Volume 10, Issue 6 — June 22, 2018

So let’s talk about experience.

Today I’d like to discuss three spaces — last year’s word du jour in the humble huddle room, the flagship of conference spaces in the corporate board room, and, finally, the kinds of spaces created explicitly to communicate a message or story through a user experience.

Experience in the Huddle Room

The huddle space was a topic of one of our Sunday Morning Twitter conversations under the #AVinTheAM hashtag. While most people begin by describing huddle spaces by size, the more interesting discussion is in use case. Mark Coxon did a nice job with it:

In my interpretation, a huddle room is smaller (four to six people), has to be available ad hoc, needs to be flexible enough for a small group or a remote meetup, and needs tools for collaboration both near and far side.

Where Mark is right is that it’s about experience – in this case that experience being ease of use in impromptu, ad hoc meetings. This drives technology towards the simple and intuitive, with huddle spaces being ideal for no-touch control schemes; this should be the kind of space in which you sit down, connect your laptop and have the display turn itself on. Furniture should be durable, with enough clear workspace for whatever kind of devices or documents the users typically need to support small meetings.

The last part – regarding furniture – is one we in the AV design space often overlook. While it isn’t under our purview, it IS part of a successful design and one in which we need to be part of the discussion. Huddle room furniture needs to be welcoming, accessible, and stand up to whatever abuse it will be given. Those of us who work on the design phase of projects need to be able to discuss what furniture types fit what kinds of rooms or, at the very least, know what to expect and what changes we can ask for.

The Board Room Experience

This was another topic of Twitterversation was the corporate board room, often the flagship or crown-jewel of a conference room project. My definition of the board room is again based on expected experiences. If asked to give a single definition, I’d define it as follows:

The board room is an important room in which the furniture, technology, and space create a sense of importance. It is a space in which serious topics are discussed by people in positions of power.

While this is a very traditional view leaning towards certain industries (particularly law and finance), it is a good place to start. The traditional boardroom space is fit out in rich materials with furniture chosen for visual impact as well as functionality. This is a space, much more so than a huddle room space, in which integration of AV equipment with the aesthetics of the space is key.

What’s the technology experience here? Where the huddle room is built for utilitarian simplicity, the board room is built to impress. This is where large-format displays and well-tuned audio systems are chosen to make an impact on the audience. Simplicity is, in many cases, not the most important consideration as operation will more likely be by trained support staff than by end users. What’s most important in a space like this is that everything fits, that technology and space are seamless. This is the space in which one shouldn’t need to deal with cables lying across a table, in which technology should be sized to feel like an organic part of the design, not an afterthought.

Notice that much of what I see as “experience” in a boardroom has little to do with technology. Yes, user interfaces should be easy to use, but the most important audience is often not the one operating the system – it’s the people meeting in the space for which experience is more aesthetics than technology. Sometimes it’s the impact of an LED wall filling an entire side of the room, and sometimes it’s as simple as a clean table as the room is served with invisible technology – wireless keyboard/mouse combinations, wireless content sharing, discreet ceiling microphones.

Experience in Experience Centers

Finally, we get to the kinds of spaces with experience in their very names — interactive experience centers. What is an experience center? My working definition is in the form of an equation:

Typical AV space + Interaction + Story = Experience Center

For another example, those of us in New York can see the Connected Worlds exhibit at the New York Hall of Science – a wonderful science museum near the former World Fair site at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. Connected Worlds is a digital exhibit featuring various landscapes projected onto fixed screens while a digital river is projected onto the floor. Visitors can redirect the river with foam “logs” to bring life to various locales and wall-mounted cameras allow them to grow – or destroy – various plants with a gesture. The experience is explained via an animated digital book, also utilizing a camera and projector. Each run through the exhibit is unique based on the actions of those using it, and there is a subtle message about the sharing of scarce resources.

These simple examples illustrate two important concepts about designing for experience.

First, I’ll borrow a line from the standard presentation Blue Telescope – the design firm responsible for the above-mentioned system – gives to explain what they do.

We are not story tellers. We are story enablers.

Blue Telescope founder and CEO Trent Oliver goes on to explain that today’s world is built on interactivity, and younger generations are expected to be more than passive observers. To create an experience is to create the client’s individual experience, in finding ways to help them tell their stories.

Second, and perhaps most ominously for us, it isn’t about the technology. Design for customer-facing experience centers needs to begin at the very earliest phases with a vision. What is the message? How are users to interact with it?

What story are we helping to tell?

How?

These are questions I see too many of my fellow AV experts either leave until the end of a project or handwave into the “by others” bin. That’s natural – technology is what many of us do best and technology design is concrete. Native resolution, size and brightness of a display are all concrete numbers we can sharply define for a given space. Touch interactivity, audio input, camera input and similar connectivity can be easily defined in a spec. That’s hardware — and hardware is easy.

Just as one obviously doesn’t start building Connected Worlds by looking at hardware specs, one shouldn’t approach corporate experiences from that direction. Vision first. Story first. Then content, and hardware to support it.

Then together, we can enable our clients to help their audience tell a story.

Images via Blue Telescope

One of the more unusual booths this year was not an AV manufacturer or distributor. AVIXA invited C2 Labs, creators of the C2 business conference in Montreal. C2 Labs has an interesting modality in that they use shifts in physical context to put participants in an open frame of mind for conversations. For this set of experiences they spoke with Avixa about what questions the organization wanted answered and chose two of their “labs” — The Sky and The Darkness — as venues for the discussion. Did it work? What was the experience like? I sampled both and have thoughts about what this really means and how it fits the idea of “experience.”

The two questions were as follows:

“How can you use technology as a tool to implement your creative ideas, rather than technology function as the driver of creativity?”

“What is holding you back from embracing technology and related opportunities?”

