Introduction: Mackey, Mergers and More Editorial: The Final Sayye by Gary Kayye Small Systems Get Big Letter from Afghanistan– A Reader's Request News:1. InFocus Announces ProjectorNet 2.0 for PC-based Projection Asset Management,
Announces Wireless Projector Family
2. iSkia a Must-See at InfoComm
3. AKIRA Comes Out With 84" Plasma System, Sort-of
4. PLUS Vision Adds Two 3-Pound Projectors
5. ICIA Moves InfoComm China to May 2004
6. Kayye Consulting's Jody Thomas to Lead Panel at Projection Summit Conference
7 Toshiba to Introduce Another Projector/Document Camera Combo at InfoComm
8. InFocus Meets $999 Challenge and Beefs up Home Theater Offering
9. Gary Kayye to Debut Crestron's MediaManager at InfoComm
10. Paradigm to Introduce Two High-Power In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speakers
11. ICIA, CEDIA and NSCA to Launch Joint Europe, Asia Show
12. ActiveLight and Kayye Consulting Announce Strategic Partnership at InfoComm
Introduction Introduction – Mackey, Mergers and More Welcome to Issue 8 – our pre-InfoComm edition of Gary Kayye's rAVe. Before you scroll down to the news, there are a couple of special items in this issue of rAVe that I want to bring your attention to. First, we are awarding our second rAVe AV Hall of Fame award to Mackey Barron, founder of 58-year old HB Communications in North Haven, Connecticut. He's had an incredible life in AV and his story is below and includes being shot down as a World War II pilot! Please make sure you read it as Mackey will be at InfoComm next week and stop and tell him thanks for his contributions to the AV industry. Second, I want to draw your attention to an announcement below that describes a merger of incredible proportions in the AV world. ICIA, CEDIA and NSCA – the three powerhouse audiovisual associations – are forging an alliance to hold trade shows in Europe and Asia, together. That means that one show, for the first time, will house home theater, home automation and ProAV under one roof. This is a great way to show the world what AV is all about. I think this is something that we all should applaud and I certainly see it as a great thing for everyone involved; attendees, exhibitors and the press. OK, I realize that the first question you are all thinking is 'when will this happen in the US?'. Well, for now, it's an International merger of talents and the rest of the world can celebrate this opportunity and convenience in trade show attendance and exhibiting, and, if it works out in Europe and Asia – who knows?… Finally, although many of the manufacturers are mum about their InfoComm introductions – wanting to wait until opening day next Tuesday – we do have few scoops for you below about some of the pending product announcements. So, enjoy this issue of rAVe, but if this just isn't enough and you're not coming to Orlando next week, we will be sending an issue of rAVe Live from InfoComm. That issue will include every significant new product or technology introduction at InfoComm in addition to a link to a streaming video telecast I will be doing from the show. So, one way or another, you will have all the InfoComm news you can handle. Letter from Afghanistan – A Reader's Request Note to the readers: Although this didn't come in as an "official" request from the military, it is from a valid military e-mail address and contact. So, if you are interested in helping the 82nd Airborne (home base is actually in Fayetteville, NC), read on. Dear Gary: We, in the 82nd Airborne Division have been serving our nation in Afghanistan for over a year. Our mission is to protect the American way of life and to bring peace and stability to this country and our fellow man. Although, we miss our families and all the basic freedoms we enjoy at home, we do not in any way regret having to be here and doing the job we set out to accomplish. We do it because we believe it is right, it is necessary and will serve a higher purpose now and in the future. We have been here through the hardships of war, and now peacekeeping and re-building. I think you will be proud of us. I have been asked to come up with an idea to help increase the morale of troops when they are not out on missions. The troops have requested that we make a movie tent using a projector. Basically, we have a compound of over 800 tents, that we call "tent city." In the middle of tent city, we would like to make one of these tents a place to watch movies and relax. Unfortunately, we (soldiers from the US) will be here for some time to come and will set up a nice place for our replacements. We would appreciate any company that is willing to make a donation of equipment that can be used for the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division for this venture. Thank you in advance for your support. Sincerely Yours, Jesse Martin
Task Force Devil
3/319th AFAR 82nd Airborne Division Editor's note: The troops are interested in new or refurbished equipment so they can watch DVD's, VHS, etc I assume they need the DVDs and tapes as well! If you care to help them out, write to dharrison@kayye.com for contact information for Jesse.
