AV News September 2022

September, Meeting room setup simpli ed. No PC. Fewer cables. Built in support. Maverick AV Solutions Setup as simple

PMA Research has announced that worldwide sales of pro jectors with +10,000 lumens rose to an all-time high during the first half of 2022. With the relaxation of Covid-19 restric tions in advanced economies, consumers turned their spend ing from at-home products to out-of-home entertainment. That sparked strong growth in sales of super-bright projec tors for large venues such as concert halls, theme parks, stadiums, and planetariums. Continued growth of immersive or experiential entertainment using projection mapping tech nology also contributed to the high-brightness gains as did

After a strong 2021, when pro AV revenue growth exceeded initial expectations and hit 11%, 2022 is set up to hit a new high-water mark for pro AV, reaching $263 billion global ly, according to AVIXA’s 2022 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA). Growth mod erates in the coming years to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2022 to 2027. While this is due in part to the slow-down in economic expansion across the globe, pro AV is still set to grow faster than most countries’ GDPs during the same period.

September 2022 www.avnewsonline.com

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Pro AV revenue for 2022 to

After being upended during the pandemic, the venues and events market is demonstrating its resiliency through a high ranking among market oppor tunities. The market is forecast to grow from $30.7 billion in 2022 to $47.2 billion (9% CAGR) in 2027 globally. As consumers shift their spending back out of the home and infla tionary pressures take their toll, residential spending on pro AV is set to decline. This enables transportation to shift upwards, consistent with a shift in spending towards travel again. on page 3

HPageeducation14ighereducation

continued

Sales of projectorshigh-brightnesshitrecordhigh ongoing strength in the high er-education market. Overall, worldwide demand in this segment registered 20% growth during the first half of the year. That was due to ro bust gains in advanced econo mies, including the U.S., West ern Europe, Australia, Japan, and Korea. Combined sales in these countries grew more than 50% during the first half of the year. However, sales in China during the first half of this year couldn’t keep pace with last year’s growth as the lockdowns and economic head winds earlier this year took a toll on overall growth in emerg ing economies. Sales in Russia PMA Research has reported that worldwide sales of projectors with +10,000 lumens rose to an all-time high during the first half of 2022. came to a screeching halt while the Indian market showed signs of recovery. Still, that wasn’t enough to offset the sluggish ness in China.

Top 10 reasons for pur suing practical higher continues to play a major role in preparing students for the world of work by teaching them what they need to know. last as 1,2,3. exceed 2019

AVIXA’s 2022 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA) presents data and analysis about the size of the pro AV industry with a global perspec tive – plus regional and vertical breakouts. The research covers product trends, solution catego ries, and vertical markets. “As COVID-19 restrictions decline and people regain comfort with gathering in person, the econo my is transforming and pro AV feels a surge in demand,” said Sean Wargo, Senior Director of Market Intelligence, AVIXA. “Up to this point, the stron gest solution areas were those offering adaptation to new be haviour, such as conferencing and learning. This has shifted to events and performance as we return to in-person.”

www.PrometheanWorld.com/gb PrometheanUKI Build value into your IFPD portfolio Free orientation training Now available virtually, on-site as well as on-demand, customers realise value, quickly and easily. Continued investment Customers can now access free training through a new online portal, Learn Promethean. Regular updates Over-the-air updates mean schools benefit from the latest ActivPanel software and firmware enhancements, at no additional cost. Free lesson software ActivInspire and ClassFlow are supplied free of charge, so no recurring subscription fees. Leading warranty A five-year ActivCare on-site warranty gives schools peace of mind. value-add offerings to drive innovation. For over 20 years, Promethean has developed understanding of the edtech that will best meet evolving needs and the support that schools place a high value on. Promethean enables schools to realise maximum value, and maximum educational impact, over the lifetime of an ActivPanel installation. Give your customers long term value with: Ready to build long term value into your IFPD sales? ChooseActivPanelPromethean

Headline News P3 AV News September 2022

The transportation market is forecast to grow from $11.8 billion to $18.3 billion (6.8% CAGR) globally from 2022 to The2027.fastest growing markets for pro AV include many that are recession resistant. While pandemic recovery drives high growth in venues, me dia, and hospitality, others are benefitting from more sta ble investment. This includes government, energy, and trans portation. Despite some linger ing challenges associated with the pandemic, APAC is resum ing the economic expansion that began in prior periods, driven by rising corporate activ ity and a growing middle class looking to spend. The region remains a mainstay for digital signage as retail growth pushes it to the top solution spot. Dig ital signage in APAC is forecast to grow from $14.3 billion to $20.1 billion (7% CAGR) from 2022 to 2027. While growth in collaboration solutions slows in the Ameri cas, the experiential solution areas like venues and events are rebounding and driving growth. Revenue for venues in Americas is forecast to reach $10.7 billion in 2022, ris ing to $16.1 billion by 2027, CAGR of 8.5%. In addition, the Americas is the one region where services capture the most revenues ($2.1 billion in 2022). Control systems are where the growth is, as content must be managed and distrib continued from page 1 uted in a venue. EMEA faces the greatest headwinds due to the wide-reaching impacts of the conflict in Ukraine, though growth is still relatively strong. While in-person brings a wel come surge to the venues mar ket, energy, with 7.8% growth over the next five years, is also a key contributor thanks to sustainability efforts. While the pro AV industry is experiencing strong growth, there are still headwinds in the current environment. Supply chain challenges are reaching a peak, now that demand is at all-time highs making it diffi cult for suppliers to keep up, particularly after having been battered by shortages and lo gistics issues over the past two years. Rising interest rates as governments seek to mitigate inflation are spurring fears of a recession as spending retreats in response. Hiring has also become increasingly challeng ing in a competitive employ ment landscape, resulting in labour shortages. Despite it all, the data from IOTA shows tailwinds prevailing and pro AV continuing to grow, even if growth is somewhat muted below what might be possible.

The return to office is being hampered by the “Reluctant Returner” effect – according to a report by Unispace, near ly two-thirds (64%) of Euro pean employees are unwilling to return to work, citing safety fears, working around child care, commuting times, loss of productivity, and an inabili ty to focus while in the office. Research from Poly supports this, showing that the size of the office-based workforce, that spends more than 50% of their time in the office, has dropped by The25%.cost-of-living crisis is also biting. In July, the ONS report ed a 3% drop in regular pay when taking rising prices into account. Energy bills rose by 54% in April 2022 and are due to rise higher over the next few months according to analysts – and the average rail season ticket is expected to grow by 12%. Rising bills have some employees questioning the value of going to the office, prompting some companies, such as Lloyds, HSBC, Rolls Royce, EasyJet and Moneysu permarket, to offer a cost-ofliving pay rise. “Getting hybrid workers back to the office is pivotal to an ef fective hybrid work model, but the country is facing a perfect storm,” concludes Clark. “The cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact on finances, leav ing many employees weighing up whether to travel or save the money to spend elsewhere. More than ever, employees are asking themselves ‘Why do I need to come in?’ – but this question isn’t being answered. Organisations should focus on protecting culture. But they must also provide staff with a compelling reason to return to the office that makes it worth their time, and money, while also implementing the technol ogy required to enable employ ees to work from anywhere.”

Joining more than 200 exhibi tors and an anticipated 11,500 visitors at the Bombay Exhibi tion Center, the show will pro vide a rare opportunity for the AV and IT industry (including system integrators, distributors and end users) to meet with members of PPDS’ local teams, as well as the newly appointed global leadership team, while being able to view and experi ence a wide range of PPDS’ lat est innovative solutions being demonstrated in the region for the first time. These include, but are not limited to: •Philips E-Line: A brand new range of advanced interactive 4K displays for education, of fering effortless wireless shar ing and collaboration in and out of the classroom, and the first display from PPDS to fea ture a new generation of zero

•Wave: An evolutionary new cloud platform unlocking the power, versatility and intelli gence inside Philips profes sional displays, designed for, and in collaboration with sys tem integrators to install, con trol and manage Philips profes sional displays remotely from any Morelocation.thanjust an exhibitor at InfoComm India, PPDS’ at tendance at InfoComm India will kick off an exciting, more focused strategy in Asia. This will see PPDS build upon and further strengthen its presence, reach and propositions, bring ing more value and choice to customers (including those with a national and interna tional presence) through its ev er-evolving innovative range of professional display solutions. With a forecast of 8.5% growth in 2022, India’s economy is set to become the fastest growing in the world. As a result of the pandemic, adoption of technol ogies by businesses in India has been accelerated across all sectors, with AVIXA valuing the pro AV market at around $7.7 billion. This figure will grow steeply as India’s digital ecosystem expands, with PPDS perfectly positioned to support businesses with every step of their journey. Atul Jasra, India Business Head at PPDS, commented: “Since its inception in 2013, InfoComm India has become one of the most important go-to tradeshows for AV and IT pro fessionals operating in the Indi an and surrounding markets. As an ever-present figure at other leading shows, such as ISE in Europe and InfoComm US, we understand the importance and value that events such as these bring, allowing customers to physically interact with our expert teams and to get handson demonstrations of the lat est technologies and software solutions that can be used to transform their businesses. We have identified some incredible opportunities in India, where we can bring real value, knowl edge and expertise in support ing businesses with pre- and post-installation needs and requirements, including ser vices. We’re delighted to be participating at InfoComm In dia 2022 and I look forward to meeting you there.”

Pro AV revenue for 2022 to exceed 2019 Hybrid work could be destined to fail!

PPDS has confirmed its par ticipation at InfoComm India 2022 in Mumbai (September 5-7). Exhibiting on stand E25, the three-day event – India’s go-to tradeshow for buyers to discover the latest AV and IT technologies and solutions –will mark an important mile stone in PPDS’ expansion and accelerated growth ambitions in the Indian and wider Asian market, with hospitality, re tail, education, and corporate among key market verticals.

PPDS will be exhibiting its latest range of Philips dvLED displays, digital signage and professional display products and solutions at the annual InfoComm India show, with the company’s global leadership team among those heading to Mumbai next month.

PPDS confirms accelerated expansion in Asia gap, zero latency touch screen •Philipstechnology.6000 Series DVLED: A brand new range of high ly flexible, beyond 8K, direct view LED displays, bringing unrivalled performance and ef fortless bezel-free installations, designed to cater exclusively for 16:9 content, to meeting rooms, boardrooms, auditori ums and lobbies.

A new report from Poly today warns that hybrid work poli cies could be destined to fail if organisations do not protect company culture while facil itating a return to office. The report highlights that getting employees back to the office is a challenge being fuelled by a reluctance to return, with em ployees citing concerns over work-life balance and produc tivity. This reluctance is being exacerbated by rising bills and spiralling inflation, with the cost of living putting increased pressure on employee financ es, causing them to potential ly choose between traveling to work or spending that money “Theelsewhere.return to office lacks Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash a compelling narrative, and short-term gimmicks like free coffee and doughnuts have run their course,” commented Paul Clark, Senior Vice President, EMEA at Poly. “Hybrid workers need a good reason to return. A good analogy from the report is the need to take a Glaston bury inspired approach to the office experience. When you hear people talking about why they went, they never say it’s because of how nice the Pyr amid stage looks. The appeal is the total experience festival goers get – the food, the bands, the people. A similar mindset is required for the return to office, which on its own isn’t a good enough reason for employees to return. Culture must be main tained, so organisations need to think about the total expe rience – how spaces work, the technology behind them and address cultural issues. Doing this will help to magnetise their workforce to the office, instead of mandating a return or using ‘guerrilla tactics’ to force em ployees back.”

Promethean also announced a strategic alliance with artificial intelligence (AI) technology company Merlyn Mind, where Promethean will distribute Symphony Classroom, the AI solution that brings the Merlyn digital assistant to teachers powered by voice-activated AI. “As we lead the way to Q3 2022 and beyond, it is clear that Pro methean continues to acceler ate our commitment to bring ing innovative, market-leading technology to teachers, stu dents, and IT administrators,” said Chris Hand, chief revenue officer at Promethean. “With the all-new ActivPanel in use, classrooms are now outfitted with interactive panels that are more secure, user-friendly, and interoperable with other tech nologies.”

and end-to-end data metrics for all inputs and outputs. In addition, it attempts to rep licate and expand upon the in-person experience of be ing at an exhibition, including walking the halls, visiting the stands, chatting, network ing, attending seminars; even “bumping into” and chatting with nearby industry peers just like IRL events. Client brands cite benefits including in creased overall sales, increased attendance, brand differenti ation, easy monetisation, and more behavioural data, and for those brands that are ready to take the next step, it is even Metaverse ready for an en hanced delegate experience. Due to its 20 years of expe rience in software for use at in-person events by world lead ing brands, Gravit8 has come to understand fully what brands want to achieve when exhibit ing at, or attending events, as Alastair Reece, Managing Director of Gravit8 explained: “The Virtual Event Platform (VEP) from Gravit8 is a true example of innovation in the tech-sector, born from filling the void for events and exhibi tions during an unprecedented international pandemic. It now compliments IRL or hybrid events and expands well be yond in-person events in terms of productivity, reach and con tinued lifecycle. Our solution provided a much-needed alter native to plain, flat, dull video conferencing, and continues to grow in demand despite a re turn to in-person events – due to allowing exhibiting brands the freedom to really express themselves and their message. This in turn makes it viable for the organisers to really mone tise virtual effectively for the first time, because the brandsand visitors - get an experience that is really worth investing in.”

He continued: “Since March 2020, Gravit8 has delivered hundreds of virtual events for world-leading brands and or ganisers. Each online event, just like live, requires its own sense of identity, atmosphere and functionality, and our ex perience of providing over 400,000 attendees with virtual experiences has allowed us to design what we feel is the ul timate online event platform. Some of our clients’ events saw a 500% increase in attendees compared with their in-person versions. One event offered by a pharmaceutical client was able to provide access to financially restricted medical profession als for the first time, meaning it was able to talk to medical staff about products and services in a way that it previously didn’t have access to. Removing the travel requirement saw a 60% uplift in members visiting from South America at that particu lar “Asevent.”thefirst fully-fledged virtu al event environment available on the market, the CMS driven SAAS platform ultimately gives brands the opportunity to truly differentiate themselves in the digital space and enhance their overall customer engagement.”

5G will generate $7 trillion of economic value in 2030 5G is set to generate $7 trillion of economic value in 2030, as it fuels a proliferation of con nected devices from smart phones to consumer electron ics to enterprise applications and beyond. This is one of the key findings in a new report released today by InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC), and written by ABI Research. The ‘State of 5G Report: En abling the Boundless Gen eration’ explores what’s next for 5G, what new types of ad vanced applications it will en able in the future, and what the mobile industry can do to support development in both the consumer and enterprise domain. The report examines the expectations of telecom operators and brings into fo cus 5G as a necessary capacity booster for cellular networks, as operators look to capitalize on the latest generation of cel lular technology to maintain and grow their profitability.

•Theed. adoption of 5G is outpac ing all previous generations of cellular technology in terms of subscription rate and operator rollout, and is gaining signif icant traction from enterprise •ABIverticals;Research calculates that 5G will create $7tn worth of economic value in 2030, 12 years after the official 3GPP standard was •Organizationspublished.thathave sig nificantly invested in the re search for 5G are projected to sustain that investment well into the future highlighting the continued interest in the com mercial relevancy of the tech •Thenology.private 5G addressable market is expected to grow at an exponential rate, mostly driven by verticals including energy and utilities, healthcare and •Whilemanufacturing.thetechnology promis es to support data-hungry and latency-sensitive applications such as AR/VR, the appetite for such services has not yet fully emerged, with new concepts such as the Metaverse being a more distant future vision.

5G is also starting to introduce advanced enterprise enabling features, including low latency, deterministic net working, and advanced Internet of Things (IoT) use cases, all of which are new in the mo bile network domain. Industry stakeholders have expressed high hopes for the upcoming wave of 5G services, which will likely enhance productivity and efficiency through mobility, among other improvements. The report offers key insights in a variety of areas, such as:

“The early years of 5G have been foundational to its longterm success,” Pankaj contin ues. “Now is the time when we will experience and benefit from exciting new applications, new use cases and many more ways consumer lifestyles can be Accordingtransformed.”tothe report, the prospect for operators looks promising, as they witness the exponential rise of 5G and its

Promethean the #1 education brand for interactive displays ministrators. After listening to more than 1,300 customers across the globe, Promethean designed the interactive panel to navigate a changing learning environment. The ActivPanel is the only interactive panel with ActivSync, Promethean’s pat ented technology which elim inates digital barriers between devices and enables increased connectivity, customizable set tings, and enhanced mobility so teachers can move around freely. In addition, teachers can record lessons, including classroom voices and panel content, to be shared with re mote and absent students and parents through any platform.

