OK, so we've all made it through 2010 and the many challenges it presented! Indications are that 2011 holds great promise for our industry and our economy. Control the Universe will continue to bring you news, tips and advice to help you succeed in this new year.
URC Senior Vice President and General Manager Doug Cole would like to share a few words (click on the image to play):
Thanks, Doug! One thing you'll notice this year is that we'll be sharing many more videos about our products, our people and our initiatives. We hope you'll find them useful. You can follow us on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/URCRemotePatrol.
The holidays are barely over, and many parts of our nation are struggling with deep snow and subzero temperatures. These facts can mean only thing: it's time to pack for the Consumer Electronics Show!
After previewing our new Total Control product lineup at CEDIA EXPO, we went back to the lab and made a few refinements based on the input we received. As this is being written, we're all up to our elbows in alpha testing—which, we must say, is going great.
In our suite at CES, we'll reveal the refinements to a handful of dealers and journalists. Shortly thereafter—once we're 100 percent sure that we're satisfying all of your needs—we'll roll out the product.
This may not be the fastest route to market, but we believe it's the most reliable. After all, it's always better to get what you really want than it is to merely like what you get.
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URC's Commercial Division Chief Answers YOUR Questions
In conjunction with the launch, Commercial Integrator editor-in-chief Tom LeBlanc has asked our own Jamie Finnegan, national sales manager for URC's commercial division, to take questions from the commercial integration community. If you do commercial work, we encourage you to participate in this interview. Click here to post your question for Jamie!
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Know Your Industry Journalist: John Sciacca
John Sciacca & his father, also John.
John Sciacca of Residential Systems, Sound+Vision and custom dealer Custom Theater and Audio recently spent some time answering our questions about his work, his career and his extracurricular interests.
John's unique perspective on our industry as a journalist owes quite a bit to his day job: He's a custom installer with South Carolina's Custom Theater and Audio. Despite that full-time gig, John writes regularly for Residential Systems and produces a monthly column and reviews for Sound+Vision. He also writes what he calls "a (near) daily blog" on his own site that he describes as "way more 'John with the filter off.'"
What motivated you to become a journalist?
I've always loved writing from as far back as I can remember. I would create little "choose your own adventure" stories on my Commodore 64 – written in BASIC! – that I would have my friends and family play. Back in school, I took all of the creative writing and journalism classes available and always really loved them and did well.
After high school, I worked as a golf professional and started writing a monthly column called "The Assistant's Alley," where I gave tips and other golf-related observations. It was my first real taste of people coming up to me and saying, "Hey, I loved what you wrote!"
I actually wrote a blog on my journey into journalism. It's still amazing to me that I can sit at my computer with nothing but my thoughts and ideas and then turn them into something that a) some people will pay me for and b) other people seem to really enjoy reading.
When did you start writing for magazines and web sites?
My first published piece was for Golf World magazine back in 1996 on working with the Secret Service to host President Clinton for a round of golf. It was my first paid piece and showed me that if you look at the same thing that everyone else is looking at (playing golf with the President), but through a different lens (the Secret Service side of things), there could be an entirely new and interesting story. My first "industry" piece was for a short-lived publication called Audio-Video Shopper on buying electronics via mail order.
What's the best feedback you've ever received for one of your articles?
I do love the "you made me laugh until I peed" or "I sprayed coffee all over my monitor" comments. One journalist referred to me as her "writer hero," which was amazingly flattering, and another journalist said it was too bad I wasn't a hot chick, which I'm taking as a compliment. The CEO of Kaleidescape e-mailed that something I wrote was the best thing ever written about their product. Other than those types of comments, I love when someone tells me that I have been able to say exactly what they were thinking or feeling, or when I've shown them a different way of looking at something.
John and his wife, Dana.
Tell us about your blog!
