Systems Contractor News - June 2022

Welcome to the June Issue of

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MAJOR LEAGUE AV Toronto Blue Jays Improve Fan Experience with Display and Loudspeaker Upgrades

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JUNE 2022

19 Executive Q&A

Magewell CEO/CTO Nick Ma is ready to help customers migrate to IP.

27 Back to Business

AVIXA’s Rochelle Richardson sees “renewed energy” for InfoComm 2022.

38 Cloud Power

19

27

The

38

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Columnist Dave Van Hoy talks security in the cloud.

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More Than Just A Video Wall

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CONTENTS

32

Major League AV Learn how the Toronto Blue Jays are improving the fan experience with

display and loudspeaker upgrades.

People

Technology

Viewpoint

18 Executive Q&A

34 Big-League AV Comes to Single-A for Gameday at Chukchansi Park

50 Pondering the In-Person Experience

SoundPro’s expansion into video products is being led

by CEO Joshua Curlett.

Major league ballparks aren’t the only ones getting AV

By Sarath Abraham

By Mark J. Pescatore

upgrades.

19 Executive Q&A

By Wayne Cavadi

Nick Ma, CEO and CTO of Magewell, is helping

36 Rust Never Sleeps

customers prep for the move to IP infrastructures.

Neither do display manufacturers. Check out some of

By Mark J. Pescatore

the candidates for the “next big thing” in imaging.

22 On Your Business

38 Cloud Power

By Steve Greenblatt, CTS

What are some key strategies for security in the cloud?

By Dave Van Hoy

24 Time for a Change

40 Praise the Loud

How have integrators survived—and even thrived—

Software tools are helping houses of worship achieve

after the pandemic?

better loudspeaker performance.

By Jennifer Guhl

By James Careless

27 InfoComm Preview: Back to Business InfoComm’s Rochelle Richardson sees “renewed energy” for the show. Plus, read insights from exhibitors and take a look at AVIXA’s DEI plans.

By Mark J. Pescatore

30 Planning for Disaster

Departments 17 ASSOCIATION NEWS 20 PEOPLE NEWS 48 PRODUCTS

By Pete Putman

How do you responsibly part ways with a client?

Business

How has the pandemic changed our interactions?

27

Products 42 Look Up, Listen Up Is a ceiling mic the best option for your

Learn how some companies are protecting their

workspace?

corporate media assets.

By Wayne

By Carolyn Heinze

Cavadi

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Vol. 29 No. 6 June 2022 Systems Contractor News (ISSN 1078-4993) is published monthly by Future US, Inc., 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8002. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to: SYSTEMS CONTRACTOR NEWS, P.O. Box 1051, Lowell, MA 01853.

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JUNE 2022 VOL. 29 NO. 6 CONTENT

VP/Content Creation Anthony Savona Content Director Mark J. Pescatore, Ph.D. mark.pescatore@futurenet.com

MARK J. PESCATORE Content Director

EMAIL

mark.pescatore@futurenet.com

FACEBOOK

facebook.com/ systemscontractor

Come On, We All Love SWAG

R

ecently, I decided to recycle my old laptops—you know, the ones preloaded with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. When it was time to remove the hard drives, I went straight for my Extron tweaker. Of course, my tweaker is probably

older than those laptops; it reads Extron Electronics.

My father was an auto mechanics teacher. One lesson he drilled into my head was having the right tool for the job. He loved his Extron tweakers, which I collected for him at various InfoComm shows. Yes, he had more than one, strategically positioned around the

LINKEDIN linkedin.com/company/ systems-contractor-news

house and in the garage.

Trade shows are back—and while they may not hit record numbers in terms of attendees or exhibitors in the near future, it’s definitely cause to celebrate. With trade shows comes the promise of new business opportunities and, of course, stuff we all get, also known as SWAG. While items like RGB Spectrum collectible coins may be in short supply, I

TWITTER twitter.com/scnmag

predict hand sanitizer will remain a bountiful SWAG staple for years (and with good reason).

I’d also bank on promotional bags, because attendees always seem to accumulate printed materials, purchases, samples, and other SWAG on the show floor.

Do people actually use SWAG? Based on a sample size of one, I’d say yes. For example, I only recently retired a Contemporary Research baseball cap that was given to me more than 15 years ago during an InfoComm golf tournament. It has been replaced by a hat from Advanced Systems Group, the company of SCN columnist Dave Van Hoy. (Thanks, Dave.)

Recently, I got caught in a rainstorm on my way to a restaurant. Good thing I keep my trusty Network Electronics (the company is Nevion these days) umbrella in my car.

Speaking of my car, currently one of my most useful pieces of SWAG is a car vent phone holder, courtesy of TVU Networks. My car was built a couple of years too early for the whole Apple Car Play/Android Auto interface, so this handy little gizmo gives me a clear view of Waze when I’m on the road.

Over the years, more than one Grass Valley pen has been used to write notes in my reporter’s notebook. And I’m not sure I’ve ever actually purchased a USB flash drive. Black Box provided my current tool for local transfer between computers, but I have others from Arista, JVC, and Matrox—and those are just the ones within reach.

I remember one NAB where I got so much SWAG that I literally handed it out to my college students. T-shirts, pens, key rings, stress balls—college students like free stuff even more than you or I do. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have given that one kid the pocketknife. Also in retrospect, Wohler was giving away pocketknives! How cool is that?

So, yes, I’d say SWAG is still a fun way to make an impression with potential customers. Plus, you never know when some writer for a popular industry media outlet

will name drop your company. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll have some hot chocolate in my SMPTE mug while cleaning my phone screen with my Kramer microfiber cleaning cloth as I store various items in my Yamaha Installation Series shoulder bag. Later, I might measure something with my Premier Mounts tape measure as I listen to music with my NetApp earbuds as I take notes in my AMX portfolio.

6

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Content Manager Wayne Cavadi Contributors Sharath Abraham, James Careless, Jennifer Guhl, Carolyn Heinze, Pete Putman, Dave Van Hoy Group Art Director Nicole Cobban Art Editor Rob Crossland Production Managers Nicole Schilling, Heather Tatrow A DV E R T I S I N G S A L E S

Vice President, AV/Consumer Electronics & Pro Audio Adam Goldstein, adam.goldstein@futurenet.com, 212-378-0465 Sales John Casey, john.casey@futurenet.com, 845-678-3839 Janis Crowley, janis.crowley@futurenet.com, 845-414-6791 Debbie Rosenthal, debbie.rosenthal@futurenet.com, 212-378-0468 Zahra Majma, zahra.majma@futurenet.com, 845-678-3752 Andi Tureson andi.tureson@futurenet.com SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Martin by HARMAN Shines Light on Iconic Trees

W

orking with Western Australia’s

utilizing the existing in-ground cabling infrastructure.

design—exactly what the iconic location along Fraser

Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority

ETC conducted a nighttime trial at Fraser Avenue

(BGPA), PLAN E Landscape Architects

and compared similar fixtures from different manufac-

Quad-Color LED chipset in these fixtures allows for a

recently enlisted Engineering Technology Consul-

turers, ultimately settling on the Martin Exterior

wide range of vibrant colors as well as a crisp 4000K

tants (ETC), Light Application, and Show Technology

Inground 410 for lighting the tree canopy. Part of the

white, which accents the trees perfectly. In addition,

to design an architectural lighting display for Kings

Exterior Inground 400 Series, the Exterior Inground 410

the asymmetric optics provided optimum coverage

Park using Martin Professional Exterior LED fixtures.

is an RGBW LED wash light that delivers rich premixed

for the tree canopies while keeping light spill and

colors with high output and efficiency. Remote control

glare to a minimum.”

Kings Park is a 990-acre park in the center of Perth that features sprawling areas of manicured green space,

and configuration via DMX and RDM allow for easy

natural bushland, a botanic garden, and multiple

setup and unlimited flexibility. The durable, 19 mm

memorials. One of the park’s most notable features is

tempered glass cover is available with an optional

Fraser Avenue, a picturesque path lined with lemon-

anti-skid surface for use in pedestrian areas, and the

scented gum trees planted in 1938 and equipped with

top ring is available in flush or beveled varieties for

in-ground lighting to highlight the trees.

different mounting applications.

When the existing fixtures came to the end of their

“To say that the output of the Martin Exterior

serviceable life, the BGPA hired PLAN E Landscape

Inground 410 is impressive would be an understate-

Architects to coordinate a replacement capable of

ment,” said Matt Bancroft, Light Application. “It

producing a wide range of colors and effects while

certainly packs a punch for its unobtrusive inground

AVIXA Launches AVIXA Xchange

A

VIXA has officially opened the doors

collaboration, content, production, and streaming, digital signage, learning solutions, live events/ performance venues, and the business of AV. As solutions continue to evolve, so will the channels.

Videos, articles, case studies, and other pieces of

Avenue in Kings Park required. The CREE RGBW

INTEGRATOR INSIGHT

The hybrid workplace is the hot topic right now in Pro AV. What are some of the biggest challenges for companies looking to update their facilities to help in-person and offsite team members collaborate?

content are generated by members of AVIXA Xchange.

People can add comments, like, and share the

I believe the hybrid workplace is here to stay,

content. AVIXA Xchange also features rooms

and one of the biggest challenges is that

for conducting micro conversations on a wide

current office layouts were not designed for

range of topics, such as CTS study groups, jobs, and

hybrid work. Adding AV technology into an

industry events.

existing office layout and/or existing conference

“It’s vital to regularly engage with professionals

room is just a short-term fix. Companies will

of AVIXA Xchange to the entire Pro AV

in your industry throughout the year—not just at an

need to be more creative in re-designing the

industry. AVIXA Xchange is a unique com-

annual event or a scheduled meeting,” said Sarah

office of the future in an effort to ensure that

munity for the AV industry designed to connect

Joyce, chief global officer, AVIXA. “AVIXA Xchange is

employees stay engaged when working

thought leaders, industry-leading solution provid-

a digital world for maintaining those relationships

remotely.

ers, and innovative manufacturers with AV solution

and building new ones. And digital knows no

seekers. AVIXA’s platform is where expertise and

bounds—the global AV community is at your finger-

forever changed the way workspaces are

experience are shared, knowledge and connec-

tips on AVIXA Xchange.”

utilized, new office buildings will begin to look

tions are gained, news and education are readily available, and communities across every segment of the Pro AV industry interact.

The content focus of AVIXA Xchange is

Considering how the hybrid workplace has

very different. The collaboration between architects, building owners, and AV designers is more important than ever.

on solutions, which is the common language between buyers and AV providers. Current content channels include conferencing and

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Ricky Cortez, CEO, MCA Communications

NEWS

scenery and nearby activities. Guests can interrupt the loop by selecting from a trio of on-screen buttons to view a detailed resort map, a map of the entire island, and daily weather and surf reports.

Perhaps the most creative aspect of the displays is the use of eight activity “bubbles” that float across the screen, each circular graphic corresponding to a different island activity. When a guest taps an activity of interest, they’re taken to an informative screen with a collection of relevant still images, text, and video content that introduces them to the activity they selected. The guest also has the option of scanning a QR code to view additional information and book activities directly on their phones.

Turtle Bay personnel can easily update on-screen content via a custom Google Sheets interface. Almost every element of the presentation can be updated on demand, including the maps, images, video content, text, QR codes, and even the border color surrounding the interactive bubbles.

The interactive wayfinding displays were an important element of a much broader scope of work

Red Dot Digital Media, Spinitar Rebuild AV Infrastructure at Hawaii’s Turtle Bay Resort

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integrator Spinitar was charged with approaching this extensive overhaul in a way that hid the project’s technical complexities from view to preserve the beauty of the property. This meant accommodating multiple long-distance runs in varying ground conditions, with careful attention to ensure all AV equipment was properly weatherproofed. Once completed, this powerful new AV network met the resort’s need to implement a robust, future-proofed AV network that delivers rich content at key guest touchpoints.

“Spinitar was a great partner to work with on this

ed Dot Digital Media, a specialty integra-

experience that is as informative as it is beautiful. The

project,” said Darryl Kuder, president of Red Dot

tor in the digital signage space, recently

displays have become a centerpiece of the Turtle Bay

Digital Media. “They did a fantastic job of managing

helped to update the AV infrastructure at

experience, helping guests discover all the wonderful

the environmental challenges presented by Turtle

opportunities that await them at the resort.”

Bay’s coastal location. The end result is amazing—a

Turtle Bay Resort, a luxury property located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The project was an integral component of a 2021 renovation that reimagined how guests discover points of interest and activities in and around the resort.

One of Turtle Bay’s key goals for the project was to prominently market resort activities to guests as they enter the property, as well as provide an elegant wayfinding solution to acquaint visitors with the resort. To achieve this, Spinitar engaged Red Dot Digital Media to design a pair of interactive wayfinding displays centrally located in the main resort lobby.

Red Dot developed a multi-layered interactive experience that invites guests to engage with the displays to learn more about the property and plan activities during their stay.

“It was important to Turtle Bay that the touch interactive displays project a sleek, striking look consistent with the upscale guest experience at the resort,” said Justin Rogina, account manager at Spinitar.

“Red Dot delivered on that front, creating an interactive

10

that encompassed the entire property. Lead

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

The vertically oriented displays feature an attract loop of video content giving a quick visual of local

robust AV network that will be the centerpiece of the resort for years to come.”

NEWS

speakers to take advantage of the wide range of models and seamless integration into indoor or outdoor spaces.

The indoor spaces sport a mix of JBL Control 18CT and 24CT ceiling speakers, deployed in different areas depending on ceiling height. In areas with standard ceiling height, Basesix selected the Control 24CT for its broad, 130-degree coverage pattern. Areas with higher ceilings received Control 24CT speakers, which feature a narrower 90-degree cone of coverage.

The outdoor area features JBL Control 24CT speakers in addition to wall-mounted Control 25 speakers, which feature a durable, weatherproof design that makes them suitable for all environments. “We have used many speakers in the past, but we trust the JBL brand because of the quality and durability of the speakers in a never-stopping environment like Bellyard,” added Ford.

Serving as the hub for the hotel’s extensive AV network is the AMX NX-2200 integrated controller.

Bellyard Hotel Delivers High-End Hospitality with Premium Audio, Networked AV

L

Implementing both analog and digital formats, the NX-2200 can effortlessly process data and automation for both modern and legacy AV technology. The AMX EXB-COM2 serial interface establishes remote connection to the central head-end rack via Ethernet, enabling staff to control the system from different locations.

To allow staff to easily control the audio and video systems, Basesix deployed AMX MSD-701 and MSD-1001 touchpanels throughout the lobby and conference rooms. With an intuitive interface for everything from room scheduling to audio mixing, the touchpanels are easy for staff members to utilize

ocated in Atlanta’s historic West Midtown

in this particular area? If there’s none currently in the

at a moment’s notice. The overall result is a powerful

stockyards, the Bellyard Hotel by Marriott is

design, how does that impact the system?

yet flexible AV ecosystem that enhances the Bellyard

the cornerstone of The Interlock, the city’s

“We have used HARMAN on very similar projects

newest destination for high-end shopping and cul-

that we’ve done in the past, so we knew it was a good

ture. Opened in 2021, the boutique hotel offers the

fit when we started working on the project.”

highest-quality experience for guests on business or

To distribute clear sound throughout the facility,

Hotel’s communal spaces and enriches the overall guest experience.

“I have a long-standing relationship with HARMAN, and we have a history of using AMX,”

vacation, featuring modern suites, an upscale bar,

the Basesix team installed a background music

said Ford. “My programmer prefers to program

and a French bakery, as well as private spaces for

system that controls levels and processing for all

AMX systems because of how easy and reliable they

meetings and events.

communal areas from a central location. While the

are. If there’s a problem with something that needs

original design called for speakers from a different

to be addressed quickly, AMX is always very quick

brand, Basesix recommended JBL Control Series

to respond.”

