The new Marmitek Digital TV Anywhere set comprises a transmitter and a receiver pair. Connect the transmitter to the SCART output on your Freeview / Sky / Other set-top box, then connect the receiver to a TV somewhere else in the house. Then the picture, sound and IR commands from your remote control are sent wirelessly between the two. The £149 system is available now, check out the video after the jump...
It's no secret that we're big Plex fans here at Automated Home. But while we love our Mac mini powered setup on the main AV system, even a second hand Mac mini of suitable spec is around £350 these days. That's why we were excited to hear of a £100 box that would bring us the Plex experience. It's been a while since the announcement but finally we've got our hands on one of the new LG ST600 TV Upgrader boxes. Read on to find out how it performs...
LG's UK Blog has announced 2 new TV Upgrader models (the SP520 and SP820), both coming this year. We're assuming this will herald the death of the ST600? Hopefully these new models will deliver a much better user experience than the first attempt and it looks like the Plex guys will be supporting it again...
Marmitek's ever expanding catalogue of useful devices for your digital home gets another new addition this week with the launch of the BoomBoom 152 Bluetooth Music Receiver. The unit employs a similar set-up to many ceiling speakers, using a single mid/bass driver along with 2 horizontally opposed tweeters to give a stereo image. Its built in rechargeable batteries give up to 8 hours service and at under £50 it's an inexpensive way to free the music on your smartphone or tablet...
Our love affair with Plex continues - it's the media centre that just keeps on giving!. After another suspiciously quiet spell from the team, they have just revealed a huge raft of new features to the platform. The highlights include an official Windows Client, MyPlex Cloud based media sharing plus all new desktop and 2nd generation mobile clients too. Check out the videos after the jump...
We're getting pretty tired of waiting (and waiting) for LG to update the ST600 firmware so the Plex Media Link app can actually play the popular video formats we all use. It's entirely possible that the lack of love LG are showing the ST600 may even mean it's hurtling towards being cancelled! That would be pretty sad as it's never even got the chance to show what it can do yet.
Meanwhile back at the ranch we're looking around again for that magic £99 box to bring our Plex library to secondary zones around the house (bedrooms etc). The guys working on Plex for Samsung have made great progress and their widget is looking really polished. Perhaps best of all, in addition to Samsung TV's it also works on Series C and Series D Samsung Blu-Ray players which you can pick up for as little as £89. Check out the video of Plex for Samsung...
The new Marmitek BoomBoom 75 Bluetooth Music receiver allows you to play music from your smartphone to your hi-fi system. It can remember up to 8 different Bluetooth devices and you can use it to give you a similar experience to Apple AirPlay. You could, for example, watch a movie on an iPad whilst sending the audio to your HiFi. Being battery powered (and charged by USB) we can see a use for this in car too if you have an AUX In that you want to upgrade to Bluetooth. Read on for the price and specs...
Here's an interesting little box from Keene Electronics. The AU-11CA HDMI Audio Embedder will inject an external audio signal into your HDMI cable. Some systems don't include digial audio over HDMI, as any owner of a Sky+ box knows. So using this device you can free up a digital audio input on your AV amp by injecting the audio right into the HDMI...
Running speaker cables to your rear surround speakers isn't always easy. In an increasingly wireless world here's a gadget that might improve the look of your media room and please SWMBO. The new Marmitek Surround Anywhere220 is a digital transmitter and receiver pair that allows you to cut the cord between your AV amp and your effects speakers. The system is available from today and is priced around £110. Check out the video after the jump for an insight into how it works...
Here's a neat little mount that has moved from a Kickstart project to become a real world product. The $30 patent-pending TotalMount Apple TV Bracket provides 3 different mounting options for hiding your Apple TV 2 behind your flat screen telly. Check out the video after the jump...
We interviewed DF Solutions last summer but with one thing and another we never got this to you (sorry, our bad). But suffice to say the home grown UK company is one we are always interested to hear from. While it continues to face competition from DIY systems like Plex, it's definitely worth a closer look if you are in the market for a media server and not the hands on type, (we first heard about DF Solutions through a shining endorsement of a well known Customer Installer company in the UK). Their interesting 3D matrix UI makes spotting the movie poster or album cover art you are looking for faster than with the normal single row scrolling UI's. DF Solutions also now integrate Spotify as a music source too. Check out the videos after the jump...
