by Bob Archer | Jun 22, 2026 | Blog, KMB Communications, Quantum Media
Starting the year America and the world saw the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots to claim the 2025-26 National Football League (NFL) world championship title.
To say that sports and leagues like the NFL are popular TV viewing is an understatement. Following the Seahawks’ victory, Sportsmediawatch.com reported the “big game” pulled a 39.7 rating and more than 125 million viewers across NBC family of broadcast brands.
Football isn’t the only sport that pulls big numbers of TV viewers. Yahoo recently picked up a story from The Hollywood Reporter that states the game one broadcast of the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs NBA Championship game averaged almost 17 million viewers. Over in the world of hockey, the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ game one Stanley Cup Finals win over the Carolina Hurricanes produced nearly 5 million viewers.
Yes, there seems to be more quality scripted series, reality television, and straight-to-streaming movies available from everyone from the traditional network broadcasters to the streaming services, but none of them move the ratings needle like sports.
The Numbers Back What Your Eyes are Seeing with TV
Realistically, there’s never been a better time to be a fan of television. There are some great scripted shows such as the “Game of Thrones franchise,” as well as HBO’s “The Pitt,” Netflix’s “Black Mirror,” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” and “Pluribus.”
The traditional broadcast networks also offer shows such as ABC’s “High Potential,” CBS’ “Tracker;” Fox is the network home of “The Simpsons,” and NBC is the home of the Chicago trio of shows: “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” and “Chicago P.D.”
Despite the plethora of fun and quality content that is available, sports are what attract people to TV.
Validating the importance of sports in today’s modern era of home theater, immersive audio, 4K, and HDR (high dynamic range), is a recently published story from The Hollywood Reporter.
The story breaks down television ratings based on the Nielsen definition of a TV season, which is stated to be from Sept. 14 to May 20.
The Hollywood Reporter’s findings were that NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” was the top show with more than 23 million viewers. Following “Sunday Night Football” was Netflix’s “Stranger Things” with more than 22 million views, and wrapping up the top three was ESPN’s, “Monday Night Football” with nearly 16 million viewers.
A more targeted look at the rating figures, the story breaks down the viewing habits of adults 18-49. In this demographic “Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” took the top two spots. Also finishing in the top 10 was ABC’s “Saturday Night College Football” broadcast.
Taking TV sports viewing to the next level are events like the World Cup. Reports place global viewership at more than 1 billion people. With the World Cup currently taking place in the U.S., American interest in soccer is peaking. Yahoo Sports is reporting that Fox had over 18 million viewers for the U.S. Men’s national 4-1 victory over Paraguay.
How to Maximize Television Viewing Experiences
It’s no secret that today’s generation of televisions and video displays are better than any previous generation of product.
Setting the stage for the current home video market are manufacturers like Quantum Media Systems. The Irvine, Calif.-based manufacturer offers state-of-the-art, customized video walls that are not only used in residential applications, but also commercial applications such as post-production and cinema.
The company’s XDR Micro LED Display is a fine-pitch display solution that was developed to produce a wide color spectrum and high levels of dynamic range. The XDR Micro LED product line also utilizes proprietary image processing and military-grade construction techniques.
Circling back to the point of Quantum Media Systems’ customization capabilities, the product line can be configured in 16:9, as well as CinemaScope, and Ultra-Widescreen for theater rooms. Custom aspect ratios and configurations are also available for applications that include sportsbooks, video gaming and digital wall art displays.
What’s nice about a solution from a benchmark manufacturer like Quantum Media Systems is the MicroLED product line can perform just as well in a normal room with ambient lighting, as a dedicated home theater space. This performance trait supports big-screen sports viewing in a variety of environments without compromise.
Feeding the public’s appetite for quality live sports content, broadcasters are increasingly offering higher quality programming. Recently, the NBC Universal broadcast of the 126th U.S. Open Golf Championship from Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, was available in the HDR10+ high dynamic range format.
With the World Cup currently going on until July 19, Fox the American broadcast partner of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), is upscaling the native 1080p to 4K. The World Cup matches are available in 4K on FOX, FS1, and the FOX One app.
Getting back to the NFL, most games are available in 1080p, with select games upscaled to 4K. The NBA does not offer games in 4K, meanwhile, the NHL’s Boston Bruins’ broadcast partner NESN offers games in 4K. DirecTV also offers select NHL games in 4K, along with HBO Max, and Amazon Prime.
