UEI Offers Developer Kit for Nevo Remote Controls, Demos Sonos App

Select remote controls from Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) can now operate a Sonos multiroom audio system.

The announcement, which follows similar news from Philips (Pronto remote) and Control4 (created by Extra Vegetables), was made during Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam.

Sonos does not provide a software developer’s kit for third-party control system; nor does the company support integration efforts by third parties, as we reported after CES 2010.

Sonos executives tell CE Pro that the company wants to maintain the reliability of its products, and the satisfaction of its customers, by keeping the Sonos system somewhat locked down.

“Sonos products just work,” says UEI technical product specialist Leo Kuipers.

Inserting UEI’s Nevo remotes into the ecosystem should not undermine the integrity of Sonos products, Kuipers suggests. In fact, it should enhance the experience if customers don’t want to juggle multiple remote controls, or they want to connect their Sonos through other audio systems.

At ISE, UEI is controlling multiple Sonos systems connected to a Russound whole-house audio system.

And, as with Philips, the Sonos control is relegated to its own microcosm within the Nevo control so you cannot, for example, tie Sonos tunes into a whole-house scene.

What Took so Long?

Unlike Philips, which had to add UPnP support to its Pronto scripting, program, UEI has supported the standard for a few years, when it introduced NevoSL remote.

And it wasn’t particularly tricky to figure out the commands to control Sonos, Kuipers says. “The [UPnP] devices are all exposed, but Sonos doesn’t tell you how to control them.”