The projector was once predicted to be something that was headed for the archives as the Digital Signage market took over. Despite the growth and vast variety of digital signage solutions, the projector can provide benefits in particular venues’ that digital signage may not. If you’re of the age bracket I am (which I shall not divulge) just hearing the word “projector’ brings back fond thoughts of family memories of my childhood because other than movie theaters, where else did we see a need for projectors? OK, we also had those oh so awful “projectors” in the education market, and if we were well behaved we got to watch old movies in class as a reward. So look how far we have come! Projectors of all sizes have not only remained a viable solution in numerous venues, but new projectors are providing options for solutions that are new and innovative.
LG Electronics has been in the projection market globally for many years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working as the ALMO PRO AV Business Development Manager dedicated to LG, and now LG is taking its technology in the US to the next level which is so exciting!
LG Business Solutions USA introduced two new 4K laser projectors designed for the needs of a diverse range of commercial spaces. LG’s expansion into commercial-grade laser projectors provides businesses with professional-level projection solutions that create new opportunities thanks to their incredible brightness, sharpness, color accuracy, 20,000-hour lamp life and state-of-the-art functionality that includes screen mirroring and 12-point keystone adjustment.
LG Electronics recently launched the LG ProBeam series (BU50N) and the BF50N Series of business projectors. These projectors are designed for portability and value, with Laser lamps offering up to 20,000 hours of lamp life and amazing spec of 5000 ansi lumens. LG projectors are ideal for the corporate environment and higher education. They are designed for portability and value, with LED lamps offering up to 20,000 hours of lamp life. This puts LG in a competitive space with Sony, Epson and Panasonic. What is even more appealing is that these projectors offer small connectivity through LG’s award winning WEBOS platform. With the release of the BF50N WUXGA Laser Projector, LG provides a non 4K model with WebOS Smart Connectivity. Two flavors to meet your price range.
In my opinion, the most impressive of the models is the LG CineBeam HU85LS. LG has provided the perfect projector in this space. The HU85LS brings a truly cinematic experience with an incredible 8.3 million pixels (3840 x 2160). The panel can be quickly adjusted in four directions to obtain an effective resolution of 3,840×2,160 (8.3M pixels). It delivers impeccable precision and detail at four times the resolution of Full HD and even images up to 120 inches remain clear and crisp. Enjoy a premium theater experience in your own home. In addition to the “dream come true” home entertainment system, this product is of most value in the Enterprise, Education, and Entertainment. It adds a cinematic atmosphere to your space while its slim, stylish design naturally blends into your interior design.
Impressed? I am! Here at ALMO PRO AV we are looking forward to working with you and answering your questions regarding these great new projector designs from LG. I personally look forward to providing you more information as your LG Business Development Manager. Please do not hesitate to contact me!
Corinne Furmanek – O’Rawe, DSCE Business Development Manager
AV-over-IP continues to pick up traction among integrators in the ProAV industry, but there are still quite a few that find themselves questioning if they should start implementing this technology. In fact, 45% of respondents in a 2019 industry survey revealed that they either do not embrace, or are on the fence with adopting AV-over-IP as a viable AV distribution solution – nearly half. So why all the hesitation, and furthermore, why is now the right time for using AV-over-IP?
Let’s start with asking what is AV-over-IP? It stands for Audio-Visual over Internet Protocol, which might sound a little challenging to some AV integrators who don’t know anything about networking.
AV-over-IP (also known as AVoIP) refers to the use of standard network equipment to transmit and switch video and audio. At its foundation the basic AV-over-IP system is quite simple. Sources are being encoded, connecting through a network switch to decoders that are then connected to displays (see image below).
Image courtesy of Atlona
What about more complex AV-over-IP applications in ProAV? Just take a look at the sample below where you see converged usage of Digital Signage, IP Surveillance, Content Servers, Blu-Ray players, Set Top Boxes, and Personal Computers…. all on the same network.
When looking at these examples it may cause some AV dealers to avoid taking on AVoIP due to apprehensions about the technology, networking skills, cost, interoperability, flexibility and scalability. Let’s address some of these concerns head on.
