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Volume 5, Issue 12 — December 14, 2011
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Thank Goodness for Small Failures
By Joel Rollins, CTS Everybody has a favorite business book. My personal favorites are “Crossing the Chasm” and “The Klingon Way.” The former, of course, is a phenomenal business book by Geoffrey Moore, which both Gary Kayye and I think explains many of the mysteries of our industry (and probably holds the key to time travel). The latter is a Star Trek book by Marc Okrand that outlines the Klingon warrior philosophy, which has a number of great quotes that I feel define the staging industry quite well. And, in fact, it DOES hold the key to time travel (provided you are operating a Klingon “Bird of Prey” starship).
Some places in both books warn you about the dangers of making the wrong decision about your business. But this month, what I am struck by most in our industry is that you can be flattened by making the right decision. I looked for examples in The Klingon Way, but couldn’t find any. But I was listening to the radio, and the answer came out in, of all things, an oldie by Dr. John:
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
–Dr. John
Doing the right thing at the wrong time is one of the deadliest mistakes you can make in our industry at any level.
As a prime example, look at the groveling misery that has been suffered by Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. Netflix pioneered the delivery of DVD content on discs ordered over the Internet, and grew tremendously as the service took off. The company’s recent decision to separate its DVD delivery service from its Internet streaming delivery system and rename it was heralded as one of the worst business decisions since “New Coke” — or, in our business, “Panja.” It resulted in FURY from older subscribers to the existing delivery service, and the loss of a huge number of subscribers.
But it was the right decision. Seriously. Anyone who thinks the DVD, even Blu-ray, has much of a future has missed the point. EVERYONE is moving to electronic delivery — books, music — and OF COURSE movies. It makes sense, and is inevitable. I am tired of having racks full of dedicated players for miscellaneous media formats, and there’s no reason for it. With cable and phone company Internet bandwidth exploding, costs coming down, and the average home having multiple devices that can stream from the Internet, the idea IS the right one.
So there’s the danger, and we in the staging industry face it too. When is the right time to change your operating procedures, institute a new service or change technologies? It seems in our business that if you wait until the majority of your clients ask for something, you have missed the proverbial boat — but if you move too early, you run the risk of the herd turning in another direction (to mix a couple of apt metaphors).
So what does the rental and staging company learn from this? A couple of things — we need to examine the capabilities of our organization objectively, maximize strength and minimize weakness. A big part of that is size and spread of organization, and realizing you can’t be all things to all people.
I’ve run one of the largest AV companies, and one of the smallest ones. By nature, I’m an innovator. I like to create demand for new services and products, to lead the pack when I can. Small companies do this well. But there were times I tried to lead the pack too far technologically in a company that was national in scope. I had the budget to do it, but my constant flaw was underestimating how long it took to move the procedures for a new service through an organization with hundreds of employees in 13 cities. Conversely, the errors in making a small, innovative company bite off more than it can chew are just as dangerous.
So, secondly, I think we need to learn to fail. Seriously. But to fail in small ways. Think of it as rental and staging R&D, because it is. Don’t bet on new technologies or services until you find a way to test them in small ways — and be willing to try a lot of them. This takes employee time and resources, but it’s an important thing to budget them for. Trial programs, even in small companies but especially in large ones, actually save money and help target the product.
So, lastly, we need to learn to celebrate our small failures, because they weren’t large ones and they helped us get to the right place in the market.
Just ask Netflix. 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 joelrollins@mac.com
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Industry Pioneer Jack Root Passes The industry is mourning the death of industry legend Jack Root, who passed away on Nov. 20, after a battle with cancer. A memorial service was held Nov. 22, 2011. He leaves behind his wife, Harriett, his sons Jim, John and Dan, and six grandchildren.
Jack was the president of Audio Visual Headquarters from 1967 to 1992. He mentored many people in the industry and was known for his impeccable knowledge, generous spirit and Marine pride. Jack was recognized for his lifetime of service to the industry when he was issued InfoComm’s Distinguished Achievement Award.
Donations in Jack's memory can be made to the Semper Fi Fund, the Concern Foundation or the Starlight Foundation.
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Share Article Back to Top | T&M Intros 8×8 Mic/Music Mixer European Manufacturer T&M Systems, based in Ibbenbüren, Germany, has launched a cool new product called the ProjectMix818, an eight-zone mixer with paging functions for installed public address and music applications. The ProjectMix818 features four line and four mic/line inputs that can selectively be switched as the source for any of the output zones. In addition, a mic input can also be sent, with level control, to any or all zones in addition to their selected source. There are also two inputs for T&M paging mics with selection switches for each zone or all-zones and an expansion module that can be used to expand the paging mic by another eight zones if two or more ProjectMix818 units are linked together.
Each zone features an additional local input to feed a signal directly into that zone, which enables the house PA system to be used in each zone for background music, paging and local events such as seminars, where an additional microphone or laptop PC needs to be used for the sound source.
Up to four ProjectMix818 units can be linked to expand the system to a maximum of 32 zone outputs. The unit incorporates contact closures to override all other inputs when the system is required to provide a Voice Alarm facility.
Available in January, details are here: http://www.tm-lines.com/epages/tm-lines.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/tm-lines/Products/02.02.05 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Matrox Ships SDI to HDMI Converter/Processor Matrox today announced the Matrox MC-100, a dual SDI-to-HDMI mini converter that supports a wide range of display resolutions through 3G, Dual Link, HD and SD-SDI, is now shipping. Priced at $495, this portable unit can be used as an HD-SDI switcher, a distribution amplifier, a multiplexer and a 3D processing unit, making it the one of the most versatile SDI converters on the market.
