A neat, easy to use, one-stop route to a smart home is demonstrated on the Morban and Cytech stand at The Smart Home Show at the National Exhibition Centre, from 10th-13th April, 2008.

Cytech Europe, UK distributor of Comfort Intelligent Home System and its system integrator Morban Intelligent Living, combine to provide demonstrations for householders and developers that explain how an integrated home control system links voice prompted security, with all aspects of smart home technology in one simple system.

Intelligent control of equipment within the home helps cut the amount of energy used by heating, lighting, TV and audio, domestic appliances and may help reduce escalating energy bills.

Morban provide a single solution that can include whole house lighting and mood lighting design and control, audio/visual control with HD distribution, the use of a media server providing music and movies throughout the house, zone heating display and control, communications and home security.

Remote operation of the intelligent home systems can be by mobile phone, text message or remote computer.

Cytech’s Comfort system provides an integrated Intruder Alarm/Home Automation system with an interactive voice menu, dialler to eight different numbers and an answering machine; the Comfort door station rings the home phones or calls a mobile if no one is home.

The Comfort system can also answer the phone and when programmed, dial out to a care worker in case of emergency.

Web: http://www.morban.co.uk

Tel: (0870) 141 7042

The smart place to be this April is at the NEC in Birmingham - from 10th to 13th April 2008, where The Smart Home Show, (which is part of The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show), will be bringing together all the latest trends in smart home solutions.

Smart Home technology means controlling the home environment in a way that enhances the way you live; it makes life more enjoyable, more comfortable, easier and more secure.

Whether you are looking for a multi-room entertainment system, integrated lighting to control the mood of every room, state-of-the-art security to protect you and your family, or you just want to chill out watching a favourite movie from the comfort of your bath - The Smart Home Show will help you find the right solution.

There will be major brands to choose from, with leading industry experts on hand to share their knowledge; with practical demonstrations, advice clinics and a daily programme of free specialist seminars.

A visit to the Show could mean a home equipped for the 21st century is within your reach - don’t miss out!

Tickets are £10 in advance or £14 on the door.

For more information and tickets, visit:

Web: http://www.homebuildingshow.co.uk

Tel: (0871) 945 4547

Since 1968 Cambridge Audio has set new standards in the development/ manufacture of hi-fi and home cinema products.

In today’s digital world, being able to access audio and video entertainment through one centralized home system, offers huge advantages e.g. avoiding the ugly wires and clutter resulting from having hi-fi and video source equipment in each room.

To-date multi-room systems have had a reputation for being expensive, costly to install and often difficult to upgrade - until now…

Cambridge Audio, the pioneer of innovative, high performance audio systems, has developed Incognito, the ultimate discreet and easily installed way to share the benefits of your hi-fi and video, across your home at a surprisingly affordable price.

Incognito is designed around the user…

• A cost-effective, modular based system, compatible with virtually every brand and type of hi-fi source.
• Incognito is totally scaleable and normally fitted as a hub-based system for music across the home.
• Up to six pieces of hi-fi or video equipment can be connected to an Incognito audio or video hub for ultimate flexibility.
• A local input function enables connection of additional components in each zone e.g. a DVD player or games console located in that room.
• Incognito is easily installed in new-build properties or retro-fitted.
• A stylish learning remote control option means just one handset controls everything!

Incognito is controlled either by stylish wall or table-top keypads or, if preferred, a no-keypad option, which uses active in-ceiling speakers controlled by wireless remote handset.

Incognito active speakers can be connected directly from the hub. Just point your remote control at their infra red eye.

Web: http://www.cambridgeaudio.com

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre is to host its second Self Build & Renovation Show at the Renovation Centre, just off Junction 16 of the M4 next month, (Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th March 2008).

The show is offering a unique practical learning experience for anyone interested in building their dream home.

With a shortage of the right kind of affordable homes and uncertainty in the existing property market, ‘doing it yourself’, whether self building or renovating, to create a home that is compatible with individual lifestyles’ is becoming more appealing and is a very realistic option for many people looking to get on, or move up, the property ladder.

• This year’s show offers visitors:
  Lots of instructive seminars; product demonstrations, and presentations.
• Visitors can get to grips with a selection of the newest technical gadgets, professional tools and accessories from leading suppliers, including Festool, ITW and Skil.
• Sample the latest in kitchen cooking ranges and appliances from AGA and Britannia.
• Learn about finding land, arranging finance and buying materials from self build and renovation experts.
• Book one-to-one sessions with CAD designers and take part in practical skills workshops in plastering, bricklaying and tiling, with Trade Skills 4U.
• There will also be an exclusive launch of ‘Tommy’s House by Potton Homes; a new eco-friendly timber frame package range, inspired by Tommy Walsh’s eco house, which he built for £60,000 in 60 days.