Click above for more information Editorial — The Final Sayye by Gary Kayye Small Systems Get Big If you're a regular reader of my columns, you know I have been writing a lot about the opportunity that exists in the market for any integration firm who is simplifying systems integration of boardrooms, conference rooms and training rooms for the buyers and users of ProAV gear. This trend seemed to have started as a result of the simplification of the projector. Projectors, back in the good 'ole CRT days, were awesome in image quality, but terrible in set-up, operation and, in some ways, performance. The video and data image quality was near perfect, but $10,000 only bought you 250 ANSI lumens, a 100-pound projector that was the size of a college dorm room refrigerator, took literally an hour to set up and had to be used virtually in the dark. But, the nifty 1990's brought us portable and ultra-portable LCD and DLP projectors that nearly equated the quality of the 1987-era CRT, but blew-away the CRT in set-up (taking seconds), brightness (up to 3500 ANSI lumens) and are tiny. Then came the power shift. At the same time projectors we getting easier and easier to use (some say as a result of projectors becoming easy to use), power in knowledge was shifting from the dealer salesperson to the customer. What I mean is that in the CRT days, the projectors were so complicated and most leading manufacturers were companies that no average customer had ever heard of – companies like Electrohome, AmPro and Barco; hardly household names. So, that, coupled with the fact that there was no Internet to do research on brands and models, meant that the ProAV dealer salesperson was crucial to the educational process and required by the customer. They would demo projectors in virtually every case – before a projector was sold – and would often take hours to set it up properly; leaving the customer the realization that 'this was not something he or she wanted to do themselves and required the help of their AV dealer'. Now, please don't get the impression that I don't think that ProAV dealers aren't required now, but you have to admit there was a power shift that occurred. If in doubt, maybe this statistic will convince you: more projectors were sold in 2002 through non-AV channels than through AV dealers (i.e. PC distributors, the Internet and direct from the manufacturers). Not a statistic I like, but one that's, nevertheless, an unfortunate result of the simplification of projectors. But, as a result of this shift, projector sales grew almost 20-fold in 10 years! Now, here come simple, small systems. Once negatively labeled as "hang-and-bang" systems, small systems are one of the fastest growing segments of the ProAV channel and they have recently become validated with the first control system manufacturer entering that space: Crestron. Products like Extron's MediaLink, 3M's Digital Wall Display and Smart's LightRaise have been in that space for a little over a year now, but with the introduction of Crestron's forthcoming MediaManager system, there is no question in my mind that this will be the fastest growing segment of the ProAV market in 2003. The MediaManager is basically a packaged room control and signal management system in one. And, with a cool software package for MediaManager called SystemBuilder, a dealer salesperson can specify, design and program a system by themselves (without the need for a separate programmer). (Editor's Note: Gary Kayye consulted with Crestron during the development of MediaManager.) What this does is expedite the process of the systems sale and simplifies it to the dealer and the buyer. And, I am sure the other aforementioned manufacturers won't stop there. So, we are sure to see some significant growth and adoption of the simple systems in a box approach to selling rooms. But, unlike the simplification of projectors, it is unlikely that simple systems will be sold via the Internet or the PC channel anytime soon. The power in knowledge of integration of multiple AV products together is not something that transfers easily to a customer who's only making one purchase every once in a while. So, don't expect to see Extron, Smart or Crestron selling direct or through the Internet. But, for the customer, simplification equals quicker acceptance. And, quicker acceptance equals expedited growth. Expedited growth equals more sales. And, of course, more sales mean more money for everyone. Reprinted with permission of Sound & Communications magazine To subscribe go to http://www.soundandcommunications.com Back to top
Click above for more information News Have a news scoop? Send it to Gary Kayye's rAVe Editor-in-Chief, Denise Harrison — dharrison@kayye.com 1. InFocus Announces ProjectorNet 2.0 for PC-based Projection Asset Management, Announces Wireless Projector Family InFocus announced ProjectorNet 2.0, a control and monitoring system they hope to make an industry standard. Users can remotely monitor, control and troubleshoot a large selection of models and brands in the same way PCs, printers and other technology are currently managed. The product is the result of co-development between InFocus and Spinoza Technology and is based on Spinoza's platform, which is quickly becoming the industry's developing defacto-standard for Windows-based asset management over the network. It works with the InFocus, Proxima and ASK brands but also "hundreds" of other brands as well – 300 total models are supported. InFocus says the system was created to help minimize theft and coordinate proactive maintenance, and it's designed for "corporate office parks, government facilities and universities with multiple installed projectors distributed across various rooms, floors or buildings." It has power on/off scheduling, remote management and e-mail event notifications, controls including keystone, brightness, volume and other settings and SNMP and DHCP support for network integration. Spinoza is also the core technology under BOXLIGHT's Projector Director
