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You Don’t Know LEDs Until You NuLEDs

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Photo of the NuLEDs Booth at 2012 CEDIA Expo

>>See a slide show of photos from the NuLEDs booth at CEDIA Expo<<

Prior to CEDIA Expo, I knew very little about LED lighting systems, but I learned a lot after meeting with Frank Sterns, new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President at NuLEDs. The remarkable NuLEDs PoE IP-addressable LED lighting system brings a new level of control, flexibility, programmability, and energy efficiency to the market. It’s a cool system that offers a new profit opportunity to industry integrators and installers.

PoE…it’s what’s nu in lighting…

[Read more…] about You Don’t Know LEDs Until You NuLEDs

EXCLUSIVE: Nortek’s Core Brands Clears the Air with strata-GEE.com in Exclusive EXPO Interview

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Nortek's Core Brands LogoThe 2012 CEDIA Expo launched with a bang for me as I previously reported when, upon entering the convention center, I was collared by a PR person who quickly walked me (without explanation) to a high-level executive for a Nortek company who felt the need to tell me – in compelling and direct terms – what he thought of strata-GEE.com’s coverage of the Core Brands consolidation. (Hint: he didn’t like it.) After a few minutes of somewhat hot-under-the-collar conversation, things cooled off a bit and he offered to get me together with the Core Brands management to clarify the situation.

Now we’re getting somewhere… [Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE: Nortek’s Core Brands Clears the Air with strata-GEE.com in Exclusive EXPO Interview

CEDIA Releases New Market Data It Says is Even More Accurate

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Erica Shonkwiler of CEDIA Market Research
Erica Shonkwiler
CEDIA Market Research

At last week’s CEDIA Expo show in Indianapolis, IN, the trade group released select market data from their second annual survey called the Size and Scope of the Residential Electronic Systems Market in the US 2012. Although compiled and released this year, the data is actually from 2011 and is a follow-up to the same report they excerpted last year for 2010.

See results from this new survey and find out why CEDIA says it’s more accurate than ever… [Read more…] about CEDIA Releases New Market Data It Says is Even More Accurate

EXPO Attendance Declines Again

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2012 CEDIA Expo LogoThen Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) today released attendance data from last week’s Expo in Indianapolis, IN and it was a mix of good news and bad news. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Total attendance at the event came in at 16,900, down 4 percent from last year’s attendance of 17,600. This figure is also the lowest recorded attendance since 2001, coming in 1.8 percent under that year’s attendance level of 17,200.

But is there a silver lining?… [Read more…] about EXPO Attendance Declines Again

Seeing CEDIA Expo in a Whole New Light

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Keynote speaker Dr. Michio KakuWednesday, the day before the 2012 CEDIA Expo opens its show floor, is both the day many integrators come to the convention center to take educational classes – and also the press comes for a day full of press conferences.

I approached the event this year with a high level of anticipation, as our strata-GEE.com CEDIA survey suggested that attendance might be better than originally anticipated. As I approached the convention center, I was surprised by the lack of activity around the outside of the hall. Then a CEDIA hotel shuttle bus showed up and – suddenly – we had a fair amount of activity.

Little did I know that when I entered the hall, I had a rather intense surprise waiting… [Read more…] about Seeing CEDIA Expo in a Whole New Light

strata-GEE.com’s 2012 CEDIA EXPO Survey is Bigger Than Ever

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Indiana Convention Center - CEDIA Expo 2011strata-GEE.com’s survey on the 2012 CEDIA Expo has wrapped up and we want to thank everyone for their participation. And participation this year was up over 90% as compared to last year – which was off 20% as compared to the 2010 survey. We have no explanation as to why so many more people took part in the survey this year – however, we received more support from various industry members spreading the word on Twitter and other social media networks than in year’s past, which may have been a factor. A special thanks to those who helped spread the word!

More of you shared your thoughts…and we heard you!… [Read more…] about strata-GEE.com’s 2012 CEDIA EXPO Survey is Bigger Than Ever

Here We Go Again – Nortek Reorganizes Its Reorganized Reorganization

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Nortek's Core Brands LogoThis Monday, Nortek, Inc. announced yet another reorganization, their third major structural change since the company decided to group its A/V assets under one roof back in April 2010. The company has created yet another new company called Core Brands which will further consolidate and control a total of ten of the company’s A/V brands in their Technology Solutions Segment (TECH).

The brands affected by this consolidation include Aton, BlueBOLT, Elan, Furman, Niles, Panamax, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, and Xantech. Core Brands will be based at offices in Petaluma, CA; Calrsbad, CA; Riverside, CA; and Marblehead, MA.

Aren’t 10 brands under one roof really just a new conglomerate?…

[Read more…] about Here We Go Again – Nortek Reorganizes Its Reorganized Reorganization

7 Lessons on Marketing Strategy from My Day with the Cake Boss

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Photo of front of Carlo's Bake ShopTwo weekends ago, we celebrated my wife’s birthday. For the last few years, one of the things she most wanted for her birthday was a birthday cake. Not just any cake, mind you, but a cake made by Buddy Valastro – TLC’s Cake Boss. This is not as simple of a request as it sounds and for the last couple of years, I couldn’t fit it into my schedule to make it happen.

This year, I made it happen – and learned something about marketing strategy from the Cake Boss… [Read more…] about 7 Lessons on Marketing Strategy from My Day with the Cake Boss

Yamaha Launches New PRO Headphone Line with High Performance & High Design

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Photo of new Yamaha PRO500 HeadphonesYamaha Corporation of America’s AV Division announced today a new line of on- & over-ear headphones that they call their PRO series. Straddling the markets for pro audio, musician, and consumer – the new PRO series is clearly targeted at a more serious listener who appreciates higher fidelity…but with a contemporary, high styling. Featuring what the company calls a “racing inspired” look – the PRO series has a design style more similar to BEATS, SOUL by Ludacris, or SOL Republic, as opposed to previous more utilitarian designs.

But, there is a twist…

[Read more…] about Yamaha Launches New PRO Headphone Line with High Performance & High Design

J.D. Power & Assocs. Survey Proves What We’ve Said All Along: 3D is Dead as a Sales Motivator

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J.D. Power and Associates LogoI know not everyone who reads this post agrees with us, and we’ve taken a fair share of criticism for our viewpoint, but we’ve been consistently skeptical of the power of 3D to drive HDTV sales. And now, after the industry spent millions (billions?) of dollars in promotion and advertising , as well as several years of intense sales effort, and probably billions of dollars in research & development – a new survey of HDTV-purchasing consumers from reputable researcher J.D. Power and Associates shows that 3D was ranked a distant last as the reason they purchased their set.

The survey held some other surprises as well… [Read more…] about J.D. Power & Assocs. Survey Proves What We’ve Said All Along: 3D is Dead as a Sales Motivator