Core Brands and Autonomic Controls to Serve as MVP Co-Sponsors of 2015 D-Tools Design Awards Program

Two industry-leading custom installation solutions providers, Autonomic and Core Brands, today announced that they are joining forces to support industry-wide design best practices, serving as MVP (Manufacturer Vantage Point) Co-Sponsors of the 2015 D-Tools Design Awards Program. Through the sponsorship, the winner of the “Best Overall” category will receive an ELAN entertainment and control system with ELAN gHR200 remote and an Autonomic MMS-2A streaming media solution.

The annual D-Tools Design Awards Program puts the spotlight on the best project designs and greatest success stories that demonstrate D-Tools platform proficiency and the positive effects it has had on both workflow and ROI. Winning entries will be selected from a diverse group of D-Tools users. The winners will be announced at CEDIA Expo in Dallas, Texas.

“We are proud to co-sponsor this very important design awards program with Autonomic,” said Core Brands Director of Marketing Bill Hensley. “ELAN introduced the world to IP based, entertainment centric smart home automation.  Autonomic introduced the world's first cloud-based media server, making whole-house audio more intuitive, enjoyable and sophisticated for users while creating a profitable business model for custom integrators. And now that the ELAN control platform is completely compatible with Autonomic streaming media solutions, it makes perfect sense for our two companies to join together to support the best practices objectives of the D-Tools Design Awards Program.”

Autonomic CEO Michael de Nigris added, “We’re honored to partner with Core Brands in support of the D-Tools Design Awards Program. By providing the ‘Best Overall’ winner with a Mirage Music Player and an ELAN system controller, we’re giving them the opportunity to create an expandable whole-home automation system, beginning with a staple: whole-home audio.”

The ELAN entertainment and control system is a versatile controller and OSD extender that integrates seamlessly with a variety of systems, including the Mirage Music Player. The controller is robustly configured with 3 IR outputs, 1 IR input, 1 bi-directional RS-232 input, 1 sensor, 1 HDMI output (720p/1080p) and 1 audio output.  Its built-in WiFi enables all of its functions to be IP controlled, and PoE enabled, it uses dramatically less energy than conventional controllers.

The ELAN system features integration of up to 16 zones of security; 2 door locks; media that can control 1 AVR, 32 displays and an unlimited number of ELAN zones; as well as controls for lighting (24 devices and up to 24 custom g! keypads), climate (3 stats), video (3 IP cameras), irrigation (16 groups and 256 zones) — plus the ability to add on a virtually unlimited number of ELAN and Core Brands attachments.

The Mirage Music Player MMS-2A delivers pure, reference quality high-resolution audio via a USB output as well as two independently controlled streams to support a multi-room entertainment system as large as an astonishing 96 zones when paired with Mirage Digital Amplifiers. A new generation of the world’s first cloud-based media server, the MMS-2A will store, sync, schedule, blend and stream an entire music collection along with the most popular online streaming services. The MMS-2A also delivers all of the features that have become the hallmark of the Autonomic brand, including access to the most popular streaming services (PANDORA® internet radio, Rhapsody®, TuneIn Radio, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Napster, Deezer and Spotify), iTunes synchronization, cloud synchronization enabling access to personal music collections across multiple locations, three onboard AirPlay receivers enabling guest computer/device streaming, and Autonomic’s exclusive TuneBridge™ technology (patent pending), making iteasier than ever to listen to, discover and explore the universe of music.

An ELAN g1 entertainment and control system, ELAN gHR200 remote and Autonomic Control MMS2A media solution will be on display at both Core Brands’ booth #4128 and Autonomic’s booth #3119.

Westin Long Beach Hotel Hosts Local Businesses and Events in High-Tech Meeting Space Protected by Furman

Competition is stiff among hotels that want to host events and corporate meetings for local businesses. To attract the event planners and meeting managers, the Westin Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, California, recently transformed its large ballroom into a 4-room convertible space with divisible walls. To further enhance the space, the hotel turned to local integration firm Spinitar to incorporate the latest audio system and technology. According to Rudy Zavala, Associate Systems Designer at the firm, the goal of the installation came down to three things: simplicity, functionality and reliability.

“One big ballroom is great if you want to host large receptions or conferences, but the ability to split the space into four smaller rooms offers the hotel greater revenue opportunities and opens access to smaller parties and budgets,” Zavala explained. “But it’s not as simple as just putting in some convertible walls. Separate rooms mean you need separate audio systems and control interfaces that can also function as a single unit when the room is fully open for a larger event. To do this we used QSC’s Core 500i network audio solution backed by the protection of a BlueBOLT-enabled Furman F1500-UPS to ensure smooth, effortless operation 365 days a year.”

