Advanced Wins Multiple Awards At Recent U.S. Trade Show For Its Work In GE's Grid IQ Global Innovation Center

Proving that the company is making quite the splash in the AV industry, Advanced, Canada’s premier AV & IT integrator, today announced that it has won awards in three separate ProAV award programs at the recent InfoComm 2013 show in Orlando, Florida, for its design and installation of AV solutions in 55 rooms of GE’s $40 million, 200,000-square foot facility in Markham, Ontario.

Advanced was acknowledged by Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media in their “Integration Awards” program, Sound & Video Contractor in its “ProAV Spotlight Awards” program, and was declared, by popular vote, a winner in the first annual “People’s Choice Awards” which was sponsored by InfoComm International and NewBay Media. The company won in the Best Corporate Solution category in each of the three separate award programs.

“It feels incredible to have our hard work recognized by three of the ProAV industry’s most prestigious award programs,” said Mark Mulford, Co-President at Advanced. “When GE selected us to design and install AV solutions in their new center, they gave us the opportunity to show the AV industry what makes us stand apart from other AV & IT integrators, and our work in the new facility speaks for itself. We’re excited to be honored with these awards, as we continue to integrate the best AV & IT solutions in Canada’s commercial environments.”

The installation at GE’s Grid IQ™ Global Innovation Center encompassed 55 rooms including the Customer Experience Center, executive offices, boardrooms, training rooms, and meeting rooms, all of which utilize state-of-the-art AV equipment including video conferencing systems, interactive touchscreens, in-ceiling speakers and microphones.

Photo 1: Advanced celebrates their 2013 Commercial Integrator|TechDecisions Media  “Integration Award” with the team from Prysm at InfoComm 2013.

Photo 2: The 2013 “ProAV Spotlight Award” from Sound & Video Contractor is now featured prominently at the Advanced headquarters.

About Advanced

Advanced is a leading audiovisual and collaborative communications company working with corporations, government agencies, healthcare, and educational organizations throughout Canada and beyond.  Dedicated to innovation in technology and services, Advanced has a strong set of businesses aligned to meet today’s needs.  The company offers presentation and videoconferencing solutions in addition to complete integrated systems, visual collaboration systems, rental and staging services, repair, maintenance, and value-added integration services including design and engineering, installation and audiovisual consulting. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Advanced also has offices in Toronto, Ottawa, London and Sudbury with partner offices located in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. To learn more visit www.advanced-inc.com.

World's First In-Wall Soundbar Makes Home Entertainment Audio a Completely Invisible Experience!

As televisions get bigger and thinner, more and more of them are being hung on the wall making the placement of traditional television soundbars a trickier and trickier challenge.  Today, Niles®, the first name in custom installation audio, meets the challenge with the introduction of its theater-grade Cynema Soundfield, the world’s first in-wall soundbar that makes home entertainment audio a completely invisible experience.

The design of the Dolby®-certified Niles Cynema Soundfield is truly ingenious.  Put simply, it is a thin metal bracket that goes into the wall and can hold the three 100- Watt dual-speaker modules and a powerful Niles amplifier. By tapping into the empty space behind the drywall, the Niles Cynema Soundfield delivers some serious sound quality and amplification, something that other soundbar manufacturers struggle to do with on-wall or tabletop models. Nobody wants a soundbar that sticks out farther than their TV — and now they don’t have to even consider it.

Finally, TV lovers and film buffs can enjoy theater quality audio without sacrificing the room’s aesthetic. With 48-inch, 55-inch and 60-inch models, there is a virtually invisible soundbar to match any wall-mounted TV. Since this soundbar requires cutting into the drywall, it is recommended to have a professional install the Cynema Soundfield, and the same goes for mounting a large TV. And no home theater is truly complete without a subwoofer to deliver ground-shaking bass, so Niles has also introduced a wireless kit that makes it easy to connect their SW series of compact subwoofers.

