European Custom Installer

Michael de Nigris, founding member and former CEO of Autonomic, acquires the music streaming and multiroom audio system maker from SnapAV. The financial details of the deal are not available.

Post-acquisition Autonomic will run as an independent company, with de Nigris as CEO alongside a core group of original employees. SnapAV will continue selling Autonomic audio solutions through both website and local branches, and promises to continue supporting Autonomic products. In the meantime Autonomic will also directly sell such products and offer related support.

“We are increasing our brand focus to provide dealers with the products needed to deploy an advanced listening experience on today’s most popular control systems,” de Nigris says. “By leveraging our current technology with a dedicated group of original employees, we can provide significant innovation that will empower dealers to do their best work ever.”

Atlantic Technology announces the FS series-- a pair of compact powered subwoofers designed to deliver bass to any TV, soundbar or audio system claiming combine the versatility of both wired and universal wireless connectivity.

The two models in question are the 100W amplified FS-S65 with a 6.5-inch woofer and the FS-S8, the 8-inch, 105W model. Both use low-latency SKAA wireless audio technology to seamlessly work with the Atlantic Technology line of wireless multi-room SKAA speakers, soundbars and amps, as well as any other brand of soundbar, TV, AVR or audio source.

TCL launches a pair of 4K TV lines in the European market-- the C71 and C81 (aka the C715K and C815K), both featuring a QLED (Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode) panel with support for a range of HDR formats.

Created as a rival technology to OLED, QLED technology involves quantum dots, tiny semiconductor particles able to convert the white light of the backlight into coloured light. The colour depends on the size of the quantum dots, since larger dots generate red light while the smaller ones create blue light. The end result promises wider colour reproduction compared to LCD TVs and higher peak brightness than OLED displays.

Sonos proves recent rumours true with the announcement of the Arc, a "premium smart soundbar" capable of pushing "cinema-quality" sound through 11 high-performance drivers and Dolby Atmos support.

"Home has never played a more important role in our lives and we've always been about making the home more enjoyable with great-sounding products and new experiences. Arc brings the sounds of our favourite shows and artists to life like never before," the company says. "Our goal is to make any room you have a television, a place you can easily enjoy all of the great streaming video and music that exists today. Arc illustrates our commitment to brilliant sound and premium design, and sets a new standard for soundbars."

The NFC Forum, the organisation behind Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, approves and a Wireless Charging specification (WLC) allowing charging through the wireless standard.

The the WLC users will be able to wirelessly charge small, battery-powered consumer and IoT devices at a power transfer rate of up to 1W, all using a single antenna in an NFC-enabled device. Such devices will still be able to communicate using the same antenna, and the solution should make it easier to charge low-power devices such as wearables and digital pens.