Industry Conferences & Shows

    Grand Home Automation’s CEDIA EXPO 2019 Experience

     1024 497 Grand Home Automation - West Michigan's Smart Home Technology Designers

    This year, CEDIA brought more than just new technology to the Denver Convention Center. With nearly 20,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors, the expo continues to grow and develop each year. Our Project Manager, Tim Imrick, has been attending CEDIA since 1998 and feels that each year the expo offers valuable developments.

    Last Year’s Comparison

    Compared to last year’s event in San Diego, Tim feels that this year’s location was more cohesive and had a better turn-out. Of the 5 days of the expo, our team attended 3; allotted to training and the show floor. Tim explained that many of the integrators only spend Friday and Saturday at CEDIA. He feels that having 3 days on-site plus travel is a great opportunity to maximize time with Vendors and our team.

    How is CEDIA Unique?

    CEDIA is unique in that the attendees are all very similar in their approach to technology. There is a comradery among the dealers that may be miles form each other in their day to day operations, but only get to meet up once a year 1000’s of miles from their home office. The manufacturers put on a real show; something you cannot get from an office visit or often from attending a training. They spend 6-9 months planning to cater to existing dealers and interest new dealers alike.

    The Best Part of the Expo and Biggest Takeaway

    The best part of CEDIA 2019 for Tim, was to have time with members of our team outside of day to day operations to focus on technology and project discussions. The first day of the show was spent discussing current projects, ideas for internal growth, advancement and sharing our goals for the next few days in Denver. Tim explained that the layout of CEDIA has changed multiple times and the current format offers the best structure and flexibility to meet with Vendors, take technical classes and spend time planning with team members.

    Tim’s biggest takeaway from CEDIA 2019 is that the convergence between audio, video, networking, electrical and security is always tightening. Having a company positioned to assist in the design, installation and ongoing management and maintenance of all residential and commercial technologies, will be even more essential as we continue to depend on these systems to simplify our way of life.

    The Overall Goal of CEDIA Each Year

    Each year there is a new segment that tries to break out – such as outdoor audio, energy management, or health care in the home. This year, some new technologies that inspired Tim were the Micro Chrystal displays, Clear OLED and lighting control. Micro Chrystal displays will allow screens to become the size of walls with great resolution. Clear OLED from LG for digital signage allows for imaging to be applied to glass windows and doors. Lastly, lighting control in the form factor of circuit breakers from Savant has been introduced.

    Overall, CEDIA 2019 highlighted many of the new-to-market brands and trending discussions within the industry. Tim continues to have a great experience every year that he attends.

    Grand Home Automation At Conference

    Grand Home Automation Discusses Building a Smart and Connected Environment: ISE Europe Show 2019

     1024 768 Grand Home Automation - West Michigan's Smart Home Technology Designers

    After 15 years of success, ISE continues to be the largest international trade show for professional AV and electronic system integration. The Grand Home Automation Technical Director, Sean Hotchkiss, recently returned from his second year attending this exclusive event. After the start of ISE in 2004, the event continues to grow astronomically each year; this year, breaking a record of over 81,000 attendees and 1,300 exhibitors. ISE has been in Amsterdam for the past two years but will relocate to Barcelona for the 2020 event.

    ISE promotes technology solutions both for residential homes and commercial businesses. However, the residential focus of this event is responsible for about 12.1% of the show, while the commercial business focus accounts for about 70.5%. The remaining 17.5% of the event includes a combination of both residential and commercial products. Grand Home Automation’s Sean Hotchkiss gives us the run down on the latest technology and newest concepts that are trending in the industry.

    Grand Home Automation Brings You Residential & Commercial Tech Solutions from an Inside View

    by Sean Hotchkiss

    One of the main components of the event that resonated with me was the comeback of home theaters and cinemas. The theater I experienced while there was one of the highest levels of art that humans can achieve.  It was uplifting to see that the art of movie-making is not dying and the experience it offers is coming back with better performance than the industry has ever seen!

    Grand Home Automation Discussing Technology At Conference In Europe

    The Evolution of 5G WiFi & Interaction With Technology

    Another important feature this year was the introduction of 5G WiFi and its interaction with technology. Super high speed connections and low latency to various forms of entertainment will continue to advance over time, along with system processing speeds. This will dramatically change into a more fluid and enjoyable experience.

    This four-day long event provided an adequate amount of time for me to preview the vendor booths on the floor and take classes. ISE is definitely an event that opens the mind and creates awareness of the many different cultural perspectives in technology. Furthermore, this awareness leads to better advancements in technology across the world. Everyone attending the event has the opportunity to connect, while sharing a common goal: How can we better serve our customers?

