Volume 11, Issue 6 — March 31, 2014
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Editorial Editorial Editorial
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Industry News TVs Audio In Brief
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500 Million Smart Home Sensors to be Installed by 2018 — But Not By Us!
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
A new study by ABI Research forecasts that over 500 billion smart sensors will be integrated into homes by the end of 2018. Half a billion.
This is good and bad news for the HomeAV community. As the home automation world becomes less of an art and more of a science, it also becomes commoditized. It all started with simple, free iPhone apps that would allow you to control TVs, DVRs and AppleTVs via Wi-Fi, but it’s gotten way, way bigger than that in just a few years.
Companies like Nest, Philips Hue, Belkin and LightwaveRF, although aren’t compatible together, do have one thing in common: they’re all available for anyone to buy over the Internet and come with instructions so easy that even a middle-schooler can integrate them.
Are we are in trouble?
While we keep pushing custom programming and proprietary gear, the consumer market is slowly getting smarter. And, there’s a movement to make all these so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices to be able to talk to each other — it’s only a matter of time. Bluetooth is turning out to be a stronger “standard” for communications and content sharing than anyone ever thought it would be (remember when it was used just for phone headsets?). Now we see more and more companies adopting ZigBee (more than 600 at last count) and Zwave (200+ now) wireless protocols and some companies integrating both at the same time. That means that the thermostat can now be controlled by an iPhone or TV today but, in the not so distant future, also by our car keys.
The writing is on the wall. We NEED to move faster and faster towards the service business — and farther and farther away from the product sales business. Products are becoming a commodity faster than we all thought. With the exception of a handful of companies in our market, everything is available via Internet resellers and now more and more once-custom AV manufacturers are selling their wares at Best Buy — companies like Klipsch, Polk, SpeakerCraft, Niles, Russound and **insert any TV or projector manufacturer here** — yes, any.
So, our differentiator needs to be service. We need to offer solutions that are more affordable, simpler to integrate and use and can easily be remotely monitored and managed, proactively.
But, we also need to move more towards commercial AV (ProAV) integration. Yes, seriously.
We’ve had a ProAV publication for years that covers all aspects of the commercial AV world including digital signage, security, boardroom and meeting room systems, educational AV products, etc. You can subscribe for free here.
And, the best part about those markets is they’re growing — double digits in many cases. For example, the digital signage market has grown 20-28 percent each of the past three years. The HOW (House of Worship) market is growing at least 15 percent a year. The educational AV market is growing 8 to 14 percent a year. And, the small meeting room (aka Huddle Room) market is growing over 35 percent in 2014.
And, CEDIA needs to help you move that way — and they are. In fact, over 25 percent of the new products shown at the 2013 Expo were commercial AV related. In addition, there were almost a dozen digital signage-related seminars.
That same guy you did that whole-home AV system for may own a company with conference rooms, may be the CIO of a university system or may even be the IT manager for a fortune 2000 company — and all of them need commercial AV services.
Go for it! Leave a Comment
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New Apple TV: Yea – Comcast Deal: Nay
By Steve Sechrist Display Central
Get ready for a new Apple TV device, perhaps this one with gesture hand controls from Apple’s fresh acquisition of Prime Sense (the company that brought you the Microsoft Kinect). You can be sure that a new device is in the offing as the media is busy screaming (yet again) headlines that Apple and Comcast are in talks for a new distribution deal, paving the way for another media frenzy over the long overdue refreshed Apple TV device.
Truth be told, Apple is never not in talks with media companies looking to gain more video content to add to its billion dollar Apple TV cash cow, one rental at a time. In fact, CEO Tim Cook said back in February that the Apple TV combined hardware and content sales added just that — $1B to Apple’s coffers in 2013 alone, helping make Apple the world’s richest company. As of May 2013, the company said it has sold 13M Apple TV boxes to that date, with speculation that half came in H1’13 at $99 each — so Cook may even be understating things just a bit.
