As Denver recovers from CEDIA Expo 2014, we will try to break down this exposition of residential AV. There were a number of stories to come out of the Expo. Here are some of them.
Crestron Pyng
Crestron finally revealed what this Pyng thing they had been teasing was all about. In the simplest explanation, it is an app that configures a home control system. It is a bit more than that, though. Read my entire blog on it here. The bottom line for residential installers is a faster way to get a home system up and running that still leaves room in the back end for custom programming.
The Unveiling of Origin Acoustics
Jeremy Burkhardt is back in the residential AV space. His team of engineers with pedigrees that include some of the first in-wall speakers. Origin threw an epic party on Thursday, but will that translate to speaker sales? The next quarter or two will really tell. One thing is the ambitiousness out of the gate. Origin came to market with over 100 products. You read that right; over 100 products. This means they will either be hugely successful, or one of the biggest flops.
Dolby Atmos
Dolby was all over the place. Since announcing in June that the audio technology would be coming to home theaters, Dolby made good on it. Nearly every speaker manufacturer had an Atmos solution in Denver.
TiO Was Back
TiO was showing for the first time since merging earlier this Summer. From my perspective, it wasn’t an overly busy booth, but there were a number of people stopping by. With a starter kit that sells for $600, it is an interesting solution for those who do not have access to other control solutions. There are a few drawbacks to investing in the TiO line. One would be the inability to write/code your own drivers. The other being the instability the company has shown over the last few years. For a second or third tier control solution, it may be worth a look.
These are my big three, but what is yours. Whether you were in Denver with us, or you watched remotely, what did you think were the biggest stories of CEDIA Expo 2014.
In addition to these big stories, AVNation had a pretty successful show. We did a number of booth tours, held a great AVTweeps Tweetup, recorded AVWeek live from the show floor, and created another #AVSelfie video based on the attendees pictures from the Expo show floor. We had such a great time, and met some wonderful people, so we will see you crazy residential folks every week of the next year and we will meet up in Dallas for CEDIA Expo 2015.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Have a great week.