All Articles Tagged Digital Content

Julie Jacobson | 12/13 08:17 AM, 0 Comments

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… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 10/12 06:53 AM, 7 Comments

I have this new friend in Minnesota – we’ll call her Nancy because that’s her name -- and she had a few girls over for dinner recently. As if that weren’t newsworthy enough, when I entered her beautiful house for the first time I found it loaded with Crestron automation (“Oh, is that what you call it?” she asked), Lutron lighting, whole-house audio and a lush home theater. Disappointed that Nancy would not adopt me, we moved on to happier topics: dogs. Furry creatures soon gave way to talk of… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 08/11 08:26 AM, 4 Comments

Remember this editorial I wrote last year? In the piece, titled “Be the Content Pro,” I suggested integrators qualify their customers not by the products they desire but by the content they enjoy. If a family is passionate about professional baseball, for example, sell and install a system that gets them easy access to games, stats and fantasy leagues. If they’re nuts about the Food Network, build a solution that streams their cooking shows when and where they want it. After that 2009 editorial, maybe one or two dealers responded… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/26 07:29 AM, 1 Comment

Autonomic Controls, arguably the first company to deliver two-way Apple TV control over IP, has enhanced its Apple TV control module for Crestron, AMX, Universal Remote Control, Remote Technologies Inc. (RTI) and other control systems. Most importantly, the update enables control of Apple TV’s on-screen display (OSD). When Autonomic developed the original module in May 2009, the OSD commands (d-pad, up, down, left, right, enter, menu) were not in the Apple TV protocol, according to Autonomic’s Michael de Nigris. “This meant that while our dealers could integrate media browsing and… View this story

Stephen Hopkins | 02/22 06:26 AM, 0 Comments

Vudu, which has reportedly been acquired by Walmart, finally gets what it’s always wanted: Vudu on a chip. The implementation comes from Zoran Corp., which supplies processing technologies to major TV manufacturers. Zoran announced last week it would incorporate Vudu technology into its SupraHD TV processor design platforms. In addition to Vudu Movies – the hallmark of Vudu technology – the new design will include Vudu’s new app engine, which was introduced at CES 2010. At launch, Vudu Apps include Pandora internet radio, Picasa picture sharing, Facebook, Twitter, and several… View this story

Jessica Camerato | 02/02 09:40 AM, 0 Comments

Zobo.tv recently took CE Pro inside its showroom in Charlotte, N.C. to offer a glimpse into the emerging technologies in digital content. Zobo.tv GM Scott Osborne highlighted a custom theater, master bedroom, and kitchen to show how the company is giving clients instant access to content. Osborne sees a rapid shift taking place toward digital content. But he also realizes that not everyone in the CE market is aware of the opportunities that lie ahead. In fact, a client survey revealed that less than 10 percent had heard of digital… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/21 06:25 AM, 1 Comment

Zobo, an integration company based in Charlotte, N.C., is reinventing itself as a digital content company. Founded in 2004, the organization has sold A/V gear much like other specialty shops do it – albeit in packaged systems instead of individual components. Even so, it was mostly about the products. Now it's about the content. Scott Osborne, general manager of Zobo says he and founder Jay Faison "just started talking about what customers want. They don't care about gear." Osborne and the Zobo associates began asking their customers how they use… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/20 06:50 AM, 0 Comments

I've been doing this for 15 years. And for all of those years uninspired marketers have touted their products as "the future … today." When it comes to consumer electronics, when are we in the future? By some parameters, I'd say we're there. By others, not so much. Here we rate the technologies and their "future factor," including 3D TV, digital content, voice control, gesture control and more. The maximum rating is 5, while the lowest rating is 0. Click here for Grading Future Technologies. View this story

Steve Crowe | 01/13 08:11 AM, 1 Comment

The Nintendo Wii, the top-selling gaming system, is adding Netflix streaming in the spring of 2010, the New York Times reports. No exact date has been given by Nintendo, but the service will come at no additional cost for those who already have a Netflix subscription. “Our goal is to offer Netflix members as many ways as possible to watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix right to their TVs and to give non-members more and compelling reasons to consider the service,” says Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/07 08:18 AM, 0 Comments

ZeeVee is the latest contender in the streaming content space, with the new Zinc 5, an online service that aggregates online content and helps consumers manage their movies, TV shows, music and more. While the ZeeVee brand may be unfamiliar in the content world, the company has been honing Zinc for several years. The project began as a mere value-add for the company’s ZvBox, which distributes Internet-based content over the home’s existing coax network, using the monitor output of a PC. With so much development under its belt, now ZeeVee… View this story