Bridging the Gap: ITSM Tools for AV and IT

Over the past several months at my institution, we have been implementing a new Information Technology Service Management Tool (ITSM). After looking at several different products, we chose to go forward with TeamDynamix. The cost is reasonable (not cheap, but reasonable), even for small higher ed institutions (like us). Cost was a factor in our […]

Bridging the Gap: ITSM Tools for AV and IT

An IT Degree in an AV World?

By Tom Kehr Almo Pro A/V “A degree in computer science for AV support?” was a question posed in response to a LinkedIn job posting for an AV support engineer (I’m listing only the first five bullet points): Minimum Requirements. The candidate for the position of AV support engineer must meet the following qualifications: Bachelor’s […]

An IT Degree in an AV World?

The Farmer and the Porsche

You know, I don’t normally write about sales-related topics. But I’ve always liked this story my dad told me when I first started out in AV/IT/automation over 20 years ago. It’s one of the many awesome #DadAdvice tidbits I got over the years as a second-generation entrepreneur. Though he was a pinstriper and signwriter and […]

The Farmer and the Porsche

IT or X? It’s BOTH!

Suppose you’re active in social media at all. In that case, you may have noticed that quite a few strong opinions are resurfacing about AV’s “Experience” movement that has been happening since InfoComm became AVIXA. I believe the sudden rise of cloud-based conferencing, AV-over-IP and the retraction of hospitality, live and experiential events due to […]

IT or X? It’s BOTH!

The ITSM Architecture

This is part three of a four-part series from Christopher Gillespie. Read his introduction here and his piece on the AV bill of materials here. Years ago, maintaining and reporting on the inventory was a matter of many spreadsheets, maybe a home-baked database, perhaps it was some hybrid, or maybe it was Crestron Fusion or […]

The ITSM Architecture

The Rise of the Cloud and Networked Software and the Realities of Embedded Infrastructure

“It’s all going to be in the cloud” — that’s what researchers seem to be saying to the whole AV/IT world. Let’s dive into the hardware vs. software debate, for things are not always what they seem. Indeed, technologies like digital signage storage/retrieval and security archives are already on or are migrating to some conglomeration […]

The Rise of the Cloud and Networked Software and the Realities of Embedded Infrastructure

The End of the Beginning

It’s all going to be in the cloud — that’s what the researchers seem to be saying to the whole AV/IT world. 
Certainly technologies like digital signage storage and retrieval and a lot of security archive are already on or migrating to cloud or some hybrid of the cloud based platforms. The reality is perhaps […]

The End of the Beginning

Change Management

IT Service Management and ITIL define processes for information technology professionals to follow in order to deliver the best value for their customers. The processes defined are agnostic to whether the clients are internal or external. Some in the industry think of AV and IT as separate, however we are very similar and in many […]

Change Management

Tiner’s New Take on AVaaS

In late June, Andrew Davis posted a blog entry here on rAVe in which he declared that “in 10 years or less, what was once the AV industry is going to be a be a footnote in the history of business technology.” In the post he made the argument that software will, essentially, take over […]

Tiner’s New Take on AVaaS

Friction, SB-327 and Zoom’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Week

Last week was an eventful one for Zoom. In less than twenty-four hours, we had: The revelation of multiple security vulnerabilities in the popular Zoom conferencing software A [now updated] defensive statement by Zoom, dismissing concerns related to same Public outcry A reversal of course and introduction of an immediate patch for one vulnerability and […]

Friction, SB-327 and Zoom’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Week

Imminent Disaster  —  The Looming AV Threat

I want you to imagine a 46″ flat panel display. This display is in a staff cafeteria on the 30th floor of an office building. Wall-mounted. It is not an extravagant display, probably 1080p… not even smart (gasp!). You’ve seen one just like it, looping special events and other corporate propaganda. Now I want you […]

