Stampede Takes High-Quality, Low-Cost Sony Video Conferencing On The Road!

Dealers looking to integrate high-quality, low-cost video conferencing into their end-of-year product line offerings will have a chance to do just that — but only if they sign up now to attend Stampede’s upcoming Big Book of AV Tour 2011 Dealer Shows events in Houston, Texas at the House of Blues on November 9 and Phoenix, Arizona at the Comerica Theatre on November 11. If they do, they will have a hands-on opportunity to see Sony Video Conferencing system solutions in action — and learn how they can offer it to their customers for less than $100 per month.

"Our dealers are challenged to find new value added programs to bring to their customer base, and low-cost, high-quality video conferencing is now affordable enough for them to make it available to all of their customers," explained Kevin Kelly, President and COO of Stampede. Stampede became the exclusive North American distributor of Sony Video Conferencing products in March 2011 when it acquired Spire Global. "And now we are making all the capabilities of a Sony Video Conferencing System available in a new breakthrough lease program that costs customers under $100 per month. Think about it— not only will our dealers be able to provide a valuable new capability to their customers, they will be empowered to do so at a tremendous savings. At the same time, dealers will have an opportunity to sell their customers additional products that complement a video conferencing system."

Dealers interested in attending the Dealer Demo events in Houston and Phoenix can register today at www.bigbookofavtour.com.

Stampede’s new leasing program runs through December 31, 2011 and is designed to provide dealers with an unprecedented opportunity to put high quality video conferencing within the reach of their entire customer base.

According to Kelly, the base model in the lease program is the PCS-G50 at $99 a month. The five-year lease also includes a five-year service and support contract and the offer of a $1 buy-out.

Stampede’s annual Big Book of AV Tour is the largest dealer show program in North America. The 2011 tour will visit 12 cities, feature more than 35 industry leading manufacturers, offer comprehensive information and education programs to more than 1,000 dealer attendees.

In addition to learning about Sony Video Conferencing, attendees will be able to see the latest solutions from a variety of vendors including: Atlas Sound, Avteq, BenQ, Casio, Chief, Epson, Gefen, Hall Research, Hitachi Solutions, Kramer, Lumens, Mitsubishi, Mustang, NEC, Optoma, Peerless, Perfect Path, ProSales, TechGlobal, Severtson Screens, Sharp and Samsung.

About Stampede
Known for its value-added distribution, Amherst, NY-based Stampede is the leading distributor of presentation equipment including LCD/DLP projectors and flat panel displays. Stampede provides a complete range of brand name presentation equipment to a variety of audio/video, computer, and home theater resellers and integrators in the United States, Canada and Latin America. These resellers rely on Stampede for value-added services in distribution, marketing and solution- based sales. Stampede annually produces the “Big Book of AV,” an 816-page catalog and companion website (www.BigBookofAV.com) providing hundreds of sales, installation and spec tips for Stampede’s dealers in addition to product details on more than 5,000 SKUs. For more information on Stampede, log onto www.stampedeglobal.com.

NanoLumens NanoFlex Screen Keeps Thousands of Attendees Informed and Organized at UK's GAMEfest 2011

When UK audio visual provider PSP (www.pspav.com) was contracted to provide large digital signage for navigation and information display at GAMEfest 2011, they knew that the NanoLumens® 112” NanoFlex™ display was the perfect solution. The annual week long gaming expo was hosted by GAME, Europe’s leading videogame retailer (www.game.co.uk) at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, England from September 16-18, 2011.

GAMEfest is an exclusive event for loyal GAME Rewards Card holders that welcomes some of the top names in gaming such as Nintendo, EA and Activision to exhibit their new games and new technologies. The first three days of GAMEfest served as an internal conference for the hundreds of GAME & GAMESTATION store managers, and the next three days the show floor was open to thousands of card-carrying GAME customers.

According to PSP’s Project Planner Gareth Hill, “With thousands of people attending, and three entire halls of the NEC in use, it was imperative to provide the best possible displays for navigating the show floor and communicating the timings of various activities taking place each day.

