Volume 12, Issue 6 — March 27, 2015
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Audio Projection Control & Signal Processing Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories
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Lighting Control and Automation — A Boon for AV Pros
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
When people think of automation, they tend to still think in terms of AV control: TV on, volume up, channel selected, etc. Oddly, despite the fact that control of shades and lighting is, in my opinion, the essence of automation, it remains semi-forgotten.
It’s probably a disservice to say that. Plenty of vendors have offered lighting and shade control for a long time. Lutron, for example, invented the dimmer switch in the 1960s, and today continues to be a big player in lighting control.
What I mean by “semi-forgotten” is that, despite a variety of technology solutions from a broad assortment of vendors even now, halfway into the second decade of the 21st century light control (a name that incorporates control of both shades and lights) aren’t installed in nearly enough residential and commercial projects.
AV pros can’t even hide behind the excuse that it’s priced out of reach for all but the one percenters. While I’ll concede that motorized shades remain pricey due to their custom nature, the fact that the shelves at Home Depot are stocked with controllable light fixtures and electrical receptacles indicates that light control is a category that is not cost-prohibitive.
It seems obvious that if a category is within reach of the DIY crowd, there’s no good reason for AV Pros to avoid it.
So how do you sell it? The same way you sell anything: People don’t buy features; they buy benefits.
Light control offers several benefits to end-users. First is convenience. Single button control of entire rooms, sections of the home or the entire home makes life a lot simpler, especially in large residences.
Second, energy management gets used as a carrot to promote light control, although I think that there are more appealing hooks. Regardless, integration of light control and HVAC offers energy savings. Two of the ways this is accomplished include heating a home by allowing in more natural light as well as cooling it by using shades to reduce natural light, both of which reduce reliance on the HVAC.
For end users who are interested in style and aesthetics (including business owners), light control is an easy sell. Lutron advises their integrators to “lead with lights” when pitching to designers and architects. Fine tuning lighting and shades adds elegance and ambience to a space. It’s also the reason why some designers, including a couple of my friends, specialize in lighting interior spaces: The potential for either subdued or strikingly dramatic effects with light and shadow have as much of an impact as paint and furnishings.
Shading is equally important: Architects and designers want their structure to look sheathed, so every window has a consistent look when viewed from outside.
It’s entirely typical that in high-rise condo construction the builder mandates the window coverings to the condo unit buyers. Contrast the look of a high-rise condo to a rental apartment building with all different window coverings and you’ll visualize what I mean. File that tidbit away for your next meeting with a luxury MDU developer.
Lastly, there’s the impact of light control on security. It’s standard procedure for integrators to tie in light control to an alarm system and program it so that during an event suck as an intrusion or smoke and fire, all the lights in the house can be locked on for either safe exit, or to give an intruder nowhere to hide. In the event of intrusion, all the window coverings can retract, again, to make concealment difficult, as well as have all the exterior lights strobe to attract attention and let neighbors know something is wrong.
What’s really important for AV dealers to grasp is when they’re talking about light control they’re going after a different budget of the project. The money for lights and shades is going to be allocated and it’s going to be spent. It’s the AV pros job to successfully pitch the client so that the money gets spent with them.
How to Sell Lighting Control
It’s important to identify which benefits are the hot-buttons for your clients. For many, décor conscious keypads and interfaces and being able to reduce wall clutter from a six-gang box of switches to a single keypad or touch panel may do the trick. Cosmetically appealing switches, keypads and bezels appeal to designers and their clients who want to benefit from technology without looking at it.
Aesthetically, light control can really change the atmosphere of the home by changing the light levels, and rather than adjust each light manually programmed scene setting lets them do it all from one button.
Then there’s energy conservation features like occupancy sensing: By detecting when bodies are not in areas, the system can make sure those lights are not on. Additionally, light control can provide added safety. Having the path from the garage through the back hall come on when a client comes home at night, or to light the way down the stairs is a big plus.
