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CEDIA US Expo 2008 Show Highlights (1/10/2008)

By Stella Plumbridge, HiddenWires

The CEDIA US Expo took place 4-7 September in Denver, Colorado, USA, and was hailed a success. Given the squeeze on new builds and the fact that the majority of US dealers and installers have their businesses tied up in new construction, it was no surprise that numbers were down from 29,000 last year to 25,000 this. Nonetheless, with over 500 exhibitors, three new learning labs, numerous training sessions, and many special events, the show was as inspiring as ever.

Despite numbers being slightly down on last year, the show floor at CEDIA US Expo 08 was crowded.

At the members breakfast, we were told by CEDIA Chairman Utz Baldwin that he expects huge growth in the next five years, and that CEDIA wants to expand, continue to influence legislation, and increase the brand awareness and value. CEDIA was very conscious of helping its members through these hard times, and gave away over US$500,000 worth of high-quality education at EXPO to help installers (a.k.a. electronic systems contractors).

The Connector and Testing Lab, one of three learning labs where technicians could learn to install, calibrate and troubleshoot audio and video systems from CEDIA-certified instructors.

The message of the keynote speaker, economist and bestselling author, Todd Buchholz, was essentially that education is key, and whether times are good or bad, there are always opportunities for businesses to find a way of taking market share by differentiating themselves. He advised, "You need to provide total solutions to meet your customers' needs, not just a slice of the pie." Buchholz also reckoned that the fall in the US housing market will have bottomed out by next June.

Economist and bestselling author, Todd Buchholz, gave a motivating keynote speech.

iPhone applications

In terms of technology, there weren't many major innovations, but some definite trends were emerging. Firstly, it seemed as if everyone, including Crestron, AMX, Savant and SpeakerCraft, was bringing out a control application for the iPhone. Good looking, relatively inexpensive, and intuitive, but obviously as these are mobile phones too, they cannot be expected to be a permanent fixture in the room.

Available as a download from the iPhone App Store, the Savant application for the iPhone and iPod touch provides 2-way control of any home system connected to one of Savant’s ROSIE automation systems.

The retrofit market

Secondly, given the squeeze on new build, more companies were turning their attention to retrofit. For multiroom applications, there is growing interest in audio and control over powerline. Russound for example, unveiled Collage, an IP-based system that uses the Home Plug Alliance's Power Line Carrier technology for distributing audio, intercom and security camera information throughout the home. The system comprises amplified keypads, a media manager that manages commands and content between keypads and sources, a source bridge for legacy devices, and an iPod dock.

The Russound Collage topology.

Nuvo was also showing such a system, albeit in its early stages, aptly named Renovia. Indeed retrofit systems like these solve the problem of long wire runs to a central controller, and only leave the installer with the issue of getting power to the keypad or controller, and finding somewhere to run the speaker cable.

Unless, of course, the speaker is wireless, in which case it could be sited somewhere near a mains plug as it would still need to be powered. Talking of which, Thiel Audio were showing a digital audio distribution processor, and full-range, powered, IP-based loudspeakers and a subwoofer that can all be connected via standard Ethernet cables or wirelessly.

Going greener

Another trend was that things seemed to be a lot greener than last year. CEDIA and the Colorado Convention Centre were leading the way by encouraging the use of electronic rather than paper documentation and by providing plenty of recycling bins.

On the product front, Knoll Systems was making much of its multichannel amplifiers being very power efficient, so much so, that by automatically shutting down channels that are not being used, 14 times less power is typically consumed. Other notable examples of greenness were provided by Lutron, who has been doing a lot of work on controlling natural lighting, and developing the HomeWorks system to support LED dimming and fluorescent switching.

Conclusion

These are tough times for many in the industry, and people are shopping around for the best prices, but as various experts at CEDIA stressed, electronic systems contractors must also be imaginative and look at other ways of giving their businesses the edge.

In fact Jeremy Burkhardt, President of SpeakerCraft, put his money where his mouth is, and opted for a very imaginative stand, adorned with dance troupe Lucent Dossier - imagine a vaudeville version of Cirque du Soleil. It certainly caused a stir and got everyone talking!

The Speakercraft stand, with triffid-like speaker enclosures.

Of course this review only serves to give some highlights of the Expo. There was plenty on show concerning TVs and projectors, cables and connectors, distribution and switching, and much more. For comprehensive coverage of the news, see our dedicated Expo news section.

Stella Plumbridge is the publisher of HiddenWires magazine.