I just found this video interview (I don't know why it took so long) between two interesting people....Bob Metcalf founder of 3Com and Eric Smith co-founder and CTO of Control4 talking about Home Automation and how it relates to the "standards" in the PC world. Very interesting conversation captured and hosted by PodTech. Check out the video below....
« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
July 27, 2007
Why Put Technology In Your Home
Are you attempting to build some relationships with builders? We all know how critical these relationships can be. But we also know how frustrating they can be when you deal with builders who just DON'T GET IT right?
Well here's some recent data from the CEA that might give you some leverage. This data comes out of the CEA's 5th Annual "State of the Builder" study and tells us WHY BUILDERS ARE CHOOSING TO PUT IN CERTAIN TECHNOLOGIES IN THE HOMES THEY BUILD.
One of the most interesting data points to me is that only 19% of builders say they put in "Structured Wiring" becasue it "BOOSTS PROFIT POTENTIAL"....but 55% of them say they do it because they want to be competitive.
Structured wiring (although clearly not the best solution when used all by itself) could seriously add profits to the buildes bottom line IF he would partner with a A/V/Digital Home Integrator and let them show him and his clients the features that can be added to the home by adding appropriate systems to the structured wiring.
William mentions some good points on his blog entry that many times homeowners WANT to know how to improve the technology solutions in their home and after they move in they often express dissapointment that they did not put in more technology.
SO...on your next conversation with your builder prospects consider introducing them to concrete ways that you can help them BOOST PROFITS with the technology solutions that you bring to the table and help then have happier clients at the same time.
July 13, 2007
New WirelessHD Standard
Maybe you've heard...HD is officially going wireless and several influencial companies have teamed up to make sure its done right (or at least "Right" by their standards). These companies are; LG, NEC, Samsung, SiBEAM, Sony, Toshiba, and Matsushita (parent company to Panasonic and Technics among others)
The WirelessHD (WiHD) standard will allow for uncompressed digital transmission of HD video. It is optimized for wireless display connectivity but is also built to work within PCs, portable devices and other CE components. The first generation of the WirelessHD standard with accomodated transfer rates of 2-5 Gbps. Theoretically they believe the standard can accomodate transfer rates of up to 20 Gbps.
Its interesting that the 60 GHz frequency band that WiHD operates is physically limited to LINE OF SIGHT operation. Yea, that's kind of a bummer since we typically want to help our clients tuck their CE components neatly behind closed doors into equipment racks and cabinets. The line of sight requirement also makes it nearly impossible to go from room to room in the house which is always a common request by homeowners.
However, SiBEAM claims to have solved this "line of sight" problem with their OmniLink60 product. According to SiBEAM the Omnilink60 systems "automatically find the best direction to focus the energy. And if there is no good direct line from the transmitter to the receiver, OmniLink60 will automatically find the best bounce off the walls, ceiling, floors, or any other object in the room, to allow non-line-of-sight communication."
The WiHD standards group offically launched in October 2006. Their final specifications have just recently been released for final review. Expect to see some actual products using WiHD on the floor of the 2008 CES show in Las Vegas.
