Universal Electronics and DSP Group Demonstrate Hands-Free, Low Power, Voice-Activated Remote Control

ENSCHEDE, The Netherlands and SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DSP Group, Inc. DSPG, a leading global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications, along with Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) UEIC, a worldwide leader in universal control and sensing technologies for the smart home, will demonstrate a low power, voice-activated, hands-free remote control concept at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2019) in Las Vegas, Nevada (January 8-11, 2019) in the UEI booth 42325 in Sands Expo.

The architecture of this new remote control concept centers around UEI's UE878 multiprotocol RF SoC and DSP Group's DBMD8 chipset with HDClear™ voice enhancement processing algorithms. The D8 offers a unique, low power, high performance DSP platform supporting wake word recognition and audio pre-processing algorithms including noise reduction and beam-forming, speeding design-to-deployment of voice-activated devices including remote controls. The UE878 multiprotocol RF SoC with native voice integration supports power and cost optimized designs for voice enabled remote control products.

UEI is a pioneer in voice remote controls, with the largest footprint in the Pay-TV space worldwide. The company has been working on voice-related technologies for many years and has helped to deploy over 60 million voice-enabled remote controls to entertainment industry customers across North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2017, Universal Electronics was recognized by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) with a Technology & Engineering Achievement Emmy^® for its work relating to voice navigation technologies for discovering and interacting with TV content. Voice control is becoming one of the main pillars of UEI's broad portfolio of control and sensing technologies ranging from push-to-talk, raise-to-talk, and now a hands-free remote control platform.

"Consumers are migrating toward the voice user interface for every imaginable application," said Menno Koopmans, Managing Director, EMEA at Universal Electronics, BV. After seeing a great uptake on push-to-talk voice control, the next evolution in handheld remote controls involves creating a low-power, hands-free option. "The remote control is a logical device to integrate hands-free voice recognition, as it is always available at arm's length and a reasonable distance from TV speakers. With the help of DSP Group, we are working to optimize our solution to provide an ideal balance between voice accuracy and battery life."

"As the world's leading remote-control manufacturer, UEI partners with top TV OEMs and prominent set-top box vendors to re-define user experience with a focus on innovation and forward-thinking," said Ofer Elyakim, CEO, DSP Group. "We are delighted to play a role in UEI's hands-free, low-power, wake-on-voice remote control, which will demonstrate that high accuracy and low power consumption can go hand in hand and provide and introduce a richer interaction in the living room."

About DSP Group
DSP Group®, Inc. DSPG is a global leader in wireless chipsets for a wide range of smart-enabled devices. The company was founded in 1987 on the principles of experience, insight and continuous advancement, consistently delivering next-generation solutions in the areas of voice, audio, video and data connectivity. Experts in voice processing, DSP Group invests heavily in innovation for the smart future, the result is leading-edge semiconductor technology that is enabling our customers to develop a new wave of products that bring enhanced user experiences through innovation like conversation technology. From mobile phones to VoIP and virtual assistants using cloud-based voice services, DSP Group is the answer to the growing demand for the ever-expanding collection of voice controlled smart devices. For more information, visit www.dspg.com. The DSP Group logo is a registered trademark and HDClear is a trademark of DSP Group. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

About Universal Electronics

Universal Electronics Inc. UEIC is the worldwide leader in universal control and sensing technologies for the smart home. For more information, please visit www.uei.com/about.

All trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

The UEI logo is a registered trademark.

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 UEI's low power hands free voice control product and associated service offerings, and other technologies identified in this release; the continued penetration and growth of the voice related products and consumer technologies identified in this release; 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 statement 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.

Press Contact
DSP Group: Tali Chen, Chief Marketing Officer, Tel: 669.286.9181, tali.chen@dspg.com
UEI: Benny Canady, UEI Corporate Marketing and Public Relations, Tel: 714.918.9500, bcanady@uei.com