Automated Home

Plex Announce Link with LG - Puts Plex Right in TVs!

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:36:17 +0100

The week started with Plex and ends with Plex too. They've just made this announcement (http://elan.plexapp.com/2010/09/02/plex-and-the-future-of-television/) ...

iPhone Home Automation Control with XMBC and Perl

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:15:03 +0100

Automated Home reader, Klaus has sent us this interesting video on XBMC control from his iPhone. Make sure to watch through the media bits to the end for the Home Automation and CCTV segment and read on for all the details... JTyD6gRU_iA

Apple Announce Second Generation Apple TV iTV

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:52:36 +0100

Apple have just announced their Apple TV replacement. The device is one quarter the size of the first generation unit. It has built in power supply, HDMI connector, Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi.Described as 'silent, cool and tiny' gone is the ability to purchase videos but now renting a TV episode costs $0.99 (ABC and Fox in the US to start with).I addition to renting Movies and TV from Apple, US users can stream from NetFlix too. YouTube HD is supported and FLickr and MobileMe plus local music and video too...

Plex iOS App Video Walk Through

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:54:35 +0100

You asked for more info - you got it. Check out our 3 minute video walk through of the brand new Plex streaming media centre app on the iPad and and iPhone...gs0VRz-cNHw

Plex Reveal Awesome iPhone iPad iOS Streaming Media Centre App

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:44:26 +0100

So you've just read our article on the release of Plex 9 (if not make sure to check it out here). Around the time the devs were bringing Plex 9 to life, Apple announced the iPad. The chat in the Plex inter-sanctum was feverish as people imagined how great it would be to have Plex 9 - with all its cover-art and meta data goodness, available on the new Apple tablet. So a secret project within a secret project began and the beautiful Plex app was born...

Plex 9 Media Center Rocks Our World

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:56:35 +0100

While updates to Plex have slowed during 2010, the developers haven't been slacking. On the contrary - they've been beavering away, putting in late nights around the world's time zones from Hawaii, North America, Europe and New Zealand. The reason? A project code named 'Alexandria', a ground-up rewrite of the library that's at the heart of the system and that promises to take the Plex Media Center to the next level...

Green Z-Wave Products for the Digital Home

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:12:50 +0100

A series of new products based on Z-Wave technology have just been announced by Aeon Labs. The new devices are the Home Energy Meter - a clamp on wireless electrical energy measuring device, the Minimote - a remote to control your Z-Wave enabled devices, and the Z-Stick - a USB Z-Wave controller. Read on for the full PR and the links..

Eco Friendly Motion Sensing Low Energy Bulb

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:13:07 +0100

Here's some more eco friendly home automation designed to give you that warm fuzzy, 'saving the planet' feeling. The Eco Sensor Lamp is a compact florescent bulb with the usual long life and low energy features married to a PIR sensor and timer. While it may be a little dumb in the grand scheme of today's smart homes, its truly automated unlike many other systems. Once movement is detected the bulb can be set to remain lit for anything from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. Available in bayonet and screw fittings now at under £16...

Comfort KT03 Touchscreen Kepad Controls Security & Home Automation

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:45:08 +0100

Cytech have just release information on their new touchscreen keypad set for Launch in October. The Comfort KT03 is said to fit between basic keypads and large expensive touch screens. It offers control of Comforts security and home automation features and in addition will be able to control sub systems from C-Bus, KNX, Dynalite, Zwave, Velbus and Lutron. The unit can be mounted in landscape or portrait and is programmed through its USB interface with Comfigurator software.

Crestron DigitalMedia Test Labs Video Tour

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:58:13 +0100

If you are an AV integration nerd then here's a video to get you all hot under the collar. The quick tour of the DigitalMedia AV Network labs shows where Crestron carry out their source compatibility testing. Also shown are the large system racks and the distribution of audio, video, Ethernet, USB and control data over a single '8G' cablezLYgEEt6eHQ

My Automated Home: Delmar Faddens Event Control System (ECS)

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:09:33 +0100

This months 'My Automated Home' comes from Delmar Fadden, a man that's no stranger to electronics. As a retired avionics and flight deck engineer he's spent a lifetime at the sharp end of control systems. Now with a passion for home automation, he takes us on a tour of his Seattle smart home system which runs on ECS...

