+ SMART HOME 101
There are many terms and lingo to learn to really get a handle on what home automation is all about. We have put together a list of basic terms that we thought would be helpful to our customers. Click on the topic you'd like to read to be taken directly to that spot.

+ Types of Home Control Systems
+ New Features and Benefits
+ Frequently Asked Questions
+ Other Lingo You May Want to Know

+ Types of Home Control Systems - back to top

POWERLINE CARRIER SYSTEMS: The least expensive type of home control system operates over the home’s existing wiring, or powerline carrier. These can range from X10-based lamp timers you can purchase for a few bucks at a retail store, to more sophisticated systems that cost a few thousand dollars and require installation by a trained professional.

WIRELESS SYSTEMS: Also available are wireless home control systems that utilize radio-frequency technology. They are often used to operate lights, sometimes in conjunction with a hardwired lighting control system. (See Lighting Control Systems.)

HARDWIRED SYSTEMS: Wired, or “hardwired,” home control systems are the most reliable and expensive. These systems can operate over high-grade communications cable such as Category 5 or 5e, or their own proprietary “bus” cable. That’s why it is best to plan for them when a house is being constructed. These systems can cost well into five figures, depending on your needs and the size of your house.
Hardwired systems can perform more tasks at one time and do them quickly and reliably, making them ideal for larger homes. They can also integrate more systems in the home, effectively tying together your indoor and outdoor lighting, audio and video equipment, security system, even your heating and cooling system into one control package that—if it’s installed properly—will be easy and intuitive for you to operate.

IP CONTROL: As if all this weren’t enough to think about, now there’s a new breed of home control system that may make it easier than ever to control all the devices in the home. It’s called IP control, for “Internet Protocol.” IP systems use today’s computer technology, so your home becomes its own little Internet, with every device on it assigned an Internet address. This doesn’t mean that all your home control is on the Internet or that you have to “dial up” to an Internet server just to turn on the lights. It just means that your house operates like its own secure Internet via a Web server, or a computer network.

+ New Features and Benefits - back to top

RELIABILITY: In a powerline-based system, look for one that can modulate the signal strength to overcome interference or the loss of the electrical signal as it passes over your home’s wiring. These systems are better equipped to overcome the things that can affect electrical signals within a home.

If you plan on having home control in more than one room, look for a multizone control system. These allow for different controls in various parts of the home.

SCENES & MACROS: More extensive systems, from powerline-based to expensive hardwired systems, will also be capable of enacting housewide and local “scenes,” which may also be called “modes” or “macros.” These allow more than one event to take place in sequence, such as a goodnight scene that turns off all the lights and arms the security system, or a party scene that turns on lights and music for entertaining guests.

ASTRONOMICAL TIME CLOCK: Another great feature to look for is an astronomical clock that allows your home control system to work with a timer that automatically modifies its commands for daylight saving time. With a system containing an astronomical clock, you can set your outside lights to come on at dusk, even though the time the sun sets changes slightly with each passing day.

COMMUNICATES WITH OTHERS: Home control systems should also have RS-232 interfaces in order to communicate with devices such as video projectors and lighting and security systems.

MEANS OF CONTROL: Home control systems are typically operated by either touchscreens or keypads. Touchscreens feature LCD screens and can be located on tabletops or on walls. The less expensive keypads are generally located on the wall near a room’s entrance. Each button on a keypad can be programmed to engage a scene or operate a single device in that room.

The most expensive home control systems generally use touchscreens that allow users to scroll through pages of controls, each one for a separate system such as lighting or audio/video. Some touchscreens can display video from a DVD, satellite receiver, or security camera. Some offer either one-way or two-way wireless radio-frequency (RF) control. More expensive two-way RF confirms that the signal has been received by the controller.

REMOTE ACCESS: High-end systems offer more remote home control, either through cellular telephones, devices such as Pocket PCs, or the Internet. Some systems allow users to control devices in their homes by logging onto secure Web pages. And more systems today are integrating with the Internet to take advantage of the information there, such as weather reports to control lawn sprinklers, for example.

