AVNation TV

Category: Features

  • Get staffed with HDMI Staffing at CEDIA 2018

    At last year’s CEDIA, HDMI Staffing was in Innovation Alley. This year they are bringing their services back to the CI channel. HDMI Staffing can help with both temporary as well as permanent employee acquisitions. While at CEDIA 2018, residential dealers can sign up, look up potential recruits, and more. Learn about how HDMI Staffing can make hiring programmers, salespeople, and more easier.

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  • SONOS Dealer Changes

    New products, new programs

    This past week I was invited to visit the SONOS Boston Headquarters in anticipation of some potential announcements for our custom integration channel. This wasn’t a shock to me as I have heard the rumours that they were actively trying to improve their relationship with the Custom Installation/Integration channel (CI Channel). Now I’m gonna preface all of this with the disclaimer that all of my opinions in this article are mine, they don’t reflect anyone else’s views but mine.
    So let’s jump right in. First things first, during the event I was honored to have SONOS CEO Patrick Spence join our table for a breakfast meet and greet. It was wonderful to chat with someone who comes from the same region of Southwestern Ontario as I do, and talk about some shared local experience. I rarely get that opportunity. Though out breakfast and during Patrick’s welcome speech, he referenced the importance to SONOS of New Product, New Software, and New Partnerships. When specifically talking about the CI channels he acknowledged that they are working on listening better to their partners to be able to continue to grow our collective market. He also referenced the way their products last longer and gets better over time with a long lifetime of use. Because of these long-term updates, it means that people have a great experience over time and their usage increases. With these features, SONOS is working to provide integrators with a long-lasting product that our customers love to use. It was refreshing to be at a launch for a major product from a major consumer electronics brand to hear so much emphasis on our CI channel from everyone we talked to from the CEO on down to our testing area tour guide Bob.

    Check out the Banana Plugs and HDMI: ARC
    Sonos AMP

    With the launch of the SONOS AMP, (you can read more about the specifics here) many things quickly demonstrate that they have been listening to our community. Even with simple things like designing the AMP in black so that it looks better in a rack to more advanced things like more power with more speakers, adding true bananas plugs, a HDMI:ARC connection for directly connecting to TVs, and the ability to disable the WiFi when a network cable is connected, the new AMP is showing that dedication to the channel. Now I know what some of you are going to say: “I wanted a multiple zone rack mount device with ears, this still isn’t what I asked for!”. While I understand that sentiment but let me offer this, I too would love a multiple zone single device but this new AMP fits a number of the pain points I’ve experienced and welcome the black frame, stackable with actual nesting, banana plugs, ARC, etc. that allow me to quickly put this device into a rack or stack it on a modern media console and have the same SKU stocked in our warehouse! I’m extremely happy with this AMP and look forward to using it in the many applications it allows.
    Thought the event, SONOS continued to refer to our channel as the IS channel. They have recognized that they have a large group of partners beyond the retail/consumer electronic aspect and have renamed their division within the company as Installed Solution partners and this encompassed everyone from Custom Integration to Security Installers and everyone in-between. They have equipped this Installed Solutions division with dedicated product marketing, account management, technical support. Speaking of technical assistance, there are upgrading their tech support system with specific numbers in North America to allow integrators to skip the cue and get right to the front of the line. In working to grow their communication with the channel, SONOS developed a dealer pool and an advisory council who have assisted SONOS in understanding the differences between our industry and the general consumer. To this end, SONOS has announced a new dealer portal that will be coming online with tons of new features including order management, tier progression management, shipping options and how much to free shipping, no more codes but your dealer credits will automatically be applied, bundling options and 3rd party products. They are also in the process of creating an Installed Community Forum which will be accessed via the dealer forum but will also include an option to have multiple users and manage their access. They are working on a go-to market toolkit for the Installed Solutions community with advanced dealer locators, promo materials that explain what an installer offers the consumer over the DIY approach. Last but not least SONOS plans to increase co-op funding and expand distribution to make it easier for integrators to market and access product. Take all of these things that seem simple to us within the channel but remember this is something that Sonos hasn’t always seemed to recognize is critical to our channel. After all these announcements were made, I asked the question oh how they go about trying to rebuild trust with the community and was told that firstly they recognize the need to rebuild trust with integrators. That’s the reason for the dealer panel and the expanded national presence, it’s what’s behind all of these changes. They’ve realized that our channel is using their products in ways they hadn’t even imagined and that has led them to begin building products and services based on that feedback because they a professional installer provides excellent sound that looks great.
    Sonos – New Control APIs

