March 2023 will be Armageddon for the 8K industry in Europe. New EU power consumption regulations will go into effect then — and the new power consumption limits required for 8K TVs (and microLED-based displays) are so low that experts claim no devices will pass. Not a one. This effectively bans the sale of 8K […]

By Alistair Johnston Futuresource Consulting The market for meeting room cameras continues to show buoyancy, as hybrid working patterns maintain their presence in the commercial landscape. A new report from Futuresource Consulting shows that volumes increased across every meeting room camera category last year, culminating in 15% volume growth and 19% value growth year-on-year. Meeting […]

What is the Sound of All Human Knowledge? Here’s a challenge for audio pros and everyone else: Through an open contest, the Wikimedia Foundation invites you to create nothing less than “The Sound of All Human Knowledge.” The Wikimedia Foundation is the global nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and Wikimedia, the movement behind Wikipedia and 12 […]

We all know the brand Tripp Lite with its product line of power strips, UPS and other IT peripherals. If you don’t know the brand made popular at PC retail chains and residential installers, you may know Tripp Lite as a leading supplier of “power quality” products and connectivity solutions including single-phase uninterruptible power supply […]

By Helen Matthews Futuresource Consulting As the broadcast system camera market has started to recover from the impact of COVID-19, a notable development has emerged. Broadcasters are increasingly utilizing large sensor system cameras for live productions alongside traditional three-chip 2/3” cameras. This can be seen with the reception to the release of Sony’s HDC-F5500 in […]

By James Kirby Futuresource Consulting As live events return in force, the professional amplifiers market continues to see strong levels of recovery. There remain some significant challenges for the industry, however revenues are on track to reach new heights over the coming years. A new report from Futuresource Consulting sets the scene for full recovery […]

Google’s Duo will rebrand as Meet with the features from both apps. But Google’s Meet’s will remain Meet. Yes, there will be just two Google Meet apps: Meet (let’s call it 1.0, the Meet app to be soon phased out) and the new Meet (let’s call it “2.0,” the new Meet app that combines both […]

It’s the Holy Grail of videoconferencing. Or maybe more like “Lord of the Rings:” One Platform to Rule Them All. Any way you look at it, it adds up to the same concept: How do we get a single platform that incorporates all the benefits of the single-purpose solutions we now use? The first company […]

Part 2: AV-Over-IP, Software-Based AV and AI This is part 2 of an article about all the things I noticed from ISE and InfoComm this year, two shows to which I didn’t go, but as the editor in charge of video titling for rAVe [PUBS] for both, I did watch pretty much every video the […]

I’ve read Barco’s new survey of 1200 executives across 13 countries to find out how the office is changing and how workspaces are used — and it’s enlightening. My biggest takeaway? The business I want to be in right now is selling office furniture and the tech to support it! In my opinion, that’s exactly where AV […]

Part 1: UCC and Display Technologies I didn’t go to ISE in Barcelona this year, or InfoComm in Las Vegas just a few weeks later, but as the editor in charge of video titling for rAVe [PUBS] for both, I did watch pretty much every video the team shot from both show floors, which was […]

By Michael Boreham Futuresource Consulting The pandemic accelerated shipments of mobile PCs into the K-12 sector, with the market peaking in 2021 at 53 million units worldwide. Yet hardware is only part of the story. A new report from Futuresource Consulting shows that there’s a widening connectivity divide, made worse by the after-effects of COVID-19. […]

Chalk it up to the list of strangely worded press releases, but acquisitions sometimes have to tread carefully because they are works in progress rather than completed deeds. A joint announcement declares Germany’s Georg Neumann GmbH and Swiss digital audio specialist Merging Technologies will be working closer together — because both are now fully part […]

There are few smartphone users who haven’t used Bluetooth, by far the most-recognized wireless standard for audio streaming, with an estimated 1.1 billion devices shipped per year. LE Audio, the next generation of Bluetooth Audio, is expected to boost this number, with earbud users as the main contributor. LE Audio brings broadcast audio to Bluetooth […]

Yes, we suffer from more than just Zoom fatigue. The ProAV industry also suffers from “would-be-Zoom fatigue.” The weariness that comes with hearing about another contender that hopes to knock out remote work incumbents like Zoom and Teams. Yet, Switchboard comes with more spark. Spark Capital, that is. Switchboard raised $13.8 million backed by Spark […]

When we last saw our intrepid integrator, they were working through some hard choices. Their company had fallen victim to a ransomware attack. They were locked out of all of their files, and the attackers were threatening to put all of their sensitive information on the internet if they didn’t pay a hefty ransom. What […]

rePLAY ISE 2022 has officially come to a close, but first, a quick recap of session two. This time, the session contained curated content aimed toward our viewers in the United States rather than Europe. Our hosts, Steph Beckett and Emily Dean, picked out some great content we gathered in Barcelona at ISE 2022 to […]

At The Fine Lion restaurant and bar in Ashburton, New Zealand, guests are treated to a luxurious, upscale atmosphere that features imported mosaic tiles, brass detailing, lush greenery and contrasting color schemes. It’s what they don’t see, however, that sets the eatery apart from its competition and makes daily operations simpler for staff. With the help of ElectraServe, a local […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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. […]

War is an ugly thing at any time. However, on the heels of a divisive pandemic and as the most significant conflict since World War II, the war in Ukraine throws a monstrous shadow across the European continent — one that scares, yet unites, Europeans. Europeans who aren’t Ukrainian, who don’t have Ukrainian relatives and […]

By Chris Pennell Futuresource Consulting While the past two years have brought unprecedented operational disruption and uncertainty for enterprises across all industry sectors, it has also accelerated the blurring of the boundaries between the ProAV and IP worlds. We have seen broadcast and event tools merged with videoconferencing tools to enable enterprises to have richer […]

While some parts of our industry thrive in the pandemic, we should not forget our brothers and sisters in the events business. A year-end 2021 study just released by KdG Expert (Centre of Expertise for the Event Sector) highlights the pain with some research results in Belgium that will sound familiar to many in Europe […]

By Maxym Dmytriyev Futuresource Consulting According to Futuresource Consulting’s latest Gaming Headset Market H2 2021 report, the overall gaming accessories market is expected to grow 10% year-on-year in 2021, despite a deceleration in volume and value growth compared to 2020. Onset by the continuous efforts in combating COVID-19’s spread, work-from-home trends have supported market growth, […]

Wi-Fi has been the dread of most professional installers who would usually rather lose a finger than predicate any of their solutions on wireless. If Wi-Fi 6 from CES 2022 doesn’t convince the wire-pullers, then Wi-Fi Alliance has another runner to put in the race. Kiss weak Wi-Fi goodbye and say hello to HaLow from […]

By Chris Pennell Futuresource Consulting There’s no doubt that the higher education sector has experienced a difficult period over the last 18 to 24 months. Profound and far-reaching changes have been applied in an effort to respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and enable students to continue to learn remotely. In the wake of the […]

If you’re late to the party, you’d better bring something special. HP Inc. launched “HP Presence,” a portfolio of conferencing and collaboration solutions. In 2015, HP split its operation: on one side is HP Inc., the printer and PC company. The other side, HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) company, deals with enterprise products and services. This launch […]