Routing all the power through the Furman UPS boasts multiple advantages. Utilizing the BlueBOLT cloud-based power, energy and network management platform, the device enables Spintar to access the equipment at its power source from anywhere in the world using any Web-enabled device. In case of a locked-up device or system power issue, the integrators can do remote hard resets of the touch panels, amplifiers and network switcher, even the entire QSC system if needed, greatly reducing service calls. This provides efficiency for both the hotel and the integrator, saving them time, money and frustration.

Featuring Furman’s advanced Series Multi-Stage Protection (SMP) surge/spike protection circuit, Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) and Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT), the F1500-UPS provides the hotel with professional-level protection, filtration and backup combined with features engineered specifically for the needs of A/V systems. Fully programmable, the unit features an intuitive LCD front panel interface, which displays valuable system and diagnostic information, such as battery time remaining based on current load and voltage input/output. Additionally, critical load management capabilities allow hotel employees to prioritize allocations of battery power to connected equipment while the unit’s programmable IR blasters provide safe shutdown of remotely based equipment.

“Easy-to-use is an all encompassing term,” Zavala concluded. “This means that guests must be able to walk in to the space and use the system right away, every time. Additionally, the hotel managers and staff should be able to operate the meeting rooms without worrying about complicated technology. The GUI we created for the audio system is a floorplan of the space, with each touch panel opening up to its section of the room, and all the other sections are available by simply flipping to the next page of the interface. This way presenters can quickly use the input panels to hook up a microphone, iPod, or video player to one section or the whole room, while setting volumes for each specific area.”

Best of all, the system is designed to be easy-to-use for the integrators themselves. Incorporating the Furman F1500-UPS into the system simplifies the configuration, ultimately saving Zavala and his team time and money through BlueBOLT remote power management.

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“Mixing-Console-Kings” Educate Customers in Interactive Demo Room Protected by Furman

When Dallas-based Sound Productions, renowned as the “Mixing-Console-Kings,” was designing its state-of-the-art demo room, the goal was simple: create a comfortable environment with an authentic live venue atmosphere. After just 90 days, the room was equipped and operational with some of the hottest sound, lighting and video products on the market, ready to be test driven by anyone who walked through the door. Everything was running smoothly, until it hit them: severe weather in the area could ultimately shut down the show. After little deliberation, they turned to Furman to protect their investment and keep all of the systems operating seamlessly. 

“Originally, we installed a power management system that we quickly lost confidence in. The system failed twice during brownouts, which were common this past spring due to unusually extreme weather in our area. Fortunately, the failures did not occur during business hours,” Sound Productions Vice President of Sales & Marketing Jeff Humphrey explained. “It was almost a year after opening the new facility when we finally decided to incorporate Furman products into the racks to deliver advanced surge protection and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) backup.”

The company installed the BlueBOLT-enabled Furman F1500-UPS, Furman P8 PRO-C and Furman M-8Lx power conditioners and a Furman voltage regulator into the racks of four live demo stations showcasing sound reinforcement, recording, contracting, and mobile DJ products. The room comes equipped with the top 10 hottest selling digital consoles, a complete QSC line array speaker system as well as five other major speaker brands, a broad range of lighting products and a full complement of mics and backline equipment to simulate a live sound environment. In the room’s FOH racks, four APB- DynaSonic MixSwitches are used in conjunction with two Presonus Central Stations which allow seamless switching while auditioning the various consoles and speaker systems, all of which is protected and conditioned by Furman. 

Kris Landrum, Engineer & Sales Team Member at Sound Productions

“Going into this project, we were very careful in the design,” Humphrey continued. “We wanted the demo room to operate seamlessly, and be an active tool for our sales team and clients rather than a constant work-in-progress hindrance I’ve seen in so many other facilities. I have witnessed many failed demos; you walk into a room and only half of the equipment is patched or even operational. We wanted to change that typical experience and set expectations higher, so we built a system that does not require any patching or un-patching. It takes little effort to test any given product, in any configuration even down to a specific component.”

This system set-up is extremely beneficial since Sound Productions allows customers to come in and demo products during normal business hours. With this policy, they need to make sure everything is working 100 percent of the time. “My right-hand-man, Kris Landrum (pictured above), arrives early every morning to run all of the diagnostics, prior to opening our doors,” Humphrey added. “He ensures everything is fully operational before he settles into his sales position, so customers can walk in at any given time to see, touch and hear the exact equipment they want at a time that is convenient for them.”

Additionally, since the system is running through the BlueBOLT-enabled Furman f1500-UPS, the Sound Productions team can monitor their system through the cloud-based power, energy, and network management platform from anywhere in the world. BlueBoLT allows them to remotely reboot connected equipment in order to address a myriad of common system issues, so Landrum can fix menial system disruptions prior to walking through the demo room’s door. “We’ve successfully used the BlueBOLT function on mobile devices and local computers and found it to be seamless and very intuitive,” Humphrey stated. 

