|
Volume 6, Issue 9 — September 13, 2012
|
| | |
| | |
The Unsung Heroes of the AV Industry
By Joel Rollins
rAVe Columnist Last month, we talked about some of the “Heroes” that made our craft what it is today. I gave you a few of my nominees, and we had great response on the blog and via email with suggestions for others. Some were obvious entries, others were surprising, but all contributed to the growth of the business we enjoy today.
But all of them are… distant. They’re legends. Larger-than-life. OF COURSE Edison is a hero to our industry, but he’s a hero to many industries.
So, to give credit where credit is due, we are a small business, and many of our “heroes” are people who have influenced our current state more directly — and, often, more personally for each of us. Some of them can’t even be named, as they might (probably do) have a different name for each of us.
So let’s nominate them to our little Hall of Fame by description:
The Skill-Stretching Producer
Admit it — we all have one. This is the guy, or gal, who loves to “push the envelope.” When they call, our immediate unspoken reaction is “What now?” These are the ones who aren’t afraid to dream, and keep us up all night the night before the show figuring out how to achieve what they are asking for. And, even though they may make our hair turn grey early, they push us ahead. And, once the smoke has cleared and the tension is over, we walk away able to handle yet another situation the next time it comes up.
The Considerate Client
I don’t know about the rest of you, but these are the people who have kept me in the business all these years. They are the clients who ask my advice, respect my opinion on how to make the show better, and make sure my crew gets coffee during long setups. It doesn’t take much to get us to give our best effort, and these are the people who get it.
The Great Rep
We are in a hardware and product-intensive business, where technology turns over quickly, so it’s no wonder that each of us has a lot of people calling on us to convince us to buy their product. The bulk of them are just that — salespeople — and I buy from them when they have a good price and I need their product. But a few are the “Great Rep”… the one we think of as a friend to our business and our people, the one who says “Can I help?” instead of just, “press hard, you are making six copies.” I’ve been bailed out in the middle of the night by a few of these reps, and they’re the ones I go out of my way to buy from. You can always tell who these people are, because the crew treats them differently. They don’t just know my purchasing manager or myself — they know my field crew, and what’s more than that, they are the ones we are not opposed to introducing to our clients.
The Competition
I’ll say what I have been saying for many, many years. I have been blessed with great competition. Oh, sure, I complain about them, just like we all do. But, truth to tell, the fact that we have to compete sharpens every knife in the crew’s toolbox. It drives us ahead in both technology and in customer service. Not only that, but we all know it is a small industry, and most of us have friends who work for competing organizations. We kid each other about the wins and losses where we compete for business, but we help each other out when needed, too.
The Mentor
We’re not an industry that most of us planned to be in. We didn’t plan our resumes or education in order to be in the AV industry, and because of the pressure and unpredictability, many of us don’t stay on to make a career of it when we somehow blunder into the business. So, for most of us who DO make it, somewhere along the line there was somebody who brought us into the business, who shared what they knew, who encouraged us and supported us while we learned from our mistakes. This is probably the most important category in our unsung heroes group, and there’s no way we can really thank them — except by our own success, and by letting them see us pay it forward and become a Mentor to somebody else.
I could go on, and talk about the other influential groups, like the industry associations and the unions, but they are another category entirely. Stay tuned for next month, when we’ll discuss “Forming the More Perfect Union.” In the meantime, add to the list on our blog at https://www.ravepubs.com.
rAVe Rental [and Staging] contributor Joel R. Rollins, CTS, is general manager of Everett Hall Associates, Inc. and is well known throughout the professional AV industry for his contributions to industry training and his extensive background in AV rental, staging and installation. Joel can be reached at joelrollins@mac.com
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top
|
Click here for more information |
Datavideo Ships Tiny HD-SDI Repeaters Datavideo's new VP-633 and VP-634 HD-SDI repeaters and cable extenders make copper cable a cost effective solution for sending HD-SDI signals at least 600 meters.
Here's how it works: HD-SDI is not a bi-directional format the same way that Firewire is, so you can put the first and only powered repeater close to the recorder or switcher. This is the only one that requires a 12VDC power supply. Every 100 meters from that first repeater, they add another repeater until the video source is 100 meters or less from the last repeater.
Here are the full specs: http://www.datavideo.us/datavideo-product-families/datavideo-audio-video-converters/datavideo-vp-633-vp-634-sdi-boosters/
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top
|
Click here for more information |
Wohler's New Mixer is AWESOME Wohler Technologies today announced the release of the AMP1-MADIe, a new in-rack portable MADI mixer with Ethernet control. The AMP1-MADIe can be connected in series with a 56- or 64-channel MADI stream for individual volume adjustment, mixing and audible monitoring of any eight selected MADI channels at once. Providing unique functionality equivalent to a MADI audio "hot mic" mixer, Wohler's new AMP1-MADIe simplifies rapid selection and monitoring of MADI signals in fast-paced live-to-air production environments.
To support fast configuration and use of multiple distributed units within a MADI network, Wohler has outfitted AMP1-MADIe with an Ethernet connection and offers a free, downloadable software GUI so multiple units can be controlled and configured from a single PC workstation. Operators can also store and retrieve their own system configurations via a front-panel USB connector.