Gravit8, the developer of pi oneering software for events and brand experience centres, has launched its ‘world first’ DIY SAAS platform, providing the most comprehensive virtual event environment available on the market. Based on its Virtual Event Platform (VEP), a trueto-life 3D virtual environment, Gravit8’s series of ready-to-use virtual tools including virtual exhibition halls, networking spaces, conference audito riums and event spaces can now be accessed by organisers, brands, exhibitors, and dele gates via a fully configurable DIY platform to use in a SAAS Gravit8format. has developed numer ous bespoke virtual solutions for global brands such as Dix ons Carphone Warehouse, Shell and ITV throughout the pan demic, and the new Gravit8 VEP fulfils and expands upon the continued need of engag ing and connecting brands to delegates, without, or along side in-person interaction. Post-Covid, the VEP has found its niche as a virtual option for in-person events includ ing exhibitions, trade shows, congresses, and networking events. Offering a breadth of features, including an integrat ed group or peer-to-peer virtual networking system and timebound sponsorship branding throughout, it is a market-first for this level of complexity and graphical quality, providing brands with a direct opportu nity to replicate their in-person events in a virtual way and to reach wider audiences. Several other key audiences will get to benefit from this game-changing innovation in software via the new platform: exhibition organisers who may be, for example, considering a virtual or hybrid exhibition space to connect their dele gates and exhibitors or those wishing to hold a standalone virtual event or enhance in-per son events with virtual, ever green content. It will also be accessible for delegates on line, simply by logging on to a live event in real-time. Among the wide raft of functions and features available, the Gravit8 VEP offers full graphic custo misation including organiser, sponsor, exhibitor, and dele gate branding; media assets such as video, pdf and 3D; live peer-to-peer interactions, video demo areas, theatres and audi toriums; text and video meet ings; social walls; interactive engagement features including polls and audience feedback; Gravit8, the developer of pioneering software for events and brand experience centres, has launched its ‘world first’ DIY SAAS platform, providing the most comprehensive virtual event environment available on the market.

Headline News P5 AV News September 2022

The report discusses the im pact 5G is likely to have on the evolution of the mobile indus try, particularly as it continues to enable new innovative ser vices like AR/VR and immersive content.

Theaccess.nextstage of 5G evolution defined by 3GPP as 5G Ad vanced will begin in Release 18 and introduce Artificial In telligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) for New Radio (NR) and NG-RAN, foster Non-Ter restrial Networks (NTN) and MIMO enhancements, and sup port Sidelink, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), reduced capac ity (RedCap) devices, quality of experience (QoE) and, XR services, among other new features that enhance mobile networks, private enterprise networks and consumer appli “Thecations.time we live in is an excit ing inflection point for 5G and the way telecommunications networks are built and con sumed,” said Dr. Rajesh Pan kaj, Chief Technology Officer, InterDigital. “As 5G deploys across the world, it’s helping to solve fundamental challenges, and laying the foundation for experimentation, new ideas, and innovation. At the same time, 3GPP and the 5G supply chain are continuously working to progress 5G even further.”

growth opportunities – espe cially as 5G is set to support a wide range of revenue gener ating, mission critical applica tions. Many operators and their partner suppliers are finding ways to develop new and better features in support of the net work performance capabilities needed to realize the potential of 5G networks and its econom ic “5Gbenefits.isnow giving us a glimpse of what will be possible in the future and setting the foun dation for the next generation of networks” said Dimitris Mavrakis, Senior Research Di rector at ABI Research. “The high capacity, high reliability and low latency capabilities of 5G are now starting to create the next wave of consumer and enterprise applications, in the very same way 4G seeded the creation of social networks, the collaborative economy and rich content. We are now in a very exciting technical era that will pave the way for 6G and future networks”.

Promethean continues to be a global leader for Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPD) tech nology, according to Fu turesource Consulting’s Q2 2022 report on the World IFPD market.

Promethean continues to be a global leader for Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPD) technology, according to Fu turesource Consulting’s Q2 2022 report on the World IFPD market. As schools closed out the 2021-2022 school year, administrators set their sights on a successful upcoming year by purchasing the right edtech for their Prometheanclassrooms.maintains its glob al K-12 education sector IFPD market leader position from 2018 to 2022 collectively, ex cluding sales in China. From July 2021 to June 2022, Pro methean achieved a 24.2% volume share of the total IFPD market. In that same 12-month period, Promethean remained the number one brand in the United States, United Kingdom & Ireland, and Germany. Most recently, in Q2 2022, the com pany continued strong growth in the United Kingdom and Ireland, achieving a 31.5% vol ume share of the IFPD market. Promethean rounded out Q2 2022 with the launch of the all-new ActivPanel with Ac tivSync, which delivers the most robust, seamless, and secure user experience to teachers, students, and IT ad

Gravit8 launches SAAS platform for hybrid events

•5G would not be possible without contributions to 3GPP, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Comprised of seven or ganizational partners that are standards development orga nizations from North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and India, 3GPP collaborates to produce global technical reports and specifications on how next generation networks should be built and implement

•5G can be seen as transforma tive in supporting the roll-out of digital spaces, smart cities and smart public services, and to enable all of this, governments and local authorities must re move the barriers to ubiquitous 5G

On closer inspection, the new motions of licences looks to be more designed towards the SMB space, with the basic version including core meeting features including the interoperability via guest join with Zoom and Cisco, and the ability to share content and collab orate with whiteboard.

Other manufacturers are also following suit, with solutions dedi cated to enhancing the personal collaboration space and the fea tures of leading video conferencing platforms. The newly released Logi Dock is an all-in-one docking station that simplifies the home office setup, reduces desktop clutter, and helps remote workers feel more productive.

An update to Teams

Whether work should now return to pre-Covid norms has become a contentious issue, with some companies such as Meta and Spotify touting their flexible policy to lure and retain talent. It’s interesting to see the reactive approach our industry is undergoing throughout this time of change and push for remote work advocacy.

Simon Kitson Smart Meeting Director Europe Sven Berckmoes, Business Development Manager, Maverick, Europe

A time for personal collaboration

However it does seem that the Pro licence is where the value lies for users, with this now being the only way to access features such as AI intelligence audio and video, and support for dual screen setups. At $40 per month, it will also offer device management capa bilities for IT admins, including remote configuration and device analytics. Teams Rooms Pro licence will also give organisations more security and comfort in maintaining, updating and servicing their meeting room environments.

The arrival of the much-anticipated Google Meet Series One Desk 27 by Avocor, is definitely a product that’s perfectly placed to meet the personal collaboration narrative we’re seeing emerge in the industry. Empowering users to connect, create and collaborate in the office or at home, the 1- 2-person device is a welcome addition to work environments. Offering an all-in-one video con ferencing device whether as a primary display or second monitor.

Sven Berckmoes, Sven Berckmoes, Business Development Manager, Maverick, Europe considers the very near future!

But what makes these devices so revolutionary? Only two years ago the idea of dialling into a meeting from home involved the untangling of a USB webcam and the hope that your headphones included a noise-cancelling microphone to quieten the sound of your children being home-schooled in the kitchen. Now, accredited devices deliver stunning performance to give us in-person quality opportunities to collaborate with our peers, regardless of our lo cation. Collaboration for everyone Reducing the limitations of collaboration, the newest addition to the Bose Videobar family increases the flexibility of locations where companies can ensure Bose quality and innovation to sup port their meeting needs. The videobar VB-S is perfect for address ing those vital smaller spaces where IT managers are challenged to find the right collaboration solution that both empowers employees and delivers consistent user experiences from third-party cloud conferencing services.

For optimising mid-sized room the TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker from Sennheiser is an immersive and user-friendly set up, offering users real-time transcriptions of meetings for up to 10 different voices in the room. For remote participants or those who are hard of hearing, live transcription gives users a new seat at the table for immersive and supportive collaboration - all without any drawbacks or limitations. With more products pushing the bound aries of meeting equity for all participants, could a more level playing field for accessible hardware be on the horizon?

What’s next?

Looking forward to what we can expect from manufacturers in 2023, the current trends suggest that data driven environments and the integration of IOT solutions will be a priority moving for ward. This strategic approach will enable more businesses to uti lise data as a way of not only customising user experiences and in creasing engagement, but informing decision making for employee wellbeing, security and HR strategy. This will have a material impact at all levels, from driving unprece dented increase in productivity levels to improving job satisfaction rates and altering the way in which we interact with the technology we use on a daily basis. As distributors we have an array of solu tions which enable our partners to transition their business to this new and exciting digital environment, where we are able to help simplify the complex and together drive the message for a great emphasis of AV integrations into smart spaces.

OpinionP6AVNews September 2022

Back to work: What can we expect from the industry in September?

It’s no secret that Microsoft Teams has become one of the default ecosystems over lockdown, with reported users skyrocketing to 270 million monthly active users in 2022, up from 145 million it reported in 2021. But with growth comes change, and Microsoft has this week announced that it will no longer be selling Microsoft Teams Room Standard and Premium licences but instead will be moving to a Basic and Pro motion.

sales@peerless-av.eu.com www.peerless-av.com After our hugely successful inaugural event at Lord’s last year, we are pleased to announce that A New AV Experience Showcase & Networking Event returns this September with an impressive portfolio of 30 new and returning AV and Digital Signage brands from the audio, workplace technology, wireless, UC, VC, LED, LCD, interactive touch and signal management markets. SHOWCASE & NETWORKING A NEW AV EXPERIENCE 20th & 21st sEPtEMBER 2-days, 28 showcase partners Evening networking & drinks receptionTechnologyToursIconic GroundLord’sTours WorkshopsTechnical NOWREGISTRATIONOPEN!

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TeamViewer has announced a new strategic partnership with Siemens Digital Industries Software to bring the power of TeamViewer’s enterprise AR platform Frontline to Siemens’ Teamcenter software, a leading Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution from the Siemens Xcelerator

Paul Bryan, Managing Director of Exertis UK, said: “The statis tics surrounding mental health in the UK show that many of us will struggle with our men tal health at some point in our lives. Sadly, not everyone seeks help and this can lead to terrible consequences. We want to support our people's mental health and be commit ted to helping where we can in society. Of course, we have our fantastic Mental Health First Aiders and also access to other Employee Assistance Programmes but partnering with Mental Health UK will help elevate this important top ic – not just for Exertis, but to all those who require mental health support. This is a prob lem which needs talking about and the taboo needs to be bro ken down. We're thrilled to be working with Mental Health UK and raising money for a char ity which does such awesome work.”

Neil Lombardo, Country Manag er and leading Cinos’ Europe an expansion commented, “As businesses reopen and begin to embrace the office again, we’ve seen a continued drive for high-quality videoconferencing technologies and meeting room solutions that allow distributed teams to collaborate with each other and their customers.

TeamViewer and Siemens innovate with AR and MR TeamViewer has announced a new strategic partnership with Siemens Digital Industries Software to bring the power of TeamViewer’s enterprise AR platform Frontline to Siemens’ Teamcenter software, a leading Product Lifecycle Management

Cinos French office expands European presence Cinos has announced the ex pansion of its EMEA headquar ters in Paris, France. Since first launching its presence in France, almost two years ago, Cinos have seen significant growth which has promoted the move to a larger space. There has been an increase in de mand for its audio-visual and managed services from a wide range of sectors but particularly healthcare, financial services, and the legal profession.

The PSNI Global Alliance, a worldwide network of trusted AV and unified communica tions and collaboration (UCC) experts, has selected ZeeVee, Inc. to join the organization as a Global Preferred Vendor Part ner (PVP). ZeeVee is a leading global provider of AV distribu tion technology well known for its innovative, cost-effective and easy to install AVoIP and RF distribution platforms. PSNI Global Alliance is a net work of elite technology inte grators, manufacturers, distrib utors and service providers in more than 50 countries across six continents. It is committed to promoting standardization, best practices, global support and customer satisfaction with one unified voice in the audiovi sual industry. “We carefully vet all prospective Preferred Vendor Partners that play a crucial role in serving our varied clientele with resources and expertise for merging systems that cover IT, security, environmental con trol, managed services and AV/ UCC solutions and services,” said Tom Roberts, PSNI Global Alliance Vendor program Direc tor. “ZeeVee is an exceptional organization that consistently delivers the best in both prod uct quality and service which dovetails with our mission and meets the needs of our network of partners and end-users.”

Business News P8 AV News September 2022

Exertis has unveiled the Exer tis Charity Committee and its official partnership with Mental Health UK. It has set a target of £125,000 to raise in the Char ity Committee’s inaugural year, of which Mental Health UK will be the beneficiary. Mental Health UK brings together the heritage and experience of four charities from across the coun try who've been supporting peo ple with their mental health for nearly 50 years. People around the country have been impacted by men tal health issues, and the Ex ertis Charity Committee feels that partnering with Mental Health UK allows it to make a significant impact in support ing those affected. The Exertis Charity Committee strives to inspire the goodwill of its peo ple across the organisation to be charitable, giving purpose to the community spirit of the company. The committee has key principles for each of its actions: to create formal chan nels to be charitable; to foster a deeper sense of belonging for Exertis’ people; to have a pos itive impact in communities; and to make a difference. The Committee is split into two broad categories – fundraising and volunteering – each with sub-committees to support them in achieving their strate gic goals. Hayley Gunn-Bruce, Head of Partnerships at Men tal Health UK, said: “We’re so delighted to announce our partnership with Exertis. Peo ple are in need of support for their mental health now more than ever. At Mental Health UK, we are so excited to work with businesses like Exertis who are passionate about sup porting our vital work and who want to be part of creating real lasting change. We won’t stop until everyone has the tools they need to live their best pos sible life and we know this part nership, through the amazing fundraising efforts of Exertis colleagues, will help that hap pen. We cannot wait to begin.”

continued

Neil Lombardo, Country Man ager and leader of Cinos’ Eu ropean expansion commented, “As businesses reopen and PSNI Design Summit in St. Louis in July 2022

Paul Bryan, Managing Director of Exertis UK: “The statistics surrounding mental health in the UK show that many of us will struggle with our mental health at some point in our lives.” Hayley Gunn-Bruce, Head of Partnerships at Mental Health UK, said: “We’re so delighted to announce our partnership with Exertis.”

PSNI appoints ZeeVee as a Global Partner is well known for maintaining the highest standards in its selection process,” said Chor das. “Being named a Preferred Vendor Partner is a critically important industry credential. Having previously worked with several international PSNI Cer tified Solution Providers on an ad hoc basis, we recognize the strength and quality of the or ganization. We know it will help us to extend our reach to addi tional markets.” The PSNI Global Alliance, a worldwide network of trusted AV and unified communica tions and collaboration (UCC) experts, has selected ZeeVee, Inc. to join the organization as a Global Preferred Vendor Part ner (PVP). ZeeVee is a leading global provider of AV distribu tion technology well known for its innovative, cost-effective and easy to install AVoIP and RF distribution platforms. PSNI Global Alliance is a net work of elite technology inte grators, manufacturers, distrib utors and service providers in more than 50 countries across six continents. It is committed to promoting standardization, on

portfolio.continued on page 10 continued on page 10

To celebrate the launch of its Charity Committee, Exertis has launched ‘Ride to Exertis Almo’ – an initiative where staff will amass distance by peddling on bikes to reach a goal of 1,750 miles, which is the equivalent of halfway between Exertis UK and Exertis Almo’s Philadel phia headquarters. Simultane ously, staff at Exertis Almo in America will also be accumu lating 1,750 miles by riding on bikes and will be raising money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in their own Warrencommunity.Chaiken, President and CEO of Almo Corporation said: “We’re pleased to join Exertis UK to raise awareness of men tal health issues facing many people around the globe today. Exertis Almo will be raising funds for the American Foun dation for Suicide Prevention, a charity many of our employees have volunteered their time and charitable giving.”

Joe Chordas, ZeeVee’s vice president, North American Sales and Corporate Market ing, believes the PVP designa tion will provide his company with added international ex posure and the benefit of The Alliance’s extensive knowledge base. He notes the enthusias tic reception of ZeeVee’s of ferings received from dozens of integrators when he intro duced them at the PSNI De sign Summit in St. Louis last month. “PSNI Global Alliance

Exertis launches Charity Committee

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The ThinkSmart Controller’s easy-to-use Teams Rooms in terface makes it ideal for meet ings and collaboration. It has Integrated Infrared sensors that detect when participants enter the room and automati cally turns the system on and off.

page 8

Cinos French office expands European presence begin to embrace the office again, we’ve seen a contin ued drive for high-quality vid eoconferencing technologies and meeting room solutions that allow distributed teams to collaborate with each other and their customers. With our European customer base ex panding, the Paris office is a natural next step for Cinos and positions the company for con tinued growth in the UK and across LocatedEMEA.”northwest of Paris in Jouy-le-Moutier, the new office will serve as a hub for Cinos’ growing sales and enable its team of technical specialists to support local customers. The larger space will provide a base to underpin Cinos’ from EMEA expansion and bolster its headcount in the coming years. Steve Franklin, Execu tive Director at Cinos, explains, “We are proud that Cinos has continued to grow over the last 18-months. As an agile tech nology provider, we see firsthand how our services are help ing customers to unlock new value across their businesses - from better connectivity and collaboration to improved cus tomer service. The new office in Paris is another step in the journey to extend our reach and maximise the support we offer our EMEA customers as they continue to drive fundamental change through their business es.” touch HD display that allows users to initiate and control meetings, as well as share con tent and work with colleagues working remotely.

“We’re excited to collab orate with Jabra to provide businesses with a way to bring their conference rooms into the hybrid work era,” said Shannon MacKay, General Manager of Worldwide Smart Collaboration Business, Lenovo. “Combining the power of our ThinkSmart Core solution with the Jabra PanaCast 50’s intelligent video system and Microsoft Teams Rooms technology will allow us to empower users to have more productive and inclusive meet ings no matter where attendees are Buildinglocated.”onthe initial offering made available in EMEA last year, this joint offering will be the latest full Teams Rooms system from Jabra. It will be available to order from Septem ber 15th 2022.

continued

Technology NewsBusiness News P14 AV News July 2022 September 2022 best practices, global support and customer satisfaction with one unified voice in the audiovi sual industry.