“This was the first time we have used the 112” NanoLumens screen at a live event, and it is a great product,” Hill emphasized. “We selected the technology largely due to the brightness of the display and its weight—at just 90 pounds it was very easy and quick to install, and the 6mm pixel pitch and brightness meant that it could be seen from all the way across the exhibition hall.”

Because the NanoLumens NanoFlex™ display is so lightweight and durable, it can be installed much faster and more easily than comparably sized displays. And it is perfect for outdoors or large rooms because of its extreme brightness. In addition to being ultra-lightweight and bright, NanoLumens displays can be viewed from any angle or any distance without color shift or picture drop-off.

“There is an increasing demand for high quality, large scale digital platforms at events and exhibitions, whether their application be wayfinding and information giving or advertising and brand awareness. It’s great to have access to new, innovative options for these purposes, and the NanoLumens NanoFlex display really delivers, with specialist flight cases and accessories that make it simple and cost effective to incorporate into the event environment.”

First introduced in 2010, NanoFlex™ digital displays remain the only solution of their kind. They conform to fit any surface, are thin, lightweight and energy efficient, and can be mounted as easily as a work of art. NanoLumens is the only company in the world able to reliably manufacture ultra-thin and lightweight, easy-to-install and maintain, seamless 6mm pixel pitch flexible LED displays in virtually any shape or size to meet each customer’s unique requirements.

According to NanoLumens President & CEO Rick Cope, “Convention hall owners and show producers are now realizing the unique benefits of the NanoLumens display technology. With the ability to move NanoLumens displays to where they will have the most impact, quicker installation times, reduced manpower requirements and significant energy savings, we offer convention hall owners, show producers and exhibitors the most customizable and profitable digital signage displays available today.”

Designed and assembled entirely in the United States, NanoLumens displays are now available in both flexible and non-flexible frames in four product lines: NanoFlex™ and NanoWrap™ flexible displays; NanoSlim™ non-flexible rectangular displays; and NanoShape™ non-flexible round, square, and triangular displays.

PSP (www.pspav.com) provide state of the art Audio Visual Equipment and Specialist Project Management solutions for live events. Whether your event is for 50 or 50,000 people we have the expertise to deliver your event. Specializing in large screen projection and display, cameras and vision control, sound and lighting, set and stage design and graphics. PSP's Birmingham and London offices enable us to service clients both nationally and internationally. PSP have a dedicated team of exceptional Project Managers whose technical knowledge is unrivalled. We will work alongside your team to deliver the best possible solution for your event.

Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, NanoLumens, Inc. (www.nanolumens.com) is a privately held corporation engaged in the research, product development and component design for unique flexible displays that address a yawning technology gap in the $14 billion digital display industry. NanoLumens has built a portfolio of more than 20 international families of issued and filed patents on its flexible display technology that effectively address the commercial market void between relatively small flat-panel displays and huge, limited application LED boards. NanoLumens technology is not constrained by standard sizes and shapes, or by the size, noise and cost issues associated with commercial LED products.

Stampede Global To Report Record Sales In 2011; Projects Continued Long Term Growth At 2011 Vendor Summit

Capping a year of unprecedented growth, expansion, acquisitions and investment, Stampede Global, the leading value-added distributor of professional audio video (ProAV) solutions, today told attendees of its third annual Vendor Summit that it will report record sales in 2011. What’s more, Stampede Global President & COO Kevin Kelly said that despite continued uncertainty in the larger economy, the company would continue to grow significantly in 2012.

“Focus, focus, focus,” Kelly said, “are the three major reasons for our continued success. Stampede is the oldest, largest, and deepest specialist distributor in the ProAV space and, because of this laser focus, we continue to grow and expand where others have failed. In fact, we expect 2011 sales to show a 51 percent growth in unit sales in core categories, a 48 percent increase in operating profit, and a 257 percent increase in net income.”

According to Kelly, 2011 has been the most successful year yet in the company’s 14-year history of serving the needs of Professional AV dealers. Now representing more than 120 different manufacturers, Stampede has added 35 new lines in the last two years alone.

