First, I must say, from my perspective, InfoComm 2026 was outstanding. The official numbers reported by AVIXA show that attendance was down seven percent from the IC show in Las Vegas in 2024, but you wouldn’t know it from the crowded booths. And when I talked to manufacturers, the overwhelming consensus was that while booth traffic might have been slightly off, there were more focused attendees and fewer tire-kickers. I was pleased to see that the percentage of end-users attending was higher than in previous years.
This was the first InfoComm held in the recently renovated Las Vegas Convention Center. Thank you, thank you, thank you to LVCC for the beautiful new space and air-conditioned hallways, and to AVIXA for creating a great experience. The main lobby was inviting, energizing, and engaging. Not having to walk twenty minutes between halls meant I could see more booths, and I actually had more energy. Rather than being totally wiped on Friday, I had a spring in my step (but that could have been my stormtrooper suit).
AI is No Longer a Buzzword (or two)
I don’t need to tell you that AI is advancing at warp speed. But let’s take it down a notch and relate it to our industry and the positive impact it can have in many areas.
If embraced with intent and the proper context provided, the use of AI assistants, facilitators, or agents in meeting, collaboration, and education spaces can increase productivity.
And, for the moment, let’s forget about hybrid versus all-in at the office, because AI-enabled collaboration spaces apply to all scenarios.
First things first. I think we can all agree that high-quality audio is foundational to the success of AI-enabled collaboration spaces. AI is about receiving clean data to deliver actionable data. Good enough audio is NOT good enough. Josh Blalock, director, Alliances & Engagement at Shure, said, "In the era of AI and particularly as we shift deeper into the agentic side of things, having crystal clear audio being passed from the spoken word into the platform that is processing that transcript and who said what and all that on the back end is 100% in focus and important right now." For anyone thinking that 95% is a pretty good average for accuracy, Blalock countered, "That's 5% that you're missing, and that 5% can change the entire context of what was just said. It could be leaving out who owns a task. If we're not clearly identifying every single person that said something, then the data is not as useful."
If you’re ready to embrace it, AI can be enormously helpful with programming, deployment, troubleshooting, upgrading, and monitoring of systems and devices. And that doesn’t mean eliminating jobs. It’s about making your job more efficient.
Kendra Philips, senior vice president of Sales at Legrand | AV, said, “Our new Unified Cloud Platform brings AI-driven remote monitoring and management to the AV stack, giving integrators visibility, predictive insight, and recurring managed service revenue opportunities that didn’t exist before.”
I stopped by the DVIGear booth to learn more about DisplayNet Connect for AI Agents for AV over IP signal distribution platforms. “We are taking the parts of an AV over IP project that have traditionally required deep API expertise—writing integrations, building control UIs, and debugging issues in the field—and making them accessible through the same AI tools our customers already use every day,” said Steven Barlow, president of DVIGear.
ENCO demonstrated enSpeak as part of a complete multilingual communication workflow that combines live captioning, real-time text translation, and AI-powered voice synthesis into a seamless end-to-end solution.
At InfoComm, the AI-enabled and AI enabler solutions were endless.
Remember, it’s about the data.
Eyes and Ears, Everywhere
The immense number of “videobars” shown at InfoComm this year was, let’s say, noticeable. Actually, it seemed like they multiplied like rabbits. That said, with AI being deployed fast and furious in collaboration and education spaces, the more the merrier. And they’re not all created equal.
Huddly’s C1 Crew is Microsoft Teams certified and comes as a complete kit: one C1 videobar, two Crew Add-On Cameras, cabling, mounting hardware, an Ethernet switch, and runs Edge AI onboard, working as one system. Barco announced the solution with its new wireless room system bundle developed in partnership with Huddly and Certified for Microsoft Teams. The solution combines ClickShare Hub Pro with the Huddly C1 video bar, bringing effortless wireless conferencing and presentation to small to medium-sized rooms.
