Avalon and Beyond
At this point, Neothings is in stealth mode, with the exception of this blog. You may be wondering why, and what Neothings has been doing since it’s inception in January of this year.
The ‘Why’ question is pretty easy. Before Neothings can do business, there has to be products, and until there are forthcoming products, spending alot of marketing dollars and effort will mostly go wasted. Nobody likes a 10 month long hype machine, although others have done this by letting the cat out of the bag too early.
The answer to the ‘What’ question is filled with dry details of administrative, accounting, R&D, and other activities that interests almost no one., so suffice to say, a lot of work has been performed to build a company and products from scratch.
So now it is time to partially end stealth mode, and tell you about the ‘Avalon’ series component video matrix switch.
Avalon is a component video (aka YPbPr) and digital audio matrix switch system. It will be offered as a 6×2 and an 8×4. It is a true matrix, so each output is independant of the others. In addition audio and video can be switched seperately. It has an attractive 2U chassis that is a real head turner, and has a few other surprises that will be revealed soon when the website goes live with photos.
Almost as important as the product is the sales channel. It is difficult to sell the exact same product through the normal retail/internet venues, and also sell to system integrators. They have different pricing structures and margin requirements, and they also have different feature requirements due to how the product will be used. So the easy answer that Neothings has chosen is to make two different products.
Neothings products for end users will be available through direct sales, and selected internet and B&M stores. The ‘Integrator’ line of products will have additional features and accessories that will allow for easy integration and flexible control from a variety of control systems.
Beyond Avalon, there are more switches and matrices for analog and digital signals in the works. Next year there will also be some innovative solutions for audio and video distribution, support for gamers, and HTPC fans. Some cool stuff for sure.
Look for more visible activity from Neothings over the coming weeks and months. You’ll see the website go live, advertisements will start showing up, and I’m contemplating getting a company mascot.