One of the biggest box office hits of 2019 was Avengers: Endgame. The film’s world premiere, held on April 22 in a purpose-built 2,000-seat theater with 70-foot screen in the Los Angeles Convention Center, was an all-QSC event. The film’s Dolby Atmos sound was handled by a comprehensive package of QSC loudspeakers, amplifiers, and signal processing featuring Q-SYS. 

Attending the event inspired Joe Pham, Ph.D., president and CEO of QSC, to think deeper about being what he calls an “AVenger.”

Comparing our industry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pham said, “Similar to the Avengers, AV has been on a journey to find these Infinity Stones. Maybe we haven’t harnessed them to their full power, but we have found them.

“Unlike the Avengers, we’re not here to bring these Infinity Stones together to rule the universe or save the universe, but we can use them to deliver an exceptional AV experience,” he added. “Because as AV professionals, we are passionate about what we do. We know the magic that AV can bring.”

For Pham, these are the six Infinity Stones of AV.

Stone 1: Talent

The entire pro AV industry was created by talent, Pham said. “People needed to be heard [and] we figured it out. Then, eventually, sound and sight just needed to happen. Innovators and pioneers created an industry and created a trade.”

While innovators and pioneers may have launched the industry, a different kind of talent is required to advance it, and perhaps even to reinvent it. “I think we have to reinvent what it means to be an AV professional, and I think we have to reinvent what it is our industry represents.”

[50 Years of Embracing Change at QSC]

Pham outlined the ways QSC has reinvented itself throughout the years, but emphasized that the company can’t do it alone. Every role in the industry talent pool matters in the process of industry transformation.

“There is no way one company can deliver an exceptional experience [on its own], and we get that from the Avengers 2. It’s not about one superhero. We actually need a set of AVengers to make it happen.”

Stone 2: Software

According to Pham, the AV industry has centered itself around hardware for the last 100 years. But today the industry is missing out on an opportunity because bringing together software and hardware is “where the magic happens.”

Pham referenced a 2011 Wall Street Journal article, “Why Software Is Eating the World” by web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen, that said that companies in every single industry need to assume that a software revolution is coming. When the article was published eight years ago, Andreessen’s warning was met with measured curiosity. Today, Pham said, we could look at Andreessen as a prophet.

Pham argued, “If we examine our industry, we’re getting there, but we still haven’t fully grasped the concept.” It’ll take an AVenger to help us.

Stone 3: Ecosystem

Stone three is the AV ecosystem. “A product, in isolation, is dead; it has no heartbeat. A platform is a collection of products that are integrated together in an intelligent way. Coupled with software, we can create a living platform that grows with [the client] over the lifetime of the product.”

The ecosystem, according to Pham, happens when platforms connect with one another. “We are used to this in our everyday lives—our smartphone connects to our thermostat and our email, and we can order a car service with just a few clicks. While our personal lives are entrenched in the ecosystem, we, as an industry, aren’t quite there yet.”

What AV professionals cannot do, Pham said, is “continue to think that you add value by putting a bunch of products together. That economic value is diminishing very quickly.”

Pham believes the AV industry will transition to the ecosystem mindset, but, he asked, “What will be your role in having AV get there?”

Stone 4: Data

Whatever you call it—big data, deep learning, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, mass personalization—it’s impacting the pro AV industry in a big way. Pham claims that more data has been generated in the last 18 months than in the entire human history.

[Big Data: Analytics Shape the Business of AV Integration]

Pham pointed to Google’s acquisition of Nest as an example. “Who thinks Google is paying $3.2 billion for a hardware thermostat company?” Pham asked. “They are using that data to enrich their understanding of household behavior. They connect that data through their analytics engine. Now they understand behavior of human beings in homes. That is powerful!”

Pham added that pro AV has recently gained the ability to truly tap into data management. “When you have access to data, if you put a little thinking behind it, you can turn data into information. If you put a little bit more analytics and thinking behind information, you can turn information into knowledge. And that knowledge can be turned into actionable insights and value.”

Finally, he added, “if you can deliver actionable insights and value to someone, they’re going to pay for it.”

Stone 5: The New Economics of AV

The economic value of the industry is shifting toward the customer lifetime value, Pham said. The relationship begins with a one-time purchase; extending that experience into a lifetime relationship is where integrators will be able to grow their business and find success in the next phase of our industry.

Pham advised AV professionals to win in the new world of AV by becoming “first movers or fast followers” and to be ecosystem players.

Stone 6: TBD

The sixth Infinity Stone of AV lies in the mysterious future of professional AV. “I think as we move on and get more clarity on data and the new economics of AV, that sixth stone will begin to reveal itself.”

In summary, Pham said, “Become an AVenger. We can do this together. The Avengers is a team. We need to get a team of consultants, technology managers, technology integrators, and end users, and we need to deliver the exceptional experience.”

I spent the last five years working for manufacturers, which meant I had very little time to walk the InfoComm show floor. This year, however, I am on the integration side of the industry with Tangram Interiors, and InfoComm was a purely optional event for me. For the first time in a long time, I had complete freedom to prioritize my time at the show.

Just going to walk the floor and peruse new products would most likely be a colossal waste of time for me. I take my profession seriously, and, as such, I keep up with innovations and new product releases as a matter of course.  As one of my industry veteran friends once said, “If you rely on trade shows and industry publications for your product news and information, you’re most likely behind.”

So, if I don’t go to InfoComm specifically to learn about new products, why do I go? The answer is simple. I go to InfoComm to make new connections.

[Read the InfoComm 2019 Show Daily]

Those connections can be personal, like meeting new people and reconnecting with industry peers, or they can be conceptual, establishing connections between the buzz on the show floor and potential new verticals in our business. They could also include connecting the dots between a panel discussion or educational track to new business methodologies to drive the next round or growth and prosperity after the show.

This year, I took a three-pronged approach to making those connections.  I attended networking events, I taught a course for AVIXA, and I chose to meet with a few key manufacturers—not to discuss products, but to discuss strategies to grow our businesses together.

[The InfoComm 2019 Download]

I was only in Orlando a few days, so I really had to load up my calendar to accomplish my goals. From a networking perspective, I attended the Starin Marketing VIP event, AV Karaoke, the AV Tweetup, and the #AVintheAM breakfast. All of these included influencers and thought leaders from every walk of AV life, including manufacturers, integrators, and technology managers from corporate and educational backgrounds. These events not only allowed me to forge new alliances and reconnect with allies, but also to share best practices and have big picture conversations about the future of the industry. All of these things are essential to me as an integrator trying to guide our company into tomorrow while maintaining a value proposition that is valuable for our customers and profitable for our business.

On Wednesday, I gave a talk on Using AV to Trigger Biological Responses.  They say if you ever want to truly understand something better or organize your thoughts, teach it to someone else. Not only did teaching a course rekindle my passion for why we utilize AV in the first place, it also provided me connections to several people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

The majority of my audience were end users, and many came up to me afterward to have larger conversations about how we may be able to collaborate in the future.  Speaking at InfoComm positions you as a thought leader to the people who may be able to utilize your services in the future, so if you ever have a chance to teach a conceptual class on AV, I’d highly recommend that you do it.

My course also had a “Now What?” workshop later in the day, that encouraged attendees to return and talk specifically about a project where they feel they need assistance. That turned into an intimate fireside style chat with about a dozen people.  As you may imagine, with a group that small, we had amazing conversations and formed much deeper connections.

Finally, I handpicked a few manufactures to see and discuss partnerships, not based on product sales goals, but based on specific market opportunities that I feel our company is well-positioned to capitalize on. I can see my local sales rep anytime, and I’ve already seen most of the products up close and in person. With 950 exhibitors on the floor, there was no way for me to see them all, nor was there a reason to see them all. I had already started a Q3 and Q4 business plan for our company, so I utilized the show to find products and have conversations around how we bring that plan into reality.

I visited a few current key partners, explored a couple of other companies that align with our goals, but we haven’t worked with historically, and attended a mastermind dinner of sorts to have a detailed discussion on a gap in the market that is not being filled, as well as what would be required to fill it.

[#InfoComm19 Reflections]

So as you can see, from my perspective as an integrator, InfoComm the show is not really about products at all. It is about people, business models, and education and information critical to building our future businesses. The world we live in is highly competitive and commoditized, so a product centric show just isn’t as valuable as it used to be.

This is why I have been an advocate of the experience movement that AVIXA has been promoting around the show. It attracts more of the people I need to connect with, end users. It provides a platform to connect with each other around the problems our businesses face and develop strategies and solutions together to be successful in the future. Products are merely the vehicle that get us to that destination, but using the show to create valuable connections and alliances provide the roadmap to actually get there.

So why did I attend InfoComm19?  The truth is, based on the value I get, I can’t afford not to. See you all in 2020!

The What: SiliconCore Technology will unveil its EZ-HD series of easy-to-install direct view LED displays featuring its LISA technology at InfoComm 2019 in Orlando, United States.

The What Else: Preconfigured and engineered to be installed by two technicians in three hours, the EZ-HD series is comprised of three display with sizes of 110in., 130in. and 165in. diagonal, and features SiliconCore’s LISA technology, a proprietary surface protection layer that guard the LEDs from contact (or impact) damage, without compromising the brightness or image fidelity.

