Vacation and Writers Block

I'm very much a creature of habit. Vacations, as much as I love them, tend to throw most of my daily habits out the window, and blogging was a pretty easy one to toss, only because I am so new to it.

Anywho.... I'm having a bit of writers block. I have some articles I can write, about music primarily, and movies, what im listening to and watching but my problem is they don't have the substance I want and am used to.

So, I wanted to get your thoughts. Im going to keep writing, something. But this is my first slump so to speak. Please stick with me, i'll get through it and give you the substance you want and look for from me.

Thanks

Music and listening

I came to the conclusion the other day that I don't listen to nearly enough music. Sure, I have the stereo on in the car to and from work, and I do use an iPod, but that's not listening, it's background noise that happens to catch my attention from time to time.

When I was younger I used to make time to listen, really LISTEN. Sitting down, beverage of some kind, maybe a snack, dim the lights and put some music on. Listening to music was an active hobby. What nuance did I just hear? Have I ever heard that before? What new album should I try tonight? More and more that got replaced with, "eh, lets put some stuff on" while I go about the other things I do. The sad thing is, I don't think most people ever got to the point where they just listened, especially now in the age of a la carte music, let alone losing that time.

Anyway, the point is I need to make it a point to do this so, for the next few weeks, part of my routine is going to become listening to music. To foster this, i'm going to write about what i'm listening to, good and bad, and share. I think it will help me get re-engrossed in something I love so much, and it will give my readership and idea of what I like and don't.

Here's the question... Do you "listen"?

Might look good from far...

I was fortunate enough to get away this past week on vacation. While away, I noticed something different about this trip, that i've never sensed before on vacation....

Fake customer service.

This is the type of service that everyone says the right thing, but body language, actions and their eyes really tell you how they are feeling. Something behind the scenes isn't right, and they can't act well enough to hide it, or they don't care enough to hide it. It's probably one of the most sad things to see. Some people might think it's just fake, others might think it's rude. Others might not even care enough to notice.

I think it's sad. I think there's an underlying cause and until that improves you're going to see zombies. Clockwatchers. Working for the weekend. Working till they find another job.

The point is, we all need to be cognizant of our impact on one another. Being a jerk, being rude, being short, or being demeaning at work has an impact on your employees and that gets to your clients, one way or another.

Just because they might fake it with you doesn't mean they want to do as good a job with your customers and it can and will drive people away. People can do a really good job acting like they care if they think their job is on the line. People also know most consumers don't care enough about the interaction with the people serving to notice.

Subconsciously, most customers might get a sense and that might be enough to keep them away. Make it a point not to be the reason these interactions happen. It won't always keep your employees happy, but it might keep more employees than you think from ruining your brand.

Keep an eye out for this. I'd love for you to let me know when you see these interactions and take a macro look at where it happened- see what you think triggered it.

Why consumer electronics DONT get it

This is EXACTLY what's wrong with the industry.

This is a new "ultra flat" TV. Its so flat, in fact, that they can't fit standard connectors! So, they've decided to put color coded mini connectors in the box.

After you spend all this time figuring out AV, they just change it. Change the color code, change the connectors, make it completely different than anything else on the market.

Do all those connector and add ons really fit the ultra flat lifestyle? I'll answer that. NO You wanna put all those connectors behind a new super flat bracket to go with your super flat TV?

Good luck.

Three types of bad small biz

Having worked in AV for most of my career, I’m pretty familiar with the idea of small business. One thing that has recently become more apparent is that a poorly run small business feels like a broken economic machine. A vehicle for only the ownership to make money and everyone else struggles or worse.

There are few different ways this plays out, at least from what I’ve seen. I won’t get into them all, just some of the ones I know most about.

The first is the business that underpays and overworks the staff, and the ownership makes a ton of money. This seems to be the most volatile; no one thinks they can get ahead, and turnover is high. This coupled with low morale that tends to sink in once people realize the outcome doesn’t change; you can only make so much but you can always work harder.

These tend to make me the saddest. A lot of the time, they have someone in the driver’s seat who has incredible talent but has a pretty short sighted approach. Everyone is replaceable they think, at the expense of morale and growth.

The next is the business that the owners make a little less and pay or overpay a few “key” employees. The people that are well paid, a good amount of time, are deserving of their salaries. The problems are when those “key” employees are people who just happened to be there in the beginning and don’t deserve what they get as the company expands. They tend to rest on their laurels, become complacent, and become a drag on company resources when the company needs them the most.

The biggest challenge for places like this is realizing that those “key” people are holding up their share of the weight or should move on/ be replaced. If ownership doesn’t realize that, an economic down turn can force better, younger, and more hungry staffers into the arms of competition.

The positive in companies like these tends to be that turnover isn’t as great because people see the carrot. They think they have a shot at making the bigger salary. Sometimes they do. It depends on the perceived value of the individual. This positive can easily turn to a negative if everyone isn’t careful.

One of the issues with most small businesses is that they lack metrics to determine who should get what (performance reviews, employee evaluations, etc…). Monies tend to be given out after an especially difficult time or project; seemingly without rhyme or reason and a similarly difficult time or season gets less money at another point in the career for reasons beyond the employee’s control. This leads to confusion at best, and resentment at worst.

The last type of company I’ll speak about is the business that overpays everyone. Money is plentiful due to a rich owner or a series of large jobs or the potential of large jobs. Subsequently, money is handed out everywhere to everyone. Salaries are high by industry standards, the facilities are immaculate and the bank statements are well guarded. These usually end in a pretty spectacular fashion. Leaving a number of people and their families looking for money that is typically reserved for the best and brightest.