( http://www.boxlight.com/wireless/ ) and Christie Digital's ChristieNET ( http://www.christiedigital.com ). InFocus, busy with announcements this week, also introduced a new family of wireless projectors that are compatible with ProjectorNet from the get-go. The first one is the LP820, to be shipping this summer. It's the first meeting room projector to support InFocus's LiteShow secure wireless digital projection system. (LiteShow also works with older projectors with an M1-DA connector.) The LP820 has a set-up display channel available in 12 languages. The 13-lb., 3,000-lumen LP820 has user-replaceable bayonet lenses that can be changed without tools. You can just push and twist. For more information visit http://www.infocus.com 2. iSkia a Must-See at InfoComm There are few things more distracting than seeing data projected on a presenter's business suit during a presentation. It's an age-old problem for presenters — staying out of the way of the image while staying involved with – making eye contact with — the audience. This new system from iMatte Inc., called iSkia, has a pretty amazing way of solving the problem. First, some background. IMatte is a sister corporation to Ultimatte Corporation, an entertainment technology company that has won three Oscars and an Emmy for their technologies, which include matte extraction (for placing humans and computer graphics in the same scenes) and compositing tools for motion picture and television. In fact Ultimatte founder Petro Vlahos was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Oscar by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. So, basically, Ultimatte knows how to capture one image and put it elsewhere for a seamless integration of the two images. At some point they realized this sort of technology makes sense for presentations so they formed iMatte. The iSkia product actually let's the presenter stand directly in front of the screen – without having the image projected on him or her! The image is intact on the screen, when all logic tells you it shouldn't be. The way it works is iSkia (the Greek word for "The Shadow") takes the portion of the image that would normally fall on the presenter and removes it, in real time, off the presenter. The data is fed into the iSkia system, where that portion of the image is united with the rest of the image, and then the image, now intact, is projected on the screen. It actually takes a cutout silhouette of the presenter's body, including hands and arms as they move around – the presenter stays lit and engaged with the audience wherever they want to stand in front of the screen and the screen projects the image without disruption. And it happens in real time so there is virtually no lag. So now, there's no need to stand off to the side in the darkness while talking. In addition, you can walk up to the screen and point at anything you want to emphasize without becoming part of the image. It just appears to be ignoring you. iSkia requires no special software on the presenter's computer, works with any projector, and is interactive. The other feature of iSkia is a technology they call Leading Edge. Leading Edge senses the presenter's hand and as it relates to the screen, and what the hand does. The presenter can actually highlight areas or text with a variety of colors, draw onscreen, underline, and drag and drop as far away as 100 feet and page forward and backward by just using their hand on the screen! So for those sorts of tasks, it eliminates the need to run back and forth to the computer keyboard. And there is no additional hardware required near the screen, wall, or whiteboard, whatever you choose to project on. In the official announcement, Paul Vlahos, CEO of iMatte Inc., said, "The effects technology revolution in the television and motion picture industry has profoundly strengthened box-office. We played a significant part in that revolution, and we hope to impact the presentation industry in the same way with our unique disciplines and perspectives." That means look for some more interesting technology from iMatte in the future. In fact, an insider just told me they have a pretty long product map. For now, you can see it at InfoComm booth 421. For more information, click here http://www.imatte.com
Click above for more information 3. AKIRA Comes Out With 84" Plasma System, Sort-of Akira introduced the Neodigm 84" Multi-PDP, an 84" plasma display comprised of four 42" plasmas, much like the PlasmaSync 84VP4 from NEC announced in April. AKIRA says there is a gap of fewer than 2mm between the panels and as with the NEC product, you can display one, or up to four different images with its built-in matrix processor. Inputs can be computer, Composite Video, S-Video (Y/C), Component Video, or HDTV signals simultaneously. It has a contrast ratio of 2500:1, Color Temperature settings from 3200-9300 degrees Kelvin, Audio-follow-Video, a wide viewing angle of more than 160 degrees, and has a Titanium Bezel. The Neodigm 84" Multi-PDP is 4" deep so it can be flush-mounted to the wall (there is an optional wall mount) or can be displayed free-standing with the optional floor accessory. It has RS-232C control for remote control and monitoring. For more information, go to http://www.akiradisplay.com 4. PLUS Vision Adds Two 3-Pound Projectors At InfoComm, PLUS Vision is announcing the U4-136 and U4-112, both 3-lb. projectors using TI's DLP technology. The U4-136 is 1500 ANSI lumens and XGA resolution; the U4-112 is 1300 ANSI lumens and SVGA and it also features CompactFlash card support. One interesting feature is what PLUS calls the presentation timer. The timer can be set for presentation times of 10 to 60 minutes in 10-minute increments. It also has a "time left" indicator. Inputs include DVI, RGB (data), component and composite inputs (video). The U4-112 will be $1,995 and the U4-136, $2,695. For