News

NuVo Introduces the Grand Concerto System with a Revolutionary Control Pad (1/9/2006)

CEDIA US Expo 2006

NuVo Technologies is about to introduce a new Grand Concerto system that will boast a mix of features that have not yet been seen in the whole home audio industry segment. Center stage among this broad group of technologically elegant components is NuVo's new control pad. It brings together smart, savvy, feature rich technology and wraps it in a clean, responsive interface with a cool factor that is a compliment to any household.

Some background - Our control pad's genesis came from our Chief Engineer, Rick Kukulies and was inspired by his own kitchen. Wanting to leverage the latest available technology that our industry segment has not yet tapped into, but also being mindful that the control pad was truly a fixture in the home and needed to provide long-term durability and reliability, Rick was presented with some complex challenges. He discovered the answer in a place that he surprisingly spends quite a bit of time, starring over his coffee cup every morning. He got the AH-HAH as he looked at his kitchen appliances, which sported capacitive touch controls, and got that spark of inspiration. His range top, refrigerator and dishwasher have the proven durability and responsiveness under extreme conditions that could be translated into the technology needed.

Among its many features is its OLED display, which offers bright high contrasting light that is readable in a variety of settings including bright sunlight conditions. The display provides up to 8 readable character lines, but is flexible to character height changes at the users discretion. Another natural by-product of its high contrast light emissions is that the display can be viewed from angles of nearly 180¡.

Another important feature of the Control Pad is its polycarbonate surface. It resides over both the display and keypad interface areas. Polycarbonate is the same material used in optical industry for eyeglass lenses. Unlike standard plastics, it is precision manufactured to be perfectly flat, which not only serves to ensure proper touch functionality, but also greatly improves visualization and general pristine look and feel with absolutely no flaws or thickness variations. The extremely durable and scratch resistant material also makes the control pad water resistant, which as an added benefit of the strict requirements of it's manufacturing. Its virtually impenetrable construction makes it well suited for covered outdoor areas.

Among the NuVo Control Pads most unique features is Capacitive Touch Technology. Capacitive Touch, which is a technology barrowed from the kitchen appliance industry and known for its solid state design, responds to the presence of your fingertip without a mechanical, tactile button push, and no mechanical moving parts to wear out or gum up. The fingertip actually disrupts the electrical field under each icon, which creates a signal in the control pad and back to the Grand Concerto. This clean, smart, very minimalist look makes it fade into the background when not in use and becomes highly visible when it is.

Just some other cool factors about NuVo's Control Pad include:

* Two-way interactive control likens it to touch panel capability, but without a high-end price tag. * Magnetic bezel trim plate affixes and removes instantly for easy installation as well as cleaning. Shipped with four different color choices (white, almond, ivory, black) for each control pad. * Special design considerations allow the trim plate to sit absolutely flush with the wall. * Fits in standard dual gang wall box. The enclosed back circuitry box has a thin profile that is half the depth of a typical keypad for easy, more space conscious installation. * Each Control Pad still communicates through the NuVoNet system using a single run of CAT-5 wiring. * Cleaning is as simple as using common household cleaners of glass such as Windex(r).

The new Grand Concerto system will retail for $3499.00.

www.nuvotechnologies.com