Showcasing the EZ-HD110 at InfoComm, the display can be powered by a single cable connected to a 110 volt 20 amp supply, with HDMI/DVI connectivity.

The Bottom Line: LISA can also be applied to any of SiliconCore’s sub 2mm pixel pitch products and visitors to InfoComm will also witness this technology in a 220in.  4K 1.2mm pixel pitch display on SiliconCore’s booth 1624. In addition, SiliconCore will also be supporting InfoComm with a Peony 2.6mm display at the entrance of the show and at the Center Stage with a Magnolia 1.5mm, as well as partner booths rp Visual Solutions (booth 3413) and Colorlight (booth 1880)

Synnex says it is sending a record number of team members from the U.S. and Canada to InfoComm 2019 who are ready to share information about the company’s differentiated service offerings specific to collaborative communications and digital signage.

“We’re excited about the booth experience we’ve created for InfoComm 2019," said Sandi Stambaugh, VP, VisualSolv, Synnex Corp. We’ll be showcasing new and unique solutions within the collaborative communications and digital signage space while highlighting the differentiated value that Synnex brings to the table."  

"Through the integration of technology into our booth, we will show real-world applications that can be advanced by customers utilizing SYNNEX comprehensive portfolio of services, including financial services like aaS," she added.  "Our goal for Infocomm 2019 is to show customers how they can rely on Synnex for end-to-end services that make complex projects simple and meet the demands of today’s end users.”

Synnex's booth is "designed to be a functional escape with a focus on hospitality," according to Stambaugh. During the show, Synnex will host several events in Booth 1351, including a networking breakfast on Wed., June 12 from 9 - 11 a.m. and a happy hour on Thurs., June 13 from 3 - 5 p.m.

For more information on Synnex VisualSolv or to find out how to win travel vouchers and gift cards from the company, visit Booth 1341.

The What: Vaddio has equipped its RoboSHOT 30E PTZ Camera with Newtek NDI, a technology that allows video systems to automatically detect and communicate with one another over IP, enabling video workflows across Ethernet networks.

The What Else: The RoboSHOT 30E NDI Camera is a recognizable video source by other NDI-enabled applications and devices connected to a standard local area network. In addition, the camera’s pan/tilt/zoom controls and tally can be accessed through NDI, creating a complete IP workflow for operator control.

“By creating an NDI-capable camera based on our RoboSHOT Elite cameras, our customers will have the ability to create complete IP workflows for classrooms, houses of worship, medical simulation labs, and other applications requiring capture and presentation of high quality video content,” said Darrin Thurston, vice president of product development at Vaddio. “NewTek’s NDI technology complements Vaddio’s product philosophy of being simple to install and operate for our customers.”

“Software-driven IP workflows are quickly becoming ubiquitous in video production,” said Michael Kornet, executive vice president and general manager of NDI for NewTek. “NDI-enabled RoboSHOT Elite cameras exponentially increase the video sources available for live production, creating efficiencies and opportunities for customers that did not previously exist. NDI is the dominant IP technology on the market, as shown by the millions of customers with access to it today.”

The Bottom Line: RoboSHOT Elite cameras are equipped with enhanced wide dynamic range, which can help correct for environments with uneven lighting by making darker or over-bright areas in video more visible and detailed.

Vaddio will introduce the RoboSHOT 30E NDI during InfoComm 2019 in Booth 2500.

InfoComm is giving our readers a free Exhibit Hall pass to the show! Use VIP Code "FUTURE"  to redeem your free pass. Click here to register.

The What:  Matrox Graphics is launching Aggregator Mode, a multi-system control feature available with Matrox Extio 3 IP KVM extenders. Taking Extio 3 IP extension and switching capabilities to a new level, this new mode of operation permits an Extio 3 receiver unit to aggregate multiple video streams coming from different Extio 3 transmitter units. Multiple computer desktops can then be viewed and controlled simultaneously from an Extio 3 receiver unit—with a single keyboard and mouse.

The What Else: Aggregator Mode streamlines user operations by providing a unified view of information coming from different computer systems. Users have the flexibility to define which computer desktop gets mapped to which screen attached to the Extio 3 receiver unit—they can select the video sources from the Extio on-screen-display (OSD), and then create and save layouts through its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface.

“Matrox Extio 3 continues to set the standard for IP KVM extension and switching,” said Caroline Injoyan, business development manager, Matrox Graphics. “In addition to providing industry-leading 4Kp60 and quad 1080p60 4:4:4 performance at unprecedentedly low bitrates, Aggregator Mode provides users with the most efficient workspace. This is essential in 24/7 environments for example, where operators can now pull and view critical information from multiple system data points to make timely, well-informed decisions. We encourage you to stop by at InfoComm 2019 to witness this first-hand.”

The Bottom Line: Aggregator Mode will be revealed for the first time at InfoComm 2019 in Booth 3055.

Aggregator Mode will be available as a free Extio 3 firmware and Matrox Extio Central Manager software upgrade in Q4 2019.

The What: EliteProAV's Saker Tab-Tension electric projector screen now features the CineGrey 5D ambient light rejecting (ALR) and ceiling light rejecting CLR - S Material.  This is a high (1.5) gain 3D-2D projection material tough enough to come in a retractable tab-tensioned format.  

The What Else: The Saker Tab-Tension CineGrey 5D projection screen merges the qualities of an ambient light rejecting (ALR) projector screen material with that of a manually retractable format.  “Ambient light rejecting materials allow larger-than-life projector screens to replace the smaller large flat-panel displays at a fraction of the cost,” said David Rodgers, marketing manager, EliteProAV. “Making a product that can reliably handle repetitive use for many years was a tough challenge for an ambient light rejecting (ALR) material. Now that we have it mastered, this product will answer a lot of demands that this industry has put on manufacturers to fulfill.”

The Bottom Line: The CineGrey 5D is a .35mm thick PVC material that is comprised of a silver-gray reflective textured surface with a tinted diffusion layer. It is available in a 16:9 aspect ratio with 100-, 120-, 135-, and 150-inch sizes available.  This also includes with extra drop borders for high ceiling installations.

It comes with EliteProAV’s five-year manufacturer’s warranty plus an ENR-G 5 percent discount for purchases through educational, non-profit, religious, and government/military organizations. It can be seen at InfoComm 2019 in Booth 4588.

At InfoComm 2018, AVIXA hosted EnventU for the second year in a row. Watch now to learn about the organization's joint efforts to cultivate the next generation of #AVTweeps.

Click here to read Day 3 of the InfoComm 2018 Show Daily.

Featured Articles

InfoComm 2018 Breaks More Records

The Integrated Experience: AVIXA’s Chairman Shares Insights on the Show and the Industry

AVIXA Women’s Council Taps Into Regional Power

C2 Takes Creativity Aloft

Diving Into Audio Demo Rooms, Part Two

Integrated Life at InfoComm: Bringing Commercial AV Home

Want more stories from InfoComm 2018?

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—VIP Edition

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 1

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 2

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 3

InfoComm 2018 Hub

Click here to read Day 2 of the InfoComm 2018 Show Daily.

Featured Articles

The Heart of Center Stage

Diving Into InfoComm’s Audio Demo Rooms, Part One

Talking Trends in the Park

Want more stories from InfoComm 2018?

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—VIP Edition

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 1

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 2

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 3

InfoComm 2018 Hub

Click here to read Day 1 of the InfoComm 2018 Show Daily.

Featured Articles

TIDE Encourages a Shift in Thinking

Kicking Off InfoComm 2018

Integrated Life Day Points to the Future of Residential and Commercial Convergence

Aurora Multimedia Intros ReAX

Three Hot Tips from Emerging Trends Day 2018

Want more stories from InfoComm 2018?

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—VIP Edition

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 1

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 2

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 3

InfoComm 2018 Hub

Click here to read the VIP edition of the InfoComm 2018 Show Daily.

Featured Articles

Emerging Trends Day 2018 Offers Full Day of Education

Want more stories from InfoComm 2018?

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—VIP Edition

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 1

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 2

InfoComm 2018 Show Daily—Day 3

InfoComm 2018 Hub

Audio-Technica, an innovator in transducer technology for over 50 years, announced that Pine City, New York-based firm Ark Productions & Marketing has been presented with A-T’s President’s Award, for their work representing Audio-Technica professional audio products during the 2017/2018 fiscal year.

Ark principal Tim Chamberlain accepted the award, which recognizes a leading manufacturer’s representative for outstanding commitment and dedication.

Phil Cajka, Audio-Technica U.S. president and CEO, presented the A-T President’s Award at a ceremony during the 2018 InfoComm Expo on June 5 in Las Vegas.

Cajka said, “We have a long association with Ark Productions & Marketing, and they have been awarded this honor for their outstanding results in marketing, customer service, and sales performance over the past year. We thank them for their hard work and dedication and look forward to their continued service for the A-T brand.”

LSI Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LYTS), which specializes visual image and engagement solutions, including lighting, graphics, and technology for national brands and retailers, announced that its digital signage business unit, SOAR, was awarded the Gold Partner of the Year Award by Samsung Electronics America during InfoComm in Las Vegas.

