by KMB Communications | Apr 6, 2021 | Zappiti
With extensive experience in the residential systems industry, Pete Baker’s The BIG Corp will help develop and execute new sales strategies, driving Zappiti’s presence in the residential marketplace.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (April 8, 2021) Zappiti, an award-winning manufacturer of 4K media players, continues to strengthen its presence in the marketplace with the recent appointment of industry veteran Pete Baker’s The BIG Corp as North American Business Manager for the Zappiti
brand. As a leading executive with more than three decades of industry knowledge, vast experience in sales and marketing, and a deep understanding of the needs of home systems integrators, Baker draws from his strong business-building skills and passion for smart home technologies to develop and nurture mutually beneficial partnerships with dealers and distributors throughout the country.
Having developed and executed successful sales and marketing strategies for several leading home systems brands as the president of international business development company The BIG Corp, Baker’s unique skillset aligns well with Zappiti’s aggressive business model. Moreover, Baker’s personal experience using Zappiti products provides integrators and distributors with a unique perspective of the technology.
“It’s clear in discussions with Zappiti’s executive team that the company is on a trajectory for amazing growth,” says Baker. “From the development of new business opportunities to the continued evolution and refinement of innovative media servers and storage units, Zappiti is well-positioned to provide the integration community with home entertainment solutions that provide consumers with a compelling way to consume content. The mission going forward is to explore and expose new revenue opportunities for Zappiti dealers.”
“Through Pete’s sales and marketing leadership we can effectively promote the merits of Zappiti’s unique content delivery method and engaging user experience to a wider, carefully curated audience of systems integrators and end-users, building a larger base of installations and generating new sources of revenue for our dealers,” adds Rémy Pariselle, Zappiti Marketing Director. While our engineers and designers continue to innovate new media server solutions for the residential market, Pete can focus on developing new profitable sales channels and opportunities for dealers.”
As North American Business Manager for the Zappiti brand, Pete Baker’s The BIG Corp will develop and provide a variety of online training materials and programs for integrators. Covered will be installation procedures, an in-depth look at Zappiti’s technology, and optimizing the capabilities of its media servers to deliver customers the highest-quality entertainment experience. Interested integrators can contact Pete Baker at pete@thebigcorp.com for dates and times.
To learn more about Zappiti, its award-winning Pro 4K HDR Media Player, and other products in the portfolio, go to zappiti.us.com.
About Zappiti
Zappiti is an international leader in the design and manufacturing of high-end universal media players. Providing AV integrators with a range of solutions, Zappiti has offices in both Europe and the U.S., with operations including research and development, tech support, and sales. Engineered to deliver high-caliber audio and video reproduction, Zappiti media players create an immersive, dimensional, and emotional entertainment experience that is just as the original filmmakers intended. Rich in innovative software and hardware technology and boasting user-friendly operation, Zappiti media players appeal to both casual viewers and serious home theater enthusiasts.
About The BIG Corp
BIG was founded in 2014 by Pete Baker, a dynamic global sales and marketing professional with decades of experience successfully maximizing product sales and driving revenue growth in the custom electronics industry. Mr. Baker began his career as an integrator, accumulating vast experience in front-end system design and sales, back-end operational management, in-field installation, programming and project management. He has worked on thousands of systems and was the founder of Custom Home Integration, a leading installation firm that he sold in 2006. BIG a Global, full-service Sales Rep Firm, and consulting agency, providing exceptional support to the finest brands in Consumer Electronics Also providing quality education to CE Professionals Worldwide, with CEDIA Certified Training, through the CE Business Academy. www.thebigcorp.com
All products, product names, trademarks, and registrations mentioned are the property of their respective owners, all rights reserved.
by KMB Communications | Apr 1, 2021 | Home Technology Association
HTA delivers valuable sales, operations, product, and networking advice from the top minds in the custom home technology industry.
Santa Monica, CA (April 1, 2021) – The Home Technology Association (HTA), the first and only third-party certification for home technology installation companies, announced today its new ‘Mind Share’ series of webinars, designed to grow and hone the integrator’s skills with carefully chosen topics that maximize business opportunities and help ensure future success.
