Residential Tech Talks

Azione Unlimited Executive Director Patrick McCarthy is just about half-a-year into his new role, but the messages he's imparting onto the members of the group sound like someone who's been at the helm for half-a-decade. Having served in the shadows on an industry legend, it's fair to assume he's picked up a thing or two, and now with the reigns in his hands, he's continuing to steer the group and its members in a very positive direction. During their recent event in Indy, Patrick sat down with us to talk about his message of "controling what you can control" and blocking out the negative noise that's out there.

CEO Alex Capecelatro has steered the ship for Josh.ai since the company launched 10 years ago this year. In that time, Josh has evolved from a piece of forward-thinking software into a full-blown home automation platform. We sat down with Alex to reflect on the past decade, discuss how far AI has come—and how far is still has to go—and how custom integrators have leveraged the platform to help their clients build the ideal smart home.

Fresh off the news that his family-run company had agreed to acquire RTI Control, AVPro Global Holdings Founder and CEO Jeff Murray sat down with us to talk about the deal and so much more. We get into the company's 10-year history, how they've grown so fast and so quick, lessons learned from their AudioControl acquisition, and what the future could hold for this newly combined entity. With InfoComm upon us, we might not see what a true mashup looks like, but those plans could start to come to fruition by the time the industry gathers in Denver for CEDIA 2025.

Every integrator has a unique backstory for how they got into the business. But once they've made the decision to jump into this industry, they tend to face the same challenges and obstacles as their peers. That's why it's always enlightening to sit down with someone like Ann Johnson, co-owner and principal of Premiere SAV, and talk shop. Ann's background and path into the business is unique, but her passion for growing and evolving her company might be unmatched – as is her knowledge and expertise. It was impressive to tap into that and get a glimpse of her approach to the technology, design, and operational aspects of the business.

It had only been a few weeks since Kathleen Thomas took over as the head of custom integration for Sony when we sat down for this interview, but having spent many years preparing for this moment, and with the support of the team around her, she's clearly more than up for the challenge. We dive into her plans and expectations in the role, explore Sony's lens to livingroom approach to entertainment, and look back on the influence of the industry icon she's replacing.

Shortly after the association's second-annual Smart Home on Capitol Hill Day – and on the heels of the "Liberation Day" announcements – we sat down with CEDIA to talk about the issues that are impacting the custom integration channel. Daryl Friedman, global president and CEO, and Darren Reaman, director of government relations, recap the event, talk tariffs, and much more on this week's episode.

Awareness around energy storage and energy management has been something like a wave, as Bryce Judd, Chief Revenue Officer at Savant, put it. The California kid explains in this episode how our industry is right at the point where the wave begins to swell. The challenge for integrators, then, is whether they can spot that wave coming, and whether they plan to ride it when it starts to crest or let it pass them by.

Ever since fully investing themselves in the CEDIA channel, Lighthouse Design Studio has had a series of lightbulb moments – pun absolutely intended – in how they can help with integrators become more effective and efficient in their outdoor lighting efforts. Tim Ryan, Executive Director and Principal Designer at Lighthouse, joins the podcast to talk about the many similarities between outdoor lighting design and the work of a CI, and how he hopes to elevate the professionals in both industries through education.

Had you told Scott Stephenson at the start of his career that he'd someday know the know and understand the lighting qualities of different shade fabrics, he'd have told you to go pound sand. Today, as Senior Director of Product for Hunter Douglas, it's his job to help custom integrators – and the team at Hunter Douglas – make sense of how the worlds of home automation and custom window treatments not only need to coexist, but work together to improve the lives of homeowners.

Today's consumer cares more deeply than ever about their environmental impact – or, at the very least, the ways in which their energy consumption directly impacts the environment as well as their wallet. That's why we're hearing more about technologies like what Airzone brings to the table, allowing integrators to help their clients take control of their environmental impact through one of the most impactful areas in the home: their HVAC system. Victoria Garcia Massimo joins the podcast, right around Earth Day no less, to talk about how Airzone is helping our channel become more educated around the HVAC category and why it's something we need to start paying more attention to.