To learn more about KMB Communications’ clients, including Quantum Media Systems, check out this link.
by Bob Archer | Jun 19, 2026 | Blog, KMB Communications
It’s been a busy week with the World Cup kicking off and pulling a massive global TV audience of an estimated billion-plus people. While over in the world of commercial AV, InfoComm 2026 is happening in Las Vegas.
Continuing the sports theme for a moment, the New York Knicks—the 2025/2026 NBA champions—also held a championship parade in the streets of New York, which drew an estimated 1 million fans this past week.
Getting back into the technology integration market, the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review for the week of June 15 will look at news from Kaleidescape, as well as Focal, and Roku. Other news items the Tech Week in Review will look at include InfoComm’s future, Netflix commercial cinema plans, and how World Cup fans such as Scotland’s Tartan Army have taken over major American cities like Boston.
This week’s look at the news comes from Reuters, SVConline.com, eCoustics.com, bbc.com, connecteddesign.tech, and cepro.com.
KMB Comm Technology Week in Review Residential Technology Recap
Starting the week off with a bang, Reuters posted a story on Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Roku.
The story states the deal gives Fox access to more than a 100 million households and it increases its ad-revenue opportunities. Reuters reports Roku investors will receive $96 in cash, and approximately 0.97 Fox Class A share per share held.
CE Pro has an item from Kaleidescape, the popular manufacturer of digital entertainment systems. The story says the lossless content ecosystem provider has introduced its new Strato K Movie Player with 8K video capabilities. The story also notes the Strato K introduces Kaleidescape’s 4K Cinematic format, and the player is certified by the 8K Association.
Over in the audio side of the residential technology market, the next KMB Comm Tech Week in Review story comes from eCoustics. The website has posted a story on the French audio manufacturer Focal, which has introduced its $210,000 Diva Alta Utopia flagship wireless floorstanding loudspeakers.
eCoustics says the speaker weighs 236 pounds each, and the product incorporates Focal’s PRISM tweeter technology, along with its M-Profile W Midrange driver materials, and connectivity options that include HDMI with eARC, optical digital, RCA, and USB. Wireless options include Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Bluetooth 5.3, Spotify Connect, and TIDAL Connect.
A Look Back at National and Global News
Beyond the residential market, the commercial AV industry is holding its flagship event: InfoComm 2026. Crossing into the world of residential news, the AVIXA-produced event recently announced its acquisition of the Lightapalooza lighting show, and the launch of its RESIDE residential event.
Connected Design’s Rob Stott examines how the InfoComm 2027 show in Orlando will look as it hosts an event-within-an-event with Lightapalooza and RESIDE happening within InfoComm.
Summing up his thoughts on a domestic show that would be home to a combined residential and commercial technology event, Stott writes, “If RESIDE, Lightapalooza, and InfoComm can deliver that [residential communities with their own identities] while also opening the door to adjacent commercial ideas, the result could be a new kind of meeting point for the connected environment.”
Staying in the residential/commercial gray area, the next KMB Comm technology item, SVConline has a story on Netflix’s commercial cinema policies.
According to the story, the popular streaming service had announced that its Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew would get a 45-day run in commercial theaters. Now, SVConline says, the Narnia movie may have been the exception to Netflix’s commercial theater policies.
The story adds that Netflix won’t work with directors that prefer commercial theater releases as part of its policies.
Coming back to sports for the final story in this week’s KMB Comm Tech Week in Review story of the week, is an item from BBC.com. KMB Communications is a national PR firm with offices in the West, Midwest, and the East Coast. This past week KMB East has been swept up in the World Cup fandom, and notably the Scots and the country’s Tartan Army.
The Scots, as well as the Norwegians, Moroccans, Haitians, and Iraqi fanbases, have taken over the city of Boston. The Scots in fact have drunk the city dry, and they’ve brought their, “No Scotland, No Party” attitude everywhere in Eastern Massachusetts to the delight of the locals.
The World Cup runs through July 19 and the best teams in the world including France, Brazil, Argentina, and England are all competing for the right to say they are the best.
To learn more about KMB Communications’ clients, click this link.
by Bob Archer | Jun 15, 2026 | Blog, Torus Power
The technology integration industry is built upon innovation. There are still some cases however, that tried-and-true engineering concepts outperform the latest technologies.
