European Custom Installer

Voice control is set to appear virtually everywhere-- including the light switch, as the Ecobee Switch+ combines the humble device with a smart speaker and voice control access point.

The voice-controlled assistant found in the Switch+ is Amazon's Alexa, although Ecobee says it will eventually add compatibility with Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant. Whichever the assistant, users can simply speak out various commands, such as asking for the the weather, news headlines, music playback or connected device control. Further home automation features will also be added through SmartThings and IFTTT integration.

ATC Loudspeaker Technology announces the CDA2 Mk2-- a CD/DAC preamplifier developed as the partner for the ATC P2 power amplifier and active speaker designs.

The Mk2 combines convenient USB access to music streaming with upgraded CD transport and DAC board, dedicated headphone amplification, expanded input choices and analogue circuits redesigned to deliver an extremely wide and flat frequency response with very low distortion. The USB input handles PCM data up to 384kHz and DSD64 natively, with jitter rejection ensuring signal integrity is maintained even with lower quality sources and long cable runs.

Crestron will showcase its new solutions for the residential and commercial markets at the trade fair for lighting and building technology, Light + Building 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany on 18-23 March.

Visitors to the Crestron’s stand will be able to experience technology that not only simplifies everyday life but enhances it too, including a preview of its new line of Horizon keypads and handheld remotes.

Addressing the themes of tomorrow, the new Horizon keypads are available in highly configurable single-gang models that combine up to four across, with designer aesthetics, superior button feel, four different button styles, programmable multicolour backlighting and interchangeable custom top and bottom trim pieces, with Cresnet wired communications. The beautiful new keypads provide Crestron residential dealers, as well as interior designers and architects with incredible flexibility in both control and design. The new Crestron keypads deliver an advanced custom control solution, as part of a complete Crestron smart home.

Extron starts shipping the TLP Pro 1025T-- a 10-inch tabletop TouchLink Pro touchpanel featuring a redesigned touchscreen, quad-core processor and 8 times more memory.

The 12800 x 800 capacitive touchscreen is built with scratch- and smudge-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass and a new enclosure design with a sweeping back. Power over Ethernet (PoE) allows it to receive power and communication over a single ethernet cable, making the touchscreen ideal for environments demanding a tidy installation.

Smart-e follows on last year's 4K-TX940 HDBaseT HDCP 2.2 splitter with the 4K-TX941-- an enhanced version able to transmit RS232 signals over the same CAT 6 cable distributing the 4K HDMI signals.

In addition to all benefits the 4K-TX940 provides, including transmitting 4K UHD resolution HDMI signals over 100m of CAT 6 cable, x4 HDBaseT ports with POC and enhanced EDID management, the 4K-TX941 allows the source device to send RS233 signasl the the display, providing a quick and easy remote control solution.