European Custom Installer

Modus VR announces a set of updates for its home theatre design platform-- including the ability to create non-rectangular room via 2D Floor Plan Editor, as well means to zoom, change ceiling height and, when ready, open in the plans in VR.

Installers can also use Modus VR with more clients, and spend less time building rooms and more time selling. In addition, the software includes 4 new Sony projectors, a ping-pong table and a club chair, enabling users to expand beyond dedicated theatre environments to media rooms and the aforementioned non-rectangular spaces. Seats even move up and down as the riser height changes.

CES 2019 might be a few months away, but the rumours on what will be on show are already rolling on-- such as Engadget claiming rollable OLED TV prototypes will take "centre stage" at the LG Display stand.

LG first showed off a flexible OLED technology back at CES 2016 in the shape of an 18-inch flexible and transparent OLED panel. This started an annual LG tradition of showing bigger and curvier versions of the technology, culminating in the CES 2018 presentation of a 65-inch 4K OLED rollable TV.

KEF announces a more compact (in terms of both size and budget) followup to the LS50 wireless speakers-- the LSX, a two-speaker wireless system complete with both Airplay 2 and aptX Bluetooth 4.2 support.

Aimed as a high performance alternative to soundbars and monophonic smart speakers, the LSX feature a 4-inch version of the KEF Uni-Q driver array, as paired with the bespoke Music Integrity DSP control algorithm. The speaker pair employs four Class-D amplifiers, one for each drive unit, together with dedicated twin DACs offering a path up to 96kHz/24-bit (using the optional wired connection between the 2 speakers) or 48kHz/24-bit in wireless mode. The companion KEF control app provides adjustable EQ setups, while an output allows customers to add a subwoofer.

Kaleidescape is the next home cinema system vendor to present a companion mobile app-- the obviously titled Kaleidescape Mobile App, a means for customers to control Kaleidescape systems via smartphone.

According to the company, the app includes an "innovative remote" making it be both fun and easy to control the onscreen display via mobile device, all while not taking eyes off the screen. It also provides timely information from the company such as movie recommendations.

According to JD Power integration with smart home technologies is key for home security, with such functionality not only meeting the needs of customers, but further adding to convenience.

The analyst's 2018 Home Security Satisfaction Study-- a survey of 1983 owners of professionally installed and monitored home/residential security systems-- points out overall customer satisfaction is at 834 out of 1000, a 3 point increase over 2017. It also makes home security the 4th highest-scoring product industry in all service industries JD Power evaluated in 2018.

"Sleek touch-screen control panels and the ability to operate the system through mobile devices have become the two most popular home security system interfaces for consumers and they are playing a key role in driving higher levels of customer satisfaction because they simplify the use of the system," the analyst says. "When compared with other connected services that come into the home-- such as cable TV, telephone and utilities-- home security is far and away the leader in customer satisfaction, indicating that this industry understands the needs of consumers and is evolving quickly to address changing preferences."