Items Tagged With av distribution

Plex + Indigo + Harmony Remote = Home Automation Bliss      Why do it?  About a year ago, I decided to take the home automation plunge and sought out ways to automate my home's lighting, entertainment and HVAC systems.  After doing a good deal of research, I concluded that the most cost-effective and flexible solution would be to utilitze Perceptive Automationís Indigo software and Smarthome's Insteon modules for the lighting and HVAC. 

Once I installed all the Insteon devices (which also included a garage door opener), I installed the Indigo software on an iMac in my study, connected the iMac to the Insteon adapter which plugs into the wall and my home automation dreams were off and running...

Last night Boxee unveiled its new UI plus details on its hardware box.  They are partnering with D-Link to produce an NVidia ION platform with HDMI, SPDIF, and analogue audio, 2 USBs for expansion and networking using both Wi-Fi (802.11n) and wired ethernet.  The boxee Box will be available in the first half of 2010 wiith no news yet on price...

Based in Northern Ireland, DF Solutions Ltd are a manufacturer of high-end Media Servers for the Custom Install market.  Having recently updated its software front end, DF describe the new 3D UI as "a truly unique product and interface, blowing the competition out of the market", (watch the video after the jump and decide for yourself).  DF Solutions have also just appointed AWE as their exclusive distributor in the UK...

Brilliant Living is one of the UKs premier Integrators and we've featured them before on Automated Home (from the SmartHome Shows of 2007 and 2008).  Run by husband and wife team - Iain and Melanie Shaw - Brilliant Living has just been featured in Business Link Yorkshire and because of that we get a chance to see around the high end headquarters of their custom installation business, complete with AMX touchscreen setup...

Back in September we brought you a review of the ASRock, an Atom powered NetTop PC running 1080P out to HDMI using XBMC.  Now the LinITX guys are at it again, this time with an even smaller, silent fan-less design that does the same job, but at £210 costs even less...

Here's a set of three videos from Custom Controls showing recent integration projects for smart home lighting and security systems as well as the Spotify streaming music service.  Watch the other two videos after the jump...

Using a Crestron touchpanel to select mood lighting scenes as part of a Crestron Greenlight system. Also shows how easy it is to create custom mood lighting scenes and instantly recall at the touch of a button.

Here's another reason to love all that CAT5 you sunk into your walls.  The £90 set of CAT5Blaster Wallplates from Keene Electronics allow you to send two independent video channels (either 1 x S-Video or 2 x Composite) plus audio over CAT5 cable for up to 100 metres...

Aimed squarely at the audiophile, the new Folio music server from UK based Pinnacle Audio uses FLAC Lossless compression.  Their built-in CD ripping engine also features RAID technology to make sure your music is automatically copied to two hard drives - sparing you the pain of ever having to re-rip your collection.  The Sonos like control comes via the Nokia touchsreen tablet and some custom software.  Watch the video after the jump...

Automated Home reader Kevin Warner has been building a comprehensive home automation system based on a HomeSeer backend controlled from touch screens using Cinemars MainLobby system.  Check out the photos of his beautiful installation along with his opinions on what works best and his thoughts on future additions...

Elgato have just released their iPhone app (£2.99) for the EyeTV Mac tuner range.  If like us you watch and record TV with something like the superb EyeTV 250 Plus then you can now stream live TV or recordings to your iPhone, schedule recordings when you are away from home and browse the EPG...

A few days ago we were contacted by the guys at LinITX.com Apparently they had a little box we'd be interested in.  Turns out the ASRock 330 is another nettop PC, but one with a nice GPU.  What makes this especially interesting to us is that the XBMC team have recently added GPU support to the Linux version of their world beating media player software.  So can this little £250 machine replace our weapon of choice, the Mac mini which costs double the price?  Read on to find out...

Back in 2007 we heard a rumour that Sky were working on developing a new server that would record all the families shows and distribute them around the home to a client box in each room.  Today the rumour is back, changed slightly, and this time with more details...

We've just seen this first image of the new Sonos controller.  The CR200 uses a touch screen and comes complete with a charging cradle.  There's no word on pricing but it should be available pretty much immediately.

We're also told that Sonos will be releasing a new bundle. The BU150 now changes to the BU250 which includes the CR200. There also is a slight colour change with the zoneplayers hardware to match the new controller but there are no technical changes & will still be named the ZP120 & ZP90.
 

After our piece on virtual home servers, here's another alternative to saving power, money and the planet whilst still serving your media around the house.  The Tranquil BBS2 Barebones Home Media Server is a low power, 5 SATA bay, barebones box. Just choose your OS and apply...

