Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the CEDIA Tech & Business Summit at the Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights in Northern New Jersey. To my eyes, this was a well-attended event and I was impressed with how the Association has put together a well-oiled machine that shows some real progress in elevating the value of attending a regional industry event like this.
See my thoughts on this 2024 CEDIA Tech & Business Summit in NJ
As many of you may know, I was unable to attend CEDIA Expo 2024 this year due to a last-minute, non-life-threatening medical issue. So I was genuinely excited to drive over an hour in heavy New Jersey traffic to attend this iteration of its Tech & Business Summit. This year, the organization moved it further north in the state to the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights. In the past, it was typically held somewhere around Newark which is more centrally located.
I was in a positive frame of mind, getting a second opportunity to be able to attend a CEDIA show this year…if not the Expo. It was a relatively cool fall day, with a gray overcast sky that held a threat of rain – which thankfully never came. After parking near the event entrance at the back of the Hilton, I entered the building and immediately saw the CEDIA check-in desk, where I picked up my badge. Thanks in part to a forced detour around an accident-closed exit, I had arrived about an hour after opening. But at least there was no line at check-in.
Efficient Check-In Process
Check-in was fast and efficient and the staff gave me a quick rundown of where I could find the show floor, where the education classes were set up, and where and when the lunch (free with admission to the Summit) would be served. I immediately headed for the show floor.
I will pick one nit with the event – signage could have been larger and more visible, but I was able to find my way to the main entrance and enter the floor. Immediately to the left of the entrance was another CEDIA booth, this one looking to sign up new members at the event.
The Summit was Hopping
To my immediate right was the main corridor down one side of the large event space. As far as I could see, the aisle was crowded with attendees and exhibitor personnel at a series of booths lined along the wall. It looked very active to me.
I should say, I’ve been to quite a few of the Tech & Busines Summits in New Jersey…but I have not been to all of them. I mention this because as I asked exhibitors (for some reason, CEDIA personnel prefer to call them “Sponsors”) what they thought of the crowd, a surprising number of them told me it has been better in past years…but this one they rated an unenthusiastic “OK.” Many of them asked me if I intended to go to the Long Island summit planned for two days later because, they told me, it was a “much larger” event with more attendees and exhibitors.
Of the NJ Summits I Attended, This One Had One of the Biggest Crowds
Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow for me to attend that version, but perhaps next year, I’ll attend there instead of NJ. However, since I haven’t been to every Tech & Business Summit in New Jersey over the years, I couldn’t argue the point about this year’s attendance. But I will say this, it was clearly one of the best-attended NJ summits I have personally attended.
As I worked my way around the event, I saw many old friends and met new ones who were fans of Strata-gee.com. It is always fun to speak with readers and I have to admit, it added to my enjoyment of the summit.
This Summit Drew and Impressive Roster of Exhibitors/Sponsors
I also noticed that CEDIA’s Tech & Business Summits are drawing a stronger stable of exhibitors. I was really pleased to see power brands like Crestron, Lutron, Sony, Samsung, LG, Kaleidescape, URC, and many more supporting this regional event. It is a sign that the event is maturing and more companies are recognizing the value of “bringing the mountain to Mohammad” when he can’t get to the mountain (i.e. CEDIA Expo).
You could easily put together a very powerful assortment of some of the strongest brands in the industry, by attending this event. If you haven’t checked out your local version of the Tech & Business Summit…you should.
I didn’t have time to chat and get the pitch from every booth, but I wanted to share with you some of the more interesting conversations and products I saw there this year.
Future Ready Solutions
First up, at the Future Ready Solutions (FRS) booth, I reconnected with old friends Eric Bodley and Lawrence Davis. Bodly told me that the big news he had for integrators was that the U.S. was about to benefit from a massive investment in infrastructure as part of an initiative from the current administration. What this means is that the country is headed for a major upgrade as local systems will use government funding to upgrade their broadband systems to fiber optics.
