You can say a lot of nice things about my house. It’s uniquely laid out. It’s spacious. It has an awesome view.

But it’s definitely no high-tech wonderland.

Built in the early 80s, it boasts no high-speed wiring network to support much of anything. Yes, I could always pay to have Category 5 routed throughout, but based on the obstacles we ran into when having satellite system wired up, I’d rather not. My poor broom closet has more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese. Obviously, given its design and age, this is not a residence that takes kindly to new wiring.

What my place needs are products that can be added without having to drill into the walls or fish in new cabling. Another requirement: They must be simple to use and benefit everyone in my family. Something affordable would also be good.

At the recent CEDIA Expo in Atlanta, I was lucky enough to spot a few systems that meet most of my needs, such as:
-Russound’s Collage powerline audio system
-Kwikset’s SmartCode keyless electronic lock
-Soft Mount’s Ergo mount solution
-Lutron’s Kirbe vertical draping system
-Panasonic’s SC-BTX70 Blu-ray player

Click here to see a slideshow and learn more about these products.

Lisa Montgomery - Contributing Writer

Lisa Montgomery has been writing about home technology for 15 years, with a focus on the impact of electronics on a modern lifestyle.