more information, go to http://www.plus-america.com or http://www.plushometheater.com 5. ICIA Moves InfoComm China to May 2004 May 12-14, 2004 is the new timing for InfoComm China. The SARS threat that ultimately led to ICIA postponing the 2003 event is expected to be solved or under control by 2004. ICIA Executive Director Randy Lemke says that reports indicate the medical experts will have a better understanding and will even be able to contain the deadly virus by then. Keep up with the conference at http://www.infocommchina.com 6. Kayye Consulting's Jody Thomas to Lead Panel at Projection Summit Conference The session called "Evolving Role of Pro AV: Selling Solutions, Not Boxes" will deal with issues in the current economic climate. It takes place at 10:15am on June 2 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. "We have helped companies go from selling $30M of projection boxes to $18M in integrated systems, while boosting profits from $2M to $6M," says Jody Thomas, CEO of Kayye Consulting and the moderator of the session. "We want to hear how this group of panelists envisions how future systems integrators will thrive." In this open discussion, the panelists will field questions from Jody Thomas, participate in an open dialogue and address questions from the attendees on their companies' contributions to the profitability of the ProAV dealer. Insight Media and McLaughlin Consulting Group have organized the Projection Summit conference. The speakers will be:
· Norm Cleary – Pro-Com Systems
· Jay Rogina – Spinitar
· Tom Jackson – Telesuite Corporation
· Fred Bargetzi – Crestron Electronics
· Jim Martindale – InFocus Corporation This panel of leading systems integration companies and manufacturers of integration products will discuss the future model of the systems integrator in the professional audiovisual business, and how these companies are redefining themselves in the economy of shrinking equipment margins. The Projection Summit agenda is viewable at: http://www.insightmedia.info/conagenda.htm 7. Toshiba to Introduce Another Projector/Document Camera Combo at InfoComm At next week's InfoComm show, Toshiba will introduce the new TLP-791, which combines a 3,000-ANSI lumen projector with a 1.45MB pixel resolution document camera- the brightest projector/document camera combo on the market to date. The TLP-791 projector supposedly has a 400:1 contrast ratio, is native XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, has DVI connectivity as well as all the standard analog ports (video, RGBHV, s-video, etc.) and weighs 11 lbs. The TLP-791 projector will be available as soon as the show closes at $4,699 ESP. For more information, go to http://www.csd.toshiba.com 8. InFocus Meets $999 Challenge and Beefs up Home Theater Offering Just after Epson introduced their sub-$1,000 projector, InFocus lowered the price on its InFocus X1 projector to $999 also. The X1 is positioned well against the Epson PowerLite S1. Both are SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. The Epson is 7 lbs.; the InFocus is 6.8 lbs. The lamp for the Epson PowerLite S1 is $199 and is estimated to last 2,000 hours. InFocus says its lamp is 3,000 hours. It's $299. Apparently, however, Epson has the edge when it comes to ANSI lumens. The PowerLite S1 is specified at 1200 while the InFocus X1 has 1100. But InFocus has an advantage with its contrast ratio. They claim it's 2000:1 compared to Epson's 400:1 – that is a significant difference. The InFocus X1 uses the new TI DMD chip (the Epson, of course, is LCD technology). InFocus also introduced a new home theater projector, the third in its ScreenPlay Series. The ScreenPlay 4800 has a price tag of less than $1,500 and includes analog and digital (DVI) inputs as well as all the bells-and-whistles you need for home applications (aspect ratio sizing, color temperature setting options, etc.). Using TI's DLP technology and Faroudga's deinterlacing technology the 4800 weighs 6 lbs. projects 1100 ANSI lumens, a 2000:1 contrast ratio all at an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. For more information, go to http://www.infocus.com 9. Gary Kayye to Debut Crestron's MediaManager at InfoComm Gary Kayye, Chief Visionary of Kayye Consulting and founder of rAVe, has been invited by Crestron to be the featured presenter of Crestron's new MediaManager system at InfoComm. Having assisted with the development of MediaManager, Crestron's Executive Vice President, Randy Klein, asked Kayye to roll out MediaManager with an 8-minute training session/introduction of the MediaManager system to the ProAV market. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the MediaManager product line with Crestron and am excited to be presenting the MediaManager as well as being reunited with Catherine Bell [of Crestron]", said Kayye. "Having worked at Extron together for almost 10 years, we understand signal management and the impact of marrying a control system and signal routing in a single, simple system to the ProAV market." MediaManager is not just another control system. With MediaManager, Crestron has developed the world's first single-room or multi-room control system, signal distribution network and campus-wide room management family of products. That's all we can tell you now, as it's being introduced June 3rd at 10:30am with an in-booth presentation by Gary Kayye. Every person who visits the Crestron booth and sits through the MediaManager introduction will get an exclusive, limited edition MediaManager t-shirt. For more information on the MediaManager, come to InfoComm or stay tuned to rAVe as we will debut the MediaManager first, here. 10. Paradigm to Introduce Two High-Power In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speakers At InfoComm Paradigm Electronics will show the new SA-35 and SA-10R speakers which they say overcome the acoustical problems of recessed speakers compared with the usual higher quality of