Turn your streamer remote into a universal remote

Turn your streamer remote into a universal remote

Kickstarter project Sideclick adds a clip-on TV controller to your Apple TV, Fire TV or Roku remote.

Sideclick adds TV-control buttons to your existing streamer remote.True Bloom LLC

Everyone loves their Apple TVs, their Fire TVs, their Roku boxes. But using one inevitably means juggling two remotes: one for the streamer, one for the TV itself. You'd think that in this highly competitive product category, Apple, Amazon or Roku would offer a programmable clicker.

Maybe they will someday. In the meantime, True Bloom LLC has created the Sideclick, a universal-remote add-on for Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku.

Available in four different versions (one each for the aforementioned products, including Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV stick, which utilize slightly different controllers), the Sideclick clips onto the underbelly of the streamer remote, adding a slim row of buttons along the left side.

These buttons add TV power, volume, channel and source controls:

True Bloom LLC

All six buttons are programmable; the Sideclick can learn from any remote that uses IR (which is pretty much every remote, at least for TVs). And if you don't especially need channel up/down, you could turn one of them into, say, Mute.

First of all: Best. Name. Ever. Sidekick, side-clicker...Sideclick!

Second: This comes straight from the Wish-I'd-Thought-of-That Dept. It's an ingenious idea that solves a very real hassle with using your favorite streaming-media gizmo. And I want one. Now. It's the perfect product for me, because I have two TV setups that rely solely on streamers, and in both cases the TV remote is used only for power and volume. Buh-bye, extra remote!

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait: This Kickstarter project hasn't quite met its funding goal of $150,000 (though I'll be shocked if it doesn't), and even early backers won't get theirs until October.