Blogs
Smart Home Sound System Sonos Sues Bluesound
Now there’s a tongue twister.
Sonos has a history of being the first audio company to bring streaming via iPhones, Apps and PC’s/Mac’s to the Smart Home. Sonos built up a lot of the design and engineering totally by themselves, they have made sure to patent their inventions along the way and they feel that multi room audio company Bluesound has trodden on their feet sufficiently to decide to take them to court.
Bluesound sell a range of speakers that Sonos claim violate at least 7 different patents of theirs including the control of volume across multiple speakers in a group, synchronisation of music within a smart home and playback in multiple areas simultaneously.
“Instead of innovating to compete fairly with Sonos, Defendants have merely copied Sonos.”
Bluesounds website describes their system as;
Multi-room Music. The Hi-Res Way.
Bluesound is an award-winning wireless hi-res sound system that lets you play music in any and every room throughout your home. Choose music from your favorite streaming service or from a music library connected to your home network. Control where, at what volume, and when music plays with a free BluOS app for your smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. Getting the kind of crisp and detailed sound that only an audiophile-grade system can deliver has never been easier.
The owner of Bluesound is Lenbrook industries, they were initially doing business as a Sonos distributor before they launched their own product line in 2013.
Sonos patented a lot of it’s networked audio technology back in 2002 when they were pioneering digital multi room audio, in 2004 they sued Denon over their HEOS range of wifi speakers. That lawsuit ended up settling out of court last year after the courts seemed to generally side with Sonos.
Control4 Training - Bangkok, Thailand
Last week saw our engineering team travel up to Bangkok for the week to attend the Control4 Automation Programmer course put on by Mahajak Thailand.
Control4 is quite simply the best Smart Home system around.
It provides complete control over your home
Makes your home intelligent
Empowers home owners by simplifying home technology
So easy to use
Within 2 days of completing the course I’d ordered a complete retrofit system for my home, it’s that good.
We had already completed preliminary training prior to this 4 day course but the more we understood the more excited we became. The system solves a lot of issues we’ve had with other lighting control and building automation systems such as Lutron, Crestron or KNX.
The smart home systems we work on generally include;
Lighting Control
Multi Room Audio
Home Cinema
Previously these were harder than you imagine to integrate together, start adding in Wifi systems and IP Cameras and something like KNX became very complicated, very quickly. Both to program and to the end user.
Control4 Simplifies everything with a powerful set of tools that allow us to deliver Smart Homes that tie everything together into one seamless interface and user experience.
Using our 15 years+ of experience in Smart Home Technology and the power of Control4 we can deliver an unsurpassed experience and help bring your home to life.
Ubiquiti Wifi and CCTV Cameras
This week our team of installers are busy working on an install in another country this week - we have a number of high profile clients who are building some great homes throughout SE Asia. This country is definitely a place that’s on the move up, high tech homes are starting to become the norm for the countries new entrepreneurs.
Outdoor mounted Ubiquiti CCTV Cameras (pair)
Ubiquiti CCTV Camera mounted to external wall.
Dome Cameras allow a wider viewing angle so are great for interiors
Although it’s weatherproof we’ve wrapped up this little guy so he doesn’t get painted on.
One of those homes is featuring lighting control, home automation (including motorised blinds), a custom H3 Digital home cinema, Nuvo multi room audio, wifi and CCTV.
For the Smart Home wifi we are using Ubiquiti’s line of Unifi products for a seamless home networking experience. As part of the installation we are putting in 22 Ubiqutui G3 cameras, both the outdoor and indoor Dome versions.
Twin CCTV Cameras help provide a safe secure environment for our customers home.
These CCTV cameras are linked to the Ubiquti POE (Power Over Ethernet) Solution so the install is neat, tidy and secure. We use ubiquiti network switches and network hardware to ensure smooth, reliable performance.
Dome camera from Ubiquiti
Our customer will be able to login from anywhere in the world and see exactly what’s happening in his home, with the Ubiquiti NVR (Network Video Recorder) he has 2Tb of space to store videos of every time there is movement within the field of vision of one of the cameras.
Additionally the cameras record sound, I had the pleasure of using this great feature recently to listen in on some possible rascals who were loitering around my own house. Turns out they came to the wrong address looking for someone.
Control4 Smart Home OS3
Leading Smart Home company Control4 has debuted it’s new Smart Home Operating System dubbed OS3.
The new and improved "operating system" can control more than 13,500 third-party devices and independent users are able to create whole-home dashboards to monitor all of the devices in their home and see all their favourite products, rooms and zones at a glance. It will be available here in Thailand soon.
This includes multi room audio, distributed video, IP CCTV images, lighting control and home automation. It will need to be initially programmed and engineered by your smart home provider but the it can be tailored by end-users to their specific needs.
