Everybody says they have standards… but what does that even mean? Are we talking about a locked bill of materials? Did you mean that certain gear is non-negotiable but other stuff you have the flexibility to substitute (you mean whatever manufacturer you have the best back-end rebates from? yeah… we know)? How tightly are those […]

Evolving how we understand and design collaborative spaces One of the most consistent things we see in corporate facilities/classrooms/lecture halls worldwide is that they have been equipped with some manner of technology package that is there for the users of that space to better communicate with others. And one of the most consistent things about […]

Huddle spaces are the Goldilocks of meeting rooms: not so big and formal they stifle creativity, yet not too small for a team to get work done. And while they’re great at facilitating collaboration, it’s important to note that they’re not “just another meeting room” when it comes to implementing video conferencing. These ad-hoc collaboration […]

I still remember my first concerns about user engagement with the technology we provide. It was over a decade ago; we were fitting out four conference rooms per floor over about a dozen floors. Video teleconferencing in two, local presentation in the other. Pack up, head for the elevator, repeat. It was one of my […]

Every time we build a new building or renovate a new space, we need to address the age old questions of AV in classrooms. Why does the screen need to block the blackboard? Does there need to be a podium in the room? Does there need to be a rack in the room? Is there […]

Suppose for a moment you were a line array loudspeaker product. Genetically speaking, your DNA could have come from more than 150 different manufacturers, which collectively produce over 350 products (including all passive and active systems sold as “line arrays”), based on a survey of the products listed for sale on the half-dozen primary on-line […]

I’m back! As some of you may have noticed (at least based on emails I get), for the past three-plus years my byline has not appeared in any AV Industry publications, print or online, with the sole exception of a short lived participation during Cindy Davis’s era running the Tech Decisions online magazine. There is […]

A great collaboration space allows the people to interact freely and share ideas openly as if they would whether they were using technology or not. The purpose of the technology is to SUPPORT the message and to ENHANCE communication. In my earlier blog about this subject I mentioned that part of the needs analysis should […]

With so many products available out there for collaboration and huddle spaces that could be considered “off the shelf” one would have to ask themselves why a consultant and/or design engineer needs to be in the mix at all.  In this blog I will discuss some of the considerations a design engineer and consultant take […]

Earlier this year I had a client ask the specifications of the “PC – OFE” (Personal Computer – Owner Furnished Equipment) in one of their conference rooms. This was a series of near-identical videoconferencing rooms designed quite a few years ago and now approaching the completion of installation. What followed was a discussion both frustrating […]

I’ll open with a personal note: This marks the 200th published post on this blog! Over the past years we’ve talked about commercial AV, speculative fiction, and even enjoyed some original writing. I’d like to thank all of you for joining me on this journey, and hope to continue to share my words with you […]

Every year colleges and universities spend millions of dollars on AV for their presentation spaces and their classrooms. We specify HD projectors with lumens rated from 4,000-8,000. Touch panels and control systems make the technology go, while computers, Blu-Ray players and document cameras create the content. In short, we put a lot of time, thought […]

By Mario Porto Director of Strategic Accounts, HB Communications “THIS SYSTEM SUCKS! NOTHING WORKS!!!” How many times have you heard that comment? If you’re like most of the people I’ve spoken to over the years, you’ve heard it more times than any of us would have liked. I recall meeting an architect from a very […]

Before my AV career I did a few other things, including telephony and the unparalleled horrors of residential cable installations. One interesting thing about these three fields is each has lead me to a greater focus on parts of our world the rest of us take for granted and fail to notice. If you drive […]