CEDIA announced education sessions for virtual CEDIA Expo Sept. 15-17. Eighty online classes cover technical, business, skill-building, hardware and software sides of the business at all skill levels, it said. The early bird rate is $149 through Sept. 2; $199 after. Courses will be available to registrants through 2020. Beginning Sept. 15, many sessions will be available on demand for integrators in global markets; 10 Spanish-language courses will be offered. Course topics include cybersecurity, audio setup and calibration, project management, automation, architectural cinema, best business practices, spatial computing, 5G, virtual and augmented reality and working with architects. Registration is available at the CEDIA Expo website.
Emerald X launched registration Monday for Virtual CEDIA Expo, Sept. 15-17. Among terms and conditions, the exposition show company said it reserved the right to use photographs and videos taken of attendees for marketing purposes. Emerald reserved the right to accept, reject or prohibit registration for or attendance at its events at any time for any reason and said attendees must release Emerald and its affiliates from "all risks, claims, damages, losses, costs and expenses, whether or not reasonably foreseeable, associated with, resulting from or arising in connection with Attendee’s participation or presence at the Event, including, without limitation, all risks of harm, damage, illness (including viruses or illness from any communicable disease) or injury (including death) to or related to Attendee and his or her property." Attendance is free to the virtual show but an education pass is $149. Refunds will be issued on cancellations submitted by 8 a.m. Sept. 8, it said.
Consumer tech retail sales exceeded a record $2.2 billion in the week ended Aug. 8, up 34% from the comparable 2019 week, reported Stephen Baker, NPD vice-president-technology industry adviser. July revenue increased 18% year over year, even against the tough comparison with the July 2019 Amazon Prime Day event (see 1907150062), emailed Baker Tuesday. Amazon’s chief financial officer said recently that Prime Day 2020 will be in Q4 (see 2007310023). The back-to-school frenzy is in “full swing,” said Baker, and sales of “productivity-focused” products “have picked back up,” with PCs “fueling much of the growth.” Laptop revenue was up 64% in the week ended Aug. 8 from the same 2019 week, he said. Dollar sales in other connectivity goods also soared “as preparations for distance learning drive sales of a slightly altered set of products for Back to School,” he said. PC headset revenue was up 127% from a year earlier, and monitors and routers jumped 97% and 87% in revenue, respectively, said Baker.
False information on political and social issues is allowed on most major social media platforms, Consumers Reports said Thursday. The publication/organization analyzed false information on Facebook/Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, WhatsApp and TikTok. False information on political and social issues is allowed on all those platforms, though Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok were qualified as “sometimes,” CR said. WhatsApp appeared to score the worst, graded as “allowed” in all four categories: politics/social, health/Coronavirus, voting/census and manipulated media. Reddit and WhatsApp were the only platforms to allow false information in the voting/census category. Manipulated media is sometimes allowed on YouTube and Twitter and “allowed” on WhatsApp. The rest don’t allow manipulated media.
ProSource added personalized packages to its ProSource University onboarding and training program, launched in May. Dealers can now tailor training for their businesses using custom videos, content and employee engagement programs, said the buying group. Three levels of programs -- onboard, develop and engage -- are available as a subscription starting at $99 a month.
Silicon Labs will livestream its first Works With global smart home technology conference Sept. 9-10 for engineers, developers and product managers, it said Wednesday. Engineers from Amazon, Comcast, Google and Silicon Labs are among participants scheduled to lead technical trainings on designing secure, scalable IoT solutions that work with all major platforms and protocols, said the company. “The next wave of IoT applications you’ll see in your home, work, and cities will increasingly be built on the connected technologies we and our community of developers, design collaborators and ecosystem partners create together,” said Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle.
ProSource announced lighting technology certification modules as part of its push into the $44 billion category, an initiative launched at its spring Summit in Las Vegas (see 2003100048). The program, exclusive to ProSource University and supported by vendor partners American Lighting, Coastal Source, Colorbeam, DMF Lighting, Savant, Vantage and WAC Lighting, was created by Light Can Help You’s David Warfel and Mark Langston, along with the ProSource lighting committee. Level 1 modules include certification and courses covering client foundations, integrator foundations, light and wellness, fixtures, plans, controls, “the industrial complex” and purchasing and restocking, ProSource said. The Level 2 curriculum is a live, hands-on lab that will be hosted at a permanent location to be announced later this year, said the buying group. Program will host a 30-minute virtual lighting technology certification launch event to introduce members to the program. ProSource University access is free for all members through Sept. 30.
About 500 radio station owners will formally band together this week to create scale and sell national ads as the Independent Broadcasters Association, said Adams Radio Group CEO Ron Stone in an interview Friday. The group's members own a combined 2700 stations, he said. The group is Stone’s brainchild, and is intended to help smaller radio stations compete with larger entities such as iHeartRadio and Cumulus. “The concept is to serve independent radio stations in ways we are NOT being served by existing organizations and provide independent operators with ways to drive revenue and achieve cost benefits from scale that cannot be achieved alone,” Adams said on the IBA’s website. The group is focused on competition rather than lobbying, and isn’t intended to duplicate NAB, Stone said. Members will include Adams, Cromwell Group and Dick Broadcasting, Stone said.
ProSource elevated CI-level member Sound Effects, Mesa, Arizona, to the Power membership level, it said Thursday. New CI members are Engineered AV, Birmingham; Integrated Lifestyles, Dallas; and Florida's Multimedia Innovations, Davie, and Premier Media Technologies, Destin. New members in first half 2020 represented $27.5 in additional revenue, it said. CI members have a $1 million minimum annual sales requirement; $4 million for Power members.
Three days of online panels, presentations and music showcases beginning July 17 will open the inaugural International Indie Music Season (IIMS), a three-month event organized by China-based Kanjian Music and supported by China's National Foreign Cultural Trade Base and National Copyright Trade Base. On July 19, at 4:30 a.m. EDT, Master Quality Authenticated CEO Mike Jbara will host a session on lifestyle trends driving music innovation, said the company Wednesday. Panelists are June Ip, Lenbrook vice president-global marketing; Long Ji, Xiami Music senior product manager; and Sam Sterling, Akqa manager-Greater China and Japan. Alibaba-owned Xiami Music adopted MQA’s audio technology in 2019. An audience of “millions” is expected to watch IIMS opening events online, covering trends in culture, music, tech and media, it said. More than 100 panelists from 28 countries will take part in the program, with more than 100 independent artists performing showcases that will be broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Periscope and other social media channels.