This past October, Niles Audio invited 30 of its top dealers and distribution partners to share their thoughts about current products and to make suggestions for the future. Dealer advisory meetings like these are fairly routine for manufacturers like Niles, but the months leading up to this particular gathering had be

At the high end of the market it is simple enough to configure a home theater PC and integrate it into a system, but move a bit down the ladder and it often takes more creativity to bring digitally delivered content to your client’s audio-video system. Does the installation require that content to be shown without ca

A good industry friend of mine, Mark Cichowski from CLARITY AV International just let me know about two educational events (one on March 16, in Orange County, California; and the other on March 18, in Los Angeles) that his and two rep firm others are hosting. Called, “Can You Handle the Truth?” the technology and bu

I have to admit that in between all of the wise cracks about Apple’s unfortunately named tablet PC, the iPad, one thought really nagged at me. What would the iPad mean to the touchpanel business that sits smack in the middle of so many designs by so many CEDIA-channel integrators?  

The world feels a little bit smaller to me this week as I watch the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, where athletes from around the globe compete in some amazing cold-weather sports, and after meeting, last Thursday, with CEDIA’s two international region executive directors here in Indianapolis. I had a brief chat wit

We know all about the new home construction bubble going pop and that "retrofit" is our industry's best hope at the moment, but which technology makes the most sense when using an existing home’s wiring infrastructure to integrate multiroom audio and communication systems? CEDIA’s Power Hour webinar next Thursday w

For a while I was convinced that the social media trend was the modern equivalent of the CB Radio -- a fad that would briefly take the country by storm, only to die off later when the novelty had worn off. I’m finally willing to admit that there’s a lot more to it than that. Here at Residential Systems , we have ou

SnapAV is so enthusiastic about its new Episode Architectural and Bookshelf Loudspeaker line, that beginning this month, the company is offering a dealer incentive promotion with some serious sales prizes.   Called “Holy Snap!” the promotion rewards dealer loyalty with sports car leases