by Bob Archer | Nov 21, 2025 | Blog, KMB Communications
On the cusp of the annual Thanksgiving Day holiday the smart home or custom installation industry is gearing up to take some much needed and welcomed time off.
Just because the holiday is rapidly approaching however, it does not mean the market is resting on past accomplishments. The team over at CE Pro has been busy traveling covering events such as Total Tech Summit (TTS) and buying group events like HTSA’s Fall 2025 show.
Recapping the buying group event, Nick Boever from CE Pro says HTSA asserts the industry is still moving forward, despite the turbulence of the economy. Boever also states that AI was a major talking point for the nearly 100 group members that attended the event.
Here’s Boever’s full run down of the HTSA Fall 2025 event.
Looking at some product news, Residential Tech Today reported on the newly announced Kaleidescape Mini Terra Prime. The publication points out the latest Kaleidescape product is engineered to deliver the same level of performance the company is known for, but in a smaller form factor to make it more homeowner friendly.
Check out the story on Kaleidescape’s new Mini Terra Prime here.
Going deeper into the industry’s favorite topic—products—Residential Systems ran through its Best of Show awards program. Citing more than 50 products, the winning products ranged from control and lighting solutions to surround sound processors, and MicroLED displays.
Here is the complete list of winners from Residential Systems annual awards program.
Over in the world of commercial AV, the staff at Commercial Integrator covered an item on a Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group installation that featured equipment from Epson. The article looks at some of the challenges the famous show presented to the technicians installing the AV system and how they overcame those obstacles.
The story can be found here.
KMB Comm’s Look at National News
A new report published by LinkedIn says that October’s unemployment figures offer a mixed bag of results. According to the story, unemployment increased slightly to 4.4%. The story notes the figure is caused from a combination of permanent job losses and people quitting their jobs.
What is surprising continues LinkedIn, is the economy did pick up nearly 120,000 jobs, which is a number above estimates.
LinkedIn adds the next job reports is expected in mid-December. Here is the post from LinkedIn.
KMB Communications hosts a podcast called AV Trade Talk. Listeners can check out the podcast to learn about the latest happenings in the custom installation electronics industry. To listen to the KMB AV Trade Talk Podcast, click here.
by Bob Archer | Nov 20, 2025 | Apex Technologies, Blog, Kordz, Leon Speakers, SONOS, Torus Power
One of the most underappreciated American holidays is Thanksgiving. The fourth of July, Christmas, Labor Day and Memorial Day are popular because of gift giving, cookouts and beer. Naturally, people love to celebrate those days for all those reasons and more.
Thanksgiving however, is taken for granted in many cases. Kids are home from college, families gather or they simply stay home to enjoy a day of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pies, cakes, cookies, and adult beverages with no second thought.
What makes Thanksgiving great is that regardless of whether you are a sports fan or not, you’re likely to turn to the TV and home AV system for some entertainment. Of course, the National Football League (NFL) offers a full schedule of football from about 1 p.m. to about 11:30 p.m., so that solves the question of entertainment for many people, but what options are there for those people that aren’t football, hockey or basketball fans.
Home AV Streaming Options for the Thanksgiving Holiday
Focusing on the NFL game action on Thanksgiving, the slate of football begins with the Green Bay Packers vs the Detroit Lions at 1 p.m on Fox. Following the Lions game, the Dallas Cowboys will then play the Kansas City Chiefs at 4:30 p.m. on CBS. Wrapping up the trio of games are the Cincinnati Bengals taking on the Baltimore Ravens at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.
Moving onto the streaming services, here are some movies and TV shows to check out on your home AV systems:
HBO Max: The latest “Planet of the Apes” movie, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” is now available on the service along with popular series that include, “It Welcome to Derry,” and “The Chair Company.”
HBO Max also has movies such as “Elf,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” and “Weapons.”
Disney+: The popular streaming service offers a wealth of content that is sure to provide a workout for a home AV system. Some of those titles include “The Fantastic 4: First Steps,” “Zootopia,” and “Avatar: The Way of the Water.”
Naturally, Disney+ provides a host of holiday titles such as, “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” and “Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.”
Prime Video: Amazon’s streaming service is available to anyone with a Prime account, and it offers a range of live sports, movies, documentaries, and TV shows. Some of the latest content options from Prime Video include the series “King Conqueror” and “Hazbin Hotel.” Movie options include classics such as “Uncle Buck,” recent blockbusters such as “Spider-Man: Coming Home,” and rental titles like “One Battle After Another.”
Netflix: Netflix, the largest streaming service is now offering shows such as “Death by Lightning,” “The Beast in Me,” “Stranger Things,” and the “Last Samurai Standing.” Movie choices include “Frankenstein,” “The Thursday Murder Club,” and “The Marksman.”
Component Recommendations to Foster Food Coma TV Binging
One of the fun things that attracts people to home AV as a hobby and/or as a means of entertainment is the fact that it provides an array of options to deliver those entertainment options.
Price while a factor is not the sole point in determining a home AV purchase. Ease-of-use, industrial design, and size are also factors. With these factors in mind, here are a few suggestions that can be used to help homeowners achieve their home AV entertainment goals:
Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar: The fully featured Arc ($1,099 retail) is a popular choice for homeowners that want immersive audio in a solution that provides a room-friendly footprint. The Dolby Atmos immersive audio soundbar can be paired with other Sonos components such as its Sub 4 subwoofer and Era 100 speakers. An additional benefit with the Sonos ecosystem is that beyond its home theater capabilities, it also provides homeowners with the ability to stream and playback music as part of a whole-house audio system.
Leon Speakers TIMBRE TI44UX Speakers: The Mich.-based audio company Leon is known for its one-off custom speaker products, as well as its combination of design and audio technologies. The TIMBRE TI44UX ($2,750 per pair) is available in a list of standard finish and grille options, and the speakers are backed by Leon’s custom finish program. Internally, the speaker utilizes a 4-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter, and the speaker can be used as part of a full immersive audio system or as part of a stereo or 2.1 system when combined with a subwoofer.
Quantum Media Systems XDR4 8K Extreme LED Wall: At the top end of the home theater market there has been growing momentum for the use of custom video walls in home spaces. Quantum Media Systems’ newly announced XDR4 8K Extreme Video Wall is a custom solution that professional integrators can utilize to meet the performance goals of luxury consumers and enthusiasts. The XDR4 8K Extreme LED wall delivers DCI compliant images using proprietary image processing and panels that employ a 0.7mm pixel pitch.
Epson Lifestudio Flex Projector: Retailing for a price of about $780, the Lifestudio can be used to project images as large as 150 inches on walls and projection screens. The compact and affordable Epson projector incorporates the Google TV smart services operating system (OS), and it delivers 1080p HD images at brightness levels up to 700 lumens.
A couple of other points of interest that homeowners should consider for their home AV systems include power protection and quality infrastructure. Products from respected manufacturers such as Torus Power and Kordz, provide proven reliability and performance in environments such as recording studios, luxury home cinemas and other similar environments.
Check out this luxury theater installation from Global Wave Integration: From Set to Sofa: Quantum Media System’s DCI-Certified Video Wall Delivers True Hollywood Magic at Home
