We have all been in a meeting where we’ve played pass-the-cable-around to connect to a projector. Now Vision launches a product so obvious you’ll wonder why it hasn’t been done before.

The “Techconnect Select” is an HDMI dongle which fits to an HDMI cable, and plugs into your laptop.

When a user is ready to share their screen they just press the SELECT button on the dongle. The Techconnect Select sends a control signal back down the HDMI cable to the HDMI switcher which is hidden out of sight.

It only works with Vision’s HDMI switcher which accepts up to four inputs, but any HDMI cable can be used.

No software. No complexity. Works with iPads. Affordable (SSP GBP 25 / EUR 30 each). Techconnect Select’ makes an elegant yet simple collaboration

Vision will start shipping from February, but you can see it during ISE (Hall 5, S82).

Go The Techconnect Select

by Robert Dolin, VP and Chief Technology Officer, Echelon Corp.

The Internet of Things will be an important part of the future in most industries and especially Smart Buildings. Here Robert Dolin, CTO of Echelon Corp., shares a vision on how IoT will come in “different flavours.”

Echelon Corporation develops, markets and supports the world's most proven, open standard, multi-application energy control networking platform. Echelon’s vision from its inception 20 years ago is one of low-cost embedded monitoring and control technology in every electrically controlled device in the world. Today Echelon’s technology platform is embedded in more than 100 million devices, 35 million homes, and 300,000 buildings.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become an expansive concept, encompassing a broad range of application areas. The IoT is not a single, homogenous entity, however. It can be broken down into the human IoT (HIoT) and the commercial and industrial IoT (IIoT). The IIoT can be further divided into machine-to-machine (M2M) and machines-to-machines (Ms2Ms) segments.

The RVU Alliance will develop technical specs for the distribution of digital audio/video home networked entertainment content augmented with pixel accurate remote user interface graphics.

The RVU Alliance is backed by leading content service provider, semiconductor, and consumer electronic companies. The founding members include Broadcom, Cisco, DIRECTV Samsung and Verizon.

RVU allows the television viewer to watch live or recorded programming on various manufacturer-branded TVs or clients while experiencing a consistent user interface-no matter which client device is employed. Once connected, the TV viewer can watch the service provider content from any room of the home.

Toshiba Corporation will start sales and marketing of a home energy management system (HEMS) and services in Europe with the launch of "Pluzzy."

Initial sales have started in France by Toshiba Systèmes (France) S.A.S. (TSF). The launch, says the company, is the first step to enhancing Toshiba Group's home solution business in Europe.

Pluzzy lets connected households to visualize current and cumulative power consumption for the day, week, month and year; to measure the cost; and to set and manage consumption targets.

It also tracks CO2 emissions. Smartplug, a component of Pluzzy, monitors energy consumption and allows programming and management of individual equipment. The overall system and individual settings (remote control operation of lighting, heating and other equipment) can be accessed and controlled by a PC or network-connected TV, or a smartphone or tablet—and used from remote locations outside the home.

Cabletime, developer of the MediaStar Evolution range of IPTV distribution solutions, announces the launch of the Evolution 780SL Media Player.

This ‘refined’ version of the flagship Evolution 780AV player is aimed at users looking for a simpler range of features in an affordable, entry-level solution.

The Evolution 780SL delivers HDMI digital video and audio outputs, and suits users with no requirement for analogue. It still provides the ability to decode streams but now also features 8GB of on-board storage allowing it to play back stored content such as corporate videos and Power Point presentations. Like all Evolution products, the 780SL schedules this content through the Evolution Media Manager control software. It is available in standard and power-over-Ethernet versions.

According to IHS global shipments of devices able to access over-the-top (OTT) broadband content such as Netflix and Hulu are to reach over 1.7 billion, proof of "profound" changes in the way consumers access video entertainment.

The definition of "OTT-capable equipment" is a fairly broad, since it covers STBs, Blu-ray players, internet-enabled TVs, game consoles, digital media adapters (Apple TV, Roku), tablets, PCs and smartphones. All allow users to consume entertainment "on top" of an internet connection.

Such shipments represent 20% growth over the 1.43bn in 2012, and equate to enough OTT systems to accommodate nearly 1 out of every 4 persons in the world.