The overpaying companies are the ones that usually have vendors calling all the time, surprisingly expensive cars in the driveway and are usually the companies that one, two or three years down the line cease to exist. Sure, some are that make it, but it’s only a matter of time. If you doubt it, see the dot com bust or the hedge fund implosions for reference.

The real question is, how do you prevent this from happening to your company?

Be on guard constantly. Evolve, evolve, evolve.

Develop non-biased employee metrics that are enforced and routinely used. Let your employees know how they are doing and how they can improve.

Talk to your competitors (I know that’s not easy for everyone).

Interview candidates, even when you aren’t interested in hiring. Just to see what’s out there and what they make (or ask for)

If you run your own company, you’re entitled to the benefits, but don’t be the lord of the fiefdom all the time. Make sure you appreciate the people who help to support you. Many people forget that they were in the same position once.

Sure, you can probably replace them all, but at what cost to you?

Why is Consumer Custom AV so Small Time?

One of the biggest issues with the Custom AV world is that it, for all intents and purposes, is an industry dominated by small business. No major company has really had success at becoming the toll brothers of the AV world.

Sure, geek squad and Magnolia are under the Best Buy umbrella, but how many people would let them do true high end? Would you buy a 32-zone Crestron system from them? What about Wilson MAXX 3's?

Exactly. I wouldn't either.

So why hasn't AV been scalable on the consumer side? What is the problem? Why does commercial 'custom' AV work and consumer 'custom' not translate?

Look at the CE-Pro100. Most of those people on the list would at best be considered small businesses. Sure, there are one or two that have done well, but you likely won't see any of them get much larger any time soon nor will you see any mergers or take overs.

Now, take a look at the SCN top 50. Of the top 10 7 did over $100 million and the biggest did $400+ million?! Why doesn't this sort of thing happen in consumer? What are the differences? How can residential be more like commercial? How do we scale up?

I do know that every residential AV company i've ever spoken with or worked for does everything in a different manner. In office programmers, outsourced programmers, this speaker is flavor of the month, now this speaker gives better margins, in house wire pullers, subbing your wiring to electricians. Every place is different; it's like an electronic equivalent of snow flakes.

What consumer 'custom' AV really needs is a lead dog. Someone like an Apple, or WalMart or VW group. Someone who can rise above and provide the industry direction and force the hand of some of the manufacturers. Someone who can force the industry to create and innovate or be run over. Sure, P.C. Richards, BestBuy and WalMart sell billions in AV but it's a totally different world. Someone has to be the common enemy for 'custom'. Someone who does it better and really shakes up the big ego's in small AV.

It sounds odd, but it will give us all something to work on and improve. Everyone needs a good scare once in a while.

Sometimes a massive competitor is the best thing for an industry.

iPhone 4.0 and what it means to AV (or should)

I've seen quite a few articles recently about how iPhone and iPad just aren't the perfect fit for touchpanel usage. It seems by playing catch up to other phone manufacturers Apple has solved most of these problems in the new 4.0 update. Here are just a few examples, and what it means for the industry:

Multitasking- Clearly a no brainer. This will allow apps like Savant, Crestron and Control 4's to run in the background waiting for you to adjust volume or generally just play around with some other things and come right back, and let's not forget RemoteScape for Kaleidescape. Hopefully this means no more loading all your album art everytime you boot. Set and forget.

Fast application switching- Perhaps they dont need to run all the time, just remember exactly where they were when you used them last. 4.0 will allow you the ability to "freeze" these apps and come back, remembering what was happening last. This will be great for apps with volume feedback, perhaps like the Sonos iPhone app, or Remotescape (again)

Local Notifications- This is the game changer for me. The idea that these background apps can be aware and "push" a notice to you?! Amazing! Now, if your security conscious, you can leave your control system software in the background, and get a notice that the garage door opened, or that the cool sensor you placed in the beer cooler to see the kids trying to sneak a bottle for their friend will alert you seemingly everywhere now makes this a MUST for integration software makers

Now, if someone hasn't already thought of these. Feel free to use this article, free of charge... the only caveat is MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! Blow our minds! Use these devices as they should be used, as the second coming of the AV touchpanel!!!!

If integrators don't see the potential profit in programming now, do us a favor and close up in an orderly fashion. Distribute your clients to your competitors equally and let the innovators do their jobs!

Let me know your thoughts

The courts leave the FCC with no power, and im sure this wont end well

Wired Magazine

As a lot of people have heard, A federal appeals court struck down the FCC's ability to regulate broadband internet access. Wired, as the article above links to, seems to think that maybe Congress will step in and force some power back to the FCC as they can't get the national broadband plan off the ground without the FCC having some measure of power.

Think about that for a moment. Congress is going to step in and fix something. This is the same Congress that some members are leaving at 2pm because they lost a vote, and we think they are actually going to get on board and fix this mess?

I don't care if you're Republican, Democrat, Independent or Communist, the fact is Congress is not going to TOUCH this and come together to get it working again, leaving Americans to fend for themselves until the situation becomes so abhorrent that it becomes a total mess.

I have no faith in the abilities of the Legislative branch of Congress to right this wrong anytime soon.

We should all be displeased at what happened today and deeply concerned for the idea of Net Neutrality moving forward

The power of Twitter

Today is the first day i'm realizing the power of Twitter to bring like minded individuals together. How 140 characters can be enough sometimes baffles me, but I think that has something to do with the power of the human spirit to adapt and thrive on adaptation.

Up until recently, I didn't think much of Twitter, to be honest, but as I use it more and more I see more and more benefits.

Twitter, for me is like the stream of the days consciousness. My blog is the construction of some of those thoughts after a few hours of mental spitballing.

I'm starting to get it, again.

Change of Pace- In Home Client Demo

This is a republish of an article of mine from an industry-only publicatio

I’m not that old, but back when I started in this industry, integrated AV and automation control was pretty close to black magic. People did it, but not many people understood how or why. Six-figure systems were bought and sold on two things; your relationship with the buyer and the demo “wow”. These days, the demo seems to be a lost art form. People buy from a bid package and don’t really know what they’ve bought until the demo at the house months or years later and most of us take that time to show the client how the system works, not to blow the doors off and impress. What a lot of us don’t realize is that this could be the best demo opportunity we have ever gotten, showroom or not.

Now, ill admit that I’m pretty rusty on demoing. We don’t have a showroom, I don’t do sales, and the demo’s I tend to do are more of how to use the system vs. wowing the client. What I have started to do is alter the traditional demo to better suit my role and our product. The demo has become- The client life demo.

Basically, instead of wowing the client in a showroom, you are giving the demo of how to use the system, in their homes. Most of the time (at least in the case of Innerspace) the system programming is wrapping up as the client is moving in, so you really have a chance to make them realize how this impacts their life on a day to day basis.

I like to schedule at the end of the day, when people aren’t (as) rushed. As Production Supervisor, I like to get to the house early, check in, check the system out to know what needs work, and what doesn’t, and set the stage for what’s to come. Know what music is on the server, know what movie and what scene I want to demo, and run through the house to see what vignettes I want to stage. That’s right, what better place to stage a vignette, than to set it up where they are about to spend a large portion of their lives. Many showrooms use vignettes to give potential clients a taste of what a system like this might be like in their homes, this is where you have the upper hand!

Now, of course you’re going to do the jaw-dropping demo. The IronMan in the theater, the Dark Knight in the Media room, but what else? How about (pre) recording an HD football game in the study or bar? Why not show Bloomberg or MSNBC on the TV in the bathroom, or AM/FM and local news in the kitchen? Yes, you absolutely want to impress and show them what the system is capable of, but you also want the client to realize that you understand that this was a lifestyle choice, and you get how they live their lives to some extent. Play summer music in the dead of winter out by the pool, show off the lighting preset that gets them to the bedroom without fumbling for switches they have yet to discover. Make the house feel like home as soon as you can. This is also a great time to upsell. Show them the iPhone apps, sit them down at their computer and show them E-Control. Have all of this at the ready so that when they pick their jaws off the floor, you can make a quick, tidy profit and just bring these awesome features online near-instantly. You don’t just want to show them how to use it; you want to show them how to use it in their new life in their new home. What better time could you have to wow someone, than right after the stress of building and or moving into a new home?

Now, like the old days, the key to the demo is to lead the demo. You certainly don’t want the system to completely blow their minds but leave them unable to use it. Make sure it’s interactive. Make sure they learn how to do what you just did. The system is likely easy to use, but it might be their first system of this caliber and may be a bit intimidating, especially to the rest of the family. This is not like the old days in that you want to be seen as the “all powerful stereo guy”. Leave that to someone else. You want them diving right in. Nothing is better than coming back for an add-on and seeing the system being used by the whole family, with the exception of them loving the system so much that all their friends call….

Hulu- The Next Target of Big Media?

From the NY Times

A dear friend of mine forwarded the article above to me, and I felt compelled to touch on it.

Hulu, as a fair number of my readers may or may not know, is a really wonderful alternative to cable, satellite and even iTunes for a lot of people looking to get a TV fix on the cheap. Limited commercial interruption, and an ever growing library of "watch instantly" content has made Hulu a must watch for people who have internet and forgot to reload their iPod before a trip.

Because of their success, the media companies have shifted a little of their attention from Apple and iTunes just long enough to, what appears to me, scare Hulu into rethinking their operation. Since their inception, Hulu has made it hard to get from your computer with a TV show to a TV of any kind. Sure, there are workarounds, but they aren't easy, and don't always last. I don't blame them. Would you want to be a target of the cable companies or the content producers, especially as an upstart? I wouldn't either.

Now, it appears Hulu might have 'jumped the shark'. Reports say they may charge for content starting with their new iPad application. My question is, does this kill Hulu?

As Big Media gets rolling, once you start to see these sorts of concessions, there are more sure to follow. Look at Netflix. Netflix got movies into the hands of people less likely to watch than the normal demographic, and what did the movie companies do? They've started forcing them to hold movies for 28 days, to sell more DVD's.

Even Apple, reports have always been out there that Apple thinks prices are too high for individual TV shows. Would you rather buy a box set for $50 from iTunes or $19 at Best Buy? Apple knows this too, but they fought really hard against the music companies and movies might be too hard right now.

So back to the question, does this kill Hulu? My thought is, it wounds Hulu. The next round of concessions, whatever they may be, will be the mortal blow. As most of us know, Hollywood hasn't figured out DVD is on the way out, and because there isn't a formal replacement they've bet the farm on, so they need to do what they do best, lawyer up. In the process, stifling innovation and consumer choice.

