Volume 15, Issue 12 — June 29, 2018
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Industry News Control & Signal Processing TVs Audio Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories
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Subcontracting: Part 1
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
It’s not lost on veteran AV pros that even as they need to make the best use of their client’s budget, in order to do that they need to make the best use of their own. That means allocating your firm’s funds, resources and expertise in a way that maximizes everything from effectiveness to profitability. Something that AV companies need to consider at some point is deciding which of their job functions to keep in house and which ones to subcontract out.
Under what circumstances should subcontracting be considered? Think of it in terms of the “make/buy decision.”
Normally, AV pros consider the make/buy in regards to resources like equipment, tools and hardware. The questions there being: Is there an off-the shelf solution that will do what we need or do we have to create it ourselves? In either case, which is more cost effective?
When looked at like that, deciding to subcontract certain functions is simply about deciding whether it makes more sense to hire outside help or to maintain it in-house.
Of course, like most things, there’s more to be considered than just dollars. Other factors need to be weighed on their merits as well, in order to arrive at the best decision.
Talking to veteran AV pros over the years, when it comes to choosing and working with subcontractors, the overarching theme is that it either works out well or poorly. Under what circumstances does it work well?
The most common successful subcontracting is simple install services. While AV pros don’t hesitate to deride low-cost trunk-slammers and the negative connotations of that category of competitor, there are exceptions that rise above low expectations.
Some install specialist subcontractors, often just two guys with a truck and their own tools, carve out a niche for themselves by taking the basic “hang and bang” and making an art-form out of it. In addition to their expertise, they maintain mounts, hardware and fasteners for every conceivable install scenario and can be counted on to perform their tasks on time and correctly.
AV pros who have a solid relationship with specialists like that speak highly of them, calling on them when needed.
Before an AV pro decides to start subcontracting out business functions it’s important to determine which functions are the ones they really need. One of my long-time acquaintances likes to joke that it’s a classic misunderstanding that a rookie AV company hires a Crestron programmer but actually needs a project manager.
As glib as that sounds, there’s a lot of sense there. The whole point of subcontracting is to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Choosing poorly does neither and can actually make things worse.
That’s why it’s most common for AV firms to maintain a flexible attitude towards subcontracting, based upon the demands that are required for the projects that are underway. In aggregate, it’s typical for firms that do subcontract to have their staff complete 90 percent of all work that they do. Where they choose to sub-contract is for disciplines that are outside their core competencies, such as HVAC integration, acoustic modeling and panel installation, and most commonly electrical, security and telecom.
Often, the reason for that is conscious decision to focus on AV, and play to those strengths rather than try to be everything and do everything. Ask yourself, how often have you had a homeowner invite you into their new home to show off an alarm panel? I’ve never seen it happen.
It’s a common sentiment in residential AV that it’s better to be an expert in your field, and contract out for tasks that are outside that.
After examining the circumstances under which subcontracting works, it’s only fair to explore circumstances where it doesn’t, which we’ll tackle in the next installment. Leave a Comment
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Searching for Internet Cheese
By Joel Rollins rAVe Columnist
In my day job, I answer a lot of people’s questions about audiovisual and virtual reality technology. In fact, lately, that’s really all I seem to be doing. And to find those answers quickly, especially when it comes to determining things like part numbers and dimensions, I turn to the source that most people use: the World Wide Web.
Now, I have been using the web since its very first iterations, back when HTML was just a concept and we were all migrating from bulletin board systems (BBSs) to the internet. In 1993, I can distinctly remember being dressed down by our owner in our national sales meeting over wasting everybody’s time with a presentation on the future internet that suggested that we create a website. In no uncertain terms, he told me that the World Wide Web was a fad, that all anybody did was put their brochure on their website and that he was not going to buy every employee a computer just so they could “surf the web.”
