With nearly record-setting attendance at InfoComm (2nd largest at just over 32,000 attendees), an extremely up-beat bunch of manufacturers launching all sorts of new products and a lot of new technology on the horizon, I am seeing an awesome CEDIA Expo in a few months.  Get ready for one of the best shows ever — even if it is in Atlanta again this year! Ugh!

Having spent four days walking the InfoComm show floor talking to exhibitors, interviewing attendees and teaching classes, I noticed something at this year’s show I hadn’t ever seen – a bunch of HomeAV integrators perusing the show floor.  Sure, there were the usual suspects – the crossover integrators that have had both commercial and residential sales people for years, but this year was different.  There were a lot of traditionally residential integrators in search of commercial AV gear to add to their arsenal of services. Many of them spent a lot of time in the digital signage pavilion.
Are you looking at the Digital Signage Market too?

This trend will be interesting to watch and monitor and I suspect some of it is due to the market economy and the fact that the digital signage market integrates systems very similarly to the way that HomeAV integrators do now – via the network.  But, I wonder if this isn’t more than a trend and maybe even a movement or dynamic shift in the market itself.  Heck, why not?  Why not add digital signage expertise to your tool-set?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens at CEDIA.  I do know quite a few of the digital signage companies are, in fact, exhibiting at CEDIA Expo this year and manufacturers heavy into the HomeAV market are adding digital signage product lines to their gear (e.g., Gefen, AMX, Crestron, etc.) — and even HomeAV distributors have added digital signage manufacturers to their line cards (such as AVAD).

And, truth be told, we saw a huge opportunity to serve the digital signage market last year when we launched rAVe DS (or digital signage publication): http://www.raveds.com

Either way, I think CEDIA is well positioned for a big show this fall and we’ll see you there – we’ll, again, be reporting via rAVe NOW Video and shooting videos of all the new products launched at the show!!!