Notes from ISE: Day 2—Crestron, Runco, Niles, and More
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiFor a first-time attendee like me, the second day of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam began to feel much like any other major trade show in a more familiar U.S. destination, just with more accents, and better-dressed people. The first stop of the morning was the Crestron press conference at the control manufacturer’s booth where marketing communications director Jeff Singer eschewed the usual blue logo’d company shirt for black sweater and black pants. I didn’t ask if this wardrobe decision had more to do with the trade show’s euro vibe or more to do with his ...
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Notes from ISE, Day 1: DPI, Control4, Atlona, and More
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiI came to Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam, this year, so that I could get a taste of what was happening in the international systems integration market and reconnect with old friends in an environment where I had fewer distractions (panel moderating, awards presentations, Show Daily managing). ISE isn’t nearly the product introduction show that InfoComm is for the commercial market or CEDIA EXPO is for the resi channel, yet I haven’t been disappointed with the show’s quality or the upbeat attitude of exhibitors and attendees.We started the day with ...
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Enjoying My Christmas Toys
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiAt my age, I don’t get a lot of toys for Christmas anymore. From a purely “gift” standpoint, this year was really no different, but I did receive a couple of consumer electronics products around Xmas time that I was able to enjoy. The two products, Paradigm Shift’s earbuds and the Azend Group’s Envizen Digital Home Roam TV, both offered surprises.The first product was technically a gift, not for Christmas but a thank you from an industry friend who also happens to be a proud Paradigm dealer. It was a thoughtful gesture, but initially I wasn’t sure I was ready to try out ...
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CEDIA Evolves into the Association of the Future
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiIt’s not easy being a trade association in an era of mass media overload, social networking chatter, and instant-answer internet. But as I found out from a conversation with CEDIA CEO Utz Baldwin the other day, CEDIA is well on its way to reworking the entire notion of how a trade association should be organized for the future.My interview of Baldwin was a follow-up to a message CEDIA leadership sent to CEDIA members telling them their membership rules would be changing in 2012, with less emphasis being placed on mandatory certification. Beginning next year, CEDIA will ...
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ADI: Sony is ‘Right Brand at the Right Time’
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiFor ADI, Sony offered the right brand at the right time.Once known as the security alarm professional’s distributor of choice, ADI has been broadening its product mix for quite some time (most recently by adding Lutron lighting and shades control to its inventory), yet had been lacking a proper video panel partner in recent months. That search apparently coincided with Sony’s very public effort to improve sales in its struggling TV business as the two announced a new pact whereby ADI will distribute Sony’s TV and home entertainment, audio and video solutions including ...
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Will West Explains Control4’s Leadership Change
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiDon’t expect any drastic changes after Control4’s leadership moves last week. According to the company’s co-founder and new chairman and chief strategy officer, Will West, hiring veteran business and technology executive Martin Plaehn was a proactive step meant to prepare the company for the next three to four years in the rapidly changing consumer electronics market.
Will West Last week, Control4 announced that Plaehn, the former senior VP of product and service development at RealNetworks had been hired to succeed West as president and CEO, so West could take on a ...
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Our Highlights From CEDIA EXPO '11
By Jeremy Glowacki
I’ve never been a numbers guy, and the focus at every trade show I’ve ever attended on attendance numbers has always annoyed me. While I respect the need by exhibitors to tie their return on investment in a show to show traffic, my focus is on the quality of products and technology on display, rather than how many people I have to squeeze by to get to my meetings and press conferences. So when it came to judging CEDIA EXPO on numbers alone, the show could have been a disappoint to some. From a quality of information and products, however, I thought EXPO was as good as ever. Here are just a ...
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The CEDIA Daily, Online
By Jeremy Glowacki
Did you miss CEDIA EXPO this year and want a comprehensive resource to find out what products were introduced? Or were you there, but want to refresh you memory about something you saw? Click the links below to access the Residential Systems' Official CEDIA Show Daily.Day 1 CEDIA Daily. Day 2 CEDIA Daily. Day 3 CEDIA Daily. ...
