News:
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Introduction
This issue, I remind all of you going to InfoComm to pick out your educational schedule before you worry about walking the tradeshow floor. I say this every year as regular readers know, but this time, I also tell you why, historically, those who do gain a lot more knowledge emerging technologies. This month, Grass Valley officially launched Turbo iDDR, a VTR replacement product that I predict that you, as systems integrators, will take to every one of your ProAV customers this year. Check it out in the news section. Also in the news, no less than three projectors under $1,000 were announced. Under $800, even. You know what? That's really not a problem. Smart AV systems integrators are no longer basing their business models on product sales anyway and low-cost projectors just become loss leaders for getting real business in the door. Don't forget to stop by the rAVe booth (#2115) at InfoComm to get a free T-shirt! — Gary Kayye, CTS 
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Editorial
The Final Sayye by Gary Kayye
InfoComm 2005 – A Week Away
By Gary Kayye, CTS I can't wait! No, I dread flying into Las Vegas for anything, muchless a trade show, but I can't wait to get there for the ProAV industry's annual trek into the world of new presentation tools. But, me, I don't go for the show. What? Forget about the exhibits. Don't plan your infoComm experience backwards. Most people attending infoComm plan their show experience around the exhibits and their ability to peruse the show floor and see all the manufacturers they need to see. Then, depending on the appoints they make and the meetings they attend in the booth they determine the left over time slots for taking in a course or two through infoComm's extensive show educational offerings. That's exactly opposite of what you should be doing. What I think you should do is immediately (after you finish reading this column, of course), go to the infoComm educational section of their web site and pick educational courses relevant to your interest and expertise, plan to attend them all and then with the time you have left, visit booths, attend parties and meetings. Certainly, I haven't been attending infoComm as long as industry icons Fred Dixon (who's come to more than 48 shows in 53 years), Kevin Collins, Mackie Baron, Harold Thiel and Andrew Edwards, but I will bet that if you asked every one of them what part of the industry's premiere ProAV show they have gotten the most of over the years, they will unanimously say the educational offerings. Education in our market is crucial.  The first time an LCD projector was ever shown to the ProAV market was in a class at COMTEX (the name of infoComm prior to becoming infoComm); the first time the concept for a DLP projector was explained to AV geeks was at a seminar at infoComm. And, the first time a networked system was demonstrated was in a seminar at infoComm. Sure, these technologies and trends eventually hit the floor, but the time and attention given attendees of a seminar by the instructor far exceeds the time given to a question on the typical show floor booth. And, by the way, while the industry's marketing gurus from each exhibiting manufacturer hang out with PR kits in their respective booths, the engineering departments – geeks – are teaching technology at a seminar down the hall. So, before you plan your journey to Vegas next week, go to: http://www.infocomm.org/ and take a look at the more than 150 seminars and workshops being offered and make sure you attend as many as possible.
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News: Have a news tip? Send them to rAVe Editor-in-Chief Denise Harrison — dharrison@kayye.com Industry News Systems Integrator Pro-Com Systems Acquired 
Pennsylvania-based Pro-Com Systems was acquired by Ontario, Canada-based AZCAR Technologies. The new name for the Pennsylvania office is AZCAR Pro-com LLC and is based in Canonsburg, Penn.
AZCAR, founded in 1974, is focused on the design and integration of conventional, digital, HD, Terrestrial Broadcast (TB), Direct to Home (DTH) and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) facilities as well as LAN/WAN infrastructures for small, medium and large scale operations.
AZCAR’s interest was apparently to expand into the ProAV market as well as the medical imaging and telemedicine markets.
For more information, go to http://www.azcar.com/news_archives/news_item.php?id=item20
Advanced Media Design Acquires Conferencing Company Conferserv AV over IP company, Advanced Media Design, acquired Conferserv, marketer of on-demand archive, streaming and web-casting products for video conferencing. Both companies are based in California. Conferserv was founded in 1999 and Advanced Media Design in 1979.
 Advanced Media Design provides AV-over-IP solutions to the ProAV industry for enterprise, government, and educational applications. The company’s solutions are based on its MediaPOINTE AV-over-IP platform. In mid-2004, Advanced Media Design began distributing to Conferserv's U.S. customers as a complementary technology to MediaPOINTE.
