CE Pro Podcast

HDMI Licensing President Rob Tobias chats about AI's impact on AV, improving immersive experiences, Blu-ray discs vs. streaming content, identifying counterfeit cables and more. 

One of the most enduring companies serving the custom integration industry is Russound. The New Hampshire-based company has some exciting products for 2024, highlighted by its AVA-Series of mini-AV receivers (AVRs) to expand its audio riches for the CEDIA channel.

In the latest edition of the CE Pro Podcast, Russound CEO Charlie Porritt joins to chat about the latest happenings and R&D developments from the audio company.

Vetting a new vendor for your portfolio can be a daunting process, but that’s where your industry networking comes in handy. Down in Florida, Anthony Petrone, founder and CEO of Wellington-based Petrone Technology Group, was seeking an outdoor audio solution and his dealer friends kept pushing him toward Coastal Source. 

Hear how the match was an immediate success and why Coastal Source CEO Franco D’Ascanio is expecting big things from 2024, all in this latest CE Pro Podcast episode. Editor’s note, we recorded the conversation in late 2023, so the references to “next year” in it refer to 2024.

Everyone knows about CEDIA, the leading association for the custom integration industry. Chances are you’ve attended CEDIA Expo and taken CEDIA instructor-led technology courses. But did you know about all the stuff the association engages in behind the scenes to benefit the entire industry? In case you didn’t, I talked to Darren Reaman, director of government affairs at CEDIA, to discuss the group’s advocacy efforts and other endeavors that help elevate the industry, all in this week’s CE Pro podcast episode. 

The fall and early winter periods are important times of the year in the world of home AV.  For many homeowners, it means buying new AV systems in preparation for a winter of staying home and watching movies, streamed content, and sports such as hockey and basketball. 

The annual CEDIA Expo, which took place just after Labor Day, the 2023 event in Denver marked a milestone period for the electronics market. Recapping some of the most important video developments from the CEDIA Expo 2023 show floor in Denver, the latest CE Pro Podcast features our expert ‘Video Guys’: Joel Silver, CEO & lead developer, Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), Jason Dustal of Murideo, Robert Zohn, president and founder of Value Electronics, and first-time guest John Bishop of Bishop Architectural Entertainment Services.

Following a successful CEDIA Expo 2023 in which home audio – particularly immersive audio – was front-and-center on the show floor, it was time to talk surround sound with our “Audio Guys” regulars on the latest CE Pro Podcast.
Joined by CE Pro All-Star Band keyboard player Steve Haas, who is a nationally recognized acoustician in the residential and commercial audio markets, along with the CE Pro Podcast resident audiophiles Steve Silberman, director of sales, West for Savant, and Paul Bochner, owner and president of Electronic Concepts, the trio dove into several immersive audio related topics.

This year, Nationwide Marketing Group expanded its reach with the rebranding of its residential dealer group to Oasys Residential Technology Group and launched a commercial counterpart, the Ellipsys Commercial Technology Group, in addition to the well-established Azione Unlimited. 

The leaders of those organizations – Richard Glikes, president and chief creative officer of Azione Unlimited, Hank Alexander, director of the Oasys Residential Technology Group, and Chris Whitley, executive director the Ellipsys Commercial Technology Group – chatted with me about the latest initiatives for members in this week’s CE Pro Podcast.

We just wrapped up CEDIA Expo 2023, and beyond the usual product innovations and education sessions, CEDIA hosted its annual awards banquet where it honors a Lifetime Achievement Award winner and often, but not always, a special CEDIA Fellow recognition. 
This year the special CEDIA Fellow recipient was James Chen, managing director of Kordz. We were privileged to have Chen connect with us from Australia over Zoom. In this episode, he tells us about his three decades in the industry, his instruction and volunteerism with CEDIA and how he’s helped Kordz grow since joining 15 years ago. 

One of the highlights at CEDIA Expo every year are the amazing home theater and audiophile demo rooms, and it looks like this year will be no different. One in particular that’s sure to stand out at CEDIA Expo 2023 in Denver (Sept. 7-9) is the 11.6.6-channel Dolby Atmos theater being staged by Seymour-Screen Excellence, StormAudio, Grimani Systems, and RowOne Seating. 

The brands say it will be the first fully digital AES67 Audio-over-IP (AoIP) home theater at the show in Sound Room 10 of the Colorado Convention Center. To tell us more about what that means and how the room will be set up, I chatted with Anthony Grimani of Grimani Systems and Gary Blouse, VP of Sales for North America at StormAudio in this week’s episode of the CE Pro Podcast.

While the show floor and demo rooms focused on new products are always the center of attention at CEDIA Expo, it’s always a good reminder that the annual tradeshow also delivers tons of education and training opportunities too.

To help get CEDIA Expo attendees thinking about what kinds of sessions to add into their schedules this year in Denver, I spoke with Mandy Beckner, vice president of education and training to get the lowdown in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode.