In Part 1 of our AVL Design series, we listed and summarized the key players in AVL design. Then in Part 2, we shared about the key tools that those key players may interact with and use. For Part 3, we will move forward to discuss the important phases of the design process. Let’s begin […]
Author and educator Stephen R. Covey, probably most well-known for his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” often said in his presentations that: “Most People do not Listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Think about the last meeting you attended. I don’t care what the meeting […]
I have been reading some people’s reviews of InfoComm and I have to admit, I’m a little jealous that I no longer get much time to walk the floor while I’m at the show. Being a bit of an AV Geek, I miss seeing new products, looking for new trends, and connecting dots in a […]
There’s an advertising catchphrase that’s probably dates back to the dawn of advertising: “We service what we sell!” You’ll see it appended as a tagline everywhere from car dealerships to general merchandise retailers. Last week my kitchen fridge died. It was only seven years old. I say “kitchen fridge” to differentiate it from the downstairs […]
By Erik Byer Guest Blogger for Tony the AV Guy & AV Bend In part 1 of our AVL Design series, we listed and summarized The Key Players in AVL Design including the architect, the consultants, the engineers, an owner’s representative, and a general contractor. And depending on the complexity of your AVL project, these […]
Whether by selection or default, if you find yourself in the role of “leader” of your HOW AV team, you need to carefully consider both the methods you use to communicate with your team and the message(s) you are sending — spoken and subliminal. One of the most consistent problems we encounter with HOW AV […]
By Ron DeVoe Total Marketing, LLC A little time has now passed since InfoComm 2018 turned off the lights. I hope that the sore feet have un-throbbed, the voice has lost its hoarseness and the bloodshot eyes have cleared. I attended my first NAVA a “couple” of years ago and I remembered how exhilarating that […]
With the new branding, AVIXA appears to have picked up a new motto, one which many of us have seen on the various promotional items for sale in the AVIXA store at InfoComm: “Together, we can change the way people experience the world.” Those who know me I believe in language, and believe in having […]
Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. Hang around long enough in this business and you’ll see a lot of changes, and a lot of technologies come and go. Mostly, you’ll see them go. Nothing lasts forever, but some technologies die off faster than others. The one common thread in all the jobs I’ve held […]
By Erik Beyer Guest Blogger for Tony the AV Guy & AV Bend Whether it’s a major project around your home or a major project you have been assigned to manage at work, when it comes time to find people and companies to get the job done, the choices and process can seem overwhelming. The […]
We all have things that we hold dear. And often, the things that we believe are so internalized that we take them for granted, assuming that everyone else knows what we do. Take baking bread, for example. When leading training I often use that as an example of a basic skill. The thing about baking […]
I just finished up teaching CTS prep for Avixa during the three-day classes before the InfoComm show. Not only was this a fun and a rewarding experience… I also came away with a new challenge. Several of my fellow instructors encouraged me to step up my certification game and get both my CTS-D and my […]
Editor’s note: Joel didn’t write the title of this column. I have always laughed at marketing “buzz terms” as used in our industry. In fact, I once devoted an entire column to them (Buzzards in the AV Industry, July 2010). Except today, I am going to use one myself: Breathtaking. It is simply the only term […]
There is an enormous amount of great new technology here this year. And you can choose to get it from fewer and fewer companies all the time. One of the things that I have commented on in rAVe for several years is the difference between the way the AV market works in North America and […]
I was participating in a social media chat the other day when the subject of AV as a Service (AVaaS) came up. For those not familiar with the subject, I’ve written a little about it in the past, and if you’d like a little background feel free to click here or here. During the chat, someone […]
As we all know, the IT world is converging with the AV world more and more every day. For most of us, this is quite exciting. For others, this can be daunting. In facilities where the IT and AV world are working together, if something goes wrong whom do you call? If you don’t have […]
