Digeo® And 4HomeMedia To Deliver Integrated Home Control Via A TV Experience

September 11, 2007

Digeo®, Inc. announced they are licensing software from, and collaborating with, 4HomeMedia to develop compelling new ways to control some of the most commonly installed home control systems, such as audio/visual (A/V), lighting, and IP-based surveillance cameras. Moxi products, which are popular among HDTV users and others looking for a premium entertainment experience, provide an engaging and easy-to-use interface that can be applied to a variety of home control scenarios. The two companies will be demonstrating a proof-of-concept Moxi home control experience incorporating the 4HomeMedia ControlPoint™ software at CEDIA in the Digeo booth #878. Today, most A/V, lighting, and IP-based surveillance cameras are managed by multiple user interfaces, which are rarely integrated, seldom easy to use, and most often cost prohibitive for many consumers. By combining 4HomeMedia's ControlPoint technology with the popular Moxi Menu, consumers will be able to easily control various devices in their home environment, from the comfort of their couch, as part of their television navigation and viewing experience. The combined solution seeks to make home control features more attractive, easy to implement and available to a broader set of consumers. "Digeo has always been passionate about delivering a superior experience and our customers are those who expect much more than 'adequate' from their home entertainment products," said Mike Fidler, CEO of Digeo. "This new partnership with 4HomeMedia will enable our DMR products to deliver some provocative new ways to apply the Moxi design aesthetic and premium user experience to maximizing the home theater experience." "4HomeMedia has been seeking out best-of-breed CE vendors as licensees for our home control software since we launched earlier in the year and Digeo, with its immersive and eye-catching Moxi user interface, was on the top of our list," said Brad Kayton, 4HomeMedia's Chief Operating Officer. "We are excited about the combination of our two solutions and believe that there will be no better addition to a consumer's entertainment experience than a Moxi HD DMR with 4Home ControlPoint functionality." "The home control market has been confined to high-end households with the resources to fund custom installations or technically savvy hobbyists - we see this changing," said Bill Ablondi, director of home systems research for Parks Associates. "Only 10% of homes have some form of electronic lighting control, but nearly 40% have a home theater(1). Consumers are not aware of the benefits control systems offer; control is a concept, not a product. Incorporating control capabilities into familiar products, such as entertainment systems as Digeo and 4HomeMedia are doing, will build awareness and adoption. We project the market for controllers to nearly double from $3.5 billion this year to $6.0 billion by 2012." In addition to the partnership with 4HomeMedia, Digeo today also announced that it has joined the Z-Wave Alliance as a Full Member and will participate in advanced training opportunities, UnPlug Fests, and Developers Working Groups. The Z-Wave Alliance is an open consortium of leading global companies dedicated to establishing Z-Wave as the standard in wireless controls. By promoting a single standard, true product interoperability among manufacturers can become a reality.

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