Where does that leave us? Well, this round is just the motion picture studios picking the golden goose up by the neck. They haven't killed this one yet, but they will. Becoming a child of Comcast will take care of that.

AV, transition writing and the other things...

This site was always intended to document my transition in a small business, and give my take on what’s new and exciting in AV (at least to me). It’s only been a month now and I’m having a lot of fun with it.

Since I’ve started this, I’ve been on a self improvement binge too. If you’re gonna change you might as well make a bunch of good changes at the same time. I really want to get things in order, clean up loose ends, and generally make life easier and better.

How I did work the past four years, and subsequently, how I did my life as a whole the past four years is just wrong.

Sure, in the process I took a fair number of people down with me, but I’m looking to change that. Misery does love company. Little steps, big steps, whatever I can do to get to a better place and do work the right way. I do know I violated the Geneva Convention a couple of times, but I’m going to let the UN figure that out and start over. Until then, I’ll try to throw them off the trail and make life a little easier.

Today’s project was email as a boat anchor. Stuff sitting in inboxes just laying there, waiting to overwhelm me like a Komodo Dragon waiting for the wildebeest (sorry, I couldn’t resist the LIFE reference) At the office, I realized that

1. the projects I finished four years ago, three years ago, etc… were not going to bite me in the ass any more
2. That I was no longer in that position and it didn’t really matter

Needless to say, I deleted 2-3000 old emails today. My inbox went from 4-500 supposedly relevant emails to 102 as of this writing, and I have more to cut. Tonight, I’m going to organize and cut the fat in my personal email.

By the way, this was helped by a great article on ZenHabits- I strongly recommend you look at not just this article, but the site as a whole. I’m sure you’ll see plenty more from them on here.

http://zenhabits.net/2010/02/email-sanity/

Once I’ve done that, I’ll reward myself with some tunes again tonight. Any suggestions for the K-Scape playlist of the day?

CD's and the death spiral

Most people would rightly assume that i'm a music junkie, and those people would be correct. Recently, i've realized I don't buy as much music as I used to, and today I was reminded of a reason why.

I went to a Barnes and Noble for some reading material, and I figured i'd pickup some music too. I went to their music department and found the CD I had my eye on... for TWENTY DOLLARS. Needless to say, it didn't come home with me. It totally killed the impulse to buy a CD. Everyone knows that 'gotta have it now' impulse. Now, I have to go buy it on Amazon or some other place online and get it by the end of the week.

You might be asking yourself, why didn't I buy it on iTunes if I wanted instant gratification? Well, the fact is iTunes music sounds terrible for the most part. I'm not that big a snob that I don't buy it, but if I want to listen at home, my personal stereo has enough resolution to make iTunes sound like what it is, a compressed, strident, flat and generally poor recording. On a car stereo it's not that bad, but at home, for me it can't happen.

Now, with all this, i'm not saying that I miss CD or long for the 'old days' (which I sort of do, perusing isles and isles of discs was a favorite activity of mine) I just wish that downloadable music was higher res.

Bandwidth of your internet provider isn't much of a problem for music. Storage isn't much of a problem for most of us either, and we all know the people who make the music have the masters that have way more resolution than iTunes files, so what gives?

The answer is I don't know for sure, but i'm pretty sure most people don't know what really great, well recorded music sounds like, and these same people don't care at all about bitrates, they just want convenience. Instant gratification. More instant than ever before.

My real question is, what happens to those of us that do care? That's the answer i'm still waiting for. Until then, i'll keep buying records and CD's- online and wherever I can that isn't highway robbery. Sadly, I won't have as much instant gratification as I used to, but at least i'll enjoy it when it eventually comes.

Let me know your thoughts. Have you ever heard a really good stereo? Can you tell the difference? Do you even care about high end music reproduction. Sound off in the comments below.

Happy listening

The power of the playlist

I'm going out in a bit, but have some things to take care of before I head out. I fired up my media server, in this case a Kaleidescape because I was really jonsing for some music.

Using the RemoteScape software for my iPhone, i've been loading up on some great tunes.

DjKool (high school memories) Ben Harper (just general awesomeness) The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepp (for my classic rock fix).. you get the idea.

The point is, Kaleidescape gives me this flexibility and the music is totally uncompressed. No MP3, no FLAC, no AAC, none of the compression algorithms everyone knows to say but not what they do. Just straight CD, but more convenient than pulling the discs. Its a win win for someone with a large collection, like me, especially when my brain is pulling me in ten different musical directions.

Granted, the neighbors might hate me right now, but it makes me pretty happy.

Happy listening everyone

Cellular Repeaters for your home... Really.

One of the more obscure aspects of my business is a product called a cellular repeater. Cellular repeaters come in a couple of different shapes and sizes, and can be pretty inexpensive to quite daunting in price. It all really depends on the useage, and how much you really love your cell phone.

Cellular repeaters take or create a cellular phone signal where little or no signal existed before

The first, and original type is the standard cellular repeater. Or what I call MacroCell. These are setup by placing an antenna at a point predetermined by testing for the best cellular signal around your property. Once peak performance is found, a reciever is setup so that this signal is picked up and transmitted into the home. From there, in a manner similar to your WiFi network, the more powerful cellular signal is distributed throughout the house.

The beauty of this is that signal is improved and short of a cell tower failing or you losing all power, you have full cellular signal anywhere in your home.

The negatives are that the price for a full cellular repeater system can quickly run into the five figure range and if the cellular repeater installer doesn't know what he is doing you might get a car full of feds at your house looking to shut you down.....

