A Cautionary Tale About Software

September 15, 2023

Over the past several years, software has become a significant source of revenue in the AV industry. The approach to providing software can vary widely amongst different vendors. Some “give” their software away since it only works with their equipment. Of course, we all know we are paying for that software when we buy the […]

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Hippotizer v4.8 launches with Show Manager, Preset Timeline and Integration enhancements

January 31, 2023

World – Green Hippo has unveiled a Hippotizer v4.8 software update for its range of Media Servers, packing in an exciting range of new and upgraded features designed to power-up real-time media manipulation, playback and mapping. A major enhancement is Show Manager, facilitating complete control of multiple productions and installations at once. It allows users to […]

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Adamson Announces 2 New Adamson Fletcher Machine Software Products

January 31, 2023

Adamson Systems Engineering is happy to present two new products to the Adamson Fletcher Machine toolbox The Virtual Adamson Fletcher Machine The Virtual Adamson Fletcher Machine (vAFM) connects with the Adamson Fletcher Machine (AFM) Remote software, giving users the Fletcher Machine experience without the requirement of a dedicated hardware engine (Stage or Traveler). Instead, the user employs […]

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Workflows — Fighting Yesterday’s War

January 10, 2022

In 2012 I did a job for the U.S. Navy. I was invited to a site walk to upgrade what they called their “Adaptive Planning rooms.” These were the rooms the Navy would use to model potential operations. One team would use the first room and assume the role of the protagonists (us) and the […]

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Tiner’s New Take on AVaaS

August 7, 2019

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 […]

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Software Is Eating AV

June 27, 2019

“…software is eating the world.” — Marc Andreessen 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, somewhere among the overhead projector and the fax machine. This hardware-centric industry we call home, this perpetual contest of who sells both […]

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TrueConf Releases an Open Source Application for Video Enabled Kiosks

November 29, 2018

TrueConf has released the TrueConf Kiosk source code. TrueConf hopes this will make video kiosk software more accessible by providing developers with an open source application for real-time customer service via video conferencing. Embedded video conferencing systems traditionally require recruiting skilled software engineers, commissioning a custom development or learning SDK. To make the process easier, […]

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New Bose Array Tool Software Makes Sound System Design Quick and Easy

November 2, 2018

Bose Professional today announced the release of the Bose Array Tool, a new software application to help make sound system design easier for AV professionals. Bose says the software features an intuitive workflow that requires minimal training. The Bose Array Tool brings variables — such as room size, budget constraints, loudspeaker model and placement — […]

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

September 17, 2018

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. […]

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Selling Soft Serve(ices)- Hurdle Two: Sales Compensation Plans

May 23, 2018

If you haven’t already been following the conversation about selling AV software and services, I encourage you to catch up on my last couple blogs where I lay out the three main issues that I believe are stalling the transition from hardware-based businesses, as well as some specifics on business models that may play a […]

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Selling Soft Serve(ices)- Hurdle One: Business Models

May 4, 2018

Earlier this week I posted The Hard Truth about Soft Serve(ices).  (Feel free to read that first if you missed it.) However, in summary, I asserted that the hurdles we face as an industry today regarding selling software, services, and IT-centric AV may be less technical and more business related. My thought is that revenue models, […]

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The Hard Truth about Soft Serve (Ices)

April 30, 2018

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 […]

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The Truth and Nothing But the Truth?

December 13, 2017

The title of this column is a phrase that is the basis of a legal oath that has been part of English Law since at least medieval times and has essentially become embedded in our shared societal structure. The beliefs that have come to encompass our laws and governance concepts remain at their core based […]

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Software Revolution

September 25, 2017

I’ve written time and again about the rise of software as opposed to dedicated hardware. About AV as a Service (AVaaS). About how all of those black and grey boxes we’ve come to know and love will soon disappear, to be replaced by services running on virtual machines. It isn’t just a rule about audiovisual, […]

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D-Tools System Integrator 2017 Now Available

April 12, 2017

D-Tools announced today the availability of its newest version of System Integrator (SI) software platform, SI 2017. Building on the architecture of the System Integrator platform, including a robust Cloud infrastructure, this major new release adds significant new capabilities and performance enhancements, in addition to system design and productivity improvements, that enable commercial and residential AV integrators to maximize the […]

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An Announcement from QSC, the Death of Hardware and Where We Go Next

January 24, 2017

I’ve been writing for some time about how the days for dedicated hardware in the commercial AV realm might be numbered. We will always, of course, need edge devices: loudspeakers and amplifiers, microphones and audio digitizers. Video encoders, video decoders. Displays. Between all of these devices, however, live the entire world of AV switching, control, […]

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Jetbuilt Announces Request for Proposals and Project Sharing

August 16, 2016

Jetbuilt is streamlining and enhancing the Request for Proposals and Project Sharing process with its newest online tool. The Jetbuilt RFP Project Sharing tool eliminates the need for antiquated spreadsheets while providing increased ease of collaboration with clients and vendors. Jetbuilt’s newly released functionality allows consultants, facility managers and technical directors to utilize the intuitive […]

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The Need to Develop an IT-Based Mindset to Sell Cloud and Software Solutions

August 10, 2016

I had an interesting conversation the other day with someone who has been talking about possibly bringing me on to do sales for his company. He has been talking for a while about a recurring revenue based solution sales position and then goes on to call it a “cloud salesman.” Then I think to myself […]

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Can There Finally Be a “New UCC Mindset?”

