NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR), the leading provider of award-winning connected products designed to simplify and improve people’s lives, today announces the Australian arrival of the Orbi 860 Series. Building on the award-winning 850 Series, the new addition to the Orbi portfolio future proofs home internet with a 10Gb Ethernet port, supporting multi-gig internet connections, upgraded antenna design for greater WiFi performance; and a bundled year of NETGEAR Armor, providing homes with an automatic shield of security against internet threats across every connected device.

Following on the tremendous success of the Orbi 850 Series (WiFi 6 AX6000 Mesh System RBK853), the Orbi 860 Series joins NETGEAR’s industry-leading WiFi 6 Whole Home Mesh WiFi portfolio. The past few years have seen huge changes to internet usage spurred by the pandemic, including a dramatic increase in just about everything from home — working, shopping, learning, and socialising. As Internet Service Providers enable faster multi-gig internet speeds, up to 10 Gigabits per second, and hackers create new sophisticated cyber-attacks, high-performance and secure WiFi are now imperative.

Same Brand, New Heights

With NETGEAR’s latest WiFi 6 tri-band and patented dedicated backhaul technology, the powerful Orbi 860 Series mesh systems are designed to keep connections strong and running at maximum speeds in every room without slow-downs or buffering, providing families the bandwidth to address household demands even when simultaneously 4K/8K streaming, Zoom conferencing and WiFi calling from a bedroom, basement or in the backyard. In an environment where homes are connected with Gigabit plus internet (1.4 to 10 Gigabit) and have an increasing number of connected devices – more than 25 on average — the new Orbi 860 Series provides the best WiFi experience for WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 devices. It’s an upgrade from the Orbi 850 series with a stepped-up internet connection, from 1 Gigabit to 10 Gigabit, and new antenna system with wider coverage areas.

The new Orbi RBK863 3-pack WiFi Mesh System provides up to 540 square metres of coverage with up to 6Gbps WiFi speed and support for 100 devices operating at the same time. This coverage can easily be expanded with additional Orbi RBS860 satellites. To achieve this industry-leading performance and wider range, NETGEAR uses patented dedicated backhaul WiFi technology and antenna design. The exclusive tri-band mesh system with NETGEAR’s pioneering innovation ensures speeds stay fast as more WiFi devices connect to the home network with less dropped connections.

“When we launched our flagship Orbi product line in 2016, we set a new benchmark for connected home products with faster speeds, higher capacity and wider coverage areas with our patented tri-band mesh design,” said David Henry, president & GM of Connected Home Products and Services at NETGEAR. “Our new Orbi 860 Series is designed to continue to deliver on the promise of superior WiFi. It provides the capacity to capitalise on higher incoming Internet speed, up to 10 Gigabit, an increasing number of devices and even better WiFi range than the Orbi 850 Series.  On top of that, we couple it with one of the industry’s best internet security protection services to help Australian households to secure all their WiFi connected devices, including laptops, phones, tablets, speakers, cameras, baby monitors, TVs, light bulbs, light switches and more.”
Technical Specifications:

• Faster Speeds with WiFi 6 – WiFi 6 offers four times the speed, capacity, and bandwidth of WiFi 5. You get best-in-class performance regardless of activity or device type.
• Stays Strong Even as You Connect More Devices – Enjoy consistent, peak speeds and high performance on up to 100 devices across 743 square metres with Orbi’s patented tri-band mesh router-satellite WiFi connection.
• 20% WiFi Boost with Exclusive Antenna Array Design – With unique WiFi optimisation and a new, improved antenna array, the Orbi 860 system provides more range and speed compared to the previous Orbi 850 Series.
• Multi-Gig Speeds with 10GbE Internet Port – The 10Gb Internet speed port enables you to connect to the latest cable and optical fiber offerings over 1 Gbps up to 10Gbps, and you can plug in your wired devices to improve performance via four Gigabit Ethernet ports on each router and satellite.
• Seamless WiFi for Multiple Devices – Say goodbye to slow connections. WiFi 6 makes shared bandwidth much more efficient and prevents connection delays.
• Dedicated Backhaul – Unlike competitors with a shared backhaul, Orbi’s patented dedicated backhaul connects the router to satellites with a dedicated WiFi pathway exclusively used for communication between the base router and the satellites while our competitors share that link when communicating with other connected devices. This dedicated backhaul design ensures blazing speeds throughout your home and on all your devices.  Connections stay strong all the time.
• Orbi® App – Easily set up your WiFi system, manage your network remotely, pause the Internet on any device, track your Internet data usage and more.

