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Nest devices now talk to the rest of your automated home
Nest's thermostat and Protect smoke detector may help automate your home, but they haven't actually talked directly to home automation systems so far -- a bit of a discrepancy, don't you think? All should be well now, though, since the Works with Nest program has just expanded to support the whole-home automation gear from Control4, Crestron, RTI and URC. If you're fortunate enough to have one of those systems, you can now integrate Nest equipment with home theaters, lighting and anything else that talks to one of the supported control hubs.
VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials
Most VidaBox Media Extenders have borne a closer similarity to mini PCs than to the kind of equipment you'd stack on top of a home theater receiver. That's already been changing, but the company's new vPlayer and vStreamer are virtually invisible in the living room by comparison. Either has a newly streamlined, stackable design that feels entirely at home in the den and keeps the noisy buzzes and whines to a minimum through a new cooling system. Although VidaBox is wonderfully vague about specs -- both hubs tout a "dual core processor," for example -- its units have been modernized enough to use a thrifty 35W of typical power. The boxes lack dedicated media storage space and curiously have to be factory upgraded to get HDMI 1.4 instead of 1.3, but they'll output 7.1-channel audio and 1080p video while integrating with most common home automation systems over RS-232. We haven't been quoted prices to simplify any buying decisions; we expect the gap to be small between the two offerings, since the vPlayer and vStreamer are identical on the inside except for the vPlayer's Blu-ray drive. Dealers will have a better answer for you when VidaBox starts shipping the extender duo on September 4th.
Nanofiber lighting promises to be better, safer than incandescent or CFL bulbs
Well, it looks like you can add another contender to the great light bulb debate -- a group of researchers from RTI International now says that nanofiber lighter is more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, and safer than compact fluorescents. The secret to that, it seems, is a combination of nanofiber-based reflectors and photoluminescent nanofibers (or PLN), which together are able to form a lighting device that pumps out more than 55 lumens of light output per electrical watt consumed. That's five times more efficient than a regular incandescent light bulb, and since there's no mercury, the researchers say it's far safer than CFL bulbs. What's more, it's also apparently able to produce more natural light than CFLs, although there's noticeably no mention of potential pricing -- they do say that the first products using nanofiber lighting could be available in three to five years, though. Video after the break. [Thanks, DeFlanko]
RTI busts out V6 / A8 matrix switchers and CP-1680 audio amp
These are primarily for the pros, so we'll keep it short and sheet. RTI is getting set to unveil a trio of new products at CEDIA, the first of which routes eight analog audio and eight composite video sources to eight individual zones. Needless to say, that's the A8 Audio Distribution Matrix Switcher we're referring to. The V6 Video Distribution Matrix Switcher can switch six component and composite video sources between six varying zones, while the CP-1680 Multi-Channel Audio Amplifier provides audio through 16 channels at 80-watts each. Pricing has yet to be divulged, but feel free to venture on past the break for the whole release. %Gallery-30206%
RTI's T2-C touchscreen controller
Either the industry players are way overestimating the market for $800 touchscreen home theater remotes, or it's a good time to be in biz, but RTI's latest, the T2-C, ain't no slouch for a clicker. Popping in with a 200MHz XScale processor, 16MB flash memory, cradle, and backlit keys and an interface that makes it look more cellphone than remote, is it really any wonder they want you to invest eight bills in this thing? Ok, so it's a bit of a wonder, but something tells us someone out there will be that patsy, er, happy and satisfied customer.
Researchers develop paint-on antenna for high-altitude airships
A team of researchers from the too-coolly-named Research Triangle Institute recently spent some time in the Nevada desert, catching some much-needed rays, and successfully testing a paint-on antenna for high-altitude airships, which they say opens up new possibilities for surveillance and communication. Not surprisingly, exact details of the system aren't readily available, but the antenna was apparently able to transmit both voice and data links, as well as allow for teleconferencing capabilities. Military and homeland security applications are the biggest draw here, with the airships able to operate well above commercial air traffic and out of the range of most ground-to-air missiles -- although, we've gotta say, blimp-based blanket wireless access still ain't that bad an idea.[Via Slashdot]