With two SDI inputs and two SDI outputs for 3G, Dual Link, HD, SD and HDMI output for monitoring and an on-screen display, the multiformat SDI signal distribution converter allows SDI signal amplification of 300 meters in SD, 100 meters in HD and 70 meters in 3G. Other features include multiplexing of two HD-SDI video signals into a single 3G-SDI feed, real-time 3D processing, including Horizontal Image Translation (HIT) and vertical offset adjustments. Ut also converts to so-called industry-standard 3D analysis modes — anaglyph, difference, 50/50 and includes a pretty comprehensive 3D output format support — side-by-side, over/under or frame packing (HDMI 1.4a).
For more specs, go here: http://www.matrox.com/video/en/products/mc100/ Leave a Comment
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Click here for more information Scalable Display Technologies and GEO Sign Pact Scalable Display Technologies, that company known for its auto-calibration software for seamless multiple-projector displays, and GEO Semiconductor, the manufacturer of video and geometry processing IC's for 2D and 3D applications, today announced a strategic license agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, GEO grants Scalable a world-wide, development license to use the GEO Application Programming Interface libraries or “APIs” and Conversion Software. The agreement ensures that Scalable’s software products will run seamlessly on projectors and other devices that leverage the GEO integrated circuit chips.
Scalable Display Technologies offers software products for automatically and manually blending, stacking and correcting geometry, color and uniformity of images from one or more display devices. Its patented camera-generated feedback system calculates pixel-perfect instructions, or warp meshes, to bring automation to the difficult task of aligning multi-projector display systems. The result is that customers achieve the highest quality blended images with precise alignment and blends.
To learn more about Scalable, go here: http://www.scalabledisplay.com/
To learn more about GEO, go here: http://www.geosemi.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Elation Introduces Art SSC 1024-Channel DMX The Art SSC from Elation is a 1024-channel DMX command-line controller that lets you program, operate, record, playback and schedule light shows in one solid-state unit (no moving parts)… AND without requiring a computer. Built for architectural lighting, outdoor applications, nightclubs, hotels, museums, cruise ships, theme parks and other permanent installations, the Art SSC features two 512-DMX channel inputs as well as one DMX Input (the DMX Outputs and Input are optically isolated from each other).
Integrated with browser-based control, the Art SSC includes a DMX and Art-Net recorder that can record and store up to 16 tracks, each with 1024 channels. Multiple tracks can be played back, each with individual control, loop and function. And, it can be programmed to trigger events by date, time, day of the week and sunrise or sunset.
For more details, go here: http://www.elationlighting.com/PressDetail.aspx?ID=198 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Lighthouse Dominates LED with New VideoBlades The VideoBlades SkyRoll, the result of an alliance between Lighthouse and Pix2o is a modular LED screen that's designed for both indoor and outdoor applications, providing a 12.5mm pixel pitch. VideoBlades 12 comes in two formats, the aforementioned SkyRoll and GroundRoll, which can be deployed by rolling up or down from its patented rotating structure, just like a window shade. The modular format allows for the seamless formation of large-scale screens limited in size only by a customer’s needs.
SkyRoll is available in 4m, 6m and 8m widths and up to 10m screen heights, and deploys from overhead, while GroundRoll, as the name suggests, deploys up from the floor, resulting in the lowest possible rigged weight and is available in infinitely seam able sections 2m to 3m wide, up to 10m high.
Both SkyRoll and GroundRoll are pre-configured at the factory and shipped to the end user with a minimal number of electrical and mechanical connections required to operate the system. Additionally, the VideoBlades 12 are supported by an integrated truss sub-structure and are composed of individual display IMs, called the Blades. These can be organized either horizontally or vertically into a video display of any size and can be used in groups or by themselves as set lighting fixtures and scenic elements. They are all operated from the same control and distribution system.
All the details are here: http://www.lighthouse-tech.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=8ed567ad-b667-4817-8a26-5dc21ef7a3d5&c=c6b9c603-1425-4123-94ef-ec962aa4a282 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Barco Announces QXGA Projector for Simulation and Staging Aimed at the simulation and staging markets, the new SIM 7Q HB is an LCoS (reflective LCD) QXGA projector (2048×1536) that claims to have both a 6-million-to-one contrast ratio and 2800 lumens in brightness. Using three 4:3 LCD panels, the projector includes two dual-link DVI ports and 8-bit color. Features include built-in edge-blending; built-in image warping that enables accurate projection from different angles and across spherical or curved surfaces; and linked constant light output (CLO), which supposedly ensures the same light and color levels across the entire screen. Power consumption is listed at 600 watts.
Go here for all the details: http://www.barco.com/en/product/2480
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Share Article Back to Top Wohler Intros New Software Interface for MADI-8 Audio Monitor Wohler Technologies just announced a new software interface for the company's MADI-8 in-rack audio monitor that allows for control and quick reconfiguration of channel presets from any PC. With the new software, operators now have the ability to name any or all of the 64 available channels and then assign them up to eight available presets. Configurations can be saved as files on the set-up application, so operators can instantly recall channel names and presets from previous events and assign them to other MADI-8 units.
Giving users the option of creating presets via a PC and keyboard rather than on the MADI-8 unit itself, the firmware upgrade and software application download, according to Wohler, significantly reduces the time required to configure a MADI-8. For installations or applications with numerous MADI-8 units, using a simple device server adapter for each of the serial ports can enable all of the MADI-8 units to be controlled via an Ethernet network. This capability allows users to switch MADI-8 units between sport- or event-specific presets over the network, taking very little time to shift channel names and presets from one broadcast to the next.
You can see details of the update here: http://www.wohler.com/Details.aspx?ItemNumber=MADI-8
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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 Back to Top 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. |
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