+ Frequently Asked Questions - back to top

1. WHAT IS X10?
X10 is a type of communications technology, which allows compatible products to “talk” to each other over your home’s existing electrical wiring. X10 enables these products to send and receive commands from each other. For instance, you can turn on lights, your coffee make, etc., all by plugging in a few simple “modules.”

2. WHAT'S REALLY BETTER - A HARDLINE SYSTEM OR A WIRELESS SYSTEM
Both certainly have their advantages and disadvantages; it really depends on what you are working with and how much you have to spend. Hardwired is definitely preferred if you’re in a new construction phase. Many hardwired installations plan for future enhancements, but you can always add on with wireless components—that’s what’s so great about them!

3. WHAT IS A MACRO?
A macro is a set or sequence of actions triggered by a single action. For instance, some remotes are set up so that at the touch of a single button, the lights will dim, a screen will drop and your DVD will start playing. This is something that can be set up by your installer. However, many do-it-yourselfers buy products based on the amount of macros they can set up themselves.

+ Other Lingo You May Want to Know - back to top

Category 5 (Category 5 Wiring)
Consists of 4 pairs of TWISTED-PAIR wires used for high-speed communications of up to 100 Mbps over distances of up to 100 meters.

Category 3 (Category 3 Wiring)
Consists of 4 pairs of TWISTED-PAIR wires used for medium speed communications of up to 10 Megabits over distances of up to 100 meters. The FCC has specified the use of a minimum of CAT3 wiring for telephones in new home construction.

CO (Central Office)
The operations facility of a TELCO or BROADBAND NETWORK OPERATOR, which acts as the switching hub and nerve center for a local subscriber base. SUBSCRIBER lines are aggregated to the CO, for switching and routing to other subscribers, and, into regional and interexchange wide area telecommunications networks. In a television deployment, the CO may become the co-location of the Head End.

Coaxial Cable
This cable consists of a single insulated copper wire surrounded by a braided copper shield. Two types of coaxial cable are currently used in LANs: 50-ohm cable is used for digital signaling, and 75-ohm cable is used for analog and high-speed digital signaling. TIA-570-A (the “standard” for residential structured wiring) calls for 75-ohm quad-shielded coaxial cabling.

Convergence
A term used to denote the combining of multiple communications media types, such as voice, data, TV, movies, and the Internet, into a single coordinated set of services for SUBSCRIBERs. Convergence is also used as an identifying term for the industry of technology providers and service operators collaboration to deliver multimedia services to SUBSCRIBERs through communications networks.

CPE (Customer Premises Equipment)
Networking devices such as modems, POTS splitters, and other devices, installed at a customer site, terminating the TELCO or BROADBAND NETWORK OPERATOR network. The terminating device passes communications streams into the SUBSCRIBER’s premises, to telephone sets, set-top boxes, personal computers, routers, and other devices that present the streams to the SUBSCRIBER for use.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)
A digital communications technology that uses TELCO copper wiring to connect to the SUBSCRIBER. DSL uses a MODEM at each end of the connection, one at the CO (or field cabinet) and another at the subscriber premises. Subscriber DSL modems may be integrated devices that also have routing, built-in ETHERNET, and other home networking capabilities. Types of DSL listed elsewhere in this glossary are ADSL and VDSL. Other types include HDSL and RADSL, which are not widely used for television deployments.

DTV (Digital Television)
The transmission of television signals using digital rather than conventional analog methods.

DVR (Digital Video Recording/Recorder)
See PVR.

Dynamic IP Address
Requesting DHCP computers receive a dynamic IP address (think temporary phone number) for the duration of that Internet session or for some other specified amount of time. Once the user disconnects from the Internet, their dynamic IP address goes back into the IP address pool so it can be assigned to another user. Even if the user reconnects immediately, odds are they will not be assigned the same IP address from the pool. To keep our telephone analogy going, using a dynamic IP address is similar to using a pay phone. Unless there is a reason to receive a call, the user does not care what number he or she is calling from.

