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The company posted aggregate year-over-year sales growth of 111 percent at the end of 2008 and a 132 percent sales uptick for December 2008 over December 2007 – the month it began shipping its new Vibe Video System.
The system, developed at dealer request, upscales content to 1080p, integrates with other products and boasts easy setup and functionality, along with Blu-ray-disc-playing capability in each of the boxes in the system. But one of the biggest points in its favor in these economically challenged times is its price, said Scott Stephenson, director of marketing and product management. Integrators love more expensive similarly featured systems, he added, “but for every seven potential customers for a $15,000 base system maybe one will ‘bite,’ because it’s too much to bite for a lot of clients. With the Vibe Video, at $4,000 for a single-room system, an integrator can get at least five or six of the others, because customers are telling dealers that they want to scale back on spending but get as much functionality as they can for the money.”
The modular nature of the system is also a big point in its favor; a single server/player combination model is available with 100-DVD or 200-DVD storage capability, and also available are an additional player-only box that doesn’t offer large storage capacity and a server-only box with four terabytes of storage. The system is intended as a complement to the Audio Vibe System which debuted two years ago, and Colorado vNet is working toward “better integration of the video with the audio system so it can be a music-server source,” said Stephenson.
“We want to expand our presence within the electrician side, and, with Vibe Video, with custom retailers,” said Stephenson.
The company supplies a range of whole-house lighting, climate, security and CCTV control solutions, and is looking to develop expanded interface capabilities that work seamlessly with these various elements.
In the meantime, said Stephenson, the Vibe Video System “makes it easy for the homeowner. The remote is simple. And if the dealer wants to upgrade the customer, he can do it easily.”
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