by Bob Archer | May 4, 2026 | Blog
Regardless of the economy, homeowners are always interested in the security of their homes. Arguably, a deeper dive into homeowners’ security interests typically finds surveillance and motion sensors at the top of their priority lists.
Secondarily, door locks are becoming increasingly popular, especially as manufacturers add smart features and more style choices to their products.
One aspect of the residential access control market that may be overlooked are garage door operators (GDO). Sizing up the access control market, a study from Grandview Research estimates the global access control market size in 2024 was about $10.76 billion. The study goes on to estimate the market will grow at a rate of 8.4% at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach a figure of approximately $17.30 billion by 2030.
It is also important to note that making up roughly 31% of the market, the U.S. generates nearly a third of those global access control market revenues.
Putting Garage Door Operators Under the Microscope
Providing more insight on garage door operators and that category within the access control market, research from Market Reports World finds the GDO category accounts for approximately $1.27 billion in revenues in 2024. Moreover, new construction installations accounted for about $1.5 billion in 2022.
Market Reports World goes on to state in its research the category is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3% to reach nearly $1.7 billion in revenues by 2033.
Helping to drive this growth the study continues is the growing demand for automation, smart connectivity, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Additionally, it is important to emphasize the Market Reports World study says that smart home device penetration in the North American market in 2024 exceeded more than 60%.
Nice GDOs Meet Market Demands
Given the market growth that is forecast in the access control market and within the garage door operators category, it’s time to look at some of the products that populate the GDO landscape.
Here are six garage door operators from the global manufacturer Nice to meet a range of modern residential access control needs:
Nice Linear 621: Designed as an affordable solution for today’s homeowner, this GDO features an integrated battery, along with a DC motor that includes the company’s soft start and stop technologies. The Nice Linear also offers homeowners HomeLink and MegaCode compatibility, and LED lighting.
Nice Linear 661: The global manufacturer points out the 661 is part of a new series of garage door operators that combine new industrial designs and new-age features. The Nice Linear 661 incorporates amenities such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and it works with the company’s Nice G.O. app. The GDO also includes a built-in battery, LED lighting, and a DC motor that is engineered to operate quietly with soft start and stop capabilities.
Nice/Linear LDC0801: Developed to serve homeowners as an efficient GDO, the LDC0801 offers homeowners a choice of options to meet their various needs. The unit provides features such as a single-bulb 100-watt light, battery backup options that are CA-969 compliant, and a built-in MegaCode format receiver with more than 1 million unique codes and configurable access levels for as many as 10 users.
The Nice line of residential garage door operators also includes the LDC0836B, the LDC0841, and the 1461J. The LDC0863B utilizes a quiet motor that offers variable speed operation, and soft start and stop capabilities. The LDC0841 features the company’s smooth industrial designs and its smart GDO technologies.
Wrapping up the Nice residential garage door operators is the 1461J. This unit is a jackshaft GDO that includes a DC motor, integrated LED lighting, and a battery backup. Nice emphasizes that through its slim 4.5-inch width, the 1461J complements a variety of homes, including homes with large doors or high ceilings.
For a look at what Nice offers in the commercial GDO market, check out this news item on the company’s latest commercial products.
by Bob Archer | May 1, 2026 | Blog, KMB Communications
For whatever reason, home audio and audio news in general once again captures the lion’s share of attention in the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review.
Of the six news items in this week’s tour of technology news, four stories relate to audio, while consistent newsmakers such as Apple and AI-related content also find their way into the wrap-up.
This week’s news comes from national websites such as LinkedIn and Yahoo, as well as B2B (business-to-business) sites like Mix Magazine, and AVNation.tv, and the specialty consumer audio website AVNirvana.com.
Audio Dominates KMB Comm Tech Week in Review
Picking up a story from Bloomberg, LinkedIn posted a story on Spotify adding Peloton fitness classes to its platform for subscribers.
The post points out that Peloton users at one time spent $50 for its class subscriptions, but now through the classes’ availability on Spotify, the streaming service’s premium subscribers can access more than 1,400 classes for $12.99 per month.
In a story in which AV Nirvana calls the product, Wilson Audio’s, “most ambitious launch,” the audiophile speaker manufacturer has announced its Autobiography loudspeaker. The story states the speaker stands more than 81 inches tall; nearly two-feet wide, and approximately 35-inches deep.
The five-way design speaker also weighs 821 pounds per speaker, and AV Nirvana adds, the speaker’s retail cost is $790,000 per pair.
Transitioning from the home to the car, AVNation.tv posted an item on the newly introduced Dirac Spaces product.
According to the story, this new automotive solution is designed to transform in-car audio into an immersive audio experience by recreating environments that include studios and concert halls.
AVNation.tv explains that Dirac Spaces maps a car’s interior and acoustic target to create a more engaging immersive environment. Dirac Spaces debuts in the electric executive flagship SUV, the NIO ES9 and it works in tandem with the car’s Lyra audio system.
Counterfeit Vinyl Operation Headlines National Technology News
Falling under the banner of either, “whoops” or “oh no,” the AI platform Claude, has deleted PocketOS’ production database.
The story, which was posted by Yahoo says that PocketOS a provider of software for car rental businesses, experienced an enormous outage after the AI tool wiped out its database and its backups within a matter of seconds.
At the time of the blackout Yahoo continues, PocketOS was running a coding agent called Cursor that included Claude Opus 4.6. The founder of PocketOS went on in the story to attribute the issue to systemic failures related to modern AI infrastructure.
As for the weekly KMB Comm Tech Week in Review Apple news item, LinkedIn is reporting that new company CEO John Ternus is set to oversee possibly as many as 10 product introductions. These products could include a foldable iPhone, along with a smart home hub, camera pendant, and a tabletop robot.
Concluding the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review for the week of April 27, is news from Mix Magazine on a vinyl counterfeit operation.
Mix Magazine points out that London Police seized about 6,500 records that have an estimated value of more than $350,000 back on April 22. Some of the counterfeit records include pirate pressings of Queen’s Greatest Hits album, as well as albums from Coda Records, a company Mix Magazine notes, that deals in the loopholes of unsanctioned live recordings.
Putting the counterfeit operation in context, the story adds the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) reports that U.K. vinyl sales increased more than 13% in 2025 to reach the figure of 7.6 million units. U.S. sales in 2025 accounted for more than a $1 billion based on RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) figures.
To learn more about KMB Communications and its clients, click here.
by Bob Archer | Apr 28, 2026 | D-Tools, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | DOWNLOAD IMAGES HERE
D-Tools SI v24 Raises the Bar for System Integration Teams: Faster Projects, Stronger Collaboration, Greater Control
The industry’s most trusted business management platform enhances real-time team collaboration via new multi-user project editing capability and more.
RENO, Nevada – April 28, 2026 – D-Tools today announced the release of System Integrator (SI) v24, the latest version of the company’s end-to-end business management platform, highlighted by a new multi-user project editing feature that enables real-time enhanced collaboration capabilities to integrators worldwide. With more than 27 years serving the system integration market, D-Tools has built SI v24 around one straightforward goal: giving integration firms the tools to run more efficient, more profitable businesses.
This release addresses the real-world pressures integration firms face today, including tighter project timelines, more complex scopes of work, and the constant need to do more with leaner teams. SI v24 reflects D-Tools’ ongoing investment in practical capabilities that improve how integration teams work, from initial estimate through final installation, without adding complexity or compromising accuracy.
“The rate of change in this industry has never been faster, and the integrators differentiating themselves are those investing in how they operate, not just what they install,” said G Paul Hess, CEO of D-Tools. “SI v24 is built to help enable that outcome. When project teams collaborate without bottlenecks, financials stay accurate across every job, and workflows match how the business actually runs, integrators can take on more work, protect their margins, and grow with confidence.”
REAL-TIME COLLABORATION THAT ACCELERATES PROJECT DELIVERY
The centerpiece of SI v24 is multi-user project editing, a long-requested capability that changes how integration teams work together. For the first time, team members across sales, design, engineering and installation can work within the same project at the same time.
The practical impact is significant. Teams no longer need to wait for a colleague to check out a project file before making their own contributions, removing the sequential handoffs that slow delivery timelines. Changes are saved to the server automatically as they are made, so everyone works from the same current, accurate data. The result is fewer delays, fewer version conflicts, and a shorter path from project kickoff to completed installation.
COLLABORATION THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE OFFICE
SI v24 also improves how integrators coordinate with outside parties. A new Gantt chart export to Microsoft Project lets teams share detailed project timelines with architects, general contractors and other collaborators who do not use SI. Integration firms can present professional, accurate project plans to any stakeholder without workarounds, duplicate entry, or reformatting work.
In the Project Editor, users can now reorder items in the bill of materials to reflect how work is actually sequenced in the field. Related products stay grouped together, the risk of missed items drops, and handoffs between departments become cleaner and more accurate.