One such example is toroidal-based isolation technologies. For many years isolation transformers have been used in mission-critical industries such as medical, aerospace, renewable energy, and marine. Pioneering the use of isolation transformers in the technology integration market is the Canadian manufacturer Torus Power.
Over the years Torus Power has expanded its product line and feature sets to offer everything from its fundamental TOT Series to its AVR-2 Elite, All-in-One Series, and its Wall-Mount Series.
A Better Look at Torus Power Toroidal-Based Technologies
The medical industry for example uses toroidal-based insolation for the high levels of safety, low-current leakage, and the design’s ability to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Torus Power points out these traits perfectly support applications like smart home and professional environments like recording studios. The manufacturer notes that with today’s residential environments housing sensitive electronics such as home networks, lighting systems, home theaters, and smart devices living in tandem with appliances including refrigerators and air conditioners, the potential for electrical noise in a home is greater than ever.
The noise products like air conditioners and other connected products produce within a home’s electrical infrastructure is defined as:
- Differential Mode Noise: This noise is conducted on the hot and ground line in opposite directions from each other.
- Common Mode Noise: This type of noise exists on all lines in the same direction.
Generally, most households employ some type of power conditioning product that work in varying degrees of success. Torus Power’s toroidal-based product line employs a toroidal core with insulation between the primary and secondary copper windings to isolate power. By isolating power, Torus Power emphasizes, its products eliminate the noise that hinders the performance of components, and its product line helps to preserve the lifespans of the products that are plugged into its components.
Torus Power Multi-Step Approach to Peak Performance
With toroidal-based isolation transformer technologies serving as the foundation for its line of power solutions, the company augments its products with technologies such as Series Mode Surge Suppression (SMSS) and Automatic Voltage Regulation.
Explaining its SMSS technology, Torus Power says SMSS protects connected components from surges, and it cleans incoming power to its original state. SMSS, unlike solutions that shunt surges to ground, which increases ground voltage, does not contaminate AV signals with dirty power.
SMSS is designed to take surges no more than 2 volts above peak line voltage to keep the ground from becoming contaminated. Torus Power also stresses its SMSS meets IEEE endurance standards of 6,000 volts, 3,000 amps, with 1,000 repeats.
In addition to line noise, surges, and brown outs that can harm connected components, Torus Power says that voltage fluctuations can impact connected component reliability and even, cause products to fail.
Torus Power’s Automatic Voltage Regulation monitors incoming voltage and it will automatically adjust lower or high voltage levels to provide connected components with consistent power. The company’s AVR line of products can accept voltage ranges from 85 volts to 135 volts to output a consistent 120 volts.
A Tour of the Torus Power Product Line
Torus Power offers a wide range of toroidal-based power solutions.
Taking a closer look at a few of the product series, here are some of the solutions the company offers:
TOT Series: This line of products includes two models: The TOT Mini and the TOT Max. The Mini is rated at 7 amps, and it is designed for use with components such as projectors, televisions, and source devices such as set-top boxes and streaming media players.
The TOT Max is rated at 15 amps, and this product can be used with components that are more demanding like power amplifiers, which draw higher levels of current.
All TOT Series products incorporate a courtesy USB charging port, and Torus supports the products with options such as an aluminum faceplate in either silver or black finishes. The products are also supported with a 19-inch rack mount adapter kit.
RM Series: This product line is available in several versions that include the benchmark RM 100 BAL that takes a 240-volt input.
The 120-volt models offer a choice of the RM15 and the RM20 that are 15 amp and 20-amp models respectively. The 240-volt RM Balanced models offer four choices: RM 20 BAL; RM 40 BAL; RM 60 BAL, and the RM 100 BAL.
Torus Power adds the RM Series employ medical-grade outlets that are made by Hubbell.
All-in-One Series: Offered in a choice of 7.5KVA and 12.5KVA models, the AIO as the product line is referred to as incorporate whole-house toroidal-based isolation transformer technologies. The standalone solution features two parts: A top section with 24 industrial-grade 20-amp bolt-in breakers. The bottom section features the toroidal transformer, and the AIO whole-house unit also employs a separate equipment ground. The products are rated up to 100 amps with 240-volt and 208-volt inputs.
Check out Torus Power in the Gryphon Audio LA Showroom here.
by Bob Archer | Jun 12, 2026 | Blog, D-Tools, KMB Communications
Maybe you could say we’re in the calm before the storm with a good portion of the technology integration market packing its bags to spend a week in Las Vegas for InfoComm 2026.
