Home Theater Geeks 499: CEDIA 2025 Part 1

Date: September 11, 2025
Host: Scott Wilkinson
Guest: Michael Heiss (industry consultant, journalist, and longtime CEDIA participant)
Theme: Recap and Insights from CEDIA 2025 Expo—Video & Display Technologies

Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Wilkinson and Michael Heiss dive into the highlights, surprises, and trends from the CEDIA 2025 Expo, one of the premier events for the custom electronics and smart home industry. While focused primarily on video technologies—displays, art TVs, projectors, and processors—the episode also details shifts in industry presence, emerging product categories, and strategic moves by major players. This is the first of a two-part breakdown (audio to follow in the next episode).

Major Topics & Key Insights

1. The Shape of CEDIA 2025: Missing Players and Shifting Trends

• Exhibitor Absences: Notably, major brands like LG, Digital Projection, and Planar skipped exhibiting on the main floor, and several companies had a reduced presence (e.g., LG had only a meeting room).
  • Cause: Logistics, tariffs, and the scheduling clash with Europe's IFA (International Funkausstellung) event.

    "A lot of the exhibitors that weren't… just chose not to come to CEDIA this year because they were already at IFA in Berlin." – Michael Heiss [04:23]

• Fewer “World Premieres”: Most products were not debuted at CEDIA, but rather at IFA or earlier industry shows, suggesting increased industry stability and an expanded focus beyond just home theater.

  "It's not just the home theater people anymore... heavy dose of lighting and shades and home control." – Michael Heiss [06:13]

2. Hot Topic: TVs—TCL, Samsung, and the Push for Huge Panels

• TCL's Phased Product Strategy:
  • TCL introduced the QM9K at CEDIA—unusual, as most brands reserved big announcements for IFA/CES.

    "TCL, now about 20 years in the US market... For the second year in a row was at the CEDIA Expo, shows where they're going." – Michael Heiss [08:21]

  • Specs: 4K, 144Hz, quantum mini-LED backlight, Google Gemini AI.
• Panel Size Wars:
  • TCL showed their QM7K at a jaw-dropping 115", as well as what a 75" set looks like inside the frame of a 115".
• Samsung’s Micro LED Evolution:
  • Samsung debuted a 115" set with RGB micro-LED backlight (not just mini-LED), offering unparalleled brightness and color (claims 100% of BT.2020—wide color gamut).

    "If I had $30,000, I'd be buying one... It was the best flat screen I've seen ever." – Michael Heiss [10:51]

  • Samsung’s QN90F (also 115”) is more conventional mini-LED, but slightly lower in price.
• Smart Home Integration:
  • Increasingly, TVs serve as the hub for smart controls (esp. Samsung SmartThings, Matter compatibility).

    "That was a high point of showing the integration of the TV set as the center of control for the home." – Michael Heiss [13:44]

3. Art TVs—Design Meets Technology

• Art TVs display curated artwork when not in use; a growing category as more brands (e.g., Samsung’s “The Frame”; Skyworth; TCL; Sony with Leon Speakers) enter the space.
  • Key Trend: These sets leverage ongoing content subscriptions for artwork, echoing broader industry RMR (recurring monthly revenue) models.

    "The true test of all of these... is if you look at it and you poke it, you want to say, 'that looks like it’s a real canvas—no, it's a TV set.'" – Michael Heiss [17:17] "Nobody makes money on TVs. They make money on the subscriptions." – Michael Heiss [19:51]

4. Direct View LED (DVLED)/MicroLED Walls—Luxury and Modularity

• DVLED (“direct view micro-LED”) displays were showstoppers—modular, ultra-bright (up to 2,000 nits), and endlessly scalable but still strictly upper-tier in cost.

  • Quantum Media Systems’ XDR 4-8K Extreme: 20-foot-wide, 2,000 nits, DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) certified, customizable per installation.

    "Cost notwithstanding, these things are modular... you can fit them to the room size." – Michael Heiss [21:35] "Nothing I've seen compares to the Quantum." – Michael Heiss [23:21]

  • AWOL (A-Wall): Now offers DVLED walls at up to 25% of the cost of competitors (still expensive, but a disruptive claim).

• Other Major Brands: DVLED walls from Barco, Sony (Crystal LED), and Samsung (“The Wall”) remain deeply niche—primarily for ultra high-end home installs and commercial spaces.

  • C SEED: Noted for its modular, unfolding DVLED designs.

