5 ms·

Teevox (YC S10) Turns Your iPhone Into A Computer TV Remote Control

88 points by jiggity 16y ago

newy 16y ago
This is crazy cool, congrats jiggity.
jonxu 16y ago
Very cool!
kineticac 16y ago
This is really nice. I love how it's easily integrated UNO third parties!
troymc 16y ago
When I read the headline, I thought it would be some sort of infrared emitter that you attach to your iPhone to transform it into a remote control similar to the (Logitech) Harmony ones. It's not. Sigh...
fedster 16y ago
super sweet!
maxklein 16y ago
The latest YC companies seem to be features and add-ons for other products : things that can easily be bought by a big company!
- shykes 16y ago
  Everything can be spinned as an add-on for something else.
  - nostrademons 16y ago
    Yeah. Google was an add-on for portals. Microsoft was an add-on for the Altair.
- c1sc0 16y ago
  Yes, makes me wonder how much 'optimizing for exit' is too much. Small investments, small companies, small 'dipshit' exits?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- pg 16y ago
  The latest YC companies, like all YC companies, are encouraged to launch as soon as they've built something with a quantum of utility. Of course such things are small initially.
swankpot 16y ago
Hey, that's my idea. Except you apparently had it first, and your app looks a lot better than mine. Congratulations on your success.
Madhav_ 16y ago
good stuff guys. Really nice simple interface. Best of luck to you guys.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
CytokineStorm 16y ago
I think that this just the beginning for Teevox. When I met the founders last spring they were showing off a prototype iPad app that was sort of like a live newsfeed for television. As you watched a show it would pop up additional information about what was going on at that moment, like who the actors were, what song was playing in the background, trivia, and I'm sure in the future targeted ads. I think the integration with Twitter and Facebook also indicates that they're going to be building some social features into the app, which would be pretty interesting to see. Anyway, definitely keep an eye out for these guys.
ryanjmo 16y ago
How is your traction? It wasn't mentioned in the article.
cks 16y ago
Interesting... the application has a Windows Vista/7 scrollbar.
- jasonlotito 16y ago
  No, it does not.
  - cks 16y ago
    Well their screenshot/mock-up does, take a look again.
    - jasonlotito 16y ago
      It's not a screenshot or a mockup. It's your browser rendering a scrollbar. The "mockup" is actually usable. If you actually see how it works, you'll see you can use the actual "mockup" to see how it would work. It's better then a mere screenshot or mockup.
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- sp332 16y ago
  It's not a picture of an iPhone running the app, it's a screenshot of the website, which has a scrollable area embedded in a picture of an iPhone. Very confusing screenshot!
jedc 16y ago
Who cares that the product seems simple right now... check out the website! http://teevox.com http://teevox.com LOVE the sense of humor and personality of the company. The testimonials at the bottom are awesome. Good luck!
revorad 16y ago
I find it a bit confusing when pg invests in companies such as this, which will most likely increase the addictiveness of stuff (in this case TV), given his growing concerns of the issue[1]. I can see this makes investment sense in terms of the ROI on money, but wouldn't you rather invest in things which steer the world in a direction that you would like it to go in? [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html
- amirmc 16y ago
  I didn't read that essay the same way. I'd say he was making an observation rather than expressing a general concern. He also said "Good" and "bad" technological progress aren't sharply differentiated, so you'd find you couldn't slow the latter without also slowing the former"
  - revorad 16y ago
    Of course he is expressing concern. Did you not read the second half of the essay? He's mostly talking about how people, including himself, have avoided, are avoiding or will avoid addictions.
Splines 16y ago
Noticed a bug when creating a new account - I use password safe to manage my passwords, and it created a password that contained a symbol that caused an "Invalid Password" message to show up. Some feedback here would be nice ("Invalid Password: Numbers/letters only please" or something like that). Better yet, accept anything in the password box (there may be i18n issues here, others may be able to chime in with their experience).
- jiggity 16y ago
  thanks for the catch! we'll be fixing that up
dnsworks 16y ago
Because it's so difficult to stand up and manipulate a television, or use the gasp remote control that came with it. I'm quite surprised YC would invest in a .. television company.
contagionhealth 16y ago
Damn guys, now I need to buy an iPad for sure ;).

