Las Vegas--Control4, which makes IP-based home control and entertainment systems, this week debuted its new Home Controller HC-500 at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show. The Control4 HC-500 is a high-end media server optimized for whole-home automation systems with large home theaters that require extensive I/O connections for device control. The company also announced plans to integrate with a popular online music service.
In addition to managing the home theater, the Home Controller HC-500 controls multiroom audio, lighting, HVAC, security, and other home automation subsystems. "The HC-500 perfectly complements our existing Home Controller family, rounding out our HD, high-performance capabilities," said Will West, CEO of Control4, in a statement. "The combination of improved processing, high-definition screen graphics, and expansion capabilities...makes this a core part of the platform for the digital home."
The HC-500 comes with 160GB of storage and both digital and analog audio processing capability. It includes four serial ports for extra flexibility in device control, audio encoding and decoding for support of both analog and digital audio libraries, analog and digital audio I/O jacks, and two USB ports and one Ethernet jack. Company officials said the HC-500 is backwards compatible with all Control4 products. It's expected to ship in February with a list price of $1,495.
Also at CES, Control4 unveiled plans to integrate its systems with RealNetworks' Rhapsody digital music service. Company officials said Control4 customers would be able to enjoy unlimited access to the millions of songs in Rhapsody's digital music service via Control4's touch screens, keypads, and connected TVs.
"Rhapsody gives consumers the freedom to create a truly personalized home music experience through instant access to over 4.5 million songs," said Rob Williams, senior vice president of RealNetworks. "We are thrilled to be working with Control4 to, for the first time, offer consumers the Rhapsody music experience as part of a complete smart home automation system."
As part of the launch of the Rhapsody/Control4 integration, company officials said Control4 users would have access to an automatic free 30-day trial of Rhapsody. Consumers can then choose to continue their Rhapsody service beyond the trial period for $12.99 permonth. Current Rhapsody subscribers can access their existing Rhapsody music libraries (including artists, albums, playlists, and channels) at no extra charge.
