North America’s largest ProAV distributor is the only distributor to have its complete library of online courses approved for CEDIA CEUs.

AMHERST, NEW YORK, May 7, 2012 — Reinforcing its commitment to provide dealers with the highest quality of continuing education courses, Stampede Presentation Products Inc., North America’s largest and oldest dedicated ProAV distributor, today announced that all of the online courses offered by Stampede University (www.stampedeuniversity.com) have been approved for Continuing Education Units by CEDIA.  Stampede is the industry’s only ProAV distributor to have its entire library of online courses approved for CEDIA CEUs.

According to Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly, the approval by CEDIA follows a complete redesign of Stampede University that became effective in January 2012.  As part of this initiative, the company introduced a completely new series of integrated online courses that allow dealers to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule.  Each course features built-in LMS (learning management system) administrative tools that track and certify each learner’s progress through each and every course.  

“What’s more,” Kelly emphasized, “Stampede University’s training programs now include more business-oriented courses, including courses on transitions and mergers and acquisitions, as well as a consulting program designed to help residential dealers develop commercial markets and vice versa.  The addition of CEDIA approval now makes our course offerings even more valuable to dealers seeking to maintain their CEDIA certification.  I am very proud to note that Stampede is the only ProAV distributor in North America to offer its dealers their complete catalog of courses for official CEDIA CEUs.”

The new course offerings come in addition to Stampede University’s already substantial collection of dealer and integrator learning aids found on the website. These include training materials in the form of webinars, how-to videos, white papers and other media that cover the breadth of the AV technology experience from video walls to distance-learning technology, and represent large numbers of major equipment manufacturers, including Hitachi, Sharp, VUKUNET, InFocus, NEC and Samsung.

According to CEDIA, the CEU Provider program is open to members only.  Member companies wishing to become CEU providers may submit educational courses to CEDIA for pre-approved CEU awards.  Companies requesting to become CEDIA CEU providers must complete and submit the CEU Provider Petition Form for approval.  CEDIA evaluates each submission on its length, course description, and learning objectives.

CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home. The association was founded in September 1989 and has more than 3,500 member companies worldwide. CEDIA members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this specialized field. For more information on CEDIA, visit the association’s website at www.cedia.org.

Audiovisual experts at Lumina Motion tap Stampede’s knowledge and wide product catalog to produce a stunning building-sized 3D video mapping event for Nokia’s Lumia 800 smartphone product launch.

An online video of the eye-popping 3D video mapping event can be viewed here.

AMHERST, NEW YORK, April 24, 2012 — Proving once again that it has unbeatable product selection and extensive knowledge of the ProAV market, Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. recently helped Lumina Motion construct a stunning 10,000 square foot video display on the facade of a round building in Santiago, Chile by providing the ideal equipment and precise development insight needed.  

The audiovisual team at Lumina Motion was tasked with creating an exciting and memorable product launch for Nokia’s new Lumia 800 smartphone, and they succeeded by working with Stampede to utilize the best technology, share industry know-how and ensure patient attention to every technical detail.

According to Lumina Motion Owner Gonzalo de la Barra, “We at Lumina Motion know that when you’re producing a live event, everything has to be perfect.  Stampede knows this too, which is why they recommended the eight Christie Full HD projectors and Geffen Fiber Optic cables to produce over 10,000 square feet of HD video display with precision timing between all eight projectors. We don’t have the luxury of second chances, so having a reliable and knowledgeable equipment provider is important, and Stampede helps us deliver the first time, every time.   

“With the help of Stampede’s knowledgeable sales staff and incredible selection of gear, we are consistently able to deliver beyond our clients’ expectations. Stampede actually helps us better understand this rapidly evolving market by sending us the latest product info, making recommendations, providing quotes quickly and delivering products in record time. We always want to get the best deal, and they are always very helpful regarding purchasing decisions and meeting our price expectations.”

