Midwich Feed

Midwich wins third ACE Award in a row

Midwich was named 'AV Distributor of the Year' for the third consecutive time at the Microscope Awards for Channel Excellence (ACEs) 2009. We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone that voted for us.

You can rest assured that we will continue to bring you the very best in AV together with the customer service you expect from the UK's leading AV distributor. To find out what sets Midwich apart from the competition, call our sales team on 01379 649200.

Midwich print event pulls in the crowds

We are delighted to report that our print and scanning event at Towcester Racecourse was a huge success. We would like to thank everyone that took the time out of their busy schedule to attend. We hope that you all found the event as worthwhile as Phil Harris from reseller Inkwell UK:

"I have just arrived back at my desk after a long but very useful day at the racetrack. I would like to pass on my thanks to all those at Midwich who organised and attended the Print and Scanning event at Towcester today.

"It was great to see the latest developments and discuss new ideas to take into an increasingly difficult marketplace. But, as ever, I have found the Midwich staff to be welcoming, knowledgeable and basically a really friendly bunch of people.

"It was really good to put a face to the voices of Nadia and Paul in particular as well as others with whom we have fleeting but important contact.

Keep up the good work Midwich!"

A seminar from Arnaud Gagneux, vice president of Context, outlined the big opportunities in the channel for print resellers.

According to Gagneux, price pressures have added to declining sales and damaged revenues. Clearly, better business is to be had in selling printers as part of a solution, rather than as a straight box-shift. Colour laser multifunction printers are still the best option for value add sales and there is a real opportunity to sell managed print or 'click' based contracts.

To find out more about any of the print, scanning or auto-ID products we exhibited at the event, call sales on 01379 649200.

Samsung increases investment in B2B print market

Consumer electronics and information technology company Samsung Electronics UK has announced the launch of the second phase of its successful Ctrl+P marketing campaign, reinforcing a growth strategy for its printing business.

The campaign addresses the key challenges today's uncertain financial climate has created for IT decision makers in businesses across the UK and Europe. It demonstrates how Samsung printing solutions can help companies to simplify their printing environment, enabling control over cost, compliance and complexity.

"With research showing that companies can save as much as 40% of their costs by getting their printing environment under control, organisations can now realise these savings with Samsung's wide range of print solutions - allowing them to reduce costs through efficient processes and print solutions," said Geoff Slaughter, director of the print division.

Building on the first phase of activity, the online and print advertising and advertorial campaign will run in UK as well as key European markets, and increases Samsung's investment to a total of $13m. The campaign will focus on the education sector as a one of the key industries well-placed to take advantage of Samsung's printing solutions.

"The Ctrl+P campaign will also illustrate how schools in the UK can monitor their costs more effectively, as Samsung's products are great for offering solutions to the education market, where flexibility, reliability and ease-of-use are necessities," Slaughter continued.

The campaign supports Samsung's ambitious plans to become a top tier printing business by 2013. Recent growth has been supported by senior level appointments to the European printing operation including: Graham Long, VP; Mark Porter, sales and marketing director; and Paul Fox, head of corporate and enterprise sales.

Monster headphones in the Independent

To read the article in full, visit

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/headphones-the-head-boys-of-hip-hop-1679816.html

Crank 2 shot with Canon camcorders

The latest action movie "Crank High Voltage II" was shot using Canon's HD XH-A1 and HF10 camcorders.

The sequel sees Jason Statham reprise his role as Chev Chelios, a hit man who gets poisoned and only has an hour to live unless he can keep his adrenaline pumping. The plot means that the action never lets up and you can really feel what the character is going through by the way the camera moves.

During shooting, they even invented some crazy new ways to shoot action scenes involving a speed rail, skateboard and roller blades. This is another great example of the amazing quality of Canon's HD camcorders, and the spirit of FREECORDING!

InFocus projectors exclusively available from Midwich

After 15 years of working primarily with broadline distributors, InFocus has reviewed its UK strategy and moved to an exclusive contract with Midwich.

Midwich will now supply the entire range of commercial projectors from InFocus on an exclusive basis.

In a broader context, the move reflects the changing landscape of AV distribution. In the past six months, Sony, LG, Sharp, Philips and now InFocus have foicused their distribution through specialist partners.

Sharp commits to AV channel

As reported in AV Magazine, Sharp has agreed to channel its commercial AV business through Midwich.

To read the full article on AV Magazine's website, click here.

Digital signage for just 62 pence per day

If you are considering digital signage then you have a decision to make.

Do you purchase servers, setup data connections, buy digital signage software and employ dedicated technical staff, all at great expense before you have even got a single screen displaying any media?

Or...

