So maybe you missed this episode of The cAValry Rides Show or maybe you just don’t have an hour plus to consume the whole thing. Well here is the Reloaded version, where we recap the show in 10 minutes or less, giving you the highlights, the back stories, and the stuff that you the listener […]

If you didn’t catch Episode 4 of AV Power Up! this is your chance to get the highlights and the back stories in 10 minutes or less!  Join me for a short romp through the show and then settle in and listen to the full episode here: https://www.ravepubs.com/av-power-up-episode-4/ Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS

Did you miss Episode 3 of AV Power Up!? If so you missed some great AV Talk on Vaddio, Listen and Crestron.  You also missed some classic Power Crew hijinx as the team talks about Canadian immigration, bad lunches, and then check their email on the air. Catch the Reloaded recap and if you like […]

There are two pieces on rAVe Publications currently about Extron and their new “True4K” initiative.  One is a blog by Gary Kayye that recaps why Extron has launched the initiative.  The other is a Rants and Raves podcast where Gary talks to Casey Hall, VP of Sales and Marketing at Extron, about True4K and its […]

If you didn’t catch Episode 2 of AV Power Up! this is your chance to get the highlights and the back stories in 10 minutes or less!  Join me for a short romp through the show and then settle in and listen to the full episode here: https://www.ravepubs.com/av-power-up-episode-2/     Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS

  For those of you who don’t know me well, my career in AV actually started out on the residential side of the business.  I worked for an integrator in Arizona that did structured wiring, central vacuum, security, and audiovisual systems for home builders like DR Horton, Shea Homes, and Toll Brothers and some custom […]

So, in case you missed it, Amazon recently announced its new foray into the Internet of Things (IoT), the Dash Button.   In short, the Dash Button is a programmable, WiFi enabled device that allows someone to press a branded button to generate an order for new products through Amazon.  It’s more than a little ironic […]

AV Power Up! is a new show on rAVe Radio that spawned out of The cAValry Rides Show. If you’re a new listener or if you just don’t have an hour plus to consume the whole show, then here is the Reloaded version! I recap the show in 10 minutes or less giving you the […]

So maybe you missed this episode of The cAValry Rides Show or maybe you just don’t have an hour plus to consume the whole thing. Well here is the Reloaded version, where we recap the show in 10 minutes or less, giving you the highlights, the back stories, and the stuff that you the listener […]

As often happens, I have found myself in the middle of a small debate on AV and IT.  This one happens to deal with whether or not AV has become a subset of the IT industry.  I wrote a blog on HDBaseT last week that referenced a quote by Dave Labuskes of Infocomm. Many times […]

As a former integrator and someone who had to deal with the frustration of specifying HD video extenders, I have to say that even I was initially excited about the introduction of HDBaseT.  Being able to reliably extend 1080p signals up to 300 feet over copper was a necessity in most of the jobs I […]

If you have read anything I have written about 4K and UHD in the last year or so, you’ll know that I have not been a supporter of the widespread adoption of this technology yet. In commercial environments, I see the immediate advantage of using a single 4K display in displaying multiple 1080p windows at full […]

I had the opportunity to go to many events over the last several years.  The events have ranged to major ones like InfoComm or NAB, to events put on by distributors like Almo’s E4 or Stampede’s Big Book of AV, to end user focused events like CETW or CSN. In many cases these events kick off […]

Let me start by saying I love video walls and arrays.  I’ve sold a few of them, ranging from a 10×1 array that traveled across a curved wall, to 14 foot tall, interactive video columns that travel on tracks, to standard digital signage walls.  In my current role, I love them even more, because it […]

Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future is one of the most iconic trilogies ever made.  It is to comedy what Lord of the Rings is to fantasy, The Godfather is to drama, Star Wars is to SciFi and what the 50 Shades movies are sure to be to women everywhere.  And just as Star Wars spawned a complete Wookieepedia, Back to the […]

There is a great movement going on at MIT.  If you are not familiar with the MIT Media Lab and their Tangible Media Group, you may want to take a look at what they are up to.  They made the news a couple months back with their Physical Telepresence project, a shape shifting display painted […]

