Features
A New Year Forecast
To help you prepare for this years new technology developments, Ive decided to share my top five predictions for 2008. Measure each one against...
Behind the Business: SE2 Labs
Field Experience Inspires New Product Concept from New Utah Manufacturer.
A Litmus Test
A litmus test, as anyone who has ever taken a middle school science class knows, is a common indicator used to test materials for...
Windows of Opportunity
I finally did it: I upgraded my personal home system to a 42-inch flat screen HDTV with a Blu-ray DVD and added a new...
Walking the Walk
The Independent Professional Representatives Organization (IPRO) 17th Annual Conference just concluded with record attendance in Nashville, Tennessee. For many of us in the rep...
Ready for the Real 7.1?
Once upon time, I wandered into the showroom of a custom installer. A salesperson caught me giving their dedicated screening room the once-over, so...
My CEDIA Favs
CEDIA EXPO was bursting at the seams again this year at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, with media servers, 1080p video products, speaker innovations, and...
Building a Business System
Running your custom installation business profitably requires putting systems in place to manage your products and prices. It is not possible to build a...
A Clever New Software
CasaTunes is a relatively new, ingenious software tool that lets any Windows computer with an Explorer or Media Center interface control any of the...
Respecting Room Dynamics
Um, what’s diffusion, and why do I need it?” the client asks. Slowly, I take a breath, count to 10, and consider my options....
Contractor Concerns
I am having a problem with one of my contractors. I probably should fire the guy, but I really want him to do this...
Charging What Youre Worth
Properly setting prices can have a huge impact on the success or failure of a custom installation business. To casually decide that your company...
My Take on Microsoft CI
When HP abruptly stopped the production of its Microsoft Media Center digital equipment platform earlier in the year there was a sense that Media...
What is Your Mind Set?
Among my current reading choices is a book published last year by John Naisbitt of Megatrends fame. The book, titled Mind Set! Reset Your...
All Work, No Play
I can almost hear the Beach Boys singing …and well have fun, fun, fun, til our daddy takes the T-bird away, through the sound...
Plaza Progress Report
Concierge Directs Three-Year Technology Overhaul of The Plaza Hotel has been a Resounding Success
More Media Center in 08
Readers of my column over the years know that I have been a proponent of Microsoft’s Media Center software as a driving force for...
Laser Sharp Video Technology
Every once in a while a technology shows up that grabs my attention. This happened most recently with a new application of laser technology....
An Open Dialogue
This industry that we all refer to as custom is changing all the time, and often not for the better. What began as a...
The Bosss Long Vacation
We all work hard in this business. Our personal energy is the fuel many of our small businesses run on. We give it all...
A Reps Greatest Value
A key point often overlooked by both dealers and manufacturers is the level to which good sales representative organizations provide market insight and advice....
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Weve all had them: the projects that slowly but surely creep out of scope and end up making both you and the client unhappy....
Dealing with Change
I have never been a big fan of change. I practically lived in the same place for 18 years growing up. I attended one...
A Womans Wishes First
I visited a big-box AV retailer recently and was surrounded by what seems like 100 flat-screen displays. After so many years in this business,...
The Electronic Garden
With summer in full swing its time to think about your clients electronic entertainment and communications needs in their backyard. With all the new...
Chasing Digital Cinema
In the beginning there was cinema. It was 35mm film, shot and projected in a 1.37 aspect ratio, and accompanied by optical mono sound...
Classes for Non-Techies
CEDIA Recognizes the Importance of Customer Relations and Project Management
Three Cheers for Sales Reps
Reps are the unsung road warriors of our industry. They pay the price to travel to make house calls to all the small dealerships...
Heres to Sam
When I initially read the press release about Planar Systems acquisition of Runco International last month, the first thing I thought was, Weve just...
A Case for CableCARD
HD CableCARD tuners are becoming readily available. These credit card-sized products can be inserted into CableCARD-ready HDTVs, Series 3 TiVOs, and even some of...
Open House
Theres a beta fish named Logo living in the art department of this magazines midtown Manhattan office. If there was ever a metaphor for...
Real Men Retrofit
Hard-learned tips and recommendations to get you started in existing homes.