Systems Contractor News (SCN) announced the winners of its 2019 SCN InfoComm Product Installation Awards at a reception on June 11 during InfoComm 2019.
“The SCN InfoComm Installation Product Award winners represent the best the industry has to offer,” said Megan A. Dutta, content director, Systems Contractor News, at the reception. “These awards honor the most innovative commercial AV products of 2018. Each and every winner has made a significant impact on the lives of integrators—whether it’s allowing them to offer a new service, creating a strong ROI, or simply making their lives easier."
Most Innovative Audio Hardware (TIE)
AtlasIED Strategically Hidden Speaker (SHS)
Today’s business, retail, corporate and hospitality environments put as much emphasis on interior design as they do on the quality and functionality of the integrated technology. The SHS is carefully designed to blend into any ceiling while retaining optimal sound performance. Exotically different and perfectly disguised, the SHS is ideal for applications like background music, paging/notification, and sound masking, and is easy to install in venues where the technology shouldn't detract from the environment's aesthetic.
Meyer Sound UP-4slim Ultra Compact Installation Loudspeaker
The UP-4slim ultra-compact installation loudspeaker is a slender new solution for applications that demand impeccable performance and exceptional power-to-size ratio together with elegant aesthetics. The UP-4slim incorporates Meyer Sound’s exclusive IntelligentDC technology, integrating the inherent sonic advantages of self-powered loudspeakers with the installation ease of low voltage systems. It is the first IntelligentDC multi-way loudspeaker to be housed in an all-aluminum enclosure.
Most Innovative AV Installation Accessory
Crestron DM NVX Director
DM NVX Director is an enterprise-grade network appliance that facilitates configuration, control and management of a large-scale AV network. The DM NVX Director provides a means for managing large networks of DM NVX devices, routing AV signals and simplifying integration with one or more Crestron control systems. By virtually emulating the functionality of a traditional hardware-based DigitalMedia matrix switcher, the DM NVX Director routes high-quality 4K streaming AV signals throughout a room, building or campus.
Most Innovative Collaboration Product
Mersive Solstice
Mersive Solstice, a flexible and powerful meeting space platform, provides both industry-leading wireless collaboration capabilities and the analytics and insights needed for meeting space optimization. Solstice delivers not only the ability to share any amount of content seamlessly from any device, but also includes dual screen support through dual HDMI output, wireless 4k streaming support and PoE+. Meeting room monitoring and analytics empowers organizations to drive greater meeting space usability, productivity and ROI.
Most Innovative Digital Signage Product
BrightSign XT1144
BrightSign XT1144’s 4K video engine is capable of dual video decoding of two 4K videos simultaneously and supports full resolution 4K graphics. It supports H.265 and H.264 encoding, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and offers a powerful enterprise-level HTML5 engine. Plus, it includes HDMI for live TV, PoE+, interactive controls (GPIO, IR, dual USB and serial), analog/digital audio and an M.2 SSD PCIe slot for extra storage.
Most Innovative Emerging Technology
Crestron DM-NVX-350
DigitalMedia NVX technology transports ultra-high-definition 4K60 4:4:4 video over standard Gigabit Ethernet with no perceptible latency or loss of quality. Leveraging standard network switches and CAT5e UTP wiring, DM NVX delivers a rock-solid, high-performance virtual matrix routing solution that is economically advantageous and infinitely scalable for any enterprise or campus-wide 4K content distribution application. Now, with revolutionary pixel perfect processing technology, DM NVX offers the densest image with the finest detail.
Most Innovative IoT Product
AVI-SPL Symphony
AVI-SPL Symphony is a user experience management application that proactively monitors and manages collaboration technologies to guarantee optimal performance, simplify user engagement and unlock new business value like reduce real estate costs. Organizations worldwide are deploying Symphony’s full capabilities to benefit from an integrated end-to-end collaboration workflow, a single pane view into the supporting technology estate and actionable business intelligence that will drive the desired user experience and adoption.
Most Innovative Mounting Solution
Chief Impact On-Wall Portrait Kiosk
The Impact On-Wall Kiosk brings a new level of flexibility to the digital signage enclosure market, while maintaining a sleek aesthetic to complement a variety of environments. A depth-adjustable exterior frame allows for a variety of displays to be used. Reversible hinges help to avoid installation and service obstructions, and the exclusive design keeps the display mounted to the frame when opened, providing unparalleled service and maintenance access. Multiple storage options are available.
Most Innovative Signal Management Product
Aurora Multimedia IPX-TC3 Pro
IPX-TC3 Pro is based on 10G SDVoE technology, but takes it to another level unique to Aurora—transceiver allowing encoding or decoding in same unit, 8-channel Dante/AES67, Reversible USB 2.0, Audio DSP, 10G PoE+, Dual Fiber, and copper fiber combo versions, and encrypted connection to server. It is also the first to implement ReAX IP Control, eliminating the need for external control systems by integrating control intelligence into the AV over IP.
Most Innovative Video Conferencing Product
Lifesize Icon 700
Lifesize's Icon 700 is the world’s first video conferencing system to deliver 4K video and full-motion content sharing from a device featuring sleek design and an integrated camera that pans, tilts and zooms 20x. It’s cloud-connected, and ultra-high definition 4K content can be shared at full frame-rate locally and remotely, providing unmatched quality for meeting room communication and collaboration. Simple setup and intuitive control are achieved via an accompanying Lifesize Phone HD touchscreen.
Most Innovative Video Display Product
Samsung OMN/OMN-D Series
Samsung OMN/OMN-D series presents innovative designs in 46- and 55-inch sizes showcasing accurate details with full RGB colors in every pixel. OMN series’ slim design with 54.5mm depth makes the display a natural extension of the store, not taking up valuable space. OMN series delivers vivid content even in direct sunlight through high brightness of 4,000nit and contrast ratio of 5,000:1. OMN-D series features a double-sided screen, facing both the window and in-store.
Most Innovative Video Processing Product
Datapath VSN1192 Video Wall Processor
Datapath’s next generation VSN1192 is one of the most powerful video wall processors available to the market, equipped with dual Intel E5 processors to provide unparalleled power with the proven reliability of Datapath’s VSN range. Backplanes are designed by Datapath engineers to ensure stability and cool operating temperature, along with all the processing and connectivity required for today’s high impact control rooms.
Most Innovative Video Projection Solution
Christie D4K40-RGB
Featuring Christie TruLife electronics and Christie RealLaser illumination, the Christie D4K40-RGB produces greater than 90 percent of the Rec. 2020 color space for vibrant visuals. Delivering over 30,000 hours of operation to 80 percent brightness, 5000:1 contrast ratio and up to 120 frames per second, the Christie D4K40-RGB has a patented, sealed optical path. For typical installations, this means eight-plus years of stable, virtually maintenance-free operation. The Christie D4K40-RGB operates on single-phase 220V power.
Editor's Note: Manufacturers nominated their products, and the finalists were chosen by an independent panel of judges. The judges, all experienced integrators, read through each and every entry, and chose no more than three finalists per category. The winners were chosen by SCN readers via online voting.
