Volume 5, Issue 1 — January 18, 2011

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New Year, New Era

By Joel Rollins, CTS-R

Well, here we are again. And, yes, just like every year I have used last years date. It will take me until February before I get used to typing “2011.” It’s the beginning of another year, one that will certainly change our portion of this little industry. But, then again, to some degree they all do.

However, I wonder if to some extent we are underestimating the level of change that this particular economic cycle is bringing to our business. Because a lot of the discussion I hear is prediction (guessing) about when we will return to "normal."

My guess is "never."

I think that many of the changes in the way our clients do things right now are not going to be temporary measures. I think that the new ways of working, and especially purchasing, that we are excusing as signs of the temporary economic times are going to become very permanent changes.

Now, I'm not saying the AV rental and staging industry is done — far from it. But I am saying that we are going to have to redefine what "normal" means if we are ever going to get back to it.

What is the new "normal" going to look like? Well, I suspect it will be different for different people. Because we are all going to have to explore a different mix of business and probably redefine our companies in many ways. And, for those of us who choose to evolve, it will be a good thing. There is a word I use for companies who are just trying to hold on until the times get better. I call them "history."

So what are the changes I think will produce the "new normal"?

Less Travel

This isn't a temporary restriction. While it was accelerated by the economic times, companies and other organizations were already headed there. Travel has gotten more expensive as fuel prices and taxes have risen, the wasted time is more expensive as personnel costs have grown — but most of all, it isn't green. And it isn't coming back. Travel will be increasingly restricted, meaning the "get everybody together for one big meeting" thing is going to decline. It will never go away completely, but there will be a LOT less of it.

More expense justification

Look folks, a LOT of easy money vanished from our economy. It didn't just become more expensive, it VANISHED. This means that, for the foreseeable future, expenses of all types will be scrutinized more carefully. ESPECIALLY expenses that might look frivolous to the bailout-burdened public or the beleaguered stockholders. That means that, while the meetings might be big sometimes, they will be going out of their way to justify budgets – and not LOOK flashy.

Smaller, more dispersed project teams/smaller buildings/more telecommuters

Big spaces cost big money. They are expensive to buy, expensive to rent, expensive to maintain, expensive to heat – and no matter what you do, are potentially less "green" than smaller spaces. Combine this with the ease of information distribution and communication by network, and you reach some inevitable conclusions. Corporate headquarters and facilities are going to be smaller, with less people in each one, so conferences — and conference spaces, are going to get smaller.

“New” purchasing methods

Multiple bids, open bids, silent internet auctions, cost+ pricing… I’ve heard friends complain for months abut the things their “loyal” clients were having to do to them during this “temporary” period. Guess what? It isn’t temporary. New methods of communication, especially the Internet-enabled ones, have created a situation of the perfect storm — new methods combined with necessities. And they’re working. By the time we come out of this recession, they will be as “normal” as the fax machine, and faxed bids and changes, became during the last one.

So, in my humble opinion (I get paid by the word, so I don’t use Internet contractions like “IMHO”), these changes reflect a permanent alteration of our mutual business lifestyle.

So, at the beginning of the year, I made a couple of resolutions. And, this year, I’m going to try to keep them (although the “handwritten thank you cards” thing last year lasted almost as long as the last time I quit smoking).

My Resolutions:

• I will not use the past as a model for the future, either in how my business is offered, or in who the partners and clients are.
• I will attempt at all times to make obsolete my own products and services – before somebody else inevitably does it for me.

I think, this year more than any year I can remember, we’re all going to be re-inventing ourselves. We’ve done it before – and, despite the pain, and the organizations that joined the dodo, we thrived on it. It made us different, introduced new ideas and services, and created a great period of overall prosperity for the rental portion of the industry (even if some of it was at the expense of our brethren on the sales side of the house).

Bring it on.

rAVe Rental [and Staging] contributor Joel R. Rollins, CTS-R, is General Manager of Everett Hall Associates, Inc. and is well known throughout the professional AV industry for his contributions to industry training and his extensive background in AV rental, staging and installation. Joel can be reached at Joel can be reached at joelrollins@mac.com

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Community Launches New Subwoofer for Staging Apps

Community has expanded its VLF Series of subwoofers with the re-introduction of the so-called improved VLF218. Joining the existing VLF208 and VLF212 models, the newly updated VLF218 is a high efficiency, dual 18-inch subwoofer system with a slim profile and rugged Baltic birch-ply enclosure. With power handling of 1600-watt continuous (4000W program) and sensitivity of 99dB/W/m, it offers what Community calls “high output and low distortion.” Additionally, the drivers may be configured internally to be driven by a single amp (1600W @ 4 ohms) or by dual amplifiers (800W @ 8 ohms each).

Although it’s not on their website yet, it’s supposed to deliver later this month. When it’s on their site, it will be here: http://www.communitypro.com/index.php/product-list/113-vlf-series

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The End of VGA Coming in 2015: It's Official

AMD, Dell, Intel Corporation, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics LCD Business and LG Display today announced intentions to accelerate adoption of scalable and lower power digital interfaces such as DisplayPort and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) into the PC. 

