CEDIA Communicates - Summer 2016

SUMMER 2016

COMMUNICATES

iOS Update puts SIRI in Charge The Changing Face of the Smart Home Industry UHD Evolution & System Design

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ContENTS

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THE CHANGING FACE Philipp Schuster, MD of Loxone, discusses the future of the smart home

EMERGING TRENDS The CEDIA Tech Council identify trends to look out for

ON SCREEN AT SEA MESL discusses content delivery for luxury yachts

Projecting the Future We take a look at the latest generation of projectors

IOT: Nothing to Fear CEDIA EMEA Chairman, Giles Sutton, talks opportunity in the IOT space

Think BIG Barrie McCorkle explains how thinking big can help you achieve success

Are You Receiving Me? We review the latest amplifiers and receivers

The Great Outdoors What can be achieved when integrating an outside space?

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WELCOME

‌to the Summer issue of Communicates, your industry resource for the latest news and stories.

2016 is disappearing before our eyes, but so far, this year has been one to remember, as our industry is truly thriving, with new technologies, new companies and the number of new CEDIA members heading in the right direction.

We recently hosted the eleventh annual CEDIA Awards ceremony. The black-tie event once again gave us the opportunity to celebrate best practice and award our members for delivering outstanding projects for their clients. Just a few days after the ceremony at the Guildhall, we enjoyed some success ourselves, as we were awarded Magazine of the Year for Communicates at the Trade Association Forum (TAF) Best Practice Awards.

As we look ahead, CEDIA 2016 is just around the corner, and with the likes of Amazon and Google taking stand space at the show, it gives us an insight into how the big players are interested in our industry.

This is another bumper issue of Communicates, with opinion pieces from a number of industry professionals, product updates from leading manufacturers and distributors and updates on various CEDIA activities and initiatives.

Wendy Griffiths Executive Director, CEDIA EMEA

Contact

Website : www.cedia.co.uk Email : info@cedia.co.uk Telephone : +44 (0)1480 213744 CEDIA Unit 2, Phoenix Park St Neots Cambridgeshire PE19 8EP, UK

Follow us on: Company Reg No 3353936 Front cover image: Archimedia, UAE

All material in Communicates is the copyright of CEDIA UK and any reproduction of said material would require written permission from the publisher. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of content published, CEDIA cannot accept responsibility for any factual errors that may occur. CEDIA cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors.

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NEWS IN BRIEF CEDIA TRAILBLAZERS The home technology industry is currently experiencing a shortage of skilled and qualified engineers. With the aim of addressing this problem, CEDIA is exploring the opportunities to create an industry tailored apprenticeship standard that will suit the needs of its membership.

CONNECT WITH CEDIA CEDIA is bringing its popular Tech Forum to Manchester on Wednesday 28th September. The free to attend event, which combines education and networking, will be hosted at Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

CEDIA is proud to welcome Anthem, AWE, Contected Distribution Ltd, Domotz, HDAnywhere, Just Add Power, Lutron EA, Nest, RTI and Wyrestorm as the sponsors for this event. Each company will host a 60 minute presentation. These manufacturer product training sessions will run simultaneously every hour starting from 10.00am and finishing at 5.00pm.

Following the training sessions, Jason Girardier, Area Sales Manager at Control 4 ‘will host the day’s keynote titled, ‘Bridging The Gap Between DIY and CI’. The day will conclude with CEDIA’s popular networking event – Connect with CEDIA - running from 6-9pm. This is a great opportunity for attendees to network with fellow peers and CEDIA professional staff. www.cedia.co.uk/cedia-events

TRAINING UPDATE In recent years, the government has changed the way it develops apprenticeships by allowing employer groups (called Trailblazers) to be involved. Trailblazer groups usually consist of 10 or more employers who gather and develop an apprenticeship standard for their industry. CEDIA, with the help of 10 CEDIA members, has formed such a group and has submitted a proposal for developing a Smart Home Technician Apprenticeship standard. This proposal is currently being reviewed by The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). Once approved, the Trailblazer group will start working on developing the standard. If it is successful, any industry employer can hire an apprentice, send him or her for training, and receive funding from the government.

For more information, contact Aneta at alevin@cedia.co.uk

Correction: On page 32 in the Spring issue of CEDIA Communicates, we mistakenly spelt Designflow Business Partner, Kelly Ashforth’s name incorrectly. Please accept our apology.

For the month of August, CEDIA is offering members in the UK the opportunity to attend a number of THX / HAA training sessions.

THX has joined forces with professional home cinema training organisation, Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA) to offer three levels of professional training courses for enthusiasts and experienced AV industry professionals. The courses include theory and handson workshops on the essentials of home cinema equipment, technologies, and high-performance acoustic design.

Students who successfully pass the exit exam will receive THX and HAA Certification and be listed on the websites of both companies.

DATE

LOCATION

COURSE

DURATION

22 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA HT Adviser Certification

1 day

22 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA HT Adviser & THX-HAA HT Integrator Package

3 days

22 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA 5 Day Package Deal

5 days

23 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA HT Integrator Certification

2 days

23 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA HT Integrator & Advanced Integrator Package

1 day

25 Aug

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

THX-HAA HT Advanced Integrator Certification

2 days

www.cediaeducation.com

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NEW MEMBERS Welcome to CEDIA and thanks for joining‌

THE RESULTS ARE IN Earlier this year, CEDIA introduced an interactive online questionnaire (recently accredited by RIBA and BIID) designed to engage consumer and professional audiences on The Future of the Connected Home. This tool was developed to help the industry better understand the needs and views of its target audiences, at the same time as educating them about key facts and issues in connected home technology.

Entitled The Future of the Connected Home, the survey allowed users to share their thoughts on a range of subjects, including the scale of the connected home sector, the likely appeal of different technology sub-systems, the impact of broadband availability, potential project budgets and priorities for connected home installations.

Five months down the line, and over 450 people have taken engaged with the questionnaire, with individuals from across the design professional sector and consumers. CEDIA is currently collating the results of the questionnaire into a report format. This will be available to both members and non-members in August 2016. www.cedia.co.uk/future-connected-home-quiz

JOIN THE CEDIA COMMUNITY The CEDIA Community is a new online platform that allows CEDIA members from around the globe to communicate with each other. Available via www.cedia.net/community, members have immediate access to a network of likeminded people who can offer advice, guidance or just be a sounding board for business and industry related conversations.

Elsewhere on the site, visitors are able to view member and CEDIA staff directories and a list of upcoming events. The Community section focusses on the various working groups, committees and volunteer opportunities that are open to members. Discussion posts and relevant documents can be added to these sections, and private messages can be shared with others, either on a one-to-one basis or on general view.

By logging in with membership details, each individual will be able to view their own dashboard that shows activity relevant to them. www.cedia.net/community

1st Stop Home Technology Ltd, UK A&D Handel, Import und Export KG, Austria Advantix Automation, UK Amica Electrical Engineers, UK Audio Visual Home Automation Ltd, UK AV Lounge, UK BBE, UK Bubble Element, France CHIL UK Ltd, UK Communitec Ltd, UK Concept Clarity Ltd, UK Consexto Lda, Portugal Coordinated Ltd, UK Crestron EMEA, Belgium Crestron Germany GmbH, Germany Crestron Iberica, Spain CRESTRON ITALIA SRL, Italy Crestron Middle East, Dubai CTS Systems (Southern) LLP, UK Cust’Home Paca, France Desert Sound, Pakistan designflow, UK Detail AV, UK Digital TV Systems, UK Digitalised, UK Dizzyfish, UK DRC Electrical Services, UK Electric String Limited, UK Epson UK Forces Recruitment Services Ltd, UK Griffin AV, UK Hub Bub Know How, UK IKM Network Communications Ltd, UK Imaginise Ltd, UK Install AV Ltd, UK intech-digital ltd, UK Integrated Systems and Technologies Ltd, UK Integrated Systems Installations Ltd, UK Inteligentny Budynek Polska Sp. Z.o.o., Poland L.E.S., UK Lithe Audio, UK Looks Lovely Limited, UK Lutron, France Mepani Electrical Ltd, UK Norfolk Smarthomes, UK Option One Communications Ltd, UK Pinnacle Sound, UK Residential Projects London Ltd, UK RF Digital Systems Ltd, UK Robinsons Integrated Solutions, UK Schneider Electric Ltd, UK Sensible Technology Ltd, UK SIMKISS Home Automation, UK Smart Life AV, UK Smart Lifestyle Solutions, South Africa SO Integrations Ltd, UK Starscape, UK Techno AV, UK Ultamation, UK Veresure, UK Visual Control Systems LLP, UK XO Home, UK

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AWARDS 2016

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he industry came together on Friday 1st July to commemorate excellence at the CEDIA Awards 2016. Hosted at the Guildhall in London, 400 guests enjoyed an evening of networking, comedy, high class dining, and of course, the celebration of 19 CEDIA Award winners.

The black-tie event was one not to forget. After attending a drinks reception, attendees were treated to a three-course dinner within the splendour of the Guildhall. Hosted

by British satirical comedian, Marcus Brigstocke, who is widely regarded for his comedy writing, acting and performing talents, kept the crowd entertained with industry anecdotes and jokes.

CEDIA received the most entries to date, with over 200 submissions from more than 18 countries.

In total, 19 awards were presented to deserving companies and individuals. The last award of the evening was presented to Guy Singleton, who received the CEDIA Special Recognition Award for his volunteer work. Over the last 15 years, he has worked hard to develop industry recognised standards and has shared his technical expertise with others.

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“On behalf of everyone at CEDIA, we would like to congratulate this year’s winners and thank all those who dedicated their time and effort to enter the Awards scheme” comments Wendy Griffiths. “The awards evening was one to remember, as we came together as an industry to celebrate the best of the best. We hope that everyone enjoyed the evening as much as we did. It’s never too early to think about the CEDIA Awards, so we hope that this year’s scheme has inspired members to consider putting their projects forward for CEDIA Awards 2017.”

HEADLINE SPONSORS

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A F T E R PA R T Y S P O N S O R

All CEDIA Award winners and highly commended projects are showcased in the annual CEDIA Awards 2016 yearbook. The yearbook celebrates the hard work and creativity put into each project with impressive imagery, project synopsis and kit lists included.

Individuals can download the Awards yearbook from www.cediaawards.org with printed copies also available.

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The full list of winning projects is as follows: BEST MEDIA ROOM UNDER £15K WINNER: Sound Sense (India) - Invisible Media Room BEST MEDIA ROOM OVER £15K WINNER: TwentyTwo Integration (UK) Canal Side Gallery Home Media Room Highly Commended: De Opera Domotica (Netherlands) Living Cinema

BEST CUSTOM SOLUTION WINNER: Intuitive Homes (UK) - The Man Cave Highly Commended: MESL (UK) MY Quantum Blue: Sun Deck Cinema BEST MULTIPLE SCHEME FOR A PROPERTY DEVELOPER WINNER: Perfect Integration (UK) - Ryger House Highly Commended: Konnectiv Technology (UK) 3 Merchant Square BEST INTEGRATED HOME UNDER £100K WINNER: Inspired Dwellings Ltd (UK) - Riverside

BEST DRESSED RACK WINNER: SONA (UK) - More than skeletons in the closet

BEST INTEGRATED HOME £100K-£250K WINNER: Archimedia (Dubai) - Atlantis View Villa Highly Commended: 3Logic I Art Cinema (Poland) Highlander Residence

BEST HOME CINEMA UNDER £40K WINNER: M.E.G.A. AV Installations Ltd (UK) Underground Cinema

BEST INTEGRATED HOME £250K WINNER: Sagar Smart Homes (UK) - Melbourne Super House Highly Commended: SMC (UK) - Oxfordshire Manor House

BEST HOME CINEMA £40K-£100K WINNER: Sphere Custom (South Africa) - House G&T

BEST TECHNOLOGY FEATURE WINNER: Emily Brooks - The Daily Telegraph

BEST HOME CINEMA OVER £100K WINNER: Cyberhomes Limited (UK) Vintage themed cinema

BEST TRAINING INITIATIVE WINNER: Invision UK (UK) - Luxul Network Training Wired and Wireless Highly Commended: Meridian (UK) - Meridian Audio Training

BEST LIGHTING SCHEME WINNER: De Opera Domotica (Netherlands) - World of Color BEST YACHT INSTALLATION WINNER: Archimedia (Dubai) - Majesty 155 Highly Commended: BSI Ltd (Ukraine) Artpolars Luxury Yacht BEST SHOWROOM WINNER: Intuitive Homes (UK) - Intuitive Homes Showhome

www.cediaawards.org

#CEDIAAwards16

BEST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT WINNER: Invision UK (UK) Origin Acoustics Director Speakers BEST TRADE SUPPLIER WINNER: Invision UK (UK) SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD WINNER: Guy Singleton, Imagine This (UK)

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< Ion Smith, Cyberhomes “Cyberhomes has been an active participant of the CEDIA Awards for many years. We were delighted to be shortlisted amongst a field of very strong projects, which made it even more special when we were announced as a winner. Our congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted, it shows our industry is in good shape.”

Andy Jack, TwentyTwo Integration > It’s our 10th anniversary this year, so it was extra special to win the award in the same year. To be recognised by your peers for doing brilliant work is a great feeling. We took the whole team to the ceremony and everyone had an amazing night.

< Stewart Maynard, Inspired Dwellings We always strive to deliver the best for our clients and receiving this award from CEDIA is such an honour. I think one person put it best already; it is like winning an Oscar.

As for the evening, the venue was yet again a standout and the hospitality was second to none.

Chris Knight, Perfect Integration > Perfect Integration is incredibly proud to have won this award again. When you put so much heart and soul into a project, it really is the icing on the cake to get this recognition. The previous award proved to be a valuable marketing tool, so I am confident that this award will help us secure more award winning projects.

< Ankur Bhatt, Sound Sense After becoming a CEDIA member for the first time this year, little did we imagine that we would suddenly become connected to CEDIA members across the world and become part of this community. We believe that the CEDIA Awards scheme refines all the skills one accumulates over time and honours one’s true calibre. Winning one out of the two categories in which we were finalists, has been a real privilege.

