June came to a scorching hot close with Pro AV personnel announcements and partnership news, and that momentum has carried over to July. We had a Broadcast AV acquisition, while Adder, Ampetronic | Listen Technologies, Epiphan Video, and FOR-A made strategic appointments and hires, while Visionary, Chryon, and Owl Labs offer new trainings and services.
[The SCN July Issue Is Here: Dive Into an AI Future]
In acquisition news, Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien Systeme GmbH. This transaction is expanding its service portfolio to include in-depth expertise in the areas of studio and production technology, media IT, control center and control room systems, and customized hardware and software development.
As an independent company and an established brand with offices in Mainz and Vienna, BFE will become part of the Broadcast Solutions Group. The existing shareholders, Martin Dempf and Sven Hesselbach, will continue to jointly manage the company as managing directors. Peter Dinkel and Doris Hartl will continue to lead BFE in Vienna as managing directors. Customers and partners will not experience any changes to their points of contact, ongoing projects or services.
Now, make that cup of coffee, sit back, and get caught up on the week that was in your Monday dose of Pro AV Newsmakers.
Neil Hillier Appointed CEO to Lead Next Chapter at Adder
Adder Technology has appointed Neil Hillier as chief executive officer as part of a planned leadership transition and strengthened executive structure designed to support Adder’s continued growth, innovation, and global expansion. Additionally, Adder appointed: Paul Allen to chief financial officer; Jamie Adkin to VP of global sales; and Duncan Miller to VP global marketing and customer experience to bring together marketing, customer experience, and professional services and support.
Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transitions to the role of founder and executive chair following 42 years leading the business, with Nigel Dickens moving to Emeritus CTO. Hillier’s appointment aligns with the long-term stewardship principles established through the company’s recently announced Employee Ownership Trust.
Since joining the company in 2016, Hillier has played a key role in helping drive more than 70% revenue growth, building on the company’s global market position and helping shape its long-term strategy. With over two decades in the KVM industry, Hillier brings broad leadership experience spanning engineering, technology, operations and commercial management.
Ampetronic | Listen Technologies Strengthens Executive Leadership Team
Listen Technologies and Ampetronic have promoted Kevin Jewkes to SVP of global revenue and named Alan Kennedy VP of operations. Jewkes is responsible for Ampetronic | Listen Technologies’ overall sales strategy, sales operations, team leadership, and global go-to-market execution across North America and international markets. He strengthens and grows channel and partnership programs and works with the chief marketing officer and also collaborates with product management to ensure customer and market insights inform product strategy.
Kennedy is responsible for the strategy, performance, and scalability of the organization’s operational engine. He ensures that supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, quality, facilities, and IT operate as a unified system to reliably deliver products, support growth, and meet customer commitments. His background and experience are well-suited to translating company and product strategy into operational architecture that will enable the organization to scale efficiently.
Daktronics Sarah Rose Inducted to IDEA Hall of Fame
Sarah Rose, VP of global services at Daktronics will be honored by the Information Display & Entertainment Association (IDEA) at the 2026 IDEA Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Rose, along with John Adams of The Score, are two long-time fixtures in the sports industry who will be inducted into the IDEA Hall of Fame at a formal ceremony on July 15 during the conference.
Rose leads Daktronics’ global technical and professional services teams. She ensures they are fully equipped to deliver an outstanding customer experience by fostering a learning approach, both internally and externally. Previously, she managed the service teams for large sports venues, rental and staging, and international markets.
She has been a regular IDEA Conference attendee and influencer for more than 25 years. She represented a Daktronics team that received a total of 14 Allied Achievement GMAs and the President’s award in 1999. Her passion and activism for IDEA are always on display, serving on various committees, including Women and Inclusion & Outreach, which introduces high school and college students to careers in the industry.
Epiphan Video Appoints George Birchall as Chief Executive Officer
Epiphan Video has appointed George Birchall as chief executive officer. Birchall, formerly chief commercial officer, succeeds founder Mike Sandler, who will transition into the role of president.
Birchall has played a central role in expanding Epiphan's global commercial operations, deepening partner engagement, and driving the adoption of Epiphan solutions across multiple markets. As CEO, he leads the company's day-to-day operations, strategic growth initiatives, and ongoing investments in innovation.
FOR-A America Expands U.S. Sales Team
FOR-A America has added two regional sales leaders. Both Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz come with a wealth of experience in SaaS platforms, AI-driven live production technology, and IP-based workflows. Cruz and Wray help advance customers’ vision and success with revived energy and excitement.
Wray’s sales and project management experience extends beyond media and entertainment to telecommunications, working with companies such as NEP, Ross Video, and Barco. Cruz led business development for the Corporate, Education, and Government segments of Sony Professional and Phantom/Vision Research, and most recently drove the global promotion and sales acceleration of SMPTE ST 2110 and IPMX solutions for Macnica Americas.
Company News
BirdDog's Entire Product Line Is Now NDI 6.3 Compatible
NDI announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its entire product lineup of cameras, encoders, and decoders. BirdDog hardware now natively supports NDI 6.3’s enhanced discoverability features. Those features include active Discovery Server registration through the new Sender Advertiser APIs, hostname-based device grouping, and real-time property broadcasting. This makes scalable IP video deployments far simpler, especially in segmented enterprise networks where that kind of simplicity has historically been difficult to achieve.