It took a few years, but the work is finally paying off for HTSA and Tom Doherty, director of technology initiatives for the group, when it comes to the major emphasis on the lighting category. During their recent Spring Conference, we sat down with Tom to talk about the results the group's dealers are seeing across the board because of their commitment to – and investment in – lighting.

In his early days as an integrator and self-proclaimed networking nerd, Avi Rosenthal saw the potential in a fully connected and automated home. He took that passion and hobby and turned it into a career that now includes serving as the Chairman of the Board for the Z-Wave Alliance – among many other roles at highly impactful and important organizations. We tap into Avi's networking knowledge to get a better lay of home automation landscape, see where the challenges exist, and spot potential gaps that integrators can help fill.

Just a few short weeks ago, Residential Tech Today welcomed CI and communications industry veteran Rob Stott into the fold as our new Executive Editor. Before he steps behind the mic to take over the podcast, we're putting Rob in a spot he's slightly less familiar with – being the interviewee. In this episode, Charles Warner, CEO and Editor in Chief of IPW, the parent company of RTT, sits down with Rob to talk about his career, what brings him back to the editorial side of things, and where he sees RTT going in the months and years ahead.

On this week's podcast, Larry Dashiell joins us from Santa Rosa, CA, where he is owner and CEO of Summit Technology Group, a team of more than 60 professionals who provide smart home technology, electrical, and renewable energy solutions across California's North Bay and the North Idaho area. Back in 1986, our guest today was thrust into a leadership role in his father's electrical company at the young age of 22. Since then, he has built a stellar reputation for bringing together a “total solution” of electrical contracting, lighting design, and integration of sophisticated audio, video, and renewable energy system management under the same roof.In this episode, we discuss Larry's unique perspective as a 38-year industry veteran of both the electrical and low-voltage electronics trades, in particular his insights into lighting and renewable energy management business opportunities for the custom integration channel.

On this week's podcast, John Palser joins us from Omaha, NE, where he is president of Denizen, a custom integration company with locations in Omaha, Kansas City, Dallas, and Austin. From a complete home that you can walk through in their HQ Experience Center in Omaha to regional domination across 14 states from north to south in the middle of the country, Denizen is re-defining what transformative technology can do in a home.During the recent HTSA Fall Conference outside of Denver, John got stuck talking to Jeremy at the closing night dinner. John was very patient with Jeremy's 50 questions about this business and career history, which proved to be an excellent pre-interview for this podcast, minus maybe a few celebrity athlete client anecdotes which we won't be able to share here unfortunately.

On this week's podcast, Josh Willits joins us from Mechanicsburg, PA, where he is COO of Portal, the proposal software and product/pricing database for integrators. Although you've seen him wearing the Portal orange pants at trade shows going on 11 years now, Josh's career has also included a tenure in the custom integration trade, as well as several years with a well-respected Crestron programming company. You may even remember his Covid-era side hustle as a gentleman coffee roaster.Today we'll touch on a bit of that career arc, but mostly we'll focus on Portal's latest innovation: the AI Proposal Builder. Released in beta to the industry on November 12, the new tool promises AV and security dealers the ability to create complete project proposals in just seconds, transforming often-tedious process and making it easier for integrators to sell projects and get paid.

On this week's podcast, Bert Herrero joins us from Pompano Beach, FL, to discuss his career in custom integration, including his new role as a franchise owner with Daisy, the national smart space installation and services company. Our guest today founded First Priority Audio in Pompano Beach back in 2001 and led that CI firm until a few months ago when it was acquired by Daisy. Then, just a few weeks ago, Daisy announced that Herrero would be launching the seventh Daisy franchise, choosing red-hot Ocala, FL, for its location. This is the second time in Daisy's first year that an independent owner who was acquired has turned around and launched an entirely new Daisy franchise location. Building from his track record of running a best-in-class operation for more than 20 years at FPA, Herrero is looking to leverage Daisy's robust branch support systems to establish a strong presence in Ocala.Special thanks this week's sponsor: the Sonos Era 100 Pro.