The Gold Partner of the Year award recognizes partners who experience the highest growth rates through:

• Consistent and successful display implementations
• Revenue attainment
• Commitment to customer success

Through SOAR’s Advanced Digital Signage Offering, LSI has created a customer-focused and full-service business model that enhances the consumer experience, while improving operational efficiencies and engagement for brands. This solution, combined with LSI’s extensive work in large, national lighting and graphics programs, as well as initiatives in retail analytics and connected lighting, positions LSI to deliver the total environment plus the intel and services to manage and drive engagement in that environment.

As a result of these achievements and other planned developments, LSI announced the promotion of David Moeglin to VP Digital Solutions. Moeglin will continue to lead the SOAR Digital Signage team and will collaborate with other LSI segments and business units who are aimed at helping retailers create more engaging and intelligent environments to attract and retain consumers.

“The potential of digital signage has never been greater,” said Moeglin. “We want to ensure the digital signage solutions we provide are engaging, user-friendly and focused on delivering ROO and ROI.”

“Congratulations to Dave Moeglin and the entire SOAR team,” said Jeff Croskey, president of LSI Graphic Solutions. “LSI’s investments in Digital and Engagement Technology continue to generate success and reflect an important and ongoing trend in retail today. We want to ensure that our customers are equipped to navigate the rapidly evolving retail environment and consumer expectations in order to generate revenue and create brand loyalty.”

InfoComm 2018 was a blast. It was my first time experiencing the show as a non-exhibitor. It was different, that’s for sure, but different in a good way. I wasn’t chained to a booth and I got to explore the show floor and attend classes. I saw innovation firsthand, met plenty of new #AVTweeps, and ran my first Show Daily. It was fabulous to say the least.

But, like most of you, I’m ready for a vacation. In my case, I’m not traveling; I’m taking a staycation. Shortly, I’ll be spending time with my family visiting various Chicago attractions like one of my all-time favorite places—Wrigley Field. Of course, that got me thinking about this year’s slogan for the Cubs: “Everybody In.” For those of you who don’t know, the Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon kicks off each season with a phrase for the team to rally around, the most notable of which has been “Try Not to Suck.”

“Everybody In,” according to Maddon, is a great slogan because “We are all trying to be this altruistic team person who puts the group ahead of the individual.” I can’t think of a better motto than that for the AV industry right now.

Our industry is expanding in ways we never imagined, and we’re all working together to create the next great AV experience. Manufacturers are creating relationships with likeminded firms to create an AV ecosystem; some of them, like Aurora Multimedia, are even creating open-source platforms and working with competitors for the betterment of the industry. Integrators are forming partnerships with furniture companies to create truly collaborative workspaces. Consultants are treating end users like cohorts instead of clients, and ensuring they’re up to speed with the latest advances in AV and that they understand what type of products they’ll need in their space.

With all these twists and turns, we’re hedging bets on where the industry is headed. Are we expanding to include content creators and experience designers? Are end users taking the jobs of integrators with DIY trends? Will we all be working for IT firms in five years? Anywhere we land, Everybody In.

Clear-Com announced its appointment as the exclusive U.S. distributor of BroaMan audio, video transport and routing solutions. Clear-Com demonstrated the latest BroaMan products, as well as Clear-Com’s leading communication solutions at InfoComm 2018 from June 6-8, 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV.

“Clear-Com and BroaMan have worked closely for a number of years to create easy integration and control between the two companies’ leading audio solutions,” said Simon Browne, vice president of product management, Clear-Com. “The BroaMan solutions are a natural fit within the Clear-Com portfolio, providing truly integrated transport and routing solutions for video, audio, intercom and data, and exceptional fiber distribution capabilities for the corporate AV rental, house of worship, and multi-use live event venue applications.”

Tine Helmle, MD, BroaMan, said, “Clear-Com is an excellent partner to be working with—extremely professional, knowledgeable and with great staff in the U.S. and across the world. In fact, they have already sold a good number of BroaMan devices for several years already.”

The compact Repeat8-NANO and Repeat48 series of media converters offer simple and cost-efficient point-to-point fiber transport. The Repeat8-NANO is a complete, plug-and-play 4K fiber transport in a single box. It is available in two stand-alone versions:

• Repeat8-NANO 4IN features four SDI inputs and four fiber SFP outputs (electrical to optical conversion).
• Repeat8-NANO 4OUT features four SDI outputs and four fiber SFP inputs (optical to electrical conversion).

The Repeat48 series has similar features to the Repeat8-NANO, but with either 12 or 24 channels. Repeat48 is available with or without a built-in WDM module, and there is also a custom version offering additional hardware features.

Route66 series is a multiple-purpose device that offers a small to mid-size, cost-efficient video matrix and is perfect for AV installations. It also provides ultra-fast video switching with no delay for 3G-SDI, and remote-controllable fiber patchbay for any protocol. The panels have a 40x40 optical MUX and router for up to 24 BNC-SDI 3G/HD/SD video ports, up to 20 duplex or 36 simplex protocol-independent LC fiber ports.

In addition, the Mux22 Series of application-engineered devices offer every signal needed in the professional environment in a small 1RU chassis. Mux22 combines 3G/HD/SD-SDI I/O with Optocore and SANE digital audio networks, creating a compact solution to transport video, along with audio and data, all in a single duplex fiber cable.

Sony is the name that everyone knows, but this company keeps surprising the industry with creative solutions that push the envelope. Mark Bonifacio, Senior Marketing Manager, explains how Sony's diverse portfolio of new technologies is united by one theme: "Creating Solutions Together.” From Sony’s interactive collaboration and active learning solution Vision Exchange to Sound VR technology called Sonic Surf VR, learn how Sony is delivering the next-level of immersive experiences.

Luxul, which specializes in IP networking solutions for AV integrators, announced that its 26-port/24 PoE+ AMS-2624P Gigabit managed switch was honored with an SCN InfoComm Installation Product Award in the "Most Innovative Signal Management Product" category at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas.

The AMS-2624P does well with expanding networks utilizing PoE-enabled devices, such as touchpanels, VoIP devices, IP cameras, and wireless access points. To simplify installations, PoE+ allows integrators to use standard Ethernet cables to deliver both power and high-speed data to 802.3/af/at-compliant devices, with a total power budget of 250 W for the AMS-2624P. For clean integration with AV rack systems, the switch features rear panel ports and front-facing, user-selectable blue or green LEDs.

[SCN Announces 2018 InfoComm Award Winners]

"For AV integrators, the AMS-2624P greatly simplifies PoE device installations while future-proofing their clients' rack-based networks with Gigabit speeds and providing advanced VLAN, QoS, and network security features," said Mike Grubb, vice president of marketing at Luxul. "We are honored and couldn't be more pleased to have these benefits recognized with such a distinguished award."

The 2018 SCN InfoComm Installation Product Awards showcased the most innovative commercial AV products of 2017. Finalists were selected by an independent judging panel of experienced integrators, with winners chosen by SCN readers via online voting.

In our previous blog we discussed DM NVX Director, a single management appliance that as part of the Crestron DigitalMedia platform and allows users to configure, monitor, and manage all DM NVXs on the network. The next critical piece of this ecosystem is XiO Cloud.

Crestron XiO Cloud was announced at last year’s InfoComm. Perhaps integrators weren’t ready to grasp its ultimate impact, or maybe it didn’t make a big splash because it wasn’t yet shipping. Whatever the reason, XiO Cloud flew below the radar. That is, until this April.

Sometimes you have to be in the midst of energy to feel the impact of a storm brewing. In April, I was invited to attend Crestron Masters, where more than 900 Crestron programmers and designers gathered for 41 unique in-depth training courses of new products and releases.

At Crestron Masters in April, the announcement that XiO Cloud was ready to rumble had many attendees looking for shelter. Will programming still exist? “Sure,” says Richard Sasson, Global Director of Technical Services. “But the bread and butter is going to be mass deployments, configurations, reporting, creating a service that customers want and real value that customers need—a real return on investment. This is about new tools and techniques for new types of spaces. That doesn’t mean the old is going away, it just means we are growing as an industry.”

XiO Cloud is a paradigm shift in the industry to allow AV deployment, management, and monitoring in the cloud. Fortunately, the pump has been primed for this transition as most enterprises have already been migrating to the cloud.

Then vs. Cloud

Previously, devices had to be programmed to communicate to Crestron servers via Fusion. “Often times that was not done consistently and was riddled with opportunity for error because you could only send information one way,” says Nic Milani, Director, Commercial Product Marketing at Crestron. At the end of the day it was heavy lifting to implement. “We’ve taken 15 years of learning and spent the last five years, and tens of millions of dollars developing XiO Cloud so that our devices will inherently report all information up to the Cloud.”

“XiO Cloud provides the ultimate level of management of our devices with no programing, and no touch,” says Milani. Once plugged into the network, devices inherently know how to talk to each other. “This has a huge impact on the ability to deploy solutions. Before you would have to go room-by-room and plug in the devices, configure them, test them and then you could get the room to work,” explains Milani. “Now you can load all of those configurations and settings via spreadsheet and the webpage, and when the device plugs into the network it pulls down its firmware, its configuration, and the program—and now it just works.”

If it is detected that a device doesn’t have the correct firmware, the device is able to pull down the correct version or send an alert requesting permission to update. “When you want to push a program to every DM NVX that you've installed—in a hundred or tens of thousands of rooms—XiO Cloud can push all of those configurations and settings down to each device,” says Milani. “We think you can reduce deployment time by up to 90 percent.”

