Cedia's Tech Council Podcast

“No matter what size the firm, no matter what you do in that business, micromanagement leads to turnover.” – Courtney Berg, CourtSide Consulting http://www.courtsidehr.com/ Our guest for this podcast, Courtney Berg, has been consulting small businesses on HR issues for years, and she’s volunteered as an instructor at numerous CEDIA Expos. She’s hosting three small-business HR webinars for CEDIA this year: The first, titled “Employees 101, The Employee Life Cycle,” was presented on April 5, 2018. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5937867855081432067 The next webinar, called “5 Keys to Teamwork and Trust,” will be presented May 3. On June 7, Berg tackles “Discipline to Termination – 5 Steps to Doing it Right.” http://cedia.net/events/event-detail-page/2018/05/03/default-calendar/webinar-the-5-keys-to-teamwork-and-trust http://cedia.net/events/event-detail-page/2018/06/07/default-calendar/webinar-discipline-to-termination-5-steps-to-doing-it-right Brought to you by DISH -- check out dish.com/cedia for

"Once you get that it's not about you, it's about somebody else, and how to enhance THEIR lives, then you can apply the process to anything: Your relationship with your customers, your sales staff, your installation staff, your marketing staff." -- Rich Green, Rich Green Design Rich Green and Peter Aylett tell us about the incredibly broad applications of Design Thinking, and preview how they and Stanford Professor Michael Shanks will present the concept at the next CEDIA Business Xchange. (There's also a coupon code in this cast that'll save you $100.) Register for the event at cedia.net/business-xchange.

Sam Woodward of Lutron and Mark Warburton of Ivory Egg both attended “L&B” in Frankfurt, Germany, and they’ve got info on the latest lighting tech. Peter Aylett (Archimedia) also joins in. “Going back over the past 14 years, and you’d be hard-pressed to find much in the way of LED. Now it’s dominant; it’s everywhere.” – Sam Woodward

Mitchell Klein (Z-Wave Alliance), Rich Green (Rich Green Design), and Gordon van Zuiden (cyberManor) were all at this year’s TecHomeX event — as presenters. What did they learn from the design and build pros in attendance? What new ideas did they encounter? Give a listen. “TecHomeX unites residential design/build and tech integration/contracting companies in the nation’s most lucrative regional markets to catalyze powerful sell-through of home technology.” —techomex.com  

"Are we inducing 'gadget fatigue' amongst our clients?" -- Michael Heiss, M Heiss Consulting From big-picture cultural questions to the latest video tech (HDR, 8K), it was all covered at the HPA Tech Retreat (and no, the "end of projection" is not upon us). Here's an overview. Brought to you by DISH -- check out dish.com/cedia for the latest news.  

“Cloud computing can have latency … when you’re local you don’t have access to a lot of devices and processing … and fog is that in-between.” -Alex Capecelatro Cloud, mist, fog — nope, this isn’t about the weather, it’s about these terms as they apply to computing. Alex Capecelatro (Josh.ai) and Mike Maniscalco join CEDIA’s Dave Pedigo, Walt Zerbe and Ed Wenck to discuss the concepts. Plus, CEDIA’s David Meyer calls in from Down Under to clue us in on the White Papers on HDMI he’s just finished for our members.

“Go listen to live music. I think it will really help you when you’re installing and calibrating your systems.” – Geoff Meads CEDIA companies seem to include a pretty high percentage of people who’ve been involved in music and/or live sound. How does this inform one’s career as an integrator? What perspectives do those experiences bring to the gig? Our guests include accomplished guitarist/recording engineer and ESPA Executive Director Jeff Gardner, and Geoff Meads, who’s a singer/songwriter/gigging guitarist and web developer (Presto AV) who’s extremely active in the CEDIA universe. (NOTE: We want to hear from YOU about this one, so please take our super-quick survey HERE.) Brought to you by Streem.pro

Simply put, blockchain technology is going to be a major disruptor -- but the possibilities for its use in the home tech universe are incredible. Our guest this week is at the leading edge of this development: John Fitch from Animal Ventures.

