It’s hard to believe another year has passed, but CEDIA Expo is once again upon us! With just 24 hours of time to see everything on the show floor over three days, including more than 300 brands exhibiting, with over 65 new to the show and including over 50 lighting exhibitors, these are the top 10 things I’m most excited to see!
- Kaleidescape Strato K Cinematic 4K/8K: The company that created the movie server category is celebrating 25 years in business this year, and along with that, they have one of their most exciting product launches in recent memory in the form of the new Strato K movie player. While Kaleidescape always promised video quality every bit as good as the disc, with this new player they are launching something the company calls 4K Cinematic, which adds dramatically more color detail with chroma sampling up to full 4:4:4, with larger file sizes and higher bitrates than what’s possible on an UltraHD Blu-ray. Now Kaleidescape can deliver better-than-disc quality. Oh, and this new player is also 8K capable. So, yeah, I gotta see this. Also, I think Kaleidescape has more partners than anyone at the show, where more than 50 brands have chosen Kaleidescape systems to power their demos. #ProTip: There’s a 25th Anniversary part at Kaleidescape’s booth (#3706) from 4:00-5:00 PM on Wednesday!
- Trinnov Updates WaveForming: I believe Trinnov introduced WaveForming just two years ago to address one of the most persistent problems in acoustic design: room modes. With WaveForming and multiple correctly positioned subwoofers, Trinnov’s Altitude processors can control how much bass energy propagates through a room, giving much greater seat-to-seat consistency and performance. Up until now, the minimum subwoofer requirement to experience WaveForming was four; two up front and two in back. Trinnov has advanced the algorithm to enable WaveForming with as few as two front subwoofers, unlocking the technology and its benefits to a much wider audience. Trinnov will present the first active demonstrations of WaveForming with only two front subwoofers at Expo. The updated WaveForming capability will roll out to the entire Altitude range as a free software update by the close of CEDIA Expo 2026. And guess who has a Trinnov Altitude and two subwoofers?
- Premier Partner Theaters: Home theater got me into this business, and it remains my passion. Every year I try to make it to every theater demo on the show floor. Of course, there is always going to be those standout demos at the show, and the two that look like they’re vying for the Best Demo crown will be found in Sound Room 7 and Sound Room 10. In SR10, industry leaders Christie, Seymour Screen Excellence, madVR Labs, StormAudio, ASCENDO, AcustiMOD, and Moovia have joined forces to present a scalable vision for luxury home cinema. Not to be outdone is SR7, where you’ll find the Lumagen “Paragons of Home Cinema” that features a 9.4.6 Dolby Atmos system. Besides featuring Lumagen’s new ArtisaN 8K Ready video processor, this demo also includes Christie, Stewart Filmscreen, NextLevel Acoustics, and StormAudio. And if my math is correct, the MSRP of this gear is under $150,000, making it almost a “budget system” for some integrators! Besides these, you’ll need to check out the SR2120, where Kaleidescape has partnered with Sony, KEF, Stewart Filmscreen, Panamorph, and Acoustic Innovations to display a premium theater. You can find high-channel count Dolby Atmos theater driven by Trinnov at Krix (SR5), Alcons (SR9), and Pro Audio Technology (HPA MR 202).
- Origin Acoustics Big Announcement: Marc Fisher, president of Sales, and Nick Berry, CEO, did a roughly 80-second video that went up on Facebook with the two of them teasing some groundbreaking new product to be revealed only at Expo. “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” Fisher says. Origin always shows up at Expo in a big way, so what’s this going to be?! I reached out to Jill Escol, Origin’s EVP of experiences, to see if I could get any hint. “We’re showing something at CEDIA that represents a meaningful expansion of what Origin can bring to the integrated home,” Escol said. “It takes our Design-Centric Technology philosophy into a space we haven’t traditionally played in and introduces a brand-new category for the industry, and we’re intentionally giving our dealers an early look because dealer and design feedback will be an important part of how we bring it to market. We think once you see it, you’ll understand why we wanted to start the conversation now.” Color me intrigued!
