Savant Systems will be showcasing its new Rosie Desktop Docking Station at CEDIA Expo 2009 in booth 327.

The docking station integrates iPods and iPhones with a Savant multiroom A/V system. The Rosie Desktop Docking Station connects to a Rosie Controller via CAT5 cable.

Features include:

• Two-way functionality
• Displays menu info from iPod, including artist, album, track, etc.
• Playback functions available via the Rosie user interface
• Docking station charges iPod when docked

The Rosie Desktop Docking Stations works with all iPod models that have a docking connector.

Savant will ship the docking station in the fourth quarter of 2009.

MSRP: TBA

Since CE Pro broke the news on Crestron Prodigy, we've had an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the new low-cost control system from the company best known for pricey products.

During a recent tour of Crestron, led by CEO and founder George Feldstein, I got to see all of the little goodies that will comprise a Prodigy home automation system.

First of all, Crestron wants to make it perfectly clear that the company did not launch Prodigy to "go after" Control4 or any other low-cost home automation provider, according to executive VP Randy Klein.

"We developed a line that is consistent with what we've been doing," he says. "Prodigy broadens the market."

Klein acknowledges that some Crestron dealers also offer lower-cost lines. "We would love to have them use us," he says.

Klein believes Crestron can beat out other players in the world of affordable automation because of the company's heritage.

SpeakerCraft still won't divulge everything about it's forthcoming Nirv IP-based multiroom A/V system. The product delivers audio, video, data, intercom and control signals simultaneously over a single Cat 5 cable.

Even so, SpeakerCraft director of engineering Jason Craze was kind enough to answer a few questions from Derek Flickinger, our friendly geek who was intrigued by the system.

Nirv will be shown at CEDIA Expo 2009 in Atlanta.

Craze's answers are vague but that's the best we could get from him ... for now.

Q. Did they develop their own IP-based audio technology or do they license someone else's?
A. Licensed, but with proprietary tweaks for our implementation. All partnerships will be revealed as we approach the show.

Q. There is no mention of multiroom (or multi-speaker) synchronization or if it supports 5.1. Can you dynamically change the source to multi-point mappings from their…

Best known for its universal remotes, Remote Technologies Inc. (RTI) is now launching a line of electronics, including audio/video switchers and a multichannel amp.

The A8 is an 8x8 matrix switcher that can route eight analog and eight composite video (or digital audio) sources to eight individual zones. Multiple units can be cascaded for a 64-zone system.

The switcher offers independent gain control and bass, treble and three-band equalizer for each zone.

It can be controlled via IP, RS-232 or IR.

RTI's V6 is a 6x6 video switcher with component and composite video options, expandable to 48 zones.

The new CP-1680 multichannel amp provides 16 channels of audio at 80 watts per channel. To keep the unit cool, three internal fans ventilate heat through the front.

Two-way communications is offered via an RS-232 port.

Some attendees at CEDIA Expo 2008 were buzzing about Wadia Digital's 170iTransport iPod player dock, calling it the "coolest thing at the show."

The company says iTransport is the only dock that reproduces CD-quality, full-resolution files stored on iPods. The product, announced a while back, is now shipping.

Other features include:

• Bit-perfect S/PDIF digital audio output
• High-resolution component video output
• Analog audio and S-video outputs for connection with most A/V systems

The iTransport measures 2.7-inches high x 8-inches wide x 8-inches deep and charges the iPod while it's docked.

Wadia president John Schaffer says the product has been getting a strongly positive reaction from dealers on the exhibit floor.

MSRP of $379 includes the iTransport, a digital cable, iPod dock inserts for all compatible models, and a Wadia remote control.

Home Automation Inc. (HAI) one of the first automation companies to create a plug-in for Media Center, now plans to offer a Media Center PC of its own.

Do they really want to go there? I asked HAI chief Jay McLellan.

"We do," he says. "We wouldn't do that if we didn't see the progress of Windows Media Center. If we were just putting me-too Media Centers in there, we wouldn't do it."

What's different about HAI's Media Center, a prototype of which is being quietly demonstrated at CEDIA Expo 2008, is that it's pretty darn basic.

"To start with, we're not going to go all out and try to do too much," says McLellan. "We're not supporting every output, just HDMI," McLellan says. "We'll discourage [through the setup] people from putting too much extra stuff in there."

There will be no CableCard support right now. "There's a lot to…

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…

The dilemma: You crave NetStreams touchscreens to go along with your DigiLinx IP-based A/V distribution system, but you don't have the budget.

The solution: NetStreams' new TouchLinX TLA250 touchpad.

A small OLED window on the TLA250 displays metadata from audio sources and feedback for home control.

Most of the real estate, though, is consumed by a sexy glass faceplate with capacitive touch controls. Beneath the glass … the consumer's choice of colorful slicks that can blend with any décor.

"I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to a designer who has lamented the ugly faceplates that electronics provide," says Sanjay Castelino, NetStreams VP of marketing.

In the case of the TLA25, there are no faceplates.

The unit ships with black, white, almond and light-almond background options. Users can order any of over 1,000 Pantone colors if the standard palette doesn't fit the bill.

"This…

NuVo made a splash two years ago when it introduced the sexy new ControlPad touchpads for its Concerto and (more recently) Essentia multiroom audio systems.

Now the company is bringing the same functionality (and more) to a handheld wireless controller about the size of a cell phone.

As with the ControlPads, the wireless unit displays metadata on the screen, whether music is streaming from a PC (via MusicPort), AM/FM tuner, satellite radio, iPod or some other source connected to a Concerto or Essentia system.

"It has all of the functionality of the keypads and more," says NuVo CTO Rick Kukulies.

The "more" has to do with multizone control. Unlike the ControlPads, the wireless device can control any zone of the house – a necessity since the unit is mobile, unlike the in-wall keypads.

The wireless unit features the same bright OLED display as its in-wall counterparts, helping…

Savant Systems will introduce at CEDIA Expo 2008 its first iPod docking station.

The new Rosie Media Dock allows a compatible iPod or iPhone to interface with a Savant multiroom A/V and control system.

The Savant system enables two-way operation of the iPod from its entire line of Rosie user interfaces, including touch panels, keypads, Touch TV, Rosie Surface and On-Screen Displays in either a remote zone or via a Web-enabled device.

For a company whose entire home-control plaform is based on the Mac OS X platform, it may seem strange that an iPod dock is relatively late in coming to the product line.

But marketing director Craig Spinner reminds us that iTunes content is already available housewide through Savant media servers and the customers' own PCs – and you don't have to worry about losing content on the network when iPod owners take their players on the road.

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Posted by Julie Jacobson on 08/31 at 06:48 AM
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