I don’t know what it is about trade shows. You’re so tired at the end of the day no matter what! I could be doing a million interviews one after the other or just walking around and seeing all the products for myself. Either way, I’m spent by the time the show floor closes.

Let’s start with me talking about a few noticeable booths on the show floor. I will say that I have walked the show floor a few times and there are two booths outside the usual suspects (Samsung, LG, Sony, etc.) that were absolutely packed with people. The first is Snap One. The company brought its Halo remotes with brand-new firmware to the show, Its booth was constantly surrounded by crowds and crowds. You can see more of the new features for the remote here. (Extended battery life, more reliable Wi-FI.)

Commercial Integrator Expo 2023: Snap One Talks Halo Tactile, Halo Touch Remotes With New Firmware

The second constantly busy booth at this show was definitely Origin Acoustics. If you’ve seen this demo before (or a similar one) you’ll know how fun it is! The crowd definitely loved the bass. I’ll bring up Origin Acoustics again for a different reason, but for now, here’s a video of what this audio demo looked and sounded like.

OK, now here are a few of my favorite products that I got to take a look at throughout the day:

The Basalte Fibonacci light switch — this light switch is probably the most aesthetically pleasing one I’ve seen on the show floor. Comes in good colors, very modern without looking too futuristic, and its design is inspired by Fibonacci’s golden ratio.

Ring camera — you know this brand already because most of us have Ring cameras. But if you’re someone who cares a lot about the aesthetic, even of your front door, Ring has even more options for you. I was excited to see that this company brought a booth to CEDIA Expo/CIX to detail its solutions for the channel. Yes, consumers can buy Ring cameras and install them on their own, but they aren’t going to look top-notch. Plus, Ring has tons of integrations (one with Lutron to automatically turn on lights as someone stands on the porch, for instance), so it’s easy to see how this DIY product can easily become not-so-DIY. Check out this example installed flush with the door. Looks so much cleaner and once again, not a DIY install. I also learned about Ring’s options for construction sites and more. Keep an eye on this company, it’s working on diversifying its offerings!

That brings us to our final comment of the day: I attended the very first wedding to take place on the CEDIA Expo floor. (Also this is potentially the first and only wedding to ever take place on any trade show floor?) But we had an amazing time and even shot off confetti canons at the end. Congratulations to Joe Whitaker and Sarah Duvall! It was a pleasure getting to see you guys tie the knot!