Sales Staff Tribute

Grant's Perspective on ...Sales personnel in the Inland AV world

I have some observations about the sales staff I work with that I want to share. No this isn't a complaint, more of me wanting to show my respect to good sales people. Here at the big AV company I've observed the sales staff designing their own systems, and they absolutely love doing it.

I think this is really cool as, and I'm being frank here, they're not just people who are out to sell something in a box and put another notch on their pencil. If I were the customer, I'd notice that and appreciate this dynamic. The biggest trait I brag about when I talk about the big AV company is their passion. Perhaps they don’t want anyone knowing this about them but they get totally pumped about deriving an innovative system that will work for their clients.

See the picture below of Brian and Glenn discussing ideas with a client at our open house.



Yes they're a different breed than us mellow designer types, but hey, the only thing worse than an over eager sales person, is one who isn't passionate about what they do. Everyone benefits. So hat's off to the passionate Inland AV sales people.

Grant

Central Church of Christ AV System

Grant's Perspective on ...Getting the Message To Everyone in the Building

We recently put the finishing touches on the new AV system at the Central Church of Christ in Winnipeg. Wayne and his committee really knew what they wanted and it was a pleasure to work with them. The auditorium system was first rate and the service could be shared with everyone in the entire building. Here is a picture of Wayne and myself testing the auditorium audio console.



The system encompasses the auditorium, multi-purpose room, youth room, foyer and even the kitchen has an audio system and video monitor so that the congregation members that are working can see and hear the service. See the picture posted below of the video monitor in the kitchen.



Thanks again for letting Inland AV and myself play our part in bringing your audiovisual vision to reality. We will have a complete review of the system on our website soon.

Grant

Lounge to Videoconference Classroom

Grant's Perspective on ... turning a lounge into a videoconference classroom.

I was working on-site yesterday at a local university. We were going through the final audio tests making sure the system was working as planned. Everything went well and as I was ready to leave I surveyed the room and commented on how the room has changed in the last two months. What had been a "smoking" lounge (back when those types of things were allowed) has been transformed into a distance education classroom for nursing students.



It is amazing what positive change can happen with a little help from technology. Nursing students in Winnipeg will have some of their lectures delivered from a professor in Ottawa.

System Overview:

- HD Tandberg videoconference system.
- Additional Vaddio HD camera.
- Two 65" Sharp HD monitors (pictured) as well as an third ceiling mounted monitor for the podium presenter.
- Podium and wireless microphones for the presenter and a boundary microphone system for the students.
- Large 12" AMX touch screen panel that controls the videoconference system, audio system, DVD player, computer systems and room lighting. See the close up picture of the AMX touch screen below. Note that the picture of me in the top right hand is the HD camera focused on the podium.




I can't wait for the school year to start and see the technology in action. Another case of "Improved Communication from Technology Integration . . . and a lot of other cool stuff too !"

Grant

Videoconferencing Return On Investment Calculator

Grant's Perspective on ... visiting Alberta and Saskatchewan virtually

Videoconferencing (VC) technology is more valuable than ever.

There are many advantages to videoconferencing and right now VC has become more valuable than ever. Typically, and simply put, in times of recession companies generally decrease costs where they can and increase training and education. We've all seen that. Facilitating VC is a resource that achieves both and I am witnessing its increased popularity from a front row seat. I help clients by designing AV systems that more often than not include a VC system and I use them in my own day-to-day work.

I think about my area of expertise and how I use VC everyday to be able to effectively communicate with my other offices (Inland AV has a TANDBERG Video Conference suite in each branch - I use it on a regular basis). Working face-to-face in a VC setting is far more effective than talking on the telephone. While I can't be in 5 different cities in 1 day, I can use the VC system and meet face-to-face with staff to discuss our projects and share design details. The company likes the superior communication and I love the fact that I'm home to have dinner with my family. As the recession comes to an end, VC will be equally important as it will help me cover Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta while never being more than half an hour from home!

See the photo below of a design session with our Edmonton office. Barry and I are talking to Chris (Edmonton general manager) while we discuss a room layout that is pictured in the second HD monitor of the VC system.



Has everyone done the ROI (Return On Investment) calculation that is found on the Inland AV website? www.videoconferenceROI.ca

I did my own ROI calculation . The results are just as expected – it does save companies loads of money and increases productivity.

Devising Innovative Features in AV Design

Grant's Perspective on ... delivering the hockey experience

People who have the experience to do design work generally love what they do. These are people who enjoy being creative and probably would not be pleased in life doing a mundane job (I usually use Accountants as my example…. I hear they count beans all day long - Boring!!!!!) In the Inland AV world the designers, sales staff and mangers, all get to work on projects that are what I call “enjoyable challenges”. Each project is different as each client is different.

Last week Barry C. was telling me about an idea he presented and used for an audio project at a sports complex. (For those who may not know Barry he is a fellow Inland AV designer who has a long list of successful large projects he can boast about, specializing in the design of audio systems for the large venues and worship environments) This particular sports complex requested the provision for live hockey commentary broadcast within the venue. Envision being in other areas of the venue other than the rink itself and listening to the game just like AHL and NHL hockey on the radio and TV.