No, i'm not kidding.

These systems work so well that if the system isn't properly tuned, it will create feedback and send that feedback to a cell tower causing, worst case, major cellular issues for that tower and probably a pretty unhappy agent of the government to arrive at your door. Needless to say this is not what I would really call do-it-yourself territory.

The other type of cellular repeater is brand new to the market and is called Femtocell technology. Femtocells are much smaller cellular repeaters that do not require cell tower feedback to operate. They plug into your network and use your computer network to boost the cell service locally. The advantages of these are numerous. First is they are fantastically cheap, AT&T's latest is $150. The second big plus is that they have some controls so you don't kill your bandwidth. You can program the "cell" to boost only particular phone numbers and ignore the rest.

The problems with femtocells are that they use your home computer network. Why is this a problem you ask? Well, think about emergency scenarios for example. You're buying this to improve cell signal, so if a tree comes down and takes out your phone and cable service, you also lose your cellular service, again. This is more common than you think. In the last set of major storms to hit the NYC metro area, plenty of people had power but are STILL without phone and cable!

The other big issue I and other industry writers have is you are paying companies like AT&T every month for the privledge of improving their network!

The other flaw (depending on how you look at it) with Femtocell, is it's usually specialized to your carriers particular network, where a MacroCell (the MyAVLife term for full scale cell repeaters) can repeat all cell signals (except Nextel) and all data that goes along with it.

Granted, for those of you who really need better service, this is a small price to pay, but the fact is that's a pretty galling request. Pay us to get better cell service in your house. Not what most people have in mind when they sign up for a network. I'm all for cell network improvments, but I don't want to be one of the people behind the Verizon guy, especially if i'm paying to be there!!!!

Which of these is right for you? It really depends on what you need out of your cell phone. If cell phone data is important or mission critical, if covering multiple networks is not that big a deal or life or death, and of course the cost to install.

Your best bet, as always, is speak to a professional you can trust to evaluate your needs. I know many people in the industry that do this sort of thing, and it can be had at all price points, but you do get what you pay for. This is one time that finding the best contractor possible is the smartest thing you can do. Nobody I know wants the FCC knocking at the door.

Tonight's movie

I wanted to write a longer article tonight but classic cinema called my name. Rather than go for one of the special effects driven flicks, I chose a classic.

One of those foundational films that no one realizes is so influential until they really watch it with one of the movies it helped inspire. Tonights movie is the classic Kurosawa movie- "The Hidden Fortress".

Yes "Seven Samurai" is the one everyone knows, but that doesn't mean his body of work begins and ends there. "Hidden Fortress" is a must watch for any film buff, and if you are wondering what movies it helped inspire, look at famous SciFi trilogies. That's the only hint i'm going to give you.

Send me a comment if you figure it out. Until you do, buy or rent "Hidden Fortress" and enjoy master Kurosawa.

The HDMI God's have been listening

And have decided to throw us a bone! HDMI over IP should make a TON of integrators VERY HAPPY. I hope they make a fortune on this. It's about time! 8 years of revision after revision. Check them out

Just Add Power

This afternoon's listening

As if the weekend isn't nice enough, to get me in a great mood, i've got Tom Waits- "Orphans" box set setup to play on continuous. Three discs of the odds and ends from the master himself. Gotta love a guy who uses a dumpster as a percussive instrument!

Buying a TV

Yes, everyone has written one of these before. Yes, i'm unoriginal this time. I get it. However, i'm making you work for it

I'm doing this for a friend who asked about TV's, so there.

I think everyone short of people who are really, really into Audio Video gear get excited and sort of dread buying something like a TV. It's a pretty big purchase for everyone and no one really has a clue what to buy, let alone how to get the right one. The answer is pretty easy if not time intensive.

Study.

In fact, going to a store and looking at a wall of TV's with the same thing on is the last thing you should do. They all look terrible, there's a ton of pressure, and you have no clue how the set is hooked up. In fact, some sets might be hooked up in a better way and some in a worse way to sway your decision without even knowing.

Getting back to studying. I'm here to help. No, i'm not going to tell you what I think you should buy. I have my opinions and everyone is welcome to ask. I'm going to give you some great places to start your research.

HD Guru

Frankly, most people can get away with just this one site. Gary Merson has forgotten more about HD and video in general than I might ever know. If he likes it, it's a good set.

Ultimate AV

I love their writing too. My only problem with them is they still seem to subscribe (no pun intended) to a more print friendly posting schedule. I trust them as well.

If you still have questions after checking these sites out, send me an email or post a comment. My purpose is to consult, and help educate; I don't want people being spoon fed that this is the best, buy it. That's a salesman's job. I'm here to consult, and to educate. Education requires work.

Let me know how I can help.

Morning Listening

After a great night and some great conversations about all the things going on in my life, I figured a great way to start my day was with some music.

Breakfast tunes provided by Bon Iver. Not a bad start to the day.

iPad and the coming integrator change

As almost anyone with a computer knows, the Apple iPad is coming very soon. What a lot of people aren't realizing is how this radically changes some businesses that not many people think about. One of those happens to be my business, AV integration.

Our business model is based on selling electronics and integrating through these other products via software. Our main form of control of all these "black boxes" are remote controls or touch panels that are pretty specialized and therefore, expensive. Touch panels range in size from a couple of inches, up to 17"-20" and can range from a few hundred dollars on the low end, to five figures for one panel on the high. These panels are complicated, must be programmed in a fairly obscure programming language, and are basically NOT user modifiable in any way. You have to spend quite a bit of time and effort to learn the language, even if you're a computer programmer.