During construction, the hotel’s leadership required guidance regarding the best AV systems in the lobby, bar, conference rooms, and outdoor section. To meet the hotel’s modern design and commitment to quality, Basesix Systems, headquartered in Marietta, GA, outfitted the venue with JBL Professional loudspeakers and AMX networked AV systems to deliver high-quality sound and video content via an easy-to-use system.

“The design was probably 80% complete, but there were several question marks,” recalled Dan Ford, systems director of AV, Basesix Systems. “The consultants looked for our guidance to fill in the blanks: In this conference room, what size should the displays be? Can we put outdoor speakers or displays

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NEWS

Meyer Sound Makes Science Education an Adventure at Denmark’s LIFE Campus

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IFE Campus was created to give young Danish

new facility, opened in late 2021 by HRH Crown

students intensive engagement with a range

Prince Frederik of Denmark, is situated in an

of learning experiences in STEM—science,

expansive natural area.

technology, engineering, and mathematics. It has

“The LIFE Foundation is an ambitious project with

helps keep the reverb time to an intelligibility-

world-leading resources for giving students memo-

the purpose of strengthening young students’

rable learning adventures in 360-degree immer-

knowledge of—and fascination with—the natural

sive environments created by cutting-edge digital

sciences,” said Mogens Laursen Hastrup, head of AV

“Auditorium 180.” Here, sound and visuals are oriented

technologies. The facility’s extensive AV systems

operations for the campus. “Therefore, we wanted to

to one side with Meyer Sound’s CAL 96 column array

and sophisticated control networks, designed and

have only the best technical elements in our education

loudspeakers—concealed behind the perforated wall/

installed by the consulting and integration firm

center. And that includes outstanding sound systems,

screen surface—using advanced beam-steering

Stouenborg, include a total of more than 60 Meyer

which afford extraordinary opportunities for auditory

technology with beam-splitting capability to precisely

Sound self-powered loudspeakers.

support of teaching.”

tailor coverage to the tiered seating areas.

Located in Lyngby, adjacent to the Technical

For large group learning experiences, LIFE

friendly 0.8 seconds.

One side of the room, with a tiered floor, is termed

The other half of the space, when divided and

University of Denmark, LIFE Campus is operated by

Campus offers the innovative Kolossalen (“Colossal

enclosed, is referred to as “Auditorium 360.” From an

the nonprofit LIFE Foundation and was founded

Hall”), a large open space that can be divided into two

audio aspect, the most striking feature here is the

with the mission of inspiring Danish school

separate rooms. The walls can serve as projection

dynamic spatial audio enabled by Meyer Sound’s

children to become fully engaged in their formative

screens for 11 Panasonic projectors, and the wall

Spacemap Go spatial sound design and mixing tool.

years with inquiry-based science education. The

surfaces employ a perforated metal material, which

Using an intuitive iPad interface, Spacemap Go allows

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SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

NEWS

the user to freely move sounds around and through

more in the ceiling along with 10 UP-4slim compact

dream is that, when they leave LIFE Campus at the

the space, directing them to the 26 full-range

loudspeakers. Four MM-10XP miniature subwoofers

end of the day, they think science is cool and they

loudspeakers and four subwoofers, either singly or in

supply deep low frequencies.

want to learn more.”

loudspeaker groups.

A key element in making the concept work,

Other Meyer Sound systems are installed

“When designing this space, we consulted with

according to Jørgensen, was the flat-profile of the

throughout the campus, with Ashby-8C ceiling

workgroups of teachers and tech personnel,” noted

HMS-10. “The speakers are all hidden behind the

loudspeakers in the three laboratory classrooms, the

Anders Jørgensen, project manager for Stouenborg.

perforated walls, and the HMS-10s were the only ones

large meeting room, and the foyer. In the canteen,

“They wanted to have 360-degree projection, and

with the power to project through the walls and still

full-range music reproduction is supplied by two

although Spacemap Go had not yet been introduced, I

fit in the space allowed.”

MM-4XP miniature self-powered loudspeakers

knew it was coming. I recommended we support the

The room’s capabilities have also opened new

augmented by an MM-10ACX subwoofer.

projection with dynamic spatial sound. The idea was

horizons for learning. “The multiroom allows us to

accepted by the group, and fortunately Spacemap Go

present scientific phenomena—such as extreme

teaching at LIFE Campus,” said Hastrup. “The

arrived in time.”

weather, atomic structure, or lunar landscapes—in

projectors and sound systems are the first to be

completely new ways to get the pupils’ attention and

turned on in the morning and the last to be shut down

stimulate their interest,” Hastrup explained. “The

at the end of the day.”

The Auditorium 360 system deploys 12 HMS-10 surround loudspeakers around the walls, with four

“Our AV systems are crucial to the support of

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NEWS

L-Acoustics A Series Loudspeakers Supply High-Energy Impact at Red Bull Arena

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pened in March 2010, the 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena is home to the Major League Soccer (MLS) New York Red Bulls and the

NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. Located across the Hudson River from Manhattan, in Harrison, NJ, it’s the third-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and the league. It also now has world-class sound in the form of a new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system, comprised of lightweight and compact A15i enclosures paired with SB18 IIi subs.

Installed just ahead of the 2022 MLS season kickoff in late February, the system was designed and installed by leading global technology solutions provider Diversified. It is part of a wider sound upgrade that also included the installation of a DiGiCo Quantum225 mixing console and new Dante-native DQ-Rack for front of house. The A Series loudspeakers replaced the distributed sound system that had been installed around the venue’s catwalks when it first opened.

“At the time, when soccer was really establishing itself in the U.S. as a professional-league sport, the sound systems tended to be designed with value in mind,” explained Justo Gutierrez, Diversified director of AV & sound, sports, and live events. “And typically,

Diversified designed and installed the new L-Acoustics P.A. system.

you didn’t need much for a P.A. system for a soccer pitch; the game is continuous, and the P.A. was used

The new system—which utilizes the previous

amplified controllers—14 LA12X and one LA4X—and

mainly for pre and post-game and halftime announce-

system’s cabling infrastructure, saving considerable

is flown from the venue’s steel canopy structures and

ments. But the sport has progressed and now requires

costs on installation—is designed specifically for

rigged under a tension-fabric curved exterior shell of

sound that can support a lot more, including music.”

enhanced speech intelligibility and music impact. It

PTFE fiberglass wraps, utilizing a custom rigging

not only considerably improves the stadium’s sound,

design created by the Diversified team. The pairing of

mance, high-impact sound system with much higher

but also helps make it more attractive to touring

A15i and SB18 IIi provides a balance of full-range,

output and full coverage of seating areas. That was

shows that can connect to the new speakers and use

high-impact performance. A15i extends down to 41Hz

achieved with a design that called for symmetrical

them as supplemental delays for music performances.

and is aligned with SB18 IIi, extending the LF response

arrays of A Series enclosures, each backed by SB18 IIi

“That’s a huge factor now for attracting touring

to 32Hz, all while maintaining a compact visual

subwoofers, as well as two corner-fill arrays using

shows,” he said.

footprint and light enough weight to meet the load

Gutierrez said the Red Bulls sought a high-perfor-

A15i Focus. The design creates seamless sonic

L-Acoustics worked closely with Diversified and

requirements of the venue’s canopy.

overlaps between seating sections, and covers them

the Red Bull Arena project team, spearheaded by John

far more consistently and smoothly than the distrib-

Amorosa, Red Bull Arena director of construction, and

critical for an outdoor venue in the Northeast. That

uted speakers, which could only focus on “slices” of

John Nicklas, AV engineer, on the system design

protection extends down to the fit and finish of the

seating areas.

beginning in 2018. They stayed in touch as the

system, with sealed connector plates, gland nuts, and

pandemic shuttered all sports activity for much of

highly durable hardware to meet the rigorous

2020, continuing to refine the design.

demands of professional and collegiate outdoor

The arena’s roof—the largest canopy of all MLS stadiums at 322,276 square feet—extends 120 feet from the last row of seats to just past the field’s

The newly installed system is primarily configured

The system is also fully weatherized, which is

stadium installations.

touchlines, with 60 feet of the roof being translucent

with 96 A15i Focus and one dozen A15i Wide enclosures

to allow for natural light to cover all the seats.

for additional vertical coverage where needed. The

musical and impactful the rig sounds, we couldn’t be

However, thanks to the A Series’ highly focused

design called for four arrays of seven A15i for the

happier,” said Nicklas. “The Soundvision models

dispersion, the low roof design, known for providing

north, south, and east zones, as well as four arrays of

were impressive and accurate, and L-Acoustics went

superior acoustics by amplifying and reflecting crowd

six A15i for the west zone, each paired with an array of

above and beyond to make their delivery on time,

noise back onto the field, doesn’t interact at all with

three SB18 IIi for additional LF impact. Two small

despite the logistical challenges. Both L-Acoustics

the new sound system. “The new speakers are

corner-fill arrays of two A15i Focus each are used in

and Diversified provided exceptional service and

positioned equidistant between the upper and lower

the northwest and southwest corners to complete the

attention to detail. The P.A. they’ve installed is a

seating tiers and are firing at the best angle and away

bowl system and ensure full coverage and even SPL

total game-changer for us, and we’re looking forward

from the roof, minimizing any reflections,”

distribution over the audience listening areas.

to bringing our sports fans a new sonic experience

explained Gutierrez.

16

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

The system is controlled and powered by 15

“Between how even the coverage is and how

here at Red Bull Arena.”

NEWS

Pro AV Grows Despite Economic Shakiness

A

supply chain as a brake on

the history of the AVI-E index. This month’s number

growth, particularly long lead

was 64.1, right in line with the 64.9 observed in both

times. On the positive side, the

March and February. Together, these months set a

return to in-person activity is

record for three-month payroll expansion—just as we

driving sales. It’s finally

saw for AVI-S. Commenters note that hiring is not

reaching the most COVID-sen-

easy, but clearly they’re managing to add meaningful

sitive applications, too, with a

amounts of staff despite the difficulty.

wave of positive sentiments coming from live events.

Overall economic numbers in the first months of

The wider economy also continues to see payroll expansion, as the U.S. economy added more than

the year have been less rosy. U.S. Q1 GDP came in at a

400,000 jobs for the 12th month in a row. Given that a

contraction of 1.5%. While the economic consensus

month of 200,000 new jobs was a good month in the

suggests this is a product of temporary factors, declines

pre-pandemic era, this job run is a strong positive.

in inventory purchasing due to preemptive purchasing

For more information, keep an eye out for AVIXA’s

in late 2021 and record highs in the trade deficit stand

2022 Channel Employment Report.

out as major contributors that are likely to be less negative in Q2.

“Why is AV so strong if the overall economy is less

The Pro AV Business Index report is derived from a monthly survey of the AVIXA Insights Community, a research community of industry members that tracks

wonderful? Return to in-person,” said Peter Hansen,

business trends in commercial AV. The report com-

VIXA’s latest Pro AV Business Index shows AV

economist, AVIXA. “Decreasing avoidance of situa-

prises two diffusion indexes: the AV Sales Index

sales continued at a remarkably high pace

tions where COVID-19 could transfer is spurring

(AVI-S) and the AV Employment Index (AVI-E). In

in April, with the sales index (AVI-S) com-

investment over and beyond what GDP is doing.”

each case, an index above 50 indicates an increase in

ing in at 66.7. This was a substantial deceleration

Among other aspects, the market is nervous about

from the single-month record observed in March

the possibility of a recession. Recession is an increas-

(72.7), but it still indicates extremely fast growth.

ing possibility, but Pro AV at least has the in-person

monthly Pro-AV Business Index reports and learn more

In fact, the period from February to April set a new

return advantage. If that continues, we could see Pro

about the methodology. For more information about

record for the fastest three months of growth.

AV growing even despite a modest recession.

joining the AVIXA Insights Community, visit www.

Commenters pointed first and foremost to the

AV employment is growing as fast now as it has in

sales or employment activity.

Visit www.avixa.org/AVindex to access the free

avixa.org/AVIP.

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

17

PEOPLE EXECUTIVE Q&A

Above and Beyond Audio

Joshua Curlett

SoundPro CEO Curlett Leads Expansion into Video Products

spending time outside with my wife and children. I

Position: CEO Company: Sound Productions Overtime: I enjoy the tranquility of quiet time in and around nature, activities such as playing golf and also enjoy not-so-quiet time with my family in our music room at home, listening to music as well as

By Mark J. Pescatore

My two worlds collided, and once the consulting

singing and playing the guitar and saxophone.

project concluded, I stayed on at SoundPro as the company’s CFO/COO. With my education, experience : How long have you been with this company,

as a management consultant, and my understanding

technology to increase capacity as the company

and what are your responsibilities?

and love for the AVL industry, my role as CEO of

grows.

Joshua Curlett: I joined SoundPro in 2010, serving in

SoundPro feels like it was made for me.

various leadership roles, most recently as president and CEO. My responsibilities include setting the

: SoundPro is known for delivering solutions : Where do you see the pro AV industry

for houses of worship. What makes HoW such a

vision and direction for the company, while providing

heading?

unique market segment?

guard rails for SoundPro team members and removing

JC: The pivots to remote and hybrid work, education,

JC: It’s a truly inspiring, important, and large market

roadblocks along the way. I work alongside the team,

and entertainment over the past two years have

with over 380,000 faith facilities in the U.S. It’s a

getting my hands dirty, but I am also a true believer in

brought the “audio” in AV to the forefront.

unique vertical as it combines the best of installed AV

hiring the right people and giving them the tools and

Collaboration technology is ineffective without

expertise with live performance demands. It’s also

empowerment necessary to be successful. My vision

high-quality audio products and excellent

unique in that many of the technicians working

for the company focuses on the personal growth of

integration. This is great news for the Pro AV industry,

everything from small services to big Christmas

each team member, which will result in growth and

as it has created additional demand for both audio and

productions are volunteers with various levels of

additional capacity for the company. I’m involved in

video technology to address new and innovative use

technical expertise.

all aspects of the company from operations to sales

cases. In addition, live events are coming back. With

and marketing to planning for future growth.

this, we are seeing more desire and need for small to

chapel in need of microphones and speakers to

medium-sized live events such as regional

large mega churches with full music, speaker, and

roadshows, in addition to more DJ-style events.

congregation live production needs. At SoundPro,

Collaboration technology is ineffective without high-quality audio products and excellent integration. : How has your background prepared you for

Each facility is different, ranging from a small

we’re passionate about this market, with many of : What new initiatives are we likely to see

our team members having hands-on experience

from your company?

improving worship experiences using the best

JC: We have embarked on several new initiatives over

AVL tools.

the last two years. First, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I made the decision to open a

: Early in the process, what are some of the

new office in Madison, WI, to better serve our

common misunderstandings clients have about

customers in the Midwest. While many would have

live audio system installations?

paused that project with the uncertainty of live

JC: Some people aren’t aware of the difference

events, I decided to move forward with it, so the

between audio and video setup challenges. Video

company would be well-positioned once the industry

travels at the speed of light and does not bounce

recovered from the pandemic.

around the room like sound waves do—causing

Shortly after we opened the Madison office, we

distortion, echoes, and delay problems between the

expanded our product and brand offerings to include

front and back of the room. Video systems, while they

video equipment as schools, businesses, and churches

can be complex, have fewer and easier to control

needed more tools for live streaming and working and

room-specific variables such as viewing distance,

learning from home. We currently offer a wide variety

resolution, and ambient light.

your role?

of video products from video switchers to cameras to

JC: During my early years, I spent hours setting up

projectors and displays—anything needed for a live

facility, concert venue, or for a large corporate

technology and equipment for my local church

production or streaming setup. During this time, I

event requires “tuning” the space and considerable

production, and while I was studying business

brought in an experienced leadership team with

attention to the dynamics and challenges of the

management at Baylor University, I worked backstage

decades of industry experience to help me grow and

area. The good news is that new generation mixers,

for on and off-campus concerts/events. It was during

manage the company.

signal processors, and loudspeakers now have

this time that I fell in love with the AVL industry,

And finally, about this time last year, we launched

However, creating excellent audio in a worship

more robust digital architecture and more robust

along with the gear and people that make it so special.

a new website to help our customers find and buy the

software platforms that take some of the time-

After college, I became a management consultant,

gear they need from the brands they trust, easier and

consuming work out of audio design and setup,

which eventually led me to SoundPro, when I was

faster. With these recent changes, we will now be

making pro audio more accessible and affordable

hired for a consulting engagement.

focusing on operational efficiencies and utilizing

for our customers.

