Leviton today announced the acquisition of BitWise Controls — a manufacturer of control and monitoring solutions for residential and commercial applications. Leviton has been carrying BitWise Controls’ automation controllers for some time and is excited to welcome them into Leviton. As part of the acquisition, Leviton will bring BitWise Controls’ entire product line into the […]

ClearOne today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014. For the 2014 second quarter, revenue increased by 21 percent to $14.1 million, compared with $11.7 million for the second quarter of 2013. Gross profit for the second quarter was $8.1 million, or 57 percent of revenue, compared with $6.9 […]

Updated – the official announcement is below the original story. Although the ink isn’t dry on the deal yet — and it hasn’t been announced, we know that Whitlock Group — the U.S.’s second largest AV integration firm — is buying the assets of Xerox Audio Visual Solutions. Xerox has been in AV since 1981, […]

A new study by Acclaro Growth Partners is projecting that audiovisual products and services will become a $116 billion global industry by 2016. The 2014 Global AV Market Definition and Strategy Study, conducted on behalf of InfoComm International, is the only worldwide study aimed at sizing the commercial audiovisual industry. The growth of conferencing, signal […]

By Ken Park DisplaySearch The recent announcement by Samsung SDI that it will end plasma display panel (PDP) manufacturing this year also speculated that LG Electronics will shut its PDP business due to low demand, which would leave COC (Changhong) as the sole remaining plasma TV manufacturer. Earlier this year, NPD DisplaySearch predicted the demise […]

HARMAN last week announced the successful completion of its acquisition of AMX LLC, from The Duchossois Group, Inc. for $365 million. Richardson, Texas-based AMX is a provider of enterprise control and automation systems as well as audio/video switching and distributing solutions and will be integrated into HARMAN’s professional offerings servicing audio, video and IT pros. […]

Large area TFT LCD panel shipment area showed significant increases in March and April. In March, the total large area panel shipment area reached a record high level of 12.5M square meters, and the in April reached 12.3M, with a strong 11 percent Y/Y increase. In PC and IT markets, there were mixed results. As […]

Greetings, friends and followers! My apologies for the various obligations (professional and personal), side-projects, and secret adventures which have kept me away from these pages for the past week. After a weekend off the grid at an undisclosed location I’m refreshed and ready to dive into all of the news in AV-land on this, the […]

Kramer announced today that it has acquired 50 percent of WOW Vision, a Singapore-based manufacturer of wireless and collaboration products for the corporate, hospitality meeting spaces and education markets. Its products enable wireless connection to, and the sharing of, large screen displays from laptops and mobile devices, offering efficient two-way collaboration. rAVe founder Gary Kayye […]

Biamp Systems announced this week the acquisition of Dev-Audio, a developer of advanced microphone processing technologies, as well as the Microcone. Microcone and its associated software application, Microcone Recorder, are conferencing products that actively track and enhance voice quality, adaptively reduce background noise and record directly to any computer. Using a high-quality beamformed microphone array […]

The video wall market maintained its strong growth trajectory in 2013, posting nearly 60 percent CAGR from 2009 to 2013 to reach sales of 449,000 units, according to a new industry report from Futuresource Consulting. The market has settled into a period of relative stability with super narrow bezel (SNB) display now a firmly established technology […]

By Claire Kerrison Market Analyst, Futuresource Consulting The Q1 2014 worldwide projector market grew 7 percent in volume compared to the same period a year ago, to 1.87 million units, according to the latest round of research from Futuresource Consulting. In value terms, the market also grew by 7 percent to reach $2.3 billon. An […]

The global B2B Large Format Display (LFD) market reached 576,000 units in CY Q1 2014 representing ‘YoY’ growth of 8.5 percent, ‘QoQ’ growth stands at less than 1 percent with the majority of markets posting similar volumes to CY2013 Q4, according to the latest research from Futuresource Consulting. This is a good result for the […]

The quarterly financial report is out and IMAX has signed contracts for 36 theaters, including 23 across Europe, in the first quarter. It’s good financial news but not the 2014 news the industry is waiting for. Since IMAX bought the Kodak 3D patents, it has been busy with its own digital 3D two-projector/polarizing filter regime […]

Marketplace momentum from emerging partnerships focused on vertical markets and enterprise opportunities highlight a strong Q1 and continuing 2014 outlook for shopper engagement technology firm ComQi. The New York-based software and services firm is actively collaborating on quick service restaurant menus and messaging with Everbrite, one of the largest and most well-established retail sign companies […]

ESP/SurgeX, a manufacturer of power protection and intelligence solutions for AV, IT, digital signage and other markets, has announced the acquisition of SurgeX International, which had been operating as a separate entity since Electronic Systems Protection, Inc (ESP) acquired SurgeX North America in 2008. The move unifies all SurgeX operations under a single management team […]

