West Coast Catalyst AV Distribution Network Member Custom Plus Distributing Announces Expansion in Northern California Auburn, WA – April 16, 2014 – Custom Plus Distributing and manufacturers’ rep firm Oliver Marketing today announced the addition of a new distribution warehouse in San Jose, California. This is the second location for the sister companies in Northern California. This announcement represents the fourth location for Custom Plus Distributing and Oliver Marketing, headquartered in Auburn, WA - with additional locations in Portland and Sacramento. The new location will be led by San Jose resident Kevin Mitchel, who brings a strong background in custom home audio and video, including years as a Regional Sales Manager for Atlona Technologies. “We’re excited about the appointment of Kevin Mitchel as Branch Manager,” said Mike Munger, General Manager for Custom Plus Distributing, adding “Kevin will be able to provide superior support to customers through his deep understanding of custom integration needs.”

​Denver, CO – April 10, 2014 – HCA Distributing (www.hcadist.com) – the Rocky Mountain region member of the Catalyst AV distribution network is gearing-up to host its annual Vendor Expo, held May 13 – 14 at the company's headquarters of 2650 W 2nd Avenue, #15. Event hours are 8 AM - 3 PM each day. Approximately 30 vendors will be represented including TiVo, EnGenius, Atlona, Sanus, Chief, Middle Atlantic and Sonance, with additional vendors expected to be announced shortly. The Expo will consist of product presentations, mini-trainings and one-on-one time with HCA staff and vendors. Refreshments and door prizes will be provided. HCA Distributing Principal Ron Perron invites all Rocky Mountain-area dealers to attend. For more information on the Expo, contact HCA Distributing at 303.339.8969 (or toll-free at 877.532.3027) or via email at info@hcadist.com. In other news, HCA Distributing is growing its sales staff with the appointments of several consumer electronics industry veterans: Michael Thompson will serve as HCA Distributing sales manager for Utah, western Wyoming, western Montana and eastern Idaho markets. Thompson was formerly Rocky Mountain Sr. Account Manager for AVAD where he was responsible for New Business Development. Thompson is based in Murray, Utah. He can be reached at 385.414.2791 and via email at michael@hcadist.com.

The certification propels the brand towards a leadership position in the CEDIA channel and further cements its value proposition of high-performance cost-effective structured wiring solutions Los Angeles, CA – April 7, 2014 – ICE Cable Systems today announced that its Cat5e and Cat6 cables have received HDBaseT certification. This means the products perform to specs as defined by the HDBaseT Alliance. According to ICE Cable President Brian Rizzo, the certification serves to propel the company towards a leadership position of HDBaseT Cat 5e/6 cable solutions in the CEDIA channel. It also further cements the brand’s value proposition of delivering high-performance yet cost-effective solutions. HDBaseT HDBaseT is a connectivity standard for whole-home and commercial distribution of uncompressed HD multimedia content. The cornerstone of HDBaseT technology is 5Play™, a feature set that converges uncompressed full HD digital video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, power over cable and various control signals through a single LAN cable.

Tony Fadell released a statement where he notes a potential issue with the CO detector in the NEST PROTECT. According to the release, they are recommending that the 'Nest Wave' feature be disabled by connecting the units to WiFi and letting them get the update. Any units in the field that are not being used in an application where they can access Wi-Fi are eligible for a refund. http://www.technologytell.com/hometech/105641/ouch-nest-stops-nest-protect-alarm-sales/