Katarzyna Petru
Hisense has a new plan for its VIDAA TV systems – and this time it's not about another app or a slight refresh of the interface. The company has announced a collaboration with Australian Chowmainsoft and together they are launching VIDAA Control4 Driver, a driver that allows Hisense TVs to be integrated into advanced home automation systems.
If you're not familiar with Control4 – it's one of the strongest smart home platforms on the market. It integrates, among other things, lighting, audio, alarms, and air conditioning. You control everything from one app or from a touch panel on the wall. But it's a premium solution – it's installed by certified installers who configure everything from scratch for a specific apartment or house.
Hisense + Control4 = TV control like lighting
The new controller allows you to control the television from within Control4 as if it were another element of the smart home. In practice: you can turn the TV on and off, change sources, channels, launch apps (e.g., Netflix or Disney+), adjust the volume, or control playback – all from one place. And on top of that, you always have a view of what is currently happening on the screen.
There is one catch
The solution only works with Hisense TVs that have the VIDAA system – and these are mostly popular in Europe. In the USA or Asia, many models operate on Roku or Google TV, so the new controller is unlikely to be useful there.
According to Robert Andrews from Hisense UK, this is just the beginning of a larger offensive in the custom installation market:
– “We want our TVs to be the obvious choice for smart home designers. We have large screens, a stable system, and now full integration with Control4 as well,” he says.
And it's hard to disagree. Hisense dominates in the category of TVs over 100 inches, so if someone is designing a home theater with automation – this controller is a natural addition.
Chowmainsoft has not said its last word either
Alan Chow, the head of the company, reveals that this is just the first step.
– “There is an increasing demand for integrating televisions with smart home systems. We are already working with Hisense on further solutions for other platforms” – he announces.
