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Secrets Behind Proposals
At CEDIA EXPO last fall, I had lively discussions with more than a hundred companies about how they create proposals. I found newer companies...
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Wire in a Wireless World
Even with all of the attention given to sending audio, video and data through the air, it will be a very long time, if...
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Reasons for Repeatability
The custom residential electronics industry is unique, yet it has one thing in common with any other industry. Namely, every business on the planet...
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Spreading Digital Joy
At the start of a new year it is a compelling challenge to predict the digital products and solutions that will have the greatest...
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All About Access
You may recall my revealing admission a couple of months ago regarding my DVR. Im not going to recant any of those statements this...
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Media Center Solutions
Readers of my column know by now that I think that Microsofts Media Center PC will become a viable control platform for the data,...
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THX Launches Dealers Program
New THX Program will Provide Designer/Installers with Home Theater Design Specifications
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Keep the Bottom Simple
These days, subwoofers are studded with controls, inputs, selectors. I think its all about keeping up with the Joneses, and thats a really bad...
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Do You Install iPods?
Our industry is known to cater to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. When high-quality products like this become truly affordable, we have...
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Untethered, But Confused, By Wireless
Dont Get Disconnected When You Eliminate the Connections
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Preparing for the Future
Recommendations for Creating a Robust Home Technology Integrator Channel
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DVD d’Jour
How Does the CI Business Deal with DVD as a Must-Have and a Commodity Product at the Same Time?
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Slamming the Trunk
Each year that CEDIA EXPO is held in Indianapolis, I procure guest passes for my dad and a couple of his friends to attend...
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Back in the PHAST Lane?
The custom installation industry hasnt heard from PHAST founders Eric Smith and Will West since 1997, when they sold their home automation technology to...
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Applications of Directivity
In last months column, we covered a lot of really technical stuff about speaker directivity and examples of directivity in some typical speaker designs....
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Well Grounded
Cabling Technologies, a system integration company, has formed a symbiotic relationship with Advanced Electronic Systems LLC, a security firm.
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Charging By Design
The problem design is that it is quite intangible. Which is why it is a challenge for custom installation firms to charge money for...
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Video Servers Side-by-Side
Learn what products rated the best in the first definitive test-lab comparison of video servers.
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Moving Media
Trends in music consumption point to more portability and distribution over home networks.
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Tracking Deposits
Too many custom installation businesses have gotten into the bad habit of collecting deposits that are too large, too early in their projects, then...
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New Tools of the Trade
Jonathan Knapp hopes that his new management software will provide dealers with benchmarks for their staff members, helping them become more efficient on the...
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Feeling Compressed?
It would be a wonderful world if there was only one compression format for all audio and video files and they could be played...
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Bid Magic
Youre a salesman. You live or die on the bid that you write. Its your future, and its all in the bid. I have...
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State of the Solid State
Hard drives are becoming the de facto standard for audio/video content. This translates into epic potential for the residential marketplace. Or does it?
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TV Formats and Features to Watch for in the Coming Months
Now is the time to consider what your vendors will try to convince your customers to place under the Christmas tree this year.
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Dedicated to Design
One way to counteract increasing competition in your market is to sell products that feature superior industrial designs.
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Married to Your Product Line?
Sure, you would like to sell anything your client asks for, but forget about it. Best Buy sells a zillion dollars of A/V gear,...
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The Ultimate Media Server
Everyone seems to share the same vision that the home of the future will have some centrally located gigantic hard drive where all the...
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The Systems Approach
Jamo's home theater solution, dubbed the 2F Concept for its intersection of form and function, marks an evolution from products to whole systems.
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How Federal Regulations Affect the Products You Install
The impact of recent Federal regulations is already beginning to take hold.
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Into the Ether
Ethernet is becoming the transport mechanism of choice for all types of residential products.
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Gaining Experience
Last month, I attended ELAN Home Systems’ first ELAN TRIO Dealer Summit, an impressive event that brought together 400 of the manufacturer’s top dealers,...
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A Snapshot of the Custom Industry
To provide an accurate picture of business trends, Residential Systems conducted an unprecedented custom installation industry survey.
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VoIP Evolves
You’ve just networked all of the computers, printers and Internet cameras for your client. You’ve installed a residential gateway and now everything successfully connects...
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Addicted to In-Walls
Admit it, you’re addicted. You put in-wall speakers in every room. You install them in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, home theaters, bathrooms, decks and...
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Go Ahead and Get Baffled
I just had an extensive debate with a customer over front speaker placement for a home theater. He couldn’t believe that speakers mounted in...
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Redefining Custom
Standard, everyday luxury brands are so yesterday. Today, consumers define luxury as a version of something that is customized for their unique needs. That’s...
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Signs of New Life
After struggling through another frigid winter in the northeast United States, it was a great relief to notice the first flowers of spring blooming...
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Your Business Network
The network of CEDIA leaders is just as important to the success of our business as our technology knowledge.
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The Last Six Inches
Every time you sell a system, a long process begins. The final days of the installation process are the most critical to success, and...