DEEPER OPERATIONAL CONTROL ACROSS THE BUSINESS
SI v24 includes a broad set of enhancements that give integration firms greater control over financial, operational and administrative functions:
- Financial precision: Custom timesheet fields, mass update capabilities and tax configuration by labor type give operations and accounting teams more accurate cost data, supporting tighter margin management and reliable job costing across every project.
- Catalog-level consistency: System types can now be assigned to labor items and packages at the Catalog level, ensuring uniformity across projects and reducing the setup time required for each new estimate.
- Change order governance: New user group permission levels for approving internal and external change orders give firm principals and project managers clearer oversight of scope changes, protecting margins and client relationships at every stage.
- Enterprise scalability: SI Server can now be optionally deployed on an Azure Load Balancer, giving larger firms and complex IT environments the reliability and performance they require.
- Mobile workforce support: The Mobile Install app now supports file transfers up to 100MB, giving field crews reliable access to large drawings, documents and project media directly on the job site.
- Administrative control: Software update notifications can now be limited to SI Admins, giving IT teams better control over change management and reducing disruption across the broader user base.
D-Tools SI v24 is available now. For more information, visit www.d-tools.com.
ABOUT D-TOOLS, INC.
D-Tools, Inc. is a global leader in business management software for system integration firms. Its System Integrator (SI) and D-Tools Cloud platforms support sales, design, project management, and service operations for over 8,000 companies across 90-plus countries. For more than 27 years, D-Tools has helped integrators build more efficient, more profitable businesses. Follow D-Tools on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tim Bigoness, D-Tools – (925) 270-4102 – timb@d-tools.com
Katye McGregor Bennett, KMB Communications – (406) 446-1283 – katye@kmbcomm.com
All products, product names, trademarks, and registrations mentioned are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
by Bob Archer | Apr 27, 2026 | Blog, SONOS
There has never been a better time to be a music fan. Home audio through formats such as vinyl, the comeback of CDs, and of course streaming audio offer music fans choices with no compromise in quality.
In terms of coolness, vinyl has been trendy for several years due to album artwork and the simple TLC it takes to drop the needle. More recently—CD—another form of physical media has picked itself up off the mat through its 16-bit/44kHz lossless sound quality and value. CDs are 1/3 to a quarter of the cost of vinyl and CD/DVD players are readily available to spin these discs.
With vinyl and CDs once again popular, it is easy to forget about streaming audio. Despite the possibility of streaming content to be taken for granted in 2026, the format is by far the largest generator of revenue for the music industry.
Using data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the music market produced $11.5 billion in revenues in 2025, and of those revenues, paid-subscription streaming audio’s 106.5 million subscribers accounted for $6.4 billion of those revenues.
Looking back at why streaming content is so popular, services such as Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, and Qobuz provide access to millions of songs and in some cases 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution audio.
Using what is the one home audio brand that helped to drive mainstream access to not only a choice of streaming services—Sonos—but also several ways of playing that content, let’s breakdown some of the popular manufacturer’s top products.
4 Sonos Streaming Audio Products to Address a Range of Applications
One of the nice aspects of streaming products from companies like Sonos is the flexibility the products offer. Google Android user … no problem; Apple iOS … no problem. Smart homeowner with the desire for audio across their home … once again, no problem.
Additionally, the product line also caters to personal audio experiences with the Ace headphones. The headphones allow for TV listening and travel without sacrificing Dolby Atmos audio accessibility.
Diving into the Sonos product line a bit further, here are four products to consider for just about every streaming audio situation:
Amp Multi: Developed specifically for the technology integration market and professional integrators, the Amp Multi provides eight channels that are rated to produce 125-watts-per-channel. Sonos points out the multichannel, multizone streaming audio amplifier utilizes GaN technologies and post-filter feedback to optimize efficiency. The product also incorporates the company’s ProTune technology that’s designed to optimize system performance in a range of room environments.
Arc Ultra: This soundbar produces immersive audio up to levels as high as 9.1.4 to allow homeowners to listen to their favorite shows, movies and music in Dolby Atmos. Sonos points out the soundbar provides a choice of control options, including Sonos Voice Control and the company’s companion app.
Era 100 SL: Available in a choice of black or white finishes, the Era 100 SL is one of the most affordable ways to bring streaming audio into a home using Sonos components. The versatile powered speaker can be setup in pairs to form a true stereo configuration, and the speaker can also be used as rear surrounds in a Sonos-based home theater.
