Nice is a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.
On this week’s podcast, John Sciacca joins us from Myrtle Beach, SC, where he co-owner of Custom Theater and Audio. Whenever John is on the podcast, the conversation is sure to drift away from smart home tech topics toward he and Jeremy’s other favorite topics such as Taylor Swift, the latest movies, and pickleball. Our host and today’s guest connected in person last month at CEDIA Expo in Denver, where John organized and led the very successful, first-ever CEDIA Pickleball tournament, which was inspired by a much smaller John and Jeremy outing at CEDIA last year. On the podcast, John and Jeremy revisit their challenging Uber rides in Denver and discuss their respective CEDIA new product summaries, comparing notes on what they saw at the show and experienced in booth demos. Special thanks to 2N for sponsoring this episode.
On this week’s podcast Kyle Steele joins us from Burbank, CA, where he is president of Global Wave Integration and founder and CEO of FutureCare Solutions Group. Kyle and Jeremy connected recently during John Sciacca’s pickleball tournament at CEDIA Expo 2024 in Denver. CEDIA was a busy time for Kyle, as he participated on a panel about his company FutureCare’s aging in place tech solution, toured Expo with Denver-area high school tech charter school kids, and even one a prestigious CEDIA award for best media room. We are excited to have him on the podcast to share his latest insights and to talk about how he got into this industry and some of his keys to success so far.
On this week’s podcast Hagan Kappler joins us from Costa Mesa, CA, where she is co-founder and CEO of Daisy, the national smart home integration brand. With a career spanning service brands like Starbucks, Carrier, Trane, Club Car, Terminix, Merry Maids, and ServiceMaster, our guest today has navigated corporate life, solving, challenges, building teams, and seizing opportunities. Her goal since launching Daisy into the CEDIA channel this past January is to be the strongest national brand in technical support… offering clear, simple solutions. By partnering with the best home automation companies and top entrepreneurs, Daisy strives to provide “wildly simple solutions and unwavering support to our customers.”
The book is cosponsored by prominent industry-leading brands, such as Kaleidescape, Barco Residential, Screen Research, CEDIA, CEDIA Expo (Emerald), Storm Audio, Meridian, JBL Synthesis, D-Tools, TPI, 360 Power Quality, and MadVR, among others.
Visit hometheaterology.net to preorder.
On this week’s podcast Richard Charschan joins us from Long Island, New York, where he is president of AcousticSmart Home Theater Interiors. Richard founded AcousticSmart for more than 25 years ago and has worked on some of the world's finest custom theaters and developed his own home theater seating and star ceiling products, as well. But just as interesting as that, he also helped create a new coffee table book called “Home Theater-ology” that will debut next month at CEDIA Expo in Denver. With insights from experts like Joel Silver on video calibration and Tony Grimani on acoustics, “Home Theaterology” provides valuable knowledge to inspire designers and architects to embrace the resurgent trend of home theaters.
On this week’s podcast Arnaud Laborie joins us from Paris, France, where he is CEO of Trinnov Audio. Over the past 20 years, Trinnov has earned a reputation for developing advanced sound processing technologies, including proprietary loudspeaker and room optimization, four-element 3D mapping technology, and, most recently, WaveForming Technology. WaveForming promises to improve low-frequency reproduction in home theaters by actively shaping room acoustics rather than just treating them. This approach optimizes subwoofer interactions within any space, delivering consistent, detailed bass across all seating areas. Laborie tells us more about these innovations and other new developments from the company in the months leading up to CEDIA Expo in Denver.
RTI has been busy building a new team with new products on a singular platform designed for success in any channel — resi, office, hospitality, and beyond. As we start looking toward CEDIA Expo in September, we thought it was a great time to catch up with one of the veteran control system brands in the custom integration channel and see how things are going for their new chief product officer so far.
On this week’s podcast Mike Jordan joins us from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is chief product officer at RTI. With more than 12 years of industry experience, our guest today is known for leading productive, successful product teams. Prior to joining RTI this past December he spent the previous five years as senior VP of products at Snap One, which included leadership of the Control4 product line. Prior to Snap One he held a similar role at Core Brands, where he worked with current RTI CEO Joe Roberts, who was president of Core Brands at that time.
On this week’s podcast Mike Gleason joins us from Austin, TX, where he is director of sales for Skyworth USA, manufacturer of the Clarus S1 outdoor Google TV, Companion P100 Portable LED Display, and Canvas Art Display. Mike’s career in consumer electronics spans a list of companies that reads like a who’s who of the history of AV integration tech. From the early days of Mitsubishi Digital in the late 1990s to the first consumer plasma TV in the U.S. at Fujitsu General to stints with Sharp Elite, the distributor AVAD, and Noel Lee’s Monster. Today we’ll learn more about his recollections of some of the more historical stops in his career and find out how his first year at Skyworth USA has been going so far.
On this week’s podcast, Jennifer Kirkpatrick joins us from Denver, Colorado, where she is director of sales for American Lighting and its custom integrator focused Proluxe division. Jennifer and Jeremy met a few months back at the Lightapalooza conference in Glendale, AZ, where she provided an overview of her company’s linear and tape light offerings. Today, we’ll learn more about Kirkpatrick’s background and career and discuss what the custom integration channel needs to know about Proluxe’s extensive lineup of products for their next lighting design and installation.
Partnering with national and global service providers, such as ISPs and large home builders for example, OliverIQ aims to scale their platform rapidly, offering comprehensive product support, unlimited online and phone support, in-home assistance, and security system monitoring, all for a low monthly cost.
Our guest today, who serves officially as CTO of this new company, helps explain more about the concept behind OliverIQ, provide some updates since its launch back in January, and share some surprising reactions from custom integrators so far.
Joining us on the podcast from Salt Lake City, UT, is Eric Smith, who most people with a history in the custom integration industry will immediately associate with Control4, the company he co-founded, along with Will West, back in 2003.
After some time away from the smart home industry, Eric and Will have returned with their new company, called OliverIQ. Their goal is to put smart home automation “in reach for everyone” through what they’ve dubbed Smart Home as a Service.