Monster's Linux Device Brings Intelligence To Home Control

Green is president and CEO of home integrator Rich Green Ink, director of CEDIA's new technology council and the go-to man for CEDIA members looking for the next hot trend. He didn't hesitate a second when asked what was the most important product or technology trotted out at the recent CEDIA Expo, the country's biggest show dedicated to integrated home technologies.

"What I saw was absolutely the most exciting thing to hit home automation: Monster's Einstein," he said from his Palo Alto headquarters. "It's a real high-end networked approach to streaming HD video and music. The most interesting thing is how the system integrates a cell phone into a handheld remote for home theater, home control, VoIP and an can act as an overall communications device for the home. It also has a beautiful interface, it's priced competitively and it's based on open standards; it's not a closed attempt at a monopoly. It really opens up the sandbox."

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Click for photos of the products

Monster Cable says the system will have a soft launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with a full launch to about 240 select dealers March 25.

Like most CEDIA Expos, there is usually one product that generates an overall buzz. Two years ago it was Control4, while last year it was Exceptional Innovation's Life|ware, two systems that aim to make home control affordable to the masses. Over the last few years vendors have also increasingly focused on delivering easier-to-use remote controls and systems, as well as more user-friendly interfaces. Home integrators at CEDIA said they were also impressed with some of the new Windows Media Center PCs designed specifically for home entertainment applications, although many integrators are still waiting for the products to gain traction in the home.

In a nutshell, CEDIA members are looking for products with features, functionality and price points similar to what Greene raved about when he described the Einstein, which was given a very limited preview at Expo.

Chris Greene, product manager at Monster Cable, Brisbane, Calif., described the components of the Linux-based system and provided rough, preliminary pricing.

> The Nucleus ($4,000), the system's core, is the head-in controller and media distribution unit. It's responsible for interacting with the home's automation elements, from lighting to security to VoIP.

> The Electron ($2,500) serves as the client interface and end points, acting as a media adapter and controller for the local systems.

> The Photon ($2,399) is a 200-disc DVD changer with duel transport, which means it can play two DVDs at once to any endpoint. It is also fully DRM compliant, Greene said.

> The Neutron ($4,900) is a RAID5 960Gbyte storage platform that can scale up to 7.2 TBytes.

> The Astro ($1,500) is a three-zone Sirius radio tuner.

> The Tron ($1,299) is a seven-inch touch panel.

Einstein will support one Gbyte over Ethernet out of the box for high-definition video transmission, and will support 802.11g or n, Z-Wave and Blue Tooth wireless protocols, Greene said.

Greene said basing the system on a Linux platform allows the system to behave more like a consumer electronics legacy device, eliminating the boot process that delays start-up and shut-down. The system will also include a "follow me" mode, which replicates user preferences from one room to the next. User interfaces are also automatically replicated on each device that is used as a remote control, whether it's a universal remote, cell phone or VoIP phone. The full system will probably be priced be several thousand dollars lower than currently expected, but integrators will still make 40 points on the hardware, Greene said. Monster licensed the technology from Pluto, a Miami, Fla.-based developer of fully-integrated home control solutions

"It's all about interoperability. If you walk into the house with a Blue Tooth phone, a PDA, a touch pad, a notebook, the system will identify it as a control point and download the interface so that device can control the house," Greene said. "We want to create an ecosystem for home control where all the products are plug and play and don't require any additional programming to work."

Many CEDIA members acknowledge the importance of cost-effective, open-standards home control systems, saying the products will open up new markets that more expensive legacy systems, such as AMX and Crestron, have prevented them from entering. Andy Willcox, president of ProLine Integrated Systems, a Highland Park, Ill.-based integrator and last year's CEDIA president, said he was encouraged that Control4 and Exceptional Innovations had demonstrated some solid products and seemed to be gaining traction. He also said he'd be keeping an eye on Savant's Linux-based Rosie, a brand-new cost-effective home control system.

Despite those advancements, Willcox and other integrators say those companies have to build deeper track records of real-life case studies before the majority of CEDIA members fully embrace them.

"I think that we're getting closer to affordable, easy-to-program home control systems, but we're still not there yet," said Ray Lepper, president of Home Media Stores in Richmond, Va., and also a past CEDIA president. "But they are advancing the conversation and pushing the technology and platforms. You have to do that before you get one that works. I still think AMX and Crestron have the market for now."