One small feature I often found appealing to clients is to program the system to turn the bathroom lights on in the middle of the night to only 10 percent to not blind them when they get up to use the toilet.
Of lights and shades lighting is the more intuitive, easily understood discipline for AV pros: They’re just more boxes with wires going into them, like any other device.
Window coverings, on the other hand, are a whole new discipline and a whole new array of terminology and principles that need to be mastered.
The good news: Like most things, it’s not as complicated as it first appears. If you can master multi-room HDMI distribution you can master window coverings.
That said, tacking window coverings requires a commitment to training. Dealers need to know how to measure, how to specify fabrics, and converse with clients and designers using fashion terminology.
One big question that AV pros have is whether or not getting involved in shade control puts them into competition with designers and drapery dealers. Is this going to be a problem?
Typically, it’s the opposite. Savvy AV pros find they can win over those groups. Designers who specify window covering products often don’t grasp the potential of motorization. Once an AV pro gets together with the designer and educates them on the benefits, the two can work together.
From your showroom do wine and cheese/lunch and learn sessions, reaching out to designers, educate them to the possibilities of light control, and build relationships with the design community. You’ll find that designers would love one button control and not have to run all over the house adjusting lighting levels, and you’re the key to that.
Further good news is that all the major automation vendors who offer light control products, such as Lutron and Crestron have comprehensive training and certification programs to help their AV pros tackle this category. Reach out to your vendor for access to their training and you’ll be halfway there.
Images via Lutron Leave a Comment
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Bill Anderson: A Story of a Friendship and Community
By Bill Skaer National Director of Sales, SAE
The sky was overcast when I woke up that morning. I was concerned that the dark sky might cast an even greater shadow on our gathering group. I knew that people were coming in from all over the country, and I hoped that it wouldn’t be dreary day. As I arrived on the site of our first assembly, I began to see so many familiar faces. There were forced smiles and endless hugs from people, many of whom I have known for nearly 30 years.
Over the next 15 minutes they just kept coming. By about 10 a.m. there were hundreds of people standing on that hill. I glanced back toward the sky after having been so busy shaking hands and hugging the crowd, and noticed that the sky was now a brilliant blue.
A man that I didn’t know personally began to speak. He spoke about this great guy, the one who brought us all together on this now beautiful day. He asked people to shout out a word or three that described our friend. “Generous,” “Fun,” “Food,” “Wine,” “Cheese,” “Loyal Friend,” “Ya Gotta Eat,” “Always Smiling,” “Great Uncle,” were but a small collection of the words that poured from the crowd. As he went on to describe the man we all knew, many of those words surfaced again and again.
When it was time to leave the side of this beautiful tree-covered hill we all quietly, arms around each other, headed back to our cars. We drove only a few miles away to Rancho Las Lomas to talk and share stories about this great guy whom we had all come to know so well… so well, in fact, that we would all drop whatever was going on in our own lives to travel to southern California on a moment’s notice to spend time together in his honor.
I know many posts have been made and articles have been written over the past week about Bill Anderson, whom I considered to be one of my best friends. It seemed, however, like everyone that I met during his memorial service on Sunday, March 22, considered Bill to be one of their best friends too. When the preacher said that at least 60 people had come up to him to tell him that, “Bill Anderson was my best friend!” We realized that Bill had been “cheating” on us all by making everyone feel equally important. Although it seems impossible to have scores of best friends, I think he actually did.
I spent the day with so many great friends, and the stories just kept coming. Many of these people were family, neighbors, and others that one might expect to attend a memorial service for someone truly special. But what struck me was what brought so many of us together so many years ago. There was a reason that such a large and diverse group of people became such friends with this one man.
Bill started out in a small record shop that later morphed into a high-end custom integrated electronics company — company that endured for more than three decades. Along the way he met up with a group of like-minded individuals that wanted something more. As I spoke with one person after another, I found that many of them had gotten to know Bill through the custom electronics industry. When we were young, we were looking for knowledge and insight on how to make our businesses better. We wanted to be able to make a living doing something that we loved. Many of us had backgrounds in music. We were musicians and geeks, and many of us were just lovers of technology.
