Welcome to another edition of rAVe! Have you heard about the big trend toward product tracking with RFID? You will. I promise. And you can read about it below. Also in the news today, we report about one of the first BIG moves toward making digital cinema movie distribution a reality in the U.S. Also today is our latest installment of the AV Hall of Fame, this time featuring AV veteran and Kramer US President David Bright. Thanks, David! Last, I hope you’ll join me at the two classes I’m teaching at NSCA next week. “Crossing the Chasm” will teach you how to market products and sell to the different types of buyers in the lifecycle of a technology and “Displays for Dummies” is pretty self-explanatory. Go to http://www.nsca.org/Expo/ExpoClasses/tabid/413/Default.aspx and plug in the titles in the search area to find the dates and times. See you there! Enjoy the issue! Gary Kayye, CTS Thanks to our sponsor D-Tools, worldwide leader in easy-to-use, highly accurate system design software. System Integration just got easier!
rAVe — the most widely-read eNewsletter in the ProAV industry — is offering a way to extend the life of your application stories. Within the newsletter, we will link to your case study in a special section called AV in Action – the Case Study Quarterly. The entire rAVe subscriber list can read YOUR case study/application story for three whole months. Space is limited. Contact Sara Abrons at sabrons@kayye.com. ProAV Hall of Fame Kramer US President David Bright: Making it Happen By Denise Harrison David Bright came into the AV industry quite differently from most Hall of Fame subjects. While so many of those whose futures lay in AV were wheeling projector carts around their schools by day and building radios in their garages at night, Bright had only one obsession: baseball.
Bright exhibited another passion early on, too — making things happen. He made college happen himself, funding his education with a combination of high school and college jobs, a partial baseball scholarship and college loans. In fact, in college, he worked two jobs, played ball, kept up with his studies (in a double degree), and became the go-to guy in his dorm. His dorm, a beautiful three-story mansion, housed all the school’s athletes and was often the center of campus activities. The force behind most of the activities was Bright. He was the dorm treasurer, the party planner, the team trip organizer. He also ran fundraisers. “It was the ‘60s and ‘70s, a time of social consciousness,” he remembers, “so we always had causes. We sold Christmas trees to raise money for a local blind school, and for another organization, we would go and spend time reading to kids who were mentally challenged.”College in those years meant learning a lot of things that weren’t found in textbooks. It was a time of political debate, social awareness, great music, and protests. Bright remembers a peaceful sit-in when they took over the Wilkes University administration building in protest of the Vietnam conflict, which Bright happened to avoid by having a very low draft number. He also remembers a time in high school during the riots, when his little town was under Martial Law with tanks and soldiers on every corner after a policeman was killed. “All that stuff you heard about and saw in movies, I lived through at the time,” he says. “There was tremendous social turmoil. The Vietnam War was the first in American history that the public didn’t embrace, and there were more against it than for it, without being unpatriotic. It was when activism started, when women’s lib started. It was the best of times because not only was it a great education, but more importantly, it was a great life lesson.”
Personal changes came, too — the biggest being an injury to Bright’s pitching arm during his junior year of college. “It was the first time I ever thought of life after sports, and even then I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,” he says. So, as many new graduates do — or wish they did — he took off with a couple of friends and traveled for a year. Also as most college grads, he didn’t have a lot of cash, but he made it happen anyway. “Most of the time, we worked with Avis car rentals driving cars from point A to point B,” says Bright. “That took us to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico – all over the islands. And we worked enough odd jobs in between to support the travels.” Then, it was time to go back home and begin the job search. Armed with his dual degrees in marketing and management, he landed a job at a Montreal-based hydraulics company that built parts for British automobiles. In his four years there, he started as a buyer, became sales manager, and ended up running the business. “It was my introduction to sales and marketing,” says Bright. “I was responsible for sales and distribution all over the U.S. and, by age 24, I had complete autonomy to run the U.S. operation. That really molded what my whole career was to become.” As he tells it, being responsible for everything meant he basically had to learn to do everything, too. He managed about a dozen employees responsible for purchasing, shipping, forecasting, sales, warehouse management, and marketing. “I turned on the lights in the morning, swept the floor, and turned off the lights at night. It was a great experience at a very young age to be running a company lock, stock and barrel.”Changes came – Bright married his wife Debbie, and at the company, rumors began to spread that they would be consolidating operations up in Canada. He and Debra decided to decline the invitation to transfer to the Montreal headquarters. He landed in the purchasing department of the world’s largest manufacturer of home appliances. But that didn’t last long. He was soon promoted to the marketing department, and within a couple of years, he decided he wanted to become a national accounts manager by the time he was 30. But instead, he made it happen at age 29, when he became the youngest employee to hold that position.
