Volume 16, Issue 18 — September 23, 2019

rAVe Home — Volume 16, Issue 18 — September 23, 2019

September 23, 2019 | Volume: 16 | Issue: 18

Were you at CEDIA Expo in Denver this month? If not, you can revisit the show floor and see over 500 videos we took over the course of the three-day show — check out our CEDIA Expo 2019 MicroSite here. Voice control thoroughly saturated the show floor — not just Alexa this time, but also Google Assistant, which was everywhere. Google also came out with a touch control panel, the Nest Home Hub Max, which controls not just Google products, but other companies’ products too. Other products we found interesting or buzzworthy:

LG showed an ultra short throw 4K laser projector, the HU85LA CineBeam
New 8K TVs, including the Sony MASTER Series and 88″ LG OLED
Lots of speakers and other audio components hidden in artwork and other beautiful pieces — in particular from Leon Speakers and Bang & Olufsen
A sensor from Intellithings that detects who’s come in the room and adjusts control settings based on that person’s preferences, as well as ELAN’s touch panel with facial recognition that does the same
Earthquake Sound’s ARO-300, which is a hybrid multi-zone audio control system built-in to a Wi-Fi router

What came out of CEDIA Expo and excited you this year?

–Sara Abrons

COLUMNS

+ TechStarter FIVE Winners Announced at CEDIA Expo 2019 [Jacob Blount]

TechStarter, a new CEDIA Expo program that gives first-time exhibitors a chance to pitch business models to residential market leaders, awarded five exhibitors TechStarter awards this past week in Denver at CEDIA Expo 2019. Artio Lifestyle Lighting, Caavo, Hero Labs, Konnected and SandTrap Audio were recognized as the TechStarter FIVE with Hero Labs as the overall winner. The “Shark Tank” style program identified each exhibitor from Innovation Alley as those with the most promise for a successful business model and having a vision for the future of their product or service.

+ The Full Meal Deal [Lee Distad]

What most often differentiates the AV pros who have the best reputations from the ones who, well… don’t is their ability to craft a complete experience for their clients. Accomplishing that requires a balance between the expertise needed to craft a well-designed system, the skills necessary to install it on time and on budget, but before that, the creative vision to paint an attractive picture for the client about what their system will do for them and the joy it will bring them.