We met each other at the few industry events, such as CES (Consumer Electronic Show), that happened a couple of times a year back then. We were different than most of the other attendees at those shows; we were entrepreneurs, and we were hungry for information and a sense of belonging that we didn’t really feel from these gatherings.
A group of very highly driven guys raised their hands and stepped out of the crowd. They said that we could form our own organization — one that would work to meet our needs. There was a craving for education and the desire to have a voice in creating what became the custom installation channel. Many of these people gathered in a small hotel ballroom and decided to pool their money and start a trade group, called the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA.) Over the next couple of decades we volunteered not only our money but our time, as well. You could probably put a number on the hundreds of thousands of hours we volunteered collectively, but really the effort is incalculable. We were all caught up in the vision of the founders, and we were unstoppable as a group. We were a bit bold and courageous, and maybe a little rough around the edges, but we were totally willing to take chances for the betterment of the group.
Bill Anderson was one of those guys who stepped forward as a leader. What he and others brought to this young group of misfits was a smile and an extended hand. He encouraged the new guys; we called it networking. We spent countless hours in hotels and exhibit halls far from home in an effort to help others. The old adage, “A rising tied lifts all boats” could be heard throughout those gatherings. We were excited, and we wanted to share what we knew and learn from others like us.
I have been told by some of the newer folks in our industry that they don’t need to be members of a group. We have been told that young people don’t join associations; they are loners. But I personally do not believe that, and after what I witnessed last weekend I would say that we need a sense of community now more than ever. It doesn’t matter that it may be a little raw. It just needs to be real. People respond to smiles and open arms from people who care about helping other people succeed.
I was telling someone that without our shared interests and passion for our industry, I would have never have met so many amazing people. They are the kind of people who will drop everything in their lives to be there for each other and the family of one incredible human being.
Community happens in many ways: schools, clubs and shared interests, and many more, but I would say that it would likely be impossible for so many people from so many places to ever find each other without an association like the one that we built. It’s more than a couple of big shows a year. It’s what we do with the relationships that we develop that really matters.
If we refine our processes as a group to be a corporate machine, we may miss out on one of the greatest benefits of an association, and that is the association part. I have used the word community several times over the past couple of days, but that’s what many of us spoke about this weekend. How else would we have been able to come to know so many great people and develop friendships on this scale that last a lifetime?
Bill Anderson has left us for now. He will always be remembered for his generosity and quick smile. I am honored to have known him.
Memorial Donations Friends and family have organized a Trust to help Bill’s daughter Danielle, fulfill Bill’s hopes and dreams for her education and development. Donations may be made to the Trust in form of check payable to The Danielle Anderson Scholarship & Life Trust and mailed to: Ms. Ruth Ko, Trustee c/o Baucom Claytor Law Firm 200 Providence Road, Suite 106… Charlotte, North Carolina 28207 If you have questions about the Trust, please feel free to contact Ruth Ko or Mike Anderson.
Bill Skaer, CEDIA’s 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, currently serves as national director of sales for SAE. He is a former CEDIA board member and former president and CEO of Eric Grundelman’s Cool AV in Mesquite, Tex.
This article was reprinted with permission from Bill Skaer and originally appeared here.
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Rockustics Ships XT-PowerRockSoundTube’s sister company, Rockustics, is now shipping its new XT-PowerRock — a two-way rock speaker featuring a compression driver, 93 dB sensitivity and high power handling. This model is aimed at both home and commercial projects including themed entertainment, hotel garden areas or pools, outdoor shopping centers or outdoor cafés.
According to SoundTube, the XT-PowerRock’s high frequency driver incorporates a 1.3” diameter diaphragm with a 1” throat on an 80 degree conical horn; the speaker also includes an 8” woofer. Power handling is 250 watts; a 120-watt transformer with 8 ohm bypass is included.