  You work for an AV Integrator and get a call from a potential new client. They are building a new state of the art facility and ask you to help them design the AV system. You are psyched. You meet the designated technology point person at the jobsite with the GC to do a […]

Christmas came to the Coxon home and with it came some new presents.  There were Razors and skateboards, dolls and horses, science kits and crafts.  Amidst all of the items there was also Disney Infinity 2.0 and a Lego Technic set, both of which came with some cards and bonus codes for their respective apps. I […]

      Twas the night before Christmas, in my brand new Smart house Processors were purring, above keyboard and mouse. The stockings were hung for him and for her, And the flames were controlled by remote heat sensors.   The children were nestled all snug in their beds, Their Hue bulbs transitioned from greens […]

I had an interaction the other day with someone else in the AV industry who was looking to collaborate on a blog.  This person was looking for some AV Industry folks to help provide content on a subject that I actually know quite a bit about and was eager to assist with.  I connected and […]

As we wind down 2014 and get geared up for the year ahead, it is a time for reflection and resolutions.  For many integrators and manufacturers alike, that may mean thinking of ways to help promote and grow our businesses.  One way that many businesses are generating buzz is through blogging. Some companies have hesitated […]

Let me start by saying that English was never one of my favorite subjects.  As a kid I loved and was drawn to science, I excelled at math, and I dreaded English.  This is why I am surprised to be celebrating my 100th rAVe Publications blog within the first 19 months here. It seems amazing that someone who […]

So just as the celebration of Native Americans and Pilgrims eating together way back when has become an annual tradition in the United States for most people, Blessings and Turkeys has become an annual blog tradition for me.  It’s the time of year when I give thanks for developments in the AV industry as well […]

Last month, AVPhenom, Founder, President and CEO of PHENOMinal Industries, took the audio world by storm with the world’s FIRST 4k speakers.  Now rAVe Publications has learned that Phenom plans to make another product introduction just in time for Christmas.  We caught up with Phenom to ask about his “First to Market” Glasses-Free 3D UHD […]

In today’s world of video, there are a lot of numbers swirling around. We have resolutions like 4096 (4k), 2160p (UHD), and 1080p. We have frame rates like 24, 29.97, 50 and 60.  We have color bit depths of 8, 10 and 12.  And we have data bit-rates of how fast all this data is […]

I recently read a blog in one of the other AV trade publications that left me scratching my head.  It was meant to be a primer for our industry in learning the language of our IT counterparts, and as the subject is something I think is very important for us to continue learning about, I […]

Back in the spring of this year I had the idea to write a piece on AV/IT convergence, and where I felt we were at with the concept as an industry. I have seen glimpses of convergence in different segments of the AV and low voltage worlds, and it seemed like it was possible to […]

The AV industry has been promoting 4k displays heavily, even calling screens that aren’t 4k by that moniker to capitalize on the craze.  In the wake of 4k displays, there have been a huge blast of press releases touting the first 4k multitouch screen, 4k video extenders, 4k cameras, and even cables certified to push […]

  In 2004 Blockbuster Video had 60,000 employees, 9,000 video stores and did 6 Billion, (yes, with a “B”), dollars in revenue.  By 2010 they were bankrupt.  What happened? Netflix. The strangest part of the whole thing though is that Netflix never wanted or intended to be in the DVD business long term.  You don’t […]

I read this article today (Sunday) on one of the nation’s other AV sites, and it’s premise was so far off the mark that I couldn’t even wait til tomorrow to write this piece. The main jest of the article is that Fantasy Football’s popularity has spurred a channel called NFL RedZone.  The channel shows […]

If you read Part A of the Michelangelo Effect, you know it dealt with steering our AV businesses into the waters of AV/IT convergence.  The words of Michelangelo seem to extremely relevant in defining just what attitude we need to adopt in order to be successful in that endeavor.  In many ways, adopting that attitude […]

There has been a lot of confusion around the term 4k which is currently being used by marketing departments to describe a multitude of screens with varying resolutions.  As a public service, I thought I’d step in and try to clear up any confusion. And with that I offer you AVPhenom’s Definitive Guide to Determining […]