I recently talked with Gerald Willis, Product Manager, Nuvo about how Nuvo is assisting customers during the COVID-19 crisis, the P600 DIN rail player, and the addition of Amazon Music to the Player Portfolio.
Maureen Jenson: As part of the Legrand family of Residential AV brands, how is Nuvo assisting customers during the COVID-19 crisis? Are there any special programs the company has deployed?
Gerald Willis: At Nuvo we have taken every measure over the last few months to make sure that our customers are set up for success. Early on, we started reaching out to many of our customers over the phone to check in and see how they were doing in general. After these calls, we were able to identify some ways that we could help our customers to be more successful during this time of adversity. Since then, we have adapted new strategies, programs, and bundles to support our customers and their needs.
Due to the immense increase of individuals spending their days working from inside of their homes, we were able to put together a special promotion to benefit those doing just that. A “work from home” bundle is just one of the many ways that we are innovating for our customers. Due to the sudden surge of online workforces, we have also prepared collateral for our customers to reference surrounding helpful tricks and tips for communicating successfully online.
Every day that our customers are affected by COVID-19, we are working nonstop to innovate, educate, and implement strategies for their continued success. We are dedicated to providing our customers with the things that they need to be successful, while taking every safety precaution to keep them safe.
MJ: The P600 DIN rail player is shipping soon in the U.S., can you give our readers an intro to DIN and where it is commonly deployed?
GW: The DIN mounting system is quite popular in Europe and is used for a variety of electrical and electronic devices. Nuvo created the P600 to address the unique needs for this market. It allows an audio system of varying sizes to be created while minimizing the amount of space needed for components.
With Legrand’s success with low-voltage enclosures in the U.S., bringing the P600 to this market to allow dealers here to have the most flexibility possible when creating audio systems just made great sense.
The DIN mounting system is a new concept for many low voltage integrators here. Combining DIN with a Nuvo option while integrating that capability into our low voltage enclosures with so many other choices gives dealers the ability to create the solutions that they need.
MJ: You’re offering the P600 in new multizone kits. What do those include and what can they help customers accomplish?
GW: The three kits; two, three and four zone; have all the parts needed to create a multi-zone audio system. We’ve done this to make ordering and stocking as easy as possible.
Each includes the appropriate number of P600 DIN rail Players, a metal DIN rail (or two) for mounting in an On-Q plastic enclosure that will accommodate up to three P600 units, a power supply (or two), power cables, a Luxul five port Gigabit switch and the appropriate quantity of Ethernet cables for each kit.
This enables the dealer to install all components very quickly and easily. A small screwdriver is all that is required to attach the pre-stripped power cables included to each P600. The last step is just to connect the speaker wiring that was installed earlier.
MJ: What is the demand for DIN solutions in the U.S. market as opposed to the EU?
GW: The DIN system is well established in areas outside of the U.S. We see this system growing in popularity as dealers here become more familiar with it and are happy to be able to present them with some unique choices that help them creatively solve challenges with space constraints.
MJ: Let’s talk streaming. In January Nuvo announced the addition of Amazon Music to the Player Portfolio. Are there plans to include any other streaming services?
GW: We are always working on options that best serve our accounts. This summer will see a release for a new service that quite a few of them have requested. Stay tuned!