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Well Connected
Wiring and Cable Products that are Keeping Our Industry Plugged In and Hooked Up to New Technologies
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Shut Down Time
Custom Installers Can Expect Video Business Opportunities Whenever The Full Digital TV Transition Actually Takes Place
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Ending An Era
In the hustle and bustle associated with launching a business, the last thing on the minds of many entrepreneurs is their exit from the...
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Personalizing Portals
Each year the Internet grows to offer more services to improve the way we live, work, play, and learn. As the worlds content moves...
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How Far Should You Go?
Proper design and engineering of a home theater is essential, but just as crucial is the documentation of the design. Its important to know...
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Defining Your Direction
clock, to get all of our work done before the days end. Then we are attacked by the unforeseen problem, the unwanted interruption, the...
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Discovery HD
Its official Im becoming a video snob. If its not in HD, I really dont want to watch it. Whereas I was once your...
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10 Tips for Newcomers
I believe our ranks are swelling with lots of small new companies who are getting into this business. This year at CEDIA EXPO I...
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Getting the Goods
While technology companies in every segment must concern themselves with specifications, capabilities, new features, and upgrades, for custom installers thats just half the battle.
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Place Shifting Video
The personal video recorder is one of the most successful and frequently used components of audio/video gear that we install in our clients homes....
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Spicing Up Your Design
This year a group of my old friends decided to set up a demonstration at CEDIA EXPO to show the importance of engineering, acoustics,...
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Cabling Code
The Telecommunications Industry Association 570-B cabling standard serves as a decisive reference for high-quality residential system cabling installations, which now also include whole-home audio,...
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Getting Serious
I know that you love the work that you do. Its doubtful that you got into this business because someone twisted your arm. Your...
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Fun Products That Wont Appear at CEDIA
In less than two decades, the annual CEDIA EXPO has grown from a show so small it fit into a party tent to one...
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IP Apps For the Home
In this column I wanted to highlight three IP solutions that delighted our customers this summer. These are applications that you may want to...
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Get (Em)powered
If youre serious about being on the cutting edge of product offerings and technology mix, consider incorporating powered speakers into your arsenal.
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Why Its Necessary to Re-Calibrate Factory Settings on Most Hi-Def Displays
Would you buy a sports car where the manufacturer tuned it to sound great in the showroom, at the cost of reduced real-world performance?...
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Moving Technology
Montreal-based D-BOX believes that its productsa family of motion simulation devices built right inside plush reclinersfulfill the promise of a full-immersion audio/visual experience.
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Good Help is Hard to Keep
At the core of solid employer/employee relations is, predictably, communication.
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Measuring Media Server Metrics
Based on the results of a recent survey, Parks Associates confirmed that media servers are still a hot product category, with sales expected to...
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Deciding on Digital
Media center-equipped PCs and a growing host of compatible devices are making it easier to tap into the lucrative market of installing digital homes.
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Passionate People
We all have some inner well from which we draw the passion for what we do, especially in the custom installation business. Almost every...
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Rising Star of the Month
Oregon's Quadrant Systems has experienced consistent growth over the past year.
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Your Company Image
Todays custom installation landscape contains a complete range of businesses. At one end we have one-man operations working out of home offices and at...
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More Power to You
Subwoofers come in all shapes and forms. Some are large, some are small, most are black, and most today are self-powered. In the early...
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A First Look at Control4
cyberManor reports its initial findings on the installation, programming, and operation of the Control4 system.
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The State of the Solidstate
The digital media server: what was a fledgling category five years ago is now an essential component in a custom home installation.
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High-End Theater 101
The stakes are so much greater on high-tech, high-end, dedicated custom home theater projects that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out...
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Finding Focus in Custom
Without focus, nothing is clear. Put on somebody else’s prescription glasses and tell me what you see. You could not function for five minutes...
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Beyond Basic Networks
It’s June–a time of year when graduation rites take center stage. In keeping with this theme, we’ll assume that as a custom electronics installer...
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The Arts and Crafts of Theater
Baumeister Electronic Architects brings 90-year-old former summer cottage into 21st century.
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Management Lessons
There are many defining moments in life, with some much more dramatic than others. Last month at the 2005 CEDIA Management Conference, it didn’t...
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Home on the Road
During this year’s Spring Break with our high school children, we took a 10-day vacation through the southern part of Spain. What made this...
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It’s Time to Go Wide
They call this 16×9 thing that we get on DVDs, plasma screens, and many projectors today “widescreen.” But you ain’t seen nothing yet! Imagine...
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Technology Rising Stars
Catching up with products and technical advancements that will affect your business.
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The Change Conundrum
There isn't an industry on the planet experiencing more rapid and more persistent change than the custom installation business.
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Safety, UL, and You
How to protect your business, your clients and yourself through careful power management.
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An Alternate Approach to Power
RGPC's grassroots approach to selling its parallel power delivery concept has helped it gain respect in the home install market.
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Do It Yourself
The other day I listened to a radio interview with the original how to master, Bob Vila. Its hard to believe, but the PBS...