Why yes, my tablet can do this.

First off, Happy New Year! Every new year, we all make a resolution. I made one last year, and I think that I lived up to it. This year, I’m making another one: I want to be more in control of my digital life. And it is off to a good start. Let me explain.

My wonderful fiancé gifted me a 32” HDTV and paired it with a Roku streaming player. My mother joined in and gifted me an antennae so I can watch the local OTA [Over The Air] channels in HD. Well, with the new television and Roku in my room, it added two remotes. Which, in my opinion, sucks majorly. And they are both small, and get lost easily. So here is my solution:

Yes. My trusty Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. It is my best tech purchase of the past year or two. It is the perfect size for at 7 inches, and I love the Android interface over iOS. But the best feature that I was unaware of when I bought it: the IR blaster; coupled with Smart Remote by Peel. This program lets me control my TV, A/V system, Blu-Ray Player, among others. [Here is some more info: http://www.samsung.com/us/article/smart-remote-discover-tap-watch] Being the smart person my fiance is, she bought me a Vizio television. High quality, lower price. Saweet. But Vizio appears in the list for supported televisions in the Smart Remote App.

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So there are a few photos of what I have set up with my tablet. Here are the photo descriptions:

1-My Tablet home screen. I have the Roku, Xbox Smart Glass, and Smart Remote shortcuts at the top.

2-The available channels listing in the Roku app.

3-The Smart Remote app looking at the devices/inputs drop down.

4-Xbox Smart Glass isn’t being very smart.

5-The main window of the Smart View app that shows me what is available to watch with my antennae.

6-The remote section of the Roku app.

7-The Smart Remote app looking at the volume/channel panel open.

8-The currently installed channels on my Roku.

So as you can see, I can control my television and Roku with my tablet. The Smart Remote app lets me power on/off my television, switch inputs to where my Roku resides, change channels, pick shows by selection them, change the volume, and more. Then when I switch to my Roku, I switch to the Roku app. I use this to select what I want to watch, and it obeys! Like magic! This 1-2 punch gives me all the control I need in a way better remote than the small plastic ones that were provided. The best part about it is that when I add the HTPC to the mix, I can use my Unified Remote app to control the HTPC. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is the best universal remote that anyone nerd can ask for.