Before NDI 6.3, scaling across subnets was manual and complex. Discovery Server setup, IP tracking, and mDNS limitations made it difficult for sources and receivers to connect across VLANs. NDI 6.3 fixes that at the protocol level. Compatible BirdDog devices now auto-register with a central Discovery Server, route video via unicast, and send real-time status updates, significantly reducing deployment overhead.
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy:
The all-new Chyron Academy has officially launched, a ground-up redesign of the company’s product-training platform. Built on a fully custom, Chyron-branded learning experience, the new Academy replaces Chyron’s previous training system based on a third-party platform and launches with learning content covering the latest version of PRIME, Chyron’s flagship real-time broadcast graphics platform.
Chyron Academy is designed to serve two audiences at once: Customers and freelancers training on PRIME for the first time, and longtime Chyron users looking to become experts in the platform’s latest capabilities. Over the life of the previous legacy training program, more than 3,700 broadcast professionals registered to train on Chyron products, earning nearly 1,900 belt certifications across PRIME, PAINT, and Click Effects, including more than 60 Certified PRIME Black Belts worldwide. Chyron has transitioned that community to the new platform, migrating more than 950 current learners, along with the full certification history for every learner.
The redesigned Academy centers on a PRIME Belt certification path, taking learners through four levels—Yellow (Designer Basics), Green (Intermediate), Blue (Advanced), and Black (Expert)—with earned badges and completion dates appearing on each learner’s dashboard as a visual record of skill mastery. Every course module pairs a demo with a hands-on, full-screen simulation, so learners practice real PRIME workflows, such as building a lower-third graphic step by step, rather than passively watching video. An animated progress dial fills as learners complete demos, simulations, and quizzes, with a belt certification awarded automatically at 100% completion. Learners can enroll and move through the belt levels at their own pace. The program is suitable for individual learners, or supervisors or instructors can monitor the progress of their teams. The platform launches with five published PRIME courses spanning roughly 150 hands-on lessons, demos, simulations, and quizzes combined.
Owl Labs Launches Owl 360 Services
Owl Labs recently introduced Owl 360 Services, its first subscription service built to meet the needs of IT administrators. As organizations look to support hybrid work with deeper video enablement across more spaces, Owl 360 Services delivers three subscription tiers, offering dedicated support, centralized device management, proactive insights, and warranty coverage scaled to the size and complexity of the deployment.
The newly launched, highest-value Enterprise tier delivers a premium channel partner-only offering with advanced analytics, dedicated account management, and four-year warranty coverage, while the Enhanced tier will follow soon in Q3 with advanced analytics, dashboards, and API integrations. Every Owl Labs device is enrolled in the Core tier at no additional costs, giving all customers built-in analytics from the start. All three tiers provide unique insights, including talk-time insights, meeting duration tracking, visibility into the most frequently used devices and rooms, bulk deployment capabilities, reliable update management, and improved device tracking.
PlexusAV Appoints SINIUS PRO GmbH as New Distribution Partner
PlexusAV appointed SINIUS PRO GmbH as its distribution partner for Germany. The partnership will support PlexusAV’s continued growth in the German market, providing system integrators and AV professionals with access to its high-performance, open-architecture AV over IP solutions based on the IPMX standard.
The announcement follows a meeting at the EAV Group Solution Center in Heilbronn, Germany, bringing together the PlexusAV and SINIUS PRO teams. Through this partnership, SINIUS PRO will provide local market expertise, technical support and access to PlexusAV’s AV over IP solutions for system integrators and AV professionals across Germany.
Screen Innovations and Shade Innovations Unleash AI-Powered Support Agent
Screen Innovations (SI) and Shade Innovations have unveiled ATEN, an AI-powered support assistant built exclusively for its global network of dealers and installers. Named after the ancient Egyptian sun god whose light reached everyone, everywhere, ATEN was designed to provide instant access to SI expertise—anytime, from anywhere. Whether at a desk, on a jobsite, or atop a ladder on a late Sunday evening, dealers and installers can access accurate guidance and answers in seconds through text or voice.
Purpose-built for the custom integration industry, ATEN has been trained on SI's extensive library of product documentation, recorded support calls, installation guides, specifications, technical resources, and support knowledge. ATEN delivers immediate assistance across the company's entire portfolio, including motorized screens, window coverings, Black Diamond, SI Motor Technology, Zigbee and PoE protocols, the SI Ecosystem, drapery solutions, and more.
Visionary Level 1 Technical Training Approved for AVIXA CTS Renewal Units
Visionary Solutions' Level 1 Technical Training has been approved by AVIXA as a CTS Renewal Unit (RU) Provider course. The in-person training program is approved for 3.5 renewal units for CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I and Audiovisual Network Professional (ANP) certifications through May 31, 2028.
Visionary's Level 1 course provides an introduction to Visionary's AV over IP product portfolio and the foundational knowledge required to deploy audiovisual systems. Designed for system integrators, IT professionals, and technical support personnel new to Visionary products, the course covers network configuration, VLite installation and operation, encoder and decoder configuration, deployment best practices, third-party control integration, and system troubleshooting.
Participants gain an understanding of core AV over IP concepts, Visionary's product portfolio and system architecture, network considerations for reliable audiovisual distribution and best practices for system design and deployment. Course participants will learn how to deploy Visionary's solutions in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments and configure VLANs to separate video and audio traffic across different networks. The hands-on curriculum also covers endpoint configuration and management, troubleshooting techniques and operational workflows commonly encountered in professional AV environments.