UK Home Automator turned podcaster, Don McAllister, is famous for his high quality video tutorials for the Mac.  This week he comes back to his roots covering a true smart home application and an Automated Home favourite - Plex.  Like us, Don is "blown away" by the OpenSource media player / library manager and the show is a great resource for anyone setting up Plex for the first time as well as showing some of the more advanced features if you are already a Plex user.  Links to the 46 minute long Free HD video after the jump...

Jon Bentley from Channel 5's Gadget Show has taken the Philips Streamium MCI500H for a test drive.   The system can hold around 8,000 tracks on its own built in 160GB hard drive as well as streaming from other media sources around your home like PCs. 

it features both wired Ethernet and WiFi, FM and Internet Radio and a top mounted USB socket for playing from a thumb drive.  The £500 system supports DRM free MP3 files, AAC and WMAs (of the non-lossless variety). Check out the video afer the jump...

The world of HiDef is fab but as someone who has just had the builders in to open the ceiling to run an HDMI cable up to our projector, it can be frustrating too.  If you're in a similar position and want a more convenient solution then Marmitek may have the answer with their new GigaVideo800.  It sends an uncompressed HD signal wirelessly from up to four connected HD devices to your HDTV or projector...

The new VideoEase Active Component Video Balun Kit from Muxlab sends component plus infra red control signals across a single CAT5e / CAT6 cable. The system is rated at around 150 metres for a 1080P signal and over 300 metres at 480p and is shipping now...

Producers of high-end PC based media centers - Niveus, have just launched their new "Zone" multi-room media solution.  The Core 2 Duo powered machine allows you to link to multiple ZONEs to play your media in any room of the house. Is small form factor and low noise levels will appeal and with it's built in slot-loading blu-ray player it's got a march on the competition.  Starting from $1,500 it's still not exactly cheap, but definitely interesting.  Video and full release after the jump...

The Popcorn Hour A110 has been available for a few months now and we're hearing good things about.  Unlike many other streaming media players (think Apple TV, PS3 etc) the PCH's hardware handles full 1080P HiDef without any issues...

Marmitek have launced two new HDMI switchers.  The Connect410 and the Connect411 models are both 4-way affairs but the 411 will be of particular interest to smart home enthusiasts.  Supporting 1080P and HDMI 1.3b, the unit can be controlled by the included infrared remote - with the option to hide the switch and plug in an external IR receiver.  Most interesting though is the 411's inclusion of an RS-232 serial port for control, something usual seen only in high end equipment...

Back in the summer I wrote about replacing our aging AV Amp at the heart of our Home Cinema system.  We knew the builders were coming to fit a wood burning stove and so the room needed to be gutted - the perfect excuse to move our home theater into the HiDef world.  The work was completed last December, all except for one vital componant - the new Mac mini.

At last we now have the fantastic user experience of the XBMC days, along with the horse power to play 1080P content.  Here's our quick video on setting the mini up as an HD media player ("basic" 2.0Ghz / 1Gb RAM moodel)...

Interest in Boxee has been growing steadily, especially since it became available on the Apple TV (we contacted Apple PR to ask them their views on installing Boxee on the Apple TV but they replied saying Apple declines to comment on this).  With a quarter of a million users, even before the Windows version has been released, Boxee are capturing people's imagination and with the possibility of new hardware boxes on the horizon with a "Powered By Boxee" logo on them, its time to sit up and take notice.  Read on for Automated Home's interview with Boxee Founder, Avner Ronen...

Crestron have announced their new "DigitalMedia" HDMI distribution system.  Available from March 2009 it will send uncompressed digital audio and video signals over a choice of either CAT5e/6 or fibre. Creston say there will be a full selection of switcher input cards, wall plate transmitters, and room controllers available to support a complete range of analogue and digital signal types...

We've been contacted by Control4 in Australia, who were keen to show us how they've integrated XBMC into their professional home automation system...

"Control4 Australia's XBMC interface allows IP control over the open source XBMC media center. Full control can be accessed via Control4's wireless and wired touchscreens, zigbee remote controls, keypads or Control4's onscreen graphical user interface.  What this means is that you can create a full on demand theatre experience with automated blinds, lights and temperature control and touchscreen movie selection or perhaps a multiroom distributed audio/video system.

Plex, the media player / library manager for the Mac just hit another major milestone with the release of v0.7.0.  The whole community has been working hard on the latest release and as part of the testing team Automated Home can report with some authority that this thing rocks!