    SONOS also took this opportunity to talk about probably the biggest thing that the CI channel wants. Software and APIs. They announced new control APIs that are cloud based that will be available to third party as well as a Developer program to allow for better integrations. From the API side they the existing core playback controls with grouping and play mode as well as adding SONOS playlists. Also included is line-in switching and volume pass through. With these announcements, they also included well announcements in the form of an audio clip. This means that you will be able to have a third party device like a doorbell that when pressed will duck the audio and playback and announcement or sound clip. The new software will also allow interactions with If This Then That (ITTT) control protocols. The new APIs are open and available to anyone. You can still make use of the Works with SONOS program and SONOS certified programs. Within their software enhancements, you will see dual mono output (only available on the new AMP), volume limiting which is a great feature to lock out an upper limit of the playback device that doesn’t impede the volume gauge effect. The new Developer program includes the new modern API surface with all included documentation. They have developed a Sonos Sound Experience Guidelines to ensure that all developers understand and protect the integrity of the product. There will be a suite of tools, the ongoing expansion of the API and blogs and forums for direct feedback from developers to SONOS. All of this means likely more integrations and control options for SONOS devices. I did ask where the main control companies are with this new integration and was told they all have it and are working on it to the best of there knowledge. The hint was to look to CEDIA Expo to see what all these manufacturers have in the works.
    In the effort of full disclosure, my company has been a SONOS direct dealer for years now, and although there have been times they have seemed not to prioritize our channel, my clients ask for SONOS, they want SONOS, and most importantly they can operate SONOS with little to no training. The first CONNECT:AMP we sold is still working and functioning in one of my clients’ homes 8 or 9 years later. That’s an impressive pedigree. I know there have been challenges within this manufacturer and the industry but my impression last week was that SONOS isn’t shying away from that history. They are actively trying to change that perception, they want to rebuild trust, they want to improve the relationship. I even asked about their plans for CEDIA, they’ll still have their offsite location but will be present on the show floor and will have a large number of AMPs scattered with their partners across the show floor. I can’t wait to see how dealers and partners take advantage of this renewed commitment to the industry.
    ~Matt D. Scott
    AVNation.tv, Co-Founder
    OMEGA Audio Video, President

  • Maximus Lighting shines security on CEDIA 2018

    Merging Lighting, Security, and Automation

    There are automated and motion sensor lights. There are cameras that will auto-record based on various triggers. Maximus Lighting takes those two ideas and puts them together. We chat with Maximus Lighting about what to expect at their CEDIA Expo 2018 booth, how you can learn more about the company, and their embedded emergency calling feature.

  • Atlas joins Mitek at CEDIA 2018

    Atlas IED shows off commercial products for residential products

    Atlas joins Mitek and MTX’s booth at the annual CEDIA Expo showing commercial products that can be used in either residential projects or the commercial AV projects dealers are finding themselves deploying. The SHS was first shown at ISE and InfoComm this year. Atlas is bringing the hidden speaker to the show. They are also showing the Texas Tuff rack, sound masking, and mixers.