There are numerous products available for AVoIP, which can cause difficulty deciding which technology, networking hardware or brands to use. In contrast with past attempts at accelerating AV over IP, it’s not just one or two obscure vendors that are stepping into this change. The largest and most influential AV vendors in the industry are leading the change. For example, the Software Defined Video over Ethernet (SDVoE) Alliance is an eco-system of companies in and around the AV-over-IP space, working together to create a fantastic platform for the next generation of audiovisual applications. Not only do all SDVoE products and solutions work together, network hardware manufacturers, like NETGEAR, are making it easier than ever to deploy them. SDVoE partners provide the audio-video products while NETGEAR, one of the founding members, provides the backbone network products that make it all possible, with interoperability being key.
What about the networking skill sets and support required for these systems? NETGEAR, for example, not only will provide design engineers (with ProAV experience) to help specify products, but will actually provide an optimal network topology design for you. Their Pro AV Engineering Services team are trained AV and IT professionals to help you both before and after the sale as well as during installation, all for free. This takes a huge load off of the AV system designer and often leads to the best outcome for the project.
NETGEAR has also taken out much of the complexity with setting up an Ethernet switch with the various protocols required for video and audio to ride over the network. Preconfiguring protocols like IGMP, Multicast and VLANs make the network switch a plug-n-play device right out of the box, saving time, money and resources usually dedicated to this task. NETGEAR’s IGMP Plus™ is a fantastic and unique feature simplifying the deployment of multicast solutions, which especially helps people who are uncomfortable with some of the more complicated IT configurations such as Layer 3 Protocol Independent Multicast or PIM routing.
AVoIP also solves the distance limitations with traditional AV cables (by utilizing copper Ethernet & fiber cables instead), is more scalable and flexible than traditional circuit-based AV products (by adding more ports & stacking the switches), and equipment costs are decreasing. All of these factors will contribute to more adoption and it will only get better as time goes on. IP convergence has already happened with telephony (POTS vs. VoIP), surveillance (analog vs. IP cameras), audio (ex. Dante, AVB) and other industries, and at some point, everything else will move to the network. AV-over-IP is happening right now and the ProAV industry will continue its way down this inevitable path, so don’t get left behind.
Don’t you think it’s time to invest in AV-over-IP to advance the future of your business? Please drop me a line and share your experience, or let me know if you would like some help getting started.
As the powerful Joe Rogan says “we are living in strange times”. Who could have anticipated a virus would shake up our world to the degree it has? We have all been forced to adapt to a new way of living in such a short period of time. Through that adaption though has come a new wave of ideas, innovative ways to achieve results, and an overall sense of evolution.
Outsourcing Audio Video work is not a new concept to our industry, but much like the Zoom Boom we have experienced as of recent, this new world has caused many of us to re-think our approach to business. Zoom was also not new to the industry previous to the Covid-19 outbreak, but it has allowed us in these turbulent times to connect with our peers, customers, and partners in ways we never took advantage of before. Taking advantage of outsourcing capabilities now could mean the difference between AV integration businesses thriving or folding.
Here are 5 reasons why your business should start thinking about outsourcing AV needs moving forward.
Overhead – During these times many AV integration firms have had to make very tough decisions in either furloughing employees or in the worst case scenario, laying them off, and while I always support the effort to bring folks back to full time employment, I think there is an increased need to do so methodically and cautiously. Outsourcing can help you achieve the results you need out of your business while minimizing potential risk and liability.
Time equals Money – Many AV business owners and personnel are currently trying to figure out how to re-open their doors, follow the guidelines of new state and federal regulations, strategize for growth in a new environment, and re-organize the 80% of mass that is the iceberg underwater we don’t see. Spending time managing design, installation and service, means time taken away from strategizing for the future. Outsourcing can minimize the impact on time spent on task level work and insure that you are focusing on the long term sustainability of your business.