Steve Beahan, Invision UK > We are delighted that we scooped a “hat trick” of prestigious awards at the CEDIA event in London. I would like to thank our customers for their support.

Three awards is an outstanding achievement and I am very proud of our team.

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The changing face of the smart home industry

The forecasts are unanimous - the smart home market is on the rise. A recent report

by Berg Insight suggests that by 2019, 1 in 8 households in Europe will be a smart home, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s certainly no let-up in the number of new products making their debut at events such as CES.

Philipp Schuster Managing Director of Loxone

Despite the myriad options available to consumers, the industry as a whole remains shrouded in scepticism, with many citing concerns over cost, security and compatibility as the main reasons for not embracing smart home technology.

This presents a challenge for manufacturers and installers

alike. Consumers are suffering from information overload, overwhelmed by the choices available, terrified of making a costly mistake and concerned over their data privacy. With almost everything claiming to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;smartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, how can we define what a smart home really means?

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smart devices relay information about the home (temperatures, occupancy schedules, video recordings, etc) to their external servers for processing.

By storing information in the cloud, these solutions offer convenient control for the home. However, homeowners who opt for several devices (such as a smart thermostat, a smart webcam and a smart lock, for example) may have to cope with a separate app for each product, which can result in multiple clouds and a greater chance of a data breach.

There are smart home solutions (like Loxone) that store personal data locally and work regardless of whether the user has a smartphone or Internet access. Irrespective of which solution the consumer opts for, the need to set suitable passwords and secure all mobile devices must be taken seriously if we are to leave the ‘scare stories’ about hacking and data breaches in the smart home behind.

What is a smart home?

In a society that’s addicted to instant gratification and glued to their phones, it’s no wonder that app-controlled products are proving popular. The problem is that at the moment, society at large, is being presented with a romanticised idea of ‘the home of the future’ - from fridges that order milk and automated pet feeders, right through to flying cars.

The truly integrated or ‘connected’ home is still widely regarded as a futuristic concept, when in reality, smart homes are already here. The number of smart homes in North America and Europe reached 18 million last year, according to new research from Berg Insight. Our own figures support this - more than 40,000 Loxone Smart Homes have already been installed, with 1.6 Miniservers going live every hour.

For us, a truly smart home should enhance the way you live. It should take over the tasks and chores that most of us have to deal with every day in our lives, just like an autopilot.

A smart home streamlines our increasingly busy lives and makes the time we spend in our homes more enjoyable and efficient.

Loxone’s growth As a company, our position in the market is unique. Since our inception in 2009, we’ve grown rapidly and now employ more than 250 people across the UK, Europe and USA, and in 2015, turned over around €45m.

The Loxone Miniserver is currently looking after more than 40,000 Loxone Smart Homes, with a new

What will the future hold?

We anticipate smart homes will be increasingly used to address the needs of the aging population, including assisted living applications, which reflect recent reports suggesting the smart home elderly monitoring market will grow by over 600% by 20201. Smart home technology can look after elderly residents and notify friends, relatives or care services if someone doesn’t follow their normal routine.

We also foresee electric cars

growing in popularity. In May, it was reported that sales of electric cars have risen by 120% in a year2, so integrating e-mobility into the smart home will become increasingly important.

In addition, data security is a growing concern for homeowners looking to introduce new technology into their homes. Many app-controlled

1 http://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/smart-home-elderly-monitoring-market-grow-over-600-2020-90888176 2 http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article-3595898/Sales-electric-cars-rise-120-year-45-000-plug-hybrid-vehicles-road.html

Loxone Smart Home going live every hour of every day. Last year, the company trained over 5,000 people on our CEDIA accredited Expert Training Course.

www.loxone.com @LoxoneUK

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CEDIA TRIUMPHS AT TA F AWA R D S 2 0 1 6 W I T H

‘MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR’ For the second year running, CEDIA has won at the prestigious Best Practice Awards 2016, hosted by The Trade Association Forum (TAF). CEDIA’s quarterly publication, Communicates, was awarded Magazine of the Year for its excellence in engaging, educating and promoting the industry to its members and the wider community.

Supported by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the TAF Best Practice Awards rewards and promotes best practice amongst trade associations in the UK. On Wednesday 6th July 2016, the CEDIA team, led by Wendy Griffiths, was presented Magazine of the Year for CEDIA Communicates in front of over 300 guests at the spectacular venue, 8 Northumberland Avenue, London.

Launched in 2005, CEDIA Communicates began as a four page newsletter focussing solely on association news. Just over 10 years later, it has transformed into a fully-fledged magazine that covers both inward and outward facing content.

A must read for professionals in the home technology industry, the magazine is distributed quarterly in Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Communicates allows CEDIA to engage with its members and the wider industry on a personal yet educational platform.

Using a structured editorial plan each quarter, the magazine includes a range of topical industry news, trends and advice to help members grow their businesses.

“After winning Best Publication of the Year for the CEDIA Awards Yearbook at last year’s TAF Best Practice Awards, we are elated to be awarded Magazine of the Year at this year’s ceremony,” comments Wendy. “CEDIA Communicates has developed magnificently over the last ten years and we are thrilled that the commitment and time spent on each issue has been recognised by TAF. At CEDIA, we strive for excellence in everything we do, and that includes creating the best content for each issue. We will continue to provide our members and the industry with award winning content each quarter.”

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THE PROFESSIONAL CHOICE FOR MULTI-ROOM AUDIO. Designed by Custom Install Specialists for Custom Installers.

Third party control from leading brands

Streaming services including

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BARCO officially inaugurates its brand-new ‘One Campus’ in Kortrijk

Barco, a global technology leader in visualisation products, officially opened its brand new headquarters in Belgium in May. Located at the Beneluxpark in Kortrijk, the 230,000m2 ‘One Campus’ is a true landmark for the region – an allglass, circular building surrounded by green spaces and connected to three other state-of-theart Barco facilities. The campus is not only the new home to Barco’s 1,250 Belgian employees, but also serves as an open house for customers, partners, foreign colleagues and other stakeholders with the Barco Experience Center. One Campus also marks a new way of working, centred around dialogue, collaboration and, consequently, innovation.

At the heart of Barco’s success, throughout its 80-year history, is its constant quest for innovation and the flexibility that helps reshape the business to changing market needs.

Building a new campus that unites all its Belgian employees under one roof perfectly fits Barco’s ambition to further strengthen its growth in its three core markets - Enterprise, Entertainment and Healthcare.

Standing proudly, at the heart of the new One Campus, within an area known as The Circle, is the Barco Experience Center.

As well as catering for daily business, Barco knows that it is important for the company to create a space where their customers can bring their clients. The Experience Center showcases Barco’s pioneering technology, and allows visitors to discover its products and solutions.

Just as one may wish to visit Porsche in Germany for a factory tour and to collect their new car, the Barco Experience Center provides visitors with a sense of the company’s pedigree, history and uncompromising focus on performance and product excellence. The Experience Center is equipped with the company’s most advanced visualisation solutions, offering clients, business partners and all other visitors a visual insight into Barco’s solutions.

The Experience Centre features a dedicated home cinema that includes a Barco Prometheus projector and Meridian Audio surround sound system.

This space allows Barco to provide dealers and their customers with a true cinematic experience that simply showcases the key benefits of having this type of set up installed in their own properties.

If you are interested in visiting the Experience Centre, contact Hamish Neale on hamish.neale@barco.com

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Feeling overwhelmed? Of course you are. We all are, to some extent. We’re on a ride that’s getting ever faster, a ride powered by the “Law of Accelerating Returns.”

CEDIA’S TECH COUNCIL SEES THE FUTURE That premise, famously posited by Google Futurist, Ray Kurzweil, states that information technology is growing — and learning — exponentially. Humans don’t operate that way — we are, by our nature, linear — but the machines we’ve created have the ability to double their “thinking” power at a startling rate.

Exponentially, in fact.

As people, we plod along. We proceed in simple steps, one after another. As Kurzweil told the Financial Times, “30 steps linearly gets you to 30. One, two, three, four; step 30 you’re at 30. With exponential growth, it’s one, two, four, eight. Step 30, you’re at a billion.”

That rate right now, right here in 2016?

“Every 18 months we’re doubling the knowledge that’s available to us,” says Dave Pedigo, CEDIA’s Senior Director of Emerging Technologies.

And what does this mean to you, O home technology professional?

Everything.

How soon will the LANs you’re installing today become obsolete? When will copper wire disappear? When will home appliances learn to repair themselves?

(Short answer to all three questions: Perhaps sooner than we think.)

Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

And as a home tech pro, your perception of this rapid change is key: Do you look upon all of this as a threat — or an opportunity?

Pedigo and 16 volunteers have created the CEDIA Technology Council, a group that discusses these very things and attempts to make concrete predictions regarding what’s next in the smart home industry. Their most recent project: creating a list of 100 predictions for the year 2020 — a list that includes everything from the birth of the residential “social robot” to the end of copper wire.

In order to wrap our collective skulls around these emerging concepts and the products they’ll spawn, we’ll break them down into 10 lists of 10 — yes, linear lists written by a human for consumption by other humans. (A machine can’t quite write articles like these. Yet.) In other articles to follow, we’ll take some deeper dives into the impact a dozen or so of these developments will have on the smart home industry and the wider global implications for these accelerating technologies.

Something to remember as we dust off the crystal ball, according to Pedigo: Some of these guesses could easily be wrong. When it comes to imagining what’s next, humans tend to overestimate what’s possible in the next two years — and wildly underestimate what’s coming in the next ten. (That’s according to a quote widely attributed to Bill Gates.)

Without further fanfare, let’s look at the first 10 predictions, in no particular order.

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CEDIA’S TECH COUNCIL SEES THE FUTURE

TOP TEN PREDICTIONS

01 02 03 Prediction

Mixed reality rooms will begin to replace home cinemas. You’re probably familiar with virtual reality headsets that envelop the eyes and provide a view that’s closed off — a movie with you as the camera, to oversimplify. There’s also “augmented reality,” technology that overlays some kind of digital information over your reallife experience. Combine those two concepts and you get a buzz-term called “mixed reality.”

As Eric Johnson summed up last year in Recode, “to borrow an example from Microsoft’s presentation at the gaming trade show E3, you might be looking at an ordinary table, but see an interactive virtual world from the video game Minecraft sitting on top of it. As you walk around, the virtual landscape holds its position, and when you lean in close, it gets closer in the way a real object would.” Can a “holographic” cinema experience really be that far off? With 3D sound?

And Smell-O-Vision?

Prediction

Video will be decoded and rendered at its device. We could get super-wonky with this explanation, but we’ll leave it here — everything you stream is about to get a lot more efficient, not to mention higher-def.

04 Prediction

The intelligent kitchen will ensure you never burn another burger. Robotic arms will stir your sauce.

Your countertops will become touchscreens.

Sensors will shut off burners the moment internal meat temps hit the desired doneness.

The possibilities are endless, and their earliest application is something that Pedigo himself wrote about in 2012 in a piece called “The Internet of Things Tastes Delicious,” in which a sensor told his smartphone that his New York strip was cooked correctly.

Prediction

16K 16-bit high-frame-rate content is emerging. We could dive seriously into some high-tech weeds here, but Pedigo gave us this hyper-concrete example: The shades of red, blue, and green you can see now on a state-ofthe art screen? It’s in the hundreds. Shortly it’ll be in the tens — then hundreds — of thousands.

05 Prediction

Implantables will become the new wearables. Don’t get too nervous about this: Yes, we’ve heard the story about a Finnish hacker who lost part of his finger in a motorcycle wreck and replaced it with a thumb drive. The term “implantable” can easily mean something as removable as a contact lens.

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06 07 Prediction

Predictive algorithms will replace conditional logic. Clearly, great minds program alike. At the same time the Tech Council was building its list this spring, Wired magazine dropped a cover story that outlined this very concept. In the piece, titled “The End of Code,” Jason Tanz broke the idea down beautifully: In traditional programming, an engineer writes explicit, step-by-step instructions for the computer to follow. With machine learning, programmers don’t encode computers with instructions. They train them. If you want to teach a neural network to recognise a cat, for instance, you don’t tell it to look for whiskers, ears, fur, and eyes. You simply show it thousands and thousands of photos of cats, and eventually it works things out. If it keeps misclassifying foxes as cats, you don’t rewrite the code. You just keep coaching it.

It’s already happening, of course: How do you think Facebook knows who you’re looking at when it asks you if you want to tag your brother-in-law in that backyard barbecue photo?

Prediction

Contact lenses will include displays — and even cameras. These are extensions of the “augmented reality”, but they’ll be wonderfully interactive: In addition to adding data in the most heads-up display conceivable, imagine literally wearing a lenssized video camera to capture your daughter’s recital.

We’ll see media with highresolution video glasses.

The hi-res tech that’s getting ever more complex on your home screens will be quite wearable in the near future.

(And there’s much more to be written about just how “hi” that “res” can get.)

08 Prediction

10 Prediction

09 Prediction

AI and machine learning will monitor — and fix — your home. Imagine artificially intelligent plumbing. Imagine that plumbing develops a leak, which triggers a moisture sensor, which tracks the failed pipe or coupling, which orders a small machine loaded with high-tech sealant to close the leak — and orders a second machine to mop up. Imagine the report that comes to your smartphone: “Leak detected, problem resolved, no further action needed.” Now imagine not having to file an insurance claim. (By the way: This is merely one of an infinite number of scenarios that we’ll be pondering for future articles. We have a feeling this one’s a biggie.)

Copper wire is coming to the end of its useful application. Soon there will simply be too much data coming down the line for that metal conduit to handle. If your fortunes were made from copper mining, it might be a good time to invest in fiber-optics.

NEXT? Predictions 11 through 20 envision a world where apps live right on the walls of a home, personal audio will become astonishingly immersive, and over-theair TV will include exactly two kinds of content: news and sports.

For these predictions and more visit: www.cedia.net/insights/cedia-blog

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On screen at Sea

Vincent McAtamney Head of Sales and Business Development at MESL

C

EDIA Communicates asked MESL the question, when super yachts are in remote waters, how do they receive a TV service?

Design and careful product selection is essential in order to deliver reliable services for yacht owners. Yachts have two methods to receive live television when offshore;

requires a line of sight to a geostationary satellite in orbit, usually found above the equator.

To combat the movement of the yacht against the waves, the GPS, Antenna Control Unit (ACU) and complex mechanics inside the radomes all cooperate to fix the antennas sight on the satellite above the horizon.

• Television, Receive Only (TVRO) • Streamed TV over Ethernet

TELEVISION VIA TVRO Many will be familiar with the large ‘white domes’ which are usually placed on or close to the mast of a yacht. This is the radome, the cover which protects the TVRO antennas. Typically, a motor yacht might be fitted with at least one, often two TVRO antennas, which are available in different sizes, either side of one metre in width, depending on the size of the yacht.

Within the radome sits a highly engineered satellite dish, a lownoise block down converter (LNB), a sophisticated array of motors, GPS sensing and weighted balances. For optimum signal strength, the antenna

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN SPECIFYING AND DESIGNING A TVRO SOLUTION These antennas come with a price.

Average pricing starts at £20,000 upwards, therefore consideration to the mast antenna layout is vital. The ideal placement of the antenna on any yacht is at the ‘top of the mast,’ as this location will never be obstructed. However, it is not always possible to fit more than one radome in this area, yet more than one radome is required to ensure good signal levels are accessible at all times.

Therefore, on some occasions, TVRO’s can be grouped in a pair either side of the mast or on the sun deck roof. Pairing these along with an arbitrator, or antenna switching unit, allows uninterrupted service even when one antenna is

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services are often the most popular choice for yacht occupants. A hosted TV or satellite receiver is connected to a device which converts the AV into an IP stream. This is received by the yacht over Ethernet.

All pretty simple… until one considers the logistics.

blocked from satellite view, typically by its own mast.

The user’s spoken language or TV service requirements will also influence the system design. Sky offers its services to yachts and private vessels via its offshore service which uses Astra’s 2E and 2F European Ku/Ka beams, as well as strictly maintaining British channels, under the Astra 2E footprint. As a result, it can be difficult to receive many Sky channels beyond the South of France, and rarely in Spain and Italy. Sky Italia, however, does work well outside of the Sky UK footprint and much of its content is available in English along with premium sports services via the box office.

Other considerations are of course cosmetics, weight and antenna placement for access to servicing and changing LNB’s.

TV OVER ETHERNET A second and arguably more effective way to receive television services out at sea is via the Ethernet. Just as many of us now use TV on demand services online, so too do many yachts.

Streaming services or ‘sling’ type

Receiving internet at sea can be expensive, especially via VSAT, and it is often slow in relation to landbased internet. To stream HD content, a playback device requires around 3mbps, with the standard definition being around 600kbps.

The internet can be received in several ways on a yacht. GPS, 3G or 4G is the most cost effective way to facilitate non-essential internet services and is usually the ‘weapon of choice’ for crew when close to shore. Sometimes, depending on the geographic location, it can often be received several miles offshore as well. Whilst at sea, VSAT is the primary source for the internet.

Most yachts use clever internet switching matrices and bandwidth management devices to prioritise who on board should receive the fastest and most stable services, beginning with the owner and descending to the crew.

Notably, ships emergency systems are separate and use Fleet Broadband or Satellite Iridium services.

Since TV over the internet requires much thought and consideration to the ships network, this service is best managed by a team with competences both in AV and IT. Land-based data centres in the UK and Europe play host to a range of world satellite TV

receivers, including SKY, RTVi, DirecTV and OSN, with the output converted to a digital stream with an IP address.

When using Sling or hosted stream services, the installer must consider control

of

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playback

device.

integrators

source

hardware

with

control

ports and drivers, a PC is compatible with Crestron and other such systems.

A recent development which is gaining momentum comes

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providers who are able to stream TV services across their infrastructure.

This allows paying VSAT clients’ access to selected channels via a multicast stream, usually with little to no use of their committed information rates. It is likely that as this develops and more Global VSAT providers are able to offer this service, ships may eventually stop using traditional TVRO domes.

Most applications, when conducted at sea, demand a high degree of design and testing. TV reception when at sea is no exception though most of the world’s finest super yachts enjoy live television services whenever and wherever they are as if on land, albeit with a much higher cost-per-view…

So, let’s spare a thought for those oligarchs and hedge fund managers.

www.mesl.co.uk

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projecto PRODUCT FOCUS

Epson (Available through AWE) The Epson Pro Cinema EH-LS10000 is a 1080p Full HD projector, which has been introduced with home cinema projects firmly in mind, and is sure to turn heads due to the exceptional picture quality it can achieve, thanks to Epson’s 3LCD Reflective technology.

The EH-LS10000 offers 1500 lumens of white and colour brightness, and boasts an unprecedented Absolute Black contrast ratio, wide colour gamut, vivid colours and smooth gradations. The EH-LS10000 also benefits from 4K enhancement technology delivering astonishing picture quality.

Added features include ISF calibration, frame interpolation, 2D to 3D conversion and depth control.

Barco The Barco Prometheus I projector has been created exclusively for ultra-high end home cinemas and crafted using Barco’s unique knowhow as a market leader in professional cinema and postproduction projection. Featuring the very latest 4K DLP chipsets from Texas Instruments and Barco’s acclaimed Alchemy DCI Media Server, you can be assured that even the subtlest nuance of colour and detail will be faithfully reproduced on screen.

The Barco Prometheus II projector brings Barco’s outstanding image quality to the world’s largest home cinema screens. A 7kW xenon lamp is aligned with exacting precision and focussed through one of the finest optical engines ever conceived. Three 4K DLP chip modules are hand aligned to perfection at the point of installation using Barco’s unique analogue convergence system. A stunning custom-designed high contrast lens helps to deliver an unprecedented immersive experience in the home. www.barco.com/residential

For the installer, installation is easier and more flexible than ever. The projector is easy to position, due to it having a wide lens shift range, powered zoom lens and position memory pre-sets for several screen aspect ratios. For the end user, the projector runs almost silently with a low fan noise, ensuring they won’t be disturbed by any unwanted sounds while engrossed in the latest film. On top of this, the sleek design, which includes a stylish lens shutter and hidden control panel, helps the projector blend seamlessly into any home cinema room. www.awe-europe.com

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ors SIM2 (Available through Invision UK) SIM2 AR is a DeluxeCompact3 Chip Cinema Projector is equipped with all the latest innovations available from DLP Technology to create the Ultimate Home Entertainment Experience. Custom–built Fujinon large aperture glass lenses were specifically designed for this unit to guarantee exceptional on-screen clarity. Additionally, a specialist colour notch filter, which when combined with the advanced on-board video processing, dramatically widens the colour gamut of this projector to cover all the colour space requirements of a professional Cinema Environment: from Rec709 to DCI-P3.

JVC (Available through Habitech) JVC’s new DLA-X9000, DLA-X7000, and DLA-X5000 projectors deliver so much more than just 4K UHD resolution.

The consumer world’s obsession with pixels has added plenty of heat, but not so much light to the debate about want’s really important on screen. In pro circles, the buzz-phrase is ‘perceived resolution’, which considers the greater contribution of parameters such as frame rate, colour gamut and dynamic range in creating a more lifelike image. This explains why the UHD Blu-ray spec places as much emphasis on expanded colour range support, HDR and high frame rate content, as it does on pixel resolution.

Exceeding the UHD spec, the latest HDMI 2.0 chips inside JVC’s new 4K UHD projectors deliver 18Gbps to support UHD at 60p/50p with full 4:4:4 colour depth for a visible improvement in colour tone and gradation.

JVC’s proprietary Clear Motion Drive and Motion Enhance technologies keep the picture naturally fluid while its Dynamic Iris tech offers brilliant contrast further enhanced

by HDR, provided by JVC in advance of the UHD Blu-ray’s HDR feature. www.habitech.co.uk

Without doubt, this DLP-powered projector meets or exceeds all the high-demand requirements of medium to large reference home cinema installations. The days of the industrial-sized projectors in these systems are numbered.

At roughly a third of the size of other high-end models just 18” x 18” x 9” – AR delivers up to 5,500 ANSI lumens from its 350W lamp. The calibration capabilities of AR are designed with the expert calibrator in mind, its colour palette is wider than a conventional projector and can be precisely tuned to the customer’s individual screen and room characteristics – a specialist probe supplied with the projector preserves the quality of the calibrated image over its lifetime. In other words: the best picture, forever. www.invisionuk.com

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IOT and home technology professionals: why we have plenty to gain and nothing to fear

Giles Sutton CEDIA Chairman and Managing Director of James+Giles

Over the last year, I have had countless conversations with other home technology professionals around the subject of IoT products. While some of these conversations have been positive, the majority have centred on the negative impact that these products will have on our industry. Many have gone as far as saying that the DIY-nature of these products will result in the demise of the CI channel in its entirety. I felt that after an extended break from attending CES, it was about time I returned, so I hopped on a flight to Las Vegas for the first time in 4 years.

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A trip to CES Walking around the show, I was struck by the fact that the smart home is now at the centre of the consumer electronics world. Everyone wants to get in on the act, from automotive manufacturers such as VW (that displayed a schematic of its new technology as part of an LG smart home ecosystem), through to white goods manufacturers, telecoms companies, Intel and utility providers, to name just a few!

Being part of the industry for many years, I knew that this day would eventually come. While there is nothing particularly revolutionary about any of these products (we’ve been doing this for years) it was, nonetheless, still overwhelming. From the outside it looked as though many of these blue-chip companies were going to muscle in on our industry whether we like it or not.

Perhaps we are going to pale into insignificance?

I attended a CNET panel discussion that was enlightening. Yoon Lee, Senior Vice President at Samsung stated that “all homes have to be wired, the Wi-Fi has to reach every corner. If those infrastructures are there, then the next evolution will be really rapid. It’s very difficult to do it as a DIY approach. It has to be considered a utility for homes”. This to me was a turning point. The world needs us to make their systems WORK. By the time I arrived back in London, I felt more positive about the future of our industry and decided to embrace the change by ordering an Amazon Echo, Samsung Smartthings hub and sensors and a bunch of Philips Hue lights. The next step was to connect it all, and this was very enlightening.

It’s not that ‘easy’ While connecting all the devices together is fairly simple using the manufacturer apps, any in-depth programming to make your system ‘smart’, requires a bit more programming knowledge. Smartthings has made this easier by utilising a SmartApp market place, which contains preconfigured macros for a variety of different uses, including generating notifications and monitoring.

As a home technology professional, this is very exciting to use, as we are all used to this level of sophisticated programming being written using programming software and hidden away from the user of the system. However, whilst this is empowering, in my opinion, you still

require a certain amount of technical knowledge and an understanding of programming logic to fully benefit from all of the options.

For example, I struggled to get the movement sensor in my office to only send me notifications if movement is detected at the weekend and evenings, rather than have the same schedule for every day of the week. Perhaps I need to have two macros to cover this sort of complex scheduling? In the end, I gave up. This is only one example, but I wonder how easy any of this will be for people outside of our industry to get to grips with?

I don’t have time Let’s be honest, when we get home from work at the end of a long day, how many of us feel like rolling up our sleeves and getting into some control system programming? Even being a geeky technologist, I still enjoy my downtime.

So if I feel like that, what is the likelihood of my clients having the will and inclination to do this themselves? Sure, there may be a small percentage of nerds out there who love nothing more than time away from their family, locked in a dark room, setting up a proximity sensor.

Back in the ‘real world’, time is precious and very few of us are likely to want to waste it when we can pick up the phone and pay someone to do it for us. There is nothing new to this. We all do this every day by employing decorators, plumbers, electricians and other specialist trades people.

Final thought…

My conclusion is that unless IoT vendors suddenly decide to fill a call centre full of technical support staff that know everything about every connected product and have a fleet of installers on the road, CEDIA home technology professionals can be of huge value. Alongside making sure the infrastructure is up to scratch to enable IoT products to run smoothly, we can also configure these devices alongside more professional systems. This is a big opportunity that we shouldn’t ignore, so embrace it.

www.jamesandgiles.com @jamesandgilesuk

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MEMBERS’ GUIDE TO SUCCESS

CEDIA EMEA membership is continuing to thrive. In 2016 so far, over 100 new companies have joined the association. The main reason for this is that by being a CEDIA member, you have exclusive access to connections, resources and insights. From networking to training, marketing to advocacy, discounts to development, CEDIA membership powers success.

SAY HELLO TO YOUR COMMUNITY The first step to making the most of your membership is getting involved with the industry. CEDIA membership puts you in the centre of a thriving community of home technology insiders who can help you build connections, stay competitive, and tap into new opportunities for growth.

Here, CEDIA provides a lowdown on the best routes to engaging with the CEDIA community.

CEDIA Groups

Online Community

Membership opens the door to CEDIA Groups. Being a member of a group allows you to attend candid and confidential gettogethers of 7–10 business owners.

These individuals regularly meet via teleconference to share best practices and troubleshoot challenges.

As a member, you gain access to CEDIA’s private online discussion forum, which links you with dealers, manufacturers, and other partners who are critical to business success.

CEDIA Show Volunteer Discover new skills, expand your network, and gain industry standing when you take your membership to the next level by becoming a CEDIA volunteer — the lifeblood of our organisation.

Integrated Systems Europe Explore the world’s largest AV and systems integration exhibition, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), which is co-owned by CEDIA and held annually in Amsterdam. Build your network and participate in the most comprehensive home technology training program.

Connect with industry leaders and experts at the CEDIA trade show in the US. Plus, keep your edge with up-to-date training and certifications.

Member Directory Find fellow CEDIA members to connect with both locally and globally. From mentors to new business partners, members are instantly connected to a vast network of vital contacts.