    Watch the SHS at ISE 2018

    Tim Albright: This is an AVNation special my name is Tim Albright I am your host. What we’re doing is we’re previewing CEDIA 2018 the annual residential AV show happens September 6 – 8  and with me to preview his booth is my buddy and pal Mr. John Ivey from Atlas IED.  Welcome sir
    John Ivey: Tim how nice it is to see you.
    TA: Before we get started you are in a booth 904. 9-0-4. But if they look for Atlas IED on the big fancy schmancy CEDIA expo list they won’t necessarily see Atlas specifically.  What will they see?
    JI: They’ll see Mitek Corporation. Atlas IED is owned by Mitek Corporation, that’s our family’s company.  So we’ve been registering for CEDIA since we used to go as MTX audio which we still of course and AL and some other brands. We still registered as Mitek.
    TA: If we were walking through the show floor and happen upon booth number 904 what are we going to find in the booth?
    JI: This year you actually find some Atlas IED product. Most notably the SHS. We launched it at InfoComm this year it’s customizable, what we call hidden or very discreet architectural product. It sounds great looks even better.
    TA: Well and this is the one, we’ll put a link on this page, was the one that we actually got to see first at ISE this year where you had been showing it. It’s not even an inch and a half hole.
    JI: No it’s a little over two-inch hole.  The entire aperture the front lens,  because the lens actually determines the dispersion so you know all the way out one hundred seventy all the way down to ninety, is about three inches total. Then that front plate can be custom printed by us to match any ceiling, any color, any ceiling material. You take a picture of a wood ceiling and you send it up to us to the application and we actually got the custom match that exactly. We’ve offered even to have people drill out the slugs and send it to of us. We’ll mill it down and attaching back to the front.
    TA: In addition to the speakers are we going to find Atlas racks and things of that nature?
    JI:  So there’s about four things were showing. We’re showing the Texas Tuff racks which is the world’s first intelligent equipment rack that we showed at InfoComm. We’re showing the Z Line system. The Z Line is that two and four channel all in one sound masking solution. It’s very sexy, mounts on the wall to be used as a mixture amplifier but really has built in sound masking applications to it.  You know it’s got an iPhone and Android application. It’s easy to use. You could go through and actually tune the system while using your handheld device. It works really well the SHS, which is a direct fire device and can be used as indirect as well. I got Z Line, SHS, inexpensive mixture amplifiers with very inexpensive wall control plates. So if you’re going to a light commercial or dentists office or something like that for control and source input. Then, of course, our new Texas Tuff racks.
    TA: About the Texas Tuff racks. You mentioned that they are the first intelligent racks. Not to be silly but racks were pretty much metal so what makes it intelligent?
    JI: Well ours is still made of metal. It has a microcontroller built in the top. It has a display that lights up with RGBW lights so you can kind of turn up the display.  Let’s say your customers color is purple or the end users’ color is purple it, can light up purple unless it starts to see a fault on the equipment. If the racks don’t overheat something inside the rack, throws a fault, intelligent power strip that we make senses there’s a problem with the gear that will actually change the color. It will start flashing red or blue or whatever you like. There’s an automatic sounder that it can turn on and it can actually trigger the intelligent strip on the inside to send out an email or a text message. Yeah, it’s pretty slick. Really where customers benefit is our integrators, they get to put their name and say you know call XYZ Integration for service. The end user sees it turn red and start flashing they know who to call.
    TA:  Not everybody is going to go to San Diego, September 6 0 8. So if they are not going but they want to find out all the stuff that Atlas and Mitek and all the other companies that you have going on how do they do that?
    JI: Yes, new websites been updated recently. It’s www.atlasied.com. The old websites for Innovative Electronic Designs and Atlas Sound still point to the new one. Of course, Mitek USA is our corporate website that points to all of our divisions, consumer, OEM, commercial, etc.
     

  • NEC's new customer-focused space

    Giving employees open spaces and providing customers a real-world feel for NEC products

    On Tuesday July 31 NEC opened their new Briefing Center in Downers Grove, Illinois just outside of Chicago. The new space incorporates three floors, two of which are connected via an open-air staircase in the center, and over 6,000 square feet.
    The new space allows NEC to provide audiovisual industry dealers and their clients to see in what areas the manufacturer can solve various challenges using their technology. The main entrance showcases ten different spaces that have been created to simulate a real-world situation. The briefing center has a healthcare section the demonstrates a mobile healthcare cart, a command and control center, as well as large venue projection.
    The entrance area also features one of NEC’s direct view LED walls. The content showcases the color and pitch that the manufacturer is able to create.
     
    The space also dedicates a portion to NEC’s retail applications. This service allows NEC’s facial recognition to trigger content for digital signage based on gender and age. According to Rich Ventura, Vice President of Strategic Management for NEC, “The software does not record the information. The video is analyzed for key points and trigger the content based on the video passing through.” More information about this new digital signage backend will be released at NEC’s annual showcase in New York at the end of October.
    The briefing center doubles as the new offices for NEC’s U.S. force. The offices, conference rooms, and training facilities have been designed for an open and communicative working environment. Each desk and work area has a height adjustable desk so employees can choose to stand or sit at any given time. The workspaces are not sectioned off by high-walled cubicles but have a more open feel.
    Conference rooms with and without technology pepper the area so a team can work on a project or design together and collaborate with screens. If they choose to discuss or don’t need a collaboration space those are available as well.
    The training room for the new space is a “vast improvement”, says Ventura. “We are able to arrange the training space depending on what we need and have the capability to display specs on one screen and instructions on another while collaborating on a third.” The training center has modular tables and three displays, one of which is a mobile NEC collaboration display.
    The new NEC briefing center will allow the company to bring in consultants, audiovisual engineers and dealers, techs, as well as potential clients. The trend of these new experience centers is growing in the audiovisual industry. Shure opened up a similar one in downtown Chicago in April. The idea is to give dealers, specifiers, and potential clients an idea of what the technology and implementation should look like in the real world. It’s an idea that allows dealers to focus on their energies on building relationships and design teams and not on a showrooms, which has never really caught on in the commercial AV space. Even some residential AV dealers are scaling back or eliminating their showrooms.

