Volume 6, Issue 12 — December 23, 2015
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Aeiforia Technos Editorial Editorial Editorial
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All Eyes on Paris
By Raymond Kent Managing Principal, Sustainable Technologies Group
The COP21 Convention held in Paris is now in the history books. For those of you who may not know what this annual event even is or have vague ideas about it having something to do with the climate, here is a bit of a primer:
In 1992, there was a large political response to climate change which coalesced into a group of member countries from the United Nations convening in Rio de Janeiro to discuss challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing climate, pollution, and economics related to these and other topics. The Rio Convention produced the United Nation’s Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which provided a framework for processes and action to address rising greenhouse gas emissions and stem human contribution to catastrophic interference of the climate system. This resulted in a near-universal adoption of 195 member countries taking effect in March of 1994.
Since then (1995) the Conference of Parties (COP) has met annually to review the implementation of UNFCCC which have resulted in significant milestones and protocols towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This included the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal Action Plan, and the Durban Green Climate Fund to name a few. The recent Paris Climate Conference (COP21) was the first time that a legally binding framework of universal climate change action was produced to work to prevent global warming from rising 2˚C above pre-industrial levels in a joint effort to stem an irreversible global climate catastrophe. In a historic effort, every member party has signed on in agreement with no dissenters.
The most significant point of this resolution is for the first time the inclusion of developing countries and significant financial funding from developed countries and major greenhouse gas emitters to offset any economic impact of compliance by those looking to climb the global economic ladder. The challenge now is for the member countries, many of who look to fossil fuels as an economic driver to success, to ratify the resolution’s framework and agree to the terms on reduction and reporting. Not surprising is the political resistance in the United States where this may be a bigger hurdle than other major players.
So what does all this mean for the Information Communications Technology industry? Contract opportunities in intelligent building and power management systems for ICT scope of work. I have touched on this in many previous articles and with each passing month it becomes even clearer that the world economies are demanding action. In the United States, one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases is the built environment in cahoots with transportation and manufacturing. The ICT industry is poised to be leaders in working with building owners, contractors, and design professionals to reduce and manage the carbon footprint of buildings through intelligent control solutions and implementation of energy efficient technologies.
One prime example of this is in display technologies such as laser projection and LED displays that are more operationally efficient that previous generations. This is akin to the automobile manufacturing industry realizing the future of electric vehicles and working with other technology sectors to make that the norm. They have taken this on as a result of consumer demand and government increases in vehicle efficiency requirements. We have also as a result of this seen public shaming (Volkswagen) of companies that don’t toe the line.
Government agencies continue to squeeze emissions through tighter regulations in the US and even more so abroad. Private sector companies are innovating in fantastic ways to increase capabilities of power storage, delivery, and efficiency. Examples of this can be seen where the construction industry has had to take notice with giants such as The Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group announcing their commitment to achieving a Net-Zero energy use for all new facilities and renovations by 2030. This coincides with the United States Architecture 2030 Challenge which continues to make significant strides in reaching its goals (although not as aggressively as Europe) Skanska and Bouyges Construction have allocated major resources to the development of sustainable building technologies. This is coupled with Microsoft, Apple, Google and Phillips all joining in to provide serious capital investment in next generation technology solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
It seems like everyone around the world is joining the cause with a significant recognition of the challenges ahead for not just the wealthiest countries but those who are emerging. Current ICT industry companies can and should be a major player in this process otherwise we will be left in the dust as new, ecologically forward thinking companies will surely replace us. Leave a Comment
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How Often Do Your Proposals Result in a Sale?
By Omar Prashad rAVe Blogger
As integrators, how many of us know exactly what it costs for each proposal we produce? I don’t have any empirical data, but from having had the privilege of doing this for almost 15 years, my anecdotal answer would be: very few. I know, I know — everyone thinks his own are great and his ‘way of doing it’ is leap-years beyond what the competition is doing. I beg to differ: The only thing that matters is the value perceived by the customer and 99 percent of the proposals I see are what I call ‘Look at me’ documents. We have to stop what we’re doing and put ourselves in the customer’s shoes.
What if we change our thinking for a minute and consider the cost of producing a proposal? Through the lens of cost perhaps I can inspire you to change your ways. Let’s think about the cost of producing a proposal as three separate buckets.