“We carefully vet all prospective Preferred Vendor Partners that play a crucial role in serving our varied clientele with resources and expertise for merging systems that cover IT, security, environmental con trol, managed services and AV/ UCC solutions and services,” said Tom Roberts, PSNI Global Alliance Vendor program Direc tor. “ZeeVee is an exceptional organization that consistently delivers the best in both prod uct quality and service which dovetails with our mission and meets the needs of our network of partners and end-users.”

PSNI appoints ZeeVee as a Global Partner

continued from page 8

Jabra and Lenovo are expand ing their collaboration to offer a seamless, easy to use meeting room system optimised for use with Microsoft Teams Rooms –the Jabra PanaCast 50 Room System. The purpose-built, modular room kit provides companies looking to upgrade their meeting room technology for the hybrid working world with enhanced business pro ductivity and collaboration ca pabilities. The plug-and-play full room system is a first from Jabra and is certified for and preloaded with Teams Rooms Thesoftware.system features the Jabra PanaCast 50 and Leno vo ThinkSmart Core Kit. The PanaCast 50 offers innovative Jabra and Lenovo collaborate on Microsoft Teams Rooms 180-degree Panoramic-4K vid eo and works seamlessly with Microsoft Teams Rooms’ front row layout to make hybrid meet ings more inclusive and engag ing. Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Core Kit includes the ThinkSmart Core and the ThinkSmart Con troller, a 10.1 inch, 10-point Jabra and Lenovo are expand ing their collaboration to offer a seamless, easy to use meeting room system optimised for use with Microsoft Teams Rooms.

“The typical meeting is not what it used to be, and it’s time for meeting room technology to catch up,” said Aurangzeb Khan, SVP of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra. “We’re de lighted to unite the PanaCast 50’s unique capabilities with Lenovo’s innovative solutions to equip offices with solutions to foster inclusive and inter active meetings for everyone, regardless of where they are. The system works at the touch of a button and can connect employees seamlessly whether they’re in-person or connecting from home.”

“The shift to hybrid work has undoubtedly led to more de mand for video enabled confer ence rooms, which is why we’re working with companies like Jabra and Lenovo to develop purpose-built Microsoft Teams Rooms,” said Albert Kooiman, Senior Director of Microsoft Teams Devices Partner En gineering and Certification. “Bringing together Jabra and Lenovo’s hardware with Mic rosoft Teams software allows users to experience key Teams features such as front row and Intelligent Camera, both for those in the meeting room and Theremote.”new product bundle pro vides everything needed to set up a Teams Room. The Jabra PanaCast 50’s 180-degree view allows for every attendee to be seen, no matter where they’re sitting. This is further amplified by Dynamic Composition, an intelligent camera technology Jabra co-developed with Mic rosoft and released earlier this year. It helps to bridge the gap between in-person and remote meeting participants by provid ing a close-up view of in-room participants when they speak. Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Core is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core vPro processor and deliv ers connectivity to support any meeting room configuration. Its understated yet stylish de sign means it can be placed discreetly, and it has ports to support multiple audio and visual accessories, along with integrated cable management.

Joe Chordas, ZeeVee’s vice president, North American Sales and Corporate Market ing, believes the PVP designa tion will provide his company with added international ex posure and the benefit of The Alliance’s extensive knowledge base. He notes the enthusias tic reception of ZeeVee’s of ferings received from dozens of integrators when he intro duced them at the PSNI De sign Summit in St. Louis last month. “PSNI Global Alliance is well known for maintaining the highest standards in its selection process,” said Chor das. “Being named a Preferred Vendor Partner is a critically important industry credential. Having previously worked with several international PSNI Cer tified Solution Providers on an ad hoc basis, we recognize the strength and quality of the or ganization. We know it will help us to extend our reach to addi tional markets.”

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Peter Dosanjh, Director of AV at Northamber: “Yealink is one of the most exciting providers of unified communication and col laboration solutions. The new distribution agreement will de liver significant benefits to our reseller partners, combining the quality of Yealink’s video confer encing, voice communications, and collaboration products with the 42 years’ experience from Northamber.”

LED Studio expands EMEA footprint

AVer Europe enters healthcare market

AVer Europe has announced the launch of its Connected Health Solutions as part of its com mitment to the technological requirements of the healthcare industry. Aiming to discover unmet needs and reduce over all cost for healthcare systems, AVer Europe is responding to the continued growth of tele medicine, patient monitoring and live surgery broadcast in the medical field.

AVer Europe has recently launched its newest medi cal grade PTZ cameras, the MD330U and MD330UI, as the first foray of Connected Health Solutions. With the intention of creating intuitive user interface and patient-centred design in mind, AVer’s MD330U Series camera features the world’s first detachable 4K 8MP hand held camera head for doctors to perform patient assessment accurately within the context of telemedicine. The cameras are growing in popularity across Europe after receiving many accolades internationally, in cluding multiple awards in the USA. “We’re already seeing our medical grade cameras have a huge impact in hospitals in oth er parts of the world, and we’re excited to bring out Connected Health Solutions to Europe,” said Rene Buhay, SVP of Sales and Marketing at AVer Europe. “The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally impacted the healthcare industry, and inno vation in technology is driving positive change in patient-cen tred care and reducing costs overall. We’re committed to developing medical grade equipment for healthcare en vironments and looking for ward to work closely with more partners in this industry.” The AVer MD330U is specially de signed and medically certified for telemedicine with an IEC 60601 Medical Certification. The 30X optical zoom lens with 4K output resolution delivers high image quality, and the AI noise reduction function offers a face-to-face communication experience for patients and doctors.

Northamber signs a new Yealink deal Northamber plc has announced that it has signed a distribu tion agreement with Yealink Network Technology Co Ltd (Yealink). The agreement will see Northamber promote and distribute the complete range of Yealink voice and video solu tions for both Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms.

of hologram installations from projection to sustainable LED technology. Her projects have included the world’s first live 4K hologram over a 5G network and creative solutions to pro vide businesses with alterna tive solutions to communicate Andreeaglobally. comments: “During my 13 years within the XR and events industry I have been for tunate to work on many worldfirst technologically advanced projects that have delivered amazing results. The team at The LED Studio are creative thinkers and apply logical en gineering to their products and solutions to turn client desires into reality. It’s an exciting time to be part of this innova tive brand, that will open many avenues for our clients and the Robindustry.”Bint, CEO at The LED Studio, comments: “Andreea’s strong commercial background combined with her project management skills make her the perfect person to develop business in the EMEA region and lead our growing team. She will ensure new clients are fully supported in their creative visions and will be involved at project level to see these through to fruition. The LED Studio is going through a mas sive period of growth, having recently expanded into the US. Our Innovation Labs include a 35,000 sqft facility in Swindon UK, a Studio in London and offices throughout Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Cyprus and China. Andreea will be pivotal to our EMEA success as she spearheads projects in the re gion.”

Business News P14 AV News July 2022 September 2022

LED technology specialist

Peter Dosanjh, Director of AV at Northamber, commented: “Yealink is one of the most ex citing providers of unified com munication and collaboration solutions. The new distribution agreement will deliver signif icant benefits to our reseller partners, combining the quality of Yealink’s video conferenc ing, voice communications, and collaboration products with the 42 years’ experience from Northamber. The partnership with Yealink provides a comple mentary offering to our existing portfolio and provides resellers with a complete workspace collaboration solution. This is combined with our high level of technical, finance, logistics and marketing support we deliver to all our channel partners.” “Northamber is committed to building a strong AV product portfolio, including a compre hensive UC & C offering for our reseller partners. Yealink works closely with Microsoft and Zoom to ensure its technolo gy fully supports and comple ments the Microsoft Teams and Zoom Rooms platforms, with the aim of maximising the ef fectiveness of all platform fea tures. Yealink solutions are cer tified for Microsoft Teams and Zooms Rooms, meaning a high er quality collaboration expe rience can be shared amongst users, whilst being easily man aged with confidence.” added Mark Sumner, Yealink Business Manager at Northamber AV. Maggie Liu, Director of EMEA at Yealink stated, that “as one of the fastest growing markets in the unified communication and collaboration industry, the United Kingdom has always been critical for Yealink among the 140+ countries that we sell to. The partnership with Northamber, a value-added dis tributor, will take Yealink as a global-leading brand to another level. We are excited to work closely with the Northamber team to embrace the opportu nity that the new norm of ‘easy collaboration and high produc tivity’ presents. Northamber will offer Yealink products with immediate effect.

The LED Studio has further expand ed its’ on the ground support, logistics and stock operations for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions with a new EMEA HQ located in Cyprus. With installations now in over 40 countries, the new space will allow for enhanced SLAs, additional stock locations and will support The LED Studio in its wider sustainability mission as the company continues to unveil industry-first technolog ical advances and move into new Andreeaterritories.Timis has been ap pointed as Commercial Direc tor EMEA to run the operations from the Cyprus HQ. Andreea joins from Musion 3D where she played a significant role in securing, planning and exe cuting some of the most pres tigious hologram installations across the globe. Andreea has been pivotal to the transition

AVer Europe has recently launched its newest medical grade PTZ cameras, the MD330U and MD330UI, as the first foray of Connected Health Solutions.

Andreea Timis has been appoint ed as Commercial Director EMEA to run the operations from the Cyprus HQ.

THE ELECTRIC TROLLEY STAND

“They are great in aiding our residents living with sensory impairment and encourages their general rehabilitation and independence.” Dove Haven Care Group

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• HD video conferencing camera, reconnecting residents with their families and friends.

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WIRELESS BATTERY PACK Go wireless with our mobile battery pack. Simply add the battery pack to the trolley making the care home solution portable and wire free – easily moved from room to room.

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Genee has specially designed a multi-use electronic trolley stand that will mount the touchscreen. This stand can be electronically adjusted by height and offers 90-degree angle adjustment from horizontal to vertical ensuring easy accessibility at chair and wheelchair height. With a lightweight but strong steel structure, the stand can sustain intense daily use. It is easily moved from room to room on its 4 integrated castors with the addition of locking brakes, for safety and security.

One of Genee’s most impactful solutions yet – including; the G-Touch ® Interactive Screen providing a safe and engaging resource for residents and staff; the multi-use Electric Trolley Stand to mount and easily adjust positioning and a Wireless Battery Pack making this solution portable.

6.It fosters engagement and collaboration

P14 AV News July 2022 September 2022

In a competitive job market, employers are increasingly looking for graduates with transferable workplace skills, meaning those whose education incorporated hands-on experience. By enabling students to gain practical experience throughout their education, such institutions ensure students have a smooth transition to the working world. While boosting students’ confidence in their abili ties, it also assures employers that the new graduates they employ have gained the experience and training needed to work with a high level of independence and competence. When it comes to higher education for creative careers, the im portance of offering practical, skills-based education must not be underestimated. At Backstage Academy we pride ourselves on immersing our students in industry from day one. By offering our students access to industry experts, best-in-class technology, and equipment in state-of-the-art production studios, we strive to equip them with real-world skills to catapult their careers once they Backstagegraduate.Academy student Bradley Nicholson confirms. “I know people at other universities who, although they had knowledgeable lecturers, didn’t have access to practical, real-life learning oppor tunities while studying. Gaining hands-on experience is invaluable as it gives you knowledge that directly prepares you for a career. In addition to equipping you with industry specific knowledge and skills, it also teaches you other vital skills, such as problem-solv ing, teamwork and communication.”

With the live events industry calling out for creative individuals that ‘know how to do things’, those looking to pursue a career in the live events and creative industries should seek out an institu tion with an immersive, hands-on approach which will equip them with the practical skills they need to succeed in the working world.

Opinion

1.It offers a safe environment When studying, it is important to get a hands-on understanding of a subject and how the theory learned applies to real-life situations. As such, practical education is a rewarding way for students to explore and experiment with all aspects of their chosen field of study. It also provides them with the opportunity to safely make mistakes and learn organically through trial and error.

8.It supports critical think ing Critical thinking skills increase in a hands-on learning environ ment because students must make decisions on what to do next to achieve the desired outcome of a task. Critical thinking skills are vital to the workplace as every situation encountered cannot be learned from or prepared for from a book.

Professional bodies and industry leaders often suggest there’s a mismatch between the theoretical knowledge students acquire at university and the skills they need to succeed after graduation.

10.It prepares students for work

3.It increases understanding

4.It exposes students to industry experts Through practical education, students have the opportunity to complete projects, engage with job-specific tasks, and learn spe cialised techniques under the direct supervision of active and ex perienced industry professionals who have real-world knowledge and experience. In the live events and creative industries these are usually not your everyday academics, but professionals at the top of their game. Under their tutelage, students get to create unique and ambitious projects that push the boundaries of creativity and Additionally,expression. being taught by professionals who are active in the industry enables students to network from day one. In nearly every industry, a strong network can play a vital role in finding a job and building a successful career following graduation.

Experiencing technologies that are at the forefront of industry first hand, particularly if it can lead to lucrative careers, is invalu able. An example of this is virtual production, which has been a game-changer across various industries, and which can be found not just in film production, but also in high-end television, adver tising, and even as part of live events. Virtual Production is changing the way content is created, with Unreal Engine leading the charge. Originally a tool to design video games, its potential has been noticed by stakeholders across the entertainment industry, particularly the booming virtual produc tion industry. Through practical training in cutting-edge technolo gies, students are given a strong foundation, placing them ahead of the curve.

When learning in a theoretical, text-based style, the brain attempts to remember words. However, when learning in a practical environ ment, students remember actions and scenarios, which the brain finds easier to retain. As such, a hands-on approach often results in more ingrained knowledge, with the ability to retain information quickly and for longer periods of time.

Students who are actively learning are actively engaged. By work ing together on practical projects, students develop core abilities they’ll need to successfully collaborate in the workforce.

Here are ten reasons why students, particularly those interested in pursuing careers in the live events and creative industries, choose higher education institutions based on the diverse range of experi ential education opportunities on offer.

5.It improves knowledge retention

Top 10 reasons for pursuing practical higher education

2.It improves their skillset While gaining in-depth knowledge of a core discipline and demon strating the ability to learn is important, having employability skills tailored to their industry of choice is vital for graduates when entering the workforce. Students choose university courses that will not only equip them with a particular set of skills aligned to their field of interest, but that will also ensure that their skillset is future proof.

Rather than simply learning about various types of equipment and how it might be useful for different jobs, students afforded exten sive practical training have the opportunity to learn about, use, and sharpen their technical skills while studying. This means that when they transition to the workplace, they won’t have to spend time learning how to physically operate tools and equipment on the job as they have already gained hands-on experience.

Higher education continues to play a major role in preparing students for the world of work by teaching them what they need to know. How ever, employers and industry are increasingly looking for graduates who also know ‘how to do It’. Rachel Nicholson, Head of Institution at Backstage Academy, highlights the reasons many students opt for higher education which offers hands-on experiences.

The goal of most universities with a strong practical component is to address this mismatch by delivering early career professionals –creative and critical thinkers who possess the academic, practical, technical and applied skills required by industry.

7.It exposes students to cutting-edge technology

While creativity is a valuable skill in the modern workplace, it is one of the hardest to teach using traditional methods. When it comes to higher education for creative careers, the impor tance of offering practical, skills-based education must not be under estimated.

9.It unlocks creativity While creativity is a valuable skill in the modern workplace, it is one of the hardest to teach using traditional methods. Handson learning helps students understand that creativity is developed with effort and hard work. By being allowed to practically flex their creative muscles, students learn to develop better ideas and more innovative solutions.

In cooperation with K²Consulting, VIDI GmbH has succeeded in developing a concept that guarantees constant and very low la tency from audio to video, regardless of the location. For the host broadcaster Sportcast, remote production offers significantly high er and constant quality standards, which are a central requirement for Dolby Atmos transmission. Due to the close proximity of the RACR stage box to the OB van on site and the fact that no ex tra A-V calibration is required, particularly low latencies can be achieved by means of the technology.

“The RACR production showed right away what a big difference TV viewers experience with immersive sound during live broadcasts from the stadium. We built the audio studio production and the infrastructure for it in just four weeks at our Darmstadt location, but the positive effects on future remote audio solutions will re verberate for a long time to come,” says Jürgen Jahn, Managing Director at VIDI.

Audiowork. revolution in stadium sound

Football fans who cannot be present live in the stadium would like to be able to experience a match as vividly and authentically as possible. With the start of the 2022 Bundesliga season, TV viewers are moving a big step closer to the sidelines, especially on an acoustic level. The live broadcast of the top matches can be experienced in Dolby Atmos for the first time with the help of the RACR production by VIDI.

Due to its easy scalability - from 64 to any number of audio sig nals - the technology is suitable for a variety of different applica tions without requiring additional network capacity. Beyond its purely technical properties, RACR production can also have a pos itive effect on its environment: on-site sound control rooms can be relieved by means of this solution and qualified sound engineers are spared time-consuming travelling by working remotely.

The Remote Audio Control Room (RACR) production is a joint development project between K²Consulting (Prof. Felix Krückels) and VIDI GmbH from Darmstadt. In this project, VIDI benefits

The immersive sound experience of live sports broadcasts is cel ebrating a premiere on German television, which creates great anticipation for the future of Bundesliga broadcasts and similar formats beyond. Dolby Atmos stands for atmosphere: This is made clear not only by the name of the technology, but also by the in comparable sound experience with theoretically any number of audio tracks.

