Project Handover - U Time Fitness - Laguna, Phuket

UTime Fitness Studio in Phuket at Laguna.

U Time is a popular Fitness Studio where you can get 24/7 access to a premium gym and highly qualified staff for the price of a coffee per day.  Popular in Hong Kong they recently opened their first Thailand Gym in Phuket at The Plaza Del Mar in Laguna.

We were tasked by U Time to install a music system that sounded great and was capable of being controlled, turned on and off by customers entering with their keycard entry 24 hours of the day.

UTime Gym with in-ceiling speakers

The installation consisted of 4 pairs of Nuvo In-Ceiling Speakers powered by 2 Dual Stereo Power Amps and some added Oomph provided by a 12" Subwoofer tucked away discretely.

UTime FItness in Laguna, Phuket

24 hour gym in Phuket, Laguna - UTime 

“Working with h3-digital was a pleasure. I explained our needs and Rob and the team delivered the perfect product within budget and on time. Look forward to working with them again!”

— Cathal Kiely

UTime Gym Handover - Cathal Kiely from UTime meets with Rob Hobbs from H3 Digital

https://www.utimefitness.com/locations/laguna-phuket.html

Tv's are still getting bigger, will be biggest in China.

RCA 630 TS - 10 inch Television

Television has been available in crude experimental forms since the late 1920's but it was RCA's 630-TS that was the world's first mass produced TV set, launched in 1946.  The TV had a huge 10 inch screen (Black and White of course) and had a smaller sibling with a 7 inch screen.  The RCA 630-TS had a starting price of $352 in 1946 so around $4,800 today.  It weighed almost 40Kg in tabletop form.

Recently an IFA Tech Trends report pointed out that the USA is no longer going to be the trend setter in terms of largest TV size.

TV Size by Global Market

It expects that by 2020 the average TV screen size in China will be a massive 54.1 inch, 2.1 inches larger than even the USA at 52 inches, which is 3.1 inches larger than the European TV average size which is understood to be around 48.9 inches by then.  This is for new TV sizes, the Japanese are way behind on an average of 40 inches for their TV sizes, although this is likely to do with the size of their apartments and homes than a penchant for small Tv's.

Smart TV sales are on the rise

TVs are not only getting larger, but also smarter. 68% of all TVs sold are now “smart” TVs, while 32% can deliver Ultra-High Definition or “4K” images.

What is amazing is that you can just about buy an average sized TV now for exactly the same as the average sized TV cost back then in 1946 - some 72 years ago.

Bangkok Sonos Install - Sukhumvit

Sukhumvit Rd Outdoor Speakers - Swimming Pool

This Bangkok home located just off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok is an entertainers dream, great for Dinner Parties and entertainment gatherings it features 7 zones of Sonos Audio including 12 pairs of Nuvo In-Ceiling and Outdoor Speakers, with Sonos Playbars and Sonos Subs for the TV's Audio Visual.

The living area is one large audio zone with 6.5" in-ceiling speakers in the entrance hall, corridoors, family, living and dining area, all powered by Nuvo Power amps and a Sonos connect (ZP90).

In the Living Room and Media/Home Cinema Room there are 84" and 75" 4K LED Televisions with surround sound and bass provided by the Sonos Playbar and Sonos Sub.

Sukhumvit Rd In-Ceiling Speakers - Entrance

The Pool Deck features 2 pairs of Nuvo outdoor speakers providing a great spread of sound over the swimming and deck areas.

The Master Bedroom has an additional pair of integrated ceiling speakers in the ensuite, a fun addition for listening to music whilst soaking in the bath.

Finally the Gym and fitness area is another Sonos zone with speakers tucked up into the ceiling, you can walk around the entire home and have music exactly when and where you want it.

Low Voltage Landscape & Outdoor Lighting

We've actually been installing 12V landscape and garden lighting for years, previously only on request for our smart home lighting installs. Now we are launching it as a comprehensive new service, available to all.  Low Voltage lighting is the safe, beautiful way to light your garden, pool, path and outdoor living areas, it can be retrofit into your home or designed in from the start.

