Crestron has partnered with Amazon Alexa to provide next-generation voice control of Crestron home systems. Crestron Technology Professionals can now leverage Alexa Voice Service to build voice controlled scenes and settings that are fully customized to their clients’ lifestyles. Integration is not limited to basic functions such as lighting and temperature; homeowners can choose from […]

I will admit straight off that this post is somewhat of a rant, but I am tired of bad customers. The customer, despite claims to the contrary, is not always right. My wife does a lot of marketing work for everything from Comic Con to auto shows to demonstrating espresso machines. She is amazing at […]

Telemedicine and the World’s First Virtual Care Center At first glance, it looks like the inside of any office with cubicles and computer monitors – with one exception – many of the employees are dressed in hospital scrubs. These workers are actually nurses taking care of patients, though there are no hospital beds, no waiting rooms […]

Will new headsets and more powerful phones pave the way for brain-controlled smartphone apps? Imagine calling your friends through the power of thought? According to an IBM and Xerox paper (*) summarizing the state-of-the-art in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), applications may well be developed including brain-driven software for dialing numbers, as well as for messaging and calling […]

This weekend, I was involved in a long conversation with a couple of colleagues from the industry. At one point during the discussion, I was asked what my favorite new technology announcement was. And I think that both of my colleagues were surprised that I did not mention some new piece of AV equipment. My […]

So, in case you missed it, Amazon recently announced its new foray into the Internet of Things (IoT), the Dash Button.   In short, the Dash Button is a programmable, WiFi enabled device that allows someone to press a branded button to generate an order for new products through Amazon.  It’s more than a little ironic […]

Fusion Research announced that it has developed a method for Amazon Fire TV IP control and produced two-way IP drivers for Control4, RTI and URC automation systems. Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are two of the fastest growing products in the video streaming category. Amazon Prime users get free access to original Amazon […]

It began in August 2013 when Google introduced the Chromecast. A small, Rubenesque HDMI dongle that allows you to stream music and video to your TV or home theater, the $35 Chromecast was an instant hit. This groovy petite player allows popular media services like Pandora, YouTube, and Netflix to easily be sent to your home theater from any […]

By Christopher Bundy CORE Brands This is still our industry… isn’t it? A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Google (Nest) taking steps to get deeper in the home automation industry with its purchase of home hub company Revolv. The company did this to acquire talent more than Revolv’s product offering, as part of […]

Every Friday we give you a second look at some of the top stories from the week. This week we are featuring a post from Gary Kayye where he asks the question, “Will Google or Amazon buy CEDIA?” In addition, Almo Professional A/V has added three new manufacturer partners, Comprehensive Cable, TASCAM and Tightrope Media […]

Have you heard the news? As you are well aware of by now, the hottest smart home product ever sold is the Nest HVAC controller. In fact, it was so hot that Google took note earlier this year and bought the company for a little over $3 Billion. Well yesterday, Amazon was outed for secretly […]

In case you missed it, Amazon has joined the STB (set-top-box) brigade with its own Amazon Fire device, as part of its future digital content delivery plans.  A quip from the online press release gives the big picture: “Amazon integrates the hardware, software, and the content into an easy-to-use, seamless, end-to-end service for customers,” and […]

It has been an interesting December to say the least.  I have been from the “79 and Sunny” of Rancho Santa Margarita to the subzero climate of Eden Prairie for the Milestone annual meeting, I have had to break the reality of Christmas traditions to my 10 year old daughter, and I have fought the […]

It’s getting close to Christmas time and as such family traditions are in full swing at the Coxon household.  One of those traditions for the last 5 years has been reading “The Elf on the Shelf.” For those of you unfamiliar, the book relays the story of an elf that comes to watch your children […]

TiVo announced that they have teamed up with Amazon to provide consumers with the ability to purchase physical products from Amazon.com on their TV sets, using the TiVo remote control. With this new Product Purchase feature, television advertisers will have the unique ability to market products sold through Amazon.com on any broadcast or cable network, […]