CEDIA Communicates Q1 2019 US Version

Q1 2019

COMMUNICATES

Movable glass walls?

No problem Being a Better Boss: The Importance of Soft Skills Making Lighting Design a Bigger Part of Your Business

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ContENTS

04 14 16 18 21 22 36 38

CEDIA AT 30 Memories from members about CEDIA’s three decades

I AM CEDIA: PHIL DAVIS Meet one of the directors of CEDIA Member Blustream

A GLOBAL WINNER Check out the media room that picked up worldwide honors

MDU RACKS Designing racks for multiple dwelling units

THE NEED FOR SOFT SKILLS CEDIA’s senior director of education talks about leadership qualities

LIGHTING DESIGN An integrator shares how this component of his business has expanded

PREP FOR A DOWNTURN Business advice should a recession be on the horizon

PSYCH THE COMPETITION How one company used a psychologist to get a leg up

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WE’RE 30!

This year, CEDIA officially turns 30. We’re starting the celebration with a story chock-full of memories from the last three decades — with a focus on CEDIA’s early days — some from folks who were there at the beginning.

The reminiscing will continue throughout the year, and I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you if you’d like to contribute. Do you have memories you’d like to share? Some old photographs? Even video footage?

We’d love to see it, hear it, and then share it. Feel free to drop us a line. Our content director, Ed Wenck, would love to hear from you: ewenck@cedia.org.

Beyond that bit of nostalgia, this issue is full of info that’s quite current, including: • A look at the challenges presented by building racks for multiple-dwelling units (page 18) • The importance of “soft skills” for those in leadership positions (page 21) • How lighting design can become a big part of your business (page 22) • How to ensure that your acoustic treatments don’t dampen the home cinema experience (page 24) You’ll also get all the details on the project that won the 2018 Global CEDIA Award for Best Media Room, learn about IMAX Enhanced, and meet your new CEDIA Board of Directors.

Furthermore, we’ve found an integration firm that’s added a psychologist to their staff to ensure that the company was as “people-focused” as it could be — and saw both productivity and profits increase. We’ll also recap a recent CEDIA podcast packed with sound advice on prepping your firm for a possible economic downturn.

Thanks so much for reading. And thanks for being part of this wonderful thing called CEDIA. All the best,

Tabatha O’Connor CEDIA Global President and CEO

Contact

8475 Nightfall Lane, Fishers, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46037, USA Email: info@cedia.org Telephone: +1 800.669.5329

Front cover image: Audio Images — Inside Out CEDIA Awards 2018 Best Media Room Level III Global Media Room

www.cedia.net

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

All material in Communicates is the copyright of CEDIA 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 by

Olivia Selke Director of Public Relations and Industry Relations

CEDIA RELEASES “AN INTEGRATOR’S GUIDE TO HDR VIDEO WHITE PAPER” CEDIA has released a new white paper: An Integrator’s Guide to HDR Video. This paper explores the fundamentals of HDR video and how it relates to human vision, and underlines HDR standards, formats, and connectivity to ensure compatible system design and integration.

“We have seen incredible advances in HDR over the years to the point that it is an executable display option in home environments, but not without some guidance. This white paper is intended to provide a baseline knowledge of HDR to assist with the specification and deployment of the consumer HDR video systems,” said Walt Zerbe, CEDIA Senior Director of Technology & Standards.

A key directive of CEDIA’s current strategy is creating standards, developing best practices, and defining guidelines to elevate professionalism and drive member and industry success. This white paper is the first of three white papers that were released before the end of 2018. CEDIA is also evaluating more than 30 topics for 2019 with a goal of publishing six white papers in the coming year.

CEDIA members can download their complimentary copy of the white paper at cedia.net/resources. Non-members may purchase a copy for $99.

CEDIA NOW ACCEPTING AWARDS ENTRIES FOR 2019 COMPETITION CEDIA is now accepting entries for the 2019 home technology professional awards competition.

"2019 marks CEDIA's 30th anniversary as an association and with those year-long celebrations in mind, there has never been a better time to enter the awards," said Giles Sutton, CEDIA Senior Vice President of Industry Engagement. "Year after year, we are impressed with the incredible work our members submit, and these projects serve as inspiration for the entire industry."

Home technology professional categories include: Integrated Home; Media Room; Home Cinema; Innovative Solution or System; Showroom; Auto, Marine, or Aircraft; and Multiple Dwelling Unit Design. Projects can be

submitted in multiple categories, and cost categories will be determined by the judges based on the entries.

Entrants will compete for recognition within their respective region — Americas, EMEA, or Asia Pacific.

CEDIA will announce finalists in early June and each finalist will be considered for additional sub-category awards based on the region of their primary location.

These sub-category awards include Best Documentation, Best Dressed Rack, and Best Lighting System. A panel of design professionals will judge finalists’ projects for the Life Lived Best at Home Award and the Technology Meets Design Award. The home technology professional Global Award winners are selected from the overall winners in all regions.

Full details on the entry requirements can be found at cedia.net/awards. The deadline for home technology professional project entries is Monday, March 18, 2019.

Past winners will be featured on the CEDIA Technology Council Podcast in the coming weeks to share their tips for entering projects.

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CEDIA OVERHAULS EDUCATION PLATFORM, ADDS TO COURSE PORTFOLIO CEDIA is launching a new, online learning platform and additional courses to create a more relevant and intuitive training experience for professionals in any career stage. The learning management system (LMS) and course offerings are part of the organization’s global strategy to boost industry professionalism and train the workforce, while creating clear pathways toward CEDIA certification.

“CEDIA is aggressively focused on raising the bar for industry training and the new LMS and courses are key to these efforts,” says CEDIA Senior Vice President of Education and Certification Tom Darling. “We’re making educational opportunities more accessible than ever before to help build a pipeline of qualified talent.”

NEW MEMBERS CEDIA welcomes 75 new members across the globe this quarter, including: AUSTRALIA > Chris Jones Electrical

AUSTRIA > Kiwi Smarthaus

CANADA > Nuera Air Jump Wireless Supply Corp

GERMANY > syscomtec Distribution

Lake Home AV & Automation Leotech Systems LUUXX Home Automation MODE Automation MCC Systems MW Smart Homes Phoenix Automation and Development Pulse-Eight Pure Theatre R.Hamilton & Co

GREECE >

Seriously Cinema

Plasio Computers

SI Sound and Light

INDIA >

Super Tech Security

Smartmakerz AV Technology Consultancy Services

Swindon Home Control Tan Sales London

Luxury Personified

Third Line Communications

NEW ZEALAND >

Worldwisetrading

Edwards Sound Avid Automation

UNITED STATES > 1 Touch Technologies

PORTUGAL >

Absolute AV Design

Visound Acustica

Advanced Integration

SAUDI ARABIA >

All Systems Go!

Virgin Megastore

Alpha Tubular Motors

The new LMS includes tools to customize course selection based on occupation and experience level. Darling says the platform is different and better in several ways, including offering virtual instructor-led training where participants learn live from qualified instructors anywhere in the world. In addition, the LMS is optimized for laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

SPAIN >

American Computer Optics

Control Experience

ATEN Technology

SWITZERLAND >

Austin Audio & Video

Launching first are new entry-level courses including: Jobsite Basics, Introduction to Home Theater, Basic Networking and Systems Control, Introduction to Audio, Introduction to Video, Introduction to Wiring and Cabling, Introduction to Sales and Marketing, Finance for the Non-Financial Manager, Building Your Brand, Mastering Cash Flow, Increasing Productivity Through Efficiency, Introduction to Project Management, and Hiring the Right People.

KINGDOM >

Darling adds that the courses will avoid what he calls the “death

by PowerPoint” style typical of online education layouts by engaging learners in formats that read more like web pages.

The content, written and reviewed by industry leaders, aims to engage participants in their career fields — think technician, owner, salesperson, or project manager — and offers “clearly delineated” options to ensure relevance for the user.

Smart Home

UNITED

AVX Cos Cob TV Compass Automation Evolve Technologies

1314 Electrical Services

Home Theater Advisors

Arcadia Systems

iQuarters

ARH Electrical

Lifetime Lighting Systems

AV Integration Bawtry Home Cinema Bircham & Sons Brightlights Solutions Surrey

Modern Media Innovations Poseidon Systems PowerShades

Cinema Rooms

Rtechwork

Clic2control

SandTrapAudio

Cotswold Home Cinema

Seaview Home Construction

Crisp Accountancy

Simply Wired Pro

Elding Projects

simPRO Software

The first slate of new courses is due to be rolled out in the coming weeks, and dozens more will debut monthly with a full 70 courses available by the end of 2019.

Infracore Home Technology Consultancy

SQAD CO

John Ross Hifi

Thornhill Home Electronics

www.cedia.net

KM Specialist Electrical Services

Williams AV & Security

Sync Systems

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The interviewees include:

Eric Bodley, Future Ready Solutions and Bodley and Associates

(2017 CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and CEDIA Fellow) Hal Clark, Commercial Electronics (Founding Member) David Graham, Grahams (Former Chairman UK)

David Humphries, Atlantic Integrated (CEDIA Chairman of the Board) Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA Global President and CEO Marilyn Sanford, LincEdge (CEDIA Fellow)

Joel Silver, Imaging Science Foundation (2018 CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner)

David Weinstein, Lutron Electronics (CEDIA Board Treasurer)

As CEDIA approaches the 30th anniversary of its founding (it became an association in November of 1989), we are speaking with a variety of members on CEDIA’s history and impact.

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On the founding of CEDIA

Weinstein: CEDIA was founded almost 30 years ago, by a group of young home technology professionals that dealt in specialties such as two-channel audio in the early days of home theater. They banded together to develop an organization that would serve the best interests of the home technology professional and increase the awareness among manufacturers.

Clark: CEDIA brought together people who were passionate about what they did and how they cared for their customers. I could share in the knowledge and devotion the various companies, techs, programmers, audio/video geeks, and business owners brought to the early years of CEDIA. It became a specific “culture” of the future.

O'Connor: They had a vision. They had a passion. They wanted to be able to take what they loved to do and have people understand it.

Get it out into the world and to be taken seriously.

Graham: We set up the first UK chapter here in 1996. I was amongst one of the thirty or so companies that got involved in setting up the chapter, as we called it then, in the UK.

