Stampede Joins Forces with InfoComm to Bring Pro AV Dealers the All New 2015 Stampede Big Book of AV North American Dealer Show & Conference Tour

The most ambitious, information- and product-packed series of local market exhibitions and conferences ever undertaken in the ProAV industry will kick off tomorrow, January 15, 2015, in Tampa, Florida as Stampede Presentation Products, Inc., together with InfoComm, begins the all-new, expanded and renamed 2015 Stampede Big Book of AV North American Dealer Show & Conference tour.  The inaugural stop on the 2015 tour will take place at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel.  Registration is open at www.bigboogofavtour.com.

“When you pack as many seminars, CTS RU-approved training sessions, and network opportunities together with an exhibition of this scale and scope, you simply have to rename the tour to better reflect its content,” said Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly.  “There simply is no better way for ProAV dealers and their customers to see, hear, and connect with the technologies, products, services, and training programs that will help them to significantly grow their business than this all-new Big Book of AV North American Dealer Show & Conference series.” 

Underscoring the scale of the 2015 tour, Kelly today announced that InfoComm Executive Director and CEO David Labuskes will deliver a keynote presentation at the Tampa stop entitled ‘The Exceptional Experience: A Fantastic Journey.’  “Today’s AV professionals are not in the equipment business,” Kelly emphasized.  “They are in the business of providing their customers with an exceptional experience that involves seeing, hearing, and connecting more clearly and more meaningfully, through the technology that we make available to them.  This is what David will address in his presentation and it promises to set the tone for the way all of us approach our businesses going forward.” 

In addition to the keynote presentation by Labuskes, the day will include no less than six training sessions and seminars delivered by industry-leading subject matter experts who will present on the technologies, products, and services that are combining to completely transform today’s ProAV industry.  Transforming it from an equipment-centric industry into an eco-system of products and services that are making every part of our personal and professional lives an experiential encounter through technology. 

By co-locating with InfoComm Roundtable Events, dealers and AV professionals have an opportunity to spend the day meeting with leading AV industry manufacturers, attending CTS-certified trainings, and participating in industry-focused roundtable discussions. InfoComm’s Regional Roundtable Events are a networking and business education opportunity that’s FREE to Stampede dealers and InfoComm members.

In addition, the Stampede Big Book of AV North American Dealer Show & Conference tour is geared to help owners, senior executives, engineers, and installers focus on the business opportunities inherent in the top nine vertical markets served by Stampede — Corporate, Hospitality, Higher Education, K-12 Education, Houses of Worship, Hospitality/Bars, Digital Signage, Retail, and Healthcare. 

Each day-long conference provides industry insights, technology updates and training forums for your total business needs and features the latest technologies for audio, video, display, projection, lighting and staging, digital signage, conferencing, digital content creation, networking, signal distribution, and much more.

Participating manufacturers in the 2015 tour include Sony, Christie, Hitachi, Hitachi StarBoard, LG, Epson, Vision, Optima, Sharp, Chief, Samsung, NEC, Hall Research, BenQ, DaLite, Gefen, MediaPointe, AmpliVox, Mustang, Ken-A-Vision, Lumens, Atlona, ioGear, Canon, Mustang, PeerlessAV, Casio, AVTEQ, DynaScan, Audio Solutions, Vaddio, Luidia, Vidyo, Balt Audio Visual, Circle Technology, WHOOSH!, and BrightSign, among many others.

During the First Quarter of 2015, the Stampede Big Book of AV Dealer Show & Conference tour will stop in the following cities: 

  • January 15th  — Tampa, Florida  (in partnership with InfoComm)
  • February 19th — Las Vegas, Nevada (in partnership with ITRA)
  • March 5th — Chicago, Illinois (in partnership with InfoComm)
  • March 16th — Houston, Texas 

Complete information can be found at www.bigbookofavtour.com

World's First 'Plug and Print' 3D Printer Debuted in North America By Stampede

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Developed in Great Britain by CEL, the new ROBOX® delivers full featured 3D printing capability for well under $2,000. 

The world’s first affordably priced, ‘plug and print’ 3D printer, Robox® from the British development company CEL, is now available in the United States from Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. for the suggested retail price of only $1,799.

According to Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly, key features of the new printer include:

  • A proprietary dual-head print nozzle designimproves print speeds by up to 300% compared to other printers. One nozzle is designed to print in detail, while the other is able to ‘fill in’ larger areas at much higher speeds; the Robox’s needle-valve system stops ‘ooze’ and ‘stringing’ from the nozzles, ensuring speed and quality.  The Robox can print super-fine 0.02mm layers.
  • Multi-color printing: Robox users have the ability to pause a print job and swap out the filament being used, allowing for multi-color 3D printing.
  • Intuitive print bed:A proprietary bed probing mechanism automatically detects and corrects the gantry to ensure it is always parallel and the first layer of whatever is being printed adheres evenly; the bed itself is made of PEI (Polyether imide), which adheres to the hot plastic while a print is taking place, but allows the user to ‘pop’ the printed object off when the plastic it is made of cools and shrinks slightly post-print.
  • Intelligent reel system: Microchips on the reels of filament allow the printer to detect exactly what material it’s working with.  Additionally, the pioneering closed feedback loop and dual-pinch-wheel extrusion system makes sure that the printing material is fed to the printer head evenly. 
  • Easy-to-use software:  The Robox team has developed its own AutoMaker™ software to ensure the simplicity and usability of the printer for both experts and novices alike. Users simply choose the design they would like to print and press start.
  • Future-proof design: The Robox has space for a second extruder that will eventually allow dual-color printing and/or the ability to print with different materials simultaneously. Its unique HeadLock™ system means that different heads can be quickly assembled to perform a range of different functions, meaning that the Robox is more of a micro-manufacturing system than a 3D printer.