On this week's podcast, Modern Atomics co-founder Michael Braithwaite joins us from Austin, TX, to discuss his 30-plus-year career as an innovator and inventor of smart home and commercial AV technology. Mike and Jeremy recently re-connected, prior to his new company's launch at CEDIA Expo last month in Denver, and that chat was so insightful, that Jeremy wished afterwards that he'd recorded it for this podcast. In this episode they re-capture some of that magic as they discuss Modern Atomics' first product, called Reaktor, which is a power distribution unit designed specifically to save energy while powering motorized shades. We also learn how the company plans to use its innovations in other applications going forward and look back on Mike's impressive career leading Crestron's residential systems group in the early 2000s, co-founding NetStreams, and helping bring more innovation to Screen Innovations. Special thanks this week's sponsor: the Sonos Era 100 Pro.

On this week's podcast, our contributing editor Michael Heiss joins us from his home in Los Angeles to talk about his experience at last month's CEDIA Expo, including the biggest trends, biggest surprises, and most over-hyped and most-under-the-radar introductions. This is our third podcast this month featuring a CEDIA Expo focus, but without the perspective of today's guest (Jeremy's fellow CEDIA Fellow who is also a CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient) do you really know the full story for our most important annual convention?Special thanks this week's sponsor: The Sonos Era 100 Pro

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.”

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.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 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.

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.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 Ben Bard joins us from Coopersburg, PA, where he is VP of luxury residential business at Lutron. Ben was one of the presenters at an event that Jeremy attended last month at Lutron's Ketra manufacturing facility in Austin, TX. That's where Ben and his Lutron colleagues introduced the all-new Ketra and Rania D2 luxury architectural downlights to invited dealers, lighting designers, and press. Today, we'll get to know a little bit about Ben's experience at Lutron and find out everything you need to know about Lutron's latest lighting fixture introduction.

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.

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.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 this week's podcast are Alex Capecelatro, the CEO of Denver-based Josh.ai, the voice-controlled home automation system, and Amanda Wildman, the co-owner of TruMedia, a respected custom integration firm in Ada, MI. As chairperson and vice chairperson of CEDIA, respectively, Capecelatro and Wildman are two of the best people to fill us in on all things CEDIA.The professional smart home industry's global trade association recently completed a record year for new member acquisitions, its first-ever CEDIA Smart Home Day on Capitol Hill to lobby for integrator recognition, and a return to financial and organizational stability with a balanced budget and extension of CEO Daryl Friedman's contract through 2027. To top it off, the organization just announced the addition of Paul Dolenc and Mitchell Klein to its leadership team to help bolster growth and expansion initiatives. Today's guests discuss all of that and more on the podcast.

On this week's podcast, Jason Griffing joins us from Highlands Ranch, CO, where he is director of product for OneVision Resources, the remote support and RMR provider to custom integrators. Jason is responsible for overseeing the development and strategic direction of the company's service platform, serving as OneVision's voice of the customer, advancing their product roadmap and R&D initiatives.Prior to joining OneVision in 2017, Jason spent a decade as a residential integrator doing everything from pulling wire in dusty attics and wiring racks, to project management and operations.Jason is on the podcast today to tell us about several new initiatives, including OneVision's Flex Support packages, launched back in August, that were designed to make it easier to get started with remote support and recurring monthly revenue solutions and ProVision Signal, a dedicated on-call management solution designed to make it easier for integrators to build a robust incident response plan that ensures clients get the level of service they need for their technology issues, 24/7/365.