On CEDIA as a family

Sanford: There are people in the CEDIA community who are lifelong friends now because I think we share something great, and they’re all part of building something great. It's really collegial, it's meaningful. That really creates a glue — a real attraction, commonality.

O'Connor: I came to CEDIA from another organization, and it was a very competitive environment.

At CEDIA, I was seeing firms helping each other: "Hey, do you need help? I'll come help you put the design together. I'll help you with the install." That to me was about being a family; about being a community. You're still seeing

that today. That's also where we're seeing the passion that inspires people to become volunteers. You never know how many volunteers are helping out on any given day.

Weinstein: I think it's exciting that this industry is very synergistic in terms of people sharing ideas, people sharing best practices.

It's not a cutthroat, competitive industry — everybody recognizes that by working together to support the interest of the industry, and our end-user customers, we create a rising tide that floats all boats.

Silver: Coming into the CEDIA world was rewarding on many levels, but the single most rewarding level was meeting like-minded people, meeting wonderful people who all want to do the right thing for their clients. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be able to sit with some of the brightest people on the planet who share your mentality, who want to move the industry the same way.

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On memories of CEDIA Expos past

Bodley: When I was with Sound Advice, a gent named Barry Faske came to me and wanted me to sign off on a trip. There was something going on in Amelia Island in 1989 and it was $500 and was the first conference for something called “CEDIA.” I said to Barry, 'What is a CEDIA?' Long story short: I wound up going. And that weekend I would say changed my life. I met 400, maybe 500 companies, business owners, and manufacturers. It was at a little resort called Amelia Island Plantation, and no one who was there will ever forget the tent: It had to be 200 degrees inside this tent.

And on the ride back, I really thought about what I saw, and I realized this is where the industry is going to go.

Humphries: I was at the Expo in 1998 in New Orleans that got hit by a hurricane. There was a foot and a half of water on Bourbon Street. It was funny because I was doing training for the manufacturer I worked for at the time, and it was completely sold out. We got there by canoe, but we all got there.

Sanford: The first one I went to was in Dallas (I think it was 1994). So, you've probably heard the stories about that, where there's the big field and the open forum, lots of great music. It was a celebration essentially of sharing a great industry. At the same time, you could connect with suppliers; understand a little bit about where the technology was going and learn from some of those great personalities that we all know — it was so personality driven then.

Clark: Some of my favorite memories: Having a chance to work for some of the finest CEDIA Award-winning

companies, with Mitchell Klein’s Media Systems in Boston, Russ Goddard’s Audible Difference in Palo Alto, Randy and Bob Stearn’s Engineered Environments in Oakland, and Commercial Electronics in Vancouver.

Interacting and learning from some of our industry’s major innovators: Tom Holman, Ray Dolby, Sam Runco, industry influencers like Maureen Jenson, Joel Silver, and Dave Humphries. Winning awards at CEDIA were great affirmations. But probably the most meaningful events were at the early CEDIA Expos in San Francisco in 1991 and especially Dallas from 1992-1996 where you could get a small group of fellow integrators in a bar, a niche, or small enclave and talk for hours about our work and how to get better at it!

Graham: The highlights of my CEDIA membership were really being the chairman of the UK chapter, being thrown off the stage at our Brighton Expo while I was trying to sing Mustang Sally and nobody appreciated it, which was a great opportunity missed by many. Seriously, though — the annual Expos, many of which I've attended in the U.S., were vital to developing my knowledge and my staff's knowledge as well. Now of course, we have ISE here in Europe — yet another great opportunity to meet other like-minded people and make some good friends.

On CEDIA's growth and evolution

Humphries: CEDIA has changed over the years from a small organization in the early 1990s, to the leading association in home technology. It’s evolved. As technology has evolved, so has the organization. You know, technologies today that

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didn't even exist four or five years ago, CEDIA's at the forefront of that. It keeps its membership informed. It's great.

Weinstein: I think the combination of an excellent staff committed to the future direction, the board that is working very synergistically with the staff, our incredible members, and our new beautiful facility that allows us to bring in members, specifiers, and industry associations, will help us like never before to forge ahead and really grow through this wonderful association and the vision of its members.

THE CEDIA TIMELINE

1989

CEDIA is formed as an Association

1990

The first Expo is held in Amelia Island, FL

1994

First regional education; CEDIA Australia formed

1996

CEDIA UK formed

1998

CEDIA Canada formed

2003

CEDIA, AVIXA, and NSCA form Integrated Systems

2006

CEDIA, CTA, and NSCA form ESPA

2014

CEDIA adopts new branding; Asia Pacific folds in HQ

2016

CEDIA aligns globally with Americas and EMEA offices

2017

Emerald Expositions acquires CEDIA Expo

2018

CEDIA’s threeyear strategic plan implementation begins: CEDIA purchases The Cinema Designer and Technology and Business Summits

2019

Official grand opening of CEDIA Global HQ in Fishers, IN, U.S.: CEDIA offers more training opportunities than ever in its history

On the importance of CEDIA

Graham: So, as a business, we wouldn't be doing the things that we do today if I hadn't got involved with CEDIA. We'd probably still be selling hi-fi and home cinema as our main business. Now that accounts for only about a third of our business, the rest being made up of lighting, networking, access control, security systems, everything that encompasses home technology. Without CEDIA, we would never have learned about those things or had an opportunity to develop our business in that way.

Clark: CEDIA represented an industry that gave a musical artist like me a living wage, inspired me to not be afraid of change, and enabled me to help others in a direct way.

Sanford: If you do something as a hobby, that's a discretionary decision, that's something you chose to do because you love it. Now to be able to turn that into a business? Where you can actually do this and feed your family and grow from it, is really special.

Silver: We take care of things for people.

We don't want them to have to worry about what button to press where.

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Meet the

BOARD NEWLY ELECTED

After this year’s global elections and appointments, here’s your new CEDIA Board for 2019-2020.

Peter Aylett Archimedia | Dubai, UAE Peter Aylett has been in the industry for 28 years and currently serves as the president and CTO of Archimedia, which has been honored with five CEDIA Awards over the past four years. Aylett has been teaching on behalf of CEDIA for 19 years and served as the director of professional development in the CEDIA EMEA office from 2005 until 2011 when he joined Archimedia. Aylett’s extensive global volunteer experience has been recognized several times, first as the recipient of CEDIA’s 2014 “Training Volunteer of the Year” award and then as the 2015 EMEA “Special Recognition” award recipient. He is CEDIA ESC-D and ESC-N, ISF-, and HAA-certified.

NEWLY ELECTED

Michael Cogbill ETC | West Palm Beach, FL, USA Michael Cogbill is recognized internationally as an authority in the field of home automation and integrated home systems. His professional career spans over 40 years as an engineer, manager, and entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as VP of engineering at ETC, a leading technology integrator in South Florida. He has been with ETC since 2006. Throughout his varied engineering career, Michael has worked in defense and aerospace systems, founded two companies, and been a passionate advocate of CEDIA since the very beginning.

NEWLY ELECTED

Albert Mizrahi SmartLab | Naucalpan, Mexico Albert Mizrahi started his career in the industry as the director for Control4 Mexico.

During his time with Control4, he opened the first Control4 experience center in Mexico, and the center has since been replicated worldwide. Six years ago, Mizrahi opened Smart Lab, an integration company that specializes in residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. His work has won multiple awards including CEDIA Awards. A year ago, Mizrahi opened his own distribution company. He is a Dealerscope 40 under 40 honoree and has won the Control4 international distributor of the year award five times.

RE-ELECTED

Joe Whitaker The Thoughtful Home | Clayton, MO, USA Joe Whitaker has over 20 years of experience in home systems installation and design, and is an award-winning product designer and inventor. Whitaker is an active member of industry press and sits on many product award judging panels.

Whitaker is currently the principal of the integration firms The Thoughtful Home (Residential) and The Thoughtful Restaurant (Hospitality) — operating in St. Louis, MO, and Dallas, TX.

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The CEDIA Executive Committee

David Humphries Chairman Atlantic Integrated Rockleigh, NJ, USA Dave Humphries founded Atlantic Integrated in May 2003. His prior experience was with Lutron Electronics over a 15-year career. Humphries has served as CEDIA Chairman-Elect and Board Treasurer, is the past president of IPRO, and is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Rob Sutherland Vice Chairperson/Chairman Elect Inspired Dwellings, Ltd. London, UK As managing director and co-founder of Inspired Dwellings, Rob Sutherland has built his company and reputation through the smooth and transparent delivery of projects.

With more than 20 years’ experience managing in the private sector and a comprehensive background in corporate IT, Sutherland has personal experience project managing extensive global infrastructure projects for large corporations (BP, BT, and M&S).

Melanie Malcolm Secretary Bespoke Home Cinemas Leeds, UK Melanie Malcolm is co-founder and co-owner of Bespoke Home Cinemas based in Leeds, Yorkshire, UK. In 2016, Melanie joined the CEDIA EMEA Board as a Director. She is the chair of the Smart Home Apprenticeship Trailblazer Committee, served as a CEDIA Awards judge for the 2018 competition, and is a CEDIA Groups member. Malcolm is a founding member of the Home Tech Gallery Community. (Malcolm was voted in by the CEDIA board to fill the seat vacated by Giles Sutton after he joined the CEDIA staff in July.)

David Weinstein Treasurer Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Coopersburg, PA, USA David Weinstein is Lutron’s vice president of residential sales, responsible for leading sales across the company’s consumer-facing channels. His work with Lutron included roles as senior sales manager, sales director, and sales vice president. Prior to Lutron, he was employed at Yusen Associates, where he rose from salesperson to president.

Dennis Erskine Immediate Past Chairman (ex-officio, non-voting member of the board)

The Erskine Group Draper, UT, USA Dennis Erskine is an award-winning THX® certified professional theater designer and acoustical engineer. Erskine is a CEDIA certified home theater design specialist, subject matter expert and CEDIA certified instructor, and member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

The CEDIA Board

John Buchanan Meridian Audio Ltd Huntingdon, UK

Appointed CEO of Meridian Audio in 2014, Buchanan is an honors graduate of the University of Strathclyde and has 20-plus years of international business experience working with market-leading professional audio and consumer electronics companies.