Indeed, the project proved a phenomenal success. The Lumina Motion staff executed this highly complex 3D video mapping project with surgical precision after countless hours of testing. They painstakingly blended the 8 video signals together by hand with geometrical correction, covered the building’s glass façade with a special adhesive to make it a viable projection surface, guaranteed accurate power and data relay and timing, and accounted for all variables including ambient light and local construction.

“Our presence in Latin, Central and South America is nearly as strong as our presence in North America,” said Stampede CEO Mark Wilkins. “And our ability to provide informed engineering, design and tactical assistance on projects like this is second to none. We’re proud to have been able to work so closely with such a skilled audiovisual experience provider as Lumina Motion, and we look forward to playing a major role in their long term success.”

The 3D mapping projection setup included eight Christie DHD800 FULL HD projectors connected through Geffen’s HDTV DVI-D Fiber Optic Cables for maximum image quality, reliability and precision timing. Kramer Digital Switchers were utilized for video signal backup.

According to Mario Riveros, Territory Manager — International Sales at Stampede, “The Stampede team has all the knowledge and tools necessary to help our partners make the right purchasing decisions and ensure success on every job.  We work hard to keep them informed of new technologies that can impact their business, and then help create the perfect product configurations to meet their clients’ needs. By developing close relationships with our partners, we are able to respond quickly and effectively to all requests and we strive to provide solutions that are timely, cost effective and most importantly, the ideal solution for each particular job.”

Stampede is showcasing its entire portfolio of ProAV product lines at INFOCOMM 2012 at Booth #C7525 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

By Miguel Rodriguez - www.buffalonews.com
Maybe playing as a 16-year-old in the United States Hockey League would have been a good thing for Justin Bailey. Yet, had the former Amherst Knight done that instead of delaying his arrival into the best junior league in the country by a full season, he would have missed out on so many other great experiences.

One of those includes the opportunity to win a national championship in his hometown.
Bailey and his Long Island Royals 16-and-under team, the New York State champions, were among the eight teams in their age group to advance to today's playoff-round portion of the USA Hockey Tournament at Northtown Center in Amherst. The team coached by Sabres great and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine will face Rhode Island at 12:45 p.m. during a quarterfinal. The winner of the game advances to the semifinal later in the day in hopes of reaching Sunday morning's national championship game.

"It's nice coming back [home] and seeing your family," said Bailey, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound forward who has already verbally committed to play hockey at Michigan State even though he's just a high school junior. "Your family supporting you, it makes you want to raise your level [of play] as high as you can and coming back with this group of guys, I feel real confident that we have a good chance to win this [tournament]."

Bailey, a former student at both Canisius High School and St. Joe's, has had a hand in his team reaching this point. He scored the game-winning goal in Wednesday's comeback win over Cleveland during a three-point effort in which he flaunted all the skills you'd expect from a major Division I prospect.

It'd be easy to assume that type of effort is expected considering he made the Indiana Racers of the USHL last August, but playing in the pressure-packed national championship tournament is never an easy experience. It takes lots of poise, maturity and calm for players to do their job in this tournament all in hopes of being the last team standing Sunday. It takes the ability to play within the team concept while resisting the urge to try to do it all when your team hits a rough patch during a game.

"He's just taken some great strides developing," LaFontaine said. "Where he was at the beginning of the season, where he's going as a player, I'm really proud of him as a coach."

Bailey opted not to go to Indiana because he missed most of his sophomore season while recovering from shoulder surgery. After consultation with his mother Karen Buscaglia, Bailey figured he'd get more playing time and more of a chance to further hone his skills by remaining at the 16-under level another year. A family friend who knew LaFontaine helped set up the opportunity for Bailey to play for the talented Long Island team touting a No. 3 national ranking.

"I thought I would get more playing time [with Long Island] and more creation time [on offense] and more time for me to try things that I wouldn't be able to try up at another level, see what works and what doesn't," Bailey said. "One hundred percent this was the best decision for me. Looking back I think every kid wants to go up and play in the USHL and be able to have people in his hometown see that they're playing at these levels. Once I made the team, I definitely wanted to go up to Indiana and play but my mom talked to me and I really thought about it and prayed about it and everything. The right decision was definitely [playing for] Long Island."