5. Projection—Still Alive, If Less Dominant

• Projectors were less of a focus, but still represented in demos, especially with larger manufacturers like Sony (Bravia 7), Epson (LS9000), JVC (DLA NZ900/NZ700 with “8K pixel shift”), Barco, and Christie (Eclipse G3).

  • Demo Highlight: Bright, laser-lit, high-contrast projectors mainly in multi-brand collaborative demo rooms.

    "Projectors are far from dead." – Michael Heiss [31:01]

• Projection Screens:

  • New offerings like Screen Innovations' "Chaos" for outdoor use (withstand winds up to 110 mph), and EVPs’ Dark Star UST3 elevate, a floor-rising ALR screen for ultra-short-throw setups.

6. Video Processors & Sources

• Processors: MadVR's new Core Mark 2 ($6–7k), Pro Mark III ($11k), Envy Extreme Mark III ($16k), all HDMI 2.1 (48 Gbps). Lumagen remains a top competitor.

  • Subjectively hard to judge which processor is “best,” due to lack of A/B comparisons on the show floor.

• Sources:

  • Kaleidoscape dominates the source player market at CEDIA-grade installations—now with Strato E ($3,000 entry).

    "I kind of pooh-poohed [Kaleidoscape] a few years ago. They own it." – Michael Heiss [44:39]

  • Ultra HD Blu-Ray: Physical disc demos vanishing; virtually none at the show except, reportedly, Magnetar.

7. 8K—Not Dead Yet

• The 8K Association made a push at the show, emphasizing that remastering efforts (esp. MGM/Amazon, Warner Bros) and upcoming sports (Super Bowl, Olympics) will keep 8K relevant.

  • Future-Proofing: Numerous film and camera formats (including IMAX and RED digital) support 8K+ resolutions.

    "Reports of 8K's death are greatly exaggerated." – Michael Heiss [41:48]

    “I’d love to see an 8K of Oppenheimer because that was filmed in IMAX.” – Michael Heiss [42:24]

8. Infrastructure: Must-Have Network Redundancy

• Eero’s Signal Device: Offers 4G/5G cellular backup for home internet—a response to large-scale outages and the need for “always on” connectivity.

  • "You plug that in the back of one of your units and if the Internet goes out... you got a backup source." – Michael Heiss [47:53]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On CEDIA’s changing landscape:

“Now it’s CEDIA and it’s the home for smart... smart home professionals.” – Michael Heiss [06:52]

On Samsung’s RGB MicroLED:

"If I had $30,000, I’d be buying one... It was the best flat screen I’ve seen ever.” – Michael Heiss [10:51]

On subscription models:

"Nobody makes money on TVs. They make money on the subscriptions." – Michael Heiss [19:51]

On Modular DVLED:

“These things are modular... that determines the resolution, which is a whole nother story. So... you can fit them to the room size.” – Michael Heiss [21:35]

On 8K’s future:

“Reports of 8K's death are greatly exaggerated.” – Michael Heiss [41:48]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:26] — Introductions, CEDIA background, changing industry dynamics
• [04:23] — Absentees, IFA/CEDIA overlap, re-focusing of CEDIA
• [07:41] — TV Deep Dive: TCL QM9K, Samsung MicroLED, pricing, smart home integration
• [15:57] — Art TVs: Skyworth, Samsung “The Frame," streamable art content, recurring revenue
• [20:32] — Direct View LED: Quantum Media, AWOL, modularity, pricing
• [30:31] — Projectors: Not new, but present. Christie, Sony, Barco, JVC, Epson
• [36:40] — Projection Screens: Motorized, ALR, outdoor use
• [39:51] — Video Processors: MadVR, Lumagen, source devices; rise of Kaleidoscape
• [40:04] — 8K Association: Content availability, broadcast plans, ecosystem
• [45:50] — Redundancy/Networks: Eero 4G/5G backup
• [48:52] — Where to find Michael Heiss online; preview of Part 2

Closing & Next Episode Tease

The hosts will return with Part 2, focusing on audio demos and more industry insights from CEDIA 2025.

Find Michael Heiss:

• Residential Tech Today
• Hidden Wires
• michaelheiss.com

For listener questions:
Email: HTG@twit.tv

Summary Prepared for Fans & Non-Listeners

This episode delivers a knowledgeable, conversational, and sometimes light-hearted look at the future of high-end home video technology—and the business realities shaping what’s coming to luxury homes (and, one day, ours). Whether you’re a seasoned installer or dream of a wall-filling 8K display, it’s a must-listen for anyone passionate about home cinema and the ever-evolving smart home.