ESSENTIAL NEWS

CEDIA REVEALS FINALISTS FOR THE 2022 CEDIA AWARDS

CEDIA has announced the finalists for the project categories of the 2022 CEDIA EMEA Awards, which will be hosted at The Brewery in London on Friday October 14, 2022. Judged by a panel of trusted industry experts, the CEDIA Awards honour the finest residential projects of the year completed by CEDIA members. “We’re excited to reveal the contenders for the 2022 CEDIA EMEA Awards,” said CEDIA EMEA Managing Director, Matt Nimmons. “Our members across the region have again been responsible for a quite exceptional level of workmanship, bringing the benefits of professionally integrated technology to different types of homes. We look forward to recognising the best of the best at what promises to be a very memorable occasion at The Brewery in London on Friday October 14.” The CEDIA awards recognise design and installation excellence: measuring projects against industry best practice and encouraging the highest standards in integrated home, home cinema, and media room project design and installation. Alongside these project winners, awards will also be presented to trade suppliers in recognition of product innovation, service and training support excellence. Monitor Audio is the Headline Sponsor for the 2022 CEDIA EMEA Awards. The Pre-Dinner Drinks Reception Sponsor is Meridian Audio and the After Party Sponsor is Sonos. Additional sponsors of the 2022 CEDIA EMEA Awards include JBL Synthesis, KNX, LG, Sonance, Sony, and Trinnov Audio. Companies who have made the final short-list for project categories are as follows:

• Automated Spaces (UK) • AVTCS (India) • Blackroom (Russia) • BNC Technology (South Africa) • Cinema Lusso (UK) • Finite Solutions (UK) • Homeplay (UK) • Intuitive Homes (UK) • MACBEE (India) • Mosaic Audio & Visual (UK) • New Wave AV (UK) • NGC Systems (UK) • Potters Home Digital (UK) • S.K. Lifestyle Technologies (Cyprus) • Smart Business SL (Spain) • Synergy Technologies (Pakistan) • The Big Picture (UK) • The Pyramid Group (UK) • Woelf (Belgium)

The CEDIA Awards are returning this October CEDIA cedia.net

ANTHEM AVM 90 AND PARADIGM FOUNDER 120H WIN EISA AWARDS

UK distributor Pulse Cinemas for the Anthem and Paradigm brands has announced that the Anthem AVM 90 receiver and Paradigm Founder 120H speaker series have both been recognised this year in the EISA awards. As EISA celebrates its 40-year anniversary in 2022, the organisation’s reach has extended to 27 countries and multiple magazines covering the best of consumer electronics. Giving expert guidance to consumers and pointing them in the direction of the very best products released each year, remains the organisations’ primary goal. Anthem points out that not since 2009, when the D2v was launched and subsequently won the Best Product in the Home Theatre High-End category, has another product from the same stable been recognised by the EISA organisation. That is until this year, when both Anthem AVM 90 and Founder 120H started turning heads globally, leading to both products being nominated for EISA category awards. Following a well-received presentation from the PML Sound International team (parent to Anthem Paradigm and Martin Logan brands) in Canada to the EISA Judges, supported by multiple reviews from across the globe, the Paradigm Founder 120H and Anthem AVM 90 have won top awards in the following categories. The Founder 120H picks up the Best Products, 2022-23, Floor-standing Loudspeakers and the Anthem AVM 90 receives, best Products 2022-23, Home Theatre Processor. A PML spokesperson said, “To win one EISA award is an honour; to win two is simply amazing, and we cannot thank the judges enough for seeing firsthand how unique both products are and the value proposition they represent. “The passion and hard work we made bringing these products to market, especially in a challenging time, were not easy but worthwhile. Our distributors also worked extremely hard to ensure the relevant magazines received the products on time and shared our enthusiasm with their local press partners.”

Pulse Cinemas pulsecinemas.com

Transform spaces with SiteLine Projecta screens

Projecta’s innovative DescenderPro and Tensioned DescenderPro SightLine screens offer a new alternative to this Package one standard black-drop border with 3 or 4 thin cables that can be extended up to 180cm on site.

Visually it gives the impression that the screen is floating in the air, and practically it opens up the space above the screen that would previously have been blocked.

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MSE Audio, parent company of seven commercial and residential loudspeaker brands, has announced the extension of its existing distribution with ApexTech. The new territories to be covered by Apex-Tech International are Spain, Portugal, and France with Apex-Tech UK remaining for the UK and Ireland. ApexTech supplies integrators with home cinema and audio solutions that feature MSE Audio’s dARTS, PhaseTech, and SolidDrive invisible speakers.

“Having represented the MSE Audio brands in the UK for some years, Apex-Tech is very excited to extend this cooperation into new European territories. The extreme high performance and value are key beliefs shared by both Apex-Tech and MSE Audio and we believe that the real secret is that MSE Audio delivers an extremely repeatable level of performance which is ideally suited to integrators delivering a whole package to their customers,” said Neil Davidson, Managing Director of Apex-Tech UK. “This guarantee of performance frees the integrator to focus on the rest of the client experience in the sure knowledge that the audio system will deliver spine tingling performance each and every time.”

