$6000? Are you Kidding?
By Gary Kayye, CTS  Here's a fact that I'll bet you didn't know: every manufacturer who had a dedicated (read: RELIABLE) Internet connection at InfoComm 2010 in Las Vegas paid (at least) $6000! That's right, $2000 per day!
No, I am not kidding!
First of all, let me be clear: this is, in no way, the fault of InfoComm, their staff, the show management or the InfoComm Board – this was simply a case of the Las Vegas Convention Center SHAFTING, SCREWING, BILKING, FLEECING, SLAMMING and bending over the exhibitors…
And, there was NO ALTERNATIVE. Clear Wireless' connectivity was 300K at best, Sprint was in the 250-350K range and AT&T was terrible as usual.
So, we HOPE it was worth it! We shelled out the big bucks on show site to allow for LIVE from InfoComm rAVe NOW Video realtime coverage of the show. So, enjoy: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&view=single&Itemid=330
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Click above for more information
Former ClearOne CEO Going to Prison  Remember Fran Flood? Well, earlier this month, the former ClearOne CEO was sentenced to four years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Salt Lake City after being convicted of nine felonies, including making false statements and securities fraud. Flood will start serving her four-year term on August 2nd.
You may remember that the case against Flood and ClearOne eventually, indirectly, led to the unraveling of MCSi, the Ohio-based ProAV mega-dealer who attempted to be the industry’s first “national” AV integration firm by buying up companies like Technical Industries of Atlanta, GA, Fairview AFX of Oklahoma City and Video Images of Milwaukee, WI. According to court records, the case cost ClearOne $7 million is legal fees.
If you’re interested in how all this is tied to MCSi and what happened, you can read the entire court case here: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp17934.htm
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Pacific Media Says Projector Sales Up 52 Percent  According to Pacific Media Associates (PMA), the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, the worldwide front projector market is on target to grow 30 percent or more in 2010 from its 2009 level, thanks to a particularly strong Q1 that notched 1.9 million units worldwide.
“The three major regions Americas, Asia, and EMEA are now almost perfectly equal,” said Dr. William Coggshall, President of Pacific Media Associates. “In just a few quarters, Asia has shot up in volume, mostly due to big growth in China, which threatens to overtake the United States as the biggest single country market, propelling the region to a triple-digit percentage growth. And not only is China becoming a big buyer of projectors, but thanks to its acquisition of key technologies it is also becoming a powerful seller.”
To see the entire report, go here: http://www.pacificmediaassociates.com/
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Extron is US's 1st to Receiver Coveted UL Environment Energy Efficiency Certification  UL Environment, Inc., a global leader in environmental evaluation and certification, announced on June 2nd that Extron Electronics is the first domestic company to successfully undergo UL Environment’s independent testing for U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR performance and earn the UL Environment Energy Efficiency Certification (EEC) Mark for external power supplies and professional audio amplifiers. The mark will appear on two models from the Extron PS Series Desktop Power Supplies and packaging, which have been proven to meet energy efficiency criteria under the ENERGY STAR Single Voltage External AC-AC and AC-DC Power Supplies specification, Version 2.0. The mark will also appear on Extron XTRA Series Power Amplifiers, which meet the new qualifications under ENERGY STAR Audio/Video Specification 2.0 program requirements.
 The EEC Mark will appear on both the product and product packaging, and features a leaf encapsulating the familiar “UL” initials with the words “Energy Verified” in black text.
Here’s a rAVe NOW Video where we interviewed Extron’s Dave Pincek who explains why UL EEC is so important and why Extron is committed to it.
You can read about the new UL Environment standard here: http://www.ulenvironment.com/ulenvironment/eng/pages/
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rAVe NOW Shoots More than 450 Videos at InfoComm 2010 Back to Top 
Polycom Debuts OTX  Dubbed the OTX, Polycom’s newest Telepresence Experience is just plain AWESOME! With a newly designed, more contemporary look, the new OTX solution includes embedded preview monitors for presentation content or document collaboration that slide up from inside the tables (on both ends), connection ports inside the tables and separate displays for VTC and document content. Here’s a rAVe NOW Video we shot in an OTX room at InfoComm 2010 last week.
Want more details? Go here for a brochure: http://www.polycom.com/global/documents/products/telepresence_video/brochures/polycom-otx-300-brochure.pdf
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AMX's new Digital Signage Solution  At last week’s InfoComm, AMX debuted a LINUX-based digital signage player, called the IS-SPX-1000, that’s small enough to mount anywhere (1” x 6” x 3”). It manages originally created content, RSS feeds, all sorts of graphics file formats, MPEG or H.264 video and outputs it all on either VGA or HDMI ports.
Here’s a rAVe NOW Video we shot on it at InfoComm 2010 last week: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&view=ravevideo&ravevideo_id=1077
If you want all the specs, go here: http://www.amx.com/products/IS-SPX-1000.asp
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Control4 Enters ProAV Market  You probably sensed this was coming: a successful home automation specialist that positions itself as "affordable IP-based control and entertainment systems," Control4 is now introducing a full line of ProAV hardware and software solutions via a new company called Control4 Commercial Systems.
With its standards-based open platform, Control4 wants to provide ProAV installers with what they are calling “affordable and simple-to-integrate automation solutions for businesses.” The range of Control4 Commercial Systems products (a full line of controllers, touch screens, lighting, software, mobile applications, and energy management solutions) will all be ZigBee wireless-based technology.
The clue that this move was coming? Control4 has already been "out-of-the-home," working on projects like the City Center in Las Vegas. According to Control4, they integrated "door-to-drapes" automation for guests and centralized room control for management in more than 4000 rooms at the Aria Resort & Casino, and more than 400 rooms in the Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter, Las Vegas. Here’s a rAVe NOW Video we shot of Control4’s CityCenter solution.
You can learn more about Control4’s ProAV plans at: http://www.control4.com/
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Christie Announces New Widescreen LCD Projectors  Christie added two new LCD projectors to its extensive product line-up at InfoComm 2010 — the LWU420 and the LW555. The LWU420 targets ProAV users who need WUXGA high resolution and the LW555 fills the need for an affordable WXGA high brightness widescreen projector.
The Christie LWU420 is a 4200-lumen projector with WUXGA (1920×1200) resolution, for small- to medium-sized venues, including videoconference rooms, meeting rooms and training rooms. Answering the market need for an affordable and portable WUXGA projector in the 4000+ lumens category, the LWU420 delivers full HD capability, auto H/V digital keystone, vertical and horizontal lens shift, 10-bit image processing for superior grey scaling, 1000:1 contrast ratio and a 2x zoom lens.
The 5500 lumens Christie LW555 projector features native WXGA resolution (1280×800), centre lens design with a fully motorized lens shift, inorganic LCD panels, top loading lamp for easy access, 10-bit image processing, and 3D KeystoneT technology.
Christie LWU420 and LW555 will both ship in July and complete specs can be found at: http://www.christiedigital.com/AMEN/Products/ChristieLWU420.htm and http://www.christiedigital.com/AMEN/Products/ChristieLW555.htm
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EPSON Debuts 4000-Lumen Projector for Under $1000  Last week at InfoComm 2010, they debuted a supposedly 4000-lumen, XGA (1024×768) resolution, 3LCD projector that they are selling for just under $1000. Dubbed the VS400, EPSON also says it’s “green” in that it uses 25 percent less energy per lumen than DLP projectors of the same light output and they claim it’s due to EPSON’s E-TORL lamp technology that manages light output over time – allowing the lamp to last more than 3500 hours.
The new VS400 isn’t on their website yet, but when it is, we are told it will be here: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-15942&page=all
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Sanyo Intros Two Short-Throw 3D Projectors  Last week, Sanyo announced the introduction of two new ultra short-focus projectors with built-in 3D capability. Both projectors feature Sanyo’s compact chassis of about half the size of most other brands short-focus projectors. The PDG-DWL2500 is WXGA resolution (1280×800; 16:10 aspect ratio) with 2,500 lumens of brightness. The PDG-DXL2000 is XGA resolution (1024×768; 4:3 aspect ratio), producing 2,000 lumens. Scheduled for release in July 2010, the PDG-DWL2500 has an MSRP of $1995, and the PDG-DXL2000 has an MSRP of $1795.
The two projectors are so new they aren’t on Sanyo’s website yet, but you can see their press release here: http://us.sanyo.com:80/News/SANYO-INTRODUCES-TWO-ULTRA-SHORT-FOCUS-3D-READY-PROJECTORS
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projectiondesign Upgrades F32 to 8K Lumens  According to projectiondesign, as a direct result of feedback from its dealers and customers (sounds like marketing hype to us), Norway's projectiondesign upgraded its F32 series of DLP projectors at InfoComm 2010, including a new spec claim of more than 8,000 lumens.
Available with a choice of WUXGA, 1080p or SXGA+ resolutions to ensure optimum application fit, the acclaimed F32 series is projectiondesign's top-of-the-line single-chip DLP projector and you can find all the specs here: http://www.projectiondesign.com/?CatID=1716
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rAVe Get's Insider View of Christie MicroTiles – From the Inventor!  We were given an hour with Bob Rushby, CTO of Christie Digital and inventor of the MicroTiles. If you ever wondered how they worked, you should watch these videos in order:
• What are MicroTiles?
• How do MicroTiles Work?
• What can you do with MicroTiles and is it Green?
• Christie’s own InfoComm display using MicroTiles
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SurgeX Launches Partnership with Chief Manufacturing  At InfoComm 2010, SurgeX announced a strategic partnership with Chief Manufacturing that will pave the way for both SurgeX and Chief dealers to purchase a bundled solution combining Chief’s line of Raxxess racks protected with SurgeX technology. This will position both companies as formidable competition to Middle Atlantic’s domination in rack management in the ProAV market. You can read a complete news story about the partnership here on our website. |  Check them both out at:
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Extron Shows rAVe DXP Digital Matrix Switcher for HDMI Routing  The ProAV Market finally has a truly 100 percent HDCP key compliant HDMI matrix switcher! Check out the rAVe NOW Video we shot of it at InfoComm 2010 here.
And, here’s a link to it on Extron’s website: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dxphdmi
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Premier Mounts Shows Short Throw Projector Mount with Embedded Speakers  The new UNI-STA+Audio is Premier’s new universal short throw projector mount with built-in speakers, cable routing and even an integrated 50-watt amplifier. Shown at InfoComm 2010 for the first time, the UNI-STA+Audio extends from the wall 7”-27”, supports projectors weighing up to 50 pounds, accommodates a wall-mounted Mac-Mini or small PC and can mount to one stud in the wall.
Here’s a rAVe NOW Video we shot on it at InfoComm 2010 last week: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&view=ravevideo&ravevideo_id=1103
For complete specs, go here: http://www.premiermounts.com/product.asp?partid=1847
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Extron Expands MTPX Plus to 64×64  At InfoComm 2010, Extron expanded its set of MTPX Plus series twister pair matrix switchers to a new 6400 Series, available in 12 different I/O sizes, from 16×48 to 64×64 (with switchable video pre-peaking on all outputs).
The MTPX Plus 6400 Series is capable of switching local and remote AV signals to multiple destinations and is fully compatible with the entire Extron MTP product line. Additional features include dynamic skew equalization to maintain RGB color alignment at all times, video level and peaking compensation for brighter and sharper images, local RS-232 insertion ports to eliminate the need for control system wiring to remote displays, local high resolution video inputs and outputs to eliminate the need for additional transmitters and receivers, and local audio output volume adjustment and muting to eliminate the need for preamplifiers in many AV systems.
For complete specs, go to: http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=mtpxplus64hs&s=0
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InfoComm Announces Annual Awards at 2010 Show | Each year at the InfoComm show, the association hands out it's awards for Volunteer of the Year, Educator of the Year, the Service in Education Award, Women in AV Award, Young AV Professional, the InfoComm Board's Distinguished Achievement Award and the Pioneer of AV Award. Here are this year's winners: | Volunteer of the Year: The Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year Award uncovers and celebrates the volunteer who has contributed greatly to the Association and who is not recognized in other ways for that contribution. It is awarded annually for contributions made to the Association within the last one to two years. The 2010 winner: John Pfleiderer of Cornell University. |  | Educator of the Year: The Educator of the Year Award is nominated by InfoComm's Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC) and selected by the InfoComm Board of Governors, to honor an individual who works to develop the skills and knowledge of others in the AV industry. Past Educators of the Year include L. William Nattress III, CTS-D, CTS-I; Pete Putman, CTS; Paul Depperschmidt, CTS; John Campanella, CTS-D; Roy A. Hermanson, Jr., CTS-D, CTS-I; Mario Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I; and rAVe's own Gary Kayye, CTS. The 2010 winner: Max Kopsho of Kramer Electronics. |  | Service in Education Award: The Fred Dixon Service in Education Award is nominated by InfoComm's Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC) and selected by the InfoComm Board of Governors, to honor an individual who exhibits excellence throughout their entire body of work. The 2010 winner: Mario Maltese of Audio Visual Resources, Inc. |  | Women in AV Award: The Women in AV Award was created by InfoComm to raise awareness of the growing role of female professionals in the male-dominated field of audiovisual technology. These award winners are in the upper echelon of AV professionals and symbolize the strength of entrepreneurship and excellence in technology management. The 2010 winner: Helène Andersen, CTS, of AVI-SPL. |  | Young AV Professional: The Young AV Award was created by InfoComm to recognize up-and-coming professionals in the audiovisual industry. These award winners are held in the highest esteem by their AV industry colleagues of all ages. The 2010 winners: Joseph A. Legato IV, CTS-D, CTS-I (not pictured), of Verrex Corporation and Jennifer H. Willard, CTS, California Administrative Office of the Courts. |  | Distinguished Achievement Award: InfoComm's Distinguished Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed on an industry member by the association. "When the InfoComm Board of Directors considers honoring a member with the Distinguished Achievement Award, two major criteria are applied — the career accomplishments of an individual, and the individual's contribution to the AV industry. The 2010 winner: Sonny Davis who served as the Secretary Treasurer, President Elect, President, and Chairman of the Board of InfoComm from 1992 to 1995. |  | Pioneer of AV Award: The Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV Award is issued annually by InfoComm International to current or former employees of InfoComm member companies who have made an important contribution to the science of audiovisual technology, whether as an inventor or thought leader who advanced the development of a new product, segment or service of the AV industry. The 2010 winners: Syn-Aud-Con founders Don and Carolyn Davis and Crestron founder George Feldstein. | 
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News from RTI, Crestron, AVI-SPL… Elite Screens has announced a partnership with DSI Systems to promote and sell Elite's product lines… ClearOne has announced the StreamNet Ready Partner Program for manufacturers that want "to leverage and fully realize their product potential" in the AV over IP commercial AV market… Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) has named Brian van der Hagen as the company's new commercial market general manager… Digital Rapids as signed an agreement to join the Polycom ARENA partner program… Stewart Filmscreen and Crestron have introduced a custom device driver for Stewart's motorized control products and LED lighting system… Crestron has set a new record for the most SCN Installation Product Awards at InfoComm 2010, with three SCN Most Innovative Installation Product Awards… Crestron founder George Feldstein won the prestigious Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV Award, one of the AV industry's highest honors… AVI-SPL has launched Digital Media as a Service (DMaaS), with a new suite of services focused on digital media packaged as a subscription in a cloud based service… Mitsubishi has announced plug-and-play compatibility with Crestron's RoomView control software and several of Mitsubishi's new projectors. Back to Top 
For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe ProAV 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% 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 blow away ANY other Publication in the high-end home AV 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. 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 2010 – 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 contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
This is our first (of three) post-InfoComm issues, and it's packed. We covered the show floor thoroughly with videos, Tweets, and now, with news. If you weren't following us on Twitter during the show, go back and check out our feed here: 
I can’t remember the last time I was so excited to be at an InfoComm as I was last week. The anticipation about this year’s show started building after attending the February DSE [Digital Signage Expo] as that was such a successful show in Vegas. The affirmation point for the success of InfoComm 2010, for me, came when we launched THE GAME at 10 am in the Christie Digital booth and there were a few hundred extra folks there playing the game trying to win rAVe t-shirts and Apple iPads – our first-day game was “capture the flag” and we hid a red rAVe shirt in five different booths across the show floor and Tweeted clues to find them – the winners got iPads and a couple thousand people walked away with rAVe “Save the Trees” t-shirts. Check out our first THE GAME winner video 
But, in the meantime, 
InfoComm 2010 should be a call; a call for opportunity, a call for progress and a call to wake up and smell the IT coffee. That's right, the IT market (and the HomeAV market in some respects) is feasting on the ProAV channel. Not the entire channel, just the big-growth areas (e.g., digital signage, meeting room market, etc). We are stuck, in some cases, in a 1990s model of designing and building systems while the market is quickly leveraging 21st century technologies. You may not agree with all of this, but I hope you did take notice of the amazing array of IT-based AV products (systems products) on display from just about every ProAV manufacturer. Streaming video, IP-enabled, IT/AV convergence – whatever you want to call it, the integration of AV via IP is here and sitting on our doorstep. Who's answering the call first?
