Joseph Palenchar
News
Colorbeam Beaming Over Low-Voltage Lighting Potential
Colorbeam closed out its first year marketing home-wide low-voltage lighting control systems and lights to residential and commercial AV integrators in North America, and...
News
Core Brands Enters New Categories, Adds Support Programs
Core Brands launched 80 new products through its stable of custom-installation brands and entered five new product categories at CEDIA 2017, where the company...
News
CEDIA 2017: Alexa, Google Assistant, Other Voice UIs Come Into Their Own
This week’s CEDIA 2017 is giving AV products and custom-installed integrated systems more of a voice in the way they’re controlled. Here are some...
News
Sonance In Major Product Launch As iPort Taps New Niches
Dana Innovation unveiled its largest number of Sonance-brand custom speakers in years while the company’s iPort brand added a premium tier to its selection...
News
Sonos Launches First Under-TV Speaker
The $699 Playbase is designed to fit on top of most pieces of furniture and under most TVs.
News
Sonos Outlines Opportunities in Crowded Market
Sonos was alone in the market when it launched the industry’s first Wi-Fi multiroom-audio speakers in 2005, but now the brand has a lot...
Video
Sony Broadening 4K Ultra HD Base, Readies 4K Blu-ray
Nine more 4K LCD TVs unveiled today by Sony will join a trio of new 4K LCD models introduced at CES as part of...
News
Sonos Ads Invite People to Reconnect Through Shared Music
Sonos will launch its 2017 ad campaign during Sunday’s 2017 Grammy Awards ceremony with a 60-second TV spot calling on people to reconnect through...
News
Bowers & Wilkins Pivots After Being Purchased by Eva Automation
Bowers & Wilkins is launching a new $30,000/pair flagship speaker to celebrate its 50th anniversary while planning for a future that aggressively embraces wireless...
Technology
Integra Adding MQA, Google Cast, Networked Multiroom to AVRs
Integra is bringing multiple technologies to its audio/video receivers for the first time, including networked multiroom audio, Google Cast for audio, and Master Quality...
Technology
Logitech Targets Custom Install Channel with Harmony Pro
The Pro will be available exclusively through U.S. distributors DOW and ADI.
News
Nortek Brands to Get a Voice Through Nuiku Acquisition
Nortek, the supplier of residential and commercial control and HVAC systems, made its second acquisition in as many months, this time purchasing a company...
Technology
Voice is Central to Josh
JStar plans to ship Josh direct to consumers but will also refer consumers to systems integrators for integration with custom-installed home-automation systems.
News
Pirch Picks AVS as Resident Integrator for SoHo Store
AVS Audio Video, the Plainview, N.Y.-based custom integrator, will be providing networking solutions and premium A/V products to Pirch’s Big Apple patrons.
Connectivity
Google Unveils Smart Speaker, Android Wear Updates, Better VR
Virtual reality and Android Wear wearables starred at Google’s annual developers conference, where the company also unveiled its Google Home voice-controlled wireless speaker...
News
Bowers & Wilkins Purchased by Eva Automation
Silicon Valley startup Eva Automation purchased high-end British home-audio company Bowers & Wilkins.
Technology
Pioneer Brings Wireless Multiroom, Google Cast To VSX-1131, VSX-831 AVR
Pioneer recently unveiled the details of the next offerings in its AV receiver lineup: the VSX-1131 and the VSX-831, which are both now available...
News
MiOS Home-Control Tech Coming to Nortek Brands
Technology from home-automation platform provider MiOS will come to Nortek’s commercial and residential brands after Nortek buys a 25 percent stake in the company,...
News
Sonos Trims Staff as It Redirects Resources to Voice Control and Paid Streaming
Sonos laid off an unspecified number of employees and is redirecting resources to bring voice control and enhanced streaming capabilities to its wireless multiroom-audio...
News
DirecTV to Launch Live 4K Ultra HD Channel April 4
Ultra HD content will expand beyond streaming services, download services, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs with the April 4 launch of 4K satellite broadcasts...
Technology
Smart Home Systems Can Get Along
Withings and Zuli are making connections with other companies’ smart-home products.
Video
Outdoor 84-Inch 4K Ultra HD TVs on the Way
SunBriteTV has begun taking dealer preorders of its 84-inch outdoor 4K Ultra HD TV, pricing it at a suggested $24,995 and planning June shipments.
News
Kaleidescape Adds Fox Titles to Movie-Download Store
Kaleidescape has expanded its selection of downloadable movies and TV shows for the Kaleidescape movie store with a license agreement from 20th Century Fox.