“We are delighted to partner with Apex-Tech in Spain, Portugal, and France,” said Ken Hecht, Vice President. “The integrators they work with appreciate the value of the curated audio bundles we offer. Home cinema demand is strong in Europe, and we believe they are the right partner to help integrators easily fulfill their clients’ entertainment dreams with the precision acoustic entertainment delivered by a dARTS digital theater and PhaseTech’s award winning on-wall, in-wall and box solutions.” The expanded European territory will be managed by Oliver Dedek, Sales Manager for Apex-Tech International, with a focus on making it simple for integrators to purchase a complete cinema for their clients.

MSE Audio mseaudio-int.mseaudio.com

PMC is at the heart of Dolby Music creation

PMC SPEAKERS INSTALLED IN UK’S FIRST DEDICATED DOLBY ATMOS MUSIC MASTERING ROOM.

Two years after EI reported on the transformation of main Studio one control room into a PMC equipped Dolby Atmos recording and mixing room, the legendary Dean St. Studios in London is once again at the forefront of technological change – by opening the UK’s first dedicated Dolby Atmos mastering facility incorporating mixing for this increasingly popular music format, once again highlighting PMC’s position at the heart of Dolby Atmos Music creation. PMC monitoring features in both rooms, with the new suite equipped with a 9.1.4 surround system comprising PMC’s MB3-XBD-A monitors for left and right main channels, MB3S-A for the centre channel and Ci Series Ci65 monitors for surround and height channels. Jasmin Lee, who has owned Dean St. Studios since 2007, said, “We were the first independent music recording facility in the UK to install a Dolby Atmos studio for music mixing and we are now also the first to recognise that this format needs a specialist approach to mastering. “To that end we have built an acoustically accurate room that can cater specifically for this market, and we have equipped it with monitors that are so detailed and clear that our engineers can hear every nuance of the tracks they are working on, even at very low volumes.” Jasmin adds, “The amount of Atmos work we are attracting means we need a second studio that can cope with it, but what really makes our new room unique is that we can master in stereo, 5.1 and Atmos using the same equipment, which ensures accuracy and delivers a much smoother workflow.” Kurt Martinez, Dean St. Studios’ Atmos engineer, said, “These are exciting times, and it is very gratifying to see how much demand there is for this format. I believe this will only increase, especially now that car manufacturers are installing Dolby Atmos systems in new vehicles, which will introduce even more consumers to the immersive audio experience.”

PMC pmc-speakers.com

Become a Savant fundamentals dealer today!

Join our exclusive network of dealers by taking part in our one-day Package one accredited training course and benefit from easy-toinstall solutions for a minimal investment. When? Thursday 8th September Thursday 24th November To learn more about Savant or to book your space contact sales@savanteurope.co or call 01488 73366

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Gira has announced that after a preliminary round of voting, it has been shortlisted for the finals of this year’s London Construction Awards in two categories:

1. Architectural Design of the Year – Essoldo House London project: A new building in Chelsea, London with space for eleven residential units, with a spectacular tower and roof terrace. Behind the scenes, a user-friendly Gira KNX system works in tandem with the Gira X1 mini server and the Gira S1, remote access module to ensure equally smooth and secure networking and control wherever the homeowner is.

2. Smart Technology of the Year – Gira KNX RF System: A new KNX system that can now be installed with a wireless network using modern RF technology with Gira KNX RF top units. Customers can then use this to control lighting, blinds, room temperature and scenes. Compatibility with the Gira System 3000 ensures the greatest possible range of functions.

Winners of the London Construction Awards will be announced at the highly anticipated Awards Gala Dinner & Ceremony on Friday September 23 at the Leonardo Royal London Tower Bridge Hotel. Gira said it is proud to offer new design freedom for the modern home with the launch of its KNX RF top units, shortlisted in the ‘Smart Technology of the Year’ category. Gira underlines how KNX RF technology offers flexibility for new builds and existing building stock too. The London Construction Awards is co-hosted with the leading exhibition, London Build, is free to enter and impartially judged by a panel of industry experts.

Gira gira.com

KNX AWARDS 2022: DIGITAL CELEBRATION WITH FOCUS ON NEW CATEGORIES

In April 2022, KNX Association started the search for the world’s best smart home and smart building KNX projects. The KNX Awards, which are awarded every two years, have established themselves as an institution in the industry. The KNX community again showed innovation, ingenuity and know-how in the implementation of ambitious KNX projects that were handed in. The jury of experts has deliberated and presents five nominees in each of the 11 categories. The winners will be revealed at the online KNX Awards celebration on September 27. The former ‘International’ category has now been split into the Smart Home Award and the Smart Building Award. Another newcomer is the Innovation Award. For this edition, the focus of the Innovation Award was on KNX projects where KNX Secure solutions and IoT was implemented. As it was in the previous editions of the KNX Awards, all nominated projects also have the chance to win a second KNX Award: the People’s Choice Award. The KNX community will have the chance to select their favourite KNX project on a special voting platform. But for the first time, everyone will have the chance to be part of the jury for a brand-new category: the KNX Product Award. A selection of recent KNX products will be presented and visitors of the special voting platform can show their appreciation for the KNX product of their choice. The KNX Association is keen to enable as many people as possible to ‘attend’ the awards, so continues with its online approach. For all those interested to join the online event, it can be followed online via https:// awards.knx.org.

