Authorized Savant dealers will be able to resell iPads.

Update (April 1, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.): The ROSIE iPad App is now available in the App Store. Check out the image below for the description.

Update 2: (April 2, 4:30 p.m.) Savant has released an image of its iPad App, which it called the ROSIE 4i iPad App.

Savant already told us Apple’s iPad will redefine home automation.

Soon, we’ll know how.

The home automation manufacturer plans to go public with its ROSIE iPad app on April 5. The ROSIE iPad app will cost $9.99 at the App Store.

President Jim Carroll previously told CE Pro that Savant was designing a version of its ROSIE iPhone app specifically for the iPad. “We’re going to do some pretty cool things and take advantage of the additional [9.7-inch screen] real estate,” he said.

Read more…

February 03, 2010 | by Lisa Montgomery

Not everyone has the luxury of dedicating a room solely for big-screen movie viewing. More often, that space is shared with a family room, a den or a guest bedroom.

And that’s OK. Your family room is already finished and furnished. Plus, it probably already has a good-size TV and modest surround-sound system.

If your family room is like most, it may not look or feel much like a theater. What it’s likely lacking is ambiance - something in the arrangement and design of the room that gives off a theater vibe.

You can go as simple or as complicated as you want to produce the desired cinematic effect. Here are 10 ideas to consider.

1. Re-paint: Dark, rich colors like burgundy and navy blue scream theater. Plus, because light doesn’t reflect off dark colors like it does off light colors, the video on your TV will look better.

2. Rearrange the Furniture: The screen at your local cinema sits directly in front of the seats; your TV should, too, which may require a slight adjustment of your family room furniture.

3. Add Architectural Details: Decorative moldings, pillars and other theater-inspired details are widely available at home improvement stores.

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by Brent Butterworth

I swear, I will never put in a home theater for anyone ever again. I’m just going to tell them to go to a pro.

Thanks to my experience in wiring, carpentry, etc., family and friends often call on me to install their home theater gear. I review gear for a living, so the gear itself I can handle. It’s the control system that keeps me on the phone with them for hours, or has me rushing to their homes minutes before the Super Bowl or the Oscars.

All because they can’t figure out how to work the system. Or more accurately, because I can’t figure out how to build a system they can work.

Sure, there are lots of universal remotes that can, in theory, control an entire home theater system. But they have problems. Most consumers can’t figure out that they have to switch inputs when they want to watch a DVD instead of cable TV. Many can’t remember that they have to hit the DVD button on the remote when they want to control the DVD player.

Sure, you can set the remote control up for macros, where it performs a whole bunch of operations at the touch of one button. But the fact that most gear has just a single power button tends to flummox most macros. If the TV is off but the cable box is on, any macro that tries to turn them both on will shut the cable box off.

I did program a fairly fancy touchscreen remote for a friend of mine a few years ago. (He bought it from Amazon.) Unfortunately, this remote is still primitive enough that I had to get really creative when I programmed it. And the more creative the installer has to be, the less reliable the home theater system usually is. So still, I get the calls. He’s on his second touchscreen now and I refuse to program a third.

Control systems from companies like AMX, Control4, and Crestron solve these problems easily. These systems can monitor whether a device in your system is on or off, so they never shut it off accidentally. They can be programmed with simple commands like “Watch a Movie” instead of requiring you to remember how to work the system. And the installer can leave off the complex, confusing options that cause most people to mess up their systems.

Best of all, these systems are reliable. Yes, they can break, but it’s not like you’ll be calling your installer once a week because you can’t get the TV going.

These control systems aren’t cheap, and you can only get them through custom installers. But you’ll find them well worth every penny. After all, what’s the point of saving a few thousand on your fancy home theater system if you can’t figure out how to work it?

By John Sciacca

Quick….name a luxury automobile. Maybe you thought of Bentley, or Rolls Royce, or something sportier like Aston Martin or Ferrari. Now…..name a high-end watch. You probably thought of Rolex or maybe Omega or Patek or Cartier. How about a luxury kitchen appliance? There’s Viking, Sub-Zero, Thermador or Wolf…

Now, name me some high-end audio/video gear. If you thought Sony and Bose, then you are like the vast majority of the population. And while I have absolutely nothing against either of these companies, no one “in the know” would consider either of them to be high-end.

For all its bluster and billions, the consumer electronics industry has really done a poor job of promoting itself, especially on the high-end. In fact, most companies that are really considered to be performance leaders are totally unknown to the vast majority of people, even those that are looking to purchase them. When introduced to a brand that has the equivalent pedigree of a Bentley, Rolex or Viking, most people shrug their shoulders and say, “Never heard of ‘em.” So, I thought I would introduce you to some high-end manufacturers, and explain what they are…and what they are not.

