In a fit of self awareness, (followed by associated depression and fetal thumb-sucking ), I felt it might be necessary to introduce myself formally to rAVe readers.

For anyone who may follow me or be familiar with some of my work in the industry, you may already know my take on a variety of AV issues. For those of you who know me in person from my work in Arizona or California, you know I am at heart a nice guy and a father of three, as well as someone who likes to engage in some light hearted sparring, (verbally and otherwise). I do hold strong opinions but I am not mean spirited, and I am usually very fair. Even when I competed in Muay Thai, I felt bad when I kneed someone in the face, but I was OK with it because we both entered the ring with the same expectations and knew the rules of engagement, (as well as the possible outcomes).

That being said, I try not to pull punches, and I am aware that some of my pet peeves or criticisms may initially be seen in the vein of an old curmudgeon yelling: “Get Off My Lawn!”

Hopefully, as you read deeper you will notice that I do try to be fair and actually offer advice and solutions to better the situations I bring attention to. I love the AV industry. I have a passion for seeing things delivered as well as they are sold. I like to see good people and good products succeed. AS such, I have little patience for apathy, poor follow through, or industry noise that distracts people from the real issues we face, and the real value that we offer.

I also feel a bit disenfranchised by the lack of forward thinking some manufacturers and integrators exhibit. I see bad ideas turn into worse products and proliferate across the industry as acceptable, (yes I’m talking to you again HDMI). I see great products gain no momentum and get shelved because integrators get stuck in their ways and don’t want to stake their claim on the gold that is buried in‘dem ‘dere hills.

I also get tired of the great AV Hype that takes place about products that really come from “me too” thinking, or that stem from small but rather useless gradual improvements. Maybe people are afraid to innovate themselves out of their comfort zone, adhering to some theory of Innovation close to that of Despair Inc’s “If it can make your job easier, it can probably make it irrelevant.”

At 5 years old I was promised a flying car, a robot, and instant meals in a pill, not to mention an epic showdown with a YulBrynner-esque Android in the dusty streets of a Western theme park.

Sure I can fit 5000 low quality songs on a device the size of a matchbook, and watch glitchy streaming HD movies over 4G for the bargain price of $30 each with data overage charges, but I am having trouble being impressed at times.

I could be the person referenced in Louis C.K.’s  “Everything is amazing and no one is happy.” Or, as I like to think I am, I could be someone who feels like patting each other on the back for mediocre innovation, half baked ideas, and poor delivery of our services does not encourage us to do better and raise the bar.

I will do my best to be honest while offering praise where it is deserved, highlighting  the silver linings where they exist, or pointing the way the escape hatch when it seems there is no other way out.

I look forward to all of your comments, (good or bad), along the way, and to spirited discussion that leads us to the promise of the future we all remember from our youth.

Best,

Mark C