The summer is ending—at least the unofficial end of summer—as Labor Day weekend draws closer. Underscoring the unofficial end of summer is how close the residential technology integration industry is to its biggest trade event: CEDIA Expo 2026.
CEDIA Expo 2026 is about three weeks away—to be more precise—24 days. The show will play host to more than 300 exhibitors and a wealth of activities that are headlined by the CE Pro All Star Band’s performance at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom.
Until then however, the residential technology industry will begin a slow arc of news leading up to the show floor opening on Sept. 1.
With that in mind, the Aug. 3-7 edition of the KMB Communications Technology Week in Review features an eclectic mix of residential technology and entertainment news items. This week’s items come from sites such as LinkedIn, eCoustics, The Guardian, ABI Research, and Sound & Video Contractor (SVC).
A Glance at the KMB Tech Week in Review Headlines:
- The Guardian looks at the problem of vinyl pressing quality control with recordings from today’s pop artists.
- ABI Research reveals the latest trends in consumer electronics.
- LinkedIn says that consumers are turning to plug-In solar panels to offset rising energy costs.
- eCoustics is reporting that chip shortages are impacting the consumer electronics industry.
- Sound & Video Contractor picked up a story from the Hollywood Reporter on “The Odyssey”‘s use of 70mm cameras.
- The box-office is rebounding with strong ticket sales according to LinkedIn, through the success of “The Odyssey” and the new “Spider-Man” movie.
KMB Communications Residential Technology News
Starting this week’s look at technology news is an item from The Guardian. At this point with vinyl sales surging for the past 20 years, it’s not a shock to think that maybe vinyl pressing plants are having a hard time keeping up with the demand.
The Guardian’s story reports that music fans that have preordered full-length albums from pop stars such as Charli XCX and Olivia Rodrigo, have received albums missing content. According to the story, songs are missing bridges, outros, and other song sections.
The story goes onto state the result is that fans are paying higher prices for content that is positioned as more desirable and are instead receiving less-than-desirable products.
Shifting to general home technology news, ABI Research has released data that focuses on the latest consumer electronics trends. The trends if you are a professional in the electronics industry aren’t surprising—AI driving product development, new wearable products, and chip shortages that impact categories such as gaming.
But with that said, here’s a summary of the trends that ABI Research has discovered.
KMB Communications’ final residential technology item from the week of Aug. 3 comes from LinkedIn. Earlier this week the social media website posted an item that stated that Americans are installing plug-in solar panels to soften the increasing cost of energy.
The post notes that 10 states have already approved the use of solar panels that don’t require professional installation. Homeowners the story says, just need to plug the products into standard wall outlets.
National and Global Technology News
Starting the KMB Communications Tech Week in Review look at other technology news making stories, is a post from eCoustics.
The website in a story states the growing demand for silicon from the AI community is affecting the consumer electronics industry. eCoustics says the cost of memory has increased throughout the year, and manufacturers are now warning partners about the rise in costs.
Citing data from TrendForce, the story points out the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) market will be “tight” during Q3 (third quarter) of 2026 with prices rising 13% to 18%.
Later in the story, eCoustics notes that Apple has already raised prices on some of its MacBook and iPad products, and in the consumer electronics industry, the audio company FiiO raised its prices on four products.
The last couple of KMB Communications news items fall into the category of entertainment with the first story coming from Sound & Video Contractor.
Picking up a story from the Hollywood Reporter and its release of a video featurette, the mainstream publication details the work that went into “The Odyssey” and its use of IMAX 70mm cameras.
Highlights of the video include the emphasis on the creation of a new IMAX 70mm camera called the Keighley Camera, and the video also takes viewers behind the scenes during the production of the film.
Wrapping out this week’s news cycle is a LinkedIn post on the latest box office sales numbers for the release “Spider-Man” movie and the continued success of “The Odyssey.”
The post says the blockbuster movies, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” helped U.S. box-office sales to reach the plateau of $430 million during the weekend of Aug. 1.
LinkedIn adds these numbers surpass the 2019 weekend box-office figures that were led by “Avengers: Endgame,” and 2026 could be the biggest box-office year since 2019.
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