CE Pro Podcast

The shortage of labor is not unique to the custom installation market, but it has been an ongoing struggle for many years. CEDIA is tackling the issue head on in several ways. First, the association unveiled its Next Gen Smart Home Career Toolkit to help integrators connect with the next generation of employees. Also, CEDIA unveiled its slate of 80 sessions for CEDIA Expo 2023 education this fall in Denver. 

Mandy Beckner, vice president of education and training at CEDIA, reviewed both the initiatives talking with CE Pro editor Jason Knott in this podcast episode.

With 2023 already flying by, CE Pro took the opportunity to ask its resident “Audio Guys” what trends they see in the market as we close out the first quarter, in the latest episode of the CE Pro Podcast.

Paul Bochner, owner and president of Electronics Concepts and Professional Audio Consultants, in Rochelle Park, N.J., and Steve Silberman, business development, audio for Savant, agree that to a certain level homeowners tastes have evolved over the past few years. Bochner says his clients have become increasingly focused on how their electronics complement their daily lives.

 Recent research shows that landscape lighting is among the most in-demand outdoor technologies by homeowners, designers and realtors, but there’s much more to the exterior than just “landscaping” as potential integration spots.
Outdoor lighting and audio specialist Coastal Source gives installers solutions to cover all areas of the exterior, and technical sales specialist Shay Brummer returns to the CE Pro Podcast to discuss that, as well as what the company showed during the recent HTSA Lightapalooza event. 

 “We are on a 1,000-mile journey, and we're only about 500 miles into it,” says John Heyman, CEO of Snap One, in reference to the ambitious plans the company has ahead.

That journey has taken the Charlotte, N.C.-based company from its humble beginnings in 2000 from founder Jay Faison to become the bellwether company in the smart home industry.  Snap One holds several unique positions in the market as:

• The leading brand specified and installed by custom integrators in more than 20 categories of equipment
• Both a manufacturer and a distributor
• One of the few pure-play publicly owned companies in the custom integration industry.

Heyman, along with Chief Product Office GPaul Hess, spoke with CE Pro about what the past year has been like, offered their outlook for 2023 and beyond, and provided a few glimpses of what might lie ahead in terms of a product roadmap and how they plan to help integrators thrive, operate more efficiently (especially in regards to service), and eventually build recurring monthly revenue (RMR).

The big ISC West security tradeshow in Las Vegas is around the corner, and we have one of the leading video surveillance providers on this week’s CE Pro Podcast to walk us through technologies, applications, trends and more. Fredrik Nilsson, VP of the Americas at Axis Communications, joined me for a conversation last summer that is still very relevant today for custom integrators in the security market.

Axis is based in southern Sweden, where Nilsson hails from originally, though for two decades he’s called the Boston area home, near the company’s North American HQ in Chelmsford, Mass.

The company was founded 40 years ago, back in 1984, and by 1996 had invented the IP network camera, originally more for web monitoring use, Nilsson says. It began seeing more security usage for the technology and now 25+ years later Axis is a global leader in both IP network cameras and overall video surveillance cameras for security.

This year for the second year in a row I visited the Design & Construction Week festivities, which includes the International Builders Show (IBS) and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), owned by the National Association of Home Builders and National Kitchen & Bath Association, respectively. 

Last year’s return to an in-person show in Orlando was big, but this year’s event in Las Vegas was record setting. Hear about some of the innovations, trends and technologies as I discuss the event with executive editor Chelsie Butler and managing editor Leslie Claggett of CE Pro sister publication KBB, in this week’s podcast episode.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES, was held a few weeks ago and it did not disappoint. The pre-audit attendance of 115,000 made it the largest show since early 2020. While most of the event is not targeted at integrators, there were some interesting exhibits that bode for the future. 

CE Pro editor Jason Knott spoke with CEDIA VP Giles Sutton about what they saw at the show and what it means for integrators.   

This week on the CE Pro Podcast we’re looking back on the editors’ of CE Pro’s favorite podcast moments from 2022. Executive editor Arlen Schweiger, senior editor Bob Archer, editor in chief Jason Knott and web editor Nick Boever all hosted guests on the CE Pro Podcast in 2022, and while we’d say all the conversations were gems, we of course have moments that stand out more than others. 

So stay tuned in this episode for highlights from our selections, featuring guests Chris Pinder of HDANYWHERE and Ian Morrish of Together For Cinema; Brian Hoyer of Shielded Healing; Joel Silver of the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); Harman Luxury Audio’s Jim Garrett; and David Ly of Iveda. 

CE Pro senior editor Robert Archer has been covering the custom electronics industry for 20+ years and never misses a CEDIA Expo. Over the years, Bob has also gone through curriculum from CEDIA and other associations like the Home Acoustics Alliance to further his AV expertise.

So when Bob does his annual top products of the year posts, we know he does not take the selections lightly and brings more than two decades of industry and AV knowledge to his choices. After he posted his favorite products for 2022, we asked Bob if he could join the CE Pro Podcast and share his rationale behind the selections, which represent a multitude of categories to help dealers.

Additionally, Bob, editor-in-chief Jason Knott and Arlen Schweiger recently pulled together our annual list of suggestions for “5 Hot Technology Opportunities for Integrators” for 2023, which is covered in our January issue State of the Industry section. Keep an eye out for the issue for more in-depth information, but in this podcast episode Bob and Arlen reveal the top five tech trends and offer some reasoning for the forecasted trend.

With a background in smart city technologies, Iveda is now eyeing smart home. The release of IvedaCare brings an AI-driven software solution powered by sensors straight to the hands of integrators, and though it focuses on aging-in-place solutions, the possibilities go far beyond that.

The solution is scalable, customizable, and comes with out-of-the-box readiness that can be expanded upon as needs change. Though the core focus is for aging-in-place solutions, the software is capable of being used in energy and environmental monitoring solutions, gathering data, and allowing professionals to develop truly intelligent automations for their clients. 

In his first podcast since joining CE Pro as Web Editor, Nick Boever speaks with David Ly, CEO of Iveda, to learn more about the product and its potential use cases for integrators in both residential and commercial channels.

Is 8K ready for prime time? It seems like an odd question to be asking since it feels like the industry only recently converted to 4K. But with gaming as the driving force behind 8K content, the momentum is already building for the next wave of video resolution. So what does 8K actually bring in terms of color gamut and HDR? How will 8K alter video distribution? Will the current HDMI 2.1 spec support 8K AV-over-IP?

These are just some of the burning questions that CE Pro editor Jason Knott posed to Mike Tsinberg, president, and Leon Tsinberg, business development manager, at Key Digital Systems in this week's CE Pro Podcast.

Outdoor technology remains red hot, and one company that’s been leading the charge for custom integrators is outdoor lighting and audio specialist Coastal Source. The Moorestown, N.J.-headquartered company, which also has offices in the Florida Keys, had a big presence at the recent CEDIA Expo 2022 in Dallas … did you get a chance to check out their booth?

Actually, Coastal Source had multiple areas showcasing its solutions – one wasn’t a booth, however, but the Destination Backyard event it co-hosted with ruggedized display manufacturer Séura outside the front of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Coastal Source president Franco D’Ascanio and VP of operations Jon Bowman discuss the company’s new products highlighted at CEDIA Expo, trends in outdoor technology requests, dealer benefits and programs, plus more on the latest CE Pro Podcast episode.

Cellphone signal boosters has been a growing category for integrators for several years now, largely dominated in the custom industry by a couple of companies – SureCall and Wilson Electronics, which are always at the top of CE Pro’s Brand Analysis rankings. Uniden Cellular by Siyata Mobile is an established company that’s joining the custom fray with cell signal booster solutions for home, commercial and in-vehicle.

LaRue Martz, VP of sales for the Americas at Uniden, discusses the company’s products, installation process, trainings and certifications, sales demos, differentiators and more in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode.

This is a hosted panel discussion that brings to life The Cinema Connoisseur’s inaugural "Cinema Sommelier" movie review that used scenes from the hit 2018 movie "A Quiet Place," including supervising sound editor Erik Aadahl. 
In the review and in the podcast, Sean Skelley, owner of Definitive Audio in Seattle, describes the specific scenes from the movie he uses to demo home theater to his clients, and explains why he chose a movie whose central theme is the lack of noise and how the movie demonstrates the impact of surround sound effects, or lack of, to enhance the impact of the demo. 

Have you ever wished you could install an in-ceiling loudspeaker and not worry about running wire to drive it and connect sources? Well, let us introduce you to Surrey, U.K., brand Lithe Audio, an innovative speaker company that makes all-in-one products that allow you to do just that.

Amit Ravat, co-founder and director of Lithe Audio, debuted the brand to the U.S. market at CEDIA Expo 2022 in Dallas recently. He was excited to show off the all-in-one aspect of the powered speakers, which have built-in support Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast, depending on the model. He went over the details with me in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode.

With crowded booths and a lot of static and active product demonstrations, the Expo certainly delivered on the promise to show the latest products to attendees. This year’s bumper crop of products was arguably the most diverse in the history of the CEDIA Expo. 

In the CE Pro Podcast recap editors Jason Knott and Arlen Schweiger, along with Commercial Integrator’s editor Dan Ferrisi noted the show featured products from a wide swath of exhibitors, including traditional AV companies, as well as the control and automation manufacturers; networking companies, and newer manufacturers to the market such as wellness, lighting and unified communications (UC).

CEDIA Expo 2022 is right around the corner and CE Pro’s resident “Video Guys” are not only excited to see the latest products during the annual trade event, they are eagerly anticipating the show’s training opportunities. 

Joel Silver, CEO and lead developer, Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); Jason Dustal of Murideo; and Robert Zohn, president and founder of Value Electronics, point out the CEDIA Expo show is a valuable event for dealers for a numbers. They joined the CE Pro Podcast to discuss the upcoming tradeshow in Dallas, as well as cover Value Electronics’ annual TV shootout.

If you’ve done work with designers and architects, you know that they are looking for design-minded or discreet solutions for technology. Two trending categories that can help integrators win over those trade partners on projects – and their customers – are motorized shades and voice control. 

And speaking of those categories, Brittany Mier y Teran, Partnerships and CI Channel Manager for North America, Somfy; and Casey Levy-Tulloch, Manager of Business Strategy and Partnerships Team, Josh.ai, talk about the benefits of their latest integration partnership in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode. The motors and window treatments provider and voice command and AI specialist stand to help their dealers make inroads in the design department thanks to the recent announcement.

With the summer winding down the members of the CE Pro All-Star Band are ramping their efforts up. More specifically, the guys are deep into their practice routines working towards making their now annual appearance at the CEDIA Expo 2022 event as memorable as possible. 
Coming off a three-year break in their live performances, band members are excited to play two sets of classic rock songs in front of their co-workers, peers and friends at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. 
Taking time from their work schedules and practice regimes, band members took some time to look ahead to what it will feel like to play at the expo and they discuss the setlists in this episode of the CE Pro Podcast. 

As you walk past the storefronts at the Boston Design Center, the System 7 showroom doesn’t stand out too much from the other design storefronts. However, that reason alone is why it stands out so much, as despite looking like a lighting showroom, it is secretly a technology experience center in disguise.

While System 7 still engages in the traditional AV installation (after all it was Lynch’s start in the industry) the company has invested heavily in lighting and shading, even hiring multiple design consultants to join the System 7 team.

It’s all a part of the approach System 7 and its founder and president Gerard Lynch takes when it comes to technology: the design should always be measured by its simplicity, reliability and beauty, not just by bits and bytes. 

Wireless audio has come a long way, and one company that continues to propel the technology in exciting directions is Enclave Audio. Rob Jones, chief technology officer, discusses how easy it is for dealers to install and calibrate full wireless surround-sound systems, advantages over soundbars, where wireless audio might be headed next and more in this week’s podcast episode.

To make the category enticing for dealers and customers, Enclave Audio offers WiSA-based wireless surround-sound bundles from its CineHome and CineHome Pro lineup. The company has focused on theater solutions and easily-installed upgrades to soundbars, with the wireless option expanding the potential customer pool for 5.1 systems.

When we challenged integrators to submit pictures of the oldest piece of gear on their inventory shelves for our Oldest Gear Contest, we couldn’t have expected the oldest product to be straight out of the 1970s. Yet, the fact that our first ever Oldest Gear winner said he probably has OLDER stuff lying around somewhere speaks to an issue in the custom integration industry: inventory management.
Tom Loveitt, Design/Sales, Canfield Systems, submitted what is surely the oldest piece of gear during this round of these awards. He says it’s been sitting on Canfield’s shelves since well before he was with the company. Loveitt chats about it in this episode, which also includes CE Pro senior web editor Adam Forziati's discussion with James Foxall of contest sponsor Tigerpaw Software.

The power conditioning and power protection category might not have the wow factor of audio video components or pizzazz of automation programming, but it could be the most mission-critical in a dealer’s portfolio. After all, it’s the components that are protecting – and even improving the performance – all the other equipment in a rack. 

Torus Power president Kevin Main talks about his company’s unique power technologies to help integrators amp up their systems, set up a proper power foundation and deliver clean power in this week’s CE Pro Podcast.

The company has a deep background in toroidal power transformers, Main explains, dating back to the mid-1980s when it OEM’d power supplies for high-performance audio companies. He says Torus Power worked with the likes of Krell, Bryston, Pass Labs, Mark Levinson, McIntosh and others “where we kind of cut our teeth” in the audio world, he says.

It also made toroidal transformers for medical equipment manufacturers, and around 2006 Torus Power began delivering clean audio to AV systems in the CEDIA channel, centered on the toroidal isolation transformer.

Forget about those old photos of Aunt Margie or the antique clock on the mantel over the fireplace, that space has now become the prime location for the TV. And as they say, "necessity is the mother of invention," which is why MantelMount was created. For integrators, the solution solves a myriad of potential problems related to screen height, viewing distance and viewing angle. 

“MantelMount was born out of necessity to solve the problems that are inherent with needing to put a TV over a fireplace,” says Lee Marc, CEO, on this week's CE Pro Podcast. “These days you’ve got fireplace mantel pushing 4.5 to 5 feet; you’ve got 60- to 80-inch TVs that have come down in price considerably, and you have a lot more modern homes being built with an open concept. They have an open kitchen wall with the family room, and one wall is usually the backyard. And really, the only place to put your TV is over the fireplace.”

Marc explains that the combination of the large TV and tall mantel unfortunately can leave residents with their necks cocked upwards dramatically.

As the custom installation world becomes more entrenched in areas such as lighting fixtures and power of ethernet, battlegrounds are developing between the worlds of low-voltage electronics and high-voltage electrical. The natural evolution of the technology has led integrators to expand into these growing areas, while electricians in many cases look to “protect their turf” by working to have local and state municipalities pass potentially restrictive laws against CE pros.

That’s when CEDIA’s often-unheralded role of advocacy for the industry becomes so important. 

At the upcoming CEDIA Expo 2022 in Dallas, CEDIA will be holding its first-ever Advocacy Town Hall open to all attendees. At this breakfast event on Thursday, September 29, attendees are asked to come ready to share information and find out how they can work together with CEDIA to advocate for the industry. CEDIA CEO Daryl Friedman and director of government affairs joined the podcast to tell us more details.

Since it first debuted back in 2015, Snap One’s OvrC software has become the go-to solution for integrators to remotely manage the devices they install in their customers’ homes, but recent upgrades to the platform have morphed it into being a key operational tool as well. So, OvrC not only saves service truck rolls and valuable time, it has also become the basis of service plans for many integrators.

Indeed, according to the 2022 CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis Study, OvrC is used by 73% of the industry’s largest integrators. The system has become so ubiquitous that, on average, there are a whopping 110 devices connected per project to OvrC. That is 10X the number of connected devices for a DIY smart home, according to Evan Marty, director of product management at Snap One.

So with that deep level of penetration in place, when Snap One recently announced some important changes to OvrC, it was “kind of a big deal,” as anchorman Ron Burgundy might say.

Amazon’s Ring brand might have started out as more of a mainstream name than typical custom integration channel companies, but the security provider has been catching on with the professionals over the past several years.

Between its pioneering video doorbell, security cameras, smart lighting, security systems and more, Ring has made nice inroads with custom integrators and security providers. The company rolled out its Ring X Line of pro-channel exclusive doorbells, cameras and bundled solutions, showing its integration channel commitment, in addition to its Ring Alarm Pro offerings that have extended Ring’s reach.

In this week’s episode of the CE Pro Podcast, Todd Towey, national sales manager for Ring Installed Solutions, delved into details about the company’s latest solutions, its recent ONVIF camera compatibility news, cybersecurity measures and more.

The past couple of years have been extremely busy for electronics companies in the custom integration sector. Explaining how their respective companies have fared and how they are looking ahead, Vanco’s Frank Santos and Kaleidescape’s Tayloe Stansbury recently spoke to CE Pro.

In part one of this week’s CE Pro Podcast, Santos, who serves as director of training and product knowledge for Vanco, points out how the ongoing addition of 70-volt products to the company’s product line, including amplifiers and speakers is helping dealers serve commercial AV clients.

In part two, during the annual HTSA Spring Conference this year, Stansbury took time out of his day to talk to CE Pro about Kaleidescape’s current product line and its dealer support mechanisms.

There are numerous reasons why custom integrators end up partnering and selling products with various vendors. Could be the pricing or margins are great, the tech support is top-notch, or maybe certain companies’ reputations simply help sway a dealer’s decision.

The annual CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis takes a look at leading brands in more than 60 categories across the custom integration industry, and every year it gives a nice sense about what companies integrators gravitate toward throughout the channel. 

We wanted to give a taste of what some of these leading brands and fast-rising “bullet” brands think about why their companies are a good match with integrators. In this week’s CE Pro Podcast, we spoke with a handful of leading brands to get their perspective: Sound United, focusing on Marantz; H-P Products; Yale Smart Residential; and RoseWater Energy Group.

You when you’ve been in the industry for decades, the institutional knowledge is solid gold. And the opportunity to have the information from those years of experience passed along to the next generation of integration company owners is priceless. With all the pressures facing CE pros today from supply chain to labor rates to company culture, worthy advice from someone who has seen it all and done it all is welcome indeed.

That’s where Franklin Karp comes in. After spending decades in the trenches, Karp is now sharing his sage advice with others through the formation of his own consulting company: Franklin Karp & Co. Karp started in the consumer electronics business when he was in college selling stereos. That evolved to a job in retail at Stereo Warehouse before moving Harvey Electronics, a high-end dedicated retailer that eventually expanded into custom installation. Harvey’s grew to $46 million in sales, including $21 million in custom installation during Karp’s long tenure. For the past decade he has been at Audio Video Systems in New York, dealing with vendors and affluent clientele.  

There aren’t many brands in consumer electronics that match the 50-year legacy of Lenbrook brand PSB Speakers. The company’s humble beginnings can be traced back to when founder and chief designer Paul Barton was still a student in school. 

Today, PSB Speakers is well-known for its product line that includes everything from subwoofers and in-wall speakers, to active speakers and reference-level floor-standing loudspeakers. Barton took time to reflect on his and the company’s legacy in this week’s CE Pro Podcast.

Whenever Sony announces a new home video product, the custom electronics industry takes notice. Certainly, when the company intros a trio of laser-based projectors Joel Silver, CEO and lead developer, Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); Jason Dustal of Murideo; and Robert Zohn, president and founder of Value Electronics, take notice.

Indeed, our resident “Video Guys” are welcomed back to the CE Pro Podcast to discuss the latest VPL-XW5000ES, VPL-XW6000ES and VPL-XW7000ES 4K laser projectors from Sony. In addition, they offer tips on how to optimize home environments for better AV experiences in this week’s episode. 

Talk about going the extra mile to aid a worthy cause — how about 150+ extra miles, in a span of six days?

That’s what Chris Pinder accomplished this spring when he competed in the Marathon Des Sables to raise funds for Together For Cinema, the UK-based charitable organization that works with manufacturing sponsors and integrators to design and install theater rooms in children’s hospices. 

He and Together For Cinema founder Ian Morrish, who like Pinder has gone above and beyond for the group, joined me on the CE Pro Podcast to go into details about this ultra-marathon endurance test, what it means for the group and the latest Together For Cinema updates and projects.

Lighting fixtures and lighting control can be used in a variety of ways, and savvy CE Pros can discuss benefits such as comfort, safety and security, convenience, curb appeal, energy efficiency and more. As Adam Domurad, VP of sales for integration firm Smart Home & HiFi by Mirarchi Electric, outlines in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode, those benefits can be addressed through outdoor lighting just as much as indoor lighting.

The Hatfield, Pa.-based integrator discusses how Coastal Source landscape lighting – along with its outdoor audio – has been a boon to Smart Home & HiFi, especially when it comes to presenting prospects with peace of mind as a way to bolster their home’s security.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a single web portal where a custom integrator can do direct product comparisons when creating a project product list instead of having to open multiple browsers to view 10 different manufacturers’ websites? Well now there is. CEPro-iQ is a new portal that draws from the successful AV-iQ centralized database with hundreds of thousands of SKUs to display detailed product information for the residential integration industry.

CEPro-iQ also can create custom catalogs for integrators to embed on their own websites that drive them to top of the Google search rankings. 

CEPro-iQ is born from AV-iQ, which has been around for 20 years in the commercial AV space and boasts 400,000 products from hundreds of brands. The site is used by not only integrators but by decision-maker end users seeking out solutions for their facilities, as well as by architects looking to build technology into their designs. Emerald, owners of CE Pro and the CEDIA Expo, purchased AV-iQ in 2021. AV-iQ business development lead Mark Loftus joined the CE Pro Podcast to chat with editor Jason Knott about the CEPro-iQ launch.

Paul Bochner, owner and president of Electronics Concepts in Rochelle Park, N.J., Steve Silberman, business development, audio for Savant, and Alex Camara, CEO of AudioControl, are bullish on the possibilities of well-designed whole-house AV, including outdoor systems.

In this CE Pro Podcast episode, the trio discuss the importance of system design, as well the proper choice of equipment during the engineering phases of whole-house system design for both indoor systems and outdoor systems. Camara also comments on AudioControl's acquisition by AAMP Global.

This is an especially challenging time to be running a custom installation business, but somehow Joseph Akhtarzad, president of Just One Touch/Video & Audio Center in Southern California, has found the magic formula. The company is one of the few that proactively markets custom installation through consumer media channels like TV and radio, while creating an efficient team structure with cross-trained technicians across all product categories.

So what makes Just One Touch/Video & Audio Center one of the perennial fixtures in the CE Pro 100 list, coming in at Number 5 for 2022? Akhtarzad, along the Tom Campbell, corporate director and chief technologist for the company, sat down with CE Pro discuss how they meld custom installation division (Just One Touch) with retail (Video & Audio Center).

Crestron’s Michael Short talks in-depth on why Crestron Home added fully tunable LED light fixtures, battery-powered motorized shades, multizone streaming preamplifier, in-wall subwoofer, and power management products. 

Studies are delving into the health benefits of light, but there are also potential unhealthy elements from lighting and other electrical devices that integrators need to be aware of when they speak with clients.  Maurizio Gaudio, CTO of Colorbeam, and Brian Hoyer, founder of Shielded Healing, are looking to enlighten integrators about the health benefits of light and discuss them with CE Pro's Jason Knott. 

Jacob Whipple, product marketing manager, Snap One, discusses updates to the Control4 3.3.0 OS for whole-house controls, Triad’s new PDX architectural speakers, and Ryff whole-house audio platform. 