What was the experience? Each was fairly simple. Participants for the sky were seated in some swings and raised off the floor. A cylindrical projection screen surrounded the sky-meeting area, with Barco projectors displaying a semi-abstract skyscape. We’d then participate in a lightly moderated discussion, the focus of which was one of the above questions. The wraparound screen was sized to fill ones field of view, removing participants from any context. You would see the people with whom you were talking against an abstract background, removing most other stimulus. IT gave the discussion a different weight than it would have on the ground and the isolation forced us to focus.

For those curious, here are my answers to the two questions:

On what is holding us back from embracing technology:

Using existing technology is both safe and easy – safe in that nobody will reject something with which they are already comfortable, and easy in that old solutions fit the picture we already have in our heads. By stepping into the dark and unseeing what we think we know we can embrace new solutions.

And on creativity:

We need to forget our preconceptions and approach problems as a blank slate. A “standard” solution is a well-worn path through the wilderness; the more we travel it, the easier it becomes to stay on the path. Creativity comes when we step out into virgin territory.

And yes, those were very similar answers. I wonder if experiencing the two labs with similar questions back-to-back taints the experience somewhat

In some ways the C2 event struck me as the inverse of the Shared Studios “Portals” project, which was discussed at the TIDE conference by Shared Studios founder Amar Bakshi. For those who don’t know, each portal is a video-teleconference system built into an identical shipping container. The idea is for participants to visit a portal in their city and connect with a stranger elsewhere in the world for a conversation. Bakshi, a former international reporter, described some of his most cherished moments as long conversations with strangers on a bus ride someplace halfway around the world from his home. Portals was his attempt to recreate this experience through videoconferencing technology. Each portal is a shipping container, painted black on the inside and gold on the outside. It’s essentially a minimalist immersive telepresence experience — rather than the formal office furniture you’d find in a traditional telepresence room, this is a literal blank slate. Again, we take people from disparate spaces, remove them from their context and place them in an artificial, transitional space. This reduces barriers to communication and lets us see the world from another’s perspective.

What’s a pity is that so many of us — perhaps because of our day jobs working with hardware — tend towards concrete thinking. When I mentioned C2 on Twitter, more than one person responded, “Are they the sky chair people?” I suppose they are, in a sense, the “sky chair people,” but that’s a reductive way of looking at it. I’d rather see them as working towards the same goal as all of us in Avixa. Remember our motto: “Together we can change the way people experience the world.” That’s what C2 is doing, that’s what Shared Studios does.

That is, at our best, what all of us do. It is who we are.

It is the words by which we live.

InfoComm 2018 marks the third TIDE Conference, with the first two having taken place in ISE and InfoComm 2017 last year. What is TIDE? First, and most simply, the the name is an acronym for Technology, Innovation, Design and Experience. The conference is a full-day series of lectures, workshops and breakout sessions about the role of technology in our worlds, the nature of design, and foundational ideas on how to think about our work and how we should think about it. If you came to TIDE expecting AV content directly applicable to the design of, say, a classroom or a conference room you’d be disappointed. If you came to open your mind to new ways of thinking and to hear the words of smart and creative speakers you’d be very pleased and impressed indeed. This was a special day, one in which speakers and audience would cite a dizzying array of sources from statistics on cell phone usage to Homer Simpson to Homer’s Odyssey. If you can attend one of these in the future, you should.

The host, Kevin Jackson of The Experience is the Marketing, then spoke to us about experience and events, what lead him to the event industry and went on to introduce a fascinating array of presenters. One thought from Mr. Jackson’s introductory keynote stands out to me: He described the “needs” of an event as a hierarchy, with the venue as the base, followed upward by production, content, networking and, at the pinnacle, inspiration. His lament was that we spend a great deal of time and energy at the base of the pyramid – finding and preparing a venue, solving technical challenges, etc. — and lose sight of the ultimate goal in whatever inspiration we want our event to spark. So too often it is with AV. We get very much engaged with cable and conduit, with signal flow and control surfaces, with loudspeakers and microphones. We become so adept at asking, “How?” that we often forget to ask “Why?” This is, perhaps, the biggest problem in our industry

Of the presenters, a few stood out to me. One was Beau Lotto, neuroscientist and author of How to Deviate, on the nature of perception. His stated goal — to have us leave his talk knowing less than we thought we knew at the beginning — was the kind of provocative statement aimed right at our sense of wonder. He went on, through discussion of illusions and common perception errors, to explain that we do not see the world. We see a perception of the world based on our personal, cultural, and even evolutionary history. This is something of which I was reminded much later in the week when discussion creativity with an InfoComm attendee from Peru, who had different cultural expectations than mine as to, in this case, the shape of a house.

A tree falling in the woods when nobody is there, Lotto told us, does not make a sound. It releases energy, but that energy only has meaning as “sound” if someone’s brain is there to filter it through our biases and assumptions.

I can hear you saying that this is fascinating, but not directly applicable to what we do.

Perhaps not. But part of the point Lotto was driving toward is the nature of creativity: that being able to see and think about things creatively is a matter of expanding your sphere of possible solutions by first recognizing your biases and assumptions and then asking the right questions to help change them. He spoke of diversity in this realm, and about how while an expert will often be efficient, a novice will often drive creativity. Novices ask good questions because they aren’t bound by biases; experts can recognize these as good questions because they understand the context.

That’s just one standout session of many. Digital artist, thinker and technologist Rana June (of Lightwave) gave a wide-ranging talk on emotion, the nature of art, the promises and dangers of AI and more. This is a woman so thoughtful that even her hair color has a message (her hair is colored blue, as a reminder that language creates perception. It is very likely that the concept of “blue” – and therefore, in a very real sense, the color – did not exist at all in most cultures until modern times. She colors her hair blue to in part remind us that our perceptions and language shift our reality.) Getting to hear from June was a highlight of the event, as she showed herself well-versed in both practical and artistic applications of the new science of measuring both human activity and emotional response. At the very end of the conference she even presented a unique piece of digital art, commissioned by AVISA: an image formed from data gathered by sensors placed throughout the room to measure sound throughout the day.

