Faults notwithstanding, powerline is still mighty scrumptious in theory. Evidently NuVo Technologies agrees, as it's cranking out what's possibly the planet's first whole-home audio system that relies on existing A/C wiring. The Renovia can deliver audio and metadata throughout the house by simply tapping into the power wires already within your walls, and in case you couldn't guess, it's using the
HomePlug 1.0 specification in order to do so. The central hub has AM, FM and Sirius-ready tuners already on board, and owners can plug in a pair of iPod docks along with two analog sources to boot. In case that's still not enough to get your drool a-flowin', it'll also stream "virtually any digital content on the network via NuVo's
Music Port module." There's no word just yet on an MSRP, but judging by
NuVo's past, we'd assume that it'll be somewhere between grossly and obscenely overpriced.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Nemesh @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:18PM
I really object to your characterization of these systems as "obscenely overpriced"! It is very apparent that you have little to no experience in home automation/whole home audio. If you DID, you would know that Nuvo systems start with their "Simplese" system at a modest $999.95 retail for a 4 source, 4 zone amplifier. Their "Grand Concerto" system is one of the most robust on the market in its price range, and that one starts around $5500 for a 6 source 8 zone system (complete with 8 keypads). (BTW Nuvo is one of the first on the market with OLED keypads!) While someone who does have any experience with this may find these prices high, anyone who has seriously looked into distributed audio systems knows that Nuvo is RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE COMPETITION!
These systems are NOT for end users to install. They are designed to be installed by professionals and customized for the end user. They are much more than a speaker selector and volume control "duct tape and bailing wire" solution for multi-room audio. They give the user control of all sources from each keypad location, and in many cases, will transmit meta-data (song title, artist, album, cover art, playlists, etc) from an iPod or other music server to the keypad, so the user can see what the heck he or she is selecting.
Bottom line guys, is that I really tire of supposed "experts" on one of my favorite technology blogs ranting constantly that everything is "expensive". It is only "expensive" if you do not understand what value the product will give you, and that, my friends, is the whole point of learning about it! I would suggest some research into the marketplace, find out what these systems do for $5000 and what makes them different from each other. Then maybe you could write an article with your findings and let the masses know!
zargon @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:54PM
One could argue that this site is geared towards the gadget geeks, not the "professional home installers," and their expensive comment would in fact fit for most of us weekend warriors.
John Nemesh @ Aug 22nd 2008 3:22PM
The truth is that "expensive" is a relative term. While the site may be geared towards a certain demographic, that is no excuse to perpetuate ignorance. Quite the contrary, this is an OPPORTUNITY for a site such as this to explain what these systems do, and what you get for a certain amount of money. Most consumers do not understand what they are shopping for when looking for whole home audio systems. If the only thing they have to compare is a home theater in a box, even a $2000 whole home system will look expensive. However, if it is explained HOW the system works, and what functionality you gain or lose at certain price points, then a customer can make an INFORMED decision as to how much to spend.
Sorry, but I feel that calling a system like this "obscenely expensive" is a disservice to the readers and a cop-out for not doing enough research, and I will stand by that opinion.
zargon @ Aug 22nd 2008 5:53PM
While expensive could be viewed as relative, for this site, it is relative to the gadgets presented on this site. Compared to the gadgets displayed on this site, especially when you factor in what it does, it is expensive. Hell, I am willing to spend $2,000 on 2 channel amps to power my home theater system and plan to bi-amp each speaker and I still consider it expensive, I also consider my amps as expensive.
Besides, I think you are getting worked up over nothing. This isn't Home Theater Mag, AVSForum or some other home stereo or home theator site who's niche is to give the reader a good review of the product and it merits. This is just a blog about new gadgets and technology where opinion rains supreme (especially Apple products), not a in depth review of them.
earthling @ Aug 23rd 2008 1:42PM
I think you really have to consider what you get with a Nuvo system. I looked at all the whole house audio systems on the market and nothing comes close to the nuvo, everything else is more expense and/or more complicated or simply so far below the nuvo, especially the grand concerto, that its not funny.
I picked up my nuvo system (GC) off of ebay for $3100 WITH 6 sets of speakers (new). Compare that to the other whole house audio systems. Installation was a breeze, and the expansion capabilities are decent. I have about $5800.00 tied up in my system now with the nuvo expander and I have 12 zones, 12 rooms plus two sets outdoors wired up with really decent background music. The six sources are AM/FM/XM, plus 4 different virtual MP3 servers (casatunes software running an m-audio card all in one PC), and a dedicated channel that allows me to monitor any of the television channels from two different PVRs (pace HD set top boxes).
Adding music is very easy. I am using windows media center which auto-rips my cds, and casatunes (www.casatools.com) as my control software, it completely supports the Nuvo system right out of the box. From any internet connected devices (two PCs, an iphone, and three macs at the house or from work or anywhere else) I can see my entire music library, dial up any track, album, playlist etc and send the audio to any one of 12 zones. (still have 4 spare zones).
On the video side I am using windows media center extenders (read xbox 360) which double as game machines. The output is pumped through an HDMI matrix and HDMI extenders (75 foot run) which allows each TV in the house to choose between two HD PVRs and two xbox 360s. All media is served by the same media center system. With the video side included I have about $7K in my system (not counting TVs).
Compare that to my neighbor across the street who has a crestron/kaleidoscope system which is restricted to standard definition and three audio sources. Yeah, he can control his curtains and the doorbell mutes his audio, but he has more than $70K in this system (12 zones, 16 rooms, three touchscreens,some home automation). Our systems were finished around the same time, when he saw ours he just about had a fit. Our keypads are more intuitive (Nuvo OLED), we have more options for music sources, the whole thing is easier to use and more flexible, and it sounds and looks better (HDMI 1080p vs component 1080i). His comment was.. I spent $60K more so my wife didn't have to twist a rod on the blinds, which just about sums it up.
getting back to the original post.
The hardest part of the entire installation was wiring it into the house and believe me, that can take days if you are doing it prior to the walls going up and a week or more if you are adding into an existing house. Being able to extend the system over powerline would be a HUGE timesaver and well worth it to anyone who is interested in adding whole house audio.
just sayin..
3808CI @ Sep 16th 2008 3:14AM
How did you set up the Nuvo to work with the HDMI matrix switcher? I'm also considering a Grand Concerto system. Can I route input video signals to the TV/ projector (via component video) and the audio (RCA) via the Nuvo? Thanks.
nora denzel @ Oct 18th 2008 9:30PM
Can I use an Apple TV as a source for a Nuvo system that is a central sound system in my house