Because of all that, its a pretty closed system. You want to control everything at the touch of a button? You need control systems like AMX and Crestron to make it all come together. Newer systems like Savant change this quite a bit, but i'm not focused on them right now, as they are an up and coming, but still small player. I'll touch on them in a bit. Because they are closed systems, and there isn't too much competition, prices haven't really dropped.

Then a small company called Apple created the iPhone. AV took a look, and decided it wasn't a bad idea to create the add-on sale, and make programs available to do basic control of these systems. Not the incredibly detailed and beautiful looking panels they have in their houses, but simple, rudimentary programs. They saw it as a novelty, albeit one with profit potential. Apple made a ton of money, Crestron and AMX made some money, and their dealers were pleased. A nice add on to an already profitable system. The trick is, not everyone saw the next step in Apples plan, and they certainly didn't think of what is about to happen. Hopefully they will.

Apple earlier this year created the iPad. A beautiful screen, fast, pretty closed system; a really well designed, streamlined product at a surprisingly great price. What most manufacturers and dealers haven't realized is the touch panels they sell all the time are about to be wiped out. All that profit- or at least a LARGE chunk is about to disappear. Why would I spend literally thousands on an AMX panel or Crestron panel when I can get a nicer, cleaner, newer display technology for LESS THAN A THOUSAND DOLLARS?!

The buying public is not as stupid as a lot of people think. Especially at the level I deal with. People are going to realize that WiFI plus iPad plus some sort of control backbone will equal saving a ton of money on touch panels. Yes, maybe you'll have a panel here and a panel there for the rooms you don't want to take your "iDevice", but the days of a panel per room are coming to an end.

What does this mean to integrators? It means a few things:

First, it means profit will be made on programming and software- more like the computer industry. Integrators and independent programmers will have to have a level of polish probably not seen that often. These GUI's will have to be clean, beautiful and ever more enticing to differentiate.

Second, service will become king. I know there are plenty of integration firms around the country that treat the after the sale experience like it and the client are some second class citizen. They care about the builder, the architect- the people who bring the work in. I'm fortunate not to work at a place like that, but for those of you who do, you might want to change- FAST. Servicing these clients will become ever more demanding and if done well, it can become a new profit center. As hardware and software get into more and more places, people need a firm who can diagnose and fix problems quickly not to mention keeping their connected lifestyle up. The organizations structured to live the 24 hour lifestyle with their clients will be there at the dawn of the new integration era. Those who treat them like a nicer form of the DMV will be looking for other work.

Last is the new opportunity that is created for anyone in the industry who believes in the new model of business-

People still want to buy toys, so find new ways to sell toys.

Take that touch panel budget and put it other places. Nicer speakers might make audiophiles of some people who might have spent the money on an in-wall panel. A better media server like Kaleidescape or Sooloos may get someone engaged in music and their collections. This might be the same client who would've bought a TPS-17 before and an iPod dock. Take their money and put it in an automated under bed lift, really wow the clients. They are still going to want to impress their friends and you have the ability to innovate and make the money you've always made. Give them an energy efficient system with digital amplification and lighting control that saves them money on their energy bills; give them a home theater run exclusively on solar. Innovate!

We all need to see this an opportunity, it needs to become the win- win it. Clients get cooler toys and bragging rights, integrators get to stay profitable. We should be thanking Apple, not dismissing them or ignoring them.

I for one, welcome our new fruit based computing overlords. You should too.

The difficulties of transition in small biz

I think the title pretty well sums things up.

Today was one of those days- Not great, not horrible but one of those days I need to be on guard for. One of the toughest things to do in a small business, especially if you are far up the food chain, is transition from one role to something different.

The reasoning is pretty simple, if you were up the ladder, you probably have a good handle on things if you've been there awhile. If you have a good handle on things, people will want you to help or do what you used to. It's just "easier" or "quicker" or any number of other terms for, 'we don't know the in's and outs yet HELP!!!'

Now, i'm all for helping, and I will because everyone wears different hats, but the problem is that if you get into this mode at work and don't remain vigilant, you may never get out.

You might wind up doing your old job and trying to figure out how to fit your new job in when you can. That is not the point of your new job. Most people take a new job because they want a new challenge, or some other reason to move from their comfort zone. If you can't give up your old position because you're nervous, or because people just think it's "easier" for you to just do it you are doing yourself a disservice and your company. If you fit the new job in, you wind up doing it poorly and your old job poorly and it just winds up reflecting on you.

Back to what I had to deal with:

People in my office tried to drag me into my old job today, into the minutia that is no longer something i'm in a position to do or frankly, want to do. I'm not as in touch with the jobs since i've been sick, and a lot can happen in a day, let alone a month with all of these projects. I don't have answers to the questions but people still want my approval, want to use me as the fall guy if what I approve doesn't work.

Today some of the staff taking the responsibility of my old position tried to blame me for orders that didn't get placed; the problem was, they were ordered while I was out recovering and unreachable. I had nothing to do with this part of the process, and because they slipped up, they tried to get me to take responsibility. Leading the witness as they call it in legal circles. I'm not great at being a witness, especially one that's being lead. Thankfully, I was able to deflect and avoid the time suck this time of defending myself and working through the process to expose the flaw and work to correct it. This was a pretty easy instance. While i'm in this transitional period, I expect these to get harder.

