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 […]

It’s genius, really. If we have a Digital-Out-of-Home industry, why can’t we have Digital-Out-of-This World? Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) will soon create a new category of advertising space. Outer space. Based in Canada, a GEC subsidiary (Geometric Space Corporation) has several space projects and is now in the process of building a satellite, a CubeSat. […]

After the pandemic, many of us will set out to explore new routes to market. Selim Morlevi wants to drive there. In a van. As the founder of Create-4, a pioneer in experiential marketing in Turkey, he develops tech experiences for retail hospitality point of sale and consumer goods manufacturers. He’s worked with holographs, AI, […]

My university, a small liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere, recently announced an esports team and hired a coach. That’s surprising to many alumni who don’t realize the esports audience has grown to 474 million globally. (If it were a country, the esports population would make it onto the Worldometer list as the […]

By Gordon Dutch Re-Sauce Sales & Business Consultancy Ltd As I am sure regular rAVe readers will know, the regular ISE 2021 show in Barcelona planned for February 2021 was initially moved back to June 2021 and then canceled this year due to COVID. Shortly after, ISE announced a series of regional roadshows starting in […]

You don’t have to know rocket science to follow the arcane world of high-performance wireless, but it doesn’t hurt. The CEO of BridgeComm, Barry Matsumori, worked previously for SpaceX and Virgin Galactic and has served as a board member of the Space and Satellite Professionals International. BridgeComm, optical wireless communication (OWC) company, provides enterprise-grade broadband […]

After a successful ISE London 2021, Gordon Dutch, CEO of Re-Sauce Sales & Business Consultancy, sat down (virtually) with Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events to discuss the event. Representing rAVe [PUBS], Gordon successfully snagged the first interview after ISE 2021 with Mike to discuss all the virtual and in-person show details. ISE […]

By James Kirby Futuresource Consulting The professional power amplifiers market, and professional audio in general, has been an area of long-term market growth. Despite the rise of powered speakers, the amplifiers market has continued to see regular replacements and new opportunities over recent years, driven by innovation and demand at a macro level. However, moving […]

There’s no Anna Kendrick, but in many ways, it’s like a Hollywood movie. The collaborative presentation platform Pitch just raised $85 million more. Pitch began as just another startup in Berlin; it set out in 2018 to change the way we present and collaborate. Not exactly a new and novel idea. Hundreds of companies have […]

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) came to us both in-person and digitally this year. ISE 2021 took place in-person at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona on June 1 and 2. You can find a short intro to ISE 2021’s schedule here. In addition to the in-person event, the show was streamed live online via a […]

A preview of the surprises in store when you visit BrightSign at ISE 2021. You must admit one thing about the digital signage industry: It’s great at partnerships. I mean, really great. Like the difference between Premier League and your local team. These are some of the recent partnerships recorded on BrightSign’s website. As you […]