Awarded at a reception on Friday, March 18, during the 12th annual Electronic House Expo (EHX) 2011 in Orlando, the vIRsa Mouse was named the Gold award winner in the “Installation Product of the Year” category while the Virtual Panel received the Gold award in the “Software Application of the Year” category.

CEA’s Mark of Excellence Award recognises outstanding achievement and innovation in trendsetting custom home electronics products. Award entries were reviewed by a panel of industry experts and submitted in Supplier and Systems Integrator categories.

“We are thrilled to be selected for two Gold CEA Mark of Excellence Awards,” says RTI vice president of sales and marketing Pete Baker.

“Products such as our Virtual Panel and vIRsa Mouse result from developing a deep understanding of the unique demands of consumers and installers, and delivering solutions that exceed the expectations of both. It is a great honour to have our efforts recognised by the CEA.”

RTI’s vIRsa Mouse is a professional-grade IR emitter offering a sleek, symmetrical design and a host of features to ensure smooth, reliable installations. The low-profile device is unobtrusive and adapts to any installation environment with a flexible film adhesive that conforms to curved surfaces. For fast troubleshooting, a separate holder remains attached, allowing easy removal and replacement of the emitter. A blue LED flasher offers increased visibility but may be hidden during normal operation. For high reliability, a translucent PCB improves the integrity of electrical connections while a built-in resistor protects against voltage overdrive and precision molding ensures consistent quality.

With RTI’s Virtual Panel application, users can control and monitor their electronics, lighting, security, and more from any PC running Microsoft Windows. Harnessing the power of RTI XP series control processors, Virtual Panel empowers users with secure local or remote access from any Internet connection, anywhere in the world. Fully configurable using RTI’s Integration Designer programming software, the interface can be customised to accommodate any size laptop or monitor display and provides full two-way feedback, including motion-JPEG video.

Each year manufacturers, distributors, and systems integrators enter to compete in award categories for the prestigious Mark of Excellence Awards. Each of the TechHome Mark of Excellence Awards categories has a judging team, comprising systems integrators, manufacturers, members of the trade press, and industry consultants, that determines both finalists and winners.

A full list of all Mark of Excellence winners and honourees is available at www.CE.org/markofexcellence.