Jeff Curtis, CEO of Legrand’s LUXUL, speaks with me about the newly acquired company, his startup life background/experience, how this translates to where we can expect LUXUL to advance to, and so much more. Luxul has everything you need to stay connected in today’s world, and we got it all on this episode of AV […]

Vin Bruno, CEO of CEDIA, now almost one year in to his role with the custom electronic design installation association, and a similar time frame since he and I last chatted on AV Insider (Episode 56), takes some time out of his extremely busy day/night to speak with me about all the major accomplishments he […]

Gary Yacoubian, president and managing partner of SVS sound (most commonly known for their subwoofers), speaks with me about the SVSound revolution. We cover affordable speakers, to more premium, yet budget friendly option(s). We cover 2-channel, surround formats (ATMOS, AURO 3D, DTS:X), and how a new product (Launching soon – AV Insider exclusive content) solves […]

Mark Bishop, owner/president of Lyntec, speaks with me about lighting controls for the Pro AV world. We cover digital signage, live events, house of worship, and massive productions, and all controlled by Lyntec products (third party integration as well). LynTec is a leading manufacturer of innovative electrical power control solutions for professional audio, video, and […]

Jimmy Paschke, sales manager for resi products, talks with me about surge elimination, and the importance of clean power for AV, and electronics. Everyone lives in a world of dirty power, and is susceptible to power surges, which can result to major damages and loss. SurgeX has been around for 20 years, mainly in the […]

Miranda Grantham (National sales manager), and Zak Yarnel (West coast regional sale manager) of Metra Home Theater Group, speak with me about the most premium to modest home theater product solutions that Metra Home Theater Group has to offer for integrators, and home owners alike. We cover HDMI 2.0, and HDCP2.2 compatible products, and what […]

Randy Leasure, VP of business development, and Kevin Fielding, head of design and engineering, speak with me about Neil Young’s high resolution audio movement, Pono. Pono means righteous. It is a Hawaiian word, the one, the pureness. Pono is leading a revolution in music listening. Quality has now entered the listening space so that we can […]

Eric Larsen, Director of marketing at TEAC TASCAM, and Rick Allen, Sound Designer | Audio Producer | Audio Branding Specialist, at Rick Allen Creative, speak with me about audio production, recording quality, and how TASCAM helps the pro’s and beginners make the best possible audio available, on a budget that won’t break the bank. Rick talks about how Tascam products help him record his sound […]

On this episode of The Trade Show Minute hosts Johnny Mota and Victoria Barela discuss how they got involved in the AV industry. They talk about plans for upcoming InfoComm 2016 trade show next week which includes hosting numerous podcasts LIVE from the Kramer booth (C6825) all three days of InfoComm! Podcast: Play in new […]

A few weeks ago I found myself in a meeting with Adam Stone (CEO of D-Tools, perhaps you’ve heard of it?). He told me that the idea that started D-Tools was when he closed a competitively bid six-figure job in the mid ’90s with a rack elevation drawn in Visio (you know, that Microsoft program that most of you […]

XBOX 360 users can now access all the movies they’ve purchased on the most popular gaming console in America. The only things you’ll need are Amazon Prime and XBOX Live accounts (make sure you’re connected to the internet, seriously, some people forget the basics). “If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll also find the entire […]

Smart TVs are all the rage these days, and we constantly rAVe (<—see what I did there?) about them to our friends. Unfortunately, pricing on said HDTVs aren’t as “Smart” or convenient. So, I’m guessing you’re like me and haven’t found a reason to buy a new TV (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) just yet. Well, LG […]

I often like to make up new words, sayings, animals, ETC…by taking two random things and giving them the name that best suits that creation. A good example of me doing so that many you will instantly recognize (If your on the Twitter) is the Hashtag #AvTweeps. AV (Audio Video) Tweeps (Twitter Peeps) is one that is used daily by more […]

So there I was, cruising the market of the Android apps (as I often do), when I happened upon yet another cool free control application. This one was just released by Western Digital, specifically for the use of its WD TV® Live Hub™ media center or WD TV Live™ streaming media players. This one (just like every other I […]

To all the people that bought the Logitech Revue when I said to because of its price drop a while back; you can expect to be getting a sweet update to Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)! If you haven’t already (but, you should because it’s a streaming media set-top box that requires it), connect your Revue to the tubes […]

Are you one of the lucky individuals who scored a Kinect on Black Friday or maybe you already had one? Either way, if you have the XBOX 360 +Kinect, go turn it on and update the to the new dashboard, go ahead, I’ll wait. Last night the new dashboard update went live to all users and, well, […]