Ethernet
A LAN used to connect devices within a single building or campus. Within the OSI Reference Model, Ethernet is defined at layer one (physical) and layer two (data link). Based on Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD), Ethernet works by simply checking the wire before sending data.

Firewall
A combination of software and hardware that filters or blocks traffic from a public network. A firewall renders parts of the private network inaccessible and invisible to the public network. It prevents unauthorized and/or unrecognized access.

HDTV (High-Definition Television)
A television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm movies with sound quality similar to that of a compact disc.

Home Network
An in-home network means that through the use of microprocessors and common software languages, different household products and systems will communicate with each other. The key in this definition is that devices are capable of true two-way signaling.

HomePlug Powerline Alliance
Officially launched on April 10, 2000, this alliance of companies is seeking to standardize a 10 Mbps home networking solution that will utilize electrical wiring.

IP (Internet Protocol)
A network layer protocol in the TCP/IP stack, provides features for addressing, type of service specification, fragmentation and reassembly, and security.

IP Multicast (Internet Protocol Multicast)
A technique that lets a network simultaneously deliver a single stream of content (single copy of the data stream) to multiple locations over an IP network. Those that desire to receive this multicast join the multicast, leaving it when finished.

IP Telephony (Internet Protocol Telephony)
A general term for the technologies that use the IP’s packet-switched connections to exchange voice, fax, and other forms of information that have traditionally been carried over the dedicated circuit-switched connections of the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). Using the Internet, calls travel as packets of data on shared lines, avoiding the tolls of the PSTN. The challenge in IP telephony is to deliver the voice, fax, or video packets in a dependable flow to the user. Much of IP telephony focuses on this challenge.

IP Television
The offering of television and associated advanced media services using the same packet-based delivery system used for the Internet.

LAN (Local-Area Network)
A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a WAN.

Modem
A term which is actually based on the function of the device itself — a MOdulator/DEModulator. A modem converts analog waveforms into digital data and vice versa.

Modulation
The process whereby an electrical carrier wave is altered to facilitate the transmission of a signal.

MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group)
This is an industry organization whose goal is to develop standards and specifications for the encoding, transmission, and decoding of video information over various media and network technologies.

MP3
Is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer one, layer two, and layer three) for the compression of audio signals. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD (with a bitrate of 1411.2 Kbps of stereo music) by a factor of 12 (down to 112-128 Kbps) without sacrificing sound quality.

Multicast
A media (packet) stream that is copied and sent to multiple authorized SUBSCRIBERS (network addresses). Multicast addresses are group addresses. Typical uses include the updating of mobile personnel from a home office and the periodic issuance of online newsletters.

Parental Controls
A term used to connote the ability for programmers to shield viewers from inappropriate content. In the US, both movies and television programming are subject to content rating systems. Designers of TV delivery systems must factor these content rating systems into their systems and deployments, as SUBSCRIBERs have come to expect these systems. The content rating itself is a part of the METADATA used by IPGs and VOD systems.

PLC (Powerline Carrier Communications)
Powerline carrier that uses the existing power cabling found in homes and commercial buildings to connect devices. Speeds range from 60 bps to over 10 Mbps. Depending on the technology, it is used for controls and data networking.

PVR (Personal Video Recording/Recorder)
Broadly speaking, PVR enables the subscriber to “time-shift” the live television viewing experience in a way similar to the VCR, by pausing, rewinding, fast forwarding, and recording for later viewing. To do this, content must be stored. Storage can be client-side (stored on a hard disk in the set-top box), or, server-side (stored by a video server at the head-end that has been designed for this purpose). More sophisticated PVR offerings complement the viewing experience with an IPG and other enhancements. PVR is also a reference to the consumer electronics device that enables PVR service for the subscriber. Some PVRs are implemented within stand-alone devices, others are integrated within a multifunctional TV set-top box.

