Sign Age: Streaming Strategies
When it comes to video that’s guaranteed to increase dwell time for digital signage solutions, nothing beats live content. However, streaming live content to your digital signage is much more complicated than displaying prerecorded content. We tell you everything you need to know to implement live video into your signage solutions.
By Shonan Noronha, EdD
House of Worship, Business, Audio, Video
House of Worship: Business: Training Volunteers
AV personnel at houses of worship tend to be volunteers drawn from the congregation itself. While these volunteers can be taught to run simple AV systems with minimal training, many houses of worship are installing high-end AV systems in their spaces, necessitating more training for volunteers. We offer some suggestions on how to adjust your company’s approach to training to meet this new reality.
By David Lee Jr., PhD
When it comes to the worship market, different religious denominations have different expectations for their AV systems. And even within the same religious denomination, each individual congregation will have its own needs that must be met. To illustrate this point, we offer a recent audio installation at a Catholic church that contains many tips for serving the AV needs of Catholic churches in general, but also illustrates the importance of tailoring your solution to each individual congregation.
By Anthony Vargas
What Would You Do?: Bill Of Materials…
One way companies differentiate themselves in the commercial AV business is through their approach to generating each project’s bill of materials (BOM). This is because the BOM is an absolutely essential bit of documentation for any job, and mistakes made on the BOM impact not only the project’s bottom line, but also the commissions earned by salespeople. Our columnist takes a look at the many things that can go wrong when generating a BOM.
By Douglas Kleeger, CTS-D, DMC-E, XTP-E, KCD
The Commish: Sharing Information
You’ve seen the thinkpieces—how best to incorporate the millennial workforce into your office environment? Our columnist works for a company with employees from all generations, and he’s found that rather than wanting special treatment, most of his millennial coworkers just want to be heard. And shock of shocks, they say a lot of things that are worth listening to! He explains why, as work environments of all types increasingly prioritize technology and collaboration, if you aren’t listening to the millennials in the office, odds are you’re missing out.
By James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I, CQD, CQT
InfoComm POV: What To Expect At InfoComm16
InfoComm International’s Senior Vice President of Expositions previews InfoComm16, including exhibitor counts, new educational opportunities, new amenities, trending technologies and more, and discusses how your feedback helps make InfoComm a better experience for everyone involved.
By Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE
NSCA POV: Customer To The Core
NSCA’s Executive Director weighs the new realities of today’s customer-driven service economy and offers some suggestions for how you can improve your company’s bottom line by becoming more customer-focused in your approach to business.
By Chuck Wilson
Business, Video, Digital Signage
Consultant’s POV: On Videowalls, Part 1
Our columnist tackles everything you need to know about videowalls in this multi-part series. First up: The real cost of videowalls, calculating the Capital Expenditure Ratio and 10-year return on investment, image quality concerns, and securing high-quality framing.
By John Mayberry
Industry POV: Selling Collaboration Technology
Integrators have heard much about the benefits of collaboration technology, and countless solutions are available from a variety of manufacturers for rooms of all sizes and different vertical markets. But many integrators still want the answer to a fundamental question: What is the best way to actually sell these systems to clients? In this article, we break down the main selling points.
By Robert Detwiler
Industry POV: CES: Some Jaw-Dropping Intros
Our columnist provides a review of this year’s CES from the perspective of a regional manufacturer’s rep. He weighs in on the tech trends that dominated the show, the latest in displays and projectors, advances in mobile technology, the new gadgets that are increasing in popularity year after year, and much more.
By Logan Enright
All Access, Inc., recently spent a year upgrading the State of Colorado 18th Judicial District’s courtroom AV. The new system features AV-equipped overflow rooms and an evidence presentation solution used during high-profile court cases which relies on audio, video and a foolproof user interface.
By Jim Stokes
Steps Forward In Government AV
Now that the worst effects of sequestration have begun to reverse themselves, funding has been restored to many government operations. And advances in AV technology over the past decade mean that many government facilities are badly in need of an upgrade. Both of these factors add up to more opportunities for integrators seeking government contracts. We spoke to AV industry personnel with experience working in the government sector about how you can take advantage of these opportunities.
By Dan Daley
The bane of all commercial AV personnel, the multipurpose gym/auditorium, is a reflective echo chamber of hard surfaces and constantly changing setups and seating arrangements. In this article, the Resident Science Officer and Engineer/Acoustician for Acoustics First Corporation explains how you can tame these spaces using acoustic treatment.
By Jim DeGrandis
AV integrators stand to cash in thanks to the US federal government’s Research and Development Tax Credit, which applies in much broader ways than most people assume. Just in time for tax season, the Managing Director of alliantgroup tells you everything you need to know in order to take advantage of this tax credit and save big bucks doing what you already do every day.
By Tracy Lustyan
Since the federal government’s 2010 mandate requiring increased usage of hearing loops, their popularity has exploded, making hearing loops by far the most preferred assistive listening system on the market today. We run down the reasons for their popularity, lobbying efforts to increase their availability and some venues that have used hearing loops to great effect, and also discuss the implications of the popularity of hearing loops on the commercial AV sector.
By Stephen O. Frazier
Black History Month is all about shining a light on the contributions made to our society by African Americans whose accomplishments might otherwise go unrecognized. With this in mind, we highlight two contemporary black AV pioneers whose inventions helped transform the commercial AV industry into what it is today.
By Matt Van Dyke
AVent Horizon: Where Fantasy & Practicality Collide
Our columnist reports on the major trends at this year’s CES, from the latest display technology and connections to advances in streaming and the Internet of Things.
By Pete Putman, CTS
Facebook Comments