Welcome to San Diego for the first for-profit CEDIA Expo, the first Expo to take place under the full control of professional show producer Emerald Expositions. It is also the last CEDIA to be held in San Diego, at least for the forseeable future. Next Year, the show moves back to Denver, one of the locations that is considered most popular with CEDIA members.
Sonos Gets Serious about Integration with Amp
Partners with Sonance; Expands Developers; Opens Up API
Sonos announced a new product today called Amp. Amp is essentially everything Sonos offers for wireless powered speakers…for a normal wired passive speaker system. This opens the door to allow the integration of a wide range of third-party speakers into the Sonos ecosphere. But Sonos views Amp as much more than that – as the heart and start of integrating Sonos into a sophisticated smart home installation.
In short, Sonos is getting serious about custom integration… [Read more…] about Sonos Gets Serious about Integration with Amp
Tighten Your Seatbelts – LG Shows 8K OLED TV
Are you ready for this? LG shows the “world’s first” 8K OLED TV at the IFA 2018 show taking place in Berlin right now. Noting that their are a leader in advance TV technologies with OLED, LG pushes the technological envelope again with 88-inch 8K OLED TV being shown to consumers for the very first time.
See more on this dramatic announcement from LG… [Read more…] about Tighten Your Seatbelts – LG Shows 8K OLED TV
Showing Signs of Life, Krell Announces New COO
Krell Industries LLC formally announced today it has hired Walter Schofield as its new Chief Operating Officer. Schofield is fairly well known in the audio community, in fact, Krell refers to him as an “industry veteran.”
See more on this new appointment… [Read more…] about Showing Signs of Life, Krell Announces New COO
Parent of Mission & QUAD Signs Deal with DTS
DTS announced this week that is has signed on International Audio Group (IAG), parent company of Mission and QUAD, as a new hardware partner in the DTS Play-Fi whole-home audio ecosystem. IAG joins a growing sphere of major brands supporting the DTS multi-room, wireless music system.
See more on this new DTS/IAG partnership… [Read more…] about Parent of Mission & QUAD Signs Deal with DTS
Editor Ted Green Appears on ResiWeek
Seems like my good friends over at AVNation.tv didn’t learn their lesson! Once again, they invited me back to participate in a new episode of their popular ResiWeek podcast, hosted by Matt D. Scott (he insists on including the “D” in his name for some reason).
Read on to see what topics we discussed & get a hint on why the episode title is “Just Do It”… [Read more…] about Editor Ted Green Appears on ResiWeek
The Top 3 Integration Trade Media Groups Were All Acquired in Last 12 Months
Just What the Heck is Going On Here?
On Tuesday we learned that select properties of EH Media – owner of CEPro, Commercial Integrator, Security Sales & Integration, Campus Safety and others – had been acquired by Emerald Expositions (the new owner of the CEDIA Expo). Earlier this year, U.K.-based Future plc, a global media company, acquired U.S.-based NewBay Media – parent of Residential Systems, Sound & Video Contractor, AVTechnology and others. And almost exactly one year ago, IFA – producer of the largest consumer electronics trade show in the world (held in Europe) – “partnered” or acquired a significant stake in NAPCO Media’s consumer technology division – parent of Dealerscope, Technology Integrator, and Connected Design.
So that’s three of the top custom integration trade media companies all acquired within the last 12 months. What the heck is going on here?
It’s crazy days in the CI trade media world… [Read more…] about The Top 3 Integration Trade Media Groups Were All Acquired in Last 12 Months
Randy Blanchard, ex-ADI, Takes Audio Role at Vanco
Vanco International LLC, a provider of AV and accessories products, announced this week that Randy Blanchard has joined the company as its new Director of Audio Products. Among other things, Blanchard will oversee the company’s Pulse Audio and Beale Street Audio brands. Blanchard joins the company after a 13½-year career with ADI.
See more on Randy Blanchard and Vanco… [Read more…] about Randy Blanchard, ex-ADI, Takes Audio Role at Vanco
Study Shows People Value Their Data Over Their Car
After years of shocking privacy breaches and the more recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, consumers are becoming more and more concerned about the security of their personal data. This attitude is reflected in new privacy research survey in which a majority of respondents said they viewed their personal data as more valuable to them than even their car.
See this surprising upgrade in consumer concerns about their personal data… [Read more…] about Study Shows People Value Their Data Over Their Car
Are You Prepared for the Coming Recession?
Five Steps to Take Now to Protect Your Business
Occasionally, I’ll chat with an integrator or other industry colleague about that ugly shared nightmare experience, otherwise known as the recession of 2007-2009. This recession, unlike others in the past, zeroed in like a torpedo on the residential construction market and dramatically reshaped the custom integration industry. For those of you joining the industry since that time, you dodged the bullet…but you also missed the lessons that survivors were forced to learn in order to keep afloat.
