InfoComm 2023: 6 for Saturday—LG, Clear One, ENCO, Audix, Barix, and Pliant Technologies

InfoComm 2023 is right around the corner. We've been doing our best to keep you up to date on all there is to see in Orlando this June.  Today, take a look at six more exhibitors you need to add to your must-see list. 

[InfoComm 2023: 'No Stopping Us Now']

LG to Showcase Future of Digital Displays

LG Business Solutions USA will be showcasing products at Booth 1642, where show attendees will be able to experience a vast array of digital display solutions and explore applications across a wide range of industries and commercial use cases in a dozen distinct product zones. 

[InfoComm 2023 Impulses: LG Business Solutions on Transparent and dvLED Displays]

LG’s InfoComm booth will offer a wide range of pixel pitch options for both commercial and residential purposes, spanning from 0.68mm to 1.56mm, including models dedicated to virtual production. 

Even from outside the booth, visitors will revel in the Digital Art Zone’s massive 272-inch LG MAGNIT 8K Micro LED display. Showing a variety of 8K footage that captures the beauty of the natural world, integrators will be able to envision how such a show-stopping display could be used in public spaces, corporate or hotel lobbies.

The rear side of the Digital Art display wall highlights additional opportunities for these spaces with a new 163-inch all-in-one dvLED display and a custom-designed digital sculpture that combines eight 55-inch transparent OLED displays, resembling a giant prism.

As they are drawn in, visitors will be treated to another spectacular sight as the MAGNIT 8K Micro LED display synchronizes with a Transparent OLED Signage banner comprising 26 55-inch displays. Covering one side of the LG exhibition hall’s entrance, the overhead solution will create an incredibly immersive media art experience while showcasing the technology’s versatility and creative application opportunities.  

LG will demonstrate advanced display solutions for broadcasters, production studios and digital content creators in the Virtual Production Zone, with displays that allow for live-action footage to be shot against a realistic virtual backdrop. Attendees can learn how a virtual production studio works and how they are being used to dramatically increase media creation opportunities while reducing the cost of content production for film, TV and in-house corporate needs. 

Another large MAGNIT display, measuring 163-inches diagonal and featuring a remote power supply option, will grace the Control Room Zone. Integrators will see for themselves how the minute pixel pitch, high brightness, and color accuracy offered by MicroLED MAGNIT displays provide ultimate clarity and accuracy for critical Control Room operations. 

The Meeting Room and Board Room Zone is where visitors will encounter the widest variety of displays, centered around the 21:9 all-in-one dvLED displays optimized for widescreen video conferencing platforms. This zone will also show how LG’s One:Quick Works and One:Quick Flex displays offer enhanced operations in office settings. 

The versatility of LG’s Transparent OLED solution will be spotlighted in the Retail Zone, where a 30-inch screen serves as the draw and centerpiece of a shoe display and a 55-inch watch kiosk entices shoppers and provides key product information. This zone also includes multiple other transparent OLED displays and a fine-pitch LED display. 

The Software Solutions Zone demonstrates a variety of digital signage software solutions, including the LG Cloud Platform, SuperSign Cloud and Pro:Centric Cloud for content management, ConnectedCare for remote management and LG Smart Cam Pro for 4K smart cameras.

Moving into the Education Zone, visitors will be presented with the LG CreateBoard (model TR3DK), which shows how modernized classrooms can engage, inform and inspire students while enabling and encouraging greater collaboration. The latest model provides LG CreateBoard Lab for content creating and writing, and LG CreateBoard Share for wireless content and screen sharing. 

The Food and Beverage Zone will demonstrate a variety of digital signage displays, including a 37-inch ultrawide Stretch display that’s ideal for advertising on shelves and pick-up desks, and ultra-bright 22-inch and 55-inch weatherproof models optimized for drive through applications.

LG power-saving and green technologies will be featured in the ESG and EV Charging Zones. In the ESG zone, visitors will learn about LG’s focus on environmental sustainability, exemplified by hundreds of ENERGY STAR certified displays and supported by noteworthy international certifications for electromagnetic emissions, safety, security, accessibility, compatibility, and durability. The EV Charging zone will point to the future, showing how LG’s high-brightness outdoor displays can be incorporated into partner-manufactured EV charging kiosks.