Buchanan is 45 years old and married with two daughters. His interests away from work include rugby union, cycling, and golf.

Ken Erdmann

Erdmann Electric Inc Springville, UT, USA Ken Erdmann has been a Utah state-licensed electrician since 1978. As co-founder and part owner of Erdmann Electric, Inc., he ran the low voltage and systems integration component of the company. Erdmann has served as a CEDIA instructor, committee chair, subject matter expert, and volunteer leader. In 2012, he was made a CEDIA Fellow and was honored with the CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Matt Scott

OMEGA Audio Video London, Ontario, Canada By age 12, Matt Scott was running full PA systems.

Fresh out of high school in 2001, Scott started OMEGA Audio working in the house of worship market as a consultant before expanding into the commercial and residential markets in 2007 as OMEGA Audio Video. In 2011, he co-founded AVNation.tv, a media company covering the AV industry.

Heather Sidorowicz

Southtown Audio Video Hamburg, NY, USA Heather L. Sidorowicz is president and owner of Southtown Audio Video based in Hamburg, NY. Southtown Audio Video has been Commercial Integrators’ Top Higher Ed Integration Firms, and in 2015 Sidorowicz was selected at as one of their 40 Influencers Under 40. She has mentored for the University at Buffalo’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership program and was part of Allstate's Minority and Women’s Emerging Entrepreneurs Program.

In addition, Tabatha O'Connor serves as an ex-officio, voting member of the CEDIA Board by virtue of her position as global president and CEO of CEDIA.

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TRAINING & EVENTS CALENDAR March 4-6

7-9

Basic Residential Boot Camp

Home Theater Boot Camp

CEDIA HQ, Indy

CEDIA HQ, Indy

11-12

13-14

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Ft. Lauderdale Technology & Business Summit

Orlando Technology & Business Summit

CEDIA Training

CEDIA Local Learning

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Orlando, FL

Medellin, Colombia

Toronto, Canada

April 1-3

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10

Advanced Networking Boot Camp

CEDIA Local Learning

CEDIA Local Learning

Vancouver, Canada

New York City, NY

CEDIA HQ, Indy

16

22

22-23

24-25

CEDIA Local Learning

CEDIA Training

Los Angeles Technology & Business Summit

Indianapolis, IN

Bogota, Colombia

Irvine Technology & Business Summit Irvine, CA

Los Angeles, CA

May 9

13-15

16

16-18

20-21

Toronto Technology & Business Summit

Basic Residential Boot Camp

CEDIA Local Learning

Home Theater Boot Camp

Houston Technology & Business Summit

Toronto, CAN

CEDIA HQ, Indy

Oakland, CA

CEDIA HQ, Indy

Houston, TX

22-23

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Dallas Technology & Business Summit

CEDIA Training

CEDIA Training

Mexico City, Mexico

Medellin, Colombia

Dallas, TX

Book training at cedia.net/cedia-training

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I AM CEDIA PHIL DAVIS, BLUSTREAM Who are you?

Phil Davis, Director at Blustream.

What’s your company, and where is it based?

Founded in Australia, with the European HQ in Nottinghamshire, UK, Blustream is the creation of an ambitious team of AV product managers. Utilizing a wealth of experience within the consumer electronics and multiroom AV

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industry, we have set about delivering HDMI distribution products that offer more for the AV architect and integrator.

As a standard, all Blustream products offer 4K resolution support and all HDBaseT solutions provide bi-directional PoE, ensuring the integrator has unprecedented flexibility when installing a multiroom video system. Blustream is one of many

THE ONSLAUGHT OF DIY SMART HOME SOLUTIONS HAS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED THE NEED FOR US TO DIFFERENTIATE AND ADD VALUE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

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manufacturers that partner with One Product, a management company for AV and control brands, of which I am the cofounder and managing director.

How did you get into the industry?

It was by complete chance. After university, I spent two years backpacking while managing hotels and restaurants on my travels. Upon my return to the UK, a friend from college asked me if I wanted a proper job working as a brand manager for QED Cables. I joined Armour Home Electronics and quickly progressed into managing the sales of several in-house brands including QED, Myriad, Goldring, and Grado. My time was split between developing products for the brands in China and then presenting them to distributors and sales managers across the world.

Which home technology do you consider the most important today and why?

I have an obvious bias towards video distribution and control.

During the last 10 years, I have worked closely with a number of factories and brands at the heart of these sectors. The rapid sales

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growth of AV distribution and control has been an exciting ride to date, and it keeps getting better.

How long have you been a CEDIA member?

Blustream joined CEDIA in January 2018. Every other company I represent under the One Product brand is also a member.

What do you enjoy most about being a CEDIA member?

As a manufacturer, CEDIA offers us an amazing platform to engage with the wider industry. The Tech Forums during 2018 grew in importance throughout the year and quickly became the go-to regional events to engage with customers and industry peers.

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

The onslaught of DIY smart homes solutions has dramatically increased the need for us to differentiate and add value for our customers. When delivering complete home control solutions, it’s vital to sell the benefits of integration platforms that make the smart home experience truly seamless.

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

I would love to be able to standardize 4K resolutions for AV sources and screens. Over the last 18 months, we have witnessed the introduction of many new 4K resolutions and with that new multiple High Dynamic Range (HDR) formats. Broadcasters and streaming providers across the globe are all slowly introducing 4K services using different 4K standards making our job of keeping up a challenge.

A good example is SKY in Italy who

is currently the first in Europe to roll out SKY 4K HDR services using Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG). Nearly all 4K displays in Italy had to be updated before they could work with the new HLG signals. This market has become the only live environment for us to test all of our new 4K HDR extenders and matrix solutions.

What’s the best product that Blustream has launched into the home technology market in the last year?

Blustream Multicast is our flagship 4K Video over IP solution. During the past 12 months, we have added a host of new control and configuration features that have really given our platform an edge in the market. The year began with Multicast being deployed in a 1,000-end-point system in South Korea.

A successful project in minus 40-degree-C temperatures and multiple venues linked over

100km apart gave us amazing confidence in our product. Since the year began, we have witnessed significant migration and sales growth for our video over IP solutions.

What’s the next focus for Blustream?

Blustream has over 20 new products scheduled for launch in Q1 2019. The focus here is to deliver the ultimate range of 4K 18Gbps solutions via HDMI, HDBaseT, and IP. New products such as the 16x16 Custom Pro and V3 Platinum Matrix will expand our business into new installation categories and price points.

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

I would like to think in another life I would have been a lawyer or heading up a charity or even an overseas diplomat. I’ve not given up hope that one day I will get the chance to pursue one of these paths.

blustream.co.uk @Blustream_HDBT

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INSIDE OUT BEST MEDIA ROOM LEVEL III: $100,000 and over (Americas) Audio Images 1582 Parkway Loop, Suite F Tustin, CA 92780 USA 714.258.7238 www.audioimages.tv CEDIA Member Since 1995

INDUSTRY PARTNERS Dave Abrams Avical Role: Specialty Consultant Anthony Grimani PMI, Ltd. Role: Specialty Consultant Lori Michelle Max Michelle Interiors Role: Interior Designer David Close David Close Homes Role: Builder

Glass walls can be a challenge for audio calibration, right? Especially glass walls that open and close.

The issues with this space are apparent: it’s got to sound and look fantastic even when it’s open to the adjacent courtyard.

With the room’s footprint set, Audio Images was up to the challenge: “The project already had the poured-in-place concrete for the front and back walls of the room when we were brought onto the project, but no issue is too great for our acoustical engineering company, so we set off to find the correct amount of absorption and acoustical treatments to help bring the room back to proper reverberation.”

An informal look belies the extensive and precise calibration this room required: “The system was carefully tuned, voiced, and optimized utilizing digital parametric equalization, by PMI Ltd. — using a combination of transfer function impulse response measurements with spatial averaging, time-varying

windowing, and psychoacoustic smoothing.” The 9.4.2 speaker Dolby Atmos speaker system includes LCR speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen and four compact subs in a “square” configuration. Angledbaffle speakers mounted in the ceiling creates the immersive effect. A Barco Madea projector provides a 4K image to a 1.78:1 screen area.

Calibration of the room’s audio and video provide a great experience to as many as 15 people at a time. Additionally, careful power management and an HVAC system designed for reduced noise all contribute to the overall quality of this stunning project. The room even includes a system for the client’s re-discovery of his love for vinyl and includes his “dream setup” featuring components by McIntosh.

CEDIA’s judges call the finished product here “an absolutely lovely installation,” awarding it trophies for both Best Media Room, Level III, Americas and Best Media Room, Global.

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” & BEST GLOBAL MEDIA ROOM EQUIPMENT LIST • ADA SAK-16x150 amplifier • Apple TV • Ashly NE24.24M 8x4 Protea DSP audio matrix processor • Audio Images custom framing and enclosures • Barco Medea projector • Cleerline Technology cables • Crestron HR-150 remote • DIRECTV • IOGEAR adapters • Lab Gruppen C 28:4 amplifier • Liberty cables • McIntosh MP100 phono preamp • McIntosh MT5 turntable • McIntosh MX122 AV processor • Middle Atlantic racks • PAC RSIC-DC04 decoupler clips • PureLink HTE III TX/RX 4K HDR over HDBaseT extension kits • Roku • Sony UBP X1000ES 4K UHD blu-ray player • Stewart Filmscreen screen • Triad In-Ceiling Silver/6 Satellite speakers • Triad In-Wall Gold/6 LCR speakers • Tributaries Cable • Xantech 282D mouse emitters

CEDIA’S JUDGES CALL THE FINISHED PRODUCT “AN ABSOLUTELY LOVELY INSTALLATION.”

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CHALLENGE AND SOLUTION

Designing Racks for Multiple Dwelling Units

THE CHALLENGE When designing central AV/IT headend racks for super-prime multi-dwelling units (MDU), integrators are faced with a fair share of issues to resolve.

While tasked with delivering all the amenities of a smart home system that clients would desire, we are restricted by having to work to strict budgets, deadlines, and with limited space for the hardware.

THE SOLUTION Depending on the size of the MDU project, it is quite common for the developer to look to us to install the necessary infrastructure in the majority of apartments and focus on full installations in the penthouses. However, when it comes to the central headend racks, the same requirements should still apply to the design for both types of installations.

