When Jeremy (Sweet) invited me to contribute to the first Connected Home blog, I cast my mind back to the first edition of the Connected Home Solutions magazine published in April/May 2004 when (managing director) Jeff Patchell invited me to submit a project for the cover story.

While it wasn’t the cover of Rolling Stone, having my image on the cover of the first edition was too much for my ego to resist. I’m very pleased to report that installation was successful enough for the architect to engage Smart Home Solutions for numerous projects since and Connected Home has successfully lived on.  

The Connected Home article remains on SHS website, which I might add, along with architects, builders, developers and client referrals,  provides our total pipeline of projects.

For the record, I started in the consumer electronics industry in the sixties, and apart from sabatical’s unsuccessfully searching for the holy grail, I have witnessed first hand all the major industry developments. Mono to stereo, valve amps to transistors, analogue to digital, reel to reel, VCRs, walkmans, birth and sudden death of Laser Disc, CDs, three-channel receivers, then 5.1 AV receivers, first 42″ plasma screens for $25,000, DVDs, LED/OLED  TV, curved screens, etc.

Interestingly one constant throughout this period has been the turntable, and haven’t they have evolved? My Sota Sapphire turntable with it’s SME 309 tone arm and Koetsu Rosewood Signature moving coil cartridge is still the pride and joy of my audio system, 30 years after I welcomed it into my home. It will surprise 0few that I keep my vinyl records in anti-static covers, with a sealed jacket over the cover and in their purpose-built cabinet. On special occasions, usually after dinner and some special reds, the covers come off to compare the vinyl with the CD played through a Merdian 808.3 CD Player, Pathos valve amp and AE Monitor speakers. Vinyl still sound awesome!

In 1990, 30 colleagues met at the North Sydney Business Club to establish an association to represent the interests of the design and installation companies in the evolving consumer electronics industry.

In 1994, the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) Australasia held it’s first expo at The Hyatt Hotel in Kings Cross for its 100 members throughout Australia and New Zealand. This was followed by an expo in Melbourne, the next at Australian Technology Park in Redfern. The industry growth soon forced CEDIA into a larger convention centre at the casino on the Gold Coast where it hosted the next 10+ Expo’s until CEDIA moved to Darling Harbour. It is hoped that with the appointment of the new Directors to the Board, CEDIA will be well placed for the next chapter.

Connected Home convened an NBN conference four years ago at Dalton House. The influential gathering of heavyweights included Telstra, Philips, CISCO, Optus, Intel and several health service providers. Like several of my colleagues from CEDIA my intended focus was the development of the fast tracking of down streaming of entertainment.

Presentation after presentation went far beyond entertainment. It became apparent the elephant in the room was the delivery of Digital Health Services to the most rapidly growing segment of the population.

The NBN was indeed a game changer.

And then came the Cloud!

Home Health Care – continuing the digital revolution

After attending every CEDIA EXPO since 1994 I was unable to attend this year as The Feros Care Technology Boot Camp was held at Tweed Heads at the same time. I’m pleased to note that there is a very significant role for CEDIA members to add to their existing suite of services in this huge growth market. An in depth report will be the focus of my next contribution

James Billington

Smart Home Solutions