By the end of that decade, I was working for Extron, where the early development of the website was made a high-level corporate priority. Extron had already been one of the few companies to truly embrace the CD-ROM as a method of distributing product information and they saw the web as the next logical step. All of their leadership felt that making this information easily available to dealers was one of the most important functions that the sales and marketing department had. I was impressed then with their attitude about it and I still am. When I am designing a system or show, I often depend on the Extron website for fast access to the latest information about their products. And I also hear many of their dealers tout their website as one of the things that makes them a leader in their field. These facts have been well known (and I believe, generally accepted) in the industry for the last 20 years.
So I’m truly dismayed that the current trend in consolidation in our industry seems to have damaged the usability of the audiovisual industry’s websites. Some of my very favorite manufacturers have recently been acquired by much larger industry firms, who have attempted to wrap these products into their general distribution lines. In doing so, they have made appropriate information much more difficult to find. And I hope, by this article, to alert them to the idea that the successful manufacturers in this industry do not necessarily have a better mousetrap. They have simply created better ways for the mouse to find the cheese.
So, speaking as one of the mice, and as somebody who has to help a lot of other mice find cheese, let me offer a few comments on the current trend in industry websites.
Mice don’t give a damn about style if it makes the cheese harder to find. The current trend in websites is to move to the “one-page” design style, with minimalist menus that simply hop you up and down the page, often with some type of “floating” menu design. It’s really pretty and if I were a millennial “surfing” that site on my smart phone, I might find it OK. But manufacturers should pay attention to the idea that the people who specify their products find this truly annoying for a couple of reasons. First, because it makes it hard to find details like product numbers and spec sheets. And second, because it makes it nearly impossible to print PDF portions of that webpage to fit into a proposal. And while you may get great customer comments on how pretty your website is, it does not represent how people buy things in this industry. Note also that this is also not how any of the truly successful websites in e-commerce — like Amazon — work.
Mice like consistency. If you acquire a company, when you merge them into an operation, one of the most important considerations should be how dealers use their existing website or what they find wrong with it. Be especially alert to this if you are acquiring companies whose products serve different vertical markets than the ones that you have experience with. For instance, I work with a lot of architects and system designers. I am recently seeing a major shift in several product lines that they specify based almost entirely on the fact that information is easier to get from one manufacturer’s website than another.
A hungry mouse needs cheese now, not later after you have explained how your new website works to them. If it isn’t self-evident where to get product dimensions, specifications and PDF spec sheets, then your website is not working. The destruction of a manufacturer website that designers rely on for information, just in order to fit it into your existing company website, is a mistake.
Clients often check the designer’s recommendations on the web. If it’s hard for them to find information confirming the mouse’s opinion, they will doubt the mouse.
My friend Gary Kayye, who has spent most of the last three decades being one of the industries top proponents of the use of the internet, has a saying: “If you can’t find a product on the web, does it really exist?” And in many ways, he’s right. In these days of instant information and gratification, products without good published information become invisible.
And I just can’t recommend an invisible product. Leave a Comment
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OneVision Adds SnapAV OvrC Support
OneVision Resources now supports OvrC, a remote systems management (RSM) solution. Combining OneVision’s service platform with the support and management features of OvrC gives HTPs a turnkey solution to the service problem. The remote troubleshooting and management features provided by these solutions allow HTPs to lower support costs and improve client experience.
For more information, go here. Leave a Comment
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CEDIA Expo Announces Debut of Design Connection Program
CEDIA Expo has announced Design Connection, which will unite technology integrators with design and construction professionals in order to create further collaborations and partnerships. The new platform will feature multiple programs and networking opportunities throughout CEDIA Expo 2018, which will take place Sept. 6-8 at the San Diego Convention Center.
Design and technology collaboration opportunities include viewing products in the Design Connection Pavilion, participation in the Design Connection Tour Series and the Bourbon and Brownies networking event.
Endorsed by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), the Design Connection Pavilion is an is an area on the show floor designed to showcase kitchen and bath brands using connected technology in their products. The 30’ x 30’ space is a gallery concept located in Hall C and will feature technology products specifically suited to compliment design and construction integration.
“Having an area on the show floor dedicated to technology and design integration will spark needed conversations between the two professional groups,” says Suzie Williford, NKBA’s executive vice president of industry relations & CSO. “Kitchen and bath designers are hungry for products that will move the needle on technology integration in intelligently built environments.”
The Design Connection Tours, held on Sept. 6 and 7, will mutually benefit designers and integrators alike as the tours serve the purpose of creating a professional dialogue about the intelligently built connected environment. The tours will be led and curated by two technology integrators and will lead 10-15 certified designers around select exhibitor booths. The tour will also feature a stop at the Design Connection Pavilion.
There will be ten exhibitors chosen for each tour, eight selected by the expert tour guides and two sponsorship opportunities. All 2018 CEDIA Expo exhibitors are invited to apply. Two members of the press will also be invited to attend.
Both tours will feature a complimentary lunch for all participants as well as a ticket to “Bourbon and Brownies,” an invitation-only cocktail hour and networking session.
“Design Connection will create multiple learning opportunities for designers, architects and builders to gather knowledge from integrators, the connected technology experts,” says Brian Pagel, senior vice president, Emerald Expositions.” Integrator and designer relationships are vital to achieve the modern customer’s goals — beautifully designed space with seamless smart technology integration.”
“One of the key initiatives outlined in CEDIA’s three-year strategy is to build awareness and create demand for CEDIA members’ services with architects, builders, and designers. CEDIA sees this as the most effective way to move the needle for the industry and for CEDIA members, the fact that Emerald is so aligned with us on this goal will only amplify this message to our industry partners,” said Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA president and CEO.
For more information regarding Design Connection, visit here. Leave a Comment
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Technical Judges Announced for 2018 CEDIA Awards
The CEDIA Home Technology Professional Awards honor the best of the best in technical excellence, in all aspects of design, installation and commissioning while meeting all applicable industry performance standards. CEDIA is pleased to announce the technical judges for this year’s CEDIA Awards.
“The CEDIA Awards are always a highlight in the industry calendar,” said Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA president and CEO. “Our dedicated team of volunteers and staff work hard year over year to encourage members from across the globe to enter their projects, and we’re delighted to have so many new companies engaging with the program for the first time.”
“It’s fantastic to see some past award winners on the judging panel,” adds Jenny Scott, director of member engagement. “It shows just how committed our members are to industry excellence and sharing their knowledge and expertise with fellow peers. Our members do incredible work and we’re looking forward to seeing what creative projects take center stage this year.”
Judging for the Home Technology Professional Awards is taking place this month, with the finalists due to be announced shortly thereafter. Judging panels are broken out by region and the CEDIA Global Award Winners are selected by the Chair and Vice Chair from each of the judging panels.
CEDIA Americas & Asia Pacific Judges:
- Ian Bryant — Home Technology Professional Americas & Asia Pacific Awards Chair (ZenArray)
- Joel Silver (Imaging Science Foundation)
- Eric Bodley (Future Ready Solutions)
- George Walter (RAYVA LLC)
- Dave Tkachuk — Home Technology Professional Americas & Asia Pacific Awards Vice Chair (Symbol Logic)
CEDIA EMEA Judges:
- Geoff Meads — Home Technology Professional EMEA Awards Chair (Presto Web Design)
- Pip Evans — Home Technology Professional EMEA Awards Vice Chair (NV Integration)
- David Graham (Grahams Hi-Fi)
- Melanie Malcolm (Bespoke Home Cinemas)
- Luke Newland (New Land Solutions Ltd)
- Nick Pidgeon (Visualization Limited)
Asia Pacific winners will be announced at an awards evening on Thursday, August 23 in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia. The Americas winners will be announced at the CEDIA Awards celebration hosted at Petco Park on Wednesday, September 5 in conjunction with CEDIA Expo in San Diego. EMEA winners and the global winners will be announced at the CEDIA EMEA Awards event hosted at the British Museum in London on Thursday, September 27.