Back in April ThinkFlood announced the RedEye Pro, their new 1U rackmount, Linux powered whole house IP / IR remote solution. Now Volutone have put together this video tour of the unit in operation. The system works with iOS devices, Android, PCs etc converting IP to IR and RS232 allowing you to control your home's AV, lighting music etc...
Many of us control our Sky box from other rooms in the house using an IR emitter stuck on the front of the unit. These can become detach, either through time or little prying finger. Now for under £20 you can ensure perfect transmission of your IR commands every time and clean up the look of the front of than new 1TB Sky+HD box you just bought...
AMX have announced new Enova DGX 16 and 32 digital matrix switchers together with a new range of DXLink HDMI transmitters and receivers. AMX say they've “solved the HDCP nightmare for installers”, and the systems will transmit HDMI with HDCP signals, plus control, Ethernet and power up to 100 metres over one twisted pair cable. Check out the viceo after the jump...
Slingbox inventor, Blake Krikorian and Crestron today announced the release of the R2 Control App for Crestron, a software app that turns virtually any Android smart phone or tablet into a fully-functional Crestron touch panel for residential and commercial applications. Utilising the R2 app and Crestron processors, customers can now control AV, lighting, thermostats, security systems, and thousands of other products via their Android device from anywhere in the world. Check out all the details and the video after the jump...
Last month the Plex team announced the first public release of some Linux flavoured server software. One of the most interesting of these is the ReadyNAS version, allowing you to enjoy all that Plex media library goodness without the need for a 24/7 PC or Mac. Here's a quick video showing how simple it is to add PMS to your ReadyNAS...
This is Crestrons new video scaler. It handles standard and high-definition video sources with resolutions up to 1080p60 progressive and 1080i30 interlaced, as well as computer sources up to UXGA 1600x1200 and WUXGA 1920x1200. It will convert all your analogue video signals to HDMI, scaling the output to send to your HD panels or projectors...
The idea of creating a battery with a built in RF transmitter to convert your IR remote to something that would work through walls has been around since 2004. Now NexGen have announced two new systems that work up to 40 metres away from your equipment. The Xray Remote Extender (£59) and the enhanced Genius Remote Extender (£69) that will operate multiple Sky boxes individually for example. Check out the full PR details and video after the jump...
Keene have announced the addition to their catalogue of a new HDbaseT HDMI Extender system. The Aavara PE3D4K100A will send 3D 1080P with 7.1 channel audio, plus IR and RS232 control, whilst maintaining your 100Mbps Ethernet LAN too - all over just one single CAT5 cable....
While you wait for your HiFi to come with Bluetooth built-in, here's an inexpensive little gadget that might just make your day. The Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver plugs into any mini-jack or RCA phono input and will play your toons from your smartphone, wirelessly to your HiFi. Watch movies on your Laptop? How about beaming the sound to the Fi - or 101 other smart home uses you can think of. Best of all it's currently available at less that half it's RRP, a knock-down £18...
Crestron have announced their third generation digital AV network technology. The system will distribute any mix of digital and analogue AV signals over a single cable. That means uncompressed 1080p HD video, 3D video, and high-definition computer signals, plus HD digital audio, control, data, and Ethernet and even 4K video in the future...
Almost exactly a year ago we brought you the first of in our series of 'My Automated Home' articles. It was submitted by Soitjes Soit and took us through v1 of his home brew Digital Server software. Now 12 months later Soitjes has completely rewritten the application and has released v2, designed to work on any size of touchscreen, for free...
Here's the news a lot of geeks have been waiting for. Plex have just released a Linux version of their Plex Media Server software (PMS) . The initial version is the first product to come from the newly launched 'Plex Labs' and means that servers are now available for Mac OSX, Windows and Linux. Perhaps best of all, the new Linux release supports some network attached storage devices. A Plex setup could now be as simple as one of the new LG HD TVs with Plex 'Media Link' built in plus a NAS...
If you were looking for a global player powerful enough to enter the Home Automation space and finally create a universal standard I guess Google may be near the top of your list. Earlier today at Google's I/O 2011 event, the search behemoth announce a new framework for smart home applications called 'Android @ Home'...
1remote for Kaleidescape is a new iPhone and iPad remote control application for Kaleidescape Entertainment Systems that gives you full movie and music control. You are also able to check out your media collection away from home which can be handy when shopping for new films or albums. It can also be integrated with 3rd party home automation systems such as AMX or Crestron for full AV control...
