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Not Just a Middleman

Pro AV has experienced a dramatic evolution in the distribution landscape. These days, distributors are helping to manage multiple manufacturers, tighter schedules, supply chain issues, and more complex technologies—allowing integrators to spend their time serving their customers and growing their businesses.

Distributor Profiles

Distributors do a whole lot more than just procure equipment for integrators. From training to technical support to field services, learn how different distributors are taking the value-add concept to new heights.

Download the Integration Guide to Distribution.

Read the August issue of Systems Contractor News.

The GUDE Systems Expert Power Control (EPC) 8291-2 is an intelligent AC/DC power distribution unit (PDU) designed for modern AV/IT installations in various environments, from lecture halls to data centers. This compact 1RU device offers high-density power, supporting up to 21 devices through 17 DC and 4 AC active switched and metered ports, thus eliminating the need for bulky adapters.

Key features include native 5V, 12V, 24V, and 110–230V outputs, simple configuration, and support for both DHCP and static IP assignment. The EPC 8291-2 boasts individual outlet-level metering across all DC ports, providing precise load distribution and granular visibility into power data such as current, voltage, and power factor. It also supports environmental sensors for temperature, humidity, and air pressure.

For remote management, technicians can access advanced analytics via an IP interface, while individual outlet switching is available through multiple protocols. Self-healing ICMP/TCP watchdogs can automatically reboot unresponsive devices, resolving up to 90% of service issues without manual intervention. This PDU enhances managed service delivery, reducing downtime and operational costs. Security is a priority, with features like a robust 300W power supply, outlet-level protection, and encrypted communication, ensuring reliability for critical AV/IT environments.

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It's All about the Relationship

Yes, the Pro AV industry uses distributors to procure equipment, but today’s distributors offer a whole lot more. Learn how they are improving the shopping experience and providing educational opportunities, all while helping customers navigate through current tariff concerns.

Distributor Profiles

From technical support to engineering services to training opportunities, learn how different distributors are taking the value-add concept to a new level.

Download the Integration Guide to Distribution.

Read the August issue of Systems Contractor News.

Get your free copy of SCN's Integration Guide to Distribution.

More than a Warehouse

In today's hyper-competitive Pro AV marketplace, distributors are putting the "value" in value-add. Learn how companies are delivering technical support, engineering services, educational opportunities, access to subject matter experts, and more to integrators.

Check out the distribution solutions from ADI Global, Broadfield, Exertis Almo, Full Compass, Starin, TD SYNNEX, TecNec, and Wesco.

Download the Integration Guide to Distribution.

Read the August issue of SCN. 

With its partnership with Desay Optoelectronic LED for North America, CrimsonAV is adding LED distribution to better serve the integrator community. They intend to provide a one-stop source beyond display mounts, weather-proof displays, kiosks, and custom design/build projects.  

Douglas Wang, CEO of Desay Optoelectronic LED adds, “We believe the combined strengths of Desay’s strong R&D and cutting-edge manufacturing capability and CrimsonAV’s North America based engineering and customer support will provide world class client engagement and deliver unparalleled visual experiences. We look forward to expanding our reach with innovative LED displays and creating lasting value for customers by partnering with CrimsonAV.”

William Bear the Crimson AV VP of Sales states, “We recognize the expanding market and demand for LED displays. We also understand that the missing link in purchasing LED has been trust in the quality of the finished product as well as an absence of personalized service and support for the integration community in the process of buying, installation, and service after the sale. By partnering with Desay Optoelectronic LED, we will provide a brand you can trust that dates back to the turn of the century with a broad product line and unsurpassed quality in the LED display industry.”

When asked about why CrimsonAV, Bear responds, “Couple Desay Optoelectronic LED quality with CrimsonAV attention to personalized service, and you have a combination of value that bridges their product and price with our service and support. That is hard to beat.”  

