Installation firms must prove to customers that the industry has changed.

As high-end service providers, it’s important to review and reassess the services we offer clients, and how we can deliver the very best service to our very discriminating clients. Many services that were once considered innovative—and gave your business an edge over the competition—turn into table stakes when competitors learn to offer like for like. Successful custom installation firms learn to adapt to the market and clients’ needs by questioning their own services and products.

How to create an acoustic “slice of paradise” on the high seas.

Noise is a subjective experience: It has distinctive effects on individuals based on their sensitivities to sound. The physiological effects of noise vary from person to person.  For example, a hearing-impaired person may be susceptible to further harm when exposed to excessive noise levels. 

Recently, a SoundSense client with a hearing problem asked if the noise from his yacht could potentially harm his hearing.  After a quick reading with a spectrum analyzer and an interview, we realized that the noise levels were, indeed, hazardous to his existing condition.

Rich Riehl on why running your business requires a skill-set most A/V dealers don’t have upfront.

Every day new companies jump into the residential A/V installation business. It seems easy enough to begin. Just fill out a dealer application with a local distributor and complete some basic paperwork to get a sales tax certificate, and you are up and running in about 24 hours. You have some technical skills and know how to hookup this stuff, so just fill up your van with wire and in-wall speakers, and you are off to the races.

A Maryland dealer makes good use of space to create a real world feel.
Starr Systems Design of Baltimore, Maryland, had a problem with their old showroom: It didn’t convey what the company could do for the client. So, to they
 embarked on a redesign of their facility, which produced an impressive result. Now, the company has a showroom that mimics the kinds of environments in which their luxury clientele live.

Today’s market is unique, as we are entering a post-recession era that requires all retailers and marketers in the CE industry to stay in-tune with the new affluent consumer in order to remain in business. Unity Marketing has conducted an in-depth attitudes and motivations study of the luxury consumer market.

Few things were more a-buzz than some of the 3D demonstrations being conducted at CEDIA. Panasonic, Mitsubishi, JVC, Digital Projection Inc. (DPI), and others were all touting their flavors of three-dimensional viewing for the home. Many of these demos have been seen before, but this year there is actually promise of delivery, some as early as this fall. Now the trick will be selling it to the consumer.

The show floor of the CEDIA Expo opens tomorrow, but today the press got a look at some of the latest products and technology previews from several manufacturers. Here are some of the highlights:

With CEDIA just around the corne, Luxury CE asked David Berman, director of traning for the Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), some questions about what he expects to see at the upcoming show and how HTSA fits in.

What do you think will be the biggest news to come out of the show?