by Todd Heberlein | Apr 17, 2017 | Digital Signage, Hospitality
Have you ever looked at two seemingly similar items on the shelf of a store, or more likely, two similar items on your Amazon wish list, and wondered, “Why is one more expensive than the other?” I know I have. With Amazon, it’s easy to use the online reviews to help determine the difference in value, but in the Pro AV world, it can be a bit more difficult.
Recently, I had the opportunity to see first-hand how one manufacturer adds significant value to their products. Most of the difference comes in the form of ease of use and reliability, but some of the value goes even deeper.
Crestron has been known for the quality of their products since as long as long as I can remember. When you install Crestron products into your AV system, they just work, and work well.
Last month, Brian Rhatigan (Almo BDM Director) and I visited Crestron’s facility in New Jersey, and were treated to a day of hospitality and education. Not just an education on Crestron’s product line, which I felt I knew pretty well, but rather an education on their company focus – quality. Not just a quality in product, but also a quality user experience.
We were fortunate enough to have Dave Silberstein, Crestron’s Director of Inside Sale, set aside an entire day to provide us with a guided tour of their facilities, along with a visual summary of their research, design, and manufacturing process from start to finish. I’ll go ahead and speak for Brian here when I say, we were impressed.
A couple of things really stood out for me, besides the quality of their customer experience center (You could throw one heck of a party in there).
Here are some highlights I wanted to share:
Crestron has an entire staff of engineers devoted to the design of new products. Currently 40% of their net profit is put back into their R&D department, and what a department it was. Some of the brightest minds in the industry are working on developing the next piece of cutting edge technology. And they have some of the best “toys” to play with. From flow jets to 3D printers and beyond, they have the tools to develop every component of a prototype.
Their testing facility was incredible. One fascinating sight was an enormous system of their current and past products. The system is primarily used to test any software / firmware due to be released, to verify that it doesn’t have any adverse effect on older systems still in use. This is something I appreciated as it seems like each firmware released on my phone brings it closer to its demise.
Another impressive sight was the “wall” of 100 displays being used to test a video conferencing system with 100 end points. It seems that testing, let’s say, 10 endpoints would be acceptable, but fortunately for Crestron’s clients, acceptable is just not good enough.
Their technical support is provided regionally to better understand and support their local customer’s needs. This isn’t so special, but what was, is each technician has a full system located at their desk. It made for a crazy looking workspace, but it allows each technician to actively participate in the troubleshooting process, instead of just searching for a solution in their knowledge base. In addition to this, older items are located just a few steps away, so the technician is able to grab whatever is needed to try and duplicate what is being used in the field. We even spotted a slide projector controller in this “closet of technology past” – something that harkens back to the roots of where Crestron began.
It’s hard to put into words just how impressive the Crestron facility is, and how dedicated they are to producing a quality product. Luckily their long run of producing excellent, industry leading products has created a reputation that our industry already equates with quality.
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 Patricia Murkowski | Aug 22, 2016 | Digital Signage, Video Walls
Being in the Pro Av arena for 10 years there is really not much that I haven’t seen. You would think by now I wouldn’t be the person walking behind a LCD panel in a store or restaurant to see what mount is being used or what type of ceiling accessory it has…..well, you would be wrong! Yes, I am still that person! Just yesterday I received a text message with a picture from my niece while she was at Petco Stadium watching the Padres vs Diamondbacks game, instead of commenting on her experience my first response was “I love that stadium! I was part of their original AV renovation project in the early 2000’s”! Again, I am that person.
With that said, while there is not much in the AV arena I haven’t seen, there is still a TON that impresses me! Living in Chicago I have access to some of the most historic arenas and stadiums equipped with the best AV systems money can buy. Last month I had the privilege of going to the United Center to see Adele perform live. While I’ve been to the United Center numerous times over the last year, no other experience compared to this for me. I walk through the doors on July 13th and see the 35’ x 9’ curved video wall with no other than, yes, you guessed it, Adele! I was smiling from ear to ear and most definitely felt like a newbie in the AV industry. I am a huge fan. =)
As with many sporting events and concerts, signage was everywhere! Visitors of the United Center can see 64, 42 inch flat panel displays throughout the 100 level concourses, not to mention LED boards inside each of the four main gate entrances.
I feel very lucky to be part of a great industry like Pro Av! I get to help clients spec in products that enhance their customers experience in many different vertical markets. On July 13th I was just a patron benefiting from a truly immersive fan experience thanks to innovative, Pro Av solutions.
by Corinne Furmanek O’Rawe | Jun 30, 2016 | Digital Signage, Pro Displays
Choosing LG Supersign products is a smart and affordable way to provide an all-in-one display solution, with easy to use software for fast content creation. This all in one solution provides integrators entering the digital signage market a low cost option with simplicity. It is a great option for various verticals such as restaurants, financial institutions, dental and medical clinics, public offices, educational venues, retail stores and more.
SO WHY SUPERSIGN?
- All in one slim and stylish solution
- 42 PRE MADE templates for multiple vertical markets
- Remote control over 50 TVs over the network
- Built-in tuner and speakers
- Multiple ports for multiple connection and applications
- 2 year warranty
SuperSign software includes a collection of basic templates to suit a variety of verticals. Details such as font, background color, accompanying image and the location of the video window can also be customized.
- SuperSign W Lite is a web-based content authoring/player solution that allow the connection of up to 50 client displays.
- SuperSign-W Lite has templates but is designed to build your own content from scratch by importing videos and jpg pictures and adding text zones.
- There are 74 predefined templates for use if preferred.
- SuperSign Simple Editor includes 42 pre-designed, ready-to-use content templates.
- SuperSign Simple Editor is designed as an easy way to create content.
- The 42 pre-defined Templates must be used as a starting point to build content.
- Check out the SuperSign-S tutorial video here
- SuperSign “C” for display control via network or RS-232, featuring enhanced auto calibration providing superior color adjustment in as little as 4 minutes per screen.
- SuperSign-C is not an application to create content. It is used for video wall calibration and RS232 (serial and network) control of LG monitors and Commercial lite TVs.
Although there are three downloadable versions, the most commonly required downloadable solution is the Supersign Simple Editor. You will easily recognize when to use SuperSign Simple Editor since the part numbers end with an “S”. Simple right?
5 Simple steps to setting up the LG Supersign product.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H50dklAimAc
- Unbox the Unit
- Use the downloadable software to create your templates
- Set up the screens as to where you want to display the messages
- Upload the templates to the TV using a USB plug into the display, or run from a network media player
- Play and Loop
For more information, contact me or please visit: http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/display
Corinne O’Rawe | DSEG
Business Development Manager| Almo Professional A/V
P. 888-420-2566 x 6220 | C. 716-474-2323 | F.267-350-0321
website: www.almoproav.com
by Melody Craigmyle | Feb 26, 2016 | Digital Signage, News
It’s especially nice when the manufacturers plan their distributor summits in a nice warm location during the dead of February. Such was the case this month with Samsung in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. Distributors, resellers and DMR’s gathered to hear the vision to 2016 and beyond, while seeing some of the latest product developments.
One of the greatest things about these functions is the networking aspect. You’re surrounded by customers, the manufacturer’s folks and even your friendly competitors (and if you are lucky a celebrity or two). The opening reception kicked off this portion of the conference. Here I am rubbing elbows with George Gervin from the San Antonio Spurs (left) and Director, US B2B Distribution for Samsung, Tom Perrier (right):
A lot of the conversations revolved around the ever-present dilemma of shrinking and sometimes even razor thin margins on displays in both the Pro and especially consumer markets. I think Samsung has got some new things up their sleeve that may be impactful for their partners as to help with the margin issue. More on that later. Now speaking of razor….
I’ve been on the road a lot lately, and even though I consider myself a season traveler, inevitable I forget something. This time it was a razor so I went down to the JW Marriott gift shop. Filled with cowboy hats, sombreros, ponchos, hot sauces and other Texas sized treats, it was your typical gift shop. I grabbed my usual brand from the stand, went up to the register and the cashier said, “That will be $20.12”. WHAT???!! $20.12 for one disposable razor?
I said no thanks and started to wonder…in this age of fighting declining margins in our industry, how is it that a commodity product like the razor can command 3000% mark up? Location, location, location. Resourcefulness took me to the spa and they ponied up a razor at no charge.
On to the Samsung Product Showcase – in usually Samsung fashion they never disappoint when it comes to new product development. It was good to see some of the concept things coming to fruition such as:
The transparent display which holds a multitude of applications such as retail and anywhere the end user just basically wants to be uber swank.
The mirror display which they showed in a retail setting with RF technology in clothing and shoes that dynamically changed when the user took them to the mirror. Here is our Business Development Manager extraordinaire, Apryl Lamberti taking it for a spin.
Outdoor displays – not just ruggedized, coated and cased back- lit LED panels but..
Surfs’up! Samsung’s YESCO acquisition last year brings the new outdoor LED.
Finally the indoor LED was quite a hit. Here is Apryl examining the type of panel used to make the video wall in the background.
I think the future looks bright with the new LED products (no pun intended). What Samsung was showing are solutions that require an ecosystem of services, which is where the margin lies and value to our partners. The opportunity for services such as content creation, can create that long-term relationship with a customer, long past the sale of the display.