In the first bucket, we have the basic tangible physical costs of producing a proposal. These are things as basic as the cost of paper, marketing materials and printer ink. It’s easy to figure out how full the first bucket is; these are all costs that as integrators we understand and that are so miniscule that we don’t really need to consider them (unless any of you out there are delivering proposals on gold-leaf in which case we need to have an entirely different conversation). In the next bucket are our labor input costs. How much actual time does the account manager have invested in meeting the customer and creating the opportunity? How much time does our engineering team take in designing the proposed solution? Although these are proposal input costs that could be easily calculated, the reality is they often aren’t. The last bucket is the one that most integrators don’t consider at all, and it’s the one that has the biggest potential cost impact: the opportunity costs. Our most valuable resource is time; dedicating the time to create, deliver and follow up on a proposal means that we don’t have time to do something else. Opportunity costs represent a choice, choosing one activity over another and choosing one potential customer over another.
Using this ‘buckets’ framework, without even considering opportunity costs (which are difficult to quantify), producing a typical proposal probably costs somewhere around $200 – $400. A larger, more complex system can have proposal costs that climb well over $1,000 and even upwards of $10,000. Not a large sum on its own for most of the proposals that are being created, but when you consider that most integrators track and subconsciously incentivize sales teams on ‘net new opportunities generated’ or worse yet ‘number of proposals delivered,’ the costs of proposals can really add up. For the most part people do what they are measured on. This can lead to a system where our sales teams will put a proposal out to any warm body without properly qualifying and understanding the customer’s needs.
The first step is to change our thinking from proposal quantity to proposal quality. So the question becomes how do we create and deliver proposals that have a higher chance of acceptance? Most of the customer-facing proposals that I see are at one of two extremes. Either a proposal is a detailed parts list with line item pricing and no more, or a proposal is a comprehensive 40+ page dissertation that would rival the reading material burden for most graduate level MBA programs. The truth is both of these versions are actively losing you more business than they are winning.
Let’s take the encyclopedic version first. The problems here are what I’ll call kitchen sink-esque: The integrator includes every single piece of potentially relevant information that it has ever produced, from case studies to awards to resumes of key personnel to fancy cover pages signed by company executives. But length isn’t even the core issue here, it’s that everything is delivered from the perspective of the integrator, not the customer. It is all about how great we are, what we have done, our history, our certification and our achievements and awards. Here is a cold hard truth that many of you will struggle to believe: Our customers don’t care about that stuff. They care about what we can do for them, how we can improve their outcomes and how we provide them value unique to their needs. I consider great references, certifications and all of that other junk basic table stakes. You need them to get access to the game but once you’re at the point of proposal, it doesn’t matter anymore. We are selling technology that in theory is supposed to make our customers lives better, easier and faster. Do you really think that any of our customers are actually reading the entire proposal dissertation? Do you really think that the busy executive budget sponsor in your Fortune 500 account is looking at any of it?
Side note — in the context of an RFP, this sort of proposal diarrhea may be required. Although I don’t believe that responding to RFPs is a legitimate strategy for sustained and profitable growth (another one of those topics for another day).
On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got the proposal as a one-page parts list that almost always uses very technical equipment descriptions and AV industry acronyms. On a personal note, I loathe those in our family of integrators that are still delivering a detailed parts list as the only component of their customer proposals (and while I’m a huge advocate for not delivering a detailed parts list at all within the context of a well presented proposal, it’s much less offensive). Those that are doing this, please help the AV industry out and stop immediately. We spend so much time thinking about and talking about strategies to differentiate ourselves in pro AV, how to move ourselves away from being seen as movers of product and how to show our customers that we’re valued partners (instead of transactional vendors). Every time a one-page parts list proposal is delivered to a customer, our entire industry is being pulled backwards. Let’s think about it from another perspective. We’ve all bought cars. Have you ever bought a car where on the proposal was every nut, bolt, belt and washer that went into making the car? The last time you bought a laptop was every microchip, wire and connector detailed? And when you buy a house, does the invoice itemize every nail, screw, sheet of drywall and shingle? Obviously the answer is no — we buy those things because of what they do for us as consumers. They fill a need that we have, one that’s Gestaltist (the whole being greater than the sum of its parts). Isn’t an integrated AV system the very definition of this?
So what are some actionable items that we can take as integrators to increase the likelihood of our system proposals being accepted? Here are some quick tips on how to produce proposals that have a higher chance of resulting in business. It will often take a strategic shift in priorities, and it will definitely take some effort, but let’s remember that we’re not in the business of proposal writing — we’re in the business of delivering impactful AV systems for our customers.
- The entire proposal needs to be from the perspective of the customer – What it does for the customer, what value it provides, and how it addresses her very specific need. I call this the project value proposition, which is separate from the scope of work and should be the first thing the customer sees in the proposal.
- The power of options – This is a topic for another day, but the gist of it is providing the customer options that changes her thought process from, ‘Should I hire them?’ to ‘How should I engage with them?’
- Scope of Work – A non-technical, simplified narrative on how the system will operate. Give it to your 11 year old son, if he doesn’t understand what the system will do, your scope is ineffective.
