Clarus is introducing its first-ever line of AC Power Conditioners: Duet, Sextet, Octet and the flagship Clarus Power. The Clarus Power Conditioners will be available in four models — three Power Blocks and one 2U-component rack-mountable unit. The Power Blocks are: Duet, a two-outlet model; Sextet, a six-outlet model and Octet, an eight-outlet model. The Clarus Power component model has eight outlets. As with all […]

Just Add Power (J+P) announced the rackmount version of its 3G Ultra HD Over IP Power over Ethernet (PoE) transmitter. The new J+P 1RU rackmount VBS-HDIP-747 3G Ultra HD (4K@30Hz 4:2:0)over IP PoE transmitter provides the same features as the VBS-HDMI-707 PoE TX as both models distribute 4K video with HDR via JPEG2000 over IP and support HDCP 2.2, […]

CEDIA announced today that it has purchased the popular Technology & Business Summit series of regional events for the home technology industry from Clarity AV International / Integrator Network. This was a brilliant move on CEDIA’s part as they needed an “event” of sorts where their members could network outside of the Expo itself — which was sold to Emerald Expositions […]

Nortek Security & Control (NSC) today announced the addition of the new 7″ e3 Entry System to the Linear line of access control and telephone entry solutions. The browser-based Linear e3 Entry System is a touch screen based entry system with a full query keyboard, which they says minimize the number of steps. Dealers save time with an easy-to-install solution […]

Yamaha today announced the addition of new lines of powered (DZR/DXS-XLF) and passive (CZR/CXS-XLF) loudspeakers and subwoofers to its pro audio lineup, offering enhanced performance and professional sound quality. The DZR line of powered speakers, along with the DXS-XLF powered subwoofers, have digital processing in all powered models – both speakers and subwoofers – is all done at 96kHz. According […]

Everything changes and the pace of that change can be dizzying. Change for its own sake, however, isn’t always advisable. It needs to be carefully considered. A recurring trend in my discussions with consumer electronics dealers is their efforts in exploring avenues by which they can both differentiate themselves and seek new margin-building categories. Over […]

Covid has announced the addition of two new HDMI cables to its extensive cable line: a locking HDMI cable and a right-angle HDMI cable. The locking HDMI 2.0 cable, (HDLK) features the Ultra Lock System, making it one of the most secure and reliable high retention HDMI cables on the market. The simple locking device is locked […]

Gefen is now shipping six new models from their Gen 2.0 AV-over-IP product line including the DVI KVM, VGA KVM and audio-only input and output formats. The Gen 2.0 KVM line claims 4K Ultra HD with HDR support, built-in scalers, video-wall control, independent USB, RS232, IR, audio routing and backward-compatibility with first-generation products. The new Gefen AV-over-IP line-up […]

Control4 Corporation announces that 84 authorized Control4 dealers world-wide will be distinguished with the Pinnacle achievement in 2018. This exclusive status recognizes exceptional growth and consistent quality in Control4 home automation, Pakedge networking, and Triad audio projects. The exclusive Pinnacle distinction signifies that a dealer has developed an immensely successful and long-term partnership with Control4, leading them to purchase one […]

Tributaries just announced that the UHDT TITAN Passive 10-meter (32-foot, 10-inch) HDMI cable has been certified by both DPL Labs and ISF for 18Gbps performance.  Why is passive such a big deal? Passive HDMI cables are always preferred over active. In addition to incompatibility issues with other electronics, active cables are directional and will not work if reversed. The active end of the […]

Global Caché and Chaos Entertainment Communication announced today they have formed an alliance to ensure their combined products provide built-in integration. The combination of IRControl software and Global Caché hardware delivers a simple and easy to deploy, configure and use solution. Global Caché’s products connect any IR, serial and contact closure device to a Wi-Fi and/or IP network so it can be controlled, automated, and maintained by […]

RTI, known as a control company, today announced a line of video matrix switches, extenders, presentation scalers and audio mixer amplifiers. The video distribution offering all uses HDMI and HDBaseT technology and is capable of distributing 4K video (4:2:0). The VHD-4 and VHD-8 HDBaseT video matrix switchers extend video, IR and RS232 signals up to 230 feet over a single Cat 5e/6 […]

Expanding beyond its video capture and playout cards, Magewell will show company’s first standalone, hardware-based streaming encoder at the 2018 NAB Show next month. Dubbed the Ultra Stream HDMI, it’s capable of recording or streaming video and audio from a variety of sources with one-click using on-device buttons or a smartphone app. Designed for users who want to stream but may […]

In AV, we are sometimes very product-focused. Manufacturers build best in class products and then engage a dealer channel to make sure those products have a solid strategy to get into the marketplace. Integrators get trained on how the product works, many times engaging with the manufacturers to become certified in the installation and/or programming […]

In a recent editorial, talking about the importance of vendor reps making face-to-face contact with their dealer base, I mentioned shop-talk as one reason why: Finding things out through the grapevine that might not learn any other way, especially sitting in your office waiting for the phone to ring. Keeping an ear to the ground, […]

Luxul introduced today a new initiative to support its growing dealer base: The Luxul Customer Assurance Program, or CAP. With this new program, the company is providing its dealers with certified wired and wireless network designs for residential and commercial applications — complete with tech support — that are guaranteed to meet their customers’ reliability and performance requirements relating to Wi-Fi. […]

