ELAN Home Systems plans April shipments of the first components in its g! series of IP-based home-control systems as part of a staggered rollout continuing throughout the year. ELAN’s g!-series home-control systems will deliver the same user interface to multiple types of display devices, including TVs and iPhones.
Systems built from ELAN’s g!-series components will cost consumers 25 percent to 30 percent less per zone than the HomeLogic-brand systems they will replace. HomeLogic, a manufacturer of IP-based home-control systems, was acquired by Elan in 2007, and the brand is being phased out as ELAN phases in its g! series.
With the launch of the g! series, ELAN is also adding control from a TV display and built-in streaming if Internet music services. The series will also deliver a unified user interface on multiple types of display devices ranging from TVs, touchscreens, a touchpad, iPhones and iPod Touches, and Windows PCs and laptops. When a g!-series app is installed, Wi-Fi- and ethernet-networked Windows PCs and laptops will control home systems whether the computer is in the house or off-site. Likewise, home systems can be controlled via Wi-Fi from within the house or remotely from iPhones and iPod Touches. iPhones will also control home systems from afar via cellular.
Home systems that can be controlled from g!-series products include security, climate, lighting, entertainment, irrigation and pool/spa systems.
When all g! components are available, system costs for end users will fall below $1,000 for a single-room g! control system, and a four-zone system with three opening-price in-wall touchpads and an iPhone/touch app would cost less than $5,000, ELAN marketing manager Eric Harper said. The prices exclude installation and the cost of home systems controlled from g!-series devices.
The g! products shipping in April include the $610-suggested TS2 Film Interactive OLED Touchpad, third-party drivers to control most popular AV and whole-home systems, and control interfaces for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Windows PCs.
Also in April, ELAN will ship three existing components previously sold under the HomeLogic brand but upgraded to include g! series software. They are the HomeBrick and MultiBrick IP controllers and the Profile 700 in-wall LCD touchscreen. The HomeBrick and MultiBrick attach to Network Attached Storage (NAS) drives to store and manage music, photos, and security-camera video. The HomeBrick adds embedded hard drive.
The two Bricks will ship through August, when they will be replaced by the $3,000 HC12 and $1,950 HC6 controllers. Also in August, Elan will ship the $1,700 TS7 7-inch LCD touchscreen to replace the Profile 700 touchscreen.
Here’s what the April and August products feature:
The double-gang TS2 4-inch touchpad features two-inch high-resolution OLED display and offers two-way feedback and control of multiroom-audio systems, lighting scenes, climate control, and security arming/disarming. It also displays weather forecasts and time of day on its home screen.
The HC12 and HC6 controllers feature 1080i component output to display a GUI on a flat-panel TV. They also manage music, photos, and stored security-camera video. That content can be stored on the HC12’s embedded 450GB hard disk drive as well as on a network-attached storage device connected to the HC12. The HC6 lacks embedded HDD but connects to NAS drives. Both controllers also stream the Rhapsody and Pandora Internet music services and the Shoutcast Internet radio service. Both components feature two-zone audio output.
Like the HomeBrick and MultiBrick controllers, the HC12 and HC6 come with drivers to control Sony’s 400-disc Blu-ray megachanger.
The HC12’s connectivity options consist of 12 serial ports, 12 IR inputs, two RS485 ports, two Elan VIA!Net ports, six sensing inputs, four relays, and two USB ports. The HC6 cuts the number of serial ports to six.
The seven-inch TS7 LED-backlit LCD touchscreen features live, full-screen video to display security-camera video and TV shows. Six hard buttons are available for often-used functions, and an integrated microphone and speaker enable intercom functions.
Other planned products include a TS10 10-inch LCD touchscreen, planned for sometime during the third quarter. By year’s end, the company plans to ship the HR2 RF handheld remote and HC4 behind-the-TV controller.
To go with the g! series, ELAN already offers its first lighting-control system, which sends control si-series controllers. The g!-series controllers also support all major other-brand lighting systems.
