Web content on TV screens is an idea whose time has come – the logical step beyond DVRs. Silicon Valley start-up Snapstick has taken a novel approach to bridging that gap, combining a set-top box with a downloadable app that turns your cell phone into a remote. Where Snapstick really distinguishes itself, says co-founder and CEO Rakesh Mathur, is its ability to pull in any and all offerings on the web. It’s also very resource-efficient, in that it doesn’t “stream” content from the control device, but taps into the existing home Wi-Fi network to send URL info to the set box, freeing the phone or computer for other tasks.

In addition to cell phones, tablets and laptops can also work as controller devices, with a clickable button replacing the gestural “snap” of the phone to TV, and Snapstick works remotely, over the Internet, to control sets that are thousands of miles away (although each set – whether in the same home, or remote location – requires its own box).

Mathur said the Redwood City-based firm, which came out of Beta in December, has developed platform specific advertising opportunities that he and partners Ash Bhardwaj and Balaji Krishnan expect to be “a rising tide that lifts all boats,” in the modest world of online CPMs, nudging them toward the TV range. Snapstick technology allows for the insertion of video ads on the screen, and text messages to the control device.

D-Link will be the first manufacturer of its boxes, with Q2 shipments expected and additional hardware deals forthcoming. The one-time box cost hasn’t been determined, but will be competitive with other products in the space, at $100-200 per unit.

Snapstick has a two-minute online demo.