Volume 5, Issue 7 – April 5, 2007

Introduction

Welcome to rAVe Pro Edition – Volume 5, Issue 7

Special Announcement

Join Gary Kayye at the SPL Technology Seminar

Feature Article

HD Videoconferencing – Finally, it works!
By Gary Kayye, CTS

Integrator Solutions
	Choirs, Church Musicians Go Digital With SamePage Peerless Offering CRT to Flat Panel Conversion Kits Altinex DVI Sniffer Locates Weak Signal Spots Updated Intelix VGA Balun Doesn’t Require Shielded CAT5 EZBracket Line of Universal Speaker Brackets Fit Round, Rectangular, In-Wall and In-Ceiling Audio Authority Introduces HDMI Distribution Amplifiers, Switchers New Single-Gang Wall-Mount IR Button Panel From Calypso

Special Announcement

Join Gary Kayye at the SPL Technology Seminar

Tuesday May 1, Sheraton Palo Alto, California, and

Wednesday May 2, Hyatt Regency San Francisco, California

Do you need to get answers on how to improve the communication and productivity at your organization while holding down costs?

Join us at an SPL Technology Seminar, where we are bringing together the leading audio and video vendors to demonstrate their products and answer your AV and conferencing questions.

RSVP by calling (925) 404-0440 or emailing cbuck@splis.com

Feature Article

HD Videoconferencing – Finally, it works!

By Gary Kayye, CTS

Oh, sure, I got names to call.  And, I called them.  But, each and every time I called them I would eventually find out that, in fact, they weren’t totally satisfied with their VTC system and that they were more than frustrated with many aspects of their installs – most of the time connection issues.

I remember one time even being referred to a giant company (Motorola) who I was told loved their VTC system.  Well, I called and spoke to the department who headed up Motorola’s VTC installs and not only did I find that they weren’t at all happy with the 70 or so systems they had at the time but that their customers (Motorola employees) weren’t even really using the systems any more.  In fact, one Motorola employee actually told me a story about how he tried to use the system a few times but every single time he did it was like he had to, “have a meeting with IT to make sure they system worked in time for the meeting with the client”.  He even cited the fact that with VTC technology, he didn’t accrue frequent flier miles – something he did get when he just went ahead and flew over to Asia even once in a while.

In all fairness, in researching the plethora of problems we have, it all seems to come down to the connection issues – quality, consistency, bandwidth, etc.

In short, it’s not the hardware’s fault.  Something Tandberg, Polycom and the like have been saying for years.  And, they are right!

But, lately I’ve been trying out myself and speaking to customers of HD videoconferencing systems and the story is all different now. 

It works!  It really works!  And, works consistently well.

I am totally blown away.  This is the all-new, re-engineered version of videoconferencing and it’s totally different than before.  It’s what VTC salespeople have been saying VTC technology will do for their customers for years. 

And, the new HD VTC systems have it and do it all.

Oh, sure, the quality’s better.  But, that’s not what I am impressed with.  I am impressed with the fact that virtually 100% of the customers I spoke to who were using it were satisfied.  Ironically enough, I am not alone.   In my discussions with the users, almost none of them cited picture quality as a major satisfaction factor in their new HD VTC system – it was simpler than that – it worked.

The user experience was satisfying simply because they finally had a system that did what it was supposed to do – dial-up, connect and perform.

So, have you switched yet?

Reprinted with permission from Sound & Communications.  Founded in 1955, Sound & Communications is the premiere magazine for AV systems integrators, contractors and consultants. To subscribe or read sample articles, go to http://www.soundandcommunications.com.

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TI Demos Pico Projection at CTIA

Texas Instruments showed at the CTIA wireless convention in Orlando a prototype of a teeny tiny DLP projector that the company expects to be used as a stand-alone or as an embedded feature to be included in mobile devices, such as cell phones and PDAs. Naturally, it’s a DLP device.

It will be a long time before any of these small projectors pack enough power for formal presentations, if ever, but for small meetings or entertainment, these are expected to do well. Market projections are ambitious – shipments are expected to surpass 1 million units by 2010. 

For more information, go to http://www.dlp.com

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Choirs, Church Musicians Go Digital With SamePage

Corevalus Systems (Georgetown, Kentucky) brought a very cool product to NSCA. SamePage is an LCD display coupled with the SamePage software that lets choir members and musicians ditch the paper music sheets and use digital files instead. As one user pointed out, it’s rather unpleasant when the HVAC kicks in and blows sheet music all over the stage.

