New Hitachi Portable Unit Makes Projectors Interative

Grant's Perspective on ... Hitachi's new Link EZ2-Pen.

Hitachi has launched the new Link EZ2-Pen unit that turns a regular projector into an interactive unit. The pens, which do not require a battery to operate, reflect the infrared signal emitted by the digitizer unit. The digitizer is mounted by a magnet so it is easily transported to different locations and easily stored.

It is great to see another option for people that want to make existing projectors interactive.

Grant

Furniture Racks For the Boardroom

Grant's Perspective on ... racks that are built for the boardroom, not the server room.

Middle Atlantic is one of Inland AV's suppliers of racks and they have introduced rack furniture that fits in with the boardroom. The Middle Atlantic racks are functional as well as looking great.

The YouTube video below outlines the features in the RFR Reference Series Furniture Rack. These boardroom racks are available in 12 different finishes so that they blend in with the room's decor. A great way to hide AV technology in plain sight.



Grant

London LED Lighting Olympics

Grant's Perspective on ... LED lighting stand out at the 2012 Olympics.

I watched some of the Olympics and could not help but be impressed by the use of LED lighting. From the LED panels wired to every seat in the Olympic Stadium, the use in the ceremonies on David Beckham's boat,  Spice Girls cars and "doves" riding bikes to London's landmark architecture.

LED lights up the stadium seating area

releasing the "doves" with LED wing lighting

 It will be interesting to see if the use of LED lighting in architecture and gala events will surge as a result of this Olympic exposure.

Grant

Coca-cola's Interactive Oylmpic Park Pavilion

Grant's Perspective on ... the Coca-Cola Olympic Beat Box building.

I've been looking online for some cool Olympic AV installations and the Coca-Cola Park Pavilion qualifies. The pavilion is made up of large plastic pillows and some of them trigger lights and sounds when touched by visitors. The sounds of sport (shoes squeaking, heartbeats and arrows hitting targets) are mixed into the Anywhere in the World song. People get to remix the song and interact with the pavilion while they walk the 200' to the lookout view of the Olympic Games site.

I look forward to tomorrow's opening games ceremony for some audiovisual WOW.

Grant

Bose L1 Audio Systems Defies Feedback!

Grant's Perspective on ... the new Bose portable array audio system suppresses feedback.

Bose has introduced the L1 Audio Systems and our friendly Bose representative Martin delivered a system to our office and did a demonstration. The system is very portable and has the great, rich, room filling sound that we have come to expect from Bose. The sound of Steely Dan filled our warehouse for a few minutes and then it was time for a microphone test.

Martin reviewed the ToneMatch features such as the 4 channel mixer, reverb, delays and other audio processing and ToneMatch presets. Martin also demonstrated the microphone presets. The ToneMatch includes downloadable presets which include the most popular microphone makes and models.

Speaker arrays reduce feedback by design and this system did not feedback even with the microphone less than 1 foot from the speakers. Martin did a sound test with and without using the SM58 preset. Without the preset in place, some feedback was heard when the microphone was placed directly inn front of the speakers. With the preset in place, there was no feedback.

ToneMatch Audio Engine

Bose L1 Model II Single Bass Package with ToneMatch Audio Engine

What does this mean? This is a well performing, well sounding system and reliable system, that anyone can setup. Call your local Inland AV representative for a demonstration of the Bose L1 Audio system.

Grant

Mobile Rear Projection Whiteboard

Grant's Perspective on ... Da-lite's new rear projection whiteboard cart for interactive projectors.

Da-Lite has introduced the IDEA Interactive Cart (a new mobile whiteboard cart designed for use with interactive projectors). The cool feature is that the ultra-short throw projector is mounted to the back side of the cart so that the whiteboard becomes a rear projection screen. This eliminates the shadows caused by someone standing between the projector and screen.

I look forward to the opportunity to get my hands on this and try it out.

Grant

New Hitachi Energy Saving Projectors

Grant's Perspective on ... the new Hitachi ImageCare lamp power control function.

Hitachi has introduced a new lamp power control function that will lower the total cost of ownership, save on electricity consumption and lengthen lamp life. It does this in two new ways: Intelligent Eco mode and Saver Mode.

Intelligent Eco automatically adjusts the power to the lamp depending on the brightness of the images being projected. This can lead to a 35 - 70% less energy being consumed.

Saver Mode reduces the amount of power when a screen has a static slide shown for a length of time. The thinking is that people watch the slide as it changes, read the slide and then not view the slide until it changes. In a classroom, a teacher would advance the slide and then talk about the slide. he students would read the slide and then focus on the teacher until the slide is changed. This can save up to 48% of electricity consumption. The user can set how long a slide will remain at full power before the projector reduces the power.

 Grant

Hide AV Equipment In a Credenza

Grant's Perspective on ... hiding boardroom AV equipment in a credenza.

There are many impressive looking boardrooms that are blemished by audiovisual equipment and wiring. Often the AV equipment can be racked in a credenza so that the boardroom aesthetics can be maintained.  Middle Atlantic makes credenzas that are specifically made for AV equipment. The credenza fits around the rack. It is designed for ease of cable management and proper equipment ventilation.

The rack is put in place, equipment is installed and cabled and then the credenza doors, sides and counter top are installed.

See the YouTube video below for a quick look.




Contact us for more information on how to design your boardroom audiovisual system that will match the look of the room.

Grant

New Music Fees For Canadian Events

Grant's Perspective on ... new music fees for Canadian events.

The Copyright Board of Canada recently introduced fees for using music in live events. This includes events such as parades, weddings (fees with or without dancing), conventions and other events. Business's like restaurants, bars (extra for karaoke) and gyms will also be required to pay these fees. Re:Sound is the organization that will be collecting the fees.

These new fees are in addition to the current Socan fees. Socan fees are collected on behalf of composers and publishing companies. Re:Sound will collect fees on behalf of musicians and recording companies.

The Copyright Board of Canada has posted a copy of the Sound Tariff. The chart below (from the Copyright Board of Canada document) is for calculating recorded music fees for "receptions, conventions, assemblies and fashion shows".

Fee Structure for receptions, conventions, assemblies and fashion shows

I suggest that anyone that puts on events, look at the sound Tariff and understand what it means to their event planning.

Grant

Chief eBeam Makes Sharp Monitors Interactive

Grant's Perspective on ... eBeam integrates with Sharp monitors.

I reviewed the Chief eBeam back in February. One of the issues with the system was that you needed to use a  monitor that was designed so that the screen glass could withstand the constant touching.

There are several Sharp monitors that have a protective layer on their glass, making the eBeam an option to make the monitor interactive. The Sharp model PN-E521P, PN-E471RP and the PN-E421P have an approved protective coating.

More options are always a good thing.

Grant