This was hard — there are so many. But, here are the top five dumbest AV products currently for sale right now — do not buy these: Curved TVs: This has to be the worst ideas for a TV ever. Why in the world would you want a curved TV? Why would you want to […]

By Dan Daley Special to InfoComm International It’s sometimes hard to reconcile the putative mission of a church with what has become the technically sophisticated entertainment experience inside many of them. But irony hasn’t stopped many houses of worship from pursuing ambitious AV technology strategies in an era when video dominates media of all types. […]

By Brad Grimes Director of Editorial Services, InfoComm International Have you seen the new TV advertisements for GoToMeeting, the online collaboration tool that most of us have probably used at one time or another? The company is highlighting videoconferencing integration and touting reduced travel as a top benefit. Been there? Done that? I probably don’t […]

By David Hsieh DisplaySearch Since Q2’14, LCD TV panels have been in tight supply due to increases in purchasing by some leading LCD TV brands. As shown in our Monthly Large-Area LCD Pricing Report, prices for mainstream sizes (32”, 40”, 42”, 48”/49” and even 50”, 55”) have been increasing. In Q3’14, we reported that leading […]

By Joe Holley Frank Mayer & Associates, Inc. Millennials are as large a demographic group as their Baby Boomer parents and their presence is already felt at retail. Their power to purchase and influence is on the rise. Despite having lived through the Great Recession and carrying an average of $25,000 in student loan debt, […]

Year-over-year large-format commercial LCD display shipments in the United States have increased for eight consecutive quarters. According to the latest NPD DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report, despite pressure from consumer televisions, hybrid displays, and other lower cost display alternatives, sell-through of commercial LCD displays has continued to increase modestly. Sell-through of […]

By Kelly Eisel Marketing Copywriter, Industry Weapon Your digital signage is finally ready to go and your content management system is stocked full of content. Unfortunately, your self-celebration is quickly silenced by the lack of audience engagement. In fact, no one seems to notice the signs at all. What gives? If you’re like the vast […]

By Jeremy Boyd, CTS Systems Design Consultant, AVI Systems Apple is not the end-all-be-all in the electronics space, but Apple’s products are often indicators of where we are headed. The iPod was an indicator of how we would start to consume music and the iPhone was the catalyst for many of us to look at […]

By Frank Kenna President and CEO, The Marlin Company                     Most of the stuff I read about workplace communications focuses on creating the right type of content. And rightly so — the phrase “Content is King” is a cliché these days, but clichés are very often […]

Corporate Business Interiors (CBI) was looking to create an incredible showroom, and the main attraction was to be a huge MicroTile wall that spelled out the company’s initials. Saddle Ranch Digital was tasked with creating content that looked nice in this configuration that also told a story of the company’s history, products and services. BACKGROUND […]

It is much more difficult and expensive to fix a mistake in the design and/or installation of the audiovisual system if it is detected later in the project cycle. Making corrections and improvements during the design stage is always preferable to catching them at the end of the project. This idea is the foundation of […]

By David Little Director of Marketing, Keywest Technology Digital signage puts marketers and other communicators in charge of when and where their messages influence consumers. This may also mean changes in the way things get done and who’s responsible for those things. Day after day, the media are filled with stories of who will do […]

Leonard Suskin: Learning to Think: Android Updates and AV System Topology Christopher Jaynes: Color Innovation: Quantum Dot Displays and New Standards for the AV Industry Anthony Coppedge: Better Products vs. Better Product Positioning Lee Distad: More Clever Tips For Business Travelers Gary Kayye: CEDIA 2014: My Day One Observations Mark Coxon: Twittiquette: 5 Rules Every […]

By David Danto Director of Emerging Technology, IMCCA How much money are you wasting on technology today? Many technology products have failed at organizations (or in the marketplace) because its owner assumed it was just so cool that everyone would flock to using it. Regrettably, that’s just not reality. No matter how “cool” the technology […]

By Dan Brown RMG Networks Less is more. It’s a phrase that gets used often and one that came to mind recently as I heard about the results of a company’s decision related to a digital signage deployment. In this particular instance, the company’s goal was to build out a digital signage network on three […]

By Charles Annis DisplaySearch Apple’s widely-anticipated entry into the smart watch market would be the company’s first major new product foray in several years. With Apple’s unparalleled functionality and design capabilities, as well as market clout, the “iWatch” could be just what smart watches need to move into the mainstream. In addition, the iWatch will […]