P17 AV News November 2021P17 AV News September 2022 Case study

The VIDI data centre houses the actual control systems, Lawo Home and the control system of the mc²56. In addition, in the event of a problem with the processing core in the stadium, a redundant core from the data centre is made available in the net

The immersive sound experience of live sports broadcasts is celebrating a premiere on German television, which creates great anticipation for the future of Bundesliga broadcasts and similar formats beyond. from its tradition and innovative strength. The bundled know-how for groundbreaking solutions such as the current RACR produc tion is equally composed of high network competence and sound audio expertise at VIDI.

RACR takes live sound quality to a new level Sky Deutschland customers have already been able to enjoy the first Bundesliga matches of the season in the new Dolby Atmos sound experience. The service provider behind the project, VIDI from Darmstadt, is satisfied with the interim results:

In direct comparison to common hybrid remote production solu tions, the RACR production achieves a significantly reduced com plexity and, above all, low countrip times. This is made possible by a clever design of the system architecture, in which the actual audio processing in the venue is realized via remote control from Darmstadt. Perfect monitoring in the remote audio control room allows for fine tuning of the 3D mixes.

With the innovative Remote Audio Control Room (RACR) concept, VIDI GmbH from Darmstadt captures the stadium sound in a particularly multi-faceted way to offer viewers with Dolby Atmos equipment a particularly immersive and exciting sound image.

Also new for 2022 are expert guided ‘Behind the Screens’ Technology Tours. Hosted by Peerless-AV and Absen, the tours will leave from the Nursery Pavilion providing visitors with an in side look at the solutions employed to deliver engaging content throughout the stadium grounds, with a focus on specific areas such as content management, LED screens, challenges of match day operations and future developments.

Ross Burling, Industry Development Director OOH & Sports at Absen: “We are delighted to be partnered with Peerless-AV in an event of this prestige. LED tech provides a huge number of opportunities for stadi ums to inform, entertain and interact with their spectators. We’re very proud to be showcasing our A99 perimeter displays, whilst also being able to show the 73sqm of Absen SR10S, located in the new Compton and Edrich stands installed by our SI Ashleigh Signs ready for the 2021 season.”

“It was great to attend the Peerless AV Showcase at Lord’s Cricket Ground last September as it was the first time I had connected with AV colleagues in a face to face setting. The range of exhib itors was excellent, and I was able to find out about a range of exciting developments. The social network afterwards was great fun.” Ben Pain, Head of Audio-Visual Resources at the Royal College of Physicians London Events team

Evening networking drinks on Tuesday 20th sponsored by Exertis Pro AV

P18 AV News June 2022P18 AV News September 2022InfoCommEvent Preview

A new AV experience showcase & networking event returns!20-21

“Well done to the team at Peerless-AV for hosting this live show case, which was much anticipated after a long period of virtual events. For Samsung this showcase is particularly important for its autonomy and independence from trade bodies, associations or distribution partners. This makes it a unique and highly valu able occasion to engage with the AV industry, network and gener ate those all-important, new business leads.” Damon Crowhurst, Head of Display at Samsung Business UK

Event highlights New for 2022, are technical workshops designed to enhance tech nical knowledge and competence in a range of up-to-date topics.

Visit the event page to register and secure your space on the new and exclusive tours on arrival. Tour attendees will also visit the iconic Media Centre and will have the unmissable chance to take a photo of their name up on the scoreboard with a century innings at Lord's, The Home of Cricket.

“The Peerless-AV Showcase provided the perfect setting to catch up with end users, vendors and partners, all in one space, and at a time when the industry was lacking live trade events and net working opportunities. The two-day event was well planned and structured with some good cojoining events that meant the visitor attendance was of a high quality and allowed engagement at all levels.” Matt Keen, Commercial Director, Kinly

Furthermore,group/events

The showcase welcomes end-users, resellers, integrators and consultants offering new for 2022 highlights, including techni cal workshops and technology tours of the grounds, alongside first-time showings, launches and demonstrations from exhibiting partners, guided tours and networking opportunities.

Exertis Pro AV has also been confirmed as the exclusive sponsor of Peerless-AV’s evening networking, 6.30-8.30pm on Tuesday 20th September.

In addition to the evening re ception on Tuesday, the AV User Group’s September mem bers meeting and networking drinks will be held on Wednes day 21st. Visit the AV User Group events page for more information on timings, agenda and registration: www.avuser

visitors will have the opportunity to attend free Lord’s Tours. Led by an expert guide to explore some of the most fa mous sights in sport, including the Grade II*-listed Pavilion, the world-famous Long Room, Players’ Dressing Rooms, and MCC Mu seum, home of the Ashes Urn. Event testimonials

“The Peerless-AV Showcase in 2021 provided the opportunity to meet end clients and view the latest new technologies from a host of technology vendors, especially in the areas of Digital Signage and LED, which are a major focus for us. There was so much more so see, and more people and vendors to speak to, that I was there for longer than expected.” Alexander Vogt, AV Consultant, PTS Global Keith Dutch, Managing Director – EMEA, Peerless-AV

Exhibitors showcase Exhibitors signed for 2022 are Absen, Barco, BenQ, BrightSign, CTOUCH, Datapath, DTEN, Hypervsn, iiyama, Jabra, Kramer, Lenovo, LG, Lightware Engineering, Logitech, Matrox, Mersive, Peerless-AV, Philips, Samsung, Sharp NEC, Shure, Signagelive, Sony, Tripleplay and Unilumin Neat, Now Signage, Poly and UMA.

After the hugely successful inaugural AV Experience Showcase & Net working Event at Lord’s last September, Peerless-AV announces its return in 2022 with an impressive portfolio of 30 market leading AV and Digital Signage brands. The venue will once again be held over two days on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st September, 10am6pm, at the iconic sporting venue of Lord’s Cricket Ground, located in the centre of London.

Message from Keith Dutch Keith Dutch, Managing Director – EMEA, Peerless-AV: “After the big tradeshows of May and June and our recent acquisition of ADF Visual Display Products, Peerless-AV will be demonstrating its strengths in dvLED infrastructure, alongside an impressive portfolio of market leaders from the LED, LCD, interactive, UC, VC markets and more. The central London location will be the ideal opportunity for those UK end users, resellers, integrators and con sultants that perhaps did not travel to ISE and Infocomm to see the latest new product launches and first-time showings across all AV technology categories. For exhibitors, this showcase allows them to demonstrate first-hand their latest offerings and launch es, to make valuable new business connections and network with their peers.”

Join Neat for a video conferencing technical masterclass on Wednesday 21st September at 11am to 12.30pm. Industry guru Graham Walsh will be providing a deep dive into ‘Video Conferencing the Neat Way’ with device introductions, sneak peaks and best practice tips for maximising virtual meeting space engagement across various platforms. Register for the work shop here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/392524680887

September Lord’s Cricket10amLondonGround–6pm

Complementing the ConvertIP line is ConductIP, a Matrox rout ing platform exploiting the common API that IPMX delivers. On display will be a combination showcase demonstrating the appli cation of the AVoverIP standard using 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps net works. Visitors will see super low (sub-frame) latency delivery and fast switching of high-quality 4kp60 content on both networks.

HYPERVSN

•Stem Ecosystem—For situations that require straightforward, deployable audio solutions for their daily conferencing needs. Smaller meeting rooms within the context of a larger AV project can enjoy a consistent and effective audio experience with Stem Ecosystem •IntelliMix®devices.Room Denoiser—Part of the new IntelliMix Room DSP 3.1, this AI-powered feature reduces background noise while ensuring voice audio is preserved.

•A major new addition to the Microflex Ecosystem: the MXA920 Ceiling Array Microphone. With Automatic Coverage™ technology, MXA920 provides pre-configured audio capture with minimal set up required. Tripleplay Tripleplay will be showcasing the latest version of its leading digi tal signage, enterprise video and IPTV software platform, Caveman 3.2 which delivers significant reporting and platform support en hancements. Additionally, Tripleplay Cloud 1.4 will be showcased, which includes support for new Tripleplay IPTV and caching serv ers, combining to facilitate a hybrid infrastructure capability.

Samsung’s F1 simulator returns for 2022 Peerless-AV demonstrate expert capabilities in SEAMLESS dvLED vid eo wall mount integration

NowSignage

Exhibitor news

Matrox At this year's Peerless-AV event, Matrox Video will present its new ConvertIP family of encoder and decoder products for the first time in the UK. These solutions are the first to exploit IPMX, the emerging and open standard for interoperability of AVoverIP.

The Jabra PanaCast 50 Room System is a complete, certified room collaboration solution that includes the Jabra PanaCast 50 intel ligent video bar and the Lenovo ThinkSmart Core and Controller, and ships preloaded with the customer’s choice of either Microsoft Teams Rooms or Zoom Rooms. This new product offering joins our existing video collaboration solutions as part of the PanaCast portfolio and will be available globally, with all included items packaged together and procured via a single SKU.

Jabra

DTEN At the Showcase, DTEN will be showcasing their inclusive portfolio of plug-and-play touch screen solutions for businesses, schools, homes, and hybrid environments, including the brand new ON board - which was only released early August! The ONboard is an award-winning collaboration solution designed for new Zoom whiteboard, which easily integrates with any Zoom Rooms device and immediately introduces interactive touch. Visit us at Lords for live demonstrations and to find out more about how you can make your Zoom environments more collaborative.

UMA UMA will be showcasing its new digital visitor management solu tion at Lord’s. Scrap pen and paper. Welcome visitors - singly or in groups - smartly, efficiently, and safely. Spend less dead time waiting, creating admin tasks, and manually checking in and chasing up to see who’s actually left. From creating a visit to invite guests, to notifying hosts when visitors leave the building, and all stages between, UMA’s new solution means full visibility of who’s in, who’s left and who’s due in - and why - time-stamp ing visits. Options include touch or touch-less sign ins, including from mobile devices, and kiosks can be company-branded.

Lastly, further details on the latest evolution of the Reserva Room booking platform will be available. Reserva RCM4.1, with a new responsive and user-friendly browser-based UI, will deliver en hanced flexibility and scalability for existing and new users.

NowSignage will be showcasing a plethora of new features in align ment with their hardware agnostic approach. Positioned as the most 'flexible' CMS on the market, with all features included outof-the-box at no additional fee, NowSignage will be demonstrating an entire suite of 'new' Content Trigger functionality, featuring de mographic, environmental and sensor-based triggers in collabo ration with industry-leading providers such as Nexmosphere and Quividi. In line with ongoing international growth, NowSignage is keen to share insights into our global network, so that multination al channel operators can leverage our growing presence in over 40 countries. Shure Shure will exhibit a variety of its systems innovations and confer encing solutions, including:

Visit the event page to https://PeerlessAVShowcaseAVExperience.eventbrite.co.ukregister:

Event Preview

The award-winning London-based HYPERVSN are showcasing their brand-new HYPERVSN SmartV platform at Lord’s. The ex hibit will feature various interactive holographic solutions. One of which is the HYPERVSN Holographic Human, which could be used to meet and greet customers, inform them about the lat est offers and generally interact with them in the industries such as Retail, Entertainment, Events, Education etc. There will also be the iconic HYPERVSN SmartV Wall showcasing big Full-HD holographic images and some proprietary accessories on display. Industry experts claim the new-generation HYPERVSN solutions can be considered a genuine alternative to standard LEDs and video walls. Iiyama iiyama will be showcasing a wide range of professional display products covering UC, Interactive and Digital Signage solutions alongside cutting-edge Gaming displays. The Large Format Dis plays and Touchscreens help businesses get their message across to their partners and clients. New iiyama UC products, further bridge the divide between the physical and virtual, facilitating re mote collaboration with a variety of webcams and speakerphones. And finally, the iiyama G-Master #monitors4gamers aid gamers to unlock their full gaming potential.

P18 AV News December 2021InfoCommP19 AV News September 2022

Leading Dutch construction group turned to PPDS to bring its newly renovated offices to life, with the stunning new dv LED corner wall offering crys tal clear branded content and visual communications that guarantee a positive first and lasting impression. The Philips 7000 series high brightness LED panels were selected and installed to provide a stunning centrepiece inside the recent ly refurbished Heijmans head office in Rosmalen, Nether lands. Heijmans are creators of healthy living environments. This Dutch construction group was founded in 1923 and is regarded as one of the most prolific leaders in property de velopment. Their future-centric thinking has shaped the way we live, work, and connect with environmentally conscious de signs and inspiring innovations. Today, the 4500 strong team at Heijmans is responsible for building the finest homes, stores, company premises, as well as developing residential areas, shopping centres, and business parks. With social contribution in heart and soul, Heijmans is dedicated in shap ing the spatial environment for a better world. A publicly listed company focused on quality improve ments, innovation, and inte grated solutions for both the public and professional sec tors, and for government bod ies, it was of great importance for Heijmans to exude creative thinking within their own show room. As an inspirational space where customers are taken on a journey of imagination, ad vice, and development plan ning, their central hall needed a progressive display setup to truly showcase their innovative capabilities and progressive vi sion. With recent renovations to the showroom, the display also needed to be bright enough to make an impact in the abun dance of natural light. To bring their vision to life, Heijmans teamed up with PPDS and BISEconocom for an eye-catching AV solution. Har nessing the creative design of the main hall, a custom Philips 7000 Series LED display was installed across a central cor ner wall. This oversized display was made for impact, with a unique 45-degree cabinet de sign that delivers a versatile visual feast capable of input from single and multiple con tent channels. Featuring high brightness and fine pixel pitch, Heijmans can now ensure that its branded content and news, as well as company and proj ect information, is prominent, sharp, and clear. As a result of this spectacular dvLED wall, the innovative nature of Hei jmans is always on display –forming a lasting impression for all visitors and staff. Bart Donkersloot, Sales Direc tor at BIS Econocom comment ed: “Philips LED is really cost effective and you can be very creative with its integration. It was a flawless installation and we couldn’t find any dead pix els. The Philips 7000 series from PPDS is one of the best in its kind.”

• Multiple inputs: Content can be played back via a sin gle channel or multiple sourc es to utilise the over-sized display space.

In order to achieve a result that would enable users of the lab to view their own content, from three distinct perspectives, on a floor to ceil ing immersive 3D display, ST Engineering Antycip supplied a Digital Projection INSIGHT Satellite MLS 4K HFR 360 projector, part of the company’s Satellite Modular Laser System (MLS) range, with Multi View technology. which has limited space in the rear projection room. John Mould illustrates how this works: “Satellite MLS rep resents a unique opportunity to operate a high lumens native 4K laser projector without the requirement for a 32-amp sin gle phase power supply to drive the projection system. This is made possible by the non-tra ditional approach of dissociat ing the laser light source from the projector chassis so the two can be powered separately, en abling standard mains outlets to feed the projection head unit and the separate laser light modules housed and managed within the equipment rack.

ST Engineering Antycip and DP digital collaboration

Benefits • Unique design: 45-degree cabinets ensure a unique design capable of seamless viewing from multiple angles.

Leading Dutch construction group turned to PPDS to bring its newly renovated offices to life, with the stunning new dvLED corner wall offering crystal clear branded content and visual communications that guarantee a positive first and lasting impression.

In addition to working around the shortage of space, a chal lenge for the ST Engineering Antycip team was the fact the lab is located on the first floor. “The installation had to be achieved within a room space which was not on a ground floor, and so it was less ac cessible for the unloading of large solid materials,” Mould continues. “The final room lo cation drove the decision to go with a flexible screen surface that could be transported to the floor level. The end client decided that they required the rear projection space to be physically separated from the main viewing space, which was a decision taken post contract award to integrate the screen more effectively. Working with all parties, we managed to find a solution extending the me chanical structures and sub strates to provide such a par Horwoodtition.” says the success of the University of Liverpool proj ect is testament to the versatil ity of the Satellite MLS system, which is ideal for installations where space is at a premium, as well as multisided CAVE set ups: “I can see a multitude of projects benefiting from Digi tal Projection’s Satellite MLS, especially three- or four-sided CAVEs (Multi View or standard stereo). The RGB laser source also improves the user expe rience through better colour saturation and uniformity.”

PPDS brings wow factor to Heijmans corporate HQ

“The benefit of this approach is to reduce the resulting opera tional noise from the projection system while also removing much of the exhausted heat that requires to be managed. This configuration allows the projection head unit’s phys ical dimensions to be more compact, addressing different mounting approaches with the full flexibility for orientation.”

Motion capture specialist Target3D, had been commis sioned to build two of the DIF’s labs, called on ST Engineering Antycip simulation, analysis, modelling, display and virtu al reality solutions, to supply and configure a cutting edge projection setup for the mixed reality laboratory, which houses the UK’s first active stereo pro jection system capable of ren dering multiple unique tracked Robertviewpoints.Jeffries, commercial director for Target3D, explains that the integrator chose to partner with ST Engineering Antycip on the project for its expert “knowledge of complex projection and CAVE [Cave Automatic Virtual Environ ment] installations”. In order to achieve a result that would enable users of the lab to view their own content, from three distinct perspectives, on a floor to ceiling immersive 3D display, ST Engineering Antycip sup plied a Digital Projection IN SIGHT Satellite MLS 4K HFR 360 projector, part of the com pany’s Satellite Modular Laser System (MLS) range, with Multi View technology. Multi View, explains John Mould, commer cial development manager for ST Engineering Antycip, “ush ers forth a capability that VR display solutions have been de siring since they first emerged: the capability to support ‘true’ collaboration within the virtual world. The ability for three indi viduals to be immersed within the same 3D content, and to navigate freely perceiving the visual corrected to their own eyes, means each user is able to point to the same exact loca tion in space and no longer has to share and follow a primary single user.” Other ST Engineering Antycip supplied equipment installed in the mixed reality lab, which also houses haptic gloves, VR headsets and a purpose-built spatial sound stage. This in cludes two rack-based, 10,000 lumen Satellite MLS modules; three PC based image genera tors featuring NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 GPUs; a bespoke 5m × 2.63m rear projection screen; and 30 pairs of Volfoni high speed 3D glasses. Matt Horwood from Digital Projec tion explains that the INSIGHT Satellite MLS 4K HFR 360's unique design, which results in a very compact size, low noise and flexibility solved the logis tical challenges presented by the Digital Innovation Facility,

• High brightness: 1200 nit brightness keeps content at the centre of attention, no matter how much natural light shines through the showroom.