Key Digital is creating Key Digital Africa, a partnership dedicated to expansion of distribution and marketing of Key Digital products across the African continent. The announcement was made by Dwayne Husbands, Key Digital vice president of global distribution sales, and follows the successful model of Key Digital Europe, representing the brand's ongoing initiative to extend awareness and availability of Key Digital products on a global scale.

The partnership grew out of Key Digital's relationship with Magfre Enterprises Ltd, a Kenyan audio-visual specialist integrator and distributor. Magfre has been selling and installing Key Digital products in Kenya. "We've developed a great deal of respect for our new partners as a Key Digital dealer," said Husbands, "and are delighted to take this next step with them. We are confident that we have the right team in place for the success of this sweeping initiative."

The rich feature sets of Key Digital solutions require far less need for additional devices to complete audiovisual systems than with competing brands and are both high quality and user- and price-friendly, according to Magfre pre-sale and technical manager Alfred Akelo. "That," says Akelo, "is what formed the basis of us looking to work with Key Digital to a point where now we are becoming Key Digital Africa." The new enterprise will have continent-wide responsibility for distribution and marketing. "We will build relationships with dealers across Africa," says Akelo.

Magfre, formed in 1988, has not only decades of experience in audiovisual system integration and sales, but also a division that does printing and branding. Its marketing experience uniquely qualifies it for the tasks ahead as it takes the Key Digital brand across Africa, including the skills and resources needed to increase brand and product awareness. "The use of social media is quite key on this," says Akelo, adding that presence at local exhibitions will be part of the promotions. Along with demos of gear and systems, "We also intend to train the integrators and build awareness of Key Digital products."

As has been the case worldwide, exhibitions in Africa have been "very much affected" by the pandemic, says Akelo, "But I can say we have made quite big strides in the Kenyan front because a lot of people have now embraced and taken up the vaccination." Kenya has just fully reopened from pandemic related restrictions in October. "With the opening of the business space, we expect that things are going to be brighter on our side," Akelo continues. "Business channels are opening. We are optimistic that the space is going to be open wider and wider, allowing us to hold training in our demo room, which we couldn't do before." Implementing Key Digital gear in video conferencing and demonstrations via the internet will demonstrate the product's effectiveness while providing a platform for further awareness and training, according to Akelo.

Fred Murathe, Magfre director, cites the Key Digital KD-BYOD4K Wireless Presentation Gateway, in combination with the KD CAMUSB PTZ camera, as an important and "most effective solution" for business communication in the current business climate as impacted by the pandemic. Also, "because the clubs are opening up, the matrix switchers will pop out as effective technology, along with the HDBaseT extenders." The flexibility of interconnectivity, scalable hardware solutions and cost-effectiveness of Key Digital products and their installation, adds Akelo, "are the key advantages that we want to capitalize on."

Key Digital Africa anticipates further expansion of its open channel to the technical and application support infrastructure with the parent organization, which, including Key Digital Africa's relationship with Key Digital VP of product education and experience Jonathon Ferry, have been central to the success of Key Digital in Kenya thus far. That support has been complemented by product ease-of-use and by the ability to implement sophisticated installations without the necessity of deep programming, facilitated by the Compass Control Pro fully integrated iOS control system and by the free iOS KD App, according to Key Digital Africa staff. Key Digital's technical team has proven itself responsive to feature and capability requests from Key Digital Africa's own customer support and sales staff. "Their response to our feedback is quite amazing," says Akelo.

Get your free copy of SCN's 2021 Integration Guide to Distribution.

How Distribution Helps Integrators

When curating a new installation, there are plenty of options for buying pro AV products, but distribution might be the quickest and easiest way  for integration firms to accomplish their goals. SCN chatted with integration firms and a few distributors to understand the advantages of going through distribution.

Learn more about these major pro AV distributors in the 2021 Integration Guide to Distribution:

• Almo Professional A/V
• Broadfield Distributing
• Exertis ProAV
• Herman ProAV
• Ingram Micro
• Snap One
• SYNNEX Corp.
• TecNec

Click here to download the 2021 Integration Guide to Distribution.

