Now you can use your iPad to control your lighting, temperature, music, video, security, web cameras and more! In a Control4-enabled smart home, Control4 My Home allows you to easily control your electronics and systems over a home Wi-Fi network. Control4 My Home uniquely identifies and authenticates the Control4 system to your iPad to provide secure control.
Introducing the 4Store™ Application Marketplace
4Store™ apps give you fun and useful features, and can enhance the functionality of both Control4 and third-party devices and systems in the home. Set up a 4Store account online, and then purchase and download 4Store applications. Check the daily weather report, review top news stories, change codes on your KwikSet® locks, and play games from any Control4® Touch Screen. 4Store™ is the first application marketplace to extend beyond mobile devices and into the digital home. Take your existing apps (weather, news, RSS feeds, social media, games, etc.) and expand your reach.
Elegant Flash-Based Navigator Interface
It’s easy to customize your home page, wallpaper themes and screen savers. Control4 has included a few choices with OS 2.0. Add favorites, use programmable buttons to set lighting or music scenes, create playlists and more!
Faster Access to Your Favorite Content
Control4 has added a feature that allows you to easily mark your favorite pages for faster access to view and use content that you love. An authorized Control4 Installer can program page flips to direct the display on the Navigator to a specific page with one touch.With 2.0 performance improvements you can access your media faster and schedule your media scanning to occur when it’s most convenient for you.
Available in Seven Languages
Control4® OS 2.0 ships with support for seven languages: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Ukranian. Check your system often to see if new languages have been added.
Support for Exciting New Hardware
Control4® OS 2.0 is based on industry standard ZigBee® Pro technology. This means that you can easily integrate new devices into your system.
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http://www.cepro.com/best/details/hydra_waterproof_television/
In 1922, Henry Ford said, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” The automotive industry broke out of the black box. Now, led by SÉURA, so are televisions.
Designed for use in bathrooms, kitchens, and other indoor wet environments, the 19” LCD Hydra waterproof television brings technology to new spaces. Features include HDMI, Component, Composite, VGA, and PC inputs, as well as RS-232 control, discrete IR, a built-in amp, and a waterproof remote control. With unprecedented color options, flush installation, and waterproof design, SÉURA’s Hydra is making a splash.
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http://www.cepro.com/best/details/hydra_waterproof_television/
Remote Technologies Inc. (RTI) is now shipping its vIRsa Mouse IR emitter. Built with the professional integrator in mind, the device features a symmetrical design offers a flexible film adhesive that conforms to curved surfaces.
For fast troubleshooting, a separate holder remains attached, allowing easy removal and replacement of the emitter. A blue LED flasher offers increased visibility but may be hidden during normal operation.
For high reliability, a translucent PCB improves the integrity of electrical connections while a built-in resistor protects against voltage overdrive and precision molding ensures consistent quality. The device’s 15-foot cable reaches the entire equipment rack, and an integrated cable-management strap reduces clutter.
“Our vIRsa Mouse is the ultimate IR emitter. Engineered like no other, it combines flexibility, convenience, efficiency, and unmatched reliability for integrators, all in one device,” said Pete Baker, vice president of sales and marketing for RTI. “From its flexible film adhesive to its built-in resistor, every aspect of the vIRsa is designed to simplify installations in the field.”
By RS Staff, July 20, 2010
July 02, 2010 | by Steve Crowe
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/9_incredible_home_theater_transformations/
Home theater rooms aren’t always part of a new construction project. More often than not, you’ll wind up taking your existing basement, bonus room or attic space and working on a conversion. Of course, the result is worth it for that big-screen and super surround-sound system renovation.
Here are some of our favorite before-and-after rooms.
Garage Becomes Theater:
Turning this three-car garage into a 850-square-foot home theater involved leveling out the concrete floor, adding insulation to the walls and replacing the garage door with Anderson sliders. New electrical wiring, outlets and lighting were also added, and soundproof walls were built around an existing central vacuum receptacle to hide the beast and prevent noise from interfering with the movie presentation.
You could never tell this theater was once a three-car garage. It features a 119-inch Screen Innovations screen, seven Boston Acoustics speakers and four Boston Acoustics subwoofers. A portable Control4 touchpanel gives the owners the freedom to control their A/V equipment — including a Sony 1080p video projector and Denon 7.4 surround-sound system - from anywhere in the room.
