Editor’s Note: This article previously was published as the Compuschmooze column in the October 30, 2024 edition of the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey.
Most of us have been on either the giving or receiving end of some kind of remote tech support for computers and TV, especially since the convergence of the Internet for streaming content with the added complexity of fiber optic-based cable TV with hundreds of channels and on-demand viewing options. Couple that with what Rabbi Richard Address calls “the club sandwich generation,” the Baby Boomers who are not only watching out for aging parents but also helping with the busy lives of adult children and grandchildren, and you have an opportunity for even more technology.
A startup company called JubileeTV (GetJubileeTV.com) is offering a communications hub device that allows families to help family members like seniors control and configure their TV systems remotely. The JubileeTV system consists of a main communications hub that includes a voice-activated remote control and connections for up to three video devices like a cable box, streaming player, and DVD player.
It also includes a web camera and communications features so that other family members can connect over the TV to do video chats with them. A separate smartphone app allows approved family members to remotely control the seniors’ TV and see exactly what is playing on it.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the driving force for focusing the system on seniors, says Ashish D. Aggarwal, an engineer and entrepreneur who founded JubileeTV.
“I didn’t start out by doing this product for seniors,” Aggarwal said in a recent interview. “In fact, when we formed the company, it was more geared towards our own kids as opposed to our parents. But COVID really had a big spotlight on seniors for me.”
Listen to Steve’s conversation with Ashish Aggarwal in the audio player below.
Aggarwal’s parents and in-laws had health issues, and because of the pandemic he couldn’t visit them to help with their viewing devices or to check on their well-being.
Seniors who may be struggling with hearing or mild cognitive issues may have difficulty using the phone, Aggarwal noted. “So now families can communicate via TV, messaging, photos, live streaming,” he explained.
The system also allows passive monitoring, so if the family member doesn’t turn on the TV at the usual time, you can easily check in to make sure everything is OK.
“You can set triggers and alarms,” said Aggarwal: “Hey, if mom didn’t turn off the TV that night, send a notification. Always notify me when the TV is turned on. Take a picture while the notification happens. Tell me if there is more than one person in the room. Tell me when mom is not in the room.”
The company expects to add monitoring features supported by artificial intelligence over the next year or so. One possibility would be to keep tabs on the volume level being used on the TV to alert family members of a potential hearing problem if the volume is being constantly increased, or changes in mobility of the monitored family member that might indicate a need for a health check.
JubileeTV has two basic plans. You can purchase the equipment for $199 and pay for monthly monitoring at $29 a month, or you can purchase the equipment and monitoring for a one-time $699 fee.
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Steve Lubetkin is the news director for StateBroadcastNews.com. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. He refocused on multimedia journalism and podcast production after a long career in corporate branded journalism and public relations.
He has won numerous awards for his audio and video news reporting from the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced a wide range of audio and video podcasts in his other role as managing partner of State Broadcast News’s parent, The Lubetkin Media Companies.
Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional.
In March 2021, he was elected to the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in July 2021 he was named secretary of the chapter. In August 2021, he was honored by SPJ with one of the organization’s 2021 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Pro Member Awards, given to regular members of an SPJ chapter who go above and beyond in serving their chapter.
Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996.
Steve also has reported on-camera and produces virtual conferences for NJSpotlightNews.org, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC.
From May-November 2019, he produced and reported a weekly podcast, The CRE News Hour, a news and features program focusing on the commercial real estate industry.
From 2014 to 2019 he was New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com and filled in covering Chicago/Midwest and Atlanta.
Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies.
Earlier in his career, Steve reported on rock music at the Jersey Shore for the Asbury Park Press, and was a broadcast news anchor and production engineer for WJLK-AM & FM, then owned by the Press. He also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Red Bank Register, Shrewsbury, NJ.
You can email Steve at steve@statebroadcastnews.com.
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