AMX Updates Custom Lineup

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/12/2009

Richardson, Texas — AMX has entered the HDMI distribution market, brought out tabletop versions of its in-wall keypads and select touchpanels, and launched its first in-wall touchpanel at less than $1,000.

The company has also introduced a product that lets iPod Touches and iPhones control AMX home systems via Wi-Fi.

Three HDMI-distribution products feature HDMI HDCP-key caching to ensure that multiple displays don't temporarily black out when other displays are turned on in other rooms. All are promoted as priced “significantly less” than the competition, with one model retailing for 25 percent less than competing products, a spokesman said.

One of the HDMI-distribution products is a $6,900 8x8 switcher/distribution system that distributes 1080p HDMI video up to 65 feet over HDMI cables. Another 8x8 model at a suggested $11,900 distributes HDMI signals up to about 100 feet over unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable rated at CAT-5 and up. The third option is a $4.700 8x8 board that can be inserted into previously installed AMX Optima matrix switchers to upgrade them to offer HDMI output. AMX's Optima supported component output and DVI.

In new tabletop controllers, the company launched tabletop versions of one-, two- and three-gang in-wall keypads at a suggested $300 each. They use a single Ethernet cable to get power and send/receive control signals. They'll be joined by the first tabletop versions of AMX's 4.3- and 5-inch touchpanels. The tabletop versions are also priced at $300.

A new in-wall touchpanel, the $995-suggested NXD-430P/435P, is available at a suggested $995. It's the company's first portrait-mode touchpanel designed as a keypad replacement. It will display album art and other graphics.

To enable Wi-Fi control of AMX systems from a Touch or iPhone, the company launched the NXV-300, a component that plugs into a home's Ethernet network to serve up an AMX interface on a Touch or iPhone. Pricing was unavailable.