Did you hear? Panasonic is extending their successful line of entry-level and standard display panels to include more sizes, more features, and more versatility. This growing line of panels are reliable, and come from a well-established brand like Panasonic – a staple in the audio-visual industry. You will notice Panasonic’s display form factor has not changed much, if any, over the decades – and that design decision is purposeful. Simply put, it makes swapping out an older Panasonic display for a new Panasonic display quite easy. Panasonic is a tried & true brand and a go-to supplier for many, many resellers and integration firms. Here are some of our favorite go-to models.
Oh yeah, they also have touch displays and video wall options – but I will save that for another blog write-up for now. I must share that their product finder is also an excellent tool to find the size and display type needed for your next project. Check it out.
2. THE FEATURES
Let’s talk features! There are so many great features, but I am going to touch on the ones that I think are more important and show why Panasonic displays are in a league of their own.
Quality
Many Panasonic displays employ 4K picture quality to render intricately detailed images. For example, the SQ1 Series features the “12-Axis Color Management function” for ideally faithful color reproduction of digital signage content, and “HDR” compatibility to express a wide brightness range from dark to bright. Equipped with the new Intel® SDM specification slot standard, the SQ1 Series can be combined with an interface board for simple but wide system interoperability.
Versatility
Here’s a quick summary of the best applications for Panasonic’s multi-series professional display lineup. SQ1 Series is ideal for signage – portrait or landscape. The EQ1 is designed for and has features that are ideal for conference & meeting spaces, and this model is budget-friendly, too. And finally yet importantly, the CQ1 Series is ideal for bars and restaurants. Click here for a rundown of all features and specs.
3. THE WARRANTY
One of the best warranties in the Pro AV industry comes from Panasonic. Their flat panel display products come with a three-year limited warranty with advance replacement. Yes, 3 years – that is awesome! To further delight resellers and their customers, Panasonic adds a higher level of protection to their displays with extended support options available for purchase. In addition, if you or your staff require product training or equipment deployment assistance with any Panasonic products, they provide on-site consultation packages. Here are the details.
Flat Panel Advance Swap Program
Professional displays mission critical application are backed up with an exchange program (Hot Swap) included in the standard warranty. This includes:
• Reducing repair turn-around time on your defective display
• Replacement unit sent with two-day expedited shipping
• Shipped anywhere within the continental states
• Applies to all display models purchased after April 2018
• Replacement units are inspected and conditioned at our Panasonic National Repair Center
• Warranty for replacement unit will be a continuation of the defective one being replaced
What you can expect:
• Two Business Day Delivery
• Support 5 Days a Week (Monday-Friday)
• Free Shipping and Delivery on each instance for the flat panel swap
• Technical Support available 8AM-8PM EST (requests must be received by 12:00PM EST to meet shipping deadlines for delivery
• Same or comparable model provided
• Transportation times for larger display sizes (above 55 inches) may vary due to handling requirements
Panasonic Tech Support experts will manage the logistics of getting the replacement unit to your customers’ locations as well as to pick up the defective unit.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the Panasonic panel lineup or any or any of their professional equipment. I am here to help!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the entirety of 2020 — though we don’t blame you if that’s what you were going for — you have probably been inundated with blogs and posts talking about the “new normal” or “these unprecedented times.” This won’t be one of those posts. Mostly. We at Sony like to refer to this time, instead, as the “new now.” Knowing what we know now (in the “new now”), there’s a lot we wished we had in the realm of technology when COVID-19 first emerged. But, as it turns out, many of the technology solutions we needed all along already existed! One of them is the REA-C1000 Edge Analytics Appliance from Sony, who must have had a premonition when it released the product prior to 2020; the REA-C1000 has been a triumphant success to enable continued meeting, teaching and worshipping together when we can’t actually physically be together.
The device uses artificial intelligence (but think more imaging and recognition and less freaky “I, Robot” movie scenes) to add upgraded features to PTZ cameras that revolutionize the presenter and audience experience — transforming how content is delivered and received. Global pandemic or not, the REA-C1000’s features, which we’ll break down below, can absolutely be put to use for hybrid applications today. What’s more, they’ll still be relevant when we are all back together and breathing the same recycled air.
Read on to see how the REA-C1000 Edge Analytics Appliance, Sony’s AI-based video analytics solution, brings us five ways to use AI in video presentation content— not just in the future but right now.
1. Handwriting Extraction Technology
Many homes are currently home to e-learning with elementary or middle school-aged kids. This presents some real challenges for the students and the teacher when trying to show complex problems or concepts to remote participants. This is a perfect example of where using AI in video makes perfect sense — to enhance education. The Handwriting Extraction feature license on the REA-C1000 can help.
Using the handwriting extraction feature would allow the presenter (the teacher) to use a standard white or black board to write on or solve problems behind them. As they finish, the REA-C1000 picks up the writing and creates an overlay in front of them on screen.
