Crestron’s VP of International Robin Van Meeuwen spoke with rAVe founder Gary Kayye yesterday at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show about what he thinks of Crestron’s position in the AV market in the EMEA, as well as the company’s new 4K strategy. You can watch the entire video interview here:

4K Ultra HD TV is here and Crestron says the DigitalMedia is ready for it. At ISE in Amsterdam, the company demonstrated its complete range of 4K DigitalMedia switching and video distribution devices. These include: The DMC-4K-HD input card enables 4K HDMI input to 8X8, 16X16, and 32X32 DM switchers, and the DMB-4K-I-HD input blade […]

Crestron TSW touch screens all just got upgraded. The new TSW-552, TSW-752 and TSW-1052 replace the TSW-550, TSW-750 and TSW-1050 models with support for voice command recognition and on-screen web browsing. TSW touch screens feature capacitive touch technology, H.264 streaming video, and edge-to-edge glass as well as single-wire PoE (Power over Ethernet) connectivity and standard […]

Extron hasn’t had a complete answer to either Crestron’s DMPS-300 Series or AMX’s Enova line — until today! Extron hasn’t officially announced it, but I found the DTP CrossPoint 84 Series on the company’s website and immediately called Casey Hall, Extron’s vice president of sales and marketing. Although the official announcement isn’t until Thursday, it’s real. […]

Mersive announced this week the availability of the Solstice Open Control Communication Protocol, which allows integration between Solstice Display Software with in-room AV control panels from vendors such as Crestron and AMX. With this integration interface, users can control their Solstice displays from their room control panel. Introduced in March 2013, Mersive’s Solstice software enables […]

Crestron announced this week the launch of its new “intelligent power supply” (CSA-PWS10S-HUB), which can power up to ten Crestron shade motors of any kind, each with its own replaceable fuse. The built-in integrated five-segment Cresnet hub provides an isolated control network for each pair of shades, therefore limiting the impact of any wiring faults. […]

AVnu Alliance, the industry consortium that certifies Audio Video Bridging (AVB) products for interoperability, added Crestron as a member this week. This is a significant addition for the Alliance. Standing at 65 global members, AVnu Alliance is seeing accelerated momentum for AVB across a number of markets including professional A/V, automotive and residential with member […]

In a challenge to Crestron’s AirMedia wireless room system and Barco’s ClickShare, Mersive has taken an aggressive approach to marketing its Solstice software-based solution. In calling the Crestron AirMedia a, “proprietary piece of hardware” and “difficult to update or maintain,” Mersive is pitting itself against a giant in room control and signal distribution. Mersive even […]

Crestron is now shipping its new family of configurable FlipTops, small compartments for cables and control products that recess into conference tables or lecterns. Cables, connectors, power and control solutions are hidden neatly out of sight when not in use, but you can just flip open the top to access the components. The tapered, notched […]

One year ago I wrote my first column for rAVe Publications. What a fun year it has been. I have been fortunate enough to have heard from dozens of people with feedback, comments and questions about my articles. Even my daughter got in on the fun a few months back. We had a conversation that […]

I sat down last night with the intent of writing my 2nd Annual Thanksgiving post on the AV Industry’s “Blessings” and “Turkeys” for 2013.  Upon sitting down to write, I found out that one of the hardest things to feign is “righteous indignation”.  I just wasn’t feeling it. This morning, while helping some integrators get […]

Today I’d like to share a moment to discuss everyone’s  favorite transport mechanism, HDBaseT. For those not in the know, the HDBaseT alliance have defined HDBaseT as a technology for transport of video, audio, power, Ethernet and control over standard category cable. As a point-to-point (as opposed to routable) signals, HDBaseT cannot be routed with […]

On October 1st of this year, Crestron Electronics sent out a press release that its DMCO 7-series streaming card for DigitalMedia was now shipping. This card was not a huge surprise to the industry, as it had been rumored/discussed since InfoComm of 2012. In addition, the technology had been seen by many people in Crestron’s […]

Several days back, a virtual skirmish began on LinkedIn in the AV Industry Professionals group, with a post that posed the question “When will Crestron/AMX stop making touch panels and use consumer interfaces?” The question was introduced by Tim Albright of AV Nation, host of AV Week. I entered the conversation with the thought “They’re […]

Add Crestron, Vantage, Savant, AMX and Control4 to the list of control companies who’ve adopted Middle Atlantic’s RackLink power management modules. These and other partners such as RTI, Aurora, URC, Key Digital and ihiji have already chosen RackLink because the system’s open architecture facilitates integration into virtually any control system or management platform. The RackLink […]

By Cheryl Goldin Waveguide Consulting It’s not every day you get a chance to work hands-on with architecture students, to give them exposure to the business of building technology, but Waveguide, Spinitar and Crestron had that opportunity as sponsors of USC’s fluxHome team competing in the U.S. Department of Energy’s biennial Solar Decathlon. “We started […]

