This time last year, I was in the rAVe office, working on a story about the importance of testing in HDMI- and HDBaseT-wired installations in projects prior to calling it a day. (The big takeaway of that story was that testing saves commercial and residential AV installers in the field money, effort and — importantly, in the long-term — time.) Looking back at my calendar to fact-check, it was a Monday, the day before the U.S. election. My editor, Sara, who you may know, was in New Orleans for the first day of AVIXA’s seventh-annual AVEC (AV Executive Conference): an event dedicated to AV executives. Last year, AVEC was held in a warehouse that houses all the Mardi Gras floats when they’re in hibernation. I remember being so jealous of Sara at the time; New Orleans is one of my favorite U.S. cities ever. I go to Mardi Gras every year.
While AVEC is (or was? I don’t see that the AVEC website is live anymore; it redirects to AVIXA.com. Will it happen again in 2021?) a program dedicated to live events, learnings from last year’s conference apply today as related to the Pro and HomeAV markets: In his AVEC 2019 recap article, Brad Grimes wrote, “Integrated AV experiences are all around us: We’re all ‘audiences’ of digital signage, entertainment, video communication, and more.” Think about this in the context of today, as more and more experiences are shifting into the home. Think about the change and opportunities here. As we speak, for instance, I’m watching Futuresource Consulting’s Audio Collaborative 2020 conference live — this year, held through the LAVNCH platform. I’m in my home.
It’s always interesting to look back at insights, trends and predictions from the past. But now, it’s deeper than that: It’s looking at the AV industry of yesterday (the AV industry pre-COVID-19) and saying, What was missing? What can we do better? I know I’m not the only one who yearns for what seemed to be an easier past. After eight-plus months, though, my perspectives have changed. Many in this industry feel the hard change is making AV better, and COVID-19 has clearly been an accelerator. This applies to the HomeAV market as much as it does any other vertical; so much of AV has worked, and will continue working, its way into the home — our safe space amid a global pandemic.
Today, I sit in isolation in my home (though my coworkers are only an instant message or Zoom call away!) writing this weirdly therapeutic intro. To compare where we were a year ago to where we are today is hard — but I think worth the time and analysis. It’s November 2020, and boy, do we have an opportunity to completely reshape the future of AV in the home and beyond?
And now, back to 2020. Back to reality.