June is also cognizant of the risks in technology, from privacy concerns (she herself never collects personally-identifiable data) to the danger of our worst online behavior becoming the teaching set for future generations of AIs. For an overall very positive and hopeful conference there were measures of caution, both from June and from the morning’s last presenter Steven Braitch of Fjord. Braitch spoke soberly about the marginal improvements tech is able to realize in the lives of very wealthy people while those with less advantages remain less advantageous.  It was a serious and somewhat down note on which to end the first half of the day.

There was, of course, much more.

We heard from Rebecca Destello of Facebook on Human Centered Design – essentially design-thinking exercises focused on user experience. Amar Bakshi spoke about the inspirations behind and actuality of the Shared Studios “Portals” project. Danielle Lynsey-Chung of Uber spoke of how a digital/physical hybrid company creates shared experiences, for both users and drivers (there is much to say about the impact of Uber on urban planning, but that’s a discussion for another time and, quite likely, another venue).  I attended a breakout session in which Arup and BBI Engineering discussed in detail how they used human-centered design-thinking techniques to create a unique system for Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco, using various iterations of prototypes to create a control surface accessible to the visually impaired. Etc, etc.

Several threads wove through the day: the importance of perception, the value of questioning our assumptions and the design-think process of listening, adjusting, experimenting, listening again.

It was a day from which one walks away perhaps without answers, but with a better appreciation of what it takes to ask good questions.

As Beau Lotto said toward the beginning, I now know less than I thought I did at the beginning. In that it was a success.

We have so much coverage — and there’s so much information on this InfoComm MicroSite that it can be overwhelming. So, please take moment to read this so we can familiarize you with what’s here on the site that holds all our coverage.

First off, we’re an official media partner with InfoComm. This site is NOT intended to be a replacement for attending the show live — you can’t replace an experience like that. However, it’s meant to augment an attendance. And, we are hoping this helps bring the InfoComm show to the rest of the world! And, we hope you will want to attend next year’s event in Orlando, Florida, June 12-14, 2019

The first thing you will see — and the most popular thing we do at shows — is the VIDEO SEARCH. It’s right on the top left and allows you to search by product name, company name or any term you can think of.

But, at the top of the home page (or any page you navigate to), you will see tabs that all correspond to different places and posts on this InfoComm Microsite. The “home” page is sort of an aggregate of a little of each of the coverage in one place — sort of a “launch” page. To the right of the “InfoComm2018″ tab (where everything is aggregated — and where you’re possibly reading this story now — if you’re reading this inside one of our newsletters, go to the Microsite here you will see the NEWS & BLOGS page. This is where we post all the blogs and news stories that we write — as well as commentary — written by our team of reporters on-site at the show (and when you click on — or hover over with your mouse) the tab header NEWS & BLOGS, you’ll see a section called PRESS RELEASES — that is where you can, literally, see news stories on every single product launched at InfoComm — yes, all of them).

To the right of the NEWS tab is the VIDEOS section — this is where we post ALL the videos we shot at InfoComm — every single one — over 1,500. We have them broken out by both product category (14 categories based on product types) as well as PERSONAL interviews we conducted with an assortment of market leaders (those are under Personal Interviews category).

On the right of that is rAVe RADIO. These are all the PODCASTS we recorded at InfoComm (we recorded over 75 of them). Next to that we have over 2,000+ PHOTOS we shot during InfoComm — all of these were shot at 5760 x 3840 resolution). And, what’s nice about the photos section is that they are broken out by booth/exhibitor — just click on any company logo you see and it will take you to all the photos we shot in their booth!

We hope you find this InfoComm 2018 Microsite useful and productive. And, while using it, if you have ANY suggestions to make it better for future shows, just send us an email at pr@ravepubs.com — we do pay attention to your ideas!

The Impact On-Wall Kiosk maintains a nice aesthetic to complement a variety of environments. A 3-5” (76-127 mm) depth-adjustable exterior frame allows for a variety of display sizes. Reversible hinges help to avoid installation and service obstructions, and our exclusive design keeps the display mounted to the frame when opened, providing unparalleled service and maintenance access.

An integrated wall reveal compensates for uneven walls to keep the frame plumb and provide passive cooling. The on-wall kiosk is available in black or white finishes for 46-75” screen sizes.

Integrated engagement latches can be secured with tamperproof hardware to protect equipment. Middle Atlantic’s Lever Lock technology is integrated for on-wall component storage. Additional storage can be added either on-wall with Lever Lock or in-wall with Chief In-Wall Storage Boxes.

You can see them here.

inLighten announced today the release of StudioPro, a design software with a specific focus on content creation for digital signage developed for universal compatibility with the digital signage systems of any manufacturer. Content creators simply download StudioPro onto any PC for access to a comprehensive suite of design tools and utilities for use with a variety of media assets and content resources. With an intuitive, easy-to-navigate and operate interface, StudioPro will streamline workflow, save time and enable users to get the most out of their current digital signage product.

StudioPro enables users to compose dynamic, full-motion video content using existing video, audio, images and fonts. Drawing, animation, layering and editing controls are available along with hundreds of effects and transitions that can be applied to media elements for emphasis and visual appeal.

inLighten is here.

The new Extron TLS 525M is a 5″ wall mount TouchLink Scheduling panel. This stand-alone room scheduling panel connects directly to a variety of popular calendar services, and requires no additional scheduling software or external processors. It features a vibrant 800×480 capacitive edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass touchscreen that is especially scratch and smudge-resistant. The TLS 525M also features the convenience of PoE – Power over Ethernet, which allows it to receive power and communication over a single Ethernet cable. Two bright red and green LEDs make it easy to see if a room is occupied or available even from down the hall.

TLS room scheduling panels provide the information you need to closely analyze room usage, activity patterns, and occupancy trends across the organization. A Scheduling Activity file with room usage and meeting data can be downloaded from each touchpanel. You can transform this readily-available information with data analytics tools to create powerful reports. All TLS panels are configured with Extron Room Agent software. Simply connect the touchpanel to your computer, open the free Room Agent software, fill in the required fields to compose the user interface, and you’re done. Customization options include custom colors and background images, interface text fields to be shown or hidden, depending on user preference.

