We received over 5,000 nominations for our 6th Annual rAVe Readers’ Choice Awards! And, now it’s time for you, the readers, to vote. You nominated them and now it’s time for you to vote for the best of the best. Here’s a list of the top companies and products in each of the 24 categories of […]
A note from the author: Having been involved in several hundred HOW sound system projects, across many denominations, over the last three decades, I hope what I have learned as discussed below, will help you avoid the classic mistakes and poor choices I have seen far too often. Remember a worship space with bad acoustics […]
“Yo, his palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy.” With the CTS “exam season” approaching in June, chances are many people are feeling the words of Eminem’s song Lose Yourself. For good reason. Many of those preparing to take the CTS are putting a lot of time and money into the exam. If you chose […]
Mobile-first is a term used to describe the 2017 statistic where people begin their internet searches, browsing and application usage on their mobile device more than on a desktop or laptop computer. They’re searching for social proof (what others say about a brand, service or product), helpful knowledge-building and early research to educate their decision-making […]
In 2016 some industry self-appointed pundits in the AV-industry were overusing the trite term known as the “Internet of Things” (aka IoT) way, way too much last year. I keep seeing content marketing and blogs using the term — as if we are really part of it. We aren’t. Thank God we are in 2017 […]
Our Reader’s Choice Awards blow away ANY other industry award. And, I can say that with 100 percent confidence. How? Well, first off, in 2014, we had over 54,000 votes and then 2015 and 2016 both saw over 81,000 voters (Yes, you read that right – OVER 81 THOUSAND voters) — no one has those […]
Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the world’s largest dedicated digital signage show, announced its 2017 (held 2-weeks ago in Las Vegas) event broke previous records in attendance and exhibit space. And, we noticed it with our rAVe NOW coverage as we shot a record number of videos – you can see them all here. The conference […]
Unlike nearly every other publication’s awards program, ours have no entry fee and no biases towards advertisers, sponsors or those that spent money of an award-entry program. These are awards that are picked AT THE SHOW based on the actual product shown at DSE — not a spec sheet or a marketing blurb on a […]
The responses to my recent blog explaining why I believe the projection SCREEN (not projector, but screens) market is heading for a downward spiral have been mixed — sort of. I heard from systems designers, integrators/dealers and manufacturers. On the manufacturer front, surprise-surprise, the screen manufacturers nearly (I say nearly as ONE agreed with me) […]
You’ve all seen them. Emails from the plethora of analog and digital magazines covering InfoComm this year — all asking or you to PAY to ENTER their awards programs. I am writing to BEG YOU to stop doing this. This is not only a rip-off, but it’s completely unethical. Sure, a $10 or $20 fee […]
You can’t enter a product in them. You can’t ask us to nominate you. And, you can’t get an award by advertising or sponsoring us or paying for it. We literally sent reporters to EVERY booth/stand at ISE 2017 and we selected the TOP products in every possible product category for our 2017 Best of […]
It’s time to fire up the legendary waaaay-back machine once again to go to the year 1982. Why? Because it was in that year that the National Sound Contractors Association was formed and held its first convention/meeting. (On a side note, that was also the year I launched Sound & Video Contractor Magazine (S&VC) and […]
Barco is launching a new projector range that they literally claimed “will change the game for rental companies and AV integrators.” Hmmm, that’s s a lot of hype to live up to. The UDX series consists of five 3-chip DLP models — all laser-phosphor based projectors — that all are identically spec’d at a 2000:1 contrast […]
LG Electronics USA Business Solutions has finally debuted the new lightweight LG OLED “Wallpaper” commercial display as well as new customizable open-frame LG OLED displays at the 2017 Digital Signage Expo (DSE). The Wallpaper isn’t totally new. In fact, we were the first publication to see the commercial version of it when it debuted in Australia […]
With the deluge of new “Collaboration Boards” that will hit the market over the next six months (this was the most popular launch product at ISE this month), there’s no question that Microsoft will have to cut the price of their Surface Hub. They can’t keep ripping people off at $8,000 — $9,000 (55″) and $20,000 (84″) […]
Barco — Belgian American Radio Corporation I am sure I can’t be the only person in AV who’s noticed the subtle re-branding of Barco. But no one seems to be talking about it. Go look at their website, for example. It’s different — more retail-like. And, then, on Friday, I found this video — it only has 800 […]
