Volume 15, Issue 5 — March 12, 2018
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Industry News Projection Control & Signal Processing Audio Security Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories
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Designing for Access
By Hope Roth I recently had the privilege of working with a client who has very real and very serious vision problems. I say it was a privilege because every time I work with someone who wants something beyond my standard touch panel design, I learn from it. Looking at a touch panel through a client’s eyes (in this case, squinting in an attempt to do this literally), my designs get better and I get better.
Sitting at a table with someone and saying, “Can you read this text? How is the contrast on this page?” could potentially take hours — which is why I make my touch panels as object-oriented as possible. If the client asks for a particular type of text to go from blue (pretty!) to white (so much more readable!) and you find yourself opening up more than one subpage to fix it? I hate to break it to you, but you didn’t design your panel very well. That first subpage took a minute, but once I understood more clearly (pun intended) what my client was looking for (pun also intended), I was able to anticipate her needs going forward and it was a quick update after that.
I also wrote a script to update all of my touch panels at once. I do this for every job where I have more than a panel or two. Even if it takes some time to put together, I will get all of that time back (and then some!) when updating an entire house is as simple is file -> open -> start script. It’s a happy client who hears, “all of your panels look like that now, don’t worry, we’re using that larger font everywhere.”
The secret to real estate might be location, but the secrets to a friendly touch panel are font-size and contrast. You can never have too much of either. Those little pops of color on a panel are awfully pretty, but not at the expense of legibility. Keep your fonts simple, but bold. I knew to avoid reds and greens (for anyone who might be color blind), but I had never really squinted at one of my panels before. I’ll be squinting at them all from now on.
To get your fonts and buttons larger, you might need to sacrifice some screen real estate. This is especially true for smaller panels. I ended up deleting quite a few buttons that the client didn’t really need, in order to make room to enlarge everything else. This is where it pays to know your client, and exactly what functionality they can’t live without.
At the end of our updates, we had a panel that was easier to read, more intuitive to use, and that the client was pleased with. And it even looked nicer than we started! You don’t have to sacrifice to aesthetics to make a panel that anyone can read. The next time a client tries to use a panel when they can’t find their glasses, they will truly thank you for it. Leave a Comment
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Handling Legacy Systems
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
Previously, I had written an editorial that addressed deciding what to do with long-term clients in the context of applying the analogy of legacy systems to them: Do you upgrade them or do you get rid of them?
Of course, that got me thinking back to legacy systems themselves and again: Do you upgrade them or get rid of them?
One challenge of legacy systems is that the costs and risks of continuing to operate them outweigh their benefits. It’s typical that many end user clients won’t consider those equations until they start to encounter problems.
Issues with legacy systems will typically fall into three types: Operating costs are too high, it no longer meets their needs, or it requires older technology or expertise that is difficult to acquire, not to mention expensive, which loops back to the first point. To add insult to injury, some end user clients will have multiple legacy systems, each one requiring specific expertise to maintain. As time passes, they may be less able to meet the client’s needs, but time and money is spent maintaining them just because the initial investment in them was substantial.
So what should your clients do with their legacy systems? When discussing the path forward it’s important to present them with their options, and weigh the pros and cons in the balance.
With legacy systems you can keep maintaining them, you can update them or you can eliminate them entirely. As with anything, there are nuances to each option.
One popular option clients often take is to wait and do nothing until they have no choice. That comes with its own tasting menu of potential problems.
In the short term it’s cheaper to do nothing, but that may set them up for higher costs downs the road. “Pay the monkey now, or pay the gorilla later” is a phrase my old boss liked to say.
Another solution is to “wrap” the system. If, overall, the legacy system still meets the clients’ core needs, sometimes it’s worth updating the user interface, using what’s called “middleware” to make the user interface more updated and user-friendly, without changing the mechanics of the Band-Aid.
Wrapping is definitely a Band-Aid solution, it just happens to be a pretty Band-Aid. The basic problem — that the system can’t be easily upgraded — remains unsolved, however.
With more elaborate Band-Aid fixes, it gets more complicated to puzzle out whether or not fixes and patches are a good idea.
In a can-we-just-fix-it scenario the onus is on you, the AV pro, to puzzle out the cost/benefit equation for the fixes, ordered from most severe to least.
As you might expect, there will always be a point of diminishing returns, where the money the client is spending is no longer going to deliver enough value to justify the decision. After all, just because you can do something doesn’t always mean you should.
Also, with large and complex systems, and especially if they’re comprised of multiple sub-systems that integrate together, it’s seldom as easy as unplugging one old thing and plugging something new back in its place.
Making even one component change can have knock-on effects that need to be addressed, whether in the control programming or elsewhere. Think of that old maxim that “every solution creates two new problems.”
Eventually your client will reach the point where none of the proposed short-term fixes make economic sense anymore. That’s when it’s time to rip the whole thing out and replace it. When exactly that happens is going to be between you and the client. Leave a Comment
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THE ISE 2018 Awards Are Announced
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
You can’t enter a product in them.
You can’t ask us to nominate you.
And, you can’t get an award by advertising or sponsoring us or paying for it. And, there are NO Awards entry fees!
We sent reporters to EVERY booth/stand at ISE 2018 and we selected the TOP products in every possible product category for our 2018 Best of ISE Awards. No other publication — or entity for that matter — goes to very booth at the ISE show and sees every new product demo’d or launched at ISE in Amsterdam annually — so these are THE BEST of THE BEST.
So, if you are wondering which products were the best at ISE and outperformed the others in their respective categories, this is it: the 2018 Best of ISE Awards. And if you are a manufacturer who won an award, be proud! You were hand-selected by our editors and reporters after evaluating every new product shown at ISE in your product category. We didn’t just pick these “on the show floor” during the show or by using spec-sheets distributed prior to the show — we picked these by actually looking at each and every product and comparing them to the competition. In fact, this is why it took us en entire month to award these… You truly are the BEST of ISE!
Finally, as the ISE show is really four shows in one — it’s a HomeAV show, a ProAV show, a Digital Signage show and Rental & Staging show — we’ve decided to separate the awards into different categories, based on their application. So, for 2018, there are five awards categories:
Conferencing, Collaboration & Meeting Rooms: The biggest trend in meetings rooms is collaboration and collaboration include both wired and wireless system, video, audio and far-site connectivity. This category of the Best of ISE products serves every aspect of the typical meeting room or huddle room space:
Network AV & Signal Distribution: Everything’s going AV-over-IP — but not quite yet. This category includes both AV-over-IP products as well as other ways of getting signals from source to display:
Digital Signage & Public Spaces: The fastest growing segment of AV over the past half-dozen years to so been digital signage. So, it makes sense for this to have its own category of award-winning products:
Rental, Staging & Live Events: If you’re one of the 30,000 or so AV’ers in the rental, staging or live events markets, you’ll love this category of new award-winning ISE products aimed specifically at making your job easier or adding to the wow-factor of your application:
Education and Installed Large Venue Products: These are, exactly as it’s titled, new products at ISE that were aimed specifically at the education and large venue (lecture halls and auditoriums) markets. So, if you design, sell or integrate AV technology aimed at the education segment of AV, you’ll want to check out these award-winning ISE products aimed at learning environments or giant rooms:
Overall Winners: This category of winners represent the best of the best at ISE 2018. These are the 28 best new products at ISE 2018 that work for any and every application of AV:
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HTSA Adds CrestronHome Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) announced today that it has partnered with Crestron Electronics (Crestron). HTSA is an integration industry supplier of home automation and control solutions and, Crestron, as you know, makes control and AV switching systems.
For HTSA members, the partnership with Crestron brings an expanded set of options for their systems design and installation thanks to its wide assortment of solutions in categories such as AV, lighting, shading, security and HVAC.
For Crestron, HTSA brings a national network of residential system integration professionals focused on designing, specifying, and installing high-end distributed audio/video, home automation, and lighting solutions. HTSA members typically are providers of technology solutions in their local markets. HTSA members enjoy a remarkable record of longevity of success through the many changing waves of technology, always making new technology easy to use and appreciate for their clients.
Crestron is here and HTSA is here. Leave a Comment
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BenQ Debuts Native 4K HDR 3000-Lumen Projector in TK800 BenQ America today announced the TK800 Home Entertainment DLP projector — a native 3840×2160 UHD-resolution projector. Like the HT2550 (their other native 4K project launched last month, the TK800 is HDR-capable and uses an RGBW color wheel achieves 92 percent of Rec. 709 color gamut with 3,000-lumen high brightness.
TK800 is designed for consumer applications with a bunch of pre-loaded templated including dedicated Football and Sports modes that. Football Mode claims to preserve natural skin tones while intensifying green grass, simultaneously clarifying the announcer’s commentary against the cheering crowd of an open-air stadium. Likewise, for indoor sports, Sports Mode prioritizes realistic skin shades while enhancing wood tones, vivid reds and balanced greens and blues. But it could also work in an office cafeteria or small video screening room.
TK800’s CinemaMaster Audio+ 2 sound system is newly upgraded with a significantly wider frequency range and 5-watt power, using an aluminum driver diaphragm and resonant sound chambers for bass.