What’s more, millions of dollars have been invested in the acquisition of Spire Global, increased inventory levels, increased A/R, expanded sales and technical support teams and additional offices, as well as significantly expanded and upgraded IT systems. “As a direct result of these investments, Stampede today is better prepared to meet every product, training, and marketing support need of every one of our more than 9000 dealer partners. We continue to grow in a tough economic environment and, most importantly, we offer more opportunities than ever before for our partners, and that’s what this business is fundamentally all about.”

Also significant for the long run, Stampede in 2011 has expanded both its product offering and its reach. While maintaining its dedication to the specialist approach, the company has targeted new product categories that are relevant to Professional AV dealers, such as video conferencing and 3D; leveraged its reach into the market with a cross-matrix approach that relies upon specialist teams who are focused on specific product lines, increased speed of product line penetration, and increased vendor access to incremental opportunities. At the same time, the company has developed strategic alliances with key dealers that provide for ‘right of first refusal’ positioning, imbedded staff to maximize opportunities, and increased Stampede vendor access.

Looking ahead to 2012, Kelly told attendees that Stampede will focus on three major initiatives: dive deeper into the market, improve organizational alignment, and prepare dealers for both today and tomorrow. “Over the next three months, we are going announce a number of strategic new programs that are going to create even more opportunities for our manufacturer and dealer partners. 2012 is going to be another very exciting year for us and it couldn’t come at a better time as we will celebrate our 15th anniversary next year.”

Now in its third year, the annual Stampede Global Vendor Summit brings together manufacturers, dealers, special guests and Stampede sales and support team members for a four-day period of review, planning and forecasting. The 2011 summit was based at the Connecticut Street Armory with additional events held at the company’s Amherst, New York headquarters and the Hyatt Buffalo hotel. More than 50 vendors participated at this year’s event, which ran from October 22-25, 2011. The keynote presentation was made by Dr. William Coggshall, President of Pacific Media Associates, who previewed his 2011 Front Projector Market Update for attendees.

New Sony Video Conferencing Lease Program From Stampede Debuts at Under $100 Pre Month

Stampede, the leading value-added distributor of professional audio video (ProAV) solutions and the exclusive distributor of Sony Video Conferencing equipment, today announced the introduction of a groundbreaking new lease program that makes Sony Video Conferencing available for the first time for under $100 per-month.

The new leasing program runs through December 31, 2011 and is designed to provide dealers with an unprecedented opportunity to put high quality video conferencing within the reach of their entire customer base. “For $99 per month customers can now harness the full capabilities of a quality Sony Video Conferencing system,” said Eric Murphy, Vice President of the Visual Communications Group at Stampede. “Video conferencing has never been more affordable than it is today, with the launch of this new lease program. If a company has been thinking about getting on board with this incredible cost-saving and productivity- boosting technology, now is the time to do it.”

According to Murphy, the base model in the lease program is the PCS-G50 at $99 a month. The five-year lease also includes a five-year service and support contract and the offer of a $1 buy-out.

“We know how important it is for people and businesses to stay connected,” stated Murphy. “Now with the cost of these products lower than a plane ticket, you can have the same meeting from the comfort of your own office, all while saving money. What was once a luxury for large organizations is now affordable for any size company.”

About Stampede
Known for its value-added distribution, Amherst, NY-based Stampede is the leading distributor of presentation equipment including LCD/DLP projectors and flat panel displays. Stampede provides a complete range of brand name presentation equipment to a variety of audio/video, computer, and home theater resellers and integrators in the United States, Canada and Latin America. These resellers rely on Stampede for value-added services in distribution, marketing and solution- based sales. Stampede annually produces the “Big Book of AV,” an 816-page catalog and companion website (www.BigBookofAV.com) providing hundreds of sales, installation and spec tips for Stampede’s dealers in addition to product details on more than 5,000 SKUs. For more information on Stampede, log onto www.stampedeglobal.com.

