CEDIA Expo is the premier trade show for installers and home theater integrators. Unlike flashier shows such as CES, it’s strictly off limits to the public. The Solid Signal Blog team has been there every year since 2012 and we’re committed to giving you all the information out there!
The show starts on September 13, but the first two days are really just seminars and speeches. We’re getting into town on September 15 and by the end of the week we’ll have a full report on the goings on at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
This will be my fifth show and even though the show gets bigger every year, it seems like my reports get smaller. When I first went to CEDIA we were all still emerging from the recession and the show had a lot of splashy high-profile announcements, complete with booths full of exciting samples and prototypes. As the home theater industry has moved away from installation of large TVs to smart home systems, the rollouts have been less interesting and the equipment a lot less likely to inspire awe from average folks. What I’m saying is that you’re seeing a lot fewer huge TVs and a lot more smart home nodes, which aren’t anywhere near as much fun to look at.
Large industry trade shows like this one are under constant attack from people who call them relics of the old way of doing business. Traveling is a drag and it’s hard for people to get excited about doing it, especially when most product information comes from the internet today. Still, I defend trade shows. There’s no substitute for talking to someone face-to-face, for seeing the equipment and touching it. That’s hard to do without a big trade show. I’m excited to be there and to see old friends and new ones, and to show the rest of the blog team (and all of you) the best of the best.
