Volume 13, Issue 1 — January 15, 2016
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Editorial Editorial Editorial
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Industry News Control & Signal Processing Audio Projection Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories Lighting
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Best Behavior On The Jobsite
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
I made a blog post recently about dressing appropriately for the workplace, and Leonard Suskin left a comment about one of his pet peeves: Technicians who wear rock concert t-shirts and grubby jeans on jobsites.
He’s right, of course.
That got me to thinking about professionalism, and what constitutes professional conduct on the job site.
Showing up on time and doing a good job, that’s obvious. But as they say, the devil is in the details, and oftentimes what separates the good professionals from the great ones can be subtle.
I define professionalism as not only doing your best, but presenting yourself to others in a positive way. Here’s some thoughts on how to further differentiate yourselves and your personnel from your competition.
Right off the bat, maintain a standard for clean, well groomed appearance. I acknowledge that installers often spend their day covered in drill shavings, drywall dust and, on hot summer days rooting through attics, sweat.
Regardless, showing up in the morning on the jobsite showered, groomed and in clean work clothes makes a better first impression than otherwise.
Something that was drilled into my head early on by my boss was to park the work trucks at the curb, and avoid parking in the client’s driveway. Why? Partly so the client can get out of or into their garage.
But there’s a more important reason: There’s been a trend for multimillion-dollar designer houses to have designer dressed stone or textured, pebbled driveways in designer colors. No matter how well maintained your work vehicles are, they have hard lives. It would be unfortunate to have a surprise oil leak stain the client’s brand new ten thousand dollar driveway.
Yes, it’s possible to spend ten grand on a driveway, and a lot more (Pro tip: In the initial consultation, while you’re trying to feel out the client’s prospective AV budget, ask them about their plans for the driveway).
Another one that was drummed into me as a rookie Wire Monkey (3rd Class) was to treat the client’s house better than my own. Details matter — before work begins, during and after: Put down drop cloths in high traffic areas, use painters tape on exposed corners, vacuuming as you go when boring holes or cutting drywall, wearing white cotton gloves when working near freshly painted surfaces. Leave no trace of your work behind.
Here’s an unlikely example of the benefits of professionalism — washroom access. More importantly, the repeat business that can accrue from such professionalism.
At my old employer, we had a long-time client who had us do the systems in all their residences in three different cities. By the time I left the company we had done seven of their homes.Naturally, over the years, they got to know us and our team very well. Their standards and expectations were extremely high, which speaks volumes about the repeat business they gave us, not to mention the referral business to their well-off friends. Our team was held in such regard that on their projects, during the finishing stages all other trades people were explicitly forbidden from using the washrooms in their homes, except for us. The exception was made for us only because they knew that it would be as if we were never there all.
Clearly, the details matter a lot. Leave a Comment
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Scope Creep, Scope Leak and Now Scope Seep
By Omar Prashad rAVe Blogger
Every integrator is all too familiar with the dreaded scope creep and thanks to a fantastic article by Mark Coxon, we are now familiar with scope leak. While those are both challenges that require more actionable strategies that we’ve seen tabled up to this point, those are topics for another day. Have you ever head the phrase Scope Seep?
I recently read a fantastic book on management consulting written by Alan Weiss where he introduces the concept of scope seep, and while his definition of the term was in relation to how management consultants treat their assignments the phrase should be permanently engraved in the glossary of the AV industry. Quite simply scope seep are those little things that ‘we’ volunteer to do during the course of a project that were never actually part of the project scope but that we throw in during the course of a project in an attempt to justify our value or, worse, justify our technical prowess and brilliance.
While scope seep is an affliction that typically infects our operations and project delivery teams the sales team isn’t immune to it. Especially the ‘relationship’ reps who think being the nice guy and having the customer ‘like you’ are what secures business.
Let’s use an example to illustrate: You’re doing a small $40,000 AV system upgrade for a new customer. You secured the project because the account manager showed the customer how your company would meet their needs (instead of just listening to their wants) and you delivered a proposal that was customer-centric. In her diluted version of reality, the account manager thinks that you won the sale because she had a great relationship with the customer. Now while the project is for the boardroom upgrade the account manager notices during one of her meetings with the customer that the video wall in their lobby looks awful, the color consistency is way off and it’s in desperate need of a color balance. Instead of addressing it with the customer she tells the field tech something along the lines of ‘hey, since you’re on-site anyways could you spend a few minutes and re-balance the video wall for them.’ In her head, she’s thinking that the client is really going to appreciate going above and beyond.
