New product releases and info webinars, training opportunities, and solutions for businesses of all types.

This year, although a wide variety of Crestron products were showcased at the Las Vegas fair, the exhibition was not limited to just that. “We presented what we call two ‘core experiences’ at the show”, says Joel Mulpeter, Crestron’s director of product marketing. “One was created for deployment in an organization's most impactful spaces: those large conference or training rooms, boardrooms, and so on”.

That larger core experience included content distribution (mainly utilizing DM NVX® AV-over-IP technology), intelligent video driven by Visual AI to automatically track and frame a presenter based on facial and motion detection (featuring the latest Automate VX solution and Crestron’s newest 1 Beyond camera technology — more on that in a moment), and a demo of how the room’s functions integrate with platforms offered by Microsoft and Zoom, all with Crestron’s robust control solutions driving the space. “Everything integrates with Crestron Flex products as well, naturally”, adds Mulpeter.

The other core experience was built around smaller, more flexible solutions. “It offered a one-touch meeting solution for small to medium spaces — and it’s built for rooms whose configurations are adaptable”, says Mulpeter. That includes dual-camera deployments (with intelligent video on board) and mobile audio solutions such as Crestron Flex Pods.

The experience, however, extended beyond the InfoComm show floor. “Our technology can be found in more than 40 properties in Las Vegas — and that’s not limited to the strip”, says Crestron’s VP of Hospitality Michelle Guss. “And it’s not limited to AV, either — although Vegas truly is on the cutting edge of that vertical”, she says. The demand for Crestron solutions is especially evident when it comes to the heart of the company’s mission. “Control systems are critical to everything in Vegas — from stadiums to sportsbooks”, says Guss.

Our clients are looking for the glue that can hold these systems together — and run those systems without any issues.

The training continues

The wide range of solutions offered by the line of DM NVX AV-over-IP products — and their continuing growth and popularity — are nothing short of remarkable. During the course of the show, Crestron presented a series of training sessions titled Explore Crestron DM NVX AV-over-IP Technology, hosted by Senior Technical Trainer Garrett Oster and Curriculum Development Manager Kyle Marles. Each session focused on a particular application, including Learning Spaces, Events and Entertainment, Enterprise IT, Digital Signage, Design and Integration, and Audio.

That training continues. Crestron is offering a series of webinars on the subject of the technology’s audio capabilities:

• True Scalable Audio with Crestron’s DM NVX AV-over-IP, providing insight into everything DM NVX technology has to offer for audio over the network, from Audio Edge Device endpoints to preamps, multi-channel streaming amps, and Audio-over-IP Saros® speakers. It’s an end-to-end solution to help you scale up based on your commercial audio distribution needs. (June 25, 11:00 AM ET)
• Streaming Music Services with DM NAX® Audio-over-IP, covering our new Audio Edge Device endpoint with Bluetooth® communications and the ability of the technology to cover every zone of an Audio-over-IP streaming amplifier with playback from a wide variety of built-in music services. (July 23, 11:00 AM ET)
• Expand Your DM NVX Technology Systems with Interoperable DM NAX Audio-over-IP Solutions, a high-level overview of all the deployments and use cases available to you when it comes to commercial audio. (August 22, 11:00 AM ET)

Another terrific development at InfoComm: Appspace digital signage is now built right into Microsoft Teams® Rooms — which, of course, runs on Crestron Flex solutions. Before this announcement, Microsoft Teams Rooms solutions were not able to run third-party content on the idle display. Digital signage is a driver for more connection to workers, informing them of events, announcements, and general details about the place they work. Here’s more:

New products

Crestron debuted our new Audio-over-IP Saros® Speaker at InfoComm. Built on DM NVX AV-over-IP technology, these speakers are a flexible, scalable audio solution: The active PoE Saros® IC4A audio-over-IP device can drive three passive Saros IC4P speakers, completing a four-speaker setup. This new Saros Speaker delivers high-performance, low-latency audio with DSP processing, and it’s compatible with AES67 (Dante® audio networking through AES67 compatibility mode), which means it integrates with all of our Crestron AV-over-IP devices.

Crestron introduced a number of products earlier this year, many of which were exhibited at InfoComm for the first time at a US trade show. Recent releases on display included:

• The New Crestron 1 Beyond Cameras with Optical Zoom — These four cameras provide intelligent video in your organization's larger spaces. They all rely on optical zoom, which provides much clearer images than those with digital zoom, which reduces pixel density as the image is cropped and “blown up.”
• The Automate VX 6.1 Speaker Tracking Solution — The Crestron Automate VX speaker tracking solution received an update that leverages Visual AI to automatically track and frame a presenter based on facial and motion detection for a best-in-class meeting experience.
• The Crestron Videobar 70 All-in-One Collaboration Bar — This true all-in-one device features Crestron Intelligent Video and exceptional audio to bring your hybrid meetings to life.
• The DM-NAX-XSP Audio Return Processor — This digital signal processor — our first Surround Sound decoding DSP — can bridge streaming TVs to Crestron’s DM NAX® Audio-over-IP multi-room audio distribution system.
• The Crestron DM-NAX-4ZSA-50 4+1 Streaming Amplifier — The scaled-down version of the DM-NAX-8ZSA is perfect for smaller deployments in restaurants, retail shops, or apartment settings. It’s also a great expansion amplifier for a larger existing system.
• Four New Crestron DM NAX® Audio Edge Devices for Residential and Commercial Integrations — These Crestron DM NAX® Audio Edge Devices — built with DM NVX AV-over-IP technology — can provide audio connectivity for everything from turntables to laptops to karaoke machines.

The Crestron DM NVX excellence awards

Speaking of DM NVX technology: As Crestron approaches shipping its one millionth DM NVX AV-over-IP unit, the company’s honoring its dealers with the Crestron DM NVX Excellence Awards, announced during InfoComm. Three Sales and Volume categories honored outstanding sales performance and deployment of DM NVX AV-over-IP technology in levels based on sales totals for 2023: The Platinum Award went to AVI-SPL, the Gold Award to National Technology Associates, and Ideum was honored with the Bronze Award.

Additionally, the Rising Star Award was presented to Quantum Technologies, Inc., in “recognition of a new dealer in 2023 who has demonstrated exceptional performance in DM NVX AV-over-IP technology sales”. The Early Adopter Award went to Key Code Media as “the dealer with the longest track record of DM NVX implementation — an accolade recognizing the pioneering spirit and innovative approach of a dealer who embraced the technology early”.

Hospitality solutions

Part of the Crestron booth included hospitality solutions, among them some experiences perfect for a Vegas rollout: Attendees were treated to a sportsbook installation driven by Crestron DM NVX AV-over-IP technology with a large display that showcased the power of DM NVX technology to show multiple sports at once via simple control.

The exhibit further showcased how the display can be easily split into several configurations, including a sports ticker in one portion of the screen. Also featured: A single-person sports betting carrell that allows the user to control the content, place wagers, adjust the lights, and even connect via Bluetooth and stream audio to a personal device (a feature rolling out soon as a free update).

Crestron’s hospitality offerings go well beyond sportsbooks, and the company’s been adapting both its commercial and residential products to meet the unique needs of hotels.

“There’s a huge opportunity for Crestron and our dealers in the ultra-high-end luxury guest room”, says Michelle Guss. Those high-end clients want all the amenities — and the same intuitive controls — they’re accustomed to at home. Because, once again: It’s all about the experience.