The instructor is still in the shot, standing “behind” the information and pointing out important features, without blocking the audience’s view of the information. The image above shows the overlay at around 30% opacity, but that’s adjustable based on the comfort level of the instructor/students. It can even be dialed up to 100% for camera-shy presenters.
2. Keep Presenters and Speakers in Frame At All Times
PTZ cameras have come a long way, but using AI technology alongside PTZ cameras pushes the possibilities further. Using four points of recognition — motion detection, face detection, color pattern recognition and shape recognition — the REA-C1000 uses highly accurate critical thinking to take the place of a human camera operator. The device’s PTZ Auto-Tracking feature license is as straightforward as it sounds — but where Sony has done it right is that the REA-C1000 requires no external lanyards that can be lost or broken.
The ideal application for this technology is your conference and/or house of worship cases with someone on a stage that may want to move about. Or in your lecture or training halls where, again, someone may be moving back and forth to gesture, turning their back to the audience but still remaining in the shot. The camera will pan with them as they walk back and forth, even when others join them on stage. That one-to-one relationship makes Sony’s solution unique while remaining budget-friendly, because the auto-tracking license is actually free with the purchase of the REA-C1000 until March 31, 2021. The feature will require a Sony PTZ camera (which you were probably going to use anyway, right?) due to the software coding.
3. Involve the Audience
The third REA-C1000 highlight that brings futuristic AI to video right now is its Close-Up by Gesture feature license — allowing you to involve your audience as much as you would the presenter. This is an excellent feature for the hybrid classroom or town hall, offering two points of view: one camera focused on the main presenter and another camera focused on the audience. When an audience member stands to speak, the REA-C1000 will zoom in on the speaker until they are finished and sitting down again.
4. Create Great Content — Without Specialists and Extreme Costs
Next up, possibly our favorite feature bringing AI to video presentations today, is the REA-C1000 Chroma Key-less CG Overlay: a budget-friendly way to create a studio or green screen without the green screen. With this feature, you can create amazing content in real time without a dedicated studio or specialized content creators. Using AI, the REA-C1000 can use any-color static wall to create a background of your choosing. These backgrounds can be aesthetically pleasing images, videos or even dynamic presentations. Any content, images or videos you can access with your computer, you can use as a background using this feature. Then, use your computer monitor as a focus monitor to gesture.
Why does this matter? Because having full-scale studios on-site can be incredibly — and we mean incredibly — costly: Between cameras, lighting and the real estate itself, you’re looking at five- and six-figure totals. Alternatively, many companies or individuals are choosing the “Airbnb of studio rentals” model, renting studio spaces by the hour or day. Looking at that cost structure in cities like New York City or Los Angeles, a rental studio space can be anywhere from $50 to $70 per hour for up to four people. Additional equipment — like the camera, one production light, the green screen, etc. — runs anywhere from $10 per item to $250 per item, or it’s priced per hour (source: peerspace.com).
If you’re a business that regularly produces training videos or commercials, or you wish to regularly present a professional live session but have limited resources, the REA-C1000 is the perfect middle ground between full-scale broadcast studios and third-party rentals. And the Chroma Key-less CG overlay feature is ideal for low-budget “studios” as a way to record professional-looking videos.
Sony’s solution draws anyone who wants to give the best, most immersive presentation possible while we cannot meet in person. Think of this in the context of corporate video production. Or even consider something as out of the box as a real estate professional giving a “live” tour of a space, not just on an iPhone. Taking into account the current climate of caution over contamination, owning the equipment to use at your disposal is still an invaluable resource that pays for itself over a handful of these rentals, and ten-fold over creating a full-scale production studio.
5. Focus Area Cropping
The fifth and final feature we’ll share today that allows for futuristic AI tech right now: Focus Area Cropping. This one may seem to have less of a wow factor than some of the others, but it has great importance when you or your client are trying to create a special experience for the audience and the presenter but don’t have the staff for a controller — or the budget for extra heads or other expensive hardware or software. Whether you are streaming your worship service over a web platform (which the REA-C1000 can do with its RTSP/RTMP port) or, when we are back in large groups, hosting a conference with a keynote speaker, you can be sure their movements, body language and facial expressions will be captured to emulate the full experience, no matter what.
In the “new now,” the REA-C1000 is — dare we say it, despite our earlier stated dislike for overused buzzwords — a true game-changer for so many applications; it creates impactful video presentation content that previously would have required significant time, expenses and human resources to produce. It’s hard to fit all the proof points into one story, so don’t just take our word for it: Check out this case study from the University of Hiroshima on how the school integrated Sony’s solution into its daily routine for professors teaching via multiple campuses simultaneously.
Want to learn more? Listen to this podcast on the Edge Analytics Appliance — it covers specs, use cases and more. And when you’re ready, reach out to your Almo sales rep to see a live demo of the product and get more information.
Note: The five features discussed today require the one-time purchase of a license for that feature. But good news: You get a 60-day trial for each feature with your purchase of a REA-C1000 device to test it out for yourself.
