14 DAY TRIAL // Automated homes are no longer the stuff you'd see only in a SF movies. They're becoming quite real, as an increasing number of people try to make their lives a little easier and more comfortable by installing various systems which will carry out automatically certain functions previously reserved to human beings.
And although you'll never see a person hand-streaming HD signals, that's what we'll talk about as follows, namely the Control4 Home Controller HC-300, a device whose main purpose is to allow users to operate just about any device around the house, including HD sources. Thus, the HC-300 provides users with HD on-screen output, thus enhancing the visually intuitive Control4 graphic interface for controlling the home. Moreover, the device has a very attractive look, with an anodized black aluminum chassis and a glossy black faceplate circled with warm metallic nickel accents.
The Home Controller HC-300 offers multiple infrared and serial connections and video sensing for easy home theater integration. In addition, the HC-300 offers a comprehensive range of communication technology including Ethernet, WiFi, and ZigBee mesh networking and expansion through two standard USB 2.0 ports. Moreover, in addition to managing the home's entertainment center, the Home Controller HC-300 is capable of controlling multi-room music, smart lighting, advanced temperature control, security, and many other home automation sub-systems. All of the aforementioned are possible due to the fact that the HC-300 sports a dual processor, including both an ARM9 and DSP, which supports very well large data loads and processing tasks.
"The Home Controller HC-300 sits at the core of our value proposition of delivering transformative and affordable home automation and control," said Will West, CEO of Control4 about their new device. "We are pleased to roll out a major evolution of this foundational and best selling Control4 product line. We have designed the Home Controller HC-300 to not only be elegant but also to maximize the digital home experience across the board from high definition screen graphics to optimized processing and expansion capabilities."
The HC-300 will hit the shelves in July at an estimated price of around $699, which isn't that much, especially for those people who have already begun transforming their home into a fully-automated one.
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