LATEST ADDITIONS

During its press conference today, Control4 announced the immediate availability of Bakpak 4.0 cloud-based network management system. Bakpak enables real-time monitoring of network devices, and allows rapid response to connectivity issues, including proactive device management, allowing dealers to hopefully address and correct an issue before a user even becomes aware of it.

Bakpak had previously been available through Pakedge, a networking company acquired by Control4 last year. The product was offered on a subscription basis, but today Control announced that Bakpak 4.0 is now available completely license and subscription free. Annual subscription fees for items previously considered as “premium”, such as ISP monitoring and speed testing, have also been eliminated and are included as standard.

Control4 Updates to OS2.9 Automation company, Control4, announced an update to its operating system today, moving from 2.8.2 to version 2.9. As with previous OS updates, this not only squashed bugs in the system but also introduced a slew of new features.

Control4 announced that it features integration support for nearly 10,000 devices, and OS 2.9 will enhance that experience with a new feature called “Connects with Control4.” Control4 is heavily invested in helping dealers deliver customized smart home experiences for its customers, and one of the ways they do this is by Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP) that identifies a product and loads the correct driver. Currently 185 companies are shipping over 1,500 devices enabled with Control’s and the new program will feature QR codes on products that can be quickly scanned in to automatically identify and add the correct integration driver. This now includes products from Amazon, Lutron, Nest, Somfy, and Sonos.

As has become standard practice, architectural speaker company, Origin Acoustics, announced a slew of new products and initiatives at this afternoon’s press conference, including a preview of products that will be part of an exclusive, co-branded line of architectural speakers with Bang & Olufsen. Rather than attempt to make architectural speakers invisible, the new Origin Acoustics/B&O speakers will incorporate extremely attractive, specially designed grilles that match the typical aesthetics found in traditional B&O products.

Predicting the future is a risky business, but in his role as senior director of emerging technologies for the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Industry Association (CEDIA), Dave Pedigo is paid to keep a watchful eye on what’s coming down the pike and ferret out the products and trends most likely to impact the tech landscape in 5, 10, 15 years. We recently sat down with Pedigo to find out where he sees technology heading over the next five years.