North Reading, MA–The B&W Group has introduced the i-Command Integrated Control System, a new brand that works through standard Category 5 Ethernet protocols or wireless 802.11b connections to control home A/V components, multi-room media systems, lighting, projectors, screens, motorized drapes and peripherals.
The B&W Group has acquired the rights to the technology from In2Networks–a software company noted for its networking standards and home automation and control-systems design.
At the device’s center is an i-Node device which attaches to the RS-232 port found on most components. This can be done via an i-Command touch panel or other available wireless PDAs, tablet-PCs, laptop, desktop PCs or any wired or wireless product that provides a Web-browser window. Motorized devices or components such as VCRs or cable boxes without an RS-232 port can utilize the ir-Node, an infrared module which sends the infrared equivalent of a serial RS-232 command to each component in the system.
The i-Command System will be introduced to specialty retailers and custom installers in a suite at the Mirage Hotel at the 2004 CES Show this week. It will be distributed through B&W’s global network of specialty home audio/video retailers and custom installers in March ’04.
