Do the Math For several years now, I’ve wanted to locate Mr. Zeminicki from my high school, and apologize to him. Mr. Z was my nemesis, the math teacher who taught algebra and trigonometry. I was the long-haired student who constantly argued that “people don’t do this in the real world.” He was the teacher who endured the slings and arrows, and patiently gave me my C+. Thanks to the miracle of Google, he’ll probably eventually see this article, assuaging my conscience that I’ve never made the call. Mr. Z, I’m sorry. We do this math thing every day. In fact, we live and die on it. Sometimes literally, when we’re talking about rigging safety or electrical load calculations. Often, it’s just our pride or our professional reputation, like the times I’ve seen sets being cut up outside the loading dock because they were designed too big to make some corner in the load-in path. Or when we see a projector backed up against the wall, unable to fill a screen by a few inches. And yet, it seems to be a dying art form, this math thing. When I got into the business, fixed focal length lenses were the norm – so we quickly learned all the formulas (formulae?) for calculating throw distances and screen sizes. Sound systems were more basic, and much less powerful, and much more analog. So we learned to calculate coverage areas and delay specs. It wasn’t a high-end art form only the CAD guys did it. It was a basic part of the business that had to be done for all setups. It has always been a basic part of AV training, and is something that I and most of the other InfoComm Academy instructors have always emphasized. In fact, Scott Wills, now the (check title) at the InfoComm Academy, was the Service Manager at the first AV company I ever worked for, and he was one of the guys who managed to beat some of this stuff into my head. So, when I teach, I’m constantly shocked that lots of newer techs seem to have a problem with doing the math. Most resort to manufacturers’ tables for products, lens slide rules, and fudge factors. Or, when forced to do the problem, they tell me that they would normally just go to a senior person in their company, some “brain” who would always give them the answer. So, to the many entry-level technicians who subscribe to this newsletter, let me give away a secret: The people you report to are working with some very basic math. You can do it. And it’s part of what separates the amateurs from the pros. Thanks, Mr. Z. JRR
Unique Business Systems has a new.NET version of Labor Planning and Scheduling software that is specifically designed for the AV industry and more specifically, for Rental & Staging. This product can be used as a stand alone system or integrated with the company’s R2, a system to Manage Rentals and Sales that the company says is being used by some of the largest Rental and Staging companies worldwide. The .NET version of Labor Planning and Scheduling is a third generation product from Unique Business Systems and the company says it was developed in collaboration with Rental and Staging companies who have been using the previous versions of the labor planning product for the last eight years. The major improvements announced include: providing labor planners the flexibility to configure the system to their workflows and preferences, view availability of resources, send requests through the system, and estimate the cost of resources based on pay policies maintained in the system. For more information, go to http://www.unibiz.com/ I don’t know about you folks, but labor is by far my largest and fastest increasing cost. For two many years, we’ve spent our time managing inventory costs. This looks interesting. –JRR
One Systems Introduces Long-Throw Stadium Speaker System One Systems’ new Cross Field Array is designed to provide very high acoustic output in long-throw applications. These are IP 45-rated and weather- resistant systems. At InfoComm, the company demonstrated the system to a crowd standing 200 yards away from a single Cross Field Array speaker system. The system will ship with a gray fiberglass cabinet for better UV resistance and heat tolerance. It will also ship with barrier strip input terminals, but can also include Neutrik Speakon connectors. Installation models will ship in September. For more information, go to http://www.onesystems.com/about/press_releases.html I didn’t get a chance to hear these at the show – but anything that minimizes my use of delay stacks in this situation saves me labor. New Blu-ray From Sony Priced at $400 Sony is shipping its new Blu-ray player and finally, the price is coming within reach of more consumers. The BDP-S350 is priced around $400 and is now available across the country at Sony Style retail outlets, sonystyle.com and other authorized Sony retailers. The BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), which is featured on select new Blu-ray Disc home video releases, and is also BD-Live ready, with an Ethernet port for firmware updates and access to Internet-based interactive content features. A firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned later this year. It also features quick start-up — it boots up in six seconds compared to 50 seconds for most others — and offers an external port for local storage for BD-Live, allowing users to add an optional flash storage device (sold separately). Since many consumers own extensive DVD movie libraries, the BDP-S350 incorporates Sony's new Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology that converts standard-definition signals (480i) to 1080p and outputs a full HD equivalent resolution signal to 1080p TVs via HDMI. Additionally, the model also adds Sony's new Precision Drive HD, which helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions. For more information, go to http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/home_audio_video/blu-ray_disc/release/36025.html
For those of you who have waited on Blu-ray because of the expense – take a look.
More Recent Headlines Christie Selected for Beijing Summer Games Christie announced that the Christie Roadster S+20K and Christie CP2000-ZX models were selected to project dynamic visuals for the opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. The ceremony was held on August 8, 2008, just after 8:00pm China Standard Time in the Beijing National Stadium and featured the most complex and extensive use of projected visuals in the history of the sporting event. To read the story, go to http://tinyurl.com/6r3lky
This was a spectacular show. Kudos, Christie. And kudos to all the technicians who made a complex event work. 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 |