18

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

EXECUTIVE Q&A PEOPLE

A Time of Transition Magewell CEO/CTO Ma Helps Prep Customers for Move to IP

Nick Ma Position: CEO and CTO

By Mark J. Pescatore

AV-over-IP enables one-to-many distribution

Company: Magewell

without expensive routers, distribution amplifiers,

Overtime: I enjoy

and extenders, but the network architecture becomes

reading books – with a

crucial. You’re often transporting multiple signals

particular interest in

and what are your responsibilities?

over the same IP network, so bandwidth considera-

books about history – as well as studying technologies.

Nick Ma: I co-founded Magewell in 2011, and I have a

tions become an important factor. Integrators will

joint role as CEO and CTO. As CEO, I lead the

need to work closely with the customer’s IT staff to

development of the company’s short-term and

optimize the infrastructure.

: How long have you been with this company,

transitions, but that gave us the opportunity to refine

long-term business strategies, oversee execution of

our feature sets for Pro AV users. As streaming became

our mission and corporate values, and make top-level

mainstream and software-based conferencing took

executive decisions. As CTO, I evaluate technology advances to ensure our product roadmap addresses customers’ current and future needs. : How has your background prepared you for your role?

NM: My education prepared me for my CTO duties, while my professional experience prepared me for my CEO role. Passionate about electrical engineering since high school, I worked as a software engineer after graduating from university. The working environment was unpleasant, which drove me to establish a workplace that employees could enjoy. I co-founded a software startup in 2001 and gained a lot

Some people know AV very well, some know IT very well, but the real value today is being an expert in how they intersect.

off, our solutions were perfectly positioned to help customers take advantage of these technologies. : Where do you see the Pro AV industry heading?

NM: I believe the transition to software and AV-overIP will keep accelerating, although hardware will still be needed to bridge them with traditional signals. I also expect to see greater adoption of open standards.

While the broadcast market has long embraced open interoperability standards, the use of IP in Pro AV has been characterized by multiple, proprietary specifications. Embracing open standards in Pro AV will free customers from having to stay within any

of experience in how to run a company. I learned a lot

: You offer products for multiple streaming

from some great business leaders I worked with, and

approaches, from software-based streaming to

at Magewell, I have fantastic colleagues who

standalone appliances like the Ultra Stream. What

complement my own experience.

are the advantages of each approach?

Magewell, and what new initiatives are we likely

NM: Our standalone streaming appliances such as

to see from your company?

Ultra Stream and Ultra Encode are designed to make

NM: Our goal has always been to offer solutions that

partnership with Barco. How important has

live streaming exceptionally easy, even for non-

make the latest technologies so practical, simple, and

videoconferencing become for your business?

technical users. Both can also be integrated into

affordable that they achieve “technical invisibility”—

NM: Videoconferencing has always been a popular use

third-party software solutions through an API,

where the technology is so easy to use and pervasive

case for our plug-and-play video capture devices,

allowing users to manage the devices through

that you don’t even notice it any more, you just use it

allowing people to easily bring HDMI or SDI signals

software they’re already using.

naturally. In the short term, we want to continue

: Earlier this year, you announced a

from video cameras or wired screenshares into

For users who prefer to encode and stream in

particular vendor’s ecosystem. : What are the short and long-term goals for

improving the hybrid meeting user experience not

conferencing software. As the use of

software, our USB Capture devices bring an HDMI or

only for large companies, but also small and medium-

videoconferencing software grew exponentially

SDI signal into Windows, Mac, Linux, or ChromeOS

sized businesses with limited infrastructure budgets.

during the pandemic, it became an even bigger

applications. Software-based streaming typically

Beyond that, we’re looking to efficiently stream

portion of our business. Videoconferencing is

offers the greatest creative flexibility, but some

higher-quality AV at lower latency beyond the

intrinsic to AV environments’ “new normal,” and

customers may find using a standalone hardware

boundaries of local networks.

we’re excited to partner with Barco and other

device simpler. : How can systems contractors better position

innovators to enhance user experiences and expand the source signals they can incorporate.

: Last year, Magewell celebrated its 10th

themselves to profit from products and/or services

anniversary. What changes in the AV industry

you have to offer?

have most impacted your business over the last

NM: Gain as much IT and IP networking expertise as

when migrating them from a traditional HDMI or

decade?

you can. Some people know AV very well, some know

SDI signal architecture to an IP-based workflow?

NM: The market is now embracing trends we’ve been

IT very well, but the real value today is being an expert

NM: First, customers who have investments in HDMI

advocating for since we started: the transition from

in how they intersect. The move to software,

or SDI equipment such as cameras don’t need to

traditional AV signals to IP-based infrastructures, and

streaming, and IP also opens up new customer types

jettison all of their existing gear. Solutions such as our

the use of software-based solutions rather than

that you might not have focused on previously. Also,

Pro Convert family seamlessly bridge baseband

dedicated hardware. We were a bit ahead of some Pro

consider service-based revenue models, such as

signals with IP-based workflows, extending the

AV vertical markets in these respects. The live

remotely managing devices for your customers

lifecycle of that gear.

production market was faster to begin these

through tools like our Magewell Cloud.

: What should integrators tell clients to expect

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

19

PEOPLE NEWSMAKERS

BROADSIGN has expanded its

media servers, and lighting, eventually moving to

and Virginia, in addition to

programmatic team by appoint-

project management and technical sales for VER and

continuing to manage New

ing JOHN DOLAN as vice

PixelFLEX LED. His Nashville base and experience will

England, Upstate New York, and

president, global head of media

lend itself to INFiLED’s team with concentration in

Canada. Amber brings more than

sales. Bringing more than a

those sectors.

30 years of sales and manage-

decade of programmatic mar tech John Dolan

ment experience in the AV AMIT ANCIKOVSKY has joined

experience to the newly formed

Adrian Bullock

industry. Planar has also added

role, Dolan will oversee Broadsign’s global sales team

KRAMER ELECTRONICS LTD. as

ADRIAN BULLOCK and MIKE

in identifying new growth opportunities and amplify-

the new president of Kramer

BEADENKOPF as regional

ing revenue with a data-driven approach. He comes to

Americas. He previously served

account managers. Bullock, who

Broadsign from Integral Ad Science, where he

as president of Mimosa Net-

brings more than 20 years of

spearheaded agency and programmatic development

works, a wireless technologies

progressive IT and AV experi-

for the company as global vice president.

Amit Ancikovsky

provider. Before that he held

ence, will manage the company’s

varied executive positions at Ceragon Networks,

Mike Beadenkopf

CHRISTIE LITES has welcomed

leading the company’s ascent to its dominant

as well as Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest

CHRIS PATTON as its vice

market-share position, as well as Airspan Networks.

Territories. Beadenkopf, who has nearly 24 years of

president of rentals and MARK

In assuming his new position, Ancikovsky will be

sales and operations experience in the AV industry,

BURNETT as a new rentals rep.

building on Kramer’s trajectory of success in terms of

will join Planar’s Mid-Atlantic team.

Patton’s new role comes as part

market penetration and brand recognition.

PROSOURCE has added JIM

of a wider expansion of the Chris Patton

sales efforts in Western Canada,

Christie Lites management team,

In an effort to strengthen its

PEARSE as president. The

bringing increased focus to both

commitment to its North

expansion of the senior manage-

client and rep support. He will

American customer base, LAWO

ment team supports the contin-

join Ken Alexander, senior vice

has relocated chief commercial

ued growth of the ProSource

president of rentals, to lead,

officer JAMIE DUNN to the United

develop, and support the Christie

States. With more than 40 experts

Jim Pearse

in North America, Dunn’s move

experience from his leadership roles at Wireless

buying group. Pearse brings more than 30 years of extensive retail

Lites rental rep team. A UK

Jamie Dunn

native, Patton has 20 years of

represents a logical step to support and steer the

Advocates, Sears Holdings Corporation, and Ultimate

professional experience, including business and team

organization through the next stage of planned growth,

Electronics. His involvement in the consumer elec-

development manager for a large rental operation in

as Lawo executes on delivering its next evolutionary

tronics industry has earned him a reputation as an

the UK and senior product manager for several key

chapter of IP and cloud-enabled media infrastructure

executive that maintains a high level of integrity and

professional U.S. lighting manufacturers. Burnett will

solutions. A member of Lawo’s Executive Management

partnership focus. Pearse will report to Dave Workman,

be based out of Coventry, UK, and will focus on

Board, Dunn will maintain his global responsibility as

who continues to serve as CEO of the group.

developing market share in theatrical rentals.

CCO and head of Lawo’s global sales organization.

Mark Burnett

DAN O’BRASKY has joined With more than 25 years of

MXL MICROPHONES, a division

SHOW SAGE as its newest sales

prominent financial roles within

of Marshall Electronics, has

representative. A 13-year Pro AV

the construction, engineering,

promoted GINA STIMLER to

industry veteran, O’Brasky is

and consulting industries,

global sales manager. Stimler’s

taking on the newly-created role

SIMON HEMMING has been

diverse professional experience

of regional sales manager for the

appointed the new global chief Simon Hemming

financial officer of ELECTRO-

Gina Stimler

includes more than 17 years

Dan O’Brasky

working with the company’s core

Western Canada. Prior to coming to the Pro AV

Western United States and

SONIC GROUP. He will be responsible for leading the

customers, dealers, distributors, manufacturer

market, O’Brasky worked in IT and media sales

finance function across all three divisions of the

representatives, and system integrators. Since 2005,

businesses, and also owned a high-end consumer

Electrosonic Group—including Design Consulting,

she has worked in international sales for MXL, and

audio business in New York City.

System Integration, and Support and Managed

has also spent the last four years as senior sales

Services—for EMEA and the Americas. His interna-

operations manager for Marshall Electronics. In her

Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS)

tional experience has given Hemming a strong

new role, Stimler is tasked with developing and

solution leader XYTE has

skillset in supporting global teams and functions,

instituting strategies to maximize profit across

launched its dedicated opera-

vital to Electrosonic’s worldwide reach and local

international markets, as well as expanding the brand

tions in North America, which is

support mantra.

across the globe.

led by its new vice president of sales, ANDREW GROSS. Gross

Jon Chavez

INFILED has hired JON CHAVEZ

PLANAR has announced an

Andrew Gross

as regional sales manager

expanded role for senior sales

experience driving revenue growth and building

covering the Central Region of

director AMBER KING to include

successful sales teams. Most recently, he served as

the United States for both fixed

the Mid-Atlantic region. With

vice president of enterprise sales and in other

installation and the rental and

more than 30 years of sales and

leadership roles at Crestron Electronics, where he

staging markets. Chavez had his

management experience in the

oversaw the video collaborations and IoT cloud

AV industry, King will oversee

business, created go-to-market strategies, and

career start at TMB as a product

specialist working with entertainment production,

20

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

Amber King

Planar’s sales efforts in Washington, DC, Maryland,

has more than a decade of

formed new divisions within the company.

PEOPLE ON YOUR BUSINESS

Choosing Not to Work with a Client There Are Important Questions to Ask When You Have to Part Ways

By Steve Greenblatt, CTS

I

prevented? What can be learned? Was this a relation-

In some cases, findings can lead to ownership of

ship that should have been pursued in the first place?

conduct inspiring tangible adjustments to practices

If parting ways with clients becomes a regular

that provide lasting impact and limit future situa-

t can be trendy and empowering for a busi-

occurrence or if the same cause is consistently

tions from going awry. In other cases, a determina-

ness to say that they are “firing” a client. Many

identified, businesses need to look within and reflect

tion can be made that there was an incongruence

times, deciding to part ways with a client can

on what they could be doing differently. While it may

between the business and the client from the

prove to be a smart business move; however, it is

be easy to pass the blame to an unreasonable client, a

onset—and the business needs to do better at

something that needs to be taken seriously and must

business engagement is a product of two parties, and

identifying, defining, and attracting clients that will

be handled in a responsible manner.

neither should be completely devoid of responsibility.

be the right fit while avoiding others who fall outside

Since businesses exist to serve clients and clients

No different from personal relationships, it can be

of those parameters.

want to rely on businesses to satisfy their needs,

valuable to comprehend why some business connec-

having to fire a client or terminate a relationship is

tions work while others don’t and determine if

als may not have an interest in making changes to

There are also cases where businesses or individu-

not something to revel in and should not be a regular

improvements can be made to avoid similar occurrences

their perspective, actions, or practices. In these

occurrence. While it may be the best decision for a

in the future. This process can lead to difficult conversa-

situations, separations may be harder to avoid, and

given situation, the outcome can be both unsettling

tions and reflection, which involve honest feedback and

are likely to occur with a greater probability and

and disruptive for both the client and the business.

introspective evaluation of one’s behaviors and actions

higher frequency than for other businesses. In any

The client will likely continue to have unmet needs

that can reveal unexpected discoveries.

case, it is important to remember that whether it is an

and the business will be losing revenue.

Not An Overnight Decision There are various reasons why clients and businesses choose to part ways. Some are a result of an improper fit, where the client’s needs and provider’s offerings don’t align to provide a mutually beneficial engagement. Other rationale can stem from a variety of differences related to pricing, scheduling, and scope of requirements. Finally, conflicts do arise related to differences in values, personalities, difficulties in communication, unrealistic expectations, or even inappropriate behaviors.

Whenever businesses are parting ways with a client, they need to ask themselves some important questions: Why did it occur? Could it have been

The more clearly an organization can define the persona of an ideal client, the more successful they will be in marketing to them, attracting their business, and achieving success. unhappy client who takes their business elsewhere or the business who “fires” the client, neither will truly result in a positive outcome.

Deciding to part ways with a client is often linked to bad experiences or difficult situations. While these may be unavoidable from time to time, they should not be the norm. Organizations who are facing these challenges should consider how outcomes could be different if they could attract more clients who are the right fit and steer clear of those who are not.

While many businesses may feel that they are not in the position to choose their clients but instead hope their clients choose them, others have learned from past mistakes and bad experiences. Those who have either been burned enough times or have found their guiding light now take their time better understand and define their “ideal” client profile.

GETTY IMAGES

After years of being in business and working with

22

clients of different types, it should become more apparent which are a good fit and which are not. By clearly understanding these characteristics, both

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

ON YOUR BUSINESS PEOPLE

good and bad, an ideal client profile can be developed.

provides an opportunity to reflect, learn, and

professionally, and can produce a valuable learning

With a better awareness of the characteristics of this

adjust. Clarity and insight can turn that negative

opportunity.

ideal client, businesses will have greater success in

situation into something positive that can contrib-

Steve Greenblatt, CTS, is the founder of Control

building relationships that work, while avoiding

ute to more favorable future results. Choosing not

Concepts, Inc., which provides specialized software

those that lead to bad experiences and ultimately

to work with a client can produce tangible reward,

and services for the Pro AV industry. Contact him at

need to be terminated. The more clearly an organiza-

as long as it is done for the right reasons, is handled

steveg@controlconcepts.net.

tion can define the persona of an ideal client, the more successful they will be in marketing to them, attracting their business, and achieving success.

Find the Right Clients For starters, businesses need to understand that they can’t be everything to everyone. Therefore, it is important to identify a few key elements that will help to define what types of clients to pursue.