Then, Mitsubishi came calling. A search firm was looking for a national OEM sales manager for the Mitsubishi Electronics division, specifically to sell VCRs to large national accounts and retail chains and to market the CRT technology. It was a tremendous opportunity, since the company was huge in consumer electronics, and had also become renowned for large-screen rear projection televisions. “There was a wonderful Japanese executive from the company named Don Shimozato, who was a young star at the company and who ran the New Jersey office,” says Bright. “He basically let me run my own business at age 32. Then in my second year, he asked me to start a new division in my spare time to explore potential in the professional electronics business.” Bright explains that in those days, the professional AV market mostly consisted of pro-sumer products – consumer electronics retrofitted and adjusted to install in schools, churches, hotels, stadiums, stages, etc. “It was a one-man operation, me, with no products,” laughs Bright. “But then, we started developing new technologies, such as thermal printers, which opened a new market that didn’t exist before Mitsubishi introduced them in 1983. We sold the first ever such product to Yale Medical School, and history was born there.” The division soon developed professional-grade projector and professional monitors – including the first ever 35-inch direct-view monitor. The products were manufactured with pro inputs and outputs and they sold thousands. By 1994, the little one-man division that Shimozato hoped Bright could make happen went from one to 35 employees, from zero customers to a huge national dealer base, and from zero sales to $100 million. “For nine of my 11 years there, Don gave me full reign, which was unheard of in a Japanese company in those days,” says Bright. “He gave me such a tremendous opportunity at a young age. I brought in a bunch of young, inexperienced people who got on board with whatever ideas I brought to them and they, and the division, grew by leaps and bounds. We ended up as the most profitable and fastest growing of all the 17 divisions of Mitsubishi.” Shimozato also taught Bright the value of accountability. According to Shimozato, if you bring a problem to your manager without a solution, all you’re really doing is complaining. It sounds simple, but it’s really the philosophy behind great leaders. And Bright never forgot that, practicing it himself and also passing it along to those who work for him. Toward the mid 1990s, the economy, in conjunction with a highly competitive market, over-manufacturing leading to over supply, and eroding margins, sent a lot of companies into tailspins, Mitsubishi Electronics included. While the company problems were more on the consumer side, headquarters started tweaking all the businesses to try to compensate. They wanted to re-assign professional products to other divisions, and asked Bright to stay as executive vice president, but to bypass the dealer channel and go directly to distributors. “I had built my career on dealer business,” says Bright. “I always told them I’d protect them, and now the company wanted me to go to them and say ‘never mind.’ I told the company this would destroy business – that we should keep the reputation and philosophy intact. Within a few years, it was all gone.” Bright didn’t stay around for the fall. Rather than go back on his word, he took an executive exit package right away and left the company he’d worked so hard to build. “It was a really good 11-year run,” he says. “It was the most dynamic electronics company on the pro and consumer side that I’ve ever seen, and being part of it was unbelievable. We had such talent and we worked like lunatics. Now, people from sales and marketing in those days are presidents and CEOs all over the industry.” At the time he left Mitsubishi, his son was 10 years old, his daughter 8. “I looked at my kids and realized I was missing a good portion of their young lives and decided I wasn’t going to do that anymore. Then, my wife fell ill soon after, so I spent six months taking care of her and focusing on the kids and formulating plans to start my own business.”
