Depending on where you are in the U.S., Columbus Day Weekend is just another weekend; maybe a nice long weekend, or a notice to stay in the house while “leaf-peeping” tourists clog up the local highways.
Regardless of where you stand with Columbus Day Weekend, Friday Oct. 9 does mean it is time for a KMB Communications Technology Week in Review that includes a focus on residential technology news.
This week’s look at technology news includes items from Residential Systems, eCoustics, Systems Contractor News (SCN), Builder magazine, and LinkedIn.
Audiophile News Highlights KMB Communications Residential Technology News
Admittedly, it was a slow news week. Maybe, we’re experiencing a bit of a lull now that CEDIA Expo 2026 is well in the rear-view mirror. Looking ahead, with the holiday season looming, there should be news coming towards the end of the year with shows like CES and ISE on the horizon.
With that said, starting things off, Residential Systems posted a product item on the audiophile manufacturer Esoteric’s new “Black Editions” F-Series integrated amplifiers. The series covers the company’s F-01, F-02, and PS-01F products, and the MSRPs for the integrated amplifiers range from $5,700 to $21,000.
Continuing the audiophile theme, eCoustics has a story on the release of the 50th Anniversary box set release of Billy Joel’s “Turnstiles” record. The original record includes classic tracks such as “New York State of Mind,” “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” and “Prelude/Angry Young Man.” Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the album, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, according to eCoustics will introduce a four-disc box set for $69.98.
The four-disc set features three CDs and a Blu-ray that includes 67 audio tracks, including 54 never released recordings, along with 32 videos with 24 of those videos being previously unreleased material, and a Dolby Atmos version of the original album.
Next up on the KMB Communications tour of residential technology news for the week, LinkedIn is reporting that both Netflix and Disney are optimistic about their new licensing agreement.
The story states that through the agreement Netflix will gain access to Disney content such as the “Ice Age” movies and the “Percy Jackson” series. LinkedIn points out the agreement marks the first time that Disney+ original content will appear a competitor’s platform.
Another report from LinkedIn examines the possibility of Apple entering the smart home category in a bigger way with the introduction of a hub product.
Picking up a report from Bloomberg, the LinkedIn post says the goal with the smart home hub is to compete with companies such as Amazon and Google, and the product will be introduced on Oct. 13. Later in the post it says that compatible smart home products from LG will not be ready until a few months after the October announcement. Some of the smart home products could include doorbells, indoor cameras, and other similar smart home surveillance components.
Pro AV’s Broadcast Media Expectations
Transitioning over to the world of pro and commercial AV, SCN’s AV Network website has a story on the professional AV’s now growing expectations to meet broadcast media performance and specifically the issues of using wireless components such as microphones.
The AV Network post points out that expectations related to the installation of wireless microphones are affecting the perception of performance. One of the hurdles microphone manufacturers face meeting these high expectations are the demands placed on the limited capabilities of wireless frequency spectrum and finding free space in an increasingly crowded wireless spectrum.
Concluding KMB Communications weekly tech week in review is a non-residential technology news item that may impact the technology integration market.
Builder magazine posted a story on the impact the Baby Boomer generation still plays in the housing market. The story states that data from the National Association of Realtors finds that Baby Boomers account for 42% of home buyers and 55% of home sellers. Both figures represent the biggest share of any demographic, and older generations such as Baby Boomers and to a lesser degree, Gen X have benefitted from the housing market’s appreciation.
An important note about the state of the housing market says Builder, is that with about 80% of Baby Boomers owning their homes in 2024, and with more than half of those Boomers owning their homes without a mortgage, the demographic has financial flexibility the other demographics don’t enjoy. The issue, the story continues, is having the financial capability to move isn’t necessarily motivating these Boomer homeowners to move.
The challenge for builders the story asserts, is that builders now must create lifestyle propositions to entice people to move given these current economic conditions.
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