88 points by jiggity 16y ago

newy 16y ago

This is crazy cool, congrats jiggity.

jonxu 16y ago

Very cool!

kineticac 16y ago

This is really nice. I love how it's easily integrated UNO third parties!

troymc 16y ago

When I read the headline, I thought it would be some sort of infrared emitter that you attach to your iPhone to transform it into a remote control similar to the (Logitech) Harmony ones. It's not. Sigh...

fedster 16y ago

super sweet!

maxklein 16y ago

The latest YC companies seem to be features and add-ons for other products : things that can easily be bought by a big company!

shykes 16y ago
Everything can be spinned as an add-on for something else.
- nostrademons 16y ago
  Yeah. Google was an add-on for portals. Microsoft was an add-on for the Altair.
c1sc0 16y ago
Yes, makes me wonder how much 'optimizing for exit' is too much. Small investments, small companies, small 'dipshit' exits?
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
pg 16y ago
The latest YC companies, like all YC companies, are encouraged to launch as soon as they've built something with a quantum of utility. Of course such things are small initially.

swankpot 16y ago

Hey, that's my idea. Except you apparently had it first, and your app looks a lot better than mine. Congratulations on your success.

Madhav_ 16y ago

good stuff guys. Really nice simple interface. Best of luck to you guys.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

CytokineStorm 16y ago

I think that this just the beginning for Teevox. When I met the founders last spring they were showing off a prototype iPad app that was sort of like a live newsfeed for television. As you watched a show it would pop up additional information about what was going on at that moment, like who the actors were, what song was playing in the background, trivia, and I'm sure in the future targeted ads. I think the integration with Twitter and Facebook also indicates that they're going to be building some social features into the app, which would be pretty interesting to see. Anyway, definitely keep an eye out for these guys.

ryanjmo 16y ago

How is your traction? It wasn't mentioned in the article.

cks 16y ago

Interesting... the application has a Windows Vista/7 scrollbar.

jasonlotito 16y ago
No, it does not.
- cks 16y ago
  Well their screenshot/mock-up does, take a look again.
  - jasonlotito 16y ago
    It's not a screenshot or a mockup. It's your browser rendering a scrollbar. The "mockup" is actually usable. If you actually see how it works, you'll see you can use the actual "mockup" to see how it would work. It's better then a mere screenshot or mockup.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
sp332 16y ago
It's not a picture of an iPhone running the app, it's a screenshot of the website, which has a scrollable area embedded in a picture of an iPhone. Very confusing screenshot!

jedc 16y ago

Who cares that the product seems simple right now... check out the website! http://teevox.com http://teevox.com LOVE the sense of humor and personality of the company. The testimonials at the bottom are awesome. Good luck!

revorad 16y ago

I find it a bit confusing when pg invests in companies such as this, which will most likely increase the addictiveness of stuff (in this case TV), given his growing concerns of the issue[1]. I can see this makes investment sense in terms of the ROI on money, but wouldn't you rather invest in things which steer the world in a direction that you would like it to go in? [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html

amirmc 16y ago
I didn't read that essay the same way. I'd say he was making an observation rather than expressing a general concern. He also said "Good" and "bad" technological progress aren't sharply differentiated, so you'd find you couldn't slow the latter without also slowing the former"
- revorad 16y ago
  Of course he is expressing concern. Did you not read the second half of the essay? He's mostly talking about how people, including himself, have avoided, are avoiding or will avoid addictions.

Splines 16y ago

Noticed a bug when creating a new account - I use password safe to manage my passwords, and it created a password that contained a symbol that caused an "Invalid Password" message to show up. Some feedback here would be nice ("Invalid Password: Numbers/letters only please" or something like that). Better yet, accept anything in the password box (there may be i18n issues here, others may be able to chime in with their experience).

jiggity 16y ago
thanks for the catch! we'll be fixing that up

dnsworks 16y ago

Because it's so difficult to stand up and manipulate a television, or use the gasp remote control that came with it. I'm quite surprised YC would invest in a .. television company.

contagionhealth 16y ago

Damn guys, now I need to buy an iPad for sure ;).