Sonos Ace: Concluding this look at Sonos products is the company’s Ace Headphones. Available in a choice of black or white, the headphones come with a carrying case to support its use as a travel companion, as well as cables for connections such as USB-C and 3.5mm analog. What makes the Ace Headphones stand out as a streaming audio solution, is the headphones’ Dolby Atmos compatibility. Apple Music subscribers can play their favorite band and listen to their favorite albums mixed in Atmos, and play Netflix or HBO content with full surround sound just by simply wearing the headphones.
To learn more about the Sonos Amp Multi Professional Multichannel Amplifier, check this press release from KMB Communications.
by Bob Archer | Apr 27, 2026 | KMB Communications, Kordz, News, Somfy, Torus Power
Putting a bow on the month of April, the KMB Comm-icles monthly recap of client news demonstrates the diversity of the technology integration industry.
Kicking off the month, Torus Power was a prominent fixture on the floor of the AXPONA 2026 show in Chicago with its products in several booths throughout the event. Reinforcing the value and high level of performance of its product line, the company also highlighted its participation in the Gryphon Audio LA Showroom.
Nice was also busy during the month of April. The large company featured some of its latest residential and commercial door operator products at the IDAExpo+ event.
In addition to the look back at Torus Power and Nice’s respective show activities, the April 2026 KMB Comm-icles will also look at news from Somfy and Kordz.
KMB Comm-icles Summary of Activities for April 2026
Hitting lead-off for KMB look back is Torus Power’s AXPONA 2026 show activities:
Holm Audio to Feature Torus Power RM 20 at AXPONA 2026 Show: Working with its dealer partner Holm Audio, Torus Power showcased several of its products, highlighted by the RM 20. In room #715 a system powered by Torus included gear from Rega, Cambridge Audio, and KEF.
Torus Power points out that its RM 20 utilizes a 2400 VA toroidal isolation transformer and the product is engineered to deliver clean, stable power at 120 volts at 20A.
Gryphon Audio LA Showroom Introduces Luxury Consumers to Immersive Audio at PDC: Taking a bold step to present audiophile levels of performance to a designer audience, Gryphon Audio Los Angeles, is an appointment-only showroom in the Pacific Design Center (PDC).
The showroom was designed to serve as a state-of-the-art facility that is purpose-built to demonstrate the highest limits of two-channel audio. Using a Torus Power All-in-One (AIO) panel as the electrical foundation of the showroom, the 3,200-square foot space features several demo systems that are all protected and enhanced by the Torus Power AIO solution.
Nice Unveils Next-Generation Garage Door Opener Portfolio at IDAExpo+ 2026: Back in mid-April Nice took part in this popular security market, access control event. During the show, Nice debuted its 800 Series of products that are designed for large, heavy garage doors.
The company also showcased its Nice 1461J Residential Jackshaft Operator. Nice explains this product is a wall-friendly, wall-mount solution engineered for modern garages and high ceilings.
Nice Debuts MCX Commercial Door Operator Platform at IDAExpo+ 2026: Continuing onward with the KMB Comm-icles look back at the month of April 2026, Nice also launched its commercial MCX line of door operators at IDAXpo+ 2026.
The MCX line of products replaces several previous-generation commercial door operators. All the products within the line accept 120-volt and 240-volts of power, or three-phase input with automatic voltage sensing to eliminate manual configuration errors.
Nice also points out the products all feature microprocessor-based control systems that offer options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The products can also be used in retrofit environments, in addition to new construction.
Kordz Expands Residential Market Presence in MENA Through Miantic Partnership:
The global connectivity company Kordz recently increased its reach in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through a partnership with Miantic.
Kordz states Miantic has expanded its operations beyond India into the fast-growing MENA market. Kordz emphasizes the newly formed alliance will provide dealers in the MENA region with proven technical support, dealer enablement, and consistent product availability.
Casambi and Somfy Partner to Advance Intelligent Lighting and Shading Ecosystems:
Concluding the KMB Comm-icles April 2026 look back, is an important announcement from Somfy.
Somfy has entered a partnership with the commercial lighting manufacturer Casambi. The partnership enables seamless integration between wireless lighting control products and motorized shade solutions to address integrations ranging from luxury hotels to campus universities.
The integration between Casambi’s lighting control products and Somfy’s motorized window coverings supports new construction and retrofit installations, and both companies expect the alliance will streamline the specification process, while helping technology integrators, lighting designers, and design professionals to develop advanced, stylish lighting and shade systems.
For more information about KMB Communications’ clients, check out the KMB Comm-icles March 2026 monthly news recap.