ClearOne to Demonstrate Full Range of Conferencing, Collaboration, Communications Solutions 

ClearOne is returning to InfoComm 2023 at Booth 3061. The all-new Versa UCS2100, which automatically detects HDMI and USB-C sources, such as dedicated in-room laptops, and offers the flexibility for users to access the same set of in-room AV peripherals, will be available to demo, along with additional solutions for mid-sized rooms including the COLLABORATE Versa Pro CT, CONVERGE Wall-Mount Bluetooth Expander, UNITE 160 4K professional camera, COLLABORATE Versa Pro 160, COLLABORATE Versa Pro 60, and COLLABORATE Versa 20 Plus.

Ideal for smaller collaboration rooms, the recently launched CHAT 150 BT Speakerphone, a group USB and Bluetooth speakerphone that enhances conferencing for the ultimate in business-class performance, will be on display in the booth. The CHAT 150 BT allows for fast connectability, enhanced audio including noise cancellation and is compatible with all standard web conferencing applications.

Attendees will also be able to view ClearOne’s Ceiling Microphone Array, CONVERGE Huddle, LS5WT Wall and LS6CT Ceiling Speakers, Versa Mediabar Video Soundbar, COLLABORATE Versa 60, and the UNITE 60,180 and 20 Pro cameras.

Newly launched solutions including the UNITE 260 Pro Camera, a professional 4K Ultra HD camera with motorized pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ), 20x optical zoom, and 16x digital zoom providing the capability to capture all participants in the room will stand out at InfoComm 2023, in addition to industry-favorite solutions like ClearOne’s CONVERGE Pro 2 DSP Mixers, BMA 360, UNITE 200 Pro cameras, and COLLABORATE Versa Room CT 160.

BYOD collaboration solutions will also be on hand at the show, in addition to a selection of ClearOne network management solutions, including the CONVERGENCE Cloud AV Manager, CONVERGENCE Enterprise AV Manager, and CONVERGENCE InSite Server.

ENCO Open Captioning Takes the Stage 

ENCO comes to InfoComm next week with new updates to its enCaption live captioning software, which can be seen in action at ENCO’s Booth 3816 and at the Technology Innovation Stage Booth 2260, where the technology will power live, automated captions on stage-side displays to support presentations from industry thought leaders. ENCO’s AI-enhanced enCaption software, now in its fifth generation, excels at helping audiences retain, comprehend, and engage with information being presented in real-time, with industry-leading speed and accuracy.

ENCO’s ADA-compliant enCaption live captioning software has been the leading platform for automated closed captioning in broadcast TV and radio for several years, and the company holds patents that strengthen its intellectual property for captioning technology and speech-to-text translation. Over the last few years, ENCO has invested engineering resources into developing an open captioning platform for a rapidly growing AV customer base, using the same proven technology to automate open captioning with speed and accuracy for live meetings, presentations, classes/lectures, and events.

New for InfoComm, ENCO’s development team has achieved accuracy improvements of up to 20%, with enhanced speaker detection for more seamless captioning of program material with multiple speakers. Data formatting for phone numbers, measurements, websites, and email addresses is also remarkably improved, driving better caption readability.

enCaption also now integrates ENCO’s enTranslate solution as an optional plug-in module for non-native-speaking audiences. Once a separate platform, ENCO’s latest enTranslate solution cost-effectively expands audience reach through automatic live translation to support captioning workflows. ENCO recently added support for 14 new languages, bringing enTranslate’s current portfolio to 34 languages. 

enCaption can be deployed on-premises, in the Cloud, or in hybrid on-prem/cloud workflows. Flexible pricing options for cloud-based enCaption5 deployments make the platform even more cost-effective for customers such as houses of worship, municipalities, and live event producers with only periodic or ad hoc captioning and transcription needs.

ENCO will also demonstrate its ClipFire live and automated content-delivery platform. ClipFire combines automatic ingest, media asset management, graphics, and playout automation into a unified platform, and enables rapid content delivery to enhance the fan experience for live sports, concerts, and more. New features include ingest and playout of multiple channels of video with support for baseband SDI and NDI inputs and outputs, as well as on-the-fly transcoding to support mixed file formats and resolutions.

Audix Showcases Microphone Solutions

Visitors to Audix's Booth 5249 will be able to audition microphones, meet the Audix team in person, and enjoy live-streamed demos that showcase the audio quality and consistency of Audix products in a remote context. 