For more information and to reap the benefits, visit the members area of the website www.cedia.co.uk/member-benefits

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CEDIA 2016: A PREVIEW With CEDIA 2016 starting in a few weeks’ time, CEDIA takes a look at what you can expect to see if you are heading Stateside.

The numbers are impressive.

A quick audit at the North American HQ yields some pretty impressive stats: CEDIA 2016 in Dallas, Texas, will feature 435-plus exhibitors (and counting — more are being added daily), 125-plus manufacturer product training sessions, and 115-plus workshops and learning sessions on everything from technical mastery to managing a growing business.

Shelly Palmer, an adviser to top tech execs in the Western Hemisphere and a regular commenter and analyst on U.S. cable news outlets. Palmer, who’s also been named one of LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices of Technology, will speak about the explosive growth of connected devices in the modern home: By 2020, there will be 50 billion (yes, billion with a “b”) connected devices across the globe. Amazon Director of Alexa Smart Home, Charlie Kindel will present a Friday Morning Keynote. The Keynote “Creating Voice-First Experiences for the Smart Home”, which will take place at 8:00am in the Forks Ballroom, will focus on voice control experiences in the home and the natural user interface ecosystem.

There’ll be shorter presentations as well —

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Trends, Operational Excellence and Technical Excellence.

Sessions range from info on best business practices to high-tech learning labs, and a-la-carte pricing is available for each course.

There are bonuses for those looking to take a certification exam. Review classes for every level are being offered prior to testing, and results of the examinations will be available immediately upon completion. Textbooks and pre-test assessments are available online.

Planning, Social Media, and a Celebration

notably, the CEDIA Talks, a series of bite-sized, TED-like talks. Delivered by top industry experts and visionaries, these 20-minute info sessions will cover a broad range of topics that affect an installer’s business, from the development of security and surveillance in the coming years to working with the real estate industry.

New this year are a series of six panel discussions: Beyond just a single expert, CEDIA has brought in multiple voices to guide home tech pros as they work with architects and interior designers, navigate the latest voice control technology, and learn about the opportunities presented by 4K Ultra HD. The Exhibit Hall The show floor, encompassing tens of thousands of square feet at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, includes a pavilion dedicated to unmanned systems and drones (complete with a drone cage for live demos), the Innovation Alley (where first-time exhibitors show their wares), and an area dedicated to the twochannel audio experience. Analogue media is back in a big way (ask any manufacturer of vinyl records who’s trying to keep pace with demand in the States), and lossless media formats are now being offered by growing numbers of streaming services.

The CEDIA Booth will be open to provide info on member services and benefits (along with hosting the CEDIA Talks), and Security Solutions Central will provide demos and data on how to leverage this growing market segment into recurring monthly revenue. High-end audio demos will be found at the Omni Hotel, away from the ambient bustle of the convention. That bustle includes the CEDIA BIG Lounge, an area dedicated to relaxation — or perhaps adrenaline, since the lounge features a mechanical bull. (It’s Texas, after all.)

Training and Certification As always, the CEDIA show includes a vast array of options for training and certification, and professionals of all skill and experience levels can benefit from the sessions offered by both CEDIA and dozens of manufacturers. The CEDIA Training Pass provides access to an unlimited number of courses, which are split into four categories: Business Growth, Emerging

The fastest way to organise what can be an overwhelming offering of courses and exhibits, is a quick download of the CEDIA 2016 app (cedia.net/app).

The app syncs seamlessly with the CEDIA Digital Show Planner, a tool that allows users to customise their own agenda so that they can prioritise their time and navigate the hundreds of displays and demos on the convention floor. CEDIA is also offering a chance for conventioneers to chat with staff via a live link at cedia.net/show regarding any questions about CEDIA 2016.

Beyond the social media channels CEDIA already maintains, CEDIA Tweeps will be microblogging from the show. #CEDIATweeps (use the hashtag to connect) are industry pros who’ve volunteered as social media “tastemakers” who’ll clue users in as to what’s happening in front of them at any given moment during the show.

And lastly, what visit to Dallas would be complete without a trip to Gilley’s? This legendary watering hole and dance hall is as iconic as the star on the side of a Dallas Cowboys helmet. The Thursday night celebration at Gilley’s will include nods to CEDIA’s 2016 award winners for excellence in the industry. We look forward to thinking and celebrating BIG with you in Dallas in just a few weeks.

Registration for CEDIA EXPO is now open. Visit expo.cedia.net to register.

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UHD EVOLUTION & SYSTEM DESIGN David Meyer, AV Research Technologist

The way we design HDMI systems has changed. The matrix switch has taken over as the heart of many systems, long-length passive HDMI cables have given way to active variants, and HDBaseT trumps them both as the go-to connectivity platform. However, even this is in the process of changing.

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The rise of Ultra HD (UHD) video has brought with it new features like HDR and 10-bit wide colour gamut, delivered by new sources such as UHD Blu-ray and protected by new generation HDCP 2.2. In some ways, we’re not on the right trajectory to support all these new bandwidthhungry features. Something’s got to give, and that should never be the end user’s satisfaction, the home technology professional’s sanity, or the bottom line.

Each of the new features has certain rules in regards to hardware, software/firmware, and bandwidth requirements. Knowing what and why makes it easier to understand how when it comes to integrated system design.

CEDIA’s extensive collection of white papers and courses about HDMI and related topics were effectively timestamped in history upon publication, but technology moves fast and waits for no one. To this end, all HDMIrelated white papers have been fully revised to include these new features and reflect the latest best practices.

These will become available in August 2016.

To complement the revisions, CEDIA also developed two extensive new white papers; “HDMI 2.0b & Ultra HD,” and the very comprehensive “HDCP 2.2 for Integrators.” For those wanting the full technical low-down on HDCP 2.2, there’s also the epic 31-page “HDCP 2.2 Technical Insight.”

So what do the white papers include that you can’t already find online or in the media?

These new features have, after all, been well covered. Creating a system to support HDCP 2.2 appears to be as simple as selecting only devices that say they support HDCP 2.2, right?

Or, if you want HDR, just buy a TV with HDR? However, the key to successful system design lies in the combination of features and timing. Know which features impact bandwidth and which don’t — and how they combine. Know about HDCP repeater levels and how the different versions combine and interact.

®

Consider these installation scenarios: 1. A new UHD Blu-ray player is connected to an AV receiver, then via HDBaseT to a new Quantum Dot LED TV with HDR. Everything supports HDCP 2.2. A 1080p Blu-ray works fine, but a new UHD title doesn’t. Why? In this scenario, the UHD Blu-ray player may be one of the leading models that only outputs 4:4:4 colour, even though it’s only 4:2:0 on the disc. HDR demands a step-up to 10-bit colour, and even at 24fps, the bandwidth goes beyond that which HDBaseT can support.

PROBLEM – BANDWIDTH ISSUE SOLUTION – Use a player which outputs 4:2:0, or go native (active) HDMI 2. Customer wants a UHD Blu-ray player located near their UHD TV for convenience, but the AV receiver is in a rack under the stairs. The TV doesn’t support HDR. You use a fully featured HDBaseT extender with HDMI loop-out on the transmitter and audio breakout on the receiver. The loop-out is used to go direct to the TV, then HDBaseT output to the AVR in the rack. The 1080p content works, but new UHD discs don’t. Why?

The additional HDMI functions in the HDBaseT extender utilise HDMI chips which introduce HDCP implications. If they don’t support HDCP 2.2, then the system will fall back to HDCP 1.4, so no UHD content.

PROBLEM – HDCP VERSION ISSUE SOLUTION – Ensure all products support HDCP 2.2 3. Same scenario as No. 2, but customer now also wants all content to one other TV zone. Again, you use HDBaseT, and for simplicity of ordering, you use the same model extender. The zone 2 TV is an older 1080p model, so you also need a downscaler with EDID management to ensure UHD content can still be viewed in zone 2 at 1080p. Now nothing works. You disconnect zone 2 and the main zone works again, reconnect and everything is dark. Why? HDCP 2.2 only supports four levels in the system, whereas HDCP 1.4 supports seven. The HDMI loop-out in the extender Tx counts as one, the audio breakout another, and the AVR one more. That’s three. Integrating the same extender again on the output of the AVR adds another two, then the downscaler one more. Six levels in all — way past the limit!

PROBLEM – HDCP 2.2 REPEATER LEVEL MAXIMUM EXCEEDED SOLUTION – Replace superfluous levels (audio breakout before AVR and HDMI loop-out after AVR) with simple extender units, which reduces the level count to four The HDMI papers don’t include these examples, as there are too many to write about, with too many variables.

However, the white papers do provide the foundation for understanding the concepts in order for you to design systems, predict outcomes, and troubleshoot if things do go awry. I also personally look forward to talking up these installation scenarios, and many others, in CEDIA’s new online Community Forum. I’ll see you there!

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This week I received my CEDIA 2016 booklet in the mail. Their focus for this years’ show… Think Big. I love it! Personally, I believe you should always “think big”. Content and satisfied are bad words. You should always strive to be better and constantly reach out of your comfort zone for those things that are extraordinary. This is going to be an industry pep talk of sorts because too often we get in a rut of normalcy.

THINK

How is your business currently doing? Do you have all the business you’ve ever desired? Or are you struggling to keep up because you have “too much” to do? Many people I speak with give me the latter as an answer. “It’s just so busy… I can’t keep up” or “I just don’t have time to do that” are common

BIG to ACHIEVE

waking the next morning excited to do it all over again.

Sounds pretty great, huh? It’s also pretty easy. All that you have to do is decide that this is what you want in your life, and then make it happen. For most, achieving this means that you have to understand what it’s like to work your butt off. Then realising that you don’t want to do that forever. For me, that revelation came when I was still just the manager at the store I ended up being coowner of. We were understaffed and I was simultaneously working as Store Manager, Project Manager & Design Consultant. So I had to figure out how to work 120 hours in a single work week, and still keep my sanity.

I was able to do all 3 jobs while only working around 90 hours a week. One night, at around 10:30pm, I was tying up loose ends and the current owner at the time stopped by to see why I was still there. His words that night literally paved my personal path for success.

He said to me “Barrie, I greatly appreciate

SUCCESS

Barrie McCorkle VP of Strategic Partnerships at SupplyStream

responses. This is a great spot to be in, sort of. You have enough work to keep you busy and more than enough to pay the bills. And although they are correct in their comments typically, there is a looming problem. If you are this busy, it’s time to look at solving the problem. Or as CEDIA put it, it’s time to Think Big. I have some personal vested interest in this grandiose idea as I work for a company that is helping to change the industry to think bigger. Giving an outlet to save time and be more efficient, which in turn, allows dealers to become more successful. Over the years, I’ve seen so many with a fear of success though.

They are just fine performing to the “status quo” or happy being over worked with no time for the things they love most. Why is it so hard to take that next step and be happy and more successful than you’ve ever been?

First we need to look at what defines success.

Is it money? Is it time with your family? Is it travel? We each have our own perception of success. I’m here to tell you that at the end of the day, we’re all striving for the same thing.

Achieving success means that you are elated at the end of each day. You know that you’ve done everything for your business, for your family, for your friends and most importantly for yourself. www.mysupplystream.com Success is going to sleep at night with an overwhelming @barriemccorkle sense of achievement and

your dedication and desire to make sure that this business stays at the top of its’ game but I’m going to tell you something. And I can’t believe I’m telling you this. Go home. You can’t create time. All that I ask of you is to do as much as you possibly can within the allotted amount of time you have during the day. Get the things done that are at the top of your list and then the rest will just have to wait until the next day.”

My success was gaining control of the time I spent doing my job and creating a better work/life balance. It was at that time that I decided I was going to “work to live” rather than “live to work”. Before that, I had a fear of success. Primarily, because I didn’t understand what it meant to be successful.

Once I made this change, the business started running smoother, I was able to hire and delegate better and we doubled our annual sales over the next 2 years. This then lead to my acquiring part of the company and so on.

The point of all this is to make sure you fully understand what it means to think big. It may not be what you think it is. Take care of yourself first and everything else will fall into place. So, now ask yourself how successful you actually are. Are you delighted with yourself and your accomplishments at the end of the day or are you just satisfied that you made it through it? Think Big! Don’t be afraid of being successful!

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Expert views

+44 (0)1622 688551 sync--box.com @–syncbox

‘TALK’ Why did you opt for Syncbox?

We decided to opt for Syncbox on our projects as it offers the perfect solution for pretty much all output requirements within a neat and concealed solution. It is also a perfect choice for our large multi-dwelling projects, which are pre-wired for potential owners to allow for them to install their own TVs at a later date.

Company Intelligent Interiors Ltd Name/Position Paul Tuffey Managing Director Project name Chubb House / London Road / Bentley House Completion date June 2016

What were the main issues with your previous installations without Syncbox?

We felt the overall look of the installation can be improved by using the Syncbox.

How easy was Syncbox to install in comparison to the previous option?

Syncbox is easy to fit, it offers a very neat finish and allows for very slim TV brackets to be installed, whereas other solutions do not allow for this.

What reaction did you receive from your client?

“Paul, I like these a lot – very tidy solution” Most useful feature of Syncbox?

Easy to install, simple and neat solution allows for TV to be mounted close the wall.

Guaranteed professional finish

“Syncbox is easy to fit, it offers a very neat finish and allows for very slim TV brackets to be installed whereas other solutions do not allow for this.”

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amps & r PRODUCT FOCUS

Anthem (Available through Invision UK)

The Anthem MRX 1120 AV receiver includes all of the benefits of the MRX 720 plus more channels. It features 11.1 channels of processing and a rare 11 channels of amplification, all through a toroidal power supply. The internal amplification can be configured for up to 7.1.4 speakers or 5.1.4 plus zone 2. With professional-quality room correction, support for the latest immersive audio and UHD video formats, wireless music streaming and IP control and built-in amplification for 7.1.4 speakers, the MRX 1120 is at the centre of a new standard in high-end home cinema receivers. With the MRX 1120, users have access to the award-winning Anthem Room Correction (ARC) system, making set-up more convenient than ever before.

