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Control4 announces 7-inch POE wall-mounted touch panel

by Darren Murph posted Jun 29th 2008 at 5:44AM


If Control4's Mini Touch screen just seemed too diminutive for your fat fingers, yet the 10.5-inch edition just engulfed your wall, why not check out the happy medium? The 7-inch POE Wall Mount Touch Screen arrives right between the other two in size, yet offers up the same home controlling abilities for tweaking your lighting, temperature, volume, etc. You'll also find a built-in screen saver application that you can customize with your own photos, and if that there just pushed you over the edge, you can snag the hard-wired version next month for $1,195. Looking for WiFi? You'll have to wait until "later this year."

LG, Control4 team up on HDTV automation system for hotels

by Darren Murph posted Jun 18th 2008 at 8:29AM


The news is flowing hot and heavy from the hospitality sector today, as just moments after LG announced a slew of new LodgeNet-enabled flat-panels, along comes word that the aforementioned outfit and Control4 are teaming up to develop a swank new automation system for the lodging industry. More specifically, the two will co-develop an "integrated automation system for HDTV sets that will allow hotel guests to control lighting, room temperature, draperies and entertainment systems through the television with a single remote control." Better still, the eventual solution will be integrated into LG's hotel TVs, eliminating the need for yet another set-top-box in the room. Regrettably, there's nary a mention of when this (amazing sounding) system will be available (nor where it will be available), but we can definitely see this swaying the avid traveler when it comes time to book the next business trip.

Electronic House picks Home of the Year 2008 winners, we drool

by Darren Murph posted May 1st 2008 at 11:14AM


Here it is: the hotly anticipated list of best homes as selected by Electronic House. Interestingly enough, this year's winners are quite different than the champs of 2007, and we suspect all that talk of green these days has something to do with it. Yep, for the first time ever, an "energy-efficient, sustainable" home snagged the highly-coveted gold, but make no mistake, this domicile is packed to the gills with electronic goodness (some of which actually helps keep energy waste down). Even if that doesn't pique your interest, EH has selected a plethora of other swank abodes to highlight, including the best home theater, a pimped out yacht and cribs with hidden treasures. Go on, get lost in the pages upon pages of snapshots and descriptions below -- and feel free to brag in comments if your pad wound up a winner.

VUDU teams up with home automotion / control partners

by Darren Murph posted Mar 13th 2008 at 9:16AM Breaking News


Nary a fortnight after the VUDU XL started shipping and the company's v1.3 software was outed, VUDU has decided to push its product -- namely the extra capacious model -- into homes via a number of home automation and residential control leaders. More specifically, VUDU has inked agreements with Control4, Crestron, Logitech, NetStreams, Philips, Universal Electronics and Universal Remote Control, and according to VUDU, the whole lot is looking to "integrated their key products with its HD-capable product line." As of now, channel IR codes for the VUDU and VUDU XL are available in programming tools and databases for Logitech Harmony, Advanced Universal Remotes, Prestigo and Pronto lines of controllers, but future plans for the partnerships weren't exactly spelled out in detail. Click on for the full release.

Continue reading VUDU teams up with home automotion / control partners

THX developing automated audio-video adjustment tech

by Erik Hanson posted Jul 20th 2007 at 2:41PM

THX logoLittle known fact: THX was founded by Star Wars director George Lucas in 1983 to help theater owners adjust their auditoriums for maximum impact -- and in doing so became an iconic brand for AV technology, even if no one really knew what THX is or does. Well, the company is now using that expertise to take on a new home theater challenge: automatically balancing audio and video levels. While THX-certified receivers, screens, and speakers are nothing new, what THX has under development could help ensure even the least technology-savvy users get the most from their gear. While details are slim at this point, think about how HDMI connectors can send technical details between source units and televisions to set optimal resolutions or audio formats. The project, code-named Blackbird, will supposedly work with the equipment directly on a movie-by-movie basis to adjust levels and tweak all those many options and levels you set and forget. Now, if we can just get this tech to do something about people connecting their high-def sets up correctly in the first place.

Control4's Home Controller HC-300 outputs GUI in HD

by Darren Murph posted Jun 12th 2007 at 12:58PM

For those looking to make the leap to home automation whilst making sure that elegance is taken into account, Control4 is hoping its newfangled Home Controller HC-300 will fit the bill. The relatively low-cost IP-based home controller offers up a multitude of serial, infrared, and video sensing ports, plays nice with standards-based communication technology including Ethernet, WiFi, and ZigBee mesh networking, and can dictate multi-room music, smart lighting, advanced temperature control, and security without breaking a sweat. Most notably, however, is its ability to output the graphical user interface in sparkling 720p, meaning that you will no longer be ashamed of flashing your home controller's GUI on the big screen. Additionally, Control4 revamped the device by adding an anodized black aluminum chassis and a glossy black faceplate, and it plans on shipping these things out sometime in July for a respectable $699.

[Via CEPro]




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