Click above for more information Check-in vs. Checkout vs. Check Again
By Joel Rollins, CTS-R Last issue, we began discussing the second-most-important investment in a rental company, the rental inventory. I blathered on a bit about how to make the purchasing decisions, like what and how many to buy, and where to source additional gear. That generated a number of emails from readers about additional sources and methods, as well as some strong backing of the old, entrepreneurial rental model of “if you build it, they will come.”
But, as usual, most of them skipped right from the question of: “how do you decide to buy it?” to: “how do you control it once you have it?”
This opens up the oldest argument in rental, our equivalent of the “chicken or the egg” question: check in vs. check out.
For those of you just tuning in, I’ll state the perennial question: “Do you check gear when you pack it for a show (check out) or when it comes back from a show (check in)?”
Both methods have implications to your efficiency and bottom line. Both have direct costs involved, and both have positive and negative effects attached to them. And both have vocal proponents, as I’m sure I’m about to be reminded.
First, the one I, and most of the people I’ve taught rental with, favor: check-in. In the check-in method, gear returned from a show sits in an area of the warehouse until it is checked for functionality and completeness, then returned to inventory and placed on the shelves.
Pros of Check-in: Gear on the shelves is (theoretically) always ready to go, making pull for a show fast, and avoiding future last-minute sourcing of replacement gear when you discover that a piece on the shelves is not actually up to par.
Cons of Check-in: In a small company, which most staging companies are, the gear needs to be checked in by the technicians who used it – leading to potential overtime to get gear checked in, or gear sitting until the techs have straight time available to check it in. More than once, I’ve seen this result in gear having to go straight from the check-in floor to a pull.
Then, there’s checkout, where returned gear is checked off on the pull list and then returned to the shelves, and checked for function when it’s pulled for the next show.
Pros of Checkout: The gear is then usually checked out by the techs who will be operating the show, who naturally put a lot of care into it. And, if you rack gear for shows rather than using standardized racks, it will probably get checked while building the rack anyway, so why double the labor?
Cons of Checkout: Gear on the shelves may look complete but have problems. If you wind up pulling a show quickly, this may leave you having to source gear suddenly, leading to higher cross-rental costs. Plus, overconfident techs may skip important check steps.
Either method can work, and both have proponents. Both have implications for labor costs, so the important thing is simply that you do one or the other. The gear QC process should be well controlled, with defined steps for checking each piece, especially when techs who are not experts in that particular piece of gear’s functions are used to complete the process. The most important thing is to have a clearly defined process, and not to let it vary. Or you can wind up in the most costly, inefficient and uncertain process of all: using both.
–JRR rAVe Rental [and Staging] contributor Joel R. Rollins, CTS-R, is General Manager of Everett Hall Associates, Inc. and is well known throughout the professional AV industry for his contributions to industry training and his extensive background in AV rental, staging and installation. Joel can be reached at Joel can be reached at joelrollins@mac.com
Back to Top Click above for more information rAVe Does Video (and Tweets!) at InfoComm09 With the introduction of our all-new rAVe NOW service at InfoComm last week, rAVe Publications took a major leadership position in digital publishing. In an effort to continue to make our coverage of the AV market better and even more valuable to our readers, we launched rAVe NOW as a virtually real-time way to report the news to you – filled with out observations of what’s out there.
rAVe NOW is a trifecta of services from InfoComm 09!:
• rAVe Video: In rAVe VIDEO, we posted more than 160 videos made live on the InfoComm show floor all introducing new products or technologies: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=115&Itemid=199
• rAVe Twitter: In rAVe Twitter, we Tweeted over 200 times about new gear on the show floor: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1263&Itemid=207
• rAVe Blog: You’ve been asking to have our founder, Gary Kayye, blog more often about the market, and now you’ll get more of him than you’ll probably want. In fact, his latest blog is about the seedy side of a trade industry magazine – one right here in the ProAV market: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=117&Itemid=204
So, experience InfoComm09 as if you were actually there through rAVe NOW: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1262&Itemid=206
Back to Top Christie Digital Launches DS+750 Christie not only has the most loyal dealers in the ProAV market, but also some of the best projectors. And at InfoComm, we saw one that we at rAVe loved: the DS+750. Designed for 24/7 applications, the Christie DS+750 delivers 7500 ANSI lumens at SXGA+ (1400×1050) resolution with a plethora of inputs. With a unique, user-changeable, twin-color wheel system (high brightness and rich-color option color wheels) you can customize the projector on the fly for every presentation to maximize either high brightness needs or superior color reproduction. A suite of six optional motorized, high-performance lenses make it application-independent and universal.
We looked at this projector and were shocked to know it was a single-chip DLP projector (using a Brilliant Color chip). But, the difference in it and the other Brilliant Color projectors on the floor was the fact that Christie integrated it with 10-bit image processing using Pixel Works DNX and Philips’ VIDI lamps.
