European Custom Installer

Savant introduces a suite of what it calls "Savant Entry"-- a series of products allowing homeowners to see and communicate with anyone approaching a house entry point, such as the front door, side door, garage or gate.

Introduced as part of the Savant 8.9 software and hardware release, the Entry solution sends notifications to homeowners via Savant Pro App secure encrypted connection. Users can respond and unlock the door or gate, as well as check via video intercom on anyone approaching the entry point. They can even simply monitor the status of an entry point, without anyone ringing the bell.

The Entry solutions are designed to work from both inside the home or remotely within the Savant Pro 8 iOS/Android app. In addition, the solution promises an array of premium features, including high-powered night vision capability, advanced motion detection with available notifications and up to 3 months of video storage for events at the door.

Integrated Systems Europe opens visitor registration for ISE 2019-- a show featuring more exhibition space and a bigger conference program, expected to draw in excess of the 2018 totals of 80923 registered attendees and 1296 exhibitors.

ISE 2019 still takes place at the RAI Amsterdam, if with a Hall 5 extended by around one-third in response to growing demand for more exhibition space. In addition, ISE is spreading beyond the RAI by offering a range of conferences both new and established at the nearby 5-star Hotel Okura.

Attendees will be able to get to the show via the newly opened Metro line 52, which carries passengers from Amsterdam Centraal to the new Europaplein station in front of the RAI in all of 8 minutes.

Gira announces the Studio Design Line-- a selection of 3 models providing installers with means to “emphasise design through colour and create a uniform or contrasting aesthetic.”

Available in either "Black" and "White Glass" in 3 different variants, installers get the option to create either a one-colour design with both round frame and square switch are in the same finish, or a two-tone effect with white on black or black on white.

The 3 models consist of a 1-gang flush-mount option, a 1-3 gang flush-mount version and a surface-mount option. The flush-mounted Studio version is the contemporary version featuring a glass cover frame, while the surface-mounted model is aimed at traditional environments, with a period-style design inspired by 20th century style round dome light switches.

Bluesound updates its wireless whole-house audio product family-- Generation 2i builds on the line withe dual-band wifi, Apple AirPlay 2 support, upgraded Bluetooth codecs and improved amplification and acoustics.

The Gen 2i product offering consists of the Pulse Flex 2i, Pulse Mini 2i, Pulse 2i, Pulse Soundbar 2i, Node 2i, Powernode 2i and Vault 2i. All feature designs identical to the previous models, other than a change in grille colour, and feature the BluOS music management system. As such the upgrades are on the inside. For instance, they support 5GHz wifi, Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD (resolutions up to 48KHz and 24-bit) and AirPlay 2.

Atlona starts shipping the Opus series of HDMI-to-HDBaseT matrix switchers, available in 4x6, 6x8 and 8x10 aimed at both residential and commercial installs.

The AT-OPUS-46M (4×6), AT-OPUS-68M (6×8) and AT-OPUS-810M (8×10) matrix switchers all output HDBaseT, and can transmit HDMI, ethernet passthrough, bidirectional IR and RS-232 control signals to compatible receivers over distances of up to 100m. The switchers comply with HDCP 2.2 specification for protected content, and support 4K UHD video at 60Hz with 4:4:4 chroma sampling (8-bit colour) and HDMI data rates up to 18Gbps.