News Details

ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS ― 27 August 2015 ― Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) (NASDAQ: UEIC), the worldwide leader in universal remote control technologies and control interfaces, has announced it will launch its breakthrough UEI Smart Control BLE product line at IBC 2015 held at the RAI in Amsterdam, 11-15 September.

The UEI Smart Control BLE is the embodiment of UEI's most innovative control technologies and will contain advanced features such as UEI's QuickSet®, as well as high precision voice and motion-enabled control capabilities. With these technologies, UEI is truly redefining the user experience of discovering and controlling the vast amount of interactive TV services being offered by today's Multi-Service-Operators. These technologies will be explained at three interactive demonstration areas at IBC 2015.

Demo Area 1: Redefining the user experience
The first demo will focus on how UEI is redefining the end-user experience when designing its control solutions. This will be explained by showcasing three distinct product concepts that are the result of delicately combining deep user insights, with the latest control technologies and design trends in form factor and materialisation. To support these product concepts, UEI will explain the results of its 2015 market research called ‘TV Zapping 2.0' - an in-depth study on changing TV-viewing and content control habits in Europe performed by TRENDBOX, an Amsterdam based independent research agency.

Demo Area 2: Redefining entertainment control
The second demo area will showcase the full capabilities of the new UEI Smart Control BLE product line and how it is redefining the complete entertainment control experience for the end user.

The latest QuickSet® release expands on the capabilities of the original product, which has been successfully deployed in over 150 million devices around the world, including set-top boxes, connected TVs, media devices, game consoles, smartphones, and tablets. Using Bluetooth Smart technology, QuickSet 3.0 leverages the two-way RF link between the remote and set-top to automatically configure control protocols for auto-discovered devices, to control virtually any television or entertainment device in the home, with minimal user input.

Secondly, the UEI Smart Control BLE demo shows how its advanced input technologies - such as voice and motion-enabled control - help users to quickly find, access and control the ever growing amount of interactive TV services. After deploying several generations of voice-enabled remotes and shipping millions of units per month, UEI leverages its extensive experience in acoustic design to develop remotes with optimal audio processing and minimal distortion. The motion-enabled control engine allows the UEI Smart Control BLE to smoothly navigate through the TV user interface or browser and perform well with casual games such as Angry Birds.

Demo Area 3: Redefining customer support
The third demo area will allow visitors to see UEI's customer support services in action, which can help create a better product experience for users. Demonstrations will focus on interactive simple set up apps and remote control experience tools that run on the connected set-top box or smart devices using UEI's online web services for device control code lookup.
Using these clever customer care tools, Multi-Service-Operators will see how these smart, self-service tools help to improve the user experience of the remote, while saving costs in the traditional customer care channels.

Menno Koopmans, Senior VP Subscription Broadcasting, Universal Electronics said: “We see a clear shift in the industry to so-called ‘advanced remote controls' - which are connected remotes like Bluetooth LE or ZigBee RF4CE using some kind of interactive input technology such as voice, motion or touch. UEI has worked tirelessly to both revolutionise and redefine pay TV remote products and services, and we're excited to be demonstrating several leading technologies at IBC.”

Koopmans continues: “In fact, we have reached the tipping point. After some years of pioneering and continuous improvement, we believe technologies have matured and we are convinced that advanced remotes will go mass market in the coming year. Driven by improved applications, new TV GUI's, cloud based services, and reduced costs, these next generation remote controls are really starting to get adoption. They are here to stay. UEI has led this transition and delivers a great number of the world's demand for such advanced remotes, and we are in an excellent position to help our customers making the step to a more enhanced user experience.

“Looking at what we will demo this year at IBC, especially our UEI Smart Control BLE product line-up makes me very proud as it brings all of UEI's great technologies together into one solution. The line is available as a platform design, offering an immediate solution for all our customers that want to step up in delivering a redefined user experience. Here at IBC, we show and deliver.”

Visit Universal Electronics at IBC 2015 in Amsterdam from 11-15 September on stand 1.C41.

About Universal Electronics

Founded in 1986, Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) is the global leader in wireless control technology for the connected home. UEI designs, develops, and delivers innovative solutions that enable consumers to control entertainment devices, digital media, and home systems. The company's broad portfolio of patented technologies and database of infrared control software have been adopted by many Fortune 500 companies in the consumer electronics, subscription broadcast, and computing industries. UEI sells and licenses wireless control products through distributors and retailers under the One For All® brand name. More information is available at www.uei.com.
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All trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words and expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development, delivery and market acceptance of products and technologies such as the UEI Smart Control BLE identified in this release; the continued rollout, penetration and growth of QuickSet and other next generation consumer technologies identified in this release; the continued adoption of UEI's customer support services; and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties.  The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

Contacts:
Universal Electronics:
Hemco Arentsen, Sr. Marketing & Communications Manager, harentsen@uei.com, +31 53 4888000

The Whiteoaks Consultancy:
Leila Hrycyszyn, Influencer Relations Specialist, leilah@whiteoaks.co.uk, +44 (0)1252 727313