  • AV Outside the Box: Part 2

    From content creators to retail experts, AV newcomers can help drive industry growth. 

    By Margot Douaihy
    In Part 1 of this report, we met professionals like Jake Levin of Shared_Studios who are using commercial AV in creative and meaningful ways. (If you missed Part 1, be sure to read it here.) In Part 2, we will explore the new titles and talents in the proAV conversation as well as the business realities of outreaching to AV newbies.
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  • AV Outside the Box: Part 1

    InfoComm 2018 welcomed new voices into the proAV conversation. In a special two-part report, we explore AVIXA’s strategies for expanding the AV orbit.

    By Margot Douaihy
    Every AV component holds little bit of magic. Who could look at an 8K image and not be impressed? It’s what AV can do, however, and the memorable moments AV creates that transcend. Take, for example, Brilliant!, the projection mapping installation at the Neon Museum. This immersive audiovisual experience brings “old Vegas” back to life, and in the process, invites visitors on a thrilling, emotional journey through history. The brains behind Brilliant! is the renowned artist Craig Winslow. Traditional AV stakeholders should keep ears attuned to creatives like Winslow and other “new” voices opening doors for integrated AV experiences. So how is AVIXA reaching AV newcomers?
    An Evolving Industry Needs an Evolving Brain Trust
    InfoComm’s restructuring as AVIXA, the Audiovisual Integrated Experience Association, in 2017 illustrated that a member organization must evolve just like the industry it serves. Gary Hall, CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I, former president of AVIXA’s Board of Directors, and Federal Strategy, Planning and Operations at Cisco Systems, explained: “The AVIXA Board of Directors has set out an ambitious plan to grow the association, increase awareness of AV experiences, and reinvent our brand in order to propel this industry into the future.”
    Increasing awareness is a broad goal that encompasses various elements, from hosting dedicated AV events at hospitality and retail expos to the TIDE Conference. TIDE [Technology. Innovation. Design. Experience.] is a one-day conference that began in 2016 and precedes ISE and InfoComm in their host cities. At the recent TIDE Las Vegas, in June, innovators from design, architecture, technology, live events, and art converged to discuss human-centered design and the creative forces informing AV business.
    TIDE is an idea hive buzzing with inspiration. For Rachel Archibald, program director of TIDE, the cross-pollination of talents is what makes the event essential for AV stakeholders. She sees the clear value in bringing AV integrators and designers together with thought leaders from diverse fields. “This expands the reach of InfoComm, the show, and AVIXA, the organization,” she said. From design thinking professors to UX researchers from Facebook, TIDE speakers and attendees shared best practices. The result? Surprising insights and a new framework with which to explore InfoComm products.
    New Visitors Spark New Conversations
    There is another benefit to co-locating TIDE with InfoComm and ISE. Speakers and attendees from TIDE often walk the exhibit halls and demo new products. Many TIDE attendees are first-time visitors to InfoComm. Jake Levin, the Chief Operating Officer of Shared_Studios, is one of these relative newcomers. He was a TIDE speaker this year and his first InfoComm was the 2017 Orlando show.
    His organization, Shared_Studios, co-founded in 2014 by Amar C. Bakshi and Michelle Moghtader, has built a network of audiovisual spaces—live, full-body, audiovisual environments—run by curators. Shared_Studios is as much a living breathing idea as it is a tangible project. It sits at the intersection of sociology, art, humanism, and technology.

    Jake Levin
    Jake Levin, COO, Shared_Studios

    “Each of these communities form a network of trusted spaces,” Jake Levin said, “where anyone in the world can enter one and interact, live, with someone in another space around the world.” It’s as if you were sharing the same physical space with one another. The intimacy—feeling like you’re standing next to someone else half way around the globe—adds to the emotional power of the Shared_Studios, and AV technologies enhance clarity and believability.
    Levin was excited by the quality of the AV technologies he observed on the InfoComm show floor. He was also inspired by the potential for meaningful connections that AV technologies enable.
    “Larger companies and smaller companies,” Levin said, “are interested in the unique ways that their technology can be applied in real time, especially if it comes in a context of increased human connection.”
    Currently, Shared_Studios’ main technology partners are NEC for projectors, Biamp for microphones (the Devio system), Community Professional for speakers, and Zoom for the video conferencing platform. Levin said that Shared_Studios is actively seeking to nurture partnerships with camera and lighting solutions providers.
    While the numbers of “new” visitors to InfoComm like Jake Levin may be relatively small, they are key influencers within their organizations.
    In another example of a first-time visitor to InfoComm, Archibald explained how a TIDE keynote speaker, Rana June, a creative technologist, data scientist, and musician, visited several audio demo rooms and “really enjoyed being there.”
    “It is powerful for attendees to see thought leaders that they might see in another context also come to show floor,” Archibald observed.
    Margot Douaihy is a storyteller, writer, and editor-at-large of AV Technology magazine. In Part 2 of this report, we dig into the numbers, examine the new titles in attendance at InfoComm, and explore the business realities of welcoming new talent and new ideas in AV.
     