Softly light pathways and accent trees

Our fixtures and fittings are almost all imported but we use locally sourced Philips 12V LED Lamps so that they can easily be replaced, although being LED they last much longer than halogen, fluorescent or incandescent bulbs.

Low voltage lighting is safe, you can rest assured that you and your children, pets, gardener or friends aren't going to get electric shocks from a 12V system.  It does have to be wired correctly to work, as such you will need a proper lighting plan and power supplies/transformers from us.  

Create atmosphere around water features

Add mood with 12V uplights

So what can you do with low voltage or 12V outdoor lighting?  It's a beautiful way to accent your favourite trees, plants and landscape areas.  Softly light paths and create outdoor living spaces for entertaining.

Contact us if you'd like to find out more.

Home Cinemas of the Rich and Famous: Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal or 'Shaq' as he is known is one of NBA's most famous stars, worth a reputed 400 million dollars his Orlando, Florida home has recently been up for sale at a price of $28 million.  It features 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and it's own basketball court as well as a garage for nearly 20 cars.

Shaq's Florida Home

What we are most interested in of course is the home cinema. As you'd expect the home theatre is fully kitted out with the latest Surround sound system, huge widescreen with motorised curtains, the soundproofed 10 seat home cinema has a Superman theme (Shaq's Basketball nickname).

Shaq's Home Theatre - Front view

Shaq's Home Cinema Seating/Rear View

The rest of the house is equally awesome, take a look at the basketball court, garage and other Bling areas.

Lounge

Basketball

Bedroom

Garage

IKEA ♥ Sonos

Ikea recently held its annual Democratic Design Days Conference  in Sweden and showcased the prototype and end product of it's first collaboration with Sonos. The Symfonisk will be released into Ikea showrooms in the second half of next year.

Ikea's multi room music system powered by Sonos.

The design itself is meant to be used within IKEA furniture (and has been designed to fit inside it's furniture range) or as a shelf itself, turning a speaker into a shelf is pretty cool, I think they are going to rethink what they will do with the power cord though as that's the only part of the design that looks out of place.

Designing an IKEA speaker, powered by Sonos.

The speaker works in an identical manner to the Play 1 and links into the Sonos app and multi room audio ecosystem.  Like the Play1 the speaker can be paired with another for stereo sound in your room, IKEA are imagining building in sound systems throughout your IKEA furnished home .

“Many people dream of built-in sound systems, but few can afford it. Our goal is to save space, get rid of cords, make clutter invisible and bring sound and music into the home in a more beautiful way””

— Björn Block, business leader for IKEA Home Smart

From next year the 17 million+ people who visit the 400 IKEA stores worldwide should be able to purchase multi room audio, powered by Sonos, direct from the Superstore.  This is massive and shows that IKEA very much has it's eye on the Smart Home, they already have a range of (Philips Hue compatible/hackable) smart lights in stores now.

Apple's World Wide Developers Conference - Smart Home Snippets

Apple's Developers conference was held last week and journalists were expecting an answer, or challenge, to Amazons and Googles dominance of the smart home world.  Many were left scratching their heads after what some called a 'snub' by Apple of the Smart Home - Ouch!

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for 2018

Digital Trends asked if Apple were just late to the Smart Home Party or just not turning up, Bill Roberson asking why new Smart Home Tech was MIA from the conference.

Homekit did manage to make a very brief showing, mainly in the form of a new app called Shortcuts for Siri and Homekit finally dropping on Apple MacOS when Mojave hits the (digital) shelves.

Shortcuts
Shortcuts is Apples new app on iOS 12, Shortcuts will use Siri to perform actions based on custom phrases.  For example "turn on music upstairs" would turn on the music upstairs, "unlock all doors" could unlock all the doors in your house (in both examples the controlled hardware would have to be Homekit enabled.  This will work on all iOs devices, Homepod and the Apple Watch.  

