Evolving Technologies in the Integrated Home at CEDIA Expo 2014

August 23 2014, 14:00
This year’s Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo event is scheduled for September 10–13, 2014, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. As has been the tradition for several years, CEDIA University is providing a variety of workshops, classes, and seminars related to the audiovisual (AV) installation industry.

The residential integration industry and home technology, in general, is in a near constant hyper-change and the CEDIA Expo intends to maintain a pulse on every aspect of the integrated home. For those focused on the residential application areas, the CEDIA event is a great chance to explore hundreds of new products and meet with manufacturers dedicated to solutions in networking, security, energy management, entertainment, home health, and automation.

The annual CEDIA Expo is also the perfect opportunity for many professionals to update and/or receive new certifications and advanced training on systems integration and networking. The CEDIA Expo 2013 received 17,900 attendees representing 84 countries.

This year’s 110 CEDIA training sessions and courses include topics of great interest for audio professionals. Among them are Home Theater Audio and Acoustics; Advanced Home Theater Design Lab; Atmos, Auro3D & More: Bringing Object Based Audio from the Cinema to the Home Theater; Audio Set-Up and Calibration—Explore the complex science of audio calibration within a home theater setting; as well as sessions on headphones and measuring and calibrating loudspeakers.

Home Theater Audio and Acoustics (Part I, II and II) covers how loudspeakers work and perform inside rooms, including surround sound system designs. The Advanced Home Theater Design Lab session provides a high-level theater design experience for professionals who already have many projects under their belts. Some of the industry’s top designers will facilitate the hands-on design process and share their expertise and designs will be discussed and critiqued.

The Atmos, Auro3D & More: Bringing Object Based Audio from the Cinema to the Home Theater training will be oriented by CEDIA Fellow Michael Heiss, with panelists Brett Crockett, Senior Director of Sound Technology Research, Dolby; Dr. Floyd Toole, Sound Reproduction Expert; Andrew Jones, Director of Speaker Engineering, Pioneer Electronics; and Wilfried Van Baelen, CEO, Auro Technologies. Atmos and similar systems are the next generation of fully immersive audio for cinema, and they are quickly moving into the home theater and consumer audio markets. There are many technical, acoustic, and speaker design/placement issues to deal with when implementing these systems along with the potential for new business.

The Audio Set-Up and Calibration workshop, will explore the complex science of audio calibration within a home theater setting. Participants will receive the knowledge required to effectively listen, properly utilize calibration equipment, and efficiently perform an advanced home theater audio calibration.
In another course, named “The Science of Loudspeaker-Room Calibration” the subject will be the acoustical interactions between the loudspeaker(s) and the listening room. This course reviews the latest science on the perception and measurement of loudspeakers and rooms, helping installers to better understand how to optimize the sound quality of home theater systems.

“Holy Headphones, Batman!” is another interesting session providing a detailed look at headphone technologies and how our perception of their acoustics differs from loudspeakers. There’s also sessions on the “The dos and don’ts of measuring and calibrating loudspeakers in rooms” and “Loudspeaker-Room Correction through Equalization: Does it Work?” — A demonstration of the JBL Synthesis ARCOS room correction system.
 
The CEDIA Expo has become an important show for home theater and distributed audio loudspeaker manufacturers. However, the slump in the new housing market has taken its toll on CEDIA members. With some improvement in the overall CEDIA target market, this year’s show will offer more in terms of education and exhibitors.

The list of loudspeaker manufacturers and other loudspeaker-related exhibitors at the 2014 CEDIA Expo includes American Audio & Video, Artison, Atlantic Technology, Bang & Olufson, Bay Audio, BG Radia, Bose, Bryston, B&W Group, California Audio Technology, Cambridge Audio, Carver Holdings Group, Control 4, Core Brands, Crestron Electronics, Current Audio, D+M Group, Definitive Technology, Earthquake Sound, Elan Home Systems, Epson America, Focal JMLab, GoldenEar Technology, HARMAN International, Induction Dynamics, James Loudspeaker, JL Audio, JVC, KEF America, Korus, Leon Speakers, LG, Linn, Listen Audio, Magico LLC, MartinLogan, McIntosh Laboratory, M&K Sound, Monitor Audio, Monster, Naim Audio, NEAR, Niles Audio, NuVo Technologies, Onkyo, OSD Audio, Paradigm, Parts Express, Peerless AV, Phase Technology, Pioneer Electronics, Polk Audio, Pro Audio Technology, Procella Audio, Proficient Audio, PSB Speakers, RBH Sound, Revel, Revolution Acoustics, Rockustics, Russound, Snap AV, Sonance, Sonos, SpeakerCraft, Stealth Acoustics, Steinway Lyngdorf, Sunfire, TC Group, Terra Speakers, Thiel Audio, Triad Speakers, Totem Acoustics, TRUAudio, Velodyne Acoustics, Waterfall Audio, Wisdom Audio, Xantech, and Yamaha Electronics.

The CEDIA EXPO 2014 will feature an Opening Keynote (September 10) by  Sony Electronics COO & President’ Mike Fasulo, and the CEDIA 2014 Manufacturers’ Excellence Awards winners will be announced at a press conference on Friday, September 12 and recognized at the annual Electronic Lifestyles Awards Celebration on Saturday, September 13.
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About Vance Dickason
Vance Dickason has been working as a professional in the loudspeaker industry since 1974. A contributing editor to Speaker Builder magazine (now audioXpress) since 1986, in November 1987 he became editor of Voice Coil, the monthly Periodical for the Loudspeake... Read more

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