Following our look at some of the 150 new exhibitors and show innovations at InfoComm this year, we now turn our attention to the 80+ training sessions on the schedule and get the views of some US-based integrators and consultants.
On Thursday 15 June, from 10:30 to 12:00, Matrox will be offering a session entitled ‘Applications of IP-based AV Technologies in Education’. This case-driven seminar will explore lecture capture; AV-over-IP for digital signage, IPTV, and multi-site AV management; and IP-based videowalls used in digital signage and visualisation, all in an education context. It is aimed at end-users and solutions providers of all kinds. Matrox experts will offer guidance on end-to-end solution specifications and economic considerations. Registration is open at www.matrox.com/ic17training.
Also on the Thursday, from 13:00 to 14:30, Powersoft will be running ‘How to Optimize Fixed Install Design Using DSP in Class D Amplifiers’.
Marc Kocks, business development manager, fixed install, will walk attendees through Powersoft’s digital system design tools. The session will cover: calculating crest factor, and its relevance in system performance; technological capabilities of Powersoft amplifiers, including pulse width modulation output, PFC, Smart Rails Management, and damping; DSP features, including internal routing capabilities, filters and equalisation, limiters, and live impedance monitoring; and finally a walk-through of the system design process. Registration is required.
Both the Powersoft and the Matrox sessions are worth 1.5 InfoComm CTS RUs.
On Friday 16 June, the NanoLumens stand will host a presentation about technology for engaging with sports fans. Rick Cope, NanoLumens CEO, and John Vidalin, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for NBA basketball team the Miami HEAT, will talk about how fans are arriving early at games and staying late. “The team has amassed a great deal of insight into what works and what doesn’t work, which will be very interesting for InfoComm show attendees,” says Cope.
Apart from the official InfoComm offering, Audinate will hold Dante AV Networking World at the Rosen Centre Hotel, close to the Orange County Exhibition Center, on Tuesday 13 June, the day before the exhibition opens. Over 20 leading audio manufacturers will be offering hands-on demonstrations of their Dante products.
The event will be split into two tracks. The Advanced Track includes ‘Advanced Dante Networking (Dante Certification Level 3)’; on the Beginner/Intermediate Track is ‘Audio Networking Trends and Research’, presented by Roland Hemming of RH Consulting.
ZeeVee along with other members of the SDVoE Alliance is offering free training; ‘Software Defined Video Over Ethernet: Delivering User Experiences without Compromise’ to run on Thursday 15 June at 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30.
There is also an InfoComm seminar from the SDVoE Alliance called ‘Deploying Zero-Latency AV-Over-IP Systems Using SDVoE Technology’. This takes place on Wednesday 10:30-12:00, 13:00- 14:30, and Thursday 08:30-10:00. CTS, CTS-D and CTS-I RUs are available for the SDVoE Alliance sessions, offered as part of the InfoComm Seminar and Workshop Package.
What’s on your radar?
Our sister title SCN asked some US integrators and consultants what they will be looking out for at InfoComm:
I’m interested in enterprise team messaging solutions such as Spark, and end-user applications. Cisco seems to be ‘shaking up’ stale videoconferencing applications more than anything I’ve seen in the past several years (other than Zoom). API integrations that auto connect with calendars or voice dial meetings (like Alexa or Siri) are much better user experiences than H.323 or SIP dialling. They also meet the expectations that consumer tech already delivers. We’ve actually started integrating Alexa into our conference room solutions and are getting great feedback.
I’d like to better understand how Cisco’s plans/strategies will affect traditional AV integration firms in the future.
Jay Myers, founder/CEO, Interactive Solutions, Inc (ISI)
Large-format display technology and videowalls are constantly improving, and each day we’re seeing more products in this category. There’s been strong growth and adoption of digital signage in many corporate verticals. As this trend continues to gain momentum, we’re interested to see where it’s headed.
Tim Hennen, president, sales & engineering, IVCi
I will be looking for how AES67 is being implemented in various products; it has a lot of promise to lead the industry forward for device interoperability – getting everything to ‘play nicely’ with each other will be the key to its success.
Ben Bausher, senior consultant, audio & video systems group, JaffeHolden
The trend toward network-centric systems has created an environment characterised by claims for performance that conflate specifications for resolution, frame rate, dynamic range, and so on. Combine this with a lack of specificity of requirements for network support to propagate this information and one might get the impression that the highest quality video content can be delivered by a typical administrative network. We are looking for end-to-end solutions that will help us design, specify, and implement the new solutions with a better comfort level for success.
Mark Alspach, principal, audiovisual discipline head, Shen Milsom & Wilke
What we are always on the lookout for at the show is something we can actually sell to the end users. We see lots of fun advancements in technology but a lot of it doesn’t resonate with people outside the industry.
We saw some more IP-based products at ISE in Amsterdam, and we’ll be looking out for what else and who else can find creative ways to utilise network infrastructure.
Mike Kirby, director of business development and marketing, GenComm
The huddle room has been a trend in space planning for some time, but the technology integration has not had the impact we thought due to cost or form factor… I will be looking for new huddle space solutions that will be able to meet the functionality requests of the end users at price points that will accommodate large numbers of deployment.
Matthew Kosel, systems designer, Spinitar