Sonos Discounts - This Week Only

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:36:26 +0100

If you've been promising yourself a Sonos multiroom music system for a while now, then this week may be what you've been waiting for. Amazon are giving an additional 10% Off Sonos products for one week only. Read on for the voucher discount code and the link...

PassivEnergy App Controls Your Heating From Your Phone

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:01:23 +0100

Colin Calder, CEO of PassivSystems has this morning announced their new Home Heating systems control iPhone app. In conjunction with the PassivEnergy home energy management system the app allows full control of your heating from your iPhone including the ability to remotely check temperatures and override schedules. Aimed at energy saving as well as convenience the app is free and available now from the iTunes store. Read on for the full PR...

View Quest Tiny Portable Wi-Fi Internet Radio

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:36:18 +0100

With the UK Government still making noises about turning FM radio off by 2015 this tiny little fella may become a boon to many. The View Quest's scroll wheel allows you to navigate over 12,000 radio station from around the world, in addition to over 7,000 podcasts. Other highlights include a 1.8 LCD display with white LED light and a 15 hour Li-Ion Polymer battery. The diminutive WIFI200 is just 72.9 x 125.1 x 23.1mm and weighs 160g and is available now for under £80...

Awesome Sim Racing Seat for your Digital Home

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:41:47 +0100

Digital home entertainment comes in many guises. But for us there are few that get your heart racing as fast as a driving sim. The difference between holding a controller in your hand and actually sitting in a racing seat with a proper wheel and pedals is night and day. Needless to say when we saw the VisionRacer setup our hearts raced even faster....

ZigBee Plugwise Smart Sockets Measure Energy Consumption

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:59:55 +0100

The new ZigBee Plugwise Smart Sockets go between your appliance and the wall, measuring energy consumption and transmitting the data to your PC wirelessly for analysis. The PlugWise Circle G sockets are available now for around £35 with the PlugWise Stick USB mesh network transmitter / receiver for around £40...

Hands on with Sonos iPad App Plus Russound RNET Bridge

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Here's a coupe of Sonos updates roled into one. First a video from CEPro showing a sneak peek of the up-coming Sonos iPad app in action. B2-aCbkrASAThe second video is from Danny over at Mavromatic showing off his latest project - an Adruino powered interface that allows a Sonos system to be controlled from Russound whole house audio system keypads...

Free 2-Day Smart Home Training Offer from Comfort

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:13:16 +0100

We've just learnt that Cytech are doing a special deal on training. For a limited time, if you buy the Comfort Evaluation Kit they will provide their excellent two-day training course free of charge (excluding accommodation). The next course is scheduled on 21st and 22nd September 2010 at the Touchbase Meetng Centre at the Premier Inn Heathrow. The Evaluation Kit comprises of a Comfort panel plus KP04, RC01, DP03, RGR04, UCM, SCS/Esprit, and the Comfigurator software. Read on for all the details...

New 4 Bay Mini-ITX Hot Swap Case Brings Home Server Heaven

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:49:39 +0100

The guys over at LinITX.com have introduced a new Mini-ITX NAS/Server Case with 4 Hot Swap 3.5 SATA drive bays. The bare chassis is around £100 and is ideal for a home server/nas with a potentially huge capacity for all your media. There's an internal 2.5 drive bay too for your OS and LinITX have a recommended dual core Atom board to go along with the case to provide great performance and low power consumption..

Crestron Land New UFO Remote

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:49:25 +0100

Julie Jacobson has an exclusive over at CEPro on a new Creston remote due to launch in 2011. The aptly named 'UFO-4X' is a disc shaped craft and its touchcreen can serve as a trackpad as well as a virtual keyboard. It attaches to its base by magnets so can be wall mounted and it supports Adobe Flash for high quality UI design...