And most importantly, don’t ever deliver a proposal to a customer without first having an agreed upon and scheduled time to meet with her and review. If I was going to deliver a proposal on a Tuesday, I would first make sure that I had a meeting scheduled with the customer on Friday morning at 10 a.m. to discuss and review (this is a specific time and meeting, ‘I’ll call you on Friday to follow up’ isn’t sufficient). Don’t throw the proposal out there into the black hole. As I mentioned earlier, as the integrator, we assume a costly and time consuming burden to design the system and produce a proposal. We are partners with our customers, we need them (for obvious reasons), and we have to remember that they need us – the relationship is always that of equals. If we’re going to invest time in designing a system that fulfills their needs, we need to have mutual expectations of the partnership. One of those is a scheduled meeting time to follow-up and review the proposal. In my world, if the customer won’t commit to that, we won’t produce a proposal for them. Remember opportunity costs — our time is better spent on customers who understand that our relationship is that of a partners.
Too many integration firms boast proudly of their fantastic proposals, of which the content was unfortunately often written by owners, managers and executives that are furthest away from the customer and who don’t understand that our only purpose as integrators should be to solve a customer’s unique needs (which often have to be translated from the ‘wants’ that they communicate). Everyone should be proud of his own firm’s accomplishments; we’ve all done some really fantastic work. But in the context of the customer proposal, remember the only thing that our customers really care about is how we will fulfill their needs.
It’s not about us… it’s all about them. Leave a Comment
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The Case Study: An AV Integrator’s Best Marketing Tool
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
I’ve been teaching a Marketing 101 class at InfoComm for a few years now. And, ADVICE #1 to my students is: Publish case studies.
But, I continue to be amazed at how few AV dealers market their services this way. They’ll spend thousands developing a cool logo, hire interns to use social media, place ads in local business journals, pay web developers to beef up their websites and even still advertise in the Yellow Pages.
Yet, they won’t use the FREE’est (and best) marketing tool they have — using case studies to show what they can do!
Sure, some do, most don’t. Easily 95 percent of AV integrators have either never published a case study or have only done one in the last 5-years.
And, yes, I know the excuses — but, let’s talk truths:
1. The case study should be your PRIMARY way of gaining new business. You see, anyone can say they do AV integration, anyone. And, unfortunately, it’s easy to become a dealer of most AV products sold today — heck, even Amazon sells a ton. But, the differentiator is what you an actually do. Case studies prove your capabilities, show off your worksmanship, are problem/solution oriented (i.e., simple to understand) and are visual — assuming you realize that the best case studies have photos.
2. Yes, professional photography is expensive. But, that’s stupid. Don’t use a professional photographer — use your iPhone. Seriously, it’s good enough. Most of the case studies will not be looked at in print; they’re shown via the web. And, you know the average web resolution of your browser? Well, in case you didn’t know, currently, 68 percent of people browsing the Internet do it at a resolution of 1024×768. And, the other 30-some percent, are MOSTLY at a lower resolution than that. You know the resolution of the camera on an iPhone 5? It’s 3264×2448 — yes, that’s the truth. Oh, and that’s a three-year old phone. Do you know what the resolution of an iPhone 6s camera is? It’s like 4000×3000. Seriously! It’s 4K. So, forget the fancy, expensive, over complicated photography. Use you dang iPhone.
3. Oh, yeah, the client has to give you approval. That’s an EASY problem to solve: just put that in the PROPOSAL, up-front. Tell the client, up-front, that you want to use this as a case study (do it in ALL your proposals). Sure, 10 percent of them might say no but that leaves you 90 percent. I am sure 90 percent represents enough good quality work for you to show off and for POTENTIAL clients to see your capabilities.
4. Speaking of potential clients, case studies spark ideas. How many clients are walking in right now asking for a “digital-canvas” or for their conference room to be multi-image capable? Hardly any. You know why? You can’t ask for something you don’t know exists. And, if you don’t tell them it exists, I promise you they won’t buy it from you.
5. So, now you have a case study, where do you publish it? Well, on your own website, of course. Don’t have a place to publish it on your website, or, costs too much to pay your webmaster to do it? Then, go get a FREE Medium blog and post it there. Sure, link it to your website, but, more importantly, use social media to blast it out there. OK, I understand that you may not understand the art of social media marketing, but we at rAVe do and we have been publishing a blog series (for months now) called “It’s Social Marketing” that will teach you everything you need to know about Social Media Marketing — and it’s free!
So, what are you waiting for! Use case studies to market your AV potential!
