Yamaha Adds a 'New Voice' to its AV Receiver Lineup with Josh.ai Integration
BUENA PARK, Calif. (March 28, 2019) —
The smart home is getting a brain boost with the integration of Yamaha MusicCast-enabled AV receivers into Josh.ai, a voice-controlled home automation system designed expressly for residential custom integrators.
Custom integrators can now add Yamaha MusicCast-enabled receivers as a controlled component of a home entertainment system using the Josh.ai browser-based setup interface. The platform auto-discovers all AV devices on a network and natively understands multiple sources and destinations. This now includes over 40 of the industry-leading receivers from Yamaha.
"We designed MusicCast technology for ease of use and maximum flexibility. This means continually adding new features and capabilities for enhancing and controlling home entertainment and music experiences," said Robert Goedken, general manager, AV division, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Josh.ai goes beyond the DIY convenience of other voice assistants with sophisticated controls exclusively for smart home integrators. We look forward to more natural integrations with Josh.ai in our home audio products and capabilities over time."
Josh.ai provides users with a sophisticated voice-controlled home automation experience coupled with an elegant suite of apps. Through Josh.ai's proprietary natural language processing (NLP), users can conversationally request their home to execute any number of tasks. For example, the room awareness feature of the Josh.ai microphones enables homeowners to give commands like, "OK Josh, dim the lights, listen to ‘Paint it Black' by the Rolling Stones, and watch ‘Black Mirror' season two, episode three."
"We're excited to align with Yamaha as a fellow innovator in the industry. Our device integrations are critical as we recommend solutions for luxury clients who want performance as well as reliability, with the simplicity of being able to ask for any media content in a room and have it instantly play," said Alex Capecelatro, CEO of Josh.ai. "Yamaha is a prominent manufacturer for many of our dealers, and we're excited to announce this integration with their AV receivers. Our goal with Josh.ai is to deliver a magical user experience and our relationship with Yamaha will help us achieve that vision."
Earlier this year, Josh.ai became the first voice platform to add natural language control for multisource/multizone AV setups by adding support for distributed AV routing. This functionality has been a welcome addition for custom installers that want a natural whole-home voice-controlled automation solution.