URC’s Secret New iPad-Looking Touchscreen for Home Control

Just when you thought the dedicated touchscreen was dead, URC is coming out with a new one that looks a lot like an iPad but acts more like a whole-house controller.

The manufacturer of home automation and remote control systems had a prototype panel, the TKP-7000, at CEDIA Expo 2011 but wasn’t saying much about it. No ship date, no pricing.

But CE Pro did get a look at the beauty and managed to snap some video footage (below).

The 7-inch capacitive-touch panel is part of URC’s new Total Control line, which adds cameras, lighting control, multizone audio and energy management to URC’s rich remote-control capabilities.

The company already has an iPad app for the Total Control line, but marketing director Jon Sienkiewicz tells CE Pro there’s still room for dedicated touchscreens for home control: “Large touchscreen controllers trump iPads three ways: speed of operation, full system integration and, especially, dedicated functionality.”

There will be a consistent GUI across all Total Control interfaces.

In the demo, Sienkiewicz shows how quick and easy it is to pull up video cameras, see what’s playing in any room of the house, and activate whole-house control scenes.

Is this a trend? Control4 also showed a new iPad-looking touchscreen at CEDIA, and editor Grant Clauser at our sister publication Electronic House -- Apple lover that he is -- just railed on the use of iPad for home control..

Here's URC's version of a modern-day home-control touchscreen: