Report: Integrators Turn Out for Home Technology Showcase 2016

This year’s Home Technology Showcase saw over twenty leading manufacturers gather at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, UK from May 18 to 19 to give integrators a hands-on experience of their latest innovations.

From lighting to home cinema furniture, the complete smart home was represented across the hall for attending integrators to explore. The mood was positive amongst exhibitors, with footfall gradually growing from Wednesday afternoon onwards. Over the two days just under 400 integrators visited the event.

UK industry growing

invision home technology showcase showfloor

Amongst the products being introduced at the show was a stainless steel marine-grade camera for the luxury yacht market from IP surveillance and control company Lilin. Speaking on their product development, Jason Hill at Lilin noted an open dialogue is key to successful outing at shows like the Home Technology Showcase: “50% of our work is listening and adapting to what custom integrators are looking for and responding,” he notes.

It was one of the first outings in the UK for US-based cable manufacturer ICE who have recently moved into the UK market. Their range of cables seeks to solve the age-old issue of integrators not achieving HDBaseT with regular cables, whilst also avoiding snagging.

RMC switch manufacturer Rako also indicated that they were expecting to branch out into the shade industry soon.

The future’s bright
Any trade show in 2016 wouldn’t be complete without a 4K offering. LG were on hand to showcase its OLED technology, with its latest g6 model and upcoming e6 model on display. The company reported having a “lot of interest” in the energy-efficient range, and in fact took orders at the event.

Also focusing on 4K was Sony, who took the opportunity to showcase its FW-85XD8501 and newer model from its BRAVIA series of displays. The company highlighted the benefits of the range as part of an integrated system with firmware and custom control, and had a RTI device on hand at the show. Noting that it already been a big year for their 4K range, the company expect the interest in 4K to continue into the second half of 2016.

Paradigm demo Concept 4F
In addition to experiencing technology at the stands, installers could experience the latest developments in home cinema technology with a setup from Paradigm, Screen Innovations and Sim2.

Paradigm gave a preview of its Concept 4F loudspeakers first seen back at Munich High End in 2015. Six years in development by Paradigm and Anthem, the hybrid active range will be arriving on the market soon, with their release expected in the next two months. Combining powered woofers with a passive upper register array and incorporating TruExtent Beryllium tweeters and midrange drivers, the setup certainly packed a punch, producing 1400W RMS (2,800 W dynamic peak) for base alone.

Manufacturers including Dolby Vision, Origin Acoustics, AudioControl and Luxul also shared insight on trends and problems the integration industry faces throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday as part of the event’s seminar programme.

“A great success”
Reflecting on this year’s event, Mark Taylor, business manager of the event’s organiser, distributor Invision, was optimistic: “I think it’s been a great success. This is our fourth year for the shows been going, and we’ve seen it progress every year. We’ve had a very good number of installers. The important thing for us is that they get to spend quality time here with products.”

What trends is the manufacturer currently reacting to in the residential industry? “With got a number of new exciting partners, we’re launching with high end cinema furniture brand Moovia. We’ve also recently launched with door entry and automation manufacturer Comelit, and that’s every interesting, because door entry is now a very talked-about subject.” 






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