October: Where Sports and AV Play as a Team

October isn’t just pumpkin season, Halloween candy and pumpkin patches, it’s the heart of sports season. My husband grew up in Brooklyn but somehow became a Cowboys fan (still investigating). I grew up with the Giants in my backyard, and after 14 years in South Florida, I’ve learned to cheer for the Dolphins too, mostly so my neighbors don’t egg my driveway or I don’t get dirty looks at Publix. Add my half-Brazilian, half-Portuguese roots and suddenly the World Cup feels like a family reunion. The rivalries are real, but here’s one thing we all agree on: sports without the right AV is just overpriced beer or trick-or-treat without candy. With the right AV, it’s unforgettable, and that’s where Almo Pro AV comes in.

Stadiums in October aren’t just about football; they’re about atmosphere. Absen PL2.5 Pro, Samsung IAC, LG’s LAPA136-GF.AUSQ, Planar TVF, and MAXHUB LM138A07 LED walls make even the nosebleeds feel like front row. Epson EB-PU2220B projectors put replays on the big board brighter than the Florida sun. Christie Griffyn 4K32-RGB lights up end zones like Broadway, and Panasonic PT-MZ880 keeps multipurpose areas covered. Peerless-AV and Chief mounts hold it all steady, while Sennheiser EW-DX mics, JBL VTX arrays, and Crown I-Tech amps make every whistle and roar shake the concrete. And if you don’t have control? Forget it. AMX and Atlona keep the show running smooth so no one fumbles the AV on 4th down.

PTZOptics belongs here too. Their 30X-NDI cameras with Hive are being used for live sports broadcasts, streaming games, press conferences, and even fan cams that rack up more views than the actual highlight reel. It’s broadcast quality without the truck, which means even smaller venues can deliver big-league streaming.

 

Gyms are catching on as well. I visited one in Bogotá that looked more like a TV studio than a gym. Netgear M4250 switches kept the feeds flowing, SoundTube pendants powered by LEA Connect 354 amps handled the sound, and Kramer processors kept the whole system easy to manage. Members were half-working out, half-starring in their own highlight reel. One guy told me he felt more scouted than he ever did in high school ball, and honestly, he wasn’t wrong.

 

Sports bars in Miami? That’s where Sundays are basically religion. A neighborhood bar turned game day into an experience with Sharp PN-M752 displays, Sony FW-98BZ53L BRAVIA Pros, and an LG LAPA136-GF.AUSQ LED wall. BrightSign XT1145 players kept replays and promos rolling, AtlasIED Atmosphere processors with Bose DS 100SE speakers made the sound clean, and Panasonic PT-MZ880 projectors expanded the view. AMX control made it simple for the bartenders to swap games between orders. Add ListenWiFi so fans could stream commentary to their phones, and suddenly no one was fighting over the volume. The owner said Sunday sales doubled. And yes, the Sennheiser wireless mic came out for Sweet Caroline after the Dolphins actually pulled off a win.

 

In Colombia, soccer stadiums are upgrading too. Imagine stepping into a venue with Absen LED walls lighting up the pitch, Barco G62 projectors handling pre-match visuals, and PTZOptics 30X-NDI cameras with Hive pushing live feeds straight to mobile apps and fan zones. Fans tune into ListenWiFi for play-by-play without missing a call, and the energy feels like Maracanã on a final. That’s the kind of AV that keeps fans in the moment instead of looking for the nearest exit.

Now let’s talk immersive experiences. Our Special Markets team has been transforming fan zones and gyms with headsets that bring the action straight into your ears. At one stadium install, fans tuned into play-by-play commentary in real time, no more missing the call because the guy behind you is arguing about fantasy football. This isn’t just AV, it’s personal, and it’s what makes a sports experience feel one-of-a-kind.

Sports bring passion. Nobody wants bad audio, laggy control, or a dead screen to ruin their game, whether they’re in a stadium, a gym, or a bar. With Almo Pro AV’s lineup, Absen, Samsung, LG, Planar, MAXHUB, Sharp, Sony, Epson, Panasonic, Barco, Christie, Peerless-AV, Chief, Sennheiser, JBL, Crown, AtlasIED, Bose, Netgear, LEA, SoundTube, PTZOptics, MicroTouch, Listen Technologies, AMX, Atlona, Kramer, and our Special Markets team, we’ve got every angle covered. The only thing we can’t do is fix your team’s record. If I could make the Giants, Cowboys, Dolphins, Brazil, and Portugal all win, I’d be running Vegas instead of writing blogs and selling AV. And since Almo Pro AV’s headquarters is in Philly, I’m obligated to say it… Go Eagles! (Don’t tell my Giants-loving heart I said that.)

