The Controls

The ITC is as close to plug-and-play as you can get. The customer specifies the configuration and SE2 does the rest -- activating the drivers and loading in the scenes.

"There's no need for macros," Pyle says. "Everything just works the way it should. We have taken thousands of hours of research and experience to program the system to work the right way. If you have a motorized screen and you choose a video source, then the screen comes down."

A trigger for controlling screens and screen-masking are already incorporated into the box.

A "Room Light" button on the handheld remote can send a trigger to a third-party lighting control system to activate a scene. Pyle says ZigBee light switches are on the way.

Most of the communications to third-party systems happens through triggers, but SE2 does accommodate RS-232 when serial communications is required.

The two questions every one will ask: Do you have to be an AMX dealer? No. Can you incorporate it into your whole-house AMX system? Sort of.

The ITC really is meant to be a one-room home theater system and SE2 wants to keep it simple and reliable. For that reason, the company will not let dealers program the onboard AMX processor. Integrators can control the system, with "limited functionality," through an external RS-232 port using any serial communicating control system.

SE2 just wants to keep it as simple as possible -- so simple that there are only two ways to control the system: through a ZigBee-enabled RF remote and the touchscreen on the face of the ITC.

The remote does not control any components directly. It issues commands to the ZigBee-enabled AMX NetLinx, which gets all of the other pieces to do their thing.

Pyle is very proud of the handheld remote (it's "way cool") so let's give the product its own section.

The Handheld Remote

The remote has no LCD screen, just hard buttons. Every single one of the buttons lights up in the dark, which Pyle says is a unique feature. "I couldn't find one remote [on the market] where all the buttons light up," he says.

Lighting up, unfortunately, consumes precious battery life, but SE2 mitigates the power consumption problem. The remote has both a motion sensor and a light sensor. If the remote is handled, the buttons light up according to the ambient light conditions. If it's bright, the buttons stay dark. If it's pitch black, they light up 100 percent. If it's somewhere in between, the buttons dim and brighten accordingly.

The back lighting on the volume toggle is color-coded so you know where you are on the volume scale. If it's green, the volume is low; red is really loud. There are gradations throughout the volume spectrum. "People sometimes have a setting they like," says Pyle. Sort of like the Sleep Number bed.

Pyle shuns rechargeable batteries, opting for AAs instead. Not to worry, there is a battery indicator on the back of the remote -- just push a button to see how much battery life is left. Pyle says the unit is built to accommodate rechargeable batteries so that may be an option down the line. He says the AAs will last for about six months, "which is longer than an Xbox 360 wireless remote."

Pyle says the remote is "very, very strong" and water resistant.

And don't forget, if you lose it, just press the button on the ITC console and follow the beeps.