rAVe founder Gary Kayye just delivered his most popular keynote in the history of our company: 4K – No Myths, No Exaggerations, Just the Facts — yesterday at the Almo ProAV E4 AV Tour. Maybe it was simply a right place/right time kind of thing but, it has turned out to be the most popular keynote he’s ever done […]
Update: I spoke to ZOOM CEO Eric Yuan this morning. He told me that it’s correct that they do try to establish relationships directly with the clients. But, he says that ZOOM’s policy about this is very specifically defined: If an AV integrator has an existing client relationship, all they need to do is register that […]
At ISE, I had a chance to get a behind-the-scenes, top-secret look at the new SiliconCore LISA technology. LISA is basically an LED video-wall material (modular, like all the others) where the electronics and board drivers use Chip On Board (COB) manufacturing technology. So, on one side of the PCB is the LED array and on the other are […]
It’s the Law The astonishing thing about the laws of physics and the mathematically derived acoustical parameters that govern sound reproduction is that, despite considerable effort by many well meaning or at least well motivated individuals and manufacturers over the last 150+ years, they simply haven’t changed, and, just in case you think there is […]
It is easier to make good purchasing decisions when armed with timely, relevant information. As such, manufacturers, rep firms and systems integrators alike put a lot of effort into promoting the features and benefits of their products and systems before the sale. What’s missing, though, is arming those same users with useful information so they can […]
If you have gone to any AV leadership event over the last several years, ranging from the Commercial Integrator Summit to InfoComm’s AVEC to NSCA’s Business and Leadership Conference, you know that developing a revenue stream based on service has been at the forefront of the conversation. Many integrators have started offering managed services to their […]
There has been a lot of discussion lately about the use of Virtual Realty (VR) technology. One of the applications being touted as ripe for VR is virtual meetings — a Virtual Reality Telconference (VRTC) if you will. But will VRTC be the next big leap in meeting technology? Imagine getting ready for your next […]
Suggested by a conversation with John Mayberry – Emmaco Engineering history is replete with decisions that, upon any kind of reasonable reflection, would prove at best questionable or at worst disastrous — for example, the rapid and urgent deployment of the legendary Boeing designed, engineered and constructed B-29 Superfortress in May of 1944 during WW […]
By Meghan Athavale CEO, Lumo Interactive There are obviously all kinds of factors that influence how a display is designed, and how it works. These include things like lighting requirements, durability, intuitive user experience, target audience, localization, accessibility… the list is super long. However, there are three simple rules that I’ve discovered must be followed […]
About a year and a half ago, Philips Lighting debuted a new LED-based light source for projectors called ColorSpark HLD LED (High Lumen Density LED). In 2016, this technology rolled out in mainstream projection products in the 3,000- to 4,000-lumen range. For 2017, Philips is focusing on enabling projection customers to create new 1,000- and […]
Are you a new company selling a new product? Well, this blog’s for you! Listen, don’t let people fool you — this industry is NOT that complicated. You don’t need a fancy marketing campaign and you certainly don’t need to waste your money with banner ads on on-line publications to make it BIG in AV. […]
There’s a pattern of overworked teams in the audio, video and lighting industry. From the manufacturers to systems integrators, the lunch conversations at industry trade shows is almost universally the same: too many projects, not enough time, too many quotas, not enough qualified leads. Some of this is certainly due to a business-as-usual approach that […]
Last year at InfoComm, a friend from the industry who follows me on various social media platforms came up to me and said something like this, “I hate you! You’re so productive! How do you manage to work a difficult job, raise a kid, run half marathons and make craft projects?” I said something about […]
THIS IS A PROMOTED POST Almo’s E4 AV Tour is back! The AV industry’s favorite distributor roadshow kicks off 2017 in the Chicago area next month (March 22nd) at the Drury Lane Theatre and Conference Center and in April in San Jose, California at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose — and this year’s event has a lot of […]
Today another eulogy was given to AV technology. As with most AV eulogies, the problem is that the technology declared dead is still alive and well. In this instance, the projection screen business was “buried alive” by Gary in his latest blog “Is the Screen Business About to Disappear?” However, like Uma Thurman in Kill […]
In the ProAV market, unless you’re blind (or just like to deny truths), you see the writing on the wall, LITERALLY (you’ll get that pun if you keep reading). The projection screen market is about to nearly die a somewhat rapid death. Let’s look at the reasons why: 1. The flat screen monitor (LCD and […]