Apples demonstration included very basic home automation such as "Turn on fan" and "set thermostat to 70 degrees", things that you have been able to do with Amazon's Alexa and Google's Home from literally Day One and indeed can do currently with Siri.  There was some confusion how this ties into the Siri / Apple Homekit ecosystem, you can already do these things within it, perhaps this just allows you to tailor the words/phrases used to command those routines.

Tim Cook at Apples WWDC 2018

Most importantly and in my eyes the (only) jewel in the crown for Apples Smart Home ecosystem is the ability to finally use Home on MacOs - Command your home from your desktop.  This should have been there from Day One and is the one thing that in my mind elevates the Apple Smart Home platform in any way above the Google and Amazon competition.

Home App on MacOs Mojave

Up until now Home app has only been available on the iOs devices, so you could use your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch to set up and control your Smart Home.  It makes infinitely more sense to be able to sit down at a proper computer (with a keyboard and mouse) and set this all up, even if you decide to only use the touchscreen devices to control it all afterwards.

This is where Apple could really excel, the Amazon Alexa app is too broad and complicated and the same goes for the Google App, they both aren't particularly suited to managing a Smart Home, especially via desktop.  

Amazons 4k FireTV Cube (with Alexa)

Amazon has announced a new addition to the Fire TV family:  Their line of streaming components for Television, Movies, Video and music.  The Amazon Fire TV cube is an Alexa powered miniature set top box that can be controlled by voice, send IR commands with the integrated IR blasters and control your TV, it even has a built in speaker.

On top of this its an Ultra HD 4k at 60fps (frames per second) device, meaning you will be able to watch ultra High Definition programming.  Talking about programming, Amazon are promising access to over 500,000 movies and TV shows available from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO, SHOWTIME, NBC, and more.

Amazons 4K HDR Capable FireTV Cube

Soundwise the FireTV cube features Dolby Atmos.

With Alexa on Fire TV Cube, you can control compatible TVs, sound bars, cable and satellite boxes, and A/V receivers.

Beam Me Up Scotty

Sonos have a new mini-soundbar out, it's called the Sonos Beam and it is being billed as the  smart, compact soundbar for your TV.

It Plays music, TV, movies, and can be grouped with your other Sonos music system. Featuring clear dialogue from speech enhancement technology. Easily pairs with your TV & remote and Airplay/iOS devices and features Amazons Alexa voice control.

Sonos has designed this mini-sound bar for smaller home theatres and wanted it to be smart, sound great and give users that Sonos sound they like so much.

So how does it work? You can listen to all your favourite streaming services, command your smart home with Amazons Alexa and group it together with your other Sonos speakers and amplifiers for party mode.  The new soundbar works with ARC HDMI so it's a single cable to your TV (ARC stands for Audio Return Channel).

We should see the Sonos Beam here in Thailand and SE Asia around July/August time, it's a great looking piece of kit and even though it's small it uses passive radiators to give the feeling of a much larger speaker.  It will be ideal in small-mid size media rooms, lounges and living areas.

The Sonos Beam features an array of speakers and passive radiators.

When Smart Homes go Wrong - Stalked by the Ex

Forgive me for the title of a new semi-regular look at what can happen in a smart home when things go wrong, or in this case someone abuses their login to surreptitiously spy on their ex wife.

In a recent UK case covered by the Telegraph (at the end of the article I will give some recommendations as to how to handle your smart home if something similar happens to you.

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Jealous husband used wall-mounted iPad in his 'smart home' to spy on estranged wife, court hears 

Jealous husband used a wall-mounted iPad to spy on his estranged wife 

A jealous husband used a wall-mounted iPad that controls the heating and lights in his home to spy on his estranged wife a court has heard.

Electronics expert Ross Cairns, 35, monitored the movements and conversations of spouse Catherine by logging into a static device remotely using his mobile phone.