When you leave a company, and I know this has happened almost every time someone has left where I work currently, everything seems to be their fault. Lightbulb blows out? Last guy to leave broke it. Got into an accident on the way home? Last guy to leave did something to your car. Forgot to place an order? Last guy had the order and threw it out. The interesting thing about my role, is i'm still there to defend myself. It's sort of funny that people see the role as such a huge change and forget. In a lot of ways it is a radical departure, but i'm still the same guy, with the same knowledge, just doing different things at a different desk. That part of me didn't die. I don't have amnesia.

I'm sure you're asking, how do I overcome this, or what steps do I take to avoid this? My answer is; I don't know and i'm going to figure it out and you're along for the ride.

I've got some pretty smart people in my life and I have some VERY clear ideas and some not so clear on what I want to be doing and how I want to do it. We will see the process through with me throughout and i'm pretty excited about it; good times and bad, so comment, ask questions and give your opinions. I want to know what everyone thinks because I don't have the all the answers, I just want to give my account and my opinions and leave the rest up to you, the readers.

First sales call next week

So I found out my first sales call is going to be next week.

It's with a designer and an architect i've worked with before, and happen to have a great relationship with. I'm really looking forward to it, and the client seems like an ideal choice for me as of this writing. I'll be talking with the sales staff to see what our typical pitch entails and then swinging for the fences on my own.

I. Can't. Wait!!!

Bring it on!

Entering a crowded market- Why?

I was reading about the new Sherbourn PRE/PRO that seems to be in the press today and my first thought was- Do we really need another?

I am not saying the product won't be great, and i'm not saying it's going to be horrible, but after all the products that have faded in and out or are shells of former glory the past decade (Adcom, Sunfire come immediately to mind) why do we need another? What makes the product unique? Low power requirements? E.U. Power conservation requirements? Other than that, it seems like any other piece i've seen recently. Great, it has balanced audio at a fairly competitive price point (i'm assuming) but what else?

More and more of these boxes look, feel, and act the same and it dilutes the industry as a whole. It wasn't bad enough Lexicon took an Oppo player and put it in a bigger chassis and charged a fortune? My point is this, we need to separate the wheat from the chaff; make a product that REALLY differentiates between your competitors or make room for the innovators. All we are doing is weakening the industry as a whole. Consumers have a tough enough time differentiating when there are compelling products out there, let alone when things look, act and feel the same.

Yes, i'm repeating myself, and i'll keep repeating myself till we rally around a change- The industry needs more policing. No one needs more black boxes. I love this stuff, and i'm tired of them! I can only imagine the average person.

Movies vs. Home Theater

This is not my best writing, but it is me at my most passionate...

Let me start off by saying I love going to the movies- I go to almost any movie I have any interest in. With that being said, I get more and more by the day why people don't go as much as they used to. I went to see Green Zone today in a local theater. I'll spare you a movie review or any politics like i've read in some of the press because this isn't the forum. What I do want to talk about was how much they charge for a bad experience.

The theater is one of the newer ones in Westchester county, overall not a horrible place to see a film. It's not the Ziegfeld in NYC, but not many places are. It's about as good as you would expect from a current multiplex.

Anyway, the pre-movie commercial played fine, the problems started when they transitioned from the projector for the commercials and the one for the trailers and movie. Once they turned off the first projector.... nothing happened. I expect that. Maybe the film projector wasn't properly warmed up, maybe they needed to change screen aspects and didn't want the people to see the distortion while changing lenses and screen size, who knows other than the panoply of reasons it might not come 'right' on. I expected a minute or two.... then three, four, five, up to ten! Ten minutes! No announcement! As the movie goers were getting restless, and I was getting up to go complain the movie came on... with no sound! The first trailer came by with no sound whatsoever and they finally managed to rectify it. Because of all of this, I was now in full- on AV critic mode.

The bulb was dim, there was overscanning onto the black surrounding the screen, some of the speakers in the sides and rears weren't working or were miscalibrated. Listening to levels jump from speaker to speaker as things panned around the space. Overall, it was a poor experience and this is the problem; I paid $25 for two tickets to a poor movie. I went out on a cold, wet day and fought for parking to spend $25 plus food, which we all know is exorbitant, for something that left me totally unimpressed and frankly, disappointed.

My point is movies should be an experience; like going to a sporting event, or seeing live music. Throughout NYC there are old movie palaces that have been repurposed for music and other live events. If you get a moment, go check them out. Look at the Palace theater in Washington Heights; you can't see a movie there but buy a ticket to a concert and get there early. The detail everywhere in this venue is spectacular!!!! You couldn't afford to build anything like this today. Go to the Zeigfeld theater in Midtown or Grauman's Chinese theater in LA to experience a movie. You owe it to yourself; this is what it was like 30+ years ago when it was an event! It was memorable! Places like these made going to the movies worth blocking out time in your calendar. Now? You're probably fitting your movies in between clothes shopping or going to the grocery store, and you have all the reason to, it means next to nothing. I did today and frankly I got what I paid for; inflation adjusted based mediocrity and one size fits most generics.

Why would you do this when you can spend your tax refund, or your bonus, or your raise to equip your home with something that can easily best a theater of poor pedigree? I don't have a good answer for this anymore. At home you can pause for a bathroom break or food, you can control the crowd (or lack thereof), its probably more comfortable than the theater you go to, AND you don't have to fight the traffic street closures and flooded roads, not to mention pajamas on a cold, wet, rainy mess of a day are way easier!

