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Savant Power Play, Connecting Integrators to Power

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Savant intelligent companion modules

Strata-gee Interviews Savant Power President Anna Demeo

Last week, Savant Systems, Inc. announced that it had acquired Racepoint Energy, LLC, a provider of innovative power solutions. What many people did not know was that Racepoint Energy was another venture launched by Savant CEO Bob Madonna, and was originally intended to be a freestanding solution – primarily targeted for commercial, industrial, and utility markets.

But then the world changed and it made sense for Savant to bring it under their residential automation brand.

See my interview with Savant Power President Anna Demeo…

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Crestron and Bargetzi Family Join to Create the Fred Bargetzi Memorial Scholarship

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Photo of Fred Bargetzi of Crestron

Crestron announced on Monday that it was joining with members of the Bargetzi family to create the Fred Bargetzi Memorial Scholarship, created to honor the memory of the company’s much-beloved and long-time Chief Technology Officer Fred Bargetzi, who passed away in January of this year. The scholarship will be for select students of Bargetzi’s alma mater, the University at Buffalo, and will serve both “to empower students at the University at Buffalo to succeed in their education by removing barrier’s from their progress”…and to offer a lasting legacy of the CTO who was so meaningful to one of this industry’s greatest technology companies.

Learn more about the Fred Bargetzi Memorial Scholarship…

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AudioControl Rolls Out Drivers for Full Integration into Creston Home Systems

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AudioControl announces new Crestron Home drivers

AudioControl announced this week that it has released certified drivers for Crestron Home for its line of specialty electronics. This news means that the company’s products, already popular in home automation systems, will now integrate into the rapidly expanding Crestron Home ecosystem.

See more on these new drivers from AudioControl

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LG’s Highly Unique ‘Rollable’ 4K OLED TV Finally Rolls into the U.S. Market

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LG OLED R
Courtesy of LG SIGNATURE

I first told you about the remarkable new form factor for OLED TVs back in 2019 when LG showed a rollable OLED technology concept (along with a separate bendable OLED technology as well). It was an interesting concept and resembles a simple sideboard cabinet in which the screen rolls up out of the cabinet like a motorized shade – only rolling up. LG had shown it more as a concept piece back at the 2019 CES – a demonstration of the technology, but not a real product at that time.

Now, rollable OLED TV is for real.

See more on the remarkable LG rollable 4K OLED TV…

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Sputtering Supply Chain Hit Again – Surge of COVID in Vietnam Closes Factories

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COVID surge in Vietnam is causing global supply chain issues

Brands Like Apple, Samsung, Nike & Adidas Have Been Forced to Close

In a new hit to the supply chain, top brands report that they have been forced to close down factories in Vietnam as the country struggles with a COVID resurgence of surprising resiliency. Notable brand names like Samsung, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola have all at one time or another over the last 90-days been forced to close some or all of their factories as employees came down with the illness.

See more on this new supply chain disruption…

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The New West Coast Experience Center for Savant? A Stunner…

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Savant's new West Coast Experience Center

Nestled in the hills over the Nevada plains, not far from the bright lights of Las Vegas, Savant Systems partnered with design-led development firm Blue Heron and integrator Eagle Sentry to create what they call their West Coast Experience Center – otherwise known as a stunning residential home showcasing a million dollars worth of Savant technology (as well as a few technology partners). The ultra-modern home, clearly destined for an ultra-rich niche, featured a design that was – to my eyes – just stunning…and the installation is a true testament to Savant’s theory that installed AV should be “hidden in plain sight.”

You’re going to want to see Savant’s new West Coast Experience Center…

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Crestron CEO Randy Klein Announces His Retirement

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Photo of Randy Klein, Crestron President and CEO

Crestron Electronics announced on Friday that long-time company President and CEO Randy Klein will retire from the company “later this year.” The news was a bit of a surprise and the company said that Crestron Chairman and COO Dan Feldstein – son of company founder George Feldstein – will assume the role of President and CEO after Klein retires.

See more on this changing of the guard at Crestron

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Crestron Home is Center of Attention in a Pair of New Partnerships

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A Crestron Home controlled Somfy pergola
A Somfy motorized pergola controlled by Crestron Home

Somfy and Josh.ai Say Dealers Demanded They Partner with Crestron Home

Ever since Crestron launched Crestron Home it became obvious that there had been a sea change in the company’s go-forward strategy. The new Home operating system was easier to program and deploy, more visually attractive for end-users, and more clearly differentiated from their more robust high-end programming solutions. But also, the company’s style of operation changed as well, from doing it all in-house to opening itself up to partnerships.

Now we learn of two more in a long line of technology partnerships as the company continues to evolve and propel Crestron Home down the path to becoming the dominant smart home OS in the industry. The new partnerships are with Josh.ai and Somfy, both well-regarded technology players in the custom integration channel.

See more on the new Crestron, Josh.ai, and Somfy partnerships

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LG Hits All-New Record in Preliminary Fiscal 2021 2nd Quarter Results

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LG show display
LG OLED Wave from a past trade show exhibit

LG Electronics Inc (LG) released preliminary results for their fiscal 2021 second quarter, and they were an eye-opener. In fact, even in the wake of their surprising decision to exit the smartphone business, the company says they booked an all-new record in the quarter.

See the LG 2nd quarter results…

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Voxx Announces Final Deal to Acquire Onkyo, with a Twist

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onkyo portable record player

Voxx International has announced that they have finalized their agreement to partner with Sharp Corporation to acquire the Home Entertainment Division of Onkyo – news that Strata-gee readers knew about last week. The news comes as a result of Onkyo shareholders voting last Friday to approve the sale of the company to Voxx’s subsidiary known as the Premium Audio Company. Not much was new here on the Onkyo front, as we already told you about the deal only covering the Onkyo and Integra brands. However, we did learn some more interesting details on the company’s attempts relative to the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands.

See what’s happening with Voxx, Onkyo & Pioneer

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