AUDIO DESIGN ASSOCIATES INTRODUCES THE TS-3000, THE WORLD’S FIRST THREE GANG TOUCH SCREEN

Ease of Programming Will Revolutionize Use Of Touch Screens

WHITE PLAINS, New York (January 7, 1999) - Audio Design Associates, Inc. (ADA) has introduced the TS-3000 Touch Screen ($1,999), the world’s first consumer touch-screen control that fits a three-gang electrical box and one that will revolutionize the use of touch screens.

The TS-3000 will revolutionize the use of touch screens, because it can be configured and programmed, quickly and easily from any PC. Additionally, its design makes it easy to read as well as effortless to integrate in both new and existing homes.

To achieve its remarkably time-efficient setup, the TS-3000 comes complete with a very flexible, easy to program software configuration package. This permits one or several TS-3000s to be arranged without the need for third party programmers or heavy technical support.

A single touch screen typically consists of four pages for main page, acoustical control, and component selection. Since each ADA system permits up to eight source components to be controlled and selected, the TS-3000 has eight component pages. With each component typically permitting some type of numeric access, every one of the eight component pages could have its own numeric direct access page. Thus any one panel might have twenty or more pages assigned to it. Furthermore, since a page has approximately ten buttons, one single TS-3000 will have upwards of two hundred distinct buttons, with every button containing a unique code string. With an average of ten controls per installation, there are upwards of 2000 button codes to enter, test, and confirm.

"It is this extensive level of programming that typically makes other touch-screen-based systems expensive, said Albert Langella, President of ADA. "While most other systems are easy to operate from the owner’s perspective, they are complex to program and costly, and the cost is always passed onto the owner. The TS-3000 will revolutionize the use of touch screens, because the 2000 average buttons can be configured and programmed, quickly and easily from any PC."

The TS-3000 merely requires the installer to enter the room names and source names into a table that indicates their position to the system (i.e. input jack number one is FM 1, room number one is the Kitchen). The TS-3000 Wizard guides the programmer through steps that even personalize the unit for a particular client. Once the (approximately) 15 minutes is spent entering all the information, two screens come up: one a blank touch screen page with the numbers 1 through 8; the other with 100 different button labels (i.e. CD 1, DVD, VCR, CASS, FM, etc.). The programmer is then prompted to select the appropriate button label for each of the source devices using a drag and drop method, a process that should take 10 minutes. The final step is pressing the auto-configuration button (1 second). The TS-3000s are automatically configured and all the pages, links, and control codes are created by the TS-3000 Wizard.

The last step in the process is the programming of each screen. The TS-3000 is also the world’s first touch screen with a built-in IrDA receiver/transmitter on its front panel. This permits a programmer with a lap top PC (also with an IrDA port) or with a IRD-232 IR Data Transceiver (a device made by ADA that plugs into a PC’s communications port) to aim the IrDA at the touch screen and, with one key stroke, download all graphics and code. Since the TS-3000 does not need to be disconnected or removed from the wall for this operation, the TS-3000 can be easily programmed, even when software is modified or upgraded. The TS-3000's IrDA receiver will also pass through other IR commands, permitting it to be used as a pass-through IR repeater system.

The TS-3000, ADA’s first touch screen control, operates on the exclusive ADA Bus, the company’s proprietary bi-directional serial data communications protocol. It can be used in lieu of several ADA keypads (such as the MC-3000, MC-3800, MC-3000 OD, and MC-3800 OD) to control several of ADA’s multi-room systems (Delta, Omega or 8000) as well as ADA’s home theater systems (Cinema Reference, SSD-66 (5.1), or SSD-66).

The TS-3000 connector is identical to the connectors found in the ADA Bus controls, making it a perfect upgrade for existing ADA System owners. This is especially applicable to those already using an MC-3800 control (also a three-gang keypad), since the TS-3000 is a plug-and-play replacement for this control.

Like other ADA Bus keypads, the TS-3000 features two-way communication, controlling components incorporated in the system and permitting intelligent status feedback. When controlling one of ADA’s multi-tuners, the TS-3000 can display the radio station and preset label (i.e. 101.9 JAZZ). When using a CD Library System, such as Escient’s TuneBase, the TS-3000 can display the name of the album, song, artist, and play mode.

The TS-3000 is also capable of controlling other sub-systems such as lighting control systems. Since the TS-3000's open RS-233 architecture is hex-code based, it can also communicate with other touch screen systems.