Phoenix Audio/Video Specialists

February 3rd 2010 - Control4 YouTube Channel

January 7th 2010 - Control4 Announces New App Store for Smart Homes

4Store™ Gives Homeowners Unprecedented Customization Options and Supports Control4 Initiative to Maximize Home Efficiency

Control4, a leader in affordable IP-based home control and entertainment systems, today announced the 4Store™, an online marketplace where customers can access applications that will extend the functionality and interconnectivity of Control4® smart homes and enable new levels of customization for homeowners.

4Store is the first app store designed specifically for the smart home and offers individual applications that can be integrated with multiple household devices. 4Store gives Control4 customers the option to download apps that serve a wide variety of functions – from Facebook to online dinner reservations to customizing Kwikset deadbolt locks to controlling energy usage with Eaton outlet monitors. Control4 customers already easily control lighting, temperature, music, entertainment and energy usage from a simple interface but now with 4Store apps, homeowners will be able to further customize their system to provide information and control functionality specific to their lifestyle.

“The introduction of the 4Store could have the same kind of impact on the smart home that the iTunes App Store has had on the smartphone,” said Will West, CEO of Control4. “It provides a unique way for homeowners to personalize their control system so they get more enjoyment from their homes and more efficient use of all their devices and systems.”

4Store applications fall into four general types: Enhanced Home Control, Information, Social & Entertainment, and User Interface Customization.
• Enhanced Home Control Apps – Many apps are designed specifically to enhance the control of third party devices that are installed in the house. Apps being shown at CES include:
o Pioneer - Set advanced receiver properties such as zone volume, inputs and easy tuner control.
o Eaton – Enable advanced power monitoring and on and off capabilities for outlets.
o Peak Software TED Energy Monitor for Control4 - Use The Energy Detective TED 5000 to monitor energy usage in your home, including real-time and historical usage and built-in rate structure support.
o CardAccess Home Tracker - Allows homeowners to monitor important aspects of the home like lighting and temperature, in a floor plan topology. Additionally, by tapping into Card Access motion detectors, homeowners can monitor occupancy of the house via the same floor plan.
o Kwikset - Easily manage your Kwikset ZigBee deadbolt by creating unique lock codes for temporary access or for individual family and friends, view status of locks and view history for any lock in your home.
• Information Apps – These apps provide information such as weather, news, blog readers and other RSS feeds.
• Social & Entertainment Apps – Access popular social networks and websites including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, OpenTable, and NetFlix or play games like Tetrad through your TV or touch screen.
• UI Customization – Specialty apps enable users to select a UI theme that changes the look and feel of their Control4® system to match their decor or show favorite photos.

When any home is made “smart,” owners dramatically increase efficiency by gaining the ability to connect and control multiple appliances from a single system. The introduction of the 4Store takes this connectivity one step further. Users can select any app that they find beneficial and then use that app to increase the functionality of their home, streamlining many of the day-to-day tasks that unnecessarily consume time and energy.

4Store is expected to be available to the general public in the first half of 2010. Leading consumer electronics companies and Control4® dealers are currently creating applications for the 4Store using a software developers kit released in late 2009. Control4 will preview 4Store at The International CES in Las Vegas from January 7-10, 2010.
For more information on Control4, visit www.control4.com.

October 7th 2009 - CustomRetailer interviews Control4 President & COO, Glen Mella at CEDIA 2009 about the new 2.0 interface

October 6th 2009 - Panasonic 85" Plasma Available Late October
Now there’s a large-screen Professional Plasma that’s not only light enough to go anywhere — it has a spectacular contrast ratio of 40,000:1 and a moving picture resolution of 1,080 lines for stunning full high definition images.

The new 85-inch Pro Plasma with NeoPDP technology integrates the latest Plasma innovations to deliver brighter, more vivid, images with deep, rich blacks in a thin, lightweight display, that is more energy-efficient, and large enough to show images life-sized.

What’s more, as with all Panasonic Professional Displays, it is fully expandable for a wide variety of professional uses with our triple multi-function slots that accept a variety of customizable plug-in boards.
More info



September 15th 2009 - Control4 Announces Major Upgrade to Operating System

Last week at the CEDIA Expo in Atlanta Control4 formally announced the upcoming upgrade to version 2.0 of their operating system. The upgrade will be available in December. It will include DLNA compatibility to allow Control4 multi-room-audio systems to stream music, cover art, photos and video from networked Windows PCs. Version 2.0 will also feature a new "app-store" that will enable applications like Facebook, Picasa, news and sports to be displayed directly on touchscreens and TV's throughout the home.

August 1st 2009
Phoenix A/V recently helped Westwood Fire Company Station 44 in Coatesville, PA update the audio/video system in their fire hall. This included removing several old CRT TV's and replacing them with over a dozen new flat-panel LCD's.
Westwood Fire Company


July 25th 2009
We haved added Martin Logan speakers to our list of authorized product lines.
Read more about Martin Logan


June 17th 2009 - SnapAV to Debut New Episode Speakers (source: Christine Persaud, Marketnews)
SnapAV is set to debut new in-ceiling, in-wall, and in-room speakers under its Episode line.

Set for availability this month will be five 6.5" in-ceiling models consisting of single and dual voice coil, angled and surround sound varieties. These will be followed up by a pair of 8" in-ceiling models, to debut in July. Several in-wall models will hit the streets later this summer; and in-room speakers will come to market in the fall.

"Episode loudspeakers are our number one product development priority, and this new line is a powerful one," says Bill Harrell, SnapAV's Vice President of Sales. "We started from scratch, utilizing the talents of our world-class design and engineering team and listening closely to feedback from our expert Dealer Development Council. Emphasis was placed on having a line balanced enough to fit 90 per cent of the installation situations that dealers face every day, without having so many offerings that selection could be confusing."

Each of the speakers incorporate components like second-order crossovers, Nomex spiders, and high-temperature long-life drivers. Other features aim to improve performance. For example, the new ES500-Point-6 angled in-ceiling speaker boasts an interior that's lined with an acoustic dampening material to eliminate sound reflections often found with similar models that are used for front channels.

"Dealers are telling us that the new models go 'toe-to-toe' with comparably priced (MSRP) products from the bigger name speaker brands that have dominated the category thus far," adds Harrell. "We are confident that Episode will quickly gain additional market share, becoming a well-recognized brand and leading contender in the custom A/V channel by 2010."

All models, which are set to replace the original line, employ new designs. The in-ceiling models come with easy-mount, rust-proof grilles and plastic paint guards; and snug dogs, gold-plated push button wire termination, and cutout templates. Many of the models also come with pivoting tweeters with bridges that SnapAV says a sturdy enough to be used as handles during installation.