Gisela Ramirez, Sales Director - LATAM

About the Author

Gisela Ramirez

Sales Director – LATAM

Exertis Almo

September in LATAM AV: Closing Strong, Setting Up Bigger Wins

September is the last stretch of Q2 for us, and if I’ve learned anything in this industry, it’s that this month decides who walks into Q3 relaxed and who walks in scrambling. If you wait until November, you’ll be the one calling your customer to explain why their install is stuck on a boat. I have made those calls before and they are not fun.

One story that always sticks with me is from Colombia. A partner decided to hold off until November, thinking Buen Fin and year-end would be their big moment. By then, they were buried in freight delays, chasing approvals, and stressing about credit. Their competitor, who moved in September, was already delivering and winning market share. That was a turning point for me. In LATAM, the ones who move first, win first.

And I see it happening across the region right now. In Costa Rica, companies are already building hybrid rooms with LG displays, Barco ClickShare, and Netgear switching so they are ready before year-end. Guatemala is finalizing education projects with NEC projectors and Aver cameras. Chilean boardrooms are running Epson projection with Yamaha audio, while in Peru, lobby spaces are coming alive with LG DVLED walls and Legrand infrastructure. Honduras has events buzzing again with SoundTube and Peerless-AV solutions, and in Jamaica, resorts are securing Samsung outdoor displays, Yamaha audio, and Legrand cabling so their guests never miss a beat.

Puerto Rico is another great example. A university there recently upgraded lecture halls with Samsung professional displays and Listen Technologies systems. Because they moved early, everything was installed and ready before students returned. No delays, no excuses, just results. Their integrator looked like a rock star.

That is why I tell every partner the same thing: September is not a filler month. It is the launchpad. Budgets are getting finalized, projects are being scoped, and the smart integrators are locking in orders before the supply chain circus kicks off. I have watched it play out again and again. The ones who act in September spend December delivering. The ones who don’t spend December apologizing.

The lesson is simple. Don’t be the integrator explaining delays. Be the one delivering. With Almo Pro AV behind you, you have the brands, the credit, and the logistics strategy to make it happen.

Gisela Ramirez, Sales Director - LATAM

About the Author

Gisela Ramirez

Sales Director – LATAM

Exertis Almo

Where Talent Meets Teamwork: The Real Magic Behind Pro AV

You can spec the sharpest display, install the cleanest rack, tune the tightest DSP—but without connection? It’s just a bunch of impressive parts sitting quietly.

AV isn’t about isolated greatness. It’s about what happens when individual talent meets collective purpose—when the right people and the right gear sync up to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

This industry runs on collaboration—and that’s my favorite part.

Every Piece and Every Person Matters

On the surface, a polished AV system looks seamless. But behind that experience is a network of sharp minds, skilled hands, and real-time teamwork.

  • Displays shine because someone spec’d the right brightness.
  • Tom KehrAudio hits because someone knew how to tune it.
  • Control works because someone thought through the end-user experience.

Individual talent makes it shine—but collaboration is what makes it unforgettable.

A few weeks before Easter, one of our audio pros, Tom Kehr, CTS-D, CTS-I, helped me figure out what questions to ask the AV tech at my church to spec headsets. That gave me exactly what I needed to take to our always-friendly and responsive partner, Sean at Shure, who helped me choose the best headset option available in time for the Easter program. Just a few small pieces of gear—but a perfect example of how great results come from people working together and sharing what they know.

This Industry Runs on Connection

Compatibility. Sync. Collaboration.
These aren’t just tech specs—they’re the values that keep ProAV moving.

Jennifer FisherWe play well with others. We share what we know. And we show up—online, onsite, at trainings, and at events. Trade shows and demos give us a chance to exchange more than information—we share a little of ourselves. That’s where real bonds form, and those connections make everything we do together stronger.

Whether it’s our in-house technical lead Eric Olson, CTS, hopping on a call to break down complex specs… or my west coast LG BDM counterpart, Jennifer Fisher, turning a long-lead DVLED project into a ready-to-ship solution by combining two of LG’s 136” all-in-one DVLED bundles with a connector kit—saving time and serious money… or Daryl from LG following up on an RMA on his day off to make sure it’s approved in time for a grand opening.

Darryl SeeseIt’s these behind-the-scenes wins that turn potential into real results.

