Not in my lifetime have I been a big fan of Las Vegas. This June I never missed it more. (I’m one of those rare birds that have only been to Vegas to attend InfoComm.) I’m not a gambler. I don’t party late into the night (any more). I live in Florida, so it’s really hard to justify paying for access to a hotel pool party – I do that pretty much every weekend all year long!
The list could probably go on and on (I won’t blame the Vegas heat, though. I love the heat).
I was going to do Vegas right this year! I’d planned to extend my stay after helping with the booth tear-down and stay another night or two so I could experience the ever-famous Strip with my Almo friends. I wanted to stay out LATE! I was going to dance and sip colorful cocktails and laugh, and blow on dice for whoever was throwing!
Thanks to the worldwide pandemic we’re all so sick of hearing about, I never even got the opportunity to book my flight. So I spent the week at home like the rest of us, attending the virtual event that had some incredible content, but none of the smiles and hugs I took for granted in years past.
Early on in 2020 I put together a loose calendar for the Almo Blog. It takes some effort managing multiple contributors, you know, and I had planned to pen the “InfoComm Social Butterfly of 2020”. The booth tours, the dinners, the happy hours, the after-hours… even though I’m not a night owl I love it. I enjoy the networking with our vendor partners, the interaction and introductions with our customers and end-users. It’s invigorating!
It was definitely different this year. The InfoComm we know became a virtual infocomm CONNECTED, thanks to the world we are living in. (NOTE… you can still check out the virtual replay until August 21!)
Obviously AVIXA and the industry made the right call. We have to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I know I’m not alone, though, when I say I really, REALLY missed InfoComm and Las Vegas this year.
So, my “InfoComm Social Butterfly” blog post feels more like a Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me post. I did manage, however, to find one social highlight. Normally at InfoComm I attend a happy hour networking event organized by the USAV group. At the end of the week they hosted a “Coffee and Cocktails” virtual happy hour on ZOOM. Certainly new to us all, but a way to connect just the same.
Oh, thank goodness for Zoom! Just 30 minutes, but I met some new people and got to virtually “cheers” some old friends.
Zoom is no substitute for in-person events, but I’ll take all I can get these days. Thankfully we have Zoom and other platforms that enable us to have face-to-face interactions when we can’t be in-person. I’m so grateful for that.
If I didn’t work at Almo, surely I’d have heard about ZOOM thanks to the pandemic, but like my parents and countless others, I’d have had to adopt it and learn how to use it. The silver lining is the window has been thrown wide open, and businesses and organizations everywhere are open to incorporating this technology into their daily operations. Almo has experts on-staff who can help our customers offer Zoom Rooms to end-users with bundles that include the hardware and the license for a complete solution with multiple options for different sized huddle and conference rooms.
We all can’t help but reexamine how we do business and how we can learn from this experience and save ourselves time and money when we are living that “new normal” we keep waiting for.
I wish we’d have been able to connect last week, and I’m (not so) patiently waiting for whenever it’s safe to return to in-person conferences and meetings, though they’ll certainly be different.
The projector was once predicted to be something that was headed for the archives as the Digital Signage market took over. Despite the growth and vast variety of digital signage solutions, the projector can provide benefits in particular venues’ that digital signage may not. If you’re of the age bracket I am (which I shall not divulge) just hearing the word “projector’ brings back fond thoughts of family memories of my childhood because other than movie theaters, where else did we see a need for projectors? OK, we also had those oh so awful “projectors” in the education market, and if we were well behaved we got to watch old movies in class as a reward. So look how far we have come! Projectors of all sizes have not only remained a viable solution in numerous venues, but new projectors are providing options for solutions that are new and innovative.
LG Electronics has been in the projection market globally for many years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working as the ALMO PRO AV Business Development Manager dedicated to LG, and now LG is taking its technology in the US to the next level which is so exciting!
LG Business Solutions USA introduced two new 4K laser projectors designed for the needs of a diverse range of commercial spaces. LG’s expansion into commercial-grade laser projectors provides businesses with professional-level projection solutions that create new opportunities thanks to their incredible brightness, sharpness, color accuracy, 20,000-hour lamp life and state-of-the-art functionality that includes screen mirroring and 12-point keystone adjustment.
