Recap of Crestron’s annual gathering
Crestron Masters 2019, the annual gathering of control programmers and designers, kicked off Tuesday. Rich Sasson gave an overview of the company’s recent technology advances; updated NVX, XiO, and partnerships with Microsoft and others. Sasson also introduced Crestron Partners, in addition to the Masters program. These Platinum and Gold sponsors are companies like Sennheiser, Sharp, NEC, and Avocor who have partnered with Crestron on various products and offerings. The partners also had space in the convention area for attendees to come by, like a regional trade show.
“Sennheiser is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor and have enjoyed working with the DSP team at Crestron,” Charlie Jones Strategic Technology & Business Development Manager for Sennheiser said. “As more traditional AV sources move onto the network, integration into XiO and Fusion becomes important for the proper management of the equipment.” Sennheiser was demonstrating how their new beam array ceiling microphones work in conjunction with Crestron’s Avia DSP.
NEC showed off a variety of display solutions and how they integrate with various Crestron solutions. “NEC has a library of products that are Crestron Certified,” Lenna Bohlman from NEC explained. “We are proud to be a Gold Sponsor of this event and our Europe team are also partnering with the European Crestron Masters event in Madrid.” That Masters meeting takes place in May.
Danny Forster finished out the opening address. Forster is an architect, TV host, and Emmy-winning producer. His take on the correlation between modular architecture and modular AV systems demonstrated the ability to take what some may see as a box sale and turn it into an opportunity to illustrate creativity. “They still need us in these types of situations, and sometimes need us sooner in the process”, Forster explains. You’ll hear more from Forster in a later interview.
Once the opening keynote there was a slate of classes taken throughout the day. This event has evolved from being for programmers only to also include designers and other partners. Sennheiser took part in the DSP class this week. It will be interesting to watch Crestron Masters evolve and see what other partners they bring in for presentations and training.
Look for our Day 2 wrap up, interviews from the event and our special A State of Control coming later.
Tim Albright is the founder of AVNation and is the driving force behind the AVNation network. He carries the InfoComm CTS, a B.S. from Greenville College and is pursuing an M.S. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. When not steering the AVNation ship, Tim has spent his career designing systems for churches both large and small, Fortune 500 companies, and education facilities.