The new generation supports RS-232, resulting in seamless integration with most major control systems, including RTI and Control4. All models are covered with a three year warranty and are backed up with a dedicated UK service centre.

www.invisionuk.com

Marantz (Available through AWE) Quality, connectivity and ease of installation are three factors that make the Marantz SR5010 receiver the ideal product for any custom installer. This 7 channel discrete power amplifier produces an impressive 180 watts per channel, and includes a Quad Core DSP and retuned sound. Responding to industry developments, the SR5010 has the ability to connect a 5.1 surround sound speaker system and two additional overhead speakers or two Dolby Atmos-certified up-firing speakers to provide an impressive Dolby Atmos set up.

The Marantz SR5010 features eight HDMI inputs with 4K 60Hz passthrough and HDCP 2.2, two HDMI outputs, with multi-source and multi-zone. It also includes 4K 30Hz and 1080p scaling and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Thanks to the DLNA 1.5 compatibility, the receiver can also continuously playback music files with no gaps, including formats such as FLAC HD, DSD, AIFF, Internet radio, Pandora, Spotify Connect and Airplay. There is a Marantz AVR remote app available for iOS and Android devices, which provides an easy control method for all these features.

Datasat (Available through Pulse Cinemas) Datasat has become a key ingredient for professionals wanting to give clients the ultimate cinema performance.

The first model in the range is the LS10, which now comes with Dolby Atmos and is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;DTS X readyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as standard. This sophisticated piece of cinema genius also includes HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2, which are key features for tech savvy buyers in this complicated sector.

The flagship model is the RS20i, which enjoys all the same features and benefits from its more affordable relative, but of course will outperform in bigger systems. Dirac 2, regarded as one of the best speaker calibration tools available, comes as standard with the RS20i. The Datasat RS20i derives from its commercial brother, the AP20, which can be found in over

www.awe-europe.com

30,000 commercial cinemas across the world. Making use of traditional DSP processing, it is one of the finest sounding processors money can buy..

www.pulsecinemas.com

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receivers SpeakerCraft

(Available through Aldous Systems)

Trinnov (Available through Invision UK) Powered by unrivalled processing capabilities and exclusive technologies, the Trinnov Altitude32 preamplifier opens the way to a whole new generation of luxury home cinema processors.

Designed for ultimate performance and sustainability, this stateof-the-art preamplifier is a scalable easy-to-upgrade solution.

The standard version of the Altitude32 natively decodes Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS Digital Surround and DTS-HD Mater Audio. With the 3D Audio optional package, end users can experience a new world of immersive sound with Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Thanks to Trinnov patented 3D spatial remapping technology, the Altitude32 is the only preamplifier to provide universal and spatial-accurate 3D sound playback. This technology ensures an unmatched spatial resolution for the most incredible and immersive experience.

www.invisionuk.com

Offering the classic SpeakerCraft stability that the industry has come to know and trust, the powerful SC12-30 amplifier exceeds installation needs. Specifically designed to solve the problems of interfacing with different brands and models of equipment, and different rooms and applications, the SC12-30 amplifier makes installation easier and more straight forward than ever before.

Fully configurable, with 12-channels that provide 30W per channel (80W when bridged) and SpeakerCraft’s unique BusMatrix™ Selector, the SC12-30 is the perfect multi-zone or multiroom solution.

www.aldoussystems.co.uk

Yamaha (Available through Habitech) Yamaha has introduced the WXA-50 amplifier and WXC-50 pre-amplifier to the MusicCast wireless multiroom system. Hooking up the bijou MusicCast WXA-50 Amp and WXC-50 Pre-Amp to local speakers creates a very compact and stylish audio system playing local or MusicCast sources. The WXA-50 and WXC-50 are complete with a stylish high-quality metal body, two-tone colouring and measuring only 214 mm wide x 51.5mm high will fit neatly in any space, horizontally or vertically.

MusicCast is family of wireless network audio products which includes Yamaha AV receivers, speakers, sound bars, HiFi gear and HTiB systems that can play individually or share stored files and internet sources to create a whole home wireless audio experience.

Controlled by a simple app, MusicCast offers easy access to a huge choice of audio content including streaming music services, Internet radio stations, music files on smart devices and computers, Bluetooth® sources, as well as TV, DVD, Blu-ray Disc and CD.

www.habitech.co.uk

Bang & Olufsen The Bang & Olufsen BeoAmp 16 is a 16 channel ICE power amplifier, which is meant to be used in bigger installations where a number of passive speakers are used. It can be placed centrally in an installation, on a shelf or in a 19” cabinet.

BeoAmp 16 has 16 channels with 80W power per channel. The amplifier can be set up in two ways: 1) Used directly which provides 8 stereo pairs with each 2 x 80W 2) The channels bridged two by two, which provides 4 stereo pair with each 2 x 160W A combination of the two above is also possible.

www.bang-olufsen.com

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amps & receivers PRODUCT FOCUS

HEOS By Denon (available through AWE) HEOS Drive is a professional product designed by CI experts for custom installers.

It is a powerful four-zone, eight-channel multi-room amplifier all within a single 2U tall, rack mountable chassis, with 70 Watts of Class D amplification per output. The functionality of this amplifier is very similar to the HEOS Amp, but higher quality, four zones and increased flexibility. For larger installs, you can utilise up to 8 units for up to 32 zones! HEOS Drive has access to all the most popular streaming music services including Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, TIDAL, TuneIn, LastFM and more. HEOS Drive is fully controllable over IP with Crestron, Control 4, URC and RTI modules.

This sleek amplifier brings more than just the multiroom audio experience, as every zone is a HEOS zone, with streamed and stored content accessed and controlled at ease via the free HEOS app which is available on the iOS and Android platform. The app includes in-depth multi-zone functionality and is easy to navigate. It is incredibly easy to set up via the app. The quick start manual provides clear instructions - plug everything into the HEOS Drive, switch it on, install the HEOS app, start it up and the HEOS Drive zones will appear within the ‘Rooms’ tab. Additional networks and physical source devices can be added.

www.awe-europe.com

AudioControl (available through Pulse Cinemas) The AudioControl Concert AVR-9 7.1.4 receiver supports Dolby Atmos to deliver the high-end AV experience that movie lovers crave. Fully compatible with 4K Ultra HD 50/60 Hz and HDCP 2.2 compatibility, the Concert AVR-9 is ready for the latest advances in home cinema entertainment and content. The AVR-9 benefits from four high performance Dolby Atmos pre-amp outputs and produces 7x 200 watts per channel into 4 Ohm (all channels driven). User can add additional power amps for the height channels by utilising AudioControl’s high-power 2-channel Bijou 600 amplifiers. Surround modes include Dolby Atmos, Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS-HD Master Audio and is DTS:X™ ready. The AudioControl Concert AVR-9 include seven HDMI 2.0a inputs and three outputs, four COAX SPDIF, two Toslink digital audio inputs, six stereo analogue inputs, a USB Input and Ethernet Client.

The AVR-9 also boasts the Dirac Live calibration tool, one of the most advance speaker calibration tools on the market. Dirac Live determines the essential speaker setting for all the speakers in your system. It also calculates room equalisation and filter values to remove some of the worst effects of resonant frequencies in the listening room. The results can be staggering, with improved staging, clarity and intelligibility in music and vocals.

www.pulsecinemas.com

Arcam Drawing on its extensive expertise, Arcam balances a finely honed technical specification with world class audio performance creating one of its highest ever performing AV receivers, the AVR850. This receiver features Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 decoding and is DTS:X ready. The AVR850 includes a 7 channel high performance amplifier and provides 7 HDMI inputs and 3 HDMI outputs.

HDMI2.0a with HDCP2.2 4K “Ultra HD” and 3D video capability are built in. An internal tuner provides a fully integrated FM / DAB / DAB+ (in appropriate markets) radio solution.

Worldwide access to internet radio stations is provided through the network connection, which also interfaces to UPnP audio servers. The USB port supports memory devices.

Control is possible via Ethernet, enabling it to be fully integrated with whole house control systems, or via the iOS MusicLife UPnP/control app.

RS232, 12V triggers and standard IR control are also included. Further enhancing the performance of the AVR850, Arcam has also included the very latest room correcting technology from Dirac Research. Dirac Live® for Arcam gives the dealer the ability to tune the acoustic performance of the system to any room situation giving the listener the best possible experience in their own home.

www.arcam.co.uk

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唀匀䔀刀 䔀堀倀䔀刀䤀䔀一䌀䔀 䴀䄀吀吀䔀刀匀 䌀漀渀琀爀漀氀 猀礀猀琀攀洀猀 愀爀攀 椀渀猀琀愀氀氀攀搀 昀漀爀 挀漀洀昀漀爀琀 愀渀搀 挀漀渀瘀攀渀椀攀渀挀攀 愀渀搀 挀栀漀漀猀椀渀最 琀栀攀 眀爀漀渀最 唀猀攀爀 䤀渀琀攀爀昀愀挀攀 挀愀渀 栀愀瘀攀 愀 渀攀最愀琀椀瘀攀 椀洀瀀愀挀琀 漀渀 琀栀攀 爀攀猀琀 漀昀 礀漀甀爀 椀渀猀琀愀氀氀愀琀椀漀渀⸀ 䠀愀瘀攀 礀漀甀 挀漀渀猀椀搀攀爀攀搀 琀栀攀 唀猀攀爀ᤠ猀 䔀堀倀䔀刀䤀䔀一䌀䔀㼀 匀愀瘀愀渀琀ᤠ猀 昀漀挀甀猀 椀猀 愀氀眀愀礀猀 漀渀 挀爀攀愀琀椀渀最 琀栀攀 戀攀猀琀 唀猀攀爀 䔀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀 瀀漀猀猀椀戀氀攀Ⰰ 眀栀攀琀栀攀爀 琀栀椀猀 戀攀 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 椀渀琀甀椀琀椀瘀攀 愀瀀瀀Ⰰ 愀渀 愀眀愀爀搀 眀椀渀渀椀渀最 爀攀洀漀琀攀 挀漀渀琀爀漀氀Ⰰ 漀爀 猀椀洀瀀氀礀 愀氀氀漀眀椀渀最 琀栀攀 甀猀攀爀 琀漀 瀀攀爀猀漀渀愀氀椀猀攀 琀栀攀椀爀 猀礀猀琀攀洀 琀漀 琀栀攀椀爀 漀眀渀 氀椀欀椀渀最⸀ 圀椀琀栀 爀漀漀洀 椀洀愀最攀猀Ⰰ 昀愀瘀漀甀爀椀琀攀 吀嘀 挀栀愀渀渀攀氀猀 愀渀搀 挀漀洀瀀氀攀琀攀 猀挀攀渀攀猀 愀琀 琀栀攀 琀漀甀挀栀 漀昀 愀 戀甀琀琀漀渀Ⰰ 洀甀氀琀椀瀀氀攀 甀猀攀爀猀 挀愀渀 猀愀瘀攀 琀栀攀椀爀 椀渀搀椀瘀椀搀甀愀氀 瀀爀攀昀攀爀攀渀挀攀猀 愀最愀椀渀猀琀 琀栀攀椀爀 漀眀渀 瀀爀漀ǻ氀攀 ⴀ 攀渀猀甀爀椀渀最 琀栀攀椀爀 栀漀洀攀 椀猀 愀氀眀愀礀猀 攀砀愀挀琀氀礀 栀漀眀 琀栀攀礀 眀愀渀琀 椀琀⸀ 䴀愀欀攀 猀甀爀攀 礀漀甀ᤠ爀攀 渀漀琀 漀渀氀礀 攀渀栀愀渀挀椀渀最 礀漀甀爀 挀甀猀琀漀洀攀爀猀 攀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀 戀甀琀 攀砀挀攀攀搀椀渀最 琀栀攀椀爀 攀砀瀀攀挀琀愀琀椀漀渀猀 戀礀 椀渀猀琀愀氀氀椀渀最 匀愀瘀愀渀琀⸀

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CITY & GUILDS QUALIFIED SMART TECHNICIANS

A

t the beginning of 2016, CEDIA launched two tracks that were recognised by City & Guilds, the international governing body for training. Following a large number of subscribers throughout the first half of 2016, CEDIA is celebrating the

first wave of newly qualified CEDIA Smart Home Technicians.

Recognised City & Guilds training courses are an industry standard, and are valued by employers across the world, helping individuals develop their talents and abilities to further their career progression. CEDIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Smart Home Technician programme is awarded to participants who successfully complete twelve training courses, including the CEDIA Boot Camp, ESC Technical and Networking schools. Attendees who pass the ESC-T and ESC-N certification are presented with a City & Guilds accredited Smart Home Technician certificate.

Here, CEDIA chats to two newly qualified CEDIA Smart Home Technicians.

What interested you in attending CEDIA training and obtaining City & Guilds certification?

MF | My aim has been to expand my computer support business to

Mike Fish Shoal Computer Solutions Ltd www.shoalcomputers.com

encompass all aspects of home technology. I felt that having formal training and an accreditation was important when promoting my services to clients.

SM | I recently relocated to India after having spent more than 15 years living in the United States and the United Kingdom, and made a career change that led me to set up my own systems integration company. I have always been passionate about technology, but my prior educational background in finance

Sumeet Mashru Cool Setup www.coolsetup.com

and economics would have only taken me so far in this industry. I conducted extensive research on the industry standards in technical skills for system installers, and was impressed with the range of topics covered in the CEDIA Smart Home Technician course and decided this would be a good place to start.

How did you find the course?

MF | I thoroughly enjoyed the course and gained a lot of very useful information.

The course has given me a great starting point, particularly in the areas where I had very little knowledge.

SM | Without a doubt, the best thing about the CEDIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Smart Home Technician course were the instructors, Geoff Meads, Simon Buddle and Mal Fisher. They were attentive, humorous and each of them discussed relevant, real-world practical examples, which made the course that much more interesting. I found the topics to be informative and we covered, in some detail, the entire spectrum of topics relevant to a systems installer. In addition to the course itself, the training sessions also allowed me to network and interact with system installers in the United Kingdom and learn from their experiences.