Ping-Pong Basement:
The entertainment in this basement once included playing table tennis and listening to tunes out of big ol’ cabinet loudspeakers. This room required some wall removal and wall construction to be reborn as a theater and entertainment space.
Big-screen viewing in the space now consists of an 8.75-foot-wide Stewart Filmscreen CinemaScope 2.35:1 screen, with images fed by a Runco RS900 projector. A panel hides the front channels and subwoofer in the Triad surround system, while rear and side speakers are concealed by acoustical fabric. Toward the rear of the room, the theater’s left side was existing, but a rear wall and right wall were constructed. A door in the rear provides access to the back of the equipment rack. An RTI T4 universal controller commands all the fancy new A/V.
DIY Theater:
Before Ruben Ortiz transformed his 2-car garage into a home theater, the 15-by-20-foot room housed a lot of old junk. Ruben needed a way to keep the sound from escaping into the neighborhood or into his house. The solution was to create a “room within a room,” using double-layered Sheetrock, staggered studs and insulation. Adding those extra layers led to one of the most challenging parts of the entire project: installing in the ceiling. At first, Ruben wanted 8-foot ceilings, so he made the walls eight feet tall and ran the ceiling joists.
About 110 sheets of drywall, some Green Glue, and a DIY screen later, Ruben Ortiz has one of the best garage theaters (DIY or otherwise) we’ve ever seen. One of Ruben Ortiz’s most challenging parts of his project was installing the ceiling. Once the size was right, he added a homemade starfield.
Indoor Pool Becomes Theater:
The owners of this Wisconsin home converted their indoor swimming pool into an all-season home theater. Many of the pool’s existing elements, like the sloped bottom, the ladder and the steps, were retained to give the home theater a unique look and feel.
Wiring for the audio and video components was pulled through the pool’s existing plumbing systems, and the slope of the pool floor was maintained to create a stadium-style seating arrangement. A 106-inch Draper screen is suspended from the room’s rafters using aircraft cabling. Video is handled by a Marantz projector mounted to the ceiling, and A/V components are stowed inside an equipment rack at the back of the room.
Flooded Basement:
The basement was flooded due to heavy rain and a faulty sump pump. The original goal was to repair the damage in the basement, but they discovered the family’s love of the theater. They gutted the entire room, finishing the transformation in one month.
You could never tell that this theater was once a flooded basement. All the equipment is run by a Control4 system, controlling the lighting and the alert for the doorbell; the lights at the front of the theater flash when the doorbell is rung.
Retro Basement:
The owners of this 22-by-18-foot space had no intention of updating their 1970s-style basement rec room. They were going to leave it as is, and focus their remodeling efforts on main living areas of the house. But their remodeling plan turned into adding a basement, win cellar, a bar, and billiards area. And because playing video games calls for a completely different room environment than movie watching, they created a special gaming button. The command activates the Nintendo Wii console, lowers the temperature, leaves most of the lights on and pulls motorized masking material across portions of the screen to change it from a CinemaScope size (2.35:1) to a 16:9 size.
The 22-by-18-foot theater features a 122-inch Stewart Filmscreen CinemaScope screen, Planar video projector, Marantz receiver and a Control4 system to control the lights and thermostats and to spread audio and video to speakers and TVs throughout the house. The control system includes a “gaming” button that turns on the Nintendo Wii, lower the temperature and pulls motorized masking material to change the screen from 2.35:1 to 16:9…
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/9_incredible_home_theater_transformations/
Five examples of when the pros should have been called in.
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/5_bad_diy_theaters/DIY
June 24, 2010 | by EH Staff
You have to love the do-it-yourself community. They certainly are a passionate bunch.
We have seen some phenomenal examples of what the DIYer can do. And we’ve seen some, well, not so great examples.
While we hate to pooh-pooh someone’s passion project, there is a reason that people call in the pros. Screen sizes, wire management, angles, adjustments and even decor; it’s a lot to think about. That’s why so many choose to pay someone to do it. They want to get the job done right - the first time.
Of course, some people love to tweak until the room or system is perfect. Here are five examples of DIYers that didn’t think that was really necessary.
