Williams Sound today announced that it has acquired Pointmaker, part of a new strategy to expand the Williams Sound product footprint beyond its traditional audio end markets. Pointmaker is a leading provider of hardware and software for video annotation technology and will serve as a platform through which Williams Sound will develop new products to […]
Biamp Systems today announced that effective immediately, longtime AV industry executive Rashid Skaf is assuming the role of president, CEO and co-chairman for the Beaverton, Ore. company. Matt Czyzewski, previous president and CEO of Biamp, will remain as executive vice president of technology. This appointment is concurrent with the completion of the acquisition of Biamp […]
Prysm, the unified communications company headquartered out of San Jose, Calif., may be forced to shut down if it does not receive new investor funding by January 2018. Company representatives warned employees and state officials that it may be shutting down operations and laying off all its employees, with the closure happening on Jan. 21, […]
Last week I attended AVIXA’s AV Executive Conference (AVEC) in Key Biscayne, Florida, where AVIXA leaders and business experts led discussions on everything from how AV is viewed by end-user customers to dealing with millenials, both as customers and employees, to the expected growth coming to the AV market. The sold out conference featured: Marci […]
AOPEN and Acer announced today a private placement of shares. With this private placement, Acer becomes the largest corporate shareholder in AOPEN, followed by Wistron Corporation. AOPEN is known for its expertise in high-reliability devices. This move brings to the table AOPEN’s deep commercial knowledge in applied computing platforms, IOT edge devices, and its vast network of […]
Canadian AV and collaboration company Genesis Integration Inc. has acquired Audability Inc., including its Sono Video offices in Quebec, as of Oct. 16, 2017. This gives Genesis Integration 10 location across Canada. “This is all about synergy, with both Genesis and Audability bringing different skillsets and experiences. This will propel us forward to become a much […]
Lifesize has apparently experienced explosive growth since last year including a 110 percent increase in its customer base to date through continued innovation and a focus on customer success. A perfect example of the company’s commitment to drive relentless innovation and lead with customer obsession is the newly rearchitected Lifesize app. This new version of […]
Yesterday, Harman Professional gave notice to approximately 650 people that they were restructuring and they will be laid off over the next year. The positions are in the U.S. and Europe and a Harman spokesperson told rAVe today that the result of the restructuring will include facility closures over the next nine months to a year, including Elkhart, […]
AVI Systems announced its plans to acquire Dascom Systems Group, a full-service integrator of IPTV services, including IP networking, video, applications and integration. AVI Systems will operate the company as Dascom Systems Group from its Saint Paul, Minnesota location, and will retain all employees. “We have been interested in Dascom for many years,” says AVI […]
Coretronic of Taiwan, one of the largest projector manufacturers in the world, has completed the acquisition of Calibre, a privately held British image processing technology manufacturer based in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK. The acquisition of Calibre expands Coretronic’s technology capability by the addition of Calibre’s range of HQUltra image processing technology and in-house R&D capabilities. Coretronic […]
Savant has announced today the acquisition of Artison, an audio products manufacturer based in Minden, Nev. that builds whole-house audio and home theater solutions. The acquisition enables Savant to leverage Artison’s key patents and audio engineering expertise toward future entertainment technologies. Artison was founded by acclaimed engineer Cary Christie in 2003 and has focused in the architectural loudspeaker and subwoofer categories. Artison […]
Long before the 1987 movie “Wall Street” and the now-legendary quote from the fictional Gordon Gecko “Greed is good” became part of the American business worlds’ verbal infrastructure, success, wealth and growth in business were built on the startlingly simple notion that to create, run and succeed in a business, you actually had to know […]
Semtech Corporation, a supplier of analog, mixed-signal semiconductors and algorithms, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire AptoVision Technologies Inc., a privately-held provider of uncompressed, zero-frame latency, Video over IP solutions addressing the exciting Pro AV market. The acquisition is expected to add over 30 employees based in Montreal. AptoVision CEO Kamran Ahmed will join Semtech reporting to Gary […]
Legrand announced the acquisition of Milestone AV early this morning but the rumors of a Milestone AV purchase had been flying for weeks. (Here’s a link to our breaking news story.) There was no question they were selling, but this is a merger of two giant, awesome companies. I can see nothing but fantastic things […]
Legrand (parent company for Middle Atlantic, Luxul, ON-Q and Vantage) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Milestone AV Technologies, the parent company of AV brands including Da-Lite, Vaddio, Sanus, Projecta and Chief, which makes projector mounts, projection screens, PTZ cameras, equipment racks and AV furniture for both the HomeAV and […]
Vanco International just acquired Beale Street Audio and, effective immediately, industry distributors can place orders for the entire line of Beale Street Audio products. “Beale Street Audio was a vibrant brand that brought a lot of energy to the architectural audio market by introducing real innovation into a category that needed something fresh. At Vanco, we are committed to […]
Ford Audio-Video Systems, LLC (Ford), a national AV integrator that specializes in enterprise level audio visual systems integration and collaboration solutions, announced today the acquisition of Audio Video Resources (AVR) based in Phoenix, AZ. The acquisition will enhance Ford’s service capabilities in Phoenix as well as its ability to provide award-winning design and technical installation throughout the western United States. […]
Thinklogical, LLC last week announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Belden Inc. Thinklogical is a portfolio company of Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm and is a manufacturer of KVM, video, audio and computer peripheral signal extension and switching solutions. The transaction is expected to close in second quarter of 2017, subject to […]
PSA Security Network announced today that it has acquired USAV, a team of professional audio-visual (ProAV) integrators. USAV’s affiliate CI Edge, a buying group designed to support middle market commercial technology integrators, was also acquired as part of the transaction. This is big, big news. Finally, commercial AV and security come together. Sure, been playing […]
Little-known Hoylu (a public Swedish company) has announced the acquisition of Huddlewall from its partner Scalable Display Technologies, Inc. Included in the transaction is a sales team of four team-members in Boston, U.S., as well as customer base, intellectual property and trademarks, current book of business and prospects. The total purchase price is estimated to USD $800,000. The sellers will receive […]
Barco announced today that it has finalized an agreement with U.S.-based lighting company ETC to sell its lighting company, High End Systems, based in Austin, Tex. Barco says the transaction is part of Barco’s drive to step up focus on performance and streamline its business portfolio. High End Systems has offices in the United States and employs 60 employees, primarily […]
It’s time to fire up the legendary waaaay-back machine once again to go to the year 1982. Why? Because it was in that year that the National Sound Contractors Association was formed and held its first convention/meeting. (On a side note, that was also the year I launched Sound & Video Contractor Magazine (S&VC) and […]
AmpliVox CEO Don Roth yesterday sent out the nicest price increase letter ever to his dealers. And, to be frank, it’s an increase that’s negligible and we hope that everyone supports him on it as all of us survivors have weathered an economic storm. Roth’s letter said, “As a result of sustained cost increases […]
According to the latest report from Futuresource Consulting, the global LED display market closed 2016 with a mounting value of $4.5 billion, up 7 percent from $4.2 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, 2016 saw the value of the monochrome/tri-colour LED display market value fall, year-on-year by 5 percent, now contributing less than 25 percent of market value. Much of […]
Prysm today announced it has completed the acquisition of Kaybus, Inc, a creator of secure, cloud-based knowledge automation software, adding more enterprise-grade enhancements for Prysm Application Suite. Integration of the Kaybus development team and technology into Prysm Application Suite is already underway. A wide range of mission-critical enhancements from the acquisition are expected to benefit end users and application administrators across four key […]
Samsung Electronics Friday announced it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Harman International. Under the terms of the merger agreement, HARMAN stockholders will receive $112.00 per share in cash. The completion follows the satisfaction of all conditions to the closing of the transaction, including approval of the transaction by HARMAN stockholders and receipt of […]
Control4 announced today that it has acquired Triad Speakers, a manufacturer of advanced audio technology with customizable speaker-solutions. Triad, a 30-year old company, manufactures high-quality, built-to-order premium audio speakers to meet the discerning demands of homeowners – for home theaters, family rooms, whole-home or multi-room audio, as well as for outdoor environments. The acquisition of […]
In the ProAV market, unless you’re blind (or just like to deny truths), you see the writing on the wall, LITERALLY (you’ll get that pun if you keep reading). The projection screen market is about to nearly die a somewhat rapid death. Let’s look at the reasons why: 1. The flat screen monitor (LCD and […]
Futuresource Consulting has recently released its annual evaluation of the health and shape of global home video entertainment, detailing the macro trends of 2016, in addition to insights for 2017 and beyond. This latest analysis highlights that households are spending more than ever before on video entertainment, and in 2016, the combined home video and […]
CEDIA today announced that it has sold ownership of the CEDIA show (the actual trade show) to Emerald Expositions, the largest B2B trade show operator in the United States. CEDIA will continue to be deeply involved in the show, working hand-in-hand with Emerald on overall show direction, as well as retaining control and ownership of […]
Almo Professional A/V today announced it has become a U.S. distributor for Crestron’s Simple DigitalMedia (DM) product line. As part of the new agreement, Almo now provides Crestron’s latest line up of Simple DigitalMedia (DM) technology products designed for low-cost huddle spaces and classroom breakout rooms. Also also announced that Crestron will also participate in […]
Earlier this week, a class action putative lawsuit was filed by major HARMAN shareholders in an attempt to block the sale to Samsung. The suit was filed in Delaware Chancery Court against the company’s directors and claims that the directors sold HARMAN for too little money when they agreed on the $8 Billion price tag. […]