The Self Build & Renovation Show will run between Thursday 6th and Sunday 9th March, at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon. Entry cost £10 per adult, or £15 per couple.

Buildstore Ltd has kindly arranged a generous ½ price ticket discount for UK Home Ideas readers, who are invited to log on to the website to book their tickets and enter this code - SBMUKH005, for the discount, on any of the four days of the Show.

Web: http://www.mykindofhome.co.uk/show

Tel: (01506) 409 616

X10 has been used since the 1960’s and is now a world wide standard for sending a signal over your existing mains circuitry to enable home automation.

Domia Ten is the latest incarnation of the original X10 system; no messy wiring is required, you simply plug your lamp or appliance into a Domia Ten module, which then plugs into your wall outlet.

Each Domia Ten module can have its own unique address to control individual devices so that multiple devices can be used.

Whilst Domia Ten retains full backward compatibility with the original X10 systems, it now offers a much improved range and greatly increased reliability; in particular it has better filtering capabilities, which makes it more robust in ‘noisy’ environments.

There is a variety of Domia Ten products available catering for many of your home automation needs. They are ergonomically designed, easy to program and offer visible feedback of activity through LED lights.

There are 13 individual modules - not all are necessary for the system to function – but are available only to expand the system capabilities.

Should you wish to control the appliances or lights in the home from your PC, just obtain and install the Harmony software plus the X10 interface and you’re ready to go.

Also the Harmony Media Center software will enable you to control your home through your TV, PC or remotely via the Internet.

With Harmony and Domia extensions, you can integrate your CCTV, use remote controls to dim your lights, include motion sensors to turn appliances or lights on when you walk into a room; set up a chain of commands triggered by an event, such as a security alert - the possibilities are almost endless!

Web: http://www.simplyautomate.co.uk

Tel: (08450) 644 3330

The Bose new WAVE® music system adds to the achievements of its acclaimed predecessor, to set a whole new standard in audio performance, simplicity and elegant design.

This innovative music system provides lush, room-filling sound from a system so small and simple to use, it fits almost anywhere; it reproduces one-half octave lower musical notes and delivers even greater clarity and definition than the original WAVE® radio/CD; with its deeper tones and more lifelike sound.

Inside, the new waveguide speaker technology combines with other BOSE® technologies to deliver enhanced performance - at all listening levels; you’ll hear the same clear musical nuances, whether you turn the volume up or keep it soft.

It delivers the full depth and range of every vocal or instrument on MP3 CDs, CD-R/RWs, and conventional CDs; you can listen to CDs created on your computer and take advantage of the digital MP3 format to enjoy hours of uninterrupted quality sound.

The WAVE® music system was designed to be delightfully easy to use:

There are no visible buttons - the entire system is completely and conveniently controlled by a credit card-sized remote control and set-up couldn’t be easier.

The CD player, AM/FM tuner, amplifiers and speakers are all built-in to provide quality sound right out of the box.

The large, bright display panel is easy to read and understand; prominently displaying the artist, title and album names of your suitably encoded MP3 CDs.

It’s also easy to enjoy the system’s full, rich sound with your TV, VCR, DVD player, or computer, thanks to an auxiliary input jack.

The speakers are magnetically shielded to prevent interference from TVs or computer monitors.

To enjoy the music by yourself, you can simply plug your headphones into the headphone jack.

This music system can also become part of an expanded home entertainment experience to multiple rooms, as with BOSE® link, the system is now compatible with selected LIFESTYLE® systems

The WAVE® music system may look familiar, but it takes the original award-winning design of the WAVE® radio/CD to new levels; the slim, sleek profile shines through to complement most rooms. Priced at 399.00.

Web: http:// www.bose.co.uk

Tel: 07966 485889

Linksys has launched its new Media Center Extender with DVD Player (DMA2200) and (DMA2100).

These new products will team with existing Linksys offerings, such as Dual-Band Wireless-N Routers, NAS200 Network Storage System and WVC54GC Home Monitoring Camera, to offer customers a complete home entertainment and a security solution.

The new extenders allow support for popular video and audio codecs such as Xvid, as well as Windows Media® Video HD files; also have the ability to send protected HD content to additional rooms, including recorded TV from over-the-air ATSC or Cable Card tuners along with movies and music available from providers.

Both new Media Center Extenders are designed to leverage Dual-Band Wireless-N technology, to receive content contained on a Media Center PC.

Dual-band capabilities enable consumers to use the less-crowded 5 GHz wireless spectrum, to separate the network streams that contain their entertainment content from those that contain traditional data content; thus enabling greater network reliability when streaming latency sensitive video or audio.