Space As square footage is key in developments, developers will always try to minimize the space for the central AV headend racks, which not only creates difficulty in the design but also limits opportunities for expansion later. It’s imperative that we maximize the space, and this should be stressed to the designers from day one so that any potential buyer can upgrade with all the tech toys imaginable.

We also need to consider the location of where our equipment is located. It’s quite normal for apartments to be occupied when you visit the site to carry out maintenance. We always look to position our headend, racks near the service entrances so that we can complete the necessary work without disturbing the client.

These systems need to be meticulously designed so that the clients never have to access our central headend racks, and this can be done by a practical approach to the initial specification. For instance, a reasonable budget needs to be assigned to the power distribution for the system. By using managed power distribution, UPS supply, and power conditioning, you can reduce the potential failures. You can give the client the ability to reboot key components of their system with the touch of a button rather than having to access the central headend.

Sam Brunsden

Director of The Next Level

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The Next Level was awarded Best Dressed Rack in the 2018 EMEA CEDIA Awards for its Mayfair House Apartments project, where they provided a very consistent set of racks for multiple apartments. The integrator pre-built the racks and tested them offsite, something that the judges noted as impressive, as often the racks on MDU projects are not given the time and attention that they deserve and are simply thrown together onsite.

The judges were also pleased to see good signal separation, looming, and use of cable management, and the fact that great consideration was given to space for future upgrades — something that is extremely important, given the nature of the project.

Budget

Deadlines

The budget on any MDU project is always going to be restrained as investors are looking to maximize their profits, but this means that a strong stance needs to be made on the fundamental requirements that we have as AV/IT designers.

Regardless of whether this is an infrastructure installation or a complete integration, the requirement for having an air-conditioned space for our central headend is vital. I have visited numerous projects where air conditioning has been budgeted out or was never requested from the outset, and it’s quite often the reason why a system has reliability issues.

Like any project in the construction industry, deadlines are always important. As a finishing trade, our schedule is usually the one being squeezed, as we are usually the last contractor to walk out the door. This means that the design and preparation that goes into the AV headend racks is critically important, so that we can reduce the number of hours onsite and ensure our equipment is being installed when it’s a dust-free environment. This can be achieved by installing patch panels onsite so that all room cabling can be terminated once rough-in has been carried out, which then allows us to build the AV rack fully off-site. This approach gives us the ability to bring to the site a fully wired, tested, and commissioned AV rack, which can bring the smart system to life within a matter of hours.

For digital equipment, the room itself should be no warmer than 75°F. This gives a 10-degree temperature difference between the room and the recommended 85°F internal enclosure temperature for optimum equipment life. To put this important factor into context, studies have shown that for every 10° rise over 85°, digital equipment life is reduced by approximately 40%! When considering the investments our clients are making on our AV/IT systems, I believe they would all want air conditioning when knowing these facts.

Whether the challenge is strict budgets, deadlines, or space, the solution lies in the design and the preparation of how we approach these projects.

thenextlevel.co.uk @thenextlevelav

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HOMEPLAY OPENS NEW EXPERIENCE CENTRE

UK integration firm Homeplay has transformed the ground floor of its two-story headquarters building in Sunbury-on-Thames, near London, into a fantastic, immersive demonstration space for interior designers, architects, and consumers.

The new “Experience Centre” opened its doors on Friday, October 19, and is a testament to what can be achieved, even in a relatively compact area, where technology and design perfectly complement each other.

James Ratcliffe, Homeplay’s MD, gives us the story.

“We’re firm believers in the value of creating an experience for our customers that will help them visualize how technology can be integrated into their own homes,” says Ratcliffe.

“That’s the reason we’ve invested in changing our ground floor space from a relatively under-used storage area into this versatile, design-led Experience Centre. We worked closely with Hill House Interiors on the overall design concept, the detailing, materials, furniture, and fabric selection to make sure that the look of the space felt just right. We’re delighted with the results and are convinced that it will be a tremendous help in growing our business.”

The new Homeplay Experience Centre is separated into different zones, reflecting a typical home layout and a variety of technology options that would appeal to customers on different budgets.

Visitors are first shown into a family media room environment and encouraged to make themselves comfortable in an automated, specially designed Cineak sofa. Lights can be dimmed to a pre-set scene and blinds closed either using a Lutron

keypad or from a tablet that accesses the Control 4 system integrating all the tech in the showroom.

Once, they have found their ideal reclining and viewing position, it’s time to enjoy a great movie together.

Homeplay staffers are on hand to help visitors find their choice quickly and easily using a Kaleidescape system, and then the Sony TV screen complete with Triad soundbar, sub, in-wall, and in-ceiling speakers springs to life, delivering a great viewing experience and powerful 5.1 audio punch to the audience.

For those customers who want a big screen experience as well, there are also a drop-down projector and screen set up in the media room that activate from recesses in the ceiling at the touch of a button.

But that’s not all this media room has to offer.

“We know that some visitors don’t like to see products on display,” adds Ratcliffe. “The drop-down projector and screen tell that story to some extent, but we wanted another option to give visitors more ideas of what they can do. So, we have a secret cabinet on one side of the room that, at the touch of a button, automatically slides back to reveal another Sony screen, that also acts as a front speaker, on a Future Automation mechanism. We’ve hidden Amina speakers within the cabinet and in the ceiling to provide completely invisible audio for the screen.”

Next stop is the bar area. Here, guests can enjoy their favorite cocktail and enjoy a karaoke evening or entertainment from a Videotree mirror TV that’s concealed and integrated behind the drinks display.

And, for an authentic home cinema experience, Homeplay has used more Future Automation expertise as sliding doors automatically pull back to reveal a compact Atmos cinema, designed by Homeplay using The CEDIA Designer (TCD) software.

“I’ve used TCD for some time,” explains Ratcliffe. “It gives us a professional design and is a great time saver. Within this relatively small, low-height room, we now have a really impressive home cinema, that could easily be imagined by our customers to be something they could create from an unused garage or playroom conversion.”

Technology in the cinema includes a high-performance screen courtesy of DT Screens, Anthem AV, processing equipment, more Triad speakers, and a laser projector by Epson. Visitors can take in the movie from their seats in the bar — ideal, says Ratcliffe, for homeowners and friends watching live sports — or have a more immersive experience from the comfort of more dedicated Cineak seating.

Attention to detail is a big part of the Experience Centre, and Ratcliffe has created a lobby/hallway area that shows the difference in light provided by high-quality and mainstream light fittings.

Like everything at this Experience Centre, it’s a deceptively simple, well-conceived, and cleverly executed demonstration that gets the message across.

homeplay.tv

@HomeplayLtd

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THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS As an educator, I am often asked to look at someone’s resume and that usually comes with a follow-up question: “How can I make it look better?”

While the question is fairly basic, the answer CEDIA Senior Director is much more complex. of Education I usually start my response with what areas to highlight, how to approach the education vs. work experience sections, and end with some ideas about what they could add and what should be deleted. They rarely listen. Probably, if I’m being honest, they just want me to write it for them.

Samantha Ventura

Here’s the good news, though: To write a resume is much easier now. In fact, it’s very different from years past when employers wanted to hear much more about transactional achievements and years of education. Now it is much more common to see a person’s strengths, talents, and interests listed on their resume. What changed?

The dawn of wanting an employee with a strong sense of soft skills. (Tech people, I’m looking at you.)

When I was pursuing my Ph.D., one of the very first topics I explored was the importance of soft skills in the work place. Soft skills include talents like communicating well, having a positive attitude and a strong work ethic, exhibiting leadership qualities, and more. People who employ soft skills have learned to utilize their personal attributes and talents to enable them to work effectively and happily with other people. Hard skills such as typing speed or computer programming ability, on the other hand, will often get more attention because they’re easier to prove since they’re easier to measure. This is especially true in the tech field, where people are constantly asked to “show what they know.” In fact, tech gurus have often learned their trade both through traditional schooling methods and just from the sheer interest of “schooling themselves in the industry.” Their peers can clearly see their technical abilities, as well as what they know and don’t know.

Conversely, soft skills require more awareness of yourself as a person.

For some who have always relied upon being known for their technical abilities, soft skills are often much harder to

establish and incorporate into their daily routine because they are more “people-focused.”

This is why some leaders in the tech field may find themselves lacking a bit in this area. They were placed in leadership roles for a variety of reasons. Some have been at their jobs longer than everyone else, while others have worked their way up because of their technical abilities.

For some, often there was no other position to move into to justify their larger salary. So quite literally, they fell into their leadership position, without any proper training in the actual field of leadership. This includes knowing how to incorporate soft skills into how these leaders lead, while also supporting soft skill growth for themselves and their followers.

This really isn’t their fault. It isn’t that they can’t be good at leading, it’s usually that their organization offered zero training on what it means to be a good leader and that they themselves often don’t realize they are focusing on the wrong things. If you are reading this and picturing someone this describes, or maybe this is you, rest assured: Soft skills can be learned and fairly quickly!

So, for leaders in our industry, as you continue to work to strengthen your organization, be committed to starting from the inside first. Practice good soft skills among your employees, and encourage a much more holistic work environment, supporting the personal attributes of all employees in conjunction with the technical abilities they possess. Your employees will thank you.

Here are some quick tips for what a leader can do to become better at soft skills: • Listen and take feedback openly and without becoming defensive • Be confident and collaborative • Be attentive, through recognizing body language and making a commitment to openly discuss issues while being free from distractions • Be courteous to your followers and what is happening in their lives • Be a critical thinker, even attempting to think outside the box to solve issues among your team members • Show empathy, especially if you are asking a follower for buy-in to a change you are attempting to incorporate, and • Be flexible, honest, and motivated.

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LIGHTING DESIGN

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A CRITICAL PART OF WHAT WE DO In a recent podcast we recorded for CEDIA with hosts Ed Wenck and Walk Zerbe, I commented that 40% of our total business is related to lighting, including lighting design, LED fixtures, lighting control, and motorized shades. Another 40% generally falls into the home entertainment space, with the last 20% spread among the home network, security systems, and other services.

Jason Barth

CEO and Lead Designer at The Premier Group

Naturally, this amount varies, based on each homeowner’s priorities and desires, but our overall business model has been consistent, with lighting providing the most significant growth over the years.