• Flawless picture quality: Zero dead pixels and ul tra-sharp resolution bring the content to life, while show casing the perfect attention to detail that Heijmans deliv ers through its services.

The Digital Innovation Facility at the University of Liverpool, a new home for academic research into emerging technologies such as autonomous systems, robotics, data analytics and artificial intelligence, has been equipped with state-of-the-art 3D projection equipment provided by ST Engineering Antycip.

Similarly, Mould says he is “genuinely excited by the pos sibilities this type of new tech nology brings us, as it injects new opportunities for many different markets”: “You could conceivably use the same dis play real estate for multiple dif ferent applications, increasing productivity, or to enable new experiences, such as creating three virtual prototypes or de signs which you could switch between as simply as the time taken to swap over the glasses between engineers. “For enter tainment and education,” he adds, “you could create virtual flythroughs of an existing loca tion but generate three differ ent data sets, each separated by time, and the audience could choose the glasses to in stantly see the past, present or to enter the possible future, yet all of these experiences would be delivered to the display sur face simultaneously.”

“The Digital Innovation Facility is very excited to be home to Europe’s most advanced large scale virtual reality powerwall, which enables multiple partici pants to simultaneously engage with our visualisations,” adds Dr Simon Campion, virtual real ity and immersive environments specialist at the University of Liverpool, who manages the mixed reality laboratory. “This is absolutely key to the innova tive collaborations we facilitate between research and industry across the northwest [of En gland], enabling industry lead ers to make clear and informed decisions for improved pro cesses through a collaborative approach.” “It was a pleasure to work with the Antycip team again,” concludes Target3D’s Jeffries. “Their willingness to go above and beyond in what has been a complicated pro curement process stood out.”

4P20 AV News September 2022 Application News

The Digital Innovation Facility at the University of Liverpool, a new home for academic re search into emerging technolo gies such as autonomous sys tems, robotics, data analytics and artificial intelligence, has been equipped with state-ofthe-art 3D projection equip ment provided by ST Engi neering Antycip. Part of the university’s Institute for Digital Engineering and Autonomous Systems (IDEAS), the £12.7 million (€15.2m), 1,500m² Digital Innovation Facility (DIF) comprises multiple research laboratories, immersive visu alisation facilities, and work and breakout spaces for aca demics and collaborative part ners.

P18 AV News December 2021P21 AV News September 2022

empowered through the ability to connect to the internet and access resources freely and easily, particularly in subjects such as maths and sciences.

Ramulumo Richard, Principal of Mugoidwa Secondary School commented; “Some of the learners would be touching lap tops for the first time in their entire lives. Learners are going to be enlightened, they are go ing to go out of their villages, their village mentality will be removed now because they will be able to see what is happen ing around the world, because this one will expose them to the whole world and they will be able to interact with learn ers from other countries, their mindset will change from here going forward, so it has come at the right time where it was needed the most.” Software included with the interactive display facilitates the teaching process, with hundreds of educational apps available through Cleverstore, as well as pre-created lessons via LYNX Whiteboard. Com bined with the access to the Google Education Suite via both the Chromebooks and the IMPACT display, the students have access to an unlimited amount of content. John Ginty, EMEA Sales Director for Clever touch Technologies comments: “It was an honour to be a part of this project, which we hope can inspire others to embark on innovative projects to help dis advantaged young people fulfil their dreams and aspirations.”

“Stellenbosch university de cided on Clevertouch due to its integration with chrome devic es, ease of use and best user experience, compared to other brands. We were also able to de liver ahead of schedule, which ensured the school started the new year with a brand-new me dia lab and new opportunities” said Justin Cooke, CEO of In teractive AV Solutions.

“The 435 is a specific choice for this tour as we have a lot of PA and don’t want any spill,” says White. “Although Ed is close to the mic for a lot of the time, he’s dynamic in the way he uses it and the 435 allows a little bit more range and pick Thereup.” are a total of 16 chan nels of Digital 6000 for Sheer an’s guitars (of which he has five in rotation), three main vocal mics (a main and two spares) and three loop vocal mics (two main and one spare). Sixteen channels of Sennhe iser 2050 IEMs are used for Sheeran and his band, which comprises drums, bass, two guitarists and keys, who are po sitioned on ‘islands’ in front of the PA and also use a selection of Sennheiser dynamic mics.

Application News

Sennheiser takes centre stage with Ed Sheeran

The 6000 system, coupled with the extension of Sennheiser’s Wireless Systems Manager application and a wid er bandwidth, provides us with Digitalthat.” 6000 Series transmit ters are coupled with a Senn heiser MM 435 capsule for Ed’s vocals, chosen for its car dioid polar pattern, and a 945 capsule, a favourite for many years because of its tight pick up pattern, for his loop vocal.

Sampson Mamphweli, Profes sor at Stellenbosch Universi ty comments; “The impact is massive as the media lab is go ing to change the way teachers teach at school in line with the fourth industrial revolution, be fore we had backboards, people used to write with chalks now we have smart screens” The lab is a sustainable off-the-grid container, powered by solar en Technologyergy. is in place to al low extra power harnessed to give energy to the rest of the school, which reduces the school’s energy bills. The solar panels, inverters and batteries were all manufactured local ly, putting resources back into the local community. With se curity a major concern, the lab was installed with super-tough polycarbonate windows, secu rity cameras, tripwires, infra red sensors and alarms, and remote monitoring. “Working with competent suppliers for this technology in a difficult environment, such as rural Africa, has led to the proj ect being completed ahead of schedule, which is very rare in Africa and more so during a pandemic.” Says Oan De Waal, Project Engineer at the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, Stellenbosch TheUniversity.useof the Clevertouch in teractive IMPACT display and the Chromebooks allows stu dents, some of whom have nev er used a computer before, to learn in completely new ways. They can research, work with other schools, and access ma terials that would have been impossible with the previous fa cilities available. The technolo gy ignites a passion for learning and embraces collaboration, generating heightened interest and enthusiastic participation among learners through inno vative technology. Teachers are guest vocals and instruments because you never know what’s going to happen on this tour,” smiles White. “At the moment we have a fiddle player with us who comes on for just one track, and Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol came in for one show in Belfast.” The Sennheiser system is cou pled with a Meyer Sound Pan ther PA, the first in the world to be used on a tour, and DiGiCo Quantum 7 mixing console, from which Sheeran’s produc tion manager, Chris Marsh, mixes both FOH and monitors. Along with a robustness and stability that are the reason White has trusted in Sennheis er products for many years, he finds the fact he can use Digital 6000 as a wideband RF scan ner extremely useful, which negates the need to carry an external “Sennheiser’sscanner.support is also great, and what we’ve had from the team for this tour has been really helpful,” White con cludes. “To give us the best coverage throughout, we’ve got over stage antennas and walk way antennas with splitters and combiners. It’s a complicated system, so we really appreci ated the help we got from the Sennheiser team, including Jo nas Naesby, Marcus Blight and Volker Schmitt, who joined us for the start of the tour in Dub lin to make sure the system was responding correctly. I learnt a lot from them. Peter Craig from the relationship management team was also really help ful, and we always appreciate Pierre Morant, who’s been sup porting us for years. “Sennheis er always hits the mark in every way, which is why we’ve used their mics and IEMs for years. They have a very logical way of attacking problems, and the kit is stable and reliable with a great sound. And that is exactly what you need.”

“We always carry spare mics for Sennheiser has been an essential part of Ed Sheeran’s touring inven tory since the start of his career, with his long-time production com pany, Major Tom, providing Sennheiser’s flagship Digital 9000 system for him in recent years.

Sennheiser has been an essen tial part of Ed Sheeran’s tour ing inventory since the start of his career, with his long-time production company, Major Tom, providing Sennheiser’s flagship Digital 9000 system for him in recent years. Now on a tour that takes in some of the biggest venues in the world, in cluding London’s Wembley Sta dium, the Stade De France in Paris, the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, New Zealand’s Eden Park and Sydney’s Accor Stadi um, and with a show that has expanded significantly from his one man and a guitar days, a switch has been made to Senn heiser’s Digital 6000. “Digital 6000 delivers the same sonic excellence, but with added flexibility,” says RF engineer Dave White. “The 9000 Series served us incred ibly well, but with large shows on multiple nights with a band and the addition of guest art ists, we needed some extra flexibility.

The lab is a sustainable off-thegrid container, powered by solar energy. Technology is in place to allow extra power harnessed to give energy to the rest of the school, which reduces the school’s energy bills.

For years, the pupils of Mugoid wa Secondary School endured an absence of educational fa cilities that we often take for granted:- unlimited access to the internet, laptop computers, and integrated technologies. Now, they can use the school’s newly constructed media lab, featuring an IMPACT interac tive display, Chromebooks and solar panels. Clevertouch Tech nologies and Interactive AV Solutions are proud to be a part of this project, thanks to the forward-thinking staff of Stel lenbosch University’s Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy who made it possible. Mugoidwa Secondary School is located in Tshivhulana Village, deep within the rural province of Limpopo, South Africa. Stel lenbosch University’s Centre for Renewable and Sustain able Energy Studies undertook a project to assist schools in underprivileged areas in ru ral South Africa. They created Off-grid media lab in rural South Africa changes lives an off-the-grid media lab for the school, consisting of two 12-metre upcycled storage containers joined seamlessly to create a unified learning envi Theirronment.goal is to help bridge the gap between those who have access to knowledge and those who have no access. Moreover, they set out to achieve this in a sustainable manner. The idea is not to be a financial or se curity burden on the school but rather to help save money through renewable energy and provide access to the realm of knowledge that they would not have otherwise. The project will enable learners to make informed decisions about their future – knowledge is power!

PPDS has announced its range of Philips LED and digital signage solutions have been select ed and used to help redefine the car showroom experience for Seat CUPRA customers in Munich. With over 350 au thorised dealers and over 390

Showroom benefits were said to include:

Hippotizer Karst immersive projections at IKEA

Starting with her eponymous first album release just five years ago, Dua Lipa has rapidly become an international music sensation - winner of (so far) six Brit Awards, three Grammy Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and owner of two Guin ness World Records - her style straddles continents and has earned her a global following. For the English star’s current Future Nostalgia world tour, Britannia Row Productions supplied DiGiCo Quantum con soles to deliver on power and Futurefunctionality.Nostalgia was originally scheduled to start in late 2019 but, like so many others, was repeatedly postponed until fi nally heading out in February 2022. It will finish in Perth, Australia in November, having visited North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania. Both the FOH sound and onstage mixes are being created on DiGiCo Quantum digital mix ing systems, by Will Nicholson and Alex Cerutti respectively. Nicholson is in his seventh year with Dua Lipa and specified a Quantum 7 console for this tour. “The Q7 offers so much. It’s the only desk currently on the market with a dual brain, which negates the need for us to carry a spare board but gives us redundancy. That is very comforting,” he says.

•Easy updates: Staff can push new content with ease using a central system.

•Modular design: A flexible display set-up means that the showroom can be customised effortlessly to suit the various models and events through out the year.

“It is also the flagship console for a popular brand, and we are on a world tour, so having glob al support is very important. Although we might think about power in terms of I/O or FX en gines or similar, for me one of the greatest strengths of the Q7 is its endless configurability and potential. It gives us the opportunity to approach shows and mixes in ways unique to each show and artist and tailor our approach to the show con tent. Fundamentally, the Q7 won’t impart anything to your mix unless you ask it - colour, glue, warmth, shine, whatever you want to call it. But, if you do want something, the Q7 might just have what you need – so, the power lies in the po tential for making your mix re flect the artist’s ambition.”

Scandinavian flat-pack super chain IKEA’s flagship store in Wembley, North London, is immersing potential buyers into an interactive, projec tion mapped environment this summer, thanks to an inspired project by Motion Mapping us ing Hippotizer Karst+ Media Servers. The popular furniture and houseware brand’s team approached Ipswich-based Mo tion Mapping, which specialis es in video mapping, to realise the project. The initial brief focused on a furniture section of the IKEA store, construct ed from an L-shaped wall with large desk, hung cabinets and a series of 12 differing-sized empty photo frames, each one video mapped to synchronise with the back wall projections across all of the cabinets, hung in a portrait and landscape formation to create a wide dis play canvas. The team wanted to turn this into the immersive environment, using projections and interactive elements.

•Fast deployment: PPDS and MEKmedia designed and de ployed the entire system in under three days.

PPDS helps CUPRA redefine the car showroom experience service partners, Spanish auto mobile powerhouse CUPRA is fast becoming a driving force in the electric car world, with its range of customisable racing inspired models for the street, track, or off-road fun. With the new era of automo biles comes a new era of tech nology— both within the cars, and across the brand. That’s why when the CUPRA flagship showroom was set-up in Mu nich, it was just as important to have the right tech that reflects the brand’s authority on inno vation. What CUPRA needed was a cutting-edge system that allows them to create a local ised identity, whilst also having the flexibility to accommodate the ever-changing models with in the dealership. To turn their vision into a reality, CUPRA teamed up with MEKmedia and PPDS for a showroom like no other. Together, a custom solution was designed and de ployed in less than three days. To ensure absolute showroom flexibility, a modular display set-up was created to allow for fast and versatile content play Threeback. Philips L-Line LED dis plays and an oversized 65-inch Philips screen were installed to showcase the features, brand ing, and benefits of each mod el. The display set-up was de signed in such a way that they could be shifted to match the various showroom configura tions, as well as being utilised in the front windows to attract more traffic. This set-up also al lows for the car configurator to be utilised, enabling customers to create their dream car live on-screen—an important as pect to the CUPRA brand. This resulted in significantly greater

“We started off with just one projector, but as we showed the client what we could achieve using Hippotizer –such as blending multiple projectors to create a bigger, more immersive display with in Hippotizer’s SHAPE tools - it mushroomed. This also helped us seamlessly make the 3D co-worker character come to life. It’s great that we can do so much within the media server itself – it really is a multi-tool machine rather than simply a playback device.” The video mapped installation is proving to be a storming success for the store, with Harris reporting that customers are spending more time learning what the furniture offers and interact ing with the co-worker char acter.

4P22 AV News September 2022

DiGiCo delivers Future Nostalgia for Dua Lipa tour

Starting with her eponymous first album release just five years ago, Dua Lipa has rapidly become an international music sensation. at FOH, so with returns and audience mics the total input count is close to 100. Outputs are just L/R but, he reveals, he is a heavy user of bussing. “I have some plugins and out board, distributed through an SD Rack, a DD2FR and some local I/O,” he says. “I make use of the onboard FX for quite a few things, and I absolutely love the Spice Rack and Mus tard Processing. I also record from the MADI splits as the virtual soundcheck capabilities are fundamental to my work Heflow.”continues, “The Spice Rack and Mustard Processing have taken a really honest, great sounding board and elevated it. Both of the Spice Rack compo nents are true to function - you can insert one of the racks into a buss, set your thresholds and attack and get to work in ways that you will likely be famil iar with. There’s not too steep a learning curve, no servers, no external laptop or patch ing - just load up a rack and mix. The Mustard Processor is just ace - colour and dirt if you want it - very musical and straightforward to use. All the new modelled compressors are a pleasure to work on and have made my life so much easier, especially when considering automation. The Quantum machine has allowed me to streamline my approach, lose plugins and retain the funda mentals of mixing. It’s a very welcome Meanwhile,upgrade.”atthe other end of the multicore, Alex Cerutti is also piloting a Q7 in a very different way but with equal enjoyment: “I’ve worked with Dua since 2016 and for this tour I asked for either a Q5 or a Q7. When the Q338 came out I wanted to try that, but after counting up inputs and outputs, etc., I needed I few more busses than the Q338 could provide.” Cerutti’s Q7 handles 130 input channels, 59 aux channels, 20 groups and 10 matrix outputs, then he uses the configurability of the control surface to give him ac cess to everything exactly how he likes it. “My input channels are on the banks on the left, my Auxes, Matrix and Groups on the right with a ‘mix’ layer on the top, with Dua’s vocal and reverb, plus instrument reverb returns,” he explains. “On the centre two fader banks I have Dua’s Groups and DCAs on the bottom and Aux mixes on the top bank.” He is also a big fan of the DiGi Co’s Macro Buttons - “They’re a life saver, a couple of my fa vourites are Macros that send IEM mixes to a spare IEM transmitter. Another is one that swaps my main and spare vo cal channels, as I have multi ple versions of our main vocal, all doing different things and going to different people. So, without the Macros, it would take far too long to swap each channel.” The road is hard on equipment of all kinds, but Cerutti and Nicholson’s DiGi Co consoles have taken every thing in their stride: “We have had our consoles out in both the US and Europe on over 60 shows so far, inside and out,” adds Cerutti. “They have been faultless throughout. We have an excellent relationship with DiGiCo; whilst we haven’t had any issues, they’ve always come back really quickly with my questions on how best do to things. As per usual, our experi ence of using DiGiCo’s consoles has been great. The support from both them and Britan nia Row Productions has been fantastic.” Will has the final word: “The Q7 has been abso lutely solid, no complaints. My biggest enemy is confetti, so I keep a leaf blower handy…!” brand awareness, customer interaction, and staff pro ductivity. Erik Händler, Head of DND, SEAT Deutschland GmbH commented: “PPDS delivered the perfect solution with their Philips displays and flexible way of working.”