News
URC to Hone Installers’ Home-Network Skills
URC is collaborating with network-equipment supplier Luxul to improve its dealers’ home-network skills.
Video
Sony to Get on Board with 4K Blu-ray Players
Sony plans to launch a 4K Blu-ray player in the U.S. before the end of it's next fiscal year.
News
Thread Group Begins Smart-Home Product Certification
The Nest-led Thread Group has begun certification testing of more than 30 products and components submitted so far by Thread Group members.
News
Sony Pictures Plans Early-2016 Release of Ultra HD Blu-ray Movies
The first Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) movies on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will arrive in early 2016, and they’ll feature High Dynamic...
News
Consumers Spend More On Digital Video Streams, Downloads Than On Discs
Consumer are spending more on digital video downloads and video streaming than they are on purchasing and renting physical DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
News
Control4 Sees Sales Up, Income Down In Q3
Control 4 revenues grew in the company’s fiscal third quarter ending September 30, but net income fell in the quarter, and the home control...
News
Control4 Updates with New Security and Music Streaming
Control4 released the OS2.8 version of its home-control operating system to add new security capabilities and new streaming-music capabilities and services.
Video
Epson Brings High-Brightness Pro Cinema Projectors to CEDIA
Epson's new 1080p Pro Cinema projectors are designed for use in rooms with higher levels of ambient light than dedicated home theater rooms.
Technology
Savant Goes Retail with DIY System
A Savant remote talks via Bluetooth to the remote’s charging dock. Savant is going retail and direct to consumers for the first time with...
Technology
DTS Play-Fi Embraces Custom Integration
During a New York City press event on Monday, DTS and licensees unveiled more than a dozen new Play-Fi-equipped products, including the first models...
Technology
Sonos to Upgrade Wireless-Multiroom System
Sonos is raising the performance and price of its top-end wireless-multiroom speaker and bringing room-acoustics correction to its platform for the first time.
Technology
Klipsch Names VP/GM for Home Division
Klipsch Group combined the leadership of its home speaker business and its commercial and cinema businesses with the promotion of Rob Standley as VP/general...
Technology
Google Wants to Replace Bluetooth Streaming with Chromecast Dongle
Google is making a major inroad into wireless multiroom audio with a $35 Chromecast Audio dongle.
Technology
VIZIO to Make First Appearance at a CEDIA EXPO
Vizio, which became a major TV player by selling through national retail chains, will attend a CEDIA EXPO for the first time in October...
Video
Vidity Looks to Simplify UHD, HD Content Sharing
The Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA) wants to make it easier for consumers to share downloaded 4K Ultra HD and HD content across multiple...
Technology
Yamaha Goes Big With MusicCast Wireless Multizone Audio
Yamaha is bringing wireless multi-zone audio to a broad array of home audio products, not just to tabletop speakers and soundbars, the company has...
News
Nortek’s AVC Segment Trims Losses in Q2 [TWICE]
Nortek’s audio, video and control solutions (AVC) segment shrank its second-quarter and first-half operating losses by 49 percent, with the quarter’s loss shrinking to...
News
Onkyo Unveils Two More Dolby Atmos, DTS:X AVRs
Onkyo has announced two new audio/video receivers with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X upgradability, full-bandwidth 18Mbps HDMI 2.0a, and HDCP 2.2 copy protection.
News
RIAA Unveils High-Res Logo For Music Retailers, Labels
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) unveiled a logo that digital music retailers can use to designate recordings that meet the high-resolution music...
News
Control4 Adds Products, Upgrades OS and App
Control 4 has unveiled its 2.7 smart-home OS and multiple products compatible with it, including a new wireless thermostat, new in-wall and tabletop touchscreens...
News
Control4 Posts Q3 Gains, Adds D&M’s Caudill To Board [TWICE]
Home-automation supplier Control4 posted sales and net income gains in the third quarter and added D&M Holdings executive James Caudill to its board of...
News
VIZIO Adds Full-Array LED Backlighting, More LED Zones To M-Series TVs
Vizio has begun rolling out its new 2014 M-series FullHD smart LCD TVs with full-array LED backlighting, pricing seven full-array models from a suggested...
News
Prodea Systems Enters Home-Automation Fray
Family-owned Prodea Systems has developed a white-label mass-market home-automation system that, unlike competing systems, integrates control of home systems, networked AV content, and third-party...
News
JVC, Kenwood U.S. Subsidiaries Merging
JVC Kenwood will merge its two U.S. subsidiaries — JVC Americas and Kenwood USA — into a single subsidiary, effective Oct. 1.