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No. 2/2015 (Jan. 12, 2015)
International CES 2015.
The International Consumer Electronics Show is the largest event of its kind in the world. On 6-9 January, thousands of global manufacturers in the field of electronics industry presented innovations setting trends for 2015. Some of the products standing out this year are very powerful smartphones, televisions with screens based on new display technologies, smart watches, driverless cars, even faster computers...At the fair, Samsung unveiled first SUHD television using Quantum Dots, marked JS9000. Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals that glow as an effect of electric current flow or falling light, characterized by very low power consumption and bright sharp colors. According to the manufacturer, the panels of this type consume only one-fifth of the energy needed to illuminate LCD screens, and will cost half the price of the increasingly popular OLED displays. Another point of interest of the public was the multimedia interface built into new TVs of the Korean corporation. It is an official resignation of this producer from the SmartTV for SmartHUB interface based on its proprietary Tizen operating system. According to some observers, this may be the first step to the complete resignation of Samsung from Android, also in mobile devices.
SUHDTV is undoubtedly the most widely commented topic of CES 2015. What is interesting, the abbreviation does not have an official clarification. Sometimes erroneously translated as Super Ultra HD TV (but the resolution is in fact Ultra HD), it should rather be "translated" as Samsung UHDTV.
Sony adopted a completely different strategy – nearly all new TV models presented at the fair were based on Android OS. LG showed 7 new OLED televisions with 4K 55", 65", and 77" screens, run by webOS 2.0. Flat, curved or even bent on customer request displays will go on sale later this year.
Alcatel introduced a smart watch called OneTouch Watch, compatible with Android and iOS. The watch, based on STM429 chip, is equipped with 210 mAh battery and Bluetooth 4.0 module. Although at first glance the device looks like a normal watch, it is equipped with features such as pedometer, gyroscope, altimeter, heart rate monitor, digital compass and counter of calories burnt during the hikes. The watch can also show notifications from the user's smartphone.
Asus unveiled the world's first smartphone with 4-gigabyte RAM memory - Asus ZenFone 2. Aside from the immense memory, an unprecedented speed is also guaranteed by 64-bit, 4-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor with 2.3 GHz clock. The smartphone is equipped with 5.5" IPS Full HD screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, characterized by a maximum brightness of 400 nits (candela per square meter).
Nvidia presented Tegra X1 chip intended for mobile devices, with computing power above 1 teraflop, sufficient for smooth viewing of video in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. First products equipped with Tegra X1 chips should appear on the market in the middle of this year, including applications in cars as part of the Nvidia Drive platform.
Control of hidden electronic devices.
Many people tend to hide electronic devices in modern cabinets or in drawers, which is an elegant solution, but brings a lot of usability issues - it is difficult or impossible to control the devices with remote controls. The problem can be solved by the application of the Signal IRB-600U R94130 IR bender.
An application of the Signal IRB-600U R94130 IR bender with three IR transmitters
The sensor of the Signal IRB-600U R94130 IR bender receives IR commands from any remote control and distributes them to three IR transmitters. Each of them can be placed in front of different device (e.g. on the window/door of the cabinet, glass case etc. housing the devices, from inside). This way, any of the target devices can receive the user's commands without problems caused by location behind the window/door (lack of reaction, shorter range, need for very precise pointing etc).
Intelligence that you'll love.
F&Home RADIO is wireless intelligent building system dedicated for apartments, houses and business premises. Its concept and capabilities allow for the implementation of functions that so far seemed to be impossible, or available only to organizations and rich people. F&Home is a cheap solution, and its modular design allows for the division of the entire investment into stages spread over time. New features can be added to the system when needed. The initial system may consist of only a few elements (already offering a lot of opportunities for building automation), and, over time, can be expanded by additional modules increasing its functionality to provide better adaptation to individual needs. The functions can be carried out in many ways, including so-called Scenes, e.g. predefined lighting schemes in certain areas, changing with the time of day or commands from the user's smartphone.- Morning Scene
- Switching on the power outlet in the kitchen with connected e.g. a coffee maker,
- Pulling up the shutters or blinds
- Switching on the water heater
- Raising the temperature of the air in the living room, kitchen and bathroom, for example to 22 degrees (Celsius).
- Evening Scene
- Reducing lighting to 40%
- Switching on the power outlet in the bedroom with connected bedside lamp
- Switching power for garden watering system (operating under additional conditions, such as insufficient moistness due to lack of rain)
- Night Scene
- Pulling down the shutters or blinds
- Turning off electrical outlets in the kitchen
- Reducing lighting to 30%,
- Lowering the temperature of the air in the living room and kitchen, for example to 18 degrees
- Nanny Scene
- Starting the preview of the camera(s) located inside children's room
- Activation of motion detection informing e.g. via SMS about unexpected events in predefined zones
- Romantic Scene
- Turning off the main lighting
- Switching on LED (warm) lighting to 30%
- Turning on gas fireplace
- Pulling down the shutters or blinds
- Switching on underfloor heating in the living room
Additionally, in the case of certain events the system of the smart home can trigger selected subsystems, such as:
- Watering Sequence
- Astronomical clock shows sunset on 19:00
- Short-term weather forecast panel informs about cloudy sky from 18:00
- The soil moisture sensor does not record rainfall - on the basis of the data the system turns on sprinklers at 18:00
- Depending on the actual conditions the system switches on and controls outdoor lights.
