As lighting increasingly becomes part of the connected home experience, Toronto-based manufacturer Liteline believes integrators need more control over both installation and the end-user experience. In a series of ongoing discussions with industry executives to talk about the state of play in lighting and shading, Nick Boever, Senior Editor at CE Pro, spoke with Sarah Silverstein, co-owner of Liteline, and Dan Silverstein, co-owner of Liteline, about the company’s dedication to DMX and the pair’s thinking behind the ATTRACKT line.
According to Sarah Silverstein, Liteline had been placing increased emphasis on the custom integration market because dealers are uniquely positioned to design experiences that encompass lighting, shades, audio and video. Rather than treating lighting as a standalone electrical component, she said integrators have a broader understanding of how homeowners interact with their spaces.
How ATTRACKT tackles modern installation challenges
Sarah explained how these ideas ultimately came together in ATTRACKT, which she described as a low-voltage, modular micro-track lighting system that was designed to be customized in real time. Unlike traditional track lighting, the system allowed dealers to cut track lengths on-site and quickly reposition magnetic modules without tools.
Track heads, wall washers and accent lighting elements could be added or moved after furniture and artwork had been installed, allowing integrators and homeowners to fine-tune the lighting experience together. The two-circuit design also enabled different lighting zones to share the same track while remaining independently controllable.
Dan also explained that LEDs inherently operate on low voltage, making remote power conversion a natural fit for compact fixtures like ATTRACKT. Because the system remained Class 2 throughout, integrators could field-cut track sections and route wiring more easily than traditional line-voltage systems. He said the low-voltage architecture helped make the system smaller, safer and easier to install, while also eliminating many of the requirements associated with Class 1 circuits.
The platform’s magnetic connectors further expanded its flexibility, allowing track runs to transition across walls and ceilings, navigate corners and even suspend above kitchen islands. Sarah Silverstein noted that the track itself became an architectural element rather than simply a source of illumination.
Why DMX matters for modern smart homes
For Dan Silverstein, the reason why DMX is so important is that it provides an open ecosystem that integrated naturally with many home automation platforms. Additionally, unlike phase-cut dimming, which intentionally alters AC waveforms, DMX maintains cleaner power and enabled more precise control. Another reason is that Liteline’s constant-current DMX decoder technology, allows downlights, track fixtures and other architectural lighting products to deliver both high-output white light and color control. Previously, most DMX implementations in residential projects had been limited primarily to linear lighting applications.
Tackling the dimming performance issue
Moving on, Dan further explained that flicker remained one of the most frustrating issues facing both manufacturers and integrators.To address that problem, Liteline engineered its drivers with adjustable frequency technology that allowed fixtures to dim down to 1% with no perceptible flicker. According to Dan Silverstein, minimizing flicker was critical because poor dimming performance could undermine an otherwise successful installation.
Asked what integrators should take away from the discussion, Dan urged dealers not to overlook flicker performance and to work with manufacturers willing to address dimming challenges openly while Sarah encouraged integrators to think beyond RGB party lighting and recognize how tunable white and color temperature influence comfort and mood.
This article is part of a series for CE Pro’s Lighting & Shading Deep Dive exploring different aspects of the lighting and shading categories for custom integration.Â