Black Box recently announced a new partner agreement with ScanSource, a global provider of technology products and solutions, to distribute Black Box AV, IoT, networking, cabling, infrastructure, and KVM product solutions. ScanSource will tap new opportunities in North America within the networking, security, and pro AV markets.

[Black Box Releases MCX Gen 2 Controller]

"With offices across North America and a portfolio now including the Black Box line of AV, networking, cabling, and KVM products, ScanSource is better positioned to supply solutions with the features, flexibility, and reliability essential to mission-critical applications," said Jason Fulford, director of channel sales at Black Box. "We're pleased to be working with ScanSource to address these key customer requirements across multiple verticals."

"We're excited to add Black Box's portfolio of peripheral solutions to our current line card of services and solutions," said Brian Cuppett, senior vice president, supplier organization, ScanSource. "The addition of Black Box's product offerings will enable ScanSource to provide more complete solutions to our partners."

Maverick AV Solutions, a specialist business of Tech Data, has announced an agreement with Crestron Electronics to distribute its range of platform-focused unified communication solutions globally. 

The move is designed to meet an ever-growing demand in the enterprise and corporate markets for collaboration solutions in every kind of business environment. This is the only global distribution partnership for the business and will be available, via Maverick AV Solutions, in 16 European territories as well as the U.S. and Canada.

[Crestron Launches Flex Phones for Microsoft Teams]

“Crestron is one of the most well-established brands in the AV market,” said Joel Chimoindes, vice president, Maverick Europe. “Their product ranges for UC and platform-led communications are second to none and they are quickly emerging as leader in hybrid workspaces, with an ecosystem of products for all meeting environments. This collaboration will enable us to make them more accessible to our partners. We take a platform-first approach alongside our integrators and Crestron’s accredited devices will be a great fit for our diverse community of partners.”

The agreement covers the Crestron Flex Enterprise UC products, including Microsoft Teams-certified devices. The range includes video and audio room solutions, audio conferencing, personal communication devices, room booking panels, IoT sensors, and wireless content sharing solutions. Each device can be connected and monitored via its management platform, XiO cloud. Crucially, it includes its best-selling Crestron Mercury Microsoft Teams Room ranges, which are enabling rapid deployment of collaboration spaces globally.

As the Crestron Electronics Enterprise UC portfolio evolves and expands, all these future products will become available to Maverick AV Solutions, including the forthcoming Android-based meeting room solutions for Microsoft Teams.

“We’re delighted to partner with Maverick AV Solutions to expand our reach to a new market of customers,” said Charlie James, director sales WW UC Device Partners at Crestron. “This engagement is a step forward in creating additional channels for enterprises to purchase solutions, and we look forward to offering our enterprise portfolio of select Microsoft Teams-certified devices to a wider audience globally.”

Crestron joins Maverick’s portfolio of smart meeting brands including Logitech, Microsoft, Lenovo, Barco, Samsung, Epson, Vision, LG, NEC, HP, Sharp, and Avocor, available in 18 countries through its specialist teams.

The What: Blustream US is expanding its line of HDBaseT AV distribution products for residential and commercial integrators with five new solutions that combine outstanding video performance with enhanced audio capabilities. Now shipping to the U.S. market, the latest additions to Blustream's lineup include 8 x 8 and 6 x 6 HDBaseT matrixes; an HDBaseT receiver; an HDBaseT extender with audio return channel (ARC) control; and a four-way HDMI switch with HDBaseT.

The What Else: Using color space conversion (CSC) technology, the 6 x 6 HMXL66ARC and 8 x 8 HMXL88ARC HDBaseT matrixes support 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 resolutions over distances of 40 meters via a single CAT-6 cable. Both devices offer advanced audio features designed specifically for integrating all AV sources in the system

Designed to work in conjunction with the new matrixes, the RX70CS HDBaseT CSC receiver extends HDMI, bi-directional IR, and RS-232 signals up to 40 meters at 4K 18Gbps and up to 70 meters at 1080p. The device supports HDMI 2.0 and enables ARC control when used with the HMXL66ARC, HMXL88ARC or other compatible Blustream solutions.