What’s more, if the Cynema Soundfield is connected to a multiroom audio system, it can play music when the TV is off. It’s also a perfect addition for game rooms or dens where kids are around, because it can’t be knocked over and it has a special mode that limits the volume. Clearly, the engineers at Niles have thought of just about everything and have crafted an amazingly unique soundbar.

 

The retail pricing is as follows: $1,599 for the 48-inch model, $1,749 for the 55-inch model, and $1,999 for the 60-inch model. The 48-inch model is also available without an amplifier for $1,195, which allows homeowners and installers to use separate amplification.

For more information on Niles’ Cynema Soundfield system, please visit http://www.nilesaudio.com.

About Niles®

California-based Niles® is a 33-year-old brand recognized as The First Name in Custom Installation®. Niles is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of audio/video custom installation products and accessories and is guided by its vision to be the world’s leading provider of products and services that enable professional custom installers to design and install systems that delight their customers. Additional information may be obtained by visiting www.nilesaudio.com.

Niles is part of the Core® Brands division of Nortek, Inc. Core Brands combines the product and marketing strengths of ten iconic audio, power management and control brands into a single business unit that includes ATON®, BlueBOLT®, ELAN®, Furman®, Niles®, Panamax®, Proficient®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech® brands.

Niles is a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc., a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please visit www.nortekinc.com for more information.

ELAN g! System Steals The Show In 9,000-Square Foot Calgary Show Home

In order to set his new $4.5 million Calgary, Alberta show home apart from the competition, Jason Ortt, owner of Wolf Custom Homes, decided that he needed to include a state-of-the-art home control solution that would impress and astound potential homebuyers. That’s why he hired P.J. Aucoin of Calgary-based integration firm Home Concepts Inc. to install an ELAN® g! Entertainment and Control System that shows guests how their 21st century dream-home can be a reality.

“Integrated control solutions are becoming a priority in the new housing market as homeowners are eager to have all of their major home functions easily controlled,” said Ortt. “By installing an ELAN g! system in our new show home, we’re showing prospective homebuyers that it’s possible to have an easy-to-use, completely integrated control system that offers touchscreen control of the home’s lighting, security, TV and music. The g! system allows homebuyers to see first-hand the benefits that a home control system can offer.”

The g! system can be easily controlled through an iPad, an ELAN TS7 7” in-wall touchscreen or an ELAN HR2 universal remote control that is perfect for quickly changing channels on any of the six flat-panel TVs and change volume for all of the in-ceiling speakers throughout the home. Using the simple touchscreen interfaces, the Wolf Homes sales team can easily control the lighting and audio when showcasing the home to interested buyers. Home Concepts programmed the g! system so that each salesperson has his or her own button that adjusts the lighting and video differently, allowing them to pick the right mood for whenever they are showing the home.

Home Concepts also programmed a special lighting scene for the show home’s cleaning crew that turns on every light at its maximum brightness, and automatically starts playing music through the Niles in-ceiling speakers.

“Homeowners who think home automation is too expensive or too confusing can just take a tour of our show home and see how easy a system like ELAN g! can make their lives,” added Ortt. “There’s a big difference between hearing all of the benefits that a control system can provide and seeing them in action. When people walk through our show home, and see just how easy it is to control the lighting, video and audio all from a touchscreen, they’re simply amazed.”

The project was the first collaboration between Wolf Custom Homes and Home Concepts, but Ortt feels that the success of the project will lead to a long-lasting partnership.

“P.J. and the team at Home Concepts offered everything that a builder looks for in an integrator,” said Ortt. “Their excellent service, combined with their vast expertise and integrity made this project a great success and I look forward to working with them in the future.”

Photos courtesy of Francis Yap Mauricio.

About ELAN® Home Systems:

Founded in 1990, ELAN® Home Systems is an industry leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning whole-house entertainment and control systems that are distributed through a comprehensive channel of select dealers and distributors throughout the United States, Canada and more than 58 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.