free-standing speakers. The way Paradigm says they met this challenge is the two speakers are built with UltraRigid chassis and mounting brackets that increase the rigidity of the wall by sandwiching and strengthening the area around the mounting hole. The SA-35 is a 3-driver, 2 ½-way design and is the largest speaker in the series. It has a one-piece, Ultra-Rigid die-case aluminum heatsink chassis and and die-cast aluminum mounting bracket. . The SA-10R is a 2-driver, 2-way design with a glass-reinforced injection-molded polymer (GRIP) chassis and mounting bracket. Both speakers feature a 1" PAL (pure aluminum) dome high-frequency driver, high-temperature voice coil with ventilated aluminum former, ferro-fluid cooling/damping and oversized magnet. The 8" bass/midrange driver has an MLP mica-loaded polymer cone. In the SA-35 an additional 8" bass driver features a mineral-filled polypropylene cone. For more information, go to http://www.paradigm.com 11. ICIA, CEDIA and NSCA to Launch Joint Europe, Asia Shows In a marvelous match of three powerful and respected associations, CEDIA, ICIA and NSCA have teamed up to develop and produce joint trade exhibitions in Europe and Asia. The three have a combined membership of over 5,000 companies and individuals in more than 60 countries. In my opinion, this is a good thing for everyone involved – especially for ICIA. I talked with Randy Lemke today about this new venture and he commented to me, "We believe this is the right way to focus our show activities in Europe and Asia. We are adding the talent and capacity of three quality associations and together CEDIA, ICIA and NSCA will do a great job for the industry and for our associations." I plan to be at their combined press conference next week at InfoComm and will tell you more as the show develops. They'll have their first European show at the GENEVA PALEXPO in Geneva, Switzerland, February 3-5, 2004. They are working on a new name and brand. In Asia, CEDIA and NSCA will join with ICIA in already-established shows in Singapore and China by InfoCommAsia Pte , Ltd. (IAPL). The first combined shows will be in 2004 for InfoComm China and 2005 for InfoComm Asia, when the exhibitions are replaced with the new show name and brand as used in Europe. A formal press conference and signing ceremony will be held on June 2 at InfoComm 2003 in Orlando, Florida. The three executive directors of the associations will attend as well as the head of IAPL, the newly hired European managing director of the Europe show, Mike Blackman, and a representative of GENEVA PALEXPO. The associations clarify, however, that the alliance does not extend to the North American tradeshows conducted by CEDIA, ICIA, and NSCA, which offer the independently leading exhibitions and conferences for "Electronic Lifestyles," "Pro-Audiovisual Systems Integration and Communications," and "Building Connections," respectively in the U.S. The shows in North America have served their attendees very successfully and each has seen large growth in the last decade. There is also a clearer distinction in North America between the commercial and residential segments of the industry. 12. ActiveLight and Kayye Consulting to Announce Strategic Partnership at InfoComm Principals Build Broad Co-Marketing Relationship ActiveLight, Inc., the leading value-added distributor of professional plasma and LCD display solutions, and Kayye Consulting, Inc., the leading provider of marketing consulting and training development services in the ProAV industry, announced a broad strategic co-marketing relationship at the InfoComm Tradeshow this week in Orlando, FL (ActiveLight Booth #300, Kayye Consulting Booth #3033). The agreement includes an exchange of support for the respective firms' websites and newsletters, as well as Kayye Consulting providing future training and consulting services to ActiveLight's PowerPartner resellers. "ActiveLight and Kayye Consulting have been actively supporting and recommending each others' services for years," said Brad Gleeson. "Gary Kayye and I felt it was the right time to formalize that partnership to the benefit of our respective customers and clients." Activelight plans to sponsor Kayye's AV-Insider eNewsletter, "Gary Kayye's rAVe," and add Gary Kayye's comments and content to the ActiveLight "Flat Panel Monitor" reseller newsletter and Absolute Plasma website. ActiveLight will also allow PowerPartner resellers to use PowerPartner marketing dollars they have accrued for consulting and training services offered by Kayye Consulting. "We're extremely pleased to add ActiveLight as the latest sponsor to our AV industry insider "rAVe" eNewsletter, joining other industry leaders Crestron, Kramer and Da-Lite," said Gary Kayye, Chief Visionary of Kayye Consulting. "In addition, the training and consulting services which we intend to provide ActiveLight's PowerPartner resellers along with the news and insight I hope to contribute should make this relationship particularly meaningful for ActiveLight's customers and partners," he said. For more about ActiveLight, go to http://www.activelight.com or Kayye Consulting at http://www.kayye.com Back to top
Click above for more information Attn: Dealers
Want to Send a Newsletter to Your Customers But Don't Have the Time? If you're a dealer in the business segment (rather than consumer) and would like to send out a customized newsletter to your customers and prospects (and want to do it spending only ten minutes a month!), ask us about it by writing to dharrison@kayye.com
Feature Article Gary Kayye rAVe
AV Hall of Fame