The AMP1-MADIe includes an LED-backlit LCD display that shows simultaneous metering and monitoring of any eight user-selected channels, with instant access to eight stored configurations of any eight channels for easy navigation among all 64 channels in a MADI stream. The mixer is packaged in a compact 4-inch deep, 1-RU chassis with level meters, master volume, and channel volume, offering quick muting of selected channels as well as menu access, which can be enabled or disabled via external software control.
Also included on the front panel are balance control, monitor channel select, channel assignment and preset select buttons, built-in speakers, USB port and headphone jack. Rear panel connectors include both optical and BNC inputs reclocked to optical and BNC outputs, Ethernet connection, stereo L/R analog outputs a mono mix on XLR and built-in universal power supply.
For more information, go to: http://www.wohler.com/
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top
|
Click here for more information |
AmpliVox Upgrades All Wireless Mics to 16 Channels All new AmpliVox Sound Systems wireless microphones will broadcast over 16 UHF channels, instead of two. This upgrade includes all wireless sound systems and wireless lecterns, with no price increase over earlier two-channel models.
The new 16-channel UHF frequencies expand the capability and range of earlier two-channel models by allowing multiple mic users in the same venue to select separate channels. The additional channels also enable users to avoid interference with competing wireless frequencies, assuring no frequency mix in any venue.
The new AmpliVox 16-channel UHF microphones are available as a handheld wireless mic or can be ordered in a bodypack-style transmitter with receiver.
You can find out more about AmpliVox here: http://www.ampli.com
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top
|
Click here for more information |
TASCAM Announces TA-1VP Vocal Processor The TASCAM TA-1VP vocal processor, co-developed with Antares Audio Technologies, is designed for both live performance or in the studio vocals. It features Antares’ Auto-Tune pitch correction, along with a combination of microphone modeling, tube modeling, compression, gating, doubling, de?essing and a high quality mic preamp. The TA-1VP’s features are not only ideal for professional quality vocal production, but for a variety of other uses since it offers 1/4" balanced line input and output, XLR mic inputs with +48V phantom power, a 2-band parametric EQ, S/PDIF digital outputs, a 1/4" footswitch input, MIDI control and even Auto-Tune Evo. Musicians and engineers can utilize the TA?1VP when mic’ing up an acoustic or percussive instrument, taking advantage of the compression, microphone and tube models to make sure they’re getting high-quality sound for their recording or live performance. With over a dozen mic models, +48V Phantom Power to ensure compatibility with any mic, and the ability to double track, the TA?1VP is flexible for real?time performance or recording needs.
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Barco LiveDots Aimed at Sports Venues Barco has unveiled what the company is actually calling a budget-friendly family of LED displays specifically designed for branding, advertisement and sports applications. The brand-new V-series consists of two models: the V6 – a 6-millimeter indoor SMD LED display and the V10 – a 10-millimeter outdoor SMD LED display. The V-series is supported by the new DV-100 LED image processor, equipped with an Athena scaler and input capabilities of 3G SDI, HDMI and DisplayPort, next to supporting standard inputs up to (dual) HD-SDI.
The V-series is managed and controlled by the dedicated V-series Toolset (VTS), a direct derivative of the top-of-the-line Director Toolset. The V6 is a tile-based indoor LED display equipped with 6-mm pixel pitch SMD LEDs.
Here are all the specs: http://www.barco.com/en/News/Press-releases/barco-livedots-launches-new-series-of-cost-effective-led-displays.aspx
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Sennheiser Launches Digital 9000 Wireless System At IBC in Amsterdam this month, Sennheiser unveiled the Digital 9000, a digital wireless system that can transmit completely uncompressed audio. Targeting live audio events, Digital 9000 includes the EM 9046 receiver, SKM 9000 handheld and SK 9000 bodypack transmitters, plus a suite of accessories. Using a High Definition (HD) mode, the 9000 will transmit entirely uncompressed, artifact-free audio, rivaling what Senheiser claims as that of a cabled microphone. The Long Range (LR) mode has been designed for difficult transmission environments with many sources of interference.
In addition to IR synchronization between receivers and transmitters and an antenna loop-through for creating larger receiving systems, Digital 9000 also does not generate any intermodulation products — the high linearity of the entire system, from transmitters to antennas and receivers, and a special transmitter design make laborious intermodulation calculation a thing of the past. Transmission frequencies can now be evenly spaced without generating intermodulation, maximizing channel count in congested RF environments.
The SK 9000 is available in four different frequency ranges (88 MHz switching bandwidth) and a command switch for communication between crews and artists/reporters is available as an accessory. The AB 9000 provides a maximum gain of 17 dB and is available as a stand-alone booster or integrated into the A 9000 omni-directional antenna and the AD 9000 directional antenna. Two booster versions (470 to 638 MHz and 630 to 798 MHz) cover the receiver’s UHF range.
Check out all the specs here: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/professional_wireless-microphone-systems
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe Rental [and Staging] Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue! For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100 percent opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the ProAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that's why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad). Don't like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below. To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter. Instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas, Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I've been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don't think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue, which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe [Publications] has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition. 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 GreenAV 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 To read more about my background, our team and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com Back to Top Copyright 2012 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln., Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe Rental [and Staging] contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors.
|
|
|
|