QMotion will demo its Qadvanced Intelligent Systems (QIS) hardwired motorized shades interface at CEDIA Expo this week, the company said in an email. The interface works with home automation systems from companies including Vantage, Control4, Elan, RTI and Savant. The hardwired configuration runs over Cat 5e or cat 6 cable for power and communication, said the company. Adapters enable QIS products to operate via most pre-wired systems, it said. QMotion is also announcing a refreshed Qsync system with Android and iOS app control for all QMotion products: motorized roller shades, honeycomb shades and drapery rods, said the company.
Custom integration marketing agency One Firefly created a video training tool for integrators and security professionals to help educate prospective customers about using an iPad-based control system. The video training product, UI University, launched with manufacturer libraries from Control4, Savant and Sonos, said a One Firefly blog post. The goal is to help dealers make technology “more accessible and less intimidating” to their clients, said One Firefly CEO Ron Callis. The videos were produced in 4K but made available in HD for broader reach, it said. Integrators’ logos are featured in opening and closing sequences, it said.
Access Networks bowed a premium network package to be sold exclusively through professional integrators. Features of the Unity 8G+: an ASA firewall, a 12-port core switch, a 48-port layer 2 switch and upgraded 802.11ac access points, said the company. Access Networks solutions are customized for each home for easy deployment and reliable performance, it said. Suggested retail price is $23,335.
Crestron opened an experience center and design showroom in the Design Center of the Americas, Dania Beach, Florida, it said Thursday. The space is open to interior and lighting designers, technology professionals, architects and homeowners who want to see how Crestron technology fits into real-life settings, said the company. The showroom includes a living room, kitchen, master suite and home office, and it has a learning space for seminar events, Crestron said. Technology on display: automated shading and lighting, integrated environmental controls and AV system control, it said.
Control4 announced a technical training resource, Smart Skills, to supplement its training and certification programs. Smart Skills gives Control4 technicians and integrators a path for learning how to do more with the platform, said the company Wednesday. The initial 15 Smart Skills videos -- typically less than three minutes long -- show dealers how to master installation configurations, program unique scenes and perform singular tasks, said the company. Initial topics cover automating a gas fireplace, integrating a ZigBee door lock, enabling alerts to a mobile device and advanced programming with custom variables.
Control4 “bounced back nicely in Q4, meeting expectations and showing signs of stability,” Dougherty & Co. analyst Steven Frankel said in a note to investors Monday ahead of the company’s Thursday earnings call. But Frankel is looking for “a couple periods of solid execution” before making an aggressive prediction on the stock, given a history of “quarter-to-quarter volatility.” Control4’s “tuck-in” acquisition of Pakedge and “more disciplined spending” set the stage for “material improvement” in 2016, said Frankel. Dougherty is modeling $40.1 million revenue for Q1, compared with a consensus of $39.3 million and Control4 management guidance of $38.5 million. On the earnings call, Frankel will be looking for updates on the $600 EA-1 bundle, Control4's progress qualifying Pakedge dealers for Control4 installations and its ability to improve how leads are allocated to channel partners, said Frankel. He labeled Control4 “an extremely cheap stock” due to its track record, making it "difficult to have confidence in the numbers.” Macroeconomic issues have hit the company intermittently while “the home automation opportunity hasn't materialized as quickly as we would have imagined it would,” Frankel said. He attributed that to the rise of “simple music streaming devices” from companies including Sonos and the improved ease of use in products from providers such as Comcast's X1, which “made the motivation to adopt home automation in order to ‘uncomplicate home entertainment’ less compelling.” Control4 is focused on automating lighting, security and HVAC, said Frankel, who believes “these use cases are often better suited for new construction which may translate into longer sales/implementation cycles.”
Control4 announced a shift in its Australia distribution model, adding in-country staff to handle sales, technical support and training to expand its reach with home automation integrators. The move, effective April 1, leverages Control4 operations and employees from its January 2015 purchase of audio/video distribution company Nexus Technologies and its Leaf brand, it said Thursday. Control4 undertook similar transitions in the U.K. and China in 2011 and in Germany last year.
Control4 announced shipping of its intelligent Square wireless lighting products Tuesday to dealers in Europe and Asia. The line includes a wireless dimmer, switch and keypad designed to fit wall boxes with compact, square form factors, said the company. In addition to controlling lights in a room and throughout the home, the dimmers and switches can be configured to manage music and security system functions, it said.
Ingersoll Rand smart home brand Nexia introduced a handheld controller that manages connected home devices. The company is targeting the Z-Wave-based Nexia system to homebuilders. The $99 One Touch controller, which can be carried or mounted to a wall, was the response to user requests for a controller to use within the home without having to carry a smartphone around the house, the company said. The controller's backlit screen displays 15 programmable commands for individual scenes, it said. The $99 remote is available on Amazon and Build.com and through Trane and American Standard heating and air conditioning dealers.
Control4 is selling select Denon AV products to its authorized dealers through the Control4 Online Store, it said Thursday. Products include Heos multiroom music gear, AV receivers, turntables and Blu-ray players, Control4 said. Denon was one of the first companies to adopt Control4’s Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP) that facilitates integration of Denon products into Control4 systems, and adding Denon to the store expands the brand's reach to dealers “already invested in the smart home,” a Control4 spokesman told us. The Control4 store sells products from “the most frequently installed and requested partners" under the Control4 umbrella to streamline ordering for dealers, the spokesman said. Criteria for other brands' products sold in the Control4 store include “whether they compete with existing partners, how they have already supported Control4 through SDDP implementation and certification," the type of resources companies can provide to support Control4's dealers, and how the tech support team views a company's "reliability and troubleshooting ease,” the spokesman said.