Mackey Barron Although I have only been in this market for a little more than 16 years, I have had the privilege to work with some of the industry's most famous people. As everyone knows history provides the path to the future and it has been amazing to be able to sit down with many of these famous figures over the years and learn about what made this market grow and evolve. With that in mind, I am starting a series of articles that will focus on some of these famous industry pioneers and awarding what I call, for lack of a better term, an AV Hall of Fame award. Our first Hall of Fame award winner is Fred Dixon (a 50-some year veteran of AV) and here is his story: Mackey Barron: A Life, Career and World War II He's been in the business 65 years – 66, if you count his first part-time job winding film reels for $15 a week in 1937. Mackey Barron, one of the true pioneers of the Pro AV industry, has seen more than most of us could ever imagine. But sometimes strife yields the gift of a thankful and giving nature and Mackey Barron would be the first to agree. The president and founder of Connecticut-base HB Communications is as industrious today as he was as a child growing up during the Great Depression. Born in 1920 in Boston, by the age of 12 he was fixing bikes and cars to earn spending money. "A turning point occurred when I was 16 in the Brookline High School auditorium," remembers Barron. "A film reel rolled down the aisle past me. I neatly rolled the film back up and returned it to the projectionist, an insignificant event that changed my life." Working with film appealed to him – he had a real knack for it — and his talents landed him a part-time job working with Catholic Film Services while still in high school in Boston. At first, he wound film reels, spliced out damaged portions and distributed the films to schools. "Later, I got into selling," says Barron. "I would travel with a woman named Mary Sullivan. I would do the demos and she would do the selling. I watched how she sold and learned from her. When you watch someone talented at selling, it becomes easier to do it yourself." He also took on odd jobs, such as filling in for the Cardinal's chauffeur and running movies for the Red Sox baseball team. "I was ambitious and wanted to make money so I took on every extra job I could get," he says. After high school, he joined Cinema Incorporated, a company formed by the merger of Cinema Incorporated and Catholic Film Services. During the slower summer months, he branched out on his own and brought entertainment to five different towns in the form of 16mm movies. He advertised the movies by putting flyers around town, at farms, in post office boxes. "There was no television at the time, so this was a big deal," says Barron. "I showed them older movies – dramas, westerns, Hopalong Cassidy, Buster Crabbe, 'Rainbow on the River' with Bobby Breen. I rented the town hall for $3.50 and I had anywhere from 100 to 150 people come from each town. I made money from selling candy, too, and cleared $75 a week." But his comfortable life came to a halt in the form of a declaration of war and in January 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Barron was first sent to Esler Field in Alexandra, Louisiana where he and another enlisted man ran the base movie theater in the evenings. During the days, he drove a garbage truck for the base until later that year a space opened up at the pilot's school. Having passed the exam, off he went. In San Antonio, Texas, he graduated with 7,000 others in the Class of 43 F. A sign of what was to come occurred soon after, when he and a fellow pilot crashed. "I came out of the windshield at 150 miles an hour," remembers Barron. When recovered and reinstated as a pilot, he was sent overseas as a member of "Wild Bill Donovan's OSS Team," a flying team that delivered supplies, ammunition and spies into enemy territory. "We also dropped leaflets to towns telling them to surrender before our troops arrived," he says. "And we dropped Joe's, the term for spies helping the underground." On his 13th mission while supporting the Danish underground, Barron was shot down, wounded and captured. "There were eight of us on the bomber, a black B-24," he says. "We all bailed out and I was the last out at 500 feet. I had to bail out of the top hatch because I was on fire. I hit the tail on the way down, ripping my arm out of socket, and crushing my leg. I was in the air five seconds before I hit the ground – I pulled the rip cord and lived to tell about it." After being captured, Barron was sent to a hospital in Herning, Denmark where he received a visit from the pilot who actually shot him down. Although they couldn't communicate as neither one of them spoke each others' mother tongue, Barron sensed the pilot was glad to see he was alive. Barron was soon sent to a POW camp in Germany, living a horrific existence lasting "358 days 12 hours 14 minutes." He couldn't walk because of his leg, so he exercised daily to be sure he'd be able to walk when, if, release time ever came. He and the other 10,000 POWs, whose numbers grew to 130,000 by the end of the war, were transferred from camp to camp in unthinkable conditions. "We'd be on a boxcar, 54 of us jammed in a car for three days. No baths, no facilities," recalls Barron. "At camps, we lived 15 to a room and we starved. Meals consisted of meager amounts of food and we also sometimes received Red Cross parcels. The Germans punctured the cans to be sure we couldn't stockpile them for an escape." They did have a theater, but only one movie to show. It was "Orchestra Wives" with George Montgomery, Ann Rutherford, Glenn Miller and Cesar Romero. Of course, Barron ran the projector. "I ran that movie 10 times for 1,500 people each time to be sure the whole camp saw it," he remembers. Also, Christmas of 1944 he read "Wuthering Heights," (the Red Cross sent books to the POWs) –a book he will never forget. While their lives were spent filthy and hungry (the definition of what qualifies as food is greatly expanded during such conditions), they did find a few innovative ways to stay sane. One was a hand-built underground radio, where the POWs learned about Normandy before their German captors told them about it. Another was making ice cream by taking Klim powder, Postum and sugar cubes