Ashley Nichols, CTS
Business Development Manager Email: [email protected] Toll-free: 888.420.2566 x6229 Fax: 267-350-0351
At a recent gathering of professional meeting planners, they tapped into my AV industry experience to discuss how to keep people socially distanced but not have to rent a ton more meeting space while providing a great AV experience. I told them the answer was short… short throw!
I recently had the privilege to be involved in a meeting planner’s conference with a mix of agencies and in-house corporate planners to discuss the business of getting back to in-person meetings. Part of my role at Almo is to help plan and produce our own E4 Experience traveling show among dozens of other smaller tradeshows, events and summits with the help of an amazing events team. As the turmoil of COVID continues to linger, we all compared notes about “how are we going to do it… and SAFELY?”.
One major expense for any event is the rental of the meeting space – it’s usually wrapped into a package with catering and sleeping rooms but when you have a local event like an E4 Experience, the meeting space rental can be pricey. My fellow meeting planners there do not have the advantage of their own “house AV” comprised of many CTS Certified business development managers such as Brian Rhatigan to help spec and design the most effective solution.
The usual gold standard for a meeting is rear projection for that “wow” factor of the big stage with multiple screens without seeing that ugly stand and hoping someone does not walk in front of it, trip on a cable(s)… you get the picture. However, we all know that takes up a lot of space. Now that we have to socially distance six feet apart and still want that wow factor and NOT break the bank on meeting space, we’re lucky to have in our arsenal the short throw projector which, if used properly can still provide the “wow”.
Epson’s PowerLite Pro L series offers a full line of high-bright laser projectors ranging from 6,000 lumens up to 30,000 lumens, all with optional interchangeable lenses including those for short throw applications. When it comes to rear-projection, a typical projector will require about 25 feet of clearance behind the screen. This can be reduced significantly by using one of Epson’s short throw lenses shrinking the required distance down to under 10 feet. For a 75-foot-wide ballroom this gives you an additional 1875 square of usable space while maintaining the clean and clutter-free look of rear-projection.
My meeting planner colleagues were also discussing various ways to produce more revenue for sponsorships or reduce the cost of printing large signs and paying for rigging for, in many cases, union labor (not to mention the environmental impact of all that vinyl in landfills). I introduced them to the Epson LightScene laser projector to empower them with the creative freedom and flexibility to tell the client’s story, in the way they envision it. Forget the old gobo lights!!! Engage your audience by designing a visually compelling and immersive experience.
It was SO great being IN-PERSON with these folks! The ideas flowing, exchanging terrific keynote speakers, wonderful venues – there’s nothing like being in person. As part of the AV industry, I was thrilled to share some new tech with them to help us all get back together.
Going back to work is a perfect time for organizations to embrace technologies and solutions like digital signage to improve communication and employee engagement. They may have no idea how, but do know that they need to improve how their employees interact with the business in an ever changing environment. Others may know exactly what they want to do, but they need some guidance as to how to bring their vision to fruition. In both scenarios, it is important that we take everything into consideration.
“Digital signage has come into its own, as lock down has begun to ease in some areas, but the next challenge is how to extend the use of these solutions as the masses return to work”, says Shaun Oxenham, CEO at MediaStar Systems. Digital signage can be found in numerous public spaces. And the businesses that house these spaces are prone to “head back to work” at some point in time. Public spaces, highway signage, offices, museums, stadiums, retail stores, hotels, restaurants, educational institutions are all familiar with the benefits of signage. Using digital signage is a great way to attract customers and gain the attention of the masses. People are more likely to pay attention if you are displaying promotions, sharing business information or instructions. Digital signage is not only meant to digitally promote sales, or share social media. Digital Signage is meant to create an experience and should be entertaining.
2020 has been a year of challenges, yet we have and need the ability to adapt. Employers have had to make endless changes. As we move into 2021, employers from all verticals are beginning to contemplate a back to work plan. Not only will that transition plan need to keep their employees and customers safe, they need to entice customers to return to face to face engagement. In addition, businesses need to be able to effectively communicate between remote employees and employees who are able safely engage on site.
LG Technologies offers numerous solutions for endless digital signage needs. Take a look at the UH5F Series by LG. The LG UHD Signage offers sizes ranging from 55” to 98” in size. It has cutting edge technology and its brightness captures an audience. This solution has versatility and can be used as a meeting room solution or in a retail environment. It boasts Ultra HD resolution and wide angle viewing with IPS technology.
Many new products have been developed during the course of the recent pandemic. But what cannot be forgotten is communication with employees and customers. I would not call it a silver lining but an opportunity instead, in that the pandemic has elevated the digital workplace from a “nice to have” to a “must have” status. Reach out to your sales rep at ALMO PRO AV so they can work with you and ensure that you have the right technologies to help you deliver the right products to fulfil the needs of your customers.
Corinne Furmanek – O’Rawe, DSCE Business Development Manager
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