I touch an on-screen button, and the lights in my home theater slowly illuminate—yet I am sitting in my favorite chair two rooms away. I touch another button, and my home theater system springs to life. The CD changer begins playing; I crank up the system a bit so I can hear it everywhere in the house. But my mood changes, and I want to hear saxophonist Sonny Rollins—so I plug in a USB key drive and play his classic tune “Tenor Madness” through the device on my lap. Inspired by the great drumming but unable to remember who else played on this recording, I check the music listings on Amazon.com to find out. My guess is right: The drummer is Philly Joe Jones. That question settled, it’s back to reading through a couple of stories that East Coast Editor Dennis Burger just sent me.

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The look of the Isys i/O’s screen can be whatever you want. Your installer can create custom graphics, or use templates available from Crestron or such third-party suppliers as GuiFX. (Click image to enlarge)

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The device that is allowing me to do all this—control my entire home from my easy chair and providing its own entertainment options as well––is no larger than a notebook computer. It sits comfortably on my leg, perfectly balanced thanks to a thigh-fitting curve on the bottom. The screen rises slightly, making it easy to see from my reclined position. Only two years ago, this level of control was nearly impossible—but with Crestron’s new Isys i/O WiFi touchscreen, it is easy.

The Isys i/O WiFi represents a new breed of touchscreen. Older touchscreens were completely proprietary, closed systems. They were built specifically for the task of controlling a home theater system and anything else in your home that could be automated, such as lights, heating, air conditioning and security systems. The new breed uses a great deal of off-the-shelf technology—specifically, a recent creation called a web tablet.A web tablet is basically a computer designed primarily for browsing the Internet. It’s almost all screen, with no keyboard or mouse, and just a sprinkling of buttons along the sides. Built-in WiFi wireless networking connects the tablet to your home network, which then connects to the Internet. The computer industry does not seem to know what to do with its creation, but the home automation industry does—such companies as Crestron, AMX and i-Command have quickly converted the web tablet into a powerful home control and entertainment device.

The Isys i/O WiFi appears to be the most capable of these new devices. Not only can it control practically any home appliance or audiovisual component that can be remote-controlled, it also taps the power of its internal computer to deliver entertainment options of its own. Of course, you can peruse the Internet, but you can also play MP3 or WMA music, watch streaming video and even view (but not edit) Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as Adobe Acrobat files. And you can do e-mail. It’s almost like a laptop computer designed specifically for fun.
 
Although Crestron based the Isys i/O WiFi on a standard web tablet manufactured by ViewSonic, its engineers refined the tablet’s form factor to better suit its new tasks. A molded plastic piece on the bottom angles the screen toward you, so you can see it easily when it sits on a table. It is also much easier to pick up than a typical flat web tablet. The buttons along the sides are larger and easier to access.

As I stated above, the molded plastic bottom has a curve to fit your thigh, and it also incorporates stereo speakers. No one would mistake these speakers for a hi-fi system, but they sound far better than the penny-sized units built into most web tablets—they are adequate for background music.The Isys i/O WiFi responds instantly to my touch. When it says “jump,” my home theater components do not even ask “how high?” They immediately follow the touchscreen’s instructions. Although Crestron’s technicians perform a “quickie” installation for me—just enough so that I can get a feel for the touchscreen’s operation—they do include many convenient one-key functions. A touch of the on-screen AudioVisual button brings up three options: DVD, DSS (satellite) and CD. When I touch either of the first two buttons, my Sony projector comes to life, my surround-sound system fires up and within seconds I am watching my program of choice. The CD button triggers the sound system, but not the projector. Hitting the Main Menu button brings up a custom main access page—for me, they include the Robb Report Home Entertainment logo on this screen—and shuts off the system. The web tablet’s powerful internal computer even allows your installer to create animated buttons and 3-D graphics that make touchscreens of the past seem like glorified Pong games.
 
But this is merely a taste of what the Isys i/O WiFi can do. For example, if you want your lights to dim automatically as the projector comes down, just ask your installer. No matter what you might want your touchscreen to do, Crestron probably offers an interface that makes it possible—including, in my case, a special box that lets the touchscreen command my Lutron Grafik Eye lighting controller.

A touchscreen is only as good as its programming,
but given Crestron’s excellent dealer training programs and extensive in-house programming capability, you should be able to get whatever functions you can imagine—and they should work perfectly. Whether you wish to command your entire home from your favorite couch or enjoy the Isys i/O WiFi on its own, you will enjoy convenience you never thought possible.
DESCRIPTION
Controller that mates with up to four Sony DVP-CX777ES DVD megachangers to catalog and access up to 1,600 DVDs. Allows selection by title, genre, MPAA rating, actor and director

DISPLAY CAPABILITIES
4:3 standard-definition interlaced (480i) and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio high-definition progressive (720p)

SYSTEM CAPABILITIES
Four 400-disc DVD changers for total capacity of 1,600 DVDs

CONNECTIONS
Four RS-232 serial ports for connection to DVD changers; additional RS-232 port for connection to touchscreen controller (i.e., AMX, Crestron); RJ-45 Ethernet port for Internet connection; component, S-video and composite video outputs for on-screen display; VGA output for external monitor; PS2 and USB keyboard inputs for text editing; 3.5mm minijack input for in-cabinet control via IR remote; IEEE-1394 connector and stereo audio outputs for possible future use.

DIMENSIONS
3.5 x 17 x 15.3 inches (hwd); 19 inches wide with supplied rack handles installed

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $2,500
CONTACT: 800.236.2812
www.request.com