We reported two weeks ago that David Kaplan, Director of the Digital Delivery Group (DDG) for the last seven and a half years, had left the organization. At that time, Kaplan gave no indication of his plans other than to let us know that something was in the works. Now we know that Kaplan has joined with industry notables Ed Brown and Fred Yando to become part of Sales Performance Management (SPM) – a consulting company formed by Brown three years ago.
Shows & Events
Very Late to the Headphone Party – Is Onkyo Better Late than Never?
Onkyo has finally jumped on the headphone bandwagon, although they are about the last major audio component brand to do so. The company will formally launch its new headphone line at the International CES opening Tuesday in Las Vegas, NV.
As we had reported previously, Onkyo had hinted it would be moving in this direction at last year’s CES.
Is the Onkyo headphone line too late to the game? Or is it better late than never? [Read more…] about Very Late to the Headphone Party – Is Onkyo Better Late than Never?
strat-GEE.com’s CES Survey Delivers One HUGE Shock
As most strata-GEE.com readers know, we conduct two short but insightful surveys every year. One survey is on readers’ intentions and plans for attending September’s CEDIA Expo. And the other covers the industry’s largest trade show – the International Consumer Electronics Show held every January in Las Vegas, NV – set to kick off next week on January 8th.
Conducted every year in December, our CES Survey has fallen into a fairly predictable response pattern. But this year something changed…something big…delivering us a huge SHOCK! [Read more…] about strat-GEE.com’s CES Survey Delivers One HUGE Shock
DDG Scrambles to Rebuild in Wake of Member Defections
The world of national distributor groups often resembles the ever-shifting sands of the desert – members change, vendors change, and its relative market position often changes. So it is a radically changed world in which the Digital Delivery Group (DDG) finds itself in the wake of last week’s announcement of the formation of a new national distributor group – Catalyst AV – an announcement that prominently featured the names of four DDG distributors who apparently defected to the new competitor.
But DDG denies that these defections spell its doom… [Read more…] about DDG Scrambles to Rebuild in Wake of Member Defections
strata-GEE.com’s 2013 CES Survey – We Want to Hear From YOU!
If this is December, than the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is just around the corner. Once again, we are asking all strata-GEE.com and ALERT readers to take a few short minutes out of their day to take our survey and share their thoughts on this important event.
Whether you’re planning on traveling to Las Vegas, NV to attend the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 8-11 or not…we want to hear YOUR opinion of this event.
Please take our 2013 CES Survey below – we want to hear from you… [Read more…] about strata-GEE.com’s 2013 CES Survey – We Want to Hear From YOU!
OK, 3D HDTV Flopped – Industry Turns to Next Trick in Bag: Ultra HDTV

[PHOTO: Junko Kimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Now manufacturers have dug deep into their bag of tricks to offer 4K HDTV, also known as Ultra HDTV… [Read more…] about OK, 3D HDTV Flopped – Industry Turns to Next Trick in Bag: Ultra HDTV
Start-up ube Wins $1 Million People’s Choice Award
Launched earlier this week at DEMO, the high-tech conference in Silicon Valley that just wrapped up, start-up company ube won the People’s Choice Award and $1 million worth of media from IDG properties. We profiled ube in our post here…saying that they just may be on to something and the DEMO judges apparently agree.
Learn more about this win here… [Read more…] about Start-up ube Wins $1 Million People’s Choice Award
Former Harmonious Head of CEDIA Delivers Disruption – Launching ube Today
BREAKING NEWS – ube Launches Today at DEMO
For several years Utz Baldwin worked to further the cause of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), first as a member and – from 2008-2011 – as CEO. As the head of the CEDIA, Baldwin worked hard to ensure that the organization was aware of, and responsive to, the needs of its members and other associated stakeholders. However, ousted from the organization in 2011 under circumstances that were never fully made public, Baldwin seemed to disappear from view…until now.
Now, Baldwin is back…and his new company, with the happy-go-lucky name ube (pronounced yoo-bee)…is launching what they promise will be market-changing “disruptive technology”… [Read more…] about Former Harmonious Head of CEDIA Delivers Disruption – Launching ube Today
CEDIA’s Seer was Right – Driverless Car Moves One Step Closer to Reality
At the CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis earlier this month, the event’s keynote presentation was by the well-known physicist, author, and TV personality Michio Kaku who presented his rather dramatic view of the future – complete with a rash of technology predictions. Kaku’s presentation covered a lot of ground including military technology, the home of the future, the office of the future, future medical technology, and even the future of car technology.
Today, we found out that at least one of Kaku’s predictions is coming closer to reality, faster perhaps than even he imagined… [Read more…] about CEDIA’s Seer was Right – Driverless Car Moves One Step Closer to Reality
Batteries Big Enough to Run Your Whole House from Rosewater Energy Group

At this month’s CEDIA Expo, no sooner had I finished an interview on the show floor when I saw what looked like two huge caskets standing on end and side-by-side. That’s a little dramatic, they didn’t really look like caskets, just two huge rectangular racks standing about eight-feet up in the air. Curiosity drew me to Rosewater Energy Group’s booth where I discovered an old friend: Joe Piccirilli (formerly of AVAD and Sound Advice).
Those monstrous boxes (actually a little over 7-feet tall, the display base they were shown on made them look taller) really contain a lot of technology and take power conditioning to a whole new level.