I would argue that this actually erodes the customer’s perception of the value that we bring to the relationship. Why you ask… while fixing it for them is the ‘nice’ thing to do not only does it cost us money and labor time, but it costs us an opportunity to show the customer the value in partnering with us. We miss one of those critical teachable moments. We miss the opportunity to sit with the customer in their own lobby and show them how the poorly calibrated video wall detracts from their brand and image. We miss the opportunity to demonstrate the value we bring as a business partner. We miss the opportunity to show the customer that we are thinking from their perspective.
Here’s another example — the project is almost finished and our programmer is now on-site loading and testing and preparing the system for commissioning. While in the room she notices that there are motorized shades and blinds which weren’t in our scope because they operated perfectly from a bank of rocker switches. Her curiosity is piqued and she pops a couple of ceiling tiles, lo and behold, there are already group motor controllers for the blinds and shades. She thinks, boy wouldn’t it be cool if the blinds would automatically adjust when the AV system was turned on depending on the time of the day. All the hardware is there and I’ve got a couple of open ports on the control system. So off she goes pulling control cabling to the group motor controllers and adding to the control system program while on-site, the entire time thinking about how much the customer will appreciate that they went above and beyond.
Again I would argue that just doing this extra work not only eats into the profitability of the project but also tangibly impedes the valued partnership we all strive to have with our customers. Not being able to show the customer and explain to them why it may be a good idea to link the blinds control to the central AV system means the customer doesn’t get to see you actively thinking from their perspective, on their business issues, and on what might make their lives better. If the projector lamp explodes in the room three months down the road, right before the CEO’s meeting, do you think your customer is going to remember that nice little thing you did with the blinds or the video wall in the lobby? Remember the old adage — people take for granted what they get for free.
Let’s look at it from outside of the AV industry for a minute. Think about the last time you hired an electrician; let’s pretend it was to install a new light fixture. If they noticed that the receptacle for your TV was in the wrong place and the cord was an eyesore draping down the wall do you think they would have just moved it while they were there without charging you for it? Sure it needed to be done, and it would have made your life better, but I would bet my bottom dollar that they would have pointed it out to you and told you that it could be fixed (for a nominal price because they were already in your house with their tools). And although you may not admit it, I’m sure that you would think back fondly on that electrician because while they were doing one job at your house. They noticed something else that wasn’t ideal and they put themselves in your shoes proposing a solution to a problem that you may not have known that you had.
So what can we do to prevent scope seep? Being it’s a mental affliction more than anything else the solutions have to be slowly and consistently ingrained into your company culture.
- Remember the sole purpose of our existence as integrators is to provide value to our customers. Making sure the customer sees that we are constantly thinking about them is paramount to building the business partner relationship. Don’t give it away and miss out on the opportunity to bring to the customer’s attention the attentiveness of your organization to their business needs.
- Make sure our technical delivery teams don’t feel that they have to justify your presence and value. The customer relationship is that of equal partners. They need us just as much as we need them.
- Yes it’s fun to do cool new things, but cool new things are for the R&D bench, not for a free add-on to a customer project. Justifying your technical prowess and brilliance is a self-fulfilling prophecy that does nothing to strengthen the business partnership with your customer.
- Perfection is the enemy of good (and of profitability).
- Remember – its human nature to take for granted what we get for free.
I’m pretty sure I’m pushing a button here that will have people sharply divided. There are too many organization that believe that having the customer like you and having a ‘great relationship’ is what drives sales. So I’m curious to hear your feedback integrators, do you add things out of scope to impress the customer and justify your value? Leave a Comment
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LG Generates Biggest Hype at CES So Far – But, Press Misses Best LG Product Completely!
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
Every publication covering CES — including the residential and commercial AV one’s – have covered LG’s demo of a “rollable” or “foldable” screen as if it’s the biggest thing, ever.
And, it may very well turn out to be.
But, he truth is, it’s nothing but publicity-based hype.
Sure, it’s interesting and, look at that photo – it’s awesome. It’s simply beautiful. But, let’s be honest here, this technology is YEARS away. And, we will see numerous iterations of it.
So, why are so many publications “leading” with it this week at CES?
Well, because CES 2016 is BORING. A lot of ‘not much improvement’, so far, and not much creativity. Many of the tech biggies – companies that are actually DRIVING technology, aren’t even exhibiting: Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook. But, what’s ironic is that well over 300 exhibitors have not mentioned one of those companies in their new product releases.
