All Articles Tagged Colorado Vnet

Julie Jacobson | 08/12 06:56 AM, 4 Comments

Russound CEO Charlie Porritt says it’s been “a rough two-plus years,” but the company is “going in the right direction.” The manufacturer of multiroom audio systems has spent the past couple of years dealing with standby power requirements for Energy using Products (EuP) in Europe, where Russound has a large presence. “Our CAV used to consume 36 watts when it was turned off,” says Porritt. “Starting in 2011, it can only consume 1 watt.” Beyond that, Russound has been busy perfecting its new DMS 3.1 media aggregation and streaming device.… View this story

Jason Knott | 04/22 10:02 AM, 2 Comments

Russound and Colorado vNet have been quiet the past few months on the product front, but that is now changing as the companies unveil a slate of new offerings from both brands. CEO Charlie Porritt says the two companies have spent a lot of time dealing with internal organization and developing a more efficient strategy for engineering, manufacturing and sales structure between the two separate companies based thousands of miles apart. "In the three years since I took over as CEO, the market has changed drastically," says Porritt. "Housing continues… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/18 09:15 AM, 28 Comments

In one of the strangest CE sagas ever, Russound has decided to resurrect Colorado vNet. Again. For good. The company says there was such an outpouring of love from dealers of the high-end home control brand that they had no choice but to bring it back. In a letter to dealers, Russound CEO Charlie Porritt announced this week, “COLORADO VNET IS BACK - STRONGER THAN EVER! We're moving forward with the product line and have some exciting developments in the works.” If you missed the drama, Russound acquired vNet in… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/28 11:01 AM, 9 Comments

Colorado vNet died its first death in mid-2009, revived itself with the Russound acquisition shortly thereafter, and then died again in December 2010. Now the manufacturer of lighting controls, multiroom audio and home automation looks to be coming back to life under the Russound brand. That’s what one very large Canadian distributor says, anyway. In a letter to integrators yesterday (full text below), the distributor wrote: Hello vNet Certified Dealers, As of today Russound, has decided to continue on with the product but will transition from the vNet badge to… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 12/30 08:38 AM, 10 Comments

Our condolences go out to employees and customers of Colorado vNet, which apparently has died its final death. It’s a real pity. The maker of multiroom audio, home automation and lighting control systems showed some promise, especially when it unveiled one of the most elegant in-wall touchscreens the home-control industry had ever seen back in 2006. I call it the floater. The floating-glass design (below) was discontinued this month in favor of new touchscreens with the customer’s choice of plastic bezels that “match any décor.” Colorado vNet floating glass-bezel touchscreen,… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 12/29 01:04 PM, 15 Comments

Colorado vNet is shutting down, and this time for good. Probably. The home automation, multiroom audio and lighting control company announced today that “it is winding down operations and will discontinue the Colorado vNet product line.” Founded in 2002 by Bill Beierwaltes, Colorado vNet started life as a lighting control system, and then expanded into multiroom audio and whole-house control. The company, based in Loveland, Colo., closed its doors in mid-2009. In October of that year, certain assets were acquired by Russound, a leader in multiroom audio systems. Russound CEO… View this story

Robert Archer | 07/26 11:13 AM, 0 Comments

During a pre-CEDIA Expo press event at its Newmarket, N.H. headquarters, Russound discussed its history, the immediate future of consumer entertainment, and its plans for its Colorado vNet brand. Michael Stein, senior director research and technology at Russound, said the company is basing its new market strategy around the changing role of media. "Today we are acting on the steps to move towards that future," Stein said. "Five years from now, if it's a smart device, it will have some type of wireless thing that can bridge out to your… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 04/30 07:02 AM, 33 Comments

Add Colorado vNet to a long list of companies that has dropped its movie server, following Escient, Sunfire, Xperinet and Axonix (which morphed into Mozaex). “We know some dealers really liked the piece but we needed to step back, see what products made the most sense right now and in the next few years,” says Petro Shimonishi, the head of sales and marketing for vNet. vNet launched the Vibe Video Players (VS1 Series) in 2008. Starting at $4,000 the player was on the lower end of the price scale for… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 04/05 09:59 AM, 4 Comments

Say you’re a Spanish speaker in a French hotel and you have this fancy automation touchscreen in the room. Too bad, everything’s in French so you can’t control the room or pick your favorite radio stations. That's why Colorado vNet is introducing vNet Builder 4.6, which supports multiple languages. When a language selection is made, the entire user interface switches to the preferred language. The initial version of the software will support English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, with additional languages to be added later in the year. The new 4.6… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 03/02 03:59 AM, 0 Comments

Colorado vNet has announced Patrick Donnelly is now the company’s European sales manager. Donnelly also holds that title for Russound, the parent company of Colorado vNet. The news comes following the brand's introduction to an international audience at ISE. “Colorado vNet made its European debut at the recent ISE show in Amsterdam, and I’m thrilled to say it was a great success for the brand,” says Petro Shimonishi, Colorado vNet’s VP of sales and marketing. “The European market represents an important business opportunity, and I am confident that Patrick will… View this story