Start by intimately knowing the organization’s strengths. What services do they perform particularly well? What are their competitive advantages? Do they have a quick response time? Are they particularly detail-oriented and thorough? Are the priced more aggressively than others? Does the team have standout skills?

On the flip side, businesses need to be just as clear and honest about their weaknesses. What are some of their struggles? In what situations do they not perform at their best? What products or services are less than ideal as compared to others? What types of clients do they regularly find difficult to satisfy?

Once the business strengths and weaknesses are identified, the strengths should be cross-referenced with additional criteria, including the needs of the market, the profitability of their stronger offerings, the appreciation they receive for exhibiting their stronger qualities, and the characteristics of clients with whom they enjoy working. The result of this brainstorm and mapping should paint a general picture of the types of clients for whom they are likely to be a good fit.

Taking it one step further, and just as important, this exercise will provide a general idea of the characteristics of clients who will not be a good fit. By piecing these two elements together, a description and checklist of criteria can be defined describing how to qualify as an ideal client.

While working with ideal clients is an ultimate goal for most business, it will take time to identify and attract them. During this time and likely beyond, there will continue to be relationships that don’t work out for one reason or another. When situations arise that call for “firing” a client, consider the learning moments and be thoughtful about facilitating a responsible handoff. If a client has good qualities and is just not a proper fit, consider rehoming them to another provider that is better suited to service and support them in a way that both can benefit (rather than casting them aside without a solution for their needs).

For those who are focused on ongoing personal and professional growth, firing a client or a failed relationship can be the gift of a life experience that

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

23

BUSINESS INTEGRATOR STRATEGIES

Diversified has introduced its new Global Payment Solutions as an additional revenue stream apart from products or support. “It’s all about financially positioning our clients so they can leverage the latest in technology without capital expenditures,” Strand explained. “With this outcome-based technology financing model, we’re meeting our clients where they are in terms of how they want to procure on an as-a-service model.”

Integrators have also expanded pandemic-related technology offerings, including virtual patient care and temperature-scanning kiosks, as hospitals have turned into an area of considerable growth for

Integrators have expanded pandemic-related technology offerings, including virtual patient care for the medical industry.

integrators. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption for virtual patient care, and the demand is high for AV communication systems that better

Time for a Change How Integrators Have Survived (and Thrived) After the Pandemic

support patients. “The ability for nurses and doctors to videoconference with highly contagious hospital patients increases workflow efficiencies while helping patients feel less isolated,” said Davis.

Higher education, with students participating in remote learning at higher rates, offers another growth vertical. Campuses have large numbers of meeting

By Jennifer Guhl

T

that support real use cases. And integrators are

rooms and classrooms in need of unified AV platforms,

putting a stronger focus on recurring revenue streams

giving integrators the opportunity to not only integrate

through managed service offerings that allow

the technology but provide long-term service packages

his can clearly be stated: The pandemic has

integrators to bundle services for a fixed monthly fee.

that support these spaces for years to come.

changed the AV industry forever. But in the

“We’ve been gaining traction, particularly with our corporate customers, by demonstrating how

Addressing the Supply Chain

changes may have been for the industry’s better-

managed services reduce their cost of doing business

As backlogs due to supply chain issues continues to

ment in the long term. Working through these hard-

and improve their bottom line,” said Jeff Davis,

grow, planning and project management has become

ships has separated the integrators that previously

president and CEO for Avidex. “For example, install-

more critical than ever for integrators. Timelines are

were faking their way through the tough projects

ing, implementing, and monitoring a turnkey ‘easy

extending—and that leads to many uncomfortable

from the ones that focused on scalable, flexible

room’ solution within an AVaaS framework creates an

conversations between integrators and clients, which

efforts, allowing them to truly prosper in this post-

intuitive and reliable user experience without upfront

many integrators say they are having on a daily basis.

pandemic environment.

costs. Remote monitoring also frees up IT staff

eyes of many top integrators, those difficult

“We all know that we’ve emerged from the

This has caused integrators to better educate the

resources while providing insights into AV system

main point of contact for clients, their sales team.

pandemic a changed workforce in many ways, but

utilization to increase user/meeting room efficiency.

"They have almost become more like educators and

perhaps the most predominant and lasting changes

AVaaS also ensures, through periodic component

have to understand the nuances of the supply chain and

are related to our newfound agility,” said Michael

upgrades, client AV systems do not become outdated.”

how it impacts our clients," said Lawrence. "We need to

Strand, chief revenue officer for Diversified. “We’ve

With many clients looking to create a more

had to pivot—and sometimes pivot again—in terms

engaging experience that would bring people back

of how we deliver projects, how we engage our teams

into offices, retail stores, etc., integrators have used

ideal solution, an openness is beginning to appear for

and even the solutions and services we offer.”

this as an opportunity to expand within two impor-

system architecture based on the continued supply

Traditionally, some integrators have over-relied

offer solutions that will help them in the long run."

As clients grow tired of the long waits for their

tant strategic growth areas: digital media and

chain issues. With clients willing to accept options

on product offerings, struggling to find a balance

managed services. These services include on-site

that may not be perfect in their eyes, integrators are

between products and service offerings. “Those that

support, content creation, and creative services, all

guiding them through solutions that meet their use

just did a basic install, left, and never returned really

driving new forms of engagement for their client’s

case and are available now. “A lot of companies are

didn’t fare well during these times,” said Bill Law-

intended audience.

saying the old way of doing it was ‘best of class,’ but

rence, vice president of technical operations for Kinly.

“The folks that were service deep are the ones that survived.”

Recurring Revenue Clients are looking for integration partners able to deliver on all fronts, providing service offerings that are efficient and easy to standardize. This has caused integrators to view the client-integrator relationship as a true partnership, one that focuses on understanding critical functions while suggesting solutions

24

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

“A lot of companies are saying the old way of doing it was ‘best of class,’ but there is a ‘good enough’ movement that is working its way into the corporate enterprise.”

Jack Steinhauer, Kinly

INTEGRATOR STRATEGIES BUSINESS

there is a ‘good enough’ movement

talented AV technicians with integra-

that is working its way into the

tors and other businesses in need of

corporate enterprise,” noted Jack

their help. With many technicians

Steinhauer, Kinly’s senior vice

joining the gig economy and not looking

president and head of sales and

to work for just one company, integra-

marketing, Americas.

tors turn to AV HERO to hire technicians in various locations across the country,

New Work Models

helping them to properly address their

Like many industries, integrators

project needs and save on costly

adapted to working remotely during the

overhead costs like travel.

pandemic, and many have fully

“In a time when workers are hard

embraced the benefits of hybrid work.

to find and travel costs have increased

The new reliance on hybrid work has

or are limited, AV Hero has been able

allowed integrators to recruit the best

to provide a quicker solution to the

talent, no matter their geographical

service needs of our clients, minimiz-

location, and focus on building internal

ing downtime and eliminating the

structures that provide the appropriate

high cost of travel,” said Jeremy

resources for employees to prosper within this new working environment.

Talent is currently in high-

Blanton, design consultant with Top from left: Michael Strand, Bill Lawrence, Jeff Davis Bottom from left: Jack Steinhauer, John Day, Jeremy Blanton

demand, and integrators have been navigating challenges surrounding labor costs and hiring. During

their development.

Conference Technologies, an integrator that has utilized AV HERO to

address their staffing needs. Day feels that there is a

Technician availability has been another hurdle

great chance the labor force may become an on-

this era, known as the Great Resignation, many

many integrators have had to navigate. “Definitely

demand service long-term—for integrators and

people have left their positions, requiring integrators

having a lot more integrators reaching out to us and the

manufacturers—with technicians enjoying their

to focus on talent retention strategies and develop

issue is staffing,” said John Day, founder of AV HERO,

independence and deciding what jobs to take based on

cultures based around supporting employees and

an on-demand service provider focusing on connecting

their own terms.

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InfoComm Booth W658

INFOCOMM 2022 PREVIEW BUSINESS

Back to Business

Rochelle Richardson Sees ‘Renewed Energy’ for InfoComm 2022

By Mark J. Pescatore

A

Pro AV solution areas on the trade show floor and

Hakkasan, and Omnia to see how each showcases their

Technology Innovation Stage as well as in education

style of audiovisual guest experiences. On Thursday, a

sessions: audio, conferencing and collaboration,

tour of Omega Mart will take visitors inside the

fter its return to Orlando, FL, last October

content, production, streaming, digital signage,

interactive art installation created by Meow Wolf,

(following a pandemic-induced, two-year

learning technologies, and live events. We’ll also be

which features contributions from over 300 artists.

layoff), InfoComm 2022 is heading back to

hosting show floor tours tailored by solution areas.

Las Vegas. Educational workshops and other training

The North Hall will feature “AV Solutions for

: Finally, there are some people who think

opportunities run June 4-10, while the exhibit hall

Experience and Engagement,” and attendees will find

trade shows can be replaced by webinars and

will be open June 8-10. In an exclusive interview,

the Digital Signage and Events and Entertainment

videoconferencing. Why do you think it’s

Rochelle Richardson, CEM, senior vice president of

Pavilions as well as Content, Streaming, and Produc-

important for systems integrators and other

exhibition and event services for AVIXA, discussed

tion, and general exhibits. The West Hall will feature

members of the Pro AV community to attend

show floor pavilions, off-site tours, and the impor-

“Productivity Tools in AV,” and attendees will find

InfoComm?

tance of trade shows.

the Audio and Conferencing and Collaboration

RR: If there was any question prior to the pandemic, we

Pavilions, Control, and Learning Technologies, and

certainly all should have a definitive answer: There

more general exhibits. The Technology Innovation

simply is no replacement for face-to-face trade shows.

: On the heels of the pandemic, InfoComm 2021 wasn’t expected to break any attendance or

Stage, also located in the West Hall, will offer

exhibitor records. How did AVIXA define success

attendees trend forecasts, updates from exhibitors,

sionals from multiple vertical sectors to come

for InfoComm 2021, and did you achieve that?

and product announcements.

together for business—to build relationships, learn

Rochelle Richardson: In close collaboration with the InfoComm Exhibitor Advisory Committee members,

Trade shows are a powerful platform for profes-

and discover, and so much more. Trade shows are a : Beyond the show floor, what are some of the

valuable tool for companies and attendees to recon-

exhibitors, and attendees, we made the decision to

other attractions for attendees this year?

nect, while providing the opportunity to grow their

move forward with the InfoComm 2021 trade show in

RR: While I may be a little biased, it’s gratifying to

network and strengthen the communities we serve.

October to reunite the Pro AV industry.

collaborate with many people within AVIXA and other

There is an even greater necessity following a

organizations who have worked diligently to build a

two-year global pandemic where many were limited

Although InfoComm was not its traditional size as in

robust program. There is something for everyone,

to connecting virtually.

previous years, we achieved the objectives of provid-

from the essentials to the more advanced and

ing a platform for commerce between exhibitors and

premium workshops.

The consensus was positive following the show.

Pro AV buyers, the opportunity to have meaningful

For attendees looking for deep dives into network-

The momentum and excitement are palpable, and there is an increased interest from individuals and companies planning to attend this year’s event.

and engaging discussions, the exploration of solu-

ing systems, design thinking, and project manage-

There is a renewed energy around getting back

tions and products, and much more.

ment, we encourage you to register and plan to attend

together in person, meeting with customers,

the three-day courses beginning Saturday, June 4. In

unveiling new solutions and products, seeing

addition, the Education Pass offers attendees the

existing and new companies, and reconnecting with

InfoComm 2022?

opportunity to select from 80+ sessions and will

the Pro AV community.

RR: The ribbon cutting ceremony will have a new

appeal to attendees looking for a wide range of courses

meaning, as it will mark the opening of an InfoComm

including conferencing and collaboration, digital

wonderful feeling to know we’ll have the opportunity

show in Las Vegas for the first time in four years

signage, audio, manufacturer’s training, and more.

to see many from the Pro AV industry in Las Vegas for

: What will be different for attendees at

[since 2018]. InfoComm 2022 is also the first time we

Also, this year’s off-site integrated experience

are holding the show in the new West Hall, in addition

tours provide behind-the-scenes looks at AV solutions

to the North Hall, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

in the real world. You’ll have the opportunity to select

The West Hall is a $1 billion expansion to the LVCC,

from seven exceptional and unique tours curated

providing an additional 1.4 million square feet of new

specifically with Pro AV professionals in mind.

space and featuring the largest digital display experience in a convention center in the U.S.

There is something magical happening, and it is a

InfoComm 2022!

Tuesday’s tours include the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where you can explore the UNLV classroom renovation that features a Dolby Atmos theatre. Or

: What industry buzz will be some of the main

plan to join the experimental artist Valentino Vettori

topics of conversation on the show floor this year?

as he gives a tour of Arcadia Earth. The Resorts World

RR: The buzz on the trade show floor at InfoComm

tour will show you the Zouk Nightclub, Ayu Dayclub,

2022 will be about the 500+ companies and their new

theater, outdoor screens, and much more.

and existing solutions and products. This year will be

On Wednesday, there will be a tour of the Illumi-

the first year many are returning to an in-person

narium, which features 4K interactive projection,

event, and we anticipate there to be a few companies

360-degree audio, in-floor vibrations, and scent

making big announcements in order to make a

systems. A tour of Las Vegas nightclubs led by Gerardo

significant impact with the return to InfoComm.

Gonzalez, senior director of technical services for Tao

InfoComm 2022 will focus on the following key

Group Hospitality, will take attendees through JEWEL,

"There simply is no replacement for face-to-face trade shows," according to AVIXA's Rochelle Richardson.

27

BUSINESS INFOCOMM 2022 PREVIEW

What trends and technologies can attendees look forward to seeing at InfoComm this year?

David Bacher Head of Marketing, LG Business Solutions USA

voice recognition, calendar syncing, and automatic

damage that they can sustain today. These new

transcription. Coming out of the pandemic, so many

technologies are more efficient in terms of power

of us have more work than we know what to do with,

consumption and heat dissipation, adding the

Attendees can look forward to seeing

so at Sennheiser we are eager to find ways to enable

element of sustainable design to the solutions.

the latest in dvLED technology on the show floor.

hybrid and remote workers to work smarter, not

LG is introducing a variety of new dvLED displays

harder, with solutions like the TC ISP.

Bryan Reksten Vice President of Marketing, VITEC

designed to support integrators servicing markets such as retail, venues, transportation, and beyond.

Another technology that is sure to generate buzz at InfoComm is the LG CLOi ServeBot, an autonomous robot that uses multiple cameras and sensors to

Chris Kopin Executive Vice President of Technology, Kramer

will be on the minds of our partners. First, the

Creating meeting space solutions not

explosion of video on enterprise networks as

We expect there will be two topics that

navigate complex commercial environments. The

confined to a particular conferencing platform, but

organizations rely on video for communication and

robot demonstrates how U.S. workers can safely

rather rooms designed to be agnostic.

hybrid work arrangements like never before. IPTV

use robot assistants to carry up to 66 pounds of

solutions need to be efficient, reliable, and scalable

food or goods, assist with employee workloads, enable better customer service, and increase operational efficiency.