Here are the details.

Leyard and Planar today introduced the Leyard DirectLight X LED Video Wall System, adding unrivaled video processing and management capabilities into the product.

The Leyard DirectLight LED Video Wall System, introduced in late 2016, was unique at the time as it was one fo the first to offer front-mounting, thin profile, front service access, low power consumption, hot-swap off-board power and higher-end image performance. Leyard DirectLight X builds on this by adding the latest 4K video standards, signal extension, multi-source processing, system monitoring and modern web-based graphical control software. The result is a complete system that reduces dependence on external processing systems while making the video wall easier to operate and monitor.

Leyard DirectLight X features a new, off-board video controller and it includes new Leyard WallDirector Software for video wall installation, monitoring and management.

Leyard DirectLight X comes with the Leyard Video Controller, making it the first LED video wall system on the market to integrate a remote power supply directly into the product. Rack-mounted Leyard Video Controllers can scale to support nearly any size video wall, and allow for scaling, windowing and Picture-in-Picture to give flexibility as to how and where sources are displayed. The Leyard Video Controller includes Planar Big Picture Plus video wall processing, which can scale sources across the entire video wall or across sections of the video wall. It also incorporates Leyard WallSync, providing precisely synchronized video playback and genlock across the video wall.

The Leyard Video Controller supports multiple 4K @ 60Hz inputs and the latest video standards including HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 and HDCP 2.2. It provides a built-in video signal extension over CAT6 and optional fiber optic support for longer video runs and greater signal security.

Leyard DirectLight X comes with Leyard WallDirector Software, a web-based user interface that simplifies video wall set-up, configuration, operation and monitoring. Leyard WallDirector offers the ability to drag-and-drop sources onto the video wall canvas and easily manipulate their size and position. It also includes presets that can recall video wall windowing layouts, making it quick to configure video wall content.

Leyard DirectLight X is available in 0.7, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8 and 2.5 millimeter pixel pitches. It features a 27-inch cabinet with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and comes with the Leyard Remote Power Supply, a redundant and hot swappable power supply that eliminates heat, weight and points of failure from the video wall.

With the Leyard EasyAlign Mounting System, Leyard DirectLight X can be fully installed and serviced from the front—using six-axis alignment features to ensure the video wall is perfectly aligned and seamless. The video wall can be installed to occupy less than four inches of depth from the wall, making it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Details on it can be found here or here.

MuxLab has released its new 4K Signage Player (model 500769) with complete Content Management Software (CMS). This new software system allows users to create, manage and control AV from a variety of sources, including content streaming via the H.264/H.265 codec over a local Ethernet network, Internet, internal memory and external USB 3.0 memory devices. It allows the user to gather, organize and schedule content. The signage player can up-scale content and output it at 4K@60Hz (4:4:4) resolution. The selected source may be viewed on a connected display or can be implemented with many sources and displays to create a comprehensive video wall riding on a IP-based infrastructure via an Ethernet switch.

Content can be autonomously scheduled for the week, with additional weeks ready to automatically play, offering a “set and forget” functionality. Users can create multi-view window layouts and assign audio, video and images, including text banners and logos, to each. Content can be scheduled in minutes, simplifying the time-intensive task of curating content for long periods of time. Content can play simultaneously from multiple sources, including its internal memory, a USB memory stick, from a local Ethernet network and the Internet.

Here are all the specs.

SpinetiX is announcing an end-to-end digital signage solution called SpinetiX ARYA, a new cloud-based solution. SpinetiX ARYA is designed to deliver diverse content to any number of screens at any time, from anywhere and from any device by leveraging users’ own photos, videos and company brand identity. It allows users to create screen-based communication for a waiting room, a common employee area, a cafeteria, a shop window, a showroom and more.

SpinetiX ARYA is here.

Chief is showing a new, low-profile bolt-down solution for displays at InfoComm. The new mounts come in single and back-to-back options. Q-latch technology allows for quick changes between portrait and landscape orientation. Post installation leveling roll and tilt allow for perfect alignment and placement.

Height can be adjusted up to 34” (863 millimeters) to place center of display between 51.38 and 85.38” (1305 to 2169 millimeters) from the floor. Maximum weight capacity is 150 pounds (68 kg).

All the specs are here.

NEC Display Solutions has announced the launch of its latest MultiSync C Series large format displays for meeting rooms, conferencing and digital signage. The new large format displays are designed for office and shop environments with controlled ambient light levels, providing pin-sharp resolution and brightness levels in any conditions.

The new C Series will come in three large format sizes: 75”, 86” and 98”. Capable of portrait and landscape orientation, the C Series range provides the market’s most compelling canvas to convey your communications. The displays feature professional haze levels to ensure the best possible visibility while eliminating disturbing reflections, while brightness levels of up to 350 cd/m2 ensure that it provides perfect colour and resolution in any environment.

All models of the C Series feature NEC’s Open Modular intelligence (OMi) platform, which provides a smart and seamless connection between source and display to provide powerful, tailored and future-proof signage. The technology simplifies device installation, usage and maintenance, and makes it quick and easy to upgrade the devices when used for digital signage and other applications. Thanks to OMi, devices can seamlessly integrate with other NEC devices based on its Open Pluggable Specification (OPS), including Slot-in PCs, Raspberry Pi Compute Modules, Media players or signal interfaces for content feed and computing.

The NEC MultiSync C Series is here.

iRoom recently added new features to iRoom’s iPad Docking Stations that can be activated through a firmware update. The new feature set improves iPad security and adds convenience in using the docking stations. Some of the features require communication with the iPad’s operating system and have been implemented by iRoom as an Apple-certified manufacturer. The new feature set along with built-in control functionality make iRoom’s docking stations the perfect solution for boardrooms where usability and reliability is essential.