Powered by iTexas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology, TK800 lists for $1,499 and all the specs are here. Leave a Comment
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Extron Ships New 10″ Touchpanel Extron just started shipping their new TLP Pro 1025T 10″ Tabletop TouchLink Pro Touchpanel. Extron redesigned this touchpanel inside and out with a new quad-core processor, eight times more memory, a 1280×800 capacitive touchscreen built with scratch and smudge-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass and a new enclosure design with a sweeping back. The TLP Pro 1025T also features the convenience of PoE — Power over Ethernet, which allows it to receive power and communication over a single Ethernet cable. It is ideal in any environment requiring a stylish, tabletop touchpanel with a fully-customizable interface.
The TLP Pro 1025T is built for today with an eye on the future. With its improved graphics engine, quad-core processor, and increased RAM, Extron says it allows for faster background graphic loads and page flips. All TouchLink Pro touchpanels can be customized using Extron GUI Designer software. And here are the detailed specs. Leave a Comment
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TASCAM Intros New Rackmount Analog MixersTASCAM has introduced the new MZ-223 and MZ-372, which are both rackmount analog mixers offering flexible inputs, mixing and routing. TASCAM says they are well suited for installs in small to mid-size venues such as restaurants, hotels, ballrooms, meeting rooms and schools, as well as residences.
The compact, 2U rack-mount TASCAM MZ-223 offers five audio channels, each with a dedicated Gain potentiometer and two stereo sets of RCA line-level inputs (ten RCA inputs, total), that can be mixed, segregated and routed to three independent zones or destinations. Channels 1 and 2 can also accommodate phono-level signals for use with a turntable, making the MZ-223 suitable for DJ and residential applications. Two convenient front-panel, balanced XLR inputs handle microphone signals.
Each of the MZ-223’s three stereo output zones present balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA line-level outputs, enabling long cable runs or connection to residential power amplifiers or powered speakers. A slider switches the RCA outputs between 0.75V and 1.5V. The MZ-223 also provides stereo unbalanced RCA master Record outputs, switchable for use with or without microphones, that enable recording the main mix to an external recording device for capturing events. With the MZ-223’s flexible design, for example, you could route music to Zone 1, ambient noise or natural sounds to Zone 2, and a separate music track or a voice announcement to Zone 3. The front panel also includes a ¼-inch stereo headphone output with level control.
An assortment of front-panel volume sliders, routing switches and buttons, EQ knobs and mute buttons enable simple, fast setup and operation. A Talkover function automatically lowers other source levels when microphones are in use.
The 3U rack-mount MZ-372 enables audio signals to be mixed, muted and routed to 2 redundant outputs or destinations. Each of its 6 audio channels has an independent volume control and features 2 stereo sets of unbalanced RCA line-level inputs (12 RCA inputs, total) and 6 balanced XLR mic/line (switchable) inputs on the rear panel, plus a mic-level XLR input on the front panel. Channels 1, 2, and 3 can be switched to accommodate phono-level signals for use with a turntable. A pair of unbalanced RCA Booth outputs provide an additional feed with independent control for monitoring and can be switched between stereo and mono operation.
Each of the MZ-372’s dual outputs offer balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA jacks, enabling long cable runs or connection to a main mixer and monitor mixer, professional power amplifier or residential power amplifier or powered speaker. A Talkover function automatically lowers other source levels when microphones are in use. A separate pair of unbalanced, line-level RCA recording outputs make it simple to capture events.
Like the MZ-223, the MZ-372 employs front-panel volume sliders, routing switches and buttons, EQ knobs, and mute buttons for simple, fast setup and operation. The front panel also includes a ¼-inch stereo headphone output with level control.
The TASCAM MZ-223 and MZ-372 are available immediately at TASCAM dealers at MAP/street prices of: MZ-223 $399.99 and MZ-372 $499.99. More information is here. Leave a Comment
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ATC Ships New CDA2 Mk2 CD/DAC/Preamplifier Lone Mountain Audio, the importer of ATC Loudspeaker Technology, has announced the arrival of the CDA2 Mk2 CD/DAC Preamp. Developed as the partner for ATC’s latest P2 power amplifier and active speaker designs, the Mk2 combines convenient USB access to music streaming with an upgraded CD transport and DAC board, dedicated headphone amplification, expanded input choices and analogue circuits redesigned to deliver an extremely wide and flat frequency response with very low distortion.
Joining rear panel coaxial and optical 192kHz inputs, the Mk2’s new USB input is capable of handling PCM data up to 384kHz and also DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 natively. Jitter rejection ensures that signal integrity is maintained even with poorer quality sources and over long cable runs. Completing the Mk2’s wider digital interface a new TEAC-supplied CD transport delivers faster play and seek times, much lower mechanical noise and improved error correction.
Both input and output gain stages have been improved by an arrangement of discrete op amps comprising six common gain blocks: two for left and right input buffering, and four to provide a “true” differential output for the left and right channels. The positive and negative drivers are arranged in parallel to ensure that the signal delays and phase shifts are identical on both sides. The output stages are configured as unity gain complementary compound (Sziklai) pairs, biased in class A.