Besides winning a state championship in his hometown two weeks ago when Long Island beat Amherst's 16-under team, Bailey had the chance to play on the Winter Classic ice surface in Philadelphia last January, of course his team won that Atlantic Hockey League game. He got a chance to play a game at vaunted Shattuck's St. Mary's in Minnesota.

Most importantly, Bailey got to pick the brains of one of the best hockey players in the history of the game in LaFontaine along with learning from another former NHLer in Royals assistant coach Steven Webb.
"They taught me a lot about the little things and how much the little things matter [in a game]," Bailey said.

On living with LaFontaine and his family during the season: "I am extremely blessed to have him let me live with him [during the season]. It's a lot different than when we're at the rink. He's like a normal father-figure, a normal guy."

Family reunion
The USA Hockey Tournament has created an impromptu family reunion of sorts for the LaFontaines.

Besides Pat, his brother John coaches Shattuck St. Mary's 14-under team, which reached the playoff round. Their father, also named John, arrived in Western New York Thursday to watch his sons coach and grandson, Daniel, play in the event he himself coached in during his sons' playing days.

"My whole life I played with my brother together in youth hockey so it's kind of neat to see us both here coaching teams that qualified for nationals," Pat LaFontaine said. "I'm really proud of what he's done at Shattuck St. Mary's."

John LaFontaine has been coaching for roughly 20 years, including the last five at Shattuck St. Mary's. He's also coached collegiately at Lake Superior State.

Around the boards
* Besides Pat LaFontaine and Steven Webb, other former NHL players wearing coaching hats during Tier I nationals at Northtown Center this week include former St. Louis Blues forward Gino Cavallini (Chicago Mission 12-under team) and former Winnipeg Jet, Phoenix Coyote and St, Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues 14-under team).

* Just how hard is it for teams to qualify for the USA Hockey Tournament, let alone win the whole thing? Look at the 18-under bracket for an answer. Only two of the nation's top 13 teams in the myhockeyrankings.com poll reached the national championship tournament: No. 1 Shattuck St. Mary's and No. 2 Cape Cod Whalers. Among the powers not in attendance include No. 3 Honeybaked, No. 6 Detroit Victory Honda, No. 7 Dallas Stars Elite and No. 4 Neponset Valley River Rats 18U AAA, which lost just four games the entire season.

RADVISION will be exhibiting at Enterprise Connect Orlando.

Visit them TODAY, Monday March 26-Wednesday March 28.

To learn more about the event and what RADVISION will bring- click here!

About RADVISION:
Since 1992, RADVISION has been an innovator providing products and technologies for video conferencing, unified communications over IP, 3G and emerging next-generation networks.
RADVISION’s latest innovations including high performance video conference room systems, unmatched telepresence, desktop video conference communications and mobile video conferencing solutions are key examples of RADVISION’s transformation from a video infrastructure provider to delivering a full portfolio of video conferencing solutions.

RADVISION’s SCOPIA product portfolio provides comprehensive and powerful video communication solutions that allow advanced voice, data and video conferencing. The SCOPIA product offering includes network video infrastructure solutions for multipoint conferencing, network connectivity and firewall traversal; video conference endpoint solutions for board rooms, conference rooms, desktop and personal video conferencing and video management software for scheduling, device and bandwidth management and directory services.

The SCOPIA product portfolio is a powerful combination of hardware and software video products that is fully standards-based and supports the highest resolutions available in today’s video conferencing solutions. Interoperability and interconnectivity is provided between any video-enabled device, such as a telepresence system, a video conference room or a desktop video conferencing system, and with other telephony and video conferencing systems.

SCOPIA solutions are used by institutions, enterprises, and service providers to create high quality, easy-to-use voice, video, and data collaboration environments, regardless of the communication network – IP, SIP, 3G, H.323, ISDN or next generation IMS.
RADVISION’s complete video communication solution includes all the components necessary to provide a total video, voice, and data collaboration application.

