Panamax/Furman's BlueBOLT(R) Power and Energy Management Platform Makes Waves at CEDIA EXPO 2010

BlueBOLT(R) Wins CE Pro BEST Award, While BlueBOLT-Enabled M4315-PRO Takes Home CustomRetailer Exc!te Award

PETALUMA, Calif. — Oct. 6, 2010 — Panamax/Furman today announced that its BlueBOLT(R) power and energy management platform was honored with a CE Pro BEST Award in the “Power and Thermal Management Accessories” category at CEDIA EXPO 2010, while the BlueBOLT-enabled M4315-PRO was recognized with a CustomRetailer EXC!TE Award and was selected as a finalist for several other industry-leading awards. Introduced at the show, the company’s latest version of the BlueBOLT platform, version 1.2, received a warm welcome from attendees.

Judged by an industry panel made up of a dozen respected industry leaders and the editors of CE Pro, the CE Pro BEST (Best Electronic Systems Technologies) Awards recognize the best new products and technologies for the custom installation channel in key categories. This year in the “Power and Thermal Management Accessories” category, the judges were impressed with Panamax/Furman’s BlueBOLT platform.

BlueBOLT technology provides hosted cloud-based power control and energy monitoring for A/V systems. BlueBOLT’s breakthrough features include a full suite of energy monitoring and management functions; remote outlet control for hard reboots of connected equipment; e-mail alerts when power anomalies occur; scheduled conservation to reduce standby power waste; monitoring of incoming voltage in near-real time or over history; and permissions settings to provide secure device access at administrator, installer, or client level.

The EXC!TE Award, presented annually by CustomRetailer magazine, pays tribute to products that stand out for being innovative, high-performing solutions oriented to the custom installation professional, such as the BlueBOLT-enabled M4315-PRO. For an optimal home theater experience, the 15A M4315-PRO combines the unprecedented control and energy management features of BlueBOLT with “pro” level linear noise filtration for enhanced audio and video system performance. The M4315-PRO was also selected as a finalist for both the CEDIA Manufacturers’ Excellence Award for “Best New Product” and the Resi Award in the “Power Products” category.

In addition to impressing judges, Panamax/Furman also made a huge impact with attendees at CEDIA EXPO with the introduction of BlueBOLT version 1.2. To help users conserve energy and lower their utility bills, BlueBOLT version 1.2 greatly expands the energy management feature set, in addition to providing new control options. The BlueBOLT platform calculates the energy used by connected devices and reports it, historically and in real time, in kilowatt-hours as well as dollars. Users can also set energy budgets for their equipment and receive alerts when their usage is near or exceeding their allotted budget. BlueBOLT version 1.2 also includes an auto-reboot feature for networking equipment, eliminating the all-too-common need to hard-reboot modems and routers.

“CEDIA EXPO 2010 was a great success for us and our BlueBOLT platform. We are truly honored to have been recognized with both a CE Pro BEST Award and Exc!te Award, and are proud to have been named a finalist for so many other prestigious awards,” said Dave Keller, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Panamax/Furman. “But the true measure of this platform’s effectiveness comes from dealer feedback, and the response to BlueBOLT at the show was overwhelming. Dealers are finding that it is a unique tool for reducing service calls and providing easy-to-integrate, easy-to-use energy management features. And the excitement over the future development of the platform continues to grow.”