Every household has the same problem. You spot a great trailer at 1 AM while scrolling Instagram, or a colleague mentions a show over lunch, and by the time you actually sit in front of the TV, the name is gone. You end up scrolling three different apps trying to remember what it was called. Lumio thinks it has fixed this, and after going through the source material and a hands-on demo video, it genuinely looks like one of the more useful software features to land on an Indian smart TV this year.
The feature is called Project Neo, and it is built into Lumio’s TLDR app. Instead of typing on a TV remote, you message a bot on WhatsApp or Instagram, and whatever you asked for shows up on your television within seconds.
What Exactly Is Project Neo
Neo is a content discovery layer, not a new app you need to download separately. It lives inside TLDR, which already ships on every Lumio Vision TV and Lumio Arc projector. The pitch is simple: your phone’s keyboard becomes the remote, and the place where Indians already type, chat, and share content, WhatsApp and Instagram, becomes the interface.
You message Neo in plain English, Hindi, or Hinglish. You can also send a voice note instead of typing. Send a movie name, a mood, a scene description, or literally forward a Reel you saved, and Neo pulls up a browsable wall of posters directly on the TV screen. Tap one, and it plays.
No typing on the TV remote. No hopping between five different streaming apps trying to remember where you saw something.
How It Works: Type It, Say It, Share It
Based on the official examples and the video walkthrough, here is what Neo can actually handle:
| Query Type | Example Message | What Happens on TV |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the plot | “Movie where time flows both forward and backward” | Neo surfaces Tenet, Memento, Primer and similar non-linear films |
| What’s trending | “naya kya aaya hai” | Shows new releases like Drishyam 3, Peddi, Gullak |
| Scene recall | “shah rukh khan movie in which he dances on trains” | Pulls up Dil Se directly |
| Sports highlights | “Fifa World Cup 2026 highlights” | Streams match highlights straight from YouTube |
| Shared Reel | Forwarding an Instagram Reel about a show | Identifies every title mentioned in that Reel and lists it on TV |
Every result opens a details page with rating, runtime, a short synopsis, the trailer, and where to stream it. There is also a save-to-watchlist option, though you will need a Google account linked in TLDR’s settings for that to work.
I Watched the Hands-On, and the Reel Trick Is the Real Party Piece
So on my Google TV running the TLDR app, connected over WhatsApp. I searched for Dhurandhar 2 by typing it into WhatsApp on the phone, and the movie showed up on the TV screen within a few seconds. A request for “some comedy movies” produced a matching list on both the phone and the TV simultaneously.
The more interesting bit came next. I pasted an Instagram Reel clip into the chat without typing anything else, and Neo processed the clip and correctly identified it as being from Rush Hour 3, then pushed it straight to the TV. This is the exact daily-life problem Neo is trying to solve: you see a clip on Instagram, you have no idea what it is, and normally you would need to search manually. Here, sharing the Reel itself did the searching.
Setup Takes About 30 Seconds
Pairing works over WhatsApp first, and Instagram can be linked afterward as an optional second channel.
- Open TLDR on your Lumio TV and go to the chat icon left of Home.
- Scan the QR code shown on screen, or send the 6-character code shown under it to Neo on WhatsApp.
- Neo confirms the pairing, and you can start messaging immediately.
To also use Neo from Instagram, send /link on WhatsApp to get a code, then open Instagram and send /link <code> to redeem it. Codes expire in 5 minutes, so if one times out, just reopen the TV app for a fresh one.
Handy Commands
Most of the interaction is plain conversational chat, but a few slash commands are worth knowing:
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
/pair <code> | Pairs a TV to your WhatsApp using the code on the TV screen |
/link | Generates a code on WhatsApp to also use Neo from Instagram |
/link <code> | Redeems that code on Instagram to complete linking |
/devices | Shows connected TVs and their online status |
/unpair | Disconnects a TV, can be re-paired anytime |
/unlink | Disconnects Instagram from Neo |
/features | Quick summary of what Neo supports |
/help | Full command list |
Which Lumio Devices Get Project Neo
Project Neo is currently in public beta, rolling out via a Play Store update to the TLDR app. It is exclusive to Lumio hardware for now, meaning it works only on Lumio Vision TVs and Lumio Arc projectors. If you already own one of these, the update should reach you without needing a new purchase.
For anyone shopping for a Lumio TV or projector specifically to get this kind of AI-driven content discovery, here is where things stand on pricing and availability:
| Model | Screen Size | Key Highlight | Buy Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumio Vision 9 (2026) QD-MiniLED | 65 inches | 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Atmos, TLDR with Project Neo | Check price on Amazon |
| Lumio Vision 9 (2026) QD-MiniLED | 55 inches | Same panel tech in a smaller footprint | Check price on Amazon |
| Lumio Vision 9 QD-MiniLED | 55 inches | Previous generation, frequently discounted | Check price on Amazon |
| Lumio Vision 7 QLED | 55 inches | Budget-friendly QLED with the same TLDR software | Check price on Amazon |
| Lumio Arc 7 Projector | Up to 100 inches | Portable Google TV projector, also gets Project Neo | Check price on Amazon |
Prices and stock move fast around sale events, so treat the links above as a starting point and check the live price on the product page before buying.
What’s Still Missing
Lumio has confirmed a roadmap for Neo that includes swipe-to-match style discovery, photo search (send a poster or screenshot instead of a Reel), and Telegram support alongside WhatsApp and Instagram. None of that is live yet, so what you get today is WhatsApp and Instagram only, with the occasional processing delay depending on network speed.
Also worth flagging: the save-to-watchlist feature specifically needs a signed-in Google account inside TLDR, so if you skip that step during setup, saving titles simply will not work.
Our Take
Project Neo is a genuinely smart use of the two apps every Indian phone already has open all day. The core idea, that content discovery should happen where people naturally talk about content, rather than through yet another on-screen keyboard, makes a lot of sense. The Reel-recognition trick in particular solves a real and common annoyance.
The catch is platform lock-in. This only works if you own a Lumio Vision TV or Arc projector, so it is not something you can bolt onto an existing Sony or Samsung set. If you are already shopping in that price bracket though, Neo is a legitimate reason to give Lumio a serious look over TVs that only offer a standard voice remote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Project Neo cost extra? No, it is a free software feature built into the TLDR app that ships on Lumio Vision TVs and Arc projectors.
Can I use Project Neo without WhatsApp or Instagram? Not at the moment. WhatsApp is required for initial pairing, and Instagram is an optional add-on. Telegram support is planned but not live yet.
Will Project Neo come to non-Lumio TVs? There is no indication of that so far. It is built specifically into Lumio’s own TLDR software stack.
Does it work in Hindi? Yes. Neo understands casual English, Hindi, and Hinglish, both typed and spoken through voice notes.