Automation controller company BitWise Controls came to CEDIA to celebrate the company’s fourth birthday and announce the upcoming availability of the BitWise Access Anywhere subscription service. BitWise’s AccessAnywhere will enable homeowners to access and control their BitWise home automation system from anywhere the homeowner has internet access, anywhere in the world, via a smartphone or tablet.
Sonos announced today at CEDIA 2013 that an upcoming software update will enable the Sonos Connect:Amp to power third-party rear surround speakers in combination with the company’s Playbar and Sub to deliver a 5.1 surround sound experience. The software update will make it easier to integrate the Playbar into existing home theater systems, according to the company. The Play3 is currently the only Sonos speaker that can function in a rear surround role with the Playbar.
Vantage demonstrated its Equinox family of home-automation control products in a posh 5,000-square-foot penthouse apartment at the Four Seasons hotel with spectacular views of downtown Denver. The homeowners are avid art collectors who use the residence as a second home when they’re in town and chose Vantage because they wanted an unobtrusive and easy-to-use control system for entertainment (music and TV), climate control, security, cameras, and—most important—lighting to accentuate dozens of prized paintings. Motorized shades and a TV lift are also covered under the Vantage control umbrella.
Many people have turned to the iPad as the controller of choice for their home's automation system. Using systems from the likes of Control4, Crestron, Savant, or URC, you can turn even the humblest iPad into a powerful automation controller capable of adjusting lights, HVAC, alarm, TV and about anything else you can think of. But where to you put the iPad when you're not using it? Do you just plop it on a sofa cushion or leave it on a counter somewhere until the next time you need it, and then hope the battery isn't dead?
They could have started out the press conference that way, and it would have been so cool if they had. Of course, then they would have had to have thrown someone from a competing lighting/shading company down a huge hole; and that probably would not have been acceptable behavior at a CEDIA press conference.
But, in essence, Lutron did throw the gauntlet – and a very fancy gauntlet, at that – down as far as other shading and control companies go...
Nestled among the few dozen companies exhibiting at CEDIA 2013’s Media Preview was Soundwall, a Boulder, CO-based startup specializing in speakers that masquerade as art (or is it the other around?). The artwork of your choice is printed on a foam-core board mounted in a 2.5-inch-deep frame that hangs on the wall. Left- and right-channel exciters attached to the back of the board (and powered by a small amplifier), vibrate the “canvas,” turning it into a speaker.
No, they’re not stylized Daleks from Dr. Who or PVC termite mounds. The objects pictured above are actually a couple of pretty impressive all-weather speakers from NEAR. There are a couple of things that are newsworthy about these speakers, not the least of which is that they are the first environmental speakers designed by NEAR specifically for the consumer/custom installation market in about a decade and a half. In fact, it’s been exactly 14 years since NEAR last had a booth or display at a CEDIA EXPO.
Bad pun. The Kordz Neo-S3 has nothing to do with cancelling your TV cable service for wirelessly streaming your programs from the Internet. Rather, it involves 4K and ultra long HDMI cables, as might be found in many custom installations. It consists of a pair of powered HDMI dongles ($349) to which you attach your existing HDMI link, one at each end. It’s said to allow for an HDMI run of up to 30 meters, even in 4K. Kordz also offers HDMI cables, though the HDMI cable is not included with the Neo-S, just the dongles. Available in October.