I’m not sure who was caught more offguard by these statistics; the hosts or us.

They were shocked that an integrator claimed 40% of their work is allocated in the lighting silo. (Editor’s note: The most recent CEDIA Size and Scope survey found that the average share of revenue integrators in the Americas gleaned from lighting was 9%.) Yes, we consider ourselves a traditional integrator. No, we’re not an electrical contractor. But, yes, we do have electricians on staff, so maybe we ARE pushing the envelope a bit. And after fact checking myself, I can indeed confirm that on average, 40+% of our new project revenue is directly related to the valuable solutions

we provide in this important category.

Since the podcast aired, we have been approached on a number of occasions to share how we find ourselves fulfilling this role with our clients.

The lighting conversation unfolds as a natural progression during the project exploration stage when we uncover ALL of our client’s potential needs. During that process, we ask lots of questions in order to gain a more holistic view of the entire project. Our comprehensive turnkey approach, the fact that we’re typically working in every room of the house, and the impact we potentially have on the overall aesthetics, requires that we ultimately understand every aspect of the owner, architect, and interior designer’s shared vision for the home. By collaborating as part of the design team early on, we are able to work together to plan for and implement the best residential technology solutions that fit our clients’ individual needs, aesthetics, and lifestyle, and which truly blend seamlessly within their new home.

We refer to this approach as “protecting the design.”

Lighting can have perhaps the largest impact on a new home. It has the potential to make or break the aesthetics of each space. You only get one shot to get the lighting right. If you

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don’t like a paint color, carpet selection, or even a countertop choice, you can always change it.

Tearing up the walls and ceilings to run electrical wire and install new lighting is just not typically reasonable. Over the years, we have worked with homebuilders who take a very basic approach to lighting. Perhaps they walk through the home in the framing stage with their electrician and point out where can lights will be installed and mark banks of switch locations with a sharpie on the studs. They include the essentials, such as four cans or a ceiling-mounted fixture in a room with a single switch. Conversely, we have found that some homebuilders and architects create their own more detailed lighting plan with the interior designer adding specific decorative fixtures. Whichever is the case, it is usually revealed in our exploration meetings that no one has taken the lead on specifying the entire lighting and switching plan, identifying the exact fixture type, and confirming the locations based on the actual furniture and floor plans, artwork locations, cabinet elevations, and interior and exterior architectural elements.

With the permission of the team, we facilitate a comprehensive, turnkey lighting and switching plan, that also reduces wall clutter with single-gang keypads for lighting automation. We like to make sure that we provide the appropriate fixture types and placement that accents the home’s features, offers a beautiful color temperature, and a high quality of light output to complement the interior finishes with a richness and depth not before seen with traditional lighting. We are already there for the low voltage pre-wire and lighting control. This is just another layer in our project scope.

As our lighting business has evolved, we have become a significant distributor for several major essential lighting brands, as well as carrying dozens of niche brands to fill specialty applications. This includes down lights, linear cove and accent lighting, cabinet lighting, stairway lighting, and an amazing line of architectural outdoor lighting. We are able to fill a box on the builder’s checklist by supplying them with upgraded, design-forward products that result in a “quieter” ceiling plane (such as 1,000 lumens of output from a smallaperture, 2” fixture), a consistent color temperature throughout, and generally a more upscale appearance. The LED products we specify provide beauty and value.

The thing about great lighting is that once you experience it, it’s impossible to “unsee” it. There are a lot of really bad LED products out there and additionally some really poor planning, or no planning at all. We have built a client base of lighting snobs who now recognize good vs. bad lighting. They are proud of the knowledge they have gained, and how they “got it right.” We’re extremely excited about the impact we make, and it’s incredibly rewarding when we’re complete and the first thing the client compliments is the lighting (and usually the audio system). There are never any regrets on great lighting. We’re simply happy we can help!

premier-group.com

@PremierGroupIN

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Acoustics Getting the Sound Right for the Home Cinema

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We talk to industry experts who offer advice on how to ensure your acoustic treatments don't dampen the home cinema experience.

NATHANIEL BAILEY Artnovion

BARRY SHELDRICK Meridian Audio (C-ATS)

W

hat are the key acoustic challenges with home cinemas?

BAILEY: There is one challenge that we come across time and again, and that is noticeable in around 90% of the rooms we work on — getting the right low-end response in the room. It is difficult to predict the bass ratio that will result in the low-frequency sound field that the client expects. This is really important because it plays a huge role in the whole experience of watching a movie, not only sonically but also physically. It can define the whole “experience.” Most of the time, designers focus only on absorbing energy in the room to make it even or flat, but with cinemas that approach doesn’t often work.

SHELDRICK: The challenge is to control the room without over-dampening it. It is far too easy to fill a room with “acoustic material” that is just absorbing all the energy. This makes the system sound small, flat, and lacking in dynamics. The reason this happens is that we all know that “live” rooms with long decay times sound terrible.

The challenge is finding that balance between being too live and being too damped. You can do this by using a blend of scattering panels to break up the reflections (without dissipating too much energy) combined with foamsorbers to ensure the system has superb control of resonances.

NOBLE: For the home cinema to deliver good sound quality, the position of the equipment is just as important as the use of sound absorbing materials, such as acoustic wall panels to help with any unwanted reverberation.

GUSTAVO PIRES Vicoustic

PIRES: The home cinema listener should be able to clearly hear what has been recorded with minimum influence from external sources, including the room’s acoustics, noise from mechanical sources (e.g. cinema’s HVAC systems), and noise from sources located in the theater’s adjacent spaces. Furthermore, the noise generated within the cinema should not be a nuisance to those outside the room.

To achieve this, there are mainly three key acoustic challenges one should address:

ROB NOBLE RockFon

1. Designing internal acoustic treatment in order to control the cinema’s

reverberation time and avoid acoustic defects such as echo, flutter echoes, room resonances, etc., 2. Improving sound insulation between the home cinema and adjacent spaces, and 3. Limiting internal background noise levels by controlling noise from mechanical sources.

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hat impact does the cinema environment have on sound quality — variables such as the size of the space, height of the ceiling, walls, floors, ceiling, furniture?

BAILEY: It’s one of the most important aspects of a cinema room. In the same way as if you have a free-standing, top-shelf, video projector system that projects a 4KHD image onto a granite stone wall, you wouldn’t be able to understand the video content as you might have thought when you bought the projector. The room plays the same role in respect to the sound experience, because every detail of that space (the couch, walls, building materials, and so on) will affect the behavior of the sound field and could be the difference between having the best cinema experience in the world and not feeling it at all.

SHELDRICK: All of these aspects have an effect but all of them can be controlled with a combination of room treatment and processor EQ. Generally speaking, we always aim to make the room sound as big as we can, having a large room obviously makes this much easier. Typically, the walls act as a mirror for the audio, reflecting sound. This is why we need to control key areas of the room, especially the first reflection point. Furniture will generally help with absorption in the room and reduce some of the liveliness of the space — this is another reason that it is easy to overdampen a room.

PIRES: Naturally, the cinema environment has a huge impact on the sound quality you will be able to achieve. Smaller rooms will have bigger problems in accommodating low frequencies than bigger rooms,

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room construction elements will determine the sound insulation degree you will be able to achieve between the home cinema and adjacent spaces, and room finishes will determine the room’s reverberation time.

W

hat other noise issues are a problem in cinemas rooms?

BAILEY: One thing is acoustic treatment, another is acoustic insulation, and both play essential roles in the quality of the cinema room. You may have the best acoustic treatment in a room, and it can result in the most sensational experience when everything else is very quiet, but if the surfaces are poorly insulated, the tiniest outside noise will pass through them and disturb your perfect sound experience. That is why it is crucial to correctly insulate the room from outside noise sources, whether coming from other rooms or from the equipment inside.

problematic room modes as structural issues such as rattling or vibration. If there’s a need to increase the insulation of the room, that should always be the first thing on the agenda. Then, it is always advisable to place all the noise sources needed for the room purpose in an isolated adjacent compartment.

SHELDRICK: I would encourage integrators to engage with our complimentary design service. We can advise on room acoustics, lowering the noise in the room and reducing noise spill from the cinema into the rest of the house. Room acoustics can be complex and daunting to tackle. We work with our dealers to demystify the process and ensure that they deliver awesome sound and picture to their clients.

“For the home cinema to deliver good sound quality, the position of the equipment is just as important as the use of sound absorbing materials.”

A common noise issue is vibration — from walls, seating, furniture, anything that can move. The energy levels associated to high-intensity low frequencies are considerably high — if you can feel it, imagine the energy passed on to the surfaces of the room.

SHELDRICK: We want the room to be as quiet as possible.

The lower the noise floor, the greater the dynamic range and in-room signal-to-noise ratio we can achieve. Ideally, the projector is in a separate room with a double-glazed porthole glass separating it from the cinema. That isn’t always practical, of course, which is why we offer a range of Display Technologies hush boxes which are designed to deliver the cooling air for the projector without disturbing the film with noise.

PIRES: The listener should be able to clearly hear the quietest bits of the film audio track. To achieve a clear and complete film audio experience, mechanical noise or sound from adjacent rooms should not mask these quiet bits. Therefore, as mentioned before, controlling noise from mechanical sources and guaranteeing proper sound insulation between the home cinema and the adjacent spaces are considered fundamental when designing the acoustics of a home cinema room.

H

ow should integrators deal with these issues?

BAILEY: First of all, they should always consult an expert right at the beginning of each project, because there may be problems with the existing structure that can be addressed and prevented before any other installation — as much in terms of determining

PIRES: Integrators should do a proper acoustic survey of the home cinema room before starting their work. Generally, wall, ceiling, and floor sound insulation performance should be designed taking into account the background noise criteria selected for the home cinema, the anticipated noise generated in the theater’s adjacent spaces, and the degree of noise sensitivity of the theater’s adjacent spaces.

Flanking issues should be well controlled in order to guarantee that the in-situ sound insulation performance is not compromised. Attention should also be addressed for home cinema entrances, since these are one of the weakest elements in terms of sound insulation.

Normally, the use of a vestibule or doors with a greater sound insulation performance than common doors is recommended to maximize the sound insulation between the home cinema and the adjacent spaces.