It's not to say that the old way was wrong; it was very effective. The problem was it didn't scale well. Enterprise customers demand scale, especially as IT practices drive workplace technology deployment and usage behaviors.

Crestron has a built-in path to the Cloud for its customers. “Anybody that is on a 3-Series processor or newer can update the firmware and connect.” There is a fee for XiO Cloud. Companies that have migrated to the Cloud for other systems fully expect cloud services are not free.

Scalable and Flexible

Today, the ability to be agile is critical. “We're at the point where organizations need the flexibility to change every six, nine, or twelve months,” says Milani. XiO Cloud enables the deployment of virtually thousands of devices anywhere in the world and will report back and on whether it was successful.

Every device is constantly being monitored. “Every setting and variable that's being measured in every one of our boxes can be flagged if something goes wrong.

Microsoft’s Power BI analytics visualization tool works with XiO Cloud as data is collected from all the devices, from error reports to room usage. “Now we can see how people are using the technology, what technologies they're using, and where they're using it,” says Milani. XiO Cloud provides tools to dynamically change the system for the most effective use of equipment and spaces, which is critical given today’s high real estate costs.

Leveraging a Known Quantity

“We are talking about the ability to deploy tens of thousands of devices spread across many countries,” says Milani. “With continually changing data laws and security updates, you do not want to go out and build that on your own.” Crestron’s infrastructure is built on the same infrastructure as Microsoft’s.

We've got space in four Microsoft Azure data centers around the world,” says Milani. No matter where a company is located, it can be supported.

“We provide a one-skew solution that can handle all these different technologies, and you've got this beautiful ecosystem and the ability to have an adaptive system that really works in all kinds of different scenarios,” concludes Milani.

Thank you for following these six installments of the InfoComm Networked AV Series, where we explored this and much more:

Networked AV is More Than a Disruptor

Not All Digital AV Needs to be On the Network

4K Networked Video Image Quality, 1Gb and the Latency Discussion

When AV Actually Meets IT Needs

Directing Time and Money Savings on Day Two, Three…

To catch up from the beginning, visit the Resource Center.

RTI, a control and automation manufacturer for residential and commercial environments, announced that its XP-8v Advanced Control Processor was honored with a SCN InfoComm Installation Product Award in the category of "Most Innovative AV Automation/Show Control Product" at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas.

The third generation of RTI's XP-8 advanced control processor, the XP-8v combines the advanced control options of its predecessors with a new Cortex A8 CPU for increased processing power and expanded two-way driver support. Expanding the processor's capabilities even further, its RAM memory and internal non-volatile Flash memory have been upgraded to 1GB and 512MB, respectively. The addition of an HDMI output enables intuitive control via on-screen display, providing users with the convenience of a customizable interface on their TV.

[SCN Announces 2018 InfoComm Award Winners]

"We loaded the XP-8v with all the horsepower and features our dealers need to deliver reliable control and integration in large-scale homes and commercial installations," said Brett Stokke, director of marketing for RTI. "It's an honor to have our efforts recognized at InfoComm by SCN magazine and its readers with this prestigious award."

The SCN InfoComm Installation Product Awards showcased the most innovative commercial AV products of 2017. Finalists were selected by an independent judging panel of experienced integrators, with winners chosen by SCN readers via online voting.

Gefen’s product manager Jason Fitzgerald is proud of the company’s legacy as a problem-solver, and the new EXT-UHD600A-12-DS underscores that. He also takes on a tour of Gefen’s robust new AV over IP solutions.

Ford AV has been honored with a Samsung Smart Signage Award for LED Solution of the Year at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas, an annual event for the professional audiovisual and information communication industries.

Emerging Technology Solution of the Year recognizes a partner that successfully broke ground through leveraging the latest in Smart Signage technology in a way that promoted creativity and drove client revenue. This LED display is recessed in the wall of the main lobby and is 20 cabinets wide by 5 cabinets high with a total size of 31 feet 6 inches wide by 8 feet 10 inches high and total resolution of 3840 x 1080.

[InfoComm 2018 Breaks More Records]

“The Samsung Smart Signage Awards program celebrates the significant contributions our dealers make to the visual display industry,” said Greg Taylor, vice president, sales, Samsung Electronics America. “Winners were selected by identifying partners that have the highest growth rate, as well as select integrators who have creatively deployed Samsung Smart Signage solutions into several key industries. We’re excited to recognize these deserving companies.”

“We are very honored for the recognition by Samsung. This project was a team effort. We appreciate the support from Samsung and look forward to our continued partnership,” said David Allen, vice president at Ford AV.

FSR, a manufacturer of a variety of infrastructure products for the audio/video, information and communications technologies, education, corporate, hospitality, government, and religious markets, is proud to announce that its newly introduced DR (Doctor) EDID, a device that allows the quick manipulation of information for simplified integration, has been named a Best of Show winner for InfoComm 2018 from Sound & Video Contractor, a Future plc brand.

Introduced to the AV market at the show, the DR-EDID Emulator allows the installer to easily and quickly modify information with a rotary switch to select between 16 pre-installed settings or copy the EDID from any device. This will simplify troubleshooting the technical challenges that often arise when performing video system integration, or it can permanently set the EDID of the system when left in place. It is designed to manipulate the EDID information provided to a connected HDMI source, or any device connected prior to the unit in the HDMI chain. The unique self-powered bidirectional device can be inserted onto either end of any HDMI cable and contains critical information about the capabilities of the connected display, including audio and video format support, HDMI feature support, etc.

[InfoComm 2018 Breaks More Records]

“FSR is extremely proud that our DR-EDID has received such a prestigious award from one of the industry’s leading publications —Sound & Video Contractor. FSR always sets out to design a solution that will not only deliver outstanding performance but will also meet the needs of industry professionals. To be recognized by our community for these efforts while also receiving acknowledgement on our technology’s potential is truly a win for the whole company,” said Jan Sandri, FSR president.

"This was a rich field of submitted nominations, reflecting the breadth of engineering, R&D, and UX talent we have in this industry," said SVC editor Cynthia Wisehart. "Congratulations to the winning teams. I look forward to seeing their products at work across our markets."

[AV Technology Names Best of Show Winners at InfoComm 2018]

Best of Show winners were submitted for consideration by the product manufacturers and winners were selected by a panel of anonymous InfoComm members (CTS-certified) who served as on-site judges at InfoComm 2018. On Day 1 and Day 2, judges evaluated each entered product against multiple criteria including innovation; performance against category standard; richness/relevance of feature set; ease of installation/maintenance; network friendliness; and value/ROI. Products with the highest total points were designated as winners.

MSE Audio, parent company of SoundTube Entertainment, Soundsphere, dARTS, Phase Technology, Induction Dynamics, SolidDrive and Rockustics, announced the AVA Audio Video Associates as their commercial representative of the year.

At InfoComm 2018, MSE Audio recognized AVA Audio Video Associates for their leading sales, customer service and support in the commercial market through the year. AVA Audio Video Associates is an independent manufacturer’s representative agency for professional and commercial audio, lighting and video products for Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Southern Illinois. As a manufacturer representative, AVA Audio Video Associates directly reaches communications and lighting integrators, music and professional audio stores, and rental and production companies on behalf of MSE Audio.

“We are excited to recognize AVA Audio Video Association for their unparalleled level of sales, customer service and support throughout the last year,” said Laura Waldon, president for MSE Audio. “AVA Audio Video Associates covers key locations for MSE Audio and we appreciate their hard work and dedication to MSE Audio.”

“We are blessed to have the best sales manager an independent rep agency could ask for,” said Ben Shipman, president for AVA Audio Video Associates. “MSE Audio treats their reps like valued employees, which keeps us motivated to do as much as we can to sell their products. They are very supportive and easy to work with and that takes the pressure off the people in the field while allowing us to concentrate on selling. And, MSE Audio's robust availability has really helped us in the past year when other vendors are unable to deliver goods.”

AQAV announced its 2018 Quality Award winners during a celebration at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at InfoComm 2018.

"The individuals receiving the AQAV awards have truly demonstrated the continual need for striving to put quality first in multiple phases of the project process," said Brandon Gramse, vice president, engineering and operations, GenComm, whose company sponsored the event. "It's reassuring to see members of the AV Industry making such a concerted effort to provide a better, more consistent quality product to end users."

"AQAV is a largely volunteer-run organization. Everything that we have done since inception has been accomplished through a motivated network of passionate industry supporters who understand the mission and vision of AQAV and the critical nature of the AV9000 standard," added Gina Sansivero, director of business development, education at FSR, AQAV board member, and winner of the Quality Volunteer Award. "These awards honor and recognize those who have been most influential to our growth and continued presence within the AV industry."

The 2018 winners are:

Mark Peterson Technology Manager Award for AV Quality Excellence

Benjamin Loy, CQD, Program Manager, AV Deployments, Google

Quality Champion Award

Tom Iasiello, CQT, CTS, Director of Managed Services, Vistacom

Quality Volunteer Award

Gina Sansivero, Director of Business Development, Education, FSR

Certificate of Recognition

Gisela Torino, CQD, CQT, CTS-I, Lead AV Technician, AVR

Herman has selected FSR as The Herman Vendor of the Year; FSR was presented with the award at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas, NV. FSR was recognized for providing exceptional engagement across every facet of their partnership, and for the company's commitment to and support of Herman’s strategic initiatives.

“Our entire team votes on the manufacturer partner that went above and beyond in supporting our partnership and strategic initiatives,” said Jeffrey Wolf, executive vice president, Herman. "FSR provides us with outstanding support in every facet of our business and has been instrumental in enabling us to achieve our growth and strategic goals.”

Jan Sandri, president, FSR, added “To be named The Herman Vendor of the Year, by such a respected member of the AV community is indeed an honor. Herman has an impeccable reputation for service and quality and we are proud and delighted to work alongside them to provide the best experience possible for our end-users. But we are also doubly privileged to have received this distinction at InfoComm in the presence of our friends and colleagues, and those we consider our industry family. We look forward to many more successful years partnering with Herman.”

Allen & Heath hit the jackpot at InfoComm 2018. Its newly introduced SQ-7 digital mixer won a “Best of Show” award from Future’s Pro Audio Group, who noted its technical performance, value, versatility and reliability. Its special training session was a big hit with attendees. And, the Allen & Heath booth was busy from the show opening until the final closing hours.

Along with the SQ-7 debut, Allen & Heath introduced interactive video displays for its ME Personal Monitoring system, a focused installed-sound #WallOfInstall, and ‘real world’ application touch panels and controllers from Allen & Heath and 3rd-parties such as AMX, Attero Tech, Extron, and RDK. The company also highlighted its dLive Digital Mixing System version V1.7 firmware with Shure integration.

[AV Technology Names Best of Show Winners at InfoComm 2018]

In the Allen & Heath training session, “Designing Efficient, Cost-Effective Distributed Audio and Integrated Hardware Control,” Installation Product Manager Martijn Verkerk presented a range of topics from audio networking basics to more advanced system design strategies.

“Having the opportunity to share and discuss various approaches to distributed audio and interactive AV was wonderful,” said Verkerk. “As often happens, we learned as much from attendees as they learned from us when it comes to unique ways of designing and configuring highly flexible Allen & Heath installed solutions.”

“The Allen & Heath booth was hopping through the entire show, with queues forming around the SQ-7 and our other interactive displays,” said Jeff Hawley, marketing manager, Allen & Heath USA. “For SQ, fans spoke and we listened by bringing out this new mixer with more faders, more I/O, more custom control and a more impressive footprint. The ‘Best of Show’ designation is a true honor and we’re excited to see SQ continue to set the new standard in the compact digital console market.”

In our last blog we discussed the benefits of Crestron’s DM NVX, which runs on a standard 1-Gig Ethernet. Multiple HDMI outputs and native USB 2.0 routing are built into one box that supports stringent network security requirements.

To continue our conversation, we caught up with the Crestron team at InfoComm 2018, June 6 – 8 in Las Vegas.

Nic Milani, Director, Commercial Product Marketing at Crestron, recounted a conversation with a large automotive client. They stated, “Guys, one SKU—put one box on the shelf and that’s it.” Crestron’s traditional DigitalMedia infrastructure has more than 250 SKUs and proprietary cable that adds complexity. “In service to our customers and especially IT folks that understand scale, if you tell them you have one box that handles audio, video, control, and USB 2.0, it makes it much less expensive, while being easier to manage and maintain.” Crestron can now lead the capital expenditure discussion, similar in the way laptops and IT equipment are purchased. “The hardware is the day-one expense, now all of the sudden we start talking about day two, three, four, five, six,” adds Milani. “As an industry, I don’t think we do a good job about thinking of the soft cost.”

Day 2, 3, …

Imagine a scenario where a facility was built-out with an AV infrastructure reaching a hundred rooms, and the CEO decides the Town Hall meeting should be presented elsewhere, such as the lobby or outside. With a traditional system, it’s a no-go. Furthermore, even if you chose a networked AV system, if the supporting tools don’t exist, you’re in trouble. “You've taken what should be a flexible architecture, and because you don’t have the tools to manage those end points, it's fixed,” says Milani.

Enter the DM NVX Director, a single management appliance that as part of the Crestron platform allows users to configure, monitor, and manage all DM NVX’s on the network. “Director is the real-time management appliance for the NVX on the network and XiO Cloud,” says Alex Peras, Product Manager of DigitalMedia at Crestron. “All three of them offer significant savings in time, installation, programming, and ultimately cost.”

Think of DM NVX Director as a virtual matrix. “It allows you to provision all the devices on the network and allows you to group them into virtual matrixes,” says Peras. “You can separate transmitters and receivers, and from a single web-based interface you can see which inputs are connected, where the stream goes across the network, and which outputs those streams go to.” From the interface, support staff can see the resolution of each display. “If you’re managing a solution with hundreds of devices, you can see if the HDMI input or output is disconnected, or if the stream isn’t routed correctly.” Director provides the tools to manage routings directly from the page. “Anything can be done at the management level,” notes Peras.

Sea of Endpoints

An important feature of Director is its endpoint map. “It allows you to see all the groups of devices and their associated multicast addresses, if they are in transmit mode, and allows you to see the names and numbers associated with the device if they’re in receiver mode,” says Peras. “These numbers allow you to control the device from a Crestron 3-Series control system.”

While this endpoint map is traditionally static, Director allows endpoints to be dynamically changed. “Think about every input in a DM NVX as an input on this sea of endpoints,” says Milani. “Every output can subscribe to any one of those.” Say a company is doing a fundraiser and every display in the building needs to share the same digital signage feed. With a few clicks within Director, a user could broadcast their content to every device in the facility. “This gives you the ability to change things and make the system evolve and work for you,” says Milani.

In the end, it’s important that you think beyond the initial deployment and know how your evolving business needs will impact the infrastructure. Can your networked AV system adapt to your new reality?

Next week watch for the last of six installments of the InfoComm Networked AV Series, where we discuss Networked AV via The Cloud with the Crestron team.

Datapath introduced its new iolite 12i controller at InfoComm 2018—adding to its broad range of video wall management hardware with a controller designed for corporate and commercial applications.

The iolite 12i can drive up to 12 HDMI screens in its stock configuration at HD 1080p, giving the flexibility to offer a wide range of display options. Small but powerful, the iolite 12i is comfortable running 3x2 video walls for a boardroom, a welcome screen and TV wall for a reception, or 12 menu boards in a restaurant.

It runs unobtrusively, with its quiet operation and small footprint, making it ideal for the office environment. It also includes a rack mounting kit to enable the 2U chassis to fit in a server-based control room.

Datapath’s director of sales, Phil Davenport, said: “Digital signage is growing in every area, and there is still particularly strong demand for welcoming and message boards in office receptions and meeting rooms. Digital menu boards are also becoming more commonplace in fast food restaurants, public buildings and estate agents. The iolite 12i has been purposely designed for this demand and brings Datapath’s proven reliability and control to everything from boardrooms to pizzerias.”

Datapath’s iolite 12i is available now. Visit www.datapath.co.uk or contact your Datapath rep for more information.

For the first time, AVIXA made an effort to unite the worlds of residential and pro AV under the umbrella of InfoComm, with the Integrated Life Pavilion.

“We coined the phrase ‘integrated life,’ but it’s really talking about the convergence of technologies and market spaces,” said Jason McGraw, senior vice president of expositions at AVIXA. “The crossover between smart homes, smart buildings, how emerging technologies like voice, AI, collaboration tools, and IoT and those types of technologies are facilitating connections for users between their home, their office, their entertainment, and their transportation.”

With this emphasis has come a wave of new companies exhibiting at the show, including Vanco, Belkin, Google, Microsoft, Leon Speakers, and URC, which returned to InfoComm for the first time in a handful of years.

“A lot of our residential dealers are coming out here and getting a lot more involved in commercial,” said Lars Granoe, vice president of product development at URC. Granoe said he has also seen commercial integrators at the show who are interested in expanding into home technology. “What ends up happening is sometimes they’ll do these commercial jobs, and the CEO will say ‘I’m building a new house, can you do my house too?’ and they get brought into that. And what might make absolute sense to do for a large office building or complex doesn’t make sense to carry over into the residential side.”

The NSCA Education Foundation says the Drunk Unkles’ first 2018 fundraiser, held on June 6 at Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, generated $102,800 in industry support through a mix of personal donations, sponsorships, and a live auction. This the highest dollar amount raised in Drunk Unkles history.

Close to 1,200 fans gathered on the opening night of InfoComm to cheer on and thank the Drunk Unkles—who received NSCA’s Volunteer of the Year award this year—as they rocked to raise money for NSCA Education Foundation initiatives like IGNITE and PASS K-12.

“The cause was well received, as always, and greatly appreciated by the industry,” said Chuck Wilson, director of the NSCA Education Foundation. “The crowd was great, the Drunk Unkles were terrific, and it all made for an awesome night. We provided an experience for everyone who attended—and all the money we made goes directly back to our industry.”

The event was made possible by corporate supporters including Atlas IED, Audio Incorporated, Legrand, AVI SPL, Barco, Belden, Biamp, Bosch Communications Systems, BTX, Cleerline, Evoko, FSR, Harman, Liberty AV, Navigate Management Consulting, NEC Display Solutions, Solutions360, Stewart FilmScreen, SurgeX, Synnex Corporation, West Penn Wire, and Winsted Corporation.The all-star band features Felix Robinson, “Unkle” Steve Emspak and Marc Hochlerin of Shen Milsom & Wilke; Mike Phillips of Hudson Marketing; John Cardone of Cardone Solomon and Associates; and “Aunt” Lisa Wenger, formerly of Bosch and now with the Lisa Wenger Band.

