The Integration Conversation

Tax expert Morgan Scarboro from MultiState covers how states will get "creative" on taxes: business and corporate taxes, taxes on digital goods, taxes on services, and so on – based on what we've learned from previous recessions. https://www.multistate.us/

A roundup of some of the Talks offered by CEDIA Volunteers at this year's Virtual Expo Experience. Topics include the difficulties of making voice control interfaces really understand various phrasings, video analytics for surveillance, a preview of Wi-Fi 6E, and more. https://www.youtube.com/user/CEDIAHQ

Everything you need to know about flat panel displays – especially the big, bright ones that are now on the market. We've got deets on installation and applications, and what you need to consider regarding heat, power, noise, and the perfect audio setup. Our guest is Samsung's Kris Hogg. Samsung's The Wall: https://bit.ly/3gCY0te

And for something a little different: Imagine a cross between Bill Nye and the guys from Jackass, but with content focusing on electronics, debunking fake viral videos ABOUT electronics, and dispelling myths about 5G panic and what have you. That's Mehdi Sadaghdar. This YouTube sensation is informative, funny as heck, and apparently impervious to injury. https://www.youtube.com/user/msadaghd

A chat with CEDIA's Keynote speaker at the 2020 Virtual Expo Experience. Boyd will deliver two addresses: Building Brands to Shift Industries: Today, Tomorrow, The Future; and Economic, Societal, and Consumer Trends for a 21st Century Mindset: In Conversation with Linzi Boyd and Darren Shirlaw. http://www.linziboyd.com/

Mike Heiss (M Heiss Consulting) attended the annual Display Week show (virtual this year) to fill us in on the latest gear – that you can't even buy yet. This show from SID (the Society for Information Display) is a look at emerging tech as it begins to come to market. https://michaelheiss.com/ http://www.displayweek.org/2020.aspx

Google and Ring are now offering products and services tailor-made for CEDIA firms – and we'll learn more about the philosophy behind their growing pro divisions. Guests include Google's Adeel Tufail and Ring's Andrew Vloyanetes. Google Duplex https://youtu.be/D5VN56jQMWM Google Nest Pro https://pro.nest.com/build/ Ring https://ring.com/

Guy Singleton, creator of The CEDIA Designer, joins us to talk about handling "non-traditional" room shapes (that perhaps aren't optimum for cinemas), proper audio for displays like Samsung's The Wall, and how CEDIA's standards and practices work informs TCD. TCD: https://cedia.net/tcd/tcd-home Samsung's The Wall: https://bit.ly/3gCY0te

Want to add lighting to your integration projects? Start here. Pete Romaniello (IALD) of https://www.conceptuallighting.com/ gives us an overview of the lighting segment from the certified lighting designer's perspective. Pete has volunteered as a CEDIA instructor and has trained CEDIA integrators who've won awards for their lighting projects. Romaniello is teaching a class called "How to Work wit...

Creating lasting change is much easier said than done. How do you know what change is needed? How do you get your team on board? How do you make it stick? OneVision's Jason Griffing walks us through the steps of change management. https://www.onevisionresources.com/ By the way, Griffing will be presenting a webinar on this very subject soon: https://www.onevisionresources.com/create-lasting-change

CEDIA's Steve Rissi and Samantha Ventura break down the philosophy behind the curriculum in the new CEDIA Academy coursework, and the differences between holistic and utilitarian educational styles. https://cedia.net/education  

Dr. Rebecca Homkes outlines her three-step strategy for actually growing your business during a downturn. Interested in more? https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6657689602767364096/

From 5G to cybersecurity to managing streaming content for your clients, our twice-yearly highlight wrap-up features clips from the five most popular shows we recorded this year. Also -- here's the link for nominations to the CEDIA Board of Directors: https://cedia.net/about/leadership/board-of-directors/cedia-board-nominations  

Walt and Ed once again dig into the world of delivering clean, surge-free power to the integrated home. What's the latest UPS technology? How are best practices developing? And what should an integrator avoid? Our guests are Nyron Kahrim  from Middle Atlantic/Legrand, and Vince Luciani and Jimmy Paschke from SurgeX. https://www.legrand.us/middleatlanticproducts.aspx https://www.ametekesp.com/surge...

The CEB28 HDMI System Design and Verification and CEB22 Audio Design best practice guidelines are nearing completion with the ongoing efforts of CEDIA/CTA R10 Working Group. CEDIA's Senior Director of Technology and Standards (and podcast co-host) Walt Zerbe is a big part of that effort, as are Technical Research Consultant David Meyer and CEDIA Board Member Peter Aylett (HTE). Here's a progress r...

Mitch Reitman of the Reitman Group – regular contributor to the CE Pro family of publications – walks us through changes in small-business stimulus, and some pitfalls you need beware of. https://www.reitman.us/

As Grandcare's Laura Mitchell tells us, "With COVID19 we have just seen aging and senior housing turned on its head with social isolation, lack of healthcare workers, and the fear of hospitals. We are inundated with calls and requests for the video chat, telehealth capabilities, and activity monitoring." Mitchell joins us to talk about the state of the post-COVID aging industry and best practices...

How do you change products or services to fit a lockdown situation or match your client's comfort level? Can you do that even without having techs in the house? Pete Trauth (Nirvana Home Entertainment), Mike Ranpura (Smart Life AV), and Mike McMaster (Wilshire Media Systems) have all been working on solutions to that problem. Peter Aylett (HTE), meanwhile, has some ideas about business opportuniti...

Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO Mental Health America joins us to speak about mental health as it relates to the small business owner (and their employees) during this pandemic. What are good coping mechanisms? How does one deal with these added pressures? What should someone be on the lookout for; the danger signs that things are getting away from them? https://mhanational.org/  

CEDIA's Desiree Friedman and James Bliss tell us about the work (and thought) that went into CEDIA's new website: the look, the learning systems, and the combination of several sites into one location serving our global community of integrators, specifiers, and clients. CEDIA.net

Two integrators share how their conversations with suppliers and clients have changed – and so has the way they do business. Guests include Heather Sidorowicz (SouthTown AV) and Jamie Briesemeister (Integration Controls). http://www.southtownav.com/ https://integrationcontrols.com/

A recap of the panel discussion with integrators and interior designers from the CEDIA Design Build Conference at ISE. Guests include Dean Keyworth, Armstrong Keyworth; Susie Rumbold, Tessuto; plus integrators James Ratcliffe, Homeplay; and Pip Evans, NV Integration. https://armstrong-keyworth.co.uk/ https://tessuto.co.uk/ https://www.homeplay.tv/ https://nvintegration.co.uk/

John Penney, who's been a strategy officer for some of the biggest names in media, joins Ed and Walt to talk about the myriad changes wrought by the pandemic in content production and delivery, and what that means for integrators. For more on CEDIA, check out CEDIA.net .

Michael Cogbill (Rev2 Consulting) walks us through the latest – and incredibly powerful – camera technologies, including techniques that can screen for fever through facial imagery alone. Why are the challenges? And how can a residential integrator find the opportunities here? Resource: https://ipvm.com/

We discuss setting expectations, holding our employees accountable, and driving behavior to performance success as we embrace the new normal of the work-from-home environment, and the shifting protocols that come with working in the client's home. Our guest: Courtney Berg, Courtside Consulting: https://www.courtsidehr.com/