In the wake of recent major executive changes, Savant seemed to fall into silent mode, deflecting media inquiries and in general buying itself time to get organized. All that is changing now as the company wrapped up a summit of its integrators in Denver – its largest ever – where it made several major announcements. At the integration summit, Savant revealed new products, new services, and a new commitment to the custom integration community.
Shows & Events
Sharp Hit With Pushback; Hisense Refuses to Rescind Licensing Deal
Hisense is Said to be ‘Defiant’
News sources in Japan are reporting that Hisense has fired back at newly aggressive Sharp negotiating tactics, saying firmly it will not relinquish the licensing rights to the Sharp brand name in North & South America, as the company has recently requested. Hisense paid heavily to obtain those rights, and despite the fact that Sharp has asked to terminate the deal, the company has no intention of doing so no matter the offer – or more recently – no matter the threat from Sharp.
See more on this developing Sharp soap opera… [Read more…] about Sharp Hit With Pushback; Hisense Refuses to Rescind Licensing Deal
Sony Makes It Official – We Are OLED
It was a strange press conference as compared to those held by Sony in the past – only one speaker (Kazuo Hirai) who methodically gave a summary of the new models the company was launching at this CES. The whole press event lasted a mere 24 minutes. No Hollywood movie stars…no musical performances…no custom video clips…no movie clips…no cars driving on the stage. Just the Sony CEO calmly listing the new models. In fact, at one point, Hirai introduced Sony US President Mike Fasulo who stood and waved to the audience – then was told to sit down and not steal Hirai’s spotlight. Strange…
But there was one really big star of the conference – the company announced the new Bravia OLED TVs, a major expansion of the OLED camp.
See more on Sony’s OLED announcement…and other new models… [Read more…] about Sony Makes It Official – We Are OLED
GoldenEar Reaches Higher – Launches Triton Reference
GoldenEar Technology, a manufacturer of more affordable high-end loudspeakers, has announced a new top-of-the-line model that takes speaker performance to an even higher plane. The company calls this new model the Triton Reference, and has positioned it above its highly acclaimed Triton One tower speakers.
Learn more about GoldenEar and the remarkable Triton Reference speaker system… [Read more…] about GoldenEar Reaches Higher – Launches Triton Reference
Thiel Launches Multiple New Products at CES
Thiel Audio, in a series of press releases on their website, announced multiple new products to be launched at this week’s CES in Las Vegas. Some of these new products are being launched under the Thiel brand name, while others are being offered under the Aurora brand – a brand that was originally created for a 4K music venue at the company’s headquarters in Nashville, TN.
This launch represents what the company hopes will be the next chapter in the troubled brand’s long-running saga.
See more on Thiel’s new models… [Read more…] about Thiel Launches Multiple New Products at CES
Voice Control: Time to Jump In…or Wait?
In Wake of CEDIA, Industry Debates How Hot Voice Control Is
One of the keynote presentations at CEDIA 2016, was from Amazon – the monster online retailer. Amazon executive Charlie Kindel introduced the custom integration attendees to the Amazon Echo, Tap, and Dot…essentially Internet appliances that all feature their Alexa voice control technology. Then, late in the presentation, Kindel announced the company has developed a way for Alexa to interface with home systems – and even forged integration partnerships with Lutron, Crestron, Control4 and others.
And just like that, CEDIA 2016 became the voice control show… [Read more…] about Voice Control: Time to Jump In…or Wait?
Startup TRXio Joins HTSA to Drive Growth
Startup software provider TRXio announced this week that it has joined Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) and fully participated in the organization’s Fall Conference last month in Chicago. The move is seen as another step on the road to greater awareness and acceptance of the company’s prime offering – inventory tracking software.
See more on TRXio and this new association with HTSA… [Read more…] about Startup TRXio Joins HTSA to Drive Growth
Strata-gee Editor is Guest Panelist on ResiWeek
Strata-gee editor Ted Green was a guest panelist on this week’s ResiWeek webcast (recorded on Halloween), a production of AVNation.tv. Hosted by Matt Scott, the panel, which also included Jason Griffing of Harrison Home Systems and Jason Knott of CEPro, covered a range of topics in custom integration.
See more on this ResiWeek panel and grab a link to the show… [Read more…] about Strata-gee Editor is Guest Panelist on ResiWeek
Access Networks Offers Access to Live Monitoring
In our wrap-up of the top stories from CEDIA 2016, #3 was “Managed Services are Growing.” One such service was OneVision Resources, which will partner with integrators to offer remote system monitoring and customer support. At CEDIA 2016, residential networking provider Access Networks also announced that they will be launching a new Live Monitoring solution.
These services look similar, but there is one very big difference… [Read more…] about Access Networks Offers Access to Live Monitoring
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.