So, back to this bendable screen in the LG booth. Meh. What’s getting barely any attention at CES – and is a way, way bigger deal than a rollable screen in 2016 is LG’s 55″ dual-sided monitor/TV (it’s less than an inch thick).
Watch this video of it. Leave a Comment
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rAVe Founder Gary Kayye to Present on Social Marketing at ISE 2016The InfoComm FlashTrack entitled Social Media Marketing for AV Pros, takes place on Wednesday, 10 Feb 2016 at 15:00-15:20 on Stand 12-N100 at Integrated Systems Europe 2016 – Europe’s largest tradeshow for the professional AV and electronic systems industry. Co-taught by rAVe founder Gary Kayye and Social Media Expert Kayla Blevins, the session is designed to help AV integrators and manufacturers, in the EMEA region, understand the state of the social media industry and what is working to promote AV products and what isn’t.
“I am proud of what we do with social media. We have over 33,000 followers on our various social media accounts and we think we can help everyone market themselves better in social media,” said Kayye.” Kayla was a student of mine at UNC (University of North Carolina) in my social media marketing class and she’s become a social media superstar with her column on our website teaching integrators and manufacturers how to use social media marketing to promote their AV products.”
Social media shouldn’t be a separate marketing effort in your company — it should be part of your overall marketing strategy. And, Twitter isn’t the only thing you should be doing! This session will go over the five social media platforms/apps that should be part of every AV integrator or dealer’s marketing plan.
“InfoComm International’s presence at ISE showcases our commitment to the industry to provide valuable education globally and we are grateful for the participation of our volunteer experts, like Gary Kayye, who are committed to improving the industry by offering quality training,” said Terry Friesenborg, chief global officer, InfoComm International.
The InfoComm FlashTrack session will take place at the InfoComm International stand 12-N100. No registration is required but you should put this on your calendar as seating is limited — first come/first served. Click on the appropriate calendar link to automatically import details of this event into your calendar.
2016-02-10 15:00:00 2016-02-10 15:20:00 Europe/Amsterdam Social Media Marketing for AV Pros This session is designed to help AV integrators and manufacturers, in the EMEA region, understand the state of the social media industry and what is working to promote AV products and what isn’t. Stand 12-N100 at ISE 2016 in the Amsterdam RAI Gary Kayye gary@ravepubs.com
ISE is here. Leave a Comment
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CEDIA Presenting at Design & Construction Week CEDIA is focusing on efforts to connect with the design and build community; as part of this effort, CEDIA will be presenting education and participating in a roundtable discussion at Design & Construction Week. Design & Construction Week (DCW) features the co-location of the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) and NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS).
“The builder and designer audience is crucial to CEDIA members and the solutions they deliver. Successful collaboration between our members will ensure that clients really will have a home experience customized to their needs, and in the end, that is what we’re all after,” said Vin Bruno, CEDIA CEO.
The course CEDIA will be presenting, “Emerging Residential Technology Trends,” has been a consistent favorite among the design and build audience. The course highlights the impact of new technologies and how to use them to increase profits, save production time, and gain referrals.
CEDIA representatives will also participate in the Design & Construction Week Roundtable to discuss issues and trends in the U.S. housing market and exchange ideas with other industry thought leaders.
The 2016 synchronization of IBS and KBIS for Design & Construction Week will also include two partner events – International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) and The International Surface Event (TISE), made up of SURFACES, StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas and TileExpo. The third annual DCW will take place January 19-22 in Las Vegas and will bring together 110,000+ design and construction professionals.
CEDIA members interested in presenting continuing education to groups of their own local design and build partners may do so through the CEDIA Outreach Instructor program. Additional information about this program can be found here. Leave a Comment
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rAVe’s 2015 End-of-Year VideoOne of the most anticipated videos we produce, annually, is our End-of-Year Video where we take a look at everything that shaped the year in ProAV, HomeAV and Digital Signage.
Well, without further delay, here it is – the official debut of rAVe’s 2015 End-of-Year Video. Watch it as you very-well may be in it – or certainly a lot of people, products and technology you use!
We hope you enjoy the 2015 end-of-year video and we look forward to a great 2016!
Watch it here. Leave a Comment
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CEDIA Opens 2016 Awards Program and Announces Global Awards CompetitionCEDIA is now accepting entries for our 2016 CEDIA Awards competition from member home technology professional companies and manufacturers.