Ahhh, my blog. Where to start? I started it back in February as a way to try and get a little more exposure for myself, but then, the more I wrote, the more addicting it became. I must say that I am *obsessed* with the analytics: Who comes to my site, how did they find me, what did they read, etc. I get A LOT of hits from people searching "M16 lamp" (about a hotel I stayed at in Beverly Hills where they had a lamp made from an M16, a decorating option I heretofore hadn't realized was available) and "what does a silenced weapon sound like" (a guest blog from my cousin, a Navy SEAL, who explains how silencers work and how they really sound). Someone also found me by Googling "incinerated testicles," and for a while my site was the number-two hit on Google when you searched that term, which I'm not entirely certain how to react to.
Writing the blog has really helped me to hone my "voice" and style and turn little thoughts into long expositions. My blog is definitely not the typical, regurgitated press release. My blog is about things that are going on in my life, but not totally confined to the CE world: What movies we're watching, customers that came into our store, arguments I've had with deli counter workers, my fascination with the Sky Mall catalog, etc. It is often CE in nature because that is such a large part of my life, but just as likely to be about something that arrived in the mail that day. I've even written blogs ABOUT blogging (here and here).
You're not afraid to be controversial. Do you view your columns and blog as an attempt to move the industry forward, or is it more of a way for you to vent your frustrations and concerns?
Well, I'm not looking to be controversial just for controversy's sake; I'm looking to be honest, and sometimes being honest can be controversial. But I haven't written anything that I don't stand behind as, right or wrong, that is the way I feel. Also, I'm not looking to be hurtful. Some people look to pick a fight or be mean, just because they can, and that's not what I'm about either.
Sometimes the blog is a vent, and sometimes it is trying to nudge people along. I wrote a piece called "Custom Installation State of the Union Address" that talked about some of the problems I see facing the install industry. This was both a vent and a chance for people to offer suggestions and solutions. Sometimes, if I think I have a good idea about something (like adding Escient features to Denon and Marantz receivers or Kaleidescape adding Netflix the way Sooloos has Rhapsody), then I'll put the idea in a blog and then send it along to the PR people to read.
The blog has really just been a way to share with people how I'm feeling about things... but, in a skewed-perspective, John sort of way.
How long have you been in the custom installation business?
I started with Custom Theater and Audio back in March of 1998. Prior to that, I was a giant home theater enthusiast masquerading as a golf professional.
We are located in Murrells Inlet, S.C., and have been in business since 1995. Including myself, we have six employees. We do a lot of distributed audio and home theater installs and have a fully functional showroom with several demo systems and a really nice home theater.
One of the biggest challenges we face is that these are second and third homes for many of our customers, so even though they are affluent, they aren't looking to put a lot of technology into their vacation houses. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Wow! I love it! That would be great for my home in New York! But for here, I just want..." So, for all you dealers in New York, you're welcome!
Describe, if you can, the average day of John Sciacca.
Our store doesn't open until 10, so I usually wake up at a leisurely 8:45. Open up the shop, see if there are any crises on the answering machine, check e-mails, check up on what the install team is doing that day and how jobs are going, etc. Lots of clerical stuff like entering worksheets and billing and invoicing and ordering, etc., interspersed with an insane amount of phone answering. I stay busy. Like at any given time I'll have five or six windows open and programs running; MS Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, our accounting software, Firefox tabs, etc. When there is a lull in one program, I'll jump to another.
Usually at some point something will inspire a blog, and I'll work that up. Get home around 6:30 and play with my daughter a bit before dinner, then after she is in bed my wife and I will watch some TV or a movie; usually I'm drinking a bleu cheese-stuffed olive martini. More often than not, I have my laptop out (unless we're watching something on our projector; the laptop disrespects the projection experience!), where I'll be jotting down notes on something I'm reviewing or story ideas or checking e-mail or looking at my website's analytics.
John and his daughter, Lauryn.
What's the coolest installation you've ever done?
