The Center (pictured below) goes in a structured wiring cabinet, typically located in your garage or basement, but unfortunately, nowhere in my small apartment. Once installed, the device is capable of storing digital media, providing media access to Digital Players, and enabling whole-home control functionality to external devices.

The Digital Player, a small box about the size of a Tom Clancy novel (maybe Stephen King), is placed in any room where you want to watch/hear your music, photos, and videos. The Player connects to your TV set with standard cabling, as well as to your home network. The user interface for media navigation and playback is very easy to use, and quite intuitive. The up/down/left/right interface combines the simplicity of a TiVo, but with a richer set of features for music and photos. The system automatically categorizes all your content and creates a smart organizational index that helps you find what you want, without having to know what file folder or directory it is stored in. For example, you can just browse through "All Artists", find a group you want to listen to, and hit play, and all the music from that group begins to play - no sorting or dragging and dropping or anything else.

The technology inside the Center and Digital Player is from Mediabolic, the leading provider of embedded middleware and applications for digital entertainment devices.

The final piece of the Leviton/DDI solution is the home automation and control piece. The Center is capable of issuing control commands to other devices in the home, and the Player provides the interface to the user through the television. The integration was very well done, and I really liked the fact that this was one of the few whole home systems that lets the user control everything at the TV, with a simple remote control.

This platform is indicative to me of what the financial community calls a "leading indicator" - expect to see a lot more of these solutions in the coming years. I think Leviton and DDI are also positioning the system very well. It's not $50,000 just to get started, it's under $5,000. At the same time, they aren't trying to sell through Walmart and Kmart, and short-changing the early adopters and gadget geeks out there. The companies are pacing themselves well, focusing on building a solid consumer base in the mid-to-high-end homes. When the mass-market is ready, I'm sure we will see good solutions ready to meet their needs.

Pictures of the products (click on the image for a full-screen view):
Digital Distribution Center:


Digital Player:


User interface:


Lighting controls:



NEXT... DigitalDeck (whole home PVR and media)

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