Latest headlines: Gary Kayye breaks down the intersection between esports and the AV industry, Steph Beckett on companies that are doing #AVgood during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus news from Carousel Digital Signage, Netipbox Technologies, Extron and more
April 20, 2020 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 8
Happy Monday and happy afternoon, #AVtweeps! I hope it’s going well for you, and if you’re working from home — I hope your Monday has been just the right amount of productive with only welcome distractions.
I feel like our industry has changed significantly since my last newsletter, and I think we can expect that for at least the next six months. However, throughout all the uncertainty and haziness that’s been terrifying to try to see through, so many DS companies and manufacturers have reached out to share the #AVgood their companies are doing. Keep it up — connect with me on LinkedIn, and keep sharing how you’re making a difference. It is not going unnoticed.
In other news, I’ve included Gary Kayye’s column version of his How-To Esports webinar — it was so popular, it filled up! So he made sure to write a corresponding piece so no one would miss out on any information. Plus, Carousel Digital Signage is helping K-12 schools to upgrade digital signage networks, Extron has a new matrix switcher, Clear Touch was recognized in Financial Times and more.
P.S. Registration is now open for LAVNCH WEEK, which starts April 27. LAVNCH is the industry’s first all-digital launch platform where you can earn those valuable CTS credits, see new products, learn about new technology and network with industry experts, all without leaving your couch. Register for it here (spaces are limited): https://rave.pub/LAVNCHweek.
Esports get negative press — and therefore have a connotation of only being for kids who don’t do well in school, or for bored kids sitting in their parents’ basements — but that’s not true. That’s an old way of looking at this market, and before you and your company can find a place in it, you have to throw this way of thinking out the window.
It’s OK to be scared. It’s OK not to know what to do next. It’s OK to need a break from the bad news. That’s kind of why I’m here. I’ve been asking around about how you and your companies are doing #AVgood during the COVID-19 pandemic — and so many of you have responded with things that you or your companies are doing to make the world a better place.
As the number of new COVID-19 cases in China plummets, key vendors are making repeated assurances that their manufacturing capacity has returned to normal, though some smaller vendors are still struggling to recover. While supply is healthy, international demand is tumbling, as the virus rapidly spreads across the world. A China/Taiwan based LED driver supplier said in a discussion with Futuresource that “new orders from overseas users dropped over 50% in February.”
