Note: This is the second part of a crossover series that Hope and Christa are doing, so make sure to catch the first part of this series on The Floating Point. In this episode, Hope Roth (@beerandpie) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to talk about football, their big bet, and how watching football outside of […]

Note: This show does not discuss the Legrand acquisition of Milestone AV Technologies. In this episode, Mark Coxon (@AVPhenom) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to talk about how he chose his Twitter handle. Christa and Mark talk about how the #AVTweeps community on Twitter made the dive into social media easier. Mark talks about how […]

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Symco Philadelphia Technology Showcase. This isn’t my first time talking about how I find industry shows to be valuable, but as I walked around yesterday it really solidified the fact that regional shows are getting better and better. Let me explain. How Regional Shows Have Gotten Better […]

In this episode, Sean Brown (@Sonic_Sean) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to talk about how Kansas State University is preserving up to four decades of content with Mediasite. They also talk about the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and how they are using Mediasite to record lectures, continuing legal education […]

In this episode, Dayna Baumann (@DaynaBaumann) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to talk about what it is like being a new person in the audio visual industry. Christa and Dayna start the show off with a “woo-hoo” and then Dayna explains her role at Control Concepts. Dayna provides key information that is needed for a […]

In this super-short episode, Rich Prevete (@RichardPrevete) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) at a local brewery, Stickman Brews. Christa and Rich start the show off by discussing the types of beers that they are drinking. Then then go on to see where Rich is with his AV training. Christa reveals that she has been focusing […]

In this episode, Chris Turner (@AAVChris) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) and she proclaims him to be one of her favorite people (shocking, I know). Chris talks about his time in California before he joined the AV industry. Chris provides the perfect example of how being friendly and keeping in contact with people can lead […]

In this episode, Victoria Barela (@barelAVictoria_) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to discuss what technology they are currently loving. They share their thoughts on wearables, microphones, and phone apps. Christa and Victoria also talk about Integrated Systems Europe and how they are excited to be attending the show in Amsterdam, NL. Christa provides Victoria with […]

Another year has been logged in the book of life. I miss the days of being a child when 20 minutes seemed like eternity. Now I blink and I lose 20 minutes. However, in those fleeting minutes I acquired knowledge and have three takeaways from the year. Work-Work-Life Balance Yeah, I just made that term […]

In this episode, Alexis La Broi (@AlexisLaBroi) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to discuss what they learned in 2016. Christa continues to mispronounce the company Alexis works for (she’ll get it right one day). Christa and Alexis talk about what trends they think will continue into 2017. They talk about their love of remote working […]

In this episode Rob Lipps, Executive Vice President at Sonic Foundry, joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to discuss recent partnerships, why streaming video is complex, and whether there is a difference in solutions for education and corporate clients. Learn about Mediasite Catch and how it is unique to classrooms. Find out how Rob got into […]

As always, Christa announces that the guest on this episode of Tech Chaos is her favorite! Johnny Mota (@JMOTA3) joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) and they discus Johnny’s new beard and what a leaf peeper is. Johnny renames the show “Techpocalypse”. They also discuss music, movies, virtual reality, and augmented reality. If you want to […]

Communicating is a part of life. Whether you are at the grocery store, a sporting event, or work, at some point in the day you communicate your likes, dislikes, needs, and wants. Effective communication is important, especially in the workplace. So why is it that we are still trying to figure out how to communicate […]

If you keep up with me on any of the major social media platforms, you know that in the spring I joined the awesome team at Pivot Communications. While starting a new job and getting to stay in the same industry is super exciting in itself, this opportunity was even more exciting as I was […]

Can you believe that I am still pushing the record button seven months later? In January I wrote about my experience with starting my own rAVe Radio podcast, Tech Chaos. I was super excited to be the host, producer and editor of my own show. I still am. I am delighted to have the chance […]

The recent obsession with Pokémon Go has caught my attention. As a lover of anime and an avid gamer, you would think that I would be all over this. Yet, I am not. I started hardcore gaming at the age of nine when my parents finally bought a console for the house – the NES. […]

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I am fascinated by wearables. And it has been a struggle for me to determine what I want in a wearable so that I get the best ROI out of the device. I have finally narrowed down what I do not need in a wearable: to answer a […]

This was the first year that I attended at three-day class before to the InfoComm show opened to the masses. Previously, I have only attended workshops and seminars during the InfoComm show. I participated in the AV Design 1: Environment class. The reason I took this class is as prep for my retake of the […]

Hope Roth (@beerandpie), Crestron Certified Programmer with Riordan Brothers Integration, joins host Christa Bender (@AVChrista) to discuss volunteering and the upcoming InfoComm show in Las Vegas, NV. Hope and Christa are joint recipients for the Harald Thiel Volunteers of the Year award. Both women understand the importance of volunteering and agree that you should not […]

I am fascinated by wearables. Unfortunately, I am a late adopter to integrating them into my life. The reason? I am hell on watches. You put a watch on my arm and suddenly my arm likes to bang into furniture, doors, walls, etc. I dipped my toe into the wearables pool about a year ago. […]

Like many people, I have many variations of television streaming at my fingertips in my house. I use Amazon Prime and Netflix for my content, but I need a delivery system to get that content onto my television. Hello, Roku! I previously used the Roku 3 to stream content to my projector in my living […]

I am about to admit something that many people do not like to admit – I failed at something. Yes, I know, everyone fails at something at some point. We just never want to talk about it because it makes us feel like we have no value. But I prefer to look at failure as […]

As many of you may know by now, I have started a new chapter in my AV career. Last week I changed companies and now work for Pivot Communications. I am very excited for this opportunity and love that I get to continue to be a part of the AV industry and community. After thirteen […]

I have often found that mentoring happens when you least expect it. Yes, there are times in a person’s life where you would like a mentor to help guide you — when you start a new job or are working on a difficult project. March is Women’s History Month. In honor of the celebration of […]

I was one of the 65,000 registered attendees that visited Amsterdam for ISE earlier this month. This was the first international AV tradeshow that I attended and it was my first time to Amsterdam; to say I was excited would be an understatement. I really enjoyed attending ISE; there were so many great things about […]

A couple of weeks ago, I walked the floor of ISE in Amsterdam. I came across many interesting products and solutions that I am excited to integrate into my company’s offerings. One of the products that caught my eye was the AcousticDesign series of loudspeakers and ceiling speakers by QSC. I have used QSC products […]

I am preparing to attend the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam on February 9th – 12th.  Now this is not my first time attending a tradeshow, but it is my first time attending an international tradeshow in another country. So there is slightly more research that is required for preparing for ISE than for a tradeshow […]

Like billions of other people, a new year means a new start. For many people they wipe the slate clean and start again with various life goals. Many set resolutions for themselves and will adhere to their resolutions while many give it up after a couple of months. I don’t make resolutions for that reason, […]

This is a saying that we’ve all said and heard for most of our lives: When I grow up I want to be a scientist, cowboy, policeman, fireman, doctor, teacher, etc. The list of possibilities is endless to a young imagination. However, once you grow up, do you actually become what you wanted to be […]

I’ve recently taken up distance running. Well, distance running to me is completing a 5K without walking and I am actually getting pretty good at it. However if you ask me if I like running I will reply, “I hate it.” When I was in high school I ran track; I was a sprinter. I […]

By Christa Bender and Rich Prevete As you may know by now, I attended InfoComm Connections in NYC last week.  Rich Prevete joined me on the trip to InfoComm Connections and you know what? It was a first for either of us to attend this show. Trade shows mean many things to many people. Some […]

This was my first time attending an InfoComm Connections show and I was facinated that InfoComm partnered with NAB, CCW and SATCON to provide an all-encompassing show to the attendees. As I walked the aisles, I quickly realized that any kind of AV technology was at my fingertips… digital signage, displays, projectors, collaboration, UC, automation, […]