09.04.2008 — On-Q/Legrand, known primarily for its structured wiring systems, is coming out with a sweet new whole-house music/communications system called Unity.

The system combines whole-house music, intercom and CCTV functionality into an elegant touchscreen interface, with an option for TV-based access.

Hard to believe that such an elegant product is coming from a purveyor of cable and metal cans, but it's true.

When On-Q was acquired by Legrand in 2005, it picked up a cousin in BTicino, another Legrand property. Based in Italy, BTicino produces lighting controls, intercoms, and other communication systems – all with classic European styling.

"You'll finally see style showing up in our products," said Steve Schoffstall, On-Q VP of marketing last year at the Electronic House Expo, where the company debuted its new selective call intercom system.

Earlier this year, On-Q combined its stylish new designs into an umbrella brand called The Studio Collection. The Unity Home System is the latest addition to that line.

Unity Architecture Combines Communications, Surveillance, Music

Unity comprises two key components -- the Integration Module (hub) and LCD Console.

Like other products in the Studio Collection, the LCD is slick – with a nice display, plenty of hard buttons, and built-in mic and speakers for intercom functionality.

The displays connect to the Integration Module, which consolidates audio, communications and CCTV functionality.

The Integration Module can stand alone as an intercom and CCTV hub, or connect to On-Q's individual subsystems for greater capacity and functionality.

For example, on its own, the Integration Module supports two surveillance cameras; however, if you connect it to On-Q's 4x4 switcher and the new LCD module, you can distribute four cameras to four zones.

For multiroom audio the Unity System integrates seamlessly with On-Q's Lyriq system. While the first generation of Unity consoles will not include built-in amps; future versions will.

Via an on-board Ethernet port, the Unity System can stream PC-based music to each zone of the house. Cover art and other metadata are delivered to the user interfaces for easy access. No additional hardware is required.

The Integration Module taps music from any shared folder on the home network, creating a catalog that can be accessed through the touchscreens and played through the Lyriq music system.

New TV Interface

On-Q now has a TV display module so users can access the music library and surveillance cameras via any TV in the home.

Some communications capabilities also are available through the TVs. For example, users can access voice messages left through the intercom system.

Unity is scheduled to ship in mid-2009.


Users can acces music, cameras and voice messages via the TV screen.

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