If one isn’t careful, it can be far too easy to sneak past the protective guard rails, walk right up to the edge, and then lean over; peering deeply into the future of the custom installation industry and see nothing but a dark, cavernous abyss. When talking about the future and longevity of custom installation as a whole, it is easy to find reasons to be concerned. Things continue to get easier to install, system no longer require wires or complex connections, people enjoy the click-to-buy-at-lowest-price experience of on-line shopping, and many components come with free control apps that work with the smart phone that everyone already carries with them.

It’s easy to see why people are interested in this industry. You get to meet tons of interesting people, nearly every project/day at work is different, and you’re constantly working with the newest technologies and coolest gadgets. Arrive at a house in a van loaded down with high-tech goodies, be viewed by your customers as some mash-up between a computer genius, wizard and super hero, and then at the end of the day, press a single button and make…magic. Unlike any other trade—electrician, plumber, HVAC, cable/telephone, gardener—AV installers are generally celebrated when they come to a house. They bring with them a head-full of knowledge and make a house a fun place to live.

If you own an AV system, sooner or later you are going to face an issue where something doesn’t work. This is an absolutely sure as death and taxes. You’ll go to use your system, you’ll do the same thing you’ve done a hundred/thousand times before, and past performance will not guarantee a future result. Usually this can be boiled to down one of three “got no” things: Got no picture, got no sound, or got no picture and no sound.

Another CEDIA EXPO is in the bag, and this show marked my 14th in attendance. There have certainly been a lot of changes for my EXPOs over the years; from those wide-eyed days of running around the hallways checking out the HD Garden of Delights, grabbing every piece of literature I could stuff into a backpack and sneaking into parties uninvited to being a member of the press, grabbing every USB drive I can stuff into a backpack and attending “under embargo” meetings to look at product under development and dining with industry big wigs.