Can a trade show focusing on home electronics be green? CEDIA is certainly trying.

CEDIA Expo 2009, being held this week in Atlanta, has made some green initiatives such as eliminating paper from educational course guides.

According to the organization, last year CEDIA saved more than 10,000 pounds of paper by reducing print quantities, 9,000 of which was saved by moving to a paperless format for the CEDIA University course participant guides.

CEDIA is again offering its participants a chance to offset their carbon emissions from travel by donating $5 to the CarbonFund.org. Last year's CEDIA member donations went towards CarbonFund.org's reforestation projects.

There are bound to be more green electronics at the Expo, and CEDIA will mark the signs of companies exhibiting green products with a green icon (see above) in the showfloor pocket map, exhibitor signage, and the show directory.

There are two green sessions…

Digital Projection International (DPI) is rolling out a 3D turnkey package for the high-end home entertainment market and will demo the system in its booth (No. 519) at CEDIA Expo 2009.

The Total 3D Experience System, which was co-developed with Mechdyne, comes with a Windows-based media server and is designed to provide a variety of 3D viewing. It even comes with pre-loaded 3D content and a pre-programmed iPod touch for system control.

The pre-configured packages are customizable and every system includes:

• A TITAN or LIGHTNING 1080p 3D display
• The Dimension server, a military-grade high-capacity, high-bandwidth 3D media server
• A graphics adapter capable of rendering 1080p gaming and HD content at frame rates up to 120 Hz
• Blu-ray drive compatible with future Blu-ray 3D releases and current active stereo 3D movies
• Preloaded stereographic viewers, 3D games and 3D demo movies
• Active 3D glasses
• IR emitters to synchronize the server, projector and 3D glasses
• A pre-programmed iPod touch for touch screen…

Jeff Boccaccio, president of DPL Laboratories, Inc. (DPL Labs) and regular HDMI Corner columnist in CE Pro, will present a new seminar at CEDIA Expo 2009, “How to Do More with HDMI One Dot Four.”

This new seminar will detail HDMI's new specification revision 1.4 and will help integrators and installers take full advantage of the expanded capabilities this new revision offers.

The "How to Do More with HDMI One Dot Four" session will take place each of the first three days of the Expo in different locations.

Boccaccio will also conduct various product sessions and "Ask the Expert" sessions. He will be holding the sessions in booths of Honeywell, Ethereal, DataComm and in the CEDIA Learning Labs sponsored by ADI. The schedule is:

Thursday, Sept. 10

• 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m., "How to Do More," Ethereal, Booth #1469
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.,…

Colorado vNet, instead of having a mega-booth at CEDIA Expo 2009, has opted for a smaller presence on the showfloor. It's using the event to kick off its 60-city “Ultimate Control Tour”.

“We have to spend our marketing dollars wisely — just as any business in this economy," says Scott Stephenson, Colorado vNet director of marketing. "We questioned if it was more important to spend gobs of money to ship our 40 x 50 booth to CEDIA — or provide the support necessary for our dealers to close more business.

"We could have pulled out of the show altogether like many other companies, but we chose to both support the CEDIA organization and our dealers, whether they attend CEDIA or not.”

Colorado vNet still has a 30 x 30-foot exhibit space, booth No. 2637.

First Stop, Atlanta

The road show will journey across the United…

The new Digital Signal Experts Group (DSEG) is offering CE Pro readers $100 off on its Digital Signage Certified Experts Workshop (Course ESD077) at CEDIA Expo 2009 on Wednesday, September 9 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

CE Pro's recent downloadable Webinar on digital signage identified this commercial area as a strong possible niche market for residential integrators to explore.

The course covers:

• The seven parts that make up a digital signage system
• How to understand potential clients and applications for digital signage
• How to conduct a needs-analysis for a system
• The fundamentals of designing a system, including hardware, software, networking and integration.

The course is presented by Alan Brawn of Brawn Consulting and offers 4 CEU credits. To register, click here and use Discount Code DSEGCEDIA to get $100 off.

Related: Check…

MIAMI, Fla. — Niles Audio Corporation, The First Name in Custom Installation, has announced plans to hold a series of interactive and educational dealer events, including a Business Dynamics Seminar featuring leading economic analyst, Alan Beaulieu, at CEDIA Expo 2009.

Dealers attending CEDIA Expo 2009 are also able to participate in a series of Town Hall Meetings where they have the opportunity to engage with and provide feedback directly to Frank Sterns, president of Niles. Additionally, Niles plans include training seminars, which provide attendees with the knowledge to design, install and program Niles ZR-6 MultiZone and IntelliControl ICS systems.

Dealers are invited to register for each of the events at the Niles CEDIA 2009 Web site, http://www.nilesaudio.com/cedia09.php, or at the Niles’ Concierge Booth #1761 on the expo floor.

“Niles is committed to adding value and maintaining strong relationships with its dealers,” said Frank Sterns, president of Niles. “In addition to offering a complete and up-to-date product assortment, we are dedicated…

VAN NUYS, Calif. — AVAD LLC, North America's leading distributor of custom electronics, will demonstrate how "One Call Does it All" for custom installers at booth 1765 at CEDIA Expo 2009, held Sept. 9-13 in Atlanta, Ga.

In addition to having the opportunity to learn more about AVAD's Integration Partners program, its roster of the industry's most trusted residential and pro AV brands, in-depth training opportunities and unique dealer programs, attendees to the AVAD Booth will have the opportunity to win a limited-edition AVAD Guitar on each day of the show.

"AVAD is, and has always been, committed to the unique needs of the custom installer," said Jim Annes, vice president and general manager of AVAD. "From home theater to pro AV, we provide installers with an extensive range of the products, training and support programs—all the resources they need to help manage and grow their business. We look forward to demonstrating how dealers can rely on…

ADI is giving away some hot prizes, and offering hands-on education, during the CEDIA Expo 2009 (#1650) in Atlanta from September 9 – 13 as part of its “winners theme.”

The highlights include:

• Visitors to the company’s booth can enter to win a brand new Chevy Corvette Coupe and attend a special customer appreciation event.
• Attendees will have a chance to participate in the ADI Player’s Club program for their chance to win a new Hitachi UltraThin HD 32-inch flat screen monitor. The daily drawing for the Hitachi flat screen will take place in ADI’s booth on September 10, 11 and 12 at 4 p.m.
• ADI is sponsoring the CEDIA Learning Labs to provide attendees with a hands-on educational experience using the latest technology. The Learning Labs will host 12 CEDIA University courses. The four labs will include a Computer Lab, Cable, Connector & Testing Lab, Audio & Component Installation Lab, and Video Display Technology & Calibration Lab.
• ADI will also host its fourth annual customer appreciation event with…

Universal Remote Control (URC)’s CEDIA training sessions will be “packed”… literally. The company will be holding 16 separate training classes, giving away $250,000 worth of prizes, and holding its Top Gun Installation Contest in Atlanta during the CEDIA Expo from Sept. 9-13.

The first 2,000 attendees will receive an upscale OGIO backpack from URC that includes an audio sleeve and water bottle pocket. The company’s sessions all take place in Training Room A412 at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Among the courses taking place are:

• Universal Remote Control Lighting: Native, Simple, Scalable
• High-End Control at Down-to-Earth Pricing
• Ultra-Fast Text-based Programming: MX-900 and More!
• Deliver Rock-Solid, Lightning Fast Networks
• Introduction to CCP: The Whole House Approach to Programming
• Intermediate CCP: Programming the 2-way Remotes and More
• Advanced Programming in CCP

Other sessions include a one-on-one session with URC’s Eric Johnson and his product development team, and programming tips from Hank Eisengrein.

The Top Gun contest, which takes place on Thursday,…