Several years ago I wrote a blog about class capture, and the expense of the systems that existed. I was frustrated that these systems cost so much money. I had been trying to bring class capture into my institution for a couple of years, and could not justify the cost. The systems that we looked […]

Crestron named its 2013 Integration Award winners during a special ceremony at CEDIA EXPO 2013. Now in its ninth year, the Integration Awards spotlight projects featuring Crestron technology. This year, Crestron received a 50 percent increase in entries from dealers in 18 states, plus the British Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. Top honors in […]

At CEDIA this week Crestron is lowering the volume on its shade motors with a new Digital QMT (Quiet Motor Technology) motor and a power supply (CSA-PWS10S-HUB-CAEN) that supports up to ten motorized shades and provides integrated diagnostics and controls. The Digital QMT motor can operate Crestron window shades of any size and the company […]

Whether Crestron dealers and partners need a module to drop into a Crestron system or want to sell one they have designed, the new Crestron Application Market (ApplicationMarket.Crestron.com) is the place to go. Crestron Partner Modules are created specifically to support popular AV, security, lighting, HVAC and other diverse products using Crestron’s RS232 and IP […]

Crestron has announced at CEDIA today that it is building the Crestron control system interface into SmartTVs as an app – starting with Samsung and Sony – eliminating the need for a touch panel. Available soon, the Crestron App for Samsung Smart TV enables Crestron system owners to control AV, lighting, shades, climate and more […]

Crestron will debut at CEDIA Expo a new family of HDMI over HDBaseT extenders, which transmit and receive 4K content using standard CAT5e/UTP cables. Crestron says it’s upgraded its DigitalMedia matrix switchers to handle 4K resolutions (4096×2160). The HD-EXT3-C and HD-EXT4-C are specified to support 4K content and can transmit HDMI long distances (up to […]

Crestron is introducing a new series of AIR Landscape Speakers (LS4T and LS6T) and In-ground Subwoofer (IGS82T). The AIR family is weather- and water-proof, featuring either 4” or 6.5” coaxial drivers with built-in 70/100V transformers. The speakers can be attached to a post or wall, or staked directly into the ground. The Landscape Speakers, sold […]

Crestron has announced the release of Crestron Connected Yale Real Living residential wirelessly-controlled door locks. Yale, a maker of residential and business locks, now integrates its Yale Real Living product with Crestron control systems to provide direct communication, control, management and monitoring of door locks. This enables homeowners to lock/unlock doors remotely from a Crestron […]

If anyone is a regular reader of my columns or blogs, they know that Bates College, where I work, is a Crestron house. This summer I was able to work with some products from AMX. Specifically, we had the DVX-3155HD presentation switcher, along with the Modero MXT-1000 touch panel. I was able to configure these […]

The new DIN-AP3 and DIN-AP3MEX 3-Series control processors from Crestron are designed for DIN rail mounting. Both work with Crestron DALI ballasts and LED drivers for commercial lighting projects and have native support for BACnet/IP. BACnet/IP is a direct interface to third-party building management systems over Ethernet that simplifies integration with lighting and other building […]

Crestron has announced the release of two new infiNET EX IOEX Wireless Control Modules. Designed for retrofit applications, the IOEX modules offer a way to add wireless control of serial, IR and relay devices in homes and commercial buildings. The INET-IOEX-IRCOM enables long distance wireless communication between 3-Series control systems and devices such as TVs, […]

Crestron has introduced a new two-button wireless keypad (HTT-B2EX-BATT) to its line of infiNET EX wireless lighting control products. Available in black or white, the HTT-B2EX-BATT is battery-powered, portable and designed to control a wide range of applications, including as a bedside controller in homes and hotels, a personal workspace controller or a conference room […]

        To see a list of all the awards we are giving as part of our 2013 rAVe Best of InfoComm awards, click here. To see all our of InfoComm 2013 coverage, click here. Best Party: Crestron’s Fully Exposed Party Featuring Penn & Teller

Any of you following my Press Release Challenge may wonder what lessons we can learn from the rewrites I attempted over the past couple weeks. One thing I learned was that writing press releases isn’t easy. However there are some very common themes into how to make your message more effective when putting one out. […]

OK, so I received only a few nominations last week for my Press Release Re-Write Challenge.  There were some great submissions and I reserve the right to keep them in the mix for the next 2 weeks as well.  This week however, based on InfoComm being last month, and a recent BlogSquad post by Jeremy […]

Crestron has announced several additions to its line of infiNET EX wireless lighting control products. The Green Light Power Pack (GLPP-EX) is an intelligent room controller available with infiNET EX wireless technology to provide quick, reliable wireless communication with a central control system. It’s designed to communicate with photocells, occupancy sensors and control stations. Part […]