Exretis Almo logo
Exretis Almo logo

Now Hear This—Your Ultimate Audio Source is Here.

by | Apr 3, 2018 | Pro Audio, Uncategorized

Everyone has a story, and when you’ve been around professional audio as long as I have, you’ve heard them all … from headphone distribution system failures just as the clock starts with a room full of studio musicians to a client who thought that the female end of an XLR connector was the microphone. That’s right, I actually had that conversation years ago with a wannabe news stringer who was putting together their first ENG rig.

The point is, audio applications are varied, wide and deep. Some audio professionals spend their whole careers working with 70-volt installed sound and understand the challenges involved, whereas someone doing live sound or coming from a studio background may not have the knowledge and skill set to successfully design, build and install a system (and vice versa). Whatever your area of expertise, it’s critical to partner with a distributor who has the experience to deliver exactly what you need to get the job done.

A trusted resource has gotten even better.

A good mechanic has the correct tools for the job, and it’s the same with the audio professional. Audio design involves many choices, and we know that many times these choices boil down to the preference of the designer or engineer. That’s why Almo is expanding YOUR audio options through our new dedicated audio sourcing and technical support group, Sound Options.

Pack your toolkit with all of the brands you want.

Through Sound Options, we’re partnering with audio vendors to provide the tools you need to complete your project, your way. You’ll also receive the legendary sales assistance and technical support that’s helped make Almo the premier provider of exceptional audio solutions.

Ashly Audio–amplifiers, mic/line mixers, DSP processors

Beyerdynamic–microphones for any application

Phoenix Technologies–Stringray 4 channel auto-mixer

Taiden–wired and infrared wireless microphone conferencing and simultaneous interpretation

A Peek Behind the Curtain – A Visit to Panasonic’s Innovation Center

by | Feb 2, 2018 | Uncategorized

In December of last year, I had the opportunity to visit Panasonic’s Harrison, NJ technical research and training facility. It was a fantastic opportunity to peek behind the curtain, as it were, to see the technology that continually sets Panasonic apart from their competitors.

Let’s start with projectors. Panasonic has been manufacturing projectors for over 35 years. Their new Solid Shine series projector has done away with the traditional lamp and replaced it with LED and laser componentry that gives the user 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation. So, if you used this projector ten hours a day for a year, it would be over five years before one even thought of a component failure.

The units feature a reliable cooling system and dust resistant sealed optics. The unit runs cooler as well and has an eco-save option that will cut power consumption by almost 30%. The instant on/off capability of the unit increases productivity – no waiting for a lamp to come to full brightness.

The most impressive moment of my projector tour was the shootout against a well-known competitor. Both had optimal settings configured (I checked). The results are below, taken with my lowly cell phone camera. It clearly shows the distinction between one company’s idea of white vs Panasonic’s.  Also, notice the edges of the competitors’ screen as the brightness fades at the edges.

Panasonic is a major manufacturer of broadcast-grade studio cameras and monitors. The technology that Panasonic incorporates into those cameras shows up across their lines. Their new AW-UE70 is one example. It can deliver 4K image quality via HDMI, USB or over IP. The four-drive lens system enables high image quality zooming in the 4K format. Absolutely stunning results for a PTZ camera!

The coolest thing I saw while I was there was Panasonic’s Link Ray technology (not to be confused with the unsung hero of distorted guitar, Link Wray). Using your smartphone camera and Link Ray app, the user points to a light source (e.g. display), the app reads the information, connects to the Link Ray platform, and imports content destination info – usually a URL.  The app then connects to the destination content server and downloads the information to your phone. I watched a Panasonic engineer put together content for display that included pictures and text. When the file was uploaded to the display, I used the app and instantly the information was provided to my phone. I see this technology transforming retail, wayfaring, transportation centers (airports, train/bus stations), and municipal applications – the list is endless. If configured, the user has the ability to view the information in multiple languages. The technology is effective at a distance. You don’t have to be directly on the light source for the app to receive the information.

