Latest headlines: Scott Tiner on what to do during the COVID-19 crisis, Steph Beckett on how many companies are doing #AVgood, plus news from Extron, Studio Technologies, Alcons Audio, Peerless-AV and more
April 27, 2020 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 8
Hello to all you rental and staging readers! Since we last spoke — things ~seem~ to be taking an upturn as many states have started to predict when they are reopening for business. In North Carolina, we’re opening in phases with an expected date of May 8, and it looks like live events are in the second phase of opening! I’m interested to see how all you #AVtweeps feel about that. Yes, it’s obviously exciting that some work will be back on many of your plates if your states are doing something similar, but do you agree that live events should be phase two, even if venues are enforcing “limited capacity”? Let me know. I’m sensing a good column subject!
In this issue, we’re taking a step back, we’re putting one foot in front of the other, and I am including columns with the big picture in mind. Scott Tiner has some quality advice for what to do/how to be productive during the COVID-19 crisis. I wrote a column about companies/orgs in our industry that are doing #AVgood right now, and we have a third blog about the global demand for LED and how that may change.
Plus — product news! We have the tea from Extron, AtlasIED, Densitron, Marshall Electronics and more.
2020 will long be remembered as the year that the world changed. We are living through times that are unprecedented and hopefully, will not be experienced again for a very long time. As all of us adjust to this new reality that likely includes becoming a remote worker (and in many cases a home teacher), we will begin to long for some normalcy. Over these next few weeks, we may find that we have the opportunity to do the things we always wanted to, but never had the time. I have put together some thoughts about how to spend some of that time. Whether we are in a period of robust growth or a recession, there is never a bad time for education. Our industry is responding with a variety of training opportunities that range in cost (including some that are free) and flexibility.
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.”