The results of the 2015 International CES honorees are out and the smart home category has 24 awardees. Again the organisors and calling it a success with the amount of manufacturers submitting their product up 14 percent increase. Each product is judged based on its overall engineering qualities related to technical specifications and material, aesthetics and design qualities; the product’s intended use and function; its unique features and how the design and innovation of the product compares to others in the marketplace. (See Photos below).

Novabase and Entropic have created a new home gateway, which they said is unlike any other device on the market today. They have collaborated to develop a SAT-IP gateway with home automation features.  The solution is part of an industry initiative to allow satellite broadcasting to IP base devices.

Other SAT-IP solution are available; however the new home gateway according to Novabase and Entropic, is the industry's first to integrate home automation, SAT-IP in a power plug form factor.

Since Samsung acquired Smartthings the company has make qualms about its intension the dominate the connected space. Today at its developers conference the company announced new software release the will help developers create solutions for the connected health, smart wearable and connected home market. The company said it is expanding its domain from personal wellness to preventive healthcare service.

Orange France has collaborated with a number of smart home solutions providers to create a home automation service for its French customers. The solution is base on the Z-Wave protocol with hardware provided by Vera and Fibaro. Like other entry level home automation kit the basics package offers safety and home security, with the option to add other functions.

Sony is making it easier to integrate its home entertainment systems with the Control4 home automation solution.  They have adapted the Control4's Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP) technology as part of its W and X series 2014 TVs.  The integration makes it easier for installer to setup Sony's HD and 4K ultra HDTVs as part of a Control4 home automation solution.

Onwers of the latest Sony 4K Ultra HDTVs are to be given access to the world’s largest library of 4K VOD content via the NanoTech UltraFlix app.  Starting with Sony's 2014 range viewers will be able to stream more than 300 hours of 4K quality travel and nature documentaries, including 40 made for IMAX theatrical titles and other genres.

Samsung has connected all the dots and has laid a foundation for a future in the connected home.  Through its recent acquisition of SmartThings, they now have a platform to connect all their smart devices. They now have a connected home portfolio with touches every aspect of our daily lives. On the run up to IFA 2014 Samsung shared with us their plans for the future connected home and the Internet of Things (IoT).

To offer better quality content to households, content creators and distributors need to know that it is going to the intended person in a secure way.  Therefore, service providers need to convince content distributors that they have the very best conditional access or Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems in place to protect the content from unlicensed distribution. That is why Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) like Entropic is collaborating with Cryptography Research to provide security for content from the hardware level.

Developers of Twonky based solutions now have the option to integrate their services with the cloud. According to PacketVideo version 8 has a "cloud-enabled architecture that ensures optimal speed and flexibility". With the increaseing need for flexibility and connectivity PacketVideo said they want to accelerate the provivision of cloud services by service providers and manufacturers to their customers.

The recent release of the Nighthawk X4 AC2350 Smart WiFi Router (R7500), is the latest addition to its award-winning Nighthawk family of 802.11ac routers. Powered by a 1.4GHz dual core processor, the X4 supports Quad-stream WiFi Architecture to deliver the fastest dual-band 802.11ac speed and performance for high intensity gaming, streaming and mobile connectivity.