NanoLumens To Move To New World Headquarters In Norcross, Georgia

In order to better meet the long-term needs of its rapidly growing customer base, NanoLumens®, the pioneering company that last year introduced the world to large format flexible digital display technology, today announced plans to relocate its world headquarters to a new 32,000 square foot office center in Norcross, Georgia, the same city it has called home since its founding in 2006.

According to NanoLumens President & CEO Rick Cope, the company will move from its current 14,000 square foot headquarters to its new headquarters on December 1, 2011. “Our company has more than doubled in size over the last two years and we expect 2012, our first full year of commercial production, to create an even faster rate of growth,” Cope explained today. “This new headquarters will enable us to comfortably grow and meet our customer demands. It will allow us to consolidate all administrative, sales, operations, research, design, and assembly under one roof right here in the city we have always called home. What’s more, the new headquarters will house the largest digital display showroom in the country.”

The new NanoLumens headquarters will be located at 4900 Avalon Ridge Parkway, Norcross, Georgia 30071. The general phone number will remain 678.421.9694.

Underscoring its rapid rate of growth, NanoLumens today announced two key executive appointments. Karen Robinson, a senior technology and out-of-home media executive with more than 30 years of experience, now joins NanoLumens as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, effective immediately, reporting directly to NanoLumens President Rick Cope. Ms. Robinson’s experience is strategic and solid and includes CEO level positions at Atlanta Technology Partners, Prime Point Media and Enrev Corporation, as well as senior sales management positions at Electronic Power Technology, AMNEX and AT&T.

“Karen has the exact skill set and experience that we need to drive sales in all of our target markets,” Cope emphasized. “As we begin the next chapter of the NanoLumens story, Karen will play a pivotal role in developing sustained sales in all of our targeted vertical markets.”

Reporting directly to Karen Robinson is Dana Michaelis, who now joins the company as Vice President and General Manager of Advertising Networks. In this new position, Michaelis will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic out-of-home place based advertising revenue sharing programs with content owners, networks, convention centers, stadiums and arenas. Mr. Michaelis comes to NanoLumens from Brite Media Group, where he served as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Prior to this he held senior sales management positions at Prime Point Media, Pathfire and The Weather Channel.

“Having worked closely with Dana at Prime Point Media, I appreciate his considerable talents in building large scale advertising networks, which is a strategic priority for this company,” Robinson emphasized. “Dana will be very effective in presenting our breakthrough LED display technology to owners of convention centers, stadiums and other facilities where place based advertising vehicles are deployed.”

First introduced in 2010, NanoFlex™ digital displays remain the only solution of their kind. They conform to fit any surface, are thin, lightweight, and energy efficient, and can be mounted as easily as a work of art. The revolutionary NanoFlex display shattered the traditional usage limitations of large format digital displays. NanoLumens is the only company in the world able to reliably manufacture ultra-thin and lightweight, easy-to-install and maintain, seamless 6mm pixel pitch flexible LED displays in virtually any shape or size to meet each customer’s unique requirements.

In addition to being ultra-lightweight and energy efficient, NanoLumens displays feature a seamless, edge-to-edge picture quality (up to a brightness of 5,000 nits) that can be viewed from any angle or any distance without color shift or picture drop-off. Designed and engineered to be energy efficient, NanoLumens displays consume significantly less energy per-square foot than conventional digital displays. Further underscoring their commitment to eco-friendly technology, the NanoLumens displays are composed of up to 50% reclaimed materials, and are completely recyclable. What’s more, some new NanoLumens displays can be serviced from the front, making maintenance easier than ever before possible.

Designed and assembled entirely in the United States, NanoLumens displays are now available in both flexible and non-flexible frames in four product lines: NanoFlex™ and NanoWrap™ flexible displays; NanoSlim™ non-flexible rectangular displays; and NanoShape™ non-flexible round, square, and triangular displays.

NanoLumens’ technology received the 2011 Breakthrough Technology of the Year Award at the American Technology Awards. The company’s technology has also been recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a 2011 future-proof tech trend and was cited by The Wall Street Journal in its 2010 Technology Innovations Awards.

Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, NanoLumens, Inc. (www.nanolumens.com) is a privately held corporation engaged in the research, product development and component design for unique flexible displays that address a yawning technology gap in the $14 billion digital display industry. Since its founding in 2006, NanoLumens has built a portfolio of more than 20 international families of issued and filed patents on its flexible display technology that effectively address the commercial market void between relatively small flat-panel displays and huge, limited application LED boards. NanoLumens technology is not constrained by standard sizes and shapes, or by the size, noise and cost issues associated with commercial LED products.

Xantech's A/V Control Technology Used for Tour Center at Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations Plant

The recently completed movie theater located within the brand new Vaughn L. Beals Tour Center at the Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations plant in York, Pennsylvania, includes A/V control products from Xantech, a leader in the field of audio/video remote control and distribution for 40 years. SDK Electronics of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, outfitted the theater, where visitors begin the one-hour factory tour, installing a Xantech CSPLCD39G 3.9-inch Smartpad LCD Graphic Touchpanel and a WIC1200 Web Intelligent Controller to manage the presentation’s audio, video and lighting.

The Smartpad LCD Graphic Touchpanel and the WIC1200 in combination offer fully automated control of the movie presentation, which takes visitors through the famed motorcycle manufacturer’s history. The film starts with a single touch of the Xantech Touchpanel, explains Scott Koons, owner of SDK Electronics. “The system sits in idle mode until the tour guides bring the visitors in. They touch one button on the screen that says ‘play’ and the movie starts to run. The WIC box gets a signal, tells a Crestron lighting controller to dim the lights, and turns on an audio sense to the Blu-ray Disc player. As soon as it senses that audio is no longer present – in other words, the player is in full stop – it tells the Crestron to relight the room.”

The system is also programmed with an alternate mode for employee meetings. “When they hold a meeting in the theater they can touch a button that says ‘presentation’ and it will switch over to a presentation mode,” says Koons.

The Xantech products offered an affordable control solution for automating the theater’s A/V system, according to Koons. Although the system is relatively simple, the controller does need to support some specific interface capabilities. “I needed to have some way to automatically turn on the lights. The WIC1200 gave me the ability to do two-way communications as well as system status sensing.” A more complex and more costly unit was just not necessary, he adds: “It would have been overkill to spend that kind of money on a competing product for what little I needed to do, especially since the WIC box does everything I needed it to do for this system.”

The Xantech Touchpanel interfaces directly with the theater’s JVC projector. “The only codes we send to the projector are on, off and source select, so we use those straight out of the keypad because I don’t need any sense on that,” explains Koons, adding, “The only thing I need to send to the Lexicon DC2 processor is power on and source select.”

The rest of the theater’s audio system, which includes EAW loudspeakers in a 7.1 configuration with Crest amplification, is initiated through the use of a Surge X power sequencer.  A 159-inch 16:9 HDTV format Da-Lite fixed wall screen completes the A/V presentation setup.

Koons also installed a Xantech CSPLCD64G 6.4-inch Smartpad LCD Graphic Touchpanel in the employee cafeteria at the new plant. “They can hold 450-person meetings there. It has four screens, four projectors, a scaler and an SPLCD64 controlling it, along with a couple of relay packs and a 1x8 RS232 router.” 

The Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations plant, established in York in 1973, assembles the company’s Soft Tail, Touring and Tri-Glide models. Following the demolition of 42 separate buildings and a year of construction, a brand new, robot-assisted manufacturing plant opened on the site on August 1, 2011, that combines all of its manufacturing lines and warehousing in one 600,000-square-foot facility. Over eight thousand tourists have reportedly visited the new Vaughn L. Beals Tour Center and toured the new factory in its first two months of operation.

For more information, please visit www.xantechcommercial.com.

Homeowner Builds, Lives In and Sells Homes With The ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System

Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based custom integrator Home Concepts, Inc. has found the perfect client—he’s a loyal customer, he loves the latest technology and he has built, lived in, and then sold three houses in the last five years, installing an ELAN® Home Systems A/V distribution system in each, and outfitting the latest one with the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System. The latest system is so impressive that it won the CEDIA 2011 Electronic Lifestyles Silver Award for Integrated Home in the $70,500 – $105,500 level.

