In our series of #CEDIAShares blogs, we’re talking with exhibitors about the hottest technologies and trends they’re looking to see at CEDIA Expo.
Q&A with James Chen, managing director, Kordz.
Why exhibit at CEDIA Expo 2026?
CEDIA Expo is the largest show in the world that specifically targets the residential technology integration market. This market is where Kordz was founded and developed its business. We attend CEDIA Expo to catch up with friends, customers, and compatriots. I am looking forward to the next of our ongoing conversations about our industry, the direction it needs to head, where we should place our focus, and alignment with others to further our industry. It is also possibly CEDIA CEO Daryl Friedman’s last Expo, so I am here to ensure that he is well supported and has a great closing chapter of what he has been part of building over the past half decade.
What is the most exciting trend you expect to see at the show?
I’m looking forward to seeing how far our industry has progressed in creating technology that feels truly intuitive rather than device-dependent. We’ve come a long way from the era when the smartphone was the primary interface for controlling our environments, and I’m curious to see whether we’ve genuinely evolved beyond that model or remain tethered to our devices in different ways.
I’m particularly interested in how we interact with the increasingly intelligent spaces we call homes and technology-enabled buildings. How will vehicles become a seamless extension of the connected home? Can innovations such as bioadaptive lighting meaningfully enhance health and well-being? Ultimately, I’m interested in seeing whether technology is becoming more human-centric — anticipating our needs and quietly improving daily life — or whether we’re still asking people to adapt to technology rather than the other way around.
What will you focus on at the show?
I’m especially interested in seeing the emergence of HDMI 2.2 and the new Ultra96 format. This is a technology the industry has anticipated for some time, and it represents more than simply increasing resolution. It moves us closer to reproducing images in a way that better aligns with human vision, creating a viewing experience that feels more natural, immersive, and believable. I’m eager to see how effectively it bridges the gap between exceptional technical performance and true visual realism.
The other area I’ll be watching closely is networking. It remains the foundation upon which every modern smart home experience depends, yet I still believe many in the industry underestimate its importance. Regardless of how advanced the displays, audio systems, lighting, or control platforms become, none of them can perform as intended without a properly engineered, specified, and implemented network. It’s encouraging to see networking finally starting to receive the attention it deserves as the critical infrastructure behind every successful integration.
To learn more, check out Kordz in booth #3032 at CEDIA Expo 2026 and visit kordz.com.
