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 […]
The shortage of semiconductors has had a profound effect on the global economy. Semiconductors, in particular microprocessors (semiconductors containing a CPU, essentially a computer), are the brains inside so many things that are a part of daily life: washing machines, toys, watches, cameras, ATMs, planes, televisions, LED light bulbs and nearly every form of human […]
The key to a healthy relationship is open, clear communication. That applies to not only personal relationships, but also business ones. And central to having a positive relationship with your clients is how well you and they communicate with each other. That clarity has to begin right away. In the initial discussion and subsequent needs […]
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 […]
Those of us who spend time thinking about the future, whether that’s technology, people or culture, are often taking educated guesses at what the future will look like. The only way we know whether we were right or wrong, is by waiting and seeing. That is where we are now with educational opportunities. Clearly during […]
The Germans always have the best words for everything. In particular, “schadenfreude” is a real banger. If you don’t know, it means “enjoying the misfortunes of others.” I bring this up because we all love talking about work problems — ours and other people’s. Often, we’re all gossiping about the not-perfect clients who range on […]
Unless you’ve been shortlisted for a Nobel prize or you’re waiting on the birth of a baby, early morning phone calls are never a good thing. When Joe (the owner of the company that I just made up in my head) got a call from Kate (his equally made-up service manager) at 6:30 a.m., he […]
This year’s ISE Show arrives in Barcelona on 10-13 May 2022. Speaking at a press briefing last week, Integrated Systems Events managing director, Mike Blackman, said: “I’m delighted, and honoured, to be standing here today five years since Integrated Systems Events, and its co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA, decided to relocate the Integrated Systems Europe show […]
Here’s an acronym that has gone from high thinking darkroom nerd zone ether to everyday common lingo and even general conversational fodder over a latte on a sunny afternoon with some friends. Artificial Intelligence or AI, this acronym seems to have evolved into the general public lexicon and is persuasively become a hot selling point […]
By Brian Rhatigan Exertis Almo One thing that keeps me interested in my career is that our industry is ever-evolving as technologies are introduced and evolve over time. After 17 years of working in the world of ProAV distribution, I never stop learning new things. Most recently, I was tasked with learning about dvLED to […]
My Favorites From the New York International Auto Show 2022 I have been attending business trade shows since the mid-1990s when I first worked for a relatively small but very successful CD-ROM OEM hardware/software technology company. As time went on and I changed my technology focus (from data storage and backup to telecom/network, then video […]
Once, as a new AV project manager, I found myself helping the warehouse manager unload the equipment at my biggest project. These were some big displays; we had to tilt them carefully to get them into the service elevator. “What happens if the displays don’t fit in the elevator?” I said to my companion. He […]
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, […]
By Nick Bovill Snap One In order for a smart home system to perform at its best, integrators need to have a strong and reliable network as the foundation of every connected home installation. When integrators create such a network, customer satisfaction increases, leading to higher revenues and business opportunities. So, how do integrators create […]
One of my friends who owns a small, specialized, successful distribution company once characterized the people on his team to me as either “nice guys who don’t know anything” or “guys who know everything about every product but have zero people skills.” It sounds like a stark generalization, but since I know the people he […]
OK … put down the pitchforks. There’s a method here. I have had the unique experience of having a front-row seat regarding videoconferencing (VC) over the last 30 years. As I have watched it evolve, I have seen not just WHAT changed but, more importantly, WHY it changed. At the same time, I have also […]
“Adapt or Die.” That was everyone’s mantra over the past two years, but it’s likely that no segment of the market adapted faster than Houses of Worship (HOW). Though generally not considered the most tech-heavy in application, HOWs took to Facebook Live faster than any other segment of the market took to any other messaging […]
The latest human-computer interface — an interface that could dramatically impact the AV business — comes from Google’s hardware invention studio, Advanced Technology & Projects (ATAP). What if our devices (in-home, in-office building, and in-store) had social intelligence within? People and devices have their own concepts of personal space — and Google uses its research […]
By Eric Olson Almo Professional AV So, you’re putting together your next AV project and the need for a network switch comes up. This could be due to many factors, most commonly for Audiovisual over Internet Protocol (AV-over-IP) applications, control, monitoring or internet connectivity. But if you’re not an experienced IT person or not very […]
Over the past two months, I have written about the metaverse and cryptocurrency. The next logical topic of this new digital world is the NFT. What is an NFT, and will you as an AV professional ever have to deal with them? Let’s get started with the first question. NFT stands for non-fungible token. That […]
No matter where you live within the AV ecosystem, chances are a big part of your job is studying up on the latest technology. After all, if you’re going to offer your customers a compelling solution, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of technical innovation that’s continuously happening throughout our industry. Traditionally, this […]
By Matthew Rubin Futuresource Consulting In a world of rapid technological acceleration, education reform and hybrid learning, student progression tracking and performance analytics are becoming increasingly important. A new report from Futuresource Consulting explores the competitive landscape and provides insights into the future opportunities for Lesson Delivery Software (LDS). “Schools and districts are driving towards higher literacy and […]
I was recently attending a conference of higher ed technology support people and was enlightened by a discussion that occurred. Several of the people in the meeting discussed some changes they had made in their classrooms over the past several years. In particular, many of them had eliminated the “dedicated computer” from their classroom designs. […]
Last week I got an email from one of my biggest dealers that was so out of the ordinary that I had to read it three times. Even then, I had to call my contact there to verbally confirm what I was reading. It was just … wild. No matter how old I feel some […]
Last month, I wrote about the metaverse. As I mentioned in the article, I am not an expert in the metaverse, but I need to better understand it as we hear more and more about it in our industry. The same is true about cryptocurrency. There is a general assumption that the way things will […]
Beginning January 2022, the European Commission awarded Avex and Videlio a four-year contract as the audiovisual provider of event facilities for all types of EU summits and events. While some industry press noted the award, the significance becomes clear when the EC highlights this as the single biggest award the EC has ever given. Ever. […]
I had a great first Enterprise Connect in Orlando! As you probably know, most people are ready to get back to trade shows. We are ready to get back to in person and figure out more about how to do that in a way that’s respectful and comfortable for all. EC was a great reminder […]
Commercial AV works with the facility. It has always been necessary to take customer locations into account for the installation. AV was purpose-built to meet the needs of the users and the buildings they inhabit. Dozens of AV businesses were created to serve the corporate market. Businesses and offices have very predictable use cases and […]
By Freddie Mosop and Victoria Tselykh Futuresource Consulting A conflux of factors came to head in 2021: lockdowns, component shortages, government stimuluses, as well as fundamental changes to how people work and collaborate. This resulted in 2021 year-on-year (YoY) volume performance of 0.2% and 20.1% for projection and flat panel displays. While some manufacturers have […]
And that’s a wrap on Enterprise Connect 2022 (EC)! That’s also a wrap on my first-ever trade show experience. If you didn’t know, I’ve been with rAVe for almost a year and haven’t been able to attend a show yet, mostly due to COVID-19. Finally, I was able to join some of my team on […]
Talking with my various contacts (dealers, vendors and whoever), discussions lately always seem to turn to whatever new and unforeseen complications have made life difficult. It’s been a real smorgasbord, from supply chain delays and material shortages to climate disasters and more. And that’s just the last six months. It really does feel like the […]