In addition, in order to control noise from mechanical sources, integrators should consider the following: • Locate all mechanical sources outside the cinema room (if possible), • Properly control both noise and vibration generated by the equipment, • Consider encapsulating mechanical sources in order to control radiated noise, • Consider the use of sound attenuators, acoustic grilles, and/or acoustic plenums in order to control inlet and outlet noise, • Install all equipment with anti-vibration elements, • Properly control air velocity within the cinema’s ductwork in order to minimize turbulence, • Avoid crosstalk issues by creating independent ductwork to serve the cinema room, and • Properly seal all penetrations in cinema walls, floors, and ceilings.

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utside of the cinema room, is acoustic treatment a benefit in other applications within the integrated home?

BAILEY: We like to tell a story about a typical day. The day begins with your radio alarm, the quality of that music will hinge on the acoustics of your bedroom; then taking a shower, the insulation of your bathroom will determine if you bother the neighbors with your singing; on the way to work, if there is too much hubbub at the subway station you may not hear that critical change to the timetable; at work in an open office, your ability to concentrate on what you are doing depends on the acoustic quality of the environment; and in the restaurant afterwards, can you relax and have a conversation or is it a shouting match with the next table? At the end of the day, you will only get a good night’s sleep if you can’t hear noise pollution from outside. There are numerous places where acoustic treatment could make a difference, and most of the time people don’t realize it.

Public spaces such as shops, restaurants, and bars can really benefit from acoustic treatment because it can make the whole environment a lot more comfortable. Also, office spaces and hospitals, where you may want lower noise levels and provide more privacy between partitions. Acoustic treatment is often neglected although it has a great impact on day-to-day life and overall well-being.

SHELDRICK: Large, hard surfaces can make conversation difficult in many rooms in the home. Simple use of some treatment can make rooms feel homey, make is easier to understand what is being said, and generally reduce the fatigue of anyone spending time in that space. The same can be said for restaurants, gyms, and many other large, open spaces.

Our acoustic experts on their products:

NATHANIEL BAILEY Artnovion

BARRY SHELDRICK

Meridian Audio (C-ATS)

GUSTAVO PIRES Vicoustic

NOBLE: Given the amount of time we spend in our homes, it is no wonder they become more than just functional boxes in which we live; they emphasize who we are, reflecting our life, our style, and our taste. Having the right amount of sound absorption in the home will contribute to a more relaxing space, a better place to entertain, and above all a healthier environment to live in.

Until now, there have been few acoustic, sound-absorbing solutions that were aesthetically suitable for private homes.

Making the right choice of surface finishes and materials throughout the home will allow the combination of both modern design and a comfortable living space with good acoustics.

One does not have to prevent the other.

ROB NOBLE RockFon

Artnovion products allow you to combine the acoustic performance that the room needs with exquisite designs that will always fit the look you want.

When designing the acoustic treatment for a room (typology and quantity of panels and their placement), we are able to shape the sound energy inside that room so you’ll end up with a sound field that fits the ambitions of your cinema experience.

Cinema Acoustic Treatment System (C-ATS) is designed to treat the key problems we encounter in every room, by addressing resonance, reverberation, and reflections with a holistic approach. With the Meridian Design and Specification Service, we will take care of the correct placement and quantity of both foamsorbers and scattering panels to ensure that the system has a large sound stage, great vocal clarity, and a good sense of scale, but without any distracting reflections.

Vicoustic has acoustic products to help you control the reverberation times within your home cinema room, control the first reflections by absorbing them using our extremely efficient absorbers or diffusing them by using our QRD diffusers or hybrid products, and control the room’s resonances by using our extremely efficient bass traps. In terms of sound insulation, Vicoustic has solutions to improve both airborne sound insulation and impact sound insulation issues. Lastly, for noise control, Vicoustic offers several antivibratic mounts to manage vibration from mechanical equipment.

Cinema rooms and modern room designs can benefit hugely from seamless acoustic ceiling and wall systems that will discreetly blend with the rest of the décor. Until now, there have been few acoustic, soundabsorbing solutions that were easy to install and none that so successfully delivered the smooth, minimal appeal of Rockfon® Mono® Acoustic. This unique surface solution offers the highest class A sound absorption performance for both ceilings and walls.

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IS IMAX ENHANCED the next evolution With 4K and Dolby Atmos turning up in everything from AV receivers to smartphones, the high-end home theater market needs a new performance hero.

UK technology journalist Steve May thinks he’s found one.

With perfectly managed acoustics, aspirational room design, and awesome equipment, home technology professionals are always striving to give their AV systems an edge.

But when Dolby Atmos and 4K UHD become common, where’s the next step in performance going to come from? IMAX Corp and DTS might have the answer. It’s called IMAX Enhanced.

When news first broke regarding this joint venture to promote a new home cinema standard, the more cynical could be forgiven for shrugging.

After all, this industry is no stranger to disparate certification. But an early UK preview of IMAX Enhanced, held by distributor AWE at its open house in October, hinted that this new industry union could produce something rather special.

For this first demo of IMAX Enhanced outside the U.S., the distributor had exclusively obtained a Marantz AV8805 13-channel processor with early firmware and partnered it with both formidable Marantz and Classe amplification

and an impressive loudspeaker array of KEF Reference speakers and Definitive Technology subwoofers.

Crucially, it also secured an early demo disc (apparently one of only two in the world) containing remastered footage from IMAX documentaries and Hollywood movies. The resulting viewing experience was so exciting that, after the official playback session, I sneaked back and begged for more.

So what exactly is all the fuss about?

IMAX Enhanced is an umbrella term. It’s a licensing and certification program designed to cover AV receivers, display devices, and surround sound processors, as well as a proprietary software encoding and mastering standard for content delivered via disc or the internet.

More details are sketchy, but we are told that hardware suppliers will earn certification if their gear meets “stringent performance standards” set by a committee of IMAX and DTS engineers and movie studio creatives.

The approach sounds similar to that taken by THX for its certification program. The original home theater standards set in place by THX were

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instrumental in developing a high-end home theater business in the early days of cinema sound, when Pro-Logic was the preeminent surround codec.

IMAX Enhanced software releases will be mastered using proprietary IMAX DMR postproduction software, supposedly to minimize noise in the 4K encoding process and enhance HDR performance, with immersive audio delivered using a variant of the DTS:X platform.

Sony Electronics, Denon, and Marantz have already signed up for IMAX Enhancement compliance. The first certified Denon and Marantz AV receivers are already here, courtesy of firmware updates.

For DTS, this alliance is also something of a godsend. With Dolby Atmos dominant when it comes to immersive audio, DTS needs a way to make its 3D audio platform relevant again.

IMAX Enhanced software also potentially addresses several key problems currently afflicting 4K UHD Blu-ray releases.

For one thing, it says movies shot with IMAX cameras and shown theatrically in a full IMAX aspect ratio will be released full frame on IMAX 4K discs. Given the increasing number of blockbuster titles shot with IMAX that are not being released in the correct aspect ratio, this is a big statement. The news will be welcomed

"A RETURN TO FULL WIDEBAND THEATRICAL SOUND MIXES COULD REINVIGORATE HIGH-END HOME THEATER."

IN HOME THEATER? by movie fans eager to see films in the way the director intended.

Equally as important, IMAX Enhanced audio will be delivered with the widest possible dynamic range, using a new Imax DTS playback mode. One demo sequence played

by AWE, from the IMAX NASA Space Shuttle documentary “The Dream is Alive,” featured astonishing dynamics.

Integrators can’t help but notice the drop in quality of Dolby Atmos Blu-ray soundtracks of late. Blockbuster titles, specifically from the expansive Disney/Marvel stable, are being released with restricted dynamics that barely warrant listening on a soundbar, let alone a high-end system. Anyone hoping to sell premium theaters with these titles will have had their work cut out for them.

A return to full wideband theatrical sound mixes could reinvigorate high-end home theater.

Of course, it remains to be seen if IMAX Enhanced gets any traction with mainstream studios, but encouragingly both Paramount and Sony Pictures have pledged support. Let’s hope this amounts to something. The pro home cinema market deserves a new performance benchmark. IMAX Enhanced could provide the

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THE 8K EVOLUTION

BEGINS HERE 8K is already a reality, and AI threatens to make native content redundant.

Welcome to the future, says UK technology journalist Steve May. Have you installed an 8K display yet?

In all probability, you haven’t. Although within 12 months, you could well be wrestling with this next-gen display technology. In case you hadn’t noticed, the next evolution in Ultra HD has already begun.

Sharp became the first screen manufacturer to introduce an 8K display, when it used the recent IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) GPC (Global Press Conference) to launch the 70" LV-70X500E. This display offers unprecedented 7680×4320 resolution and is available for you to spec right now.

Sharp’s Marketing and Sales VP Sascha Lange believes that just as 55” to 65” screen sizes have been driven by 4K, 8K will drive 70" and larger models

Steve May Technology Journalist

in the near future. He even suggests 128" 8K LED LCD panels will become a residential reality over the next few years.

Consumers have the room, he says, they just don’t realize it yet.

Having stared at it for quite some time, I can confirm that the LV-70X500E is a remarkable screen. It uses a full-array local backlight, with 216 zones, and presents an insanely sharp image. Up close, you can peer into the picture and see miniscule details. There is no visible pixel structure; it’s like looking at a stained-glass window. The set is HDR10and HLG-compatible, with a peak brightness quoted at 1,000 nits.

So how does it work? A look around the back reveals eight v2.0 HDMIs. Four of these are dedicated to delivering

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the native 8K signal. Alternatively, integrators could use these to display four independent 2160p feeds. In the short term, this latter configuration could prove the most intriguing, be it for entertainment (think sports bar) or security applications.

I was told by Toshiyuki Fujine, Division Manager at Sharp’s Sakai LCD panel plant, that the screen was originally conceived as a B2B product, serving corporate, security, and medical needs, but the manufacturer quickly came to the conclusion that there was an early adopter market eager to take one home. He concedes that the LV-70X500E is very much a preemptive strike at the 8K TV market, given that HDMI 2.1 support should be mandatory, but is sanguine about the implementation.

“Second generation 8K displays will offer a single HDMI 2.1 input,” he says, “But that’s not currently available to manufacturers.”

This won’t be the case for long.