ClearOne's new COLLABORATE Space video collaboration app and VIEW Lite AV over IP streaming solution both won an AV Technology Best of Show Awards at InfoComm 2018.

“We are honored that these two new solutions introduced at InfoComm 2018 stood out in this incredibly competitive space,” ClearOne president and CEO Zee Hakimoglu said today. “Through deep market engagement with a focus on innovation, we have been able to provide high value-added solutions that cost-effectively meet real-world needs and simplify the user experience.”

• ClearOne’s COLLABORATE Space is a new video collaboration app that connects hundreds of users joining from any device, anytime, and anywhere for messaging, calls, and meetings. Available on-cloud or on-premise, it includes a variety of collaboration tools such as screen sharing, file sharing, whiteboarding, co-annotation, meeting minutes, recording, and chat, which are all accessible anytime during a call or meeting.

The new and low-priced VIEW Lite AV over IP streaming solution has an Encoder EJ100, Decoder DJ100 ,and Controller CJ100 that together deliver full-screen, single-image video using JPEG2000 codec standard technology, with a low latency of around 1.5 frames end-to-end (glass to glass), with resolutions of 4K30 and 1080p60 with 4:4:4 color space support for high quality video for live streaming and distribution applications over a dedicated IP network.

The Best of Show list, from an exhibition of thousands of solutions showcased by more than 950 manufacturers, represents outstanding achievements in product development. Six AV professionals, including CTS-certified technology managers and AV/IT engineers, judged each product live on the show floor on days one and two of InfoComm. The products were evaluated against multiple criteria including innovation, performance against category standard, richness/relevance of feature set, ease of installation/maintenance, network friendliness, and value/ROI. Products with the highest total points were designated as winners.

InfoComm 2018 was held June 6-8, 2018 in Las Vegas, NV.

Innovation is the name of the game for visual solutions leader Canon. Greg Scalco, Senior Technical Specialist, Canon, is excited about the company’s new REALiS projection line, including the 4K600STZ, WUX7500, and WUX7000 models, as well as six brand new lenses. The result of Canon’s extensive R&D? Extraordinary flexibility for installers and value for end-users.

The What: Kaptivo, a company that produces cameras and software to transform any whiteboard into an online collaboration system, has released Kaptivo Self-Hosted—winner of a 2018 AV Technology Best of Show award at InfoComm 2018—and Kaptivo HDMI. These additions expand its portfolio of whiteboard cameras, which attach to the top of any whiteboard, automatically saving images and securely sharing content in real time via livestream to any web browser on any device or via video conference integration.

The What Else: The need for comprehensive collaboration tools coincides with the increasing demand for technology-powered offices and classrooms. Despite the availability of videoconferencing systems and interactive displays, the traditional dry-erase whiteboard has remained a preferred ideation tool for enterprises and educators alike. Although standard in nearly every organization, whiteboards have proven inadequate when remote sharing and digitally saving content are needed.

Employees and educators often attempt to save and share whiteboards using phone or web cameras, which produce poor-quality images that show glare and obstructions. Alternatively, they try to use costly interactive displays that require training, apps, and special pens. With Kaptivo, individuals can realize the full potential of digital collaboration using their existing whiteboard while integrating seamlessly into approved corporate technology and security policies.

“The release of Kaptivo Self-Hosted and Kaptivo HDMI underscores our commitment to customer-centric solutions,” said Nic Lawrence, co-founder and CEO of Kaptivo. “We have listened to AV consultants and network security managers to provide solutions that best suit the needs of the market. Our expanded portfolio enables us to better serve organizations with strict security policies or those looking to integrate new technology with legacy video codecs or lecture capture systems.”

The Bottom Line: The on-premise Kaptivo Self-Hosted is well suited for organizations looking to improve collaboration through whiteboard archiving and sharing while accommodating strict security policies that restrict access to cloud services. No traffic leaves the corporate network, and no internet access is required. The whiteboard camera system sits securely within the network, keeping valuable company IP under the control of IT.

Kaptivo HDMI streams any whiteboard directly to any HDMI-capable display, videoconference codec, or lecture capture system. It’s designed for educational institutions and enterprises that wish to integrate whiteboard livestreaming into dedicated video systems.

Kaptivo Enterprise is available now for $995, which includes the Kaptivo hardware and three-year cloud service (SaaS) license. There will also be options to purchase SaaS in one and five-year increments. The availability of Kaptivo Enterprise will precede the fall launch of Kaptivo Education, a whiteboard image capture device to enhance visual learning and enable student collaboration.

The What: At InfoComm 2018, Just Add Power (J+P) unveiled the 725POE 2GΩ/3G+ SDI Power over Ethernet (PoE) transmitter, which is designed to enable a scalable approach to adding SDI video sources to a 4K system.

The What Else: The 725POE 2GΩ/3G+ SDI PoE transmitter provides SD-/HD-/3G-SDI format support to Just Add Power’s 3G HD over IP system. Eliminating the need for an SDI-HDMI converter in the IP video distribution chain, integrators have the flexibility to add an SDI source to their 4K infrastructure. Features include stereo output with audio delay, local HDMI loop-out, null-modem-integrated RS-232, and HDMI pass-through.

“As SDI has become more popular with our commercial integrators, they’ve asked for a transmitter that would work with 4K. Our new offering meets this need and gives them more flexibility,” said Taft Stricklin, sales team manager at Just Add Power. “When combined with our tiling devices, enterprise and houses of worship customers can enhance their video distribution platform with appealing, professional features such as fading between cameras. It also allows them to scale any resolution up to 4K or scale 4K down to a lower resolution—all without breaking copy protection. This transmitter is another building block that adds more value to our ever-expanding 4K platform.”

The Bottom Line: As with all models in the J+P lineup, the 725POE 2GΩ/3G+ integrates with any generation of the company’s products. This allows integrators to select the J+P solution that best fits the job, providing an evolutionary, scalable, systems-approach to 4K video signal distribution requirements.

The What: Crestron introduced its new AirMedia Wireless Presentation Systems (AM-300 and AM-200) with built-in AirMedia 2.0 technology at InfoComm 2018.

The What Else: AirMedia 2.0 technology provides lower bandwidth consumption for increased network efficiency; low latency for smooth keyboard and mouse movements; fast video playback; on-screen display with connectivity instructions, plus room availability and meeting details when connected to a calendaring platform; cloud-based provisioning and management; and full mirroring for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS without Bonjour software.

AirMedia 2.0 also leverages the latest security protocols: 802.1x network access control; Active Directory administrator authentication; AES-128 content encryption; and SSH, SSL, TLS, and HTTPS.

Because AirMedia 2.0 is a network-based appliance, it can be deployed, configured, and managed from the cloud. Using Crestron XiO Cloud service, a virtually unlimited number of AirMedia 2.0 devices can be deployed using common configuration, with remote management of administrator access rights, automated scheduling of firmware updates, and live status monitoring. This enables organizations to deploy thousands of endpoints simultaneously.

“AirMedia set the standard for wireless presentation, and now it just got even better with AirMedia 2.0,” said Fred Bargetzi, Crestron CTO. “It’s the only enterprise-grade wireless presentation solution that offers network security, cloud-based deployment and management, iOS mirroring without Bonjour—everything IT needs and expects.”

The Bottom Line: The AM-300 and AM-200 are designed to enable organizations to increase workflow and facilitate collaboration by turning lobbies, lounges, and other open spaces into productive meeting spaces. They mount discreetly behind wall mount displays and enable wired or wireless presentation.

Want to see a hot trend in the projection screen market? Look no further than Ambient Light Rejection (ALR). While there are plenty of ALR options, not all surfaces are created equally. Melissa Rone, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Da-Lite, tells about Da-Lite’s deep commitment to quality and why the company's ALR solutions offer superior performance.

DVDO, Inc., announced the latest upgrades to its TILE collaboration system at InfoComm. The DVDO TILE simplifies the process of connecting multiple users to an existing display system wired or wirelessly enabling a collaboration experience by casting any desktop, application, video, image, or other content to the shared screen.

DVDO TILE’s latest upgrades are rolling out soon and include:

• Display of an HDMI input source in a tiled window or as a background.
• Desktop share, videos, and photos casted to TILE can be displayed as a background.
• Use AirPlay to instantly cast from Mac, iPad or iPhone to TILE.
• IP control for switching HDMI inputs on TILE.
• Smooth desktop share from PC and Mac with improved refresh rate.

To have a hands-on demo of the TILE solution at InfoComm see them in the Stampede Presentation Products Booth C1646.

“With these updates, DVDO’s TILE is today’s Digital Canvas product that the meeting room and classroom of the future needs,” said DVDO’s Doug Fealtman. “We’ve added the top features our clients have been asking for – rock solid video, display flexibility and additional management for today’s educators and communications pros.”

Up to 5 different tiled windows can be displayed simultaneously, allowing multiple users to share content, compare videos and images, or to bring up websites alongside presentations, leading to efficient and dynamic discussions and with a new-found flexibility for team development. The TILE system offers 5 HDMI inputs including an HDMI 2.0a 4K pass through, 2 USB inputs and 2 HDMI mirrored outputs.

