LEXINGTON, KY. — The first components in Elan’s g! series of IP-based home-control
systems ship in April as part of a staggered rollout continuing throughout the year.
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 unifi ed 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.
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, said Elan marketing manager Eric Harper.
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 A/V and whole-home
systems, and control interfaces for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and 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 2-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 7-inch TS7 LED-backlit LCD touchscreen features live, full-screen video to display
security-camera video and TV shows. Other g!s products are in development.
