European Custom Installer

Leon Speakers expands its custom loudspeaker portfolio as it acquires rugged all-weather speaker maker Terra Speakers. Financial details of the deal are not available.

The two companies already have a history of collaboration, having worked together on several products. The Terra All Climate FIVE all-weather loudspeaker line is the result of such a partnership, while the Leon Boundary Series outdoor speakers carry Terra-made drivers.

Draper announces the TecVision XH800X UST ALR and CS1000X ALR-- a pair of additions to the TecVision line of ISF-certified 8K-ready viewing surfaces.

Set for an InfoComm 2018 debut, the TecVision XH800X UST ALR is a premium ambient light rejecting surface aimed for use with ultra-short throw (UST) and short throw projectors in moderate to high ambient light applications. It promises to reject 57% of off axis ambient light, while still supporting wide viewing angles. Available in NanoPerf up to 2.5m image height, the surface works works with lens throw distance ratio up to 0.25:1 or longer for best brightness uniformity.

Crestron adds support for 3rd party AV devices to the Pyng home automation platform-- with LG 2017 and 2018 series consumer OLED, Super UHD and UHD TVs being the first getting IP control via the Crestron system.

Pyng offers simple luxury home automation setup and control for a variety of components, including audio, lighting, shades, thermostats, door locks, security keypads, occupancy sensors and photosensors. It allows installers to develop scenes for each room in the home and schedule events via iPad, and in turn homeowners can easily change scenes, settings and system schedules.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research have a means to transform walls into a smart home control interface-- and all it requires is conductive paint and some electronics.

"Walls are usually the largest surface area in a room, yet we don't make much use of them other than to separate spaces, and perhaps hold up pictures and shelves," the researchers say. "As the internet of things and ubiquitous computing become reality, it is tempting to think that walls can become active parts of our living and work environments.

Dubbed Wall++, the system involves the application of conductive paint and a sensor board to a wall. The paint is water-based and contains nickel for conductivity. First, one creates a crosshatch pattern on the wall using painter's tape. After the application of two coats of conductive paint with a roller, the tape is removed and the sensor board is connected. Finally the wall is painted again with a top coat of standard latex paint to hide the conductive paint pattern.

Shure announces a solution for customers wanting to listen to high-resolution audio-- the KSE1200, a portable audio-amplification solution designed for use with portable media players.

The KSE1200 is technically a stripped-down version of the KSE1500, a device Shure describes as "the world's first sound isolating electrostatic earphone system." As such, while the KSE1500 is a full blown personal listening system the KSE1200 drops the digital signal processor and only carries an amplifier, allowing for a lower-cost device.