Every year the largest AV trade show in the United States provides more “things to see” and this year’s show in Las Vegas is no exception as it promises to be a great one – make sure you follow those well-known rules of attending the show in terms of comfortable shoes, clothing, hydration, scheduling booth visits and downloading the InfoComm mobile app.

First this about the 2016 show from InfoComm International:

This is the first InfoComm show to include more than 1000 exhibitors. 

Question: Why is it still important to attend InfoComm in North America when there are now tradeshows all over the world, including a biggie in Amsterdam?

About 700 of the companies exhibiting at infoComm 2016 don’t exhibit at ISE. Recognizing that fact, on average 16 to 20% of InfoComm attendees come to the show from outside the U.S.

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Education

From the very start of the show on June 4th education plays a major role at InfoComm as you can pick from an outstanding selection of seminars and workshops delivered by leading industry experts. This year for the first time InfoComm is offering a Seminar and Workshop package to be able to attend your choice of more than 80+ InfoComm University seminars and workshops on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Find that as well as the full selection of educational offerings here.

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Sessions and Events

When you talk about InfoComm, it’s not only about the three days of show floor exhibitors, it’s also about some of the great events and sessions that take place at the show.

Super Tuesday (all taking place Tuesday June 7th 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM):

• Future Trends: Simon Dudley explains how the cloud has changed the game for AV industry and what your business can do about it, Gary Kayye pulls back the curtain on 4K technologies, exposing myths and exploring possibilities, Pete Putman takes you for a peek over the bleeding edge of communications technology, and a panel of experts led by Bill Nattress will dive deep into the most-requested topics and field your questions.The entire Future Trends day will be presented in real 4K.
• IoT Insights: For many, IoT is an undeniable technology trend and this conference will put it in context for AV professionals, focusing on the potential opportunities in this new space. Subjects include Digitization and how IoT Changes Everything, IoT in the Real World, Security, Data Analytics, System Utilization and Novel Interfaces.
• The IMCCA Unified Communications and Collaboration Workshop: Unified communications & collaboration is considered the umbrella term for IP enabled enterprise communications. AV, IT, facilities and business groups continue to work together to achieve ubiquitous communication, on any device, and allow people to communicate and collaborate from any location. Participants will:
  • Learn the history of Unified Communications
  • Hear how organizations have deployed UC systems
  • Discuss the future of UC
  • Explore the exploding Huddle Room category
• Technology Management in Higher Education: Today’s students have grown up in an incredibly connected environment, and they expect collaborative, interactive technologies to support their learning. What’s more, they’ll use the technology you provide in completely unexpected ways – for better or worse. This session will explore the challenges of meeting the new student’s expectations at scale: not just in one or two interactive classrooms, but in all of them. Bill Nattress, Mark Valenti, Max Kopsho, Ann Hill Duin (of the University of Minnesota) and Michael Hites (of the University of Illinois) all bring the education here.
• Digital Signage Summit: Coming to the US for the first time, the Digital Signage Summit (DSS) launched 10 years ago in Munich. DSS’s case studies, cutting edge technology and best practices have made it a global industry-leading conference on retail digital signage.
• Project Management for Live Events: Topic 1: Staging & Live Events, Topic 2: Project Management

At the InfoComm Awards Ceremony you’ll see exceptional individuals in the industry receive these awards: The Adele DeBerri Pioneers of AV, The Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award, Educator of the Year, CTS of the Year, Women in AV, Young AV Professionals, and the Harald Thiel Volunteers of the Year

The Keynote presentation taking place afterward will be given by Stephen J. Dubner, award-winning author, journalist, and radio and TV personality best known as co-author of the books in the Freakonomics series.

The InfoComm Standards Department will hold its annual Standards Plenary Session, which will be a half-day, interactive educational session, where many of the industry’s leading subject matter experts will gather to give students an in-depth look at InfoComm’s standards. Tuesday, June 7, from 1-6 p.m.

CTS holders join your peers at an exclusive CTS Holder Lunch and Learn session where you’ll listen to a great speaker over lunch, network with your peers and earn 1 RU. Attendees will also receive a $50 gift certificate to the InfoComm Show Store after attending the event.

Tuesday June 7th, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. The Westgate Ballroom G.

