The old adage that you get what you pay for is no more true today than it ever has been. The one thing has always rang true is that value is the only thing that separates most competition. This is one area of our business in AV that I learned early on.  Some people expect […]

rAVe has learned that, although it’s not being announced until next week, AVI-SPL will announce they are buying Duocom Canada, giving AVI-SPL an immediate presence in Canada. We know this to be true as we have several insiders who have told us about the deal — even though the contract signatures likely aren’t dry yet. […]

Sonance started shipping its SLS HighOutput (outdoor speaker with below-ground sub) system yesterday. Available as a package with the below-ground sub, four in-ground speakers, the elbow and canopy and an amp (a Crown CDi2000), the SLS has a 15″ dual-voice coil stereo subwoofer, two-way satellite speakers and has an SPL level of up to 120dB […]

Pacific Media Associates (PMA) has released its latest industry forecasts for the worldwide New Era projector market, which includes pico and personal projectors. PMA expects 2012 worldwide shipments of nearly 1.8 million units, and anticipates this figure to grow to more than 12.3 million units by the year 2016. One of the strongest segments of […]

Parasound has introduced a high-end Compact Disc (CD) player that they say represents a radically different approach to extracting the best possible sound from a CD. The new Parasound Halo CD 1 uses new CD playback and processing technology that is the result of a collaboration between Parasound and Holm Acoustics in Copenhagen, Denmark. The […]

In December’s rAVe ED newsletter, there was a reprint of an article thatInfoComm published in September of 2011. It was written by Brad Grimes and included an interview with my friend Matt Silverman. I thought it was so timely because I had already began this month’s article. I urge you to take a quick moment and […]

Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) is now shipping its new KX7 in-wall color touch panel controller and SURFiR companion remote. The KX7 offers features such as a capacitive touch screen, analog and digital video viewing capability and a self contained control system. The SURFiR is a low-cost companion remote control, for end-users that enjoy using their […]

Chief is expanding its Kontour series of monitor mounts to include array configurations, which are now shipping. The K3 group of mount arrays, ideal for offices, call centers, security desks, control rooms, health care or IT settings, includes 3×1/2×1, 2×2 and 1×2 configuration options. Each comes in either free standing or grommet mounting styles. A […]

CAYIN Technology is introducing a new compact, lightweight digital signage player, the SMP-200. The SMP-200 can play back videos, images, music and tickers in a maximum of seven zones. Multimedia can be updated by USB flash drive, SD card, FTP, Network Neighborhood or CAYIN CMS server. Content can be managed through a Web-based interface using […]

AudioControl announced today the launch of the the Rialto 400, a compact, high-powered amplifier with a built-in audiophile-grade DAC (digital to analog converter). The Rialto 400’s amplifier delivers over 100 watts of power per channel into 8 ohms and 200 watts per channel into 4 ohm loads. Additionally, the Rialto 400 can be bridged to […]

This is the fifth in a multi-part series from the Association for Quality in Audio Visual Technology (AQAV) and its push for everyone in AV to adopt the AV9000 standard for quality management. Read the first article here, the second articlehere, the third article here and the fourth article here. Quality is compliance to customer requirements… no easy feat for those […]

HAI by Leviton announced today the release of its new Omni-Bus Scene Controller, designed for controlling 110/220/240V markets to enable the configuring of lighting scenes or moods. The new Omni-Bus Scene Controller defines up to 32 different scenes and controls a total of 256 Omni-Bus load control modules. Each scene can be triggered from up […]

Pacific Media Associates (PMA) has posted its recent results to the “Top Selling Projectors” area of the company’s website. For more than 15 years now, Pacific Media Associates (PMA) has collected monthly sell-through data from leading North American projector dealers, retailers, web resellers and distributors. Its Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through […]

Entering next week’s CES, Korean-based LG hopes to steal some of Samsung’s thunder with its own set of Smart TVs with two new TV series – the 47″ and 55″ GA-7900 series (the company’s new flagship line) and the 42″, 47″, 50″, 55″ and 60″ GA6400 series. Both sets will include Smart TV apps such […]

PSB Speakers has introduced a new subwoofer, dubbed the SubSeries 125, offering a 125-watt amplifier and an 8” woofer with polypropylene cone. The new SubSeries 125 has increased power over its predecessor, the SubSeries 1, producing 125 watts of continuous power, 160 watts of “dynamic” power and 320 watts of peak dynamic power. The enclosure […]

