News

Winegard Introduces iCON Wireless Remote Control System (7/4/2006)

The Next Generation In Wireless Home Automation, Makes The Connected FingerTM An Integral Part Of A Connected Home

At the EHX show, Winegard let builders and installers see its newest option to the Triple Play bundle, Winegard's new wireless iCON whole-house remote control system. Said Lance Beck, New Product Development Manager for Winegard and inventor of the iCON concept technology said, "Winegard has taken all of the intelligence of a high-end remote control system and package it, so that each television becomes the visual part of the user interface and the remote control becomes the input device." iCON allows users to send the entertainment they want, remotely, where they want it, when they want it. It offers a user-friendly setup with customized TV menus for color and content." It was designed with open architecture for user identified expandability and the remote also functions as a normal remote (volume control, channel selection, etc).

Bob Howell, Director Signal Distribution/Off-Air Antenna Business Group said, "To use the iCON, simply get in front of any TV in the home and press one menu button on the iCon remote. A menu is displayed on the screen or in a PIP window. From the user menu, select the desired control function from the menu using the up/down/select buttons on the remote and then, a user can open the control interface and scripting, which allows control of anything that is controllable, within and outside the home, all while continuing to watch anything at the same time."

The remote control itself needs no infrared code database or learning capability because all of this functionality is contained within the CPU box located in our HOME RUNTM structured Wiring Box." The CPU box can execute a single command or a series of commands to perform the desired function. Once a function is selected, the CPU box becomes an I/R code "translator". If a user is watching a DVD and presses pause on the remote, the CPU will send the proper I/R code to the DVD player, no matter where it is located on the home network. The iCON communicates with other iCON systems for distributed home control, allowing total functionality with a wide variety of devices via Ethernet, RS-232, BlueTooth and ZigBee interfaces.

Some designers and manufacturers are using closed profile designs which do not allow their ZigBee devices to work with others. Winegard had integrators in mind when the system was designed. Winegard's philosophy for the iCON design is to use open profiles, allowing interconnectivity with everything that is ZigBee controllable, along with Ethernet and RS-232 such as media servers, alarm systems, lighting controllers, HVAC systems and much more. Another benefit of the iCON that sets it apart is the addition of a web browser. Since the iCON is always hooked up to the network, users are always web capable.

There are a few remote systems on the market that encompass some of the elements of the iCON system. None of them achieve the iCON's level of integration at Winegard's price point. It will be offered in several different configurations ranging from a consumer model to an advanced systems integrator model with an anticipate release date in the third quarter of 2006.