The HTA had its first dealer webinar last August in lieu of the planned in-person dealer event that was canceled due to the pandemic. “The feedback we received from both our certified integrators and supporting brands was extremely positive, with many asking for the HTA to create more leadership webinars. This led to two more in the last quarter of 2020, and our March 3rd, 2021 webinar “Pay Yourself What You’re Worth” was another hit,” says Josh Christian, CEO of HTA. “We are excited to help our members prosper with the topics we will consider this year. These are all topics of interest to our members and reflect the HTA’s push for integrators to work more cohesively with the architect, builder, and interior design trades.”
The Mind Share series will kick off on April 21, 2021, at 2:00 PM EST with a webinar titled “You Don’t Need Leads…You Need CLOSES, Dummy!” Moderated by Jason Knott of CE Pro, this session will turn the conversation about lead growth on its head and will be the first HTA-hosted webinar that is open to all integrators.
The “You Don’t Need Leads…You Need CLOSES, Dummy!” webinar will explore the fact that many integrators are focused on getting more leads as a catalyst for growth when in reality they need to focus on their closing ratio. The discussion will include a panel of top sales closers that will share ways integrators can work smarter, not harder. HTA Certified panelists include: Ed Gilmore of Gilmore’s Sound Advice, NY; Mark Ontiveros of Audio Images, CA; Barry Schurr of Osbee Industries, NY; and Eric Thies of DSI Luxury Technology, CA. Learn more and register here.
Upcoming HTA Mind Share webinars will explore topics such as:
- April 21: “You Don’t Need Leads…You Need CLOSES Dummy!”
- May 19: “D-Cinema: The Ultimate Frontier for High-Performance Cinema”
- June 23: “Cracking the Code on How to Sell Lighting Fixtures”
- July 21: “Tips & Tricks to Make Architects Your Best Friend”
- August 18: “Tips & Tricks to Make Interior Designers Your Best Friend”
- September 15: “Tips & Tricks to Make Builders Your Best Friend”
- October 27: “How Do You Stack Up?”
HTA’s Mind Share webinar series is open to HTA Certified dealers and supporting brand members only. To become an HTA Certified dealer, apply at: htacertified.org/apply.
About the Home Technology Association
The Home Technology Association (HTA) created the first and only standard of excellence for home technology integration firms. The HTA gives the best-qualified technology integrators a prestigious certification and endorsement developed to differentiate these exceptional firms. HTA Certification is a badge of quality, designed to help homeowners get consistently first-rate technology experiences. Homeowners, builders, architects, and interior designers that hire HTA Certified integrators have peace of mind knowing they are working with truly professional firms that have passed the HTA’s rigorous, 60-point HTA certification process, which focuses on technical competency, first-rate customer service, aftercare support, and a positive business reputation. These stringent criteria were developed by industry veterans and HTA’s Board of Advisors, including top executives from Lutron, Crestron, Control4, Savant, and others. Additionally, HTA’s Supporting Brands program enables expanded outreach to architects, designers, builders, and related trade associations from leading manufacturers and service providers who support HTA’s mission of delivering exemplary technology experiences. Learn more by visiting HTACertified.org and by following the Home Technology Association (HTA) on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube & Pinterest.
All products, product names, trademarks, and registrations mentioned are the property of their respective owners, all rights reserved.
by KMB Communications | Mar 8, 2021 | AtlasIED
AtlasIED DSP amp and 21 speakers deliver sermons and song throughout the new 14,000 square-foot sanctuary.
Houses of worship are no different from showrooms in terms of their AV production needs, according to Michael Brown-Cestero, president of Embassy Holdings, a design firm specializing in advanced live and virtual communications systems. “Systems for each of these seemingly different venues adhere to the same set of safety standards, electrical codes, and construction protocols, and the AV systems employ the same technologies and equipment to process and distribute digital signals,” Brown-Cestero explains. “The only difference between the two is the type of content that’s shared and when service calls typically occur—during the day for churches and at night for showrooms.”