Built-In Security & Services

For added peace of mind, the Orbi 860 Series includes a year of NETGEAR Armor to protect the connected home from online threats. Unlike traditional endpoint antivirus products, NETGEAR’s Armor is built into the router as a comprehensive security solution to monitor activity going to and from the Internet, protecting computers, security cameras, baby monitors and other IoT devices, flagging external threats while eliminating the need for multiple security subscriptions or software. Additionally, it provides on-the-go protection and VPN for phones and laptops. Armor acts as a strong and effective “front- and backdoor lock” to any home network.

The Ultimate 10 Gig WiFi 6 Router 
NETGEAR will also offer a standalone Orbi router (RBR860S) for those who live in smaller homes or apartments and desire the best WiFi performance as well as the flexibility to easily expand to Orbi mesh as their needs change.

The Orbi 860 Series Mesh System and satellites will be available in white as well as black, making them elegant and unobtrusive complements to any home decor. The system is available from the NETGEAR Australia website from the 6th of February 2023, subject to availability. Select products are also available through JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Office Works.

For more information

Netgear

The post NETGEAR Orbi 860 Series Delivers Unparalleled WiFi Performance and Protection for Aussie Households appeared first on Completehome.

According to the organization, products that are selected by the Red Dot Jury may be aesthetically appealing, functional, smart or innovative but, above all, they epitomize outstanding design. This year, we submitted 12 products for consideration and the jury honored ten, including:

RAXE500
Orbi SXK30
Orbi Pro SXK80
NETGEAR C6230
NETGEAR Pro AV GSM4230P
NETGEAR Pro AV GSM4248UX
NETGEAR Pro AV MSM4214X
Orbi RBK760
Nighthawk MK83
Nighthawk RAX30

In 2022, the Red Dot Jury included 48 experts from 23 countries. Each member assessed each product entered professionally, individually, and comprehensively. Only those products that won over the experts with their outstanding design quality earned an award.

The process of entering a given product to the competition is quite involved. It requires detailing the benefits of the design, how it has been improved over previous versions, and ultimately why it is deserving of an award. In addition, each entry has a series of photos demonstrating the design characteristics and clearly articulating its design value.

“The quality of this year’s award-winning products is impressive, innovative, high-quality and well-designed in all of the competition categories,” said Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot. “Once again, the Red Dot Jury used its extensive expert knowledge and nuanced understanding to take the right decisions and safeguard the quality of the Red Dot Label.”

At NETGEAR, we have a legacy of developing well-engineered products. Over the past few years emphasis has been placed on becoming a design leader in the industry. We’ve gone through a great deal of effort to improve the look and feel of our products by investing in our in-house design team. We’ve developed new guidelines and processes, raising the bar on the expectations we have in the development of a NETGEAR product. These efforts continue to pay dividends as we to see validation of the teams work through winning results from prestigious design competitions like Red Dot.

For more information

Netgear

The post NETGEAR Earns Ten Red Dot Awards for Product Design appeared first on Completehome.

Despite the grumblings of those who say we’re losing ourselves to gizmos and gadgets, many Australians have gotten over the techno-shock of the early 2000s. Today, Aussies are some of the quickest embracers of new technologies worldwide, and many feel it has had a positive impact overall. When used and designed well, technology allows us to simplify or enhance our lifestyles and, purists aside, many homeowners have found a wide range of uses for it. Although smart home systems and home automation have been around for decades, they have only recently become more mainstream, in part due to tech companies including Amazon and Microsoft wanting a bigger market share of the Internet of Things, or IoT.

There are many installers and businesses in Australia that cater to the high-end, professional, smart and home automation desires of homeowners and builders. These companies can create custom solutions with an amount of control and flexibility that IoT devices can’t match, and provide continued support and technical assistance for the lifetime of these installations. Although there can be a significant financial investment in larger installations, the ease of use and added value they give to a home is a factor that can’t be ignored, and is easily offset by enhanced liveability and eventual resale value of a property.

