European Custom Installer

Lutron introduces a pair of bracket finishes to the Palladiom Shading System-- Satin Brass and Dark Bronze, rounding out the current bracket finish offering of Satin Nickel, Black Anodized, Clear Anodized, and Pure White.

All Palladiom finishes are hand-polished, with a unibody structure combining superior workmanship with ingeniously hidden electronics, at least according to Lutron. The designer-facing solutions should meet the needs of customers wanting to accentuate a style evoking a legacy of culture and taste.

Samsung might already be selling an 8K resolution (7680 x 4320) TV, but LG appears to be taking its time with the newest of formats-- reportedly 8K TVs from the Korean company are set to hit the market next year.

"We plan to begin the mass production of 8K OLED panels in May next year," LG Display vice chairman Han Sang-beom tells reporters at a Seoul trade show. According to local news source Aju Business Daily, LG also plans to produce 8K LCD panels at a later date, before a June 2019 release of 8K OLED TVs to the general market.

Amazon follows on the June 2018 announcement of support for the Spanish and Italian languages by bringing Alexa and Echo devices-- namely the Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Dot, Echo Spot and Echo Sub-- to Spain and Italy.

The devices come to the two European countries as the company launches the updated version of Alexa Voice Service (AVS) able to handle the languages. As well as language support, Italian- and Spanish-language Alexa includes culture-specific updates, with partnerships with local brands providing local news article suggestions and even regional recipes.

The update should also rollout to 3rd party Alexa devices. An Amazon blogpost details the extent of such products coming to Italy and Spain via Sonos, Bose, Harman Kardon, Jabra, Netgear, Huawei, Sony, Grundig and Energy Sistem, among others.

Accessory maker Anker announces a sequel to the Nebula Capsule pico projector-- the Nebula Capsule II, a cylindrical number able to project 1280 x 720 resolution images up to 100-inch via brighter 200 lumens lamp.

The Nebula Capsule II promises a number of improvements over the first version. It stands 15cm tall and runs on Android TV 9.0, meaning it supports a number of streaming and media apps, including Google Play, YouTube and Netflix. Google Assistant also comes included, with a built-in microphone allowing for voice control, and users can Cast media to the projector through other Android devices.

British smart home company Hive announces a first outdoor security camera-- the Hive View Outdoor, a camera similar to the indoor Hive View featuring weatherproof housing, night vision and 2-way audio.

The View Outdoor camera attaches magnetically to a mount, and is easily adjustable according to customer preferences. The mount requires access to mains power, something Hive says allows for more powerful built-in wifi hardware. Customers can either install the camera themselves or hire the services of a professional installer, and they can lock it to the mains cable to prevent theft.