"We have a connected toothbrush that tells you how long you've been brushing your teeth. To quote one of our comedians here in the UK: 'I know! I was there!'" -- David Mudd, BSI Group David Mudd of the BSI Group joins CEDIA's Dave Pedigo, Ed Wenck and Walt Zerbe to speak on the Internet of Things -- namely, the risks and rewards of the IoT. Brought you you by Streem.pro.

“What do I look for in an integrator? I look for people that will take care of my client, that will communicate well, that will understand we’re all working toward the same goal and none of us is the most important person at the table.” – Christopher Wright, WrightWorks LLC (building and remodeling) In this episode, we chat with builder/remodeler Christopher Wright and designer Adam Gibson (a kitchen/bath specialist) about working with integrators – and the importance of technology to their clients. Brought to you by Streem.pro.

The roundtable from Integrated Systems Europe speaks on the importance of experience over equipment, and the aesthetics of control interfaces — especially “retro” ones. (“Did you know the global market for candle wax was 8.5 billion dollars last year?” – Sam Woodward) CEDIA's Walt Zerbe and Dave Pedigo are joined by Sam Woodward (Lutron), Peter Aylett (Archimedia), Ken Erdmann (Erdmann Electric) Michael Heiss (M Heiss Consulting), and Rich Green (Rich Green Design). Brought to you by Torus Power.

Today’s topics in this podcast from Integrated Systems Europe include: Design Thinking (what we’ll be covering at CEDIA Business Xchange), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Compliance, and the challenges of digital marketing (“Stop speaking in Klingon.” – Geoff Meads). Walt Zerbe’s guests include Geoff Meads (Presto AV Ltd), Julie Jacobson (CE Pro), Michael Heiss (M Heiss Consulting), Mike Maniscalco (Ihiji), and Rich Green (Rich Green Design). Brought to you by Torus Power.

DC micro grids. The maturation of voice control. The future of video content. POWER VAMPIRES. All of that’s covered in this podcast from Integrated Systems Europe. Walt Zerbe hosts a great roundtable in this one: CEDIA’s Dave Pedigo, David Weinstein and Sam Woodward from Lutron, and Ken Erdmann of Erdmann Electric who all attended Day Two of ISE. Brought to you by Torus Power.

Walt Zerbe hosts from Day One of ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) with guests Geoff Meads (Presto AV LTD) and Sam Woodward (Lutron) with a check-in from Michael Heiss (M Heiss Consulting). There’s an incredible dive into the technology behind Blockchain — and how it WILL affect your business.

"Physical media can still provide the best viewing experience ... and add to that the uncertainty that the end of net neutrality will have on streaming services." -- Michael Heiss Heiss tells CEDIA's Ed Wenck and Walt Zerbe all about what's hot -- and not -- for 2018 in the realm of video tech.

"We're getting closer to having enterprise-grade security available for every home." -- Mike Maniscaclo The co-founder of Ihiji joins CEDIA's Walt Zerbe and Ed Wenck to talk about the connected home of 2018 from a network guru's perspective. Brought to you by Streem.pro.

"Don't automate things people like to do." The paradox of choice. Devices making us dumber. These are all dangers noted when one walks the CES floor, but there's good news here, too -- especially when technology helps the disabled or monitors one's health. Geoff Meads joins CEDIA's Dave Pedigo, Walt Zerbe, and Ed Wenck for this one, brought to you by Streem.pro.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Walt Zerbe wraps up CES 2018 with Gordon van Zuiden, Mike Maniscalco, Geoff Meads, and Rich Green.

CES saw a power outage on Wednesday, but that didn't keep CEDIA's Walt Zerbe from taping with Geoff Meads, Guy Singleton, Rich Green and Peter Aylett. (Spoiler alert: High-end audio geeks will love this episode.)

Is the end user getting overwhelmed with smart stuff? CEDIA's Walt Zerbe is joined by Geoff Meads, Rich Green, and Peter Aylett to recap Day Two of CES.