The Site Survey – Making Friends Often, in the classes I teach for InfoComm or MPI, I am asked about site inspections. Frequently, those questions are about logistics, or getting the right measurements, or electrical power requirements. All of these are important questions, but I feel they come farther down on the checklist than the questions we SHOULD be asking first. I find that most site inspections are tours of the facility conducted by a salesperson. These are nice, but since the salesperson is almost never the one actually in charge during my event, there are a lot of other things (and other people) that I want to know. Following are some of the questions I believe are the most important ones we can ask upon first visiting a new show site: 1. Who are the hotel managers and supervisors who are likely to be on duty at the time load-in begins? I want to meet these people personally, say hi and give them one of my company t-shirts. I want them to remember me. 2. Who are the personnel from the in-house decorator and AV company? I want to meet these people personally as well. Not only are they a good source of supply if I need something unexpected, they are a great source of inside information about how the facility works, and who I can count on. Plus, I want to gauge whether or not these people have any resentment that I’m doing a show in “their” house – and to make sure to assuage it NOW ifthey do. A little respect (and a t-shirt or two) will go a long way here, too. 3. Who is the house electrician? Again, I want to meet them. I can’t even count the number of times a salesperson has said “somebody from maintenance will be here on Saturday to do your power tie-in” only to have nobody show up on that day, requiring lots of time having them paged and called at home. This can get expensive when you have a crew waiting. There’s little we can do in our business without power. 4. Who’s in charge of security? I want them to know who we are, when we’re arriving, and to have no questions about the parts of the facility we’re supposed to have access to. Plus, I want to talk about the facility’s actual security – who has keys, and whether or not I need to hire a guard of my own during dark times. 5. Doormen/housemen/porters – who’s in charge of them and where do I find them during load-in? These people can be invaluable in things like receiving deliveries, expediting them to the ballroom, or even finding parking for my trucks. Plus, I’ve often found a little serendipity here – like the time the lead porter also turned out to be the lead guitarist for a local band, and came up with four additional wireless mics for me at 3am before a 7am show opening. Oh, I have a pretty extensive list for the physical site inspection as well. But I never forget that the staging business is all about people, and that, as a stager, I’m often a stranger in a strange land. And that the natives are often restless. — JRR
Extron Introduces New, Larger VGA and Stereo Audio Switchers Extron announced new eight- and twelve-input VGA and stereo audio switchers as part of the SW VGA Series. The SW8 VGA and SW12 VGA are compatible with computer-video resolutions up to QXGA and feature dual buffered outputs, input signal sensing, auto-input switching, and multiple modes of control. All models are compatible with high-resolution RGBHV computer-video signals, as well as HDTV component analog signals with tri-level sync, making them especially suited for small to mid-sized applications where high resolution switching is needed. The Extron SW VGA Series of switchers is available in sizes from two inputs to twelve inputs. In addition to auto-input switching, which automatically switches to the highest-numbered input with an active sync signal, all SW VGA Series switchers can be controlled via their front panel, RS-232, and contact closure remote control. All models also feature active PC audio buffering, which converts unbalanced stereo audio to balanced line level signals, providing enhanced protection from hum and interference over long cable runs; and audio output volume control, which eliminates the need for a separate audio preamp in many system designs, reducing cost and simplifying integration and control programming. Or more information, go to http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=swvgaarsseries Priority switching in a switcher this size could be really handy, especially in breakout rooms with people showing up with a lot of laptops. But soon, Extron will have to send us all a set of bookshelves to put their catalog on. –JRR
New 3D Virtual Black Projection Screen From Da-Lite Da-Lite recently announced two new products – a rear-screen projection screen for 3D and a velour drapery for staging. The 3D Virtual Black projection screen material is designed exclusively for 3D rear screen applications, making it an industry first. The 3D Virtual Black is designed with new polarization preserving properties engineered by Da-Lite’s research chemists. It will be shown for the first time at InfoComm. Da-Lite says the technology effectively eliminates stereoscopic cross talk or “ghosting” by maintaining 99 percent polarization purity. The company also says the fabric has the highest extinction value, resulting in improved viewing of 3D passive stereoscopic images. Also, it is seamless, 16 feet high, and folds for transportation. Da-Lite expects this to sell to movie and entertainment industry, oil and gas surveying applications, medical and pharmaceutical applications, robotic surgery, museums, industrial and architectural design and the electronic gaming industry. For more information, go to http://www.dalite.com/whats_hot/
I can’t wait to see this live. I’ve done a lot of 3D applications in my career, and preservation of polarization has always been problematic. In fact, I’ve never seen a passive flexible rearscreen application I’ve considered acceptable. If Da-Lite has beaten this problem, they’ll have a winner. –JRR MangoMOBILE Launches RFID Solution for Event Marketers MangoMOBILE says they developed a turn-key system for generating measurable ROI for event marketers and clients, and it’s based on Radio Frequency Identification technology. When deployed at a concert, event or other branded activation space, the company says this system can track what a consumer does inside the foot print. The event marketer can then use the information to do follow-up with highly targeted offers. This may not be something you, as the rental/staging company sets up but it may be information you’ll want to pass on at some point. To read the release, go to http://www.mangomobile.com/datacollection.aspx RFID applications for shows have interested me for a number of years. In fact, I proposed a system like this to a client about three years ago, who shot it down as a potential invasion of client privacy. Let’s see how it goes in the market. –JRR
Canon’s new REALiS WUX10 is a WUXGA LCoS technology projector, and you’ll see it for the first time at InfoComm. This 1920 x 1200 widescreen is specified at 3200 lumens, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 10-bit resolution. It weighs just 10.8 pounds. This projector ships in October with MSRP of $12,999. The other is the REALiS SX80, specified at SXGA+ 1400 x 1050 with 3000 lumens and 900:1 contrast ratio. This weighs 11.5 pounds. It allows for PC-free presenting with the USB/PictBridge as well as a USB port. It has an HDMI port, too. This ships later this month with MSRP of $3,999. For more information, go to http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20080603_realis.html
Yes! Resolution, resolution, resolution – LCoS may really come into its own this year. Can’t wait for InfoComm. –JRR Two New WUXGA DLPs From DPI Just in time for InfoComm, Digital Projection International announced it is shipping two new projectors with 16:10 aspect ratios and WUXGA resolution. The new iVision 30-WUXGA uses TI’s DarkChip DMD technology. It supports native 1920 x 1200 and is specified at 3100 ANSI lumens and 4000:1 contrast ratio. It also uses DPI’s (relatively) new ColorMax calibration. The new dual-lamp dVision 30-WUXGA is specified at 4300 ANSI lumens and up to 7500:1 contrast ratio. DPI says the company made installation of the projector more flexible by offering a selection of six lenses covering a throw distance range from .75:1 up to 6.5:1. In addition, lens shift gives you up to 55% vertical shift and 45% horizontal shift. For more on these projector series, go to http://www.digitalprojection.com/content/view/303/136/ and http://www.digitalprojection.com/content/view/34/61/
DLP (and DPI) continue the march toward screen resolutions we can really work with for multiple source windowing. Again, can’t wait for InfoComm .–JRR Bright 5200-Lumen Projector From Sharp Sharp has a new high-end projector, the XG-P560W, to be shown at InfoComm. Sharp has another high end specified at 6000 lumens, and this new one falls just under that with 5200 ANSI lumens. The new XG-P560W is also specified at WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution, 1800:1 contrast ratio, and it uses 3 DLP chips from TI. It is also the company’s first wide-XGA .65 3-chip DLP projector for the professional market. It uses a dual-lamp lighting system for redundancy, and there are seven optional, powered interchangeable lenses. It also features motored vertical and horizontal lens shift. The screen size can go to 280 inches. Target markets include conference and board rooms, houses of worship, training facilities, rental and staging, control centers, flight control rooms and other large venues. The XG-P560W has a built-in RJ-45 LAN connection, but it also has a Web server that allows direct control from the desktop to the projector without any special software, says Sharp The XG-P560W ships in June with MSRP of $16,995. For more information, go to http://www.sharpusa.com/products/FunctionPressReleaseSingle/0,1080,783-9,00.html
Internal webservers and published network protocols are something I really look for now in equipment – because it looks more and more like IP is becoming the unifying control standard staging has always needed, enabling control systems without dedicated hardware or proprietary software. I’m tired of manufacturers who put network ports on gear and then make me run some single-device proprietary control application. –JRR Well, that's it for this edition of rAVe! Thank you for spending time with me as we muse the industry's happenings. To continue getting my newsletter, or to sign up a friend, click the link below. To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial, to Editor-in-Chief Denise Harrison at denise@ravepubs.com rAVe Rental [and Staging] contains the opinions of the authors only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. Copyright 2008 – rAVe Publications – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact Kayye Consulting, 510 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 376 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: denise@ravepubs.com |