Homeowner Dr. Femi Adekeye, a Calgary-based Occupational Health Physician, said, “I enjoy designing and building homes, and including the latest technology adds a new level of interaction and sophistication with each house I build. We’ve been using ELAN systems for about five years now, and the systems keep getting better and better. I use my iPhone to adjust the system and check on things constantly, because I always have it with me, and the ELAN g! app is very simple to use. The whole-home control of audio/video, lighting, security and surveillance will be a big selling point when I put this home on the market, just as the audio/video systems were in my last two homes.”

The 6,000 square-foot home features an extensive audio/video system to keep the whole family entertained — the 7.1 home theater uses a Runco projector and 106” screen, seven ELAN in-wall speakers and a Sunfire HRS-12 subwoofer, and the rest of the house has six flat screen HDTVs including a 52-inch in the family room and master bedroom, a 40-inch behind the bar and three 46-inchers side-by-side in the gym. There are 12 independent audio zones and a total of 24 speakers, in addition to the home theater. These systems get their media from three satellite feeds, an am/fm receiver, a Sony 400-disc Blu-ray changer, Shoutcast Radio (built in to ELAN g!) and Apple TV for videos. The system also integrates with the home’s security, four outdoor surveillance cameras and DVR, and the CentraLite lighting system.

According to P.J. Aucoin, Sales Manager of Home Concepts, Inc., the company has been in business for seven years and has been an avid supporter of ELAN products since day one. “We were excited when the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control system was released, and that’s pretty much all we use now. I love the off-site programming capability so I don’t have to make a house call to change a single button, and it’s amazing when I show my clients that the user interface is the same on an iPad, an in-wall touch screen and a TV on-screen display. This is the second CEDIA award we’ve won in the Integrated Home category for an ELAN g! installation, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

Work has already begun on Dr. Adekeye’s next home, so now it’s just a matter of time before this home with the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System is on the market.

The family can control the ELAN g! system through a TS7 seven-inch in-wall touch screen in the kitchen, seven TS2 touch panels throughout the house, several iPads, the kids’ iPod Touches and Dr. Adekeye’s iPhone and office computer. The equipment rack, tucked away in the wall of the home theater behind tinted glass, houses an ELAN HC12 Home Controller, ELAN V85 Component Video Controller, two ELAN S86A Multi-Room A/V Controllers, an ELAN C2 Communications Controller and an ELAN DT11 Tuner.

“My clients love how easy it is to go from lighting to HVAC to security all on one touch screen,” said Aucoin. “In new homes for sale, the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System is what people gravitate to and remember about the home more than anything else. Pushing one button to turn on the lights or music in any room is so much more impressive than just a big TV hung on a wall, and it really separates these homes from others on the market.”

Available starting at under $2,000 for a single-room, four sub-system control solution, the ELAN g! Series Control System can be expanded quickly and cost-effectively to enable whole-home control of every room appliance. ELAN g! provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touch screens, touchpads, PCs, iPhones, and iPads. The standardized interface works across platforms, so that the trendy g!Mobile app users love on the iPhone appears and works similarly on ELAN touch screens, valets and handheld remotes as well as users' televisions and mobile devices. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room - or across the globe.

The ELAN g! System has been awarded a 2011 Residential Systems Magazine RESI Award, a 2011 Custom Retailer Magazine EXCITE! Award, a 2011 CE Pro Magazine BEST Award, a Platinum Level 2011 CEA Mark of Excellence Award by the Consumer Electronics Association and a 2011 Gold Level Electronic House Magazine Product of the Year Award.

Home Concepts, Inc. was formed by a group of highly trained and experienced CEDIA members to provide clients with certified professional home automation design and installation. The integrated Home Concepts team includes professional system designers, CEDIA certified installers and engineers who strive to make every project an award-winning system. The extended team includes contractors, electricians, security professionals and homebuilders. Their collaborative team approach allows them to build rewarding relationships with their clients and ensures high quality products and service from a diverse, dedicated team. For more information, please visit www.homeconceptsdesign.com.