News

ELAN Ships g! Second-Generation IP-Based Control Whole House Entertainment, Management and Energy Conservation System (9/4/2010)

ELAN® Home Systems, a leading manufacturer of award-winning IP home control and multi-room A/V distribution systems, announced it is shipping the first of a series of products in its eagerly awaited, “g!” whole-house Entertainment and Management system. Unlike any other whole-house line on the market, this next-generation system leverages open standards and Internet Protocol (IP) to bring breathtaking levels of ease-of-use and control to the entire home from a variety of control interfaces. The announcement was made by Bob Farinelli, President and Chief Technology Officer.

The new g! system is built on the company’s proven HomeLogic line of IP-based hardware and software that has been installed into more than ten thousand homes since 2002. Merging the best IP-based Home Management solution with a 20-year legacy of performance-driven Entertainment distribution systems, g! is the ideal solution for 21st century lifestyle, comfort, entertainment and energy conservation needs. At the heart of the new g! system are eye-popping user interfaces with an intuitive and uniform navigation scheme that keep it ultra user-friendly, from across the room or across the globe. Individual “apps” allow the user to seamlessly control each subsystem in the home or business – such as security, climate, lighting, media, irrigation, pool/spa, messaging, video and photos – even while on the go from their phone or PC.

The first products to ship this April will deliver the g! experience unlike anything before its time. Included in this first release will be the new Configurator 5.0 software suite, the TS2 Film Interactive OLED Touchpad and VL2 tabletop kit, upgrades to ELAN’s current IP controllers and dozens of new third-party drivers covering the most popular A/V and whole-house categories. The first wave will also include new “Follow Me” control interfaces for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch (g!Mobile), and Windows PCs (g!Connect) – allowing users to take g! with them wherever they go. Coming in August will be two new home controllers, the HC12 and HC6, and a new high-resolution 7” touchscreen, the TS7.

“As one of the first companies to develop an iPhone Home Management app,” said Mr. Farinelli, “we realized early on that today’s customers demand easy-to-use solutions that run on popular mainstream devices like the iPhone. “g!” delivers unsurpassed cross-platform support and scalability, while empowering the consumer to personalize everyday functions such as lighting scenes and climate schedules. Our customers will be elated that they don’t need to call the Dealer for these basic “tweaks”, and that makes our Dealers happy because they get fewer callbacks.”

The first g! products available will be the Configurator 5.0 software for new HomeBrick and MultiBrick IP controllers, as well as the sleek TS2 touchpad that builds on ELAN’s category-defining Olé Film Interactive Touchpad. The TS2 marries keypad functionality with the display capability and power of a touchscreen for an affordable way to control the home, plus adds a unique viewer app that provides security, lighting and other control means not available on the company’s previous Olé-based products. The double-gang TS2 features a 2” high-resolution OLED display and offers unprecedented support for audio with full navigation and 2-way feedback, control of lighting scenes, climate control, and security arming/disarming. It also displays real-time weather, forecast and time of day on the home screen. Intelligent, compact and affordable, the TS2 has set a new standard for affordable control with feedback.

In an industry marketing first, ELAN launched www.gvangelist.com , the company’s first promotional website that centers around a mock board game that offers a combination of information, training, g! games and prizes. Primarily aimed at the company’s Dealers, customers and the industry press, the site was created to show how exactly we are fulfilling our long term plans of integrating ELAN and Homelogic technologies to create the most compelling new IP system and interfaces to ever hit the market. Fun use of a gameboard, character animations and Dealer videos is also building excitement for the new products. The site is now in its fifth stage with five more stages of fun and instruction left, along with thousands of dollars in prizes and promotions.

A staged release of the complete product line is set through the end of this year and will include the first g! touchscreen, the TS7 in August. The TS7 brings added functionality at a lower price point than previous offerings with a 7” high-resolution, LCD display for control of all g! and subsystem features. The latest in LED backlighting technology ensures a bright image while conserving energy. Searching your library of music and movies has never been easier thanks intuitive navigation with brilliant cover art. And like ELAN’s legacy touchpanels, the TS7 features live, full-screen analog video for security cameras and TV preview. Six hard-buttons are available for commonly used functions, while an integrated microphone and speaker enable convenient messaging features.

August will also bring two new g! home controllers, the HC12 and HC6. In addition to onboard control interfaces like RS232, RS485, 12V, and IR, these controllers extend the g! experience to the big screen through a high-resolution, 1080i on-screen component video display. This On Screen Display (OSD) allows the customer to control all aspects of their home from the TV using the same uniform interface, without any additional hardware or expense. Also included is a built-in photo viewer which turns the TV into a digital picture frame. And music aficionados will love the built-in audio server capability (Network Attached Storage [NAS] drive required for HC6 controller) and two-zones of Rhapsody, Pandora, and Shoutcast streaming music playback.

In an ongoing commitment to product performance and reliability, more than 35 homes have been using the g! system since late last year as part of an extensive test program.

The new Core Module 5.0 will be available in April for new HomeBrick and MultiBrick IP controller purchases. With the software release comes new g! interfaces for the iPod Touch, iPhone and Windows PC. The TS2 ships that month with a MSRP of $610. August releases include the TS7 - 7” Touchscreen at $1700 MSRP, and new HC12 and HC6 Controllers at $3000 and $1950 respectively. At the same time, a new family of precision panels will make it easier than ever to wire these new products. Later this year ELAN will ship the TS10 10” Touchscreen and the simple or one-room solution, HR2 Handheld Remote Control with HC4 Controller.

www.gvangelist.com