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InfoComm 2017 preview: new exhibitors and offerings

InfoComm 2017 will feature over 1,000 exhibitors, over 46,000sqm of exhibit space and 24 audio demo rooms, and will host an expected 40,000 attendees from 100 countries. That’s a big show by anyone’s standards.

Emerging Trends Day

One of the difficulties of any show on this scale is seeing the wood for the trees. Show attendees who are seeking assistance in focusing in on the areas of most importance to them will appreciate Emerging Trends Day, on Tuesday 13 June, the day before the exhibition opens. This features a series of presentations by industry experts on topics including future industry trends; digital signage; audio processing; unified communications; collaboration via apps and APIs, and the cloud. It runs from 08:30 to 16:00; visitors can choose individual sessions or stay for the whole day.

TIDE Conference

Tuesday will also see the inaugural TIDE conference. TIDE (Technology. Innovation. Design. Experience.) is a thought-leadership event for examining the strategic impact of audiovisual technology and the AV industry’s role in business and technology. The organisers promise “a non-technical perspective of how audio, digital signage, video, lighting and virtual reality have been used in innovative ways in a wide range of markets… TIDE focuses on ideas, results, and experiences that are enabled by AV – not the installations.”

Keynote speakers will be Matthew Luhn, one of the original story creators at Pixar, and virtual reality pioneer Nonny de la Peña, who will both be discussing storytelling. The speaker roster also includes Tony Award-nominated sound designer Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, Avenue Q and Monty Python’s Spamalot) and Jason Crusan, director of advanced exploration systems at NASA.

New exhibitors

There will also be new things to see once the show opens. For instance, there will be more than 150 companies new to the InfoComm showfloor. (These are all listed in a special area on the show’s website.) Names that will be familiar to European readers include Kling & Freitag, Optocore, Proel and Scala. Also making its InfoComm show debut will be Coda Audio USA. The wholly owned subsidiary of Germany-based Coda Audio International is led by managing director Luke Jenks, formerly director of product management at Meyer Sound.

Center Stage

Another innovation for InfoComm 2017 is Center Stage, a series of 20-minute talks on the exhibition floor by leading technology practitioners, end-users, researchers, and thinkers. Free to attend, these sessions will discuss environmental design and technology integration across fields as diverse as entertainment, enterprise, healthcare, education, and hospitality. Select presentations will be recorded and shown throughout the day, with smartphone audio from Hearing Hotspot by Williams Sound.

“Center Stage was created to inspire our industry with what AV can really do,” says Rachel Bradshaw, director of expositions content at InfoComm International. “The diverse range of speakers will bring their unique perspectives to the stage, shedding light on how AV technology is advancing so many industries. The world of AV is a transformative industry, and these speakers will show you why.”

Immersive Pavilion

Also on the showfloor, the new Immersive Pavilion will offer a hands-on look at new VR, AR, and 360º video technologies, to keep attendees abreast of new developments in this fast-evolving area.

The Park

There’s also a new area for relaxation and refuelling. Located in Hall E, The Park promises to bring the outdoors inside – minus the searing Florida heat – with trees, benches, food trucks and a beer garden. Live entertainment, interactive games, meet-ups and networking events are scheduled for all three show days.

www.infocommshow.org