For more information, go to http://www.conferserv.com/ and http://www.amdsys.com/
NSCA Education Foundation Announces New Board Members  Three new members have joined the board of the NSCA Education Foundation. They are Scott Dhaenens of AutoPatch, Mitch Nollman of Bose Corporation and Ron Pusey of Communications Specialists of VA. The Foundation board now consists of five contractors and four manufacturer members.
Scott Dhaenens, Division Manager, AutoPatch of Cheney, WA will bring over 20 years of A/V experience in broadcast, telecommunications to the Foundation. AutoPatch is a new supporter of the NSCA Education Foundation and its EST initiative.
Mitch Nollman, Director of the Americas, Bose Corporation represents Bose on the board. Bose has been a long time supporter of the Foundation and its initiatives. Nollman’s experience in marketing and the commercial side of the business will bring a new prospective to the initiatives of the Foundation.
Ron Pusey, President, Communications Specialists of VA, replaces Tom Frericks as the NSCA Board of Directors liaison for the NSCA Education Foundation. Pusey’s role is to represent NSCA member issues to the Foundation board and communicate Foundation initiatives to the NSCA board. Pusey has been a long time contributor and supporter of the Foundation and its mission of building the next generation through continuing education in the industry. He has served on the NSCA Board of Directors since 2003.
The NSCA Education Foundation is a charitable organization that exists to advance the electronic systems industry by attracting new employees into the field of electronic systems contracting, sustaining career development within the industry and providing and promoting leadership within this field.
For more information, go to http://www.nsca.org/nscaweb/content/foundation/
Media Recording and Distribution
Grass Valley Officially Announces Turbo iDDR
 Last issue, The Final Sayye by Gary Kayye column was a preview of Grass Valley’s new Turbo iDDR — http://www.ravepro.com/issues/2005/05/vol3iss9/#feat1 – a new device for recording, playing and managing digital content. The Turbo iDDR is specifically designed to replace video tape recorders and the associated hassles of storing videotapes. But the Turbo iDDR does much more, such as clip creation, and it can handle a variety of video formats, including compressed HD. It has up to 40 hours of storage.
The Turbo iDDR can be controlled by the touchscreen interface or with a keyboard, mouse and monitor. It also works with control systems from Crestron and AMX.
What’s great about the Turbo iDDR is you get workflow functionality for professional presentations, AND it allows materials in multiple formats to be held in a single device, ready to be played out at a moment’s notice. Specific targets include, but aren’t limited to, for event, corporate, institutional, and worship production.
One question we had at rAVe was how to get the presentation to the event venue. Well, it turns out to be simple. The media producer can load the content onto portable media storage devices then carry it to the location. And of course it’s IT-based, so within an organization it’s just a matter of retrieving the content over the network. The Turbo iDDR also integrates with nonlinear editors and off-the-shelf network-attached storage systems using high-speed networking.
Grass Valley has long been a major player in the broadcast market and sees ProAV as a growth market ripe for products for acquiring, managing and distributing digital content. The Turbo iDDR is just one of a number of products for ProAV that Grass Valley plans to launch this year.
This is a product that’s needed in the market. The AV-IT convergence has been great in terms of connecting devices but had few choices in terms of creating and handling digital content. Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite still rocks in terms of rich media presentation acquisition and webcasting them. Turbo iDDR is more of a general purpose product that will likely find its way into every AV department, especially at the $9,995 price point.
Turbo iDDR should be available in early summer 2005.
For more information, go to http://www.thomsongrassvalley.com/products/iddr/turbo/
Projection
Panasonic Prices 3.5-Pounder at an Amazing $749  Panasonic has a new ultra-portable LCD projector that weighs 3.5 pounds and measures roughly 10 x 8 inches. It has rather nice specs for the $749 price – 1400 ANSI lumens, 400:1 contrast ratio and SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. The PT-LM2U also has a nifty feature that, when in high lamp power mode, it adjusts its brightness according to the content. For example, for darker scenes, it lowers the brightness to get deeper blacks.
Another feature that many presenters will find useful is the Index Window. This allows the presenter to store an image and freeze it on the left side of the screen while conducting the live presentation on the right side. Corporate logos, for example, can be displayed during the presentation, sales meeting or annual investors meeting.
The PT-LM2U takes only five seconds to start up, and also has the quick shut off feature so many projectors have today (no need to wait for the projector to cool down before packing it up).