CHICAGO - February 21, 2012

Streamlined Reward Claims Process, Increased Margins for Channel Partners Are Drivers of Success

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, announced today that Betsy Larson, Vice President of Channel Sales, was named a 2012 Channel Chief by CRN Magazine. CRN, a publication devoted to the worldwide technology reseller channel, recognized the top Channel Chiefs in the industry based on their records of business innovation and dedication to the partner community.

During the past year, Larson enhanced the NEC Rewards Program, making it easier for channel partners to claim rewards and reducing the turnaround time to receive rewards to the shortest in the industry. NEC also developed new services and programs to increase margins for its partners.

Larson has spent the last 14 years with NEC, helping the organization build and nurture relationships with its distributor and partner communities. She credited the organization’s innovation for its success over the past year. NEC has continued to expand its solutions offerings – from vertically focused field sales support to design and engineering. She cited its entry into managed services, specifically content creation and content management in the digital signage space, as other indicators of innovation.

In addition, NEC has expanded its partner base through additional consultative selling and a product lineup that includes entry-level and specialty products to meet the differing needs of end users.

In terms of her own career success, Larson said she is thankful for advice she received at an early age.

“My father has had the most profound impact on my life,” she said. “He has instilled in me the importance of being honest, fair, kind and hard-working. Those are attributes shared by my colleagues at NEC, too.”

CRN selected the top Channel Chiefs based on policy and program innovations made during the previous year, the amount of revenue their companies generated through partners, their willingness to speak out publicly on behalf of the channel, and the number of years dedicated to channel activities.

TWICE, 3/1/2012

Ridgefield Park, N.J. - Samsung Electronics announced it has been named 2012 Energy Star Partner of the Year in the Product Manufacturing Category by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Samsung said that by offering 960 Energy Star-qualified models across multiple product categories, including more TVs than all other CE brands, it was selected out of the 20,000 participating Energy Star organizations for its "outstanding contributions in ongoing employee, retailer, and distributor training programs, as well as consumer education campaigns, recycling efforts, and labeling practices."

Building on its multi-year partnership with the EPA, Samsung said it actively promoted "Change the World, Start with Energy Star," encouraging consumers to pledge small, yet important, steps to fight global climate change at the company's events.

This marks the fourth consecutive year Samsung has been honored for providing its customers with energy-efficient products that have reduced consumption and helped consumers save on their energy costs, it noted.  The company will formally accept the recognition at the award ceremony on March 15 in Washington D.C.

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE

Ridgefield Park, N.J. - Samsung revealed Friday that a streaming-video app for the popular HBO Go service has now been added to Samsung Smart TVs.

Through the app, people who subscribe to HBO through participating multichannel pay-TV service providers can now get unlimited access to every episode of every season of popular HBO-produced shows, as well as a handful of major movies HBO has arrange to provide.

Owners of capable Samsung smart TVs can download the HBO Go app from the Samsung apps installed on their sets.

Samsung said the HBO Go service is supported on most 2010 and 2011 Samsung model smart TVs, except the following 2011 TV models: PN51D6450DF, PN59D6450DF, PN51D6500DF, PN59D6500DF, PN51D6900DF, PN59D6900DF, PN51D7000FF, PN59D7000FF, PN64D7000FF, UN32D5550RF and UN40D5550RF.

Stampede Canada will be Closed Monday, February 20, 2012.
Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Why you ask?...

Family Day!
Family Day is observed in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan on the third Monday of February. This holiday celebrates the importance of families and family life to people and their communities.

Public Life
In the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, many people have a day off work and schools are generally closed on Family Day. Many businesses and organizations are closed, but post offices may be open. Public transport services may run to their usual or reduced timetables.

In the province of Manitoba, the third Monday of February is a general holiday, known as Louis Riel Day. Many people have a day off work and school and many businesses, organizations and stores are closed. In some communities, stores are open after noon. Public transport services may run to Sunday or holiday timetables. In rural areas, there may be no services.