Economic repeat – Many researchers and epidemiologists speculate a potential re-occurrence of the Covid-19 virus spike in the fall time frame. I think its safe to say we all hope that doesn’t occur but it is still wise to prepare in case it does. This first wave has not been friendly to the AV industry, essentially putting all projects on hold, restricting cash flow and profit to the bottom line. Interrelated to reason #1 its important to mitigate risk and outsourcing common tasks that are profit generators that don’t necessarily require the deployment or effort of your internal work force is a great way to insure your business stays healthy during troubling times.
Expansion – Many businesses have and will continue to react to this pandemic in a “Woe is me” fashion and while they are reflecting on better times, other businesses are looking through with windshield and gearing up to create positive opportunity for themselves. Outsourcing can help as an organization is throttling up for expansion. You can increase your geographical footprint by outsourcing labor/installation in regions that would not be considered in your immediate focused geography. You can also expand your capability which could be inclusive of things such as drafting, rendering, digital content creation, programming, as well as ongoing managed service agreements for the end client. These are all areas you can create expansion in and do so quickly and confidently with the help outsourcing.
Expertise – It’s impossible to be a master of all trades and often times you find your business walking away from opportunities because your organization simply doesn’t have the internal expertise to meet the demands of the end client. Outsourcing is a great way to insure you can capture those projects and do so knowing the expertise to complete the project is there. Also consider this: To be considered an AV expert, we often create an association with the obtainment of CTS, CTS-I or CTS-D credentials. In the fiber and networking communications it’s RCDD, and for project management it’s PMP. There are many industry credentials and in some cases they are required if you want to work with particular hardware equipment or software. My point is, to be an expert in any one area, requires a serious time and money investment in the area of ongoing training. You can mitigate the expenditure impact simply by outsourcing the expertise that you need, when you need it.
There is no doubt outsourcing in AV has become less taboo over the recent years and more widely adopted as a part of regular business practices. The COVID-19 Pandemic has certainly accelerated the need for outsourcing adoption. Distributors like Almo Pro AV have recognized the importance of thoughtful outsourcing early on and during these challenging times. We (Almo Pro AV) have worked diligently to evolve our services program in a way that closely aligns itself with the ongoing needs and demands from our integration partners and their customers. There is no better time than now to start integrating outsourced AV services into your business.
There’s a great solution for integrators wanting to learn a
lot more about all aspects of Digital Signage. The Digital Signage
Federation(DSF) has worked with subject matter experts from around the
industry to create over two dozen online classes as part of a
micro-credentialing program. Training covers everything from the basics,
to specific topics for hardware, software, scheduling, project planning and
content. Courses were developed by Digital Signage Federation members working
as volunteers to deliver educational content to industry peers.
Courses are about 30 minutes so they are perfect for learning a topic at whatever pace makes sense. Courses include a short quiz at the end and return a certificate of completion when done. Courses area always being added throughout the year as more contributors add to the growing library.
These courses are limited to DSF members, so you do need to
first register yourself or your company to gain access. Once in, there’s hours
of courseware available.
Ryan Cahoy, DSF Board Member and Managing Director of Rise Display provides some clarity about
how these courses were developed.
“The Digital Signage Federation’s mission is to help
our industry grow through ongoing education. We have a very diverse
membership so our approach has been From Members – By Members. This
approach has allowed experts in each field to share their expertise, such as
the 2 courses contributed by Almo on
interactive content design.
Today we have over 30 active courses with new releases each month. We
would encourage Almo reseller partners to join the DSF to get access to the
entire library to and expand their digital signage knowledge.”
Learning about content
As Ryan mentions, I contributed two courses, a basic
overview of content and a more advanced course on experiential content. The
basic overview provides a good introduction to content creation, content
strategy and workflows. The experiential course goes over interactive and
dynamic content, both for close up touch screens and more complex at a distance
experiences.
Getting involved
The great thing about this program is the DSF is always looking for more content, and they accept multiple contributions on similar topics. If you’re interested in contributing a course, reach out to me and I’ll connect you with the right people at the DSF.
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