To finish off the system and offer an extra feature that provides excitement to the system, Barry implemented microphones at ice level to capture the sounds of the game in action – slap shots, metal on ice, puck on the boards, crowd noise, etc – all that good stuff. These game sounds mixed in with the commentary offer an exciting and professional dynamic to the closed circuit broadcast that in turn eliminate the otherwise “dry” broadcast of voice only and provides a production that hockey fans are accustomed to.

Nice touch to that design! He’s now including this feature again with a current project at another sports venue.

And that’s a good example of what we do at the big AV company - we take an interest in the client’s vision and work with them and in the end they get that little bit extra that makes their project so much more.

Grant

Most Innovative Rack/AV Furniture Product

Grant's Perspective on ... the Sound-Craft WSV-50 winning an innovation award

While at InfoComm, I noticed that the Sound-Craft WSV-50 was awarded the "Most Innovative Rack/AV Furniture Product" award from Systems Contractor News. This desk/lectern is perfect for universities where many different presenters will want to adjust the unit from desk to lectern height. When the presenter is comfortable they can focus on teaching.



Have a look at the Sound-Craft website for all the WSV-50 specifications.

Just a short post this week as I'm on vacation and hanging out with my kids.

Grant

AMX Retractable Connection Port

Grant's Perspective on ... new ways to cut the cable clutter

My June 9th post/rant on cutting down on cable clutter on the boardroom table was posted before InfoComm. I wanted to note a new retractable connection port launched by AMX during InfoComm. Pictured below is the AMX HPX-1600 Retractable Connection Port and note the cables exit the device even when it's closed.



Have a look at the details on the HPX-1600 at AMX website.

Grant

Obama's Teleprompter Crashes

Grant's Perspective on ... technical glitches

I worked in AV rentals for a long time before I moved into permanent installation systems design and programming. While in rentals I was always aware of Murphy's law stating that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". This sentiment was reinforced yesterday when the President of the United States had his teleprompter shatter during the opening of a speech.

If Murphy's law comes into play for Obama it can happen to anyone.



We just added some new teleprompters to our Inland AV rental inventory and I hope they do not crash like Obama's!

Grant

InfoComm Delivers AV WOW

Grant's Perspective on ... AV WOW

Over the years I have heard the term “The WOW Factor”. I never paid much attention to it thinking it wasn’t cool or clever and was probably a term for nerds. However, lately I’ve heard this term more and more – and from cool people! LOL Just the other day I was at a meeting where this term was used, clearly understood in the context of the discussion, and someone, don’t recall who as I was taking notes, asked what WOW meant as they thought it was an acronym. There’s a new joke in there somewhere.

Apart from starting a contest to invent a better term to describe things that are impressive, what is WOW in AV right now, you are probably asking. (Come on be honest)

I have mentioned the InfoComm displays and demonstrations of 3D projectors and digital signage in previous posts and now want to mention 4 other things that caught my eye at InfoComm:

1 - Telepresence
This is a Videoconferencing system, from TANDBERG that is THE total solution for natural communication. The system provides for a collaboration setting that puts everyone into the same environment. Really cool! I can see that once people try videoconferencing in this way it’ll be the way to go, not only with the comfortable experience but with saving companies thousands of dollars while allowing employees to be more productive in meetings while not having to travel as much.


2 - Intermediate level control systems.
This might not seem to be very exciting but there was a definite void in control systems. AMX and Crestron are the Cadillacs of the industry and then there are very basic control components (K-car) but nothing in the intermediate (think Malibu) level. RTI has developed the very attractive K4 in-wall touch screens and remote controls when a full-size control system is not required.



3 - Classroom audio reinforcement systems
Providing the teacher with a mic and audio system has been increasingly popular as the benefits are many. (Saving the teachers voice and ensuring students can hear the teacher, to name two) There are a few to choose from and they have some really great ideas integrated into them. Look for a system soon to be released from Epson and they way they’ve integrated it into the projector mount system. See the picture below of Jared doing his best "Vana" while posing with the Epson AP-60 Sound Enhancement System.



4 - Installation package systems for Classrooms, Training Rooms and Presentation Rooms.
Perfect for the company that have their own staff qualified to do installations and perhaps located in rural areas. The packages come with the mount, speakers, integrated signal distribution and room control unit etc. I find the systems have been improved to be easy to install, and the final result is very nice. I have included a picture of the Kramer Summitview series.



Conversion and transmission over CAT5 cable. These little devices are better than ever. More to come on this in future blogs…….

Grant

Sharp Digital Signage Systems

Grant's Perspective on ... Sharp Digital Signage Systems

My last post featured the AMX Inspired Signage digital signage solution so I thought I should mention the new Sharp Electronics solution. I recently visited Toronto, along with Mike, Inland AV technician from Edmonton, to attend Sharp Digital Signage training sessions. Mike elected to take a programming and a fibre-optic session while I delved into more programming.

We were both really impressed with this easy to use digital signage solution. The Sharp digital signage solution is a great fit for larger companies that want to deploy a unified solution across the country but do not want to manage the technology behind the scenes.

I think it is great that both the Sharp and AMX solutions include the ability to custom configure the screen and include third party real time information such as time, weather, news and sports feeds. I copied an image (see below) from the SharpExperience.com website that outlines the basic screen set up configurations.



I'm like a kid at Christmas, I can't wait for the demo system to arrive!

Grant