Do you choose signagelive and make your displays operational within 10 minutes for just 62 pence per day*?

In today's economic climate, why should you spend your valuable cash reserves or commit to loans of thousands of pounds worth of hardware, software and communications before you even begin to install a single screen?

Choose signagelive and you are taking advantage of a multi-tenant Software as a Service (SaaS) solution with zero upfront costs. As you expand your digital signage network, signagelive becomes cheaper as you benefit from economies of scale.

For more information about signagelive, call our Hi-Technology team on 01379 649349 today.

* Based on signagelive suggested end-user pricing for 10 x 3 year licences. Price excludes VAT.

Midwich unleashes Monster in the UK

Midwich Resellers Will Be Able to Offer Broad Rangeof High-Performance, Monster Products, Including Cables, Power Productsand Headphones

Midwich has signed a distribution deal with Monster Cable, one of the world's leading manufacturers of advanced consumer electronics accessories and advanced audio/video connectivity solutions.

Commenting on the deal, Lee Baker, business manager at Midwich, said: "Our customers have been urging us to take on a top tier brand for cables and accessories for some time now. Monster is undoubtedly one of the biggest cable brands in the world and this deal will give us access to an extensive range of cables, headphones, audio hardware and power conditioning products."

By recruiting a big name brand, Midwich hopes to significantly increase the margin potential for resellers. Baker explains: "The quality and performance of Monster products means that the brand carries a premium price tag. After all, there is no point investing in an expensive system only to ruin it with poor connectivity and cabling. If our customers position Monster as the professional choice, they will be able to make in excess of 40% margin from every sale. And while Monster is best known for its wide range of high-performance cable products, the company also carries a comprehensive line of accessories and products that offer real lifestyle-enhancing benefits, including the popular new Beats by Dr.Dre family of high-resolution, high-style headphones. With such a broad line of Monster products to choose from, our resellers will have the opportunity to create valuable new profit centres."

"Monster is very pleased to be working with Midwich," stated Noel Lee, The Head Monster. "As the largest AV specialist distributor in Europe, I'm sure Midwich will greatly increase the reach of Monster products in the UK. With Midwich's expert sales and marketing, we will be able to bring Monster's entire product line to Europe. Selling Monster�s premium products will help retailers make higher profits and consumers get the best possible performance from their entertainment systems".

AV races ahead in 2009

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone that attended and supported our AV innovations event at Ascot last month.

The event was a resounding success and we hope that we helped to shed some light on the new innovations that will drive the AV industry forward in 2009. There was a terrific buzz on the show floor, particularly in our new opportunities arena. For those of you that missed out, here is a brief summary of the show highlights:

Sanyo - the first UK showing of two new high-end projectors and the weatherproof display in action with water cascading over it;
Panasonic - the 103-inch plasma and the new 6000 series of projectors;
AG Neovo - a new monitor for CCTV use hooked up to a live webcam;
Sony - didn't exhibit at ISE and it was the first UK showing of the new VPL-FX41 inorganic LCD technology;
Optoma - new 1080p digital signage solution as well as the PICO handheld projector;
LG - three way viewing solutions and stretch displays;
Samsung - the Samsung ID and Magic Info digital signage solutions;
Epson - the new projector range and short throw models;
Hitachi - new professional projector range in action including ultra-portable, short throw and virtually maintenance free models;
Canon - the new dicom calibrated projector for medical use and 3rd generation LCOS technology;
Toshiba - new HD upscaling TV series;
Lumens - digital visualisers;
Philips - Easy Advertiser for digital signage;
Signagelive - digital signage as a service in conjunction with Samsung and Panasonic PC-enabled displays;
Audio - new brands including Polk, KEF, Onkyo and Acoustic Energy;
Monster - our new cable brand exhibited at the show.

Most of the interest was centred around these areas:

End-to-end solutions for digital signage - commercial displays, hardware, software, content and connectivity;
Hi-Technology - our specialist technical division showcased some of the very latest products, including Samsung ID digital signage, high-end projectors, monolithic displays and weatherproof screens;
Sony - the consumer electronics giant didn't attend ISE so our show was the only place to see Sony's latest commercial and consumer solutions, including OLED;
Education - our integrated classroom solutions combined projectors with touch screen displays, digital visualisers and audience response systems;
Audio solutions - our new audio division is home to Polk, KEF, Onkyo and Acoustic Energy;
Auto-ID - Synergix was on-hand to introduce resellers to the high-margin world of automatic identification and data capture.
New innovations arena � this was a popular area, featuring interactive tables and display overlays, Philips and Samsung 3D displays, interactive HD display with powered height adjustability, and Sanyo new IPCCTV products.

We hope to make our AV innovations show an annual event.