“The development and widespread market availability of a full featured, affordably priced 3D printer for the home market is exactly what consumers have been waiting for,” Kelly said today.  “By removing the price barrier, Robox is moving strategically to make the benefits of 3D printing immediately available to a large and growing consumer and commercial market.  We see great potential for the product in the K12 and corporate vertical channels as well.”

According to Chris Elsworthy, CEO of CEL, “3D printing has the potential to change the way products are made, bought, and sold. However, the price and complexity of the 3D printers currently on the market means that it has not fulfilled that potential to date. The Robox is affordable, capable, and usable, and that’s why it’s the perfect 3D printer for the small start-ups, artists, architects, inventors, homeowners and especially the students and children out there.

We hope that the Robox will enable the average person to innovate, design and make more easily than ever before, and encourage today’s generation to make the most of their imaginations and creativity.”

For more information about order the new Robox 3D printer in the United States, call Stampede at 800-398-5652.  In Canada, call 888-459-8181. 

Stampede Fall 2014 Big Book of AV Tour Kicks Off In Minneapolis On September 23

Drones take center stage as Stampede introduces the ProAV industry to a $12-billion commercial sales opportunity.

The official start to the fall sales season gets underway tomorrow when  Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. kicks off its Fall 2014 Big Book of AV Tour in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Ramada Bloomington Minnesota Airport Mall on September 23rd.  And, in keeping with Stampede’s commitment to bring revolutionary new sales opportunities to its dealers, the company is introducing drones to tour attendees and reinforcing the introduction with intensive presentation and training sessions designed to put dealers in command of an amazing new business opportunity.

“Drones, or ‘cameras in the sky’ as we like to refer to them, represent nothing less than a $12-billion commercial sales opportunity,” Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly said today, “and we have designed our entire fall tour to show dealers how they can profit from both the sales of drones and using them as a way to generate incremental sales of traditional AV and IT components.”

According to Kelly, drones are definitely not a ‘pie in the sky.’  “From security to education to real estate to agriculture, drones represent the most complete and cost effective way for enterprises of all type to capture and deploy critically important content that then needs to be viewed, edited, distributed, and stored — and this reality is what is going to generate a huge increase in business for our dealers in 2015 and beyond.”

In addition to learning how to profit from drones, BBOAV tour attendees will get to receive hands-on product demonstrations from more than 40 manufacturers and participate in an InfoComm Regional Roundtable.  Attendees will also have the chance to participate in training sessions hosted by Atlona, NEC, BrightSign, Christie, Circle Technology, Samsung, Sony Unified Communications, and Optima.

All attendees will also receive a $500 Stampede credit on orders of $5,000 or more, a $50 American Express Gift Card, a $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card for each training session they complete, and they will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a 42” HDTV.  The day-long event runs from 9:00AM until 7:00PM and includes a special InfoComm networking reception from 4:30PM until 7:00PM.

After Minneapolis, the Fall 2014 Big Book of AV Tour heads to Dallas, Texas on October 16; Raleigh, North Carolina on October 23; metropolitan New York/New Jersey on November 6; and Toronto, Canada on November 13.  Complete details and registration information can be found at www.bigbookofavtour.com

Stampede Introduces Neurona Line of Networking Solutions at CEDIA 2014

The new Neurona AX501 ConnectedLife Adapter with AC-Passthrough converts any power outlet in the home into an Ethernet port that can be used to create a whole-home communications network.

Following up on its worldwide debut at InfoComm 2014 in June, Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. today introduced leading network solutions provider Neurona to the custom installation industry at CEDIA 2014 in Denver in Booth #1164.  Stampede is the exclusive United States distributor of the Neurona AX501 ConnectedLife Adapter, which features Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.’s, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, Powerline™ technology.

According to Stampede President and COO Kevin Kelly, the Neurona AX501 is the very first adapter with built-in Powerline technology.  “The Neurona AX501 leverages the reliability of power line technology to ensure that each home is equipped with high-fidelity broadband,” Kelly explained today. “Powerline solutions use a home’s existing electrical system to share broadband, essentially turning an outlet into a connection point. Powerline solutions deliver fast and reliable Internet connection between devices. By plugging a Powerline adapter into an Internet router, and a second adapter near a TV, gaming system, computer or set-top box, you easily deliver Internet connectivity to these devices.”

The Neurona AX501 enables multiple devices to connect to each other through a mutual network. By leveraging Powerline technology, the Neurona AX501 utilizes the home’s existing electronic wiring infrastructure to create a robust, whole-home communications network.

“The use of Powerline technology provides reliable coverage over considerable distances, resulting in the ideal combination of ease and efficiency,” Kelly said. “In addition, the Neurona AX501 is embedded with an advanced noise filter to offer a quick, seamless connection with no interruption.”

The Neurona AX501 enhances connectivity performance by leveraging all three of the home’s electrical wires: line, neutral and ground. This improves the overall performance by up to 50 percent when compared to the standard HomePlug adapter, which only utilizes line and neutral wires.

“The Neurona AX501 relies on the existing electrical wiring in a home so that users can share files, printers and Internet connections between multiple devices,” Kelly said. “It is so easy to set up and use. In fact, so easy that Neurona’s AX501 will connect with any HomePlug-AV compliant device right out of the box allowing the user to extend their network as needed.”

The AX501 operates on the HomePlug AV specification standard and is equipped with 128-bit AES security encryption. With a PHY rate of 500Mbps over Powerline and 10/100 Mbps over Ethernet, the AX501 is compatible with AC 100V to 240C 2-prong or 3-prong electrical outlets, depending on prong. Standing at 93mm x 56 mm x 40mm, the AX501 operates at a frequency band of 2MHz to 68MHz with an AC Wire distance of up to 300 meters.