InfoComm should generate a lot of product announcements and other news before the market begins to gear up for the CEDIA Expo to end the summer in Denver this upcoming September. For the time being, however, the home audio market continues to produce news, and if you are an Apple fan, the Worldwide Developer’s Conference delivered some news.
With that as the backdrop for this week’s KMB Comm Tech Week in Review, we will look at items from Apple, Shure and Zoom, Denon, SVS, Spotify, and rock’s new star Anika Nilles. These news items come from LinkedIn, AVNirvana.com, eCoustics, AVNation, and YouTube.
KMB Comm Home Technology Week in Review
The first item in our weekly look back comes from AVNirvana. The website reports that SVS has officially introduced auto EQ (equalization) for its RIEvolution Series of subwoofers.
AVNirvana says in the post the feature is available in the SVS Subwoofer Control App, and through the option, users can fine-tune bass performance in home spaces without manual tuning or specialty calibration tools.
With the home audio market thriving through the renewed interest in physical media, eCoustics’ review of the Denon DP-500BT turntable comes at a perfect time.
According to the story, the DP-500BT is a best-of-both-worlds solution. The belt-driven, semi-automatic turntable is easy to setup; it produces high levels of sound quality given its price point, and it offers Bluetooth for modern listening flexibility.
MSRP for the Denon DP-500BT is $899.
Wrapping up the KMB Comm tour of home audio news this week is a post from LinkedIn that cites a Bloomberg story.
LinkedIn via Bloomberg says that Spotify is looking to expand the way it supports music fans. The story states that Spotify is investigating whether to offer live concert videos and early ticket access to shows.
Bloomberg and LinkedIn point out that Spotify wants leverage live events to diversify its revenues, while looking to challenge competitors such as YouTube for live show users.
Commercial AV and Global News
Shifting gears from the residential technology integration market and into the commercial AV industry, comes a story from AVNation.
The website posted a story on Shure and Zoom expanding their partnership with new IntelliMix Room Kits and IntelliMix Foundation System for Zoom Rooms solutions.
AVNation says the IntelliMix Foundation System is designed for settings such as lecture halls, boardrooms and hybrid classrooms. The preconfigured IntelliMix Room Kits, the story continues, were developed to simplify installation in meeting spaces of all sizes.
The story notes the systems are also designed to support the growing presence of human and AI technologies during conference calls.
Returning to the LinkedIn website, the social media service picked up another story from Bloomberg, this time focusing on Apple.
The post says that with Apple preparing to show its AI strategy at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, the company’s actions will be a test for Apple’s new leadership and updated Siri digital assistant.
LinkedIn and Bloomberg add that given how well Apple has performed on Wall Street and if it can fix its AI issues, its stock could perform even better.
Circling back to live music to close the KMB Comm Tech Week in Review out, the legendary band Rush, kicked off its “50-Something” tour on June 7 in Los Angeles with their new drummer Anika Nilles.
Nilles is filling big shoes taking the place of one of rock music’s greatest drummers—Neil Peart who passed back in 2020—but based on the positive reactions she has received from fans, rock music has a new star.
The tour which will have the hall-of-fame band on the road until 2027 includes American stops in Chicago, New York, and Boston. Other cities the band will hit include its hometown of Toronto, as well as Montreal, and international locations including Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Cologne, London, Milan, and Oslo.
To learn more about Anika Nilles, check out this recently released interview with the German drummer from the music educator Rick Beato that covers her background and current touring drumkit.
For KMB Communications client news, click this link, which includes brand new news from the top dealer software company D-Tools.
by Bob Archer | Jun 11, 2026 | D-Tools, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Download image here
D‑Tools Cloud Debuts Inventory Asset Management with
Per-Unit Asset Tracking
New capabilities give every physical asset its own digital identity, helping integrators improve inventory control, project tracking, installation workflows, and service management.
RENO, Nevada — June 11, 2026 — D‑Tools, Inc., the Integration Business Platform for the technology integration industry, today announced the launch of Inventory Asset Management in D‑Tools Cloud. This new feature set gives integrators complete visibility into individual physical assets throughout the project lifecycle, from receiving and warehouse management through installation and ongoing service.