Imminent Disaster  —  The Looming AV Threat

Powersoft Debuts Mezzo Family of Amps at InfoComm 2019

Powersoft unveiled its newest amplifier platform at InfoComm 2019 [Booth 6681, West Level 2] during a press conference today. Mezzo, a new line designed for the AV/IT market, consists of eight amplifier models, each offering different power and connectivity options. Mezzo, is aimed at corporate, hospitality and educational environments, is a what they are calling […]

Powersoft Debuts Mezzo Family of Amps at InfoComm 2019

Aurora Shows ReAX Wall Mount and Desktop Touch Panels

Aurora Multimedia will demo the first ReAX-based IP wall mount (RXT-7, RXT-10) and desktop (RXT-7D, RXT-10D) Android touch panels — integrated with fully-functional Javascript-based control. Both styles are available in 7″ and 10″. The wall mount version is designed to mount flush in wall portrait or landscape display modes and the desktop versions are available […]

Aurora Shows ReAX Wall Mount and Desktop Touch Panels

Notes From the Trenches

Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with dozens of AV and IT professionals tasked with deploying and supporting enterprise video conferencing. Although every project is different, a few themes seem to be consistent across all my conversations, and so I’ve come up with the following “notes from the AV/IT trenches.” […]

Notes From the Trenches

Installation Issues for Converged AV/IT Systems

Presented by Tom Kehr of AVIXA at the 2019 Almo Professional AV E4 Experience The success of a converged AV/IT system is dependent on a properly installed and tested structured cabling system. As more and more audiovisual integrators are offering IT infrastructure installation to their clients, it is mandatory that they have an understanding of […]

Installation Issues for Converged AV/IT Systems

AV Gets a Facelift… and Facial Recognition- Part 1

I had the pleasure of visiting my friends at Mad Systems last week.  It is a company I know quite a bit about, (in large part because I worked there for 4 years), and I was invited to come and take a look at what they’ve been up to lately. They have a history of designing […]

AV Gets a Facelift… and Facial Recognition- Part 1

Dante Finally Adds Video to Spec with Dante AV 1Gbps 4K Module

Audinate, developer of the Dante audio networking technology has announced Dante AV, adding a video-over-IP solution for manufacturers. Dante AV means the networking platform supports audio and video over the network. Technically, this becomes the first 1G standard for AV-over-IP — the only other standard in AV-over-IP is the SDVoE Alliance platform of 10G. Audinate […]

Dante Finally Adds Video to Spec with Dante AV 1Gbps 4K Module

NETGEAR and SDVoE Launch a 10G Network Switch with Integrated HDMI

At ISE 2019 (Amsterdam, Feb. 5-8, stand 3-B150), the SDVoE Alliance will feature the world’s first implementation of HDMI connectivity within an Ethernet switch. HDMI input and output modules that plug directly into a NETGEAR M4300-96X 10G Modular Managed Switch eliminate the need for standalone encoders and decoders to support in-rack video sources and destinations, […]

NETGEAR and SDVoE Launch a 10G Network Switch with Integrated HDMI

Top AV and Collaboration Predictions for 2019

2018 has been an interesting and eventful year in the AV and collaboration industries.  We’ve seen a number of mergers and acquisitions, rebranding of products, new players big and small entering the market and an avalanche of new products. So what does 2019 have in store for us? I don’t have a crystal ball, but […]

Top AV and Collaboration Predictions for 2019

Security Through Light: The World’s First Quantum Secured Video Conference

My readers will know that I tend to focus on topics related to collaboration, user-interaction, and generally building products that help us work together. You may be surprised to learn that a significant amount of my time is spent thinking about security. As devices become increasingly attached to our enterprise networks – those same devices must be […]

Security Through Light: The World’s First Quantum Secured Video Conference

Selling Soft Serv(ices) — Hurdle Three: Liabilities

Back in the spring, I launched a series of blogs on The Hard Truth about Selling Soft Service(ices) focusing on why AV has had a hard time turning the corner to managed services, software, video over IP and AV as a Service (AVaaS). I wrote about the first two hurdles in separate posts dealing with […]