Charlie Kindel made the announcement, As the ex-Amazon executive responsible for the success of Alexa it’s obvious he’s keen on getting Control4 working with all the smart home products available to end-users.
“We want to give users a broad choice rather than creating a collection of tiny walled gardens that limit homeowners”
Smart Home OS 3 from Control4 is a complete re-write and has hundreds of enhancements over the former OS which have been driven from customer and dealer feedback. Here are some of the favourite pieces of the new OS;
Favorite Rooms – Swipe quickly between your family room, master bedroom, kitchen, and office.
Audio Favorites – One-click Favorites to play Radio Paradise on TuneIn; The Beatles White Album (Super Deluxe) in MQA from Tidal Masters; and my Radiohead playlist.
On Screen interface – Add Favorites for Netflix and Amazon Prime on Roku; Xfinity; Radio Paradise; lighting scenes; and door locks and garage doors so they are what you see as soon as I press the red Control4 button.
Music distribution – Sending music to rooms is available from the new Media Bar on the Room, Now Playing, or Sessions Screens.
All Rooms + Filter in Lighting – It’s easier than ever to see which lights the kids left on.
Volume tap – on the volume slider, use the tap-the-slider option to change volume up or down a couple of percentage points.
Google Assistant coming to SONOS
It’s been a long while coming but now Sonos the multi room music system pioneers are ready to launch Google Assistant to (at first) the Sonos One and Sonos Beam smart speakers. Although it will roll out globally eventually at first the functionality will be limited to a US launch “with more markets to come over the next few months”
“This feature will truly elevate the customer experience and marks the first time that consumers will be able to buy a single smart speaker and get to choose which voice assistant they want to use. We think giving consumers choice is always the right decision, and we anticipate this philosophy will be adopted in the industry over time,” he said. Both the One and Sonos Beam ship out of the box with built-in support for Amazon’s Alexa.”
SONOS CEO Patrick Spence
Sonos have been promising to bring Google Assistant to its Sonos range of speakers since October 2017, making it happen has taken a while, originally 2018 was promised but that went by without the integration as Sonos Software engineers worked to enable the voice assistant integration. Alexa integration has been around for a while now in the Sonos infrastructure so it’s been a frustrating wait for those who’se smart homes are controlled via Google Home and Google Nest range of home technology products.
Sonos revealed the details of the Google integration In a letter to shareholders (Sonos went public with an IPO recently) on May 9, 2019 where they revealed they will launch teh update via a Sonos firmware update in the coming week,
Previously Patrick had said that the end game is for Google Assistant to allow you to control the entire Sonos ecosystem of speakers, sound bars, subwoofers and amplifiers - we will see how older products that lack microphones or perhaps even the raw physical computing power - for example the older ZP100 Sonos amplifier can keep up or not. Sonos has long said that although it was always it’s intention to make sure that older products (and indeed the entire Sonos line) is fully backwards and forwards compatible it also made mention of the fact that it might not be able to keep this up forever as the computing power and functionality of older units struggle with voice assistants and Apple Airplay requirements.
Customer Handover - Sonos system in Chiang Mai
Another happy customer. This Sonos multi room audio system covers the lounge and living area, master bedroom, office and outdoor areas.
H3 Digital Managing Director Ben Hobbs handing over to our customer (and his 2 cool dogs)
At this beautiful home we were tasked with designing and installing the Sonos multi room audio system and TV Sound system via Playbar and Sonos Sub.
We installed in-ceiling systems from Nuvo into the Lounge/Dining Room - 2 pairs which can also be setup to act as the rear surrounds for the TV output.
The Lounge also featured a huge TV and Sonos Playbar coupled with a Sonos Sub to provide low-end oomph for movies and TV.
In the Office and Master bedroom we used in-ceiling speakers tucked away into the ceiling and Sonos Connect:amps to power those zones.
The beauty of using in-ceiling speakers are that they are tucked safely away, nearly unnoticeable with no cables visible.
For the outdoor area we used the Nuvo range of outdoor speakers, 2 pairs to provide plenty of music for a party or get together.
The install is neat and clean with everything tucked away out of sight. The wall mounted Samsung TV fits well into the room and the Playbar/Sub combo means the TV sound system packs a punch.
Infocomm Asia debuting in Bangkok 2019
There is a new trade show which hopes to bring leading pro-AV and integrated experience technologies to one of the world's most exciting emerging markets, SE Asia.
AVIXA™, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, in partnership with InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd, is pleased to announce it will debut its InfoComm Southeast Asia show May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC).
"Southeast Asia is one of the largest and most exciting emerging economic blocs in the world," said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoCommAsia. "It has always been our mission to help our partners open doors to new and emerging markets. In addition to our more established shows in China and India, which have seen great success year after year, we are confident that our new platform in Southeast Asia will achieve that same success. We see a lot of market potential in the region."
Comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the Southeast Asia region is currently the seventh-largest economy in the world and is projected to be the fourth largest by 2050, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is united politically and economically via ASEAN, which has pushed hard collectively in recent years to accelerate economic development and break down trade barriers. To that end, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was formed with the goal of developing a single market. According to a study by the Asian Development Bank and International Labour Organisation, up to 14 million jobs could be generated within ASEAN by 2025.
With the addition of InfoComm Southeast Asia, AVIXA now hosts four shows in Asia-Pacific, including Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, and InfoComm India. The Bangkok show will feature an exhibition showcasing world-class pro-AV and experiential communications technologies, as well as an education summit with extensive learning opportunities.
According to AVIXA's 2017 AV Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis Asia-Pacific, the East Asian pro-AV market's value will increase by about 35 percent between 2016 and 2022. The industry was projected at $17.7 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $23.3 billion in 2022.
China's One Belt, One Road initiative, a massive investment in development of infrastructure and trade routes across Europe and Asia-Pacific, is prompting economic growth in Asia-Pacific. Between 2013 and 2016, roughly $60 billion was spent under the initiative, and the Chinese government plans to spend up to $150 billion per year for the next five years.
"AVIXA is continually evaluating burgeoning pro-AV markets where support and resources can help spur growth," said AVIXA Chief Executive Officer David Labuskes, CTS®, CAE, RCDD. "A show in Southeast Asia represents a big step in that direction by providing a platform for the latest in transformative pro-AV technology, industry best practices, and thought leadership. We're excited to see this region grow so dramatically and impact the overall progression of the AV industry globally."
The inaugural InfoComm Southeast Asia will run May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). For more information, visit www.infocomm-sea.com.
About AVIXA
AVIXA is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, producer of InfoComm trade shows around the world, co-owner of Integrated Systems Europe, and the international trade association representing the audiovisual industry. Established in 1939, AVIXA has more than 5,400 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, consultants, programmers, live events companies, technology managers, content producers, and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. AVIXA members create integrated AV experiences that deliver outcomes for end users. AVIXA is a hub for professional collaboration, information, and community, and the leading resource for AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence and thought leadership. Additional information is available at avixa.org.
About InfoCommAsia
InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd extends its influence through three marquee shows: Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, InfoComm India, and InfoComm Southeast Asia.
Each show comprises an exhibition that showcases the world's most cutting-edge and in-demand inventions, and a summit that presents learning opportunities. Bringing together industry players and top-level decision-makers from across all industries, the shows enable industry players to tap into the vast potential presented by the pro-AV and integrated experience technology markets of each country and region.
THX Ultimate Cinema
THX have launched the World’s First THX Ultimate Cinema™ at The Regency Westwood Village Theatre in Los Angeles.
The company is working closely with industry leader Cinionic, which is the Barco, CGS, and ALPD cinema joint venture which promises to deliver a new visual standard for cinema, to bring the THX Ultimate Cinema experience to consumers. The premium large-format (PLF) cinema promises to offer a superior moviegoing experience that meets all THX Certified Cinema standards.
Westwood Village Cinema
THX Ultimate Cinema at Regency Westwood builds upon Cinionic’s premium offering, integrating its state-of-the-art dual-Barco laser system, which delivers a 4K resolution image with increased brightness, contrast, clarity and rich brilliant colors for premium large format screens with CGS remastered content exclusively shown at this location. The Regency Westwood Village theater, which boasts nearly 1400 seats and is home to some of Hollywood’s biggest red-carpet premieres, has also undergone numerous upgrades to the sound system and acoustics. These include an increase in low-frequency power to yield a decrease in distortion and an increase in sound power, as well as the addition of curtains to improve the clarity and accuracy of the immersive multi-dimensional sound system.
The design of the Village cinema complies with THX Certified Cinema standards. THX and Cinionic worked with the exhibitor, acoustical consultants, and equipment installers to create a unique design package with architectural and technical requirements to address the audio and visual fidelity to ensure a superior cinematic experience in the auditorium.
Min-Liang Tan - CEO of THX (and Razer)
“We are excited to collaborate with Cinionic to bring the THX Ultimate Cinema experience to audiences around the world, starting with Regency’s Westwood Village Theatre in Los Angeles””
“The new projection system featured in the THX Ultimate Cinema offering delivers a fantastic image on screen, We are very excited to be able to provide an enhanced cinematic experience to our studio partners for premieres and moviegoers alike.”