Also benefiting are twin rear-mounted analogue phono/RCA inputs and an additional aux analogue input via 3.5mm mini jack, which is equipped with high input sensitivity for improved compatibility with phones, tablets and other low output portable devices. Additionally, the Mk2 has revised the headphone amplifier to make it capable of driving headphones from 30 – 600 ohms via a rear panel mounted 6.35mm jack.
The CDA2’s chassis is constructed from a combination of steel and aluminum and uses constrained layer damping to control panel resonances. The front panel is machined from an extruded section of 13mm/0.5” aluminum alloy with a brushed and anodized silver finish. It will list for $4,299.
Here are more detailed specs. Leave a Comment
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RTI Offers Integration With Z-Wave-Enabled August Smart Lock Pro RTI today announced compatibility of its control systems with the August Smart Lock Pro from August Home. Utilizing RTI’s ZW-9 Z-Wave Interface Module, integrators can provide centralized access control for their customers throughout a home or building and remote access control using RTI’s RTiPanel app.
The ZW-9 uses the Z-Wave wireless protocol to provide the communication link between an RTI system and the August Smart Lock Pro. Combined with an RTI XP processor, this allows users to lock and unlock the deadbolt, as well as monitor the lock status and battery level, right on their RTI user interface — whether it be a handheld touchscreen controller, a tabletop touch panel, or remotely on a smart device.
As you likely know, RTI also offers a variety of Z-Wave lighting control solutions including light switches, dimmers, a lamp module, and receptacles. Utilizing Z-Wave RF technology, these lighting-control solutions create a wireless network that integrates with RTI’s home and commercial automation systems via the ZW-9 Z-Wave interface.
All the details are here. Leave a Comment
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Luxul’s Epic Series Wired and Wireless Routers Now Have Built-in Router Limits Content Management Technology Luxul today announced that the company’s Epic Series of wired and wireless gigabit routers is now available with built-in Router Limits content management technology. Router Limits offers cloud-based parental controls for internet safety and puts users in complete control of every aspect of their internet experience, allowing them to choose which devices can access the web, what websites are OK and the days and times the internet should be available. Router Limits users can also control mobile devices’ access to the internet when they leave the home network.
Using an interface that can be accessed from anywhere, Router Limits makes it simple for users to set a schedule cutting off internet access during specific hours. Built-in “Categories” and “Popular Sites” also allow entire swaths of the web to be quickly declared off-limits; each category contains millions of websites and is constantly updated. Even popular mobile apps like Facebook or Instagram can be controlled. Rules for use can also be applied to individual devices or groups of devices — from smart TVs to smartphones and tablets. If there are any concerns about how or when the internet is being used, Router Limits keeps history in the cloud where it can’t be hidden, manipulated or deleted.
Luxul’s Epic Series includes the dual-band wireless AC3100 Epic 3, wired multi-WAN Epic 4, and wired dual-WAN Epic 5. In addition, Router Limits is available for the company’s dual-band AC1200 XWR-1200 and AC3100 XWR-3100 wireless routers via a firmware update.
Here are the tech specs. Leave a Comment
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Middle Atlantic Solves High-Density Cabling Challenges With Wider SR Series Pivoting Wall Rack Middle Atlantic Products has expanded its SR Series of Pivoting Wall Racks with a new wider model to provide integrators with more space to manage high-density cable bundles. Building on the successful SR Series platform, the new Wider SR Series saves valuable square footage over traditional floor-standing racks in AV, security, and data applications. The wider models include all of the advanced functionality of the SR Series, including a unique pivoting mechanism that opens 90 degrees, simplifying integrators’ access to rear equipment connections.
Originally developed to combine the advantages of a floor-standing enclosure and wall-mounted cabinet in one unit, the SR Series provides the easy rear access and space savings of a wall rack via a unique swing-out cabinet section that pivots on a weight-bearing floor base. The Wider SR Series takes into account that systems are evolving as equipment continues to increase in capability and decrease in size, offering integrators a different option for mounting systems closer to the point of use.
Within a seismic-certified enclosure, the new Wider SR Series Pivoting Wall Rack is available in 24 RU, 40 RU and 46 RU options. Featuring the SR Series’ unique pivoting floor base, this solution saves an average of nine square feet per cabinet, which is ideal for compact spaces that have a smaller footprint and do not require clearance at the rear of the cabinet, saving aisle space. The rack also incorporates Middle Atlantic’s built-in cable management and patented tool-free QuickMount system for center section mounting.
Here are the tech specs. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HomeAV Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100% opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the high-end HomeAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter – instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe Publications has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004.
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Copyright 2018 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe HomeAV Edition contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
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