Blogs
Sciacca’s CEDIA 2012 Superlative Awards
Another CEDIA EXPO is in the bag, and this show marked my 14th in attendance. There have certainly been a lot of changes for...
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Archive
G2i Brings Silicon Valley Startup to CEDIA
Not only does G2i represent a piece of the storied Silicon Valley tech community—not something I’ve seen represented in the AV industry at all—but...
Archive
Taking a ‘Fresh Eyes’ Approach to CEDIA EXPO
I’ve learned that one best practice for onboarding new employees is to ask them to keep a “Fresh Eyes” notebook during the first few...
Blogs
Maximizing In-Person Social Networking
Were you ever out at a bar or event where you got to talking with a random stranger and through your conversation realized that...
Blogs
Top 10 CEDIA EXPO Memories
A week from today, I will be walking off of a plane and stepping into the (hopefully) welcoming bosom of Indianapolis for the annual...
Blogs
Time for a Custom Install Revolution
So what is your Why? Why do YOU get out of bed in the morning? I believe that for most of us, we got...
Blogs
My Pre-CEDIA Newbie Checklist
Imagine walking into a room where every single person you talk to will not only know what you are talking about when you say “Remote...
Blogs
Embracing Apple Mind Think
Whether you're a Mac or a PC (and, for the record, I'm a PC), you've got to hand it to Apple. They went from...
Blogs
Bi Polar AV
How many of you, like me, were psyched when they came out with the very first iPhone? You waited and waited for your contract...
Blogs
Women Are From Venus, Men Love Tech
I’ve read the news, I’ve heard the reports and studies and I’ve seen the figures claiming the billions of dollars women spend on tech...
Blogs
The Man Cave is Extinct
"F-bomb," "sexting" and "man cave" are among the newest terms that were added to the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which was published...
Blogs
Why I Love CEDIA’s EXPO
As someone who has attended a number of tradeshows, I can easily – and honestly – claim that the annual CEDIA EXPO is my...
Blogs
Jaws Re-Release is Definitely ‘Demo Worthy’
Hollywood summer blockbuster is one of my favorite traditions. I have many fond memories of ducking out of the heat and humidity during the...
Blogs
Who is Running Your Sales?
You are sitting at your first consultation with a new client in a $2 million NYC apartment. The customer begins what becomes a very...
Blogs
We Already Do What Best Buy Strives For
For years Best Buy has been the daunting Goliath of the consumer electronics world. With market moving pricing (thanks for killing the entire video...
Blogs
The Sink or Swim World of Custom Installation
It’s pretty morbid, but with the rapid pace of technology, if you fail to watch the industry and make the right moves and the...
Blogs
Fighting the Extinction of Great Reps
When indecisive clients continuously change their product needs while you are trying to work with a deadline, wouldn’t you want to have someone in...
Archive
Renderings of CEDIA EXPO 2012’s Future Tech Pavilion
This year’s “future home” will react and interact with the user, taking the smart home one step further by introducing CEDIA EXPO attendees to...
Blogs
Knowing Your Business is Knowing Your Products
The depth of knowledge that you possess can make or break you at the point of sale.
Archive
Change is Hard
As a general rule, I am not one that likes change. I like to float along in the same sea of comfortable, warm and...
Blogs
Change is Hard – And ‘Just as Good’ Isn’t Enough
As a general rule, I am not one that likes change. I like to float along in the same sea of comfortable, warm and...
Blogs
My Name is Heather, and I am a Streamer
Although I’ve strayed once or twice from AppleTV, I always come back to it. It is just so easy to use. Sure it costs...
Blogs
The Art of the Perfect Demo
A well-crafted demo delivers an incredibly powerful, emotional experience that can stay with someone for years. In fact, I can still clearly remember the...
Blogs
Wall St. Broker Gains ‘Total Control’
The Source Home Theater shares the 23rd floor in a lower-Manhattan office building with a Wall Street broker/investment-banking firm that also happens to be...
Archive
Control4 System Assuages Homeowner’s Fears During Wildfire
I’m always fascinated by out-of-the-box applications for home control systems. One such example comes from a Colorado homeowner that used a Control4 system to...
Blogs
Earning ‘Extra Mile’ Respect in Custom Installation
You walk into your office before everyone else, ready to take on the day, and just as you're settling in to get started, the...
Archive
Three Tips for Managing a PR Crisis Before it Happens
Pick up any magazine, flip through any newspaper, click on any blog—there is no shortage of companies and people that are neck-deep in a...
Blogs
Installation Nightmares – 9 Professional Horror Stories
A couple of weeks ago, I was called out to look at a job. The house had already been pre-wired and now that the...
Archive
CEDIA Previews Future Tech for CE Week
Last week, CEDIA paid a visit to New York City for its first appearance at the annual CE Week event. Although, the trade association...
Archive
The One Trick Pony vs The Trojan Horse
For years, our company – like so many other custom installation firms out there – has specified smart, universal remote controls into nearly every...
Blogs
So Many Departures in So Little Time
This past weekend’s news that my friend Mike “Sparky” Detmer was leaving Niles was just the latest in a series of executive departures. It’s been odd...
Blogs
Maintaining the Balance of Power in CI
In the custom installation channel, a balance of power exists – and must exist – between client and installer. It is much like the...
Blogs
Assigning Value: What You Need/Want
I recently re-watched an old Twilight Zone episode from Season 1 titled “What You Need.” In it, an old street peddler happens to know...
Blogs
Sony Discusses 4K, New Ultrabook, and Glasses-Free 3D
While the attention of the consumer electronics world last week was mostly focused on news in the console gaming world from E3, the presence...
Blogs
Prima Cinema to Launch Video Server for First-Run Movies
It’s been three years in the making, and the team behind the Prima Cinema digital movie server is leaving...
Blogs
Stop Telling Me It’s a Good Problem!
As I write this, I am looking out the window of a rented home at powdery white sand the consistency of confectioner’s sugar and...
Blogs
URC’s Total Control: One Year Later
It was almost exactly a year ago that I walked into URC’s new training room in Harrison,...
Blogs
My Atmos Demo at the New Dolby Theater
It has been less than two months since Dolby Laboratories announced that it acquired the naming rights to what was formerly been known as...
Blogs
Receiver: In With the New, Obsolete With the Old
Much like how the swallows return to Capistrano or the Monarch butterflies take their yearly sojourn to Mexico to fill up on off-brand, over-the-counter...
Archive
Denon Cracks Code for CI Headphone Sales
There’s no denying that headphones have become the new “It” product for audio manufacturers. Watching most traditional loudspeaker manufacturers shift their attention, over the...
Blogs
Money Matters: Six Tips for Managing Your Company’s Finances
Unless you are the butt of some cruel joke conspired by a universe where 42 is *not* the answer to the ultimate question of...
Blogs
Meet CEDIA’s Tweeps
If you have spent any time on Twitter lately, you have probably encountered the #CEDIATweeps hashtag. This is a new concept CEDIA is experimenting...