One of the drawbacks many users of docking stations face is the battery lifetime that gets dramatically reduced when the iPad is permanently charged while being used at the same time. In the worst case, the battery swells and becomes permanently damaged. iRoom’s Docking Stations communicate with the iPad during the charging process. Once the battery is fully charged the Docking Station switches to powering only the display without using the iPad’s battery. This extends the battery life and prevents damage of the battery.

iRoom’s iBezel and iTop models are equipped with a proximity sensor that can be used in control scenarios to trigger functions such as play/stop/mute music or turn on/off the lights. The new software allows configuration of the proximity sensor for waking and unlocking the iPad screen rather than pressing the iPad button and entering the unlock code.

Some iRoom models also provide a mechanical lock to secure the iPad, preventing theft. Now, all motorized docking stations can protect the iPad from theft by disabling the iPad release button of the docking station. Once the release button is disabled the iPad can only be removed through iRoom’s iPad app or IP command over the network which allows centralized management of all docking stations in an installation.

You can learn all about iRoom here.

Séura is shipping its new 86-inch Storm Ultra Bright Outdoor Display. The Séura Storm Ultra Bright displays offer 950-nit brightness as well as Adaptive Picture Technology, a proprietary internal control system that automatically adjusts backlight, contrast and other picture variables.

The new 86-inch display also received an aesthetic revamp with a redesigned bevel and a reflective edge. The new Séura Storm Ultra Bright line is integrated with HDBaseT certification and internal IP control. The displays also feature readily accessible, weatherproof compartments with inputs, outputs and an internal three-prong power outlet.

Séura also designed a new soundbar to pair with the displays. The weatherproof two-channel soundbar matches the TV length and offers powerful carbon fiber woofers and titanium tweeters.

Séura’s 86” Storm Ultra Bright is here.

signageOS has developed what they are calling the first digital signage video wall synchronization feature that is compatible with any major operating system or digital signage hardware on the market, without the requirement of other external equipment.

Leveraging the power of SoC displays the signageOS video wall characteristics include:

• Functionality without requiring external players, daisy chain cables, authoring software, etc.
• Allows for synchronization of content including but not limited to multiple videos, images, HTML5 content, device network data, etc.
• Complete web-based functionality

CMS companies can freely begin to build unique video wall software implementations and installations using the signageOS video wall API. Video wall synchronization on the signageOS platform will provide companies with the freedom to differentiate between hardware in order to meet the needs of their company and customers while maintaining the same features across all devices.

signageOS is here.

Zytronic has launched what it is calling a new generation of multi-touch controllers, which enable ultra-narrow inactive borders and improved compatibility with contactless systems.

In response to the growing demand for narrow screen borders, especially in interactive video walls, the new Zytronic ZXY500 touch controllers allow touch sensors to be designed with substantially reduced non-active borders. For example, a 55” diagonal touch sensor can now be designed with sub 10mm borders. A further advantage of the new ZXY500 controller is its compatibility with contactless technologies increasingly being integrated alongside displays to enable payments, customer tracking and battery charging technologies. RFID, NFC and Qi phone charging all generate wireless signals that can interfere with the operation of conventional touch screens, but the new controller has industry leading signal-to-noise ratios and algorithms that change dynamically to reject electromagnetic interference in the operating environment.

The ZXY500 can support up to 80 simultaneous touches and the implementation of improved palm rejection functionality. It also features increased speed, updating touch co-ordinates in just 1ms at the controller output, reducing touch latency by a third compared to previous generation controllers and improving the user experience. Each channel on the device can be configured via firmware to operate in transmit or receive mode. This feature further enhances performance in applications where touchscreens of unusual aspect ratios are used.

Designed specifically for use with Zytronic touch sensors, the ZXY500 performance and noise immunity works on displays from 5” to around 86” diagonal, using a 40V on-board drive signal coupled with new touch sensing algorithms. Because of its noise immunity, the ZXY500 allows the air gap between the display and the sensor to be decreased, reducing optical parallax and improving the appearance of the display. It can reliably detect touches through over 8mm of overlaying cover glass, even with gloved hands and is unaffected by rain, dirt, oil or ice on the surface of the touch sensor, making it ideal for outdoor and unattended installations.

Despite the high drive signal, the controller and touch sensor together can be powered from a 5V USB port, eliminating the need for a separate power supply. The ZXY500 is offered with USB output as standard, but also has options to add RS232, I2C, SPI and interfaces, to simplify system integration for industrial and medical applications. The smallest controller in the new ZXY500 controller family has been significantly reduced in size to just 61 x 64mm for the 64-channel version. The flexible printed circuits (FPC) connecting the touch sensors to the new controllers have also been reduced to just 120mm in length, further helping to achieve a compact overall touch system design.

The new controllers have been designed to be HID (Human Interface Device) compliant and offer ‘plug-and-play’ operation with current Windows operating systems, and also support the latest Linux and Android versions designed for multi-touch. All settings including calibration data can be stored in non-volatile memory on-board the controller, so that once an initial touchscreen (“golden unit”) has been optimally set up, these settings can be copied directly into firmware and used to configure further interfaces in production without the need to repeat the set-up and calibration process.

Zytronic is releasing a family of three ZXY500 controllers optimised for different sizes of touch interface. The 64-channel ZXY500-U-OFF-64 is recommended for sensors of 5” to 20” diagonal, the 128-channel ZXY500-U-OFF-128 for sensors of 20” to 55” and the 256-channel ZXY500-U-OFF-256 for sizes above 55”.

Here are more detailed specs.

Lightform is a design tool for projecting augmented reality (and image mapping) that works with ANY projector brand. If you’re one of the more than 7,000 people who have watched or attended one of rAVe’s founder Gary Kayye, 4K keynotes, you may remember him showing you his vision for the future of meeting rooms and classrooms — immersive environments. He used a video from the prototype of Lightform. Well, this is the real thing.

Lightform allows users to augment real life with projected digital designs, information, and magical effects. Unlike the current forms of AR and VR, projected AR can be seen with the naked eye, no need for a headset or phone.