RF (Radio Frequency)
Refers to alternating current (AC) having characteristics such that, if the current is input to an antenna, an electromagnetic (EM) field is generated suitable for wireless broadcasting and/or communications. These frequencies cover a significant portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, extending from nine kilohertz (9 kHz), the lowest allocated wireless communications frequency (it’s within the range of human hearing), to thousands of gigahertz (GHz).

RG (Residential Gateway)
A residential gateway is a network interface device that terminates a WAN and connects to end-user devices directly or through a home network. In addition to features common to any gateway, it should include an embedded broadband modem, dynamic routing capacity, security features, and direct or indirect support for home networking.

Router
A router is a network layer device that uses one or more algorithms to determine the optimal path along which data should be forwarded. Routers forward packets from one network to another based on network layer information. Routers are occasionally called gateways, but traditional gateways do not translate data.

Structured Wiring
A system of low-voltage wires designed to carry electronic signals throughout a home.

T-1
A Bell system term for a digital carrier facility used for transmission of data through the telephone hierarchy at a transmission rate of 1.544 Mbps.

UPnP (Universal Plug And Play)
An architecture for pervasive peer-to-peer network connectivity of PCs of all form factors, intelligent appliances, and wireless devices. UPnP is a distributed, open networking architecture that leverages TCP/IP and the Web to define a set of common interfaces that describe devices and services, allow automatic discovery when a device is plugged into a network, and allow other devices and people to use them without complicated setup or configuration.

UWB (UltraWideBand)
UWB radio (also known as digital pulse wireless) is a revolutionary wireless technology for transmitting large amounts of digital data over a wide spectrum of frequency bands with very low power. UWB radio not only can carry a huge amount of data over a short distance (up to 230 feet) at very low power (less than 0.5 milliwatts), but has the ability to carry signals through doors and other obstacles that tend to reflect signals at more limited bandwidths and a higher power. UWB radio can be compared with another short-distance wireless technology, Bluetooth, which is a proposed standard for connecting handheld wireless devices with other similar devices and with desktop computers. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering permitting use of the technology to early applicants. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is concerned about possible interference over aviation channels. The technology’s supporters insist that the power is so low that there is little or no possibility of interference. Time Domain, Radar Inc., and Zircon are three companies that have applied to the FCC for an exemption from spectrum rules so that they can use the new technology.

VOD (Video-On-Demand)
The ability to activate a stored or live motion picture stream, on demand, delivered to a SUBSCRIBER over an operator’s network. Unlike PAY-PER-VIEW, VOD represents a private showing, and may be likened to the rental of a video, but without the inconvenience of driving to the store. VOD is a term used to connote the delivery (unicast) of a movie or video from a centralized video server, to individual SUBSCRIBERs.

The SUBSCRIBER initiates the viewing at any time. Many SUBSCRIBERs can unknowingly be viewing the same movie simultaneously, which forces the operator to plan for peaks and valleys in demand. Different video servers deal with this problem in different ways through scaling, movement of content to the edge of the network, or even caching it to a hard-disk on the SUBSCRIBER’s set-top box.

VoIP (Voice Over IP)
Voice delivered using the IP. It is a term used in IP TELEPHONY for a set of facilities for managing the delivery of voice information using the IP. In general, this means sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A major advantage of VoIP and Internet telephony is that it avoids the tolls charged by ordinary telephone service.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A network constructed by using public wires to connect nodes. For example, a number of systems enable creation of networks using the Internet as the medium for transporting data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.

WAN (Wide-Area Network)
Private network facilities, usually offered by public telephone companies but increasingly available from alternative access providers (sometimes called CAPs), that link business networks.

X-10
A powerline carrier protocol created by X10 Ltd. in 1978 that carries control signals across standard electrical wire. The X-10 protocol is typically used in simple control scenarios like the remote or automatic turning on/off of lights or appliances.