ELAN is part of the Core® Brands division of Nortek, Inc. Core Brands combines the product and marketing strengths of ten iconic audio, power management and  control brands into a single business unit that includes ATON®, BlueBOLT®, ELAN®, Furman®, Niles®, Panamax®, Proficient®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech® brands.

ELAN is a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc., a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please visit www.nortekinc.com for more information.

Advanced Named A 2013 Integration Award Winner By Commercial Integrator & TechDecisions Media For Its Work In GE's Grid IQ Global Innovation Center

Advanced, Canada’s premier AV and IT integration company, today announced that it has won a 2013 Integration Award from Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media in the category of Top Corporate Solution for its design and installation of AV solutions in 55 rooms of GE’s $40 million, 200,000 square foot facility in Markham, Ontario. The award was presented to David Weatherhead, Co-President at Advanced, and Mark McPherson, Vice President of Sales at Advanced at InfoComm 2013 in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

 

“GE asked us to integrate cutting-edge AV solutions throughout their new facility, including a 58-foot Prysm LPD video wall in their Customer Experience Center,” Weatherhead said today. “We worked hard to provide visitors of the center with a one-of-a-kind customer experience, and it is a privilege to have that work acknowledged by Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media.”

Winners were chosen by Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media editorial staffs, who considered all aspects involved in system solutions such as client’s priorities and end user benefits, innovation, equipment incorporated, challenges overcome, creativity and aesthetics. The installation will be published in the June issue of Commercial Integrator and in the TechDecisions Special InfoComm Print Edition that will be distributed at InfoComm.

The installation at GE’s Grid IQ™ Global Innovation Center encompassed 55 rooms including the Customer Experience Center, executive offices, boardrooms, training rooms, and meeting rooms, all of which utilize state-of-the-art AV equipment including video conferencing systems, interactive touchscreens, in-ceiling speakers and microphones.

Photo caption: David Weatherhead and Mark McPherson from Advanced joined Prysm's Dana Corey and Amit Jain to celebrate their award in front of one of Prysm's booth displays.

From left to right: Dana Corey - Prysm, Vice President of Sales and Technical Operations, Mark McPherson – Advanced, Vice President of Sales, David Weatherhead – Advanced, Co-President, and Amit Jain – Prysm, Co-Founder and CEO.

About Advanced

Advanced is a leading audiovisual and collaborative communications company working with corporations, government agencies, healthcare, and educational organizations throughout Canada and beyond.  Dedicated to innovation in technology and services, Advanced has a strong set of businesses aligned to meet today’s needs.  The company offers presentation and videoconferencing solutions in addition to complete integrated systems, visual collaboration systems, rental and staging services, repair, maintenance, and value-added integration services including design and engineering, installation and audiovisual consulting. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Advanced also has offices in Ottawa, Toronto, London and Sudbury with partner offices located in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. To learn more visit www.advanced-inc.com.

360 Media Innovations Recognized In Commercial Integrator & TechDecisions Media "Integration Awards" Program

Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media have awarded 360 Media Innovations an Honorable Mention in their 2013 Integration Awards for its integration of an ELAN® g! system in celebrity baker Buddy Valastro’s Carlo’s Bakery location in Ridgewood, NJ. The announcement was made at INFOCOMM 2013 in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s a great honor to have our work recognized by Commercial Integrator and TechDecisions Media,” said Chima Gale, owner of 360 Media Innovations. “The ELAN g! system is the ideal solution for retail stores, as it provides retailers with simple and efficient A/V control. With the ELAN g! there’s no learning curve, and the system integrates everything from TVs to lighting to electronic door locks, making it as easy to use as possible.”

As a 2013 Integration Awards Honorable Mention, the installation will be listed in the June issue of Commercial Integrator and in the TechDecisions Special InfoComm Print Edition that is distributed at InfoComm. In addition, the installation will be featured on Commercialintegrator.com and within the six market vertical sites of TechDecisionsMedia.com.

