Savant Unveils Products Galore, Presents Awards at Dealer Conference

At its recent Dealer Conference in Hyannis, Mass., Savant Systems hosted more than 200 dealers and unveiled a slew of new products and present its first-ever Rosie Red Carpet Awards.

The company, which just celebrated its fourth anniversary, certainly appears to be garnering momentum for its Apple-based controls, which include embedded control for both iTunes and AppleTV.

Savant now boasts 230 CE pros as resellers and installers, up from 100 last year, according to president Jim Carroll. That dealer base also includes 19 members of the CE Pro 100.

The company also has 16 reps in place nationwide, compared to just two last year.

Most importantly, Carroll says that in Q1 2009, Savant had higher revenues than for all of 2008. And in Q2 this year, the revenues are higher than Q1.

New Rosie Products and Packages Highlight Event

The three-day event on Cape Cod is designed to debut new products and packages built around its award-winning Rosie controls, capture new ideas from the dealer base, hand out awards, and tantalize dealers with cutting-edge information from Apple executives in attendance.

"It's a big investment and a big undertaking, but we are dedicated to change this industry," says Bob Madonna, CEO.

"This event is important for us because it's our chance to listen to everyone in the room about potential new products and get feedback on the direction of the company," he says.

He pointed out that the Osterville, Mass.-based Savant, which has 87 employees, is focusing on six distinct channels for its products: residential, hotel/MDU, transportation/marine, pro A/V, OEM and commercial.

The highlight product debut is the new "Virtual control" interface that uses swipe technology just like an iPhone. The touchpanel skin is an actual photo of the home itself. Users simply press directly on the light, shade, TV, etc. to turn on, off, dim, etc.

Other debuts at the conference as part of the company's 3.9 release are:

• New family of Rosie Media Docks compatible with iPhone and family of iPod media players including the iPod touch. Docks can distribute audio, video and control including all metadata to any zone or Savant user interface. Dock requires two Cat 5 cables for audio use, three for audio and video use.
• New iPhone / iPod application that is iPhone 3.0-ready and delivers "Rosie On The Road," a remote access control included with the ROSIE Home Automation Application available on the Apple App Store. It provides full access to all features and services within a home or anywhere through a W-Fi or 3G data connection. The application auto-discovers services in the home with Bonjour, an Apple technology that facilitates zero-configuration networking. It sends full meta-data back to iPhone. This application includes a new vertical theme. In addition, Savant's OSD interface is included allowing it to function as a remote to Savant's OSD.
• New System 12 called MCS-1200, which provides full functionality of System 12 without touchpanel interface. The system is recommended to be paired with a second unit as part of a new redundancy high-reliability scheme announced by the company.
• RSC-0007 ROSIE system controller for small installations or cost effective upgrades. Provides 6 IR and 1 Serial port.
• Savant will soon have a Hulu application ready for dealers.
• New virtual keyboard functionality will allow users to search by the full name of an artist or song instead of just by the first letter.
• Third-party remotes can now be incorporated into Savant. The company had both URC and RTI remotes programmed into its "Demo Alley" area that included five separate vignettes.
• New applications for energy management were also on display, with a Rosie controlling a weather station from RainWise and using an electrical monitoring system from Powerhouse Dynamics. Those systems allow for dealers to create simple widgets on the touchpanels for homeowners to see weather conditions and electrical usage.
• A new product configurator tool is due out by September. This will allow dealers to more simply determine the Savant equipment they need for a job. The information can then be exported into D-Tools or SRS for proposals.
• Other debuts at the event include an intercom (working with Siedle), a Skype interface, and an automation scheduling system that allows simple programming of automated "wake-up calls." For example, the system can be programmed to wake up the homeowner on Tuesdays and Thursdays by turning on the TV to CNN.

Handing Out Awards

For the first time, Savant handed out the Rosie Red Carpet awards to its dealers for their installations.

The 11 winning homes are planned to be among the featured Homes of the Day on Electronic House, CE Pro's sister publication for consumers. The winners are:

• Best "In-wall Touch Panel Free" Installation: Home Media
• Best Installation under $50,000 (Savant gear): Smart Home Solutions Inc.
• Best Replacement (control system) Installation: CyberHome Networks Inc.
• Best Installation $50,000 and up (Savant gear): Components Electronic Systems
• Best iPhone/iPod touch Integration: HomeBase Systems Inc.
• Best System 12 Installation: Rich AV Design
• Best System 24 Installation: Entertainment Alternatives
• Best Integrated Home: Smith-Whitman Inc.
• CEO's Choice Award: Audio Video Specialists
• Savant Integrator of the Year Award - President's Choice: Ambient Technologies

Professional Services Debut

As mentioned previously, Savant also unveiled its new Professional Services division at the show. The company recently sold its stand-alone integration company in Osterville, AViX, to ACT.

Many of the CEDIA-certified engineers and technicians from that company will now form the 27-member Professional Services group, which is designed to assist dealers during the installation of ROSIE systems or any other Savant equipment.

The team is headed up by director Kevin Kicklighter and delivers a range of for-hire on or off-site support in such areas as customized applications, D-Tools diagrams, proposals, RacePoint Blueprint software or applet development, custom graphics and CAD drawings.

In addition, Savant has opened a new 3,000-squarefoot training facility featuring 12 integration labs, an advanced level training lab as well as a large traditional classroom setting in Osterville. Four-day training sessions will run constantly, according to Carroll.

NYC Design Center, Lutron, Apple

The company also announced that in October 2009 it will open a design center in Manhattan. The 6,000-square-foot location is designed into two apartments in the SoHo area.

It will feature fully automated Savant gear in a lifestyle setting that includes a home theater, media room and conference room. The best part? It's directly across the street from the Apple Store.

Dalai Kitchen Design (Miele, SubZero, etc.), Lutron, McIntosh and Steinway Lyngdorf are among the companies working with Savant on the project.

In another announcement, Carroll says that Lutron is retrofitting Savant equipment into its design centers in Irvine, Plantation, Fla., and New York City. Indeed, Savant and Lutron are establishing a close working relationship.

David Weinstein, head of Lutron's residential system division, spoke to the gathered dealers. "We have a lot in common with Savant," he says.

"Both companies are founded on innovation. And without innovation, you have commodization. Every kid in the world is living with Apple… so Savant is on to something."

Finally, what Savant conference would be complete without some messages from Apple? The company had two executives (who asked that their names not be used) at the conference and both were quick to point out that the mega-company is wholly behind Savant's efforts.

One executive unveiled a program in which Apple, working with Savant, will assist dealers in getting jobs in the hospitality and cruise markets.

One of the key selling points to the Savant/Apple-based system is that the same system can handle both in-room entertainment and digital signage. That can be a key ROI selling for a hotel.

Click here to view images from the event.