The last thing I will say is this. If you can experience a movie at a true movie palace, I implore you to do so. If you want, i'll come with you! There is nothing like seeing movies in a temple of cinema. Nothing! and if you love watching, you owe it to yourself to seek it out. I'm happy to help.

For those of you who don't have a movie theater nearby where someone cares about the experience, I want to apologize on behalf of everyone in AV and I want to strongly recommend you save your money and invest in a home theater. Not a home theater in a box but something thoughtfully created by a professional with your budget in mind. It WILL change how you view movies (literally and metaphorically speaking).

Movies are intended to be viewed a certain way by their creators, and when they are, motion pictures become a visceral experience that lead you on an emotional roller coaster they keep you glued to your seat, they create an emotional attachment to the characters on the screen. If your local theater is not doing this you're missing out on one of life's great simple pleasures.

You owe it to yourself to experience it- One way or another. Vote how with your money.

Thoughts on the second week

The second week was similar to the first in a good way.

I felt pretty good, my stress level is staying low and I feel better about work in general. The second week was better than the first in that I seem to have started well with our blog scoring a great, and well regarded, AV writer to help get the content off the ground. Also, we have our meeting setup with the web designer and IT pros to give our monthly emailer a 'freshen up' more in-line with the website aesthetic. The marketing seems to be headed in the right direction for me and i'm pleased.

I'm still pleasantly surprised at how a job change in the same small company can do so much for my state of mind and general well being. Its been a really pleasant change and i'm happy to go to work again. This benefits me and my employer, a happy worker is a productive worker, and I feel more productive than I have in quite sometime.

I will say, i'm starting to feel really bad for the person in my old position. Seeing the difficulties of the position from the 'outside' looking in makes me wonder how I did it for so long. I'm trying to do as much as I can to give him a hand. He and I are the only two in the company who know the pain of doing the old job so it means a lot to me to help him succeed. If we can't both do it, it's just not doable. I'll keep everyone abreast of how this goes in the future.

Until then, stay dry if you live in the eastern part of the US- I may put up a some more posts today but it's a bit hectic this weekend. Thanks for reading so far. This is fun.

Wire- Who needs wire? You do

More and more people are jumping on the wireless bandwagon. Video games, web browsing and cordless phones are some of the 'traditional' wireless technologies but now AV is starting to really get into wireless tech. TV's are going wireless eschewing the normal method of hookup for a wireless connection to a media-box of some kind, allowing your TV to go anywhere you can find power and leaving the wires somewhere out of site. A few manufacturers have recently hopped on the wireless HDMI bandwagon as well and more and more companies are sending audio through the air or controlling systems without copper. Not to mention cellular and cordless phones...

This is all fine and good, and I think the innovation is sorely needed, but if someone asks me if they should wire their new home, I say the same thing every time- Absolutely!

Now, you're probably asking yourself, why I seem to be on the road to contradiction and i'll tell you it's all because of what I see in New York City on a day to day basis.

Failing network connections, losing calls, wireless access points that fall off the network never to be seen again. You see, a lot of what's being sold and installed works on similar frequencies and these frequencies are somewhat limited.

Click on the link, i'll wait.... still waiting.... ok I can't wait anymore, it's pretty amazing, isn't it?

I know a bit about wireless and not nearly as much as I could, and I see some pretty crazy things in my day to day, but when I saw that document I was shocked at how much is really out there. Anyway, the point is, all of that is being sent and received constantly and more gets added by the day and from time to time, signals get mixed, or signals disappear.

If you really want to rely on more and more technology (which I think you should as a member of the technology industry) you should always have a backup plan when the newest and coolest doesn't work as planned and that backup is wire. Granted, there are all different kinds for different applications and in that case your best bet when doing a renovation, or buying a new home, or just adding a new, cool piece of technology is to speak to a professional.

I'm not suggesting when you buy a new printer that you call a CEDIA member just to run a network cable around the room; but when you want to make a serious investment in your home and upgrade the technology take the time to at least talk to someone. It might save you a lot of wireless headaches in the future.

Think of it this way- If you are building a home or renovating, you're already doing most of the work. Copper is cheap in it's many forms. If the walls are open, run as much as you can to wherever you could think of that you would want something in the future- TV locations, printer locations, video games, phone jacks, etc....

I want to leave you with one last thought on wireless and how it can go wrong. Just think of the old cordless phone you got rid of because you got static on a call one time and it never went away... I rest my case

Panasonic gives 3D exclusive to Magnolia

http://bit.ly/dsbIPf

For those of you wanting to read the original article, i've posted it above. I want to cut to the chase...The idea that in 3D's infancy in consumer electronics, Panasonic would give an exclusive to a 3d technology to ANY vendor is absurd, in my opinion. I'm fairly certain this is going to turn out badly for Panasonic in the long run.

The PR train is starting to roll on 3D. As I tweeted before CBS is doing the final four in theaters in 3D, ESPN is planning a channel, there are plenty of cool things happening in this portion of the industry but the sets are barely out in the marketplace. Granting an exclusive to one vendor is not going to make sales take off. This isn't the iPad or the elusive Christmas gift kids need to have this year, this is an emerging technology and we want in the industry want it in as many hands as possible, not a select few. I would understand if Panasonic allowed Magnolia to have their reference line or a specific line, but their entire 3D system.

I don't see the logic. Do you?