Don’t get me wrong, the Apple TV is a great deal for cord cutters, and cord “nevers,” that is, anyone looking to skip costly cableTV subscriptions that seem to (OK they do) behave like an unregulated monopoly. The little Apple device that sits in the palm of your hand, connects to your TV and Wi-Fi in seconds (literally), and includes content from more than two dozen third-party services (Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Watch ABC, WatchESPN, Watch Disney Channel, PBS, plus my fav… Sky News straight from the BBC in London).
Apple also made it totally seamless to stream content to the large screen from laptops, tablets and smartphones (Apple brand of course), and, to date, the best remote control for the TV — EVER (especially for typing in searches) is that virtual keyboard on your iPad or iPhone. You never ask where’s the remote, because you always have it with you in your pocket — sweet!
Trouble is the cable guys (Comcast mostly) control over-the-top delivery of Internet as well, and this too is unregulated, in spite of the FCC’s recent best efforts to rein them in. To make matters worse (yes, worse!), Comcast is proposing a $45B deal to buy Time Warner Cable and solidify its already stronghold on U.S. Internet delivery. Anybody — even cash-rich Apple — would make for a better suitor than Comcast.
So get ready for a new Apple TV refresh announcement coming soon, and if the Comcast – Time Warner Cable merger goes through, get ready for a price hike to your Internet delivery, along with some nasty bandwidth throttling that could limit your OTT viewing experience. Hey, this is what unregulated monopolies do, and, consequently, this may be the beginning of the end of the golden age of the Internet — or not. We can always hope somebody in the government is watching out for us and will squash this “pork barrel” deal (or we can simply move to Verizon FiOS neighborhood.) Leave a Comment
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Warranties Redux?
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
In order to differentiate themselves from the big box stores on the one side and the trunk-slammers on the other AV pros set themselves up as systems specialists.
They present themselves to clients as consultants who will deliver a complete solution. People who just want to watch TV can go to a big box store (or, more commonly, Amazon). People who just want to watch a TV that’s hung on a wall can go to a trunk slammer for a hang-n-bang special.
But people who want AV distribution (that actually works), automation and control (that actually works), and/or a cinema room experience that pulls out all the stops need systems specialists who can, wait for it, actually make it all work.
Part and parcel of that specialization is the degree of ownership of that system. Just like how they take their car to the dealership for service, the client calls you to deal with problems, both in warranty and out.
From a business standpoint this is where it always gets complicated.
When a video display breaks down, the vendor’s warranty for larger sizes typically specifies in-home service from an authorized service center.
However, pretty much every large flat panel TV ever sold, installed and integrated by AV Pros are mounted, whether on a wall or on a motorized lift. In my experience none of the vendor-authorized TV repair centers will dismount a TV in order to service it. So, you, the AV pro, are going to have to get involved because it’s YOUR system.
So who’s paying for you to roll a truck, dismount a display, drive it to a service depot, and then pick it up later and remount it?
The client? Unless you’ve specified that in either the system’s contract or in a maintenance agreement that’s not going to happen.
The TV vendor? You’re hilarious. Good luck with that.
It’s easy to pick on the video category as an example of this type of service conundrum, and I could list examples from experience all day, but every kind of product presents the risk of unrecoverable costs surround warranty replacement.
Most vendor warranties are rock-solid, and some are even better than that. So AV Pros seldom have trouble getting hardware repaired or replaced. Yet warranty costs remain.
This is a problem that I’ve pondered for years, poking at it like a loose tooth. Yet unlike dentistry, there didn’t seem to be a direct solution.
So imagine my surprise when a press release hit my inbox (back in November, I admit — sorry, I’ve been busy) from a young, small AV audio company called The DaVinci Group.
You can read the press release in full here.
But to summarize, the company offer warranties on its brands of two-years parts and labor on all wireless products, five-years parts and labor on all amplifiers, and lifetime replacement warranty on all architectural speakers, volume controls and speaker selectors.
On top of that, it’s rolled out a program called WarrantyPLUS. According to the press release: “Any time a product fails during the warranty period, the company will not only provide the customer with a replacement unit, it will also issue the dealer or installer a full $75.00 credit to offset the cost of uninstalling the defective unit and installing a replacement.”
