I had a new strategy to covering the CEDIA EXPO show this year; I wandered about the showfloor aimlessly with no real plans or specific objectives and when I found something that looked interesting, I'd pop in to take a closer look. If it was really interesting, then I'd ask the exhibitor to talk about the product while I video'd them. Quick upload to YouTube and BAM! I've got my show coverage done!

So here's the videos I shot at the show. If you missed CEDIA EXPO, this is a prett good idea of some of the cooler stuff there. (Though, I didn't video any of the home theater demos; it's too dark and loud in the rooms to get a decent video and pretty distracting for the other peopel attending.)

CEDIA had a Media Preview event on Wednesday before the show started and I really enjoyed it. It allowed you to see a lot of companies in a short period of time. No "active' demos but it gave manufacturers a small area to focus on their latest wares and gave you a point-of-reference on who you should seek out on the showfloor. These first videos are from that event.

Here is Control4 describing the new products they will be demonstrating at the EXPO:

HouseLogix explains their Voice Pod control system for Control4:

Betsey Banker from OmniMount demonstrates new flat panel mounting solutions:

Marantz shows off three new components including a Universatl Disc Player, slim-line receiver, and new pre-amp/processor:

Meridian shows off a new DSP in-wall speaker and the "world's smallest Sooloos":

Ever wondered what it was like to be at a press conference? Usually pretty boring, actually. These next two videos are from press conferences. The first is Sony's announcement of a pretty major partnership with Control4. This could turn out to be a pretty major deal for both companies:

This next video is from JVC's press breakfast where they announced NINE new video projectors. Here's the details on all of the models:

Now we head to the EXPO showfloor! First up is Darbee, a company that was a first time exhibitor to CEDIA. Their Darblet -- gotta say, hate the name -- is a video enhancement product that seems to lift a veil from images and produce more depth and contrast:

Andrew Jones is one of my favorite speaker designers, and his TAD loudspeakers use cost-no-object materials and sell for $60,000 a pair. When I heard he designed some $250/pair towers for Pioneer, I had to know more!

SurgeX is usually great for a demo because they are known for blowing stuff up. This year there were no pyrotechnics that I witnessed, but they had another cool product for remote IP access and control:

SnapAV introduced a couple of cool products that caught my attention. The first was the company's Wirepath DVR system that fully integrates with Control4 systems:

Also interesting was SnapAV's Watt Box power management system:

URC -- formerly Universal Remote Control -- demonstrated a new controller processor that utilizes gyroscopic "gesture' control similar to a Wii.

Kaleidescape adds some very cool new features to its free control app; integration with Rotten Tomatoes for movie reviews and Common Sense Media to see if shows are content appropriate for various age groups:

Nuvo Technologies introduced a *very* cool new wireless multi-room audio system that has me drooling to get my hands on for review! I really liked the interface and this looks like a product designed to clearly go after a certain palindrome-named manufacturer that rhymes with "onos"

I did several of these videos (as you can see) and no one came off more polished and camera ready and first-take-perfect than Ms. Olivia D (@olivia_lyn) from Pakedge. This young woman was just made to do marketing and be on the pretty-side of the camera lens, and it was terrific to finally meet her and experience her excitement for her company's products:

Integra had a very cool iPod dock that enables legacy systems to easily add AirPlay integration, a brilliant idea:

Fusion Research has been steadily working on improving its music server system over the past few years and they demonstrated the new OMS series at the show which packs a ton of features and functionality into a sub $1000 box:

I expected 4K to have a bigger splash at the show, but at least one exhibitor had a pretty major announcement. Sim2 announced a partnership with Christie Digital to bring commercial cinematic 4K experience to home. Sadly, the unit was only a static demo but here it is:

Walking down a random hallway on my way to an appointment at the Marriott, I saw this "in memorium" looking display which was the CEDIA Hall of Fame products. Here they are in all of their Sciacca narrated glory!

I specifically went to EXPO looking for new soundbar technology to bring in to our showrooom, and the Polk demo convinced me that this is one to put on the shortlist:

Leaf was displaying an INSANE 20x20 HDMI matrix switch that had so many connections on it, you plug things into both the back AND front. It can all be yours for a smooth $15,000:

Finally, I stopped by to see my friends at Definitive Technology and was blown away by the performance of their new Solo Cinema XTR soundbar. I was initially skeptical of the $2000 price point, but the performance was incredible with audio that stretches well out to the sides of the listening area for an immersive sound experience from a single speaker and powerful 8-inch sub: