This week, AVNation features Ted Green – me – on a special episode discussing the CEDIA Director Elections taking place right now. As you may know, there was some controversy surrounding this election as CEDIA’s board decided to change the normal election process where association members pick from a selection of nominees to vote on those they want on the Board of Directors. Instead, this year members vote with a simple yes/no on a predetermined slate of candidates selected by the Board’s Governance Committee.
September Housing Starts Continue to Drop
The latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly show that housing starts – a measure of residential construction activity – continue its downward spiral, dropping in September to a rate of 1.4 million units, below economists’ forecast. Single-family housing starts hit their lowest level in more than two years as a slowing economy and sky-high mortgage rates depress demand for housing.
See the latest housing market data…
[Read more…] about September Housing Starts Continue to DropNationwide Sets Sights on Custom Integration & Luxury Home Dominance
See My Interview w/Nationwide President Tom Hickman
In the days leading up to the recent CEDIA Expo in Dallas, Nationwide Marketing Group, one of the largest buying groups in the U.S., announced that former ProSource VP Andy Orozco would be joining Nationwide as its Senior Vice President of Custom Integration. That news grabbed my attention as it came less than a year after Nationwide’s acquisition of one of the top custom integration buying groups, Azione Unlimited, back in October 2021.
Clearly, something big is going on at Nationwide…
[Read more…] about Nationwide Sets Sights on Custom Integration & Luxury Home DominanceCEDIA Expo 2022 Had Nearly 12,000 Attendees; A Good Post-COVID Restart
It took a couple of weeks, but Emerald Expositions finally released the attendance figures for CEDIA Expo 2022. According to the exposition company, the attendance of nearly 12,000 “exceeded expectations” – their expectations apparently. But there is no question that it certainly blew away the attendance of just 1,400 folks who visited CEDIA Expo 2021.
See more on CEDIA Expo 2022 attendance
[Read more…] about CEDIA Expo 2022 Had Nearly 12,000 Attendees; A Good Post-COVID RestartVOXX Intl, Owner of Onkyo & Others, Reports Fiscal ’23 Q2 Sales Decline, $11M Net Loss
VOXX International Corporation (NASDAQ: VOXX) announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 this week and they were quite sobering. Not only did revenues decline by double digits, but the company had a dramatic increase in net loss to nearly $11 million.
What went wrong?
See more on VOXX Intl’s fiscal Q2/2023 results
[Read more…] about VOXX Intl, Owner of Onkyo & Others, Reports Fiscal ’23 Q2 Sales Decline, $11M Net LossCEDIA Expo Gives the Cold Shoulder to Any Media Not Named CE Pro
It’s a remarkable event when someone can claim a legitimate first. In all my years in this crazy Tech business, those firsts are getting fewer and further between. But Emerald Expositions, owner of the CEDIA Expo trade show can claim a legitimate first that I have never seen before from any show. They gave the cold shoulder to any media organization not named CE Pro.
Usually, shows want good media relations across the board with happy media writing positive stories and building an upbeat buzz about their event. Not Emerald…they are quite satisfied to help just one media outlet to run positive stories about their event…their very own CE Pro.
See how Emerald and CEDIA Expo give the media the cold shoulder
[Read more…] about CEDIA Expo Gives the Cold Shoulder to Any Media Not Named CE ProCEDIA Board Elections Now Open, But Did Org Violate Its Own Bylaws?
Why Did an Anonymous Source Call My Attention to the Bylaws?
On Tuesday, CEDIA members received an email from David Weinstein, the well-known VP of Lutron who also serves as the Chairman of CEDIA’s Board of Directors, informing them that the election process to fill vacant seats on the Board of Directors was now open. There are three seats to be filled and Weinstein’s email helpfully/confusingly names just three candidates the Board’s Governance Committee has selected to fill the three open seats. It was the first indicator that something was different with this election as compared to the usual process.
I read this announcement carefully, as only hours before it was distributed I had received a cryptic message from a source exhorting me to find and read “the current Cedia [sic] bylaws.” Something was definitely brewing…
See more on the CEDIA Board elections…
[Read more…] about CEDIA Board Elections Now Open, But Did Org Violate Its Own Bylaws?Select Tech Stories from CEDIA Expo 2022
This post will present some of the top tech stories from CEDIA Expo 2022. You know, covering a trade show like Expo has always been a particular challenge for me. As someone who is always looking for a good story, going to a trade show with hundreds of exhibits is a bit like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. Nonetheless, I was able to discover several stories I found particularly interesting and I hope you’ll like them too.
Read on for my select tech stories from CEDIA Expo 2022
[Read more…] about Select Tech Stories from CEDIA Expo 2022CEDIA Expo 2022: After the Expo 2021 Dumpster Fire, A Better Expo Brings Relief
CEDIA Expo 2022, the integration business trade show owned by Emerald Expositions, wrapped up this past Saturday and relief amongst exhibitors was obvious throughout the venue as integrators actually showed up this year in decent – but certainly not great – numbers. It was a refreshing contrast to the dumpster fire known as CEDIA Expo 2021 – when over 200 exhibitors pulled out of the event because of rising COVID cases and a total of only 1,400 people representing booth staff, agencies, and attendees showed up.
It was a much different picture this year…
See more of my thoughts on CEDIA Expo 2022
[Read more…] about CEDIA Expo 2022: After the Expo 2021 Dumpster Fire, A Better Expo Brings ReliefWhat to Expect at CEDIA Expo 2022
Finally, after two years without a real show – absolutely no show in 2020, and a very tiny one in 2021 – the industry comes together again for its one big show of the year – the CEDIA Expo 2022. Although not technically post-COVID, at least the situation is improving to the point where the world is beginning a return to something that approaches normal. And that brings us to now, the relaunching of live in-person events like the CEDIA Expo in Dallas, TX. But what can you expect if you head to Dallas and Expo?