Undoubtedly the biggest new feature in this release is the addition of “Media Server” allowing you to play back all your DRM'd iTunes music plus a whole host of other features like great audio and video podcast support...

The Xtreme X38HD is a new high definition multimedia player with support for H.264, SATA and HDMI.  With a front mounted 2" TFT LCD display and space for an internal hard drive the X38HD has enough connectivity on the back to satisfy the biggest of geeks...

So as if to prove his point, a day after our Masked Installer's piece on how the iPhone and iPod Touch are becoming such great Smart Home controllers, Sonos release their free app to control their multiroom music system...

Here's the perfect companion for your new Drobo or other storgage device. Amazon are currently offering the Western Digital Green (reduced power consumption) drives for £70 including VAT and free delivery !  We run these drives ourselves here at AUtomated Home, they're quiet, fast and HUGE!

The AppleTV is such an "almost there" device.  It's in-ability to play popular codecs like DivX and stream from shares on your network have always left users wanting more.  Now Scott Davilla has released a USB patchstick image to add all that missing functional by installing Boxee, the media center software based on XBMC...

Marmitek have launched their new SCART switcher - the Connect236.  At around £65 the unit supports RGB, S-Video and Composite and can switch 6 inputs via its IR remote control.   Marmitek say the unit supports "Full matrix function" with 6 analogue video-inputs, 3 digital audio-inputs, 3 analogue video- and audio-outputs and a digital audio-output...

The speed of development for the open source media centre Plex continues a pace.  This weeks surprise announcement sees a partnership formed between Plex and the beautiful skinning engine from CenterStage.  Check out the Flash Demo of the graphics after the jump...

Inteset has unveiled its new 15 terabyte, TeraRAID XV-NAS storage server.  The device is aimed squarely at the high end home AV market and its design means it's shallow enough (18") to fit inside an AV rack...

Now available for pre-order, the HP MediaSmart Connect costs around $350 and provides full Windows Media Center Extender capabilities.  On top of that it'll play media from computers and other storage devices around your home via its 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi or built-in Ethernet port.  Also included are 2 USB ports and of course it's equiped with HDMI so you can connect it to your HiDef display to play back all the usual suspect codecs (including DivX and Xvid)...

LinuxMCE is of course a open-source media centre distro.  But did you know you can use it as a home automation controller as well?  Other goodies are lurking under the bonnet too such as the integrated Asrerisk VoIP system, already pre-configured for many providers and phone hardware.  Read on for the overview of this amazing free system...

Keene Electronics have just announced their new Quattro.  Another product in the Keene Video over CAT5 family, this unit is like having four transmitters in a single box. It routes four separate AV inputs (S-Video + Stereo audio) to four CAT5 outputs and can be paired with a matrix switcher to give comprehensive any-to-any source switching...

Chris Carey has created a front end for watching MythTV recordings on the iPhone.  Check out Chris' site for a live demo of the software and watch the video after the jump...

We're big fans of Sonos and it's one of the very few items we've given our "Top Tech" award to - see our Long Term review.  So we're always excited when we hear some Sonos news and recently rumours are abound of new ZonePlayers incorporating 802.11n technology...

In his latest blog post, our Masked Installer reveals his inner thoughts on hard drive HiDef video media servers and what it's like to regularly work with 15 to 20 TB of his customers data...

While we wait for Logitechs UK PR company to send us our review sample, Automated Home Reader Tim Morris has sent us his own review of the new Squeezebox Duet streaming audio system... 

Belfast based company - RipFactory - have always offered a CD ripping service.  But now they are selling their standalone RipServer box so you can do it yourself.  The Linux based unit combines ripping software with a NAS and is available in 0.5TB and 1.0TB versions.  Prices start at £599...

Apple just updated their £65 AirPort Express to 802.11n.  Now up to 5 times faster than its predecessor, this useful little device allows you to create a wireless network at home. It also interacts with your iTunes music library allowing you to listen in any room of your house. You can also attach a printer to its USB port and share it wirelessly...

We’ve had our Sonos setup for nearly three years now and it continues to be a joy to own and use.  Our original setup of 2 x ZP100s (the zone players with built in amplifiers) was recently added to with a third un-amp’d ZP80.  The new ZonePlayer was swapped for the ZP100 in the AV room where amplification was not required as it was already plugged into our home cinema system.  So the plan was to utilise the now spare ZP100 as a zone in the en-suite bathroom off our main bedroom...

Watch the video after the jump as Danny from MavroMatic reviews the Linksys DMA 2100 Media Center Extender...