Almo: Collective Support in Action

At Almo, nothing moves alone—including our reseller and dealer partners.

Our culture is rooted in integrity, innovation, teamwork, and treating people like family. That’s how we show up for each other—and it’s why we’re able to support the AV industry in such a meaningful way.

Every win is backed by a crew that makes it happen:

  • Sales reps who stay sharp to offer real solutions
  • BDMs who bring product expertise and project support
  • LinkLab specialists who step in with programming, drafting, and install services when you need them
  • Warehouse teams who pack with care and move fast
  • Buyers who keep gear in stock
  • Behind-the-scenes pros in registrations, claims, inside sales, IT, and marketing—working together to deliver the best experience for everyone involved

We don’t just move product—we help move the whole project forward.

The Best Part of AV? The People.

This industry doesn’t just run on tech. It runs on people who care.

People who dig into design, stay up on specs, and solve problems under pressure.
People who build not just systems—but experiences—for the people who use them, and with the people who help bring them to life.

And we have a good time doing it. I’m proud to be part of that.

LG team

Together Is How It Works

AV isn’t a solo gig—it’s a team effort from start to finish.

When strong products and sharp professionals sync up, the result is something no single piece could achieve alone.

So here’s to the techs, the trainers, the reps, the warehouse teams, and our vendor and reseller partners. To the folks who ask smart questions, find better answers, and always make time to help.

When we plug in, sync up, and support each other — we build systems that work, and an industry that works even better.

Tiff Jones-Morton headshot-frame

About the Author

Tiff Jones-Morton | DSCE

BDM – Brand Specialist

Supported Manufacturers: LG Business Solutions (NE, SE, MW)

Contact Exertis Almo for product info, inventory availability, or to start a quote.

AV Runs on Relationships

“I’d rather buy from you than ______.”

How many times have you seen that?  I hope you’ve seen it a lot.  The question is, why are they buying from you and not someone else?

It is because you have established a relationship over time that was built upon trust, open communication and reliability.  They trust you to provide what they need and that what you propose is in their best interests.

media partnersI have often joked that AV doesn’t run on electricity – it runs on food and coffee (or energy drinks for the installers).  Truthfully, it runs on relationships.  Some new but most old.  Something came up and they took care of you.  What was supposed to happen, happened or they helped ease a difficult situation.  It was something that went beyond the swag – it was that personal touch.  A quick call or email after hours.  Listening.  Solving the problem and making it right.

Many years ago, I spec’d fourteen new model DSP boxes from a manufacturer that I already had a relationship with.  I knew they typically ran late on new products like this and this was no exception.  All fourteen boxes ended up being installed and wired in the racks on-site.  A day later, I received a call at my desk from the programmer.  “These boxes don’t do push-to-talk.”  I had made an assumption on what I thought would be a normal feature for this application.  I called my contact that I had known for a long time and he said, “Oh, those do push-to-mute.  We never considered push-to-talk.”  We had updated firmware two days later that included push-to-talk.  You don’t forget that.

When your contact went to another firm, did your business follow them there?  Probably, if they were still within the industry.  The company that they work for is many times immaterial as compared to the person and you know there had to be a reason they moved on from that last company.

getting supportAV is a relationship business whether it be with manufacturers, distributors, rep firms or clients.  The equipment itself is often secondary.

If somebody treated you like just another customer or took a job out from under you that you had been working on for months or a particular product let you down, you remember it.  Forever.  We have some very long memories in AV.

You can easily recount the bad but you also remember the good.

For example, I had to leave my car at the shop overnight when a fellow designer and I took a road trip to perform a site visit to a job in progress.  We returned back to the shop late the next night in the rain to discover that my car had been broken into.  The passenger side glass was broken and radio stolen but worse, they also took my kids’ Christmas presents that I had stashed in the trunk.  The company that I worked for didn’t have to cover the presents that were stolen but they did.  That was 20 years ago and I have never forgotten the kindness that the owner of that business showed me.

Further, how did you get your last job?  Someone knew you and your reputation.  We have all been through that.

Tom Kehr instructorInfoComm is right around the corner and there will be plenty of talk about products.  Sure, take time to talk about the products but more importantly, spend some face-to-face time with the people behind those products.  The gear is fun but it’s the relationships that matter.

I will be there this year and doing a one-hour Basic Acoustics for Meeting Rooms at 4:00pm Tuesday and a two-hour Basics of Power and Grounding at 10:00am Wednesday.  My time there will be short but I will be endeavoring to catch up with as many of you as I am able. [See class details here.]