- Projectors: I’m a projector guy, and nowhere else gives you the opportunity to see all the latest in projection technology like Expo. This year there will be projectors on display from Sim2, Epson, JVC, Sony, Barco, Christie, and a new joint venture called XWALL by XGIMI, which “was created to bring world-class projection technology to the U.S. as a complete home cinema solution, backed by professional calibration.” Worth putting on the short list is the Epson demo, which will have an Epson QL7000 10,000 Lumen projector firing onto the new Stewart Filmscreen Director’s Choice Generation 2 4-way masking 215-inch screen. In SR10, Christie will be debuting its 4K1000-KS, which has an industry-leading five-year or 20,000-hour warranty. Will we see updates to the latest Sony and JVC models? We’ll find out soon!
- AI: This feels the driving force of nearly every conversation at CES, and it will no doubt be a hot topic at Expo as well. Of course, several companies already leverage AI, notably Josh.ai who has integrated ChatGPT into its voice control system for some time. Kaleidescape has kAI on its movie store to help suggest movies to watch. Arnaud Destinay, managing director at Trinnov Audio, is giving a course titled, “The Road Ahead: AI & Custom Integration.” Beyond that, Trinnov is introducing AI to its Altitude platform and will show how plain-language commands can be used to fine-tune playback in real time. Control systems manufacturers Savant and URC will be showcasing AI-powered systems. And madVR Labs is launching madAssist, an AI Product Expert platform for “complex technical products,” which the company will be demonstrating at Expo.
- Demo Material: Last Expo’s shining demo was definitely the opening of F1, but I expect we’ll still get some encore presentations of Bond driving the DB5 from No Time to Die and the trial run from Top Gun: Maverick. I think there will be some booths using new clips from Project: Hail Mary. But I’m wondering if anyone will go with video game material? Remember the OG Dolby Atmos demo disc? One of the coolest demos on that was some in-game play of Star Wars Battlefront, and it looked and sounded awesome even though you were just watching and not playing. We’re on the eve of the most highly anticipated — and most expensive — video game launch in history. People have been waiting 13 years for the new Grand Theft Auto 6 game, and while that might be a little too 18+ content for the show floor, there’s a ton of excitement around gaming right now, and will any booth try to tap into that?
- Micro LED Video Walls: These are pretty much the pinnacle of home cinema video, but they still remain stratospherically priced. Surely at some point they will go from insanely expensive to just really expensive, right? I expect to see a lot of video walls on display. I also expect them to be cheaper — not cheap — bigger, and better. Pixel Perfect Walls is making its Expo debut with a 13-inch direct-view LED with 0.9mm pixel pitch and 2.22:1 aspect. Stealth Acoustics is showing a new foldable 105-inch on-wall LED and DreamWall is showing the Monarch Portable MicroLED that is designed to be portable and easier to transport. AWALL is bringing a variety of pixel pitches, including 0.6, 0.7, and 0.9mm, allowing you the opportunity to experience different sizes, formats, and pixel pitches firsthand. Barco will show its state-of-the-art Runar, which is engineered for future-proof compliance with premium DCI-HDR content. Finally, I’ve found Quantum Media Systems to consistently deliver the best image of the show, and the company returns this year with its XDR5-8K, a 0.9mm pixel pitch, native 8K panel purpose-built for the luxury residential market.
- Third Annual CEDIA Pickleball Meetup: For the third year running, I organized a pre-Expo get-together for various industry folks to come and hang out on the pickleball courts. This year we had over 50 people sign up to play, comprised of installers, manufacturers, PR, and even CEDIA joining us for a day of pickleball before Expo kicks off. With the generous sponsorship of 17 different companies, we have some fantastic giveaways and prizes, including custom-made T-shirts and microfiber towels, with enough money left over for a generous donation to the CEDIA Foundation to support its workforce recruitment initiatives. It’s a great way to get some exercise and blow off some pre-Expo steam while also having an opportunity to have some great conversations before the craziness of the week begins. Think about joining us on the courts next year!
- Farewell to Denver: By my count, this is the fifth (or sixth?) time we’ve been in Denver for Expo, and I have to say I’m going to miss it. Whether it’s the air, the weather, the vibe, the downtown, the beer, or something else, there is just something about CEDIA in Denver that always felt welcoming. I’m gonna miss the Big Blue Bear, the free downtown shuttle, the easy morning walk to the convention center, the easy walk back to the hotel after dinner, and being able to walk to the Rockies’ stadium (and how they somehow are always at home during Expo!). I’m not going to miss that long ride to and from the airport, the weird, off-putting laughter as you go up the escalator, or the labyrinthine walk to some of those meeting rooms. We’re moving on to Vegas next year, where I believe we’ll all miss Denver’s lovely September weather.
