Residential Tech Talks

On this week’s podcast, Gavin Lantzy joins us from Denver, CO, where he is president and founder of SaaviHome, a custom integration firm founded in 2004. SaaviHome recently launched a franchise business model to provide entrepreneurs with a turnkey program to enter the smart home technology and light commercial markets. Our guest today has spent years developing a business model that offers franchisees the tools and support necessary to build a successful operation. The program offers comprehensive technology training, marketing support, and access to the company’s extensive network of resources. Today, we’ll learn more about our guest’s career path in home tech, his company’s history, and how the SaaviHome franchise model actually works.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Jeff Klida joins us from Bay City, MI, where he serves as vice president of sales at EPV Screens, the division of Elite Screens dedicated to the custom install market. From front projection and acoustically transparent to ambient light rejecting and polarized 3D materials, EPV provides electric and fixed-frame projection screens that fit just about any viewing experience. Today, we dig into projection screen trends and developments, learn more about EPV’s evolution as a CI-focused brand, and learn more about our guest and his career path to where he is today.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s episode, "I am Sayen" Founder Jason Sayen joins us from his home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to explore how his certification as a Lean Six Sigma helps him guide CI businesses in eliminating waste and transforming problems into opportunities. With 27 years of experience in the custom integration industry, Jason's journey has encompassed diverse roles in manufacturing, distribution, and independent representation. Today's conversation provides just a taste of the practical insights and strategies that Sayen uses to revolutionize the way custom integration companies think and operate.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Paul Williams joins us once again from Salt Lake City, UT, where he is chief product officer for Nice. Nice last year began the absorption of its acquired custom integration brands, ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, and at CEDIA Expo last month, their consolidation into the Nice brand was fully evident on the show floor, where the company showcased its commitment to offering a holistic home management solution for its partners and customers. Prior to the show Jeremy chatted on this podcast with Jeff Shaw, the company’s VP of product management, where they did a deep into all of Nice’s new products. With those details pretty well covered, but with everyone is still talking about CEDIA Expo-related news and industry trends a month later, we thought we could get Paul’s veteran perspective on the show, his thoughts about his company’s experience there, and his insights into the current state and future of home control and home automation technology.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Jamie Briesemeister joins us from St. Louis, where she is CEO and co-founder of Integration Controls and Patrick Hartman joins us from Reno, Nevada, where he is general manager Technology Design Associates. Patrick and Jamie were the two people recruited Jeremy to help launch the CEDIA Business Xchange conference back in 2014, and that experience created a bond and friendship that has lasted almost 10 years. During CEDIA Expo 2023 in early September, Jamie subbed in for industry legend Frank White, joining Patrick in teaching a course titled, “Hardballing: How to have Difficult Conversation” that better prepares attendees for conflict resolution with their staff and clients. We learn more about that course, and Jamie also tells us what she learned from CEDIA’s AI Symposium.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Jason Knott joins us again from his home office in Sturbridge, MA, where he now serves as data solutions architect & evangelist, Data by D-Tools. It was only 10 episodes ago that Jason came on to discuss his newly created role at D-Tools, where he works with a special team to define and deliver industry analytics and insights. Well, some of those results are now included in a very thorough 2023 Midyear Market Health Report. We wanted to discuss those findings in detail, but also share our guest’s new perspective on the recent CEDIA Expo show now that he’s not moderating a hundred panels on the smart stage or trying to meet with exhibitors in his former role as an industry magazine editor.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Walt Zerbe joins us from Lancaster, PA, where he is senior director of technology and standards for CEDIA. Walt and Jeremy, like many of you in the audience were in Denver, CO, at this time last week attending a very energetic and inspiring CEDIA Expo event. Our guest today was not only checking out as many new products and technologies as he could on the show floor but was also participating in multiple CEDIA (the association) hosted education training and panel discussions and hosting the CEDIA podcast directly from the exhibit floor. In the episode, Walt and Jeremy will discuss a little bit about all of that, but most importantly they will dive into perhaps the biggest news from the show: the long-awaited release of the CEDIA and CTA - RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice document.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Jeff Shaw joins us from Petaluma, CA, where he is vice president of product management for Nice North America. Jeremy and met a year ago at this time, when Nice welcomed members of the trade media to their U.S. headquarters in Carlsbad, CA, to meet the team and learn about their product direction. At that time, Nice announced its plan to sunset the ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax product names. This year their focus is less about rebranding, and more about new products. Shaw provides us with an update on a new remote control that will soon begin shipping and remind us about the June 2023 OS 8.8 software update for Nice Control, the July announcement of Nice Custom Smart Sun Shades, this month’s audio solutions from what had been the SpeakerCraft line.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, Michael Short joins us from London, where he is senior director of residential and hospitality marketing at Crestron. It’s been almost a year since Jeremy had dinner in Dallas during CEDIA Expo with Michael, along with several members of the Crestron executive team. At that time, they talked about all of the hullabaloo surrounding supply chain challenges and pricing inflation, but then we mostly just unwound and decompressed from a long day on the show floor. This year, the news is much more fun. At CEDIA Expo 2023, Short and his colleagues will roll out Crestron Home OS4.

Crestron Home OS 4 is the next evolution for the smart home, featuring a completely new, intuitive interface for the client while further speeding and simplifying installation for dealers. Crestron Home OS 4 offers interoperability and control of both Crestron and thousands of third-party smart devices and delivers a new level of user-friendliness, functionality, customization, and whole home control from a remote, touch screen, keypad, or mobile device for everyone, including residents, children, and even house guests.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.  

On this week’s podcast, we welcome two esteemed guests, AVPro Global Founder and CEO Jeff Murray and AudioControl VP of Sales and Marketing, Chris Kane, to discuss exciting business acquisition news for the residential and commercial AV integration industry. AVPro Global, the parent company of AVPro Edge, Murideo, and Bullet Train audio/video distribution products, recently acquired the Home Audio division of AudioControl from AAMP Holdings. Through the deal, AVPro Global will assume ownership of AudioControl’s Home Audio Division product line of amplifiers of various shapes and sizes, AV processors, AV receivers, and AV signal extenders. Murray and Kane join us from the AudioControl headquarters in Seattle, WA, where they were in the middle of buttoning up the blending of their two brands.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.