Sound & Communications

Worlds Apart...But Across the Table
Telepresence changes the face of conferencing.
It has become clear that two distinct definitions of telepresence have formed. They are not necessarily at odds with each other, but the second is a slightly cynical version, couched in more specific and familiar terms used in video collaboration today.
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House of Worship: Business
This ‘savior’ promises to give new life.
On February 18, 2009, all full-power television stations will be broadcasting digital signals, possibly high-definition (HD). Blu-ray has become the high-definition DVD standard.
Published in May 2008
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Dynamic Digital Signage in Education
Technology gets high marks.
Digital media and communications have come to play a vital role in people’s everyday lives, and a visit to the local K-12 school, college or university campus quickly illustrates the many ways in which individuals rely on audio and visual technologies each day.
Published in May 2008
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Widening Our View
How 16:9 can enchance a church's experience.
Widescreen flat panels and projectors continue to make huge inroads as the technology becomes less expensive and more prevalent. But do you know why the majority of these units are in those wide formats?
Published in April 2008
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Faith Streams
Where AV and IT meet in the House of Worship segment.
New streaming media technology and content delivery networks are enabling Houses of Worship to expand their outreach through online live and on-demand services. Video production, capture and editing systems, signal encoders and servers, and networks for hosting websites and streaming media are all part of the mix.
Published in April 2008
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Projector Specs Are Dead part 2
A follow-up to November 2007's discussion.
If you read my November 2007 “Sight Lines,” entitled “Projector Specs Are Dead,” then you know that my hypothesis is that, no matter what projector manufacturers do and say with the marketing of their specifications, the only thing that matters today is service.
Published in February 2008
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Kayye's Krystal Ball, V.08
The author reviews how he did last time, and makes projections for the future.
Welcome to the 2008 edition of my Krystal Ball feature predicting the upcoming year for commercial AV, and even some home AV technology, trends and products. If you’re a regular reader of Sound & Communications, you know that, each year, I actually start by reviewing my own previous predictions (see Sound & Communications, December 2006, and my “Sight Lines” update in the June issue).
Published in December 2007
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Trends in Integrated Signage Software
Innovation continues, filling industry niches.
Nothing against the currently dominant software used wherever digital signage is deployed. Scala, Harris InfoCaster, 3M Digital Signage, Helius, VertigoXmedia, Wireless Ronin, StrandVision and all the rest are very good at what they do. But, as digital signage evolves, the software used to push content to displays inevitably must perform other industry-specific functions or integrate more and more with other software that’s specific to the industry in which it is deployed.
Published in Fall IT/AV 2007
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At War Over Flash
The Digital Signage segment may be benefiting.
Adobe Flash is the common format for most digital signage. Back at NAB 2007, Microsoft declared war on Adobe by coming out with a competitor to Flash, called Silver- light. It will be a pretty good war for us.
Published in Fall IT/AV 2007
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Display Excitement
Lots of activity at recent industry events.
Beginning at the Society of Information Display (SID) conference in Long Beach in May, and continuing on through the InfoComm show down the road in Anaheim in June, then the US Flat Panel Display conference in July (up the road in San Jose) and the Siggraph computer graphics conference (back down the road in San Diego) in August, the makers of commercial displays put on some fireworks for the hot months in California.
Published in Fall IT/AV 2007
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Content: Missing Element In Digital Signage Network Design
Leveraging brand loyalty to gain a competitive advantage.
As a systems integrator, it’s easy to focus solely on the technical aspects of designing a digital signage network for your customer. After all, technical expertise is your specialty and, certainly, there are a lot of technology decisions to be made in developing a digital signage network. Choices such as the type of display screen, the number of screens, where they’ll be located, how they will be connected and the type of engine that will drive them tend to dominate the development of a digital signage network...
Published in November 2007
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