My favorite install is the one in my own living room! I have a 7.1 channel surround system with a Marantz projector with anamorphic lens system and Draper motorized masking screen that I love. And it is also the install that I get to enjoy day after day.
Home theater is really my passion and what got me into this business, so those jobs are always my favorites. Our coolest installation for a client was probably a job we did up in North Myrtle Beach. It was featured in Sound + Vision. This customer has a killer, 3-chip Runco front pro with awesome sound, and an amazing, Hugh Hefner-like swim-in grotto in his pool. The outdoor area is sick.
What's the biggest challenge our industry faces? And what do you think the solution is?
I think the pricing competition from the Internet and the erosion of margins is one of the biggest. While writing this, I *literally* just lost a TV sale to a longtime customer because Amazon was selling the same set for $250 below our COST! He wanted to buy from us, but for the extra $350, just couldn't rationalize it. This was part of my "State of the Union Address" piece that I wrote. The long-term business model of "just sell more, do more jobs!" isn't sustainable. I think the solution is for installers to branch out into new areas: security, automation, commercial, etc. It is also going to take a change of mindset, and realizing that what worked before might not continue to work in the future.
What are your favorite things to do when you have free time?
With the writing and reviewing and the full-time day job and a four-year-old daughter, it doesn't feel like I have a lot of free time. I really love watching movies, and that is definitely something we do a lot of. I've been a Netflix subscriber since the first week they opened shop. Few things are as awesome as sitting on the couch with your whole family enjoying a great experience together. I did a blog on (see the running theme here?) the experience of watching Toy Story 3 with my family.
I also listen to a bunch of music. I have about 9,000 songs on my iPod, and at home we have Rhapsody and Pandora and music is almost always on from the second I walk in the door. I listen to a lot of things like John Mayer, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor and other music that my wife would describe as "melancholy" and "depressing." One of my favorite bands is They Might Be Giants, and I would seriously consider quitting work and following them around on tour if it wouldn't jeopardize my marriage and mortgage.
You would probably think that being an ex-golf pro and living in the golf capital of the world that I'd play a lot of golf, but sadly I barely play anymore. It just takes up SO much time and since I can no longer play to the same level I used to, it is more frustrating than fun. I'm trying to read more – actual print books and magazines! – so I don't spend all of my time being entertained by electricity. I've been really digging Lee Child and have read all of his Jack Reacher books.
One final, self-serving question: What do you think of URC?
I love URC. My personal "wand" is the MX-980 (and MSC-400) which is easy enough for my wife to be able to control our fairly complex (dual display, plasma plus projector) system. The principal remote we sell at our shop is the MX-880 with MRF-350, and we love the reliability of the RF operation. And with the new CCP software, programming has been unified so we can get in and get out quickly and reliably. I'm really excited to start playing with the new 2-way stuff and the audio distribution and new IP control devices. In my experience, everything that URC comes out with just works, and reliability is one of the most important things in the custom install world.
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Product of the Month: MX-980 & MRF-350
This month, we feature the everyday workhorses of the URC Professional line: the MX-980 RF remote control and the MRF-350 RF-to-IR base station.
The MX-980 is the preeminent one-way wand remote in our lineup. Its combination of a color LCD screen with hard buttons has proven to be our most popular configuration. Enhancing its popularity is what we believe is the best feature-per-dollar proposition in the industry: At $599 MSRP, many dealers have told us that they think we could sell it for at least $100 more.
The MX-980 is much more than a replacement remote. With your CCP programming skills, it can orchestrate the most complex system operations, controlling lighting and other devices your clients might never have dreamed possible, all with one button press. The MX-980's superior ergonomic design and button layout are optimized for ease of use. Your client's thumb is never out of reach of critical controls.
The MRF-350 is the perfect companion for the MX-980. Probably the all-time best-selling base station in the industry, it enables your clients to turn on or off up to six components, from anywhere in the house, with just the touch of a button. The MRF-350 is scalable; it can handle anything from a modest home theater system up to and including a sprawling sports bar. And because the RFX-250 antenna is detached, RF interference and operating range issues become things of the past.