The new HEX70ARC-KIT extender provides enhanced HDBaseT integration with the latest AV receivers and soundbars. Purpose-built for integrators requiring reliable ARC delivery via both HDMI and optical sources, the device distributes HDMI, ARC, optical audio return, bi-directional IR, and bi-directional power over cable (PoC) up to 40 meters at 4K 60Hz 4:2:0 and 70 meters at 1080p.

The SW41HDBT four-way HDMI 2.0 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 HDBaseT switch is ideal for boardrooms, classrooms, and huddle spaces. Using CSC technology, the device delivers HDMI and HDBaseT inputs to simultaneous HDMI/HDBaseT outputs. The versatile SW41HDBT provides enhanced features, including PoC to power-connected Blustream transmitter and receiver products; a web GUI for configuration and source and display control via CEC; manual or automated source selection; RS-232 pass-through; and control via the front panel, IR, RS-232, and TCP/IP.

The Bottom Line: These new AV distribution solutions provide integrators with tools they need to tackle the challenges of a variety of projects, from providing advanced source and display integration in the boardroom to creating an immersive AV experience throughout the home.

Quick Bio

Name: Debbie Hunter

Position: Vice President, Regional Sales

Company: Anixter

Overtime: In her spare time, Hunter enjoys cooking, playing pool, and spending time with her children.

SCN: What is your position, and what does it entail? What are your responsibilities?

DEBBIE HUNTER: I oversee the Anixter global accounts program for companies headquartered in the Great Lakes region. My responsibilities include anticipating and fulfilling the technology needs—including AV and UCC—for some of our largest global customers, and ensuring they receive outstanding support from my team and the channels that serve them.

SCN: How long have you been in this position?

DH: I started in my current role in January 2020, but I have held various roles within Anixter over the last 19 years.

SCN: How has your background prepared you for your role?

DH: Interestingly, I began my career at Anixter within our IT organization. This background has led me to take a very algorithmic approach to problem-solving and strategy, which I have found useful throughout my career in helping customers analyze their challenges. When I moved into our sales organization, I transitioned into an inside sales role at one of our local branches. This experience of providing front-line support to our customers helped me embrace an extremely customer-focused mindset to provide our customers what they need, on time and on budget.

SCN: What are your short- and long-term goals?

DH: Short-term, there is a focus on helping our customers continue to adjust their real estate strategy in response to COVID and its current impact on projects. Many of our customers are focused on trying to complete projects ahead of time in case of future work stoppages. We are also busy working to leverage our expanded and complementary portfolio, now accessible via Liberty AV and Anixter’s merger with Wesco, and expand our AV product offerings and AV-specific services to help our contractor customers increase their capabilities.

Long-term, we are looking at the corporate sector’s collaboration technology needs post-COVID and their back-to-work strategies, which can include, for example, more touchless AV technologies and expanded conferencing solutions for both in-office and home-office requirements.

SCN: What is the greatest challenge you face?

DH: Our customers face a complex environment, trying to scale over a national or international geographic area, either with evolving technologies or high-volume deployments. My greatest challenge is making sure we are prepared to help our customers meet their evolving technology and supply chain needs. We do this by continually looking forward at the impact and utilization of changing products and technologies, and by working with customers to transform their supply chain to enable their pro AV business to scale and deliver over large geographies, consistently and to schedule.

SCN: Where do you see the pro AV market heading?

DH: With my customers, I am seeing increases in low-complexity, high-volume projects that need to be deployed nationally or internationally. This is increasing the demand for a partner who is truly global to provide supply chain visibility, solution and deployment consistency, as well as handle all the challenges that come with large-scale international deployments—from product sourcing and billing currencies to reliable in-country contacts. As Anixter’s global infrastructure has been growing since the 1970s to over 300 locations in more than 50 countries, we are seeing more and more companies turn to us for these large-scale deployments to help them simplify the complex, reduce costs, and keep to schedule.