“The IKEA team found us through our website, and we immediately responded to their needs as this project is right up our street,” says Stu art Harris, Creative Director at Motion Mapping. “After hearing what they wanted to achieve, we knew that by using the features of Hippotizer and our experience with the platform, we could actually elevate the project to another level.” Harris and his team collaborated with the IKEA creatives to develop the project into a richer experience, har nessing the power of Hippotizer. Now installed, a raft of colourful content slides seamlessly across the cabinets, walls and TVs. The closed cabinet doors are video mapped to show virtual stocked interiors, with projected images of IKEA tableware and storage solutions. When turned on, the TVs display scenes to give the impression of looking out a real window to immerse visitors even Keyfurther.to the concept is the IKEA ‘co-worker’ character, who skips around the walls, cabinets and desk, inviting the visitor to in teract with the environment and explaining the specifications of what’s for sale. The IKEA team handed Harris a 2D sketch of the co-worker, which Motion Mapping then morphed into an (almost) 3D character to be an Scandinavian flat-pack super chain IKEA’s flagship store in Wembley, North London, is immersing potential buyers into an interactive, projection mapped environment this summer. imated, video mapped and projected onto the walls using six Optoma projectors, which are hung from the ceiling. “Hippotizer Karst+ enables us to perfectly sync the con tent across the wall canvas really simply, and update content as the project devel oped, too,” Harris continues.

PPDS helps CUPRA redefine the car showroom experience Designed and deployed in un der three days, the flexible display set-up means the show room can be customised effort lessly to suit various models and events, while customers can now configure their dream car live on screen before plac ing their official order.

Nicholson is currently running around 60 music / band inputs

•Retail car configurator: Cus tomers can configure their dream car live on screen to see how it will look before placing their official order. This increased customer con fidence whilst also reducing the amount of demonstrator models required.

Application News

For the activation, Proto presented mobile communication devices spanning 1995 to the present day standard smart phone – the unspoken message being that Proto and holograms are rapidly becoming the next dimension in telecommunications.

Jean-Paul Lemmens, Global Procurement Director, Kinly, com ments, “We are delighted to secure this global agreement. Utelogy Jean-Paul Lemmens, Global Procurement Director, Kinly “We look forward to combining Kinly’s know-how and extensive partner network with Utelogy’s expertise in remote management and monitoring to maximise efficiency and revenue for Kinly customers worldwide.” and Kinly are the perfect fit. We look forward to combining Kinly’s know-how and extensive partner network with Utelogy’s expertise in remote manage ment and monitoring to maxi mise efficiency and revenue for Kinly customers worldwide.”

Kinly has announced a strategic partnership with workplace soft ware specialist, Utelogy. The partnership will strengthen Kinly’s end-to-end capabilities with the addition of remote monitoring and management as a service, increasing uptime and productivity for Kinly customers worldwide. Kinly, a leading AV systems integrator and remote collaboration service provider, is pleased to announce the agreement of a strategic partnership with workplace software specialist, Utelogy. The partnership strengthens Kinly’s value proposition with the ad dition of agnostic, non-intrusive remote management software that pre-empts and solves issues, without impacting the end-user. Not only does the software provide automated remote diagnostics and room readiness capabilities, but it also gives the end-user room and device usage data which provides the agility for informed busi ness decisions to be made in real time. Combined with Kinly’s expertise in UCC technology design and deployment, the inclusion of Utelogy software delivers a best-inclass managed service portfolio that maximises uptime, productiv ity and ROI. Kinly is now positioned to provide Utelogy licenses to its customers and offer 24/7 monitoring as a service, meaning there is no need for customers to upskill their IT teams. As a leading provider of intelligent management, monitoring, and automation software, Utelogy delivers the most comprehensive range of analytics and integrated control to the world of AV and unified communications. The agreement comes into effect imme diately across Kinly’s international regions, representing a mutual ly beneficial global partnership.

Kevin Morrison, CEO, Utelo gy, adds, “This is a significant partnership for both Utelogy and Kinly. We are excited to extend the benefits of Utelo gy’s software into an expanded customer base by leveraging Kinly’s international reach and expertise in AV and UCC tech nologies.”

Lightware Visual Engineering has announced the expansion of the company’s Integrations Partnership initiative with key global in dustry players. Complementing the announced relationship with Cisco last year, a rapidly growing list of integration partners is headed by ADI Icron, Utelogy Corporation and Xyte. The program, made possible through Lightware’s unique Open API capabilities, unlocks unprecedented creative opportunities for customers to de sign and build outstanding best-of-breed collaboration solutions.

AT&T was an early adopter of Proto’s technology, having installed a Proto Epic in May 2021 at the AT&T Perch at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta to allow fans to engage with Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC players during games, and subsequently using it at that year’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. “It’s thrilling to see the Pro to M step out into the real world,” said Proto Inc. Inventor and Founder David Nussbaum. “This activation is especially mean ingful because it ties Proto to both the history and the future of telecommunications. We’re so proud that this first outing is with AT&T and

For the very first time, the Proto M was utilised in public, presenting lifelike, 4K volumetric content for the AT&T Evolución Lounge in Dal las. The Proto M will be released in enterprise and consumer editions later this year.

For the very first time, the Proto M was utilised in public, pre senting lifelike, 4K volumetric content for the AT&T Evolución Lounge in Dallas. Proto Inc. is the innovator of the fastest growing plug-and-play, self-contained holoportation device on earth. The Tim Draper-backed startup has been recognized with innovation awards from CES, SXSW and Fast Company. The Proto M is the 25” tall version of the 7’ tall Epic, which is in use globally by top financial institutions, entertainment companies and Fortune 500 Atcompanies.AT&T’sEvolución Lounge, visitors were able to experience the history of mobile phones in a series of spinning holograms pro duced by Proto for the M, all set in a 70s-style vintage pay phone shell. The AT&T Evolución Lounge was at the Dos Equis Pavilion during the UFORIA LATINO MIX LIVE concert which featured Lat in music artists Ricky Martin, Becky G, Arcángel, and Jhayco.

Kinly partners with Utelogy

Gergely Vida, CEO at Lightware Visual Engineering: “Following years of successful co-operation with Cisco’s Webex Room Devices, Light ware is now expanding the full possibilities of its solutions via a number of major integration partners.”

4 P23 AV News September 2022 continued from page 25

Utelogy is a leader in meeting room monitoring and management solutions and together with Lightware’s Open API, they take the transparency and visibility of meeting room equipment to a whole new level. “Utelogy’s U-Automate solution allows users to easily monitor and troubleshoot their meeting room setups remotely,” comments Vida. “Based on the information provided by the Light ware device – all the way to the chipset level – they are able to identify and fix issues remotely that could otherwise jeopardize the clients’ operations by unnecessarily delaying meetings.” Xyte is a meeting room monitoring and management software pro vider with particular focus on cloud-based solutions as well as HaaS (Hardware-as-a-Service). Vida says, “Xyte’s monitoring solu tions provide real time information for their users so they always know what’s happening in their AV systems. This detailed infor mation and data is retrieved directly from the Lightware devices deployed at the client’s venues and meeting rooms.”

Lightware’s established status as a Cisco Solutions Plus partner is enriched by sharing API-capabilities for smooth integration of their respective devices. For example, Open APIs permit users to enhance Cisco Touch 10 and Room Navigator with additional but tons, widgets, and sliders from Lightware. Project-specific Light ware bundles can also be customised to optimize a Cisco Webex Room to fit any need, scope and budget. “Lightware devices are found in hundreds of Cisco-powered meeting rooms all around the world serving a wide spectrum of operations,” says Vida. “Deeper integration allows users to bring simple and consistent controls into any Cisco room application, allowing them to expand, extend, and exchange signals easier than ever before. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and working together to drive the AV industry forward.”

AT&TCAA.” adds Proto Hologram technology

Lightware unlock next gen meeting rooms

Gergely Vida, CEO at Lightware Visual Engineering said, “Follow ing years of successful co-operation with Cisco’s Webex Room Devices, Lightware is now expanding the full possibilities of its solutions via a number of major integration partners. Lightware’s devices offer seamless integration and allow users to bring simple and consistent controls into room applications, allowing them to expand, extend, and share signals easier than ever before. Work ing together with other foresighted industry players we can pro vide a flexible, consistent, and fluent user experience across room types from conference rooms and video-conference rooms to smart classrooms and collaborative meeting spaces.”

Lightware’s unified communication powerhouse, Taurus UCX is a prime example of Lightware’s pioneering approach when it comes to USB-C solutions, and with the powerful combination of ADI Icron (part of Analog Devices), it is expanding the boundaries of USB signal extension. Explains Vida, “The future of meeting room connectivity is USB, and Lightware has been developing its USB solutions to serve the growing demand for this. We are also lead ing the way when it comes to educating the global AV audience about the possibilities offered by USB, to simplify the transmis sion of audio, video, control and Ethernet signals made possible with USB-C. Since Icron is a market leader in USB technology and components it was a no-brainer to team with them to further our joint goal of simplifying signal management over USB.”

• Accounts: Q2 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) operating a margin of 11.1% and non-GAAP operating a margin of 35.8%.

get a lot

The impressive Contra Costa County Administration building sits on the edge of downtown Martinez, California. The ele gant looking building is home to a variety of county depart ments including a large assem bly chamber, offices, confer ence rooms, workstations and support spaces. The building has been awarded LEED Gold certification in line with its sustainable construction, while the executive offices and con ference rooms feature a range of display and interactive vid eo conferencing solutions from TheAvocor.original building was razed to the ground and in its place is a stunning four storey structure with an exterior glass ‘wave’ that comes alive at night. The state-of-the-art feel extends to the inte rior, in particular the new chamber room as well as the associated offices and conference rooms. The driving ambition for the design of the new audiovisual system was how to make the system effi cient and easy to use, and ensure uptake amongst the County staff based at the building. To achieve this Wayne Tilley, Deputy Direc tor of IT at Contra Costa County, knew that it would be important to integrate remote working functionality as well as the growing number of software programs that enable seamless collaboration including Teams, Zoom and Google Meet: “We worked with IDS, a company that specialises in exactly the sort of technology ‘refresh’ we were looking for,” he says. “Between us we came up with a solution that integrated all the functions we had identified as desirable – in particular, being platform agnostic and having the ability to switch between programs such as Teams, Zoom or Whiteboard-type tasks – without switching devices. The Avocor display devices we chose are platform agnostic so ideally suited to our requirements. Not only that, with their ability to inte grate seamlessly with our Crestron control system ensured we had full utility across our audiovisual system.”

“Interoperability, visibility, flexibility, efficiency and redundancy are the hallmarks of a well-designed command centre," said Mark Schmidt, CTO of VuWall. "Video wall deployments in command centres can be quite intimidating, and we've been focused on solutions that simplify this. The combination of our latest PAK and TRx offering removes the complexity and deployment time of video wall projects with a scalable and interoperable approach.” VuWall's PAK offers an innovative way to deploy and manage mod ular video walls in AV-over-IP environments. PAK is a networked multi-decode node that can also operate efficiently as a standalone device. For large displays, PAK nodes can be easily stitched together to build an IP-based video wall that is infinitely scalable and can function as a single large canvas. PAK simplifies video wall integration by reducing the need for long video cables and eliminating single points of failure to minimize risk and improve reliability. As part of VuWall's ecosystem, PAK is managed by the award-winning TRx software platform. Today, it's possible to build a reliable, flexible video wall system quickly and cost-effectively over a distributed network with PAK, making it ideal for multiroom visualization, situational awareness, control room operations and security applications.

VuWall will share its latest command and control (C2) solutions in col laboration with the Infragard National Members Alliance — an FBI-af filiated nonprofit organization at the Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Atlanta.

The project began in January 2020 and the timing, just before the

VuWall will share its latest command and control (C2) solutions in collaboration with the Infragard National Members Alliance — an FBI-affiliated nonprofit organization at the Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Atlanta. In partnership with Swan Island Net works, Advancis, Tresco, Planar, QSC and RockDove Solutions, Vu Wall will demonstrate its popular and industry-praised PAK Video Wall Node as well as the TRx 3.3, a highly anticipated update to the company's centralized management software.

Collaboration at Contra Costa County courtesy of Avocor

4P24 AV News June 2022P24 AV News September 2022

For the very first time, the Proto M was utilised in public, pre senting lifelike, 4K volumetric content for the AT&T Evolución Lounge in Dallas. Proto Inc. is the innovator of the fastest growing plug-and-play, self-contained holoportation device on earth. The Tim Draper-backed startup has been recognized with innovation awards from CES, SXSW and Fast Company. The Proto M is the AT&T adds Proto Hologram technology Teams calls to more interactive has announced the financial results for its second fiscal quarter, which ended 31 July 2022. Financial highlights include:

The solution at Contra Costa County features two products from the Avocor’s F Series range, the AVF-6650 and AVF-8650. The Avocor F series is completely platform agnostic, working seam lessly with Unified Communications tools and devices to create a collaborative environment that is perfect for the executive meeting space, conference room and lecture hall.

UC News Zoom reports financial results for Q2 2022 Microsoft

Built on an open, interoperable architecture, VuWall's TRx visual ization and comprehensive video wall management platform ver sion 3.3 heightens the value offered by its innovative design. TRx allows organizations to grow their video ecosystem as their needs evolve. Whether users are adding new video walls and information displays or expanding their AV-over-IP network with devices from different brands, TRx enables everything to function in the same environment with seamless compatibility. Most of all, it gives oper ators a central control system that keeps pace with the evolution of their AV infrastructure without reconfiguring existing settings when new equipment is added. In addition to already supporting all standard protocols and fea turing compatibility with products from many third-party solu tions that include SDVoE devices, IHSE, Adder, Milestone, and NDI-compatible devices, the latest version of TRx is now officially certified by the Genetec Development Acceleration Program to run with its Genetec Security Center. By integrating with the Genetec Security Center, customers have a comprehensive system for video wall control where operators can manage and visualize IP cameras along with other content sources from a single, easy-to-use plat form. It allows control room operators to manage VuWall video wall controllers; change feeds and displays content directly from the Genetec Security Center interface without switching applications; and control the video wall system, including Genetec cameras and content from other sources such as web apps, maps, RSS feeds, HDMI devices and computers with intuitive, drag-and-drop oper Asation.well as its third-party interoperability, TRx version 3.3 boasts improved UI performance. With TRx, organizations can effortlessly manage an unlimited number of devices and perform multiple tasks simultaneously without slowing down. The system's ultra-re sponsiveness guarantees an exceptionally smooth user experience and quicker response times.

Explaining the financial results, Eric S. Yuan, CEO of Zoom, said: “In Q2, we continued to gain traction as the platform of choice for enterprises looking to deliver flexible, productive solutions for collaboration and customer engagement.” He added that the launch of Zoom Contact Center, Zoom IQ for Sales, and Zoom Phone “helped deliver milestone results, hitting a record number of licenses sold in the quarter and reaching nearly 4m seats, up more than 100% year over year.”

The impressive Contra Costa County Administration building sits on the edge of downtown Martinez, California. global pandemic, turned out to be fortuitous as the County were able to fully utilize the system in ways that had not been envisaged during the design phase. Matthew Rhodes, Director of Sales for North America for IDS worked on the audiovisual design for the project and is pleased with how Contra Costa have embraced its “Wecapabilities:designed the system to be extremely flexible and during the pandemic the client was able to move to a hybrid approach that allowed people to both tune in remotely to council sessions as well as be present in person, socially distanced, of course,” he says. The County are able to stream content from the chamber into our conference rooms via the Avocor displays so that the general pub lic can be present in real time at council sessions. In short, the Avocor solution allowed us to move to a video-based content deliv ery in a seamless fashion.”

In a post on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the update descrip tion notes that user will soon be able to view up to 49 video partici pants at once.

• Revenue: Total revenue for Q2 was $1.1bn (£9.29m), up 8% year on year.

VuWall redefines the C2 experience

A new update to Microsoft Teams will mean that you'll soon get to see a lot more of your colleagues, whether you like it or not! The video conferencing platform is working on an ‘Interactive Large Gallery’ upgrade that will mean your calls will now include feeds from even more people than ever before. In a post on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the update de scription notes that user will soon be able to view up to 49 video participants at once - so you'd better get practising that ;engaged smile’ look. As well as being able to see more participants, the update will also mean that users can interact with others via actions like pin and spotlight and observe their meeting activity like raise hand and reactions. The update is still listed as being in development for now, but has a scheduled general availability date of September 2022, meaning users won't have too long to wait. When available, the update will be available for Microsoft Teams users across desktop and web. The news is the latest upgrade from Microsoft Teams as it looks to ensure users around the world have all the tools they need to get the most out of its service. This includes Together Mode, launched in the summer of 2020, which brings all attendees into a shared virtual background, with the goal of “making it feel like you’re sitting in the same room with everyone else”. The company also recently unveiled a series of new presenter modes designed to help Microsoft Teams users shape their pre sentation style to particular occasions, such as Standout Mode, which seats the presenter’s video feed in front of the slide deck, while Reporter Mode places content above the shoulder in the style of a news broadcast. Microsoft has also announced it is working on adding Question and Answer capabilities to Teams webinars and meetings, bringing a whole new level of interactivity and collaboration.