On this week's podcast, Chris Lehnen joins us from Portland, OR, where he is a business development manager for Luminii, a manufacturer of architectural lighting solutions. Luminii was one of the lighting fixture exhibitors at the third-annual Lightapalooza conference held last month in Glendale, AZ, where the company showcased its specification-grade, low voltage fixtures, including a new LED linear product range and micro-optics solutions ideal for the custom integration channel. Our guest today comes from the CI space, having spent many years with the AV brands iRoom, Origin Acoustics, and SpeakerCraft, but now after a year and half immersed in the lighting fixtures business, he's just the person to call if you're looking for a high-end LED linear or low-voltage micro-optics solution for your next project.

On this week's podcast, Eddie Shapiro joins us from the Washington DC area, where is a chief AV designer and owner of the custom integration firm, SmartTouchUSA. Eddie, who recently completed his three-year term as a CEDIA Board member, just this past week joined a contingent of CEDIA representatives in the nation's capital to advocate for current and future generations of the smart home industry during the Inaugural CEDIA Day on the Hill. Meetings with political leaders on March 6 addressed two critical matters: The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act (S. 722, H.R. 1477) and creating a classification of “integrator” in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. While this is just the first in several follow-up conversation that we have planned on this topic, we wanted to start with Eddie's unique perspective. We also chat about the recent Lightapalooza conference in Glendale, AZ, where Jeremy witnessed Eddie taking more notes than any of the industry journalists attending the event!

On this week's podcast, Charlie Porritt joins us from Portsmith, New Hampshire, where he is CEO of Russound, an internationally respected leader in manufacturer of audio products and technology. While it seems as if those of us who know Charlie today only associate him with his 24 years at Russound, they're failing to recognize early stops in his career at such other legendary brands, Harman and SpeakerCraft. Today we'll look back a bit on our guest's career arc, finding out what wisdom he picked up along the way and developed on the job in his career role, and explore some of Russound's recent cool product introductions, including the AVA Series mini AVR, which is now shipping.

On this week's podcast, Richard Litofsky joins us from Rockville, MD, where he is co-founder and CEO of madVR Labs, the developer of the Envy Extreme and Envy Pro video processors for the high-end home cinema market. Ric is a serial entrepreneur with an expertise and focus on several technology categories, including, of course, real-time video processing, which we will dive into on the podcast. Many CEDIA EXPO 2023 attendees felt that the home theater demo featuring madVR tech video processing was one of the most impressive looking and sounding demos of the show, so we knew it was only a matter of time before it became a topic of conversation here on the podcast.

On this week's podcast, our contributing editor Michael Heiss joins us from his home in Los Angeles to talk about his experience at last month's Consumer Electronics Show, including the biggest trends, biggest surprises, and most over-hyped and most-under-the-radar introductions. Like I said last year at this time, we especially appreciate Michael's reports from Las Vegas. He was there so you and I didn't have to be. Although he didn't leave Sin City unscathed (stupid Covid…) there's still no one better suited to provide the custom integration perspective on a massively broad event like CES than my fellow CEDIA Fellow who is also a CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, and one of the foremost experts on consumer and broadcast video technology.

On this week's podcast, Tim Bigoness joins us from Atlanta, GA, where he is chief marketing officer and VP of sales for D-Tools, the provider of business software for low-voltage system integration firms. Founded in 1998 by chairman, Adam Stone, D-Tools pioneered the category of data-driven proposal, system design, and field service management in the system integration industry with its on-premises System Integrator software. In 2019, D-Tools introduced its cloud-based platform, D-Tools Cloud, which is designed to help smaller companies and projects streamline sales processes, from initial client engagement through field service management. Then, just last month, the company made a huge splash when they announced that their D-Tools Cloud Solo plan would be available for free, effective immediately. Tim helps us understand the evolution of D-Tools and how making D-Tools Cloud Solo free will help drive more business and improve the professionalism and productivity of the residential tech integration industry.