For more information, visit here. Leave a Comment
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RTI Announces Integration With 2N IP Video Intercom Door Stations
RTI today announced integration with the modular 2N IP Verso and compact 2N IP Solo IP intercoms, allowing them to be used with any RTI control device featuring video intercom capabilities.
2N’s IP intercoms combine door control with hidden cameras that work at night. Additional external IP cameras can be connected to the intercoms to cover all blind spots. To meet the needs of any building, the 2N IP Verso’s capabilities can be customized with the addition of modules, including a Bluetooth reader, fingerprint reader, touch display and more.
Bringing the IP intercoms into the RTI ecosystem allows users in residential and commercial environments to answer video calls and control doors from video-intercom-compatible RTI controllers. Supported devices include the KX3, KX7 and KX10 in-wall touchpanels, the company’s flagship T3x, RTI’s first video-intercom-enabled handheld controller and the CX7 and new CX10 countertop/under-cabinet touchpanels.
RTI is here. Leave a Comment
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Savant Adds to AV-over-IP Line and Debuts New Network Switches
Savant has announced the addition of new features and hardware to its IP video and audio distribution systems. The Savant IP Video platform now comes complete with onboard audio processing, available with either four or eight ports or inputs. Two-channel audio is automatically extracted and down mixed off of most popular surround modes and distributed over the network to be picked up by any IP Audio device throughout the home.
Savant has unveiled new single input and output boxes for the IP Video line, which represent a lower cost solution to accommodate single-source video inputs and outputs for one TV. Adding single sources or displays to the distributed video system is now a snap, eliminating the need for a costly chassis expansion.
Savant is now offering an array of new network switches including a 96 port 10Gb Netgear switch. A new modular chassis allows for a mix of fiber and copper as well as 1Gb, 10Gb and 40Gb ports for potential future scalability. This powerful solution can support up to 95 video inputs or outputs. In addition, larger 12 and 24 port AVB switches from Extreme Networks are now available to Savant Integrators via the Savant Store, allowing for large scale IP Audio distribution.
For audio connections over extended distances, a new IP Audio box is available with 16-channels (8 zones) of balanced outputs, which maintain superior quality even in remote zones despite longer cable runs. The Balanced IP Audio device receives audio signal over the AVB network from any Savant IP Audio enabled device, such as the new IP Audio Music Server or the IP Video Input Transmitter with Audio Processing.
Savant’s new IP video and audio line is here. Leave a Comment
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Séura Ships 86-inch Outdoor Displays
Séura is shipping its new 86-inch Storm Ultra Bright Outdoor Display. The Séura Storm Ultra Bright displays offer 950-nit brightness as well as Adaptive Picture Technology, a proprietary internal control system that automatically adjusts backlight, contrast and other picture variables.
The new 86-inch display also received an aesthetic revamp with a redesigned bevel and a reflective edge. The new Séura Storm Ultra Bright line is integrated with HDBaseT certification and internal IP control. The displays also feature readily accessible, weatherproof compartments with inputs, outputs and an internal three-prong power outlet.
Séura also designed a new soundbar to pair with the displays. The weatherproof two-channel soundbar matches the TV length and offers powerful carbon fiber woofers and titanium tweeters.
Séura’s 86” Storm Ultra Bright is here. Leave a Comment
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James Loudspeaker Unveils Two Compact High-Performance Boundary Speakers
James Loudspeaker has introduced two smaller versions of its W-Series wedge form factor boundary speakers designed for integration where walls and ceilings converge. The unobtrusive 42Qw and 43Qw offer multi-zone audio, height channels for theater systems (Atmos, Auro3D and DTS:X) and outdoor audio applications as well. Both new models are constructed of aircraft grade aluminum for strength, sonic performance and durability. It also has an aluminum perforated grille.
The 42Qw and 43Qw employ a new version of the 4-inch woofer originally used in the 42AT landscape loudspeaker, designed using a Santoprene surround and aluminum cone. The 42Qw combines a single 4-inch woofer with James Loudspeaker’s aluminum Quad Tweeter array, providing what James Loudspeakers says is superior dispersion and dynamic capabilities verses conventional speakers. The 43Qw utilizes two of the 4-inch drivers with the Quad Tweeter for additional output capability.