and mixing them with snow. "We also had what we called Kriggy Brew," he laughs. "You take prunes, pour water on them and hide them away. Eventually, they'd ferment and we would get a real buzz from them." Finally, and not until the war had ended, they were liberated in April 1945 by none other than General Patton himself. Barron, weighing only 50 kilos, or about 110 pounds, spent the next four weeks at Lucky Strike Camp in France, where he put on 28 pounds in 28 days. He then sailed back to Boston. "Going home was very emotional," he recalls. "It's hard not to cry when you're sad and hard not to cry when you're happy, isn't it?" Making his homecoming even more emotional was his son. "My wife was expecting our first child when I was shot down and I found out about his birth through a telegram I received on August 4, 1944." I still have the original telegram." Barron was back to his life, but it was a new life and certainly, a new way of looking at it. "The war and POW camp was a defining part of my life," says Barron. "It makes you realize how lucky you are that you beat the odds. Since that time I approach life with humor, and I like to give something back." In December of 1945, he went back to work at Cinema Incorporated and went on the road selling 16mm equipment in Connecticut. When he decided to relocate there permanently, he realized he wasn't making enough money to thrive in that region so he went into business for himself, partnering with friend Don Hawthorne, the "H" in HB Communications (the current company name) – the B is obvious. "We started the company with a little over $300 and a $5,000 note from a cousin, and we worked out of my house," says Barron, "with my porch serving as our 8' x 12' storage area." HB Motion Picture Service sold three products: 16mm Projectors, Opaque Projectors and Film Strip Projectors. Their first sale was 10 Amprosound projectors to Roy Wilcox, Executive Vice President of International Silver Company. In 1947, they moved to their first office space, 400 sq. ft. on George Street in New Haven CT. Ten years later, they moved to a much larger space of 3,000 sq. ft. on Audio Lane, and remained there for 29 years. And, in 1962, Mackey bought out his partner and became sole proprietor of HB Communications. It was also in 1947 that Barron became involved with the National Audio Visual Association was born (NAVA –the predecessor to ICIA) and Barron taught classes at the association's University of Indiana location. (In fact, Barron has missed only two out of 57 NAVA and InfoComm tradeshows and has served on the ICIA Board of Governors.) Changes in the market in the early 1960's brought a name change for the company. HB Education Systems, explains Barron, was more descriptive of our business. "The salesmen said 'we aren't in the motion picture business!'" In the late 1970s, the market changed again and the company changed to accommodate it. The focus was now on audiovisual systems integration with all the engineering, drafting and technical resources required. In 1986, along with a move to new 17,200-sq.-ft. facilities, they became HB Communications. Currently, HB Communications occupies a 90,000-sq.-ft. facility in North Haven, Connecticut with a satellite office in Boston. They represent virtually every ProAV manufacturer. Barron's proudest moment in the AV industry was when he received the ICIA Distinguished Achievement Award for 1998/1999. "I'm not a shy person," he says, "but when I'm being honored, I get very shy!" For 27 years Mackey worked 85-90 hours a week making this business a success. "I had the messiest desk in the Industry and it was great." His proudest feeling, however, is giving back, any way he can. "Whether through service or teaching or giving money or telling a joke," he says, "being able to give back some of the pleasures I've received from being in this industry is what makes me proud." He loves what he does, he says, which means he doesn't mind going to work or staying the extra hour (or hours). He's seen more change in the industry than most. "At one time, the industry was about personal sales calls and individual selling," he says. "It's also evolved from a mechanical industry to analog to digital. Now, many organizations buy as a consortium so the selling process, and who makes the buying decisions, has changed. "Another change is people buying over the Internet, but lots of these buyers get burned because they can't get service." He worries about the current economy. "1.2 million people graduated this month," he says. "Where are these people going to get jobs? And as far as our industry goes, unless someone has a background in finance or a good financial team, they won't be around too long. The Internet buying, the low margins, lower than they can afford, are making conditions dire." On the bright side, says Barron, the world's concern with security is making the home theater market boom. What is remarkable and unusual about Barron (as if the above weren't enough!) is his ability and dedication to keeping up with and tackling technology and market changes – consistently – through 65 years in the business. "You know, lots of people who helped me have passed on," says Barron, "and I think about all the people who put their time and effort into making this industry grow. I'd like to someday put together a booklet on the history of AV and make sure that the people now coming into the industry know there were a hell of a lot of us doing a hell of a lot of work to get it where it is today. The industry moves fast and it will move faster, but someone was there to build the pyramid base." One thing that doesn't change? History, itself. "Fifty-two years after I was shot down, I went back to Denmark where my plane crashed," says Barron. "Not only did we find parts of my plane, we met people who saw us crash, people who were 10 years old at the time and are now 62 who told us all about what they saw. I also met the Danish