Winchester Street Residence: a look inside a true smart home

This home in Southport, Queensland, was built on the site of the owner’s previous residence. The owner wanted a home that met high standards of automation, technological innovation and practical everyday use. This would also help provide a comfortable, luxurious space for entertaining, relaxation and general enjoyment. Three companies came together to achieve this: David Radic Prestige Homes, Bridger Automation, and Amber Technology. The initial concept was to provide the client with a home that covers every area of an automated home ecosystem. Areas include lighting, security, AV-audio entertainment, environmental control and the overarching control system, which coordinates all the aspects of the home to work together. These basic areas can also be supported with other technologies including home networking, home energy supply and storage, as well as energy monitoring for those who have backup power supplies or energy from sources like photovoltaics.

Starting with the control platform, which is the brains of the automation and smart processes, Bridger Automation selected a system that runs on the back of Crestron software, which is a controller for automated systems. Having a powerful yet easy-to-manage home allows the owner to operate their home’s functions with little to no effort. Interfacing with their home via smart devices and phones allows the user to control the specifics of the house on an item they’re already familiar with. The Crestron system uses an easy-to-use- and -navigate app to interface with every piece of technology, from lighting and security to the audio systems and home theatre. For this home, the specific choice of dedicated iPads allows easy access and use by the whole family. Lighting is one of the most vital elements in the home. Whether it’s from a natural or artificial source, light inside and around the home is important from an architectural and practical standpoint. A gloomy, dark home has a noticeable effect on inhabitants, so ensuring the home is well lit is important.

Using a C-bus lighting control system, the client had several key areas they wanted to light up, notably the entertainment and general living spaces. A warm white light was the foundation palette for the home’s illumination, allowing the interior to be well lit while feeling warm and welcoming. Overlayed on top of the subtle glow were key lighting groups, such as the outside pool and alfresco living, dining and kitchen, which would be key elements for entertaining guests and family throughout the year, and then mirroring this internally with key public living spaces in the home.

Additional focal points are the home theatre and entertainment zones with ambient lighting. Each space is individually controllable, allowing the owner to create an ambient and mood lighting environment to match the tone of the moment, as well as several large pre-programmed “scenes” for the lights. These scenes, activated at the push of a single button, are perfect for controlling large groups of lighting during entertaining, evenings at home as well as for switching off all lights just before bed. Additional lighting scenes allow the home to be lit for security purposes.

Our homes are a large investment in time, money and emotional attachment and yet many of us are very lax when it comes to protecting these investments. Security is an important factor of a home and the larger the residence, the more important it is to protect. This makes combining home security and smart home features a no-brainer. For the Winchester Street project, the security system comprises several key aspects. An external first-point-of-entry system controls all gates and other access points to the home, an alarm system, and a lighting security system which would be enabled when alarms were triggered. The security system’s smart integration allows the owner to arm and disarm doors remotely, giving access to trusted guests when away, monitor the surveillance Hikvision system while at home or away with a smartphone app, and allow entrance via wireless key fobs. Additionally, lighting scenes such as the “goodbye” scene allows the home to look occupied by lighting up key areas, while a “welcome home” scene activates when the system is disabled and the owner returns home, with the lights already on for them. All these systems were designed with ease of use in mind and, of course, they all connect back to the Crestron “brain” of the home, meaning they can be controlled anywhere in the house.

Now on to the fun part: entertainment. A residence with as much effort and passion put into it as this one needs to be perfect for entertaining. Inviting friends and family over and creating a hospitable and enjoyable environment are integral to the Australian lifestyle. To meet this demand, the Winchester Street project is packed to the brim with design elements and home automation technologies.

The clients wanted a robust and powerful distributed audio system as music and entertaining are important to them. This required careful design decisions to ensure the home had audio systems that sounded great, had amazing coverage, but also remained as discreet as possible. The solution for the external pool, garden and entertaining spaces was a discreet and durable outdoor sound system provided by Sonance. The SonArray SR1 series is a standout for the client: “Our favourite part of the new fit-out is the SonArray SR1 outdoor speaker system,” they say. “It’s easy to use and can be enjoyed all year-round. We’ve used it for casual barbecues and bigger celebrations like birthdays. It is perfect for our needs and offers significant value to a household that loves to entertain.”