This year’s manufacturer awards categories include best new product and product hall of fame. Home technology professional awards categories include: home theater, media room, integrated home, marine and aircraft, innovative solution, special project, media room under $25,000, integrated home under $25,000, and showroom. Additionally, winners in the integrated home, home theater, and media room categories from CEDIA, CEDIA EMEA and CEDIA Asia Pacific will compete for the new global CEDIA Award.
“Our members around the world produce amazing projects – projects that really demonstrate a life lived best at home. Adding a global component to our awards program only heightens the prestige of being a CEDIA Award Winner; these winners will be showcased with the best of the best from around the world. I know we all look forward to seeing this year’s projects,” said Vin Bruno, CEDIA CEO.
Home technology professional and best new product award finalists will be announced prior to CEDIA 2016 and winners for all awards including the overall global winners will be announced at CEDIA 2016. Participants have until May 2, 2016 to complete their entries and can begin the process here. Leave a Comment
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Crestron Ships 15″ Capacitive Touch Screen
Crestron is now shipping their new TS-1542, a 15.6” HD metal touch screen using capacitive touch. The TS-1542 is aimed at the entry-level of the control market and makes it possible to view security cameras and other video sources over the network on the touch screen. Native support for H.264 and MJPEG formats allows the display of live streaming video from IP cameras, a streaming server, or a DigitalMedia switcher.
One wire is all that is required for installation, with a standard Ethernet cable handling power, control, and media.
Here are the specs. Leave a Comment
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URC’s TRC-820 Interface for Total Control ShipsURC’s latest Total Control handheld interface, the TRC-820, is now shipping. Programmable using URC’s Accelerator, the TRC-820 is designed to work with all URC System controllers, including the MRX-20 (with sophisticated onscreen display), MRX-10 and the new trend-setting MRX-8.
Features include:
- Wi-Fi based (URC’s previous entry-level handheld Total Control interface communicated via proprietary 2.4 GHz protocol)
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View video feed from surveillance cameras directly on the LCD
- 2-inch, brilliant Color LCD
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Familiar URC “GT” user interface.
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Full two-way integration for URC devices and also third-party devices
- User programmable shortcuts
Details are here. Leave a Comment
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Simple Control Adds Amazon Echo IntegrationSimple Control announced today that its popular iOS apps for control of AV gear and smart home devices have been certified by Amazon for use with their Amazon Echo product. Simple Control, a leader in IP-based home automation, is one of the first home control companies to gain Amazon Echo certification.
Amazon Echo includes Alexa, a cloud-based voice service that can be used to give commands to Simple Control. Once Simple Control is paired with Amazon Echo, users can control the home environment simply by speaking commands to Alexa, such as “Alexa, tell Simple Control to turn on the TV in the kitchen.”
“Simple Control is also proud to be able to bring new levels of freedom to many people with special needs,” said Vice President of Sales Keith Pribyl. “For the first time, they can control their entire home simply through speech.”
The Simple Control and Simple System apps operate thousands of devices like TVs, cable and satellite boxes, receivers, Blu-ray players, lights, switches, thermostats and more. The system integrates interactive second-screen media guides and allows control of everything in the home from a phone or tablet. Simple Control also offers a Simple Blaster for control of IR-based devices and a Simple Hub for additional whole-home features. Learn more here. Leave a Comment
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Panasonic Claims Single-Cable and Connector Solution for 8K Distribution (Hint: Fiber)Panasonic Corporation today announced that it has developed single cable and connector solution that enable the transmission of uncompressed full-spec 8K video signals.
Currently, to transmit video signal via connector-equipped cables from an 8K signal source or other devices to an 8K display, 4K-equivalent images are transmitted using four HDMI cables, and then they are combined to show in 8K resolution by using image processing. Panasonic’s newly-developed connector-equipped cable, which uses plastic optical fiber technology, can achieve the transmission of full-spec 8K video via a single cable, with improved bandwidth and length.
High-speed transmission over optical fiber connector can be achieved when the optical axes are completely aligned. However, when the equipment and the cable’s connection portions are detachable, it is difficult to precisely align optical axes at the connection, leading to poor connectivity and other defects. That has hampered the deployment of optical fiber cables in video transmission cables with detachable connectors.
Working with KAI Photonics Co., Ltd., a venture from Japan’s Keio University, Panasonic developed connector-equipped cables that adopt “plastic optical fiber and its connection technology using ballpoint-pen type interconnect*2.” Further, by applying Panasonic’s technology for the multi-level modulation of broadband signals, a transmission bandwidth exceeding 100 Gbps was achieved with a single cable.