SamePage not only removes that messy problem, but it allows for central control. One person can program the displays so that each performer gets just the music they need – a violinist gets the music for strings and an alto gets the music for vocals.

The company hopes that eventually, downloading new music sheets will be as easy as ordering from iTunes.

Another nice advantage, according to what the company told us at NSCA, is that once those delivering the sermons see what this can do for the performers, he or she wants to know what the dealer can do for them, too.

For more information, go to http://www.corevalus.com/index.htm

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Peerless Offering CRT to Flat Panel Conversion Kits

The kits are priced at $339 and $224, depending on needs.

For more information, go to http://www.peerlessmounts.com

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Altinex DVI Sniffer Locates Weak Signal Spots

It runs on two AA batteries. You can buy it directly from Altinex. The price listed on the website is $99.95. Altinex is also offering a free 30-day trial.

For more information, go to http://altinex.com

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Updated Intelix VGA Balun Doesn’t Require Shielded CAT5

To use, you connect the VGA-SR-F send balun to your source device (typically a PC), connect standard unshielded twisted pair cabling, and connect the VGA-SR-F receive balun to the destination device (monitor or projector). The VGA-SR-F does not require a secondary power supply.

Intelix targets both commercial and residential applications for the new balun.

MSRP is $246.95.

For more information, go to http://www.intelix.com/press/070328_VGASR_F_Release.htm

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EZBracket Line of Universal Speaker Brackets Fit Round, Rectangular, In-Wall and In-Ceiling

The company says these products universally adapt to fit most models from leading custom and architectural speaker manufacturers and replace the 10 to18 different bracket sizes typically used with each brand of speaker.

Installation is done with only a staple gun, and just two brackets are required.

Suggested cost is $13 or $14.50 depending on configuration.

For more information, go to http://ezbracket.com/index.html

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Audio Authority Introduces HDMI Distribution Amplifiers, Switchers

The new switchers come in two- and four-position models with four different control methods. The switcher has multiple control options to make them suitable for applications such as whole house audio/video system as well as home automation and even commercial applications.

These are priced at $209 and $249.

For more information, go to http://www.audioauthority.com/

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New Single-Gang Wall-Mount IR Button Panel From Calypso

It has an onboard serial programming port and on-board IR learning. Once an IR code is learned, it can be assigned to a button. Also, a complete, fully-programmed CB-1000 configuration can be automatically copied to additional units via the same serial port. 

MSRP is $249.

For more information, go to http://www.calypsocontrol.com/

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Recent LCD Sales Double That of Plasmas

Mark my words: this trend will continue as LCD prices continue to plummet.

For more information, go to http://www.pacificmediaassociates.com/

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ITS Enclosures Provides Flat-Panel Safety Inside and Out

The double-sided model actually comes WITH a pair of 42-inch LCD panels. It’s obviously designed for everywhere you want people to be able to view both sides of a display. It can be ceiling or custom mounted and has thermal management.

The indoor includes thermostatically controlled filter fans and can hold a variety of sizes. It can be ceiling, wall, post, or custom mounted.

The outdoor enclosure also accommodates a variety of sizes and can be ceiling, wall, post or custom mounted. Thermal management is available as an option.

Finally, the Coverstation lets you customize the display with whatever colors you wish. Permanent brand placement is also an interesting option. It has a locking mount.

For more information, go to http://www.itsenclosures.com/products.asp?producttypeid=49

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New 57-Inch Professional LCD From Planar

The m57L has Serial Digital Input (SDI) that is capable of accepting standard definition and high-definition SDI resolutions. The 1080p native resolution enables the multiple window display to create an active image area approximately equal to seventeen 14-inch CRT monitors, says Planar, a common configuration in broadcast control rooms (one of the target applications). The m57L is also preconfigured with presets for common color temperatures.

It uses improved sharpness scaling and 10 bit gamma processing, can automatically synch with a variety of input signals and has a built-in real-time clock for scheduling events, such as power off, source switching, etc. Built-in tiling (Planar’s Big Picture), mullion compensation and digital loop through are provided for applications requiring multiple, tiled displays.