Savant produce some amazing home automation systems, all based around Apple hardware. They've just announced that RGB Communications will be the distributor of Savant products for the UK and Ireland...
We've featured projects before from Automated Home reader Klaus and here's his latest. Recently returned from a job in Dubai, this is a video he's shot of the suitcase demo he used for the presentation. Read on for the equipment list used for the demo...
We've been following the LG ST600 TV Upgrader since it was announced last year. We've just got some updated news as we've heard that it's only a couple of weeks away from these shores and that it's going to retail at around £99. What's still not officially confirmed though is if this will potentially become our favourite streamer of the year by including 'Media Link' - LG speak for Plex. On the positive side visitors to the Plex website over the last few weeks may have noticed this interesting paragraph on their front page - "LG Electronics has integrated the Plex platform technology into its 2011 Netcast™ enabled HDTVs and LG Smart TV Upgrader".
The new Marmitek Connect420 connects up to 5 HDMI devices to your TV and supports full 1080p 3D as well as traditional 2D setups. The unit can switch automatically based on source or with included remote control and the metal casing means the switcher is free from any interference. It's available now for around £90...
This months My Automated Home feature comes from Tom Lawrence, a final year student at Staffordshire University. Along with his friend Andy Jackson, he has created a bespoke C# home automation system which controls X10 and XBMC with clients for Android and Windows Phone...
Square Connect, a member of the Z-Wave have broken the mouild with their new 'wooden puck' device for infrared controlled home entertainment. A new version of the Blaster, the “Blaster Pro” integrates Z-Wave, allowing expansion of the control sphere beyond the home theatre to include lighting, window shades and other appliances. The SQ Blaster range of products utilise the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as control interfaces, with applications for other smart phones and tablet devices under development...
Sponsored Post The Times have recently reviewed a new IP TV streamer - The Veebeam - which has just been made available in the UK. Simply plug in the USB dongle to your computer to beam its content to your telly. It works with Windows 7, Vista, XP plus Mac OSX and It's designed to send anything on your computer to your TV wirelessly, including things like the BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
2011 is really shaping up to be the year that IPTV hits the mainstream. More and more families want to stream 4OD, the ITV Player and many other services to their biggest screen in the house, rather than watching on their smallest. The US is already seeing a significant proportion of the population cancel their Satellite and Cable service and instead opt to just pay for the series they are really interested in via iTunes for example...
Automated Home's favourite Media Centre, Plex has today announced a version for user of the Android operating system. The $4.99 app is available now and brings many of the features from the iOS version to a host of new phones and tablets. Read on for all the details...
Back in September last year Automated Home reader, Klaus sent us a video on XBMC control from his iPhone. Today he sends us his next video showing home automation control using his iPad. The system employs 'm..myhome' (Mac and Linux friendly) and controls a huge variety of functions around his house including lighting, blinds, heatinfg, CCTV and door locks - in addition to the media centre control.
Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) is bidirectional serial bus that allows components to control each other across an HDMI cable. You've probably already heard of this system without knowing it as each manufacture gives it its own name, for example 'Bravia Sync' from Sony, 'Kuro Link' from Pioneer and 'SimpLink' from LG. With the new kwikwai unit you can control your AV system from Ethernet with CEC replacing stick on IR emmiters for example. The unit also bridges CEC to USB and RS232 Serial. You could, for example, send a text string to the OSD of your TV, perhaps to show the name of a caller phoning you or that there's movement outside...
The XBMC team have released the first ARM version of their media centre software. Designed for the second generation Apple TV, it frees a Jailbroken £99 plastic puck from the iTunes walled garden and opens it up to become the sort of player we're all looking for. While Plex has been on the ATV2 since last November, this is the first release from the XBMC team. However this is described as "full blown" XBMC running on the A4 powered iOS devices (including the iPad and iPhone 4). Check out the videos after the jump...
Crestron has announced a new line of HDMI extenders. The new unit allows uncompressed high-definition AV signals to be transmitted up to 100 metres without any loss of quality when using Crestron’s DigitalMedial 8G wire...
With the RM-iDock-3M from Middle Atlantic Products you can enjoy the music and video stored on your iPods and iPhones through your whole house AV system. The Dock is compatible with most models, including iPod touch, and offers integration into professional rack systems...