With projected AR, users can transform everyday scenes into immersive experiences, an outdoor equipment retail display can come alive with projected fire, rain, and product information, a photo booth can become an underwater world. Expect to see projected AR menus, murals, and psychedelic artwork popping up in cafes, offices and public spaces nationwide. Watch this video to understand what we’re talking about.

Projected AR (also known as projection mapping or video mapping) used to be a tedious, complicated endeavor. Lightform vastly simplifies the process with a streamlined, end-to-end design system consisting of two parts, the LF1, a tiny computer and scanning device, and the Lightform Creator design software.

The LF1 mounts to almost any projector, scans a scene, and wirelessly sends the scan data to Lightform Creator. Within Lightform Creator, users can quickly design epic visuals using Lightform Creator’s suite of smart mapping tools, instant effects, and stock videos. Once the user is done creating their experience, LF1 plays the project back wirelessly. The LF1 is $699.

Lightform is here.

Leyard and Planar announced new integrated video processing at InfoComm 2018. The Leyard DirectLight X LED Video Wall System and the Clarity Matrix G3 LCD Video Wall System are video wall solutions that incorporate the latest in 4K video standards, advanced video processing and web-based control that enable dynamic, multi-source video walls, right out of the box.

Leyard DirectLight X and Clarity Matrix G3 build on the success of these LED and LCD product lines with the new, off-board Leyard Video Controller that takes built-in video processing to a new level. The Leyard Video Controller incorporates video wall scaling with Planar Big Picture Plus video wall processing, allowing users to display content across the entire video wall, a portion of the video wall or in custom recallable layouts.

The flagship LED and LCD video wall solutions aim to simplify installation and management with new Leyard WallDirector, a web-based user interface that streamlines video wall set-up, configuration, operation and monitoring. Both solutions also come with Leyard WallSync, a set of technologies that make it easy to deliver perfect video playback across entire video walls with perfect synchronization.

Their entire line now includes:

Leyard DirectLight X 0.7: This display breaks new ground as the finest pitch LED video wall display in the industry—offering a breakthrough pixel pitch of just 0.7 millimeters. Leyard DirectLight X 0.7 provides high resolution images at the closest viewing distance, and allows for 4K and 8K resolution video walls in smaller spaces, matching the pixel density seen in traditional control room video walls but with a completely seamless and
uniform image.

• Leyard TWS Series: A family of versatile ultra-fine pitch LED video wall displays available in 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 millimeter pixel pitches, the Leyard TWS Series features a convenient 27-inch diagonal size with an all-in-one design to fit a broad range of environments. The Leyard TWS Series is lightweight and easy to handle, making it an attractive solution for applications where traditional, hanging or curved video walls are required.
• Leyard TVF Series: The Leyard TVF Series is a family of fine pitch LED video wall displays available in 1.5, 1.8 and 2.5 millimeter pixel pitches. With a 27-inch, slim-profile display cabinet, the series features front serviceability and a creative, stackable design that eliminates cabinet-to-cabinet cabling and reduces the complexity of installation and vertical alignment.
• Leyard LED MultiTouch: The Leyard LED MultiTouch is the industry’s first completely seamless interactive LED video wall. This proprietary multi-touch solution revolutionizes interactivity for narrow pixel pitch LED video walls without the disadvantages of front glass. Available in 0.7, 0.9 and 1.2 millimeter pixel pitches, it offers a seamless, smooth, lightweight and durable LED touch surface that delivers superior visual performance.

Also featured at InfoComm 2018 will be Leyard and Planar’s growing portfolio of standard pitch LED display solutions for indoor and outdoor applications. Standard pitch LED displays at InfoComm 2018 include:

• Leyard VersaLight Series: This new, highly versatile family of LED video wall displays can turn even the most challenging environments into dramatic, inspirational video walls. With pixel pitches ranging from 2.5 to 8 millimeters, the modular line of indoor and outdoor LED digital signage displays offers stunning picture quality and ultra-reliable performance.
• Leyard CarbonLight CLI Series: This line of lightweight, flexible LED video wall displays is ideal for indoor rental, staging and flexible-fixed applications. The Leyard CarbonLight CLI Series has expanded to include a 1.9 millimeter pixel pitch option—extending the existing 2.6, 3.9 and 5.2 pixel pitch models. In addition, the series now offers easy front service to accommodate even swifter upkeep and maintenance.
• Leyard CarbonLight CLM Series: The Leyard CarbonLight CLM Series is a line of see- through mesh LED displays designed for rental, staging and flexible-fixed applications in indoor and outdoor environments. Available in 6.9, 10.4 and 15.6mm pixel pitches, it is lightweight with high transparency and low wind resistance.

Both companies are here and here.

LG Electronics USA Business Solutions announced the addition of new Thin Client and Zero Client solutions to its portfolio of commercial monitors at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas.

New at InfoComm 2018, LG has unveiled a suite of cloud monitor solutions, including Zero Client and Thin Client displays, designed with the convergence of AV and IT in mind. LG’s Zero Client re-imagines computing by providing a centralized network management system that enables easy maintenance and streamlines operations. These units are designed to provide up to five times faster performance than previous models. Unlike traditional monitors, LG Zero Client models provide built-in security with PC-over-IP (PCoIP), which internally manages software updates and greatly reduces the risk of virus, spyware and hacking because all data and memory are stored in the central data center. The monitors are connected over the corporate LAN cable, which also acts as a power supply. These features allow for a simplistic set-up. The only things required to get started on their LG Zero Client monitors are the keyboard and a mouse.

The LG Cloud Monitor system utilizes a Teradici PCoIP processor and Amazon WorkSpaces to deliver a secure virtual solution that broadens integrated computing beyond design labs to offices and classrooms. The Zero Client virtualization software enables a single server to support more monitors than previously possible. With no central processing unit or operating system, PCoIP Zero Clients greatly reduce the risk of viruses, spyware and hacking.

Within the Thin Client series, LG has introduced four products. The 38CK900G Curved UltraWide Thin Client AIO (all-in-one) features a WQHD+ resolution (3840 x 1600) and curved LG IPS display for accurate color reproduction and outstanding picture quality from virtually any viewing angle, perfect for viewing data sheets or detailed images and drawings. The LG 24CK550W Thin Client AIO also features an IPS display with Full HD resolution (1920×1080) and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for manageability and security. With a built-in webcam, speakers and AMD Ryzen 3 CPU in the 38-inch model, end users can rest assured knowing LG’s new thin client solutions enable a multitasking.

The 14-inch Mobile Thin Client (model 14Z980) features an IPS display, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and stereo speakers all in a lightweight 2.19-pound design for those businesses seeking ultimate in power and portability. These displays join the LG CK500W Thin Client Box with 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for optimal connectivity. LG also offers businesses highly affordable PCoIP-support Zero Client options for convenient remote control capabilities. LG’s cloud monitors make a great addition to any education, healthcare, government or financial services business, where the utmost security of highly confidential data is crucial.

At InfoComm 2018, LG also demonstrated its portfolio of desktop monitors. LG showed its first 21:9 UltraWide commercial monitor with 5K resolution (5120×2160 pixels) — the 34BK95U UltraWide WUHD 5K monitor with Nano IPS technology. By harnessing the power of smaller nanoparticles for the monitor’s light source, LG’s Nano IPS technology is capable of displaying 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which greatly enhances the intensity of on-screen colors for a more accurate and life-like viewing experience. With high dynamic range (HDR) support, the display is also capable of greater brightness, more shadow detail and richer colors.

The monitor also features a Thunderbolt 3 port, which enables the transmission of 5K resolution images at 60Hz with a single cable, catering to power users who seek fast video, audio and data transfers without a separate AC adapter. Available later this year, the 34BK95U is perfect for financial applications, content creators, programmers and MacBook users looking for a powerful new monitor with superior picture quality. The LG 34BK95U joins LG’s expanded family of 4K UHD commercial monitors, including the 43-, 32- and 27-inch class units (models 43MU79, 32MU99 and 27MU58P, respectively).

In addition to commercial monitors, LG offers a host of corporate meeting room solutions that cater to the varied needs of corporate and IT customers. New product offerings include the advanced new LG IPS Interactive Digital Boards (IDBs) with 4K UHD picture quality. LG IDBs have advanced touch-enabled interfaces with precise writing performance that allows for multiple users to write simultaneously and freely share ideas with intuitive touch technology for maximum productivity and convenience. Key products in LG’s 2018 advanced video conference lineup combine LG’s longstanding expertise in premium picture quality with industry-leading technologies from partners such as Crestron, Cisco and Hoylu to deliver powerful, collaborative tools that provide end users efficiency and increase businesses’ bottom lines.

All of the new Av and IT products are here.

Vivitek’s new NovoDS Cloud is an optional cloud-based service that enables device and content management of Vivitek’s NovoDS family of digital signage solutions. Vivitek’s NovoDS range — comprising the NovoDS-4K, NovoDS and NovoDSmini — is a digital signage content creation and management solution that Vivitek says doesn’t require any technical or programming skills.

With the optional NovoDS Cloud service, users have the flexibility to pull digital signage content from the cloud to one or more NovoDS devices. The media content for the playlist can also be loaded from a Remote Media alternative, such as picture or video saved in a Google drive, Dropbox, or an FTP site and so onIt also gives users the means to remotely manage content – and control their devices – from anywhere over the Internet from a laptop, PC or a mobile phone via their NovoDS cloud account.

Other key features include:

• A sophisticated device scheduling function – available via the Cloud service – that enables users to set up content schedules with precise timing.
• An Announcements function. Displayed as preloaded rich text, an image file or a website page, it uses an overlay box to communicate announcements.
• With security a priority for many businesses, NovoDS Cloud provides three levels of role-based access rights control, enabling different tasks to be assigned to different team members.

The optional NovoDS Cloud is compatible with all of Vivitek’s NovoDS devices — NovoDS-4K, NovoDS, NovoDSmini — with latest firmware, upgraded via internet.

Details are here or here.

Lighthouse Technologies Limited used InfoComm to add HDR to the Quantum q-Series and Dynamic Series LEDs in addition to improving the Quantum q-Series to include proprietary Peak Luminance Enhancement (PLE) technology for what the company says is higher contrast levels and increased luminance.

Available in 1.5mm, 1.8mm, or 2.5mm pixel pitch, the q-Series includes Chromatic Modulation Technology (CMT) features an integrated photosensor mounted inside each panel, continuously measuring the output for each LED module. The CMT nerve center automatically corrects for luminance and uniformity, addressing issues that other technologies ignore as they age or when they are swapped out for repair or maintenance. Lighthouse Quantum q-Series direct-view LED panels virtually eliminates these problems.

The Lighthouse LEAP-S processor and proprietary processing algorithm convert 8-bit video source materials to 10-bit HDR output, providing a new level of versatility and taking advantage of HDR performance for existing source material.

Lighthouse says that Peak Luminance Enhancement (PLE) technology increases peak luminance and enables higher contrast ratios and a wider color space through proprietary HDR technology. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a content and display standard that provides performance guidelines for manufacturers to follow. Lighthouse differentiates itself with the introduction of their proprietary Peak Luminance Enhancement (PLE) to enhance the HDR experience.

Within the q-Series displays, the LEAP-S processor system can sense the incoming video source and analyze it to locate bright areas in the image (within 3-7 pixels) that surround areas that are a lower level of brightness. The PLE technology then adapts the gamut curve for those bright areas, to enhance their luminance approximately 20 percent. This provides a noticeably higher level of contrast.

Here are specs on both of them.

DPAA, the leading global organization for everything digital out-of-home, announced today that HERE Technologies has joined its membership ranks.

HERE Technologies is the Open Location Platform company that enables people, enterprises and cities to harness the power of location. The company enhances online advertising performance by enabling more relevant and contextual campaigns with accurate and granular location and geometry data of the world.

Barry Frey, DPAA president and CEO, said, “HERE has developed some tremendous location and mapping technology that has great value to the digital out-of-home industry. We welcome them as members and look forward to helping them immerse themselves in the DOOH space.”

Hervé Utheza, head of media,advertising and telco at HERE, said, “We live in a digitally connected world where consumers expect tailored services at the right time and place. At HERE, we specialize in providing location data and services for the companies dealing with audience segmentation, location targeting and campaign attribution. We are excited to join DPAA, engage with its impressive membership base, and offer the DOOH marketplace the value of our location platform and services.”

DPAA is a global, digital out-of-home marketing association that has created a strong community environment in which members drive and promote their digital capabilities. To deliver on their promise of “Digital Out of Home Everything,” DPAA functions as a business accelerator and consultant for members. Membership in the DPAA community brings many benefits, including admission to quarterly “mini summit” meetings with ad industry and DOOH leaders; access to curated VIP tours and meetings at CES and Cannes Lions; an extensive database of research, best practices and case studies; tools for planning, training and forecasting; social media amplification; publication discounts; an opportunity to participate in media partnerships; insights on software and hardware solutions; further integration into the advertising ecosystem as part of the video everywhere conversation and marketing campaign; and more.

HERE Technologies is here (forgive the pun).

With a population of more than 12 million people, the city of Shenzhen, China has transformed itself in less than 40 years into a major metropolis and a key economic hub in Asia. Spread over 792 square miles, Shenzhen has the highest vehicle density in the country, and has been dubbed by Forbes as the world’s second fastest-growing megacity. As a result, Shenzhen authorities are constantly working to improve traffic and emergency response as well as public safety. By joining forces with networking company, Huawei as the chief designer of a project, Shenzhen has become China’s first Smart City.

By integrating cutting-edge technologies, the city has built a unified, open, and intelligent control system. At the heart of this Smart City nervous system is the Longgang Operation Centre (LOC), which receives real-time information data for public traffic, emergency management and public security, before displaying it on the LOC ‘Smart City Brain’, a gigantic curved LED screen which enables operators to make fast and informed decisions.

Absen LED was responsible for the installation of this ‘Smart City’ display system, the world’s largest curved NPP LED screen. With a record-breaking 103 million pixels over 1796.5 sqft surface, this 1.27mm pixel pitch LED video wall boasts the highest pixel density ever achieved in an installation. The screen was installed at the end of last year, and features Absen’s latest CR 1.2 LED series dedicated to control room environments. The CR Series was recently launched to the North American market and featured in the Absen LED booth during InfoComm 2018.

As one of the most important sub-projects in Shenzhen’s Smart City project, LOC required a display that would be big enough to deliver critical content with the highest image quality, while providing comfortable viewing experience and stability. Absen’s CR 1.2 is geared to receive 181 display signals and deal with the sheer amount of data to display them on up to 105 windows at 720p (40 windows at 1080p and 10 at 4K resolution).

“To engineer the world’s largest high-resolution screen in 85 days from production to installation is no mean feat,” said Absen sales director, Zhang Yongfeng, “We had to overcome the difficulties of installing the screen while the center was still being built and therefore full of dust, but the combination of our sophisticated technology and skilled engineers meant we were able to deliver.”

Creating the Impossible

To produce a project of this magnitude, Absen tailored a perfect solution with CR1.2, involving different industry-leading technologies. Ensuring robust stability, each panel is equipped with two power banks and two receiving cards so that the power and signal can be switched to the backup set whenever needed, ensuring continuous operation in such a critical decision-making environment.

Designed with air circulation in mind, each LED module uses a non-plastic bottom case. The panel has convection holes for quick internal heat dissipation. Absen’s TotalPlug Wireless panel design strengthens product stability and performance.

Measuring at 84’ (L) x 21.3’ (H), the 1796.5 Sqft screen is made up of 798 panels and designed with a curve of 121.7 feet in radius – another challenge that the Absen team had to solve in order to remove any bezel between the panels. This was made possible thanks to Absen’s Precise Align technology, which features 16 screw-holes on the panels for fine tuning and two directions on the Z-axis for precise seam adjustments. In addition to the physical fine tuning of seams, an added software option offers one-click seam brightness adjustment to create a truly bezel-free screen.

Henan Goldroc Information Technology Co. Ltd was amongst the companies involved in the LOC project, providing a software solution capable of collecting and centralizing the data before displaying it on the Absen screen. “We originally faced a dilemma when looking for the best technology for this project. LCD and DLP would show gaps of at least one-pixel pitch and up to 3.5mm which is not acceptable in such a demanding control room environment,” commented Mr. Wu Yanbin, the Henan Goldroc project manager.

“When we tested Absen’s CR1.2 LED display, we were thrilled to see each panel fit seamlessly to the next, leaving no black bezel. The power and signal backup were another advantage for display stability. Technically, the screen will never go black, and that’s what we wanted. This is the reason why we chose Absen,” he said.

In addition to a curved design, content quality was of paramount importance. The Absen CR series uses the best components and electronics, offering colors at 110% (NTSC broadcast-level), as well as 255 brightness adjustment levels, which can be set manually or automatically, providing comfort to operators who often work in front of the screen for an extended period of time every day.

Absen’s CR1.2 is also an energy-efficient solution, with an average power consumption of 153 W/sqm, 25%-35% lower than that of normal 55” LCD products. Furthermore, the use of “lead-free” technology in the Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) soldering process is not only eco-friendly, but also ensures higher resistance to oxidation and higher product stability.

“The screen that Absen made is stunning. We were equally impressed by the Absen’s team working spirit. The site was still a work in progress when the screen was engineered, but the Absen team overcame all the difficulties and put all their heart in the project,” concluded Mr. Liu Jianwei, the section chief in charge.