviously that will speed things up. I didn't have to, but the Sofabaton remote can learn your device, or you can contact customer support and ask them to add your device if necessary. Once that is done, it will confirm your power configuration for that device. For example, does your device have a separate on/off switch. Once that is done you can add Activities , like Watch TV or Play Music. I made a "watch tv " activity. This macro turns on the TV, soundbar, and Roku to the correct input. After the commands are finished the remote controls the Roku and volume on the soundbar.

Performance

To summarize my experience, in a nutshell I must say there is a bit of a learning curve. I am used to using 3 different remotes. I know what I need to do. It took a while to get everything dialed in right. I had to experiment with the IR blasters and move them around to get a good signal to the device.

When syncing the Hub I needed to try again by re-pairing with the button on the back. Adding devices took a while. I thought it was stuck because upon loading a device, it seemed like I lost my wi-fi connection until I realized it was just loading all the device info. When you finish an activity and something doesn't work, there is an option on your app to repair it. You can reconfigure any of the buttons to do what you want them to do. I made one of the colored buttons on the bottom to go right to the TV sleep menu. After you make a change it'll sync to the remote.

After using it for roughly 2 weeks I feel more comfortable with it. I would get confused with the clicker wheel which in turn navigates the screen on the remote and the up/down left/right enter button in the middle which operates the device itself. The back arrow button at the top right that's for going back to activities, devices, or settings on the remote isn't easily reachable.

I also learned I cannot turn on my PS5 via bluetooth because Sony doesn't allow third party vendors to access it via bluetooth. There is a workaround by having the activity switch to the playstation HDMI input, which will turn it on. With my setup this isn't necessary because the controller turns it on anyway and it automatically switches.

Conclusion
I would say this isn't for everyone because there is a long set up process and many potential bugs/issues along the way. If you're easily frustrated, not willing to put in the time to set it up correctly and allow yourself an adjustment period, this is not the remote for you. With that said i think this remote IS for many people of the HDTV and Home Theater podcast family. It's a nice blend of "higher than average knowledge" of home theater, but not so high that you need a PHD in software engineering to figure it out. I hope this helps and I'd be happy to assist anyone if they have further questions.