Selling Soft Serv(ices) — Hurdle Three: Liabilities

SDVoE Academy Online Learning Platform Launch

The SDVoE Alliance today announced its new SDVoE Academy learning platform, offering free self-paced online courses for AV professionals to help them develop the skills they need to take advantage of the latest technologies for AV signal management. Although the focus is on SDVoE technology, the only interoperable AV-over-IP standard capable of replacing the performance […]

SDVoE Academy Online Learning Platform Launch

(Video) Compression Is Good for You

By Tom Vanthuyne Business Development Video Products, Silex Insight Ever since ancient civilization, people have been compressing goods; think olive oil, wine, flour, tomato paste… it is simply the most efficient way to store and transport bulky stuff. You preserve the essentials and get rid of the redundancies. When it comes to video, it has […]

(Video) Compression Is Good for You

Hardware as a Service – AV Is About Services and Not Things

No industry is immune to change, and this is even more true for technology-based economies whose life cycles can be measured in time spans as short as three months. If you’ve worked in the audiovisual (AV) industry in the past decade, you’ve witnessed a hardware-centric community transform itself into one driven by software and innovation. […]

Hardware as a Service – AV Is About Services and Not Things

Bittree Intros Fiber-Optic Feed-Through Patch Panel Enclosure

Bittree today announced the launch of the DSFB124NL Series, its next-generation patch panel enclosures. The feed-through, slide-out enclosure solution is designed for customers managing interconnections and cross-connections within IT closets and data centers, as well as in TV and radio facilities, recording studios, sports and live event venues and various commercial AV architectures. The first […]

Bittree Intros Fiber-Optic Feed-Through Patch Panel Enclosure

On the Network

It’s the hot topic, the current buzzword, the latest and greatest and so forth and so on — it’s AV on/over the network. But stop and think — do you actually need one? Do you just crave one? Can you afford one??? There is certainly a lot of product out there in the sound reinforcement […]

On the Network

AVIXA Releases Recommended Practices for Security in Networked AV Systems

Audiovisual systems are becoming increasingly central to global operations as they offer expanded remote management capabilities. This upward trend of AV systems operating over enterprise networks can pose a serious risk for security breaches, therefore it’s critical for AV professionals to understand and mitigate these risks. AVIXA’s new Recommended Practices for Security in Networked AV […]

AVIXA Releases Recommended Practices for Security in Networked AV Systems

Aurora Multimedia Debuts ReAX as Non-Proprietary IP Control Based on AV/IT Standards

Aurora Multimedia just announced ReAX, what they are calling the industry’s first non-proprietary IP Control based on AV/IT industry standards. The name ReAX represents action/reaction which is the essence of control automation. Aurora says ReAX is is not limited to a single manufacturer but to all who qualify and they say it is not limited […]

Aurora Multimedia Debuts ReAX as Non-Proprietary IP Control Based on AV/IT Standards

The Hard Truth about Soft Serve (Ices)

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 […]

The Hard Truth about Soft Serve (Ices)

The Non-AV-AV Is Getting to Be Bigger than the AV Parts of AV

Since the introduction of the plethora of collaboration boards launched February at ISE, I’ve noticed a troubling and concerning trend: In some segments of AV, the non-AV’ers are doing more AV than the AV’ers are doing. What the heck do I mean? Well, let’s take the huddle space as an example. At first, the AV […]

The Non-AV-AV Is Getting to Be Bigger than the AV Parts of AV

A Great Time to Be: AV/IT

I enjoy meeting new people and am always interested and often fascinated by what they do for a living. There are a significant amount of people that work in an industry or job they do not like. In the AV/IT industry there is a long standing joke that once you are in you are in […]

A Great Time to Be: AV/IT

Extron Ships Industry’s First Control Processor With AV LAN Ports and PoE+ 

In a move to, no doubt, be watched by both Luxul and Pakedge, Extron’s new IPCP Pro 360 is a control processor with three dedicated AV LAN ports and one standard Ethernet port. The control processor provides PoE+ to external devices, eliminating the need for additional power supplies. It features security standards and Gigabit Ethernet ports, which ensure compatibility with multiple […]

Extron Ships Industry’s First Control Processor With AV LAN Ports and PoE+