U2 360 Tour Setting Up In Winnipeg

Grant's Perspective on ... the rock-n-roll circus stops in Winnipeg.

One could not help but notice that the U2 360 Tour is in Winnipeg this Sunday.  Early this week a huge convoy moved into the parking lot at Canad Inn Stadium.

They have been hard at work setting up what I'm sure will be a very impressive stage. It is amazing the amount of work it takes to design and build the set, never mind the organization and work that it takes to set up in every city of the tour.

While the U2 tour is far removed from the corporate boardroom, they do have much in common. The audience in both environments expect to be able to clearly hear and see the presentation. The PowerPoint presentation and videoconference needs to happen as quickly and smoothly as Bono and the boys put on their extravaganza.

I remember TV commercials that were 1 minute long before the advent of MTV and newspapers had articles that were long.  The expectations are much different today. Everyone demands that the visuals are bright and crisp. The audio must be clear. Transitions must be quick and flawless.

The boardroom and training facility audiovisual system has to be well designed, user-friendly and perform on demand just like my expectations for a spectacle that U2's 360 Tour will bring to Winnipeg this weekend.

Here is a time lapse video of the same stage being set up.



Grant

InfoComm 2011: The Center Of IT All

Grant's Perspective on ... InfoComm 2011

The InfoComm website tells me that there are 26 days until the annual pro AV industry show.  I will be making my annual pilgrimage to the June 13 - 17 show that is being held in Orlando. They have 950 exhibitors and over 300 seminars planned with over 32,000 delegates registered.

We expect to see the latest advancements in 3D, unified collaborative conferencing, digital signage and interactive technology.  I was talking to our Sharp rep (Joe) yesterday and he said there should be a new PN-L601B 60" touchscreen on display. The 60" touchscreen was a hit at our Open House event last January. I would love to talk more about the increased interactivity but Joe made me promise not to let the details out ahead of the show.

I will try to see as much as possible and post my thoughts on what is happening.




Grant

StarBoardLink Makes a Dry Erase Board Interactive

Grant's Perspective on ... the new interactive Hitachi StarBoardLink.

Hitachi has long been a part of the interactive market with their StarBoard series of interactive whiteboards. They have now brought the StarBoardLink to market.

The StarBoardLink is a good fit for the teacher that already has a projector and a smooth hard surface (standard whiteboard or wall) and would like to make their classes interactive, on a budget. This is the same technology as the Hitachi StarBoard but now without the board.

The StarBoardLink has an Infrared Image Sensor that is mounted at the top of the surface. The reflective bars are then mounted in a U shape around the Infrared Image Sensor.

The Infrared Sensor  is pre-drilled so that it can easily be permanently mounted at the top of your hard surface. With the sensor being mounted at the top of the surface it would be a good solution for rooms that have very low ceilings.

The interactive area is scalable. it can be set up with a 4:3 ratio ( 45" - 77") and the HD 16:10 ratio can be 45" - 90".

This adds another option for people that have been looking at interactive whiteboards or some of the other interactive systems such as the Hitachi iP-AW250N interactive projector and the Epson BrightLink and BrightLink Solo.

I have just read the StarBoardLink literature and look forward to getting my hands on the unit and putting it through some hands on testing.

Grant

PowerLite Pilot Connection and Control Box

Grant's Perspective on ... Epson's new PowerLite Pilot Connection and Control Box.

Epson has introduced an easy-to-use AV system controller to help teachers keep AV technology organized. With many classrooms using projectors and audio systems with computers, DVD players, document cameras and iPods a controller system is a good addition to the AV system.

The Pilot mounts on the wall and comes with a cover to help protect it and keep the cables in place.  

I'm intrigued by the "Use as an extension box — expand the range of your cables for added flexibility" point on the Epson product website. I'm assuming this means that the Pilot works as a USB extender. This is a great feature as USB cables only work when the length of the cable run is short. I look forward to getting my hands on the unit and testing it out.

The photo below shows the inputs and outputs available: HDMI, AUX Audio, USB Type A, USB Type B, Audio inputs, 2 VGA inputs, Audio outputs, Rec out, S-video, Composite, RS-232.

While we are an Epson dealer, there are many other AV system control devices available to suit your needs and budget. AMX, Crestron, Kramer and Extron all make some great products. If you are tired or embarrassed having to plug in and unplug cables and maybe even tripping over the cables in front of people in classrooms and boardrooms, then it is time to look into an AV control system.

The Pilot will be available next month (June, 2011).

Grant