CEDIA Expo 2009 exhibited the main novelties in audio, video and residential lighting, and AVI Latin America was present to bring you the details of the fair. By: Sebastián Fernández
Atlanta, United States, is the home of the beverage giant Coca-Cola, one of the most important airports in the world (Hartsfield-Jackson International) and the famous CNN news network. But it is also a quiet city, which differs from the huge American metropolises and mixes the imposing technology typical of the North American country.
Between September 9 and 12, this city hosted the most important audio, video and residential lighting fair in the United States, and AVI Latin America was present once again to learn about the main technological advances of an industry that does not rest on its developments, and that every day surprises more those involved in this segment.
Around 400 exhibitors presented to more than 20 thousand professional attendees of this industry their main novelties for a residential market that, with the passage of time, takes more strength despite the economic situation that had its strongest point in that nation.
Within the tour of the fair we consulted some experts from the different areas that we had the opportunity to meet, while we walked through all the places that did not stop surprising our own and strangers for their striking stands and for the products that were observed there.
The common denominator of the fair and the exhibitors was that despite the crisis that occurred in 2009, the industry was able to float, continue working on its developments and exchange contacts for future negotiations and key decision-making.
It should be remembered that CEDIA is an association that has been created to train the professional in all areas of audio, video and residential lighting and one of the objectives that this fair sought was that the different companies present, in addition to doing their own business, could give visitors some academic lessons about the different products and technologies that were seen there.
News
Due to the size of the fair it is difficult to mention and attend all the conferences that were presented during the four days of the show, however, it is worth highlighting some of the exhibitions that caught our attention and that we also consider can be beneficial for our readers.
New developments could be observed in automation, television, frames, home theater, speakers, data transmission cables, projection screens, projectors, blue ray, among other systems; another of the strengths and that also attracted attention was the way in which some companies already begin to design their products taking into account energy savings.
In the first instance, we want to emphasize that the technology in flat screen TVs is continuous and the innovations that will be launched in 2010 will surprise users. That is the case of the companies Sony and Mitsubishi, which have as one of their novelties the 3D screens for the home, which apparently have been well received; In addition, these companies already have negotiations with some film and video game distribution companies to begin designing products that can be observed in three dimensions through suitable glasses.
On LCD screens, sony and Samsung technology was also known in which you can access the Internet and watch videos from websites such as Youtube.
Mitsubishi also unveiled the LCD with 16 built-in speakers that would replace a home theater system. This was one of the main novelties of the fair. Similarly, LED screens are also setting an important standard in this segment, partly because of the image quality and energy savings that exceed that of an LCD.
Lighting
The low energy consumption is one of the main proposals of the lighting company Lutron, where we had the opportunity to talk to Roger Stamm, director of international sales, who told us about it that "with this proposal in lighting we seek to save energy and teach people to be more aware about it, so you can enjoy the lighting of your home knowing that at the same time you are saving costs".
On the market in Latin America, Stamm commented that "it is a market that is growing and has a more important share. We know that the economic crisis has affected the whole world, but this has been felt more in the United States than in the Latin American region where more business opportunities are being born."
On the importance of being present at CEDIA 2009, the expert explained that "we are in the business of the commercial and residential area. This is the biggest show we have participated in, and of the last seven years it is the one in which we have presented the most new products. This is the place to be and launch our products, because everything you see here is new."
In automation
Companies such as Control 4, RTI, HAI, Crestron, among others, handle this type of products that allow to control all the electronic systems of the residence through touch screens and remote controls. The issue of security has become an addition in this technology, in addition to other innovations such as energy consumption managers.
"A lot of people came from Mexico, which is our main market, since this country is more residential than the rest of Latin America, where the commercial line is still maintained. In CEDIA we present more than 100 products, we have entered a new market with new distributors", explained Manuel Montoya, director of Crestron in Latin America. Due to its size, this company was one of the most striking stands.
What left the fair
We also had the opportunity to chat with Jamie Riley, director of public relations and marketing of CEDIA, who at the end of the show told us his impressions about it.
"It was a great show, we are very happy for all the novelties that could be observed in this edition, we saw 3D technology, and especially many products with energy efficiency, which interests us a lot because we work with education and this is an important issue to take into account," explained the representative of the fair.
He also commented that the capacity of people and the interest aroused by CEDIA Expo in Atlanta surprised them, since the previous three years this show was based in the city of Denver and they did not know what to expect from this new location.
Finally, we would need more than twice as many pages to tell you in detail everything we had the opportunity to observe during the CEDIA 2009 tour. Next year the show will be held once again in the capital of the state of Georgia, from September 22 to 26 and we will be there to bring you the main innovations in audio, video and residential lighting.