For more information, go to http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/promo/lb20series/index.asp
Toshiba Announces Two New DLP Projectors  Toshiba has two new DLP projectors, the TDP-SW25U and the TDP-TW300U. The TDP-SW25U is specified at 1800 ANSI lumens, 1200:1 contrast ratio and SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. It’s equipped for wireless with 802.11b/g, weighs 6.8 pounds and is priced at $1,299.
For more information, go to http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=SMB&ccid=1291041&rcid=-26366&coid=-26394&poid=296013
The TDP-TW300U, another wireless projector, is specified at 3000 ANSI lumens, 200:1 contrast ratio and XGA (1024 x 768) resolution. The TDP-TW300U has three computer inputs — one RGB 15-pin, one five-pin BNC and one DVI. It has two four-watt stereo speakers and five audio-in ports for connecting multiple audio sources. It is priced at $3,199.
For more information, go to http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=SMB&ccid=1291041&rcid=-26366&coid=-26392&poid=295984
New Epson 3LCD Projectors  Epson has a pair of new 3LCD projectors, the PowerLite 760c and the PowerLite 765c. The projectors feature XGA (1024 x 768) resolution and a maximum brightness of 2500 ANSI lumens. They are small (7.6"D x 10.9"W x 2.7"H) and weigh under four pounds.
The main difference between the projectors is that the PowerLite 765c features PC-free presenting as well as 802.11g WiFi connectivity. The PowerLite 765c also has built-in software for projecting digital images from storage devices such as USB, external hard drives or directly from digital cameras. Slideshows can be controlled by the projector either manually or with automatic/timed advancement.
Epson says these models are currently the industry's only projectors to offer wireless compatibility with Apple's Keynote software. We are more impressed with EPSON’s PC-free presentation software than anyone else’s on the market.
The Epson PowerLite 760c and 765c will be available for $2,199 and $2,399 estimated street prices beginning in June.
For more information, go to http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8178
Acer Shipping Two DLP Projectors  Acer is shipping two new DLP projectors with affordable price tags. The PD525 for $1,249 is specified at 2600 ANSI lumens, 2000:1 contrast ratio and XGA (1024 x 768) resolution. It has integrated PIP.
The PD116P, $849, is specified at 2100 ANSI lumens and 2000:1 contrast ratio, and has a lower SVGA (800 x 600) resolution.
For more information, go to http://www.acer.com
Integrator Solutions
New Kramer Computer Graphics Video DAs Accommodate Signal Variances
 Kramer Electronics introduced a series of computer graphics video distribution amplifiers designed for compatibility with the wide range of PC and display sync signal variances. The VP-3xl, VP-4xl and VP-5xl distribution amplifiers (1:3, 1:4, and 1:5) feature newly designed sync circuitry. Each machine includes front panel EQ control to compensate for long cable runs and switches for ID Bit control. The machines have a video bandwidth in excess of 375MHz at (-3dB) fully loaded, making them compatible with computer graphics video resolutions from VGA through QXGA.
The VP-3xl, VP-4xl and VP-5xl accept one input each, provide necessary buffering and isolation, and then distribute the signal to each of its identical outputs. The machines have internal international power supplies and are housed in a half 19" enclosure.
The VP-3xl, VP-4xl and VP-5xl are shipping now in stock and carry MSRPs of $350.00, $375.00 and $400.00 respectively.
For more information, go to http://www.kramerelectronics.com/press/VP-3_4_5xl.asp
 Peerless Introduces Mount Line for 10” – 60” Flat Screens
Peerless Industries introduced the SmartMount family of mounts to be used by professional installers for mounting flat screens from 10” to 60”. The series, a significant addition for the company, includes nine universal and dedicated models of flat and tilting mounts. Peerless says the SmartMount line is targeted to a range of environments, from traditional conference rooms and offices, to high-traffic retail stores, airports, stadiums, hotels and healthcare facilities, to even high-end residential entertainment.
The SmartMount line includes flat and tilting mount styles, with up to 12” of side-to-side adjustment. The larger screen mounts offer mounting to studs up to 24” apart. The universal flat mounts feature a thin (1.45” deep) wall plate to keep the screen close to the wall. The universal tilt mounts use a self-balancing design for tool-less tilt adjustment.
SmartMount flat panel mounts come pre-assembled, and with all supplies included in the Peerless’ Sorted-For-You package, which is fully labeled and pocketed.
They range in price from $35 – $250.