June 16, 2016

To refresh the memories, when entering the UCC Pavilion at InfoComm 2016 this is what you were witness to: Videoconferencing and telepresence systems Remote worker / teleworker technologies Cloud services Unified communications and collaboration technologies Networked interactive whiteboards Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers Videoconferencing as a service (VCaaS) providers Managed services providers Collaboration […]

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Leadership, Inspiration and Collaboration are the Keys at AVI-SPL Sales Acceleration Summit

April 14, 2016

In early January I wrote a blog A Direct Look at the AV Environment – The Focus Ahead which in one section talks about how the AV integrator is the heartbeat, the lifeblood of this industry and their models of advancement certainly serve as an example. AVI-SPL, based in Tampa, is that example of an […]

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Convergent TechWeek 9/25

September 25, 2015

IoT Continues to Open Pandora’s Box According to a PricewaterhouseCooper’s report (from October 2014), more than 20 percent of U.S. adults own at least one wearable, and soon we’ll be using them at home and work for a variety of purposes, with as many as 50 billion new connected devices by 2020. The Internet of Things has of […]

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Open and Closed — Brief Discussion of WolfVision and Kramer

September 21, 2015

Post-InfoComm, the good folks at WolfVision brought their new Cynap collaboration appliance to the office for a demo and a chat. Cynap is the latest entry into the increasingly crowded wireless collaboration space, competing with not only the WePresent and its OEM cousins (Barco Clickshare CSM, Crestron Air Media, Extron Sharepoint, etc.), but also with […]

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RTW Releases New Updates for Loudness and Mastering Tools

September 8, 2015

RTW is unveiling its new plug-in version 3.0 for its popular Masterclass plug-ins, Mastering Tools and Loudness Tools. This new update will be launched this week at the IBC show in Amsterdam. RTW’s Masterclass Plug-ins provides RTW meters as standard-format plug-ins for Windows and Mac OS. With this new update, the software now adheres to […]

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Making a Case for Software Based AV Management

May 6, 2015

By Eric J. Cantrell Medialon Audiovisual systems in classrooms, meeting rooms and huddle spaces have been steadily moving into the world of IT, replacing separate displays, playback, matrix switchers and DSPs with simple interactive whiteboards and soundbars, or even Microsoft’s new Surface Hub touch screen. The question of whether an AV control system is even […]

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L-Acoustics Makes Soundvision 3.0 Free

April 13, 2015

In 2004, L-Acoustics released Soundvision, the first 3D sound system design program capable of operating in real time. Today, the company announced the release of Soundvision 3.0, fully re-designed on a new architectural platform and up to 40 times faster when calculating the most complex files. The new release is fully compatible with the most […]

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Gefen Unveils Syner-G Suite

December 29, 2014

In a new foray into the software side of signal management, Gefen has launched its Syner-G software suite, a signal management solution that Gefen claims is “indicative of its belief that the future will be IP connected products.” The new Gefen Syner-G suite can discover, control, monitor, manage and upgrade Gefen products over a local […]

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The Archaeology of Software

November 20, 2014

I often take a look at where major grant funding is being spent as a way to keep tabs on major technology trends over the next five to 10 years. After all, when NSF or DARPA puts millions of dollars of taxpayers money to work, it’s a bit like watching the Vegas line for college […]

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D-Tools to Add Mobile Installation Management and Inventory Management Through QuickBooks

August 12, 2014

D-Tools today announced a major new release of its flagship software platform, System Integrator 2015. Being launched at CEDIA Expo 2014 and available in Q4, the new SI 2015 release adds valuable new productivity features and enhancements that enable commercial and residential AV integrators to both streamline business processes and increase profitability while simultaneously maximizing […]

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Software: The Next Opportunity for AV Resellers

July 16, 2014

Software always eats hardware. What do I mean by that? Just that expensive and proprietary hardware evolves into software running on commodity platforms. This phenomenon is now happening with increasing speed in AV — and it’s a great opportunity for AV resellers. It’s a chance to leverage software for ease of use, deeper integration of […]

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New InFocus Software Applications Are Designed to Simplify Collaboration from Tablets and PCs

July 11, 2014

InFocus Corporation has launched two new applications: BigNote 1.2 interactive whiteboard software for PC and BigConnect PC video calling software. InFocus designed the applications to improve how people communicate ideas and capture information wherever they are located. BigNote: BigNote 1.2 interactive whiteboard software, which runs on either a Windows 7 or 8 operating system, enables […]

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Free PreSonus SL Room Control is Designed for StudioLive AI-series Loudspeakers

May 20, 2014

PreSonus’ free SL Room Control is system-control and performance-monitoring software for StudioLive AI Active Integration loudspeakers. The software runs under Mac OS X 10.7 and later, Windows 7 or 8, and iOS 7 and will later run on Apple iPad 2 or later. Tightly integrated with StudioLive AI-series speakers, PreSonus says that its SL Room […]

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Extron Global Configurator Professional Software for Control Systems is Ready

May 5, 2014

Extron has launched its Global Configurator Professional software for control systems and applications that range in scope from single projector classrooms to large and elaborate control system designs. It features conditional logic, variables and macros. The Controller Groups feature expands AV system design potential for much larger systems requiring multipleIP Link Pro control processors. Global […]

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