Here are all the detailed specs. Leave a Comment
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Triad Speakers Redesigns InRoom OmniSub Series Triad Speakers has redesigned it’s InRoom OmniSub line, making what they say are considerable cosmetic and performance enhancements. The InRoom OmniSub Series consists of the 200-watt Sub8, 300-watt Sub10 and 500-watt Sub12. Each can be used for both two-channel and home theater applications and mated with any of Triad’s vast assortment of InRoom, InCeiling, InWall and OnWall loudspeakers.
Triad is now using Class D amplification in the OmniSubs.
Triad also upgraded to a long-throw excursion carbon fiber cone driver which, they say, yields greater resonance with less distortion. Finally, to save installers setup time, Triad eliminated some of the lesser used settings.
The Omni Sub8, Sub10 and Sub12 retail for $550, $750 and $950 respectively and details are here. Leave a Comment
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Epson Pushes New Home Cinema 3500 Epson’s new Home Cinema 3500 is a 1080p home theater projector that uses 3LCD technology. It projects at 2,500 lumens of color brightness and 2,500 lumens of white brightness as well as has a 70,000:1 contrast ratio.
The compact projector features two built-in, 10-watt stereo speakers. Epson is promoting it as a “place the projector on a table or even on a tight shelf space” applications. In addition, seven built-in color modes allow users to optimize the projected image, whether you’re in a well-lit living room, in the backyard or in the garage for a game day party — this is an interesting feature as you can color-correct for projecting on surfaces other than a white screen.
Integrated with two HDMI, component and a MHL port the Home Cinema 3500 includes 30-degree H and V optical keystone correction as well as 10 bit color processing.
The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3500 lists for $1,599.99 MSRP. Full specs are here. Leave a Comment
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BenQ’s EW2440L Monitor Goes Gold BenQ America just introduced its newly minted gold version of the EW2440L monitor. Following on the heels of the gold-versions of the Apple MacBook series, the gold EW2440L monitor integrates MHL technology, BenQ’s “Cinema Mode,” and a 3000:1 contrast ratio in a 1080p, 24-inch screen (1920×1080).
With its new gold casing and an edge-to-edge slim bezel design, the EW2440L has inputs for gaming and entertainment that include HDMI and MHL ports. When not gaming, the monitor can be used in “Cinema Mode” that dynamically adapts to specific video content and automatically brightens dark scenes without overexposing color levels, thus preserving vital picture details. With BenQ’s “Super Resolution” feature, the display also simulates high-resolution images in lower-quality video by increasing pixel density — creating an amazing viewing experience regardless of the source.
To enable a more comfortable viewing experience, the EW2440L comes equipped with BenQ’s RevolutionEyes technology. Since backlight controllers in regular monitors can cause rapid flickering at a rate of 200Hz per second when brightness is reduced from its maximum level, user comfort can be compromised in applications where longer viewing sessions are required. Designed to counter this effect, BenQ’s ZeroFlicker technology eliminates traditional LED flicker issues using a direct LED-backlight system that enables users to experience improved visual comfort and reduced eye fatigue. Users can also easily lower the device’s blue light output to further boost viewer comfort simply by using the device’s hotkeys.
For audio only situations, the EW2440L features a “Speaker Only” mode, which allows users to connect their players directly to the monitors’ speakers without powering on the screen, resulting in a complete audio immersion experience while consuming less power. In line with the series’ attractive design and feature-rich functionality, the monitor sports touch onscreen display and hotkeys, enabling users to switch between settings easily and fully customize their experience.
The gold version of the EW2440L retails for $269 and all the specs are here. Leave a Comment
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Atlona Ships AT-UHD-EX-70-2PS HDBaseT Extender Atlona has announced that the AT-UHD-EX-70-2PS 4K extender using HDBaseT is shipping.
The AT-UHD-EX-70-2PS Transmitter/Receiver kit provides an economical means of transmitting AV signals up to 230 feet (70 meters) while offering multi-channel audio, 48-volt Power over Ethernet, and bi-directional Ethernet, IR, and RS-232, all over a single category cable.