KNX Association knx.org

For more updates on the nominated projects, visit https://awards.knx.org or KNX social media

Fiber HDMI Cables with Detachable Headshell

These installer-friendly HDMI cables with EtherPackage one net from MetraAV have a removable headshell with a small connector cover and hook that makes pulling the cable through conduit easy! Full 24Gbps support (4K/60, 4:4:4, Deep Colour & HDR) Audio Return Channel (ARC/eARC) Ethernet over HDMI CL3

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PPDS appoints distinguished AV leader Jae O Choi Park as new European Sales Director to drive ambitious growth strategy. Adding over 10-years of top-level AV sales and management experience to PPDS, Jae will play an instrumental role in driving the company’s ambitious growth strategy in EMEA. PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips digital signage, interactive displays, direct view LED and professional TV products and solutions, has an ambitious five-year growth strategy, and an ongoing global expansion and recruitment drive. Jae is one of the AV industry’s leading international talents, achieving extensive financial, sales and account management experience within the world’s leading professional displays specialists during a 10-year career. Based in PPDS’ Amsterdam head office, Jae – who describes the new role as a ‘peak moment’ in his career – will work with, and report directly to Franck Racape, who has recently been promoted as Head of Global Commercial, to devise and execute an ambitious fiveyear growth strategy, in which Jae will play a pivotal role. Jae commented, “I’m thrilled to have joined PPDS and to be entrusted with continuing the incredible work and successes that have been achieved under Franck’s leadership. Using my own knowledge and experience, and working with the incredible sales teams around Europe, I have no doubt that PPDS will be able to meet its ambitions and become an even greater force in the market, further disrupting the status quo and bringing new levels of quality and excellent to the channel and to end customers. The opportunity to join PPDS and further my career was one I simply could not turn down.” Key Digital, developer and manufacturer of digital video processing, video signal distribution, collaboration and communications solutions, announced the appointment of AV industry sales veteran Robert Taylor to the position Director of Distribution Channel Sales. Robert will be responsible for leading and growing Key Digital’s distribution business, both domestically and abroad. Previously, Robert held sales positions with manufacturers BIAMP Systems and TOA Electronics; served as regional manager for manufacturer’s rep firm South-eastern Communications (SECOM); and ran his own design/installation firm, Audio Concepts. Robert said, “I have followed Key Digital for many years, and I am honoured to work with Mike Tsinberg, Father of the DVD and holder of over 40 high-definition video patents. And Key Digital’s sales force is highly effective, as DeWayne Rains has built up a solid dealer base in the U.S. I am looking forward to expanding our relationships in the U.S. and abroad, and I am excited to be on the leading edge of video technology.” Distributor Exertis has unveiled the Exertis Charity Committee and its official partnership with Mental

Health UK. It has set a target of £125,000 to raise in the Charity Committee’s inaugural year, of which Mental Health UK will be the beneficiary. Mental Health UK brings together the heritage and experience of four charities from across the country who’ve been supporting people with their mental health for nearly 50 years. People around the country have been impacted by mental health issues, and the Exertis Charity Committee feels that partnering with Mental Health UK allows it to make a significant impact in supporting those affected. The Exertis Charity Committee strives to inspirit the Jae O Choi Park, New goodwill of its people across the organisation to be European Sales Director, charitable, giving purpose to the community spirit of the PPDS. company. The committee has key principles for each of its actions: to create formal channels to be charitable; to foster a deeper sense of belonging for Exertis’ people; to have a positive impact in communities; and to make a difference. The Committee is split into two broad categories – fundraising and volunteering – each with subcommittees to support them in achieving their strategic goals. Hayley Gunn-Bruce, Head of Partnerships at Mental Health UK, said, “We’re so delighted to announce our partnership with Exertis. People are in need of support for their mental health now more than ever. At Mental Health UK, we are so excited to work with businesses like Exertis who are passionate about supporting our vital work and who want to be part of creating real lasting change. “We won’t stop until everyone has the tools they need to live their best possible life and we know this partnership, through the amazing fundraising efforts of Exertis colleagues, will help that happen. We cannot wait to begin.” To celebrate the launch of its Charity Committee, Exertis has launched ‘Ride to Exertis Almo’ – an initiative where staff will amass distance by peddling on bikes to reach a goal of 1,750 miles, which is the equivalent of halfway between Exertis UK and Exertis Almo’s Philadelphia headquarters. Simultaneously, staff at Exertis Almo in America will also be accumulating 1,750 miles by riding on bikes and will be raising money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in their own community. Paul Bryan, Managing Director of Exertis UK, said, “The statistics surrounding mental health in the UK show that many of us will struggle with our mental health at some point in our lives. Sadly, not everyone seeks help and this can lead to terrible consequences. We want to support our people’s mental health and be committed to helping where we can in society.”

Hayley Gunn-Bruce, Head of Partnerships, Mental Health UK.