First Day's Impressions

By most accounts, CEDIA Expo 2009 was a disaster. Exhibitors were fewer and farther between and overall attendance was way down. Part of it had to do with the economy, which was in the worst part of its tailspin. The other had to do with its location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA. For a variety of reasons, attendees and exhibitors hated the place, so much so that it was rumoured that CEDIA declared an emergency and would move it the following year to another place instead of waiting until 2012 as they originally planned. Obviously, that was somewhat true because in 2011 CEDIA Expo will be back in Indianapolis, where it was held several years ago. For 2010, though, we’re back in Atlanta. 

Frankly, given my experience last year (I sided with those who gave Atlanta a big thumbsdown), I dreaded going back this year and thought seriously about calling the whole thing off. But, since show reporting is one of our strengths, I figured that if the show is to go on then the SoundStage! Network has to be there. 

So what is CEDIA Expo 2010 like overall? Surprisingly, it’s not too bad. Now that we’re used to Atlanta, the venue and the surroundings don’t seem so horrible.  Perhaps I simply needed to acclimate myself to the place. Plus, my hotel was recently renovated and the rooms are nicer this year than last. 

The show itself is held in the same location, the Georgia World Congress Center, but the main exhibits are now in a different hall that seems more spacious than last year’s show. Maybe there are just less exhibitors, I’m not sure, but it’s easier to get around. As for attendance, it seems no better than last year, which may well be a positive thing because the economy is still in the toilet and the disdain for Atlanta was just so bad that it could have been much, much worse. Heck, given the uproar last year, I wouldn’t have been surprised if no one showed up. But they did and, overall, this year’s CEDIA Expo is decent; in fact, if they said it was here again in 2012, I wouldn’t mind as much as I did last year.

What’s perhaps most disappointing is the product selection -- there just isn’t all that much new stuff here, at least not that I could find so far. There are certainly no groundbreaking technologies being shown (3D television, the big thing last year, is old news now), and there’s very little that’s new on the electronics front. Most of the new products seem to be speakers, affordable ones, which ended up forming the bulk of the first day’s product coverage. 

With the first day through, I’ll no longer be wondering what the show itself is going to be like. Instead, I’ll have a camera in one hand and pen and paper in another to report on whatever new products can be found. More speakers? Perhaps. But hopefully I can find some other great stuff that will have A/V enthusiasts excited. After all, even if the economy recovers fully, most consumers aren’t going to be willing to spend much money unless they can find something really interesting to buy. So, check back tomorrow when the second day’s coverage is online because if there’s something interesting to be seen at this year’s CEDIA Expo, you’ll find it online here first!