With the ELAN g! system, employees of Carlo’s Bakery can use iPads to take orders from anywhere in the store, and a simple four-finger swipe takes them right to the ELAN g!Mobile app where they can adjust settings for the store’s TVs and audio zones. The remote capabilities of the ELAN g! system allow Valastro to quickly check in on the bakery right from his iPhone.

About ELAN® Home Systems:

Founded in 1990, ELAN® Home Systems is an industry leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning whole-house entertainment and control systems that are distributed through a comprehensive channel of select dealers and distributors throughout the United States, Canada and more than 58 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.

ELAN is part of the Core® Brands division of Nortek, Inc. Core Brands combines the product and marketing strengths of ten iconic audio, power management and  control brands into a single business unit that includes ATON®, BlueBOLT®, ELAN®, Furman®, Niles®, Panamax®, Proficient®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech® brands.

ELAN is a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc., a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please visit www.nortekinc.com for more information.

NanoLumens Redefines "Flexible" With Debut Of New DS Series Design-Specific Large-Format Displays At InfoComm 2013

Redefining the meaning of the word "flexible" for an industry rooted in "fixed" installation solutions, NanoLumens, Inc., the award-winning Georgia-based company that is revolutionizing virtually every aspect of the 21st century large-format digital signage industry, today announced the market introduction of its new NanoSlim DS and NanoFlex DS (Design-Specific) Series LED displays at INFOCOMM 2013 in Booth #4981 in the Orange County Convention Center.  
 

"The era of one-size-fits-all display solutions is over," NanoLumens President & CEO Rick Cope declared today.  "In a world where no two customers and no two environments are alike, no two digital signage solutions should ever be the same.  Each installation is unique and therefore each solution must be designed specifically to meet the individual needs of the customer and the application environment.  Our new NanoSlim DS and NanoFlex DS Series displays allow each customer to imagine and create the ultimate digital experience in their environment for their audience."

According to Cope, NanoLumens has developed an advanced manufacturing system, which allows them to reliably and efficiently manufacture large-format LED displays in virtually any shape, size or curvature. With this new approach to manufacturing, NanoLumens is able to deliver the ultimate flexibility to its customers.  Where traditional manufacturing offers customers only a narrow range of sizes, shapes and product variations, NanoLumens new DS Series displays are limited only by the customer’s imagination, allowing them to tailor not only the content, but the actual display itself to match their creative vision.

NanoLumens DS technology is a truly remarkable innovation, designed to give customers the ultimate flexibility to utilize large-format LED display technology in ways previously thought impossible. Like all NanoLumens displays, Design-Specific displays are slim, lightweight and eco-friendly with brilliant edge-to-edge image quality to transform any space into the ultimate visual experience.
 

All NanoLumens displays accept input from nearly any device and/or content management system. There is no need for special software, hardware or special personnel to display content beautifully.  With a profile of only a few inches, NanoSlim DS and NanoFlex DS can be installed on virtually any surface without being obtrusive, adding the ‘WOW’ factor to any environment without taking up precious space.  NanoLumens patented display technology produces bright, rich, consistent color as well as superior off-axis viewing with no color shift or image distortion throughout the display horizon.

Coincident with the introduction of the new DS Series display lines today, NanoLumens also announced the launch of a completely redesigned web site, www.nanolumens.com, that features a unique specifications calculator that allows potential customers to plug in their desired model, size and pixel pitch and receive a full list of specifications for that unique display.  In less than 30 seconds a visitor to the site can enter their requirements, view the specifications, and send the NanoLumens team a request for a price quote.

NanoLumens’ technology has been named ‘Best Large-format LED Display’ of the year by Signage Solutions magazine in its 2012 Product of the Year awards program, as well as being recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a 2011 future-proof tech trend and cited by The Wall Street Journal in its 2010 Technology Innovations Awards.  NanoLumens’ technology also received the 2011 Breakthrough Technology of the Year Award at the American Technology Awards.  Digital Signage Magazine awarded the NanoLumens NanoFlex a 2011 DIGI Award for “Best New Display Device – Non-LCD or Plasma.”

