Delegates Dazzled At CEDIA Talks

February 8, 2018

Two of the  CEDIA Talks yesterday gave attendees very different perspectives on this year’s theme ’10 Things You Should Pay Attention to, but Probably Aren’t’.

Michael Heiss, a CEDIA Fellow and with a long history of the industry, dazzled ISE delegates with a CEDIA Talk about ‘The Future of Video Technology’, and advised equipment installers that as well as staying updated on the latest – and likely – technology, not to forget to talk to the client! While seemingly obvious, he said suppliers needed to know precisely how entertainment was being used, and to be prepared for wider use of 4G/LTE and 5G in accessing content.

Steve Moore’s SMC global consultancy business has a highly desirable client list peppered with music and film stars and business leaders all of whom demand value for money despite the often high costs associated with a quality custom install.

But Moore explained, in a Talk entitled “If Your Customers Expect All This for Free, They May Be Right’, that companies like Amazon were making home automation very inexpensive. There were also services like ‘Enjoy’, which was a wholly new delivery experience and where an install specialist would visit and take care of audio products from Sonos – and certain other brands – completely free of charge to the buyer. The benefit to the supplier was customer loyalty, which Moore said was the goal of every install.

The downside was that while consumers might well be buying Amazon-type audio and automation products, far too many items were never installed, or failed to be correctly hooked up.

“And the world is changing, and fast. In my own home we have three TVs, one of which is used by my teenage kids. I deliberately disconnected the TV aerial cable to the set to see how long it took for them to notice. It took seven months! They simply no longer watch live TV.”

Moore said that his mantra was always to ‘keep it simple’ and to absolutely ensure that the install was completely reliable. “That way, one install leads to another and the sort of customer (a British household business name) who has been with me through four separate homes – and a yacht. And where the client is happy to say ‘I wouldn’t use anyone else’.”

www.cedia.net