Worldwide shipments of front projectors grew reasonably year-over-year by 6 percent to 2.12 million units in CYQ4 2013, representing $2.63 billion in value, according to the latest research from Futuresource Consulting. In 2013, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) quarterly performance in CYQ4 posted a 4 percent year-on-year volume growth to reach 702,000 units. Although […]

According to PMA Research, Epson continues to hold the number one position in North America for 2013 with a market share of 39 percent, representing a five-point increase year-over-year. With positive revenue growth four years in a row, Epson had the largest total revenue increase in the North American projector market in 2013 with a […]

As the digital communications network industry continues to expand, there is a growing demand to measure activity from period to period. To address this need, the Platt Retail Institute began compiling the North American Digital Signage Index (NADSI) in the fourth quarter of 2009. The Index is published quarterly and presents a single industry composite […]

Barco today announces the acquisition of Montreal (Canada) based enterprise communication specialist X2O Media. In line with Barco’s strategy to move beyond display and projection technology, this acquisition expands the portfolio with a complete solution to deliver enhanced and cross-divisional content distribution and workflow, based on advanced networking and connectivity capabilities. Best known, recently, as […]

ClearOne today announced the acquisition of Sabine, mostly known as a wireless microphone company. Under the terms of the transaction, ClearOne will pay approximately $7.5 million in cash and $1.5 million in ClearOne shares. In addition, ClearOne will assume and pay off Sabine debt of $1.25 million and make earn-out payments over the next three […]

Global sales of interactive whiteboards and interactive flat panel displays in the education and corporate sectors reached 1.3 million units in 2013, up 1 percent on the previous year and making it the largest year on record, according to the final 2013 quarterly research report from Futuresource Consulting. “The education sector provides a vast target […]

We have an inside source that tells us that Best Buy is about to “dump” California-based integrator AudioVisions. AudioVisions was acquired by Best Buy in 2006 for around $7 Million and was supposed to represent the company’s foray into high-end custom HomeAV custom integration. However, apparently, after owning the company for nearly seven years, Best […]

Integrated Systems Europe Managing Director Mike Blackman spoke with Gary Kayye today, the last day of ISE, soon after it was announced that the 2014 edition of ISE marked the biggest AV show ever as attendance topped 50,000. Mike was grinning while speaking to Gary as there wasn’t a disappointed exhibitor to be found. Mike […]

The 2014 Integrated Systems Europe show is set to be a world-record show with well over 50,000 attendees, more than 900 exhibitors and over 1,000 new product launches. As rAVe founder Gary Kayye walked the show floor Wednesday, he caught up with three people that represent different parts of the market — Peerless-AV for mounts, […]

NSCA’s newest version of the Electronic Systems Outlook, which is available free to members, provides updated indicators of new business opportunities by tracking new construction starts and renovations in the commercial buildings sector. In this Winter 2013 edition, NSCA’s Electronic Systems Outlook provides a revised look at construction data by markets and systems. All signs […]

Sales of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and interactive flat panel displays in the education and corporate sectors achieved close to 400,000 displays in Q3 2013, up 3 percent on last year and making it the largest Q3 on record, according to the latest quarterly research from Futuresource Consulting. “The interactive whiteboard market has grown at a […]

Pritzker Group Private Capital today announced that it acquired has acquired Milestone AV Technologies, which owns and markets the Chief, Sanus, Da-Lite brands. Milestone was purchased for an undisclosed price from The Duchossois Group, which will retain a significant interest in the business and continue to have representatives serve on the board of directors. Milestone […]

I found this article form 10 years ago — it was my wrap-up piece form attending CEDIA. I thought the observations about what was dominating the show were interesting, but what was more interesting were my comments about the economy. Ten years ago, we also had a bad economy, but HomeAV tech was interesting enough, […]

Guest blog via Weezer Group The Newark Star-Ledger reported earlier this month that Panasonic will abandon consumer electronics to focus on professional products only. WOW! Many I spoke to in past few months thought the pro side of the “Big Boys” (Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, Mitsubishi, etc.) was hurting but consumer was OK. Just OK, not […]

NSCA has released an updated Financial Analysis of the Industry report, providing information for systems integrators to use when creating KPIs (key performance indicators) and benchmarking costs, profits, sales methods and other data against industry peers of similar sizes and systems focus. The 2013 report details the industry’s growth, as reflected in the NSCA Electronic […]

Audio Design announced this week a merger with k2 Dealer Services. Both firms provide design services to dealers including outsourced design, best practices, standards and design processes. Audio Design, Inc., founded in 2006 by Curt Hayes, is a leader in providing outsourced design services and is now supported by a team with a combined 100+ […]