Lyndon Golin - CEO Regency Theaters
Wim Buyens CEO of Cinionic
““Cinionic was founded to create a new visual standard that drives the industry forward. Our mission to deliver compelling cinema experiences for today’s – and tomorrow’s – moviegoers aligns with that of THX. THX Ultimate Cinema allows us to bring Cinionic premium technology to the Regency theater for the first time. Our goal is to help elevate the industry standard and bring premium experiences around the world to a whole new level.”
THX Ultimate Cinema will provide exhibitors with the solution they’ve been looking for: a branded and differentiated PLF offering which includes best-in-class projection technology from Cinionic, as well as an immersive audio system, acoustics and auditorium specifications that meet THX Certification standards. This is also coupled with the added benefits of flexibility and favorable economics for the exhibitor.
Premium Theater experience with THX
Driven by dedicated content and strong moviegoer demand for a differentiated experience, Premium Large Format (PLF) is one of the fastest-growing and most active areas of commercial cinema exhibition, with significant potential to grow exponentially in size over the next several years. With the business environment for PLF cinema also becoming increasingly competitive and saturated amid a startling array of brands and technologies, many exhibitors have been seeking a PLF partner that offers best-in class technologies, flexible implementation options, and a strong cinema brand that resonates with consumer audiences.
For over 35 years, THX has maintained a reputation as the acclaimed worldwide brand for optimizing the audio and visual fidelity of the entertainment experience in the cinema. THX and Cinionic are working with additional exhibitors around the world to bring the THX Ultimate Cinema experience to market and will announce new partners as installation plans are completed.
THX is the company founded by legendary filmmaker George Lucas in 1983, THX Ltd. and its partners provide premium entertainment experiences in the cinema, in the home and on the go. Over the past thirty-five years, THX has expanded its certification categories beyond studios and cinemas to consumer electronics, content, automotive systems and live entertainment. Today, THX continues to redefine entertainment, providing exciting new technologies and assurance of experiences which provide consumers with superior audio and visual fidelity and ensure an artist’s vision is truthfully delivered to audiences worldwide.
IKEA & SONOS combine Speakers & Light
Ikea and Sonos have combined forces and made the ultimate speaker lamp.
Yes it’s true, We knew that Sonos had teamed up with IKEA to offer SONOS Music Systems through a range of IKEA Branded speakers which work within the Sonos ecosystem but they’ve done something more.
Sonos and Ikea have unveiled a pair of speaker designs that the two companies have been working on for a while, the first one up is a bit of a surprise to most in the industry though.
The first multi-room audio speaker built into a desk lamp from Sonos and IKEA
First up the the Symfonisk table lamp ($179) which elegantly combines a desk / table lamp with a Sonos speaker, with a dial to control the light - though you will have to buy a Smart Bulb yourself if you want it controlled with lighting control or home automation.
The next up is the normal bookshelf speaker ($99) which was well known to be coming.
Both will ship this August, although you will have to wait to see if that’s the case in the Bangkok, Thailand based IKEA’s.
They will work alongside or as new components of a Sonos system and of course you will be able to control them with the highly regarded Sonos app and/or smart home system such as Alexa, Control4, Google Home, Smartthings etc…
IKEA’s Sonos range of speakers, coming soon to Thailand
“The products will deliver something that both companies are super proud of”
Each of the new speakers can also be fully integrated as part of a multiroom audio setup for your home.
It’s obvious that both companies are very proud of what they’ve put out together, the price point is certainly very compelling and perhaps with the competition from Amazon and Google in mind, it might just be a masterful move.
“We’ve given it our utter most and utter best from the IKEA side and Sonos has done exactly the same from their end”
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence suggested that the lamp’s audio performance should be similar to — if maybe a rung or two below — that of the $199 Sonos One. It has a dial on the lamp body to control the light, and there are track control buttons on the base plate portion..
IKEAS Sonos Symonfisk speaker
Block said that, eventually, IKEA’s smart home app will integrate music controls for the speakers, allowing customers to build scenes that factor in the lamp. IKEA have recently launched a range of smart blinds in addition to their growing range of Zigbee controlled Bulbs (That are Philips Hue compatible, sort of).
The symonfisk bookshelf speaker from IKEA is the smallest speaker that Sonos has ever made so expect it to pack a slightly smaller punch than say the Sonos PLAY1 or ONE.
The IKEA Sonos speaker mounted to the wall
Patrick expressed confidence that both speakers will sound better than anything else at their respective price points.
Both the lamp and bookshelf speakers are complete members of the Sonos ecosystem. So you will be able to join them into your existing multi room setup, use them to add new zones, rooms or areas to your current setup and even pair them as rears for your surround 5.1 setup.
We’re very excited to see that high quality whole home audio may be coming to the masses, it’s not going to sound anywhere near as good as with a Sonos amp and standalone in-ceiling, in-wall, outdoor or bookshelf speakers but for smaller areas, kids rooms, the gym or kitchen - they might just be perfect.