Aimed at collaborative environments such as classrooms and executive conference centers or huddle rooms, TILE users manage their experience with DVDO's TILE App, which is available for iOS and Android mobile devices as well as for Mac and Windows PC systems. Users download the app and begin to cast content through TILE to the connected display.

A Moderator mode can approve and queue casted and HDMI content before it is shown on screen.

TILE's is offered at a MSRP of $1,199.

The What: ClearOne announced its new CONVERGE Pro 2 VT series that includes both VoIP and Telco interfaces in the same CONVERGE Pro 2 unit, simplifying designs and purchasing for integrators, increasing installation flexibility and offering freedom of choice.

The What Else: The new CONVERGE Pro 2 VT series models function the same as the existing V and T offerings, and models featuring Dante digital audio technology will now fall under the VTD series. Additionally, all models are Avaya, Cisco and ShoreTel compliant, and support Microsoft Skype for Business built-in client.

The new VT series works with all existing CONVERGE Pro 2 units and all existing peripheral products, including the ClearOne Beamforming Microphone Array 2, USB Expander, GPIO Expander and DIALOG 20 Wireless Microphones. The new product names under the VT series are CONVERGE Pro 2 128VT, the CONVERGE Pro 2 128VTD, CONVERGE Pro 2 48VT and CONVERGE Pro 2 48VTD.

The Bottom Line: All CONVERGE Pro 2 mixers feature advanced audio DSP algorithms, including acoustic echo cancellation, noise cancellation, feedback elimination, gain and level control, and microphone gating. The new Converge Pro 2 VT models will begin shipping in Q3 2018.

Lumens is known for its fully featured, versatile, and user-friendly video systems. The company is leveraging those best practices to offer its community additional value. In this video, Lumens’s Chris Skaggs demonstrates their new product, TapShare, a wireless solution for instant and reliable BYOD collaboration.

Last November, Julian Phillips, executive vice president at Whitlock, assumed the role of chairman of AVIXA’s Board of Directors. We caught up with Phillips, who has been a member of the board since 2013, at InfoComm to chat about the latest AV trends and what AVIXA is up to as an organization.

Why is AVIXA focusing on the integrated experience?

Julian Phillips: I think we have to. We’re moving from the days of us just being functional designers—designing technology to meet a functional need—to being experience designers and solution providers for our customers. And that is more than just AV.

Why bring Integrated Life into the mix?

JP: I think generally the whole concept of integrated life is not just about what we do in the workplace, but what happens in our homes coming into the workplace. We have to be prepared to integrate not just into environments and space, but also to figure out how to integrate consumer technology into those spaces as well.

What are some of the trends you’re seeing in the industry today?

JP: The consolidation that’s happening in the AV industry is “get big, get niche or get out.” I see the big guys getting bigger—either through acquisition or partnerships. You can be very effective in partnerships and can start bringing value to the customer by bringing the partnership to them.

What about a trend at the show?

JP: Attendees are coming to InfoComm for insight rather than just viewing products and meeting people. Center Stage, which debuted at last year’s show, is an example of sharing insight to get the conversation moving. The more that we’re investing in these programs and new kinds of engagements, the greater the chance we’re going to attract more customers, create more demand and more excitement.

Any final thoughts?

JP: The community is more than the membership. It’s important that we’re actually touching a much broader community that touches AV in an ever-increasing way in everything that they do.

As AV industry women and men gathered at the Westgate for the AVIXA Women's Council Networking Breakfast Wednesday morning, they found themselves seated around tables of like-minded colleagues from their home state. This seating arrangement spoke to the power of regional networking and the importance of collaborative action—which was the point.

To hear several council members tell it, the breakfast seating was inspired by a trend that has defined and energized the AVIXA Women’s Council. Over the past year, regional groups have grown organically by word of mouth or by what Cory Schaeffer, director of systems solutions at QSC, described as “tapping other women on the shoulder and saying ‘you can do this, let’s do this.’”

[InfoComm 2018 Breaks More Records]

With Draper’s Penny Sitler at the helm, the Women’s Council has expanded through these regional groups. Christy Ricketts, VP of operations & marketing at Contemporary Research, said it’s been collaborative and inspiring. Ricketts co-runs the Dallas group with AV operator Alesia Hendley and Mood Media’s Lauren Larson, who started it. Shaeffer co-runs the southern California group with Brandy Alvarado, marketing and business development manager at rp Visual Solutions.

The new regional groups have quickly transformed the Women’s Council from a once-a-year opportunity to a multi-faceted, action-oriented network. “Different women stepped up to take on Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and New York,” Ricketts said. “Anyone can be a member, you just need to be a champion for diversity.”

Council groups network, help each other get their CTS certifications, connect to other educational opportunities, tour site installs, share information on job opportunities, and more.

“At our first meeting we had 16 women show up,” Schaeffer said. The group did a session that earned RUs, and went from there. She said that having two people lead helps spread the responsibility and makes it possible for busy women and their allies to move industry diversity forward.

In addition to the 17 groups that have formed, Ricketts said a virtual group is also in the works to keep women connected throughout the year, in ways that extend beyond the two-hour networking breakfast.

Want to take your creative thinking to a new level? At the C2 Experience, you can—both physically and metaphorically.

At the C2 Sky Lab, sitting in a circle of five fur-lined chairs, attendees are hoisted up 15 feet in the air into a cylindrical projection screen, with video mapping accentuating the ascent. Feet dangling, you are then encouraged to brainstorm new ways of using AV to improve experiences.

“I think looking at the way they [C2 International] approach helping us break out of the norms is at the core of designing experiences, and being able to do that is a critical skillset for AV professionals to have when having conversations with their customers,” said AVIXA CEO David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD. This logic echoes the thesis of neuroscientist Dr. Beau Lotto’s TIDE keynote speech from Tuesday: putting yourself in an uncomfortable state of uncertainty is the best way to spur creative thinking.

Based in Montreal and created in collaboration with founding partners of Cirque du Soleil, C2 International’s events attract thousands of decision-makers across continents and industries for talks, workshops, extreme brainstorming sessions, meet ups, performances and other festivities.

Julian Phillips, executive vice president of Whitlock and member of the AVIXA board of directors, attested to the experience’s effectiveness, having partaken in a C2-facilitated meeting with the AVIXA Board last year in Montreal. “When you bring that element of show business into a business environment where serious work needs to be done, it’s amazing the level of creativity and bonding and output that you get in that environment as opposed to the more traditional meeting environment,” he said.

In addition to the “Sky” experience, C2’s booth also features “Dark,” in which attendees enter an enclosure and converse with one another in complete darkness.

The biggest just got bigger: InfoComm 2018 was another show for the record books as North America’s largest AV industry gathering served up a wider range of education, new innovative experiences, and a broader tech focus than ever before.

Attendance figures, released at the end of the day on Friday, were close to 43,000—a 10 percent increase from the last Las Vegas hosted the exhibition, according to AVIXA. And the show keeps growing in terms of scale, as well.

“It’s the largest show floor from an exhibitor space that we’ve ever had,” said David Labuskes, chief executive officer, AVIXA, referencing the 550,000 square feet of exhibits, demo rooms, and special events space, making it the biggest InfoComm ever.

"It was another fantastic week for a show and an industry that never stops innovating," said Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE, senior vice president of expositions, AVIXA. "We continue to develop new offerings that celebrate and explore in-depth the many facets of technology experiences. Our exhibitors took the lead with solutions that continue to push the envelope of what AV can deliver, and our many subject-matter experts and thought leaders contributed to a program that gave all attendees the opportunity to think differently about the role audiovisual technology plays in people's lives."

Exhibitors, which numbered 964 in total, featured some prominent newcomers including Google, Microsoft, Dolby, Lenovo, Intel and Dell, reflecting the growing intersection of AV and IT, as well as crossover with the residential technology sphere—a trend encapsulated in the show’s Integrated Life pavilion.

From Emerging Trends Day and the TIDE conference on Tuesday to the expanded slate of technology tours throughout the week—including behind-the-scenes looks at Cirque du Soleil shows—opportunities for education and inspiration away from the show floor abounded.

Inside the convention center, novel additions like C2 joined popular returning attractions like Center Stage to further enrich the attendee experience and stimulate their drive to innovate long after the week is over.

“Make sure that what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas,” Labuskes said. “Take it back with you to every meeting with your peers, whether you’re an AV technician or a CEO.”

At InfoComm, pro-audio exhibitors may talk about their latest gear like proud parents, but sound products are not children—they should be seen and heard! With that in mind, you owe it to yourself to hear all the offerings inside the 23 audio demo rooms here at InfoComm.

Inside N111, Community Professional Loudspeakers is focusing on two things this year—its 50th anniversary and the new IV6 Modular Vertical Array, intended for permanent installation, which can be configured as a line array, a constant curvature or an adaptive array. Next door in N112, Martin Audio is introducing Sound Adventures, a 3D immersive sound experience created in cooperation with its partner Astro Spatial Audio.