TFCinfo today announced the release of its “Projector Brand Customer Perception and Preference Study 2018.” This report marks the 16th year that this annual projector brand benchmarking study has been conducted. TFCinfo’s report not only measures the strength of multimedia projector brands in the five most important market segments in the AV industry (large corporations, SMB-small and medium business, SOHU-small office/home user, education […]

advoli Limited (advoli) just announced two additional HDBaseT-certified PCIe 16x graphics cards. The graphics cards are powered by AMD Embedded Radeon E8860 Series GPU and deliver six HDBaseT channels with independent 1080p resolution videos for up to 150 meters over CAT cables. The already released TA6, has been renamed “TA6 Performance,” delivering six independent channels of 4K UHD content for […]

Simply Reliable has partnered with Control4 to “facilitate efficiencies and productivity for integrators.” Using Simply Reliable’s software products, integrators are now able to generate and share proposals, then collect deposits, create accurate installation drawings in minutes rather than days. Simply Reliable’s (SRi) smartOFFICE is tailored to the custom integration industry and offers simple proposal generation and approval with e-commerce for client payment collection, project management, logistic support […]

Altinex just launched the TE460-137 HDMI Signal Generator and Analyzer, which is designed for installers and consultants for testing and verifying all aspects of an HDMI signal path. Altinex says the TE460-137 is portable and can test and verify compliance with HDMI specification regardless of what is used between inputs and outputs. The TE460-137 has both HDMI input and […]

This can be a sensitive subject to both suppliers and resellers, so I will endeavor to tread lightly. In CE retail, co-op promotional costs are largely the norm. That’s where the supplier supports their dealers’ sales efforts with measures that can range from subsidizing advertising costs, to sell-through credits, to paying for product placement in-store. […]

Just in case you were hiding under a rock this month, the big news in the business world was that Toys “R” Us will close or sell all of its 735 stores in the U.S., ending a 70 year legacy for the retailer and also putting 31,000 workers back in the market for a job. […]

RTI today announced that the company is now shipping the second generation of its XP-6 advanced control processor. Designed for both smart homes and corporate environments as well as sports bars, the XP-6s features a faster i.MX53 CPU for increased processing power. RTI upgraded it with eight times more RAM memory and four times more internal nonvolatile Flash memory (512MB). The […]

Vivitek has announced the expansion of its Qumi series of industry leading LED pocket projectors, with the introduction of the Qumi Q38. The Q38 is 1080p resolution and weighs just under 750 grams. With the Qumi Q38 you can project up to 130” at 600 lumens brightness, 10,000:1 contrast ratio and it has a 30,000 hours LED light-sourcee. Additionally, there are […]

Lone Mountain Audio, the importer of ATC Loudspeaker Technology, has announced the arrival of the CDA2 Mk2 CD/DAC Preamp. Developed as the partner for ATC’s latest P2 power amplifier and active speaker designs, the Mk2 combines convenient USB access to music streaming with an upgraded CD transport and DAC board, dedicated headphone amplification, expanded input choices and analogue circuits […]

Previously, I had written an editorial that addressed deciding what to do with long-term clients in the context of applying the analogy of legacy systems to them: Do you upgrade them or do you get rid of them? Of course, that got me thinking back to legacy systems themselves and again: Do you upgrade them […]

I recently had the privilege of working with a client who has very real and very serious vision problems. I say it was a privilege because every time I work with someone who wants something beyond my standard touch panel design, I learn from it. Looking at a touch panel through a client’s eyes (in […]

TASCAM has introduced the new MZ-223 and MZ-372, which are both rackmount analog mixers offering flexible inputs, mixing and routing. TASCAM says they are well suited for installs in small to mid-size venues such as restaurants, hotels, ballrooms, meeting rooms and schools, as well as residences. The compact, 2U rack-mount TASCAM MZ-223 offers five audio […]

Extron just started shipping their new TLP Pro 1025T 10″ Tabletop TouchLink Pro Touchpanel. Extron redesigned this touchpanel inside and out with a new quad-core processor, eight times more memory, a 1280×800 capacitive touchscreen built with scratch and smudge-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass and a new enclosure design with a sweeping back. The TLP Pro 1025T also features the convenience […]

BenQ America today announced the TK800 Home Entertainment DLP projector — a native 3840×2160 UHD-resolution projector. Like the HT2550 (their other native 4K project launched last month, the TK800 is HDR-capable and uses an RGBW color wheel achieves 92 percent of Rec. 709 color gamut with 3,000-lumen high brightness. TK800 is designed for consumer applications with a bunch of pre-loaded templated […]

The 2018 version of ISE has come to a close, but our coverage will live forever — on our dedicated Integrated Systems Europe 2018 MicroSite! We shot 1,300+ new product videos, took 2,000+ photos on the show floor, recorded 50+ podcasts and wrote up 300 or so news stories covering the show. Check it all out on our ISE 2018 Microsite […]

Before you commit to incorporating augmented or virtual reality into your design process, consider these scenarios that could harm, rather than help, your final outcome. Much like Doctor Who’s TARDIS, the toolbox for design just got a lot bigger on the inside. What was once relegated to testing labs, tinkerer’s garages, and a relatively small segment […]