Remember that one guy in your classes who would ask the professor a “question?” I used quotes because their question was always a thinly veiled excuse to expound and fill up the air with their own opinions. I never liked that guy when I was in school. As a result, I try to avoid being […]

A new study has revealed that Google Nest Hubs are the most searched-for smart home product line in America, with an average of 137,520 searches per month. Home and tech experts Smarthomestarter.com used Google data to analyze searches for various smart home related keywords to determine which smart device product lines were searched for the […]

By Kate Couch How will smart devices be used in the corporate world in years and months to come? Last year, the corporate office took a large turn as many of us had to begin working remotely from home. This created an entirely new world for audiovisual — Zoom. Zoom, as most companies are aware, […]

URC just debuted the TRC-1480 Handheld Remote with a push-to-talk voice control feature, a 2.4-inch touchscreen LCD including two-way metadata, hard buttons and an ergonomic design. The TRC-1480 features an integrated microphone for easy voice communication with Alexa or Siri (for Apple TV). The new TRC-1480, aimed at both HomeAV and ProAV applications, provides full […]

Many science-fictional promises of the “world of the future” never have and perhaps never will come to pass. We don’t have our flying cars, and perhaps never will. We don’t have a robot maid. We aren’t eating Soylent Green. (OK, that one might not be a great loss). What about the meeting room of the […]

Joan officially announces its collaboration with Amazon Alexa for Business and Cisco Webex for the kick-off of the Enterprise Connect expo in Orlando, Fla. on Monday March 18, 2019. This collaboration brings together Joan and two of the most used communication smart devices in the world to offer high-end integrated solutions for the workplace. Companies […]

“Alexa, turn on the church audiovisual system.” Clever voice-activated connectivity? Maybe. But practical? Not really. “Alexa, show me the upcoming maintenance on all of my audiovisual components, listing them in descending order by date.” Clever? Maybe. But practical? Absolutely. In the house of worship market, convenience isn’t a key driver for upgrades or new purchases. […]

Optoma today announced availability of its 4K UHD (3840×2160) resolution, Alexa-compatible home theater projector, the Optoma UHD51A. This projector integrates with Amazon Alexa via the new SmartProjection for Smart Home skill, enabling projection, audio control, screen, lighting and room setting controls own one place.  The Optoma UHD51A Alexa Smart Home skill allows users to power the projector on and off, change volume and […]

This past January, Las Vegas hosted the Consumer Electronics Show where Speech Technology was the bright shining star and a definite win in the consumer market. With examples like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant, speech technology is sure to be a major player in the audiovisual industry soon. What is speech technology? According to […]

Voice control has become a new standard for our daily lives. We see it in media consoles, smart devices, automobiles, office environments and more. Some manufacturers partner on one platform while others embrace a larger audience on a completely different one. Most provide a similar concept of assistance, but others excel in the experience — […]

Is anyone really surprised that Amazon bought Ring Labs? It doesn’t seem like that big of a shock, or shocking at all for that matter. Since they released their original Echo product, initially to Prime members only, and then later to the masses in mid 2015, the smart assistant, Alexa enabled, speaker and personal assistant […]

Origin Acoustics just launched the four-zone system Valet amplifier designed to integrate with an Amazon Echo Dot. Featuring eight 50-watt channels, the Valet amp can be connected to a broad range of speakers and provide the power necessary to drive them to substantial volume levels. The Valet is now available and shipping. Each of the four stereo zones […]

It’s funny how ideas work. Two years ago, I started a draft of this blog about curve jumping. I wrote an opening paragraph and then stopped. It sat in the catacombs of the site, waiting to be dug up again or lost forever. If you’re not familiar with the term curve jumping you should be. […]

Crestron announced today that a new Crestron Pyng software update is now available. Version 1.010.0038 elevates the user experience to a new level while making integration even easier for Crestron Technology Professionals (CTPs). Highlights of the Crestron Pyng update include: Native Sonos sound system support: Integrating Sonos with Crestron Pyng as a multi-room audio source […]

Crestron announced today an expanded partnership with Amazon that brings the power of Alexa to the meeting space. The integration allows employees to start a meeting – from dialing in to the voice or video call to pulling up presentation materials on-screen – with one command. Meeting attendees can also ask Alexa to adjust the […]

AMSTERDAM and RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CALIF., FEBRUARY 2, 2017 — With the emergence of voice control as the hottest new trend in AV, AVPhenom will be introducing a new voice control product at ISE 2017. “Ever since Alexa’s debut at CEDIA, I have been obsessed with voice control as the future of the user interface […]

It’s fun to be a part of the tech industry, but it’s also interesting sometimes to take a step back and look at it from afar. I took the opportunity to do that a couple days ago with respect to all the attention Alexa and Amazon Echo have been getting ever since the Crestron compatibility […]

Amazon’s hottest selling items for 2016 were the Echo and its little brother Dot. These devices, along with their competitors from Google and Apple, are revolutionizing the way we interact with our homes and are quickly moving into the workplace. These voice command and control devices allow the participant to use their voices with simple […]

“Alexa! Alexxxaaaaaaa!!!” My four-year-old daughter is trying to wake up our Amazon Echo. Alexa gets better at understanding her every day, but she still only wakes up for her about half the time. Once Alexa is awake, however, she has an uncanny ability to figure out what my daughter is asking for. (Alexa wakes up […]

Short answer is — NO. Long answer is — YES. But, Amazon’s Alexa is certainly the most over-hyped thing in the market right now — thanks to the recent CEDIA show and the fact that other publications seem to have very little to talk about. What is Alexa? Alexa is the voice service that powers […]

Crestron has partnered with Amazon Alexa to provide next-generation voice control of Crestron home systems. Crestron Technology Professionals can now leverage Alexa Voice Service to build voice controlled scenes and settings that are fully customized to their clients’ lifestyles. Integration is not limited to basic functions such as lighting and temperature; homeowners can choose from […]