By Dan Daley Special to InfoComm International The buzz around concepts such as distance learning and massive open online courses (MOOCs) make it seem as if media and higher education have suddenly and serendipitously collided, like some professorial version of chocolate and peanut butter. In fact, universities and media technologies have been trying to connect […]

By Todd Fender DisplaySearch On Tuesday, Samsung announced the launch and availability of Samsung SMART Signage TV (SSTV).  Targeted at small to medium businesses (SMBs) with one to nine employees, this turnkey, entry-level, digital signage solution combines the functionality of a traditional TV (with tuner) and built-in content management software including 200 customizable templates. The […]

By David Danto Director of Emerging Technology, IMCCA A funny thing happened to me last year. I woke up early at a hotel in the middle of a business trip because I had to give a presentation to a client. I ate some breakfast in my room, showered and dressed and then gave that presentation […]

Registration is open for a workshop AQAV is holding next month in Illinois. This three-day course for its CQD certification (AV9000 Certified Qualified Designer). It is much more difficult and expensive to fix a mistake in the design and/or installation of the audiovisual system if it is detected later in the project cycle. The design […]

By Norbert Hildebrand Display Central High resolution displays in mobile applications are a definite trend among new devices, even though this trend may be more driven by marketing thinking than actual necessity. Most people will not be able to see a difference between a 5″ HD (294ppi) and full HD (440ppi) display, but it makes […]

By Brian McClimans Vice President, Global Business Development, Peerless-AV Digital signage is growing in tandem with technological advancements and changes in communication styles and processes. With these changes brings the need to rethink the urgency of validating digital signage expansion simply based upon Return on Investment (ROI). The communication landscape has vastly transformed and digital […]

In late spring 2014, Clean Image Car Wash made the decision to update its facility’s signage. Its static services board, located at the entrance of the car wash, required regular upkeep due to weathering and consistent service changes. In addition, each and every promotion designed to increase sales and upsells at Clean Image Car Wash […]

By Tracy Robertson ADFLOW Networks With 14 years of experience managing complex digital signage rollouts for some of the largest retailers in North America, we have developed a few best practices along the way. Deploying digital signage is not just hanging screens — it is about integrating the digital experience into the DNA of a […]

By Cindy Davis InfoComm international Until fairly recently, when technology managers got a request to set up videoconferencing and collaboration systems, the options were separated by a chasm of options and price. At one end were very expensive, immersive telepresence rooms offering the highest quality audio, video and collaboration technologies to enable remote meetings. At […]

By Patrick Lee Vice President, Entertainment & Corporate – Barco We’ve all been there: Sitting around a conference table fidgeting while awaiting the arrival of the IT specialist to untangle the mass of cables, get the presenter’s PowerPoint on screen, the clock ticking away as attendees lose interest and contemplate life beyond the meeting room. […]

If you haven’t made arrangements for your management teams to attend this year’s InfoComm AV Executive Conference (AVEC), Sept. 17-19, you could miss out on some industry-changing thinking. Take a look at this year’s great speakers, advisers to companies including HP, Intel, Philips, Genentech and IBM, who are sharing their expert insights with the industry […]

By Yoonsung Chung DisplaySearch As the LCD industry matures and standardizes, industry players find it harder to differentiate. At the same time, AMOLED is competing in key markets such as smartphone and tablet PC displays, in part due to their color performance. One response to this situation is adoption of quantum dots, which promise high […]

By Monica Heck Special to InfoComm International It’s safe to say that laser has ushered in a new era for projection technology. Challenging the dominance of lamps in an increasing number of market segments, laser technology has been key to the development of the new era of solid-state light sources. Projector light source history even […]

By Ashley Ropar Marketing Manager, Industry Weapon Face-to-face sales are becoming less of the norm as consumers interact with screens and mobile devices in their shopping pursuits. As a retailer, you want to dangle that universally delicious carrot to attract all consumers to your products and services. But in a real world not all consumers […]

By Frank Kenna President and CEO, The Marlin Company I’ve often written about the ROI of using digital signage for effective workplace communications and how it’s dripping with cost savings, but today I want to focus on an issue that concerns most of our customers: safety. Safety ROI can be broken down into two primary […]

Nearly 250 consultants, integrators, sound engineers and IT managers from all over the world came together in Las Vegas on June 17th, 2014 for the AV Networking World Conference to learn about Dante, the audio networking solution. “Attending AVNW from a broadcasting and live sound perspective, it was amazing to see the different ways companies […]