CEDIA CEO Utz Baldwin takes a few minutes out of a very busy first day at the expo to talk to SVC about the trends he sees in the consumer electronics market and the relationship that has developed between professionals in the commercial AV industry and those in the home electronics arena. He provides his take on current economic factors and their affect on consumer electronics product development. Utz also gives us a look into his own experience and how he rose through the CEDIA ranks to become CEO of this dynamic organization at an exciting time in its history.

Tim Alessi, director of HE New Product Development, showcases LG’s new line of LCDs, plasmas, and Blu-ray players. He details the features of LG’s new SL-80 and SL-90 series with a CCL only 1.8in. deep. The LG booth was outfitted with more than a dozen seamless look monitors mounted in over/under pairs with single video signals spanning the screen pairs. Alessi also outlines the various video signal formats the monitors are capable of handling.

Robert Lemer, director of business development, offers his take on the trends in the market for signal conversion and the AV signal transmission and distribution industry. He also provides an update on the state of the new display port technology, Gefen’s products in that area and where that and IP-based products are headed in the residential AV field.

Jeff Singer, Crestron public relations manager, takes a few minutes out from his marathon lecture schedule to tell SVC about Crestron’s new TPMC 3X Wi-Fi touchpanel along with an update on the company’s other product debuts. He also provides a few notes on how the company approaches programming its systems and training dealers and installers in the specifics of setup and installation.

Mike Malone, VP of sales, discusses the company’s popular touchpanels and their audio options. He also provides details on Colorado vNet’s upcoming cross-country van tour, launched at CEDIA and to promote its new offering and train dealers and installers. Malone also offers his take on industry trends affecting CEDIA and Colorado vNet.