In tandem with larger projects, we are seeing the rise of the master systems integrator. Customers are expecting integrators and contractors to be able to deploy all of their systems, from AV to security, and the network infrastructure these systems run on. Anixter offers all the solutions these customers demand, along with training and in-house experts to help integrators and contractors move into adjacent technologies to increase their total addressable market.

SCN: Are there new initiatives we are likely to see from Anixter?

DH: Wesco and Anixter will continue to focus on our integration activities that will bring more products, services, and capabilities to benefit our customers for long-term success with our enhanced product portfolio, expanded expertise, and dedicated customer-first approach.

We are constantly reviewing how to help our customers streamline their supply chain by expanding our existing services portfolio and offering our customers even more innovative installation enhancement and project services to simplify and speed AV deployments. This helps our customers drive efficiency, reduce risk, and maximize their profitability and productivity.

Another new way we are helping our customers simplify the complex is with Anixter’s Utility Grade Infrastructure (UTG) program. UTG is an innovative technology platform that builds on standards, going above and beyond to provide guaranteed results across multiple business systems, providing reliable connectivity, power, and security to IP devices. Given pro AV’s migration to IP, UTG can provide reliable infrastructure that is future-ready. Today, UTG can support more PoE devices in a larger area—with applications like Ethernet, video surveillance, wireless LAN, HDBaseT and PoH—than traditional cabling standards. In the coming months, UTG will provide similar results with 1 Gb and 10 Gb AVoIP.

SCN: How can systems contractors better position themselves to profit from products and/or services you have to offer?

DH: Anixter’s expertise in managing global supply chain programs enables us to help our systems contractor customers scale from local to national to global. According to end users, the key drivers are ensuring consistency, managing costs, and meeting timelines—while scaling globally.

Anixter’s approach is to collaborate with our integrator partners and the end user to understand their goals; we then map out a program to help reduce cost, drive efficiency, and maintain consistency. One of the many ways we can help our contractor partners is our pre-provisioning of product. Staging product in stock, ready to ship when needed, and only billing when received improves our contractor partner’s cash-to-cash cycle and reduces their risk, while helping them take on larger projects that otherwise would require too much capital and space.

This benefit is magnified when deploying AV solutions on a global scale, as we can source product in-country or import as needed, stage in our local warehouses, and contractors can work with our in-country teams in the local language, time zone, and currency. At Anixter, we invest in the geographies we support, understanding the local standards, processes, and market needs. In the world of global AV supply chain, there is no substitute for local presence.

Herman ProAV and Hall Research have entered into a distribution partnership.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hall Research,” said Jeffrey Wolf, co-CEO at Herman. “It is our goal to partner with manufacturers who enable us to deliver more product solutions in order to enhance our value offerings to our customers.” 

“At Hall Research, we are focused on building partnerships in order to give our customers valued solutions and great customer experiences,” said A.J. Shelat, VP of sales at Hall Research. “With Herman ProAV’s unmatched offering of products and services, we can leverage their differentiating value in the commercial AV industry.”

MantelMount is working with Stampede to drive sales of its full line of manual and automated drop down & swivel television wall mounts and accessories in the U.S., according to Stampede president & CEO Kevin Kelly.

“This is a product line that genuinely brings meaningful new benefits to a very mature product category,” Kelly said. “The product line, and the engineering vision behind it, re-imagines the perfect home entertainment experience or boardroom experience in a way that eliminates neck pain, eye strain, and screen glare. We are proud to represent this innovative product line to our commercial and residential resellers throughout the United States.”

MantelMount Managing Director Daniel Hughes said, “Since our formation in 2014, MantelMount has come to be regarded as a critically important component of a truly user-friendly, integrated display solution — be it in home entertainment or commercial display environments. The appointment of Stampede to serve as a United States distribution partner is going to help us present our unique value proposition to thousands of residential and commercial resellers through a unified sales and marketing program that will significantly expand our sales across all vertical markets.”