A long and vocal supporter of fiber optics, Bodley showed me several solutions FRS offers that facilitate incorporating a connection to the local fiber broadband solution in your project. Integrators, he suggested, will want to be an early adopter to get ahead of the wave of now near-future fiber upgrades.
LG
LG was there to talk about its remarkable Direct View program. I spoke with Dave Cusick, a Senior Account Manager for LG Electronics, U.S.A. about the program. In a way, it is quite amazing to me that a mega-brand like LG creates custom programs for custom integrators.
But in the case of their Direct View LED program (DVLED), integrators can pitch clients on DVLED systems for massive home theater applications with screen sizes up to 325″ (depending on the technology version). It is an option that any integrator supporting LG should check out…it is a truly stunning visual.
Oasys/Nationwide Marketing Group
Hank Alexander was at the Summit to present the Oasys Residential Technology Group, part of Nationwide Marketing Group’s family of dealer buying groups, to attending integrators. Hank tells me that the group is blowing the doors off of their 2024 goals and is deep in preparation for further growth in 2025.
If you are an integrator currently unaffiliated with a buying group, but interested in learning more about the benefits of belonging to one, check out Oasys at oasysgroup.org.
Somfy
I had the opportunity to visit with well-known industry personality Mary Ellen Oswald with Somfy. Somfy had a cool active demo that displayed their latest roller shade motor system in action. There’s just no substitute for hands-on, allowing you to see and hear it – or not hear it – operating. Their latest system was incredibly smooth and silent – as best as I could tell in a noisy environment.
AudioControl / AVPro Edge
Perhaps there is no better example of how busy this event was than this: I had fully intended to speak with the folks at AudioControl/AVPro Edge to find out what items they were highlighting at this year’s Summit. But they were so consistently busy that every time I stopped by they were simply unavailable.
This is probably an example of how hot these brands are right now, as parent company AVPro Global has continued to invest in expanding its share of the custom integration channel.
AWOL Vision
Kevin Kang of AWOL Vision showed me a really cool demo kit that helps to demystify their new Micro LED technology. The goal of this kit is to demonstrate the simplicity with which a large direct view Micro LED setup can be installed, configured, and reconfigured. Other suppliers of similar products make this seem complicated or insist that you use their usually costly installation teams.
But AWOL Vision shows you – by way of this new demo kit – how this installation can be easily done by anyone…including your team. Pretty cool!
Portal
Josh Wilitz and the Portal team were at the Summit showing off their new AI proposal creation tool. Josh tells me that the launch of this new feature at CEDIA Expo was a huge success and now they are showcasing around the country to other interested integrators. I wrote about it here, after the company had demonstrated it for me. It seems quite remarkable and integrators are embracing it as it makes proposal generation easier than ever.
Ring
Ring supported the event and showed a wide assortment of Ring products and accessories. Todd Towey of Ring told me that integrators can easily select models and accessories not generally available at retail and bring the simplicity and security of Ring to their clients…profitably.
SoundTube
SoundTube showed up with a wide selection of its products, such as the Cherry Bomb outdoor speakers and its latest series of Dante speakers. Jeff Brewer – formerly with Sonance and now new with SoundTube walked me through the line and demonstrated a impressive mastery of the line, considering that he just joined the company.
Sonos
Sonos is an extremely popular line with many integrators and the company sent a full line of products and a team to demonstrate them. I had the opportunity to audition the new Ace headphones which sounded good, although I would need more time and the ability to use my material to really come to a conclusion.
Still, I have to give Sonos credit for showing up in force and supporting this CEDIA event. It has not been an easy year for the company.
An Enjoyable and Educational Event
This is not even close to being a comprehensive list of the exhibitors at the CEDIA Tech & Business Summit, but gives you a cross-section of some of those I got the opportunity to speak with. I did not have the opportunity to participate in any of the education, but the Association offered a full complement of classes, that further augmented the value of attending the Summit.
All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable day!
Learn more about CEDIA by visiting cedia.org.
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