Young AV Professionals Reception:

Are you young [under 36] or just want to network with young AV pros? Join us at #InfoComm16! pic.twitter.com/LKe2RaJUwK

— InfoComm 2016 (@InfoCommShow) May 27, 2016

Women of InfoComm Network Breakfast: 

Let's discuss challenges for women in AV. Join us for breakfast at #InfoComm16: https://t.co/Du7QgKwwOr #ICWomen pic.twitter.com/zFWDgRsHRB

— InfoComm 2016 (@InfoCommShow) May 28, 2016

The Keynote speaker for the WIN Breakfast Julie Silard Kantor is the founder of Twomentor, LLC. The presentation: Elevating Women and Millennials in the Workforce through Mentorship and Sponsorship.

Men are of course welcome too.

For a list of all sessions and events go here.

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Special Interest

No great trade show is without those special interests that can attract attendees looking for a targeted industry focus – or maybe a competition. These include:

• AV Arcade – Presented by InfoComm University, test your skills, senses, and knowledge, hands-on demos, contests, and mini-training events take place throughout the show.
• Audio Demo Rooms – Experience the equipment the way it’s made to be heard.
• Career Fair – Meet employers from leading AV industry companies looking for candidates. 
• Live Events Experience –  Located in the Lighting and Staging Pavilion, find innovative products, hear live performances on the specially-equipped Learning Stage, and participate in interactive activities for latest production techniques.

And of course, social media:

Follow InfoCommShow on Snapchat for behind-the-scenes views of #InfoComm16! #avtweeps https://t.co/EFHEPVzNt0 pic.twitter.com/QgDAI5u0Ki

— InfoComm 2016 (@InfoCommShow) June 2, 2016

On Twitter make sure you use the InfoComm hashtag #InfoComm16 and you can follow the show at @InfoCommShow.

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Technology Pavilions

Of course when you head out to the show floor you’ll want to know all about the technology pavilions where you’ll see the latest and greatest in targeted solutions:

• Audio – Proudly stated by InfoComm International, InfoComm is North America’s largest pro-audio show with over 250 leading exhibitors of all facets of audio technology solutions for both live events and fixed installations.
• Digital Signage – A continuously booming field in the audio visual market, the Digital Signage Pavilion features the largest collection of digital signage solution exhibitors in North America with top brands for LED display, content serving and distribution solutions.
• Unmanned Systems and Drones – The second year for this pavilion, drones are well-known in terms of consumer usage however they are also used in a wide variety of commercial applications, find out how your business can leverage drones technology.
• Innovations Showcase – In this pavilion (in its second year) you’ll find cutting-edge solutions from 20 brand-new companies.
• Internet of Things – One of the biggest industry discussions over the last year, you’ll see how IoT is becoming pervasive throughout the pro-AV landscape as well as how web-enabled technology is shaping how space is being designed and content is being communicated.
• Lighting and Staging – Find everything you need here for events, sports arenas, or concerts.
• Security Solutions – Solutions we just can’t live without, security has become a major concern for both private homeowners and businesses. Find the latest technologies here to help prevent theft, vandalism and loss, or to alert the appropriate authorities about crime or a crisis.
• Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC) – You’ll see all of the latest solutions here in videoconferencing and telepresence systems, remote worker / teleworker technologies, cloud services, Unified communications as a service (UCaaS), Videoconferencing as a service (VCaaS) providers, managed services and more. The IMCCA offers UCC training, starting with the full-day IMCCA Super Tuesday program, two Lunch & Learn sessions, Manufacturers’ Training sessions, and seminars.

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More from rAVe [Pulications]

Keep up with latest news, videos, blogs and podcasts (Rants and rAVes, AV Power Up with The Crew, The Floating Point with Hope Roth, Tech Chaos with Christa Bender and more) from the show on rAVe Pubs. A special podcast “The Trade Show Minute” will be going on throughout the show at the rAVe podcast station (at the Kramer Electronics booth C6825) – short podcasts with numerous guests.  Here is Episode 1: Getting Ready For InfoComm16 with rAVe’s Johnny Mota and Victoria Barela talking about this podcast show and more (of course there’s humor, it’s Johnny Mota…).

For even more information provided by InfoComm International’s Jason McGraw and Brad Grimes, as well as Penny Sitler, Chair of the Women of InfoComm Network check out AV Power Up Episode 57: A Show About The Show – #InfoComm16.

 

Look out for Part 2: Some of the (Many) Exhibitors