Both W-Series models come with a wall/ceiling bracket featuring a unique mounting system that is ultra-secure but easy for custom integrators to work with and achieve a gapless fit. Like all James Loudspeaker products, both standard and custom colors are available.
The James Loudspeaker 42Qw and 43Qw are available now through authorized James Loudspeaker integrators. List pricing is $900 USD (42Qw) and $1100 USD (43Qw) each and here are the details. Leave a Comment
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Covid Offers a Shielded Version of the Active Optical HDMI Cable
Covid has announced a new addition to its line of AOC cable products. The new Shielded Active Optical HDMI Cable offers many of the same benefits as Covid’s other AOC cable products. These include usage in longer distance applications and a plenum rating. What makes these AOC cables different is that they support HDMI 2.0. In addition, they have an overall shielding and a durable metal connector shell. The overall shield helps make the cable suitable for sensitive installations including some medical applications.
While AOC cables offer many benefits opposed to full copper cables, one potential downfall is most cannot be used outside of point-to-point applications. With the introduction of this new shielded AOC cable, they now are not bound by the point-to-point restriction and can be used in a variety of applications. This will, of course, all depend on resolution and the source/display devices being used. If there is any multi-point application problems, Covid recommends purchasing their active pigtail product with your AOC cable. This HDMI pigtail offers an easy solution when using multi-point applications with any Covid AOC cable products.
Here are the specs. Leave a Comment
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Comprehensive Adds Screens to Product Line – Takes Aim at Draper and Da-Lite
Comprehensive Connectivity Company has added the Alltec Projector Screen line to its portfolio. The company says its line is a combination of affordability and performance. It’s aiming at 90 percent of the market rather than the high-end 10 percent that Stewart serves and the customization that Da-Lite and Draper accommodate. The company is also rolling out a line of both commercial-grade and home theater-grade screens.
The line includes electric, manual, fixed frame, tripod, floor rising, tabletop, folding frame and inflatable outdoor screens. All their screens are made using matte white fabric with a 1.0 – 1.1 Gain and feature a 110° – 120° viewing angle and are available in square, video and HDTV 16:9 formats.
The entire line is here. Leave a Comment
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Seymour-Screen Introduces Color Temperature-Tunable Back-Lighting Kit for Film Screens
Seymour-Screen Excellence has brought to market the CEDIA channel’s first-ever tunable white bias lighting kit. The offering is unique in that it can be adjusted from 3,000K to 20,000K to achieve a true 6,500K Kelvin color temperature Properly-calibrated back-lighting (also known as hue) behind and around the film screen serves to improve contrast and reduce eye strain. This is especially useful when combining a high-brightness projector with an ambient light-rejecting (ALR) film screen in a darkened room setting.
The kit is comprised of LED light strip assembly that gets taped around the rear of the fixed-frame film screen. Via the kit’s IR remote, the calibrator can bring the color temperature up or down to best suit the wall-color, using a color meter (not included) to measure the temperature. “If the walls are yellow or orange, the kit would be dialed toward a blue (or cool) tint to increase the ambient bias lighting up to 6,500K. Conversely, if the walls are on the bluish side, the kit would be dialed toward the warm-end to decrease the ambient bias lighting down to 6,500K,” explained Seymour.
Ambient light-rejecting (ALR) film screens are beneficial in rooms subject to daylight or other lighting that cannot be completely controlled – albeit a multi-purpose entertainment room or dedicated theater. Additionally, some homeowners are opting to use a high-brightness projector with an ALR screen to achieve an eye-popping large screen experience that exceeds the size of a flatscreen TV. While ALR screens have been popular over the years, they have been prone to problems that affect performance, namely issues such as color shifting, hot spotting, ringing, sparkling, etc.
You can get it 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 2018 – 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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