How has the accreditation benefitted you in developing your career?

MF | The accreditation is of great benefit to me, as it will allow me to present a more professional image to potential clients. It has widened my knowledge

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and capabilities, so I am now able to offer more services to my clients.

SM | I can now operate with a level of knowledge that is certified and recognised by a highly reputable institution in the United Kingdom. In India, we tend to gravitate to people in professional services who are qualified and recognised in their industry. Hence, I’m certain that being accredited by City & Guilds will be great for my career and my company.

How would you describe the overall CEDIA education experience?

MF | I found the CEDIA sessions to be an excellent starting point for expanding my business into the home technology market. The course provided me with a great overview of the industry, was delivered by experienced professionals and has given me the confidence to promote new services to my clients.

SM | Absolutely amazing! I had a great few weeks of training and networking with a wide variety of folks from the industry. I am looking forward to meeting the CEDIA team again when they visit Mumbai later this year.

Wendy Griffiths comments “We are thrilled with the feedback from participants completing CEDIA’s City & Guilds accredited courses, and encourage all CEDIA members to take advantage of this fantastic endorsement and opportunity. As an international governing body for training, those who achieve City & Guilds qualification are instantly recognised as a skilled professional in smart home technology across the globe, making business opportunities in countries such as India, South Africa and UAE, where there is an ever growing interest in smart home technology.”

CEDIA’s Smart Home Designer track has also been accredited by City & Guilds, with all participants who successfully complete the training programme, and pass the ESC-D certification exam being awarded a City & Guilds accredited certification. This programme features eight training courses, including The Principles of Project Management, Sub System Design and Integration, Home Cinema Design Workshop and Residential Lighting Control, among others.

To find out more about these two courses, download the Training and Curriculum Guide at www.cediaeducation.com/curriculum-guide To book a place onto CEDIA’s City & Guilds accredited courses, please visit www.cediaeducation.com

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60 SECONDS WITH…

Ankur Bhatt Who are you?

Ankur Bhatt What’s your company and where is it based?

Sound Sense is a company that I co-founded with my brother, Gaurav Bhatt. We founded it in 2007 in our home town of Anand, Gujarat (India). We are CEDIA, ISF, HAA and THX certified AV consultants who specialise in the designing of high end home cinemas and home automation solutions.

How did you get into the industry?

The business somewhat chose us. Both Gaurav and I were pursuing further education when our father passed away.

We were immediately burdened with figuring out how to make a living, when one day, we were at a friend’s place watching a movie in his home cinema – a rather rare opportunity in 2004 for a small town like ours. Being avid movie and music lovers, we knew we wanted to find out how to replicate the same set up at our own home, and as we got more involved with people in the field, we got more interested in the prospects that lay in front of us.

That’s when we put two and two together and we haven’t looked back since.

What’s your favourite project and why?

On most projects, we are bound by either the client’s budget, or the room design or both. So, on a recent high end project where the client gave us the liberty of BOTH design and budget, we were able to put together a dream project in accordance with CEDIA standards and as

per our liking - from room layout and construction to acoustic designing, screen size to seating and seating placement.

Which technology do you consider the most important today and why Smart home technology. In today’s world, with technology integration in smart phones, smart tabs and smart watches, people want everything to be controllable at the touch of a button.

How long have you been a CEDIA member?

We are into our second year of being a CEDIA member.

What do you consider your biggest achievement as a CEDIA member?

Our biggest achievement as a CEDIA member is being able to be a part of the CEDIA Awards 2016 ceremony and to have won an award for the Best Media

Room Under £15,000 for true excellence in design, installation and integration. Also, being nominated as a finalist in the Best Showroom category is a close second. We are the third Indian company to have won such an award and it is a proud moment for us as a company and as a country.

What did it mean for you to win a CEDIA Award?

It is a humble honour and a true privilege to have won a CEDIA Award this year as it is a

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Which CEDIA benefits do you take advantage of the most, and why?

We participate in the CEDIA training sessions held in the US as well as in India, which we take advantage of for both training and networking purposes. These avenues have connected us with CEDIA members from various parts of the world, coming together as one community to further innovation in the field.

Do you regularly attend CEDIA education and make use of CEDIA resources? If so, which courses and resources?

Absolutely. We attended most of the AV related courses, along with the home cinema designing workshops. We have found the CEDIA Technical reference manual and the CEDIA Fundamentals of Residential

Electronic Systems resources very helpful.

What’s the biggest issue for home technology businesses today and how can they deal with it?

There remains to be a lack of awareness of industry standards amongst architects and interior designers. It becomes a tedious process to have to get them on board with the design we have presented to the client, which cannot be implemented if the home/room blueprint and circuitry are not a match.

If there was one thing you could change in the industry what would it be?

In one word, awareness. We would like CEDIA to become more prevalent in the Indian territory to bring raise awareness about: - the opportunities and product offerings in the AV and automation industry - the cost of products

“

WE ARE THE THIRD INDIAN COMPANY TO HAVE WON SUCH AN AWARD AND IT IS A PROUD MOMENT FOR US

- the cost benefit of products Education is the key to change and the key to getting people onboard with the exciting opportunities that await.

If you weren’t in the home technology sector, what would you like to be doing and why?

To be honest, I haven’t had the chance to think about another option in life, and I am glad I don’t have to. Having my passion turn into a profession is a dream come true.

What does 2016-2017 hold for Sound Sense?

We are looking to develop and market the concept of a smart

“

recognition of our hard work and dedication to the field by some of the finest in this line of work.

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home this year. We believe the future of our industry, especially in India, lies in home automation as well as the integration of the AV and automation sectors. We are also planning to expand our presence across newer parts of the country by opening up three new showrooms, thus bringing our total to seven locations.

www.soundsense.co.in @sound_sense2007

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AVENSYS

Alaric Wood, Technical Director at Avensys, discusses the new Avensys Smart Home.

Avensys recently opened its stunning new 4000 sq ft smart home experience centre, built specifically from the ground up to be a centre of excellence for the latest integrated technology and equipment, including showcasing Integrated, Future-Ready Homes.

The purpose-built smart home spreads over 2 floors and includes a front door with biometric control, reception bar, dining room, kitchen, living room, bathroom, listening room, media room, snug lounge, ‘invisible’ feature wall, 4K Dolby Atmos cinema, and an annex

ON SHOW

containing a second Dolby Atmos cinema and a dedicated golf simulator.

The total budget for the showroom was a retail value of £1,000,000 and includes a wide range of features designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of customers for both personal and business purchases, as well as partners, including architects, designers, builders and developers.

It can be difficult for customers to get an idea of what is actually possible and what can be achieved when renovating, remodelling or

building a new home. The openplan design of the main area allows for simple demonstrations where customers can experience intelligent lighting control, HVAC, CCTV and security, multi-room audio and video and robust managed Wi-Fi, all controlled by simple user interfaces from Control4 and Crestron, including keypads, touch panels, stick remotes and mobile devices.

Customers can also see a wide range of custom features, including Future Automation sliding panel system and a Panasonic 65” 4K TV that drops vertically from the ceiling.

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SIMPLICITY IS KEY TO A GREAT EXPERIENCE Simplicity is key to a great experience, and customers can see how well designed products and solutions enhance daily life.

These can be simple things, such as knowing their children are home safely from school, ensuring their house is safe and secure, through to being able to listen to their favourite music anywhere at the push of a button.

The smart home is also an extension to the superstore: customers can experience products that interest them in a home setting – not all customers can envisage how

products will appear or work in their home environment. This is valuable to us as a retailer as it can help to crosssell or up-sell to products that will be a better fit for their requirements.

For example, comparing whole-home audio products, showing cinema enthusiasts different installation options, or showing how intelligent heating & lighting control are beneficial in everyday situations.

One of the key messages for our retail customers is that whilst there are IoT products for most things, each usually has a separate app or interface. We can provide a single, simple app which integrates with all aspects of the customer’s home.

Accessed through the 8000 sq ft Avensys Superstore on the ground floor, or through a private entrance at the rear, the showroom is open 363 days per year and is accessible to everyone. An appointment is not needed and everyone is welcome!

Part of the experience centre is our 16 seat boardroom and 20 seat training suite. The boardroom features Crestron DigitalMedia, video conferencing, with full HVAC integration & blind control.

We are working closely with architects and designers to make sure that they are aware of current trends as well as what ‘behind the scenes’ preparation is necessary to create a home that meets customer requirements. We are offering CPD courses accredited by RIBA and BIID from both CEDIA and Amina to truly add value to our offering. Architects, designers and builders will not only benefit from these courses but will be in an environment where they can experience first-hand everything they have just learnt.

We also use the boardroom and training suite for customer meetings where we can discuss larger projects in a private environment. We can load architectural plans on to our interactive projector and annotate with recommended keypad locations, screen locations, cabling routes and more.

www.avensyshome.co.uk @Avensys_HomeAV

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TRAINING & EVENTS CALENDAR Aug 18-20 THX Video Calibration Bangalore, India

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23-24

25-26

THX/HAA Advisor Training

THX/HAA Integrator Training

THX/HAA Advanced Integrator Training

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

Pulse Cinemas, Stansted

September 5-9

14-17

19-23

CEDIA Boot Camp

CEDIA 2016

ESC-T Technical School

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Dallas, USA

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

21

21-22

Smart Home Summit

Home CInema Design Package

London

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

23-25

26

28

28-29

29-30

London Homebuilding & Renovating Show

Certified Outreach Instructor

Tech Forum

Certsure Training

Lighting Design Package

ExCeL, London

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Manchester

Dunstable

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

5-7

11-13

12

Oct 3-7 4 CEDIA Training Event, India

Introduction to Smart Home Wiring

ISF Training

Networking School

Essential Install Live! Show North 2016

Mumbai, India

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Munich, Germany

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Manchester

18

18-20

19

19

19-22

Customer Relations and Needs Analysis

Smart Buildings 2016

Principles of Project Management

Tech Forum

SAIE

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

NEC, Birmingham

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Dublin, Ireland

Bologna, Italy

20

21-26

26

28

CEDIA Structured Cabling Assessor

South Africa Training Roadshow

CAD Design

ESC-N Examination

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

South Africa

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

CEDIA HQ, St Neots

Book training at www.cediaeducation.com/courses

Essential INSTALL

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EXHIBITING

T HE R I GHT E X H I B I T I O N TO VI SI T

COMPETI TI VE PR I CI NG

The Essential Install Live! Trade Show is the primary sourcing and selling opportunity for the UK smart home / home automation industry. The show provides the truly unique beneďŹ t of genuine face-to-face encounters with decision makers who have purposely left their business to call on you!

Essential Install Live! space rates are amongst the lowest in Britain, even compared to niche events attracting a fraction of the audience. Exhibitor rates are deliberately calculated to provide affordable access to the masses of Essential Install Live! show visitors and a really positive return on your investment.

- T H E SE MIN AR T HEAT RE - O N E -TO- ON E B U SINESS CONTACT - P R OD UCT D E MOS & PRODUCT LAU N C HE S - S H O W D ISCOUNT S & OFFERS

TH I NK I NG O F EX H I B I TING ?

B O O K YO UR STAN D. CAL L : 01634 673163

- N E T WOR KIN G A ND B RA ND OUT REAC H - BU SIN E S S OP PORT U NIT IES - L ATE ST TE CH T RENDS

NORTH 12TH OCTOBER 2016 EVENTCITY, MANCHESTER, M41 7TB OPENING TIMES: 9:30AM - 4:30PM

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W W W. E S S E N T I A L I N S TA L L L I V E . C O M

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Bringing the joy of home cinema to children

TOGETHER FOR CINEMA Keech Hospice Care Children’s Hospice celebrates new home cinema

Together for Cinema has completed a cinema room installation at Keech Hospice Care Children’s Hospice just north of Luton, in Bedfordshire. The AV charity scheme has provided a multi-purpose cinema room for staff, children and their families to enjoy, with all resources kindly donated by committed members of the home technology industry.

Keech Hospice Care provides support for adults and children with life-limiting and terminal illnesses,

working across Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

The children’s hospice specialises in providing care throughout the child’s illness and into bereavement, both at the Luton Hospice and also at the family home through the community nursing team.

Initial contact with Ian Morrish, founder of Together for Cinema, regarding the installation of a home cinema room was made by Keech Hospice Care Children’s Hospice in 2011. However, it wasn’t until three

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years after, that the timing was right for planning to begin. Having showed interest in the scheme, SmartComm Ltd, offered its services, and Ian suggested that the Keech Hospice Care project would be a good opportunity for them.

“Our first site visit brought with it so many emotions” explains Guy Murray from Smartcom Ltd. “There was no doubt in our minds that we must provide these lovely children, parents, families and nurses with a space where they can quite simply relax, smile, laugh and enjoy time together.”

SmartComm Ltd was committed to creating a cinema room that could also be used for training, fundraising and gaming. Having selected the new dining room as the area for the cinema, an ambitious kit list was put together, and thanks to the generosity within the AV industry, the necessary equipment was sourced quickly. Brands such as Arcam, ConnectorCo, Crestron, CYP, Dataflow IT, Epson, Kaleidescape, Middle Atlantic, Monitor Audio, Unicol and Wyrestorm all donated products.

“The provided space was a challenge, as it was a very large space with lots of natural daylight,” comments Guy. “The projection screen and speaker positioning had to allow for children in beds to watch films from the back of the room, whilst ensuring that entrances, exits and fire escapes were all kept clear. Control of the system was also a major consideration.

It had to be a robust fixed solution with an extremely user-friendly interface, allowing anyone to turn the system on and off, select a film or connect a laptop.”

The installation was completed in just one week, with the approximate end user costs, including consultation, installation, and products totalling

£19,000.