For more information, go to http://www.peerlessindustries.com/smartpr.cfm
Pagnan Forms rp Visual Solutions Randy J. Pagnan, president-elect of the International Communications Industries Association, has formed a new company, rp Visual Solutions, based in Orange, Calif.
Pagnan has been involved in the display business for two decades, beginning with his Electrohome (now Christie) days in the 1980s, continuing in the 1990s developing his passion for rear projection during his Trooper days with American Video Communications, and then with Large Screen Displays, where he served as Chief Operating Officer for six years, spearheading the Pi Projected Images custom fabrication and rear screen manufacturing side. He left Large Screen Displays earlier this year to pursue new interests.
The new interest, rp Visual Solutions, announced a slew of new products upon formation of the company.
They include DNP Optical Screens, Diffusion Screens, and Rigid Front Specialty Screens.
The company markets rear projection mounts and RPM mirror systems, rear projection mounts with screens. They have rear projection pedestals, rear projection enclosures, rear projection walls for applications such as control rooms and video walls, and rear projection touch screens. In addition, rp Visuals provides consulting services.
For more information, go to http://www.rpvisuals.com/
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 |  | | | | | | | | | | April/May 2005 The Toys of Summer
With InfoComm beginning in just 10 days, you wouldn’t believe the sense of excitement here at ICIA. We are looking at what could be our best Show ever. Our education and overall attendance numbers are looking phenomenal and the buzz around some of the new products and events being unveiled at the Show is becoming a roar. A quick note on the AV Excellence Awards Banquet: it is just about sold out! We are already at over 650 guests this year, up from last year’s sold out attendance of 504! We will expand our space to 750 for this year, so if you are thinking about joining some of your peers for a night of networking and fun, don’t delay, contact dsausville@infocomm.org. But before everyone leaves for Las Vegas, I wanted to have a chance to update you on recent developments. The first is that we have completed the AV best practices guide, a landmark must-have reference on the process for planning, designing and installing AV systems that will affect our industry for years to come. Audiovisual Best Practices: The Design and Integration Process
for the AV and Construction Industries will be available for purchase at InfoComm as well as on our website at www.infocomm.org. We are grateful to all the experts who collaborated as part of the AV Best Practices Committee made up of ICAT, SAVVI and Technology Manager councils, as well as to others who took the time to review the publication. This 2-year effort has resulted in a resource for the AV and construction industries of which we can all be proud! Another update on the subject of technology resources: ICIA recently reached an agreement with BICSI to co-publish an AV design manual and offer both associations’ members easy access to one another’s courses. This development will enable members to take advantage of the new CSI MasterFormat which outlines construction specifications for AV and IT infrastructures; and it will promote the two organizations’ credential programs to architects, building owners, general contractors and others in the building trades. I wish everyone safe travel to Vegas and I will see you there!
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| | Upcoming InfoComm Academy courses: Design School Level 2:
Facilities Design (USA, July 17-19, 2005) Design School Level 3:
Systems Design (USA, July 20-22, 2005) CTS-D Testing (USA, July 23, 2005) Certification Prep (USA, Aug 14-15, 2005) Design School Level 1: Principles of Applied AV Design (USA, Aug 21-23, 2005)
| | | | News about the Show: Visit www.infocommshow.org for the latest news about the Show. 
Tech Resources from ICIA:  Executive Update is republished and archived by Gary Kayye’s rAVe.
This periodic e-mail newsletter is designed for decision-makers within the AV industry, including your staff members and anyone with upper-management responsibility for attending or exhibiting at tradeshows, training and certification of your staff and marketing and public relations. Please feel free to distribute this to colleagues and members of your staff who should receive this insider update regularly. To subscribe, send an e-mail to press@infocomm.org. |
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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 and news tips, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gkayye@kayye.com [forward-Click here to forward Gary Kayye's rAVe to a friend] [subscribe-Click here to subscribe] 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. Gary Kayye's rAVe was launched in February 2003. The new rAVe Home Edition co-sponsored by CEDIA launched in February, 2004. To read more about my background, our staff, and what we do, go to http://www.kayye.com Back to top
Copyright 2005 – Kayye Consulting – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact Kayye Consulting, 400 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 425 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email dharrison@kayye.com 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. |
Microtek’s new MS4 DLP projector is priced at just $800 but delivers a nice 1500:1 contrast ratio, especially nice for that price. It is also specified at 1200 ANSI lumens, SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, and weighs less than five pounds and measures 11” x 3.8” x 8”.