That’s a bold move, and cuts right to the heart of the problem that’s vexed me for so long. According to the press release, as far as the company can ascertain, it’s the only company in the industry offering this type of warranty program regularly. And to my knowledge, that isn’t wrong.
Two things occur to me here. The first is that The DaVinci Group is a young company, and it remains to be seen whether this move will allow them to grow, and prosper. The second is whether or not any larger, more established distributors will see this as a competitive advantage and follow their lead. Leave a Comment
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And The Winner Is: LCDIn the industry’s first-ever independent survey asking AV’ers which projection technology, LCD or DLP, they prefer, LCD has won in a big way. We will do this survey annually in the future, so we’ll see how it evolves over time.
Our February survey was pretty simple — Which technology do you prefer: LCD or DLP, in eight different applications? The applications included:
- House of Worship
- K-12 & Higher Education
- Rental
- Staging
- Conference Room/Boardroom
- Large Screen Entertainment
- Healthcare
- Government and Security
The survey garnered nearly 5,000 votes and the clear winner — in seven of the eight applications, the winner was LCD. We did have a ninth category (home theaters), but we had some major some ballot-stuffing from projector manufacturers — so we threw that category out (we will, however, give our readers another opportunity to re-vote on that category this summer).
In any case, we complied the results in an infographic, which you can check out here.
Have you seen our article on Sony’s new Laser Projection Technology? No? Well, you should read it. Because sooner than you probably think, it will be the competitor to LCD and DLP technology. Leave a Comment
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BenQ’s RL Series Gaming Monitors DebutBenQ America has started shipping its 1920×1080 resolution RL2460HT monitor for gaming — perfect for RTS- and MOBA-style games, as well as fighting games — a big enough market in AV that we even have a GAMING section of articles on our website. The company is also introducing its stylish “bumble bee” black and yellow RL2240HE gaming monitor (also 1920×1080). Featuring Fighting (RL2460HT) and RTS (RL2240HE) modes, the duo provides 1ms GTG response times, HDMI output (RL2460HT) for streaming, and something called RevolutionEyes technology that apparently helps monitor performance and visual comfort during long sessions of action. Low Blue Light technology also removes up to 70 percent of blue spectrum light to protect gamers’ eyes during extended periods of play without affecting picture quality.
The RL2460HT is a 24-inch LED backlit while the RL2240HE monitor is a 21.5-inch. To record, stream and broadcast gaming to global online audiences without any game play disruptions, the RL2460HT now features a built-in HDMI output. And, with their Display Mode gamers can switch between nine monitor screen sizes from 17-inch (4:3) to 24-inch widescreen, while Smart Scaling enables players to adjust the screen’s content on-the-fly to virtually any custom size without impacting controller sensitivity.
Available now, BenQ’s RL2460HT and RL2240HE gaming monitors retail at $249 and $189, respectively. Click here for the specs on the RL2460HT and the RL2240HE. Leave a Comment
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WiSA and ALMA Partner for Wireless Audio StandardThe Wireless Speaker and Audio (WiSA) Association, an industry group dedicated to bringing wireless audio products to the home theater market, and the Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing and Acoustics International (ALMA), a not-for-profit trade association of loudspeakers manufacturers, today announced the signing of membership agreements in each other’s organizations. ALMA International and the WiSA Association are both dedicated to the advancement and growth of the loudspeaker industry while focusing on different yet complementary areas of technology. The relationship will serve to address those common interests such as, the requirements for designing and manufacturing high-resolution digital audio.
The WiSA Association delivered the industry’s first and only interoperability and compliance test specification (CTS) for ensuring the quality of the wireless link between transmitting devices such as, HDTVs, AVRs, DVD/Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and receiving devices like speakers and subwoofers. WiSA-compliant systems deliver cinema quality sound with 24bit, up to 96 KHz uncompressed, interference-free audio. ALMA International, in its 50-plus year history has set numerous standards addressing loudspeaker design, components, performance and testing.
Here are details of the WiSA standard. Leave a Comment
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Philips Intros 4K, 1080p Android-Based Smart TVsTP Vision, the company that markets and brands Philips TVs in Europe and other parts of the world, has announced a new line of TVs that are powered by Android. There are two lines, the 8100 and 8200 TVs, which are 1080p resolution, and the Ultra HD 8800 series, offering 4K resolution. These will first be available in Europe and Russia in Q2 of 2014, and are the first Android-powered TVs coming to the market (separate from Google TV, which may or may not be discontinued). The displays will ship with Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).
In addition to the Google Play store, Philips Smart TV will also be available on the devices. Together, this will offer customers Web browsing via Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Movies, Netflix, Google Music, Spotify and other apps. Consumers will also be able to play games available via the Google Play store thanks to the Android operating system and quad-core (8100, 8200 series) or hexcore (8800 series). Games can be played via pointer and cursor or a separate controller.
Other specs include:
- Local contrast
- Ambient light sensor
- Upscaling of content to 4K (8800)
- Distance adaptive sharpness, which uses an integrated camera to detect the viewer and adapt sharpness accordingly (8800)
- Four-sided amblight with gaming mode
- Control via pointing, cursor navigation, typing, talking or gestures
- Integration with Android-based phones and tablets, as well as connectivity with Apple iOS devices
- Support of Philips TV remote app, Wi-Fi Miracast, SimplyShare for streaming content to/from mobile devices
Philips Smart TV is here. Leave a Comment
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Eighteen Sound Announces 18iD High Performance SubwooferItaly-based Eighteen Sound this week announced the 18iD extended low frequency neodymium transducer. The new subwoofer is engineered for maximum power transfer when operated with Class D and similar (iPal compatible) amplifiers and is designed for vented and bandpass subwoofer cabinets. It works best with amplifiers capable of delivering 2,600 watts of power (10,000-watt peak).
The transducer features a 5.3-inch inside-outside ISV (Interleaved Sandwich Voice) coil. A low-density material air diffractor placed into the heatsink acts as a cooling system, increasing the power handling capability and lowering the power compression figure.
The 18iD is able to perform under inclement weather conditions, utilizing cone treatment that Eighteen Sound says provides water repellent properties to both sides of the cone. A special coating applied to both the top and back plates makes the transducer far more resistant to the corrosive effects of salts and oxidization.
Here are all the specs. Leave a Comment
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NuVo App Adds Streaming NuVo Technologies has released a new iOS feature for its Player Portfolio app that allows users to stream content stored on any iOS device directly to the NuVo system. The NuVo Player App version 1.8.1, available now for download, enables direct stream capability for iOS devices using iOS 6 or later. It supports track selection, volume control and more.
The audio files residing on the device itself are fully accessible provided both the device and the NuVo Player Portfolio system are on the same network. When connected, each iPhone or iPad becomes another audio source, the content of which is accessible as a library within the app and can be listened to by any zone on the system. As many as 16 streams can be accessed simultaneously, and the app provides controls for play/pause, next song/last song, and shuffle mode.
The app update featuring Direct Stream will work on all iPhones and iPads running iOS 6 or later; a firmware update (version 1.8.1) to the Player Portfolio is also required. When the updated app is opened, it will automatically prompt users to complete the system update and also offer a brief tutorial on using iOS direct stream.
Here are all the details. Leave a Comment
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DVIGear Joins HDBaseT AllianceDVIGear this month announced it has joined the HDBaseT Alliance as an Adopter. The HDBaseT Alliance is a cross-industry alliance founded by LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor to promote and standardize HDBaseT technology for whole-home distribution of uncompressed HD multimedia content.
To read the complete press release online, click here. Leave a Comment
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Kaleidescape Names Cheena Srinivasan as New CEOKaleidescape, Inc. this month announced Cheena Srinivasan as its new CEO. Srinivasan is a founder of Kaleidescape and previously served as the company’s COO and EVP.
To read the complete press release online, click here. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HomeAV Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100% opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the high-end HomeAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter – instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe Publications has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004.
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Copyright 2014 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe HomeAV Edition contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
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