MantelMount has found highly receptive customers in both the residential and commercial markets. The commercial market will be the focus of Stampede’s efforts. Among the fastest-growing commercial locations are schools (i.e., secondary and higher educational facilities), boardrooms, corporate training, restaurants and bars, hospitals, and hotels. Ultimately, any commercial location where a TV is mounted high on a wall and needs to be brought down for optimal viewing is a candidate for MantelMount.

MantelMount​’s ​construction combines automotive pistons with steel and counterbalance technology, allowing users to easily pull a large flat screen TV down off the wall, suspend it at eye-level, and swivel it left or right. The automated version can automatically lower and swivel to a favorite preset position upon powering up the TV and can be controlled with the included RF remote or automation control systems. Virtually no other solutions are available in the marketplace that address the concerns of mounting a flat screen television high on a wall to provide eye-level viewing and glare reduction while also hiding all the hardware associated with a flat screen television.

MantelMount can be surface-mounted or recessed into the wall using standard on-center studs that are 16" apart. While typically mounted to drywall, they can also be mounted to stone or brick using concrete anchors (sold at hardware stores), as long as the brick is thick and secure. Additionally, available accessories make MantelMount the perfect solution for mounting to wide studs, single stud mounting, horizontal surface mounting, single beam or post mounting, and mounting on brick façade or simulated stone.

Almo Professional AV has entered a distribution partnership with Mimo Monitors. As part of the new relationship, Mimo Monitors has joined the Almo E4 AV Tour, which is coming to Boston on Sept. 21 and Nashville on Oct. 25 and 26.

“As the first Pro AV distributor for Mimo Monitors, we look forward to showing our partners how these products are intuitive and easy to incorporate into essentially any digital signage, huddle space or conference room installation,“ said Brian Rhatigan, director of business development for Almo Professional AV. “Having Mimo Monitors on the E4 AV Tour gives so many of our attending partners the ability to learn more about the company and to see the products in live demonstrations.”

“Almo is a well-respected commercial AV distributor and this distribution relationship gives resellers and integrators greatly expanded access to our small touchscreen niche products,” said Mike Campagna, chief marketing officer for Mimo Monitors. “Participating in the E4 AV Tour is a highly efficient and effective way to get our products in front of the resellers and integrators who buy from Almo. Our products are sleek, intuitive and easy-to-use so we wanted to give attendees the opportunity to see them first-hand.”

During the fall E4 tour, Mimo Monitors will showcase its new 10.1-inch Vue P-Cap Tour open frame display with BrightSign Built-In. This open frame display provides a fully encompassing, reliable, all-in-one digital signage solution that harnesses the power of the Mimo Vue technology and integrates the industry-leading BrightSign platform. The result is a high-quality, easy-to-install digital signage solution that’s immediately digital signage-ready, making it extremely simple to use, especially for those already reliant on the BrightSign platform.

Almo Professional A/V has entered a distribution partnership with Mimo Monitors, manufacturer of small touchscreen monitors, displays and tablets. As part of the new relationship, Mimo Monitors has joined the Almo E4 AV Tour, which heads to Nashville on October 25 and 26.

According to Brian Rhatigan, director of business development for Almo Professional A/V, “As the first Pro AV distributor for Mimo Monitors, we look forward to showing our partners how these products are intuitive and easy to incorporate into essentially any digital signage, huddle space or conference room installation.“ He continued, “Having Mimo Monitors on the E4 AV Tour gives so many of our attending partners the ability to learn more about the company and to see the products in live demonstrations.”

“Almo is a well-respected commercial AV distributor and this distribution relationship gives resellers and integrators greatly expanded access to our small touchscreen niche products,” said Mike Campagna, chief marketing officer for Mimo Monitors. “Participating in the E4 AV Tour is a highly efficient and effective way to get our products in front of the resellers and integrators who buy from Almo. Our products are sleek, intuitive and easy-to-use so we wanted to give attendees the opportunity to see them first-hand.”