Joel Hall Senior Sales Development Manager, Leon Speakers Our approach to AV is rooted in the blending of art

Sam Nord Vice President of Global Sales, Listen Technologies

as organizations adjust to new workflows. Second,

With the changes in how work looks

signage on networks like never before. From

the need for clear, dynamic communication on the IPTV platform will see the deployment of digital

today compared to even a couple years ago, I’m

employee communication to customer engage-

curious to see the hybrid work solutions that will be

ment, an IPTV platform must be flexible to meet a

displayed at the show, and learn how they enable

broad set of requirements.

productivity and collaboration regardless of the work

Sean Sheridan Regional Technical Manager (Americas), Brompton Technology

environment.

with audio and design with technology. End users

poses a real challenge for consultants and integra-

Scott Normand Commercial Market Director, Snap One

As resolutions increase, and with the explosive

tors. Leon exists to help bridge the gap between AV

I think the expansion of remote

growth of remote and hybrid work, the proliferation

want all the benefits that tech gives them, but they’re notorious for not wanting to see it...at all. This

designers and end users through our extensive

management platforms and services is going to be

of video-over-IP standards like NDI will continue to

pallet of customizable technology concealment

big this year. Integrators want and need these

flourish, with further standards like ST2110 and IPMX

solutions and handcrafted speakers.

solutions more than ever to be able to scale their

breaking through as well. The marriage of AV and IT

businesses and generate recurring revenues. The

is stronger than ever, and looks to only be getting

Snap One booth [will be showcasing] our OvrC cloud

stronger.”

Charlie Jones Insights Manager, Global Alliances, Sennheiser

management platform.

be a big buzzword on the show floor as more

Jason Polk Marketing Coordinator, Absen

manufacturers find creative ways to bring this

New technologies like Micro LED are

technology into the meeting environment. For

driving [the display technology]

I expect Artificial Intelligence (AI) will

Lauren Simmen Director of Product Marketing, Crestron At InfoComm, Crestron is going to showcase the next phase of intelligent video and give

instance, our newly launched TeamConnect Intel-

movement and are going to bring us higher resolu-

attendees a look at an approach that the industry

ligent Speaker (TC ISP) will be showcased at Info-

tion in a smaller form factor. Other new technologies,

hasn’t really seen before. Videoconferencing has

Comm, and it is one of the first intelligent solutions

like flip-chip technology. will bring high brightness

enabled us to continue to be productive and collabo-

for this market, enabling users to start and optimize

and high contrast with a wide viewing angle in a

rate during COVID, but now we need to take it to the

Microsoft Teams meetings by talking to Cortana via

form that protects the pixels from the type of

next level to adjust to the modern workplace.

28

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

INFOCOMM 2022 PREVIEW BUSINESS

AVIXA Embraces DEI for Pro AV

initiative, speakers were asked to encourage colleagues

Women’s Council, which will host a breakfast at

to present sessions to amplify more diverse voices and

InfoComm on June 9. “It has truly been wonderful to

points of view.

work on this and bring it forward,” Lloyd added. “The

Other organizational efforts include the AVIXA

feedback has been outstanding from our industry

Diversity Council, which is designed to encourage

leaders and companies, as well as from the individuals

inclusion throughout the industry, and the AVIXA

who take part.”

By Mark J. Pescatore

D

iversity. Equity. Inclusion. To AVIXA, DEI is not a trendy catch phrase, it’s a commitment. The organization has made it part of

its mission to provide DEI resources and training for Pro AV companies.

“Companies are made better by diversity, but not everyone can hire a chief diversity officer,” explained Joé Lloyd, AVIXA senior director of communications.

“For AVIXA, DEI is really about the creation of a community—and belonging to that community.”

While AVIXA was committed to DEI initiatives internally, its external efforts rose in May 2020, during the cultural upheaval surrounding the death of George Floyd. Rather than just stopping at a statement, however, the organization committed to curating available DEI resources for the industry. “If we were going to say something,” Lloyd recalled, “we had to have the structure in place to back that up.”

AVIXA offers a number of resources on its website to support a culture of inclusion. For example, “Let’s Talk About Equity” is a virtual DEI microlearning module presented by NonProfit HR. The recently updated “AV Industry Inclusive Language Guide,” available for download, provides general guidelines and best practices to help industry members avoid problematic words and phrases.

There will also be a focus on DEI at InfoComm, with gender-neutral restrooms in both the North Hall and West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as wellness rooms that can be used for prayer, personal medical needs, and pumping for new mothers. Attendees will also have the opportunity to sign the “AV Industry Pledge for an Equitable Future,” a personal pledge to support inclusive behavior across the industry.

AVIXA worked with Equity Intelligence CEO Chris Hope to create programming with a DEI focus for InfoComm. On June 9, a panel discussion, “Designing for Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility,” will discuss the importance of accessible technology and inclusive design. Several other education sessions during the show will touch on topics such as inclusive workplaces and meeting equity. Plus, through the “Pass the Mic”

29

BUSINESS ASSET MANAGEMENT

This approach, Davis argued, is more cost-effective than on-prem storage or even off-site LTO. Tape-based storage, she noted, requires rack space, heating and cooling, as well as the manpower to maintain it. “It’s not just the initial purchase cost; there’s ongoing support costs for this, and they’re quite pricey,” she noted.

Davis added that on-prem infrastructures are also more expensive because they need to be designed for peak. “By nature, that means you’re [incurring] a capital investment for a future that you don’t know exists,” she said. “The cloud will meet your demands when you have them, not when you think you’re going to have them.”

Hybrid Balance While most enterprise-level clients are cloud-savvy, Telestream’s Kumulate content management software automates content movement between storage tiers.

Planning for Disaster How the Cloud Can Protect Corporate Media Assets

there are instances where they prefer to keep assets on site. Still, Davis urges her clients to take advantage of the cloud.

In this model, she proposes the deployment of an object storage platform (such as DataCore Swarm, born out of DataCore’s acquisition of Caringo). This enables companies to leverage the cloud while maintaining an on-prem model by either virtualizing media assets on

By Carolyn Heinze

W

copy is sent to a preservation and archiving service, such

commodity hardware, or even allowing them to create

as Iron Mountain.

their own private clouds located in several data centers

These days, however, Davis is urging her clients to

across the organization. “It’s much more scalable, it’s

hile the pandemic has been credited with

do away with LTO and archiving services in favor of

cheaper to run and maintain, and the refresh time [is

accelerated cloud adoption, the enter-

migrating to the cloud. Here is a version of her new

faster],” she said.

prise market has embraced the cloud for

storage model:

some time.

Sunil Mudholkar, vice president of product manage-

The high-res file is stored locally, utilizing Tier 1

Savva Mueller, director of business development at Telestream, the Nevada City, CA-based developer of the

high-performance storage for editorial—or it can be

Diva and Kumulate content storage management

ment at EditShare, a networked shared storage and

directly migrated to the cloud, utilizing VDI for virtual

platforms, relayed that many of his organization’s users

workflow solutions developer headquartered in

editorial in a cloud environment and eliminating the

opt for a hybrid model. This could involve some type of

Watertown, MA, noted that in large part, this is because

on-prem Tier 1 from the start. Davis counsels clients to

on-prem solution in conjunction with cloud storage, or

these organizations have been running IT operations on

evaluate their project life cycle, and keep project files

cloud storage in a multi-cloud environment.

providers like AWS. “What we find is that the cloud

and related assets on Tier 1 storage for up to 12 weeks

“Hybrid is important, because nobody really

knowledge of our enterprise and corporate customers,

after final render, as there’s a good chance a modified

wants to put all of their eggs in one basket,” Mueller

on average, tends to be a little bit higher than your

project file will be created or newest assets repurposed.

said. He added that the multi-cloud approach requires

average post house, who may have had limited experience with the cloud in the past,” he said.

Still, organizations require assistance to optimize

Meanwhile, the second copy sits in public cloud S3

content storage management systems to be able to

Hot Storage, such as Wasabi, while a third copy resides

not only migrate assets to the cloud, but between

in a separate public cloud provider, in cold, less

clouds when necessary.

the protection and storage of their AV media assets

expensive storage. On top of this, Davis layers an HSM

in the event of a disaster, which requires the AV

(hierarchical storage manager), which automatically

organizations to enlist several storage vendors rather

integrators that serve them to be fluent in the cloud.

moves assets from between storage tiers based on the

than, for example, trusting one vendor to store assets

Here are some things to consider.

organization’s storage policy. She says that HSMs also

on multiple systems within their own environment. A

allow for more efficient editing for those who need to

single vendor solution exposes companies to all sorts of

access stored assets for repurposing.

potential issues, such as security issues or cloud-based

Evolving 1-2-3 Model

Regardless of the specific model, Mueller urges

outages. “That becomes problematic because that one

Even the most basic disaster recovery policies should

“As an editor, if I need a partial file restore of a

mandate the need for three copies of every asset, each

full-res file to render out a final deliverable, the HSM

storage vendor now becomes your single point of

residing in a different location. Liz Davis, vice president

will pull back that clip from wherever it’s available, the

failure,” he explained. “Spreading your content out

of the Media Workflow Group at Diversified, a global

quickest,” Davis explained. “Additionally, a HSM

across different storage vendors is the wisest choice

technology solutions provider with headquarters in

allows for mezzanine workflows, requiring less

that you can make.”

Kenilworth, NJ, noted that as recently as three years ago,

intensive compute and proxy editorial from a MAM.

she was advising clients to adopt the following model:

For example, I can begin editing in the proxy, while my

Egress Fees and Analytics

full-res file is being pulled back from one of my storage

While cloud storage may be more cost-effective in many

Tier 1 high-performance storage for editorial and Tier 2

Store high-resolution files on-premise, utilizing

tiers—the intelligence of the HSM is doing this in the

cases, clients must understand their providers’ fee

slow-spinning disk for nearline. A second copy sits in a

background—and sync the proxy with the high-res file

structure related to egress fees, Mueller noted. This

data center on LTO (Linear Tape Open), while the third

on render.”

requires not only a clear understanding of the provider’s

30

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS

terms, but also of the organization’s own usage

age—even in the public cloud—has its limits. “As we

enables teams to make tweaks along the way. “You’re

patterns. Analytics—something Telestream provides—

create more data clutter in the public cloud sector,

able to bring them along the journey and make it

help companies determine what these are.

public cloud providers then have to develop more data

easier for them,” he explained, “so they don’t feel like

centers, and we are going to get to a place where we’re

they have to make some big, huge, scary commitment

fees for their cloud storage, there can be ‘gotchas’

beyond capital gains,” Davis offered. “So, I’m a huge

when they really don’t know what they’re going to be

because they may not charge egress fees only once the

proponent of deleting the clutter.”

using in six months.”

Phased Deployment

demic, which drove organizations to rethink their

“Even with vendors who say they have no egress

content has been in their system for a certain number of days,” Mueller illustrated.

Telestream’s ability to perform partial file restores

This approach is largely influenced by the pan-

At EditShare, Mudholkar and his team strive to simplify

planning. “Their long 12, 18, and 24-month IT planning

addresses the issue of egress fees. “If you’re dealing

the deployment of content management and storage

cycles became smaller projects—smaller chunks—

with an hour-long video file, the ability of the system to

solutions by breaking up the project into a number of

because they just didn’t know who was going to be on

restore just the 30 seconds that you need becomes very

phases. Instead of painting a picture of the ideal

staff and where they were going to be working,”

important, because you’re getting it quickly, and if it’s

model—which, in many cases, can seem overwhelm-

Mudholkar said. “Personally, I think that’s good for all

in cloud storage, you’re egressing a much smaller file

ing—he said they make smaller implementations over

of us. It makes it easier to plan things. Instead of trying

than you would have otherwise,” he said.

the course of weeks and then months.

to answer 100 questions about what you’re going to do

One of the main issues Davis runs up against is her clients’ reticence to transfer old assets to cheaper

According to lessons learned, this phased approach makes the final goal more attainable, and

in two years, you’re answering 10 questions on what you’re going to do in two weeks.”

storage. Their argument: They never know when they may need those files.

Upon analyzing file usage, however, Davis said that in many cases clients rarely revisit those assets, if ever.

She and her team spend a significant amount of time working with clients to develop sound data storage policies that both decrease data clutter and lower more expensive storage consumption costs.

This exercise is critical, Davis said, because stor-

“Spreading your content out across different storage vendors is the wisest choice that you can make.”

Savva Mueller, Telestream

31

TECHNOLOGY STADIUMS

Major League AV Toronto Blue Jays Improve Fan Experience with Display and Loudspeaker Upgrades

By Wayne Cavadi

O

ver the past few seasons, the Toronto Blue

The discussions, plans, and bids began as early as 2018,

services for the Toronto Blue Jays. “AJP helped us

and when everything looked set to go, the world shut

envision use of the available space in the best possible

down. The new-look Rogers Centre was put on hold.

way through their renders and guidance.”

The project was back on track around May 2021.

AJP and its integrators went to work to structurally

Jays baseball team has experienced an

According to Martin, the day after the last game of the

fit the 10mm pixel pitch, curved HDR videoboard—

exciting transition. Younger, fresh players

2021 season, the control room went down and the

but there was more work to do in the outfield.

have taken the league by storm and the wins are

much-anticipated upgrades—including a new LED

Surrounding the main videoboard are two upper

mounting up. And as the on-field product improved,

display system, new video control room, and rein-

ribbons (four foot high and more than 75 feet wide)

so did things behind the scenes.

forced, dynamic sound system—were underway.

and two lower ribbons (13.2 feet high and 77 feet

Part of a $200-million budget to renovate the

wide), which combine five vibrant LED displays into

Rogers Centre and surrounding area was focused on

Centerfield Considerations

the technology in the team’s stadium. With the

The main AV attraction is the Daktronics videoboard

the Blue Jays content team has multiple zones to

previous AV upgrades completed circa 2012, it was

in centerfield. It spans 4,873 square feet, nearly

bring a wide variety of graphics to its fans, including

simply time for a reboot.

1,400 square feet larger than the previous score-

replay, player stats, and sponsor messaging.

“When you get clients like this, to me it’s a special

board. However, AJP and its team of integrators had

one monster visual experience in centerfield. Now,

Also new are left and right foul pole displays, left

project,” said Michael Martin, director of broadcast

the unique challenge of a confined space: There is a

field and right field wall displays (each measuring 10.5

services at Anthony James Partners (AJP). “[The Blue

hotel in centerfield.

feet by 63.5 feet), and a left and right parapet ribbon

Jays] understood that where they were at required a complete overhaul—and they wanted a fresh look.”

Martin and his team at AJP collaborated with Rogers

“We were able to work with the design team at AJP to come up with a scoreboard layout that maximizes

board that encircles nearly the entire stadium.

“The technology improvements help with the

all the available space in the outfield, considering we

overall fan experience as we begin to renovate this

Communications, which owns the Toronto Blue Jays;

are land-locked around a hotel,” said Mike Christian-

30-year-old stadium,” Christiansen said. “After the

however, the finished product was a long time coming.

sen, director of technical production and broadcast

product on the field, the sound and LED systems are

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STADIUM TECHNOLOGY

the most noticeable things in the stadium, and doing these massive upgrades shows our fanbase that we are committed to improving their experience at the ballpark.”

Mission Control The “fresh look” directive was also applied to the video replay control room. While a complete facelift wasn’t required, AJP decided to bring its unique style to the project, adding branding to the space.

“Any picture of one of our control rooms, you can tell exactly where it’s at,” said Martin. “That’s because of the branding of the countertops, the side modules, and the building itself.”