The interior of the house has discreet multi-room audio products appropriately placed to give maximum coverage, while the smart aspect of the audio design is it allows finite control of what the client is listening to and where they are listening. As with the lighting scenes, the audio system allows audio to be played in individual rooms, each able to play a different source so that every family member can enjoy their own music. At the same time, the system can be set to play the same performance throughout, displaying exceptional flexibility. Again, all of this is controlled via the Crestron apps available on dedicated iPads and smart device apps. As a result, streaming music to the outdoor area while having a football game playing inside and watching a movie in the lounge room is not only easy to do, but also designed so each area doesn’t interfere with the other.
The crowning glory of the home’s AV system is, of course, the client’s dedicated home theatre.It boasts a large-format projection system for the visuals and uses discreet in-wall Sonance CINEMA-series speakers for the audio. The theatre’s Dolby ATMOS audio-compatible system makes every viewing session an unforgettable experience. Again, linked to the home’s control network, an easy interface allows intimate control over lighting, environment controls for aircon and heating, as well as sound controls and media source selection. And everything can be controlled from the plush comfort of the cinema seats.

Other areas that can be controlled are the home’s climate, many smart or home automation-compatible appliances and home energy systems. A professionally installed system allows endless possibilities and really the only limit is imagination and, of course, financial investment. This type of home installation not only provides unlimited personal control of one’s home, but also creates a greater feeling of understanding and peace of mind of how the home works.

Internet of things: DIY smart home

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford such a high-end system, but many companies today have jumped on the tech boom wagon and have come up with ingenious ways to help us in our daily running of the home. While there are those who dismiss these devices as techno doodads that merely complicate our lives, the strong uptake shows there is a demand for these sorts of technologies. In America, there is a battle underway for dominance in the entry-level smart home market. Amazon has created a unique little device called the Echo, which uses its Alexa operating system to create a voice-controlled hub that can connect with a wide range of networked devices in the home. This device also integrates users into Amazon’s greater range of services, allowing consumers to order groceries and many other products online. Microsoft and Google are also rigorously engaged in this market, although Australia has yet to see their services. However, there are still many smart home devices currently available that utilise pre-existing home networks to offer their services and help make controlling and using your home easier.

Smartphones and internet access are the first step for many of these devices, and the market allows a great degree of freedom and choice for an entry-level user. Devices such as the Philips’ Hue allows custom lighting systems utilising a smartphone app and, believe it or not, Wi-Fi-connected bulbs. Scenes and mood lighting are easy to create and control from a smart device and there are many applications that help create a smart home network that integrates technology and products from other manufacturers. Another company that has been successful as an entry point in the Aussie market smart home world is Belkin. The company’s WeMo is an ecosystem of devices that range from lighting to power management and networked security cameras. These come as individual packages so homeowners can pick and choose as they need.

For those on a tighter budget, Swann Smartseries is a modular package that allows a large degree of security; using networked cameras and motion sensors on doors and windows, it will detect when unauthorised entry has occurred. This package is backed by dedicated off-site recording and monitoring that can also be accessed via a mobile app. Swann also offers professional security storage as part of a subscription package. Each option offers its own set of unique features and degree of usability and performance, but it’s up to the consumer to decide between these smaller individual offerings and large dedicated installations. Each has its pros and cons, and consultation with specialists who have industry knowledge behind them is recommended.

Why smart homes?

So why smart homes? Technology and the benefits and costs it affords us is intrinsically linked to our modern lifestyles. It can be argued that there are visible benefits that far outweigh any perceived negatives from utilising what technical innovation has brought us.

Smart homes are a natural evolution of modern home design; we will be using large amounts of technology in our homes, regardless of how we feel about it. A well-designed, modern smart home with a well-developed automation system will make the technology work for you. The installations harness networking technologies, easy use of smartphones and a multitude of specialised products to enhance the performance of our homes and our lifestyles. And with dedicated support from installers, homeowners who invest in top-end systems will always have professional support and advice.

In the end, you can enjoy living in your home the way you want to with the security and knowledge that it’s been designed to help, rather than hinder, your day-to-day life.

Images of Winchester Street Project thanks to Amber Technology & Bridger Automation. ambertech.com.au; bridgerautomation.com.au

Written by James Cleland

Originally in Grand Designs Australia Volume 6 Issue 4

The post Grand Designs Australia: Living smart – inside the smart home appeared first on Completehome.