by Heather Wagaman | Apr 25, 2017 | Pro Displays
I had one happy visitor at my home last month.
My dear friend Blair lives in Nova Scotia, on the Southeastern tip of Canada… up near Maine. He came for a long overdue visit, and I’m sure at the time there wasn’t a happier Canadian anywhere in the Lower 48.
Plenty of things contributed to his joy. Our beautiful beaches, his many friends, some of his favorite restaurants… But my friend Blair was happiest enjoying the beautiful March South Florida weather and spent much time in the Chikee Hut watching anything and everything on the 65” SunBrite Veranda Series display that I’d recently had installed.
Photo of Blair’s car in Canada while he visited FLA
I love my Veranda display for what it is. 4K UHD, bright, rugged and extremely affordable (SRP of $1,499 for 43”, $1,999 for 55”, and $3,499 for 65”). An added benefit, especially working for Almo Pro AV, is being able to brag with authority about the impressive features of the entire line, which includes not only the Veranda Series for full shade applications but also the Signature Series for partial sun applications, Pro Series for full sun and active areas and Marquee Series for full sun and active areas outdoor digital signage.
Blair is pretty into technology, and was thoroughly impressed when I explained the virtues of these hearty displays. While the bright picture is immediately impressive, SunBrite goes through great lengths to ensure a perfect viewing experience.
Since 2004, SunBrite has specialized in outdoor TVs and nothing else, and each class of display is considered an outdoor appliance. Unlike indoor TVs that have an electrical hazard risk if used in any wet, outdoor environment, careful measures were taken to ensure the safety of installers and end-users against electric shock. You will not see the hazard symbol on any SunBrite Display, because it is not necessary!
Designed and engineered in the United States, SunBrite stands behind their products with a one-year warranty for Veranda Series displays and two year warranty on Signature, Pro and Marquee Series displays. The warranty is on-site and includes parts and labor, offering peace of mind that these displays will perform to expectations.
The extensive testing that guarantees these displays are truly the best in outdoor displays surely drove it home for me and my houseguest. To top it off, how can you not be impressed with this:
All SunBrite Displays are lab-tested to withstand extreme temperatures:
- – Veranda is -24° to 104°F
- – Signature is -24° to 122°F
- – Pro is -40° to 122°F
SunBrite Displays are water tested via 4.4 gallons per minute every 3 hours over 3 days… That’s 2700 GALLONS of water per display. NEVER has a display failed this test!
Not that we needed an excuse, but with
March Madness at its mad finest, it was time to throw a party! The mighty Florida Gators were playing in the Elite Eight after a stunning late night buzzer-beater in overtime to send the wily Wisconsin Badgers home in defeat. It was a Saturday afternoon, the food was ordered and prepped, the bar was ready, and the weather was perfect. To give you an idea, enjoy a couple photos of our afternoon of basketball, sunshine, eats and an amazing display!
Regional Finals – the game is about to begin
The Gators are still in it…
The gang enjoying the game
Watching outdoors is fun!
Sadly for me, the Gators did not make it to the Final Four that afternoon. But they gave a great show, and everyone had a great time. This was the first of the many soirees I will host, and my SunBrite Veranda will absolutely be front and center for them all!
Have you installed a SunBrite outdoor display and hosted great events with friends? Tell me about them in the comments below!
by Heather Wagaman | Nov 1, 2016 | Digital Signage, Education, Uncategorized
October finished up the last of the Almo Pro AV E4 AV Tours for 2016, the last of which was in Dallas, TX.
One of the many things to do is walk through the Exhibit Hall, where all of Almo’s manufacturer partners showcase their latest and greatest products…
I really “flipped” over the all-new R Series product displayed by Sharp at our Dallas Show.
This beauty will come in a 42”, 49” and 55” display, and with the extreme tilt capabilities opens up new mounting possibilities that gives more flexibility than ever before to digital signage installations. My imagination went wild. Not only can this series be mounted in portrait or landscape mode, imagine the 42” display mounted face up on a table in a sleek apparel shop, or the 55” face down from the ceiling in a planetarium…
While I wouldn’t suggest mounting it on a floor surface that would be walked on, the design of these monitors is robust enough that they can be suspended from the four corners of the rear housing using wires. I immediately envisioned a simple, elegant look for an office lobby, like an attorney’s office or accounting firm or a retail shop where information, daily specials or other content could be simply and beautifully displayed.
The ingenuity and creativity of our dealers and integrator customers is always impressive. And I can’t wait to see what they come up with when they let loose with Sharp’s new PN-R Series!
by Heather Wagaman | Sep 26, 2016 | News, Uncategorized
There has obviously been a TON of information published, interviews conducted, Web X Meetings, etc, from both inside and outside the channel in regards to the acquisition of IAVI by Almo Pro AV. Now that the dust has settled, and as a 10 year employee and Senior Manager at IAVI before the acquisition, here is a look at the acquisition from (perhaps) a little DIFFERENT perspective.
FIRST THOUGHTS
- “OMG we’ve been bought out by a competitor in the industry”
- “OMG do I have a job?”
- “Oh no, what ARE we going to do?”
Rewind 3 months to April 13th
IAVI was a 19 year old Commercial – Pro A/V Distributor; a veteran so to speak in the channel with HUGE growth percentages year after year since the mid 2000’s. Almo Pro AV, the company that acquired IAVI, was for the last 7 years one of our chief competitors, certainly our rival in the channel and now; they’ve both taken us out of the game and literally taken over in general. The world as WE knew is now totally upside down and “we” have seemingly LOST the battle.
Fast forward… (it’s now the end of September!)
Where are we today?
“We” as the new combined Almo Pro AV have participated in the third of our E4 AV Tour of the year in Boston, exhibited at InfoComm in June, conducted our annual National Sales Meeting in July, and have one more E4 AV Tour shows coming up soon: Dallas on October 18th (SAVE THE DATE!)
Virtually ALL of Almo Corporation and Almo Pro AV Senior Management have visited the new Almo Florida office and have provided the EX IAVI team with their motives for acquiring the company, and their vision for the future. They’ve shared opinions and insights with us in regards to the “best practices” that had been identified early on between the two companies and we’ve watched as they’ve specifically implemented some of the IAVI practices quickly into the NEW combined Almo Pro AV.
The results of the due diligences investigations that took place prior to the acquisition have been shared and many of us have been proud to see our NEW company adopt and implement many IAVI practices into the new combined Almo Pro AV almost immediately.
Those of us that were offered positions at Almo have been extremely impressed with the ongoing thought process of Almo Corporation owners and the executive team in the Pro AV Division digging deep into all of the business practices of the acquired company to make the new combined company even BETTER than the previous two individual organizations.
My hats off to Gene, Roz, and Warren Chaiken, Sam Taylor and the rest of the Almo Pro AV Senior Management team for the care and dedication they demonstrated in trying to FIND ways to retain members of the IAVI Team throughout the entire organization in lieu of finding reasons to let them go.
Many people have told me over the years and especially right after the IAVI acquisition, that Almo is a PEOPLE first company and that they recognize their greatest assets as their employees. As a NEW employee of Almo Pro AV it’s my pleasure to testify to the truth of their words and it’s my pleasure to be a part of such a warm and caring organization. I for one am very PROUD to be a part of this incredible new Almo Pro AV TEAM!
