Volume 11, Issue 13 — July 15, 2014
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Editorial Editorial Editorial
Editorial
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Control & Signal Processing Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories Audio In Brief
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Virtually Limitless
By Matt Cooper Lead Designer
Very recently, virtual reality has finally grown out of the ridiculous spectacle of the early ’90s into a legitimate display peripheral. Much of the credit for bringing VR back from the brink and into the mainstream consciousness goes to the Oculus Rift, started by a 22-year-old with the world’s largest head-mounted display collection, Palmer Luckey. He designed his own prototype along with gamer and programmer legend John Carmack (creator of Doom, Quake and other best-sellers at ID Software). The developer version — which is still incidentally the only version available — was funded entirely by a successful Kickstarter campaign that brought in $2,437,429 of the $250,000 originally requested.
Let’s back up a bit and clear up some terms. I think it’s probably best to drop what we classically think of virtual reality as a thing. While things have really improved from 1992’s Lawnmower Man, it’s going to be a while before you slip on a headset and experience a convincing alternate reality — or even a slick virtual interface for blasting around the internet like William Gibson’s classic 1984 cyberpunk book “Neuromancer.” We do have headsets — from the previously mentioned Oculus Rift to some great headsets like the Sony HMZ-T3 (with tracking add-on). The second piece is the physical interaction. This can range from just using a mouse and keyboard, game controller, various pointing devices all the way to room cameras that watch and translate your every movement. Even head movement tracking is a type of input. On the lower end, I think Sixense products are going to be one of most cost efficient and effective options. Another exciting option is the omni-directional sliding treadmill, the Virtuix Omni. You stand on a slick concave disc and walk, run, jump and crouch while being held in place in the center. The advantage of this system is its unlimited range and lack of moving parts to break. The downside would be it is not an entirely natural movement.
When it comes to headsets, it’s the extremely low latency head-tracking that sets the Oculus Rift apart from it’s pricier competitors. To create an image that won’t make your physically sick you need the display to perfectly match what your brain expects based on where it’s pointing. That being said — like 3D glasses — there will be some people who cannot use a head-mounted display without becoming sick. Hopefully as the technology improves, there will be less and less people affected this way. The display technology behind the development version of the Oculus Rift is a bit behind at 640×800 per eye, which can produce a slight “screen door” effect on your image. Version two of the developer Oculus is at 960×1080 per eye and and the promised final consumer version will clock in at 1080p using special low-persistence OLED displays, as well as improved tracking hardware. Of course the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook is going to add resources for improving the technology and hopefully increase the production runs.
Right now, all software for the Oculus is in beta, and really could be described as demo experiences. There are a few full-fledged games that sport Oculus support — particularly on Valve’s digital distribution network Steam. Some of these titles include horror game Outlast, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, Team Fortress 2, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Minecraft, and — noted non-game — Second Life. The demo experiences are pretty amazing, here is a short YouTube video describing a top ten list.
But, that’s not to say there is not still room for established players to come up with some good competition. As I mentioned above, Sony makes a great headset that seems to focus on video and audio quality, but now includes head-tracking. If you want to know more about what the headset is like to use on a daily basis, you should contact Joel Rollins, who loves his. Sony is also splitting off a specific gaming line for the PS4 called Project Morpheus that utilizes the PS4 Move Camera system. Morpheus includes an interesting new development — eye tracking as input. Unconscious eye movements could be predictors as an in-game mechanics, or used in some innovative commercial control applications — not to mention tracking analytics. Samsung is also jumping into the headset game with the Gear VR headset that was recently leaked. Their strategy would be to utilize one of their existing phones as the display.
So why should we care about a small branch of consumer electronics? This area of AV is so new that the first companies to have fully functioning demo setups and to offer comprehensive pre-setup packages will almost certainly stand to make a profit, at least for a while. As the technology spreads and becomes more mainstream, end-users are going to know what to look for and possibly roll their own setups — particularly in the HomeAV market. On the pro side, companies are already making an entry to the market — selling both hardware and creating custom software simulations. I ran into WorldViz at InfoComm, which is doing exactly that.
VR can also become a creative avenue for new solutions to problems. VR could be used to create some very interesting UX and UI conventions for control interfaces. Imagine pairing a blank panel of physical buttons and wearing gloves with tracking dots on the fingers. When you slip on the headset you could have an infinitely customizable set of labels, colors and dynamic visual feedback for that control board. Tracking would provide hand avatars that to let you see what you are pressing. Unlike an iPad’s touchscreen, you would have physical/tactile control, which can be very helpful. Also, imagine mapping your head movements to a PTZ camera for staging or remote monitoring applications. These are just a few ideas, and with the creativity and innovation that I know runs deep in the AV industry, I have hope that VR will eventually find a foothold in the business. Leave a Comment
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Outsourcing vs. Keeping It In-House
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
AV pros need to make the best use of their clients’ budgets. At the same time, AV pros need to make the best use of their own resources: time, money and expertise. One aspect of that resource management is weighing the decision to subcontract out some business functions. I’ve previously discussed choosing to subcontract programming, but what about other functions?
Should an AV firm subcontract or not? I’ve known dealers who’ve kept everything in-house, adding staff as their firm’s abilities balloon. I’ve also known dealers who’ve subcontracted most of their functions out to the point that they’re more accurately described as a project management consultant than an integrator, per se.
In the middle ground, it’s more common for AV pros to subcontract some of the things, some of the time.
The decision to subcontract out job functions can be broken down into asking whether it’s a more cost effective solution to hire outside help than to maintain it in-house. And it’s not always obvious. More than once it’s been the case that the general manager hires a programmer but actually needs a project manager.
Remember, the whole point of the exercise is to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Choosing poorly does neither.
Those challenges lead some dealers to avoid using subcontractors. The main concern is often quality control, although other issues include the availability of a subcontractor to work on the their schedule. And if they do use a subcontractor, it may be on a special-case basis: One company I know “borrows” an installer from an alarm company in the same town, because he’s a genius at running lines in retrofit jobs. If they need the impossible accomplished, they call him. But it’s not an everyday occurrence.
It’s been my experience that companies that are more flexible about subcontracting are the ones who routinely execute ultra high-end projects. Overall, their own staff completes most of the work that they do, but will sub out specialty subsystems as required, such as acoustic treatment installation, electrical, security and telecom systems.
The reason for that is the conscious decision to focus on AV, the “wants” in a system, and not being weighed down by the “needs” like alarm and data. Since it’s better to be an expert at a few things rather than being a “Jack Of All Trades” it makes sense to sub out some functions that aren’t central to your core business.
Since an AV company is typically around 12 total staff members, you can’t be experts at everything. During the finishing stage of an installation there are always dozens of items that will need to be completed to put the final polish on a system: Items like phone or data lines into the rack, electrical outlets for the television and equipment locations or the assembly and installation of construction goods such as paneling and marquetry. Those are all situations where from a cost basis it may make sense to sub out those functions.
Some firms don’t subcontract their brainwork, design and programming, because their strengths, first and foremost are as a design company. That gives them their focus, and then they’re willing to sub out wire pulling and related install work. Generally, the reason firms sub out various job functions is when they do not have either enough work to keep payroll high or enough employees to handle the amount of work they expect.
Additionally, firms tend to rely on subcontracting when they feel that they lack the know-how to complete a project: A company that doesn’t know how to do something that is required for a particular job can always hire a freelancer to do it for them, on a per job basis.
So, what are the downsides? What happens when subcontracting doesn’t work, and how can it be fixed?
While the most obvious and biggest upside to using contractors for work is that the firm is not responsible for payroll when subcontractors are not utilized there are still downsides to the relationship.
With a staffed employee, the firm has control of their schedule. The project manager can say when and where employee needs to be working with very little chance of a scheduling conflict. Conversely, an outside contractor may change their schedule, sometimes at the last minute, and the firm may not be able to count on them when they’re needed.
The biggest danger in outsourcing is simply that the integrator stops integrating, and that means that the firm stops at being the center of the project. The more frequent the outsourcing becomes the less the involved the integrator is, and projects become less about what they actually know, and more about what external talent they can retain.
The risk here is that the clients notice these things, and AV pros who subcontract too heavily run the risk of being extraneous to future projects. If the client notices who the real pros are, the firm may be cut out of the loop for future work.
However, the biggest potential downside is quality control, and the potential for bad communication. One AV pro friend told me of an issue they had when subbing the wire pulling. The sub did not follow the design documents because they decided “the documentation was wrong.” The end result was a disaster: hundreds of network cable locations with no labeling, and wire drops at random all over the house. While that was the last time that sub was used, it still left the principal firm with a big mess to clean up.
The key to making it work is communication, which, as the saying goes, is a two way street, and both integrator and subcontractor need to keep the lines open, and communicate constantly on the project; that’s a cardinal ground rule that needs to be laid down immediately.
Both sides need to provide the other with system documentation that is complete, consistent, and comprehensive. Additionally, integrators need to give their subcontractors fair warning when it comes to everything from the initial proposal to later change. That alone can solve most difficulties with the primary/subcontractor relationship.
The overall takeaway should be subcontracting is another a tool in the toolbox; there are specific times to make use of it. However, because there are multiple pitfalls and risks that come with over-dependence on subcontractors, it can’t be seen as a constant, one-size fits all solution. Leave a Comment
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As TV Makers Exit Plasma, Can They Make Up For It With LCD?
By Ken Park DisplaySearch
The recent announcement by Samsung SDI that it will end plasma display panel (PDP) manufacturing this year also speculated that LG Electronics will shut its PDP business due to low demand, which would leave COC (Changhong) as the sole remaining plasma TV manufacturer. Earlier this year, NPD DisplaySearch predicted the demise of PDP TV; our most recent forecast is for shipments of 0.5M in 2015, down from 5.2M in 2014 and 10.3M in 2013.
Nevertheless, PDP TV demand was not bad in Q1’14, coming in at just under 2M units globally, higher than our forecast, with exceptional growth of 164 percent Y/Y in Latin Amercia. While the Latin America TV market has grown rapidly due to the World Cup, PDP has actually increased its share of the market from 5 to 10 percent over the past year. In large part, this has been due to Samsung’s PDP TV shipments, which, in Latin America, have grown faster than its LCD shipments; the same is true for LGE. Samsung’s Latin American PDP TV shipments of 475K in Q1’14 is comparable to Sony’s LCD TV shipments (556K units) to that market. Thus, in markets such as Latin America, Samsung will need to make up for a potential loss in market share.
However, as shown in the table, Samsung’s current LCD TV lineup does not match its PDP TV lineup in terms of pricing in the three key PDP sizes (of course many consumers prefer LCD technology even at higher prices).
Selected Samsung TV Prices, May 2014
Source: The NPD Group Retail Tracking Service
In order to capture the demand for the lower-priced PDP TVs, Samsung will likely develop price-competitive LCD TV designs. Our supply chain research indicates that new 40” HD, 48” HD, and 58” FHD LCD TV models will be ready in the next few months, and we expect them to address this challenge. While the general market appears to be driven more by pricing than display technology, Samsung will still need to manage the transition from PDP to LCD TV in order to avoid a big loss in market share. Panasonic has not been able to replace its loss of market share with LCD as it exited PDP (though it is showing signs of life in commercial LCD), although it was much more dependent on PDP and not a leading brand in LCD TV as Samsung and LGE are.
This column is reprinted with permission from DisplaySearch and originally appeared here.
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Google Tries the TV Market – Again
By Aldo Cugnini
DisplayDaily
Google has announced that it is investing more in their two popular platforms — Android and Chrome — with the goal of making it easier to move content and functions between one’s phone, tablet, laptop, TV, car or bodyware. Two weeks ago, Google welcomed 6,000 developers to their 7th annual Google I/O developer conference. The crowd in San Francisco was joined by millions watching on the livestream and I/O Extended events, in 90+ countries on six continents. With this announcement, the company has reorganized its approach to domination on all screens, including the large one in the living room, only this time, they’ve branded it, “Android TV.”
Last summer, Google launched Chromecast, a small dongle that lets users transfer online video, music and other content from the web to the TV. Building on that, Android TV will bring Android apps and games to the big screen, re-purposed for TV, as well as a gamepad. The capabilities could be integrated directly into the TV or set-top box. Android TV, like Chromecast, supports Google Cast technology. It will ship with products from a range of consumer electronics companies later this year.
But the new initiative reaches into other product segments, too. Android Auto, which could be a re-branded update of what formerly has been called Google Projected Mode, connects an Android phone to a car, providing access to certain phone apps through the car’s native controls. Competing head-on with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto is planned for selected automobile integration later this year, and will support features such as turn-by-turn navigation from Google Maps, curated audio playlists and radio stations through Play Music, voice search, and reminders from Google Now.
With billions of people in the world who still don’t have access to a smartphone, Google has also announced an initiative called Android One, which aims to provide low-cost cell phones and service to third-world communities. Partners plan to launch an initial range of sub-$100 Android One smartphones with affordable data plans starting in India this fall, with more countries to follow.
Google also announced that two Android wearables, the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, are available to order now on Google Play, with the Moto 360 from Motorola becoming available soon.
The new initiatives were timed with an announcement of the next pending Android release. Google launched Android 4.4 KitKat last September, and the next one, currently codenamed “Moonshine,” should come out later this fall. Following in their custom of alphabetically-ordered release names, it’s rumored that the new version, possibly 4.5 or 5.0, will be called “Lollipop.” So far, new features of Moonshine include multi-tasking and a new user interface based on a revamping of the SDK called Material Design.
You’ll recall that Google’s most recent entry into the Smart TV market, Google TV, which was launched in October 2010, and was co-developed by Intel, Sony and Logitech, flopped miserably, largely due to the search giant’s failure to corral enough big-name content partners. This time, however, could be different, because content is immediately available from Netflix, Hulu, Google Play and YouTube.
So far, Google has tapped Sony, Sharp and Philips/TP Vision to join their bandwagon, but the top three smart-TV makers — Samsung, Vizio and LG Electronics, which all have their own operating systems — have not. Nonetheless, it appears that Google’s new mantra has become “Android Everywhere.” With Google extending its reach into so many consumer electronics areas, the transition of branding could be an attempt to downplay the “big-brother” aspect of the search engine giant’s foray into user information gathering. And the connotation brought about by the “open” nature of Android is possibly aimed at giving people a warm and fuzzy feeling that the big G doesn’t necessarily provide.
But Android users have already bemoaned the case that Android is not as open an OS as it once was, now that it is mostly controlled by Google, pointing to certain annoyances that have developed in recent releases; pre-existing apps, for instance, have lost the ability to write to external SD cards, thought by some to be a way of forcing users onto the Google Cloud.
With Google’s deep pockets, they certainly can keep trying this market as long as it takes. Eventually, they may get it right. Leave a Comment
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RTI Releases Two-Way Driver for Sonos Audio Devices Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) today announced the availability of a new two-way driver for use with the Sonos family of wireless music players. Available free of charge to RTI dealers, the driver activates control and feedback of Sonos audio components for selecting songs, storing favorites, and adjusting audio settings on up to 16 media players from a single page of an RTI user interface.
The new two-way driver for Sonos allows RTI processors to directly control audio functions on one of the world’s most widely used streaming audio solutions. Installers can implement the new solution without any licensing and includes capabilities such as transport and volume control of up to 16 media players on a single screen.
To support quick and easy access to favorite media, RTI’s driver makes all of the favorites stored on the Sonos system available through a constantly updated, dynamic two-way scrolling list. In addition, a series of feedback variables allow integrators to create buttons easily to indicate media titles, descriptions, and artwork for up to 20 stored favorites. These buttons are automatically updated as lists evolve to create a streamlined approach to audio asset management. A series of preset buttons also allows favorites to be updated by the end user at any time and on any RTI interface in the system.
Here are all the details. Leave a Comment
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Need Project Management Software Just for AV Integrators?The heart and soul of iPoint Control are the project management and work order systems. And, as most off the shelf solutions don’t work for the custom AV industry, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes on their website to learn how to use it. We played around with the software for much of a day last week and love it. AV-centric features include:
- Cross platform compatible Mac, PC, iPad or iPhone
- Designed for technicians to utilize iPads or iPhones in the field for realtime communication and delegation
- Automatically generate installation tasks from your proposal
- Technicians check in and out of work order giving you precise on-site labor costs
- Technicians can attach service note, pictures and additional parts used to every work order giving you transparency into your field activities and a solid history of work performed
- Automatically create invoices for time and materials with from work order data
- Create punch lists for quality control and consistency
- Push work order times into QuickBooks for accurate job costing
Here are all the details. Leave a Comment
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Sonance Trumps Everyone with New Sub SystemSonance just became the best company to get in-wall subs from with an innovative solution called Discreet Opening System (DOS). Part of the company’s Architectural Series, Architectural Series Discreet Opening System delivers audio via a revolutionary system approach to distributed audio. The finished product exactly matches the footprint of small aperture down lights in a home’s ceiling.
The Discreet Opening System utilizes four or more AS38RS Satellite Speakers that are carbon fiber and the BPS6RS Bandpass Subwoofer features a dual voicecoil high excursion carbon fiber and Rohacell driver to achieve deep and impactful bass response.
Sonance Architectural Series is installed using patented Mounting Platforms that feature technology and trade-familiar installation processes, to ensure a precision result. Drywall and plaster Mounting Platforms are installed as part of the ceiling and finished with the surrounding surface. The precision engineering ensures a perfectly flush reveal to accommodate speaker grilles. Solid surface Mounting Platforms are specifically designed to deliver a repeatable, perfect result in tongue-in-groove, wood paneling and stone. The adjustable design provides flexibility to accommodate a variety of material thicknesses, while the engineered installation process ensures a totally professional finish.
Here are all the details. Leave a Comment
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Triad Speakers Adds InRoom and OnWall Bronze SlimSubs to Lineup Triad Speakers today announced the addition of both an InRoom and OnWall Bronze to its SlimSub line.
Standing upright, the compact InRoom Bronze SlimSub is just 4.3 inches deep, taking up almost no floor space. When laid down (requiring just 5.1 inches of height clearance), the speaker becomes a down-firing subwoofer that can be hidden under furniture.
Measuring 4.4 inches from the wall and available in custom colors, the OnWall Bronze SlimSub is designed to be used with ultra-flat TVs using soundbars.
Each of the Triad SlimSubs utilizes what Triad claims is a proprietary long-throw 10-inch aluminum driver. The company also claims the speakers produce deep bass at high volumes, achieving a maximum output of 108 dB from 40-80 Hz with a bass extension of -3dB at 28 Hz.
Both Bronze SlimSubs are paired with Triad’s 350-watt outboard amplifier (RackAmp 350 DSP) at a list of $1,500 per package. The new SlimSubs are shipping now. For more information on the InRoom Bronze SlimSub, click here, and for more information on the OnWall Bronze SlimSub, click here. Leave a Comment
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Terra Increases Output Capability of Its 70-Volt AC and LS Series Speakers
Terra is modifying its 70-volt offerings by making available upgraded, higher output transformers for the AC and LS Series. The new transformers double the voltage settings over the previously available units. Terra says that this results in a noticeable increase in sound level.
The updated transformers utilize high iron content cores to dramatically reduce the chance of core saturation and advanced copper winding technology to enhance bass performance.They’re also equipped with an 8-ohm bypass switch position that effectively takes the transformer out of the circuit for maximum fidelity when used in non-70-volt applications. The transformers and tap selector switches are weather-sealed.
Here are all the specific specs. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HomeAV Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100% opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the high-end HomeAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter – instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe Publications has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004.
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rAVe HomeAV Edition contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
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