On this week's podcast, Tom Doherty joins us from Palm Desert, CA, where he is a director for the HTSA buying group. If CEDIA had the equivalent of the Disney Legends program for its founding pioneers, then Tom would be in its inaugural group. He was literally there at the beginning of the industry's premier trade association's CEDIA Expo and he has led an impressive career as integrator and manufacturer, culminating in his current role where his vision has brought the lighting category to the forefront of the industry and now AI as one of the leading topics of the day. With plans for the 3rd annual Lightapalooza conference recently announced, we thought it would be a great time to have Tom on to give us an update on that event and tell us why you won't want to miss it.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Mark Grobman, CTO of machine learning for Hailo, and Derek Webb, surveillance product manager for Snap One, join us to discuss a recent announcement from Snap One about how the company's Luma Insights security system has leveraged the Hailo-8 AI chip to allow for advanced security capabilities. The Insights service integrates with existing Snap One products and requires minimal setup for integrators, allowing for near-instant access to AI-powered visibility from Luma cameras in a Control4 system.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Terrence Dover joins us from New Haven, CT, where he is senior global product line manager for Nice North America. Following an award-winning four-year stretch with Harman's Mark Levinson audio brand, Terrence joined Nice North America in August 2021 where was tasked with updating and modernizing the company's brand portfolio, which includes 22 products launched over 18 months. Today we will learn more about Terrence's career path in the audio technology and music recording business and find out how he is working now to maintain the DNA of legacy audio designs and tech within the Nice portfolio, even as they evolve and are marketed under the Nice family name and completely new electronics and speakers are developed.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Michael Don Ham joins us from the New York area where he is co-founder and president of RePure, a company that is on a mission to transform indoor spaces into smarter and healthier environments. In a post-COVID world, awareness of Indoor Air Quality has surged, yet we're still awaiting regulations and codes to ensure our homes and buildings are as safe and healthy as possible. It's crucial for architects, interior designers, home builders, and custom integrators to recognize their collective power in improving the health and well-being of their clients, and that's the mission of RePure and Michael Don Ham. Michael's vision is to make managing Indoor Environmental Quality in homes and buildings as simple as how a thermostat manages temperature so that everyone can spend time in environments that are elevating health and well-being from behind the scenes yet also have access to the status of their air and water quality in real-time.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Hank Alexander joins us to discuss his role as director of Nationwide Marketing Group's Oasys Residential Technology Group and its impressive progress this year in its “Drive to 1,000” members. Nationwide, headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC, is North America's largest buying and marketing organization for independent major appliance, consumer electronics, and home furnishings dealers. Oasys, a custom electronics and installation network inside of Nationwide Marketing Group, is the newest and fastest growing group in the CI business now with 300 members to date. Today, we'll learn more how Alexander's time at legendary party school Arizona State prepared him for a long sales career in the CI channel, and how Oasys is different from other buying and education groups, in particular Azione Unlimited, which is also owned by Nationwide.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Nice, the global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products 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, Jeff Shaw joins us from Petaluma, CA, where he is vice president of product management for Nice North America. This is Jeff's second time on the podcast, so today we skip most of the usual biographical part of our interview and dive right into news from Nice, including an exciting promotion for Jeff's colleague Paul Williams, as well as insights into smart home product category trends, best practices for custom integrators, and even a look ahead to Nice's product roadmap.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Airzone North America's National Operations Manager, Victoria Garcia Massimo, and Regional Sales Manager for the US Central & West, Bob Howey, join us from Miami and Dallas to discuss their company's smart control solution for HVAC systems. Airzone's Aidoo Pro acts as a bridge between proprietary HVAC inverter and mini-split manufacturers' protocols and IoT device or smart home control system APIs. Our guests today describe how the market for inverter and mini-split systems, which is already huge around the world, is beginning to take hold in North America and why using smart home thermostats with these HVAC systems is detrimental to their energy-saving features.