Images via this BrightSign case study Leave a Comment
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Better than Being There — Three Keys to AV Delivering UC&C
By Max Kopsho rAVe Blogger
I want to preface this by stating an important point. Nothing will ever replace the value of face-to-face meetings. A firm handshake to close a deal or the ability to spend time with people building strong relationships is incredibly important. The emphasis of this article is on the building and adding to the personal nature of face-to-face meetings and not trying to replace them.
I can’t help but get incredibly excited about where we are heading with Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C). This is really directed at the AV/IT players in the industry and why they should add IT. When we look at UC&C and what AV/IT can do with this space, the impact is fascinating. AV already masters the physical space with lighting, acoustics, displays, sound and control options. When you add in the full offerings of UC&C the usage model of these meeting spaces change in unbelievable ways. Let’s break down the advantages of the combination of AV/IT delivering full UC&C into a few categories to see what really makes this work for the market.
It is important to emphasize that when I refer the UC&C, I am referring to a system that includes all that telephony, IT and audiovisual has to offer. In this article I am going out of my way to emphasize the value of the audiovisual part, but UC&C includes all of these aspects.
These are just three of the many advantages of AV/IT delivering UC&C:
- The Environment — These advantages include a more natural environment for videoconferencing with proper audiovisual integration that includes proper lighting, acoustics, camera, microphone, loudspeaker placement and display sizing and placement. All of these things can give the users the feeling that the remote participants are in the room. There is a science to getting the placement and sizing right to make the system natural and fit in the environment. AV designers and engineers study this and do an incredible amount of research (and questioning) before making recommendations about how to deploy a system.
- Collaboration — Another advantage is the ability to use audiovisual integration by placing document cameras in the ceiling and using processors that can support the ability to literally slide a document across the table to remote participants and have them edit and collaborate on these documents using the network. This is more than just bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and a “share button” with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM, or off the shelf) PC. This is a full integration solution that is done when a complete space planning and full AV design is done with IT and Unified Communications in mind.
- Escalation — One more advantage is having the systems fully converged so that when the users are on a VOIP call and they need to move it to a videoconferencing they can just shoot an Instant Message to invitees and open a video call on the fly. The user should even be able to book resources on the fly as needed for adhoc meetings and escalate a meeting from a call to a full-fledged collaborative videoconferencing with just a few clicks.
One thing that is mind-blowing to me is this thought; what if we actually put cameras, displays, loudspeakers and microphones in the chairs of “remote participants?” Some UC&C integrators (AV systems integrators) are doing just that to give participants the feeling that remote participants are “in the room.”
Schools do this for kids that can’t attend school because of illness. As a product there are robots that travel the halls and attend classes via videoconferencing for students and allow the students to be a part of their regular school environment while they recover from a medical procedure or medical treatment. Why can’t we do this for business remote collaborators as well? See. Told you. Mind blown.
When looking at how UC&C will evolve in the near future, we see how UC&C meetings can actually be better than being there (remember I said that it will never replace the handshake, but at times when added to regularly scheduled face-to-face meetings, it can be better). How can I say that? I say that because there are times when these meetings take place that participants will need access to resources that are only in their home office locations. Having a UC&C meeting means that participants can be in two places at once. When I say this I mean to say that they can have access to all of their resources that are in their home location and they can “be” in a remote location at the same time. To me, at times, that can be “better than being there.”
So what is really driving this evolution of UC&C? I believe three major categories are driving the changes; the advancements in technology, the way companies are changing their process and policies and lastly the way we are doing space planning to support true collaboration. In my next article I will discuss how AV/IT integrators can leverage these three trends by applying what they do in the technology realm, with how they support process and policies and what they do in physical space with lighting, acoustics, audio, video and converged technologies that no other industry can deliver the way AV/IT can.
Image via VGO Communications, Inc. Leave a Comment
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Datapath Adds Pair of Capture Cards to VisionSC LineDatapath Ltd has introduced its latest professional AV capture cards: the VisionSC-HD4+ four channel HDMI capture card and the VisionSC-SDI4, a four-channel 3G-SDI capture card.
The VisionSC-HD4+can be used to meet a wide range of applications that demand multiple channels of video capture from a single card. It has been developed to suit markets from advanced medical and machine vision capture, military applications and security/surveillance systems, through live events broadcasting and lecture capture, to retail display.
Available with either HDMI or DVI adapters, the VisionSC-HD4+ has four on-board HDMI1.4 capture inputs allowing for two channels of 4096x2160p @ 30fps and two channels providing 1920x1080p @ 60fps. All inputs operate independently of each other to enable four separate video sources (including HDCP protected sources) to be captured and controlled simultaneously. The card also features embedded audio support across all four channels.
Developed as a half-length card (110×177-millimeter including heatsink), the VisionSC-HD4+ will fit almost any systems.
