This week we see the opening of the CEDIA 2012 Expo in Indianapolis, America and already manufacturers are keen o let us know what products are on horizon. So far we have picked three products which we think will change the home automation market place once again.
The first product launch we saw was from Autonomics who are famous for creating one of the best audio servers on the market. Their servers syncronise with your iTunes collection and have access to streaming services such as Spotify, Last.FM and of course internet radio, however you previously relied on having the server tied to a control system such as AMX, Crestron or Control4. Now thanks to the announcement of the M400 and M800 digital amplifiers you can have either 4 or 8 zones of online audio and use the Autonomics iPad/iPhone app for control. We expect to see these launched Q4 in 2012.
Next came the announcement of the Savant SmartControl Phone. With an inbuilt iPod touch, a home phone can not only be used for phone calls but door entry with access to the camera at your front gate/door, control of lighting, audio and your home. Information is limited at the moment but we can confirm that this product has just won the Resi Award 2012 for Best Industrial Design!!
Another product which we are very excited about is thanks to a collaboration between Sony and Control4. With this new partnership two new Sony ES AV Receivers will have Control4 processors built into them. This means that you just have to add a license and handset to the system and you are good to go for a one room control system perfect for a media room or home cinema. These models have not been given a UK release date yet, but we are told by Control4 that they are working hard to make these products available very soon for us. The models confirmed in the states are the STR-5800ES ($2099) and the STR-2800ES ($999) and of course they both include all of the other features that you would expect to see in a high-end AVR including full 4K Pass through support, HD Audio decoding and multiple HDMI inputs/outputs.