Panasonic’s 8K gear is here. Leave a Comment
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URC Introduces New MX-990 IR/RF RemoteURC introduced the MX-990 remote that allows programmers flexibility in graphic design and layout. Graphics are stored on remote and archived in PC. The MX-990 uses popular, bulletproof Narrow-Band RF and is fully file compatible with URC’s MX-980 remote control.
Additional stats:
- Fully customizable color 2.4″ LCD screen
- Graphics are stored on remote, so when uploaded from remote to PC the graphics are sent to the PC for archival purposes
- Can run MX-980 files so programming steps are saved
- Uses Narrow-Band 418 MHz RF radio frequency
- Works with all URC 418 MHz RF Base Stations (MRX-350, MRF-260)
- Includes rechargeable battery and charging cradle
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Bryston Unveils New Amplifier Lineup called CubedBryston has announced today the introduction of the Cubed SST3 Series of amplifiers.
The SST3 series is a statement design platform ideal for music enthusiasts, home theater installations and professional audio applications. The new lineup will roll out in phases, with the 2.5B SST3, the 3B SST3, the 4BSST3, the 7BSST3, and the 14BSST3 being first to market. The flagship 28B SST3 is in the final design stages currently. Engineering achievements are at the forefront of the new designs, featuring a patented super-linear, low noise input buffer jointly developed by Bryston and the late Ph.D. engineer Dr. Ioan Alexandru Salomie. The Cubed Series also has a more robust RF and audio frequency noise filtering circuit before the power supplies to prevent unwanted anomalies on the power line from interfering even minutely with the audio signal. And finally the new amplifiers will feature an elegantly redesigned milled aluminum front panel.
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AudioControl Ships New Multi-Zone Matrix-Amplifier: The Director ModelM6400Audiocontrol is now shipping the Director Model M6400, its new high power matrixing amplifier with DSP control. The Director Model M6400, part of AudioControl’s new Matrix M Series, builds upon the success of AudioControl’s ‘The Director’ DSP Series driving sixteen channels of amplification in a 2U chassis that delivers 65 watts per channel at 8 ohms, 100 watts per channel at 4 ohms and 175 watts at 8 ohm bridged, all channels driven. The M6400 features on-board digital signal processing, graphic and parametric equalization by zone, network monitoring, and programming plus the addition of Volume Control, channel/zone grouping and zone audio presets. It also allows individual channel and zone selection via standard TCIP, the ability to bridge into low impedances while delivering incredible power and AudioControl’s legendary audio performance.
The matrixing capabilities of the Director M series allow any of eight analog or two digital inputs to be routed to any amplified zone output. The Director Model M6400 includes two digital SPDIF inputs plus two SPDIF outputs that are included in the matrixing so that any one of the input sources can be routed through the digital outputs. These digital outputs can be connected to Director M series digital inputs so that multiple amplifiers can receive any signal from any inputs from any of the amplifiers.
The Director Model M6400 is available in brushed stainless steel or black finish.
Here are the details. Leave a Comment
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Wolf to Debut Two 4K-Ready D-ILA Home Cinema Projectors at CES Wolf Cinema will release upgrades to four existing home theater projectors as well as two new projector and processor ensembles, built around sixth-generation, three-chip D-ILA light engine technologies.
According to Wolf, the existing four platforms – models SDC-8, SDC-10, SDC-12 and SDC-15 – have been upgraded to provide for compatibility with Ultra HD/4K consumer video content. Starting at $8,000, these 2D/3D projectors will incorporate full 18Gbps Ultra HD HDMI 2.0 inputs with HDCP 2.2 compatibility – with 4K60 4:4:4 sources – in addition to a ~30% increase in peak white levels over previous editions [to ~1900 ANSI lumens], up to 1,500,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, full HDR compatibility, VariScope aspect ratio memories and custom factory gamut and gamma calibrations.
In addition, two new flagship projectors have also been developed for 2016, mating the SDC-12 and SDC-15 theater projectors with a custom outboard ProScaler MK IV video processor.
More details will come out at CES, but here is the company’s website.
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Sony Electronics Shows Latest 4K Home Theater Projector at CES
Sony Electronics is showcasing their latest in 4K home theater projection in the form of the VPL-VW5000ES.
Unveiled at last year’s CEDIA Expo, the VPL-VW5000ES is the first projector designed specifically for home cinema use that features 4K resolution powered by a laser light engine that provides 5,000 lumens of brightness, is compatible with High Dynamic Range (HDR), emulates the new BT.2020 color gamut and covers the full DCI color space. Sony’s advanced SXRD panels are designed to produce outstanding native device contrast and when coupled with the laser light engine, the VPL-VW5000ES provides an infinite dynamic contrast ratio and 5,000 lumens of color light output.