The second new Datapath capture card, the VisionSC-SDI4, has been developed to capture multiple high definition SDI video signals, making it the ideal solution for AV professionals working in the broadcast, live event or surgical markets, or for any SDI capable applications. It provides four 3G-SDI inputs, each one capable of capturing 1920x1080p @ 60fps. All of the capture channels are hardware time-stamped, allowing for larger surfaces to be captured and stitched together seamlessly according to requirements.
The VisionSC-SDI4 includes an eight lane PCIe Gen.3 interface, 768 MB frame buffer memory, Datapath unified Windows and Linux driver support, and full support of the Vision Feature set.
For streaming applications, the VisionSC-SDI4 can be used with Windows Media Encoder to compress and stream captured video. The RGBEasy SDK from Datapath is also available for customers wanting to integrate Datapath cards into their own software environments.
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Pexip Intros New Fusion Technology for Microsoft Skype for Business and Lync with Infinity 11Pexip today announced that the next version of its Infinity platform will include new Pexip Fusion technology. Pexip Fusion claims to simplify the user experience for Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync users when they join meetings that include standards-based SIP or H.323 videoconferencing users, providing unmatched and fully native user experiences for meetings that span traditional technology silos.
Pexip Fusion is activated automatically in video-based meetings with participants using a mix of Skype for Business and legacy videoconferencing. Specifically, Skype for Business users will find familiar layouts, participant listings, and meeting controls. They can, for instance, drag and drop standards-based videoconferencing users into meetings as they would with other Skype users. While in a Skype meeting, participants can also drag and drop Pexip Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) contacts into the meeting to merge complete meetings seamlessly based on different technologies. Likewise, videoconferencing users will benefit from their familiar layouts and environments. Skype users then appear as if they were standard videoconferencing participants. During any meeting, Pexip’s unique content sharing capabilities enable anyone to share presentations, documents and other content with meeting participants.
Pexip says Fusion goes beyond encompassing legacy videoconferencing and Skype for Business and Lync technologies. It also provides participants using mobile devices or Web-browser-based video with the same experience. When using Pexip Infinity as a gateway or as the primary meeting platform, Fusion applies technology elements that define and control how standards-based videoconferencing and other video-enabled clients — such as WebRTC or Pexip’s own Infinity Connect clients — work when they connect with Skype meetings.
Pexip Fusion is part of the company’s new HyperNative experience concept, which claims extensive native experiences across any platform or technology, with native apps, clients and experiences for each. Their goal is to simplify users’ participation in virtual collaborative meetings and conferences.
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KLIK Intros New Wireless HD Streaming Box Aimed at Conference, Meeting and ClassroomsKLIK Communications just launched the KLIK Boks Wireless Presentation Connector — a device that wirelessly streams the contents of their laptop, tablet or smartphone to a projector or monitor for $249. Similar to the now-ubiquitous video streaming sticks available for consumer use, the KLIK Boks targets corporate meeting and conference rooms, classrooms and meeting spaces with a host of what they claim are “professional-grade features.”
KLIK Boks includes both HDMI and VGA connectivity. The company claims it’s developed something called KLIK’s SmartSense detection technology that automatically matches the display settings between the laptop and the screen (i.e., EDID).
Here are the details. Leave a Comment
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Extron Ships 4K HDMI Matrix Switchers with Audio De-EmbeddingExtron is shipping its DXP 1616 HD 4K and DXP 168 HD 4K, the first two models in a new series of high performance HDMI matrix switchers for resolutions up to 4K (capable of 4096×2160 @30Hz at 4:4:4 and 4096×2160 @60Hz at 4:2:0). They are HDCP compliant, and support data rates to 10.2 Gbps, Deep Color up to 12‑bit, 3D, and HD lossless audio formats. Extron technologies such as SpeedSwitch, Key Minder and EDID Minder, along with automatic input cable equalization and output reclocking, ensure dependable system operation with exceptional switching speeds and compatibility between devices. These 16×16 and 16×8 matrix switchers also feature built-in audio de-embedding, enabling digital audio from any input to be assigned to the digital or analog stereo outputs for streamlined integration. The DXP HD 4K Series is ideal for use in applications that require reliable, high performance routing of digital video and digital or analog audio signals in professional AV environments.
The DXP HD 4K Series also switches embedded digital audio from HDMI source signals, along with the corresponding video, to any or all of the selected outputs. The technologies and capabilities built into the DXP HD 4K Series ensure high performance AV signal routing, with a fully digital pathway that maintains the highest possible audio and image quality for multiple sources and displays.
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VDO360 Ships Clearwater PTZPCVDO360’s Clearwater PTZPC, launched at InfoComm 2015, is now shipping.
Using a camera module based on Compass HD PTZ USB camera the VDO360 Clearwater uses a computer with an Intel Core i5 processor with vPro technology. The Clearwater PTZPC is a completely new way to do BYOD collaboration. By uniting a VDO360 Compass camera with an Intel 5th generation i5 PC, VDO360 says they have has solved one of the most vexing issues facing communications space design: Where and how to run the cabling.
The Clearwater PTZPC turns the camera and computer into one single unit — no more worrying about USB cables. It’s smaller than most USB PTZ cameras but includes a wireless BYOD system, a VTC camera, a Harman Kardon Esquire 2 microphone, a Flare IR preset recall buttons, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and the IR remote for camera control.
With the use of WiDi (Wireless Display) capabilities, the Clearwater system can be configured to be completely wireless, with the exception of power to the PTZPC. Here are all the specs.
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Extron Ships SMP 351 Streaming Media Processors With 400GB of Solid State StorageExtron shipped two new models of their SMP 351 Streaming Media Processor lineup. These new models offer 400 GB of internal solid state storage to accommodate more AV content. All SMP 351 models feature five inputs that allows for combining two high resolution signals, a background image and metadata into dynamic layouts that enhance a presentation’s message. Extron’s FlexOS embedded operating system makes the SMP 351 easily-adaptable to changing requirements. Applications can be uploaded to FlexOS that empower the SMP 351 to automate system operation using control ports.
Requiring no license fees, the SMP 351 is a flexible, cost-effective media processor for delivering dynamic presentations to larger audiences. It is ideal for any environment where AV sources can be streamed live or recorded, and where multiple AV sources are combined to enhance a presentation. Organizations use the SMP 351 to communicate with staff or students who cannot be present at an event, affording all the opportunity to review and gain insight into the live experience. It can be adapted to many applications, documenting virtually any meeting, conference, or activity that uses AV sources. The SMP 351 is designed for use in corporate, education, government, healthcare, courtroom, house of worship, and rental and staging applications.
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NEC Display Intros 75-Inch X754HB Display Built for High-Brightness EnvironmentsNEC Display Solutions today announced the MultiSync X754HB display, a high-brightness display that allows for extremely clear visibility in higher ambient light environments.
The new 75-inch display is built specifically to withstand the harsh environment of direct sunlight that would otherwise ruin normal displays. With integrated thermodynamic cooling fans, a panel that can reduce the risk of isotropic liquid crystals and a screen brightness of up to 2500 cd/m2, the X754HB is designed for solutions such as in a front-facing store windows and outdoor applications when coupled with an enclosure.
The X754HB also can intelligently adapt to its surroundings utilizing an integrated ambient light sensor. When it’s on during the day, it can offer a bright, clear image allowing for full visibility in the brightest conditions. It can then dim down at night, reducing power consumption and contributing savings to the overall investment. Typical liquid crystal panels do not guarantee full visibility if the orientation of the display changes and if the person viewing the screen is wearing polarized sunglasses. NEC Display’s X754HB has a quarter-lambda polarizer integrated onto the panel that will allow for full visibility in any orientation.
Other X754HB benefits include:
- 8-bit color SPVA panel
- Direct LED backlighting and new localized dimming functionality, which allow for improved contrast ratio and lower power consumption
- A Quarter-Lambda optical film, integrated to overcome polarization of light emitted by the display. This guarantees full readability in outdoor and semi-outdoor installations for both landscape and portrait orientations when wearing polarized sunglasses
- NFC sensor, which is incorporated into the chassis and can be addressed via a matching app for Android devices. This helps reduce installation cost as several displays can be easily configured before they are mounted
- Built-in OPS (Open Pluggable Specification) option slot and expanded connectivity options, such as
- DisplayPort 1.2, which give installers flexibility and reduce overall set-up time
- Intelligent power saving and thermal management features, which not only reduce energy usage, but also ensure that the display aligns with NEC’s Green Vision for sustainability and eco-friendliness
The X754HB display ships with a three-year limited parts and labor warranty, and will be available in December 2015 at a minimum advertised price of $11,299. Here are all the tech specs. Leave a Comment
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Pexip’s Enterprise Collaboration Platform Deploys on Amazon Web Services (AWS)Pexip today announced that the newest version of its Infinity platform will enable deployment directly on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform.
Pexip says their Infinity platform allows organizations to improve work efficiency by simply enabling everyone in organizations of any size to benefit from visual communication and collaboration tools. It seamlessly ties together enterprise communication solutions such as Microsoft Skype for Business, legacy video and telephone conferencing, and web-based communications so that organizations can improve their competitive advantage by getting more done with better results.