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It’s All Hands on Deck at CEDIA University
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiI worry about the future of CEDIA and the custom installation industry a lot these days. The changing world is a confusing place, and it’s been especially difficult for those in our business and the association that was built to service it to adapt and grow.For one thing, old-school veterans, some of whom helped create the CEDIA organization more than 20 years ago, and “new-school” entrants into the business seem to have different needs and tend to seek out knowledge in divergent ways.These are just the latest challenges facing CEDIA, as it seeks to better engage current ...
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Lenbrook's Evolution: Dean Miller Revists Rep Decision, Looks Ahead
By Jeremy Glowacki
Back in May, Lenbrook America created a stir among independent reps when it announced that it would begin selling most of its NAD and PSB home audio brands through in-house regional sales managers for the first time after having sold exclusively through independent reps since the company's founding 20 years ago. This move, which took effect on June 1, was made under the leadership of Dean Miller, who earlier in the year had been appointed president and CEO of the U.S.-based subsidiary of Canada's Lenbrook Group. The dust having settled on that decision, RS wanted to check in with Miller and ...
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Power of Four Tour to Offer Keys to the Changing Market
By Jeremy Glowacki
Despite sounding like the name of a televangelist’s U.S. stadium tour or a series of book signings by the latest self-help guru, the Power of Four Summer Tour just may be the most important business management event that a custom integrator could attend. It’s definitely the place to be if you’re wondering how to cope with the constantly changing market or how to find your customer of the future.The tour, which kicks off July 19 in Dallas and is sponsored by D-Tools, Lutron, Monster, and SpeakerCraft, was inspired by an eye-opening, though somewhat discouraging, Tim Costello keynote at the ...
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Why AVAD Is Not Exhibiting at CEDIA EXPO
By Jeremy Glowacki
Hopefully AVAD hasn’t started a trend by skipping the exhibit hall at this fall’s CEDIA EXPO. I’d like to think that the annual gathering, set for September 7-10 in Indianapolis, is still worth the freight costs, hotel bills, and staff airfares to the rest of the industry.After learning through the grapevine that the national distributor had decided not to exhibit at EXPO in September, I set up a call with AVAD president and general manager Jim Annes to find out more about the decision. Although Annes told me that AVAD still recognizes “the value that CEDIA brings to the industry through ...
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Access Networks Delivers Digital Home Building Blocks
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiMany people hear the word “outsourced” and think of Lou Dobbs, India, lost jobs, and a bad NBC sitcom. For custom installation business owners, however, “outsourcing” to third-party technical and business specialists (mostly within the U.S.) has a much less negative connotation as firms attempt to complete more projects with fewer professionals on the payroll.While the concept of subbing out to install security systems, manage accounting and bookkeeping, or add additional labor for the pre-wire rough-in phase has been common for quite some time, the IT network designer ...
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SIM2 Rewards Top Dealers with Italy Trip
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiDealer Appreciation trips are nothing new. Over the years, manufacturers in the custom installation industry have rewarded their top-selling reps and dealers with cruises, island retreats, Mexico getaways, and trips to Europe and Asia. Every five years or so, video projector manufacturer SIM2 also invites a select group of industry editors (like me) on its Italy trip, which rewards dealers who sold $100,000 worth of projectors during a promotional period the year before. This year’s honored dealer guests were SIM2’s top dealer Michael Silver of Audio High in Northern ...
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URC is Ready for Launch
By Jeremy Glowacki
by Jeremy J. GlowackiIt seems like a long time ago that URC began promoting its Total Control line of home automation products to the industry. In fact it was only this past CEDIA, but the products have been in development for three years. That number must seem like an eternity to the Harrison, NY-based team of engineers and product specialists who were asked to follow the vision of founder and CEO Chang K. Park, who wanted to take his company beyond remote controls and into whole-house home automation.
URC's headquarters.“This is not a reaction, but a vision,” explained URC director of ...
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