“On behalf of Keech Hospice Care, I would like to thank everyone involved wholeheartedly for their generosity in providing us with a projector and screen for our cinema and conference room,” comments David Rigg, Buildings Manager at Keech Hospice Care Children’s Hospice. “The equipment is very useful for ‘Sparklers’, our support group for siblings of our life-limited children. As part of a programme of fun activities, they use the screen for watching films, which provides a much needed break from the reality of having a very ill sibling” “Our bereavement support team also uses the equipment when conducting six week training courses for our highly valued bereavement volunteers. The high quality screen enables our trainers to deliver their presentations professionally, giving the volunteers a better introduction to the important work they do for Keech Hospice Care. Your generosity is of great benefit to everyone at Keech Hospice Care in our work to deliver our specialist palliative care for adults and children.”

“The SmartComm installation engineers did a fantastic job to deliver the project. We demonstrated the working system to a handful of children, families and workers and it was at this point you really appreciated the installation. The reward of a single smile was enough to make us want to provide an install like this again in the future,” said Guy. Together for Cinema has two more projects planned during summer 2016, which will take the number of completed projects to 17 by the end of the year. Together for Cinema is aiming to complete 25 cinema room installations by the end of 2020.

KIT LIST THAT WAS DONATED: • Arcam (AV Receiver): FMJ AVR450 • ConnectorCo (Cables and Connectors): 4 x 1m HDMI cables, speaker cable, CAT5 and various connectors • Crestron (Control): MC3 control and a TSW-750 touch panel • CYP (Converter): SY-P293 converter • Dataflow IT (Screen): A 119 inch low voltage control screen with R/C • Epson (Projector): EH-TW9100 projector • Kaleidescape (Media Server): Cinema 1 • Middle Atlantic, donated by RGB Communications (Racking): A 12U MFR Series rack including doors and a power distribution unit.

• Monitor Audio (Speakers): 7 x CT380-IDC ceiling speakers and a Mass W200 subwoofer.

• Unicol (Ceiling Mount For Projector): 1 x CPI, 1 x Pole and 1 x PSU for the projector • Wyrestorm (HDMI Extender): 1 x EX-1UTP-IR-100-POH Other accessories were donated directly by Smartcomm Ltd

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN MAKING IT HAPPEN: • Ian Morrish, Sales Manager, Integrated Systems Europe • Cheryl Huntingford and Guy Murray, SmartComm

To get involved in the scheme, visit www.togetherforcinema.co.uk or contact Ian at Ian@ad-con.demon.co.uk or +44 (0)1372 454366.

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vive la CEDIA! I

n June, CEDIA hosted a training and networking event in Nice for French-based home technology professionals. The twoday event featured a range of manufacturer product training courses and CEDIA education sessions, hosted by three local CEDIA members.

Day one was free to home technology professionals and followed the format of a CEDIA Tech Forum.

Throughout the day, attendees had the opportunity to participate in a number of 60-minute manufacturer product training sessions held by the six event sponsors: B&W Group, Crestron, Genesis Technologies, Meridian Audio, Prestige Distribution and Vivateq.

The Meridian Audio session, entitled ‘Enjoy high-Resolution Audio’ was the best attended training course of the event. Barry Sheldrick, Director of Sales at Meridian Audio commented: “We were delighted to be part of the CEDIA Tech Forum in Nice.

These events provide us with a great opportunity to present the Meridian brand and the benefits it delivers to both installers and their customers.

The structure of the day allowed us time to give both informative training, alongside Q&A sessions, in an interactive way. The event was great for networking and it put us in front of the right people. Overall, a great success! Thank you CEDIA.” Crestron’s presentation, ‘Crestron Pyng Introduction’ also drew in a

large crowd. Jérôme Frizet, Business Developer at Crestron France said: “For several years, Crestron has developed a strong partnership with CEDIA. As a manufacturer, we are delighted to be able to get involved in the CEDIA training events in France as they allow us to present our latest residential innovations to a quality, well-informed audience. The fact that CEDIA has organised an event in the South of France is very positive, as it enables us to strengthen our synergies and develop new local contacts.”

The first day concluded with a Connect with CEDIA event, where over thirty new and existing members joined CEDIA representatives for a networking session.

Day two was split into three CEDIA training sessions, running before and after lunch. Bruno Napoli, Co-Founder of Krika kicked it off with his course, ‘Selling Maintenance Contracts to your Clients’. Following the session, Bruno said: “I would like to thank CEDIA for giving me the opportunity to share my 25 years of experience in the consumer electronic market with French home technology

professionals. It was a pleasure to teach attendees how to deal with maintenance contracts and invoices, in a world where customer service is even more important than the products we sell.”

“

Thank you to CEDIA for choosing to hold this training event in our area

“

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Christian Polizzi from Azur Control Media attended Bruno’s training session and was impressed with the course content. “Bruno Napoli’s seminar exceeded my expectations.

As he is from Lyon, it was easy to understand him. We have just signed our first contract using Bruno’s techniques. Thank you to CEDIA for choosing to hold this training event in our area. It’s great to have the opportunity to link up with other industry professionals who are willing to share their experience and offer advice.”

Before lunch, Marc-Etienne Huneau, owner of The Dark Side of the Room presented a course on effectively working with architects. This course advised attendees on how to be part of the design team effectively, and discussed how to understand key stakeholders and decision makers.

Attendees also learnt how to deal

with issues of ownership of the project and how to take advantage of regular trade.

The day was rounded off with a session entitled ‘Pieces of Design for Immersive 3D Sound.’ This was hosted by Dominque Rigolet, owner of Audire, who commented: “Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro3D standards promise precise surround sound for a unique sensory experience. The course aimed to provide details on the positioning of multiple speakers in a private cinema room to ensure that these new requirements are met. The students were very happy with the course and followed up with a number of questions over the next few days, which was very encouraging. Thank you CEDIA for this opportunity.”

CEDIA has also received positive feedback from Hugues Bienfait,

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Director of Maurin Audiovisual.

“Coming to this training event has given me a sense of the amount of knowledge I still need to acquire and specialise in. The meetings, networking and discussions between different attendees at the event, whether they were trainers or audience members, was rewarding.

This first contact with CEDIA has allowed me to get a foot on the ladder towards my goal of perfecting my skills and improving the quality of the services we offer.”

CEDIA was thrilled to host this training and networking event in France. This event was not only a great opportunity for attendees to develop skills and knowledge about the industry, but also provided them with the opportunity to build lasting relationships with fellow CEDIA members and sponsors.

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CEDIA INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

F

Following a number of successful events in the UK during the first half of 2016, CEDIA has set its sights further afield for the remaining part of the year, hosting its popular Tech Forum event in India and South Africa this autumn.

CEDIA prides itself on its ever-growing International membership, currently just shy of 300 members. With 50 members in India and 23 in South Africa, CEDIA is pleased to announce two upcoming events in these respective countries this October.

CEDIA returns to India to host an event at the Sofitel Mumbai BKC between 3rd and 7th October.

The first day will feature a selection of manufacturer product training sessions hosted

by CEDIA Trade Supplier members. The following days will be filled with four dedicated training sessions led by certified CEDIA instructors. The first session will be hosted by CEDIA Board Member and founder of MACBEE, Sawan Nichani, followed by Peter Aylett, Technical Director of Archimedia and Ken Erdmann of The Erdmann Group, with others soon to be announced.

Wendy Griffiths has high expectations for the Indian event. “We are really excited to be returning to India

for the fourth consecutive year. There’s been a dramatic increase of membership in the area, so we’re anticipating a good turn out and a great response to the training sessions on offer.”

Before CEDIA kicks off its Tech Forum event in South Africa, which is spread across three cities, CEDIA member, Sphere Custom will host an exclusive training event at its showroom in Cape Town on 20th October. The official CEDIA event begins on Friday 21st October in Cape Town, with a day of training and networking. On the following Monday, CEDIA moves to Johannesburg, where Peter Aylett of Archimedia and South-African based instructors, Craig Potter from iLED, and Christiaan Beukes of Sphere Custom, will host training sessions over two days. CEDIA will end its South African trip in Durban on 26th October, where home technology professionals are invited to participate in a final Tech Forum and Connect event.

“CEDIA is looking forward to another successful trip to South Africa,” comments Wendy. “By visiting three different cities, we can offer CEDIA members and the growing industry access to manufacturer training and industry networking across the country.”

CEDIA will be hosting several other international events across the continent before the end of the year, including Dubai this autumn. www.cediaeducation.com/calendar

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The

Silicon Valley Scoop

Following a full house for his Future Technologies talk at Dolby’s London premises on the 1st July, we caught up designer and futurist, Rich Green, about the technology developing in the world’s centre of innovation.

CEDIA: How exciting is working in Silicon Valley?

I can’t imagine a more stimulating place to live and work. My business is located in downtown Palo Alto, just blocks from Steve Jobs’ old house and the homes of Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg. Stanford University is a short walk away. There is innovation in the air. I’m grateful to have access to Stanford lectures and a whole host of fascinating presentations by some of the world’s top thinkers. The Institute for the Future is right down the street.

AV and technology integration businesses are challenging here.

This is a very sophisticated market.

Some clients work at Google, so

they demand Android homes. Other clients work at Apple, so they have iOS homes. One has to stay right on top of what is going on with consumer technology, which is why I take the time to do research in preparation for my Future Technology presentations.

It keeps me on my toes.

What are the most exciting new technologies to look out for?

Silicon Valley is all-abuzz about AI and VR. That’s it. Take any business plan, add AI and/or VR and you have venture capitalists pouring money on you. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but there’s a very real sea change happening in the startup culture around here. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality (along with its variants of augmented reality and mixed reality) are defining the future of consumer electronics, and therefore, the businesses of CEDIA professionals. If you consider the CEDIA market to be largely comprised of home entertainment

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and automation, it will be driven

by VR in entertainment and AI in automation. Take voice interaction, for example. AI with Deep Learning algorithms from companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and IBM enable the new interfaces. These companies will rule our future.

In a nutshell, where do you see the future of our industry?

The future comes at different rates in different places. Some markets are doing really well with traditional business models while others are feeling the pain of price erosion and mass-market automation. “Our” industry is evolving rapidly, no matter where you are. I feel it remains strong for most of our members, yet it will change substantially in the very near future. Right now the numbers are up. Those who embrace the accelerating pace of change, learn to diversify there businesses and dedicate themselves to over-thetop customer service will survive.

Those who stay with tried-andtrue monolithic businesses based on equipment profits will struggle.

There’s still room for both types of business, but long-term, much of what we find challenging and profitable will become free and abundant. I’m talking about networks, automation systems, communications, basic home entertainment. We won’t be running wires when there is abundant, highbandwidth, low-latency 5G wireless flowing through the house from a box out on the street. Lights, thermostats, cameras, door locks and security systems will simply become software services with a monthly bill attached.

TVs will become nothing more than “Apps on Walls.”

There are still huge opportunities in extreme home entertainment.

Passive viewing experiences (home cinema) are profitable by virtue of the professional implementation of high-performance multi-channel audio, immersive video and really good acoustics. This will change. In just a few years, virtual reality will overtake passive viewing rooms as the pinnacle of home entertainment.

What does that look like? Well, the chairs go away and these rooms become active, immersive, engaging and multi-purpose. Private virtual reality and mixed reality spaces will be our next frontier of profitability.

Initially, they will be really hard to do well. Immersive entertainment rooms will be design intensive and full of untested technology. That’s been our sweet spot for decades. I’m ready to jump right in.

Home controls and automation will become nearly impossible to profit from. This is what I mean by C2C—Cloud to Consumer technologies. The collapse has already begun and will continue to accelerate. Sure, some clients will pay dearly for trained professionals to curate their daily struggles with consumer technologies, but the AI overlords will eventually make those experiences anticipatory, easy and seamless.

How will this affect home technology professionals’ business models?

Keep your eyes on www.cedia.co.uk for the latest opportunities to see Rich Green present his Future Technologies talk.

Anything architectural will remain profitable. CEDIA is all about Custom. Stuff that gets built into cabinets, walls and ceilings will require professionally trained and certified designers and technicians.

Some of the equipment will become commoditised, so labour will be what sustains our businesses. I think there’s real opportunity going back to our roots in extreme home entertainment. Clever designs, ergonomics, acoustics, high-performance AV all come together in magical spaces that the Apples and Googles of the world can’t touch.

There’s value in designing for purely human experiences that physically dazzle the senses.

I remain optimistic about CEDIA businesses. If we are to survive in this world of accelerating abundance, we need to stay focused on design for human beings. Let’s seek out technology that makes our lives richer, more socially engaging, sustainable and enlightening.

We can do that.

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HUGE iOS UPDATE PUTS SIRI IN CHARGE Apple’s impending iOS 10 update has put Siri functionality at the heart of the platform, with big implications for Apple TV and HomeKit, Steve May reports.

Due in the autumn, iOS 10 heralds big updates to the mobile platform, with a wealth of changes and embellishments, along with a sizeable expansion of Siri functionality.

So HomeKit looks to be gaining some serious traction. The unanswered question is: can Siri also save Apple TV?

Siri reaches deep within iOS 10, so expect it to pop up everywhere. A newly released SiriKit is enabling developers to integrate with all manner of things, including home automation.

New functionality coming in Apple TV update

Currently around 100 smart home products are supported by HomeKit, including thermostats, lighting, window shades, door locks and security cameras.

Apple’s Home app will allow connected accessories to be managed individually or grouped into scenes so they work together with a single command, or through Siri. Users can manage them remotely or via Apple TV, using triggers set by time of day, location or action.

In the US, home builders - Brookfield Residential, KB Home, Lennar Homes and R&F Properties - are planning to integrate HomeKit support into their builds.

Apple’s media player has long been a favourite with users and installers alike, but it’s increasingly looking anachronistic against rival 4K UHD streaming devices. But with greater Siri integration coming, is it about to regain some much needed sparkle?

Certainly, in terms of functionality, things are starting to look up.

Enhanced search is one big improvement promised in this autumn’s firmware release. Siri will be able to interrogate YouTube, and conduct topic searches. Users will be able to ask for a movie by genre.

For example, “Show movies about boxing” or “find science fiction films from the Eighties.” It’ll also be possible to voice navigate directly to a live channel inside a supported app – but it remains to be seen just how many of them will be UK-centric.

Apple Music is also getting a much needed refresh. Tabs have been redesigned while the improved Search function should make finding favourite tracks much easier.