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Gavin Lantzy joins us from Denver, CO, where he is president and founder of SaaviHome, a custom integration firm founded in 2004. SaaviHome recently launched a franchise business model to provide entrepreneurs with a turnkey program to enter the smart home technology and light commercial markets. Our guest today has spent years developing a business model that offers franchisees the tools and support necessary to build a successful operation. The program offers comprehensive technology training, marketing support, and access to the company's extensive network of resources. Today, we'll learn more about our guest's career path in home tech, his company's history, and how the SaaviHome franchise model actually works.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Jeff Klida joins us from Bay City, MI, where he serves as vice president of sales at EPV Screens, the division of Elite Screens dedicated to the custom install market. From front projection and acoustically transparent to ambient light rejecting and polarized 3D materials, EPV provides electric and fixed-frame projection screens that fit just about any viewing experience. Today, we dig into projection screen trends and developments, learn more about EPV's evolution as a CI-focused brand, and learn more about our guest and his career path to where he is today.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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 episode, "I am Sayen" Founder Jason Sayen joins us from his home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to explore how his certification as a Lean Six Sigma helps him guide CI businesses in eliminating waste and transforming problems into opportunities. With 27 years of experience in the custom integration industry, Jason's journey has encompassed diverse roles in manufacturing, distribution, and independent representation. Today's conversation provides just a taste of the practical insights and strategies that Sayen uses to revolutionize the way custom integration companies think and operate.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Paul Williams joins us once again from Salt Lake City, UT, where he is chief product officer for Nice. Nice last year began the absorption of its acquired custom integration brands, ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, and at CEDIA Expo last month, their consolidation into the Nice brand was fully evident on the show floor, where the company showcased its commitment to offering a holistic home management solution for its partners and customers. Prior to the show Jeremy chatted on this podcast with Jeff Shaw, the company's VP of product management, where they did a deep into all of Nice's new products. With those details pretty well covered, but with everyone is still talking about CEDIA Expo-related news and industry trends a month later, we thought we could get Paul's veteran perspective on the show, his thoughts about his company's experience there, and his insights into the current state and future of home control and home automation technology.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Jamie Briesemeister joins us from St. Louis, where she is CEO and co-founder of Integration Controls and Patrick Hartman joins us from Reno, Nevada, where he is general manager Technology Design Associates. Patrick and Jamie were the two people recruited Jeremy to help launch the CEDIA Business Xchange conference back in 2014, and that experience created a bond and friendship that has lasted almost 10 years. During CEDIA Expo 2023 in early September, Jamie subbed in for industry legend Frank White, joining Patrick in teaching a course titled, “Hardballing: How to have Difficult Conversation” that better prepares attendees for conflict resolution with their staff and clients. We learn more about that course, and Jamie also tells us what she learned from CEDIA's AI Symposium.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Jason Knott joins us again from his home office in Sturbridge, MA, where he now serves as data solutions architect & evangelist, Data by D-Tools. It was only 10 episodes ago that Jason came on to discuss his newly created role at D-Tools, where he works with a special team to define and deliver industry analytics and insights. Well, some of those results are now included in a very thorough 2023 Midyear Market Health Report. We wanted to discuss those findings in detail, but also share our guest's new perspective on the recent CEDIA Expo show now that he's not moderating a hundred panels on the smart stage or trying to meet with exhibitors in his former role as an industry magazine editor.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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, Walt Zerbe joins us from Lancaster, PA, where he is senior director of technology and standards for CEDIA. Walt and Jeremy, like many of you in the audience were in Denver, CO, at this time last week attending a very energetic and inspiring CEDIA Expo event. Our guest today was not only checking out as many new products and technologies as he could on the show floor but was also participating in multiple CEDIA (the association) hosted education training and panel discussions and hosting the CEDIA podcast directly from the exhibit floor. In the episode, Walt and Jeremy will discuss a little bit about all of that, but most importantly they will dive into perhaps the biggest news from the show: the long-awaited release of the CEDIA and CTA - RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice document.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, 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.