The VPL-VW5000ES is part of a lineup of Sony home theater projectors specifically designed for the installer market, which includes the VPL-VW665ES and VPL-VW365ES models also announced late last year. Both the VPL-VW665ES and VPL-VW365ES are currently available for sale.
Sony USA doesn’t have this on their website yet, so here it is on the UK site. Leave a Comment
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Future Automation Intros USM With Universal VESA CompatibilityThe USM (Universal Speaker Mount) is a brand new concept that can be used with any VESA compatible mount. This means the same speaker mount can be used across the Future Automation range of products, from wall mounts to TV lifts. Perfect for mounting a sound bar above or below the screen, the USM complements any installation with simple forward and backward adjustment, to ensure the desired finish can be created with any combination of screen and speaker. Features include:
- Quick & simple installation
- Perfect for retrofitting
- Six-way adjustment
- Hook on/off SONOS Playbar installation (No need for adapter)
- VESA 200/300/400 Compatible
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Cat8 Ethernet Cable Debuts Wireworld Cable Technology announces the development of its Starlight Category 8 cables for high speed media network applications. Unlike Category 7 cables, these cables utilize a new conductor geometry developed by Wireworld to support higher transmission speed for the most lifelike reproduction of streamed music and video.
Starlight Ethernet is the first production cable that meets the proposed requirements for Category 8. This cable is also the first to incorporate Wireworld’s Tite-Shield Technology, a new structure that they say overcomes limitations of previous network cable designs. With twelve tightly-spaced shields replacing the six unevenly-spaced shields in Category 7 cables, the Tite-Shield design improves the most critical parameters of digital signal transmission.
Category 7 cabling was created to satisfy the demands of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Even though most media networks now run below that speed, cables that support higher speeds have been found to improve the quality of audio and video streaming. Those improvements are possible because streamed signals suffer from data errors that cannot be repaired by the error correction systems that preserve file transfers. The proposed standard for future networks is Category 8, which extends network speeds to the staggering rate of 40 Gigabits per second.
One of the reasons why Cat7 cables do not meet the proposed Cat8 specifications is that they allow too much crosstalk (mixing) between the four signal channels. To control crosstalk, conventional cables use four twisted pairs of conductors with one foil shield on each pair. An overall two-layer shield reduces outside interference. The problem with twisting is that it makes lengths of the conductors uneven, which causes timing errors called skew. Tite-Shield technology isolates the four channels with a three-layer shield on each conductor pair. Those shields are so effective that twisting is no longer needed and conductor length differences are eliminated.
Starlight’s unique flat design provides greater separation between the four conductor pairs to provide lower crosstalk, supporting higher transmission speeds than conventional designs. The cable also utilizes Wireworld’s proprietary Composilex 2 insulation to minimize triboelectric noise.
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FIBARO Adds Dimmer 2 Smart Lighting Device to Connected Home EcosystemFIBARO has introduced the Dimmer 2, a light module able to control, switch and dim lights. Dimmer 2 gives consumers the ability to add enhanced smart features with a behind the scenes module to any light switch without sacrificing aesthetic or design.
A Z-Wave Plus certified device, Dimmer 2’s specially designed algorithm allows it to automatically recognize the type of connected light source used and calibrate it to ensure your smart home lights are optimally controlled. The lighting controller is also designed to act as a scene manager, allowing for intuitive activation of scenes within a room with the touch of light switch. This dual capacity allows Dimmer 2 to turn any dimmer switch into a scene trigger without the need for an additional device or smartphone in the room.
With custom configurations through the FIBARO smart hubs and any Z-Wave hub, Dimmer 2 can be set up to creatively manage lighting preferences depending on the situation or time of day. Turn your kitchen lights on in the middle of the night and Dimmer 2 can be set to only give you a dim glow to light your path instead of fully illuminating the room.
Connecting a Dimmer 2 into your FIBARO Home Center hub also gives you insight into the power consumption of your lights for both two and three wire connections. Energy usage from lights in the home is aggregated into easy to read charts on your web dashboard or iPad app and can be utilized to conserve and save money on electric bills. With safety features on board, Dimmer 2 is protected from overheating, overload and voltage drops and gives users warning notifications on their mobile app if these events occur.
Dimmer 2 will be shipping by the end of January and will cost $69.99 — here are 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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Copyright 2015 – 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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