The 750 includes built-in color matching and edge blending functionality, user changeable color wheels, a true 7500:1 contrast ratio and both serial and network control.
See details on the DS+750 at: http://www.christiedigital.com/AMEN/Products/ChristieDS750.htm
You can also see a video we shot of the DS+750 in-action using our new rAVe NOW service at: http://www.vimeo.com/5219888 I agree on the quality of this projector – the performance is amazing for a single DLP.
–JRR
Back to Top Sanyo Launches Two Bright, Large Venue Projectors No need for double-stacking the new PDG-DET100L and the PLC-WTC500L projectors in a lecture hall to get the light output you’re looking for – these projectors are 7500 lumens and 5000 lumens, respectively.
The PDG-DET100L is literally the brightest DLP projector in its class (as we said, rated at 7500 lumens) with a SXGA compatible resolution of 1400 x 1050. When the DICOM Simulation Mode is activated, the PDG-DET100L projects X-ray images clearly and precisely, making it ideal for use in medical education. This mode is a format standard for digital imaging and communications in medicine. Contributing to its increased light output efficiency, the PDG-DET100L is outfitted with 330W VIDI UHP x 2 lamps.
The PLC-WTC500L LCD projector achieves a high brightness of 5000 lumens, a contrast ratio of 3000:1, and delivers a WXGA (1280×800) native resolution. Outfitted with a new optical engine using an inorganic panel, the PLC-WTC500L also features SANYO's Lamp Selection System, which automatically selects one of two lamps to project from, making it possible to project approximately 6000 hours before its time to replace the lamps.
Both models feature Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture modes, which enables the simultaneous projection of two images from separate sources. The Picture-in-Picture Mode displays a sub-screen over the main screen. So, you could be showing PowerPoint slides while simultaneously showing Internet content – side by side.
You can see all the details on the PDG-DET100L at: http://us.sanyo.com:80/Projectors-by-Market-Rental-Staging-Sub-Category/PDG-DET100L
You can see all the specs of the PLC-WTC500L at: http://us.sanyo.com:80/Projectors-by-Market-Digital-Signage-Sub-Category/PLC-WTC500L As I said in a recent article, I’m amazed at the large-venue performance that manufacturers are getting out of small, inexpensive boxes. However, I’m not a fan of paying for feature sets for rental such as picture-in-picture – as we normally achieve these effects, when needed, in switching where we have better control of it. But I’m sure the same chassis will be available from Sanyo (or one of their many surrogate distributor labels) with these features stripped out.
–JRR
Back to Top Extron Premieres New Universal Signal Processor with SDI/HD-SDI Last month at InfoComm, Extron introduced the USP 507, a Universal Signal Processor that provides video scaling and transcoding, as well as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog video conversion in a single product. The new USP 507 features a seven input switcher that supports all common analog and digital video formats, from composite video to DVI, RGBHV and optional SDI/HD-SDI. Advanced video processing automatically detects the input video format and applies high performance scaling. Two RGBHV outputs are standard, plus an Extron MTP Twisted Pair output that significantly enhances integration flexibility. In addition, optional output boards are available for scan-converted video, DVI, and HD-SDI. The USP 507 is ideal for applications that require universal compatibility to accept any input video format and produce high quality video for display.
The USP 507 features a high performance 30-bit scaling engine with the ability to scale standard definition, high definition, and computer-video signals up or down in resolution. It accepts computer-video signals up to 1920×1200 and HDTV 1080p/60, and outputs RGB or component video at 81 selectable output rates up to 1920×1200, as well as HDTV 1080p/60. For increased system flexibility, the USP 507 offers up to four simultaneous outputs, including two RGBHV or component video outputs, Extron MTP Twisted Pair output, and an optional output that can be ordered as DVI, HD-SDI, or scan-converted video.
Check it out at: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=usp507
You can also see a video we shot of their “official” InfoComm09 introduction using our new rAVe NOW service:
An Introduction to the USP 507: http://www.vimeo.com/5188938 This is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to the rack functionality of the old analog standby we used to keep in all racks – the Sony DSC-1024G – but updated for today’s signal types. Years ago, we referred to the 1024 as the “swiss army knife” of video processing. Maybe Extron should have painted this one red, instead of their trademark grey.
–JRR
Back to Top InfoComm's Rental/Staging Award Winners Back to Top For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe Rental [and Staging] 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 rental and staging industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions — in this case, it’s industry-veteran Joel Rollins' 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).
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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. rAVe Rental [and Staging] launched in November 2007. rAVe Ed [Education] launched in May 2008. rAVe DS [Digital Signage] was launched in January of 2009.
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