With this philosophy in mind, Brown-Cestero tackled an extensive AV project for a newly built 14,000-square-foot church in Las Vegas as he would for any entertainment venue on the strip—with a focus on performance and futureproofing.
Ditching DIY for Dante®
What he discovered right off the bat was an incredibly tech-savvy church production crew. “Over the years, the tech team at Life Baptist Church had put together a decent audio system in its original 200-seat facility, containing mainly DIY gear.” When Brown-Cestero met with them to discuss objectives for the larger 672-person sanctuary, they all expressed the same request: a major update comprising completely new, state-of-the-art, professional-grade equipment that was flexible, versatile, and scalable.
“This was all the inspiration we needed to specify a Dante®-based digital audio network,” Brown-Cestero says. “The technology is robust, reliable, and easy to implement. Plus, because it has become the de facto standard of most manufacturers, it would allow us to specify gear from different manufacturers—like a 70V digital audio system from AtlasIED, audio console from Yamaha, and in-ear monitors from Shure—and know that they would be able to communicate without the extra time, expense, and complication of converters and adapters.”
Convergence of Old and New Networks
Another big selling point: The new Ethernet-based Dante® network would allow seamless transmission of the services in the new building to the existing worship space, which would transition into a community center and overflow space once the new sanctuary was complete. “This connectivity saved us from having to install hundreds of analog lines to enable audio and video signals to travel freely between the two facilities,” Brown-Cestero explains. “In less than five minutes after being plugged in and its DSP levels set, the AtlasIED DPA-804 amplifier was on the network and ready to distribute clear, crisp, intelligible audio throughout the entire campus.”
Audio captured by handheld and lapel microphones in the new church is processed, amplified, and set at the ideal volume level by the DPA-804. From there, in a dedicated control closet with lighting and video equipment, it sends audio to 17 AtlasIED FAP-43T ceiling speakers placed strategically in classrooms, offices, coffee shop, and foyer of the new facility, as well as to four RockFA-62 outdoor landscape speakers, and IT headend and existing speakers at the old venue across the parking lot.
Minimizing the Digital Footprint
A church is the last place that should look like a technological playground. Mounted flush with the ceiling surface and resembling recessed light fixtures, the FAP-43T speakers blend right in, as do the four RockFA-62 with the outdoor hardscaping. Despite their low-profile, they spread audio far and wide, ensuring that no one misses a second of the sermon, choral production, and other events should they visit the restroom, grab a cup of coffee, or take a crying child outside for a breather.
Positioned in the courtyard between the old and new worship spaces, the RockFA-62 speakers welcome and bid adieu to the congregation as they enter and leave the sanctuary before and after services. It evokes an energetic and engaging atmosphere, important for attracting new members to the congregation.
Supporting the Evolution of AV
While simple in functionality, the Dante® AV network employed by the AtlasIED DPA-804 amplifier is sophisticated and advanced enough to deliver exceptional clarity, intelligibility, and coverage of audio well into the future. “That’s what we love about AtlasIED products, particularly those that support Dante®. They just work, no matter what you throw at them or how AV technology evolves,” Brown-Cestero says.
AtlasIED Equipment Used in this Project:
DPA-804 amplifier
(17) FAP-43T ceiling speakers;
(4) RockFA-62T landscape speakers
by KMB Communications | Feb 26, 2021 | AtlasIED
Corroded, weather-stripped, underperforming speakers swapped for a new suite of full-range AtlasIED stadium speakers.
When Jonathan Peyton graduated in 1992 from Alexandria Senior High School, Alexandria, Louisiana, the quality of audio in the school’s football stadium was the furthest thing from his mind. But over the years, as he continued to attend games, he couldn’t help but notice the many “dead” zones within the 3,000-seat venue. As an audiophile, local businessman, and long-time supporter of the Alexandria Trojans athletic program, he vowed to “fix the problem.”
A Complete Audio Overhaul
On further inspection of the press box audio system, he discovered poorly connected equipment, faulty wiring, and damaged rooftop speakers that even in their heyday wouldn’t have had the horsepower nor the appropriate range to cover every seat. “The old speakers had literally disintegrated from years of wear and tear,” Peyton says. “Plus, they didn’t have the crossovers to deliver the full frequency sound that was sorely needed in this stadium.”
After getting the go-ahead from the school administration, he contacted pro AV manufacturer’s rep firm Mizzen Marketing, Mansfield, Texas, for suggestions. Top on the list was swapping the old, corroded horn speakers for new wide-dispersion models from AtlasIED.
Based on measurements, budget, requests of the school administration, and other information gathered by Peyton, Mizzen Marketing drafted a detailed blueprint, specifying equipment, speaker locations, DSP settings—everything Peyton needed to execute the plan. Funded largely by the school’s alumni association, the new audio system features a suite of AtlasIED outdoor stadium horn speakers, amplifiers, power sequencer, and fan module.
Full Audio Coverage from the Press Box Roof
Large areas like sports stadiums require several strategically mounted speakers to deliver intelligible broadcasts and impactful music to every seat, Peyton explains, so he removed the three large, heavy, ill-performing speakers from the roof of the press box, replacing them with seven smaller yet more powerful AtlasIED speakers. Peyton utilized six speakers from AtlasIED’s FS line to flank the company’s AH54-15-BSG long-throw speaker, which was chosen for its ability to toss audio all the way across the field and into the visitors’ section. Situated at each end of the press box, the two nearfield, wide-dispersion FS12T-BT60 and two FS12T-99 speakers would spread audio across the entire home section. For an extra boost of low-end bass, Peyton added two FST-12 SUB speakers. “This combination of speakers ensures that nobody would ever again strain to hear music, public address notices, and game-day commentary and that the volume level would be consistent throughout, solving the popular complaint of audio being too loud in some areas and barely audible in others.”
Wide audio dispersion was a key factor in choosing the AtlasIED horns, Peyton notes, but the lightweight nature was certainly another selling point. “It definitely made hoisting them onto the press box roof a lot easier than it could have been.”
Amps Minimize Human Error
To drive and protect the speaker array, Peyton installed two AtlasIED multi-channel power amplifiers and a power sequencer into an existing equipment rack in the press box. “Because the audio will be managed by many different people, our goal was to keep the system as simple and straightforward as possible to use,” Peyton says. “The AtlasIED DPA2402 and DPA602 amps helped us accomplish this.” Using the amps’ graphical user interface, Peyton pre-set the audio processing and volume levels and disabled the manual controls so users can only turn the system on or off, nothing else. “Once the system is powered, you just plug in a microphone and it’s good to go, virtually foolproof. Plus, these amps are so small, run cool, and have plenty of power to drive the entire speaker array.”
The Crowning Jewel
With that—and the installation of new wiring, a wireless microphone, and mixer—the audio update was complete. Peyton has put the system through its paces and reports positive reactions from stadium attendees, coaching staff, and players. “From all areas of the stadium, music and announcements are clear, intelligible, and at the perfect volume level,” he says. “And the school’s choir has never sounded better singing the national anthem.” There’s just one more task to tackle: the design and application of an Alexandria Trojan logo on the face of an existing AtlasIED equipment rack, which has admirably stood the test of time. “It’s just as durable and sturdy as it was when installed 20-some years ago. It just needed a little sprucing up.”
AtlasIED Products Used in This Project:
DPA2402 2400-watt networkable multi-channel power amplifier
(2) FS12T-BT60 12” 2-way multipurpose nearfield horn speakers
AH54-15-BSG 15” 2-way stadium horn speaker
(2) FS12T-99 12” 2-way multipurpose horn speakers
DPA602 600-watt networkable multi-channel power amplifier
(2) FS12T-SUB 12” multipurpose low-frequency horn speakers
ECS-204 20A power conditioner and sequencer
EFP3-2 RU WMA series half rack
See how the AtlasIED’s amplifiers and speakers have enhanced the audio quality for football fans in the Alexandria High School stadium here.
