Howdy folks. Welcome to the Week in Playback. CEDIA announced it would be establishing a division for design-build outreach this week so I figured it might be pertinent to talk a little about that.
Design-build connections have been seen as a panacea for a lot of business woes in the industry, and a lot of that has to do with where these roles get positioned during the building process in comparison to integrators.
In going over some data from the recent Lighting & Shading Deep Dive survey we sent out (stay tuned for the full release of that), CE Pro found that in those conversations, integrators were leading the decision-making process a little over 30% of the time. Not great, not terrible.
The fact of the matter is that designers and builders are often some of the first trade roles to appear on a project (at least in America) and as a result they tend to lead a lot of decisions. That also means that custom integration, being as niche of an industry as it is, often does not get added on to the project until a lot later.
Plenty of work has been done to try and change that. Sometimes integrators might host events in showrooms and invite design-build roles to attend. Other times CE Pro will feature guest writers who can talk more about their successes in establishing design-build relationships.
CEDIA themselves have done plenty of work in trying to address this issue. The association has a few established connections within the design industry, most notably with the major kitchen and bath brand Kohler, as well as the National Kitchen and Bath Association, or NKBA.
A lot of time, effort, and resources have gone into bridge-building between custom integration and the design-build industry, and yet somehow the industry keeps coming up short. If you ask me, I think the lack of a formal notion of where integrators should appear on projects (and the lack of a formal job class for integrators) is still a major issue.
That’s something that this new division within CEDIA seeks to establish and given the fact that a dedicated workforce is now being applied to solving this issue, there’s a solid chance this initiative could work better than prior ones.
1. 2026 CE Pro BEST Product Awards Open
Source: 2026 CE Pro BEST Product Awards Now Accepting Submissions
Submissions for the 2026 BEST Product Awards officially opened Thursday, with early bird pricing now active.
“The CE Pro BEST Product Awards spotlight the most compelling innovations and standout services our editors encounter on the CEDIA Expo show floor each year. These winning solutions reflect how manufacturers are responding to the evolving needs of integrators and the homeowners they serve,” stated Executive Editor Zachary Comeau.
Deadline for all entries is July 17th, 2026 with the winners being announced at CEDIA Expo 2026 on September 3.
2. TCL Announces Entry into RGB Race
Source: The TCL Spring Launch Just Introduced the Company’s First RGB LED TV
TCL had its Spring Product launch over the weekend. The company added two new SQD-Mini LED TVs to its lineup as well as its first entry into the RGB LED TV race.
The SQD-Mini LED technology up until this point has largely been positioned in TCL’s portfolio as the company’s own answer to RGB LED technology on the color front. Still the SQD-Minis seem to have an edge over RGB in terms of pricing.
As TCL’s take on existing RGB LED tech, the RM9L uses the same color filter used in the SQD-Mini on top of the RGB LED architecture for more consistent coloration, according to the company. No release date has been announced just yet.
3. URC Expands Automation Engine with AI Agents
Source: URC Expands Automation Engine with AI Agents, New Environmental Sensing Capabilities
URC expanded its Total Control platform on Tuesday with a significant update to its Automation Engine, introducing a new framework for AI-driven “Agents” alongside additional environmental sensing capabilities aimed at delivering more autonomous system behavior.
The company says these Agents are designed to learn from homeowner behavior over time. For example, when a user manually adjusts a thermostat or lighting level, the system records that action and incorporates it into future automation logic.
Two new plugins, Temperature Sense and Humidity Sense, extend this environmental awareness further into climate and air quality management.
As part of the announcement, URC emphasized its approach to data privacy and security. The company says the Automation Engine is designed with local processing and controlled data governance, with learned behaviors and system configurations maintained within a secure environment.
4. CEDIA Establishes New Outreach Division
Source: CEDIA Targets Deeper Design-Build Integration with New Outreach Division
CEDIA is expanded its efforts to connect the custom integration channel with the broader design and construction community through the creation of a new Design & Build Outreach department on Wednesday.
As part of the initiative, the association has appointed Andrea Harvey as Director of Design & Build Outreach. In this role, Harvey will be responsible for building relationships with architects, interior designers, and builders while developing programs aimed at helping CEDIA members grow their businesses through increased collaboration.
According to CEDIA, the move is designed to position integrators more firmly within the residential design and construction process, while also driving broader adoption of integrated technology in both new construction and retrofit projects.
5. AVIXA Acquires Lightapalooza
Source: Commercial AV Group and InfoComm Owner AVIXA Acquires Lightapalooza
Pro AV trade organization AVIXA announced it is acquiring Lightapalooza from HTSA on Thursday and will co-locate the residential-focused lighting show with pro AV trade show InfoComm starting in 2027.
Lightapalooza, launched by HTSA in 2022, is focused on residential illumination, energy control, and natural light optimization. The event was created to bring together custom integrators, lighting manufacturers, designers, architects, and other stakeholders for education, product demonstrations, and networking.
The move takes Lightapalooza, which is typically held in smaller venues and which took place in a suburb of Austin, Texas this year, to InfoComm events that are typically held in larger convention centers in Orlando or Las Vegas.
The Week in Playback is CE Pro’s weekly news segment recapping the top five news stories from across the custom integration (CI) and smart home industries, focusing on recent and breaking stories ranked on importance and interest to the professional install channel.
