Engineering Excellence

By Andrew Edwards

Extron is known for support. Worldwide, with over 40 offices and more than 200 applications engineers and field engineers, Extron’s famous technical support is just a phone call away. Having been a reseller myself, I’ve called manufacturers for support, only to be told, “Wow, that’s the first time we’ve heard of that problem,” when I knew good and well the problem had already been reported. That’s not my way and that’s not the Extron way. At Extron, we go the extra mile to solve problems and find solutions. As you may know, I have a 100% personal satisfaction guarantee that backs up every Extron product you buy. What you may not realize, however, is the Extron support philosophy starts with having the right products. When we engineer and build the products right, everything else, including our support gets a whole lot better. Let me explain what I mean.

Underlying every Extron product is an engineering philosophy you may be unaware of. You see, I love having the best, and when it comes to products, having the best means having the engineering talent to design from the ground up. Make no mistake Extron is an engineering driven company.

At Extron we have over 500 engineers dedicated to the design and development of our products. Our design engineering and product development departments occupy over 250,000 sq. ft. of physical space. Our budget for engineering and test equipment is in the millions of dollars. When it comes to designing products, we spare no expense to get it right. Having all this engineering horsepower gives Extron the ability to design products others can’t, and in ways others can’t. Most manufacturers design products based on a chipset supplier’s “reference design” and on intellectual property (IP) developed by others. They piece together products using audio DSP purchased from one supplier, scaling technology from another. These manufacturers short-cut the engineering process, ship a product, and hope for the best. That’s where Extron is different and as you know, I love being different than the competition.

Designing products using IP developed at Extron gives us an ability to step up and make adjustments when unforeseen field issues occur. As an example, we have encountered applications with medical displays that only accept very unusual resolutions and video signal timings. In these instances we have been able to adjust the algorithms in our scaling products to match the signal parameters required by the displays.

When we had an issue with power supplies, I even went so far as to find and hire the finest power amplifier engineering team in North America, led by Eric Mendenhall. I’m proud to say Extron products have the best, most reliable power supplies in the industry. This has been proven through documented testing in our heat chamber which enables highly accelerated lifetime testing (HALT), and through years of reliable, stable performance in the field. Most recently, our design team “burned the midnight oil” to deliver what I consider to be the pinnacle of power supply design for use in our new XTP II CrossPoint Series.

Dedication to product quality is something I won’t compromise on. I have a “take no prisoners” policy when it comes to quality assurance. The next time you’re in town, ask for a tour and we will be happy to show you around our compliance engineering facility, which is an Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Authorized Testing Laboratories facility. With multiple semi-anechoic chambers online, Extron is able to test products for FCC and European standards for CE mark compliance and UL certification in house. By taking time to rigorously test our products, Extron is supporting you, our customers, and eliminating potential problems even before they begin.

Extron has always been known for world class product and world class support. The two go hand-in-hand. Having the best products built to standards that others can’t or won’t match gives you an edge. It lets you, our customers, deliver systems you can count on and makes it possible for us to deliver on our commitment to support you, whatever it takes.

If you have comments, I would like to hear your thoughts. Email me at [email protected].

Andrew C. Edwards
Chairman of the Board