All of the extenders in the UHD-EX series support 4K/UHD video @ 60Hz, provide pass-through of HDCP 2.2 content, support EDID communication, and employ HDBaseT technology for extending signals, including multi-channel audio in formats up to Dolby TrueHD and Atmos plus DTS-HD Master Audio.
The AT-UHD-EX-70-2PS kit offers configuration-free-set-up and field-updateable firmware, rear-panel I/O ports, and low-profile enclosures — 1 inch (2.5 cm) high, once-quarter rack-width — for easy installation into racks and confined spaces behind displays. Each transmitter and receiver in this kit comes with its own power adapter.
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Global Cache Partners with iRemoteControl Global Caché has partnered with an App company called iRemoteControl for for a one-room control solution that’s packaged with hardware and software for $250.
Global Caché’s products connect almost any electrical device to a Wi-Fi and/or IP network so it can be controlled, automated and maintained by network-based software such as iRemoteControl.
iRemoteControl is a software company that uses an online form filling approach to configure iPads and iPhones for whole house control. In addition, the GUI that results uses “virtual remotes” drawn at HD Retina resolution, rendering lifelike remotes — even the remote’s LED lights up when a button is pressed!
Global Caché is here and iRemoteControl is here. Leave a Comment
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Peerless-AV Intros New SmartMount Carts and Stands Aimed at Educational, Residential, Corporate and Commercial Applications Peerless-AV has announced the expansion of its line of SmartMount video carts and stands aimed at a variety of applications, including K-12 and higher education institutions, commercial/corporate buildings, and residential homes.
In lieu of purchasing multiple displays for multiple rooms, users can now order one display and create a mobile solution that is used in numerous locations. In addition, all new SmartMount carts and stands are UL tested and certified, ensuring the safety of the products that enable mobility without the fear of tipping or structural failure.
The new line of Peerless-AV SmartMount carts and stands include the following:
For educational, commercial and residential applications:
- SR560M – Flat Panel mobile display cart for general viewing capabilities: SR560M
- SR575M – Flat Panel mobile display cart for general viewing capabilities; offers tool-less display height adjustment: SR575M
- SR598 – Flat Panel mobile display cart for general viewing capabilities; best for extra large displays: SR598
- SS560M/SS560F – Stands with (SS560M) and without (SS560F) metal shelf for general display stand applications: SR560M-AB
- SS560G – Stand with gloss finish and glass shelf for residential and office applications: SS560G
For commercial and corporate applications:
- SR555E – Dual display video conferencing in corporate settings in which aesthetics are key and all components can be hidden from sight; accommodates side-by-side 40-55” displays: SR555M
- SR575E – Single display video conferencing in corporate settings in which aesthetics are key and all components can be hidden from sight; accommodates 32-75” display: SR575M
- SR555M – Dual display video conferencing for education or commercial applications: SR575M
For conference centers/universities/hospitality applications:
- SR575K/SS575K – Kiosk cart and stand for way-finding and interactive applications; SR575K features wheels: SR575M
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Bryston Expands BIT Lineup of AC Power Isolation Devices Bryston has launched the new BIT (Bryston Isolation Transformer) models aimed at larger applications. The new 45- and 60-amp models feature a 220/240-volt input with a 120-volt output and are available with or without AVR technology (Automatic Voltage Regulation). In addition to these new models, all BIT products will now be available with standard rack-mount faceplates, making them ideally suited for larger residential and commercial installations.
Bryston says the BIT product lineup was developed to address the need for an AC power device that accomplished three key objectives: power line conditioning, isolation and non-MOV-based protection. Existing models include 5-, 15- and 20-amp versions, now available with either 17-inch standard faceplates or 19-inch rack-mount faceplates.
Bryston’s new BIT products are already shipping and range in list prices from $5,900-$8,900.
Here are all the details. 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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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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