In the electronics world, Wilson is not the volleyball from Castaway, rather the manufacturer of some truly stellar loudspeakers.

There is a Meridian in Santa Barbara, CA that makes affordable – yet drinkable – wines. However, the A/V Meridian is from the UK and a leader in digital audio processing.

Macintosh is an Apple computer; McIntosh has been making highly desirable audio gear that engenders fanatical-like loyalty since 1949.

BO is generally considered offensive and undesirable. B&O (Bang & Olufsen) is a Danish company known for world-class industrial design.

A kaleidoscope offers a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes; a Kaleidescape is a media server capable of storing literally thousands of movies.

Ronco is the late-night huckster trying to sell you things like the Chop-o-Matic and the pocket fisherman. Runco makes some of the world’s finest video projectors.

Crestron and Lutron are not characters in the upcoming Disney Tron reboot. They are actually leaders in home automation and lighting control, respectively.

B&W is not BMW. B&W is Bowers and Wilkins, the British speaker manufacturer, whose speakers are used in places like Skywalker Ranch and Abbey Road. BMW is Bavarian Motor Works, the car company.

Theta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet and the name of that Fraternity/Sorority you rushed in college. It is also the manufacturer of some terrific processors and amplifiers.

SIM2 is not a sequel to the popular “The Sims” video game, but an Italian projector manufacturer.

Oppo, Sonos and ADA are not merely examples of corporate palindromes. Oppo makes a highly regarded Blu-ray play, Sonos a terrific wireless audio distribution system, and ADA (Audio Design Associates) has been pioneering high-end audio and distribution systems for over 30 years.

Classé might sound like a term from the Urban Dictionary, but it is actually Canada’s leading maker of high-performance music and theater components.

My 13 year old son  sent me an email with a link to http://www.musicforrelief.org/ Rob knows I’m passionate about Dave Matthews Band, I collect their live recordings, and travel around seeing DMB shows every summer. Dave Matthews Band donated the July 5, 1997 live version of “Typical Situation”  recorded at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater,  Irvine, Calif.

The download is a compilation of unreleased music from, Linkin Park, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel, Alanis Morissette, Slash, The All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Kenna, Enrique Iglesias and Lupe Fiasco.  There is a separate link to donate (It’s the honor system, donate whatever amount you want.)

I thought this was a great idea, and wanted to share it with you!  It’s also a great way to get the kid’s involved in the relief efforts. Please forward this to anyone you think would like some cool tunes and would donate a few bucks for the relief efforts in Haiti. Please kindly consider posting this link http://www.musicforrelief.org/ to your Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Website, Blog, etc.

If you download the music and donate any amount, EDG will donate an additional $20.00 to the fund. We’ve set aside $1,000.00 for this, so all we need is 49 people to donate. My son Rob was the first donor and my inspiration to send this out. (Thanks Rob!)  If you donate, please send me an email at bob.gullo@edgusa.com and we’ll match your donation right-away!

by Brent Butterworth

It’s rare that a professional audio/video equipment reviewer gets truly excited about a new technology—and even rarer when they all do.

The technology I’m referring to is Internet video streaming. It’s the ability to play video from Internet sources like Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube right on your TV. Streaming used to require a computer, but now it’s built right into numerous home theater devices, such as TVs, Blu-ray players, and video game systems.

Streaming didn’t catch on when it debuted about a year ago, probably because it started with a motley collection of second-tier web video services nobody cared about. In the year since, it’s matured into perhaps the most exciting and useful new home theater technology of the last few years. All of the reviewers and editors I talk with regularly not only like Internet streaming, they’re using it several times a week.

I’d seen Internet streaming at press events, but never thought much of it. Recently, though, I upgraded to a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player and it just happened to include Netflix and YouTube streaming. I was astounded to see Jackie Chan’s The Legend of Drunken Master appear on my TV screen in a matter of seconds—and in surprisingly good fidelity through my 6 Mb/sec Internet connection.

Since then, I’ve spent many a night enjoying some of the 12,000-plus movies and TV shows available on Netflix’s streaming service. And I’ve used the YouTube streaming to watch all sorts of old clips and TV shows—most notably a forgotten favorite, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.

None of these devices has enough internal computing power to run a browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. I originally thought the lack of browsing capability was a crippling omission—but I now realize it’s an advantage. With no browser interface to accommodate, the Internet services can be reformatted so they’re properly cropped and zoomed to fill your TV screen, and so they’re easy to navigate using a TV remote. In fact, I find the YouTube interface on my Blu-ray player easier to use than the YouTube website.

To sum up: You get tons of great content, instantly available for free. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and one of the new Internet streaming devices.