Jürgen Boyny, global director of consumer electronics for GFK, is confident 8K will prove to be one 2018’s emerging trends; the floodgates will open fast when HDMI 2.1 chipsets enter the manufacturing ecosystem.

The LV-70X500E ships without a DVB tuner or HEVC decoder but will upscale 4K or lower sources, and it plays 4320p still images from USB. But there is currently no native 8K content to watch.

Creating 8K content may be expensive and delivering it challenging, but AI is an easyto-implement interim fix.

IHS Markit analyst Paul Gray suggests that 8K presents genuine problems for creators, mainly because most of the cinematic lenses available just aren’t up to scratch. “The resolution of 8K merely reveals the flaws in the glass, the lack of edge resolution,” he told me.

However, the content industry isn’t sitting this revolution out.

Bernard Fontaine, head of technical innovations at France TV, confirms that the broadcaster undertook 8K acquisition trials at The French Open in May. The footage was never broadcast but was screened in the Roland Garros media center. Plus, the Netflix TV show “Lost in Space” was shot using 8K cameras, and in Japan, set top boxes are expected to provide native 8K content from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

But 8K screens probably won’t need 8K content to sell anyway. This is where 2018’s other much-hyped trend, artificial intelligence (AI), comes into play. TV makers are already well advanced on leveraging AI techniques to improve image quality and exploit incoming 4320p displays.

Creating 8K content may be expensive and delivering it challenging, but AI is an easy to implement interim fix.

Jürgen Boyny, Global Director of CE for GFK, is confident 8K will prove to be one 2018’s emerging trends.

Samsung is leading the way with Machine Learning Super Resolution (MLSR), an AI-driven image processing technique that can upscale any source to 4320p. It uses comparative algorithms to interpolate missing detail.

Detail Creation places texture in low-definition areas, while Edge Restoration improves pixel definition and smooths edges.

MLSR intelligently applies filters for brightness, black level, and color.

The end result is apparently so convincing, viewers would be hardpressed to tell faux 8K from the real thing.

Samsung intends to use MLSR processing on its debut 85-inch 8K TV, due later this year. “When you consider that display market is rapidly shifting to the trend of large screens, 8K market growth is inevitable,” says Steve Mitchell, Samsung’s head of product management for TV and AV.

@SteveMay_UK

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INDUSTRY Q&A

RENEWALS Members Speak on Renewing Their CEDIA Membership

Todd Kang K I Systems

Mike Ranpura Smart Life AV

Abdul Karim Mirani Desert Sound

Philippe Donnet DÉFI TECHNIQUE SA

What was the primary reason for you renewing your CEDIA membership for 2019?

KANG For us, it’s all about the wealth of resources and the benefits that we have access to, as well as being part of the larger global community.

Everything from education to events and in between, it helps empower our business. Plus, the staff at CEDIA are a pleasure to work with.

RANPURA I believe there needs to be an organization, just as in other industries, that continues to help grow and push the boundaries of the AV industry. CEDIA needs to exist to help clients determine which companies are reputable — and as companies, we should all work towards the goal of winning a CEDIA Award. CEDIA does a great job at everything else in between, providing opportunities to grow your business, helping expand our knowledge, and co-hosting one of the largest trade exhibitions in our industry, ISE. I fully support the work CEDIA does across the board for our industry.

DONNET The CEDIA community is very professional and a good high-end reference, and we want to be part of this and seen as a company who follows these standards

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What do you find most beneficial about being a member?

KANG It’s hard to single one thing out, but I would say it’s the community forum. We get a daily digest, which includes some interesting topics. There’s always something to be learned from other members or get a different point of view people who have been in the industry for many years, as well as those who are just starting out. It makes for an interesting read and I look forward to it every day during my morning coffee.

RANPURA I decided to become a CEDIA Outreach Instructor and CEDIA Accredited Presenter. In 2018, CEDIA gave me the opportunity to provide client consultations at the London Homebuilding & Renovating Show. I was also interviewed on a live panel at the show in front of around 80 attendees.

Ending last year on a high, I was asked to present training for 50 architects at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) London CPD Roadshow. These opportunities would not have been possible without CEDIA. MIRANI Being a CEDIA member has helped me to grow my company’s business. I believe that the opportunities CEDIA provides by arranging various exhibitions allows me to interact with peers at a different level. It gives me exposure to the latest practices, products, and services.

I have forged a lot of mutually beneficial relationships within the CEDIA community. There is a wealth of online information that I have access to and I can choose appropriate training sessions for my team members.

Constant development of CEDIA resources is very strong proof of the association’s commitment to its members. An example would be The Cinema Designer being acquired by CEDIA, simplifying the process of designing a home theater.

DONNET The biggest benefit of being a CEDIA member is that it allows us to let our current and future clients know that we are part of a professional community, and as such, they can rely on us to deliver a professional and highquality install for them.

What member benefits are you most looking forward to using in 2019?

KANG For us, we aim to attend the CEDIA Awards ceremony for the first time. As a new company in the industry, we are striving to be the best we can, so it makes sense to attend events where we can network with our peers. The annual awards yearbook of finalists and award winners makes us strive to be part of the award-winning community. We also look forward to booking CEDIA education and getting some more certifications under our belt.

RANPURA In this industry, there is always something new to learn. I plan on expanding my knowledge further through more training courses. I will also continue to make the most of CPD presentation opportunities.

DONNET I am looking forward to Switzerland-based architects and planners becoming more familiar with CEDIA, what it means, and ensure that CEDIA members are the integrators they choose to work with on future projects. This will help to increase the visibility of CEDIA in our region.

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What advice would you give companies who aren’t currently members or haven’t renewed yet?

How easy was the renewal process?

KANG Very easy — a few clicks, and you’re done. Our renewal was completed online. I’m sure there are other ways, but as a digital company, we found this to be a very simple process that took less than a couple of minutes to complete.

RANPURA Very easy. I received the renewal invoice by email and made payment via bank transfer within five minutes.

DONNET The process was incredibility easy — I can’t say any more than that.

KANG What are you waiting for? Before becoming a CEDIA member, I was a little hesitant about being a member as I wasn’t sure where the value would come from. You hear about trade bodies that don’t give back or add any value to businesses once they’ve taken your cash and sent you a welcome pack. After joining CEDIA in 2017, we hadn’t utilized all the member benefits until a few months after joining, but that was all on us. Anything in life is a “two-way street” — the more you put in, the more you’ll get out. When we asked CEDIA about how we can drive additional value out of our membership, we were overwhelmed with the opportunities and are still trying to catch up and get on board with everything they have to offer. Honestly, the people and community at CEDIA make it what it is. Not being part of CEDIA isn’t really an option for us, we’re proud to be a member and wear the CEDIA badge on our sleeve, literally.

RANPURA We regularly come across projects completed to very poor standards. When I meet integrators who are CEDIA members, they gain my respect. To me personally, it shows that they as a company are committed to doing a good job and as it states on the member guidelines, carry out work to an ethical standard. CEDIA membership is so much more than just paying a fee every year, and I urge any reputable company to renew or become members.

MIRANI I would highly recommend CEDIA to anyone who wishes to improve their business. There are great training programs available, such as the one offered in collaboration with HAA, leading to THX Level I — Level III certifications. Being a CEDIA member allows you to learn from other members’ experiences. You can browse through the members for products and services and even acquire dealerships from fellow members in another country making it profitable for you. There is such a vast variety of world-renowned manufacturers and a diversity of products to select from CEDIA members. In addition, CEDIA provides great exhibitions where the industry comes together to put on a brilliant show! The staggering displays of endless products and services is unparalleled and gives you a chance to discover new products that might be very beneficial for your company DONNET I think that CEDIA is a very good label and gauge of quality, and supports members who are achieving great things.

Being the best that you can be and doing a good job all the time is enough of a reason to join CEDIA.

cedia.net/cedia-membership/renew

Creating An Extraordinary Home Cinema Experience

CinemaTech provides an exclusive opportunity to create a custom home cinema for your clients that is incredibly comfortable, maximizes the technology investment & reflects their unique tastes and desires.

Seating Acoustical Treatment Home Cinema Design www.mycinematech.com 972.381.1071

Speak to your CinemaTech team today and learn how, together, we can help create an extraordinary home cinema experience through our world-renowned design, seating and acoustic solutions.

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SURVIVING A

RECESSION Thoughts from two integrators and a financial planner on weathering an economic downturn Ed Wenck

Content Marketing Manager, CEDIA

Gordon van Zuiden, founder of California’s cyberManor, remembers the Great Recession vividly.

“There were times it wasn’t clear that we were going to make it.”

There’s growing concern that after an extended period of economic growth, the American economy might be headed for a downturn. Ed Gilmore (Gilmore’s Sound Advice, NYC) noted that a recent issue of the New York Times delivered to his doorstep featured no less than three articles about potential problems. “It's not as if this is a secret, right?” says Gilmore.

“We know that the stock market took a hit this year,” adds Gilmore. “We know that hedge funds took a hit. We have two clients that were involved in hedge funds that were going to begin a really massive project out east in the

Hamptons, and now they’re kicking it down the road a little bit 'cause they lost so much money.

They just bled.”

Hope for the Best, But …

So what should one do to prepare for — and react to — the darkening economic clouds that may be on the horizon? That’s the question posed to three guests — van Zuiden, Gilmore, and financial adviser Peter Dunn (aka “Pete the Planner” — pictured) on a recent CEDIA Tech Council Podcast.

Dunn, whose clients come to him for both personal and business advice, believes part of the solution literally begins at home: “Often times, small business owners think that their small businesses will save their personal finances.

I'm here to tell you that it's the opposite. If your

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“

personal finances are fine, you can take the risks in your business that you need to stay ahead of the competition.”

Some of the best revenue innovations in small business came from the recession.

“Start with a home budget,” Dunn says.

“Know the least amount of money you need to earn in a month to survive. I've been running my business for 15 years.

I have several employees. Still, to this day when I see on the horizon things tightening, we dial it back at home.

I say, ‘I know I need to bring in this amount.’”

Once that’s accomplished, then focus on that bottom line at work. “For the most part, hopefully these things don't last four or five, six years,” notes van Zuiden. “Given the history of these things, if they last for 12-24 months then you know what your expense levels are. You can do the math on 24 months and ensure that you're protected with either money in the bank or line of credit or other sources.

