Residential Tech Today Vol 4/ Issue 1

Lightapalooza events in the future might only be limited by how big their organizers allow them to become. I was hoping for better weather when I arrived in Dallas for the inaugural Lightapalooza conference this past February. Nonetheless, there I was, landing at DFW for the much-anticipated first-ever lighting fixture-specific conference for custom integrators, and it was colder in Dallas than it was back home in unseasonably warm Indiana. Fortunately, there were no outdoor conference festivities on the agenda. Lightapalooza, which was organized by the HTSA buying group but open to anyone, had the energy and “feel” of the start of something really big. With 240 total attendees, including 17 exhibiting manufacturers and 17 independent sales reps, Lightapalooza events in the future might only be limited by how big their organizers allow…

Amanda Beckner, CTS, was recently hired as vice president of education and training for CEDIA, the global trade association for the home technology industry. Beckner has more than two decades of experience in association management, learning program development, and the audiovisual industry. As vice president of learning at AVIXA, she led the digital transformation of the association’s curriculum, shepherded three AVIXA certifications and multiple standards to ANSI/ISO 17024 accreditation, and built an active global network of over 250 education, certification, and standards volunteers. On p. 18, she introduces herself and acknowledges that CEDIA certification and education programs flourish only with the help of volunteers. Michael Heiss has been a member of CEDIA since its founding, having served two terms on the CEDIA Board and headed the Technology Council. He was awarded…

It’s not a new trend, but we have been seeing a continuation of TV designs that fit more organically into a residential or commercial space instead of the space having to be designed around the TV itself. Large panels also continue to be very popular with our clients. – Heather Sidorowicz, Southtown Audio Video, Hamburg, NY What relatively new technology feature or trend for TVs and/or projectors do you think is having the biggest impact on the video category and why? Multiviewing – viewing multiple sources on one screen – is becoming more popular than ever before. While this is not an entirely new concept, the technology driving it is. SDVoE affords us the highest fidelity for 4K HDR material to be transported over IP networks and enables multiviewing for consuming content…

Hunter Douglas has expanded its substantial portfolio of window treatment fabrics to include exclusive collections from two esteemed artists: San Francisco-based textile designer Seema Krish and New York City-based visual artist Marcie Bronkar. The Design Studio Featured Artist series provides thoughtfully designed textiles that can be used across a variety of shading projects to complement the connected home. As the worlds of home technology and interior design continue to merge, the Hunter Douglas portfolio of products offers a unique design aesthetic for homeowners and designers, while also offering the convenience and interoperability that automated shading provides. “We often hear there can be a disconnect between designers and integrators when it comes to talking about technology in the home, and Hunter Douglas serves as the perfect bridge to open the conversation,” said Maren…

Planar’s new video display was designed to deliver superior image performance for a variety of luxury environments, including media rooms, studios, and workspaces, as well as hospitality and entertainment venues. The Planar Luxe UltraRes X 100, the latest addition to the Planar Lifestyle Displays family, is a 100-inch LCD display featuring 700-nit brightness, a wide color gamut perfect for High Dynamic Range content, and advanced video processing capabilities. The release of the Planar Luxe UltraRes X 100 introduces a global first: a 100-inch commercial-grade, 24x7 LCD display that allows users to showcase 4K HDR content with high brightness and a slim installation profile that is compliant with the American’s with Disabilities Act. “The launch of Planar Lifestyle Displays was met with enthusiasm and reinforced the interest in LED and LCD displays designed to…

As the new vice president of education and training for CEDIA, I’m assuming stewardship of a program that is impressively whole. Not complete, per se – in a field that changes as quickly and dramatically as the home technology industry, we can never really be done building and maintaining our body of knowledge – but strong, comprised of training pathways that can onboard technicians new to the industry and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to advance throughout their career. That’s rare; most association training portfolios have glaring potholes in the road to certification and mastery. I know that I have not just the association staff but CEDIA’s unbelievably generous volunteers to thank for the state and momentum of our training program. I’ve spent my whole career working alongside…