All Articles Tagged Extra Vegetables

Julie Jacobson | 01/26 08:37 AM, 0 Comments

Is WDMX the future of wireless lighting controls? amBX is using the platform for a new line of wireless lighting controls to be introduced at Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam next week. Last year, we lauded amBX’s entertaining demo of multicolored (RGB) LED lights based on DMX – a popular protocol seen mostly in Europe and in commercial installations, but making inroads into the residential market. The new wireless version of the amBX system taps WDMX, which has “been around for a couple of years and is established in the… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 10/26 06:51 AM, 0 Comments

Control4 has added an iPod dock to its roster of certified products. Channel Vision’s ARIA iBus on-wall dock for iPod (model P-3036) passed the rigorous testing process required of all Control4 Certified devices. Channel Vision joins a small but growing list of Control4 Certified manufacturers in the residential market, but appears to be one of the first or only providers of certified iPod docks. The unit communicates two-way via RS-232 to deliver multi-room distribution of iPod music. Users can view metadata (including album art) and control their music collection from… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/27 10:15 AM, 1 Comment

Weather buffs, rejoice! One of the best weather stations on the planet just got better. WeatherHawk has added snow to the conditions that can be monitored -- in addition to temperature, wind, rain, humidity and all the other things that weather nerds watch. WeatherHawk is arguably the leader in integration-friendly weather stations that can tie into home automation systems -- like, let me sleep in if it’s raining; alert me when the wind conditions are perfect for sailing; or adjust the indoor thermostats and humidifiers depending on the relative humidity.… View this story

Extra Vegetables | 09/26 10:55 AM, 8 Comments

Radio tuners were once something that went into every reasonably sized install, right? How many have you installed in the last year? Our suspicion is that dedicated AM/FM tuners are a category of hardware that, whilst not disappearing entirely, are gently fading away. Why? Well, that fantastic Internet streaming device you installed not only delivers Pandora, Spotify, Napster and Rhapsody but all the radio stations your customer could ever want as well, from all over the world. Note that radio itself is as popular as ever. In Europe the concept… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/02 05:06 AM, 0 Comments

Control4 is largely a ZigBee shop, but efforts have been made in the past to bring Z-Wave RF technology to the home automation system. It never took. Now, true Z-Wave integration is available, thanks to a new Control4 driver from UK-based Extra Vegetables, which creates “side dishes” for Control4 and other automation systems. The driver connects Control4 systems to the Vera 2 home controller from Mi Casa Verde. Vera, a low-cost Z-Wave-enabled control system, has an enthusiastic following among do-it-yourselfers but has never quite made it to the custom channel.… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/14 07:49 AM, 7 Comments

Crestron makes some fine lighting controls, but currently it is challenging to integrate the lighting with a non-Crestron control system. Extra Vegetables, a U.K.-based Control4 solutions provider, has developed a driver enabling users to control their Crestron lighting system with Control4 touchscreens and other interfaces. During Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) earlier this month, EV principal Simon Scotland told CE Pro, “A lot of dealers do like Crestron lighting. We’ve been getting a lot of requests for it [a driver], so we made it.” He adds that the software is particularly… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/08 08:15 AM, 0 Comments

Two years ago, Control4 had an itty bitty booth at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). Last year, the manufacturer of affordable home control systems upped its booth size substantially, and this year the Control4 exhibit is downright large. Business in Europe increased 38 percent this year for Control4, a relative newcomer compared to its competitors in the home automation category. “We are taking some competitors’ business away,” says VP EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, Africa) Tony Leedham. Control4 attributes much of its success in Europe to a growing market in certain… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 10/20 07:25 AM, 20 Comments

If you like integrating Apple TV with home control -- as many CE Pros do -- it’s best to stick with the original model rather than “upgrade” to the new Apple TV 2. Autonomic Controls and Extra Vegetables, two of the original and most popular creators of two-way Apple TV drivers, tell CE Pro that the new Apple TV does not lend itself to integration. Follow us on Twitter! juliejacobson ce_pro“We confirmed that the new device has changed the protocol in a manner that makes it controllable only by other… View this story