Innehållsförteckning för Vol 4/ Issue 1 från Residential Tech Today

As the new vice president of education and training for CEDIA, I’m assuming stewardship of a program that is impressively whole. Not complete, per se – in a field that changes as quickly and dramatically as the home technology industry, we can never really be done building and maintaining our body of knowledge – but strong, comprised of training pathways that can onboard technicians new to the industry and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to advance throughout their career. That’s rare; most association training portfolios have glaring potholes in the road to certification and mastery. I know that I have not just the association staff but CEDIA’s unbelievably generous volunteers to thank for the state and momentum of our training program. I’ve spent my whole career…

Sonos wants to set the standard for compact soundbars with a richer, more immersive listening experience. Beam (Gen 2) was designed to deliver an upgraded, more immersive sound experience with greater depth and clarity, as well as support for Dolby Atmos. Sonos also has begun offering both Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Music via Amazon Music, giving listeners the ability to experience a higher quality of streaming music and immersive 3D audio. “We often talk about ‘Hollywood at Home’ being a real catalyst for our business, and Beam has played a huge part in this as one of the top-selling soundbars in its category,” said Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO. “Taking what we’ve learned over the years about great listening and home theater, we’ve found a way to bring new features…

For the past two or three years, I have presented a course around the topic of ATSC 3.0. This past September, the title was “ATSC 3.0: It’s for Real. REALLY!” In the few months since then, and particularly after CES 2022 in January, I can confidently report that it actually is for real! ATSC 3.0, presented to the public with CTA’s less technical name, NEXTGEN TV, is an over-the-air standard for sending and receiving TV signals capable of 4K and HDR picture resolutions, as well as advanced Dolby audio and other features. ATSC 3.0 is the first major overhaul to the non-profit Advanced Television Systems Committee’s standard since the group first introduced ATSC 1.0 back in 1996. The most notable NEXTGEN TV news is that it now available in 46…

The folks at Enclave Audio sent me their CineHome II | CineHub Edition 5.1 WiSA system to check out earlier this month. This little home theater in a box product is squarely DIY with a price point around $1,000. How good could it possibly sound? I set out to see for myself. Unboxing CineHome II The CineHome II | CineHub Edition ships in a “Plain Jane” cardboard box that opens to reveal a pretty slick packaging presentation inside. Two accessory boxes lie nestled in foam atop the speakers below. Quick start instructions are printed clearly on the box, inviting the user to begin with the included user guide. Six speakers sit labeled intuitively beneath the initial foam cocoon, corresponding precisely to an included picture guide. This may be one of…

They are the newest in high-end lighting control keypads that attempt to blend the latest tech conveniences with design flourishes matching even the most elegant home interiors. The new Ascend keypad line from Savant features two-button, four-button, and five-button configurations that provide custom integrators with what the company considers its “ultimate premium” on-wall control solution. Ascend keypads offer fully customizable functionality within the Savant smart home ecosystem and are available in nine finishes. This new lineup joins the Massachusetts-based smart home automation company’s Metropolitan, Noon, and Echo styles, completing a family of elegant smart home control options. Ascend keypads provide users with streamlined control of many smart home features, including Savant’s Daylight Mode, which triggers lights throughout the home or in specific rooms in alignment with the natural circadian curve.…

During a time when more of us are watching video than we might have thought we would a year ago, displays have become more important than ever. Popular wisdom might tell you that people are abandoning large screens, but that was far from the case. Sales of large screens have held up. In fact, the average consumer TV size has increased. Just as sales of vinyl records have increased despite the overpowering market dominance of streaming audio content, traditional video displays, be they flat-panel sets, game-centric monitors, “computer” monitors, or projectors, remains a very viable product category. Given that, it is natural to ask what we will, literally, “see” in the year ahead for those categories. By far, the largest part of the video display market is what we used…

Home entertainment technology is surging in popularity thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CTA’s 23rd Annual Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential survey, TVs (91%) are the most-frequently owned products in the category. For the first time, more than half of U.S. homes (52%) have a 4K Ultra HD TV — a 16-point increase from 2020, the largest growth for any product surveyed. This month we take a closer look at these TV technology trends.…

Planar’s new video display was designed to deliver superior image performance for a variety of luxury environments, including media rooms, studios, and workspaces, as well as hospitality and entertainment venues. The Planar Luxe UltraRes X 100, the latest addition to the Planar Lifestyle Displays family, is a 100-inch LCD display featuring 700-nit brightness, a wide color gamut perfect for High Dynamic Range content, and advanced video processing capabilities. The release of the Planar Luxe UltraRes X 100 introduces a global first: a 100-inch commercial-grade, 24x7 LCD display that allows users to showcase 4K HDR content with high brightness and a slim installation profile that is compliant with the American’s with Disabilities Act. “The launch of Planar Lifestyle Displays was met with enthusiasm and reinforced the interest in LED and LCD…

There is a new way to replace outdated in-wall volume control devices to gain the conveniences of Bluetooth and voice-control connectivity. With more than 30 million in-wall volume control devices installed over the past 20 years, this presents an enormous opportunity for professional integrators and their customers to add modern technology to existing systems. The Episode WAKE Amp, from Snap One, is an in-wall amplifier that connects to Bluetooth audio devices, including voice assistants, to deliver an easy-to-use music solution for new or existing multi-room or single-room audio systems. According to Mike Jordan, Snap One VP of control and entertainment, the Episode WAKE Amp simplifies operations for today’s generation and delivers modern convenience through new and existing installations. “With the WAKE Amp, our partners can use a single product to…

If you ever want to see a residential specialist shiver, just whisper “HDMI” in their ear. For a technology that has made almost everything we do in video and home theater connectivity happen — including 4K, HDR, High Frame Rates (HFR), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) to help play game content with little or no jitter or stutter, ARC, and much more — HDMI often gets a bad rap. To reuse an old cliché, “HDMI: You can’t live with it, and you can’t live without it!” To the credit of the HDMI Forum and HDMI Licensing Administrator, the HDMI format itself is often not the cause of the above-mentioned shivering. Sometimes it is the fault of HDCP authentication, not HDMI. Sometimes it is poor implementation of hardware or software in the…

The role of technology continues to be more and more valuable for consumers and businesses. As we look to 2022, we will continue to see specific product and category trends from 2021 carryover and expand into the New Year. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the market for telehealth services, virtual care, and the future of remote patient monitoring. As of April 2021, Parks Associates’ research shows that two-thirds of respondents are familiar with telehealth services compared to just 50% in May of 2020, and telehealth use skyrocketed from 15% in Q2 2019 to 64% in 2021. Much of this increase was driven by necessity: one-third of telehealth service users report their doctor would see them only virtually. Children are a vital driver of use – 82% of respondents with…

The new year is well underway. At least that’s what I’m told, as the pyramid scheme I joined that I’m suspecting might be a cult has us following the Cutcorian calendar. While there was plenty of dread heading into the year, it’s been surprisingly enjoyable thus far, as a recent court appeal means that I am only unwelcome in 16,715 of 16,716 T.J. Maxx locations. 2022 is sure to be another big year for technology and media as well, especially since Best Buy just started sending out coupons again. Let’s take a gander at the 2022 crystal ball. The Social Media Era Will End According to a graph I just drew, international social media use has been on the rise for over a decade. However, in 2022, after years of…