European Custom Installer

The GJD TechSmart range of proximity detectors, laser sensors and LED illuminators gets Control4 integration through the addition of Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP) software.

As a result, installers can integrate such products within Lutron and Rako lighting control systems, enabling more flexible home automation solutions. Through SDDP, Control4 system automatically finds and adds the GJD SDDP-enabled devices, reducing complexity and installation time. Custom installers also save time and avoid potential programming mistakes.

The CEDIA Awards celebrate the best in design, installation and integration, with the announcement of 26 winners in a ceremony attended by over 400 industry professionals held at the British Museum, London.

The black-tie event opened with a reception in the Egyptian Sculpture gallery, before the attendees made their way to a 3-course dinner at the Great Court. Presented by technology expert and The Gadget Show US and UK host Jason Bradbury, the ceremony had plenty of comedic moments, as well as the announcement of the 2018 EMEA CEDIA Awards winners and the 3 Global Award winners.

“The outstanding quality of all projects, in every category, was incredibly inspiring this year,” the association says. “We’d like to thank all those who took part and joined us for a fantastic evening of celebrations and would like to congratulate the winners on their well-deserved success. They have set the benchmark for next year’s CEDIA Awards and the industry as a whole, and we hope this inspires members to put forward their projects into next year’s awards scheme.”

You might not know who Brown Bear is, but the stoic ursine mascot of the Line instant messenger is a big name in Asia-- so much so Bang & Olufsen is making a limited edition of the P2 speaker themed after the character.

Line is a very popular chat app in several Asian markets, chief of which being its home Japan. As one might expect from anything Japanese, the app has a number of kawaii mascots (dubbed the Line Friends), who are so popular a merchandise line starring the characters is available in 108 countries. Goods featuring the characters even have a flagship store in Times Square, New York!

Caavo-- the startup founded by the developers of the Sling box-- is back with another stab at a universal remote-media hub combo. Dubbed the Control Center, it promises to manage all content across live TV, DVR, streaming services and the web.

Launched back in 2017, the first Caavo STB could control no less than 8 different devices at once, together with popular streaming services. The 2018 Control Center has similar, if somewhat stripped down, capabilities. For instance it lacks the IR-over-HDMI adapter for IR blasters, while the number of HDMI inputs is down from x8 to x4. Also gone is the wood paneling, replaced with a simple black facade.

According to IDC, the global smart home device market is set to grow by 31% in 2018 to reach 643.9 million units shipped, before growing to reach nearly 1.3 billion devices by 2022 at a CAGR of 20.8%.

The analyst puts smart speakers, video entertainment products, connected lighting, smart thermostats and home monitoring/security products under the "smart home device" umbrella. The fastest growing product category is, perhaps unsurprisingly, smart speakers, accounting for 100m units in 2018 and 230.5m by 2022 with a 5-year CAGR of 39.1%.

"While dedicated smart speakers with built-in voice assistants will be prevalent throughout the forecast, we're already seeing a notable shift in this market," the analyst adds. "Many new types of devices, both inside and outside the home, now include built-in voice assistants. Not only do these help to increase the number of touch points available to end users, but it also helps each assistant to grow by expanding reach and gaining a deeper understanding of what, when, and how users approach various tasks."