Pexip Infinity users deploying on AWS can benefit from all the features Amazon makes available to its customers. Hosting Pexip Infinity on the Amazon cloud provides an easy-to-use and cost effective alternative for many enterprises. AWS is already used by some of the largest corporations around.
With a Pexip Infinity AWS deployment, it is quick and easy for an administrator to spin up extra instances and add capacity in minutes, providing unmatched simplicity, flexibility and scalability for any-sized organization. There is no need to invest in or own any additional or custom hardware, as the entire collaboration solution can be hosted on the AWS cloud.
Pexip makes Infinity available as Amazon AMIs – Application Machine Images – for the AWS cloud. These can be deployed on AWS to benefit from any of Amazon’s deployment options; a private, public, or hybrid instance, each providing unique benefits for the user.
In both the private and public cloud deployment options, the complete communications and collaboration solution is deployed on the AWS in its entirety. There is no need to buy or manage any hardware whatsoever. In a hybrid deployment, management, and optionally some media handling, is deployed on the customer’s corporate network.
Pexip aims to be the global leader in interoperability, user experience, and the ability to tie any and every enterprise communication solution together via its Infinity platform. It empowers organizations with more efficient workdays for an unlimited number of users. Built on a purely virtualized, highly scalable distributed architecture, the platform is quick and easy to install, deploy, operate, and manage, allowing customers to capitalize on their investments and create truly efficient collaboration cultures. Using Infinity, organizations can offer video, audio, and web-based collaboration solutions to every employee via existing IT or cloud infrastructures — greatly improving organization efficiency while saving costs.
Making Pexip Infinity available for AWS falls in line with the company’s mission of making video, audio, and visual collaboration tools available for everyone in the most efficient and simple ways.
To test drive Pexip Infinity, go here. Leave a Comment
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Extron Ships Mic/Line to Dante Audio InterfaceExtron has started shipping its AXI 22 AT D, a single-gang Decora-style audio interface for integrating two mic/line sources onto a Dante-enabled audio system. It features two XLR audio inputs and switchable 48 volt phantom power for connecting and powering condenser microphones, plus gain controls for each input. The AXI 22 AT D also features two line outputs on the back for routing any two Dante channels from the network to an amplifier, or connecting into an optional secondary wallplate with two XLR outputs or RCA outputs. The AXI 22 AT D interfaces with Extron Dante-equipped audio processors over a standard local area network, and can be powered through PoE. This allows a single network cable connection for bidirectional audio and power from a central equipment rack.
The AXI 22 AT D digitizes two incoming analog mic/line audio channels at 24-bit/48 kHz for output via Dante, and converts two Dante audio channels for its analog line level outputs. It is connected into a Dante network over Ethernet using standard IP networking protocols. This avoids the effort and expense of pulling long analog mic cables from an audio processor to each wall, floor box, or furniture location. Audio system designers can easily design an audio system with AXI 22 AT D wallplate interfaces throughout a large facility, each connecting back into a central equipment location. For additional integration convenience, the AXI 22 AT D can be remotely powered through Power over Ethernet (PoE) using Extron XTP PI 100 and XTP PI 400 power injectors, a network switch equipped with PoE or a midspan PoE injector.
A network of Extron Dante-enabled products, including the AXI 22 AT D audio interfaces, can be set up using Dante Controller software as well as DSP Configurator Software. Dante Controller is used to easily assign an output from an AXI 22 AT D to an input on a Dante-equipped digital signal processor, such as the Extron DMP 128 AT. Similarly, an output from a DMP 128 AT can be assigned to appear at the line level output AXI 22 AT D.
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Aurora Introduces DXB-8 Low-Cost Eight-Button, Single-Gang Wall ControllerAurora’s new DXB-8 has eight programmable buttons and two RS232 ports for controlling RS232 devices. Designed for classrooms and small conference rooms, the DXB-8 buttons can be configured for sending commands on both a press and/or release, for applications such as camera pan/tilt near/far commands, as well as press-and-hold functionality for volume ramping applications.
Each button can also be programmed as a toggle function sending a unique serial command on the first press and a totally different command on a second press (I.e. Display Power On and Display Power Off both under the same button). Each of the eight buttons are back-lit with programmable colors (red, green and blue). Different colors can be placed onto a single button showing one color on a press and another on a release or toggle between two as well. The DXB-8 comes in black and white with an assortment of laser-etched back-lit buttons.
With Aurora’s free DXI programming software, the DXB-8 can easily be programmed within a single page for easy viewing of the entire project. The DXB-8 also mates with Aurora’s award winning DXW-2 series HDBaseT wall plates allowing RS232 control via HDBaseT to the display over a single umbilical.