Both products are available in 418MHz and 433MHz ("i") versions, for the utmost in versatility. If you're installing them now, you know how solid these products are. And if you aren't, what are you waiting for? Check them out today!
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URC Team Member of the Month: Dale Crawford
Dale Crawford, Product Designer
Dale Crawford, Product Designer
You may never have met Dale Crawford at one of our trainings or at the many industry events we attend, but his design influence is evident in many of our most popular products.
"I'm a tech geek," says Dale. "It's incredible to imagine a product, work with a talented group of product managers, engineers, and designers, and then ultimately hold in my hand a working product that started out as an idea in my head. It's like science fiction to me sometimes."
Dale's appreciation and aptitude for product design began early in his career. "I worked for a small software company in Houston that was acquired by Claris, a wholly-owned spin-off of Apple that never actually spun off," he recalls. "So I got to be a part of the early Apple culture. It was amazing to see a tech company operate around a 'design is king' principle. I eventually spent about the same amount of time working for IBM, which was still considered to be Apple's big competition at that time. At IBM, engineering was everything, so I got to see how those principles drive a company in a very different way."
Dale began working with URC in 2001 as a design contractor; among his many projects, he was involved in the initial conception of our legendary MX-3000 color tablet. He joined the company fulltime in 2005. "URC wasn't in the habit of hiring remote employees, so their vote of confidence to bring me aboard instead of keeping me as a contractor was a very proud moment," says Dale, who is based in Dallas. "I try every day to exceed expectations, because I know that remote employees don't get the face-time that employees in the home office get. I'm constantly amazed at the products I get to work with and the team I'm a part of."
Dale's initial role as a URC employee was that of instructional media designer, which led to another landmark innovation: Dale designed and managed the creation of our installers-only web site, the URC Control Room; the name and logo of the Control Room were Dale's ideas. "I interacted quite a bit with the team that did the coding for the web site, plus the creation of our first round of self-paced online classes," Dale recalls.
By 2007, Dale was being called more and more into product design discussions, so he stepped fulltime into the role of product designer. His continued focus is to design "the best hardware and software products I can."
At URC, product design is often a process of heated (though always respectful) debate. "It's always tough to consolidate the various technical requirements and the different aesthetic desires of the team into a single product design, whether that product is a remote control or a new 2-way module for a touch screen," says Dale. "Everyone on the team puts their passion into it, and although that results in butting heads sometimes, in the end it also turns into better products."
The design of our award-winning MX-5000 is no exception to this rule. "The design of the MX-5000 is something I fought hard for when other team members had different design goals for that product," Dale says. "When the reviews for the product came back with quotes like, 'This remote should be on display in an art museum,' I felt extremely proud." As did our entire team!
Because Dale is in charge of all graphic design for URC's product development department, his day-to-day tasks vary greatly. Says Dale, "One day, I may be designing the physical housing of a new remote control; the next, I might design a new graphical template for a touch screen; and the next, I might spend calculating the X,Y coordinates of every graphic file on a remote to produce a technical specification for the engineering team."
Dale is a great "idea person," and one of URC's most accommodating employees, always willing to pitch in and help even when his do-to list is full. As such, he's also one of URC's legendary burners of the midnight oil. "It has become somewhat of an ongoing company joke that I tend to work very late to get my projects in, sometimes turning them in at 2 or 3 in the morning," says Dale. "Design is not a process that molds to Gantt charts very well, so if I need more time to get a project right, I make that time during nights or weekends. Working from home lets me do that with less disruption to my family life."
In his personal life, Dale is a thrill-seeker. "Although I've calmed down as a middle-aged father of twins, I have a pretty adventurous heart," he says. "I've made it a point to do things that lots of people never get around to doing, like scuba diving, parasailing, bungee jumping, skydiving, rock climbing and writing a novel. I'm a notorious science geek, and most of what I read is scientific literature. Friends often tease me that while most men have a Sports Illustrated on their nightstand for casual reading, I've got a stack of back issues of Scientific American."
URC thanks Dale for his dedication, creativity, passion and, yes, his geekiness. That's why he's our Team Member of the Month!
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Meet the URC SR3 "Super Remote." It controls three devices, doesn't require programming and sells for under twenty bucks. Watch this video and we guarantee that you'll think of someone in your family (or neighborhood) who needs this remote!
URC thanks Talk of the Town in Allendale, NJ, for the use of their showroom.
Talk of the Town
"Designing Your Digital Lifestyle"
319 Franklin Turnpike
Allendale, NJ 07401
(201) 236-1006
We also have plenty more videos on the installers-only URC Control Room site. Not a URC Control Room member yet? Shame on you! Click here to join.
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"It either says Play Blu-ray or Slay Blue Jay."
Play Our Caption Contest! Control the Universe readers, it's time to put on your thinking caps and have some fun with our Caption Contest! We'll select the funniest, most creative caption and feature the winner in next month's issue. Bonus: The winner of our caption contest will receive a gift card!
The fine print with all the necessary legalese is here.
OK, on to the fun: What should the caption for this photo be? Email your caption to editor@universalremote.com!
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Your Business
By Glenn Gentilin
URC Regional Product Specialist
Last month, I discussed the importance of billing your customers for those last-minute additions that can drag down your bottom line. This month, I'll tackle the task of actually getting paid for those things.
Especially important is how to consistently get that final payment. Most customers don't realize that the last payment generally contains your profit from the job. Getting that check, with no concessions, is key to growing your business. My tips:
Don't automatically give a discount when bidding a job. When you include that line item for a 10 percent discount on every proposal, you need to sell twice as much to make the same amount of profit. So halt this practice. You might lose half of your clients, but you'll still make the same net profit...with half the work!
Lay out a payment schedule when the proposal is generated. Show everything that will be done on the project, and clearly spell out how much and when payments are expected. If your state allows it, get 50 percent up front. Then let the client know what parameters will be met and how much is due upon completion of all aspects of the job. If the scope of the job changes, rewrite both the proposal and the payment schedule. Make sure the client signs off on the new document and note that it supersedes the earlier one.
Get compensated for your time. Estimate how long it'll take to finish the project, but if something takes longer due to unforeseen issues with the house (or interference from another trade), inform the client of the problem when it arises, and that it will increase the cost due to the added time. Also, include your programming labor as a separate item that's billed at a higher rate than your standard install labor rate. Technical labor is worth more; clients know it and will pay more for it.
Remind the client in advance when payments are coming due... and exactly how much is due. Most customers have no problem paying you for your work, but they need it to be clearly spelled out. Whenever you do something at the job, document it and leave the client a copy. When they give you a check, or you run their credit card for a payment, also document that on their paperwork.
Beware "Job Creep." Customers love to add equipment or extra work to existing projects once work has already begun. This "Job Creep" can be profitable, but only if you charge for the last minute additions.
At the time for final payment, confirm everything on the original work order is completed, then perform a hands-on tutorial. Remind them of the original plan, and how the system meets those expectations. Run them through the operation, and confirm they're comfortable. Let them handle the remotes themselves so they fully understand how to control the system.
Once they're satisfied, get that last check or the OK to run their card. To avoid surprises, tell them exactly how much is due when you set up the meeting. Bring their file with you so you can show them what was done, and what payments were already made. If they remember making a payment for additional work, show them exactly how that payment was applied. There should be no questions, so they'll have no issues cutting that final check.
The New Year is a perfect time to implement these "best practices." Try it with your next customer. Your extra diligence will boost your bottom line!
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Hank's Tip of the Month
By Hank Eisengrein
URC Regional Training Manager, East
Happy New Year from Hank and all of us at URC!