Friends of Automated Home, WeGotServed.com have just published this video from CES showing an LG NetCast Smart TV running Plex. The UI looks exceptional for something that's built into a telly (checkout 'Powered by Plex" in the top right hand corner). Last week brought you news of the LG ST600 and speculated that Plex would most likely be included in it too. We believe the ST600 is the identical (1080p capable) hardware that's going inside the 2011 LG NetCast HDTVs and Blu-ray players, but despite this, "Media Link" (LG speak for Plex) doesn't appear to be included in the the TV Upgrader from what we can see in this video. Tell us it isn't so LG?? This is the box we're all waiting for to bring Plex to all our existing HDTVs!
What's this? LG just released PR on this little black box - the ST600 - which bears a striking resemblance to the Apple TV. At just 11cms square the Wi-Fi equipped unit gives any old flat screen DLNA streaming playback as well as a web browser and various other LG apps (any of this sounding familiar?). Read on for the skinny ahead of the launch at next weeks CES....
The NuVo Renovia uses a home’s existing electrical wiring as the cabling infrastructure for delivering audio and metadata from multiple sources to multiple rooms. The HomePlug based power line carrier (PLC) technology is especially welcomed if you're carrying out a retro fit into an existing property where cutting into walls or running new cables is difficult. The new Music Port Elite (MPS4-E) builds on the success of the MPS4 but adds several new features including cloud synchronisation plus an IP control protocol that allows for integration with Crestron, AMX, and URC systems...
Back in September Plex announced an agreement with LG to integrate their software into all their 'NetCast' equiped HDTV's and Blu-ray players from 2011. While we wait for the launch at CES in January we asked the team to reveal some more details on the Plex / LG hook up now...
A very cool video tour of of the Savant Experience Centre in New York City with CEO and founder of Savant, Bob Madonna. Savant has constructed this 8000 square foot living space to showcase their Apple based home automation system. The video includes demo's of lighting and AV control from the iPad and iPhone as well as touchscreen TVs and back projection screen. There's even talk of 50 mac minis powering one installation! Watch and drool...
This months "My Automated Home" feature is from Keyvan Rahimian who shows us around his DIY IPad based home automation set-up. The system uses an impressively professional looking visual interface in conjunction with with a hardware Ethernet to IR gateway from Global Cache to control his AV and Sonos whole house audio systems...
Fancy sending HD FreeSat channels to the PCs and Macs around your home? How about watching live telly over Wi-Fi on your iPad, without the need for a PC to be powered on to do the heavy lifting? Well you're in luck as this little box of silvery goodness does all of the above and more. It's the £180 Elgato EyeTV Netstream Sat and it is due to ship on 22nd November 2010, read on for all the details...
Frank Bauer, creator of Kelxi, yesterday released details of what he calls a 'Tech-Demo' that allows a new 2G Apple TV to connect to Plex Media Server. Its very earlier days and its far from a one click install, but this is great news for anyone wanting to roll out multiple zones around the house feeding from their central Plex library. Last night iphoneblogr.com released this video tutorial on how to install the proof-of-concept. Also checkout the video below on how to jailbreak your Apple TV and the original forum post from Frank too...
How to install Plex on Apple TV 2G - Video Tutorial
The new Smart Wi-Fi system from AMX uses Ruckus BeamFlex technology which promises up to a four-fold improvement in signal range. This is especially important in transmission of delay-sensitive applications such as streaming IP-based video or voice and results in longer range and more stable Wi-Fi connections that can support flicker-free multimedia viewing. The AMX ZoneDirector at the heart of the system is a centrally-managed WLAN controller for the simplified management of the wireless environment...
Marmitek have launched their second generation wireless HDMI system. The 3 piece setup comprises of a transmtter, a receiver and a remote control. The GigaVideo820 allows you to remove the tether between your source and your display device - for example you could feed a projector without the need for a cable running to it from your Blu-ray player. The unit promises full 1080p HD capability at up to 30m and without introducing any further compression. The GigaView820 is available now at around £360. Read on for all the full specs and photos...
More Plex / iOS media goodness, this time from third party developers Ambertation. Using the HTTP/XML API to the Plex Media Server, the German devs have created a beautiful universal app for iPad and iPhone that has to been seen to be appreciated. Checkout the video below.
