URC MX-6000 - Available At Custom Installation Services Charlotte NC!
Over the past couple of years, URC has worked hard to reposition itself as a whole-house control company – not just a maker of remotes.
In a symbolic gesture, the company even changed its name in March from Universal Remote Controls to just plain URC, which is what everyone has always called it anyway.
The name-change sets the stage for CEDA Expo 2010, where we’ll see URC’s most ambitious play in the home automation space.
The company promises a “monumental unveiling” of a new line called Total Control, which pushes URC “beyond controlling the home theater and becomes the whole house control company of choice,” according to a CEDIA teaser.
Of course, we’ve heard that claim from URC before. Likewise from virtually every manufacturer of higher-end remote controls.
So what makes this particular unveiling so monumental?
Today, “We offer whole-house control, but to a large extent it’s with third-party products,” URC marketing director Jon Sienkiewicz tells Electronic House sister publication CE Pro. “Now, we’ll have URC-branded products.”
URC-branded products? As in subsystems?
It wouldn’t be a first. With help from Lutron, URC developed its own line of natively compatible lighting controls in 2008. The company did recently unveil an energy monitoring app for its networked controllers. Could thermostats, multiroom audio, IP cameras and other subsystems be far behind? URC isn’t saying.
DirecTV customers woke up to gray screens on Tuesday after an automatic update crippled HD DVRs.
You didn’t need a tweet from DirecTV to learn about an an automatic update that crippled HD DVRs overnight.
By morning, frantic customers and loved ones were already doing what they could to reboot the boxes, or were calling their custom electronics (CE) pros with tales of woe.
“My wife called as I was on the way to work this morning. Kids were up and couldn’t watch Curious George,” wrote FINS on remotecentral.com.
On the same site, edizzle reported: “It is the update for 3D. all 5 of my boxes were frozen and i have already fielded dozens of calls. most were fine after one RBR (red button reset), some required two. 3D on 6/11 channel 106. get your goggles ready.”
Indeed, DirecTV subscribers are waiting in anticipation of 3D World Cup soccer action that kicks off on June 11 on ESPN 3D.
Added this from a CE pro with the user name Fiasco: “I’m going out to a house tomorrow afternoon to fix their DTV boxes (they have 7).” We’ve certainly seen our share of such widespread HD DVR installations for individual homes here at Electronic House.
DirecTV posted this message on Twitter earlier this morning:
HDDVR customers: If your HDDVR will NOT power on, unplug the unit from the wall, wait 15sec, then replug, & repeat 1x to restore service.
That seemed to do the trick, except for remotecentral reader SignatureSV, who got a “gray screen of death lol” even after four RBRs and two unplugs.
by Julie Jacobson
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Charlotte and Boone NC’s Source For Quality Home Theater Surround Receivers/Electronics From Onkyo & Marantz!
C.I.S.: Home Automation Services in Charlotte, Boone, Davidson, Mooresville, Lake Norman
Details from the I/O Google TV announcement.
Rumors, whispers, and snippets of info regarding Google TV have been floating around for a few months now.
But Thursday at Google I/O 2010, the company made the big announcement of Google TV, while Sony and Logitech followed suit with the first Google TV products. Dish Network also said it will offer a Google TV-powered DVR recording feature on set-top boxes.
Devices for Google TV will be sold at Best Buy.
Google TV
Roughly two out of three people watch TV. So it’s no surprise Google wants a piece of that pie. “Video should be consumed on the biggest, best, and brightest screen in your house, and that’s the TV,” says Google.
So how do they plan to bring the web to the TV without compromising video or content? A search-driven experience centered around discovery and customization. Media aggregation helps as well, with Hulu logos being thrown around like candy, which might be the most intriguing aspect of the whole ordeal.
All of this is going to be based on Intel’s CE4100 Atom processor running a version of the Android OS, Chrome browser, and Flash 10.1. Devices will have a WiFi network connection, HDMI, and QWERTY input option along with standard remote controls.
