Audio Control announced this week the availability of its new high performance HDBaseT extenders that allow installers and integrators the ability to safely and successfully run HDMI signals over long distances reliably. The company has been in the audio/video extender (baluns) business for some time now, with these new models – the HDBT-S1 and HDBT-R1 – pushing the performance edge.
News
Yamaha’s Fiscal First Half Results are Mixed
Yamaha Corporation released the results for its fiscal first semester or first half of the fiscal year 2015 (April 1, 2014 – September 30, 2014) with results generally positive, but mixed. Overall consolidated sales increased 4.4% to ¥206.4 billion ($1.9 billion) as compared to ¥197.7 billion ($1.8 billion) in the same period last year. But of some concern is the fact that only one of its four major business segments showed an increase in operating profits – and two of the four lost money during the period.
See more on Yamaha’s financial performance… [Read more…] about Yamaha’s Fiscal First Half Results are Mixed
Spring Deck Partners with Azione Unlimited Buying Group
Spring Deck LLC, a start-up company that offers a new sales presentation solution for integrators, announced this week that it has cut an exclusive partnership deal with Azione Unlimited, a national buying group of dealers and integrators. According to Spring Deck, the deal makes its app and service instantly available Azione members…and at a specially discounted price.
See more on the Spring Deck/Azione Unlimited partnership… [Read more…] about Spring Deck Partners with Azione Unlimited Buying Group
Integration Industry Mourns the Passing of Crestron’s Founder
We learned this week that the Chairman and Founder of Crestron, Mr. George Feldstein, passed away after a long illness. The news hit many in the custom integration industry particularly hard, as Mr. Feldstein is widely credited with helping not just build a company…but with also fueling the growth of the entire industry.
See more on this notable passing… [Read more…] about Integration Industry Mourns the Passing of Crestron’s Founder
Economists Predict Rapid Ramp-Up in Residential Construction
We were fortunate enough to receive an invitation from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) allowing us to participate in their annual Fall Construction Forecast presentation, a webinar put on for the benefit of their members last week. Boy! Are we glad we attended! Not only did the organization offer up a roster of world-class economists with really interesting insight into what’s going on in the economy – they also offered reams of really valuable data delineating the latest trends in construction.
Their predictions were – to put it mildly – shocking! Read below to find out why…
[Read more…] about Economists Predict Rapid Ramp-Up in Residential Construction
Nortek Releases Q3 Results; Has AV Turned a Corner?
Nortek, Inc., a diversified manufacturer of commercial and residential products largely targeted towards the new construction business, announced on Monday the financial results of the third quarter of their current fiscal year. Overall, the results were mostly positive, although two of their business units saw revenues decline in the quarter. Surprise…surprise…neither of them were the newly designated AVC (Audio Video Control) segment, as you (and we) might have suspected.
AVC showed a sales increase. Does this mean AVC has turned a corner in results?… [Read more…] about Nortek Releases Q3 Results; Has AV Turned a Corner?
Everything’s Fine, Says Control4; But Investors See Monsters Under the Bed
This story is being written on Halloween – hence, the “monsters” in the headline. On Thursday, Control4 released the financial results for their fiscal third quarter and held a conference call for analysts and investors. The numbers all looked good and the management team rightly crowed about their prowess. But during the Q&A session tough questions emerged…
See what had some analysts a little spooked… [Read more…] about Everything’s Fine, Says Control4; But Investors See Monsters Under the Bed
Ingram Micro’s Q3 Financials Show Sales Up; Profits Down
Ingram Micro, Inc. released the financial results for their fiscal third quarter (the period ending Sept. 27, 2014) showing generally positive results. Sales for the quarter increased to $11.2 billion, a $1 billion or 11% increase over the $10.2 billion for the same period last year. According to Ingram Micro CEO Alain Monié, the increase was due primarily to “new wins” and “strong market share.”
But while gross profits were up, gross margins, operating income, and net income were all down for the period…and that fact led us to take a closer look.
See our report below on the financial results for Ingram Micro… [Read more…] about Ingram Micro’s Q3 Financials Show Sales Up; Profits Down
You Knew It Was Dying, But LG Makes It Official – Plasma is Dead
Yesterday in South Korea, LG Electronics made formal what we all knew was coming – they are ending production of all plasma display panel products. Even though we knew it was coming, somehow…it still hurts. We’ve had many an engineer tell us the plasma was the most accurate picture available – many saying they own it themselves. Certainly, they are sure to be ruing this day.
See more on this dramatic – and somewhat sad – announcement from LG… [Read more…] about You Knew It Was Dying, But LG Makes It Official – Plasma is Dead
Is Beta Better? Yamaha Launches First Earphones with Beta-Titanium Tubes
Yamaha Corp. announced today that it has launched a new line of earphones that includes a model with what it claims is the “world’s first” to use a beta-titanium sound tube. Yamaha’s EPH-M200 also features a “large-caliber” or diameter driver for better quality sound – and features a striking design available in three different colors.
