CE Pro September 2022 - 6

From the Editor
by Jason Knott
CEDIA Expo 2022:
Return to Normal
The last time
a normal
CEDIA Expo
was held back
in 2019, was
lighting fixtures
even a category
you delved in?
Probably not.
IS 2022 FINALLY THE YEAR we return to
" normal " in regard to CEDIA Expo? Certainly,
there will be a percentage of attendees at the
show in Dallas from September 28 to October
1 wearing masks, but that could be the
only lingering sign of what we have all been
through for the past three years.
That brings us to present day. Everyone
Jason Knott is editor
of CE Pro. He can be
reached at jason.knott@
emeraldx.com and
@JasonWKnott
is swamped; many integrators don't know
if they can squeeze out the time to attend
until a few weeks before the show (as you are
reading this!). It's easy to say, " I haven't been
to CEDIA Expo is several years due to the
pandemic, so why do I need to go this year? "
Oh, let me count the reasons!
Information Sharing: The custom installation
channel is like an extended family. It is
driven by small business owners/entrepreneurs;
those are your peers who you meet in
the aisles, in the sessions and at the receptions.
Those colleagues are facing the same
challenges you are, from managing the supply
chain disruption to finding skilled labor to
mitigating inflationary pressures. Some have
discovered solutions to save money on gas,
minimize inventory, maintain cashflow, and
hire new employees. Those solid-gold tidbits
are not typically found in social media comments,
but discovered in face-to-face conversations
that occur at CEDIA Expo.
Education: CEDIA has prepared more than
60 educational sessions that start Wednesday,
September 28, and run through Friday,
September 30. Sessions will be focused on,
among other things, the lighting business (five
sessions), wellness and leadership using the
Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
Over half of the sessions are new. The first
education day will have 19 different sessions
primarily focused on professional development,
including classes aimed at technicians
to earn certifications for the Electronic
Systems Certified Networking Specialist
(ESC-N) and the Electronic Systems Certified
6 | CE Pro September 2022
Designer (ESC-D) accreditations. There will
also be a slate of free sessions held both in
the Innovation Hub and on the Smart Stage
on the show floor, along with more than 80
Manufacturer Training Sessions.
Staying on the education theme... how
many media subscription services do you (and
your clients) have? Well, what are you as an
integrator doing to take advantage of the confusion
that many of your customers face when
they try to figure out which service has their
favorite TV shows or movies? The keynote at
CEDIA Expo 2022 (Wednesday, Sept. 28 at
5:30 p.m.) by Greg Durkin, founder and CEO of
Guts+Data, will address this situation.
Isn't it about time you started making
some money on this proliferation of content,
streaming platforms, and hardware that has
created such a fragmented home entertainment
landscape? If you can't make the
keynote, I will be moderating a session with
several industry leaders on " How to Be a Content
Concierge " on the Smart Stage (Thursday,
Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.) on this same topic.
Products: Some of the exhibitors have
not shown their products in person to the
channel for three years! Think of the technological
advancements since then. The last
time a normal CEDIA Expo was held back in
2019, was lighting fixtures even a category
you delved in? Probably not. The show in
Dallas will be the first opportunity for many
integrators to see products from this hot
category. By the way, many products on hand
will be recognized during the CE Pro BEST
Awards presentation (Thursday, Sept. 29 at 4
pm on the Smart Stage).
Fun: In addition to receptions, the CE Pro
All-Star Band is back together and will be
rocking the show floor at the close of the first
day of exhibits.
What are you looking forward to the
most at the show? Let me know. I hope to
see you there.
cepro.com
http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro September 2022