Audix products on display include the M45, M3WDK, and M70WD ceiling-mount mics; the MicroPod, M65,  and USB12 tabletop mics; the M60 and M63 tabletop boundary mics, and the GS1 wall-mount mic. Finally, the DN4 and DN43 audio interfaces bring microphones into Dante and AES67 audio-over-IP networks, making routing, mixing, and ’casting as easy as plugging into an Ethernet port. What’s more, all Audix microphones described herein are virtually immune to RF interference from smartphones or passing two-way radios.
 
Every hour on the hour (except for the opening and closing times of the InfoComm exhibit floor), Audix regional sales manager Lofty Whitaker will livestream a demonstration of the above mics and more from our headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon. Participants can expect to be surprised by how clear all the mics sound capturing speech as well as the sonic consistency from one mic to the next — and to receive a crash course in which mics are best for their particular rooms and applications.

Barix Introduces Expanded IPAC Family and First Dante Applications

Barix comes to InfoComm at Booth 5451 with an expanded suite of hardware products for installed AV systems, courtesy of its growing IPAC (IP Audio Client) family of IP audio decoders and amplifiers. Now five products strong, the IPAC family adds the Annuncicom MPI400 for InfoComm, supporting networked intercom, paging and background music applications with elevated security standards. Barix will also preview Dante-compatible applications that bring Barix’s wide-area networking expertise together with Dante’s LAN-based digital audio networking. 

Barix introduced Audio over IP technology to the broadcast, AV, retail, and security industries in 2001. Integration with Dante would bring two Audio over IP innovators that focus on different applications together to solve problems and create new business opportunities for installers and end users.

Expanded IPAC Family

Barix will also highlight the latest scheduling, custom management and interoperability potential of the IPAC family for AV and IT professionals, strengthened through REST-based APIs for custom application development and integration with third-party solutions:

• Paging Gateway 400: The Paging Gateway M400 bridges smartphones with both legacy analog and modern IP paging systems. New for InfoComm, a streamlined user interface allows users to drop a browser shortcut button onto the phone’s home screen, with no need for a dedicated app.
• IP Former TPA400: The IP Former can be attached to any loudspeaker to transform legacy speakers into IP speakers. It provides an IP network interface, audio stream decoder and amplifier front-end for a two- to eight-ohm speaker, with PoE for streamlined installation. 
• Exstreamer MPA400 and M400: Representing the future of Barix’s most well-known product range, the Exstreamer MPA400 outputs up to 40 watts of audio into existing Audio over IP and emergency notification systems, while the M400 is configurable as an AES67 receiver and decoder for interoperability with AoIP networks and Dante-compatible devices.

Pliant Technologies to Showcase CrewCom v1.14 Update

Pliant Technologies recently released its new CrewCom firmware and software update, v1.14. The latest update includes several enhancements to CrewCom’s already long list of capabilities, such as the support of two additional hardware devices, convenient new features and several key improvements to CrewWare control software to strengthen the user experience. Pliant will be featuring these latest enhancements at InfoComm 2023 (Booth 4854).

With the new v1.14 firmware update, CrewCom now supports the addition of the new IP-rated lineup of Radio Transceivers (RTs), and the current CrewCom CRP-12 series of Radio Packs (RPs). CrewWare v1.14 includes a unique UI display in the system diagram of CrewWare that automatically detects the new IP-rated RT hardware and shows when it is in use, as well as the indication of corresponding new model numbers in the detail and device list views. 

Specifically for the CRP-12 Radio Packs, (previously available only for the CB2 system), this new release also adds dual listen/single talk functionality, giving users the ability to simultaneously listen to two pre-selected conferences on a single volume belt pack while also allowing them to talk on either one of those conferences. Software UI additions and modifications have also been made to display the new Radio Pack support as well as to indicate dual listen/single talk capabilities.

Using the new Ping Function feature, it is now possible to activate, from within the software, a device location function called Ping on both the RTs as well as the RPs. For the RT, when activating ping, both the top ping light and the mode LED on the bottom of the transceiver will blink to facilitate the location of a specific device. For the RP, when activated, ping will cause the backlight of the LCD display (or LEDs in the case of the CRP-12) to blink until deactivated by the operator. In order to facilitate the location of a specific RP or RT, ping indications remain latched on until the device has been found and the operator manually disables the function.

Additionally, the CrewWare system’s display of the Radio Transceiver now has the added ability to quickly see the status of each individual device’s antenna selection. It will now graphically indicate if it is in Dual (two antennas) or Single (Left or Right) modes.

The new CrewCom v1.14 firmware upgrade, which includes the new features and updates, is free of charge to all users and will soon be available for direct download from the Pliant Technologies website.