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Nureva Announces the WhisperTek Surface for Its Span SystemNureva announces the WhisperTek surface, a high-performance bezel-less projection surface for the Nureva Span ideation system. The lightly textured surface can withstand the high-use demands of interactive surfaces and regular wear and tear from pen and finger touches over time. The WhisperTek surface has been designed to enhance projector brightness and color, while eliminating the hotspots and glare that are common with other off-the-shelf projection surfaces.
The WhisperTek surface has an aspect ratio of 16:6, which matches the displayed image of the Span system WM210i model, measuring 10′ (3.1 m) wide by 4′ (1.2 m) high. Two WhisperTek surfaces can be applied side-by-side for the 20′-wide (6.1 m) WM220i model. The product weighs only 20 lb. (9 kg) and ships rolled up inside a compact container, overcoming the shipping and handling challenges associated with large whiteboard and hardboard projection surfaces. Two people can easily apply the surface to a wall and have it ready for use in under 30 minutes.
Here are specific product details.
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Vivitek Takes Aim at Barco ClickShare With New Collaborative NovoPROVivitek Corporation today announced it’s shipping the $799 NovoPRO — taking aim at Barco’s ClickShare product. Vivitek’s NovoPRO collaborative and interactive wireless BYOD “system” offers the same advanced feature set as the bestselling NovoConnect, but on a Quad-Core processor. Equipped with UltraHD 4K support (Buyer Beware: no color bit-depth specified thus, it likely doesn’t do 4K @ 60Hz or 4:4:4) or 1080p @ 60 fps, the NovoPRO streams wireless video. In addition, the NovoPRO also features full Android and iOS mirroring.
The NovoPRO’s built-in Ethernet port and Wi-Fi module allow for standard dual network support so that both a wired and wireless connection can be accomplished to accommodate, for example, both guest and corporate networks. To make operation simple, the optional Launcher buttons allow for instantaneous screen sharing though this USB connected device. In a collaborative setting, the Launcher also has placement buttons for the four screen quadrants to provide an easy selection of multiple display devices. Lastly, the Launcher has the software preloaded, which makes it truly plug-n-plug to PCs or Macs. (No software installation is required.)
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Dukane Enters Huddle/Collaboration Furniture MarketKnown primarily for its educational product line, Dukane is staking a claim in the meeting room market with an integrated collaboration table dubbed the DCT6. The Dukane Collaboration Table (hence, DCT) is billed as an affordably-priced model with adjustable height legs. Dukane is not only aiming it at schools, but as a huddle space piece. Built-in electric allows for power and charging (included) and an integrated flat panel mount accommodates up to a 55″ display. It’s all on casters so it can be wheeled and set-up anywhere.
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Extron XTP Fiber Optic Receiver With Vector 4K Scaling ShipsExtron is now shipping its XTP SFR HD 4K, an XTP scaling receiver for extending video, audio, bidirectional control, and Ethernet over one fiber optic cable. It accepts signals from XTP Fiber transmission products, and incorporates the Extron’s new Vector 4K scaling engine, specifically engineered for 4K applications. For streamlined integration, it features on‑screen menus, audio de‑embedding to digital S/PDIF or analog stereo audio outputs, and relays for room control. Ethernet extension along with RS‑232 and IR insertion allow LAN access and remote AV device control. Signals can be delivered up to 700 meters (2,297 feet) over OM4 multi-mode fiber optic cable and up to 10 km (6.21 miles) over singlemode cable. The XTP SFR HD 4K is ideal for XTP Systems that require long-haul distribution and scaling of 4K video.
XTP Systems offer a complete integration platform for a digital AV infrastructure that supports 4K and beyond. XTP II CrossPoint matrix switchers are the first in the Pro AV industry to offer a 50 Gbps switching backplane. They are modular and expandable up to 64×64 sizes, delivering integrated solutions for high performance signal routing between multiple local and remote sources and display devices up to and beyond 4K. They can be configured with a wide selection of local, twisted pair, and fiber optic input and output boards providing integration for a variety of signal types and formats. Twisted pair and fiber optic endpoints support long distance extension of AV, control, and Ethernet to deliver complete end-to-end system solutions.
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Everything we publish is Opt-in — we spam NO ONE! rAVe ProAV Edition is our flagship ePublication with what we believe is a reach of virtually everyone in the ProAV market. rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA and launched in February 2004, is, by far, the largest ePub in the HomeAV market. We added rAVe Rental [and Staging] in November 2007, rAVe ED [Education] in May 2008 and then rAVe DS [Digital Signage] in January 2009. We added rAVe GHGav [Green, Healthcare & Government AV] in August 2010 and rAVe HOW [House of Worship] in July 2012. You can subscribe to any of those publication or see ALL our archives by going to: https://www.ravepubs.com
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