During the holidays, your loyal customers received fancy new electronic gifts from family and friends. In fact, in 2010, electronic devices ran neck and neck with clothing as key gifts.
Bewildered consumers opened these new electronic wonders and haphazardly tried to use them in conjunction with their existing entertainment systems. Maybe they got a new TV, a Blu-ray player, a gaming system, or quite possibly something designed in Cupertino and assembled in China.
The salient message is that you, the experienced URC custom professional dealer, can integrate these new gifts into your customers' systems. You can properly configure and calibrate their gifts to deliver maximum enjoyment.
Just think of little Johnny, Dad and Aunt Ester all struggling to figure out the proper way to enjoy the benefits of their new technology. Do they really know what to do? Of course not, especially if they're average Americans who refuse to read any manuals or instructions.
You, the CE professional, can save the day. So contact each of your loyal customers and request a meeting to evaluate their new goodies. Then show them you have the chops that will allow them to really find out just what their new electronic devices can do.
If they got a new TV, reprogram their custom remote to allow one-touch automation. Use the IP network features to show the customer how the extended features and widgets work just like the TV commercial they see on the weekend NFL games.
Did they add a new Blu-ray player? Bring a reference Blu-ray Disc (one where everyone is not blue) and tweak the system to deliver a big improvement in audio and video performance.
Have they added a motion sensor to their video game system? Meld the game into their overall entertainment experience.
Have they received a new iDevice? Install the URC PSX-2 with an upgrade to their custom-programmed remote and unleash the full potential of that iDevice.
While you're at it, take the opportunity to add more URC remotes in other areas of the home. Look for possible upgrades to family members' bedroom systems to find ways to both boost profits and make your loyal customers even happier.
The urgency of the holiday season fades quickly, though, so broadcast to all of your customers the idea of a "Pre-Super Bowl System Checkup." Tell them TODAY that they shouldn't wait until the last minute to ensure their systems' peak performance for the biggest game of the year.
Don't delay. Start your post-holiday, pre-Super Bowl marketing today. You will realize a nice increase to your bottom line.
And can March Madness be far behind?
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Cable Conversation
By Brian Fallon
URC Business Development Manager
The Nielsen Company estimates that there are over 115 million TV households in the United States. We are doing our best to put a URC remote in every one of them.
How? The obvious answer is URC's award-winning Residential and Consumer products. However, URC also designs, manufactures and sells many of the intuitive remotes provided by your local cable company.
To put the number of TV households we reach in perspective, it's helpful to look at the major providers. The Top 10 subscription broadcast providers shown in the chart (Cable TV, Satellite and Telcos included) account for nearly 90 million subscribers combined.
Chances are, your installs include set-top boxes from one of these providers. So be sure to program all of the features of the cable remote into the new URC remotes you sell and install. Your clients will appreciate easy access to their provider's On Demand features, as well as the ability to easily navigate interactive content with the four OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform) buttons: A, B, C and D.
Cable continues to evolve, with plans to deliver more interactive and streaming content to TVs and other household devices in the future. Operators take the threat of "cord cutting" seriously, despite estimates that only one percent of subscription broadcast customers have opted to cancel their pay TV service in favor of accessing content available on the Internet (according to Magid's "2010: The New Age of Video Entertainment" study).
URC continues to work with our partners in the cable industry to provide innovative control solutions in a dynamic marketplace. So expect more from the subscription broadcast providers and the remotes they deploy. They will both undoubtedly change in the near future to maintain a presence in your daily life. Benjamin Franklin said it best: "When you're finished changing, you're finished." Cable operators understand those words, and are making the changes they need to remain compelling choices for consumers in our rapidly evolving digital entertainment world.
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Tech Tips
By Joe Salvatore
URC Technical Support Manager
A new year is always the perfect time to start with a fresh perspective on things, especially programming practices. What better time to implement the simple–but often overlooked–task of ensuring your CCP software is up to date before you begin programming a new file for a customer?