The control room was completely gutted. “Every single table was stripped out; we took it down to the bare core,” Martin recalled. “So, when we say we rebuilt it,

2022. “It was a nice smooth transition,” said

along the way,” added Christiansen. “It was comfort-

when the room was done, it was a brand-new build at

Martin. “Alpha and Unity up in Canada did such a

ing to have a team of professionals in our corner

that point. It was a total change to the look of the

great job. The whole team worked in such great

representing our interests along the way, so we could

room, but we never changed the layout.”

collaboration—we did not squeak into the end; we

focus on the other day-to-day work that doesn’t stop

went in comfortably.”

during upgrades and construction projects like

With the design upgrade in place, AJP worked with Alpha Video and its partner Unity-SI on a new video

That comfort was the result of a “very proactive

this. We look forward to using AJP’s services as we

replay backed by an HDR system. As Martin

team,” according to Martin. “Mike Christiansen and

move through the rest of the stadium renovations in

explained, the Blue Jays are wisely taking their time

his team made my life easy—from the start to the

the next couple of offseasons.”

taking in the new system.

end, they were a part of

“Next year it will be flipping to HDR,” he said.

the whole project,” he

“That was intentional, [the Blue Jays] wanted to get

explained. “Nothing was

used to the control room before having to overcome

being done that they

learning HDR. But they are fully capable right now—

weren’t a part of the

it’s just flipping a switch and creating the content.”

decision. What that does

While they stuck with the existing wireless

toward the end, is they

systems, they also added five Sony HDC-3500

start learning beforehand.

cameras, six Sony BRC-X1000 4K PTZ cameras, and a

They were training well

complement of Marshall CV565-MGB POV cameras.

before the system was

“Graphics were the switch,” explained Martin.

built. When the system

“They left Chyron and moved over to a Ross Xpres-

was ready for a test, they

sion. They have a three-channel Xpression unit as

already knew how to run

their main CG, but their LED front-end is a full

everything, and their

[Biamp] Tesira system, which is running all the front

graphics guys already had

end for the back system.”

the graphics built. It makes the system come

Opening Day Comfort

together so smoothly.”

The sound system was also upgraded, including the

“The relationship with

replacement of all loudspeakers and amplifiers. Now,

AJP was fundamental to

EAW QX series loudspeakers keep the main seating

help us through the

areas bumping, while QSC Q-SYS processing solu-

multi-year process,

tions and amplifiers can be controlled remotely from

navigating vendors,

anywhere in the stadium.

contractors, bidding,

The upgrades were ready to entertain fans with stunning new visuals and sound for Opening Day

pricing, and dealing with challenges that come up

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

33

TECHNOLOGY STADIUMS

this new board, the ability to partition things is pretty much endless on our side. We’re able to have player headshots, lineups, and the line score—but also upcoming promotions and different sponsors. We used to have six or seven static signage abilities for partners, but now theoretically we can have as many

Big-League AV Comes to Single-A for Gameday at Chukchansi Park Improvements Include New Scoreboard, Networked Audio

partners as we want.”

The Grizzlies turned to Visua to install the 2,000-square-foot VisuaLED videoboard as well as three BirdDog A200 PTZ cameras (one in centerfield and one in each dugout) and a pair of JVC GY-HM850 wireless cameras. Also installed were a Teradeck 4K Max wireless receiver and transceiver, NewTek TriCaster TC1 production system, and NewTek 3Play 3P2 replay solution.

“One of the other cool things we implemented was using the cellphone as a wireless camera,” explained Matt Baker, general manager of Visua/ VirtCh. “With the new NDI technology, we are able to take any of their cellphones, scan a QR code, and we can turn that into a wireless camera that we can bring into the TriCaster, basically adding a third wireless camera to their show.”

Visua’s virtual producer service VirtCh helped install MotionRocket, a content and graphics solution

By Wayne Cavadi

W

hen Chukchansi Park, home of Minor League Baseball’s Fresno Grizzlies, opened 20 years ago, it was the begin-

went from a Triple-A club to the home of the Colorado

for the scoreboard. Fresno now has a strong partner-

Rockies Single-A affiliate. This enormous ballpark,

ship to create the content needed to bring the

which seats north of 10,000 fans, suddenly became

videoboard to life.

the largest Single-A stadium in MiLB. “Our thought process was every single night we

“We are lucky with Visua and VirtCh. If we need a motion graphic for home runs, that’s something

want to be able to provide a Triple-A experience for

they can brand for us and pump out,” Bravo added.

ning of the Fresno revitalization. Hopes were high

our fans, and that’s where the new sound system, the

“A lot of the specific content, like most recently the

that the stadium would be the cornerstone to the

new videoboard, and the new lights really come into

Jackie Robinson Day graphic, is in house. It’s

downtown district. In the 20 years since, the Fresno

play,” said Jonathan Bravo, director of marketing and

working hand-in-hand with VirtCh. It’s a great

renaissance has seen a brewery district, shopping

communications for the Fresno Grizzlies.

partnership where we really treat them as members

experiences, and more develop, which has brought more fans to the stadium.

One-for-Two

of our front office.”

The transformation began with the centerpiece of the

Built to Last

the ballpark—a new splashpad and kid zone as well as

upgrade. The past saw two videoboards: a main board

Weather—particularly the intense heat of the Central

a standing-room bar area were added—the technol-

that displayed headshots, promotional graphics, and

Valley—was a strong consideration for the equipment

ogy in the park was lagging. Although Chukchansi

lesser-quality live shots, as well as an auxiliary board

installed. “It’s great peace of mind,” Bravo said. “Our

Park is one of the largest in the minors, it was

featuring additional sponsor messaging, players

Fourth of July game is the biggest game of the year. To

operating with an outdated scoreboard, one old,

stats, and content.

know that videoboard will turn on and will function as

Although there had been physical renovations to

single-source speaker in centerfield, and the original lights from 2002.

In 2020, the minors reorganized, and the Grizzlies

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“You had to think of it in two pieces,” Bravo explained. “You had to think what was going on the main board and then the smaller auxiliary board. With

it’s supposed to is a huge weight off our shoulders.”

However, VirtCh’s help extends well beyond the videoboard. “They are also remotely producing games

STADIUMS TECHNOLOGY

for us Sunday through Thursday,” Bravo explained.

The lights hadn’t been updated since the original

expect there is going to be a learning curve,” Bravo

“Our upstairs control room looked like 1960s NASA, and

2002 ballpark construction, and brought an unnatural,

said. “We’re extremely fortunate to have a great

now to have all modern flat screen TVs, a brand-new

orange tinge to the field. The Grizzlies installed 172

production crew, but also we had the production team

TriCaster, and the fact that they are able to remote in is

Musco fixtures with its Total Light Control (TLC for

from Visua and VirtCh out here for opening weekend

great for us because we get directors that produce games

LED) technology for a simplified, true daylight look for

so they could troubleshoot things in real time.”

for a living. That kind of experience is invaluable.”

the games. The lights are managed via Musco’s

Visua also brought digital signage to the conces-

Control-Link Central control and monitoring system.

sion stands. Using SAVI controls and 18 new LG TVs,

Now, the production team simply flips a switch—

Chukchansi Park has become the centerpiece in the heart of Fresno. Concerts are frequently held at the venue, as is “Taco Truck Throwdown,” a food

Fresno has control of sending new content to its

whether it is on one of the two tablets or cellphones

competition that consists of 30-plus taco trucks. Most

menus and the live in-house feed directly to the

deployed throughout the park—and the all-LED

of the bands bring their own equipment that easily

screens for a completely immersive experience

system is up and running. There is no more warming

connects to Fresno’s new system, and the videoboard

anywhere in the park.

up or cooling of the outdated ballpark lights, and

is used for promotions and sponsors during the Taco

Bravo and his team can create light shows that chase

Truck Throwdown.

Gone is the big old speaker; Visua replaced it with 125 all-weather JBL Professional AWC Series speak-

each other around or shoot up the foul poles in the

ers. Whether they are in one of the more than 30

entire gauntlet of colors.

suites, in a row along the second and third decks, or

In the end the more than $2-million upgrade— made possible by the city of Fresno and naming rights group Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino—is all

the concourse itself, the new sound system brings a

For the Fans

completely new auditory experience to the fans and

Despite ongoing congestion issues from the pan-

baseball. “To see the videoboard, see the lights, hear

employees alike.

demic, the install was ready just in time for Opening

the sound system for the first time on opening

Day 2022. “We got there literally the week before

weekend, it was instantly clear how much this

BSS networked audio system that controls the zones,

opening, so we hustled to install,” Baker recalled.

impacts the fans’ enjoyment,” Bravo added. “So

inputs, and outputs. The Grizzlies production team

“But we had it up and running and it looked beautiful

much about minor-league baseball is the entertain-

has full control and can partition sound throughout

that opening night.”

ment, family-fun aspect. For us to be able to com-

The audio upgrade required all-new cabling and a

the ballpark. For example, they can play kids music at

Having the Visua team on hand for that opening

about the unique experience that is minor-league

pletely skyrocket our production value and bring this

the splash pad while simultaneously having game

weekend made sure that fan experience went

experience to the fans has us very excited for what we

audio in the concourse.

smoothly. “Any time you bring in a new system you

can accomplish for the rest of this year.”

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

35

TECHNOLOGY DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY This large, transparent OLED display has 45% light transmissivity.

any angle. While OLEDs can’t quite achieve the peak brightness of a full-backlight-array LCD, they can smoothly reproduce very low levels of luminance right down to a deep black. And OLED pixels have faster on-off cycles than LCD pixels, making for sharper rendering of motion images. Plus, they can reproduce over 20 f-stops of light, more than enough for high dynamic range imaging.

The manufacturing process for white OLEDs (WOLEDs—the display industry does love its acronyms) took many years to perfect and reach acceptable manufacturing yields. An equally difficult challenge was to manufacture the tiny indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) transistors that switch individual OLED pixels on and off. But WOLED is now considered a mature, affordable, and practical display architecture for everything from computer monitors to digital signs.

LG DISPLAY

The fact that they can be fabricated onto flexible, bendable, and even transparent substrates makes them attractive for custom installations, with individual

Rust Never Sleeps And Neither Do Display Manufacturers

screen sizes from 42 inches up to 97 inches available.

iLED Evolution While WOLEDs are carving out bigger spaces in digital signage with each passing year, their inorganic LED cousins are absolutely dominating the high-luminance indoor and outdoor display markets. iLEDs

By Pete Putman

T

winding down LCD panel production in favor of

aren’t all that new but couldn’t get any real traction

next-generation emissive displays.

until blue and green LED emitters were perfected in

Going forward, LGD has placed its bets on large

the mid 1990s. Not long afterward, the first super-

he title of Neil Young’s memorable 1979

OLED panels. These panels use underlying IP

sized LED walls, scoreboards, and billboards showed

album could just as easily describe the elec-

licensed from Kodak (of all people), based on

up—but not without lots of teething problems.

tronic display industry, which is constantly

patents from the mid-1980s. An array of white

iLEDs use stable, inorganic compounds (usually

in search of the “next big thing” in imaging—and is

OLED emitters (made up of blue and yellow com-

doped compounds of gallium nitride) to emit intense

engineering a major paradigm shift as you read this.

pounds) generates bright light that then passes

colors of light when low voltages pass through them.

That shift represents a move away from displays

through red, green, and blue color filters. Addi-

Early models had large diode junctions and very

tional white pixels provide a luminance boost.

coarse dot-pitch measurements (6mm to 10mm).

that use shuttered, transmissive light with color filters, such as liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), to emissive

The advantages of such a display are many.

Uncomfortable to watch up close, these displays were

displays that produce colors of light via high-intensity

Emissive displays have much wider viewing angles

perfect for super-sized applications like stadium and

emissions of photons, such as organic and inorganic

than transmissive displays. Unlike LCDs, color

arena scoreboards that were viewed at a distance. And

light-emitting diodes (OLEDs and iLEDS), along with

saturation and contrast is consistent for any viewer at

they were bright: A typical 6mm pitch outdoor display

enhancements like quantum dots (QDs).

LCDs have been with us for over a quarter-century in consumer televisions and commercial displays, and long before that as simpler, alphanumeric indicators in products like calculators. But R&D on the underlying technology has essentially plateaued: You can now purchase a 70-inch LCD Ultra HDTV with “smart” Internet functionality for less than $600, compared to the $15,000 price tag on a 28-inch VGA LCD TV 20-plus years ago.

The End of LCD? Prices for finished LCD panels have dropped so low that they are basically consumable and disposable items. The handful of companies that manufacture LCD panels (mostly in China) are cautious about investing substantial sums of money in the technology. And two of the largest players, Samsung Display Company (SDC) and LG Display (LGD), are now

36

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

This exploded diagram shows the five layers in a bottom-emission white OLED display with color filters.

DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY PETE PUTMAN

iLED displays retain all the advantages of their emissive OLED cousins, but with more firepower. iLEDs also have very fast switching times and are

of red and green quantum dots.

Quantum dots are tiny, metallic compounds

usually operated in a pulse-width modulation (PWM)

(indium phosphide with a zinc shell) that convert the

mode, cycling on and off as fast as 3000 Hz with 10-bit

light energy from the blue OLED into intense,

and 12-bit sampling to produce smooth gradations in

narrow-bandwidth red and green energy. Additional

luminance and color shades.

blue light from the emitter is then combined with the

The next step with iLEDs is the development of Here is a prototype high-brightness blue microLED emitter, targeted at near-to-eye display applications.

sister company Samsung Mobile Display) with a layer

“micro” LEDs (pitch <100 µm) for use in handheld and personal electronics like smartphones and

red and green to produce a large, bright gamut of color shades and high dynamic range images.

On paper, the QD-OLED could be a real game

near-to-eye displays. Early prototypes of green

changer. It has only four layers in its “stack,” compared

could achieve peak luminance levels of 4,000

microLED emitters have achieved over 20,000 cd/m2

to five in a WOLED panel and typically 10 in an LCD

candelas per square meter (cd/m2).

luminance levels. Many display analysts (including

panel. This design (in theory) should simplify manu-

yours truly) believe that “micro” and “mini” iLEDs

facturing complexity and costs, and (again, in theory)

manufactured in tiles, which are large blocks that

will eventually push all other emissive displays off the

get production and manufacturing yields up to usable

snap together in tight alignment. If a tile goes bad,

stage, something that could happen as soon as the

levels in less time. As of this writing, however, reports

it’s a relatively simple job to swap it out, although not

end of this decade.

from some Asian electronics industry sites cite very low

Plus, iLEDs are modular. They continue to be

always convenient with large outdoor signs that run 24/7, such as in Times Square.

Over time, recurring problems with power supply

The Case for QD-OLED We’re also seeing some interesting hybrid emissive

yields on both the QD-OLED layer and the oxide (presumably IGZO) transistor pixel switching layer.

Indicators are that the next generation of

failures and overheating (including some prominent

display designs, such as Samsung Displays’ new

direct-view displays will all feature emissive

outdoor LED displays actually catching fire) have

quantum dot OLED hybrid (QD-OLED), which made

architectures, and for now, it appears they’ll use

largely been solved. Simultaneously, we’ve seen pixel

its debut at CES 2022. SDC was looking for a new

OLEDs and/or iLEDs to generate light, with or

pitches drop well below 2mm and even 1mm (known

product to replace its sunsetting LCD panel fabrica-

without quantum dots. To be sure, LCD displays

as “mini” LEDs), making it practical to develop

tion business, and the QD-OLED fits the bill nicely. It

aren’t going away any time soon—but their days do

smaller displays for indoor, close-up viewing.

combines a blue OLED emitter (manufactured by

appear to be numbered.

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

37

GETTY IM AGES

TECHNOLOGY CLOUD POWER

Security in the Cloud

Understand the Tools and Manage Your Risks

Layers of Protection We add a second layer of security called two-factor authentication. Whether you’re accessing a network that is local, in the cloud, or a hybrid of the two, you need a unique, one-time authorization code that could only be issued to the user via text, phone, or physical token. This security tool is familiar to anyone who’s accessed their bank account via the cloud.

In a high-traffic network environment like a real-time production infrastructure, we add a third

By Dave Van Hoy

S

software tools and methodologies that restrict

layer of security with a virtual private network. The

access and systems to your assets in the cloud.

