Last week Imago Group hosted its Imago Expo at BAFTA HQ in Piccadilly, London, where the company invited partners, resellers and end-users to explore the capabilities of current videoconferencing technology. “In the UK we are lacking an event like this,” Ian Vickerage, MD, Imago Group told Installation. “People tend to believe that everything you need to get to grips with this technology is all available online, but this is stuff you have to see. “We’re not trying to be an exhibition organiser. All we’re trying to do is educate people on the possibilities that are out there for videoconferencing. It’s of great importance to us that our resellers get their hands on the technology and have the chance to meet vendors and ask them difficult questions about it.” The exhibition was split into four VC-centric areas: cloud solutions, videoconferencing vendors, streaming and IP services, and digital signage. Companies that exhibited at the show included Barco, which demonstrated its latest ClickShare-ready projector – projectiondesign’s Panorama. The device will be stripped down and reworked to utilise the 21:9 aspect ratio to create a corperate-friendly projector for use with its meeting room collaboration solution in time for this year’s InfoComm. Among the VC software and cloud solution providers, Vidyo was presenting its new H.264 SVC solution (pictured). The latest videoconferencing codec from the company is designed to work over networks with inconsistent Internet access – 3G or wireless – and, according to the company can easily be deployed over large areas. AV furniture and mount manufacturer, Chief, demonstrated its Fusion Videoconferencing mount. Richard Billings told Installation how the company is “attempting to get a better foothold in the UK market, and partnership with Imago is helping the Milestone company to do so.” This year Imago has made the event available from two locations – BAFTA in London and the upcoming show at the Imperial War Museum, Manchester, which takes place on 10 May. “Often the UK can be too London-centric,” said Vickerage. “People like to have something more local. We’re expecting about half as many attendees in Manchester as we’ve received at the London portion of our expo.” Other companies displaying their wares included Revolabs, which presented its range of professional audio solutions for the board room. The Executive HD can be integrated with codecs to create a mic and video solution for the boardroom. Elsewhere Future Software displayed its IPTV digital signage solutions, DIGIshow, in the digital signage zone. The Windows-based solutions can stream content into as many screens as any given application requires over internet protocol.
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