08.03.2007 — First-time CEDIA Expo exhibitor HTRoom.com offers "everything for the home theater room except the electronics," according to Damien Smith, sales manager.

Despite the lack of electronics in its product line, however, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based company has high-tech solutions for attendees.

The manufacturer of home theater seating and home theater décor items -- like wall panels, columns, wall accents, fiber-optic ceiling panels, home theater riser platforms and curtains -- is marketing a Web feature that integrators can use on their sites.

For dealers that don't have Web sites or would like to add a link to their Web sites where people can learn about and purchase HTRoom.com products, it has set up an "affiliate program."



Dealers can create a URL for the page or the Web site that begins with whatever they want and ends with .htroom.com. For instance, if a dealer named Audio Video World doesn't have a Web site, it can create an HTRoom.com page called audiovideoworld.htroom.com.

On the affiliate site, a dealer can display its logo and name and set the pricing for all of HTRoom.com's product line. The pricing is set with a multiplier based on MSRP. Consumers can purchase directly from the site, and yes, Smith says, dealers "can add their own products by adding links."

The cost to set up an HTRoom.com page is $199 or $299 with shopping cart, plus $59 monthly fee or $69 monthly fee with shopping cart. However, Smith says, the company will be offering a special deal for CEDIA attendees.

A unique feature of the HTRoom.com pages, Smith says, is its 3-D renderings. Consumers can select different items for their home theater décor and HTRoom.com can generate and email a rendering and an estimate.

While CEDIA Expo is new for HTRoom.com, it's been building seating for 35 years. About six years ago it started to focus on home theater furniture and soon began exhibiting at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

The CEDIA Expo makes sense because it attracts home theater dealers of all sizes, many of which can benefit from receiving assistance with their Web sites. "About 50 percent of the people who use our sites have pre-existing sites," Smith estimates, meaning the others are probably smaller dealers.

There is a lot more to talk about with CEDIA attendees than Web stuff, though, says Smith, who expects the company to demonstrate seat styles, wall paneling and fiber-optic panels as well. "We went a step beyond what other people are doing [with fiber-optic panels]," he says.

"We have an LED light box for it that will last 50,000 hours with no heat."