AI. Immersive experiences. Hybrid collaboration. The cloud. Will the Pro AV buzzwords of today be here tomorrow? AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes took out the crystal ball and led an engaging discussion with industry visionaries, diving into where they anticipate Pro AV is heading and what they are helping to create over the next five years at the keynote presentation “2030 Vision: The Future of AV.”
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Labuskes welcomed each guest individually before diving into the deeper Q&A. Christine Schyvinck, president and CEO, Shure; Brad Hintze, EVP, marketing, Crestron; Eric Hutto, chief executive officer, Diversified; and Jason Antinori, program lead and senior solution architect, TELUS, spent the next hour discussing the workplace, collaboration, standards, and the all-too-familiar trend of AI.
There was certainly a commonality among the expert panel: The workplace is changing, both physically and technologically, and collaboration is more important than ever. That isn’t simply among the end users that systems are designed for, but also for the industry as a whole. Pro AV’s future, whether it is in standards or interoperability, depends on a collaborative push forward.
“I think in terms of a technology pull versus technology push,” Schyvinck said. “We need to be thinking about the technology that we're all developing in a more transferable way. We like to get close to our end users and experience what their world is like, and not assume the way they do things today. Now more than ever, I think we need to be focusing a little bit more on the technology push side of things and getting some new solutions in people's hands.”
“If you look at all of the transformational moments that we've all lived through—whether it’s the Internet, whether it be mobile—it didn't come on the scene immediately,” Hintz added. “It is an iterative move towards this greater value. You used to talk about the cloud all the time, but now we replace it with AI. But we are still getting value from the cloud today in many ways.”
The panel also agreed that the best way to find out what end users need is to get out there and find out in the field. “We don't just enable a collaboration,” Hintz said. “We enable a culture as long as we show up to go and do that. So, individual voices within an organization may be the culture carriers in demanding that level of performance. We just need to make sure we're focused on delivering that.”
Finding the right solution may no longer be about shiny new hardware or even the most up-to-date software. It is about simplifying a solution so that the best possible outcome is achieved for everyone using it. “Down the road, [customers] are going to pay for the result,” Hutto said. “They're not going to pay for their project… I tell [his Diversified team] every day, that if you're selling, you're losing. If you're solving, you’re winning. And that's how we have to think about it.”
The importance of reliable, usable AV systems design, Antinori said, is the key to making them dance. “That's a common theme, ‘Oh, the commute is just horrible,’” he said. “Yet I've seen 30,000 people sit for two hours in a traffic jam to watch Taylor Swift. So, they will move for an experience. If you give them something that will motivate them, they will be motivated.”
Naturally, the conversation shifted to AI. The panel discussed its role as a tool and the potential ethical concerns that may arise without careful attention. “It's been said people who can learn, unlearn, and relearn will be successful,” Hutto said. “And that's simply all we need to do. We have to be willing to unlearn the things that no longer are for [the customers] and learn the things that are for them. I think AI is one of those things.”
The one thing all five panelists understood is that the Pro AV journey never ends. The next big thing may already be here—it simply needs reimagining. Schyvinck turned to Sidney Shure’s now famous quote, “We know very well that absolute perfection cannot be attained, but we will never stop striving for it.” Shure is at InfoComm 2025 celebrating 100 years of innovation by constantly adapting and evolving. The Pro AV industry is now working together to do the same for the next 100 years.
