Leviton announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with Samsung’s SmartThings division to offer a simple home automation starter package that will be made broadly available through distributors and the “professional dealer” market. Designed to be an affordable, whole-house, home automation solution – the package pairs products from SmartThings with Leviton Z-Wave enabled devices at discounted pricing.
Manufacturers
GoldenEar Earns Patent for Innovative SuperSub Technology
GoldenEar Technology announced last week that it has earned a patent for its innovative dual-plane, inertially-balanced subwoofer technology used in its SuperSub™ line. The U.S. Patent Office awarded GoldenEar patent #9,462,39 on its technology, protecting the company from anyone copying their unique design.
See more on this GoldenEar technological achievement… [Read more…] about GoldenEar Earns Patent for Innovative SuperSub Technology
Millson Custom Solutions Goes From Crawl to Jog in Just One Year
Millson Custom Solutions Celebrates Its First Birthday
Most new start-up companies like Millson Custom Solutions (MCS) choose to develop a new product concept and spend their first year setting up distribution, making sure internal systems operate smoothly as sales begin to happen, and in general scale slowly before they take that next step in expansion. It’s sort of a crawl before you walk – walk before you run strategy.
But not MCS – no sooner did they get their remarkable CinemaFrame launched, then the company rolled out a second product, their RSMS Roller Shade Mounting System and then a third product, the FutureFrame.
How did they pull that off?… [Read more…] about Millson Custom Solutions Goes From Crawl to Jog in Just One Year
CEDIA 2016 – Hot Stuff We Saw
CEDIA 2016, like every trade show, for us is like trying to get a sip of water from a fire hose. There is just so much going on. And since all stories interest us – we have to go into a kind of marketing triage, quickly sorting those stories that we feel are the most compelling.
So, in this post, we want to share with you some of the more interesting things – and people – we saw and chatted with on the show floor.
See some of the notable people and products we saw at CEDIA 2016… [Read more…] about CEDIA 2016 – Hot Stuff We Saw
Gibson Brands Hires New COO, Hit With Another Credit Downgrade
Gibson Brands announced Tuesday that it has hired Lee Cheng as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and executive vice president. This appointment takes effect immediately and follows a recent additional credit downgrade by the Moody’s Investor Service.
See more on Cheng’s interesting background and the Moody’s downgrade… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Hires New COO, Hit With Another Credit Downgrade
SpeakerCraft’s Remarkable AIM LCR5 FIVE Series 2 Speakers Now Ready
We first reported on the new SpeakerCraft Dolby Atmos enabled AIM speakers at the 2015 CEDIA show (then called the Expo). A clever way to extend their line and tap into the enthusiasm many have to advanced surround sound systems like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro3D – SpeakerCraft designed a high-performance alternative to standard in-ceiling height speakers.
Prototypes last year, but company says it’s ready to ship shortly. Check it out… [Read more…] about SpeakerCraft’s Remarkable AIM LCR5 FIVE Series 2 Speakers Now Ready
Bluesound’s Gender Bending Soundbar
Pulse – A High-Performance Soundbar
Historically, the consumer electronics industry is broken down into basically two types (genders) of products. A product is either designed for the masses with affordability and popular technologies – think wireless Bluetooth streaming speakers for less than $50; Or, serious, high-performance specialty AV products – think a component home theater system with Dolby Atmos/DTS:X/Auro3D built-in for more than $20,000. Like East not meeting West – never the twain shall meet. Until now…
Meet Bluesound’s Pulse Soundbar – a true industry gender-bender… [Read more…] about Bluesound’s Gender Bending Soundbar
Savant CEO Changes in Unexpected – and Unexplained – Shakeup
Late yesterday afternoon, a strange press release came our way. This release was strange for a couple of reasons – first, for what it was announcing – Savant’s founder Robert Madonna was returning to the CEO role, replacing “outgoing” CEO William Lynch. Second, it was strange because it gave no reason for this dramatic change of CEOs; and, third, it was strange because of where it came from – a PR firm that the company hasn’t been using for a couple of years.
What’s up at Savant? See more on this unexpected turn of events… [Read more…] about Savant CEO Changes in Unexpected – and Unexplained – Shakeup
Crestron Pursues Deeper & More Innovative Integrations with Partners
Crestron Embraces Sonos, Amazon, & Others
At CEDIA 2016, one of the top themes we identified was companies seeking more and better integrations with other companies’ technologies. In most cases, this expressed itself with companies seeking to have their product lines properly interface with the major control companies. But at CEDIA this year, Crestron took that concept to new heights and in a new direction with their enthusiastic embrace of newcomers to the CI channel…Sonos and Amazon Alexa.
See more on Crestron’s innovative integration solutions… [Read more…] about Crestron Pursues Deeper & More Innovative Integrations with Partners
Russound Formally Launches 70V Line at CEDIA 2016
To Help Integrators ‘Expand Your Marketplace’
Although previewed to the media last month, dealers and the media finally had the opportunity to physically see and touch the all-new Russound 70-volt light commercial line in the flesh at last week’s CEDIA 2016. The line, which the company intends to continue to develop and expand, launched with three models in the line, including a music streamer/amplifier, a volume control wallpad, and an outdoor speaker.