Debbie soon recovered, and Bright went back to his first passion, sports, and began a wholesale and retail sporting goods company and, on the side, he ran a home theater company. He also immersed himself with the kids, coaching their baseball and basketball teams. When the sports company became too time-demanding, he sold it, with plans to return to the electronics industry. By this time, he had established a reputation as a start-up specialist. This was attractive to General Video Corporation. They were doing about $2 million in sales using a couple of guys on the phone, and brought him in to expand the business. By the end of the first year, sales had doubled to $4 million and by the next year, hit $16 million. After the contract expired, Bright was in the job market again. He yearned for the days when he could use his relationship marketing skills, and missed working with the dealer channel he had amassed in years past. He was considering a job with a huge corporation, but long commutes and starting in middle management left him with an empty feeling. Then, seemingly out of the blue, Kramer happened. “I actually wasn’t interested,” remembers Bright. A friend who was doing advertising work for the company recommended Bright when Kramer decided to grow the U.S. operation. Kramer had been doing business for 15 years, selling through catalog houses, and sales had stagnated. “But I went ahead and did my due diligence,” says Bright. “I learned that the prices were good, but there was no brand recognition. And it didn’t offer the security of a big company. But the owners of Kramer convinced me to fly over to Israel for a weekend and they made it clear that if I joined, they would give me, within reason, complete latitude to build the company the way I wanted to. By then, I knew that not only were the prices good, so was the quality. That was on their side. The lack of brand and sales was simply a marketing and sales job. I could certainly do that. I accepted on those terms and here we are, nine years later.” Bright became the first U.S. employee at Kramer. He had 100 products to work with, 80 of which were current, and most the result of Dr. Kramer, a chemist, building products in his garage. Today, Kramer Electronics has more than 600 products, and the U.S. division has never experienced less than 25 percent growth. Bright says the factory and management certainly kept up their part of the bargain with new products and technologies – these days to the tune of 100 new products a year. Bright also says that unlike many other companies, Kramer can bring a product to market in three to four months, and every product still has Dr. Kramer’s direct involvement. Dr. Kramer, being the ultimate risk-taker, isn’t afraid to try new ways of engineering products at the requests of OEMs or dealers, so the result is often an entirely new technology, to Bright’s great delight.
“It’s an adventure! The biggest challenge remains going to battle against 300-pound gorillas that I compete with, but we’ve used the same formula – putting the dealer first, relationship selling, and putting out good products,” says Bright. He says one of his favorite things about the company is the way Kramer retains the small company feel, despite being one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. “And one of the best things is that I was able to bring back some of the talented people who have worked with me in the past,” says Bright. “Alan Richards started as a young kid with me, Clint Hoffman was a sales manager at VCA and came with me to Mitsubishi, and Paul Bogan has been with me through three companies.” Now empty nesters, with son Zachary studying sports management and daughter Casey studying mass communications, Bright and his wife of 31 years, Debbie, are enjoying travel whenever they can. Adventures have included whale watching, swimming with dolphins, a 26- mile ride down a Hawaiian volcano, ziplining over rain forests, and a cross-country train excursion. They also managed a vacation to California with the entire family for their 30th wedding anniversary, anticipating that it could be the last time they could all take a vacation together since the kids are approaching college graduations. “Most rewarding by far is raising a good family,” he says. “A close second is the feeling of accomplishment when you put a team of people together to start something new, like the people I have here who have worked with me before, and watch that team grow together, see their families expand, their kids growing taller – seeing all this happen that didn’t exist before.”
