In recent months a number of manufacturers have announced significant changes within their product portfolios, abandoning plasma displays altogether and looking to LCDs or other technologies to fill this void. There has been talk that plasma is dead and that consumers don't want plasma TVs because they are too expensi

With spring finally upon us in most of the country, it's time to introduce your "stay-cation" clients to the wonders of outdoor AV installation products such as weather-proof speakers and outdoor video displays. SunBriteTV, the pioneer of all-weather TV technology recently introduced the new 4610HD, a 46-inch high-def

With staff reductions on the rise and referral business leads drying up, it is tougher than ever for a residential electronic systems contracting business owner to find all of the company resources that he or she needs to thrive. As a result, more and more owners are beginning to outsource their installation, programm

I had the pleasure of catching up with a good friend of mine this past Friday to discuss his latest education initiative in the custom installation channel. Jeff Kussard, an industry veteran who most recently worked for Russound, is now a team member for Eagan, Minnesota-based Capitol Sales, where he’s help lead a new

OK, so it wasn’t anywhere as cool as the original Lollapalooza (so I've heard), but AVAD’s Vend-o-Palooza, in its second year, looked to be a very valuable experience for about 250 attendees and 35 manufacturers who participated in the Van Nuys, California stop of the national tour of 20 of the value-added dist

While Earth Day, which takes place on April 22, is the perfect time to reflect on what you are doing to help protect the environment, Klipsch, the Indianapolis-based speaker brand, continuously looks at new, earth-friendly ways to build its products.    "We carry a strong sense of responsibility when it comes to pres

Continuing its drive to enable next-generation smart energy management, Analog Devices has announced that Blackfin BF531 processors will drive Siemens' Energy Sectors' Automated Metering and Information System (AMIS). Utilizing Analog Devices' Blackfin convergent processor's powerful processing capacity, AMIS de

I had the pleasure of participating in Molly Gibson’s first Strategic Forum session at February’s CEDIA Management Conference in Carefree, Arizona, and even though she is from outside our industry, her ideas were fresh and potentially effective for any business. Now, on the heels of a very well-attended CEDIA Univers