The wall-mounted iPad had been installed by the couple as part of a home automation system at their house allowing them to access lighting, central heating and the alarm system when not at home.

But after they split up and Cairns moved out, he used an app on his iPhone to log into an audio facility on the iPad so he could eavesdrop undetected as 33-year old accountant Mrs Cairns talked of their crumbling marriage.

On one occasion when Mrs Cairns told her mother she no longer loved her husband, the father of two suddenly turned up on the doorstep and repeated the conversation she had just had, saying: "Oh, you don't love me any more."

He also hacked into Mrs Cairns' accounts on Facebook and the dating app Bumble and sent an intimate picture and obscene messages to men she had been chatting with online.

The details of the incidents emerged as Ross Cairns was convicted of offences of stalking.

Manchester magistrates' court heard the the couple had been married for 16 years and had two daughters now aged five and three.

Mrs Cairns told the hearing: "He repeated the conversation that I had with my mum. He said 'oh, you don't love me any more'. I told him that I would ring the police. I rang his mum to come to get him."

Mrs Cairns switched off the camera facility on the iPad and brought in an IT engineer to change the password on the system so Cairns could no longer access it - but the court heard he still logged in remotely.

Whilst she was on holiday she found her Bumble account had been blocked due to "inappropriate content" and discovered an intimate photo had been posted on her profile.

Prosecutor Neil White said: "They lived in a 'smart house' with various aspects of the property connected by an iPad-like device, including the alarm, lighting and heating.

"He has been accessing the system when they were living separately and listened in on conversations. We submit that hacking into her phone to send messages, and listening in on conversations is stalking."

Cairns had denied wrongdoing, claiming he only accessed the home system to change the lights or adjust the volumes on the TV and not to view into the house. 

However, he was convicted of offences of stalking between August and November of last year and of using threatening behaviour towards his wife.

Cairns will be sentenced in June.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/10/smart-home-stalker-jealous-husband-used-wall-mounted-ipad-heating/

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This was an Elan home automation system tied into a wall mounted iPad but most smart homes have similar systems.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, the owner of a smart home , and your partner is estranged, an ex or no longer welcome then these are some steps that you should take.

First - Change your password for you personal email address, that way any changes to systems or contact you have with others will be your information alone.

Next - Get in touch with the installation company who installed the system, ask to speak to the owner or a senior manager and explain the situation and ask them to send an engineer to come and change all the passwords, permissions, login codes etc... for all the systems.  If there is anything they are not responsible for then find the company responsible and do the same (for example the Alarm/CCTV company).  If you feel wary or harbour suspicion they are still talking to or getting your ex involved, engage another company or engineer directly.

Change all the passwords and login information for any services you use, music, movies, tv, everything.  Ring up your internet service provider (ISP) and ask them to come and reset or install a new modem/router with a new password and factory fresh settings - Your ex may have opened up ports and be able to dial into your home network from wherever they are,

Finally make sure that you contact the police if you think it necessary.

Netflix/Spotify and Chill

Netflix and Spotify are slowly becoming ubiquitous in the online streaming category, even over here in Thailand.  Today on the Thaiger website (previously the Phuket Gazette) is details of exactly what they are offering, how much it is and what the benefits are of Netflix and Spotify here in Thailand.

https://thethaiger.com/lifestyle/netflix-spotify-and-chill-navigating-the-brave-new-world-of-music-and-tv

Also there are some user figures and content spend that might raise a few eyebrows.

Here is the text of the article...

Netflix has over 125 million subscribers.

"Subscription movies and music services are booming, in particular Netflix which has over 125 million users worldwide and Spotify which has over 70 million paying users.

The subscription model is where you pay a monthly fee and are entitled access to media which is streamed via the internet, rather than buy a physical CD/DVD, an album from iTunes or pay for local satellite TV service. In these subscription models like Netflix and Spotify it’s all accessed through your wi-fi or internet instead.