Intel and AMD expect that analog display outputs such as Video Graphics Array (VGA) and the low voltage differential signaling technology (LVDS) panel interface would no longer be supported in their product lines by 2015. HDMI has increasingly been included in new PCs for easy connection to consumer electronics devices. DisplayPort is expected to become the single PC digital display output for embedded flat panels, PC monitors and projectors.

DisplayPort and HDMI allow for slimmer laptop designs, and support higher resolutions with deeper color than VGA — a technology that is more than 20 years old. Additionally, as laptops get smaller and their embedded flat panel resolutions increase for more immersive experiences, the power advantages, bi-directional communications and design efficiency benefits of DisplayPort make it a superior choice over LVDS, the previous standard for LCD panel inputs. 

Intel plans to end support of LVDS in 2013 and VGA in 2015 in its PC client processors and chipsets.

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Extron Ships HDMI and DVI Matrix Switchers

Just before the end of the year, Extron told rAVe the company had started shipping its DXP HDMI Series and DXP DVI Pro Series matrix switchers. Both HDMI 1.3-compatible matrix switchers support HDTV 1080p/60 and PC resolutions up to 1920×1200. HDCP compliant, both series allow for simultaneous distribution of protected content to one or more HDCP-compliant displays – solving all multi-resolution switching issues with HDMI and DVI signals. Featuring what Extron calls intelligent technologies that help integrators ensure compatibility between digital devices including Key Minder, HDCP Visual Confirmation, EDID Minder, and Automatic Input Cable Equalization and Output Reclocking, they are both available in I/O sizes from 4×4 to 8×8. 

For complete specs on the DVI Pro Series, go here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dxpdvipro and for specs on the HDMI Series, go here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dxphdmi

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Lectrosonics Guarantees Wireless Mic Muting – Pop Free

Called the Mute switch and designed for use with the company’s belt-pack transmitters (although, we have an inside source that tells us it can be modified to work with any manufacturer’s wireless mic), this product is a belt-mount unit that provides instant, pop-free audio muting in a tiny package. The Mute switch is an active device that is powered by any five-pin Lectrosonics transmitter, including the new Servo Input transmitters such as the SM Series, LMa, and UM400a. It works with most two- and three-wire lavalier microphones wired according to Lectrosonics guidelines.  

The new Lectrosonics Mute uses an optically coupled switch to silence the audio signal without any clicks and pops, even when located in a strong RF field. The unit’s toggle switch is weather resistant and the included cable has weather resistant vinyl boots at each end. A wiring kit is included that provides a five-pin connector, strain relief parts, and an additional water resistant vinyl boot to protect the lavalier microphone connector from moisture.  

Complete specs are here: http://www.lectrosonics.com/accessories.html

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Sanyo Intros 15,000-Lumen Projector

Sanyo launched its brightest projector to date in the form of the 3LCD (specified) 15,000 ANSI lumen PLC-HF15000L (2048×1080). Aimed at large venue presentation, staging and giant format digital signage, the PLC-HF15000L (lens sold separately) is scheduled to ship later this month and lists at $44,995. 

Using Sanyo’s QuaDrive engine (adding a yellow color control device to the existing red, green and blue elements) and what Sanyo claims is a new long-life inorganic 2K LCD panel and a 380-watt lamp, the PLC-HF15000L is equipped with a "Hot Operation Lamp Exchange System" that allows individual lamps to be replaced without turning the projector off. Previous models required a projector shutdown and restart for all bulb replacements. The new hot-swappable system gives operators a smooth, simple way to replace a failed bulb and continue presentations without interruption. All the details are here.

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Extron Intros DVI 110 Signal Regenerator

This month Extron launched the DVI 110 signal regenerator for single link DVI-D signals. The DVI 110 retimes and reshapes marginal or noisy DVI signals, such as those occasionally encountered on the output of consumer-grade graphics cards or notebook PCs, or when passive DVI couplers and wall-plates are utilized within the signal path. The DVI 110 helps to eliminate noise and reduce jitter at the output of the source, ensuring a strong, stable digital signal, and improving system performance. 

The DVI 110 is designed to be used in conjunction with the Extron DVI 101 or HDMI 101 cable equalizer to ensure optimal picture quality on a long cable run and it can also be used with DVI or HDMI products that are equipped with input cable equalization, such as the Extron SMX HDMI and DVI Pro matrix boards, or DXP Series, DMS Series, and DCX Series digital matrix switchers. It is HDCP compliant and is fully compatible with HDMI signals when used with the appropriate Extron DVI-HDMI adapters. 

Complete specs on the 1” high DVI 110 here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dvi110&s=5

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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe Rental [and Staging] 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 rental and staging industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions — in this case, it’s industry-veteran Joel Rollins' 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

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. rAVe Rental [and Staging] launched in November 2007. rAVe Ed [Education] launched in May 2008. rAVe DS [Digital Signage] was launched in January of 2009.

To read more about my background, our team, and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com 

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Copyright 2011 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln., Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com

rAVe Rental [and Staging] contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors.