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AVC Builds Elan, Niles Tech Bridge

CEDIA Expo

Indianapolis – The
AVC Group has developed a way to integrate the Niles-branded IntelliControl ICS
multi-room-audio system with one of Elan’s g! home-system controllers, giving
installers an opportunity to upgrade previously installed Niles systems.

The development is part of the AVC Group’s
“commitment to pursue a long-term complementary product-development strategy
while maintaining the strength and integrity of each individual brand,” said
group president Mark Terry. Nortek-owned AVC also owns the Xantech, Sunfire and
Aton brands.

 At a minimum, the new option gives Niles installers
that qualify to sell Elan products, and vice versa, the opportunity to offer
wireless Wi-Fi control of a Niles system from an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
Niles dealers would also get the opportunity to add an “affordable bridge” that
integrates control of multiple home systems with control of a Niles audio
system.

To make these
capabilities possible, Elan added Niles drivers to the $1,100 g! series HC4
controller, enabling RS-232 communication between the controller and Niles’s
12×60-watt GXR2 six-source, six-zone receiver, which can be linked with other
GXR2 receivers to create a 30-zone audio system.

 An HC4 added to a Niles system will deliver
wireless Wi-Fi control from Apple’s mobile devices, but installers could also
connect multiple home systems to the controllers’ multiple wired inputs and
outputs to control those systems. To control those systems, installers would
also have to swap out previously installed Niles in-wall keypads for Elan g!
series touchpads and touchscreens. The new touchpads and touchscreens would reuse
the currently installed CAT-5 cables that ran to the Niles keypads, though new
terminations would be needed. Installers would also have to enlarge the Nile’s
keypad cutout.

 The six-zone Niles GXR2 features six bays to
add a mix of AM/FM tuner modules, HD Radio modules, satellite-radio modules, iPod-interface
modules, and source-input modules that connect to music servers and other
outboard music sources. The GXR2 also streams Pandora Internet Radio, the
Rhapsody music service and music stored on a networked PC. More than 15,000
Niles systems have been installed since its launch in 2005.

 Elan’s g! series controllers, including the
HC4, offer more limited multi-room-audio options than the Niles system, with
the HC4 featuring only one audio-output zone. It connects to outboard
network-attached storage drives to distribute audio.

 “This initial integration of the Niles ICS
system with the Elan g! control platform makes it possible for our loyal base
of Niles ICS customers to immediately access the benefits of whole home
automation featured in the Elan g! control system,” Terry said. 

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