- Garage Sequence
- The driver activates the sequence with a smartphone
- The alarm system protecting the garage is disarmed
- The car is detected by the motion sensor in front of the garage
- The signal from the sensor triggers the server to send command opening the gate
- The signal from motion sensor in the garage triggers the server to switch on lighting
- The alarm system protecting the home is disarmed
- The lighting in the hallway is switched on.
More information on the system can be found in the Intelligent building - F&Home Radio System article.
Microbending and macrobending in optical fibers.
The optical fiber is a very delicate transmission medium from the mechanical point of view. During the installation of fiber optic systems, the installer has to follow specific rules, in particular, should avoid excessive bending and pulling of optical cables and fibers.Microbending can even occur during the production of fibers, why it is so important to use cables only from renowned manufacturers, which guarantee high quality products. The occurrence of this type of bends can also be a consequence of the large changes in the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure) at the installation site. Macrobending (diameters above 2 mm) is caused by improper handling of fiber optic cables during installation.
Microbending and macrobending may have a significant effect on the signal attenuation in the fiber. The attenuation can strongly depend on the wavelength of the transmitted signals. It may happen that it is critical for one wavelength and not so important for the second. WDM systems, using several transmission wavelengths, are particularly susceptible to such installation errors.
Safety first - gas sensors.
Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic, colorless and odorless gas, lighter than air and easily mixing and spreading with it. The gas is produced in the processes of incomplete combustion of natural gas, liquid and solid fuels, due to insufficient amount of oxygen. Such situations may occur in homes and other facilities especially in winter, when all the windows are closed tightly by the residents/users to prevent heat escape. The source of carbon monoxide can also be defective flues and chimneys and insufficient ventilation in the apartment/facility.The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is very high, due to the fact that it is imperceptible to humans. In the respiratory system it reacts with the blood hemoglobin 250 times faster than oxygen, blocking the flow oxygen to all organs.
So, it is very important to protect our homes against the fatal risk, especially in winter. DIPOL offers combination CO and smoke alarm Kidde 10SCO G9995. This battery-powered combination alarm that offers protection from the dual dangers of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) in a single unit. The detector has two separate sensors, an optical sensor for smoke detection and an electrochemical sensor for carbon monoxide. The alarm has a peak level memory, which provides notification (voice and LED) when dangerous CO levels (above 100 PPM) have been previously detected. Thus, the users can verify whether during their absence in the room there was a dangerous level of carbon monoxide. The device has a 10 year warranty and - in addition to battery replacement - no calibration or maintenance is needed during that period.
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Hikvision - how to protect important recordings from being deleted?
The video from security cameras may be recorded in various modes, most often it is performed on continuous basis or triggered by motion detection. Usually, the recording uses overwrite option - when the disk space is over, the oldest recordings are deleted to make room for new ones. If a recording is of a special importance (there was an "event"), it must be blocked against the possibility of overwriting. To do this, the operator should log on locally to the DVR, find the interesting recording in the archiving menu, and then click the lock symbol. This will change the file attributes to "read only".
Locking the important recordings in Hikvision DVRs
 | Video IP Protector: AXON PRO (4xPoE+, 4xIN, 4xOUT) J2845 is four-channel surge protector of IP CCTV systems using Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps networks and PoE+ technology of remote power supply. The PoE+ technology allows for supplying power to devices with higher energy consumption, such as HD cameras. Each of the AXON PRO paths protects data and power circuits. | |
 | Wireless Temperature and Illumination Sensor Exta Free RCL-02 (configurable) F5803 improves functionality of Exta Free systems. The sensor is dedicated for direct cooperation with selected Exta Free receivers/actuators. The temperature and illumination data allow to optimize e.g. the control of window blinds to ensure maximum comfort in the home. After setting the required values and hysteresis, the sensor sends commands for switching on/off the associated receivers. | |
 | Automatic Phase Selector PF-431 P1411 is designed to supply essential single phase 230 VAC load(s) from three phase four wire AC power network (3×230V+N) in order to maintain uninterrupted power supply and ensure protection against unacceptable voltage variations (on the condition that at least one phase is live and within the rated parameters). | |
Worth reading
Secondary stream in NVRs - basic video monitoring. A common problem arising during configuration of network video recorders is an incomplete set of images in screen division (with "no resource" or similar message). If the change to full-screen mode results in displaying the missing image(s), it usually means that the reason is an inappropriate configuration of the secondary stream of the camera(s)... more
An example of improper configuration of the secondary stream
New TERRA multiswitches - now with 4-year warranty
