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VidaBox Combines Control, Multiroom Audio, Windows Media
LiivController MZA aggregates and streams digital content throughout the house, controls third-party IR and serial devices via iPad, integrates with VidaBox Windows Media Center products.
The VidaBox LiivController Multi-Zone Audio (MZA) can distribute eight streams of independent audio to up to eight zones simultaneously. An iPad interface running vAutomation 2.0 software aggregates content from the cloud and the home network, and distributes to any room of the house. Click to enlarge.
The new LiivController from VidaBox is a home control hub with a multizone audio system built in. Or vice versa.
Whatever you call it, just bring your own speakers and an amp for the audio, add an iPad for control, and you’re good to go.
No third-party multiroom audio system or matrix switcher is required.
VidaBox demonstrated an early version of the product during CEDIA Expo 2010, but the new LiivController and companion vAutomation software has been revamped since then, according to Vidabox president Steven Cheung.
The flagship LiivController Multi-Zone Audio (MZA) features eight mini-jack outputs to distribute independent audio streams to eight zones. There are two inputs to accommodate legacy devices such as a cable box. The content comes from the cloud (Internet radio) and the home network. USB ports are provided for additional storage.
Vidabox’s vAutomation 2.0 software aggregates all of that audio and presents the options on an iPad.
Users simply select the music and the zone(s) to send it to. Multiple audio outputs can be synchronized for “party” mode.
VidaBox offers local access via the new MZA in-wall controller, which connects to the LiivController via Cat 5 cable. The controller features a rotary knob for adjusting the volume and muting the zone. Despite an LCD readout and clickable knob, however, the controller currently cannot be used to select a source. That feature “may be implemented in the future,” Cheung says.
In addition to its streaming capabilities, the LiivController serves as a home control hub. It provides six IR and two RS-232 outputs for operating audio, video and other electronics. The newly revised vAutomation software includes a complete IR database and supports macros.
The VidaBox LiivController Multi-Zone Audio (MZA) can distribute eight streams of independent audio to up to eight zones simultaneously. An iPad interface running vAutomation 2.0 software aggregates content from the cloud and the home network, and also integrates with any VidaBox Windows Media Center. Multiroom audio can be controlled via the iPad or VidaBox's in-room volume controls. Click to enlarge.The serial port can be used to issue one-way commands, and VidaBox is working on drivers for two-way communications with third-party devices. At launch in Q1 2011, the system will support two-way control and feedback for the iPort brand of iPod docks, and most likely lighting controls from C-Bus and Lutron. An interface for the European control standard KNX is also in the works.
System configuration is so simple, says Cheung, that it can be done directly on the iPad without the need for a computer running separate programming software.
The LiivController stops short of being a full-featured A/V controller – it lacks power sensing ports, for example – but it adds a level of control not found in other streaming audio devices.
The real power comes in combining the LiivController with a VidaBox Windows Media Center product. The vAutomation software enables complete two-way access and control of a media center, allowing users to navigate movies, photos, TV shows and apps via the iPad, without disturbing the live action on the TV. Once you pick a show from the iPad interface, just hit “play” to bring it to the big screen.
The Windows Media Center integration is available only for VidaBox’s own servers.
“Non-VidaBox Media Centers will not work/be supported,” says Cheung. “We know it’s a popular request, but we have no plans to change this.”
The LiivController Multizone Audio (MZA) system with vAutomation software is expected to retail for about $2,500. “Adding one 16-channel or two 8-channel amps – at about $500 – gives you a complete control and multiroom audio system for under $3,000 hardware cost," Cheung says.
A control-only version of LiivController – everything but the distributed audio – will be available for about $1,500.
A software module for Internet radio will be sold separately for about $550. It adds Napster, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, Sirius, Shoutcast, Last.fm and other stations to the lineup.
“We’re working on iTunes compatibility,” says Cheung. “It should be available mid/late 2011.”
MZA volume controls, available in white, black or almond, will sell for about $399 for a pack of four, or $129 each. VidaBox offers in-wall iPad frames for $149 and a four-frame charger for $399.
VidaBox LiivController
Whatever you call it, just bring your own speakers and an amp for the audio, add an iPad for control, and you’re good to go.
No third-party multiroom audio system or matrix switcher is required.
VidaBox demonstrated an early version of the product during CEDIA Expo 2010, but the new LiivController and companion vAutomation software has been revamped since then, according to Vidabox president Steven Cheung.
The flagship LiivController Multi-Zone Audio (MZA) features eight mini-jack outputs to distribute independent audio streams to eight zones. There are two inputs to accommodate legacy devices such as a cable box. The content comes from the cloud (Internet radio) and the home network. USB ports are provided for additional storage.
Vidabox’s vAutomation 2.0 software aggregates all of that audio and presents the options on an iPad.
Users simply select the music and the zone(s) to send it to. Multiple audio outputs can be synchronized for “party” mode.
VidaBox offers local access via the new MZA in-wall controller, which connects to the LiivController via Cat 5 cable. The controller features a rotary knob for adjusting the volume and muting the zone. Despite an LCD readout and clickable knob, however, the controller currently cannot be used to select a source. That feature “may be implemented in the future,” Cheung says.
Control Capabilities
In addition to its streaming capabilities, the LiivController serves as a home control hub. It provides six IR and two RS-232 outputs for operating audio, video and other electronics. The newly revised vAutomation software includes a complete IR database and supports macros.
The VidaBox LiivController Multi-Zone Audio (MZA) can distribute eight streams of independent audio to up to eight zones simultaneously. An iPad interface running vAutomation 2.0 software aggregates content from the cloud and the home network, and also integrates with any VidaBox Windows Media Center. Multiroom audio can be controlled via the iPad or VidaBox's in-room volume controls. Click to enlarge.
System configuration is so simple, says Cheung, that it can be done directly on the iPad without the need for a computer running separate programming software.
The LiivController stops short of being a full-featured A/V controller – it lacks power sensing ports, for example – but it adds a level of control not found in other streaming audio devices.
The real power comes in combining the LiivController with a VidaBox Windows Media Center product. The vAutomation software enables complete two-way access and control of a media center, allowing users to navigate movies, photos, TV shows and apps via the iPad, without disturbing the live action on the TV. Once you pick a show from the iPad interface, just hit “play” to bring it to the big screen.
The Windows Media Center integration is available only for VidaBox’s own servers.
“Non-VidaBox Media Centers will not work/be supported,” says Cheung. “We know it’s a popular request, but we have no plans to change this.”
Pricing and Shipping
The LiivController Multizone Audio (MZA) system with vAutomation software is expected to retail for about $2,500. “Adding one 16-channel or two 8-channel amps – at about $500 – gives you a complete control and multiroom audio system for under $3,000 hardware cost," Cheung says.
A control-only version of LiivController – everything but the distributed audio – will be available for about $1,500.
A software module for Internet radio will be sold separately for about $550. It adds Napster, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, Sirius, Shoutcast, Last.fm and other stations to the lineup.
“We’re working on iTunes compatibility,” says Cheung. “It should be available mid/late 2011.”
MZA volume controls, available in white, black or almond, will sell for about $399 for a pack of four, or $129 each. VidaBox offers in-wall iPad frames for $149 and a four-frame charger for $399.
VidaBox LiivController
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Article Topics
Media Center · Streaming Media · Vidabox · Digital Content · Liivcontroller · Vautomation ·About the Author
Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.
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