Smart Home Blog

ControlThink introduced its new Z-Wave USB adapter with upgradable firmware. Now you shouldn’t buy a new adapter to get advantages of updated protocol. You need just the latest version of firmware and Windows XP or Vista based PC.

The “industry’s first upgradeable Z-Wave USB Adapter” runs at 4x (40kbps) speeds but it’s also compatible with 1x (9kbs) devices. The new ControlThink Z-Wave adapter is available on the producer’s web site and tagged at $39.95.

P. S. It’d be great to have support of that adapter by LinuxMCE. But as I know the biggest disadvantage of Z-Wave technology is its stand-off (ZigBee is much better in this regard because it uses open protocol). So, it’s not so easy to support the changed Z-Wave protocol.

[via Engadget]

Honeywell offers another way to extend your HDMI cable – HDMI-to-Ethernet adapter. It’s situated for in-wall installations and allows to place HD source far from your plasma. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any additional information even on Honeywell web site. So, I’ll be glad to see your comments regarding to that adapter.

Basically, the Honeywell HDMI-to-Ethernet adapter is similar to CMI HET001. But it’ll be better choice for the professional installations. Depending on its price of course.