Well, maybe it just feels like you’re stealing for roughly 10 Ninja Lincoln’s ($47.99).  Yeah, that’s right, this weekend only ROKU decided to give us all more reason to score one of the most popular set-top boxes on the market right now, their ROKU 2 HD! Here’s the deal, if you have been considering joining the rest of the world who […]

The following was written in 3D: Over the weekend I was able to chime in with my commentary on the newish podcast, AV WEEK . Hosted by Tim Albright , and usually recorded Friday morning (my time). However, Episode 14 , was recorded on a Saturday, huzzah! One of the topics was, patents being filed by Apple and Microsoft for gesture […]

Western Digital ’s latest edition to its WD TV Live series is ready for your streaming media fix. This latest version comes with their latest UI and Spotify! If you’re not familiar with the most popular Streaming Audio service in the world, follow the link above and give it a whirl. It’s completely free (on your desktop), and […]

Over the past two months Pandora has been sneakily hooking up select users a preview of what is now referred to as “New Pandora”, and you know what, it’s pretty flippin’ sweet. It was officially launched this last Tuesday. You didn’t notice either eh? Maybe because you’ve been busy listening to GrooveShark , Turntable.fm , Google Music ,Spotify , Insert any other Streaming Media radio service […]

So by now all of you are done with the Netflix, Blockbuster DVD mailing service fight, right? Good, because get ready for Qwikster!!??!! That’s right, yet another service that brings those discs (a soon to be dead technology in my opinion, but that’s another post) to your door for your viewing pleasure. In reality Qwikster dot com is just a new site that […]

Google Music Beta. Since this year’s Google I/O (When Google Music Beta was announced and released) I have been excited to get an invite sent my way. A few days ago mine came in the (G)mail! Huzzah! I’ve been playing with it now on different devices (Android(s) and some of the non Droid Variety) to get that […]

It’s that time of the year again, time for the CEDIA show, time for all the manufacturers to bring out the new goodies for all us integrators, installers, designers, and programmers to ogle over, poke and tinker with, also there’s booze to drink and parties to attend ( more on that in a bit). This year CEDIA comes back […]

Today (July 31st, 2011) is the day that some people have anticipated for some time since it original release and price tag of $300.00. After the chatter that Logitech’s Revue sales number weren’t anything next to great, rumors and inevitability have caught up to today.  Logitech has official put a price tag of $99 on its Google TV set top […]

Much like the “AV Jedi” of this publication Gary Kayye, I am hooked on Star Wars (Very similar to most people when they eat Girl Scout Thin mints). A few weeks ago was the opening weekend for “Star Tours The adventures continue”. I was not in attendance for it, but you can bet some Ninja Lincoln’s and several Disco Hamilton’s I […]

I just happen to be a huge fan of D-Tools’ SI5.5 software, and constantly use it for design and bidding purposes when I’m in the Vsys Automation office. It has helped us with quicker bids and to format them in such a way that has gotten repeat compliments on not only the look and feel, but  a straight forward easy […]

Trying to expand your network on all those social networking sites is great and all, but how do you meet new people with like interests with being considered spam? Simple, you can’t, not without being blocked or having your account seized for a few days or permanently deleted by the host. Enter Unsocial! Unsocial is a […]

Some of you already know and have been using this since it’s release back in August of 2010. ELK Products has got your back with their third party Android application, created by Williams Automation: “Get full command of your Elk at your fingertips. Become a power user with ElkDroid! Achieve full control of your configured Elk M1G or EZ8 home security panel […]

LinkedIn’s Android app is finally out of Beta and available to download for free! “LinkedIn for Android puts your professional network just a touch away. Walk into any interview or client meeting with the ability to look up the details and connect with over 100 million professionals worldwide. Get the latest updates and messages from […]

Since the beginning of time, (or at least that’s how long it feels like it’s been) wherever the word Media Server has been said, there has always been the reply “Why would you buy that when I could just build my own?” Last weekend my friend Joseph Travinksy and I got into what I like to refer […]

As an integrator it’s important to always be well informed on all things tech because technology is constantly changing. In the Audio Video industry we notice this daily. This is so true, that every project I have worked on is immensely different from the last. The only thing that is a constant (recently) is that […]

1. Ditch that pile of remotes: Aren’t you tired of having at least three remotes to simply watch anything on TV these days? My biggest pet peeve is going over to a friend’s house and trying to watch the game, or anything for that matter, and taking forever to figure out which remote from the ‘80s that happens […]