"What's the diff?" you may ask. Well, for one, we may have issued an IR/IP/RS-232 database update with the latest models of LED TVs or AVRs, perhaps one of which you'll be coincidentally implementing into your very next install. Don't wait until you hit the jobsite to update CCP; you might not be able to do so if there's no internet connectivity there (remember last month's column: get yourself a smartphone capable of tethering).
Secondly, we simply may have added nice little enhancements to things like 2-way modules, or even new graphics. Don't deprive your customer of some new goodies! Plus, you'll gain the opportunity to keep programming hang-ups to a minimum.
Lastly, you may have updated your programming PC with an application or OS update that could inadvertently alter the performance of CCP. We may have addressed the problem already on our end, but you won't know for sure unless you update CCP.
You'll never need to wonder if an update is available, because CCP will prompt you with a Windows dialog-style message whenever one is available. However, you must have internet connectivity to receive this message. That's why we always stress updating CCP at the shop, before you head out. Avoid the unnecessary stress; there's enough necessary stress to worry about.
Best wishes from URC Tech Support for a happy and profitable new year!
By Scott Srolis, URC Eastern Regional Sales Manager and
Chris Discotto, URC Account Representative, Mid-Atlantic Region
It seems like everyone loves the iPad and its hundreds of thousands of apps. But how can the iPad help you grow your business? And which of those apps can further that goal? We've done some legwork for you.
Here are two apps we've identified that may enable you to use the iPad to close more deals. Click on the links to download!
Note-Taking: Evernote
Good follow-up is the hallmark of a good salesman. An important step in any sale is taking good notes–and then, not losing them!
Evernote is the most popular note-taking app for the iPad. This free app runs natively on iOS, Android, MAC and PC, and then syncs across all four platforms. With Evernote, you can take notes on your iPad and then edit them on your PC or Android phone. Along with text notes, you can add pictures and voice memos.
File Access: Dropbox
Have you ever wished you could have all of your information, pictures, specs, etc., at your fingertips to show to your customer? Maybe you're at your customer's home and need to remind her of how a particular product looks. Maybe you need to pull up a manual in the middle of the showroom or at a customer's house. This is where Dropbox comes in.
Like Evernote, Dropbox works on iOS, Android, MAC and PC. When you first download Dropbox on your computer, it creates a folder where you can store files that can be easily accessed via the web, your phone or your iPad. Best of all, you can share designated folders with coworkers, allowing each person to update their own materials, and giving everyone access to the documentation for all the brands you carry.
For example, it would be possible to have one folder for each brand with all information for every model, then parse out the responsibility for updating brand information by sharing the top-level folder with coworkers. This way, online or off, on a computer or portable device, everyone has all product information at their fingertips. Additionally, Dropbox does real-time updates, so as soon as a file is updated, it's instantly available to everyone with access to the folder. A free subscription to Dropbox comes with 2GB of storage, and you get 250MB for every person who you invite to join as a free member.
Leverage these apps to enhance your sales and make your client visits more productive. And tell us about other apps that have enhanced your business! Just email us at editor@universalremote.com and we'll share your thoughts and apps with Control the Universe readers in an upcoming issue.
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Strictly Commercial
By Jamie Finnegan
URC National Sales Manager, Commercial Division
As we all know, the economic turmoil over the past few years has impacted our nation in a fundamental way. We've all read dozens of articles and watched hundreds of news shows detailing these struggles and trying to figure out what we should do as a nation to get out of them.
I promise you, this is no such article. However, the impact of all of this economic mess has left no doubt about the fundamental shift in how we as an industry do business.
There have been times in the past quarter-century when economic difficulties have caused us to pause and re-evaluate, but I believe we can all agree that the shift created by this wave of struggle has a tectonic feel to it. In our world, end users, dealers, specifiers and consultants are all being forced to permanently change how they roll.
