ReQuest Adds Control to Media Servers

Since debuting in 1998, ReQuest, Inc. (originally ReQuest Multimedia) has heard praise from integrators for its technical support and the ease with which its media servers integrate with third-party controllers.

Furthermore, ReQuest and its customers alike have touted the company's strict focus on media servers, which has enabled ReQuest to create and support some of the most reliable, intuitive music-management systems on the market.

But ReQuest is facing increasing competition from manufacturers like AMX, Crestron and Elan, whose controllers have stimulated demand for ReQuest servers over the years. Most notably, Crestron dealers have been a valuable source of business for ReQuest, but that may change with the recent introduction of Crestron's own media server.

"Our whole business had been based on being a component of someone else's control system," says Bill McKiegan, who joined ReQuest in March as vice president, sales and marketing. "It's clear they [the ReQuest team] hitched their wagon to Crestron very successfully."

Request is finally shaking its reliance on third-party control systems. The company introduced its own controllers for the first time at the CEDIA Expo in September. "We need to get our brand name in front of folks," McKiegan says. "CEDIA [was] the first time [to] see a ReQuest logo on a touchpanel."

The company is rolling out an entire distributed audio system under the brand iQ. It includes a media server, tuner and 16-channel (eight-zone) amp, along with in-wall, tabletop and wireless touchscreens.

With the 3-inch in-wall touchscreens retailing for roughly $500, "Somebody can put together an eight-source, six-zone system with six keypads and a 160-GB hard drive for less than $10,000," says McKiegan.

The system is relatively self-contained, integrating today only with ReQuest's new iQ server, its own touchscreens, and its own AM/FM/XM tuner (modular so other radio cards can be added). There is one additional input for a legacy audio source, but there is no IR or RS-232 control.

The iQ system is not yet compatible with ReQuest's Video ReQuest, which can control up to four Sony 400-disc DVD changers. "Down the road, we're looking to add that to this system," says McKiegan.

The iQ server features automatic dual encoding, creating both high- and low-resolution versions of ripped songs, which enables users to access the most appropriate format for the application -- lower-resolution files for the iPod, for example, and lossless for in-home streaming.

ReQuest's 12-inch tabletop touchscreen ($1,200) and forthcoming 7-inch wireless touchscreen ($2,000), not the keypads, can be used with ReQuest's existing servers. ReQuest is also creating a graphical user interface for the 12-inch touchscreen featuring drag-and-drop functionality.

As with ReQuest's other products, iQ exploits the company's NetSync technology for automatic backup and multi-location synchronization. In this case, NetSync allows integrators to monitor their customers' systems all the way from the server through the amp and to the keypads.

Furthermore, ReQuest is bowing NetSync for iTunes, which enables "seamless integration with iTunes," according to McKiegan, who says it continually polls the ReQuest and iTunes libraries. "If you add to the ReQuest library it shows up in iTunes and vice versa."

What Took So Long?

It's been clear for quite some time that many of the makers of A/V and automation controllers would come out with their own servers or streaming solutions, potentially squeezing ReQuest out of the picture.

So what took so long for ReQuest to create its own line of controls? "It was assumed that people would just gravitate toward the better product," suggests McKiegan.

Indeed, ReQuest products have largely been considered among the best, thanks in part to the company's focus on media servers. "We have nine people in support just to help people get cover art, fix their networks, etc.," McKiegan says. "We have the best support. It's very difficult to do."

Still, ReQuest is not relenting in its pursuit of AMX, Crestron and other integration business. The company recently announced a module for Crestron's Adagio system, and will continue to support and proactively develop integration modules for other controllers.

Will ReQuest venture beyond music to control, for example, lights and home theater receivers? Not anytime soon, according to McKiegan.

"We're going to stay with the distributed audio side," he says. "Distributed audio is still the No. 1 thing that people do. We think we can give dealers the opportunity to jump into a very potent system, to get into a job very easily and profitably."