    Advancements In Lighting Technology for Entertainment Environments

    A key inspiration that has stuck with me throughout many of the advancements in technology, is the concept of lighting. Lighting plays a critical role in contributing to a well-done and powerful entertainment space.

    The shift has gone from fluorescent lighting to LED lighting. However, the trend has shifted once again, into laser illumination in the newest models of projectors. This provides for better performance while also consuming less energy.

    Ideas For Technological Growth Going Forward

    As ISE continues to grow, I believe it will also expand into a similar event located in the United States. I envision this merge of technology occurring between five to ten years from now. One of the greatest benefits that ISE provides each year, is the opportunity to interact with and preview advancements in technology. ISE put on a great event and Grand Home Automation prides itself in ensuring that our team is invested in training to better serve our customers.

    Sean Hotchkiss is the Technical Director at Grand Home Automation.

    Email Sean:
    shotchkiss@localhost

    More of ISE Europe: Our first hand recap of the Integrated Systems Europe 2018 – The Show to Rule Them All »

    INTEGRATED SYSTEMS EVENTS EUROPE 2018 – Our First Hand Recap of “The One Show To Rule Them All”

     511 421 Grand Home Automation - West Michigan's Smart Home Technology Designers

    Our Technical Director Sean Hotchkiss has recently returned from Amsterdam, where he attended Integrated Systems Events Europe 2018, the world´s largest AV systems integration show which ran February 6 – 9, 2018.

    What Is Integrated Systems Events Europe?

    Integrated Systems Events is a joint venture between AVIXA and CEDIA – the two leading industry associations for the global audiovisual industry. Since the first event in 2004, with 120 exhibitors and 3,500 attendees, the 2018 event has continued it’s crazy growth, with over 1200 exhibitors and more than 80,000 attendees.

    Sean reports,“The best part for me was the all-encompassing perspective of the residential and commercial markets, on a global scale. Manufacturers were showing all of their offerings to this wide audience.Companies such as Crestron had Integrated Systems Events Europe 2018their commercial and residential products and staff in the same booth (very large though it was), and any questions I had could be readily answered whether related to videoconferencing systems, or home theater processors.”

    He felt that the ability to see companies and products from all corners of the electronics world allowed exposure to new ideas, methods, and products that just isn’t available anywhere else.

    “Where else can you go to see video displays the size of a building, to management software, to cameras on flying drones, to audiophile stereo systems? It’s the best show to spend some of your time just wandering and brainstorming about possibilities and business ideas,” says Sean.

    Significant Growth of Attendees at Integrated Systems Events

    ISE added a fourth day to the show in an effort to give attendees more time to see everything at the show, although managing director Mike Blackman has acknowledged that’s an impossible feat even with proper advanced planning.

    Overall, ISE included a full schedule of educational programs, trainings, networking events and product demonstrations in the exhibition hall. “All these events worked cooperatively to raise the standard of education and quality of the businesses that serve our clients,” Sean mentions.

    Is it too big? Sean doesn’t think so. “I really appreciated the combination of the AVIXA (commercial) and CEDIA (residential) organizations working together under the same roof (roofs – the show was way too big for one building). There is even word that continuing education credits will be transferable between the organizations.” Talk about partnership!

    Biggest Takeaways From Integrated Systems Europe 2018

    “This year, audio/video and computer networking have converged so strongly, that it is difficult to separate the two. It is nearly impossible to have one without the other,” says Sean.

    Products that take our satellite receivers, BluRay players, videoconference cameras, and computer graphics, and send them across a building to remote displays by means of IP converter boxes were everywhere.

    The technology required to compress video in real-time and then decode it again without any perceivable delay was mind boggling. “We are no longer just ‘A/V guys’, but rather professionals that deliver a truly integrated experience as the new AVIXA organization name points out (Audio Video Integrated Experience Association),” Sean states.

    Other important technologies we saw at the show were Mixed Reality – AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality), OLED and High Resolution and the use of robotics. Our team will be watching the developments of these technologies closely so we can remain on the cutting edge for our clients.

    Sean’s final thoughts? “As someone who is working in the design and engineering of both corporate and residential electronics systems, this is indeed ‘the one show to rule them all’. I look forward to attending in the years to come.”

    Are you interested in hearing more about what we saw at ISE 2018 and how it could benefit your project? We invite you to contact us today to start the conversation!