Sound Productions’ value-add business model doesn’t stop with daily demos. The company offers free monthly educational workshops with content based on new technology, industry trends and customer demand. Workshops and lectures are presented by leading manufacturer representatives and industry professionals such as Ken “Pooch” Van Druten, Bo Brinck and legendary FOH engineer, Buford Jones to name just a few. “Educating customers is our mission; educated customers buy with confidence. They purchase the right gear for their given applications and are happier in the long-run,” Humphrey concluded. “Our new facility and the workshops we offer provide a one of a kind experience for our customers.”

Yogurtology Simplifies Multi-Store Management with an ELAN Control System

No matter how hard you try or how little you sleep, you can’t be in two places at once. That’s why operating multiple businesses requires handing off some control and responsibility. But what if you could literally check in on your properties from home at any time and see what is happening on site? Susan McCart, a franchisee and now part corporate owner of Yogurtology, a premium frozen yogurt store chain, found that with the ELAN control system pulling together the lighting, HVAC, audio, video, energy management, security and surveillance, she’s never more than a smartphone tap away from the pulse of her businesses.

According to Sarasota-based electronics integrator Mark van den Broek, the ELAN system made such an impression in the first store that McCart is going to install nearly identical systems in her other four franchise locations in the next two months. 

“When we talk about control systems in food establishments it’s usually focused on audio and video, and maybe security,” van den Broek said, “but together, Susan and I created a very powerful tool for her to manage her multiple locations. Once all five stores are finished, she’ll know for certain that all the lights, TVs, audio equipment and registers turn on 30 minutes before opening and turn off 30 minutes after closing. She’ll know how many people are going in and out of each store each day through intelligent software that parses the surveillance camera recordings. Best of all, she’ll be able to quickly login to each location from the ELAN g! app on her smartphone or tablet, from anywhere in the world, any time, and view live video feeds plus see the status of the lighting, A/V and climate control at each store.” 

Consolidating the utilities of multiple physical locations into a single smartphone app is a monumental shift in small business management. While individual locations obviously still require managers, franchise owners with this kind of instant access can get the truest sense ever available of what goes on in their restaurants. Beyond the owner accessibility, automation offers promises to cut maintenance and daily hassles from the staff, freeing them up to interact with consumers and enjoy their work more. By scheduling lighting, A/V and HVAC systems, the owners can closely monitor and adjust their energy usage across multiple locations. The ELAN system’s climate history feature provides a snapshot of energy use over time, which can help guide decisions and ultimately provide significant energy and cost savings.

The first Yogurtology store to receive the ELAN system features seven 42” TVs, seven speakers from SpeakerCraft and Niles, eight IP surveillance cameras, a 4TB NAS drive to keep surveillance footage, Lutron Radio Ra2 lighting, Leviton HVAC control and a commercial WiFi access point to provide consistent coverage throughout the store.

To download additional photogrpahy, click here.

Gefen Becomes Part of Core Brands, Strengthening Portfolio of Solutions Offered to Growing Dealer Network

In a move designed to strengthen the synergies that already exist between the two organizations, Core Brands and Gefen today announced that, effective immediately, Gefen will join the Core Brands family of leading solutions offered to its growing network of residential and commercial integrators and installers.  The announcement was made by Core Brands President Joe Roberts and Gefen President Tony Dowzall. 

“As a leader in digital connectivity and innovator of A/V signal processing solutions for commercial and residential applications, Gefen is a natural addition to the existing portfolio of Core Brands solutions,” Roberts said today.  “Backed by an incredible heritage of groundbreaking practical innovation, Gefen provides intuitive connectivity products and solutions that bridge the gap between rapidly advancing technology and real-world applications. All of us at Core Brands look forward to collaborating with the Gefen team to become even stronger, well-rounded industry leaders. The incorporation of Gefen into the Core Brands family is going to expand the range of options we offer our customers and make it easier for them to transact more of their business through a single solutions provider.”

Amplifying these points, Dowzall stressed that Core Brands and Gefen have long enjoyed a close relationship as part of the same organizational structure inside Nortek. “Our two companies know each other well and complement one another in many important ways – both in terms of key industry verticals and common sales partners. This really is a perfect fit of philosophies, culture and values that are focused on a shared mission — delighting our customers with exceptional service and solutions.”

The integration of Gefen within Core Brands will also result in larger sales opportunities for many Gefen product lines, Dowzall emphasized. “In addition, because we will be part of a larger company with a greater amount of functional leverage, we will be better able to serve our customers at an even higher level.”