Next week, NAD Electronics will debut its new T 977, a seven–channel amplifier (replacing the NAD T 975) at a list of $2,799. The T 977 is specified to deliver 140 watts of continuous power out of each of its seven channels. NAD rates its receivers with a 4-ohm load, with all channels driven simultaneously, […]

by Lee Distad Depending on who you ask, business in the residential AV channel are up and down. Believe it or not, some AV install dealers say business is good. Yet at the same time, even in my own city, more AV install dealers have closed their doors in the past five years than in […]

Designed for casual learning environments, Bretford’s new MOTIV High Back Sofa includes a comfortable sitting space with integrated power accessibility to charge laptops, tablets and other mobile devices. The Bretford MOTIV High Back Sofa is engineered for comfort, privacy and power support in any lounge environment. Bretford says it’s the only high back sofa available […]

By David Hsieh Since Q2’12, the LCD TV panel market has witnessed a shift in screen sizes, with new models focused on 28”, 29”, 39”, 43”, 48”, 50”, 58” and 60” displays. The rise of the new sizes has become the hottest topic in the LCD TV market. According to the Quarterly Large-Area TFT Panel Shipment […]

Apple has filed a patent application, 20120296777, which describes a dynamic signage system for a sales environment such as an Apple Store. The dynamic signage device (which turns out to be an iPad) is associated with promoting a product to a customer in an interactive manner. The device could automatically check for updated product information […]

Extron opened a new regional sales office in Johannesburg, South Africa to provide convenient access for customers in Africa. The facility includes a state-of-the-art training room fully equipped to showcase and demonstrate the latest in Extron technologies and solutions. The first Extron Institute will be the School of AV Technologies for System Designers and will […]

We’re adding both Healthcare AV and Government AV technology to our existing rAVe GreenAV newsletter, making an all new eNewsletter called rAVe GHGav. Why? All year, we debated launching a new eNewsletter totally focused on Healthcare AV. The healthcare market is booming — some say it’s because of the new healthcare law and some say […]

By Ken Werner This holiday season you will be able to buy a UHD-TV — that’s Ultra High Definition, a TV with 3840×2160 pixels (also called Quad Full HD or QFHD or 4K). The suppliers in the North American market will be LG and Sony, and perhaps Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba. All or most of these […]

By Midori Connolly Right now, there isn’t much bigger than big data. Big data, data mining and business intelligence (BI) are the hottest terms around, and our industry is poised to capitalize on this trend. In case you’re still a little unsure about these terms, here is my best explanation of the relationship between these terms, […]

Today Dukane announced a new addition to its voice augmentation line of microphones in the form of the new I-Hear 1. The I-Hear 1 is a pole-mounted speaker unit that contains the amplifier and speaker. Designed for classrooms to add amplification for a teacher, it includes a lightweight transmitter on a lanyard with volume adjustment […]

  By Scott Walker   Earlier this month a very important person in our industry asked me a very straightforward question: Have we (the AV/IT industry) proven that there is a market for sustainable technology? In other words, do we believe there is a sizable group of buyers out there willing to pay a little […]

MXL Microphones’ new FR-500WK is basically a kit comprised of the FR-500WT Transmitter and the FR-500WR Receiver, plus accessories geared toward DSLR users. The MXL FR-500WK lets videographers add audio to video without the need for cables. The FR-500WK Wireless Audio System is designed for interviews and field reporting, with a range of up to […]

Pacific Media Associates (PMA) has released its latest industry forecasts for the worldwide projector market. An 18 percent growth rate — to 11.3 million units worldwide — is expected for the projector industry in 2013. And, there are some especially bright spots in several industry segments which are expected to  contribute significantly to this growth. […]

By Chris Chinnock There is no doubt that the big news (and hype) from CES 2013 will be around 4K or UHDTV panels, monitors and TVs. They deserve to be recognized and promoted, but I suspect they will be over hyped. The hype bubble will burst when consumers realize they want one, but they have pay […]

By Ken Goldberg Much has been written about best practices in the deployment of digital signage networks. Starting with content and content strategy, hardware and software choices, operations and physical deployment, there is much to consider. Many of these choices are easier to make when the network and the endpoints have a single owner, such as […]

Sony introduced this week the new S-series LCD line, which completes the company’s transition from CFL-based backlighting to LED-based backlighting for its LCD displays. The S-series is available in both 42″ (FWD-S42H2) and 46″ models (FWD-S46H2) and utilizes an edge-lit LED. They are specified at 700 cd/m2 brightness and are integrated with DICOM simulated gamma […]

Almo Pro A/V today announced a new distribution relationship with TouchSystems, designer of customized touch-enabled products. As a result, Almo Pro A/V reseller partners now have access to touch integrated displays and monitors from Sharp Professional and NEC Display Solutions. TouchSystems has also joined Almo’s popular traveling E4 AV Tour, which will commence in the […]