A look at how the Premiere SAV joint venture deal came about and how the Jackson Hole, Wyo., branch will be structured and operated. 

Eric Mercil, director of sales at cell signal booster provider SureCall, helps to outline potential 5G impact on integrators, detail types of 5G, highlight solutions, system design, speed testing demos and more. 

Justin Clark of IP access control specialist DoorBird discusses how its highly customizable products cater to integrators and trade partners; new fingerprint reader solution; dealer support and more. 

Paul Hales, owner, Pro Audio Technology and Theory Audio Design, is excited about dealers’ projects reflecting customers’ growing demand for audiophile performance. 

Led by industry veterans Paul Starkey, Helen Heneveld and Mark Weisenberg, PrepTech identifies and trains new technicians for integrators.

Joel Silver of ISF, Murideo’s Jason Dustal and Value Electronics’ Robert Zohn discuss mini- LED, MicroLED and OLED; CES 2022; and standards for video system installations in rooms with ambient light. 

Integrators are not necessarily creating channel conflict with electricians by supplying high-end line-voltage lighting fixtures on projects.

The annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) was staged with the co-located Builders’ Show in Orlando, and our editorial roundtable recaps tech, design, wellness and more themes from the well-attended show.

Interest in home entertainment technologies remains high, but supply chain and chip shortage issues still dog the custom install industry. CE Pro’s “Audio Guys” discuss the trends affecting the market in 2022. 

RoseWater Energy Group CEO Joe Piccirilli on how the SB20 all-in-one solution can set dealers apart, addressing power quality, energy storage, protection and more for mission-critical systems.

Shawn Hansson, CEO & founder of Lone Tree, Colo.-based Logic Integration shares keys to success in resi/commercial, garnering recent CTA & Commercial Integrator honors.

Samsung, Hisense, TCL, Z-Wave, Moen, SureCall and others came to Las Vegas for CES 2022 and did not disappoint for integrators. 

Electronic Concepts’ Paul Bochner, Savant’s Steve Silberman and AudioControl’s Alex Camara discuss the growth of immersive music and their favorite products released in 2021 with CE Pro senior editor Robert Archer. 

CE Pro’s expert video panel of Value Electronics’ Robert Zohn, ISF’s Joel Silver and Murideo’s Jason Dustal cover trends, favorite products and compelling demos.

Tom Hickman of Nationwide Marketing Group and Richard Glikes offer further insight into the recent merger of the two buying groups. 

Attendees & vendor sponsors of Total Tech Summit tracks of CE, CI and SSI Summits enjoy return of the in-person elite event, best practices sharing, networking & more in Orlando, Fla.

Mid-Atlantic manufacturer’s rep NuTech Group guides integrator Bethesda Systems into outdoor lighting & audio via unique Coastal Source training, underscoring vendor-rep-dealer relationship. 

Tributaries & Clarus Cable president Joe Perfito and renowned cable & power designer Jay Victor address why upgrading those areas can greatly impact audiophile hi-fi systems.

Jimmy Paschke & Vince Luciani of SurgeX discuss how to optimize power systems, implement UPS backup, remotely diagnose and troubleshoot; Squid & other products highlighted too. 

Modular Design Construction (MDC) with streaming, Dirac highlight versatile NAD Electronics latest C 399 Hybrid Digital Amplifier & C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier.

Joel Silver, Jason Dustal and Robert Zohn enthusiastically embrace the home video market and the impact of HDMI 2.1.

Joel Silver, Jason Dustal and Robert Zohn discuss the HDMI 2.1 format, along with the CEDIA/CTA-RP28 Best Practices standard.

Family-owned Stereo Barn started in 1971, migrating from pure retail to custom installation. Community involvement has helped breed success.

Outgoing senior vice president of education & training Samantha Ventura takes a look at CEDIA’s successes and what lies ahead.

BlueDog Group's Scope & Budget Tool enables integrators to outsource proposals, design and documentation without over-hiring. 

CE Pro Podcast features roundtable discussion from the CE Pro booth at CEDIA Expo 2021, covering exhibitors, technologies, show themes, education sessions and more.