• Customers: 3,116 customers contributing more than $100,000 (£84,412) in trailing 12 months revenue, up approximately 37% from the same quarter last fiscal year.

Kelly Steckelberg, chief financial officer, Zoom, expects the platform to deliver a FY23 revenue in the range of $4.385bn (£3.70bn) to $4.395bn (£3.71bn). She added: “We remain fo cused on operational discipline and continue to expect non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 33%.”

“We are excited to have Marco on board,” said Mitzi Dominguez, CEO of Clear-Com. “He brings a wealth of technical expertise as well as an intrinsic understanding of the needs of our Broadcast users from his years in the industry, a unique and valuable com bination for the business. He shares our enthusiasm for customer service and the drive for innovation leading our next generation of Alreadyproducts.”during his first few months, Marco has identified oppor tunities for Clear-Com to cement its competitive advantage by streamlining the user experience, furthering the adoption of IP standards, and reinforcing its already industry-leading wireless “Clear-Comcapabilities.

“Lighting control, power management, and rack specification are critical and sometimes complex parts of any audiovisual project.

Maverick AV Solutions the audio side of the business, from a team of some of the most experienced engineers in the intercom field,” Marco said. “I am honoured to be able to contribute to the company’s heritage of innovation and eager to bring my experience in virtualization of the Broadcast workflow to the team’s deep expertise in voice com munications.”

Thomas comments: “After 18 years as a Product and Sales Man ager in an IT Distribution Company, I fully understand the needs of the Austrian Enterprise Market. My technical knowledge allows me to understand the specific requirements of the customers and provide them expert advice with their projects. I am excited to start my new role with Crestron”. Mark adds: “We are pleased to welcome Thomas, who brings with him incredible experience and knowledge about the Austrian AV Midwich has appointed Nigel Thompson as product sales specialist for infrastructure bringing his wealth of experience on racks and surge elimination to the team. With more than 27 years in dis tribution, Nigel, 59, has built his extensive knowledge working on Middle Atlantic and SurgeX at RGB Communications and has provided vital advice to customers on the importance of rack ven tilation and protection of equipment.

Customers are now able to leverage Nigel’s skill set in the design and specification process, remotely or on-site. This value-added service complements our ability to support our customers for all of their audiovisual needs.” A field-based role, Nigel will be available to assist customers on site, via email or over the phone.

Nigel said: “My goal is to highlight the significance of having the right infrastructure within a project and this includes racks, surge elimination, lighting control, and cable management. There are so many options available, and it can be easy to miss key aspects when specifying. I aim to streamline this process by helping our customers to identify what they need early on and, therefore, find their perfect solution to what is the central place for where kit is installed, including how to protect it.

Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Marco Lopez as the company’s VP of Engineering. Marco brings 30 years of ex perience in the broadcast market to his role at Clear-Com, where he will spearhead innovation across key strategic areas related to product development, including strengthening the company’s leadership in wireless technology and advancing its IP-based in tercom solutions. Over the past three decades, Marco has contributed to significant movements in broadcast technology. In the mid-2000s, he played a key role in the transformation of analogue to digital signals with Miranda Technologies and helped develop the Active Format De scription (AFD) standard that defined aspect ratio control between standard and high-definition broadcasting. The project won an Emmy Award in 2011 and was adopted and standardized by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engi neers (SMPTE). Later, he helped bring IP standards to the broad cast world through his work with the AIMS (Alliance for IP Media Solutions) nonprofit initiative, laying the groundwork for what is today SMPTE 2110. After Miranda Technologies was acquired by Belden, Marco was appointed president and tasked with leading the acquisition of Grass Valley, where he eventually managed the company’s Live Production business unit.

Marco holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Engineering from Concordia University and is based out of the Clear-Com Engineering office in Montreal, Canada.

Meet Neat... Teams for accreditedMeetingsdevices

In his new role, Nigel will be focusing on the Lutron, Middle At lantic and SurgeX product portfolios at Midwich. Greg Bennett, divisional manager, commented: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Nigel to the Midwich team. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience on infrastructure-based solutions and his appointment bolsters our technical offering to customers.

PEOPLEWATCH

Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Marco Lopez as the company’s VP of Engineering.

“The move to Midwich is an exciting step and I look forward to working with the team to continue reinforcing the relationships we have with our vendors and customers.”

Midwich has appointed Nigel Thompson as product sales specialist for infrastructure bringing his wealth of experience on racks and surge elimination to the team.

offers me an incredible opportunity to learn about Technological Innovations Group (TIG), which has over 120 dedi cated Crestron sales professionals and offices including Experi ence Spaces in London, Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Frankfurt, Dubai, Oslo and Johannesburg, is thrilled to welcome Thomas Fill er as its new Regional Sales Manager in Austria. Thomas joins Crestron's expert enterprise sales DACH team to respond to and grow local market opportunities, whilst nurturing relationships with new and existing partners. Reporting into Mark Bultinck, Sales Director for the Crestron DACH region, Thomas will be responsible for assisting integrators in meeting their clients' needs by deploying fully integrated, futureproof Crestron solutions.

NorthamberPEOPLEWATCH2022plc

Tom Martin, CEO at Kinly, comments: “With over 20 years of ex perience and supporting more than 2,500 clients, Kinly is a rec ognised and trusted global provider of fully tailored AV and video collaboration services and support. We have identified opportuni ties in the US market and under Vel’s leadership, I have no doubt those opportunities and our ambitions as a company can be ful filled. I’m delighted to welcome Vel back to the Kinly family.”

Franck concluded: “PPDS has and continues to surpass expecta tions in the market and our teams are key to that success. As we continue to evolve and set new short- and long-term growth plans, it’s pivotal that we have the very best people in charge. Jae has a proven track record at the very highest level and is testament to PPDS’ position in the marketplace that people of his calibre want to join us on our journey. On behalf of everyone here at PPDS, I’d like to welcome Jae to the family.”

Matt Neutra recently left Bose Corporation to become BrightSign’s Senior Product Manager and Lead Experience Engineer. He’s been at the bleeding edge of immersive media, experience design and digital signage for more than two decades. During his extensive tenure at Bose, Matt founded the Bose Demonstration Engineering Group and was responsible for the technology behind hundreds of Bose store experiences and more than one hundred thousand Bose automated display experiences worldwide. He holds four U.S. pat ents for hardware, software and interfaces related to immersive media and digital signage. Matt’s passion for bridging the gap between consumer electronics, entertainment and technology throughout his career suits him per fectly for his new role at BrightSign, where he will be instrumental in helping the company cement its position in established markets and forging new paths into emerging segments.

BrightSign's market leadership was further solidified throughout the pandemic as the company continued to achieve significant milestones in spite of global supply chain challenges that led to consolidation across the digital signage and broader A/V markets. In 2021, BrightSign announced shipment of its two-millionth media player, and just last month the company debuted the new BrightSign XC5 media players at the InfoComm show in Las Vegas. Over the course of the next six months, the company expects to Greg Herlein, Head of Software Engineering, BrightSign and Matt Neutra, Senior Product Manager and Lead Experience Engineer, BrightSign.

Kinly has announced the reappointment of Vel Johnson as its managing director for the US. With a career spanning more than 40+ years, Vel held senior leadership positions in some of the world’s leading multi-billion-dollar technology companies. John son returns as Kinly’s US MD, having originally relinquished the position in December 2021 as part of his semi-retirement plans, after three years. Based in Kinly’s Cedar Knolls (NJ) corporate office – one of four on the east coast (Fort Lauderdale, Washington, New York) – Vel was inspired to return to Kinly following positive discussions with newly appointed CEO, Tom Martin, who revealed his ambitious growth and expansion plans for the company in the US market.

Vel added: “I am delighted to return to Kinly and to be entrusted by Tom to help guide this already burgeoning business on a new more deeply aligned journey to achieve even bigger and greater things in the US market. I was enjoying my retirement but after the call from Tom, the opportunity to be part of something so special, was simply too good to turn down. I feel determined and excited by what the future holds for my team and the company as whole.”

Hutchings added: “This is a great time to be joining Northamber. They have longevity & standing in the IT and AV Channel . With the increased investment, unrivalled flexibility towards partners, focus and an ever-growing vendor card, we are well placed to provide the best levels of support to our customers as we continue our growth objectives.”

PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips digital signage, in teractive displays, direct view LED and professional TV products and solutions, is excited to announce the appointment of highly distinguished AV specialist, Jae O Choi Park, as its new European Sales Director. Part of an ambitious five-year growth strategy, and an ongoing global expansion and recruitment drive, Jae is one of the AV industry’s leading international talents, achieving extensive financial, sales and account management experience within the world’s leading professional displays specialists during an illustri ous 10-year career. Based in PPDS’ Amsterdam head office, Jae – who describes the new role as a “peak moment” in his career – will work with, and report directly to Franck Racape, who has recently been promoted as Head of Global Commercial, to devise and execute an ambi tious five-year growth strategy, in which Jae will play a pivotal role. Leading the commercial organisation in all countries and regional clusters across EMEA – Jae’s key focus will be to support and accelerate growth within these markets, helping to ensure a seam less experience on projects for partners and end customers, from factory floor to installation. This includes driving PPDS’ full range of solutions within its ev er-strengthening portfolio, with its Philips direct view LED displays identified among its biggest growth opportunities, with retail, cor porate and education continuing to experience rapid levels of adoption. Using his extensive experience in managing internation al accounts, Jae will accelerate the end user strategy, which will see PPDS introduce a more direct approach to large-scale tenders, with teams working directly with end customers on initial tender Franckprocesses.Racapé, Head of Global Commercial, commented: “Our global end customer approach, driven by our international key ac count management team and the PPDS Global Partner Alliance, is set to be one of our largest growth areas in the years to come. To succeed in this strategy, we need to rely on regional sales leaders across the continents (EMEA, North America, India, China and APAC) who are able to embrace this direction. Jae’s new role is key to that strategy.” Jae commented: “I’m thrilled to have joined PPDS and to be en trusted with continuing the incredible work and successes that have been achieved under Franck’s leadership. Using my own knowledge and experience, and working with the incredible sales teams around Europe, I have no doubt that PPDS will be able to meet its ambitions and become an even greater force in the mar ket, further disrupting the status quo and bringing new levels of quality and excellent to the channel and to end customers. The opportunity to join PPDS and further my career was one I simply could not turn down.”

Peoplewatch 4P24 AV News June 2022P26 AV News September

PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips digital signage, interac tive displays, direct view LED and professional TV products and solu tions, is excited to announce the appointment of highly distinguished AV specialist, Jae O Choi Park, as its new European Sales Director. BrightSign has expanded its executive team with key hires to fuel the company’s aggressive growth trajectory in the months ahead.

is pleased to announce that Jody Northamber plc is pleased to announce that Jody Hutchings e Hutchings has joined the company as Director of Sales as part of ongoing expansion and continued growth plans. Jody will be responsible for all Sales teams including Audio Visual Sales, AVM Internal Sales (a North amber company) and General Sales, across both the Chessington and Basingstoke locations.

Nicknamed ‘The Coach’ by his colleagues – Vel, leading a strong US team, will now develop and execute a more business and cul turally aligned go-to-market strategy to mirror that deployed in Kinly’s other global markets. This includes Europe, where Kinly now holds a commanding market leadership position – an achieve ment both Vel and Tom have long-term ambitions to replicate. Designed to help seize new business opportunities, while further enhancing the company’s already enviable quality-led market proposition, the new strategy will see Kinly significantly strength en and deepen its strategic relationships with existing leading AV/ IT vendors in the US, while introducing new ones where value can be added. This will allow Kinly to deliver more choice, plus enhanced value and expertise to both new and existing clients to support all their AV and UCC installation and workspace transfor mation needs. Kinly already boasts some of the world’s leading Fortune 500 en terprise companies among its customer base, where quality, reli ability and security of their AV/IT solutions are imperative, 24/7. Customers include, but are far from limited to, global banks, re tailers, big pharma firms, food and drink manufacturers/producers, legal and music streaming companies, among others.

Kinly has announced the reappointment of Vel Johnson as its managing director for the US.

Greg Herlein joins BrightSign from Amazon Web Services, while Matthew (Matt) Neutra comes to BrightSign by way of Bose Cor poration. Collectively, they bring to the company more than four decades of experience developing and deploying digital signage for some of the world’s most notable and respected brands.

“To land either Greg or Matt individually would be a huge win for our company, but for them to join simultaneously speaks volumes about the opportunities that lie ahead for BrightSign,” said Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign. “We’ve set some aggressive growth targets for the next few years and filling out our senior ranks with top performers from across the industry is precisely what we’ll need to deliver on those commitments.”

Jody has had many successful years in Distribution, including Director of Sales roles at Exertis and Stampede, Sales Manager at Steljes and several years at Westcoast. Northamber’s MD, Alex Phillips said “We are delighted to welcome Jody to the team at an exciting time. Despite the challenging current and future market conditions, Northamber has ambitious growth plans based around adding real value to the channel, across all areas of the business including Audio Visual, Solutions and IT. We are seeing really pos itive results with our customers as we continue to add more re source and provide ever growing levels of service and support. Jody brings the right level of expertise and channel experience to help Northamber achieve its goals.”

Greg Herlein joins BrightSign as Head of Software Engineering following a long tenure at Cisco and, most recently, at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He is a digital signage industry veteran with deep media and cloud expertise. At AWS, he earned certifications as a Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer and Certified Devel oper. Herlein has extensive SaaS expertise across multiple large enterprises where he designed, built and managed products such as the Walmart Smart Network, Cisco Infinite Video Platform and the Cognitive Networks advertising monitoring platform. He holds multiple digital signage patents and was selected as a Technicolor Fellow. Herlein served previously at BrightSign, during which time he built the Sonos retail display.

While BrightSign is widely known as a hardware company, soft ware innovation will continue to play a key role in the company’s growth moving forward. BrightSign’s dedicated operating system and its cloud-based digital signage management platform, BSN. cloud, are key competitive differentiators for BrightSign. Herlein will guide all future software development to ensure BrightSign customers continue to enjoy a robust, world-class software experi ence when using BrightSign’s award-winning media players.

Chris Butler has joined Databarracks as Managing Consultant to lead its resilience and continuity functions. Chris is a Fellow of the In stitute for Leadership and Management, a Member of the Business Continuity Institute and a Certified Information Security Manager. He is also a certified Executive Coach and Mentor with the Insti tute of Leadership and Management. Following 20 years as an Army officer, with numerous leadership positions within military aviation, Chris became a resilience and security consultant. He has worked within the UK high hazard en ergy sector, supporting leadership teams in the UK nuclear sector, from board level down to the operational front line in nuclear pow er Mostplants.recently, he was the Lead Principal Consultant for Resilience and Security at Sungard Availability Services. Chris Butler com mented: “Databarracks combines an innovative approach to re silience with an incredible reputation for service. It is an exciting time in resilience. Awareness has never been greater following the pandemic and its numerous secondary impacts. At the same time, the ways we make our organisations resilient are changing. Tech nology is improving productivity and enables our people to work remotely and effectively. The other side of that coin is that the increased reliance on technology makes the rapidly growing cyber Unified Communications software company TelcoSwitch has appoint ed Ivan Martin as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. Ivan brings a wealth of relevant experience to the TelcoSwitch Board having spent over 40 years in the technology, software and finan cial services sectors with both private equity backed and publicly listed businesses. Ivan has been Chairman of Aptitude Software Group plc since March 2016 and was chairman of Xceptor until April 2021, an in ternational intelligent automation software business sold by CBPE Capital to Astorg Partners. In addition to his extensive Non-Execu tive experience, Ivan was Chief Executive Officer of Misys Banking and Capital Markets and a board member of Misys plc. He was also Chairman of FDM Group from 2006 to 2019, during which he oversaw the growth and evolution of the group from an AIM listing through an Inflexion private equity backed business to FTSE 250 member valued at over £1 billion. Russell Lux, TelcoSwitch founder and CEO, said: “The Board and I are delighted to make this announcement, with Ivan’s appoint ment key to our strategic plan following our recent partnership with Queens Park Equity. Ivan is highly regarded in the Softwareas-a-Service market, having guided several fast-growth SaaS busi nesses, and will be an invaluable counsel as we move forward.” Ivan added: “I am excited to be working with Russell and his team as TelcoSwitch looks to accelerate its growth trajectory. I have been impressed with the management team's ambition, drive, and determination to create a major SaaS Unified Communications market leader. The Board of TelcoSwitch, with the guidance of Queen's Park Equity, is looking forward to helping the team ex ecute on its strategic vision.”Ivan assumes his role effective im mediately. Kinly has announced the promotion of highly accomplished Chico Dominguez to the role of vice president of US service and sup port. Part of a recruitment drive in the US, adding even more strength to bringing world sup port and services to new and ex isting clients – including many Fortune 500 companies – this new role sees Dominguez taking responsibility for all technical operations and service delivery including installation, fabrica tion, programming, engineer ing, project management, and US Basedhelpdesk.inNew Jersey – and reporting to Kinly’s newly reap pointed US managing director, Vel Johnson – Dominguez first joined Kinly as director of operations in 2007, where he was re sponsible for a team of just 12 people. Kinly US today now has a team of almost 140, a figure likely to grow during the course of this year and in to 2023, as the company continues to execute a globally aligned strategy. Before joining Kinly, Dominguez gained considerable experience in IT services and supporting video conferencing facilities at John son & Johnson. It was during his tenure there that the devastating events of 911 stopped corporate travel for months. In order to keep business running, J&J invested millions in videoconferenc ing and that is when Dominguez realised that this was the future of Dominguezcommunications.explains: “I am delighted and excited to extend my role and responsibilities with Kinly in the US. The company has

VITEC is a leading provider of IPTV, Video Streaming and Digital Signage Solutions, delivering end-to-end IPTV technology solu tions to a broad range of markets, including corporate, stadiums & venues, hospitality & leisure, broadcast, government and military.