Inventory Asset Management moves D‑Tools Cloud from count‑based stock management to true per‑unit asset tracking, giving every physical item its own digital identity, including serial number, warehouse location, project assignment, actual unit cost, firmware version, MAC and IP addresses, and a complete asset history.
Where traditional inventory systems aggregate items into product totals, D‑Tools Cloud now tracks the exact unit. The feature is built for AV professionals who need to know exactly which unit is on which shelf, allocated to which room, installed at which customer’s home, and still under warranty on which P.O., unifying four previously fragmented workflows (warehouse intake, project allocation, field installation, and post‑install service) under a single per‑asset data model.
“Our customers have been asking for better visibility into the physical assets moving through their business,” says G Paul Hess, CEO of D-Tools. “Inventory Asset Management gives integrators the ability to track individual devices throughout their entire lifecycle inside the same D-Tools Cloud platform they already use every day. This improves accountability, simplifies service workflows, strengthens inventory control, and helps integrators make better operational decisions.”
Key Features
- Unit‑level asset tracking — Track every physical item individually with its own unique ID, serial number, warehouse location, project assignment, scheduled date, received date, unit cost, firmware version, MAC and IP fields, and full asset history.
- QR labels and serial number linking — Generate QR labels directly from D-Tools Cloud and associate assets with manufacturer serial numbers for accurate physical-to-digital tracking. Custom label fields, batch printing, and print history simplify asset management at scale.
- Barcode‑driven workflows — Use barcode scanning to receive inventory against purchase orders, move equipment between warehouse locations, allocate devices to projects, and quickly identify installed assets. Batch workflows allow teams to process multiple assets in seconds.
- True per‑unit cost capture — Capture actual cost at the time inventory is received, providing more accurate job costing, margin analysis, warranty tracking, and reporting throughout the asset lifecycle.
- Unit‑specific project allocation — Assign specific devices to individual rooms, systems, and customer locations instead of simply allocating quantities. Service teams can quickly identify the exact unit installed at a customer site.
- Complete asset audit trail — Every asset change is logged, including who made the change, when it occurred, and what information was updated. Immutable tracking identifiers preserve the full history of each asset over time.
- Asset-level notes and service history — Store detailed installation notes, firmware updates, repair history, calibration information, and customer-specific details directly within each asset record, giving technicians immediate access to important service information.
- Bulk asset management — Edit, move, allocate, and reprint labels for multiple assets simultaneously through streamlined grid-based workflows designed to improve warehouse efficiency.
Business Benefits for Integrators
Inventory Asset Management helps integration firms improve operational efficiency, reduce costly errors, and strengthen long-term service capabilities across the business:
- Faster warranty and RMA resolution — the exact unit, P.O., and install date are one click away.
- Precise service history — every device gets its own repair, firmware, calibration, and maintenance record, so service calls dispatch with the actual history of the unit on the wall.
- Accurate job costing — true per‑unit cost capture replaces catalog averages with the actual cost paid for each asset, improving COGS and margin tracking.
- Faster warehouse operations — barcode workflows compress receiving, allocation, and warehouse moves from minutes to seconds per item.
- Compliance and chain‑of‑custody — a complete audit trail satisfies regulatory, insurance, and audit requirements without bolting on a second system.
- Loss prevention and accountability — serialized tracking makes theft, swaps, and ghost inventory harder to hide, and integrators always know who has what.
- Smarter forecasting and upsell — visibility into installed components surface bad batches, high‑failure units, and future upgrade opportunities based on new product introductions.
Built for the Modern Integration Workflow
Inventory Asset Management extends the operational capabilities of D-Tools Cloud beyond quoting and project management into full asset lifecycle tracking.
The feature set is particularly valuable for integration firms managing:
- Warranty and RMA workflows by serial number
- Large-scale warehouse operations
- Service calls that need to identify the exact unit installed
- Compliance, audit, or chain‑of‑custody requirements
- Detailed project costing and profitability analysis
- Long-term customer asset management
Availability
Inventory Asset Management is now available in D-Tools Cloud. The feature entered beta with the May 14, 2026 release and is currently rolling out for general availability. QR labels launch with PDF output support, with direct Brother and Zebra printer integrations planned for future releases.
About D‑Tools, Inc.
D-Tools, Inc. is the Integration Business Platform for the technology integration industry. Its award-winning System Integrator (SI) and D-Tools Cloud solutions support sales, design, project management, and service operations for thousands of 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.
