Dirigo vs CinaHub
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dirigo
Control your home theater devices, including AV receivers and smart TVs, from your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Manage playback, adjust settings, and create custom activities for a seamless entertainment experience.
- Control Marantz and Denon AV receivers
- Browse and play HEOS streaming sources
- Manage multi-zone receiver controls
- Configure receiver settings
- Remote control for Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV
- Customizable Home Assistant remotes
- Create one-tap room activities
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Dirigo is one remote for your home theater, on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It controls current Marantz and Denon AV receivers directly over Wi-Fi, well beyond what the bundled remote can do, and with Home Assistant it works without one. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Power, volume, every input and every surround mode your receiver supports • Browse and play HEOS streaming sources — Qobuz, TIDAL, Amazon Music, TuneIn, and the rest • Manage the queue, see what is playing, skip tracks, view history • Control each zone on multi-zone receivers • Configure room correction, speaker levels, HDMI output, video settings, and the deep menus your physical remote pretends don't exist • Activate Quick Selects you have programmed on the receiver • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and an Apple Watch app • Siri and Shortcuts ("Toggle mute with Dirigo", "Set volume with Dirigo") ACTIVITIES One tap sets the whole room: turn on the receiver and the TV, pick the input, set the volume and the lights. Every step reports what actually happened, and Activities run from Shortcuts too. TELEVISION REMOTES Pair the television or streaming box in the same room and Dirigo becomes its remote too. Apple TV gets a touchpad — swipe to navigate, tap to select — along with transport buttons and the Apple TV's own Control Centre and app switcher. Android TV, Google TV and NVIDIA Shield get a D-pad, Back and Home, and play, pause and skip. Dirigo tells you which app is on screen. Volume routes back to your receiver, and a now-playing card on your home screen shows what is on — title, artist, artwork, and how far through it is. Drag the progress bar to jump to a moment. Pairing is a one-time setup: Dirigo finds the television on your network and you type in the code it puts on screen. CUSTOM REMOTES (HOME ASSISTANT) Build remotes from the devices on your own Home Assistant server. • Add lights, switches, fans, buttons, scenes, scripts and sensor readings, and arrange them your way • Add a D-pad or a transport row and choose what each button drives • A Now Playing remote for a Home Assistant media player: artwork, progress, play and skip, volume • Show an infrared appliance on the Home screen: its inputs, volume and power, with a full remote for everything else • Put Home Assistant lights and scenes on your receiver's Home screen buttons • No Denon or Marantz receiver? Choose "Connect Home Assistant" when you first open Dirigo DEMO MODE No receiver to test against? Tap "Explore Demo Mode" on the Welcome screen to explore the app with a synthetic receiver, Apple TV and Android TV. PRIVACY Dirigo collects nothing. No analytics, no identifiers, no third-party tracking SDKs, no Dirigo account. All receiver, television and Home Assistant control happens on your local Wi-Fi network; Dirigo refuses Home Assistant Cloud and internet addresses. If you connect Home Assistant, its access token is stored in your iPhone's keychain and sent only to your own Home Assistant server. The only public-internet activity is album art: when you browse a HEOS streaming source, or show a Home Assistant media player whose cover is hosted by a music service, iOS loads the picture from that service's own image address, anonymously. Full policy at bit0100bitsoftware.com/dirigo-privacy. REQUIREMENTS A current-generation Denon or Marantz AV receiver with HEOS (Cinema 50, SR-series, AVR-X-series and similar), or a Home Assistant server. iOS 18 or later. Your receiver or Home Assistant server must be on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone. Apple TV pairing requires tvOS 18 or later. Android TV pairing works with Android TV and Google TV devices that support the built-in remote pairing service, including NVIDIA Shield. Dirigo is an independent third-party app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Sound United, Denon, Marantz, Apple, Google, NVIDIA, or the Open Home Foundation. Home Assistant is a trademark of the Open Home Foundation.
CinaHub
Control your smart home theater devices directly from your phone over your local network. This app offers a pure software solution, eliminating the need for extra hardware hubs. It automatically discovers compatible devices like AV receivers and smart TVs for seamless control.
- Pure software solution, no extra hardware
- Automatic device discovery on LAN
- Real-time status synchronization
- Control AV receivers and smart TVs
- Local network communication only
- No account or cloud servers required
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CinaHub is an independent third-party universal remote app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any device manufacturer. Brand names (Denon, Marantz, Xiaomi, Sony, Samsung, Apple TV, Roku, etc.) are shown only to indicate device compatibility. CinaHub is a pure-software smart home theater control app. No expensive control hub required — your phone connects directly to your devices over the local network to control receivers, TVs, and more from one interface. KEY FEATURES: • Pure software solution — no control hub, zero extra hardware cost • Auto device discovery — scan your LAN and add with one tap (Apple TV supports manual IP entry on iOS) • Real-time status sync — volume, input source, and power state at a glance SUPPORTED DEVICES: • Denon / Marantz AV Receivers — power, volume, mute, input switching, sound modes, remote • Xiaomi / Redmi TVs — power, volume, input switching, remote, app launch • Samsung Smart TVs — power, volume, input switching, remote • Sony Bravia TVs — power, volume, input switching, remote • Apple TV — add by manual IP to pair and control LOCAL NETWORK ONLY: • All communication stays within your Wi-Fi — no cloud servers, no account required • Your data never leaves your home More devices coming soon (e.g. Epson projectors).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CinaHub at none against Dirigo's 1. CinaHub also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Dirigo's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dirigo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CinaHub asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Dirigo against 5.0 for CinaHub. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | Dirigo | CinaHub |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bit 0100 Bit Software LLC | 渊 林 |
In-app purchases
Dirigo
- Dirigo$7.99
CinaHub
No in-app purchases








