CE Pro Community

Becoming an Authorized agent

2009-07-10T09:39:07-06:00

An area where more business can be found is in becoming an Authorized Agent for companies like DirectTV, Local Cable company, Dish Network, etc.

Does anyone have ideas around this? Has anyone done this and if so how is it working for you?

Other than the names listed above who else could be become an authorized agent for?

Home Security

2008-11-03T21:38:50-06:00

We opened two years ago as a two-person, part-time CE installer. We have been successful in the home audio and home theater markets and have also done a limited amount of CCTV. Because we have targeted middle income housing and have not pushed the high-end market, we have not done any home security systems. We realize there is a lot of opportunity with home security and we are starting to get interest from builders of high-end homes. We want to start slow and cover our bases before doing an installation. Are there any resources that anyone would recommend for learning more about home security?

Thanks

DirecTV Dealer Program

2009-01-30T17:11:34-06:00

Hello to all!
We are a small company based in Indiana. Our background comes from a production home systems. We are trying to fit ourselves into Mid and High End System market. We are trying to get advantage of almost every business opportunity. A year ago we started offering Alarm Monitoring Services. For a very long time we are considering of becoming a DirecTV dealer as well. Recently we have put more efforts in this direction. The solution we currently have is by offering this service through a third party. We have been told (a DirecTV Dealer) that in order to become a direct authorized dealer there is a requirement of selling a certain amount of contracts monthly. Unfortunately our main goal is not to do a satellite business, but rather being able to offer this service to our customers and therefore selling only when is needed. At the moment we are doing everything from selling to installing the service but still we are making half of the possible revenue. My point is: Can we become a Direct Authorized DirectTV Dealer without the constrains I described above? Has anyone experienced the problem we have or our research in this direction has not been sufficient enough?

Thank you All in advance!

Reactions to California TV Ban

2009-11-18T14:09:18-06:00

California just passed a ban on inefficient TVs starting in 2011. Has government intervention gone too far or is this something our country needs?

Here are the two sides: the CEA says the ban will hurt the economy and eliminate about 4,000 jobs in California; the CEC says the ban will save California residents money and save enough energy to power 864,000 single-family homes.

If you’re a California-based CE pro, how will this impact your business? If you’re a non-California-based CE pro, do you care?

Motorized Shades

2008-06-02T07:52:33-06:00

How many of you guys are offering motorized shade control? If so, who are you specing and what are some of your issues?

as an intergrator are you happy and where do you see the biz in the next 5 years

2009-11-13T08:27:39-06:00

I am the owner of a CI company in Fl we have been in business for 8 years and almost every year beating the last revenue wise. This past year and a half we have taken hits , gone up and down and it has been shocking and eye opening in a way.We focus on a high end market and its just not been here lately but we will still manage to finish this year in a very positive note.

I however have been having alot of thoughts as to where my boz and the industry is going. The industry has alot of “new ways to make money’’ but the proffit margins keep getting smaller and smaller , my question is where do you see the biz going? where do you see it in 5 years? do you still love it? do you think it will ever be the same? I know alot of us got into the biz cause we loved audio and had interest in automation and where it was going but the bottom line is that i loved the income i was making and while i still am making a good living i wonder if these next years will keep providing that?

your opinions?

Will Walmart TV Installations Catch On?

2009-10-23T13:34:22-06:00

Walmart is now installing TVs, PCs, and home theaters, charging $99 for a basic TV installation $399 for a premium TV service.

How big of a market is there for this? And how does it affect CE pros?

Residential Access Speeds in US?

2009-10-30T15:11:04-06:00

Interested in hearing about average speeds and services available in US to residential customers? Here on the Gold Coast in Australia there are still whole suburbs on dial up! This is due to an historic government owned monopoly and massive under-investment. The Australian government has just worked out they are getting left behind in the world and have started tendering out for a $43 Billion dollar National Broadband Network to give fibre to every premise. Big call in a country this size and it will require 25 - 30,000 staff and 8 years to complete. We have a few FTTH areas that are starting to see the benefits of Smart Wiring premises for the future but with the majority of the country on ADSL1/2+ they struggle to get good quality streaming video! I talk to people about the need to get ready for IPTV and they look at you like you are from another planet. Just interested to hear about whats coming??

Nomos

2009-10-27T09:04:11-06:00

Hello,

anybody know this system ???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WufdKiXCQRE

regards

Mike

MCE does not recognize my mp3 music. Is there a problem ?

2008-10-17T14:00:52-06:00

Please help me:

why MCE does not recognize my mp3 files? They´re located in the same folder as the default .wma music ( that plays perfectly ).