[Diving Into InfoComm’s Audio Demo Rooms, Part One]

Meanwhile, in N113, Yamaha and Nexo (pictured) are demonstrating the new Yamaha DZR line of powered speakers and CZR passive speakers, along with the new DXS-XLF powered subwoofers. Also on-hand are Nexo’s NXAMP4x2 MK2 and NXAMP4x1 MK2 amplifier models—new additions to the Nexo range of NXAMP TDcontrollers.

dBTechnologies has plenty to see inside N114—including its newest software, Aurora Net; the U.S. premiere of the Opera Unica; the VIO L208 and S118R line array boxes; the ES 1203 column PA; the Ingenia loudspeaker series; and more. Over in N115, QSC is unveiling its new Premium Business Music Solutions, including multi-zone mixers, wall controllers, configurable multi-channel amplifiers, SUB/SAT loudspeakers and installation and management apps.

Eastern Acoustics Works is ensconced in N116, debuting its new RSX212L line array module and RSX18F subwoofer. The two new RADIUS products are designed for both touring and permanent install applications. Meanwhile, in N117, RCF has a ton of new items to hear, like the HDL 30-A line array, HDL 38-AS flyable subwoofer, additions to its NX Multipurpose line, and more.

Over in N118, D.A.S. Audio is presenting a ton of good stuff, including its LX and UX series subwoofers, while over in N119, d&b audiotechnik has been packing the crowds in with demos of its new d&b soundscape technology, made possible by the DS100 Signal engine.

Not all the demo rooms are on the first floor, however. You’ll miss out if you don’t head upstairs to check out the three on the second level. Earthworks is discussing its conferencing, live sound and measurement microphones in N203/204. Over in N209/210, KV2 Audio is presenting its ESR212 + VHD2.18J; ESR215 + VHD2.18J; SL412 + SL2.15 + VHD2.21; and EX15 + EX2.5 MkII + ES2.6. Last but not least, Clair Brothers can be found inside N211/212, ready to rock your socks off with a room full of loudspeakers, including the new 10Spot Coax Point Source with curved array technology and S2-CX Coax Point Source, both intended for small and mid-sized venues.

• Every second counts in a mission-critical environment, and user friendliness is required. That’s why Digibird created the new Unified Work Station KVM Solution. Clay Stahlka, Market Development Manager, Starin, explains what makes this system so unique, including seamless switching, AV over fiber, and USB-HID compatibility.

Future plc’s AV Technology brand is pleased to announce its Best of Show winners at InfoComm 2018. This Best of Show list, from an exhibition of thousands of solutions showcased by more than 950 manufacturers, represents outstanding achievements in product development. Six AV professionals, including CTS-certified technology managers and AV/IT engineers, judged each product live on the show floor on days one and two of InfoComm.

“This year’s strong field of entries is emblematic of the current outpouring of innovation in our industry,” said Matt Pruznick, content director of AV Technology. “The bounty of these companies’ engineering, research and development, and user design efforts was on full display on the show floor, and narrowing the field down to a select group of winners was not an easy task. I offer my heartiest congratulations to the winning companies, and look forward to seeing how their products help technology managers transform their facilities over the coming years.”

The enthusiastic response to AV Technology’s Best of Show program reflects the growing interest of technology managers and end users in InfoComm, according to Adam Goldstein, executive vice president at Future plc. “We’re very pleased to see tech managers continuing to engage with both the InfoComm show and our publications,” he said.

Winning products will be covered in the post-InfoComm print and digital issues of AV Technology and online throughout the coming months.

AV Technology InfoComm 2018 Best of Show Winners

Adder Technology ADDERLink INFINITY

AJA Video Systems KONA HDMI

Aurora Multimedia Corp. ReAX

Avocor F-Series

Belkin Multiport to HDMI Digital AV Adapter

Beyerdynamic Phonum

Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K

Canon REALiS WUX7000Z LCOS Projector

Christie 4K10-HS

Christie Guardian

ClearOne COLLABORATE Space

ClearOne VIEW Lite

Cisco Webex Room 70

Crestron 3-Series 4K DigitalMedia Presentation System 350

Crestron XiO Cloud

Crestron DM NVX Series with Dante Support

Crestron DM NVX Director

CloviTek CloviFi

Da-Lite Parallax 2.3

Datavideo Corporation NVS-40

Draper TecVision XH800X UST ALR

Epson Pro L12000Q Native 4K 3LCD Laser Projector

IHSE L481-BIPVMC

INTEVI Digital Television

Kaptivo Self-Hosted

Kramer Electronics BRAINware

Kramer Electronics VIA Connect PLUS

Leyard and Planar Clarity Matrix G3 LCD Video Wall System

Liberty AV Solutions BYOD Connection Hub

Listen Technologies Audio Everywhere

Logitech Rally

Lumens Integration VC-A50PN

Magewell Electronics Ultra Stream HDMI Streaming Encoder

Matrox Mura IPX DisplayPort 1.2 Video Wall Capture Cards

MXL Microphones AC-360-Z

NEC Display NP-PA803UL

NewTek Connect Spark Pro

Nureva Wall WM408i

Optoma Technologies ZH420UST

Owl Labs Meeting Owl

Peerless-AV Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display

Pro Video Instruments VuMATRIX 4K-60-POE-Kit With VuMATRIX Controller

Prysm Laser Phosphor Display 6K Series

Samsung Electronics The Wall Professional

Seneca MX-VU

Sharp Electronics 8K Ultra-HD 70" Monitor

Shure Incorporated Designer 3.1

SILORA R&D SRD-HDR-8X8 Matrix

Sony Electronics VPL-FHZ120L/VPL-FHZ90L

SurgeX The Defender Series

The Telos Alliance TV Solutions Group Telos Infinity IP Intercom

tvONE CORIOview

Vanco International Evolution EV4K2006 HDMI Extender

ZeeVee ZyPerMX4

AV Junction, an audiovisual online platform that connects employers with independent contractors, announced a new Enterprise Subscription Plan that will enable system integration and hiring firms to better manage their existing network of freelancers while empowering them to have access to AV Junction’s database as their needs arrive. The new plan was unveiled at InfoComm 2018 in Booth C4024.

“This new subscription plan is designed for systems integration firms and other hiring companies who have told us that they have a network of freelancers but they really need a robust management platform that is really well thought out from the perspective of both the hiring company and the freelance professional,” AV Junction Founder Paul Weatherhead said. “They love our platform, and our new subscription plan is going to enable them to better manage their existing network and tap into our membership as their needs dictate. We’re really excited about how our business model is evolving and gaining traction in the market.”

According to Weatherhead, an investment in its Enterprise Subscription Plan is an investment that will drive down direct labor costs and improve operational and project management efficiency for audiovisual firms of every size. “With consolidated information at your fingertips, you will instantly make more informed decisions, improve customer service, and grow your business while boosting your bottom line,” he explained.

Along with the standard features of AV Junction, Enterprise Subscription Plan users will also have:

• Centralized contractor management system for your entire organization.
• Set company-wide user permissions and administrator levels.
• A flexible labor pool of independent AV service providers.
• Access to AV Junction’s public database of independent AV contractors around the world.
• A profile and job postings within our platform.
• Maintained historical hiring records of independent AV service providers.

“This new plan stems directly from conversations we have had with really large firms who have already invested years in developing their current network of freelancers,” Weatherhead said. “With our new subscription plan, these firms will empower to take better control of their hiring and management processes with AV Junction. We believe this program will help us to establish our platform as the industry standard for hiring managing freelance projects.”

Optoma, a manufacturer of video and audio products, at InfoComm 2018 unveiled four new laser projectors designed to bring flexibility and stunning performance for higher education, houses of worship, rental and staging and corporate environments. The Optoma ZW500T, ZH500T, ZU500T and ZH500TST deliver incredibly sharp and stunning images with 20,000 hours of virtually maintenance-free operation, ensuring maximum reliability and dependability in a variety of settings.

Optoma ZH500T and ZH500TST are 1080p HD projectors that feature an 5,000 lumens of brightness and a 300,000:1 contrast ratio with ExtremeBlack enabled. The ZH500TST offers a short throw of 0:79:1, producing vibrant images from just a few feet away. These projectors feature horizontal and vertical lens shift, 360-degree and 24/7 operation, and portrait mode for maximum usability at any angle. Both projectors are also equipped with several connectivity options, including HDBaseT and HDMI inputs to maximize convenience. They are available for an estimated street price of $2,999 and $3,999, respectively.

Optoma ZW500T and ZU500T, featuring WXGA and WUXGA resolution, respectively, provide stunning projection with a 300,000:1 contrast ratio with ExtremeBlack enabled, a powerful laser light source and 1.6x zoom. The ZW500T and ZU500T project 5,000 lumens of brightness and feature extensive connectivity options, including HDBaseT and HDMI inputs. Both projectors offer built-in installation features, including horizontal and vertical lens shift, four corner correction, 360-degree and portrait mode operation to support professional installations at all difficulty levels. The ZW500T is available at an estimated street price of $2,499, while the ZU500T is available for an estimated street price of $3,199.

“Our new line of laser projectors offers a range of robust features to accommodate the various demands of multiple professional settings, including the education, small business, house of worship and corporate markets,” said Brian Soto, head of product management, Optoma Technology. “By continuing to produce top-of-the-line, reliable projectors, we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to providing the most effective, innovative solutions to the ProAV market.”

The Optoma ZW500T, ZH500T, ZU500T and ZH500TST, which can be viewed at Booth C1929, will be available for purchase in August from ProjectorPeople, Audio General, Projector Superstore, Visual Apex and Full Compass.