Obama Lecturn Malfunction

Grant's Perspective on ... no one is exempt from AV problems.

It was not too long ago I commented on Obama's teleprompter glass breaking during a news conference. This week the presidential seal fell of the lecturn while he was delivering a public speech.

He handled it well with his "You know who I am" statement but was more telling with his "somebody back there is really nervous right now."





Just another example of whatever can go wrong in a presentation, will go wrong.

There are times when an AV pro can assist in unexpected situations. I recall someone telling me about a situation where a presenter was going to sneeze. It was obvious to eveeryone in the audience that this was going to happen. The presenter continued, then quickly said "Just a moment ..." then blasted out the pending sneeze. The audio operator had turned off the presenter's mic for the sneeze and then had it back on when the presenter said "Excuse me".

The audience turned to the audio tech and applauded his quick thinking and fast action.

Now there is an AV Tech that get's it!


Grant

Slim-Line Array Speaker System Review

Grant's Perspective on ... K-Array ultra slim-line KV50 speaker system review

This week we reviewed some audio equipment from K-Array, an Italian company with fresh thinking ideas, distributed in North America by Sennheiser.

One product that caught my attention was an ultra slim-line array speaker, the KV50.  This might be a great solution for video conferencing systems and boardrooms – the speakers look nice, are small and lend themselves to blend into the décor. They provide full range audio in the vocal spectrum, and use a technology that will assist with echo canceling.


I am holding one of the speakers beside a videoconference monitor in the picture below. This perspective provides an idea of the look and size of the speaker that could be mounted on the wall on either side of a monitor.

They may also be a great solution for areas where hidden AV is a requirement.  The small size but effectiveness of the audio dispersion assist to blend the speaker into its surroundings.  The gallery on the K-array website shows some interesting applications.

I know their larger systems get rave reviews and these units seem to be very well built.

Once powered up and cranking some tunes and a live mic through it, the crystal clear punching sound cuts through the air like a knife. This is the best way I can describe how these speakers reproduce the sound.

Grant

BrightLink Awarded a Buckaroo

Grant's Perspective on ... BrightLink Earns a Buckaroo Award.

I noticed a press release this week that the Epson BrightLink earned a Buckaroo Award from Pacific Media Associates.

The press release noted “At PMA, it is imperative we provide the projection industry with information on the most advanced and cost-effective multimedia solutions available in the market today,” said Dr. William Coggshall, founder and president of PMA. “The Epson BrightLink is a perfect example of innovation at its best, deeming it worthy of a Buckaroo Award.”

It is great to see the AV industries premiere research firm acknowledging the BrightLink as a breakthrough in interactive projectors. Even our shipping department recognizes the significance of the BrightLink based on the number of units coming in and going out.

Grant

You Know You Are a Hard Core AV Pro When ...

Grant's Perspective on ... you know you are a hard core AV pro when...

I am a member of the LinkedIn AV Professionals group to help keep up on AV industry issues. I was amused by the "You Know You are a Hard Core AV Pro When ..." discussion.

My favorite comments are:

•  every party you attend someone says, “There’s this one thing I can't get working on my TV system....”
• you refuse to buy any piece of gear that does not have a Serial port.
• you have a customer from 15 years ago call you and ask a question about the system that was installed. Without ever being in the building since the system went in, you tell them where to look for the ___ and how it was connected. You do this without even stepping away from the phone to find the old drawings.
• you simply CANNOT walk by any EQ which shows a smilie face without grumbling.
• the only clothes you own are black.
• you sit in a church giving hand signals to the sound booth guy instead of listening to the sermon.
• you know a projector lamp life without looking at the projector menu setting.
• you wear out one knee on all your pants from taping cables down.
• you avoid sports bars with screens that need the color adjusted.
• you empty your pockets and find them filled with all kinds of connectors you forgot about.
• your coffee mug collection includes at least 3 AV manufacturers who are no longer in business.
• you refuse to run sound for the school musical because you know that a single microphone being spoken at from 20ft will not cut through to row 25 via the speaker 10 ft away from the mic.
• you have a drawer full of polo shirts with AV manufacturer's names embroidered on them

And last (and probably least) my entry: Your own home system is in shambles as you're too busy creating and tweaking "masterpieces" elsewhere.

Grant

Interchangeable DLP Projector Colour Wheels - 4 Segment or 6 Segment

Grant's Perspective on ... the new DLP projector that users can swap colour wheels.

The friendly people from Digital Projection International visited our Winnipeg office this week to demonstrate their newest innovations to us. I was impressed with the E-Vision series of projectors.