Special Announcement Join Gary at Two NSCA Courses! Gary Kayye is teaching two classes at NSCA. Register today! Do you know if your customers are Early Adopter or Early Majority buyers? This is a BIG DEAL now as our industry has crossed a chasm into a new buyer and customer category – do you know how to serve this new audience? In the early days of the ProAV market, we all sold technology. Brighter this, louder that, smaller this, higher-performance that. Well, guess what? That's the OLD way to market, sell, design and install systems and technology. People don't want to buy technology – they want solutions. Sure, that's easy to say and you're probably even saying that yourself, but are you really doing it? Do you really know how to sell to this new client or are you always coming back to price (and reducing it)? This course will teach you how to apply the principals of Geoffrey Moore's Chasm Theory to every aspect of your business – from running it to selling gear to installing and servicing it. Simple as that. You will leave this course with real-world tools and ideas on how to grow, profitably and cater your business model to all buyer types. Each attendee will receive a free copy of Geoffrey Moore's book, Crossing the Chasm. Displays for Dummies Everyone sells displays. Everyone installs displays. Everyone uses displays. And a heck of a lot of us really don't know how they work. If you're new to the ProAV market, new to selling projectors, LCDs, Plasmas or Go to http://www.nsca.org/Expo/ExpoClasses/tabid/413/Default.aspx and plug in the titles in the search area.
Track This Right now, RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) is being used by such retail giants as Wal-Mart and Dutch bookseller Selexyz for inventory management. But what is becoming quite apparent is that, while the technology saves a huge amount of labor, eliminating manual inventory-taking, for example, it also provides the best theft protection ever. The radio frequency tells a manager how many items are in the facility and the exact physical location of each and every one. It’s like a GPS for items. In fact, a shoe manufacturer, Reno, just announced the company will embed RFID tags right into the shoes, so that any retailer who chooses can use the tags to track any shoes that inadvertently leave the store unpaid for. Mark my words: within two years, we’ll see this technology incorporated into AV products, so that anyone who manages AV systems in schools and school systems, corporations – anywhere with expensive equipment – can track a wandering projector, flat-panel display or video camera. For more on the technology, go to http://www.rfidnews.org/ Digital Cinema Gaining Ground As the AP story points out, the technology is great for exhibitors because it gives them tons more flexibility. They can have special screenings of independent or foreign films that wouldn’t usually have wide release in the U.S. They can expand the number of screens for a very popular movie and they can more quickly replace flops. Many in our industry have waited, and prepared for this, with digital cinema projectors and projection systems already on the market. It’s a bit early but… congrats. For the whole story, go http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070305/ap_on_hi_te/instant_films_1
New Chairman for AMX In addition to his new role with AMX, Fealy is executive vice president of Duchossois Industries, Inc. and managing director of Duchossois Technology Partners, an early-stage venture capital company. He has served on the AMX Board of Directors since Duchossois Industries acquired AMX in 2005. He also serves on the board and executive committee of Churchill Downs and on the boards of Duchossois Industries, The Chamberlain Group, Brivo Systems, Pella Corporation and the Illinois Venture Capital Association. For more information, go to http://www.amx.com
Canon Announces Short-Throw, 1.6x Zoom LCD Projectors The top-of-line LV-Series LV-7265 is specified at 2500 ANSI lumens while the LV-7260 has 2000 and the LV-X7, 1500. The LV-7265 and LV-7260 have contrast ratio of 600:1 and the LV-X7, 500:1. The three projectors have five automatic image modes (Presentation, Video, Cinema, Standard, sRGB) and manual settings for each mode to create custom presets. They have Enhanced Wall Color Correction for projecting on eight different colored surfaces. They also have an automatic power off timer, which allows users to set a specific time of day or them to power down automatically. Considering the XGA resolution, these are competitively priced: $1,499, $1,199, and $999. For more information, go to http://www.usa.canon.com SIM2 Launches Pro Cinema Line SIM2's Pro Cinema line will initially consist of three projectors