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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“…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 […]

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, […]

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 — […]

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. […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]