Yes, as expected, I went to the opening day of STAR WARS Episode 1 in 3D on Friday – and, I am one of the few that gets the humor in Jar Jar Binks. Upon returning to my office after watching it, I happen to come across this ad (posted to the right) for JOURNEY 2: […]

I just read the proposed change to the FCC’s new Cable Television Protection and Competition Act that would allow cable companies to go back to encrypting (meaning scramble so you can’t pick it up) the so-called basic cable channels. Right now, the Act does not allow cable companies to do that so, as you may […]

In the past two weeks, Panasonic, Sharp and Sony have all announced they’re expecting $17 Billion in losses for their fiscal-year ending March 2012. The biggest loss will be sustained by Panasonic who announced its expectation to be just under $11 Billion. At first glance, all three announcements seem to make the future prospects for […]

On Thursday, Randy Lemke, the Executive Director and CEO of InfoComm announced that he’s retiring a the end of 2012. He’s been at the helm of InfoComm for nearly 15 years and his accomplishments include re-engineering the entire InfoComm Educational programs, putting InfoComm on-line, growing the show, bringing InfoComm to the world and establishing standards in AV. But, what’s he most proud of? What is he […]

This morning, I got a chance to interview Mike Blackman about what we can all expect at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) that opens is a little more than a week. We all know it’s the biggest combined  ProAV & HomeAV on the planet, but Mike explains to us that ISE is more about the experience – it’s a show, yes, but […]

There’s no question or doubt that the VTC (videoconferencing) market has finally hit the big time. It took way longer than any of us expected (or hoped), but 2011 was a record year for VTC integration and 2012 promises to be 15-20% higher than last year’s numbers. And, the number of options since it debuted in the 1990’s has […]

How does that old saying go? Something like, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Well, that’s exactly what SMART Technologies did today by debuting its own interactive projector in the form of the LightRaise 40wi — a projector with a 0.30:1 throw ratio (ultra-short throw), 10-watt speakers, a mic input, an interactive pen-based system that’s integrated specifically for SmartBoard applications. Many […]

At the end of 2010, while all the industry pundits were predicting a wave of 3D would sweep over the HomeAV market in 2011, I predicted the big trend in HomeAV would NOT be 3D, but would in fact be gaming room AV environments. And, as the year 2011 came to a close last month, you not only saw […]

Normally, we’re pretty secretive about new projects and new initiatives around here atrAVe. We’ve found that nearly everything we do gets copied by another so-called AV industry trade publication out there in their attempt to keep up with our level of creativity and speed to market – yes, I’m proud of our team here, so […]

A last week, I had the great pleasure of taking part the AVWeek podcast series hosted by Tim Albright. First of all, let me say that it’s the only place where high-fiving the Jolly Green Giant is legitimate AV talking point! This particular episode featured Adrian Boyd and Craig MacCormack. Together we covered everything from Black Friday’s effect onProAV to Amazon’s […]

I have had the privilege to speak at every Almo ProAV E4 Show they’ve ever had. And, as the 2011 E4 Tour comes to a close, it all ended right here where it started: New York City! And, what a show. On a cold, rainy day in Manhattan, over 400 people poured into the Millennium Broadway (editor’s note: this hotel sucks) […]

Some of you may have received the same mass email we received today from the president of Arrive Systems (we’ve posted it below). Like many of you in the ProAV market, we were also wowed by the so-called Arrive Corporation master plan that debuted at InfoComm 2009 and then again in 2010. But, so far it’s been, well, tagged […]

The news that U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith sentenced former MCSi CEO, Mike Peppel, to only a $5 million fine and seven days in prison is shocking. And even more shocking was her explanation why. In her ruling in court yesterday in Cincinnati, Ohio District Court, she said that ordering Peppel to pay more than $5 million would be impractical as there were […]

My desk, today. You’re reading this, which means you know (unless you’ve been asleep). The inimitable Steve Jobs passed away last night at the age of 56. Last night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I thought about writing about his passing. But then, I thought, “What I have to say about the passing […]

I’ve already counted six AV pubs or “bloggers” who’ve written “Steve Jobs is resigning” stories as if none of us read mainstream news websites. Heck, the news was just published a few hours ago, and if you Google it, you’ll already get over 8 Million hits. 8 Million. Nope, not here. I’m not being a […]

The recent release of the 8th Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, by all accounts, is a huge success. It set both a one-day and an opening weekend record. In fact, it blew by its estimated $125 million cost to make the movie within 37 hours of release. And, about 35 percent […]

