(April 14, 2023) Later this spring, Homatics is delivering an intriguing product to the pay-TV cable and satellite TV market. Designed in coordination with THX Ltd., the Home Click 5.4.4 wireless speaker system is crafted to turn a room with a TV into a true home theater experience.
There are multiple players involved in this project, with the leader being Homatics. Homatics is a name that probably doesn't jump off the page, in fact, it's safe to assume most enthusiasts won't recognize it. The company has an international presence in the smart home theater segment, with a stable of wireless products that range from a streaming media player to remote controls and wireless speakers. The emphasis across its offerings is an ease of use, plug-and-play nature, both of which are intended to make a home theater experience simple to enjoy.
THX enters the mix as a sound tuning partner. The Home Click system is labeled as "Tuned by THX," because the company is providing corrective EQ and dynamics parameters across all volume levels, making Home Click instantly sound good out-of-the-box. THX says its tuning capabilities include per-channel transducer compensation to align overall acoustic performance to best match the target THX audio frequency response curve. It also addresses issues that arise with variability that occurs among different speaker drivers and components, ensuring quality regardless of playback volume.
Last but not least, SEI Robotics is a partner, serving as the ODM or Original Design Manufacturer.
The Home Click system will debut at the forthcoming NAB show (Booth ATSC W3443, LVCC West Hall), so more information will likely be available soon, but it's billed as offering five wireless channels divided among a center channel and four different speaker units. Based on approved images and its 5.4.4 designation, it appears that all four speakers have up-firing Atmos drivers and bass driver sections. In addition, specifications list a separate "box" that's likely a unit that sits between a cable or satellite box, providing wireless audio and video passthrough. Potentially, this box could be a direct replacement for a standard cable box, but we don't currently have information indicating that to be true.
The box is listed as HDMI 2.1 capable with both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos compatibility. It also has Audio Return Channel (ARC) functionality along with an onboard hard drive (1TB SSD), an audio equalizer, and Bluetooth. That means it's capable of audio playback from a TV source (such as a streaming app on a TV), and, likely, music streamed from a Bluetooth-capable device.
Press materials say control options include voice and RCU (an intelligent interactive device that connects rooms in a hotel with a server). We'll probably see a physical remote control as well.
This kind of product is exactly what the market needs as it offers affordable, easy-to-deploy access to significantly better sound. Because Homatics is marketing the Home Click system directly to pay-TV and satellite providers, it's not a stretch to assume the system will be bundled with offers and rented to customers for a monthly rental fee. That's a perfect scenario for someone that's not interested in paying hundreds of dollars upfront.
Homatics, THX, and SEI Robotics say they'll be marketing related products in the retail channel later in the year, so stay tuned for more from this budding partnership.
For further information or for pre-orders, visit https://www.homatics.com. And for more information about THX and its associated products and certifications, go to thx.com.
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