If you enjoyed this blog, check out Tom’s “The Value of Expertise” blog for more insights.
Tom Kehr

About the Author

Tom Kehr

CTS-D, CTS-I, Network+, LEED Green Associate, ISF-C, ATD Master Trainer

In-House System Designer and Trainer

Supported Applications: System Design

Visiting the JBL Experience Center

During the last week of January 2025, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the JBL Experience Center in Los Angeles, California. Our fantastic NBT team was invited to host their Lead Summit there and I was lucky enough to get to tag along!

The Experience Center is located in a lovely area of LA – Northridge, CA – and was lucky enough to have escaped the recent wildfire incidents. A sprawling complex, the building is home to both the Experience Center and offices for JBL and Harman engineers, sales and marketing teams, and executives.

We arrived early in the morning and were greeted by JBL wizard David “Tewks” Tewksbury, who served as our tour guide and host for the day. After dropping our bags off in the conference room, we were escorted to the entryway of the Experience Center, which was a feast for the eyes and ears. JBL’s three Grammy awards were showcased in a long hallway which featured JBL Control 126 in-wall speakers playing some light background music. Martin LED lighting strips were programmed to dance to the music, and an AMX Varia touch panel allowed quick control of a number of preset scenes to set the mood.

welcome Exertis Almo From there we were greeted with a personalized surprise – the huge Samsung video wall in the lobby had been customized to welcome the Exertis Almo team to the Experience Center!

One of the best parts of the Experience Center…experience…is that nearly all of the Harman products on display are powered on and ready to be demonstrated. Getting the chance to play with touch panels, hear headphones, test microphones, and hear loudspeakers is not only a fantastic learning experience, but a lot of fun as well!

For example, AKG had two fantastic setups in the main lobby which were a hit with our group – a headphone demo wall and a vocal isolation booth for testing AKG microphones! The headphone demo wall had all of AKG’s studio headphones ready to demo – after donning the headphones of your choice you could select from any of eight music tracks and control volume directly from an AMX touch panel. The vocal demo booth featured AKG’s famous studio microphones – the C214, C314, and the venerable C414 XLii, and a small JBL audio on displaySoundcraft mixer so that you could easily switch between the different models – a very enlightening experience for a mic nerd like myself!

Near the mic and headphone demo areas were rooms highlighting JBL’s consumer and pro-sumer home, Bluetooth, and studio products. JBL’s attractive home audio products like bookshelf speakers, turntables, headphones, PartyBoxes, and other Bluetooth speakers were set up to demo and interact with. Getting to hear the JBL 104-BT desktop monitor speakers in person was the nudge I needed to finally get a set for my work desk at home.

jbl loudspeakers trainingBut all of this was just an introduction to the main hall, where JBL loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers, BSS and dbx signal processors, AMX control and video products, and Martin lighting were on full display. Harman has put a lot of effort into this room, and they make it easy to demo, see, and A/B their installed product lineups. Tewks led us though the experience, explaining the differences between the various Crown amplifier series, discussing and demoing the multitude of JBL ceiling and wall-mounted loudspeakers and explaining fun stuff like speaker waveguides.

All of this was powered by one of the prettiest AV equipment rack lineups I’ve ever seen, behind glass and beautifully lit by adjustable RGB lighting. I’ve never considered aesthetically lighting an equipment rack before, but my mind has been changed!jbl equipment racks

If all of this wasn’t enough, the highlight – by far – of our tour was getting to see and hear the brand-new audio demo room. The demo room was recently renovated and professionally acoustically treated, which was amazing to see and hear in person. The large room featured most of JBL’s compact line arrays (such as the CBT 70J-1 and CBT 1000) and outdoor all-weather speakers on one wall. We were able to hear all of these in-situ and compare their advantages and strengths. The outstanding even horizontal coverage and throw distance of these speakers has to be heard to be believed.

jbl line array speakersOn the other wall, at a relatively safe distance, were JBL’s line array speakers flown from the ceiling. The SRX, VRX, and VTX-series line array speakers are JBL’s flagship offerings for large venues, and its not everyday you get to hear this level of performance in a private setting. The folks at Harman very cleverly configured the line array demo to start at the push of a big red button – our own Brent Dowler got to do the honors. After the button was pushed, the lights went down and the show started.

Massive walls of sound – loud, but accurate, crisp, and clear – roared through the room, accompanied by a concert-level Martin lighting show, choreographed to match the music. Everything from hard rock to EDM sounded incredible. The performance literally made the hair stand up on the back of my neck!

After that experience we needed to wind down a little, so we got a chance to relax in JBL’s new Cinema Experience Room, where we got to hear JBL’s excellent range of cinema speakers in a theater-like setting. This room also housed a demo of JBL’s new Control 400 series ceiling speakers, where they could be compared to competitors’ ceiling speaker offerings.

This write-up only scratches the surface of what we got to see and hear at the JBL Experience Center; I’m running out of room and I didn’t even mention the classic JBL speaker displays, the speaker torture test rooms, and the fantastic AMX and Samsung video wall displays. My thanks to our NBT team for inviting me and to Tewks and the rest of the Harman staff for welcoming us!

If you are interested in experiencing the JBL Experience Center for yourself, reach out to me! I’d love an excuse to go back myself.

Want more audio tips? Check out “JBL Ceiling Speakers Demystified“.
John Rossman - headshot-frame

About the Author

John Rossman | CTS

BDM II – Technical Specialist

Supported Manufacturers: Harman ProfessionalAKG, AMX, BSS, Crown, DBX, JBL, Lexicon, Martin, & Soundcraft

Want a New Year’s Resolution? Put the “Professional” in Pro AV

Are you eating healthy, exercising and doing all that you can to take care of yourself and your family? Are you doing all you can to further your advancement and make yourself more valuable to the company that you work for? Did you get a professional headshot for your web page and LinkedIn profile?

You do all these things because you’re supposed to be a responsible adult but so many of you still look and sound terrible in every video call. I can’t tell how many times I’ve witnessed an executive level person of an AV related company or organization sound and look terrible during an industry interview or podcast. It’s so bad that it’s unusual when they do it well.

I would argue that you are tarnishing your value as a supplier, client and coworker if you don’t get the basics of sound and video correct on a personal level.

unprofessional audiovisual presentationHere is a list of things that I don’t want to see or hear including my nicknames for each:

  • Only one half of your face because the rest is out of frame. (Abstract Art)
  • Only one side of your face because you’re not looking at the camera. (The Profile)
  • A dark face because you’re poorly lit. (Witness Protection Mode)
  • Way too much space above the top of your head. (Kilroy Was Here)
  • Your chin. (The Uppercut)
  • An empty conference table with you at the far end. (The Bowling Alley)
  • Your laptop microphone. (Speakerphone Mode)
  • Your videobar 25 feet away from you. (1/24 Scale)

Face it. Literally. Your laptop camera and microphone look and sound terrible. Your lighting is non-existent. Why are you using the built-in $2.00 microphone and $10.00 webcam to try and sell someone on the need to invest $100K in their conference room?

Promote the value in a quality audiovisual investment starting at your desk – convey your professionalism one-on-one.

I know this can be a vanity issue for some of us. We don’t think we look good on camera, so we turn the camera on only because it’s expected. Speaking as a lifetime member of the Introvert Club, I get it. But as a fellow coworker and introvert said to me, “Preparedness is the best medicine for nerves, so it all began with a simple thought, ‘If I upgrade my webcam, maybe I’ll feel more confident on camera.’” For him it started with a camera that’s popular with content creators. That lead to research on lighting and then what elements were in view of the camera frame. After that came the audio. He now has the best looking and sounding rig in the entire company. Plus, he and his wife started doing podcasts! He’s not even in the Pro AV division, he’s in IT. I might have the edge on him on the audio side, but he absolutely smokes me on the video side.

Lesson: If your IT person looks and sounds better than you, you seriously need to up your game.

Remind yourself that we are in Professional AV and more importantly, that we are in a relationship business. You wouldn’t visit your client in person knowing that you had bad breath so why are you practicing virtual bad breath with every video call?

Camera, lights, microphone and look up the “Rule of Thirds” for subject framing. It’s a “system” not unlike all the various components we put together for a client’s “system”. While it may be on a smaller scale it should be no less professional than the experience we’re promoting.

While we would love to work with you on your next $100K project, we’re no less interested in helping you look more professional on a personal level. This is the AV industry – we’re all in this together.

If you enjoyed this blog, check out Tom’s “Choose Quality AV” blog for more insights.

Tom Kehr
About the Author

Tom Kehr

CTS-D, CTS-I, Network+, LEED Green Associate, ISF-C, ATD Master Trainer

In-House System Designer and Trainer

Supported Applications: System Design

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