LG Electronics recently launched the LG ProBeam series (BU50N) and the BF50N Series of business projectors. These projectors are designed for portability and value, with Laser lamps offering up to 20,000 hours of lamp life and amazing spec of 5000 ansi lumens. LG projectors are ideal for the corporate environment and higher education. They are designed for portability and value, with LED lamps offering up to 20,000 hours of lamp life. This puts LG in a competitive space with Sony, Epson and Panasonic. What is even more appealing is that these projectors offer small connectivity through LG’s award winning WEBOS platform. With the release of the BF50N WUXGA Laser Projector, LG provides a non 4K model with WebOS Smart Connectivity. Two flavors to meet your price range.
In my opinion, the most impressive of the models is the LG CineBeam HU85LS. LG has provided the perfect projector in this space. The HU85LS brings a truly cinematic experience with an incredible 8.3 million pixels (3840 x 2160). The panel can be quickly adjusted in four directions to obtain an effective resolution of 3,840×2,160 (8.3M pixels). It delivers impeccable precision and detail at four times the resolution of Full HD and even images up to 120 inches remain clear and crisp. Enjoy a premium theater experience in your own home. In addition to the “dream come true” home entertainment system, this product is of most value in the Enterprise, Education, and Entertainment. It adds a cinematic atmosphere to your space while its slim, stylish design naturally blends into your interior design.
Impressed? I am! Here at ALMO PRO AV we are looking forward to working with you and answering your questions regarding these great new projector designs from LG. I personally look forward to providing you more information as your LG Business Development Manager. Please do not hesitate to contact me!
Corinne Furmanek – O’Rawe, DSCE Business Development Manager
AV-over-IP continues to pick up traction among integrators in the ProAV industry, but there are still quite a few that find themselves questioning if they should start implementing this technology. In fact, 45% of respondents in a 2019 industry survey revealed that they either do not embrace, or are on the fence with adopting AV-over-IP as a viable AV distribution solution – nearly half. So why all the hesitation, and furthermore, why is now the right time for using AV-over-IP?
Let’s start with asking what is AV-over-IP? It stands for Audio-Visual over Internet Protocol, which might sound a little challenging to some AV integrators who don’t know anything about networking.
AV-over-IP (also known as AVoIP) refers to the use of standard network equipment to transmit and switch video and audio. At its foundation the basic AV-over-IP system is quite simple. Sources are being encoded, connecting through a network switch to decoders that are then connected to displays (see image below).
Image courtesy of Atlona
What about more complex AV-over-IP applications in ProAV? Just take a look at the sample below where you see converged usage of Digital Signage, IP Surveillance, Content Servers, Blu-Ray players, Set Top Boxes, and Personal Computers…. all on the same network.
When looking at these examples it may cause some AV dealers to avoid taking on AVoIP due to apprehensions about the technology, networking skills, cost, interoperability, flexibility and scalability. Let’s address some of these concerns head on.
There are numerous products available for AVoIP, which can cause difficulty deciding which technology, networking hardware or brands to use. In contrast with past attempts at accelerating AV over IP, it’s not just one or two obscure vendors that are stepping into this change. The largest and most influential AV vendors in the industry are leading the change. For example, the Software Defined Video over Ethernet (SDVoE) Alliance is an eco-system of companies in and around the AV-over-IP space, working together to create a fantastic platform for the next generation of audiovisual applications. Not only do all SDVoE products and solutions work together, network hardware manufacturers, like NETGEAR, are making it easier than ever to deploy them. SDVoE partners provide the audio-video products while NETGEAR, one of the founding members, provides the backbone network products that make it all possible, with interoperability being key.
What about the networking skill sets and support required for these systems? NETGEAR, for example, not only will provide design engineers (with ProAV experience) to help specify products, but will actually provide an optimal network topology design for you. Their Pro AV Engineering Services team are trained AV and IT professionals to help you both before and after the sale as well as during installation, all for free. This takes a huge load off of the AV system designer and often leads to the best outcome for the project.
NETGEAR has also taken out much of the complexity with setting up an Ethernet switch with the various protocols required for video and audio to ride over the network. Preconfiguring protocols like IGMP, Multicast and VLANs make the network switch a plug-n-play device right out of the box, saving time, money and resources usually dedicated to this task. NETGEAR’s IGMP Plus™ is a fantastic and unique feature simplifying the deployment of multicast solutions, which especially helps people who are uncomfortable with some of the more complicated IT configurations such as Layer 3 Protocol Independent Multicast or PIM routing.
AVoIP also solves the distance limitations with traditional AV cables (by utilizing copper Ethernet & fiber cables instead), is more scalable and flexible than traditional circuit-based AV products (by adding more ports & stacking the switches), and equipment costs are decreasing. All of these factors will contribute to more adoption and it will only get better as time goes on. IP convergence has already happened with telephony (POTS vs. VoIP), surveillance (analog vs. IP cameras), audio (ex. Dante, AVB) and other industries, and at some point, everything else will move to the network. AV-over-IP is happening right now and the ProAV industry will continue its way down this inevitable path, so don’t get left behind.
Don’t you think it’s time to invest in AV-over-IP to advance the future of your business? Please drop me a line and share your experience, or let me know if you would like some help getting started.
There’s a great solution for integrators wanting to learn a
lot more about all aspects of Digital Signage. The Digital Signage
Federation(DSF) has worked with subject matter experts from around the
industry to create over two dozen online classes as part of a
micro-credentialing program. Training covers everything from the basics,
to specific topics for hardware, software, scheduling, project planning and
content. Courses were developed by Digital Signage Federation members working
as volunteers to deliver educational content to industry peers.
Courses are about 30 minutes so they are perfect for learning a topic at whatever pace makes sense. Courses include a short quiz at the end and return a certificate of completion when done. Courses area always being added throughout the year as more contributors add to the growing library.
These courses are limited to DSF members, so you do need to
first register yourself or your company to gain access. Once in, there’s hours
of courseware available.
Ryan Cahoy, DSF Board Member and Managing Director of Rise Display provides some clarity about
how these courses were developed.
“The Digital Signage Federation’s mission is to help
our industry grow through ongoing education. We have a very diverse
membership so our approach has been From Members – By Members. This
approach has allowed experts in each field to share their expertise, such as
the 2 courses contributed by Almo on
interactive content design.
Today we have over 30 active courses with new releases each month. We
would encourage Almo reseller partners to join the DSF to get access to the
entire library to and expand their digital signage knowledge.”
Learning about content
As Ryan mentions, I contributed two courses, a basic
overview of content and a more advanced course on experiential content. The
basic overview provides a good introduction to content creation, content
strategy and workflows. The experiential course goes over interactive and
dynamic content, both for close up touch screens and more complex at a distance
experiences.
Getting involved
The great thing about this program is the DSF is always looking for more content, and they accept multiple contributions on similar topics. If you’re interested in contributing a course, reach out to me and I’ll connect you with the right people at the DSF.
With most of our industry cooped up at home in quarantine, it feels like we are all hearing about video games every single day. If you’re working from home with kids, you’ve probably heard them talk about a sweet new Minecraft build, the new League of Legends meta (still hoping for AP Blitz to be a real thing one day), or some co-worker to co-worker smack talk about 3v3 gunfight in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (looking at you Todd Heberlein). While traditional entertainment experiences are closed down, online eSports tournaments are exploding in popularity.
Call of Duty has gone so far as to add drop in tournaments every five minutes and organizations like Nerd St Gamers have moved their traditional in person tournaments to an online structure. As game studios, tournament organizers, and fans alike shift their habits, so too should our industry. As such my wonderful team here at Almo, organized yet another webinar via our partners at rAVe and Panasonic. If you missed last week’s webinar and couldn’t make it onto our second showing this week, check out the VOD here! Angie Greene (Almo business development manager), Gary Kayye (Director at THE rAVe Agency), and Stephen Milley discuss the market.
One of the biggest pieces of eSports news, coming in the wake of COVID-19, is a surprise to many and a pleasant reminder of what those “in the know” have seen coming for years. NASCAR announced a shift from physical in person races, to an all-digital eSports model. That’s right you read that correctly, NASCAR is still running races and was ready to switch their model in the blink of an eye. For traditional NASCAR fans this is an unexpected respite from the doom and gloom being pumped into their daily lives. For those of us keyed into gaming, we’ve heard stories of Gran Turismo and Forza (Playstation and Microsoft’s flagship driving simulators) drivers being given “IRL” (in real life) racing careers for years.
But it isn’t just NASCAR that is crossing into the eSports world, the NFL, FIFA, and NBA are all leveraging their relationships with EA and 2K Games to continue providing their fans with unique and engaging cross overs with their eSports league counterparts. As we have discussed in prior webinars and blog posts, this cross pollination is not unique to the COVID-19 crisis but a larger trend that these organizations are using to mitigate the financial pain of our current pandemic-centric lives. COVID is by no means the main driver of this cross pollination, think of it as additional fuel added to the fire.
The takeaway from this story for me is that there are already audiences ripe for changing their viewing patterns. It isn’t just hardcore gamers that are primed and ready to accept modernized variations of traditional entertainment. Kids watch high definition beautiful animation from Pixar and Disney, while dad may be watching the next box office CGI-fueled Marvel film. In today’s day and age, everyone is comfortable engaging with digital media.
Not that long ago it was passé for adults to love superheroes, yet today Marvel tops box office numbers again and again. It may seem niche or not be your particular taste (to each their own) but it isn’t going to just be Call of Duty and Overwatch succeeding. This seems to be even more true as my generation comes into being parents. Part of why we love watching the NFL is that we live vicariously through superhuman athletes. When people my age start having kids, and stop having as much time to play games, eSports will fill that spot for a huge number of people.
You don’t have to love first person shooters and MOBAs to engage in eSports! Keep an eye out for our next esports webinar where we will dive deeper on hardware!
The year is 2020 and by now the word is out that ALMO Professional A/V offers Business Communication Services as a value-add to our partners and their customers. What is rapidly evolving are the specific services that fall under the “business communications” category and just how they can impact our daily routines.
Whenever a discussion about Business Communication Services begins, most think of Internet, Voice, and TV services as the traditional “triple play bundle” and stop the conversation there. Do not get me wrong, Internet connectivity is still an absolute essential and with the number of home-based workers drastically increasing; that will not change any time soon. In fact, in the past 3 months alone, ALMO has assisted two top-10 integrators save between $11,000 and $54,000 a year on their internet connectivity, all because they wanted an analysis on their current spend and found that their current service was not nearly as efficient as it could be.
I am here to tell you that there is so much more value to be gained by analyzing the other essential communication services and not to be scared by outside the box thinking and questioning. With that in mind, I present to you my new bundle: Mobility and Marketing.
Mobility might be the easier of the two to comprehend to the
average customer. Gone are the days
where you have to drive to the local phone store, pick out a device and stand
there for over an hour waiting for the process to be completed. Through ALMO, our customers can source
wireless phone service, devices, and accessories for the same cost as if they
were to walk into a store directly. The
difference is that ALMO has partnered with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and
T-Mobile so we are able to provide you full transparency on the best pricing,
calling service, and terms for your needs.
Competitive information, in the wireless world, is a very powerful
commodity. Our customers can expect the same device lineups, same pricing, and
same service…just more information at their fingertips!
Marketing, while some feel is not a form of communication, is actually one of my favorites. Without necessities like SEO (search engine optimization) and social media our customers would be in a black hole while trying to find new opportunities and thus not able to “communicate” with their customers. ALMO has recently begun working with one of the top providers in the country, Vivial, to provide that benefit. Vivial specializes in offering a fully integrated online+social+mobile solution to customers. The foundation of what they offer through ALMO is Vivial’s award-winning Marketing Platform which helps customers with tactics such as Facebook Advertising, Content Marketing, Directory Optimization, Review Generation, and Improving Google Rankings. Consider all of this PLUS our customers have a dedicated account manager to hold their hands through the entire process. Use the information I provided to help your own business flourish this year. My challenge to each of you is to take at least ONE of your current services and contact ALMO Professional A/V for a FREE analysis and quote on how we can pass on the same savings to you as we have for so many others.
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