A view of the Home Theatre System. The remote on the left is the Control 4 remote which replaces all the others on the right.

Imagine controlling all your electronics with one interface. and this time, it's bound to be more efficient than that ever so cumbersome universal remote.

"People still don't understand the concept of 'smart home'," quips Brian Yap Sam, who, along with his wife Lisa, operates Visnet Solutions, "what we do is try to make living simpler." Naturally, he dismisses the idea that some have of 'smart homes' being only those configured for wireless Internet access.

It's Tuesday morning and Thursday Tech is at the Yap Sam's small company to view the technology, which he later refers to as Control 4.

"They have made the interface very friendly," informs Yap Sam, who shares too, that the US$1,200 box - no larger than a laptop or DVD player - allows users to control their home theatre and music systems, lighting automation and security video access by way of remote, touch screen or the Internet. The interview continues as Yap Sam illustrates just how the technology works.

The system comprises a Control 4 Theatre Controller (HTC) attached to a network, Control 4 16-channel amp; your choice of satellite radio and a Marantz 8500 A/V receiver. The receiver is tied into the plasma and surround-sound system, and the channel amp is hard-wired to in-ceiling speakers. The HTC has little infrared remotes so it can connect directly to the components on the network.
But the tech-junkie chat pauses for an illustration.

"This house is 40 years old," Yap Sam says, pointing to a light switch mounted on the wall, "the house is fully retrofit-able, we just replaced the old fixtures with smart ones."
The "smart ones" facilitate dimming or may be programmed to be time-sensitive.

"We can transform a 'dumb' device into a smart one," he adds, depressing the button which turns on a standing lamp across the room. A switch, he says, costs near US$130, a price he believes is fair with respect to the kind of operation it does.

That aside, Yap Sam mentions that cable television reception in many homes is oft poor; "not because of Flow", he says, but because many homes are not wired properly.

"The right way to wire a house is through a structured panel. as in the case with many Jamaican homes, there's none and the cable signal gets weaker each time a new television set is added."

Control 4, Mrs Yap Sam chimes in, allows various users of the same system to listen to a pre-loaded collection of music at the same time. This, she says, allows various users to enjoy whatever they want simultaneously. What's more, Control 4 may be programmed so that the lights are dimmed whenever users cosy up to watch a movie or listen to a particular type of music.

Mrs Yap Sam maintains that the Control 4 technology is relatively inexpensive and it's also a way to go green.

"You can dim your lights accordingly. you can go green and at the same time not worry about JPS," Mrs Yap Sam shares of the technology that allows for a variety of lighting options. She notes too, that, it guards against vampire electricity - plugged electronics that suck current even though they are not in use. "Vampire electricity can account for as much as 60 per cent of the electricity we use."

The couple tells Thursday Tech too the programme is upgradeable and so it has the propensity to be even smarter.
Control 4 is a custom installed product, with Visnet as its exclusive local distributors, that the Yap Sams believe is not only convenient but might make you safer. Mr Yap Sam adds that his lights are turned on even when he's not home.
"We use Google Map to find the exact co-ordinates and key them into the control. It turns on my lights everyday 20 minutes after sunset." There's also a 'goodnight' button that when pressed, turns out all lights and electronics.

Though the system compared is relatively cheap, Yap Sam maintains that it's difficult to say exactly how much it is.
"Because it's personal technology, it's hard to give a blanket figure; you just have to do what you're comfortable with."

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