The E-Vision 600 is a 6,000 lumen projector (dual lamps) with 2,400:1 contrast and a native resolution of 1280 x 800. The projector features interchangeable lenses and colour wheels. While many projectors have interchangeable lenses allowing the projector to be optimally placed in a room, this is the first time I've heard of a projector being designed to allow the end user to quickly change the colour wheels.

The different colour wheels provide options for the user based on what is important to them in the next presentation. With the 4 segment colour wheel in place the projector produces 6,000 lumens. With a  6 segment colour wheel installed the same projector now produces 4500 lumens of light output. While the projector is not quite as bright there is better colour saturation, the user can decide which is more important.

The above image is a photo of the Digital Projection presentation and the image below shows the colour wheel module.

Thanks to Phil and Paul for making the trip to Winnipeg and the half day of demonstrations they provided.

Grant

Commercial and Consumer Monitor Differences

Grant's Perspective on ... the differences between professional and consumer monitors.

I am often asked about the difference between equipment that is labeled as professional and consumer. Many clients wonder why they should purchase a professional monitor when they can go to their local big box electronics store and save themselves some money.

I noticed a discussion on this subject on the AV Industry Professionals LinkedIn page. The main points are:

1 - Most professional monitors have a better cooling system than consumer monitors. Most consumer monitors have a passive cooling system and is designed for 3 hours of use at a time. I think this is why my Mom restricted us to 1 hour of TV per day (lol). Professional monitors have a cooling system that enables the monitors to run 24/7.

2 - Professional monitors generally offer more options when integrating multiple monitors together.

3 - Professional monitors can generally be set up in a a portrait format but a consumer monitor with a passive cooling system would not function properly.

4 - Consumer monitor used in a professional setting voids most warranties.

There were also a few comments that not all professional monitors are created equal. The purchaser should beware that just because a monitor is labeled as professional that does not guarantee that the monitor can run 24/7 without fail.

Contacting a reputable AV company is always a good idea.

Grant

AV System Includes the Kitchen Sink!

Grant's Perspective on ... New meaning to "everything but the kitchen sink".

I noticed the Inland AV Rental Technicians noisily working in the shop. When I asked if they were building a house they replied that they were not making a house, just a kitchen. I walked by a few hours later and was shocked to see they had in fact built a working portable kitchen!

All was clear when they explained that we were helping Zellers with a cooking exhibition at the Polo Park Centre Court. Roger Mooking, host of Everyday Exotic on Food Network Canada, worked his culinary  magic for the Saturday afternoon shopping crowd.

I've heard people comment about "they bring everything but the kitchen sink".  Now we have seen an audiovisual system that includes a kitchen sink with hot and cold running water!

Ken

Grant will be back from another week of vacation soon.

Outdoor Rock Speakers

Grant's Perspective on ... landscaping speakers hide your outdoor audio.

Our OWI representative sent us some new literature last week and I noticed the professional landscaping speaker systems. These are great for the entrance to restaurants, lounges, hotels and other hospitality and retail venues. The 200 lb sub-woofer below is concrete reinforced with glass fiber that houses a 12" speaker capable of producing 250 watts of power.Now the audio system can be hidden from view but the audio can help set the ambiance for the venue.

 Now that is rock solid!

Feel free to contact your closest Inland AV location for more information on this and any other professional audio project you need help designing.

Grant

Field Videoconference With Low Bandwidth

Grant's Perspective on ... LibreStream releases low bandwidth field videoconferencing.

Librestream develops portable hand held videoconference systems that stream live video, audio and data over a wireless network (see the photo at the end of the post). Due to the nature of a portable system, bandwidth availability can be a challenge.

When the pipe is wide open, you can share HD video, audio and telestration with remote experts without a worry. But if you are out in the field using a cellular network the amount of available bandwidth depends on the number of people that are drawing on the same cell tower. It is this unreliable bandwidth environment that can cause the call to drop.

Librestream’s Onsight collaboration system now provides an ultra low bandwidth video option and automatically adjusts the call to fit the available pipe. Your call stays connected and your remote expert continues to hear and see uninterrupted video coming from the field. You can also take hi-res pictures, share them with the remote experts and draw on the images to pinpoint problem areas visually.

If you are interested in more information or a demonstration of the Onsight field videoconference system, contact your local Inland AV representative.

Ken, filling in while Grant is on vacation.

Telecommuting: A Part of Business Continuity Planning

Grant's Perspective on ... telecommuting as a part of a business continuity plan.

I have generally thought of telecommuting as a life/work balance tool. The recent article by Government Executive reminds me that telecommuting is a way to keep a business moving forward during unusual circumstances (floods and blizzards from a Manitoba perspective).

People who may telecommute for one or two days a week now have an alternative work plan in place if a major disruption occurs.

Grant