Crestron Electronics, Inc.

Aug. 11. 2022 - The latest update of the Crestron Home® OS — version 3.15 — has several features taking center stage: new collaborations with high-end manufacturers such as Black Nova and GUDE, and the ability to remotely reboot any Crestron device in a homeowner's rack.

Software Reboot of Crestron Devices in the Device Health Dashboard

"We've gotten a lot of great feedback on the power cycle feature for our Crestron power controllers in Crestron Home's Device Health Dashboard," says Jason Oster, Crestron's director of product management (residential solutions). If, for example, a cable box locks up, it's a straightforward matter to power cycle that device with a single touch. "Those features have been in Crestron Home for a few months now, and with this 3.15 update, we have extended even further what the Device Health Dashboard can do," he adds.

"With this software reboot feature, it doesn't matter if you have a Crestron power controller — you can reboot most Crestron IP devices from anywhere," says Oster. "If something misbehaves, if a device is unresponsive, this allows for a remote reboot. Instead of rolling a truck, spending all that time and resources to perform a hard power cycle — or buying another PDU to be able to power cycle any Crestron devices in the rack — this can all be accomplished off-site," he adds. The process is extremely simple, says Oster: "From the Crestron Home app, or a Crestron Touch Screen, you can simply go to the Device Health Dashboard and right in the existing list of devices, if it can be rebooted, the reboot button will automatically be shown."

Support for GUDE PDUs

In terrific news for European integrators (and their clients), Crestron Home® has added support for the GUDE line of German-made precision PDUs. These products are designed for AV IT experts, as GUDE is a familiar name to commercial and residential integrators in the EMEA region. Much like PDUs already offered by Crestron, one can power cycle devices through the Crestron Home app. GUDE is known for its high-quality and reliable switched PDUs with intelligent feature sets, such as remote reboot, extensive power metering, and surge protection. All these features mean faster service and increased operational safety.

GUDE CSO Philipp Gude says, "Solving 90% of your service problems with just a fingertip is what our switched PDUs stand for — they're reliable, effective, and smart."

Growing the Black Nova Partnership

The partnership with Black Nova is also expanding with this update, as Crestron Home will now support the elegant ARIA TT keypad, a luxurious glass panel with ten addressable touchpoints, and the ALBA M1, which includes a temperature display.

One of the key reasons Crestron was so keen to add Black Nova to Crestron Home was the company's dedication to a wonderful experience for the end-user. Black Nova's products are as intuitive as they are beautiful, as CTO and co-founder Alberto Mornico told us recently:

"We are always building control products that allow guests to live in an environment that doesn't require a learning curve and delivers an unprecedented level of comfort," he says. To that end — creating what the company calls a "customer-centric experience" — Black Nova has built an R and D department three to four times the size of a comparable firm, according to Mornico.

Finding these elegant, simple solutions is a process driven by the dealers themselves. "All of this, of course, is helped along by dealer feedback," says Oster. "Adjusting and expanding the platform to give integrators what they need is a top priority."