The m57L is now shipping at an MSRP of $17,000 for the data version and $17,500 for the video-enabled model.

For more information, go to http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=111133&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=975050&

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HD 50-Inch Pro Plasma From Pioneer

Pioneer is targeting film studios, post and authoring houses as early adopters of this panel.

The company says 15 years of development went into some of these newer technologies. The Deep Waffle Rib Structure “makes each cell deeper to increase overall phosphor area for a brighter image.” By casing each cell with horizontal ribs, light leakage is lessened from neighboring cells for sharper, more accurate images. A new T-shaped electrode prevents misfiring of individual cells despite the fact that each individual cell is half the size as previous generations, so Pioneer says the PDP-5000EX can maintain sharp, bright accurate images when reproducing at a native 1080p resolution.

There is a Crystal Layer sandwiched between the plasma glass and the individual light cells, which the company says conducts energy more efficiently, so each cell is charged and discharged at a faster rate, improving contrast and brightness while using less energy, and giving you a smoother transition from color to black for deeper blacks and better detail in dark scenes.

Other technologies include High Quality Up-Conversion to 1080p for minimizes interlacing motion artifacts, PURE Drive 2 HD Signal Processing for low noise, high contrast and natural color, and a Direct Color Filter reduces ambient light reflection.

The PDP-5000EX will ship in the spring and pricing is TBA.

For more details, go to http://www.pioneerelectronics.com

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Sharp Brings New 46-Inch Digital Signage LCD to NSCA, Shows Portrait 65-Inch

The PN-465U monitor has a two-megapixel 1920 x 1080 HD resolution with more than six million pixels. Other specs include a 1700:1 contrast ratio and a 6ms response time.

The 65-inch that Sharp exhibited wasn’t new, but it looked really great and you could just see it in a number of retail/signage settings. It’s just a hugely tall display, very eye-catching.

For more on these, go to http://www.sharpusa.com/products/TypeLanding/0,1056,159,00.html

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New 24-Inch Touch Screen LCD From CyberTouch

You can request pricing from the website.

For more information, go to http://www.cybertouch.com/ORION24.html

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Listen Shipping Wireless Digital Audio Conferencing System

The Wireless Digital Conferencing System won’t suffer from cell phone interference, and it uses removable battery packs in each discussion unit – batteries that can be monitored during a meeting to make sure each is receiving signals as they should.

The Wireless Digital Conferencing System includes a Wireless Central Control Unit, a Wireless Access Point, control software, and a variety of individual microphone units including a single Wireless Discussion Unit, a Dual Discussion Unit which offers two separate headphone connections with independent volume control, and a Wireless Discussion Unit with five voting buttons.

For more information, go to http://www.listentech.com/index.php

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Audio Enhancement Demos Classroom Audio Systems

The Ultimate II CAE-50W Classroom audio system consists of two simultaneous infrared microphones to keep instructors’ voices continuously at optimal levels. It has multi-media mute control for when a teacher is talking, and the remote allows the teacher to control the volume of the student microphones, his or her own microphone or the auxiliary volume.

This system includes eight speaker outputs, 50 watts total output power, four stereo auxiliary inputs and a dual channel receiver, handheld student mic/transmitter, teardrop pendant style teacher microphone/transmitter, four ceiling speakers, dome sensor, cable and charger.

The Achiever CAE-20W is basically the same system with the same functionality, but it provides four speaker outputs, 20 watts of total output and four auxiliary inputs.

For more on these systems, go to http://www.audioenhancement.com/ae/SiteDefault.aspx

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InfoComm Announces 50 Percent Increase in CAVSPs

There are three levels of CAVSP:

–Gold CAVSP, recognizing 75 percent of all sales, customer service and technical staff have and maintain InfoComm Certification

–Silver CAVSP, recognizing 50 percent of staff are InfoComm Certified

–Basic CAVSP, recognizing that 25 percent of staff are InfoComm Certified

The CAVSP is awarded on a location-by-location basis, and additional branches must qualify separately to obtain the designation. CAVSP companies have also agreed to comply with 10 Standards of Excellence that were developed in collaboration with industry experts to emphasize the best practices of AV businesses.

For more information, go to http://www.infocomm.org/cps/rde/xchg/infocomm/hs.xsl/avindustry_3327.htm

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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

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