During the fall E4 tour, Mimo Monitors will showcase its new 10.1-inch Vue P-Cap Tour open frame display with BrightSign Built-In. This open frame display provides a fully encompassing, all-in-one digital signage solution that harnesses the power of the Mimo Vue technology and integrates the BrightSign platform.

RTI, a control and automation manufacturer for residential and commercial settings, announced its product lineup for CEDIA Expo 2018, taking place Sept. 6-8 at the San Diego Convention Center. In Booth 2627, the company will be showcasing its new RTiQ intelligent remote monitoring solution, AV distribution solutions including the Miravue VIP-1 video-over-IP system, and the latest version of RTI's Integration Designer APEX programming software. In addition, the company will introduce its new RTiXcel learning management system (LMS) for dealer training and exhibit its complete lineup of advanced processors and controllers.

"Last year we celebrated our 25th anniversary by delivering products, software, and services that our dealer and distributor partners were telling us they needed," said RTI CEO Ed McConaghay. "The response has been amazing, but we're just getting started. Our Integration Designer APEX programming software continues to evolve as we add even more time-saving features. For instance, a recent addition is RTiQ, a monitoring solution that not only notifies our dealers of issues but also allows them to resolve them remotely. This year we also released powerful new processors and a complete line of AV distribution products, and we acquired Miravue, our new video-over-IP system. With all of these solutions on display, along with more exciting product and service announcements, CEDIA is going to be a great show."

A complete remote management solution for RTI systems, the cloud-based RTiQ can be configured to monitor any component controlled by an RTI XP control processor. Dealers can monitor the status of these devices via a dashboard from anywhere in the world and receive email and text notifications that alert them if a failure occurs. Once alerted, the dashboard helps identify the cause of the issue and allows custom actions to be triggered to restore the failed system or component. RTiQ is free to RTI dealers and is available on both Integration Designer 9.x and APEX.

RTI's line of AV distribution products includes HDMI, HDBaseT, and modular video matrix switches that deliver reliable, high-quality 4K video throughout an installation. In addition, a range of extenders, splitters, and wall plates are available to meet the unique needs of every installation.

The Miravue VIP-1 video-over-IP transceiver acts as a transmitter and receiver in one versatile device. Reducing cabling and installation time, the system enables powerful, scalable AV distribution over wired and wireless ethernet networking with ultra-low latency. In addition, network video streams from IP cameras may be viewed without the need for additional equipment.

Visitors to RTI's booth will also see the latest version of the company's Integration Designer APEX programming software, the biggest leap forward since its release last year. The new software allows integrators to take advantage of the RTiQ remote management and the VIP-1 video-over-IP system and includes a range of features to make programming even easier and more efficient. These include support for layers and shared layers to manage complex layouts, viewports for RTiPanel devices that can be swiped through, source bundles that allow integrators to export fully developed interfaces for reuse in any project, and more.

While live training events for RTI have been getting record attendance this year, at CEDIA Expo 2018, RTI will introduce dealers to its new state-of-the-art online learning management system (LMS), named RTiXcel. Designed to provide an end-to-end curriculum, complete with testing and certificates, RTiXcel allows dealers to learn more effectively online and at their own pace. The system offers a host of content designed to engage dealers, including virtual walkthroughs, troubleshooting steps, interactive installation guides, and more.

RTI's complete offering of handheld remote controls, touchpanels, and keypads will also be on exhibit. Control processors on display will include the XP-6s with a rack-mountable design and the XP-8v, featuring an HDMI output to enable a customizable on-screen display (OSD) control interface.

On Friday, Sept. 7, RTI will host four training sessions in Room 2. "Explore the RTI Product and Software Ecosystem" will be held 9-10:30 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m., while "Flexibility & Simplicity — Unlock the Power of Integration Designer Apex" will take place 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 3-4:30 p.m. Attendees can sign up to attend these free manufacturer training courses by registering here.