VPN is typically encrypted and extends the private

Tiered access, also called hierarchical access, is

network across the public internet, emulating the

ystems security, whether in the cloud or

typical for any networked facility. Administrators or

concept of an on-prem closed network where you

on-premises, has been a critical issue fac-

engineers may have access to control everything

must have authorization to access anything on it.

ing systems integrators for as long as we’ve

within the environment, while end users like editors

Still, you’ll want to limit the targets for bad actors.

had buildings, facilities, and networks. On-prem,

or graphic artists will have access and visibility only

we’ve traditionally managed security largely by

to the tools and assets required to do their job.

limiting physical access, whether it was a badge

In the public cloud, access to tools like virtual

For example, you might have a laptop allowing you to set up a lighting console from home. But if that laptop happens to be sitting on the VPN that also

required to get into the facility or certificates on

editing, virtual video switching, or a storage pool is

contains the organization’s entire accounting system,

devices limiting physical network access to those

commonly accomplished through authentication

is the risk of having your bank account hacked worth

with authorization. Or we’ve air gapped the sys-

management with profiles defining classes of users,

the benefit of being able to work remotely? Every

tem, isolating it from the public internet or other

with each user having an individual password.

benefit brings with it an inherent risk that you need to

unsecured networks.

Passwords, however, are the biggest vulnerability for

consider carefully.

But when you move some or all of your operation

businesses. Whether bad actors get the password

The security layers of tiered access, two-factor

and infrastructure from on-prem to the public

from phishing, stripping emails, or using key loggers,

authentication, and a VPN also give you the option to

cloud—where there are potentially millions of

it can take a long time for them to be discovered

create single sign-on (SSO), which is all about not

users—the only way to create security is through

because they’re using a legitimate password.

making users type their passwords over and over to

38

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

CLOUD POWER TECHNOLOGY

access the correct IP address, internet traffic routing,

environment, with the ability to bind into the client’s

or assets they’re entitled to use—while still making it

existing security environment, so users don’t have to

implied that you’re taking some risks. So, educate

harder for anyone to hack into the system.

go through double authentication. Combined, these

yourself on security tools, solutions, best practices,

many layers of security tools have resulted in a VPCR

and tradeoffs. You’ll take a big step toward minimizing

mented in cloud networks is the concept of zero trust,

that is consistent, portable, and implementable in the

those risks, while delivering the incredible flexibility

which focuses less on your password and more on

environments of many different types of organiza-

and ease of use that working in the cloud offers.

biometrics or the device you’re using to access the

tions, without the need to re-engineer the system

Dave Van Hoy is the president of Advanced Systems

cloud, not unlike Face ID on your smartphone. As time

from scratch for each client.

Group, LLC. Contact him at dvh@asgllc.com.

Another strategy that’s rapidly being imple-

goes on, other forms of zero trust like trust certificates—explicitly installed on your web browser and required to log onto certain assets—will become more prevalent in enterprise applications.

Mobile phones are actually a great place to use trust certificates because they’re hardware-based and come with numerous ways of communicating.

Whether you use them on your laptop or your phone, apps are much safer than browsers for accessing content, because they’re inherently designed with zero trust already built in.

Most Vulnerable Player The organizations that are most vulnerable to security breaches generally aren’t the hyperscalers who provide your cloud, networking, and internet services via IaaS models, such as AWS, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or Alibaba. They have large, sophisticated security teams working on these challenges every day, can easily implement zero trust and one-time passwords, and can even use AI to detect a breach very quickly.

Instead, the greater challenges are for the creative production houses, corporate facilities, houses of worship, and other mid-size organizations who don’t have the skills or the resources to implement that level of security. That’s why the hyperscalers are increasingly offering these tools as a service, providing users with a system where the security is already baked in.

Just as they must be able to evaluate the audio and video technologies they recommend to their clients, it has become the job of systems integrators to evaluate all available security technologies and recommend the solutions that address their clients’ immediate and future needs. For a mid-size organization, using trust certificates and a VPN is the foundation of security that’s going to make them roughly 90% safe from the casual hacker. But this is just the beginning of an overall security strategy.

When we created our Virtual Production Control Room—designed with best-in-class components from multiple vendors—we considered security so important that we hired DoD-level experts to help us architect the security environment, ensuring that it’s secure in every way possible. The result is a single system inside a secure VPN to control routing of the audio, video, and metadata traffic over IP. Tiered access lets us restrict users to only the parts of the system required to do their jobs, delivering secure control of the devices. SSO streamlines the process for users. Two-factor authentication provides additional security. And it’s created as a zero trust

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

39

If you’re working in the public cloud, it’s already

TECHNOLOGY LOUDSPEAKERS

Praise the Loud Software Tools Help Houses of Worship Achieve Best Loudspeaker Performance

By James Careless

I

“We had a 15-year-old d&b Q-Series system so it

houses of worship will incorporate stained glass,

was time for an upgrade,” added Christopher

wooden pews, and other non-absorbent material

Eguizabal, production supervisor at the church. The

surfaces that create acoustical challenges.”

Q-Series was replaced by d&b Y-Series loudspeakers

Renkus-Heinz’s speaker software tools include

in the two main hanging speaker arrays, plus E6

EASE Data for acoustic modeling and system design, as

loudspeakers for the under-balcony zone in the

well as EASE Focus for system simulations. “It goes

sanctuary. The new system was designed and

beyond measurement,” Hendry explained. “Under-

installed by E2i Design of Brighton, MI, with the

standing the room and how it’s used is absolutely

support from d&b audiotechnik US.

critical, but you also need to be able to address the

Every Space is Different

findings with solutions that sound good, that don’t require major architectural retrofits—important in

The success of the Harvest Christian Fellowship

historic buildings—are actionable by volunteer

installation illustrates what is possible when the

technical staff, and that work with the budget.

elements of building layout, loudspeaker models, and

Steerable solutions facilitate all of the above.”

audio simulation software are used together. If every

When it comes to achieving consistent, intelligible

n February 2022, Harvest Christian Fellowship’s

house of worship featured the same space, layout, and

full-room audio coverage, major challenges for

2,500-seat church in Riverside, CA, needed to

acoustically-reactive interior finishes, a one-size-

churches can include sightlines, reflective surfaces like

install new loudspeakers. The vastness of the

fits-all speaker system could be installed universally.

walls and ceilings, and “overall consistent coverage

church’s main hall, plus the depth of its under-

But actual churches tend to be one-of-a-kind in all of

from side to side, front to back,” said Darren Butt,

balcony area, motivated the designers to be extra

these areas.

Yorkville Sound’s pro audio product specialist. “Best

careful in their speaker selection and placements.

They planned, selected, and configured the new

Case in point is the wide array of sound solutions

practices would include keeping loudspeakers away

from Renkus-Heinz, a loudspeaker brand that has

from walls and ceilings, and distinguishing whether

loudspeaker system using d&b audiotechnik ArrayCalc

carved out a strong niche serving houses of worship

the space needs a point source cabinet or a line array.”

simulation software to determine the best speaker types

with challenging acoustic environments. According

Of course, the science of successful speaker choice

and locations in the space. Armed with this data, the

to Graham Hendry, vice president of strategic

and placement is as much about the listener as it is the

team then used d&b’s ArrayProcessing to analyze each

development at Renkus-Heinz, the diversity of

space, a point that has not been lost on d&b audiotech-

loudspeaker’s reach and sound across various points in

house-of-worship deployments worldwide that

nik. “While it is important to know what the acoustic

the church to balance the overall system for best results.

Renkus-Heinz serves is a testament to the versatility

characteristics of the room are, we really want to know

and performance of the company’s solutions.

where the people we’re trying to cover are in relation-

“Given that the room has a main floor and a balcony, ArrayProcessing allows us to contour the

“There are many different types of worship

ship to the loudspeakers,” Brady said. “This is where

tonality and level loss for these two vastly different

spaces—from contemporary to traditional, new

ArrayCalc really helps, because it gives us insights into

listening planes,” explained Zach Brady, d&b applica-

construction to historic, ornate spaces that are

the likely listener experience, as well as the system’s

tions specialist. “In this way, one mechanical array

hundreds of years old—and each comes with unique

overall performance.”

shape can provide very even tonality and coverage

architectural challenges, and each space is acoustically

front to back across both main parts of the room. This

different,” Hendry said. “Rooms can be very live,

Software Simulations

is key to assuring that no matter where you sit, you get

highly reflective, and cavernous, or they may be

Once the particular physical/acoustical characteristics

as close to the same experience as possible.”

acoustically designed spaces akin to theatres. Often,

of a HoW space have been fed into a software tool like ArrayCalc or EASE, the results can be used to virtually test the best loudspeaker options. In other words, the likely performance of these speakers can be simulated in software first.

The modeling data generated by the software for each speaker option should be assessed against generally accepted sound reinforcement guidelines.

“The directional characteristics of the loudspeaker should be the same over the entire operating bandwidth, with as low and as high of a frequency range as possible,” Hendry explained. “Changes in the loudspeaker’s directivity should occur gradually, not abruptly, and be consistent, either increasing or decreasing. And if the directivity response changes are inconsistent, the bandwidth over which they occur should be minimized.”

According to Butt, the final speaker selection will come down to either line array or point source options, so both options should be evaluated in the simulation software. “Line arrays are a great option to cover a wide space, and they also have the advantage of tight

Harvest Christian Fellowship used simulation software when it upgraded its loudspeakers.

40

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

vertical dispersion, allowing you to stack multiple boxes for optimal coverage,” he said. “Point source

LOUDSPEAKERS TECHNOLOGY Designing a quality audio system for a house of worship can be complicated because most installs need to optimize spoken word intelligibility and live music reproduction.

boxes are another great option where one single loudspeaker per side is sufficient. They have good side-by-side coverage and throw well. This is a great option when the space doesn’t require a line array.”

Today’s speaker modeling/simulation software is so useful that HoWs would be smart to acquire these tools before installing loudspeakers. After all, it is possible to buy too many loudspeakers for a space, if the combination of them results in interference and distortion. It makes sense to inquire about what kind of software tools are available, the cost of the software, and if the tools require audio professionals to operate them correctly.

In selecting these tools, HoWs should look for software that optimizes spoken word intelligibility across the room as well as clear musical full-frequency reproduction. Be aware: These two goals can conflict with each other when it comes to speaker selection and placement, which is why “designing a quality system for worship can be a rather complex affair,” said Hendry. “To aid designers and the customers they

expert as early in the project as possible.”

All told, employing software tools to ensure the

“Everyone is super happy with the amount of intelligibility and clear sound reproduction that you get

serve, there are acoustic simulation software tools

best speaker selection, placement, and balancing can

from the front seat to the back,” Brady said. “And

which take the bulk of the guesswork out of the

appear daunting and time-consuming to the uniniti-

honestly, using modeling software gave the end

process. However, these results must be interpreted

ated. But for projects such as the Harvest Christian

user—the church—so much confidence by knowing

properly to be effective when installing loudspeaker

Fellowship’s Riverside church speaker replacement,

that what I’m seeing on the screen translates well to

solutions. So, it is well advised to engage a qualified

the results justify the effort.

what we will be hearing in the room.”

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

41

TECHNOLOGY CEILING MICS

Ceiling microphones offer several benefits over other types of conferencing equipment.

Look Up, Listen Up Is a Ceiling Mic the Best Option for Your Workspace?

of reverberant speech energy picked up by the sidelobes can be significant.”

Finding the right beamforming ceiling microphone is good for a wide variety of use cases, be it in an educational or corporate setting. Along with beamforming technology, there are quite a few

By Wayne Cavadi

W

product manager for Sony Electronics. However,

benefits ceiling mics offer versus other types of

not all beamforming mics are the same.

conferencing equipment.

“One issue with traditional beamforming

“One is aesthetics,” said Graham. “Ceiling mics

elcome to hybrid life, 2022. Whether

microphone arrays is that their pickup pattern may

in the form of a drop ceiling tile can blend in

you’re in the classroom or conference

vary with frequency,” explained Derek Graham,

unobtrusively with other elements in a room.

room, you now have to consider both

senior vice president research and development at

Another is that table microphones may be covered

remote and in-person participants. Having crys-

ClearOne. “The pickup pattern of an imperfect

up by documents on a table and are closer to noise

tal-clear audio is more important than ever, with

beamforming microphone array typically has a

sources like rustling papers, potato chip bags, and

those calling in not wanting to miss anything their

main lobe that points in the ‘direction of look’ of

eating utensils. A single beamforming ceiling

in-person colleagues have to say. That’s where

the beam, along with undesirable sidelobes that

microphone array can replace several table micro-

ceiling microphones and beamforming technology

point in other directions. A second issue is that the

phones, which reduces the number of cable runs

come into play.

main lobe is typically wider at lower frequencies and

and the associated installation time and cost.”

narrower at higher frequencies. A third issue with

While ceiling microphones certainly help avoid

microphones that use a beamforming algorithm to

common beamforming microphone arrays is that

clutter, there are also two extremely large benefits:

combine the signal of separate mics into a single

the sidelobes may be relatively large compared to

They are relatively easy to use and install. “The mic

stronger output signal,” according to Chris Swartz,

the main lobe at some frequencies, so the amount

is actually always on, and that is a feature,” added

Simply put, a beamforming mic is “an array of

42

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

TECHNOLOGY CEILING MICS

around all over the room.”

Ease of installation and use. Innovative beamforming technology. A clutter-free workspace. It does seem that ceiling mics are the ideal solution for today’s age of hybrid work. But how many ceiling mics are the right amount?

“The number of microphones needed depends on many factors like the microphone’s capabilities, the room size, acoustics, ceiling design, From left, Derek Graham, Chris Swartz, Doug Daube

number of people, seating layout, and purpose [whether

Swartz. “You never have to turn it on from a switch or make sure the power is connected. That being

at Shure.

However, it is important to know your sur-

it is] videoconferencing, presentations, or distance learning,” said Daube.

said, one can easily mute the microphone from

roundings. There are environments in which a

“It’s important to have a qualified system designer

manager software or the control system.”

ceiling mic is less than ideal. Daube advised to keep

or integrator figure out the right solution for each

ceiling mics away from noise sources like HVAC

client’s situation.”

“Thanks to steady improvements in microphone and DSP performance, as well as new form factors and mounting options, ceiling microphones

vents and loudspeakers.

As with any technology, ceiling mics come in

“It’s not a good idea to use these mics in wide

different shapes and sizes with different features

take less time to install and configure than ever,”

open spaces,” Swartz added. “Specifically, where

and functionalities. Several current models from

added Doug Daube, director of microphone systems

the ceiling is very high, and noise is bouncing

manufacturers follow for your consideration.

44

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

CEILING MICS TECHNOLOGY

3 1

1 Angekis Technology ASP-C-01 Angekis ceiling microphone systems provide all-around audio in videoconferencing and live production environments with its USB and REC outputs. Crafted with innovative processing technologies, Angekis ceiling mics provide excellent audio

2

quality with features that include adaptive echo

boardrooms, and meetings spaces large and small.

which collectively can be configured with up to 32

cancellation, noise suppression, speech gain adjust-

Designed in a familiar form factor—roughly the size

user-defined microphone pickup zones, providing

ment, and smart mixing. The ASP-C-01 can adapt and

of a wireless access point—the ATND1061 is easy to

the flexibility to cover a wide variety of room sizes and

expand, equipped to intake two suspended ceiling

install, setup, and operate. It may be used by itself or

meeting types.

microphones, output to two external speakers, and

in multiples for larger meeting spaces to capture

intake one wireless microphone, a sound console, and

every person speaking in a room with clear, natural

3 Audix M45 Shortgun Ceiling Mic

output to a recording system.

audio that reduces distracting environmental sounds.

