For the last Daily Raff of CEDIA Expo/Commercial Integrator Expo, I don’t have a ton of new products to show you. I always find it hard to just wander a show floor. What am I supposed to look at? I receive so many press releases before a show that sometimes it’s overwhelming to just walk down aisles and hope something strikes my fancy. Maybe one of you could give me some advice for what you do at shows. I just never feel like I see everything without watching all our videos — speaking of those — we have 450+ on the microsites and counting. For residential product videos, check out our CEDIA Expo microsite, for more ProAV/resimercial/light commercial products, you can check out our Commercial Integrator Expo microsite. You can filter by all sorts of categories to make sure you find the products you’re looking for, or you can search by product name or manufacturer.

I did catch some education sessions these past few days. On Thursday, I moderated a panel of experts and we talked about how emerging technologies are changing the face of ProAV. I mentioned this in my first Daily Raff of this show.

The Daily Raff: CEDIA Expo/Commercial Integrator Expo 2023 Day 1 Thoughts

For the other educational sessions I checked out, I got to sit and watch them as an attendee and they did not disappoint! The first one I quite enjoyed and it was all about 8K content. There were panelists from IMAX, Pixar and Sphere Entertainment Company. Greg Ciaccio from IMAX began by talking about “Oppenheimer” and how it was meant to be viewed on full-frame 1570 film in a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. I meant to ask him, “well then why are there only 30 of these in the world and why is IMAX slowly replacing all of them with digital?” But then they moved on to discussing more 8K content and it no longer seemed an appropriate time. However, I still think it’s a valid question.

The next panel I caught was all AV influencers. I thought it was pretty cool to hear them talk about what has influenced them in this industry. I got to hear some great stories about how this side of the industry is particularly encouraging more women to break in and take a seat at the table. I appreciated getting to hear that quite a lot. I will say that I’ve never encountered anything but the utmost respect at CEDIA Expo so that does go to show that this side of the industry is full of good people. I’m glad that was echoed by the group of panelists shown below.

Finally, I will say that my overall thoughts about CEDIA Expo and Commercial Integrator Expo were that they were totally worth coming. I get that it’s not a totally perfectly blended commercial and residential trade show YET, but I have caught a glimpse into the future and I really think it could work. When it comes to integrators going from residential to commercial and vice versa, these shows could definitely help bridge this gap. So many manufacturers were ready and willing to help get CIs/commercial integrators into a new market. I think next year will be just another stepping stone toward this goal of co-located trade shows with totally merged audiences.

I actually got to interview Emerald’s Jason McGraw about how he thought the show went and got his thoughts on the future of Commercial Integrator Expo.

So overall, I’m going to chalk this year’s CEDIA Expo/CIX as a success. I had a great time; I only wish I had MORE time to wander the show floor and experience every single demo. If you wish the same, I have somewhat of a solution. You can join us during rePLAY CEDIA Expo/CIX on Sept. 13-14 1-3 p.m. and 1-2 p.m., respectively. We will pick our favorite product videos, a few interviews, snippets of show floor walkthroughs and more. If you couldn’t make it to the show, or wish you could see more of either one, this is for you!