    BY THE NUMBERS
    InfoCommm 2018 Attendance: 42,811 attendees
    Service provider breakdown at InfoComm 2018 (Courtesy of AVIXA)
    System Integrator/Dealer/Contractor 35.1%
    Distributor 10.8%
    Independent/Mfgr Rep 3.9%
    Design Consultant 7.6%
    Rental/Staging Firm 12.4%
    Manufacturer 13.6%
    Video/Film Producer 2.7%
    Architect/Specifying Engineer 2.3%
    Business Consultant/Services 4.7%
    Advertising/Creative Agency 5.4%
    Content Creation/Management 1.5%
     
    Type of technology user at InfoComm 2018 (Courtesy of AVIXA)
    Education 19.8%
    Electronic Cinema/Broadcast/Cable 4.9%
    Government/Military 5.3%
    Hospital/Healthcare 3.1%
    Sports/Entertainment/Hospitality/Gaming 11.1%
    Worship 4.4%
    Retail & Sales/Restaurant 2.5%
    Meetings & Events Production 8.8%
    Corporate/Finance/Legal 7.6%
    Transportation/Utilities/Public Works 1.3%
    Installation/Managed Services 11.8%
    IT/Technology Management 14.0%
    Software Development/Manufacturing/Programming 4.7%
    Other 0.7%
     

  • Dynamically upgradable AV systems

    Keeping client’s AV systems up to date

    When QSC announced a new auto-mixing function for their TouchMix-30 Pro it was done through a firmware upgrade. Whether it is sound mixers, control processors, or video transport systems the ability to improve audiovisual devices is one of the advances made in the last ten years that enables ProAV integrators to stretch the life of a system.

    Listen to AVWeek 357: The World is Watching

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  • CEDIA's Designs for Integrators

    New Design Connection Program

    At CEDIA 2018 this year, residential AV dealers will have the opportunity to experience a new platform that will “unite technology integrators with designing construction professionals.” This program aims to foster partnerships between those building the homes and those who’s acumen is creating the audiovisual experience inside the home.
    There will be a design connection pavilion that will give dealers the chance to connect with these builders. There will also be a design connected tour. This tour will introduce, or reinforce, some specific products and manufacturers as well as give the home AV pro the opportunity to network.

    Listen to the full conversation on ResiWeek 125

    Joe Whitaker of the Thoughtful Home said on ResiWeek 125 of the program that it has been in the works for quite a while “this has kind of been a buildup with a very good strategic partition between CEDIA and Emerald Expositions that has been kind of big in that a build up for the first time ever to bring architects, designers, and some mass media. Don’t think that you might not see better homes and gardens as one of the media representation inside those tour groups and then also the kitchen and bath. We are starting to see the importance of that crossover and the understanding happening you know these things actually working together and talking together.”  (more…)

  • Go to where the people are

    Looking outside the box for AV product marketing

    For the last month, the world has been watching the World Cup. With not only millions of football (soccer) fans streaming into Russia, the coverage from every country has been round the clock. Here in the U.S., we have had to root for a second, or third, choice as our team didn’t quite make it into the field.
    According to an article by AV Magazine, some Shenzhen-based LED manufacturers were using the opportunity of the crowds at the World Cup to do product launches as well as training in Russia.
    This strategy has the potential to create demand. Not just from the integrator’s side but from the end-users side.

    Listen to the full discussion on AVWeek 357

    Cory Schaeffer from QSC said on AVWeek 357  “I actually think it’s brilliant because it creates that pull through. I mean, you know, many times us manufacturers we go, to integrators and we show (product) and then we want you to bring it to the customer. But to be able to have a customer see it and watch it and do that pull through, actually think is really brilliant and again in an emerging market.”
    (more…)