Over the last couple of years, with the shift to remote work, one of the biggest positive changes people really like is that they no longer have a long commute. Living in the Los Angeles area myself, I can relate that not sitting in traffic for 2-3 hours a day is a huge plus. Interestingly […]
In a world of highly repeatable, commoditized solutions, the art of good design can definitely get lost. In the current market, we see a lot of products being kitted together and marketed based on the size of the room. A small room kit, a medium room kit, a large room kit, etc. In other cases, […]
I’ve written a lot about innovation over the years and if you’ve read any of my blogs on the subject, you know I’m pretty skeptical about the use of the term most of the time. A lot of people use “innovation” to describe iterative improvements over time, and I’ve come to terms with the fact […]
The ability to adapt may prove to be the most valuable superpower businesses can possess in today’s world. Business as usual has been disrupted repeatedly by natural disasters, climate change, geopolitical conflict, war, a pandemic, supply change issues, and the great resignation … and that’s just in the last 24 months. If you think those […]
About eight years back, I got really geeky and introduced AV Phenom’s Definitive Guide to 4K. It was a simple chart. Since then, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that images that were 3840 pixels wide are going to be called 4K (although secretly I still think 2160p is a better descriptor […]
Working in the experiential space, I hear one phrase all the time: “Wow” factor. Companies are looking for ways to create a wow factor to differentiate themselves from the competition and to get the attention of new talent and new customers. Wow factor is an important first step. In a world clamoring for your attention, […]
In sales, the biggest mistake can often be failing to set the proper expectations. In this episode of Selling AV, Mark Coxon talks about how early communication can have a positive effect in the long run. Find out why that is by checking out this latest podcast! Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
I’m sure you’ve all seen the LinkedIn or other social media post that looks like this: “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something […]
This time of year you will see a lot of lists for InfoComm 22. There are lists about what to pack and where to eat, as well as a litany of press releases touting “must see” products. There are more lists of events, dinners, tours, and shows outside the convention center. And on top of […]
It’s InfoComm season and the PR blitzes are in full-force announcing new products that will be available to see LIVE in Las Vegas next week. We’re used to this being a period of time for product announcements and merger and acquisition news, so it was unique to see a company make an announcement about what […]
Well it’s trade show season and the press releases are starting to pour in. Before you head onto the InfoComm ’22 floor, it’s a good idea to polish your armor to best avoid being hit with a poison arrow of misinformation. If you missed my first post on “deceptive specs” you should check it out […]
Trade show season is back. ISE is going on in Barcelona as I type, and Infocomm 2022 in Las Vegas is just 25 days away. This means that manufacturers, integrators and *gasp* end users are all converging to explore new partnerships and help people bridge the analog-to-digital gaps that have been isolated during the great […]
It is May 2022 and we are about 1 month away from #Infocomm22 in Las Vegas. I’m excited to see the show back in a big way, and I know there is a lot of pent up excitement for a return to glory. With that, there will be a lot of manufacturers on the floor […]
If there’s one topic that has been totally exhausted and “overthunk” in the last year, it’s the post-COVID return to work. I don’t say that because it’s unimportant; I say that because most of the pieces we see written try to draw some new one-size-fits-all conclusion to what the… gulp… “new normal” will, or should, […]
I had the opportunity to attend the Almo E4 event in Anaheim, California, earlier today. If you’ve ever been to an Almo event, you know that rAVe founder Gary Kayye usually kicks off the day with a thought-provoking keynote, and this E4 was no different. I won’t give away the whole talk, as Almo still […]
There’s a very popular ride at a theme park here in California that has an infamous history. The ride technology itself is based on a motion platform coupled with a screen. Riders enter, sit down and buckle up. Then the screen comes alive by mimicking a windshield as the video plays, creating a high-speed adventure. […]
You have most likely run across one of these pictures posted on social media, showing a high-end corporate campus or university with an engineered walkway through a large expanse of grass that is marred by a dirt trail worn through the landscape as a shortcut. It’s just as likely that you’ve seen these in real […]
We live in a world of endless online meetings. Want to make yours stand out? Add a hands-on component. Now, how do you do that? Listen to this Selling AV episode to find out. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
One of the most eye-opening statistics of the last couple of years is that even though our time in meetings has increased (in some places literally doubled) and worker productivity is slightly up, collaboration time is actually down. As technology people, this may seem counterintuitive. If people are in more meetings and using platforms like […]
Have you ever seen one of those charts that shows Apple AirPods revenue as measured against other tech companies? If not, I’ve included one here: It’s amazing that AirPods do more revenue as a single product than companies like Adobe, Nvidia, AMD and Spotify do in their total revenues. Expand that figure out to all […]
If you’re an AV Professional, should you know the math behind your system designs? Does the math really matter? Find out on this episode of #SellingAV! Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
In 2012 I did a job for the U.S. Navy. I was invited to a site walk to upgrade what they called their “Adaptive Planning rooms.” These were the rooms the Navy would use to model potential operations. One team would use the first room and assume the role of the protagonists (us) and the […]
As salespeople, we are always eager to tell the story of how we help customers. It’s not a bad story to tell, but perhaps it’s better to start with learning a little about the person on the other side. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
As we navigate the reasons to get together in person, collaboration seems to be one of the main terms used as to why we still need physical spaces. We’ve seen a multitude of solutions pop up in this arena, typically consisting of a screen, cameras, microphone, speakers and screen sharing software. Some systems take this […]
It’s tempting to use slides as a crutch and read them like a script to the audience (or even have them read along). However, this is a bad idea for several reasons. Get my two tips on better presentations in this episode. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
There’s a ton of chatter about Work from Home (WFH), Work From Anywhere (WFA) and Hybrid/Remote work environments these days. The emphasis on remote work is not misplaced, and companies are grappling with their go-forward strategies in these areas. Many integrators put together little guides for WFH products that include better webcams, microphones and ring […]
We had our first major return to trade shows this year in Orlando. It was a victory for AVIXA in that over 7,300 attendees and about 280 exhibitors showed up in person for the event. For those of us who couldn’t make it this year, social media brought us a lot of images from the […]
There’s a lot of debate about the return to the office, the hybrid work week and the potential hub and spoke layout of the future. To be honest, I’m not sure every company needs an office, but I know for certain that if you are keeping a real estate footprint at all, you should be […]
Dateline 10/29/21 Orlando, Florida Phenomenal Industries, known for announcing innovative products at Infocomm like OpenOffice 247365 in 2019 and ShareChair in 2018, has announced a NEW cross-platform soft conferencing product for InfoComm21. We at rAVe caught up with AVPhenom, president of Phenomenal Industries, who arrived at the show a couple of days late after an […]
If you’re in AV, you are most likely facing supply chains problems as you read this. I have had people reaching out and asking if I knew where they could find a multitude of products, ranging from DSPs with Dante ports to LCD displays to Level 3 Network switches to Video over IP products. A […]
Lately, there’s a lot of focus on the sales technique of “challenging” customers and their business decisions. I’m all for challenging assumptions, but the way you do it makes all the difference. So tune in to hear my thoughts on what to say … and what not to. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: […]
I haven’t written a technical piece in a while, but I’ve been moderating AVIXA ‘s Control Room Power Hour series of webinars, and a subject that has come up a lot is the use of projection in data visualization environments. Projectors are still viable in these types of rooms. With the advent of laser projection, […]