Just Add Power (J+P) announced the company has joined the PowerHouse Alliance as a brand member. This partnership enables J+P to leverage the buying power of the alliance's nationwide distribution network, with 13 distributor member companies representing 850,000 square feet of warehouse space in 44 convenient locations across the U.S. As a result, customers will have nationwide access to J+P's scalable video distribution solutions, as well as local training and support.

"J+P's philosophy is to engineer video infrastructure that is dependable and scalable well into the future. That means making it incredibly easy and effective to build a UHD over IP pipeline for any project and budget," said Taft Stricklin, sales team manager at J+P. "Our partnership with PowerHouse Alliance adds another building block for customers to do that. We're incredibly excited to expand our sales reach and give customers additional training opportunities that they can leverage."

The PowerHouse Alliance is a national consortium of regional wholesale distributors delivering name-brand products for custom installers, specialty dealers, large retailers and industry buying groups in the residential and commercial audio/video, home entertainment, security, networking, IT, and consumer electronics accessories markets.

"AV over IP is the future of our industry, and J+P's innovative approach to the network and video distribution makes them an invaluable new partner for the alliance," said Dennis Holzer, executive director of the PowerHouse Alliance. "We're excited to work with them as the newest brand member of the PowerHouse Alliance family, introducing their unique video distribution solutions to previously untapped commercial and residential customers."

The What: For the first time, Oblong's Mezzanine will be available through distribution to the pro AV market through a new ScanSource bundle that brings the Cisco Webex Room Kit and Cisco Webex Room Kit Plus Collaboration Endpoints into the Oblong Mezzanine content collaboration platform and utilizes LG UH5C series commercial UHD displays to share information, video, graphics, and data from multiple sources simultaneously.

The What Else: Initially, this product bundle will be offered in two sizes mapped to Oblong’s Mezzanine 200 Series with dual LG displays for smaller team collaboration, and the Mezzanine 600 series for more immersive environments wrapping a room in an LG pixel-rich canvas for high-value work.

“End-users are continuing to look for innovative UC solutions, and Mezzanine delivers a content-rich workplace collaboration experience that enables resellers to meet this growing demand,” said Brian Cuppett, senior vice president, ScanSource. “We look forward to providing this content-centric conferencing solution, in addition to support, training, and services for our reseller partners’ continued success.”

The Bottom Line: With this more seamlessly integrated joint offering, Cisco, LG, and Oblong have focused on providing a modern meeting room solution for more effective teamwork through ScanSource.

Datapath has signed global distributor Stampede for Latin America.

Stampede President and CEO, Kevin Kelly, said the Datapath partnership dovetails with the company’s current product offering. “For more than 35 years, Datapath solutions have helped to revolutionize video distribution and management for thousands of customers across the world and now, with the support of Stampede, they will be able to reach broader and deeper into the Latin American market,” he said. “Datapath’s solutions are a perfect complement to our current portfolio of offerings and they will enable our regional resellers to custom configure system solutions across every major vertical market.”

Small and medium scale digital signage continues to thrive in Latin America, and Datapath’s processors and controllers bring reliability and power to display projects of any size.

Greg Babbs, Datapath sales manager for the region, said: “Our Fx4 controller is known and trusted worldwide and we’re sure it will be a popular choice for Stampede’s customer base. What’s more, with the availability of our new Hx4 and the very latest additions to the iolite range, we now have a solution for any multi-display or video wall requirement.

He added: “From Chile to Mexico, Latin America continues to embrace digital signage. Security projects and smaller control centers are a growth area but there is also strong demand in the rental market—ideal for our robust but portable control hardware.”

To coincide with the partnership, Datapath has recently provided day-long training sessions at Stampede’s LATAM offices, ensuring all staff are up to speed with Datapath’s latest technology. Further training sessions are planned towards the end of the year.

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