VITEC has announced the ap pointment of Phil Howlett as Regional Sales Manager in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region. Phil has more than a decade of sales and business development experi ence in the territory, following a successful career as a profes sional rugby league player. He will use his broad experience across corporate, sports and education markets to apply to all verticals in which VITEC op “Aserates.VITEC continues its excit ing growth in the APAC region we are pleased to announce that Phil Howlett has joined the ANZ team as Regional Sales Man ager,” says Jamie Hind, Regional Director APAC, VITEC. “As a re lationship-focused, strategic and outcomes-driven person, Phil will help make sure that we continue to deliver the highest levels of customer service to all our valued partners, consultants and end users in the region. Phil brings a positive energy and integrity that fits perfectly with the current team; we wish him every success and can’t wait for him to help drive our business to new levels.”

VITEC’s IPTV and digital signage product portfolio was strength ened in 2021 with the acquisition of Exterity, which had a pres ence in ANZ for over 10 years prior to its acquisition. risk even greater. “BC, Risk, Cyber, IT and operations can no longer work inde pendently of each other. They need to be in lockstep with the Board for a truly holistic ap proach to resilience. We will be delivering modern resilience services, making organisations secure and able to withstand whatever situation they face. It’s about being able to thrive and Barnabysucceed.”Mote, Managing Di rector of Databarracks also commented: “We’re thrilled to have Chris join us at such an exciting time for both Databar racks and the industry. We share a vision of the future of resilience and the enthusiasm to build and deliver these services.

Phil played rugby league internationally for Tonga, and featured in the 1995 and 2000 World Cups. He also played domestically in both the NRL and Super League, and had stints with Penrith Pan thers, Parramatta Eels, South Sydney and Bradford Bulls.

Vel Johnson, Managing Director, at Kinly US, added: “Chico is a videoconferencing pioneer and from day one, he has been making his mark at Kinly and shows no signs of stopping. His excellent technical knowledge has gained him the admiration and trust of colleagues and customers throughout the business, while his un wavering determination to do the best possible job plays a huge part in Kinly’s ongoing success.”

“The combination of his skillsets with his military background, provides him with the knowledge, credibility, and confidence to advise boards around the key psychological and behavioural driv ers for crisis leadership. That expertise is vital to help executives lead their businesses into a more agile and resilient future.” experienced some incredible growth since I first joined and with the further strengthening already executed and planned, the op portunities for growth are vast.” He added: “I joined Kinly because I felt I could make a difference. I wanted to be part of a technology company that I could help to grow and define. When I joined in 2007, I had a team of 12 people whereas I had been working for an organisation with more than 120,000 employees. I realised that I was no longer a number and would be able to transform the culture and future growth of this business.”

Peoplewatch 4 P27AV News September 2022 PEOPLEWATCH

Leroy Seket has joined Project Audio Visual as Head of European Operations, to lead the activity from the ground in the new Almere office. Leroy joins with 15 years of industry knowledge, having worked extensively throughout Europe. His expertise spans across the channel, including leadership positions in end-user organisa tions such as Merlin Entertainments, as well as for manufacturers including Shure, and for some of the largest global integrators.

Leroy Seket, Head of European Operations for Project Audio Visu al explains: “Project Audio Visual captured my attention because they are doing things differently. They are taking a fresh approach to the traditional integration model and are shaking up the indus try! The company is leading the way as a full service partner for the design and delivery of Microsoft Teams Rooms, and are doing so by working at the cutting edge with leading accredited manufacturers to drive the future of meeting spaces. I look forward to working alongside the brilliant team, and leading them in their next phase of growth, raising the company profile across European markets and delivering global projects.”

Jonathan Sutherland has been named by Exertis as Sales Director – Retail, in a move which expands his remit to cover all Consumer JonathanSales. has been at Exertis for 14 years, and has held the role of Sales and Commercial Director for Microsoft and Gaming, based in Exertis’ Harlow office, for the last 18 months. One of the focuses of Jona than's new role will be to cre ate cohesion and unity between the Basingstoke and Harlow sales teams, and to strategise how Exertis best structures the Consumer Sales business to maximise opportunities moving Jonathanforward. said: “I am excited to get started in my new role and looking forward to work ing with the excellent teams in Basingstoke and Harlow. As we move forward with one re tail team, it will allow us to use the wide skill set that we have across all product areas, to deliver an even better service to our customers and vendors.” Mike Buley, Chief of Sales, said: “The teams at Harlow and Bas ingstoke will now report to Jonathan, who already has strong re lationships with many of our customers. His leadership across Consumer will ensure we benefit from best practices across both Basingstoke and Harlow Consumer Sales teams, driven by his peo ple-first approach and an easier escalation path for our customers. I wish Jonathan every success in his expanded role.” unveil several additional models to round its family of Series 5 media players.

Teams Rooms integration specialist Project Audio Visual has em barked on the next phase of its growth journey and expanded oper ations into Europe, opening an office, demonstration and pre-stag ing area in the Netherlands, and appointing Leroy Seket as Head of European Operations. The office will be located in Almere, a Municipality in the Nether lands just 30 kilometres East of Amsterdam. Almere is considered a business hub and has broken records for being the fastest grow ing area of the Netherlands and one of the fastest growing cities in Europe, while remaining green and sustainable.

Steve Hudson, COO, Project Audio Visual comments: “This is a really exciting period of growth for us and expanding formally with a base in Europe is the next logical step. We are already working with organisations to roll out new meeting concepts globally, so having a team on the ground and local stock will help streamline these operations. Leroy is the perfect fit for the company, he has a vast experience and understands the processes and challenges across the channel. I look forward to seeing his team grow as we continue to evolve.”

Project Audio Visual has embarked on the next phase of its growth journey and expanded operations into Europe, opening an office, demonstration and pre-staging area in the Netherlands, and appointing Leroy Seket as Head of European Operations.

• Shared Spaces – Admira IoT Gallery Barcelona, for its un usual, dark store which seam lessly orchestrates digital sig nage, scent, and sound for an immersive encounter • Green Signage – Sharp NEC Display Solutions Europe for its trailblazing reuse-refurbish-re cycle initiatives which have grown over the past 10 years

P28 AV News September 2022 Dairy and Events

Steve Fay, director – external sales and marketing at Mid wich, said: “It’s great to be wel coming back our annual Tech Xpo event. This is Midwich’s flagship event, and we are im mensely proud of what it has become over the 10+ years, with 2022 planned as the best year yet. “Like previous years, there will be no trade pricing at the show, so we actively en courage our customer base to utilise the event as their own. The team has worked hard to ensure that it offers attendees a truly worthwhile experience. You can expect exclusive net working, market intelligence, insights, and a whole host of opportunities across the two days.”

Diary TechentriesXpo is back for 2022

is driving the industry, it’s not growing fast enough. The larg est integrators in North Amer ica account for over $1bn of pro AV revenue, with digital sig nage accounting for 300-400m USD. The largest integrators in Europe make up just €80m revenue. Mergers, acquisitions, and new integrators entering the digital signage industry are essential for driving growth in Europe. However, as Rotberg pointed out, the current finan cial and political conditions in Europe are making M&A activi ty more Conferencedifficult.delegates heard how the looming energy crisis has highlighted the need for more sustainable digital sig nage concepts. Energy efficient components and operations, re furbishment of older hardware and easier to recycle hardware are the main trends in 2022. The ‘Tackling digital signage’s carbon footprint’ panel dis cussion explored concepts for a more sustainable industry. While action is being takensuch as the development of en ergy-efficient components and operations, coupled with the refurbishment of older hard ware, and easier- to-recycle hardware – more must be done to establish a servicing and replacement best practice for manufacturer and integrators.

Digital Signage Summit Europe addresses ‘business critical’ issues

In 2019, Tech Xpo celebrat ed its 10th anniversary with more than 500 companies and a 60% increase on 2018 in end-users attending the twoday event at Ascot. Register here Register free: bcj5j6f10tion.gesevent.com/survey/1ibthttps://registra

• Business Critical –A combi nation of intelligent content and device management made Telelogos the business-critical category winner • Innovation – Prague-based start-up SignageOS developed a digital signage offering often referred to as the industry’s ‘Swiss Army Knife’. Signa geOS connects over a hundred SoC Platforms with 50+ CMS solutions and enables network operators to monitor and re mote-manage mixed digital sig nage networks

Second wave of sessions announced for PLASA

• Industry Leadership – Sam sung EDO - Ten years ago, Samsung introduced a Systemon-Chip (SoC) platform and a dedicated operating system. In 2018, Samsung launched The Wall and made MicroLED rollout-ready for digital signage projects. But most notably Samsung has focused on sim plifying digital signage, open ing the market up to IT integra tors and IT departments In DSS Europe’s opening key note, Florian Rotberg, con ference chair and managing director of digital signage con sultancy invidis, set the scene by addressing recent global events and why integrated digital signage is now a criti cal factor in the customer and employee journey in many mar kets, saying: “Digital Signage has become Business Critical in more and more verticals re quiring robust systems archi tecture, professional hardware and detailed service concepts. Thanks to the pressures of the pandemic, global supply issues, sustainability and the pressure to deliver, we are seeing many industry-wide challenges. Ser vice costs are rising more than 30% this year due to higher gas/diesel, logistics and labour costs. Pre-emptive service and robust networks have become more important than ever. Our agenda covers these important topics and looks at ways for us to adapt and continue to de liver in these ever-challenging Thesituations.”two-day conference saw a host of energetic discussions with C-Suite business leaders, concept and content ‘rockstars’ and industry disruptors. In the opening panel debate, five leading European integrators explored the topic ‘Is big, big enough?’ Speakers from Zeta Display, M-Cube, Trison World, Mood Media and Econocom agreed that while consolidation Organization DSS Europe is a joint venture between Integrated Systems Events, producers of the Inte grated Systems Europe exhi bition, and invidis consulting, the leading German digital signage consultancy. The next events are planned for the autumn in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emir ates, and at ISE 2023. DSS Europe 2023 takes place in Munich next July.

Event report

industry associations will be at PLASA Show too. The ABTT and Theatres Trust will take to the stage with a panel of practitioners to unpack the Theatre Green Book. And the ALPD will explain what they are doing to make light work. Visitors can attend live audio demos from leading manufac turers: AED Audio will demon strate their FLEX6, SOLID15 and SOLID28; RCF UK will demonstrate their new ART 9 AX range; and KV2 Audio will demonstrate new products from the CS, ES, ESD, ESM, EX and VHD ranges. And not to be missed, the d&b Sound scape Theatre will showcase the cutting edge of immersive Plus,audio. lighting professionals can attend practical training sessions and in-depth semi nars. ChamSys will lead intro ductory sessions on MagicQ, group-based programming and timecode and audio timeline. And Chauvet Professional will host seminars on lighting for architecture, broadcast, and nightclubs, as well as the evo lution of ingress protection in moving heads and network con trol solutions for installations. Claypaky will also run content on their latest products.

With integrated digital signage now a critical element of the customer and employee jour ney in a growing number of markets, more will be demand ed of integrators, cloud plat forms and software. That was one of the key messages of this month’s Digital Signage Sum mit Europe, which attracted over 300 international digital signage leaders and end users to the Hilton Munich Airport. This was the 44th edition of DSS and the first DSS Europe event in three years, boasting a stellar line-up of nearly 70 speakers who discussed the state of the industry and future strategies. During the confer ence invidis also hosted its annual Strategy Awards, which celebrate excellence in the dig ital signage industry across six categories.

PLASA Show has just an nounced a huge second wave of seminars and training work shops in the lead up to the 2022 edition which returns to Olympia London from 4-6 September. Sponsored by Vec torworks, the full programme is available to view online, and visitors are encouraged to sign up for their favourite sessions. Ed Sheeran’s design team behind the ground-breaking Mathematics stadium tour will be at the show this year. Mark Cunniffe, Jeremy Lloyd, Mike Oates and Rasti Bartek will dis cuss how they designed the inthe-round stage with 56 tons of production, sound, lights, video and WithSFX.afocus on driving the industry forward and upward, Women in Live Music will pres ent the show must go on, ask ing serious questions on how to create a healthy work mental ity in touring and live events. And James Simpson returns to PLASA Show, this time diving deep into live events and the metaverse. Elsewhere, James Eade will present a unique case study of the 2022 Com monwealth Games in which he managed the temporary power system, helping the event to be carbon Programmeneutral.sponsors Vector works will deliver two in-depth sessions: one exploring a mod ern digital workflow for cap turing venue information, and the other on ConnectCAD, the powerful schematics add-on for Vectorworks Spotlight. On a similar theme, The De pARTment will reveal how they redesigned BMW’s iconic headquarters in Munich, twice in one year. And 3LR will join forces with Charcoalblue, Bris tow Consulting and Yesplan to discuss sustainable procure ment and the Value Engineer ing ETCprocess.willbeat the show, explor ing the technical and artistic aspects of lighting. The bal ance of power will look at con siderations for new LED fixtures and power control infrastruc ture; Meeting Eos will present the fundamentals of the Eos v3.1 software and the features of the Eos Apex; and Mix what you want will highlight the ad vantages of using multi-emitter sources. Furthermore, 3LR will present commercial and artis tic arguments for auditorium lighting in the art of lighting the Elsewhere,audience.riggers can learn how to calculate wind loads for temporary structures with Area Four Industries. And with the National Rigging Certificate celebrating its 15th anniversa ry, visitors will have the oppor tunity to meet Sean Pagel, the Chair of the National Rigging Advisory Group, along with oth er members, in the NRAG open Fellowforum.

The panel included: Theresa Kirchweger - Sustainability Manager, Umdasch The Store Makers; Christof Böhm - Senior Vice President Engineering, Quality Assurance & Service, Sharp NEC Display Solutions; and Rainer Karcher - Global Director of IT Sustainability, AlongsideSiemens. a programme of world-class keynotes, panels, fireside chats, and networking opportunities, delegates met industry leading brands in the exhibition area. Twenty exhibi tors took the opportunity to talk with customers face-to-face, present new solutions, and take the pulse of their partners in this vibrant industry. “DSS Eu rope was incredibly well organ ised and showcased some fan tastic speakers. We have had lots of valuable consultations with partners,” said Andy Hay wood, Head of Global Sales, Samsung. “The event provides the industry with a real sense of what’s coming for this sector and as such helps enormously with our strategic thinking.” “It was great to see the indus try back together in Munich,” commented Florian Rotberg. “Sustainable and robust digi tal signage concepts for busi ness-critical projects were the main topics at DSS Europe and there were plenty of strategic takeaways that delegates can action right away. The feedback we have had has been very pos initive.”live events. While you’re at the show, I invite you to check out the sessions across the show floor, as well as upstairs on the Gallery level. They’re a great way to grow ideas for your projects and learn from those leading the way.”

After a two-year break, Mid wich’s largest AV event is re turning to Ascot Racecourse on 5th and 6th October. With more than 50 exhibitors, the two-day event offers attendees the opportunity to network with market-leading vendors and in dustry experts, to explore the latest technology, and see in sightful presentations - all un der one roof.

The winners were:

• Rising Star – Vertiseit, and its CEO Johan Lind, has shaken up the digital signage indus try. The small Swedish digital signage player acquired eight competitors including Grassfish and MultiQ and grew its ARR for 40 consecutive quarters

Sophie Atkinson, PLASA’S Head of Events, comments, “We’re really proud of how di verse this year’s programme is, showcasing how our industry is expanding into different sec tors, while improving practices

Florian Rotberg, conference chair and managing director of digital signage consultancy in vidis.

After a two-year break, Midwich’s largest AV event is returning to As cot Racecourse on 5th and 6th October. Throughout the show, Mid wich’s head of technology, Jenny Hicks, will be giving thought-provoking speaker sessions focusing on innova tive technology that has been adopted in the past couple of years and the predicted trends for 2023. Representatives from UK&I Midwich Group team in cluding DVS, Holdan, Invision, Nimans, PSCo, and Sound Technology will also be in at Marktendance.Lowe, managing director - UK and Ireland, added: “We are looking forward to recon necting with the industry at our flagship event while providing our customers with more op portunities than ever to discov er, experience and develop. We have always focused on how we can support our resellers and their customers, and Tech Xpo is testament to that by housing a wide range of vendors, prod ucts and services in one place.”