And, as mentioned, I firmly believe audio is the most important element in a collaboration. At InfoComm, many audio companies upped the ante with new solutions and revisions to already great products.
David Missall, insights manager, consultant, and technical application engineer manager at Sennheiser, said, “Our philosophy is simple: Build flexible, scalable tools grounded in real customer needs and empower users to connect and collaborate through exceptional sound.” This vision included the TeamConnect Ceiling M Plus (TCC M Plus), a new ceiling microphone that combines premium audio performance with a new generation of features designed to reduce deployment effort, simplify system configuration, and scale easily. A new capability included with TCC M Plus is PartnerLink, Sennheiser’s integration feature designed to simplify how microphones are configured within leading AV platforms.
All for One, and All-In-Ones for Everybody
The term “all-in-one” is used freely to describe a combination of technologies engineered into one form factor for ease-of-use for integrators, AV/IT managers and end-users. From display manufacturers to collaboration device and solution companies, there was no shortage of unified solutions.
Display manufacturers often put the “All-in-One” moniker in the product name.
Sony showed its new entry into the category, the Crystal LED UNIFY All-in-One display. "Expanding our portfolio to include a 135-inch All-in-One model helps us meet customer demand, makes our solutions easier to spec and deploy, and serves as the perfect complement and extension to enhance our existing lineup while adding compatibility and consistency across our integrated pro AV family of solutions," said Rich Ventura, vice president, Professional Display Solutions, Sony Electronics.
“From all-in-one dvLED systems to foldable LED displays, we’re rethinking how large-scale displays are installed and maintained, reducing time, effort, and uncertainty for AV and IT managers alike,” said Shane Roma, technical product manager of dvLED and Commercial Displays at ViewSonic.
The Q-SYS RoomSuite Collaboration Bar is a Windows-based device, certified for Microsoft Teams. The solution features four high-resolution 50 MP cameras and a 16-element microphone array and is bundled with an 11-inch touchscreen controller. While it offers standard collaboration features, its true value lies in its integration with the wider Q-SYS Platform via Q-SYS Reflect. "It’s so much more than bar," said Sanjay Kulkarni, VP of Product for QSC. "It’s a context-generating endpoint that feeds into the cognitive cloud layer of our platform, capable of generating insights and actions across the enterprise."
The Ecosystem
Discussing an “ecosystem” has been a growing trend, but I noticed a more expanded role. Why not have your ecosystem talk to my ecosystem and be part of a larger, transparent ecosystem, and so on?
“Xyte is focusing on unified cloud management, automation, and AI-assisted operations,” said Omer Brookstein, chief executive officer and co-founder of Xyte. At InfoComm, the company demonstrated how AV/IT teams can centralize device data, automate routine actions, schedule operational workflows, and use the Xyte CLI to create a consistent, auditable language for people, scripts, and AI agents. “Our philosophy is that AI in AV should not be a demo trick; it should help teams reduce downtime, control cost, improve room readiness, and make every action traceable. The next phase of AV/IT management is not just smarter dashboards; it is governed execution across the full device fleet—from the cloud to the room.”
MDEP
Barco, Crestron, Jabra, Optoma, and QSC were among the many manufacturers that announced products and solutions that included or were built on the MDEP Android-based platform.
The Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) is the Android-based platform from Microsoft that enables device manufacturers and software developers to deliver innovative solutions, backed by Microsoft's reputation for security, trust, and management. Built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), the platform is designed to be extended and customized for both hardware and software solutions.
Mark Yang, group CEO at Optoma Corporation, said, "We are thrilled to become part of the MDEP community, which is an important endorsement for Optoma. As part of MDEP, Optoma will focus on developing and evolving a portfolio of enterprise-grade visual solutions designed for shared workspaces, collaboration environments, and digital signage applications—prioritizing interoperability, security, manageability, and scalability."
More Trends
My counterpart in crime, Mark J. Pescatore, SCN’s content director, covered more trends from InfoComm 2026 that you should check out.