Let's drill down one more notch into our world and take a look at commercial control systems. Who instinctually comes to mind? Crestron and AMX, right? For essentially the last 20-plus years, these two companies have been the Coke and Pepsi of the commercial control systems world. A few smaller companies have come and gone, but there really have only been two players.
Let me go on the record as saying that I highly respect both companies. In fact, I worked for AMX and was a dealer for both for over a decade. I acutely understand and acknowledge the value proposition these two major players bring to the table.
But the rules have changed in the control systems industry. End user expectations of what control system technology can and should accomplish is at an all-time high, while expectation of what this technology should cost is at an all-time low. This is bad news for Crestron and AMX... and for their dealers.
No longer is it an option to sell expensive glass (touch screens) with costly programming into bread-and-butter control systems applications. End users simply are not going to pay for it. Dealers and consultants are being forced to provide cost justification more so now than ever before.
For the most part, the AMX and Crestron platforms are built around larger enterprise deployments, but the prototypical InfoComm integrator has a need for an easy-to-deploy, cost-effective solution. Until recently, dealers were either forced to specify an over-engineered solution for their applications, or simply eliminate the control layer from their designs completely.
URC has a proven track record in the residential control arena–most of the successful CEDIA dealers specify and sell our products–and we haven't entered the commercial integration market lightly. We see a huge opportunity, a need that is being left unsatisfied. Our low-cost, high-function control technology fits a large and growing need in the commercial space.
Bottom line: Crestron and AMX are great for the huge jobs. But they're too much for most everyday installations. We're here to say that control should be part of EVERY job, and we're the company to call on when the job isn't too big, and the budget is restrictive. We don't require a huge investment in programming; we offer free education that will get you up and running in no time. We offer a powerful programming platform, CCP, that powers all of our products.
Try us out, and who knows? Maybe you'll use us for some of your bigger commercial jobs too.
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URC Tool Box App of the Month
SportsTicker
With the SportsTicker app by Jon Fischer, you now can enable your clients to view live baseball, football, basketball, hockey, NCAA football and NCAA basketball scores directly from any of our network remotes (MX-6000, MX-5000 and KP-4000). Download this cool new 2-way app from the URC Tool Box and easily add it to your upcoming projects!
To access SportsTicker and many more apps in the URC Tool Box, log on to the URC Control Room.
Haven't checked out the Tool Box yet? What are you waiting for? Do it today! Just log onto the URC Control Room and click "URC Tool Box" on the left side of the home page.
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URC Complete Control Partner of the Month: Schmartz
This month, we salute our partner Schmartz, whose control codes are now available in our library. As we all know, the Sony PlayStation 3 has proprietary control, which can confound a URC installer's efforts to provide a customer with complete control. The Schmartz PS3IR-1000 comes to the rescue by enabling the PS3 to be controlled via IR; it simply plugs into the PS3's USB port to enable full control–including the ability to power the PS3 on and off.
This small item delivers huge value to our customers. In fact, we'd agree with Schmartz's terrific tag line: It is indeed "Schmart Stuff!"
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International News
URC's international distributor, BMB Electronics, will once again be a proud participant in the annual Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show, to be held from February 1 to 3 at the RAI Centre in Amsterdam. BMB will place a special focus on URC's new Total Control product line, which cements URC's status as a whole house control solutions provider. URC will be featured in its own booth, 1L35, right next to the BMB Booth, 1K28.
In other ISE-related news, the URC Network Keypad Solution (KP-4000 and MRX-1) is a finalist for a 2011 EMEA+ Technology InAVation Award in the category of Most InAVative Commercial Control Solution. Voting is open to the public, so you can help URC win this prestigious award! Simply click on this link to vote. The award winners will be announced at ISE.
BMB and URC hope to see you at ISE!
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Upcoming Events
Stay up-to-date with our training and events schedule for January. Click Here