Why are subscription based services on the ascendancy?

Owning physical and storage media can be expensive. Why buy a digital copy of a single movie or CD? When for the same price you can buy access to almost any movie or music for the whole month?

It’s not just driven by cost, Netflix will spend around US$8 billion on content this year – much of it unique to the Netflix service. At the same time Spotify is pioneering contextual playlists, that evolve based on current moods, activities or time.

Spotify in Thailand costs 129 Baht a month.

For Netflix currently in Thailand there are 3 subscription levels; ‘Basic’ at 280 Baht a month for Standard Definition on 1 screen, ‘Standard’ at 350 Baht a month for High Definition on 2 screens and ‘Premium’ at 420 Baht a month for 4K (ultra high definition) on 4 screens (so you can have people using the same subscription watching content on a smartphone, tablet and a couple of laptops plugged into TVs at the same time, for example).

Netflix has over 2,000 movies and 900 TV shows available to watch. At the time of writing a Platinum package from True Satellite costs 2,155 Baht +VAT per month.

Spotify has a free version that, unsurpisingly, doesn’t cost anything and a Premium subscription available at 129 Baht a month. Spotify has over 30 million songs available to listen to, including Thai music and playlists.

Currently Apple offer a similar subscription service (Apple Music) here in Thailand at a similar cost.

Whilst both Spotify (a Swedish company) and Netflix (a US company) have been streaming for less than a decade they are already influencing the way audiences watch and listen to content.

Many people like to binge watch TV shows. Netflix enables that by releasing entire series at once, so its subscibers can watch as many episodes in a row as they want. It makes waiting a week for the next episode seem almost archaic. You control when you watch whatever you want, when you want.

Netflix is also advert free, saving the average consumer from around 160 hours of adverts a year!! Their content can be as long or as short as the content-producers wish – Netflix don’t have to figure advert times into the schedule.

Spotify allows you to listen to others playlists and share your own, it’s this democratisation of the music library and indeed the whole system (artists can publish directly to Spotify without a record company deal) that makes it feel so fresh.

I’ve discovered so much new favourite music that I simply wouldn’t have found anywhere else. Spotify and similar services are lauded as saviours of the music industry, with record labels reporting their largest growth in revenues for over a decade, all down to subscription services and their new popularity.

There is one caveat, you must have internet for both – If you’re internet connection is down for the night then you wont be watching movies on Netflix, if it’s just slow or you have too many concurrent users then your movie will buffer, stutter and pause – annoyingly.

So whilst both are great services, make sure your internet is up to scratch and keep a few DVD’s in the cupboard, just in case."

Sonos opens new Berlin Flagship Store

Multi room audio experts Sonos have opened a brand new flagship store in Berlin, following in the same (or similar) footsteps of the Covent Garden store opened in London at the end of 2017.

Sonos Berlin Store

Sonos London Store (Covent Garden)

Much like their earlier Covent Garden store this new German Flagship store is set out so that each of it's listening rooms is like a real room in a house.  It's hard to experience a sound system in a shop, traditionally stores showcase stereo systems in either badly setup rows and stacks of equipment for visual/merchandising or special acousticly treated rooms, neither of which is like any room you would have at home.

By utilising room pods Sonos are offering you the chance to listen to their music system in a setup that replicates real life home use as closely as possible within a retail shop environment.

“We’re not just designing a store to sell speakers

Of course there’s a retail component, but we really want to create a space where we can host events, spark conversations, bring people together and inspire them to listen out loud.”

— Sonos Art Director - Julia Jeanguenat

Sonos Flagship Store in Berlin

The pods that have been dubbed ‘Houses’ by Sonos are designed to simulate real life spaces with the feel of a bedroom, living room and kitchen.  The booths have specially designed soundproof doors and stylish decor and art from local artists.  Key to each experience is a tablet that lets listeners select, choose and control their music - The main selling point of the Sonos ecosystem.