to be rolled out over the coming months. The first of these is the currently available PROC3, a three-chip 720p DLP front projector. The second model will be the PRODUE-C3, which uses two aligned PROC3 models for higher brightness applications. The last, the PRO5000, will be a three-chip 1080p model. Additional models and options will be announced in the future. Even though the first product is available, these aren’t yet on the website. But you can keep tabs at http://www.sim2usa.com/frameset_video_enter.php Barco Introduces 10,000-Lumen DLP Projector in Compact Design Barco says it’s also affordable but pricing isn’t listed. For more on this, go to http://www.barco.com/corporate/en/products/product.asp?element=3658 Laser-Guided Projection by Graffiti RL GRL is out to change the world, arming counter culture with a way to “project” messages in a world already owned by commercial messaging. For more information, go to http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/ Kramer Announces RC-8IR 8×15 Universal Media/Room Controller The RC-8IR is an 8×15 Universal Media/Room Controller wall plate, capable of executing 15 commands from each of its eight backlit buttons. It has eight communication ports – two IR (each 2×2 for a total of four IR emitters with IR learning capability), one Ethernet, two relay contact closure, two RS-232 (bidirectional) and one RS-485 (bidirectional) – capable of delivering up to 120 total commands. The buttons of the RC-8IR are programmed through the Ethernet port and can be labeled. It has IR-learning for customized control of external sources, and receiving IR commands from different remote transmitters without the need for an external IR remote control unit. The RC-8IR can be “locked” to prevent any unintended use. The RC-8IR Ethernet port is also capable of communicating with up to five separate IP addresses. In a system with equipment already networked, no additional cables are required. The RC-8IR plugs into an Ethernet port and the unit can be programmed or room can be controlled via a Java based graphical interface from an internet connection anywhere in the world. The RC-8IR is currently in stock and available from Kramer Electronics USA at a list price of $695.00. For more details, go to http://www.kramerelectronics.com/news_full_story.asp?iNews=200
GuiFX Adds Sound Effects, Graphics "Libraries" The Sound FX Pack includes 1200 professionally-recorded male and female voices speaking common, and not so common, user interface functions, clicks, beeps, bleeps and other sound effects. Each Graphics Set includes a complete set of graphical user interface elements in various image formats to make them compatible with any application. The original Photoshop source files are included. For more information, go to http://www.guifx.com/index.php?cPath=6 Mediatech Announces New Version of ButtonMate Control System Interface It uses Windows-based software for setup, has built-In IR Learner with 60 internal command storage locations and 4 sources x 12 functions per source for 52 distinct button functions. For more information, go to http://www.gomediatech.com/download/MT-52-BM-SSR03.pdf
IO2 Unveils Newest Heliodisplay IO2 says Heliodisplay is now ready for such ambitious applications as teleconferencing, board room displays, and for information areas in hotel and corporate lobbies. The Heliodisplay M3 is available directly from IO2 for $18,400. The M3i, which in addition to all the features of the M3, serves as a computer input device for cursor control in a desktop environment, is available for $19,400. For more information, go to http://www.io2technology.com/
IT Software Company Offering “Digital Signage” Network communications software marketer Netpresenter installed its software on 21,000 employee PC screens for DSM, a Netherlands-based chemical and life science company. The software is designed to facilitate employee communications, pretty much replacing newsletters and other such media. In a smart move, Netpresenter (AND the customer, DSM) are calling this a digital signage system. Why is this a smart move? Because all they need to do is plug wall-mount LCD panels into the network, and it becomes part of what, indeed, is a digital signage network. But one installed and sold by an IT company. For more information, go to http://www.netpresenter.com/images/stories/pdf/press/march2007.pdf