The M45 Shortgun miniaturized shotgun condenser

Room configuration, zone setup, and other settings

ceiling mic covers up to 150 square feet with remark-

are handled through Audio-Technica’s user-friendly

able sensitivity and exceptional audible sound,

The ATND1061 beamforming ceiling array micro-

Digital Microphone Manager software application.

making it ideal for use in boardrooms, classrooms,

phone is an ideal solution for conference rooms,

The ATND1061 has six individual output channels,

large lecture halls, and hospitals. Both versatile and

2 Audio-Technica ATND1061

avnetwork.com // June 2022 // SCN

45

TECHNOLOGY CEILING MICS 4 7

5 ClearOne BMA 360 with Voice Lift

enabling truly hassle-free lectures and presenta-

Not only does the BMA 360 with Voice Lift deliver on

tions. This microphone system has dedicated

high-quality audio performance and deployment

channels for speech reinforcement and recording,

ease, it offers a variety of other features, including

with comprehensive audio volume stabilization and

echo and noise cancellation, auto-mixing, power

clear audio processing to produce sharp recordings.

amplifiers, and camera-tracking functions. The BMA

The dedicated record channel provides a wider

360 is unique as an ultra-wideband, frequency-invar-

capture range and optimal intelligibility—perfect

iant beamforming mic array with uniform gain

for lecture capture. Supporting Dante and PoE, the

response across all frequency bands. With FiBeam

MAS-A100 links with third-party systems via a

technology, conference participants experience

single cable connection. Auto-calibration stream-

natural and full-fidelity audio across all beams with a

lines system configuration, and settings can easily

single beam. DsBeam provides sidelobe depths below

be adjusted via the network using free MASM-1

-40dB, resulting in superior rejection of reverb and

management software.

noise while creating superb clarity and intelligibility.

5

6 Sennheiser TCC2

6

9 Yamaha RM-CG The Yamaha RM-CG Dante-enabled ceiling-mount

With its patented automatic dynamic beamforming

microphone includes all of Yamaha’s powerful tech-

technology, the TeamConnect Ceiling 2 automati-

nologies—including automatic voice tracking, auto gain

cally follows the active speaker’s voice, letting

control, adaptive echo cancellation, noise reduction,

people speak naturally—whether they are sitting,

and reverberation suppression—for optimal collabora-

standing, or walking. With TruVoicelift and

tion experiences, while seamlessly integrating with the

advanced zone control, TCC2 combines the advan-

room’s existing conferencing equipment or a variety of

tages of a boundary microphone and a microphone

third-party components. The RM-CG also features

array, offering unparalleled levels of control with a

Yamaha’s dynamic beam tracking, which utilizes

priority zone (allowing a single area in the room to

multiple beams to automatically track voices within the

be highlighted), five advanced exclusion zones (for

room simultaneously, eliminating the need to program

pinpoint targeting and removal of unwanted noise

fixed lobes, which can often lead to dead spots with the

sources), and more. Via the latest version of

meeting space. Design changes or room setup flexibility

Sennheiser Control Cockpit, the ceiling microphone

can also be done without the need to reprogram

can easily be operated and monitored from any-

microphones.

where in the campus network. amiable, the M45 features a low-profile, swivel-and-

7 Shure MXA920

pivot base and is optimized for voice intelligibility,

The brand-new Shure MXA920 ceiling array

offers high sensitivity and immunity from RF inter-

microphone delivers Automatic Coverage

ference, and is easy to install. Mic-level signal and

Technology and provides pre-configured audio

LED control is via an RJ45 connection, and an adapter

capture with minimal setup required, dramati-

is included to convert from RJ45 to an 8-conductor

cally reducing the time and cost of deployments for

pluggable terminal block.

integrators. The MXA920 also employs Next Genera-

4 Biamp Parlé TCM-X Ceiling

tion Array Architecture for enhanced directional pickup and more natural speech. Plus, the onboard

The TCM-X is an AVB, high-quality, low-profile,

IntelliMix DSP delivers noise and echo-free perfor-

unobtrusive ceiling microphone for use in Biamp’s

mance as well as unprecedented audio clarity

Tesira systems. Each TCM-X—comprised of a

and intelligibility for AV conferencing across various

network box and a ceiling mic—has Biamp’s

room types, including executive boardrooms, hybrid

Beamtracking technology with four 90-degree zones

classrooms, and meeting spaces. Two form factors

enabling 360-degree coverage of the meeting space

support design integration into even the most

or classroom. With active tracking and intelligent

sophisticated facilities and meeting spaces.

mixing of conversations, far-end participants can experience conversations anywhere around the

8 Sony MAS-A100

table, much like an in-person experience. The

The MAS-A100 beamforming ceiling microphone

TCM-X is ideal for many use cases in various room

is a hands-free lecture and presentation solution

sizes with 10-inch ceilings or lower.

with advanced speech reinforcement technology

46

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

8

9

TECHNOLOGY NEW PRODUCTS

Chief TiLED i-Style The new TiLED i-Style dvLED wall mounting system is designed for Samsung IER Series and Unilumin USLIM Series displays. Like the existing TiLED H-Style dvLED Wall Mounting Systems, i-Style is designed with the

Genelec 4410 and Smart IP Controller

Extron VCA 100

installer in mind. Both

Genelec has expanded its Smart IP family of

Designed for centralized AV control across an

are modular mounting

installation loudspeaker systems with the compact

organization, the VCA 100 virtual control appliance

systems featuring X, Y,

4410 loudspeaker and new Smart IP Controller app.

with integrated virtual control processors (VCPs) helps

Z-axis adjustment to

The free Controller app provides the end user with

organizations easily deploy, scale, and manage AV

create perfectly flat

instant and intuitive control of key loudspeaker

systems by hosting AV control resources in a central

dvLED video walls.

system functions including mute, volume control,

location—alongside the resources already managed by

Offset mounting slots

and power on/off, plus overall zone control. The active

the IT team. Up to 50 IPCP Pro xi Series virtual control

protect LED displays

two-way 4410 is perfectly suited to smaller spaces, yet

processors can be hosted on a single VCA 100. Monitor

from damaging friction

its proprietary internal power supply helps to produce

the health and status of deployed virtual control

during installation. New

an impressive 100 dB of short-term SPL. It is available

processors using the web-based management console

i-Style mounts feature left, middle, and right

in black or white finishes, and a wide range of

on the VCA 100. As an organization expands its AV

structural components that are combined to create

accessories ensures that the 4410 can be mounted

control system needs, new VCPs can be activated and

video walls. Components can be mixed and matched

quickly and conveniently in almost any location. All

configured or programmed to accommodate. While an

for an endless variety of video wall designs. Spacer

Smart IP models are compatible with both Dante and

entry level VCA 100 includes five VCPs, additional VCPs

brackets are included and vary by model. Optional

AES67, and derive power via PoE and PoE+ power-

are enabled by applying compatible LinkLicenses,

trim kits are also available.

over-Ethernet formats.

which have no recurring licensing fees.

LG Electronics LG OLED Pro UltraFine Monitors

JVC Professional Video KY-PZ510 Series

brings the company’s new hybrid architecture to the AV market. A replacement for the legacy FX

The new 65-inch monitor (model 65EP5G) is a 120Hz

that feature 4K60p HEVC SRT streaming with

series, it offers extensive flexibility—from HDMI to

UHD model that combines more than 8 million

multi-slice encoding technology to reduce latency

SDI to network inputs at 4K resolution—at an

self-illuminated RGBW pixels with advanced

and provide superior image quality. The cameras also

affordable price point. The FX Hybrid also includes

calibration capabilities to achieve reference-quality

boast a super-wide, 80-degree field of view and offer

Commander, the totally configurable browser-

performance and high color accuracy and uniformity.

enhanced SMART auto-tracking, which can be set to

based remote user interface, media aware macros,

It includes LG’s proprietary SuperSign software for

automatically follow one person and allows users to

and the recently released GuestPix as standard,

white balance and natively supports Calman color

select one of multiple people within its field of view.

providing control, automation, and connectivity.

calibration software for spectacular picture quality.

Incorporated Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC) with

Inputs include six network, four HDMI/SDI, and one

The convenient set of user-programmed function

Network Time Protocol (NTP) provides the new JVC

HDMI/SDI/analog ports. There are also one NDI, one

keys provides quick access to on-screen features such

PTZ cameras with multi-camera synchronization for

HD/SDI, one SD/SDI, one HDMI, and one analog

as markers, zoom, time code functions, and audio

seamless live event production. Plus, all models

outputs. Other features include built-in 3D motion

meters. A profile button also allows instant switching

support Secure Reliable Transport (SRT), which is

CG graphics, eight channels of clips and graphics

between user display presets for monitor settings and

resilient to bandwidth fluctuations, data loss, and

with 60 hours of storage, three keyers with DVEs

picture quality options. All LG OLED Pro UltraFine

intermittent connectivity, to ensure secure and

and virtual studios with ClearKey chromakey,

models offer 10-bit color depth and use the DCI-P3

error-free video delivery over the internet. The

internal audio mixing, integrated PTZ camera

(for cinema) and Adobe RGB (for digital imagery) color

KY-PZ510N can simultaneously output NDI, SRT, and

control, BPview customizable multi-view

space standards to deliver reference-grade

RTMPS for hybrid local/remote workflows for

monitoring, and more.

performance.

distribution to the world’s most popular CDNs.

Broadcast Pix FX Hybrid The FX Hybrid integrated production switcher

48

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

The new series of PTZ cameras includes four models

NEW PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY

Hollyland Solidcom C1 The Solidcom C1 is a new full-duplex wireless intercom headset system

NETGEAR M4250 Desktop Switches

featuring advanced DECT 6.0

Two new, smaller M4250 desktop switches are

with encryption technology. Its

designed to allow for streamlined installation in a

1.9GHz DECT ensures reliable

range of space-limiting applications. From

and secure communications in a radius up to 1,000

conference rooms to digital signage, the new M4250

feet. This comfortable headset-based system boasts

compact desktop models are small enough to fit

Sonnet Technologies Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card

battery life up to 10 hours and is portable and hands-

behind a monitor or under a conference room table,

The new Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card enables

free—it requires no beltpacks and can operate

allowing full functionality in a compact form factor

users to connect and power up to eight high-

effectively without hubs or base stations. The

with the horsepower needed for complicated

performance USB peripherals to their computer at the

Solidcom C1 headsets ensure clear, accurate audio

installations. The new M4250-9G1F-PoE+

same time—and provides a full 10Gbps connection

quality for effective teamwork, even in noisy

(GSM4210PD), targeting audio installations, is

through each port. It supports USB bus-powered SSD,

environments, thanks to a wideband frequency

fanless and comes with eight 1G PoE+ ports and

SSD RAID, and hard drive devices with up to 7.5 watts

response of 150Hz-7KHz and premium AEC (Acoustic

another 1G standard port, along with one SFP port for

of power to every port, without the user having to

Echo Cancellation). The directional microphone

uplinks. The companion model M4250-8G2XF-PoE+

connect auxiliary power to the card or AC power

captures the speaker’s voice clearly while minimizing

(GSM4210PX) has adjustable fans and eight 1G PoE+

adapters to the devices for operation. The card fits

unwanted noise, and it mutes automatically when the

ports, with an additional two SFP+ ports for higher

neatly inside a single-width card space, and is

mic boom is raised. A dual-antenna diversity scheme

bandwidth uplinks needed in video installations.

compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux computers

helps ensure uninterrupted team communication in

NETGEAR M4250 AV Line Series switches are unique

with an available x16 PCIe slot, as well as Mac and

complex environments. Each intercom headset also

in the industry with an AV-oriented GUI that

Windows computers with Thunderbolt ports when

comes with a spare lithium battery for convenient

provides a simple, template-based approach to

installed in a Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion

field replacement.

switch configurations.

system with an available x16 PCIe slot.

STAY ONE STEP AHEAD

INSTALLATION PRODUCTS

MODULAR FLOOR BOXES

FLYPACKS & ROAD CASES

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49

VIEWPOINT

Pondering the In-Person Experience How Has the Pandemic Changed Our Interactions?

Puzzle of Personality

By Sharath Abraham

Also during my commute, I often find a TED Talk to

W

watch after my pondering. Recently, I watched a hile commuting into New York City

psychologist named Brian Little talk about the

on the bus, I ponder a lot of things

“puzzle of personality.”

while I stare at the everchanging

In the TED Talk, he explained that extroverts need

skyline. One thing I have been thinking about

stimulation that can be achieved by finding things

recently is if people still give out business cards

that are exciting, such as social events or parties.

when meeting in person these days.

Introverts, on the other hand, like to spend time in

Before the pandemic, many people would go to meetings or in-person events and always leave with at least a few business cards. Now, I think about

quiet spaces with reduced simulation—but they are typically misconstrued as being antisocial.

They also communicate differently. Extroverts

where the business cards have been before me—

like to stand close for comfortable communication

and how sanitary there are. This, of course, is my

and simple language, where introverts prefer

own self paranoia.

contextually complex, contingent sentences.

In addition, isn’t it more sustainable to not use

As we attend more in-person meetings and

paper to print out business cards? I personally don’t

events, is this something we should all be mindful of?

care for business cards and find it much easier to

Yes, it’s good to know, but Little said a very interest-

say, “Let’s connect on LinkedIn.” I would think in a

ing thing: “You’re like some other people and like no

nearly post-pandemic world that this simple

other person.” That got me thinking: My in-person

interaction provides the most up-to-date informa-

interactions must be more thoughtful. I need to be

tion that a business contact would want to know.

more curious about who I am talking to and where

Business cards do have a certain interaction aspect; the ritual of handing a card to someone while talking to them

As of May 5, the following safety protocols are in place for InfoComm 2022:

• InfoComm requires proof of full vaccination

or a COVID-19 negative PCR or rapid antigen test for all attendees, exhibitors, and InfoComm staff participating at InfoComm 2022.

The negative test result must be administered by a healthcare professional no more than 72 hours before picking up badge.

• InfoComm will follow CDC mask recommendations based on community levels in Clark County: Low: Wear mask based on personal preference.

Medium: If you or someone you reside with are at risk for severe illness, masks are recommended.

High: If a high level is reached during InfoComm trade show dates, all participants will be required to wear a mask indoors.

• Advance registration is required; no on-site

registration will be permitted. InfoComm badges can be picked at the Las Vegas Airport or the Las Vegas Convention Center. Bulk badge pickup is not allowed this year.

• COVID-19 testing is available at the OnMed

telehealth station at the LVCC as well as six off-site locations.

• Shuttle busses will follow the same mask

mandates as InfoComm. Hand sanitizer will be available on each bus, and high-touch areas will be wiped down after the completion of each trip.

they came from before our interaction.

Are You Ready?

importantly, bring your wholehearted genuine self

Right before my bus rolls into the Port Authority, I

and beautiful smile.

sends a message: “I like

think about what events are coming up soon.

you, we should talk

InfoComm 2022 is one that is on my mind a lot these

new ones. I can’t wait to hear stories of everyone’s

more.” In that case,

days. It’s been maybe three years since I have been to

trials and tribulations and getting through them. I

one in person, and a lot has changed. One thing that

can’t wait to hear stories of accomplishments and

have a premium

hasn’t changed, though, is the value of in-person

new feats. I can’t wait to hear about new hobbies and

business card,

interaction. These personal interactions can be more

family updates. I can’t wait to hear stories that will

perhaps including

meaningful if you have a couple of things ready.

inspire me to think differently and be creative in a

maybe the answer is to

some type of metallic foil finish, so it’s memorable.

Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date.

Update it to include your most recent bio and career

new way.

Virtual events have been a great placeholder for in-person events, but I am ready for 2022. See you all

review them with your co-workers to see if there is

at InfoComm in Vegas!

any way to make them stand out more. No better time

Sharath Abraham, CTS, is an experienced

to make new ones.

technical professional with a demonstrated history of working with products that are designed

event. Is it to make new connections? Learn some-

and built to work together as a complete system

thing new? Find new things? All of the above?

for the best end user experience. He is currently a

Do you know how you want to greet someone?

Handshake? Fist bump? Namaste bow? Pick one and stick to it. Still feeling a little unsure about COVID19? Bring some masks and hand sanitizer. Most

SCN // June 2022 // avnetwork.com

Personally, I can’t wait to see old friends and make

information. If you are going to use business cards,

Figure out why you are going to the in-person

50

InfoComm 2022 Health and Safety Protocols

digital workplace consultant for Accenture.

Abraham was featured in the 2020 class of SCN: The Nine and holds a master’s degree in computer information systems.