Floor Is Not a Rack
This looks like a fun little setup. That mess on the floor? Not so much. There are wires just about everywhere, including going up the corner wall and out to the middle of the ceiling. Aside from a cleaner installation, it would have been nice if the speakers weren’t so squished into this small space. We know people need to make do. This one just could have used a little help on how to make the best of that space. Also, is that an OPPO DVD player laying right on the floor? Was a cardboard box not available?
Source: AVS Forum
A Hoarder’s Home Theater
Remember the old saying that too much is never enough? That does not apply to home theater. This homeowner had a few too many tchotchkes to work into his space. The end result found his speakers cutting off the screen - his 4:3 screen. Perhaps a pro would have told him to take some of those trinkets to another room, or at least organize the clutter slightly better.
A Little Help?
The owner of this gorgeous room wanted to funk things up by adding a home theater. However, there were many problems with that scenario. For one, he wanted to put the plasma above the fireplace, which is super high up. Then there were some other little issues, like where to put the center channel and how the end result might echo in that giant open space. Apparently, time was not an issue. At last look, the homeowner was looking for second opinions on how and where to make this happen in the home.
Source: AVS Forum
A Web of Wires
Even Spider-Man couldn’t get his way out of this web. Maybe that’s because he would be stuffed inside a crowded cabinet. This area looks like a spot where old components go to die. It sounds like a nice setup. It just looks like a fire waiting to happen. Also, is that duct tape on the DirecTV receiver? No wonder it’s behind closed doors.
Source: Flickr…
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/5_bad_diy_theaters/DIY
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/86_of_2013_plasmas_will_be_3d/3D_TV/P14/
June 30, 2010 | by Rachel Cericola
Come 2013, it seems that 86 percent of plasma TVs will also be 3D TVs. At least that’s what market research firm Displaybank forecasts.
It may sound an awful lot like one of Conan O’Brien’s “Year 3000” skits. Instead, it’s part of Displaybank’s recently published report, “3D TV Industry Trend and Market Forecast.”
Basically the report says that in a few years most plasmas will have that 3D function. Whether users want it as a standard feature is probably for another report…
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/86_of_2013_plasmas_will_be_3d/3D_TV/P14/
by Martin LaMonica March 21, 2010
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20000731-54.html
In an effort to sell its home energy systems, Control4 is taking a page out of the iPhone playbook by designing a sleek device with a dedicated app store.
The home automation company on Monday is announcing at the DistribuTech utility conference that it has developed a Flash-based software developers kit for its EMS 100 home energy management display and the Advantage software that runs on it. The hope is that utilities or energy retailers in deregulated markets, notably Texas, will create customized applications to help consumers cut electricity bills.
The EMS 100 is a small touch-screen display that provides details on electricity use and gives consumers a way to program Zibee-enabled devices, such as a thermostat, lights, or an appliance connected to a wireless plug. It’s one of several home energy managements displays being developed, some of which will be rolled out through utilities.
With the Control4 system, people can participate in utility-run demand response programs to lower electricity during peak times. For example, a person could choose to let an electric hot water heater adjust the temperature setting during “peak events,” such as a hot day when the air conditioning load is high and the grid is generating capacity. In return for turning down the hot water heater, the consumer can get a rebate or reduced tariff….
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20000731-54.html
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/directv_flips_switch_on_new_3d_channels/
July 01, 2010 | by Arlen Schweiger
Where’s all the 3D content, you ask? Check us out today, answers DirecTV.
No, there aren’t a whole lot of scheduling details, but today, July 1, DirecTV has begun offering 3D content on its DirecTV Cinema channel, DirecTV On Demand channel and, in conjunction with Panasonic, a new “n3D powered by Panasonic” channel.
Flip over to channels 104, 105 and 103, respectively, to give them a look-see. The n3D channel, before we knew its name, has been anticipated since back at CES when Panasonic announced it, and, of course, DirecTV is touting Panasonic’s sweet new VT25 series as the ideal set to watch the new channels on.
The n in n3D can stand for “Network” or “In” according to Panasonic CTO Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, who discussed 3D, Panasonic TVs and the launch of the new channel during a national webcast on June 30. He said Panasonic worked with DirecTV because of its variety of programming, its national footprint and its On Demand channel’s prowess. He also noted that based on his talks with other broadcasters, this is clearly just the beginning—on the heels of ESPN’s 3D launch and before Discovery Channel’s 3D endeavor with IMAX….
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http://www.electronichouse.com/article/directv_flips_switch_on_new_3d_channels/