“Then you know you'll come out okay.”

Specifics from the Panel Gordon van Zuiden notes that during the last recession, he was leasing his building. That’s why van Zuiden’s a fan of owning your physical address. “I can postpone rent to myself without too much trouble,” he notes.

Dunn advises not buying when the market is as hot as it is right now, though. “We’re at the height of the real estate market,” he points out.

For his part, Gilmore has a subtenant to the lease on his building in Manhattan. Of the 8,000-square feet that his company and tenant occupy, about half is an experience and event center, and making that space available for a price is another way to bring in more revenue.

Gilmore’s also looking at the entire range of offerings that he’s presenting to his clients and adjusting his business model as he goes. “I see lighting overtaking our AV business probably within the next two years,” Gilmore.

Gilmore’s taking a look at his recurring monthly revenue as well, a concept that Dunn is familiar with.

“Some of the best revenue innovation in small business came from the recession,” says Dunn. “Take the HVAC companies — at some point, they realized, ‘God, we can't sell anything right now.’ Can't sell any units, can't

sell any air conditioners. So they said, ‘You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna come to your house for twice a year. We'll call it a service plan and that service plan will become the retainer that helps us survive. Now, if I need to make a product recommendation through the course of that, I will.

But it's primarily about setting the relationship — essentially annuitizing your revenue; strengthening that relationship before your client is freaking out about money.”

Other notions are on the table: Should you give your employees performance bonuses instead of raises during a downturn, for example?

Dunn has some pretty interesting notions that dovetail into this concept: “I have a friend who's a brewer. His solution to their issues during the recession was to empower his entire brewing team to cut costs at the facility. They got an extra paycheck at the end of the year by reducing the other end of the ledger. They couldn't effect revenue, really, but when you have your workers reminding themselves, ‘I'm gonna turn off these lights when I'm not in here. I'm not gonna run the water when I don't have to when I'm cleaning this tank,’ it can make a big difference. As a result, there was a huge savings for the organization, and the employees got to share in that savings. Sometimes revenue is not the solution. A reduction in expenses and empowering each unit or each person to be part of that is a good thing to do.”

The complete podcast: Episode 94, iTunes file number 1901. cedia.net/insights/techcouncil-podcast

cybermanor.com @cyberManor gilmoressoundadvice.com petetheplanner.com @PeteThePlanner

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Adelle King Former Staff Writer, Connection Magazines

Sydney-based integrator Instinct has incorporated “positive” psychology into its business strategy and undertaken a number of changes that focus on employees and clients, as well as the technical side of the business.

PYSCH OUT

THE COMPETITION

Sarah-Jayne Whiston

Instinct, which specializes in custom installation solutions for lighting, home automation, AV, security, and home networking, is run by Kirt Duryea and had been a fairly typical integrator business until recently.

However, Instinct has made some significant changes to its systems and staff over the past three years after bringing in coaching psychologist Sarah-Jayne Whiston to help the company become more productive.

Whiston, who started her career as a forensic psychologist before moving

into coaching psychology, brought in a “positive psychology” approach to make changes within the business, focusing on what would encourage employees to perform well.

Applying a positive psychology lens to business coaching brings a strengthsbased approach to the workplace, increasing employee satisfaction and engagement to help companies drive productivity.

Studies have shown that when employees feel happy, valued, and have purposeful work, they will perform better, leading to an increase in productivity and accuracy in tasks. In fact, research conducted by international consultancy company, iOpener found happy employees were a big advantage in the modern economy and were 50% more productive and 50% more motivated.

Instinct recognized this opportunity for improvement and brought in Whiston to make changes to the business based on positive psychology principles.

“Effectively what I did at Instinct was look at what was working and how we could enhance that by focusing on the strengths in the team. Making sure the right people are in the right job lends itself to productivity, so the first practical change I made was restructuring the staff,” says Whiston.

“The culture of the business wasn’t one of positivity and productivity, so I knew those were the two cornerstones

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that I needed to turn around. It’s still a work in progress, and now we’ve started looking at the systems to ensure there are good, positive processes in place that allow us to spend less time on paperwork and red tape and more time on relationships.”

Whiston says Instinct has now built a culture of positivity and learning where employees at the company are open to change.

“Business needs change so rapidly, especially in this industry, so it’s important to be flexible and have people who are open to this. When people are open to change it allows the business to be reflexive and take action.”

The re-structure had a positive impact on the business and was so successful that Whiston’s role at Instinct has evolved, and she is now a director, responsible for the overarching management and strategy of the company.

Since most integrators get into business because they like working with their hands, there is generally a technical focus rather than a business and industry development approach.

However, at Instinct, having Whiston on the team enables the company to focus on the technical side of the business while also strategizing and thinking three to five years ahead of where the company needs to be.

“This has created rapid growth because it’s not just one person trying to be everything to everybody.

There is support to grow the business without taking away from what we do,” says Whiston.

“My role in the company is about bringing it back to people because at the end of the day you’re selling to people, you’re building your business around people, and it’s people who are going to use the technology.”

This emphasis on the human element of the business means Instinct isn’t just concentrating on what it does, but “why” and “who for.”

“Today, customers are looking for technology that helps them live a better and more convenient life or that has an intelligent benefit for them. As integrators, we need to make sure we’re giving this to our clients,” says Whiston.

“Technology now isn’t just cool, it helps us live a life we really want to be living, and it’s important to remember this when we put a solution in for a client. Our solutions need to make the client’s life better in some way, add to their world and practically work for them rather than being complicated and showy.”

By separating the company into areas that focus on the technology and areas that focus on industry development, Whiston says Instinct has become more solution — rather than problem — oriented.

“We’ve been able to be much more creative in how we solve problems and people flourish in that type of environment. Everyone from technicians to admin staff feel like they’re using their strengths and are getting traction in the work they do every day, which allows for more thinking outside the box,” says Whiston.

“This has translated to an increase in revenue, profits, and referrals.

We also have clarity in where we’re going and who we are.”

Now, Whiston spends her time investigating technologies that are on the horizon to get an idea of how they will affect the business before they arrive. Where most integrators tend to focus on what’s in front of them, Whiston is very much looking at what is coming next.

“We’re in such an exciting time, so as a business we need to make sure we stay ahead of the game. In an industry full of disruptive ideas, where new technology can hit the market and completely disrupt the way things were done before, we need to have a business that’s open to change,” says Whiston.

Integrators that do not adapt to the changing business climate risk being left behind, especially as the line between the systems integration market and industries such as electrical, IT, and security blur.

Similarly, as consumer awareness of the home automation industry grows, thanks to products such as Nest thermostats and Amazon Alexa, re-focusing on clients and being adaptable to their changing needs can help integrators stay ahead of the market.

“Having someone in the company who is people-focused is no longer a soft-skill, it’s actually something that can really help the business grow,” says Whiston.

instinctelectrical.com.au

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AROUND THE WORLD Once again, Integrated Systems Europe offered attendees the chance to dig in to some amazing CEDIA training sessions.

But Amsterdam is not the only place that CEDIA is hosting education this year. The association is focused on providing its global member base with the opportunity to easily access professional development via both face-to-face and online training. CEDIA will also be raising awareness and recognition of the industry and its members in the design community, hosting a number of local events in various countries (with some being run in the local language), publishing new white papers, and undertaking outreach at other exhibitions. Kryterion — which is an online certification platform — allows members to take the CEDIA certification exams wherever they want and whenever they want.

2019 PLANS AUSTRALIA CEDIA is planning three Tech Summits in Australia this year — one in Sydney, another in Melbourne, and a third as part of the CEDIA Connected Home conference on the Gold Coast on May 24th and 25th. Members in Australia will also benefit from an expanded education program at Integrate later in the year, while design professionals will be able to attend CPD training at Design Build and Sydney Build.

INDIA This year is a big step forward for CEDIA in India as it is looking to appoint a local CEDIA representative to manage our activities and support members in that country. As the Tech Summits have proven extremely popular among these members, CEDIA will be looking to host two events this year, as well as launch the CPD program with the COI training to raise awareness within the design professional community.

LATIN AMERICA A number of CEDIA training and networking events will be running within the Latin America region in 2019. As well as hosting a two-day Tech Summit in Mexico City, CEDIA will be working with its training partners in Mexico and Colombia to offer CEDIA education in Spanish. It will also be supporting local trade and dealer events with education, networking, and CEDIA Certification.

Lastly, CEDIA will be launching the CPD program within this region, which includes COI training for our members.

CANADA Canadian members will be invited to the inaugural Tech Summit in Canada on May 9. These members will also benefit from standalone regional education and CEDIA Outreach Instructor training.

COMMUNICATES

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“The toughest part of a job?

Sometimes it’s the last 5%.” - ANON

Our job is to protect the design when we integrate technology into a beautiful home. We feel a great responsibility in product selection and early conversations with the clients — to complement the space and fill a client’s needs in an aesthetically pleasing way.

WISDOM FROM OUR MEMBERS (And Some Others, Too)

Jason Barth, Premier Luxury Electronic Lifestyles, USA, on “Working with Designers and Architects,” a CEDIA Tech Council Podcast (Episode 85, No. 1844)

Education is one of the best benefits to being a CEDIA member. Being able to find out about the latest technologies by attending training courses allows me to remain at the top of my game.

Alejandro Celis, Representaciones de Audio, Mexico

To me, the most important technology is probably not one thing or one brand, it is the integrator’s ability to provide a seamless, easy-to-use system for their clients.

The modern appetite for a simple, uncluttered life translates into a desire for hidden home tech. The client expectation is for integrators to deliver media systems that are truly invisible, without compromising the performance or the budget.

Stuart Robertson, Sound Living, Australia

Christian Dodgson, Clearly Automated, UK

The continuing proliferation of great quality content via Netflix, Amazon Prime, and multiple other streaming services is also helpful to integrators.

Thanks to the teachings of Rich Green, we are expanding into VR, robotics, and gaming, so I look forward to seeing where our business is in a year’s time. One thing is sure, it will be completely different. We’ve just got to figure out how to make a dollar out of it, and I know those of us who belong to CEDIA will have the answer.

Ian Bolt, Custom Sight & Sound, UK

Adam Raymond, PRZM, UK

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