This Remote Caregiving Gadget Lets You Check on Loved Ones From Afar

With an aging population keen to stay in their own homes, elder care is a growing issue in the United States. Whether folks are contending with chronic illness, dementia, or simply finding it harder to get to the store, we will likely all need some help toward the ends of our lives. Even elders with paid carers still need support from their families, and those who can’t afford care, doubly so.

But you might have children to care for, a partner to support, and a demanding career. If you don’t live near your parents, it’s not always possible to drop in, and even if you do, busy lives can get in the way. You will worry about whether they are taking their medication, eating properly, and avoiding the rising tide of predatory scams. If you can’t reach them on the phone, the fear that they may have fallen and could be unable to get up is excruciating.

JubileeTV is part of a new wave of products and services that seek to give you some insight into how your elderly relatives are doing and empower you to help from your own home. It’s a package that includes a box designed to sit on top of a TV to enable video calls, family photos and video sharing, and reminders for medications, appointments, and other important events. For folks who need it, JubileeTV can track activity and presence, and enable you to control the TV from anywhere on your phone.

I’ve been testing the JubileeTV for the last few weeks. It feels a little cobbled together, requires an expensive subscription, and raises privacy concerns. But it makes staying in touch easy, boasts some thoughtful features, and could simplify life for many families by lessening the burden of elder care.

Senior Setup

Installing JubileeTV is a challenge, and you will want to do it for your elder (there is an option to book in-person installation for $99 or video call assistance for free). Everything is color-coded, and the instructions are pretty good, but set aside at least half an hour. A TV with an HDMI port and a Wi-Fi network are required.

JubileeTV looks like a chunky set-top box and is designed to work with your relative’s existing TV and services. To be clear, it doesn’t provide any content, so you still need a Netflix subscription or cable service. For all of the features to work, you must plug the TV and a cable, set-top box, or streaming player into the JubileeTV box (you can connect up to three devices via HDMI). I tested with a Roku, but check the Jubilee website for the list of supported devices before you buy. There’s also a special split power cable and smart plug, so you can connect the TV and box to the same outlet and remote control them.

It’s a rat’s nest of cables, but once you have it all plugged in and working, you shouldn’t need to touch it again. For me, the trickiest part was balancing this huge box on top of a very thin TV (it will be more at home on chunky old sets). But it doesn’t work with smart TV apps, so you must plug the device providing the video into the box to get the full range of features.

JubileeTV also has a camera and microphone for video calls. There is a sliding privacy shutter on the camera and a switch to mute the microphone, but both are a bit fiddly, and they will turn off some of its ability to track your loved one (more on that in a moment).

The other component is the Jubilee remote control. There are a couple of IR blasters you can place to ensure it is responsive from anywhere in the room. Hit the Jubilee button at the top right and you get a simple large text menu with options to load your streaming device or cable service, a favorites section that you can save stuff in, contacts for video calls, photos and videos that the family or carer has shared, and weather.

Fabulous Features

The easy video call system is one of the best features of JubileeTV. You can call your elder’s TV from your phone, and the incoming call pops up on the screen. There are accept (green tick) and reject (red cross) call buttons right there on the remote control. You also have the option to force a call through if they don’t pick up (it auto-accepts). When a call ends, the TV returns to what they were watching.

The ability to post family photos and videos is a nice touch, and the favorites section enables you to set up easy access to content they love. JubileeTV also has a versatile reminder system, so you can set medication and appointment reminders that will pop up on the TV screen. You can even set reminders for yourself to check in with your elder that will pop up on your phone.

Anyone who has tried to guide a senior through menus and button clicks over the phone will appreciate the option to control their TV remotely. You don’t have to explain how to do it. You can simply put their favorite show on from your phone. You can see what they are seeing, navigate around, start content, turn up the volume, and get them back on track. Jubilee just added the option to pinch to zoom, which is handy when you’re squinting to see the program guide on your phone screen.

You can also use JubileeTV to keep a watchful eye on your loved one without directly bothering them, so you know when they enter the room in the morning and can see that they’ve been using the remote throughout the day. There’s a TV room activity feed in the Jubilee app that flags presence in the room, logs when the TV is turned on or off, what buttons were pressed on the remote, video calls that were made, and other activities. It can even show you a snapshot when someone is detected in front of the camera.

This may be too much for some folks and raises some privacy concerns, but for families trying to look out for a very vulnerable relative, it could be the answer. You can also configure how most of this works and leave certain features, such as the camera and microphone surveillance, turned off if you prefer.

Weighing the Costs

All of this inevitably comes at a cost, both in terms of privacy and independence, but also in cold hard cash.

Navigating elder care can be exhausting. The unpalatable truth is that many people do not accept that they need help until something bad happens. But even folks who need help may struggle with a surveillance system in their living room. It’s important to understand the privacy risks and have a frank and open discussion about whether a system like this is right for your family.

JubileeTV is HIPAA compliant. Video calls use end-to-end encryption and are not stored, access to Jubilee is invite-only with a one-time password (OTP)-based authentication system, and you can set different levels of access and control for users in the app. That said, information about devices, browser type, IP address, and TV usage patterns is collected, and anonymized aggregate information may be shared with third parties “to improve the JubileeTV experience.”

Camera surveillance and the option to force through video calls will be a step too far for some, but Jubilee has handled it sensitively. By default, the auto calls give the person a few seconds to answer and start with the camera off, though you can turn it on in the app if you’re worried they may be unable to respond. For folks who are a long drive or even a flight away, that could be a valuable, even potentially life-saving feature.

There are a couple of limitations to be aware of. JubileeTV requires working Wi-Fi, so if there’s a problem with your loved one’s router or Wi-Fi network, it’s not going to work. I found it worked fine with Wi-Fi, but if you can, it’s probably best to hook the JubileeTV box up to the router using an Ethernet cable. You also need existing TV services to come through a separate device, and if there’s an issue with that device, JubileeTV likely won’t be able to solve it.

The system could use some refinement. The app interface is clunky, the box is too chunky, and there are too many cables. I also ran into a couple of issues. Several times the TV turned on by itself, and I couldn’t work out why. It also refused to connect to Wi-Fi when I changed my router (even though the network and password were the same), though customer support resolved my issue quickly.

Finally, we come to the financial cost. You must pay $199 for the JubileeTV box, remote control, and cables. But it doesn’t work without a subscription at $29 a month or $269 a year (you get a one-month free trial). There is also an option for a one-off payment of $699 for the hardware and lifetime service (just be aware that this relies on Jubilee staying in business).

The hardware cost is reasonable, but the subscription seems a little pricey since you are still paying for your internet and TV services on top. That said, the customer support is excellent, and it’s easy to get a person on the phone should you need to. Jubilee is also continually improving the system and adding new features. (It added pinch-to-zoom during my test period.)

There are alternatives. The Grandpad (8/10, WIRED Review) is a tablet for seniors that enables video calls and some of the same features. It is even more expensive at $65 a month, but that includes cell service, so it continues to work even if there’s no Wi-Fi. It’s also portable, though there is no TV control or surveillance.

You could also cobble some of this stuff together yourself, with security cameras, special mobile apps, and universal remotes designed for elders, but it’s tough to argue with the value JubileeTV provides as a one-stop solution. It could be a huge time saver for folks who have to make regular visits to sort out simple TV issues or check that someone has taken their medication. It may even enable some older folks to stay in their own homes for longer. Ultimately, JubileeTV is about peace of mind, and that will be invaluable for some families.