Media Center Extenders are designed to enable Plug-Ins that are designed for Media Center PCs to be used; e.g. recipe depositories, alarm clocks, weather reports, comic strips, lottery results and Home Monitoring Cameras.

The DMA2200 and DMA2100 will be available through Linksys e-commerce resellers at around £229.99 and £199.99 respectively; the WVC54GC Camera is available for an ESP of £69.99.

Web: http://www-uk.linksys.com

Tel: (0800) 068 0327

Gallimard Jeunesse (France’s leading publishing house) and Violet present a world first - a Rabbit that can recognize a real book and read it aloud.

Behind this simple application that will bring joy and delight to all young readers and their parents, lies one of the greatest innovations of the publishing world since Gutenberg!

Books will no longer be inanimate objects, as they become enriched and enhanced by all sorts of interactive and online applications.

This is made possible by the Ztamp* system designed by Violet.

The first book that Nabaztag can read is La belle lisse poire du prince de Motordu by Pef; a modern classic of French children’s literature.

By sniffing the Ztamp glued under the cover, Nabaztag identifies the book, finds the story on the Internet, and then reads it out loud. You can navigate through the chapters of the story by moving the Rabbit’s ears.

This book even has a memory, so that the next time you swipe it in front of Nabaztag, the Rabbit will remember the chapter where it previously stopped reading.

You can even choose the voice in which you want it read: that of the author, or of the Rabbit.

Thanks to the Ztamp, books will be open and interactive, whilst retaining their printed-paper form.

Other titles from Gallimard Jeunesse, in partnership with Violet, are coming soon and in the near future, these books will be available in English too.

Recommended retail price for Nabaztag + Gallimard La belle lisse poire du prince de Motordu is £100.37.

Recommended retail price for the book with Ztamp: £4.69.

Web: http://www.nabaztag.com

*The RFID (Ztamp) is like a small postage stamp that you can stick to any article you want to be recognized by Nabaztag.

Visonic is an international developer and manufacturer of high-quality electronic security systems and dedicated to enhancing people’s way of life by increasing their sense of security.

The company’s AMBER Independence & Safety Support Solution enables friends and family, to provide senior adults with comprehensive 24/7 remote support, enhanced safety and appropriate emergency response.

The Amber safety and support options is one of the most sophisticated wireless alarm systems on the market and includes:

Automatic medication reminders, smoke, gas and flood detection, instant two-way hands-free voice communication, remote social contact, inactivity monitoring and telemedicine capabilities.

Amber is specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors, with its display, which has large backlit buttons and a powerful speaker and speed dialling facilities. Supplied with an Emergency call button wrist-pendant.

The system is updateable by phone, therefore does not require technician visits and enables the selection of up to four (4) private phone numbers as emergency call numbers; also capable of saving up to three (3) speed dialling numbers permitting one-touch access to family and friends.

The ease of installation and remote programming make Amber the ultimate in convenience, security and responsiveness for senior adults and their carers, while maximizing their dignity, independence and convenience.

Web: http://www.visonic.com/visonichomepage.nsf

Tel: (0870) 7300810

Loc8tor Ltd a dynamic UK based company, has produced a revolutionary invention, The Loc8tor – which is the first product of its type using miniaturised tags to keep track of everyday items that can be easily mislaid:

Never again will you have the anxiety of mislaying your keys, wallet / purse, mobile, or even your wandering child.

Never again be late for a meeting as you search for your briefcase, laptop or even your car that you were sure you parked on the third floor.

Loc8tor has two modes:

Locate - lets you find any tagged item up to a range of 600 feet (180 metres) using directional, audio, visual and vibration technology, guiding you to within 1 inch (2.5cms) of your lost item.

Alert - prevents things from getting lost in the first place: when a tagged item moves out of your pre-set “safety zone”, Loc8tor informs you immediately, what’s missing and directs you to where it’s gone.

There are two models in the range; both are completely portable, lightweight and easy to use, with tags similar to a postage stamp in size:
The Loc8tor comes with two homing tags and helps you find mislaid items. Priced at £59.99.

The Loc8tor Plus includes Locate and Alert modes, three homing tags and a panic tag that can be worn by a child, a dependent or pet.
Priced at £99.99.

For businesses an upgrade is available enabling the Loc8tor to be used as an Asset Protection device, so that staff are warned if an attempt is made to remove items from the premises.

Loc8tor is ideal for use at home or out and about and prevents that all too familiar feeling of frustration we all suffer from.

Web: http://www.loc8tor.co.uk

Tel: (0870) 111 7777