underground official who received the goods I dropped that night." Although he didn't get a chance to see the pilot from that fateful night in 1944, he says it's still a trip he will never forget. Mackey Barron will make it 58 trips to InfoComm this year as he makes his way to Orlando next week. Make sure you stop him, say hello and ask him for one of his famous jokes. Congratulations, Mackey Barron, on being the second recipient of Gary Kayye's rAVe AV Hall of Fame award. Mackey Barron can be reached at mbarron@hbcommunications.com Jody Thomas to Teach ICIA Seminars Kayye Consulting's CEO, Jody Thomas, will be delivering a number of free and ICIA sponsored seminars at this year's InfoComm show on topics ranging from the ins-and-outs of DVI to the hidden value of networking projectors and other AV gear. In case you're interested in attending one of Jody's seminars, here are the details: -10:15a Monday, June 2 – The Evolving Role of Pro AV: Selling Solutions Not Boxes http://www.insightmedia.info/conference.html This panel discussion features experts from various roles in leading systems integration companies and manufacturers of integration products with a specific focus on unique, value added services that are designed to provide additional revenue streams for service-based companies. In this panel discussion, we discuss the future model of the systems integrator in the professional audiovisual business, and how these companies are redefining themselves in the economy of shrinking equipment margins. -8:00a Tuesday, June 3 – S19 – Digital Interfacing in Presentation Systems http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/_event1/expoexchange/shoppingcart/seminars.asp Discover the application of digital computer and video interfacing in modern presentation systems. Tomorrow's presentation systems are not going to be 100% analog or 100% digital; mixing traditional analog video technology and newer, digital technology requires a comprehensive understanding of differentiations between the two. Find out about the application of digital technology, its strengths and limitation as they relate to signal distribution, routing and the physical interface. Also learn from a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of DVI signal transmission and display communication as well as HDCP encryption technology. Review a comparison and contrast between DVI and the new High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and the impact it will have on presentation systems. -1:00p Tuesday, June 3 – MT32 – Discover Da-Lite's ISC (Integrated Screen Control) Networking for Screens http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/_event1/expoexchange/shoppingcart/seminars.asp In this course you will learn about a new revolutionary product Da-Lite has introduced to make it possible to network screens. Whether it is an installation with one or multiple screen deployments, this product can make the control of the screens easier and allows for scheduling and feed back from the screen itself. Learn how your job as a designer or installer can be made easier by this product. -3:30p Tuesday, June 3 – MT39 – Christie Digital Systems – Networking Nitty-Gritty http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/_event1/expoexchange/shoppingcart/seminars.asp This class will bring to light basic understanding of computer network concepts and how Christie Digital Systems – Advanced Display solution products can be part of implementing an Integrated Solution. Learn how an IP addressable control system or an AV component that doubles as a network appliance can greatly enhance the functionality of your system integration solution. -8:00a Wednesday, June 4 – S33 – AV & IT Collision or Convergence http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/_event1/expoexchange/shoppingcart/seminars.asp Presenting the in's and out's of networking and dealer strategies for the convergence of AV and IT requirements and expectations. Find out about the future functionality of these products. Learn how to address ways to handle customer expectations when considering these newly converged products. Understand the content value chain from creation to distribution to delivery and how to best integrate into the distribution segment. -1:30p Thursday, June 5 – S94 – Networking in Projection Systems http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/_event1/expoexchange/shoppingcart/seminars.asp Learn about the concept of network integration into projection displays, and the benefits surrounding asset management and network-based content delivery within organizations. Are these solutions ready for prime time, and if so, what are target markets? You'll learn from an in-depth overview of these two very different and somewhat confusing market segments. Review the comparisons and contrasts between wired and wireless implementations, "push" versus "pull" content delivery methods, and control versus diagnostic asset management capabilities. Lastly, examine sample applications and the impact that each have had on the efficiency of an organization and the value provided to its users. Well, that's it for the eighth 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 and news tips, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gkayye@kayye.com. A little about me: Gary Kayye, CTS, founder of Kayye Consulting. Gary Kayye, an audiovisual veteran and columnist, began the widely-read KNews, a premier industry newsletter, in the late 1990s, and created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which later became InfoComm IQ. Kayye Consulting is a company that is committed to furthering the interests and success of dealers, manufacturers, and other companies within the professional audiovisual industry. To read more about my background, our staff, and what we do, go to http://www.kayye.com Back to top
Gary Kayye's rAVe contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |