Latest headlines: Joel Rollins’ second installment on how COVID-19 affects rental AV, Anthony Coppedge on how AI fits into AV, plus news from AVIXA, NEC Display, Epson, Waves Audio and more
March 31, 2020 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 6
There’s a lot to this week’s rAVe Rental [and Staging], our sixth issue of this year. (Doesn’t it feel like issue five was ages ago, by the way?) The challenge is, What to highlight first? Let’s start with the most timely:
InfoComm 2020 (planned to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center June 13-19, 2020) was officially canceled by show organizer AVIXA Monday. Not postponed — canceled. The full announcement is in our rAVe coverage here. The cancellation of InfoComm nudges us further to wonder — how long will the live events industry be concretely affected by COVID-19 cancellations and postponements? While we don’t know for sure how long this will go on, let us aim to spin our perspectives and outlooks. In his column this week (a follow-up to last week’s story, “Quarantined“), Joel Rollins writes, “The best rental crews I know are tight teams, made that way through adversity on show sites where they work together and learn to trust each other. Steve Jobs said that you never had to worry about team recruiting because good teams are self-policing and in our industry, I completely agree with him.” And in case you missed it last week, check out Mark Coxon’s article, “Five Ways to Keep Your Integration Business on Track.”
Also this week, a column on understanding AI by Anthony Coppedge; a Baker Audio Visual piece on opportunity for sports and entertainment in the shadow of COVID-19; and some exciting product news — including what one manufacturer says is the release of the world’s first 4K 3LCD, 12,000-lumen laser projector.
P.S. Speaking of product launches, have you heard about rAVe’s LAVNCH WEEK? We’re signing people up today to be beta testers of the all-digital AV launch event. Don’t miss it.
The decision on whether you are a functional business, prepared to enter a rental business that has changed in nature, will depend on what you decide to do now. And I think the first thing to think about is that this gives you an enormous chance to make your organization more efficient, both as individuals and as a company, and to educate yourselves. So, to that end, let me give you a list of things to do right now as a group and as concerned individuals.
Whether your firm has joined the chorus touting “AI” or is more conservatively accurate in the programming of “machine learning,” there’s a non-stop buzz in the industry around the advancements of computing power and advanced algorithms used to analyze dizzying amounts of data from an ever-expanding networked technology install base. Either way, an opportunity for the audiovisual (AV) industry is the chance to both connect to these devices and capture useful information for providing next-level service, support and even new sales from data trends and insights.
We are all facing adverse impacts to our seasons and schedules as a result of the restrictions imposed to impede the spread of the Covid-19 virus. How do we best leverage our collective downtime to plan for a resurgent market and the return of fans and patrons to stadia, arenas and entertainment venues?