Vlingo has announced their new Virtual Assistant solution for TV‘s, and it looks pretty cool. According to Chris Barnett, EVP of Markets at Vlingo:

Households worldwide have access to thousands of TV channels and dozens of service provider choices.  Vlingo aims to simplify TV chaos by providing a simple, intuitive method for discovering the right content from among all those choices, making the experience enjoyable for users and avoiding the frustration of limited, hard to use remote controls. The
Vlingo Virtual Assistant for TV is designed to modernize that thing your grandfather once called a ‘remote control’. Everyone deserves their own assistant and Vlingo’s new TV product offering will make this a reality on TVs this year.

Some examples of what users will be able to do with their voice:

• Browse and find: Users can search and discover content by actor, genre or director using Vlingo’s newly developed dialogue manager which engages users with interactive browsing
• Watch shows: “Watch the Price is Right” or “Find western movies starring Clint Eastwood”
• Record programs: “Record Modern Family tonight at 8pm” or “Record the game on ESPN next Monday night at 9pm”
• Rent and buy movies: “Rent The Fighter on Netflix” or “Play Rocky Four on‐demand”
• Basic controls: “Switch to on‐demand”, “Put on ESPN”, “Go to Netflix” or “Turn up the volume”
• Social media communication: “Facebook update: Joe is watching Lost on Hulu”

Be sure to check out the press release below for full info.

[spoiler show="Press Release" hide="Press Release"]Vlingo Announces its Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV
First integrated Virtual Assistant for TV will improve content discovery and TV controls for a
better entertainment experience
Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas, NV. (Jan. 10, 2012) – Vlingo Corporation today announced
its Virtual Assistant solution for TV manufacturers, set‐top box makers and service providers.  Adding
Virtual Assistant capabilities to the television will allow consumers to easily locate the right show, movie
or program among thousands of choices on TV at any given time, eliminating frustration and improving
the entertainment experience. With advanced technology and services covering speech, intent engines,
natural language processing, dialogue management, monetization and user experience design, Vlingo
ignites differentiation, stickiness, and user satisfaction.
“Households worldwide have access to thousands of TV channels and dozens of service provider
choices.  Vlingo aims to simplify TV chaos by providing a simple, intuitive method for discovering the
right content from among all those choices, making the experience enjoyable for users and avoiding the
frustration of limited, hard to use remote controls,“ said Chris Barnett, EVP Markets at Vlingo.  “The
Vlingo Virtual Assistant for TV is designed to modernize that thing your grandfather once called a
‘remote control’. Everyone deserves their own assistant and Vlingo’s new TV product offering will make
this a reality on TVs this year.”
Vlingo’s Virtual Assistant for Smarter TV will allow users to perform the following tasks with their voice:
 Browse and find: Users can search and discover content by actor, genre or director using
Vlingo’s newly developed dialogue manager which engages users with interactive browsing
 Watch shows: “Watch the Price is Right” or “Find western movies starring Clint Eastwood”
 Record programs: “Record Modern Family tonight at 8pm” or “Record the game on ESPN next
Monday night at 9pm”
 Rent and buy movies: “Rent The Fighter on Netflix” or “Play Rocky Four on‐demand”
 Basic controls: “Switch to on‐demand”, “Put on ESPN”, “Go to Netflix” or “Turn up the volume”
 Social media communication: “Facebook update: Joe is watching Lost on Hulu”
For TV manufacturers, set‐top box makers, and service providers interested in a preview and partnering
with Vlingo, please visit http://vlingo.com/partners.[/spoiler]