Episode 47 - Chris Pinder of HDAnywhere

Episode 47 of HomeTech brings to you a conversation with Chris Pinder of HDAnywhere, a manufacturer of unique HDMI distribution solutions. As the video landscape continues to evolve, and 4K displays and content become more ubiquitous, it's become increasingly important to have an array of video-solution options in your tool belt. To that end if you're not familiar with HDAnywhere, you should be! This company initially came to our attention via our fans in the UK (Shout out to the #LiveInstall community). Recently HDAnywhere has made inroads into the US market. Their modular distribution solutions warrant special attention. Although only half of the HomeTech team (Seth) was able to conduct the interview, we are excited to present this episode!

In the news portion of the show we give special focus to the often-overlooked battle to control the media room. Over the last year home technology fans have seen countless new entrants to the smart home market. For a variety of reasons however control of the A/V devices in your media room have warranted little attention from the startup community. This week seemed to represent a shift on this front. New entrant NEEO lighting Kickstarter on fire was probably the biggest story. iRule, Logitech, and Pronto (yes you read that right, Pronto) also had something to add to the conversation. Tune into this episode for all you need to know about this important shift in the smarthome evolution. 

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Episode 46 - CES 2015 Wrap-Up

With the gaze of gadget lovers worldwide fixed on Las Vegas this week for CES 2015, it was not difficult for us to pick a topic for our show. In fact the challenge lay in separating the wheat from the chaff. As usual, the massive trade show brought about a plethora of stories, some worth noting others good for little more than a laugh. 

The sheer volume of news coming off the show floor can make it tough to find stories that actually matter. So we've done the hard and cut through the noise for you. Whether you attended CES or (like us) just watched from afar tune into this episode for everything you need to know, and a few things you don't.

As always, we thank you so much for listening. If you enjoy the show please share it with a friend, subscribe and rate on iTunes, and / or leave us some feedback! We read every email we get and would love to hear from you! 

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Episode 45 - HomeTech's 2014 Year In Review

In our final episode of 2014 we decided we'd do what every other tech-news show and blog on the planet do, and take a look back at the biggest stories of the year. What we lack in originality we strive to make up for by giving our own personal take. Specifically offering our thoughts as home automation professionals and systems integrators. 

When looking back at the big home technology news of 2014 we couldn't help but notice three overarching themes:

1) The Push of Both Big-Box Retailers and Tech Giants Into the Smart Home

For years we've heard it said by professionals and enthusiasts alike that "the smart home is going main stream". For a variety of reasons it has just never materialized. As 2014 comes to an end we still wouldn't argue that the smart home is truly "main stream". However without question the camel's nose is under the tent. To varying degrees we saw 6 major retailers place their bets in 2014 (Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target). We also saw (major) moves by tech giants Google, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft (sort of). In this episode we discuss what this all means not only for consumers, but also for integrators as we struggle to stay relevant in the face of such increased commoditization. 

2) The "Year of the Standard"

Looking back at the year in home technology, we couldn't help but see 2014 as the "year of the standard". Competition between different protocols and standards like Zigbee and ZWave is nothing new. However as the smart home becomes a reality for more and more consumers the conversation has gained increased relevance. Improvements to existing technologies (like WiFi and BlueTooth), as well as new entrants (like the Thread Group) have also added complexity to this conversation. 

3) Empowering the End User

The third broad theme of 2014 we discuss is an increased push towards empowering the end user. DIY installation and app-based configuration are no-brainers for startups entering the smart home space. For traditional manufacturers like Crestron and Savant this is a different proposition all together. These systems tend to be far more complex in nature. Additionally their distribution models depend on an integrator being able to add value. 2014 was an interesting year to watch these traditional players adapt to increased pressure from the low end of the market. Crestron's Pyng, and Savant's new 7.0 release are discussed as the two prime examples of this game-changing trend. 

Lastly we close the show with a few predictions about what 2015 will bring to the smart home. 

In addition to 2014 being a big year in the industry, it was also a huge year for us personally as we launched HomeTech.fm. Entering 2015 we will continually strive to produce the definitive source for home technology news and opinion. We want to sincerely thank you for your listenership! We look forward to a big year in 2015 and hope that you will continue to be a part of it!

 

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Episode 44 - The HomeTech Holiday Show 2014

Episode 43 - A Chat with Linear's Duane Paulson

We were pleased on this episode to be joined by Duane Paulson, Senior VP of Product & Market Development for Linear. Duane is a long time technology veteran whose background lends him a very unique perspective on the industry. We were eager to get his take not only on what Linear has been up to, but also on current trends in the smarthome at large. We close the conversation with a discussion of what we can expect form Linear at CES2015, where Duane surprised even us by breaking some news right here on HomeTech! But you'll have to listen to the end if you want to know more about that!

In the news portion of our show this week we discuss two stories. The first being the recent unveiling of Kaleidescape's new Alto movie player. This is the first product in the company's lineup to exclude the ability to load content from physical discs. Users instead will only be given the option to download content from Kaleidescape's online store. Although not explicitly stated in any of the releases we've read, this move is clearly a reaction to the legal troubles Kaleidescape has been continually battling. And at $2,500 MSRP, we suspect it will be a tough sell for consumers who can get much of the same functionality from a $99 AppleTV. Speaking of inexpensive streaming media servers, we also cover the recent update released by Amazon for the FireTV. What makes this story interesting is the inclusion of code that "bricked" jailbroken hardware. Anyone who had previously hacked one of these units now has themselves a rather expensive paper weight.

As always we thank you for listening! If you enjoy the show please don't forget to tell a friend, and to leave us a review on iTunes!