SpeakerCraft Launches iPhone Interface for MODE Multiroom A/V
SpeakerCraft was one of the first companies way back when to introduce a multiroom audio system that incorporated metadata from an iPod.
Now the company is taking its ties to Apple one step further with an iPhone interface for the MODE distributed-audio system. The interface is generated through an embedded Web server residing inside SpeakerCraft’s ERS 1.0 Ethernet-to-serial adapter. Since the interface is accessed through the iPhone’s Safari browser, there’s no software to install on the phone (or iTouch).
The ERS also dishes up an interface for standard PC/Mac Web browsers, allowing users to control the system from any iPhone/iTouch on the network.
Multiple interface devices can be used simultaneously to control different zones of the house.
“I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end for keypads,” says SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt. “Soon any keypad that isn’t emulated on a device like the iPhone will be obsolete.”
The ERS 1.0 with the embedded software has an MSRP of $1,000.
Source: CE Pro
CWave - Home Networking with UWB Chipset
Pulse~LINK introduced its CWave® wireless HDMI system that enables the placement of an HDTV anywhere in the room, reducing wire clutter and simplifying connectivity between your media devices.
CWave is using an approach similar to German’s WiMAC only instead of the slower WiFi wireless using UWB (ultra wide band) chipset which enables simultaneous operation of Ethernet over Coax, 1394 over Coax and Wireless connections to your HDTV. This chipset backed with power grid support allows for several simultaneous HD streams on the network.
Devices enabled with the CWave® UWB PL3100 chipset allow HD/Multimedia content located anywhere in the home to be shared across the existing coax backbone with wireless networking connections in each room for Set-Top-Boxes (STBs), HDTVs, DVRs, DVD players, Media Center PCs, and other multimedia equipment. Unequaled data carrying capacity also enables interactive “Trick Play” capabilities (pause, fast-forward, fast-rewind) and menu navigation throughout the home.
Pulse~LINK has a nice intro video of CWave technology on their website.