Something that always fascinates me is how new technology creeps into our lives without even noticing. Several years ago, Google put out Google Cardboard. It was an impressive piece of technology, considering it was free to most people. Slowly, other virtual reality devices have come out, but in my opinion none have really hit the […]
By Norman Rosenberg Let’s face it; AV dealers have their own lingo. And that’s a good thing… until it isn’t. As I mentioned in my last blog post, working relations between AV dealers and drapery workrooms can be, well, compromised at times. This is because many times AV dealers are using words that lack meaning […]
If you haven’t already been following the conversation about selling AV software and services, I encourage you to catch up on my last couple blogs where I lay out the three main issues that I believe are stalling the transition from hardware-based businesses, as well as some specifics on business models that may play a […]
Just two days following one of my most popular blogs, Barco’s Overture Dilemma, Barco announced exactly what I suggested inside the blog — they’ve integrated Overture into ClickShare! In a blog post from ClickShare Product Manager Steven Lampshear, shrouded as an educational piece about how ClickShare can make meetings simpler, near the bottom, is a section […]
There are going to be moments when we all just feel dumb and clumsy…argh! And it feels so awful. For me, this photo really brings those feelings to life. Whether it’s an ice cream cone or the latest technology, many people feel inept, gawky, and awkward when handling something potentially fragile and easy to drop. […]
AVIXA is going out of its way to say that its new Integrated Life @ InfoComm isn’t competitive to the industry’s defacto HomeAV show, CEDIA. But, I call bulls*t. First, look at this. That’s basically the what’s new at InfoComm page — letting everyone know what all the new things AVIXA added to the industry’s top […]
Recently I found myself reliving a much different time in my life, from the past, while I was at my mothers house, and digging around in the garage. I went over to move around some belongings I had left in her garage years ago, and found shelves and shelves of records, amplifiers, speakers, endless cables […]
Update: Just two days following the publication of this blog, Barco announced exactly what I suggested — they’ve integrated Overture into ClickShare! It will be shown at InfoComm. Click here to read more about the announcement. At least year’s ISE show in Amsterdam, Barco officially launched itself into a (potentially) competitive fight with the […]
I imagine that my household is typical of many, in that there are multiple smartphones and tablets in use by members of the family. In fact, despite a big flat panel TV in the media room and a less-big one on the wall in the living room, mobile devices are the primary vector for people […]
How do you navigate the barrage of tech available for purchase? When a problem arises with AV tech, most people simply Google a product or service then follow the digital trail to the nearest retail store. If you’re unlucky, you will be sold the newest fandangled gadget on the spot. But if you’re lucky, someone […]
Earlier this week I posted The Hard Truth about Soft Serve(ices). (Feel free to read that first if you missed it.) However, in summary, I asserted that the hurdles we face as an industry today regarding selling software, services, and IT-centric AV may be less technical and more business related. My thought is that revenue models, […]
When the the daughter of Joel Spira (deceased founder and former CEO of Lutron Electronics) introduced IVALO (at the time, a commercial lighting line only from Lutron), I was a bit skeptical on how it would do as a new brand within the this lighting and controls powerhouse family to be. The cost was extremely […]
We live in society where newer equals better. Every month, if not every week, tech companies race to create and release newer, faster, sleeker, sexier gadgets. And while some of them really are worth their weight in gold, most are flash-in-the-pan trends. So, as AV experts looking to guide our customers to not just a […]
Unless you’ve been in a hole the last few years, you most likely have noticed the increasing conversation in AV about software, managed services, and IP based signal distribution. Given all of the buzz and apparent end-user demand for all of the above, surprisingly, only a select few AV companies have turned the corner on […]
Each week, I am highlighting some of the incredible people who are in the Audio Video Industry. Today we are profiling Michael Bucklin. Here is a brief introduction. Michael Bucklin has worked in the Audiovisual industry since 2000. He is currently Regional Manager, covering the Southwestern region of the US at Biamp Systems 1.Describe your […]
Recently, a friend came to visit and left “The Economist” magazine on my table. He said he tried to give it to his sons. But as I opened them up, the pages were stiff, as if they had just been retrieved from the printing press. I flipped to the Editor’s page titled, “The World in […]
