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© 2019 -2025 Residential Tech Today Podcast - InnovativeProperties Worldwide, Inc.
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Residential Tech Talks is an informative and inspired 15-20 minute discussion with innovators in residential technology. From integrators to inventors, lighting specialists to architects, and masters of AV, we feature only the most inspiring people impacting the space. As media partners with CEDIA and other industry-leading events, Residential Tech Talks brings you deeper into the world of automation and integration.
The podcast is produced by the team behind the award-winning publication Residential Tech Today.
https://restechtoday.com
The podcast is produced by the team behind the award-winning publication Residential Tech Today.
https://restechtoday.com
215 Episodes
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A show like CEDIA Expo is always going to create a lot of news and excitement around new introductions, and new opportunities for custom integrators. In our chat with Alex Weaver of Legrand AV, we dove into one of the hotter topics swirling around the world of CI—that being light commercial, or resimercial work. Seeing the commercial category make its way into a show like CEDIA Expo speaks to how important and relevant it is in the channel today, and we wanted to understand how Legrand is helping integrators succeed in this booming area, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HiZbHFp_4
Blackwire Designs is a special type of distributor in the CI channel, in that they have a team that's intimately aware of the challenges faced by a custom integrator—because they're all former installers in their own right. At CEDIA Expo 2025, we sat down with Cody Crossland, Vice President, Sales and Customer Service at Blackwire Designs, to explore how they leverage that collective experience both internally and in how they work with integrators and manufacturers. In addition, Cody shares some business updates, and we talk trends in the channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWYWTT_-Jk
Patrick Coleman and his team at Future Automation & Design have built a reputation of being a very hands-on and white-glove type of integrator. That appraoch has helped them build clients-for-life and one of the most knowledgable teams around—all as the business prepares to enter adulthood in its 18th year. Now, Coleman and his team are working on a new initiative to help other integrators learn not only the tricks of the trade, but improve their own customer relations. Their recently redesigned showroom (which we detailed here) includes an active training center that'll allow the group to host rotating classes in their Integrator Academy. The first class, which kicks off in October, will be the start of something special for their business and the entire channel.
Learn more about Future Automation & Design here: https://futureautomationdesign.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcoYTiDGQh4
Massive displays and impressive audio might draw all the attention at a show like CEDIA Expo and in the world of custom integration. But the channel wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the products and solutions that come out of a brand like Just Add Power. The brand brought a bunch of new Audio and Video over IP solutions to the event, showing how there's still plenty of innovation to be had from what many might consider a mundane category.
https://youtu.be/1cBc96sg5I8?si=rBGlnhmUt5b0WlRw
At CEDIA Expo 2025, Lutron rolled out a massive new partner program that has the potential to change the course of the channel. The first major product to launch out of the program was a collaboration between Lutron and Coastal Source. We sat down with Ben Bard, VP of Luxury Residential at Lutron, to dive into the program, it's intended benefits to the integrator, and much more.
https://youtu.be/lZJkr6C_FYM
Our CEDIA Expo episodes are supported by and made possible thanks to:
The 8K Association | Elite Screens | Hisense | Oasys Residential Technology Group
Ahead of its official grand opening, Andrew Davis walks us through the brand new World Wide Stereo experience center in Wayne, PA. Davis, the CEO of Gramophone and Partner at World Wide Stereo, explains how the 21 different zones come together to paint a complete picture for potential clients. Bringing the building to life was also a great example of the growing partnership between the WWS and Gramophone teams.
Check out the video version of this episode to peek inside the new location:
https://youtu.be/hKtpgewfTWg
At CEDIA Expo 2024, Richard Charschan introduced us to his passion project, Home Theaterology. The book serves as a love letter of sorts to the home theater industry. But it's also proof that the ultimate in-home cinematic space can still be the heartbeat of the custom integration industry. One year since its launch, we caught up with Charschan to look back on the book's influence, how it came together, the unexpected benefits of the content, and where it could go in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM-BC5_iyc8
When you look at the portfolio of a company like ADI | SnapOne, it's easy to feel slightly overwhelmed as an outsider. Imagine what it must be like, then, to manage that massive product landscape. For Matt Kamp, VP of Product Management for the brand, it's a role he feels like he was built for and is thriving in. We jumped into it with Matt to explore the trends of today, where there are growth opportunities for integrators, and much more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7tOPl-pD_0
Messing with water heaters sounds like something that professionals who typically deal with hard wiring and electrical work would much rather avoid. However, in today's increasingly connected home, where every system appears to interact and communicate with one another, water heaters are becoming smarter. Here, we chat with Cala Systems Co-Founder and CEO Michael Rigney about the company's forthcoming smart heat pump water heater, how it's changing the game from an efficiency standpoint, and the role he hopes custom integrators can play in getting their product into more consumers' homes, quickly.
https://youtu.be/QiPSVg9i3gw
Explaining what's possible within the realm of custom integration is a constant challenge when speaking with an industry outsider, or a potential client for that matter. The biggest reason why? This is an experiential business. You have to "see it to believe it" in every sense of the phrase. The problem, then, becomes how you go about getting a client to experience the smart home before they decide to partner with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxWuIQ7inzw
Launched earlier this year, OpenAV Cloud is a new platform, founded by some of the most influential brands in the pro-AV space, that promises to bring a simpler, easier, and more customer-focused experience to the connected AV industry. Their goal? More collaboration among brands, and true standardization and adoption of open cloud connectivity. We chat with Steve Hoenig, Engineering Director at Legrand AV, one of the founding members of the group, about the initiative and what it could mean for integrators and consumers in the near future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsQ841vITec
Dirac has been making a push, recently, to get their room correction technology out into the market and improving more consumers' audio experience in a more streamlined and simpler way. Ahead of the official launch of the Dirac ART tech in Marantz and Denon product later this year, we sat down with Rikard Hellerfelt, VP of Consumer and E-commerce for the brand, to learn more about the push, the strategy around it, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSK1kfVwS0Q
Leaning on his engineering expertise and audio industry savviness is nothing new to Rob Jones—nor is launching brands into the CEDIA channel. This go, Jones is helping lead the charge for Magnetar Audio as the brand enters the North American market. In this conversation, we chat with him about Magnetar, their niche-yet-necessary product, and how it serves the evolving audio consumer's needs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QxOOa-53Hs
Chopping it up with Jason McGraw is a favorite pastime of ours for many reason, not the least of which is his love and passion for the custom integration and technology industries. He's been in this space—on the trade show side—for many years, and his expertise around it is among the best in the business. Here, we chat about the upcoming CEDIA Expo in Denver, how trade shows, including CEDIA Expo, have evolved over the years, and what attendees can expect to see different at this year's event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDXWvBrCLx8
A little over three years since the rebranding of his group—and just a few weeks post the third-annual Oasys Summit—we sat down with Hank Alexander, director of Oasys Residential Technology Group. We dive into the progress his team has made over that time, where their attention is right now in terms of creating value for members, and look at the evolution of the CI channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joAEgLKoWU
Tayloe Stansbury was just your average home entertainment consumer when he first met the Kaleidescape team. Their mission and commitment—and product—ultimately won him over to the point that he became Chairman and CEO of the company. We sat down with Stansbury to dive into the brand's newest product and learn more about how the commitment to design excellence, which was recently rewarded with a Red Dot Desgin award, permeates throughout the company and is reflective of who they are and who they aspire to be—and serve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Z8bli0v2U
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.
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