Another new trick, initially available in the US, will be a single sign-on.

Rather cleverly, once a user has signed into one network app, any other app on Apple TV from participating OTT providers will

automatically log the user in. Single sign-on functionality is coming on both Apple TV and iOS. Significantly, users will also be able to use their Apple TV to control connected HomeKit accessories, such as lighting or HVAC. iOS users will also be able to download a new Apple TV Remote app which offers touch navigation, Siri control and game play support.

However, our most eagerly awaited update to Apple TV is the option of a dark background for the user interface. Much more fitting for a home cinema environment!

But what of the Apple watch?

This wearable may not quite have taken off as planned, but Team Cupertino has previewed watchOS 3, which claims to significantly improved performance. Wearers will be able to launch apps instantly, and there’s more health and fitness functionality on the cards. This autumn, the Breathe app will encourage owners to take a moment for deep breathing and stress reduction!

There’s also improvements to navigation and communication. By pressing the side button, users can access the new Dock with recent and favourite apps, while an iOS style upwards swipe brings up the Control Centre.

Perhaps what’s interesting is that there’s no move yet to position the Apple watch as a system controller, something that crystal ball gazers might once have predicted. Still, there’s always time.

@SteveMay_UK

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greatou

the

With outdoor entertainment areas a feature that many homeowners are looking for, Andy Baker, is Technical Director at Baker Stone Systems discusses the biggest outdoor cinema project that he has completed.

The first challenge with outdoor cinemas, at least it was for us, is finding a big enough screen.

For a project in Cyprus, the required screen was so large that none of the outdoor screens from the ‘normal suspects’ were big enough, so we had to ‘think outside the box’.

We contacted everyone we could think of to find a big enough screen. In the end, almost in desperation, we had an idea that a motorised screen works a bit like a big roller blind. We decided to get in touch with RGB Communications who distribute Oceanair. Initially, RGB Communications thought we were crazy, as we wanted an outdoor electric screen that was just over 5m wide. They passed on our enquiry, and fortunately, Oceanair agreed that this approach could work.

They came up with a basic design and price and our client accepted this.

And so, the fun began…

We had installed outdoor direct view screens before with a two speaker setup, but this was a big one for us. The project not only required the big screen, but it also needed surround sound.

Besides the equipment challenges, there was also the challenge that the project was over 2000

miles from home.

We now had an idea of how the screen was going to work. Side channels would be vital, so the screen material was kept as tight as possible and didn’t blow around in the local breeze. Obviously, it needed to be waterproof, especially as it would only be 200m from the sea. The screen material also needed to be stable, as temperatures in Cyprus can vary from just above zero to the high 30s. Yes, believe it or not, I have seen snow in Cyprus.

The next challenge for outdoor cinemas is finding an appropriate projector.

With the screen being over 5m wide, we required a ‘serious’ projector and this meant that we needed to use a commercial unit rather than one designed for a home cinema. Once again, RGB Communications helped us with projector and lens choice and we settled on an NEC PH1400 unit. This unit has WUXGA resolution and a wide choice of lenses, so there was one to suit the throw distance of over 10m.

With a projector chosen, we had to find a solution that could keep the projector protected from the outdoor elements.

An expensive projector out in the open really isn’t going to work for long. So, a protective housing was needed and, as often happens, Google and business contacts came to our rescue. Someone suggested a company that suggested someone else, who knew someone that made projector enclosures, but didn’t have a number for them. In the end, we ordered a unit called The Blizzard from Tempest in California. Luckily, they have a European representative based in the UK, so ordering the unit was relatively straightforward.

An additional custom-made curved enclosure was employed to fit the oval hollow concrete tower, and to ensure

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utdoors

“

“

the aesthetic was able to match the outdoor shower as part of the stunning project.

By now, we had the makings of a cinema - a big roller blind for a screen, a projector, a waterproof box and a large construction kit of parts for the aesthetic enclosure, but wait we need some audio as well.

The audio was relatively straightforward to design, but we were restrained by what the architect would let us do.

However, we managed to persuade him to allow us to knock some holes in the side of the villa for the front speakers, while the rear speakers could mount

powered from an Integra AVR, housed in a cupboard in the nearby utility room.

A sub was located in the base of the projector tower.

When we turned our attention to the control, we opted for Savant, as the owner was familiar with the system, having had it installed in the rest of the villa. IP control of the AVR, the projector and the Lutron motor module that controls the screen was all achieved via Savant. Just Add Power provided the video distribution, again with IP control and POE. Revisiting the site a few weeks after we completed and tested the

it was great to see our client, some friends and their children enjoying their new cinema, blissfully unaware of the technology and innovation behind the experience.

on the pergola at the back of the open courtyard. Of course, we had to acquire custom grills made to cover the holes in a RAL colour to match the surrounding stone.

We decided to install some of the biggest Sonance Mariner speakers, as these products are waterproof, they sound great and the sound could be ‘aimed’ using the standard brackets that are supplied with the speakers. The speakers were

installation, it was great to see our client, some friends and their children enjoying their new cinema, blissfully unaware of the technology and innovation behind the experience.

What a relief to say that the job is now done…. Oh, wait a minute, we’ve been asked to do it again in the villa next door!

www.bakerstone.com @Baker_Stone

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THOSE WHO CAN,

TEACH CEDIA offers a number of volunteering opportunities throughout the year. One of the most high profile of these opportunities is instructing at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), a show that saw 65,000 people register this year. We spoke to some of this year’s instructors about being part of the ISE education and how it benefited them.

AI Adrian Ickeringill Wyrestorm, UK

NB Neil Ball Sensible Heat, UK

SW Sam Woodward Lutron, UK

NP Nick Pidgeon Visualization Ltd, UK

RG Rich Green Rich Green Design, USA

What made you decide to instruct at ISE?

includes the responsibility for Lutron’s EA-region training, so it’s a good fit for me to teach at ISE as well.

AI

NP My team and I take great pride in the standard and neatness of the racks we build. If I can take what we do and point other companies in the right direction, I’d feel it was a worthwhile use of my time.

I have been working with the CEDIA Outreach Committee for a couple of years now and with experience selling into the developer market across Europe, I wanted to get involved in presenting such a course in conjunction with CEDIA. Within the organisation, there are so many volunteers from installers, manufacturers and distributors who have given up their time over the years to get involved. This was an opportunity where I could do my part.

NB I actually stood in for David Robinson at the last minute (MD at Sensible Heat), after one of his family was taken ill at short notice. It was literally last minute, within a few days of ISE starting! However, Sensible Heat has long been involved with CEDIA and run many of their HVAC focussed training courses over the years now.

SW One of the great features of ISE is the extensive education programme.

Visitors to the show can gain more value for their travel/time investment by attending the wide range of on-site seminars, gaining qualifications or CEU credits. I share CEDIA’s passion for training, as it’s the key to growth and excellence in our industry, and so when the opportunity to instruct arose, I was very keen to take part. My “day job”

RG I’ve wanted to instruct at ISE for many years. This year we finally made it happen. I thought it would be good to see first hand the success that CEDIA and InfoComm have made there. I also love teaching, sharing experience and insight. One learns from teaching, so there is a selfish motivation too.

How beneficial did you find instructing at ISE? AI I really enjoyed the experience.

Having spent nearly twenty years in this business, it is always good to put something back into nurturing the next generation of installers looking to develop their business in different markets.

NB I found it very useful, both in terms of my personal benefit and for the wider opportunity to talk to others within the industry about HVAC issues from their perspective.

SW It’s fantastic to see those “light bulb moments” when you help a

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delegate to understand a new concept, or to formally solidify technical information that they need to help with their day-to-day work. I’m looking forward to instructing again at ISE 2017.

NP Instructing at ISE gave me and the business great exposure to others in our industry and resulted in various opportunities.

company that has been involved with CEDIA from the early days in the UK (our first event was in Brighton more years ago than I care to admit now!), so attendance in this form at ISE helps us confirm to the wider CEDIA family that we are still here (especially as we are a UK-focused company so have not made the leap to exhibit at ISE to date).

RG It just feels good to help others in our industry and I get to hang out with really smart, accomplished people.

SW With visitors from all over Europe, and beyond, it’s a great opportunity to connect with a wide range of people.

With visitors from all over Europe, and beyond, it’s a great opportunity to connect with a wide range of people.

Did you feel that your profile was raised by being involved in ISE training?

AI Presenting at the key show for our industry globally will always help and I would welcome being involved again next year.

NB Personally, maybe a little. As I said, I stepped in at the last minute for Dave, so it was his profile that was featured in the pre-event literature. As a company, most definitely. As an established

”

As 2016 is also the year in which the EU “Halogen Lamp Ban” starts to come into effect, it was great to be able to help delegates to prepare for an issue that will be a real problem in the months ahead, and as a specialist in that field to have an opportunity to network with people who need help. It was also fun to meet some delegates who had read one of my books! (I am the co-author of the IET Code of Practice for LED Lighting Systems).

NP Presenting at ISE certainly raised my profile to companies within Europe as well as the UK.

How did instructing at ISE benefit you personally?

AI Having the opportunity to present to installers from throughout Europe and further afield, including one delegate from South Africa, it really helps to develop an understanding of different markets, ways of doing business and best practice. Whilst you can research and have some background knowledge, it is always better to have that direct feedback from installers on their own market experiences.

NB Most definitely, yes. It gave me a chance to meet new CEDIA members and discuss HVAC issues from their perspective as well as how they felt the industry might need to develop over the coming years. It helps give a fresh perspective to our quite narrowly focussed area of business without any overt sales-pitches getting in the way of both the instruction offered and discussions this lead to. It’s also a challenge to stand up and lead a course in front of your peers, and it gave me a real sense of satisfaction as they hopefully learnt something useful about the area I’ve spent my career working within.

SW The CEDIA team are great at making their volunteers feel valued. I’ve also been able to attend other CEDIA courses, which helps to broaden my industry knowledge too. I’m fortunate that my employer, Lutron, also understands the benefits of giving back to the industry and the importance of sharing non-product-specific training, and so Lutron is able to support the large preparation effort and time commitment that’s required to polish and deliver a memorable course at ISE. NP I generally use ISE as an opportunity to meet with industry colleagues and generate new business relationships. Presenting provided me with a platform to reach more people.

RG I always learn when teaching.

Being with industry legends is always gratifying. Meeting with manufacturers (when there is time) is good for business.

To get involved in instructing at ISE, presenting on the Solutions Theatres, or volunteering throughout the year for CEDIA, visit www.cedia.co.uk/volunteer

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BUSINESS

EXCHANGE This past May, 118 industry associates from around the globe from 80 different companies came together at San Diegoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kona Kia Resort for a three-day retreat regarded as the CEDIA Business Xchange 2016.

Heather L. Sidorowicz President of US integration firm Southtown Audio Video

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The event glided off with a dinner cruise to Catalina Island where we enjoyed a scavenger hunt; a highenergy, ice breaking event that started our time together. (The winning team was aptly named, “It Worked When We Left.”)

The first full day began with breakfast outside on the waterfront, followed by the opening presentation.

Mark Murphy believes you should “hire for attitude.” He tells the story using wittiness and getting participants to interact while teaching everyone how to “find your brown shorts.” The analogy is about finding your companies way, not someone else’s. It is about not trying to be the same as everyone else, but figuring out what traits are important to you and the way you do business.

“Attitude is a bigger issue than skills,” says Murphy. “Attitude, not skill, is the top predictor of a new hire’s success or failure. Because even the best skills don’t really matter if an employee isn’t open to improving, or consistently alienates coworkers, lacks drive, or just lacks the right personality to succeed in that culture.”

As I look back over the last fifteen years at my company, I find what Murphy says is true, and these have been hard lessons to learn. We find a technician that is great at being a technician, but if he or she cannot be successful when dealing with clients, and the team, everything begins to unravel. Today, my team understands who the company is and represents us well.

The Hiring for Attitude Workshop was capped by being split into groups and told to meet on the beach for our own Olympics. Activities involved multiple sections that used intelligence, ingenuity, strength and pure talent. Life can always use a bit more silliness and this equated to laughter and fun for all. The evening came to a close with a BBQ and fires on the beach.

Our last full day crammed in plenty of knowledge. The morning featured two presentations. Kelly Hughes focussed on the ‘Top 5 Employment Law Mistakes’ while Jan Anders discussed ‘Getting Good People to Stay’.

Hughes urged attendees to update policies, manuals, and document

EVERYTHING! She infused the topic of law with antidotes as she touched on trade secrets, non-disclosures and data breaches and employee handbook must haves. Alone, this presentation was worth its weight in gold for if you avoid trouble you are bound for better success, and it took talent to teach this tough topic and keep if light.

Our last speaker, Jana Anders rounded out the employment circle by speaking of the driving forces that keep great employees (HINT: it is not money). Yes, you first need to pay a fair wage, but what keeps your people showing up to work each day is engagement. Your job is to figure out what it is that engages them; then you can work on keeping them.

I bought this theory back to my team and recently used it during a review processes, asking one to rate themselves, and give examples of why he rated himself that way. In my time here, it was the most telling, best review ever.

The Idea Exchange followed that day’s speakers. This exchange was a meeting of the minds on specific topics chosen by the attendees.

These ideas ranged from creating a recurring revenue plan and building a bonus structure, to how to grow and sustain your company.

The conference closed with trolleys bringing attendees to Fiesta de Reyes in Old Town San Diego. Live Mexican music, margaritas, tequila tasting and authentic cuisine greeted us. Not a bad way to end a great event!

Was it worth it? Attendees were able to walk away with new, tangible ways to hire, bullet points for an employee manual, great ways to review and how to keep your high impact employees, along with new friends to help you succeed on this bumpy road. The goal of the Business Exchange is to “provide expertise in improving business processes and bottom lines through expert workshops, vibrant topical discussions and cross-market peer networking.

CEDIA – you were on point with this event! Well done.

@Tech_Chi

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SEPT 13-17 DALLAS REGISTER Now CEDIA.NET/SHOW