The annual Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo showcases the latest home technology innovations and services. 2024 marks the second consecutive year that the CEDIA Expo has co-located with the Commercial Integrator Expo (CIX), highlighting a growing trend of commercially popular products and technologies finding their way into the upgraded offerings of custom home designers and builders. This trend also propagates the other way with the post-COVID “resimerical” design philosophy that seeks to integrate comfortable and inviting elements from home to foster creativity and productivity while reducing stress in a commercial work environment.
Automation and PoE
The all-encompassing automation category is well-represented on the CEDIA Expo and CIX tradeshow floors. Enhanced energy efficiency is one area where automated “smart” systems are critical for obtaining LEED certification, often encouraged or required in new building construction. Automation can also deliver tangible enhancements to a work or home environment, benefiting its inhabitants and the bottom line.
One commercial technology that’s making it easier to implement automation and efficiency gains is Power over Ethernet (PoE). The beauty of PoE is that it combines a two-way data link with up to about 100 Watts of power – all in a single, low-cost, and relatively easy-to-deploy cable. The direct current (DC) nature of PoE power delivery also means the cost-saving elimination of AC-to-DC transformers when driving most electronic devices.
Networking companies like Cisco and lighting manufacturers like Philips are quick to highlight the benefits of an office space illuminated by efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) driven by PoE. These PoE lighting systems are network-ready for sensors and applications to increase functionality. These include automated color temperature adjustments based on the time of day, schedule signaling in busy areas like meeting rooms, and visual guidance during emergencies.
Home builders and designers are warming to the low-voltage advantages of PoE in terms of wiring costs and eliminating the need for installation, in many cases, by a licensed electrician. PoE lighting and smart home technology company PoEWit was on the CEDIA Expo show floor, demonstrating new residential PoE lighting options for interior and exterior use that support integration into premium automation control systems from Crestron, Control4, and URC.
With decades of experience with controllers and drives for access gates, doors, blinds, and awnings, Somfy has introduced a new PoE drive motor at CEDIA for automated window treatments. This motor can assist with environmental enhancements related to glare reduction, privacy, and temperature control. Its networked nature enables it to provide real-time feedback on shade position.
The benefits of PoE technology are also making their way into audio systems, as seen by the introduction of the Sonos Era 100 Pro. Designed for professional installation, the Era 100 Pro differs from its otherwise similar non-Pro sibling with PoE connectivity for simplified data and power delivery and a secondary safety attachment point for use as required or desired. Businesses can use the Sonos Pro application for simplified management and automation of an installed system, including audio zone control, scheduling of music playback, curation of approved music libraries, and volume limits.
Video Everywhere
Commercial display manufacturers know something about crafting the biggest, brightest, and most eye-grabbing visuals. The robust and colorful LED is the core technology behind many of the largest commercial display systems. These include the gigantic video screens installed in many sports stadiums and the brilliantly lit billboards seen along well-trafficked highways.
ASB GlassFloor transforms a sports-orientated flooring system into a dynamic LED display for practical and entertainment purposes. The company’s LumiFlex video sports floor features a double-spring aluminum substructure and a specially textured, high-strength, tempered glass top layer engineered to exceed the performance of traditional wood surfaces. ASB GlassFloor offers engineered flooring that can provide quickly reconfigurable illuminated court markings for multi-use facilities, and its full-motion video floors offer easy customization for promotions and special events.
The LED’s exceptional color purity, ability to be rapidly switched on and off for precise brightness control, and excellent contrast performance make it an ideal component of premium display applications. These include using LED display modules as virtual backgrounds in video production to replace chroma key compositing (e.g., green screens). These advanced modules offer reference-grade colorimetry and feature high-speed refresh rates (7000Hz or faster) to minimize image artifacts during video capture.
Scalability is a primary benefit of many LED display systems. Most direct-view LED display installations and products comprise uniformly sized modules that are seamlessly tiled and interconnected, forming the desired screen size and shape needed for a particular application. Most modules feature precise Z-axis and edge adjustments for fine alignment with planar or curved surface LED display arrangements.
The latest generation of microLED display technology seeks to shrink the size and spacing of individual LEDs that comprise each video pixel, allowing for a seamless viewing experience at closer distances. Some currently available panels achieve a sub-millimeter pixel pitch – the 146-inch 4K Samsung The Wall All-in-One claims a pixel pitch of 0.84mm on its spec sheet.
Direct-view microLED displays remain at a significant premium compared to current supersized consumer televisions. Still, microLED display technology offers unsurpassed brightness, contrast, and scale that appeal to the videophile with an ample budget. Consumer crossover “video wall” products on the CEDIA/CIX show floor included AWOL Vision’s AWALL microLED display in pre-configured 16:9 screen sizes up to 162 inches, with custom offerings double that size.
The aptly named Just Video Walls was on the show floor demonstrating commercial and consumer-orientated microLED display systems, including its new Lunar Walls pre-packaged 16:9 aspect ratio assemblies in 135-inch and 162-inch models. Of course, the company’s custom direct-view LED screens feature an assortment of available pixel pitches and can be sized for ultra-wide or ultra-tall display applications as desired.
Outdoor-ready TVs
One of the more closely guarded secrets among television manufacturers is how they test the operation of their products in extreme environmental conditions to the point of failure. This type of testing can provide insight into how a TV will age over time and help guarantee its performance in even the hottest or most humid locations on planet Earth. However, companies offering outdoor-rated LCD televisions incorporate additional protective strategies that separate them from their indoor-only consumer-grade counterparts.
Outdoor-rated LCD televisions are a ruggedized display option suitable for commercial or residential applications. A primary differentiator among outdoor-rated LCD televisions is their ability to withstand direct sunlight exposure. Direct-sun-rated LCD televisions like the new Furrion Aurora Full-Sun Pro demonstrated at CEDIA combine a very bright display (the company claims 2500 nits!) with an anti-glare filter that is also resistant to impacts and scratches. The company claims the operating temperature range of the Aurora Full-Sun Pro is -4F to 122F, and it includes an external WiFi antenna for improved app performance at longer distances from an access point.
Outdoor TVs rated for partial sun exposure or use in entirely shaded environments generally cost a fraction of their “full sun” counterparts. Minimizing direct exposure to sunlight reduces the stress placed upon an outdoor TV’s thermal management and chassis materials, and the display can produce a pleasing picture with less light output – all cost-reducing factors.
Quality tech for all
Investing in technology that improves our home and work environments is more straightforward when its benefits are evident in quality, durability, and efficiency. Everyone wants to surround themselves with the best-in-class products. Still, budgetary constraints often require adjusting expectations regarding design and performance. However, good tech is good tech, and it will only be a matter of time before creative and crafty companies can make the most desirable premium technologies available to a broader audience.
Robert is a technologist with over 20 years of experience testing and evaluating consumer electronics devices, primarily focusing on commercial and home theater equipment.
Robert's expertise as an audio-visual professional derives from testing and reviewing hundreds of related products, managing a successful AV test lab, and maintaining continuous education and certifications through organizations such as CEDIA, the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), and THX.
More recently, Robert has specialized in analyzing audio and video display systems, offering comprehensive feedback, and implementing corrective measures per industry standards. He aims to deliver an experience that reflects the artists' intent and provides coworkers and the public with clear, insightful product information.