Be sure to follow NanoLumens on Twitter as they live-tweet from INFOCOMM 2013.

About NanoLumens:

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, NanoLumens®, Inc. is a privately held corporation engaged in the research, product development, marketing and sales of unique flexible and fixed large-format LED display solutions in any size, shape, or curvature, that address a yawning technology gap in the $14 billion digital display industry.  Since introducing its initial line of NanoFlex and NanoSlim displays in 2011, NanoLumens has built a portfolio of more than 20 international families of issued and filed patents on its flexible display technology that effectively address the commercial market void between relatively small flat-panel displays and huge, limited application LED boards. NanoLumens technology is not constrained by standard sizes and shapes, or by the weight, heat, noise and cost issues traditionally associated with commercial LED products.

Surging Wave of Innovation Creates New Growth Opportunities For Pro AV Dealers, Predicts Stampede

A wave of innovation and new product introductions by a host of leading manufacturers is creating unprecedented new revenue opportunities for ProAV dealers on a scale not seen since before the start of the Great Recession in 2008, according to Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly, who issued a bullish sales forecast for the ProAV industry on the opening day of INFOCOMM 2013.  Stampede is exhibiting a number of innovative new products and system solutions in Booth #3559 of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

"I see more opportunity in this industry than ever before, as manufacturers are bringing out interesting products that need explanation, which in turn provides a great opportunity for integration,” Kelly stated today. “We’ve added a number of interesting new product lines to our portfolio during the first half of this year, and every one of them is providing our dealers with an opportunity to not only bring innovative products to existing clients, but to also attract new clients who are looking for cutting-edge ProAV solutions.”

According to Kelly, dealers and integrators can expect to see continued opportunities develop in the near future due to resurgence in the commercial market, as corporations, banking, financial and education institutions accelerate their investment in new technologies and products.  What’s more, Kelly predicts that in 2013, as the consumer market sees stable growth, the commercial side will also see increased corporate investments and new growth and spending in the K-12 and higher education market. In particular, Kelly sees video conferencing systems of all levels becoming a huge long-term growth area as consumers grow increasingly comfortable with personal videoconferencing software, such as Skype and Apple’s FaceTime, and they will expect easy-to-use videoconferencing technologies to be present in professional work environments.

“To fully realize their future success, dealers need to make a decision about expertise and where they're going to invest within the marketplace," Kelly continued. "They need to decide what types of technologies they ultimately want to work with, and which kinds of jobs they actually want to do. We have a movement with regard to the way in which the content is being delivered, and technology such as Samsung's SMART Platform has very powerful potential, but it's going to take an educated, focused integrator to leverage that technology, and an aware end user to recognize some of the benefits or the importance of having them explained. This wave of new and exciting technology is creating endless revenue opportunities for dealers both now and in the future.”

One example of the innovative new solutions that Kelly speaks of, and that will be showcased by Stampede at INFOCOMM, is the Circle Technology portable, wireless, paperless presentation system that allows presenters to put content into everyone’s hands without the Internet, anywhere at any time. 

“Products like these represent category breaking innovation that reinvigorates the entire market,” Kelly emphasized.  “In and of themselves, they offer new revenue while also pulling through sales of more traditional components that complement these new products.”

About Stampede

Known for its value-added distribution, Amherst, New York-based Stampede is the leading distributor of presentation equipment including LCD/DLP projectors and flat panel displays. Stampede provides a complete range of brand name presentation equipment to a variety of audio/video, computer, and home theater resellers and integrators in the United States, Canada and Latin America. These resellers rely on Stampede for value-added services in distribution, marketing and solution- based sales. Stampede annually produces the “Big Book of AV,” a 1,000-page catalog and companion website (www.BigBookofAV.com) providing hundreds of sales, installation and spec tips for Stampede’s dealers in addition to product details on more than 5,000 SKUs. For more information on Stampede, log onto www.stampedeglobal.com.