Edmonton Grey Cup & Cold AV Techs

Grant's Perspective on ... AV techs working and biking in the cold.

 AV rental technicians are a hardy bunch. Last weekend's Edmonton Grey Cup was a huge success and I take my hat off to the techs that worked in the cold. They snapped a photo from the post game press conference and people inside the tent still had their parkas on!

 

Our Winnipeg location has a tech that is biking to and from work. Click here to see a video that a local media outlet posted of our man biking the snow covered roads to work.

Grant

School Holiday Audio System

Grant's Perspective on ... understanding how to get the most from your audio system for school and worship holiday presentations.

This is the time of year when organizers of school and worship holiday presentations start rehearsals and begin using their audio system.

Here are some tips:

1 - Understand Your Microphone

This is key. There are many types of microphone pick up patterns but the most common is the dynamic cardiod microphone. Pictured below is the very popular Shure SM58.

 I found a chart on microphone use on the Shure website looks at common microphone use issues and placed a screen capture below.

People talking and singing need to be close to the microphone (6" - 2') and should handle the microphone as little as possible.

What this means is that if you only have 1 or 2 microphones, set them up on stands at the front of the stage and have the actors and choir move to where the microphone is to say/sing their lines. You are better off with people moving to the microphone than to not have their voices picked up because they are too far away from it!

2 - Understand Your Audio System

If you have a sophisticated audio system with multiple wireless microphones and proper choir microphones with a large mixer and outboard gear, read your equipment manuals, test your ideas to get the most from your systems and have a great time producing a fantastic event!

For a general introduction to the many types of microphones, read this Wikipedia article.

If you live in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North West Ontario or the NWT give your local Inland AV office a call to discuss your audio needs.


Grant

Kramer RC-8iR Audio Visual (AV) System Controller

Grant's Perspective on ... the RC-8iR a simple wall plate AV system controller with tremendous power.

Kramer has a simple 8 button AV system control wall plate that programmers, integrators and clients love. With only 8 buttons, the unit is very user-friendly but allows for some fairly sophisticated programming. See the photo below taken at an Inland AV installation.

Pressing the "on" button can set up the entire system by lowering the projection screen, turning on the projector, dimming the lights and powering up the audio system. The RC-8iR has infrared capabilities and can learn the functions of IR remotes. It can also be controlled via IP meaning that the system can be set up to be controlled from anywhere a person has internet access. This is a great feature for AV technicians working at a large university institution.

The screen capture below is a Flash demonstration of the RC-8iR wall plate at the Kramer Canada website. Click through the text links and give it a try! Please note you need to click on the Product Overview button to view the interactive room simulation.

I have installed hundreds of these and they have always been well received.

Grant

Ceiling Rack Mount - New Way to Hide AV

Grant's Perspective on ... mounting AV equipment in the ceiling.


Dennis the Premier Mounts representative made the trip from Anaheim to Winnipeg to demonstrate some of their new products. One of the products that caught my attention was a rack to house equipment in ceilings. It is a part of the "GearBox™ Series of products designed to safely support and protect valuable A/V equipment. Offering flexible installation options - indoors and out - for projectors and flat-panel displays, GearBox™ has got your gear covered. ”

 See the picture below (taken from their website) of the rack with the door open.

Many times a room's walls are not deep enough for a rack to set in place. Many current systems do not have equipment that needs to be accessible for day-to-day use but does need close proximity to the room. This would include wireless microphone receivers, amplifiers and mixers. The system can be set up once and locked away, as long as there is at least a wall plate interface for a computer connection and a touch screen system controller that can turn the system on and off.


See the pictures below of Dennis holding the rack and mounting tray. Items can be fastened to the equipment mounting tray and the tray is mounted inside the rack. The bottom picture is the rack with the lockable door in place.
 
 

For use in a suspended ceiling, this box replaces a standard 2 x 2' ceiling tile and the perforated lid looks like an HVAC return register when closed. 


I was concerned that this would vent into the plenum and therefore not meet code. Dan replied  “There are no vents into the plenum, only downward into the room. The box preserves the integrity of the plenum space. ”  Small fans can be added to help with circulation issues.


Click here to see the PDF spec sheet.
 What a great idea and a solution we will keep in mind.


Grant

Sharp Interactive Touch Screen 60" Monitor

Grant's Perspective on ... the new Sharp PN-L601B LCD touch screen interactive monitor.

 Here’s a good example of "Improved communication from technology integration, and a lot of other cool stuff too…”:  The PN-L601B brochure states, “Put the Power of Interaction to Work with a Sharp Integrated Touch-Screen Solution”.  That’s what I’m talking about.

This is totally the “executive” version of the popular interactive whiteboard.  As high-end boardroom design and installation is one of our forte’s, and knowing the fine ability of Sharp monitors to scale various video signals and the crisp image they produce, this is a product that will be requested and suggested as a great solution.

Here is a photo taken from the Sharp brochure and specifications sheet.

The key points from the PN-L601B announcement include:

• Ultra Bright Screen with Low Energy Consumption
• Super Accurate Touch-Screen Finger and Touch Pen Response via Proprietary Infrared Detection System
• Easy-to-Use System Interface and Original Pen Software

Besides the low power consumption, this monitor uses LED backlite technology. This means that it is mercury free!


The interactive marketplace is now a bit more crowded with Sharp Electronics announcement of the PN-L601B touch screen, interactive monitor.

It was just a few short months ago that the interactive choices were limited to whiteboards. Epson launched the BrightLink interactive projector this past spring and it has been enthusiastically received by our clients in the educational and corporate world. Now Sharp has introduced an interactive monitor. Now there are 3 options for people looking for an interactive communications tool.

I see many applications for the 60"monitor/touch screen in small seminar and boardrooms and look forward to integrating them into appropriate AV systems designs.

Our Sharp representative Joe informs us that the touch screen monitor will be arriving next week and our Edmonton office will see it first.

Grant