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column about how the projector was dying a rapid death. Without getting into that all over again, I assure you that, although the column was incredibly well-read, it wasn’t everyone’s favorite – especially the projector manufacturers! But, ultimately, my hypothesis was that if everyone is eventually carrying […]

I’d love to say that 3D is the best thing to come to the consumer electronics market since the DVD player. I’d love to say it’s incredible and a game changer, the future of entertainment and the way all TV should be displayed. But I’d be lying. It’s truly a conundrum for me, however. Last […]

Last week, I received a press release, but not your average, every-day press release, a DYNAMIC release. And, it came from a company that’s in the business of dynamic digital signage: Visix. But, best of all, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen an AV manufacturer use social media to be, well, social. So, what was […]

So far, the industry scuttlebutt on the Milestone merger announcement yesterday that the AV industry’s leading screen manufacturer (Da-Lite) would merged with Milestone Technologies (parent company of Chief and Sanus – two of the leading ProAV and HomeAV mount and rack manufacturers, respectively) is nothing but positive. And, from all angles it does look like a picture perfect merger. There’s virtually […]

I am super excited about the 2011 ALMO ProAV E4 AV Tour as this is the year of Digital Signage – and my session at each tour stop will be all about how and why you need to get into the digital signage market. But, I wont stop there! In fact, I’ll give I’ll give you a step-by-step guide […]

It’s official, Star Wars will, in fact, make it’s theatrical debut in 3D on February 10, 2012. The 3D re-release of the Star Wars flicks will start with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and will continue with one film a year through 2017. Thsi will ultimately be a BIG BOOST to the 3D Fan Boys out there as […]

Statistically, about 65% of you reading this have a Facebook account that you access on a weekly basis three to four times. Nearly 25% of you have a Twitter account that you check at least twice a week and 55% of you have a LinkedIn account that you access at least once a week for […]

Sure, 80% of the attendees of this year’s ISE show in Amsterdam are European, but, it’s the sheer numbers of them that astounded me – and many others here at Integrated Systems Europe in February 2011. Literally, some 35,000 attendees scanned their badges as they walked into the 10 massive halls of AV exhibits during the 3-day […]

The product we found literally all over ISE 2011 here in Amsterdam – more than any other- was LED walls. And, like integration of the iPad in control at InfoComm 2010 and 3D at this past Fall’s CEDIA Expo, LED walls have quickly become the “I don’t want to see another one of these things” product at the show. In all […]

If you’re TWITTER savvy, you probably already know what #ISEurope means. But, for those of you who may be new to the Twitterverse, that’s how you can track, literally in real-time, what EVERY SINGLE Integrated Systems Europe attendees who’s Tweeting about new products is saying at theISE show. And, we’ve made it even easier for you – simply […]

At the opening press conference for the 2011 Integrated Systems Europe show here in Amsterdam this morning, ISE Managing Director, Mike Blackman, breezed through his opening remarks and jumped into the meat of his message in less than 2-minutes. And, his message was loud and clear – and included a giant smile: This 7th year AV Mega-show – combining CEDIA and InfoComm – […]

Once a year, in Amsterdam, the world comes together for the AV industry’s one true mega-show in the form of an AV fair doubly hosted by both InfoComm (the world’s largest ProAV show company) andCEDIA (the world’s largest HomeAV show company). Dubbed ISE, the annual show is truly the ultimate AV tradeshow in that it holds the latest in both residential AV and […]

This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Blockbuster Video – the same Blockbuster that in the year 2000 told Netflix to go away – still hasn’t found a buyer or someone to finance their business into the future. Really? I can’t imagine why! Their business model seems so, well, perfect. Why wouldn’t someone buy […]

I was at the local Starbucks here this morning and noticed something interesting — they’re going digital — signs that is. They’re all over the place. My local bank branch plays Bloomberg TV surrounded on the screen by Apps and streaming Wachovia mortgage, financial services and car loan services ads. A big grocery store chain […]

Did you know the average buyer of a video game is 30 years old (or young, depending on how you look at it)? Sure, many of those purchases are for their kids, but, according to recent polls, over 70 percent aren’t – they’re for themselves. The gaming revolution is now, officially, bigger than the home […]

A few minutes ago, I read Jason Knott’s “HDMI 1.4 Problems Are a ‘Pandemic” column in the online version of CEPro. In it, Jason eloquently describes the world of HDMI-whiners, even labeling it as pandemic, and leaves you with the feeling that HomeAV integrators hate HDMI. Is this true? Really? I find it amazing (and extremely ironic) that the reason they seem to […]