Polycom Set to Deliver RMX 2000 Multipoint Conferencing This system is built on a Telecom Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA). It is optimized for use on IP networks and is designed so that it’s easy for customers to use, and easy for IT managers to configure, install, manage, service, and administer through installation wizards, automated system surveillance, pre-defined profiles, and standard web interfaces. The RMX 2000 has an open architecture and is based on industry standards. The Polycom RMX 2000 real-time media conferencing platform is built on a Linux operating system and offers a standard XML API for using value-added or third party conferencing applications. The Polycom RMX 2000 is priced starting at $53,000. For more information, you can view a podcast about the Polycom RMX 2000 at http://www.polycom.com/podcast/rmx2000 and you can read about it at http://www.polycom.com/investor_relations/1,1434,pw-180-17312,00.html
Using PDAs and Notebook Computers for Surveillance In the case of law enforcement, it does add a great way for security and police to team up: a building's security personnel can work with the police in real-time and they can assess a situation by pulling up the video on the PDA from wherever they are before they go to a potentially dangerous area. They can also quickly ID a perp. The PDA application uses Windows Mobile 5.0 and WiFi networking. The notebook computer software is Windows CP compatible. For more information, go to http://www.covitechnologies.com
“Tools of the Trade” Exhibit Area Makes NSCA Expo Debut The exhibit will feature products from Eastern Manufacturing, Four Star Wire & Cable, KSI Professional, Leader Instruments, NKK Switches, Rodman & Company, and Sencore. For more information, go to http://www.nsca.org/
InfoComm Asia Enters Second Decade in 2008 With Pan-Asian Event in Hong Kong Running concurrently with InfoComm Asia in 2008 will be InfoComm China, renamed from Integrated Systems China. While the latter focuses on the burgeoning China market, InfoComm Asia will target the South China and non homogeneous markets of Northeast, South, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. InfoComm Asia will be held once every two years while InfoComm China will run yearly – alternating between Hong Kong and a major Chinese city – making the even-year events in Hong Kong a pan-Asian affair. For more information, go to http://www.infocommasia.org/ SurgeX’s Andy Benton and Jim Brown of Audio Systems Group to Discuss AV AC Power and Grounding Jim Brown notes, “Power systems require an earth connection for lightning safety, an earthed neutral, and a bond between neutral and all exposed equipment that may become energized. This bonding protects personnel from electrical shock and is a critical element of fire safety. In our systems, audio and video equipment installed at widely separated locations is interconnected, often using unbalanced interfaces that make the wiring sensitive to noise voltages on the safety ground. Power systems must be designed to minimize these voltages, and audio/video equipment and systems must be designed and installed to work properly with proper grounding in place.” The basic mechanisms by which noise invades audio/video systems will be identified, and effective solutions are described. Surge suppression and power conditioning concepts will be presented as well, in what the instructors call easy-to-understand verbiage and examples. The class will be held at NSCA Saturday, 3/17 – Sat 3/17 8 AM – 12 PM and is four learning units. To find it, go to http://www.nsca.org/Expo/ExpoClasses/tabid/413/Default.aspx and search for code CTK18. For more information, go to http://www.surgex.com/press/press012007_1nscaExpo2007.html
Well, that's it for this edition of rAVe! Thank you for spending time with me as we muse the industry's happenings. To continue getting my newsletter, or to sign up a friend, click the link below. To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gkayye@kayye.com or for editorial: Denise Harrison at dharrison@kayye.com A little about me: Gary Kayye, CTS, founder of Kayye Consulting. Gary Kayye, an audiovisual veteran and columnist, began the widely-read KNews, a premier industry newsletter, in the late 1990s, and created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which later became InfoComm IQ. Kayye Consulting is a company that is committed to furthering the interests and success of dealers, manufacturers, and other companies within the professional audiovisual industry. Gary Kayye's rAVe was launched in February 2003. rAVe Home Edition co-sponsored by CEDIA launched in February, 2004. To read more about my background, our staff, and what we do, go to http://www.kayye.com Copyright 2007 – Kayye Consulting – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact Kayye Consulting, 400 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 425 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: dharrison@kayye.com Gary Kayye's rAVe 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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