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THINK DIFFERENT
Listed under: Top Story
Published: Friday, August 06, 2010
One CI app to rule them all?
Pitched first and foremost at installers, the ControlFX app itself is freely downloadable from the App Store, but can only be used once an appropriate license code has been obtained from the company’s website at www.controlfx.co.uk.
The idea behind ControlFX is to provide control of numerous automation systems from within a single app, versus the current situation in which one or more manufacturer-specific apps may be required to operate certain devices. Control FX allows installers to configure Apple’s wildly popular touchscreen devices for use with their clients’ systems while retaining the ability to add custom interfaces and specific functions via surface-level HTML5 programming.
ControlFX’s library currently runs to around 650 code sets from a wide array of manufacturers, with a further database of two-way ‘system licenses’ due this month that will work with multi-room systems supplied by Nuvo and Philips Dynalite, plus AV Receivers from the likes of Onkyo, Denon and Arcam. Pricing for Control FX system licenses will range from £2.50 for basic IR control, to £7.50 for one-way RS-232 control, right up to £100 for full two-way control of a Nuvo multi-room system.
Given that the iPad, et al support at most only Wi-Fi and 3G cellular data connections, Control FX also supplies its own range of ‘Ethernet/Wi-Fi to RS-232/IR’ signal conversion hardware. Availability is limited to custom installers only, backed up by a series of nationwide training sessions, details of which will be announced in due course. As an added incentive for installers to get on board, a reward scheme will be set up, whereby modules for additional systems can be submitted for other dealers to purchase, in return for which the creator gets points they can spend on additional ControlFX products. It remains to be seen whether this attempt to reorient the CI controller market around software sales rather than specialist hardware takes off, but it’s certainly an intriguing first step.
Contact: +44 (0)1252 747 570 www.habitech.co.uk
The idea behind ControlFX is to provide control of numerous automation systems from within a single app, versus the current situation in which one or more manufacturer-specific apps may be required to operate certain devices. Control FX allows installers to configure Apple’s wildly popular touchscreen devices for use with their clients’ systems while retaining the ability to add custom interfaces and specific functions via surface-level HTML5 programming.
ControlFX’s library currently runs to around 650 code sets from a wide array of manufacturers, with a further database of two-way ‘system licenses’ due this month that will work with multi-room systems supplied by Nuvo and Philips Dynalite, plus AV Receivers from the likes of Onkyo, Denon and Arcam. Pricing for Control FX system licenses will range from £2.50 for basic IR control, to £7.50 for one-way RS-232 control, right up to £100 for full two-way control of a Nuvo multi-room system.
Given that the iPad, et al support at most only Wi-Fi and 3G cellular data connections, Control FX also supplies its own range of ‘Ethernet/Wi-Fi to RS-232/IR’ signal conversion hardware. Availability is limited to custom installers only, backed up by a series of nationwide training sessions, details of which will be announced in due course. As an added incentive for installers to get on board, a reward scheme will be set up, whereby modules for additional systems can be submitted for other dealers to purchase, in return for which the creator gets points they can spend on additional ControlFX products. It remains to be seen whether this attempt to reorient the CI controller market around software sales rather than specialist hardware takes off, but it’s certainly an intriguing first step.
Contact: +44 (0)1252 747 570 www.habitech.co.uk
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