Last but certainly not least was my visit to the display lab and looking at the quality of Panasonic displays. Panasonic also manufactures very cool touchscreen displays. What sets this display apart from its competitors is that the built-in whiteboard does not require an external PC to run the whiteboard software. There is a floating menu bar that makes the operation of the unit easy and intuitive. One can even annotate on an external device and it will show up on the display. It can share still images, video and audio with included Wi-Fi-Certified Miracast technology.  The display has the ability to extend, duplicate or set up a second screen from your computer as well. Full HD 1080p resolution is supported. The user can even bring a USB storage device for playback directly from the display. The unit also supports DIGITAL LINK, Panasonic’s connection system based on HDBaseT technology that supports the transmission of HDMI, uncompressed 4K, HD video and control commands via CAT5e and Cat6 cabling.

I wish I could have had a week at the Panasonic facility instead of just one day. So much cool technology, so little time…

Audio – Twenty Years Ago. One Almo BDM’s Fond Memories and Meager Beginnings

by | Dec 28, 2017 | Pro Audio, Sound Engineering, Uncategorized

Hello Almo Customers!

As the New Year begins, I thought I’d take a moment to introduce myself, as I am one of the newer Business Development Managers here at Almo.

My name is Steve Alexander, I came on board with Almo in July of 2017 to help grow the audio offerings we provide to you, our customers. I’ve been involved in professional audio since the early 1980’s, graduating from the music business program at Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Click Image to Listen  

Like many of you, while in school I did various jobs to supplement my meager student existence. My first “real” job in pro audio was working in a Music Row recording studio making cassette (you remember those, don’t you?) tape copies for songwriters and publishers wanting to pitch their songs to artist to put on their next release.

I eventually made my way to the control room, wrapping cables, setting up mics, and observing everything I could in order to have a chance to sit in front of the mixing console. During my tenure, I managed to work in various studios around town, eventually making my way up to chief engineer.

A number of years later I am still in love with audio. I’ve had gigs selling equipment to broadcast facilities, did some IT work as a Cisco engineer, and ran a team of AV pros supporting AV & VC technologies at the World Bank in Washington, DC.

I eventually married and settled in beautiful Annapolis, MD. Annapolis is blessed with a great number of talented musicians I got to know over time and thought, what’s an audio guy with an unfinished basement to do other than make the basement into a studio! Now remember, this was twenty years ago. So with a small budget I got to work. I triple-walled the control room and performance space to ensure as little noise as possible, made it into a performance space and built out the control room and vocal booth.

I decided to stick with a tape based system as a full blown Pro-Tools system was out of my financial reach at that time. So I decided on three Tascam DA-38’s synced together using their RC-848 transport remote, a Behringer 24×8 console was my recording desk, and I had a good bit of outboard gear to supplement what the Beheringer didn’t offer sonically, a Focusrite mic-pre & EQ, a number of dbx compressor/limiters, urei leveling amps, a Hafler audio amp,  JBL monitors and Auratone’s for my car audio mix. All this was tied together using Whirlwind TTL patchbays to route signals.  Over the years I had assembled a nice collection of microphones, from Shure SM57’s, to Sennheiser 421’s, and AKG D10, C391B’s, 414, etc.

One of my favorite projects was a compilation Christmas CD featuring local Annapolis artist. That CD provided the impetus for the still running two night live show of “An Annapolis Christmas” that occurs every December at our local music venue the Rams Head on Stage.

I’ve included a mix of “This Christmas” as performed by the Annapolis based band, Majesty 12.

No, it won’t sound as if it was recorded at Capital Studio A, but it ain’t bad considering it was recorded in my basement… ahh, my salad days…

Twenty years later, the technology is exponentially better, just to say you don’t need a million dollar budget to put together a decent sounding recording facility. This translates into the install and integration markets as well. With the convergence of AV and IT, the possibilities are truly endless. It’s an exciting time to be an AV professional. Almo ProAV is dedicated to helping our partners provide the best in class solution to their end users.

I hope you will allow me to assist you with any upcoming projects you have that involve audio.

Pin It on Pinterest