Download Images Here
About AtlasIED
A global electronics manufacturer providing comprehensive audio and security solutions for commercial, corporate, educational, healthcare, retail, transportation, and government environments, AtlasIED brings together the legacy, engineering skills, and legendary service of Atlas Sound and Innovative Electronics Design. Offering industry-leading mass notification, life safety, VoIP, background music, paging, and sound-masking systems, AtlasIED delivers product lines that span wide and deep, with more than 2,000 innovative audio solutions for businesses of every size. Combined, Atlas Sound and IED products have been installed in more than one million businesses over the past 80+ years.
With nine locations and a network of manufacturer representatives and distributors around the world to provide superior support to dealers and customers, AtlasIED’s customer service is an industry benchmark that competitors strive to match. AtlasIED is family-owned, with manufacturing operations in the United States that hold an ISO9001:2008 Quality Standards Certification to ensure consistently high-quality products, service, and support.
For more information, please visit www.atlasied.com or contact us at support@atlasied.com.
by KMB Communications | Feb 23, 2021 | Access Networks
ARCC, a cloud-based wireless controller solution by Access Networks, provides integrators streamlined and fully customizable deployments, remote access and control of clients’ networking systems, and an opportunity to leverage recurring revenue.
LOS ANGELES, CA (February 23, 2021) – Access Networks continues to evolve its enterprise-grade networking solutions with the introduction of a cloud-based configuration and management platform. The next-generation cloud-based wireless controller, ARCC, is built on Ruckus architecture and delivers a new level of simplicity during deployment, a higher level of control with more tools to customize each job, and a lower cost of entry for industry-leading capabilities. Additionally, it offers a solid source of recurring revenue, as ARCC enables networks to be easily monitored and managed remotely. Quick and easy remediation and firmware updates can help boost integrators’ bottom line, streamline workflow, and improve customer satisfaction.
“Historically, wireless residential networks have required an on-premise controller for visibility, configuration, and control,” says Access Networks VP of Sales Ben Jurow. “Now, with the introduction of ARCC, integrators can deliver the same level of service and support remotely. ARCC has all the same features, and more, of our popular C120 hardware-based wireless controller, so dealers can transition to cloud-based service while offering customers the same high-level of performance.”
ARCC rounds out Access Networks’ full range of network management platforms, now giving integrators a choice of a cloud-based solution, as well as the company’s legacy C120 hardware solution or Unleashed software solution. “ARCC marks the next evolution in our product development and offerings,” Jurow says. “Integrators can stick with traditional solutions or embrace the cloud as a reliable, easily accessible, and failsafe method of monitoring and maintaining clients’ home networks.”
ARCC seamlessly integrates with any Access Networks-enabled network, much like the C120 appliance. Core managed network solutions ship preconfigured based on dealer-supplied network parameters and requirements specific to the deployment. Once the access points, routers, and switches have been installed, the access points will connect to the Internet and self-configure. Then, from a computer or mobile device, the integrator can button up the system, administering security protocols and setting up passwords, for example. The entire process is seamless and transparent to the customer, and repeatable when possible, saving integrators time and manpower.
Additionally, ARCC allows integrators and their clients to stay ahead of the technological curve. Updates introducing new features and capabilities download to ARCC remotely via the cloud, providing an easy, dependable, affordable way of keeping clients’ networks as current and capable as possible. And when new Access Networks products are added to the network, modifications to the ARCC configuration platform happen automatically.
Access Networks plans to offer ARCC training to integrators interested in offering the platform. Existing Access Networks integration partners can find more details in their MyAccess partner portal. Others who are interested in learning more about ARCC are invited to contact clientservices@accessnetworks.com.
About Access Networks
Access Networks is the leading provider of enterprise-grade networking solutions for the modern smart home. Focused on designing and supporting reliable and secure networks, we help people stay connected to what matters most. Our solutions are customized to satisfy the bandwidth requirements of any household, and through our network of highly-qualified technology integration firms, are configured and installed to deliver an exceptional experience, every time. No matter how your home evolves, you’ll always stay connected, as our team of knowledgeable and experienced designers and engineers continually refine our innovative product and service offerings. To learn more, visit Access Networks online at www.accessnetworks.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
