Each week, I am highlighting on some of the incredible people who are in the Audio Video Industry. As this blog is mostly about AV insiders, today we are profiling Saar Litman.

Here is a brief intro about him.

Saar Litman is a Senior Analyst and Consultant at Wainhouse Research and a 17-year veteran of the audio visual (AV) and video conferencing (VC) industries.
Prior to joining WR, Saar was the founder and owner of Audio-Visual Design (AVD), the leading audio-visual design and consulting firm in Israel. While at AVD, Saar and his team provided AV design and management services to a wide range of small, medium, and large organizations. Specific services included the creation of Standard AV Design packages, the management and handling of RFPs to find AV integrators, the coordination between facilities, architectural, and other resources, and more.

As a part of WR’s visual collaboration and AV team, Saar’s focus is on the products and services supporting enterprise AV and conferencing. This specifically includes a wide range of audio visual products (e.g., control systems, switchers, audio systems, DSPs, microphones, etc.) and collaboration products and services. Saar’s time is divided between core research, hands-on testing of products and services, and client consulting projects. Saar resides in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (USA) area.

Please drop your questions in the comments below and I will make sure that he sees them.

I grow up in a very small community and for as long as I can remember, working with computers and operating the community PA system in holidays and events was “my thing” As a kid, my first real job (at 15 y/o during holidays and weekends) was in a local college Film School (Tel Hai Film School) , I helped fix the professional editing systems and especially enjoyed working on the computerized editing solutions (e.g AVID, Premier, etc.), I was very fortunate in this job to learn the basics of AV from the professional perspective (cables, connector, video and audio standard, etc.)I then went to do my 3 years army service and when this was done, I started working in the Videoconference department of a company called Bynet Communications (then the largest AV and VC integrator in Israel)

By that time my future was set in the AV / VC industry

2. What do you think is the challenges that are facing a new person who wants to join the industry.

Unlike other technology industries, The AV industry is a bundle of many different disciplines, an AV professional need to have at least basic understanding of a wide array of areas, from Acoustic thru Networking all the way to architecture and GUI design. This can be intimidating to some.

3. What are the positives of working in this industry

AV is an FOH (Front of House) industry, most of what we make is being used and touched by end-users daily, (unlike some IT professionals that can spend weeks fixing a problem that no one will ever see)
The gratification of seeing users handle and enjoy a well-designed system is second to none.

4. What in your opinion would you change in the industry? What are the negatives that are prevalent?

I would not change a thing.

5. Describe your ideal client? What do you wish clients to know before hiring you?As consultants, our job is to advise a client and guide him to create the best solution.
The perfect client will listen to his consultant (not necessary agree with everything but listen and keep an open mind) and provide the consultant the tools he need to create the best solution (e.g access to people, flexibility to make changes, etc.)

7. Describe a typical work day for you. What are your daily disciplines?As today I’m doing so many things in so many areas I do not have a typical day,
Some days are spent brainstorming with my colleagues about a new market or concept. Some days are spent alone in front of the computer designing a new global standard for a client. While other days are spent in the lab testing a product or a service.8. Describe the apps and gear that you use daily which makes you more productive?My main tool is my iMac running office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). I also use Autocad and Vectorworks for drawings, Tableau to analyze large amounts of data, Final Cut Pro to editing videos, Crestron tools to update our test lab programming, a few interactive collaboration tools for brainstorming and about 20 different types of videoconferencing services and product to communicate with clients.9. How does a firm like yours help the industry to evolve better?

At Wainhouse Research we spend a considerable portion of our time learning what is going on in the market. Whether it’s a new product, new service or a new trend.We then publish some of this information in the forms of white papers, evaluation reports or videos

In addition, Wainhouse Research helps many types of clients, we work with Vendors to help them create better products and services and better understand the market, we work with resellers and integrators to help them grow their business, and we work with end-users to help them navigate the AV and VC markets, solve their global collaboration issues, and make better decisions when considering the future of their conferencing usage.

For more information about Saar Litman, please find a few links:
Site: http://cp.wainhouse.com/featured-wr-analyst/saar-litman
Twiter: @saarlitman
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saarlitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka0eEuYfnAI

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