Table of Contents January-February 2009

Viewpoint

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  Digital Signage Is For Real

  Recently I had the honor of judging entries for the 2009 Apex Awards, which will be handed out Feb. 25 at the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas. The Apex Awards recognize excellence in digital signage with a particular focus on two criteria: innovative use of technology and service to the customer...

   

AV Intelligence

5-Minute Interview

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  5 Minute Interview: Thomas Wyatt

  Thomas Wyatt is VP of Cisco Systems' digital media system business. Cisco has pushed into telepresence and digital signage and recently announced new products, including a line of flat-panel displays and the Media Experience 3000 for managing network video.

   

Marketwatch

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  What Makes Good Telepresence?

  Few would argue that tele-presence systems are among the cool new things in today's enterprise. But are they AV installs? IT installs? Anecdotally, AV pros say that unless the client is happy with an out-of-the-box solution, the best telepresence requires their expertise. And new research from the...

   

Other Articles

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  Everyone's a Broadcaster

  In recent years, broadcast technology has evolved so that it's more accessible to non-traditional markets such as houses of worship, museums, corporations, and even government agencies.

   

Community Views

Parallax View

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  Dispatch from the Far East

  Last November, I spent several days in Osaka, Japan, as a guest of Sanyo Electric's Digital Systems Co. You probably know them best as the group that manufactures Sanyo LCD (and DLP) projectors, which I'm sure you've seen, spec'ed, and installed a few times in your career. Sanyo, which started in...

   
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  DTV: Hold on Tight, Here We go

  At long, long last, the official transition to broadcast digital TV is upon us. Some (like a certain elected official) aren't sure we're ready yet. In this Web-exclusive Parallax View column, HDTV expert Pete Putman says, "Ready or not, here it comes."

   

Data Links

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  At What Cost Digital Signage?

  One of the most difficult things to do is determining how much something will cost when it's beyond one's knowledge base. I'm sure every integrator reading this has been asked by a client to produce a budget estimate for a project where, in many cases, the client probably had no idea what to...

   

Consultant's Connection

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  Greening Takes Vision

  What a roller coaster ride. The American public's fickle affection for renewable resources, sustainable energy, alternative sources, and so on, wax and wane with the economy. Last summer, with the cost of oil over $140 a barrel and gas prices more than $4 per gallon, folks started to jettison their...

   
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  Adjust Your Dials

  The goal of InfoComm's Electronic Audio Noise Measurement Task Group has been to develop a best practice for measuring signal-to-noise ratios that a field technician could perform and come up with a pass/fail grade. We thought this would be one of the "easy" pieces of the commissioning puzzle. We...

   

Features

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  Vital Signs: Trends in Digital Signage

  Digital signage has become a must-have AV application. Today, added-value technologies, such as interactive software and wireless networking, are breathing fresh life into new digital signage projects.

   
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  AV and IT at a Crossroads

  It may be seem like a marriage of inconvenience, but it's for life. As it did to so many others, information technology--and in particular, Internet Protocol networking--has wedded itself to the audiovisual industry. And many professional AV firms are finding it hard getting used to the new living...

   

Install Solutions

Entertainment Install

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  Live Wired

  Keeping consumers in one place in a competitive entertainment market like Los Angeles, not to mention revitalizing the city's long-neglected downtown area, has required ambition and deep pockets. Over the past 10 years, billionaire developer Philip Anschutz has shown both in his efforts to bring...

   
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  Bravado by the Bay

  Poised along the banks of the Hillsborough River, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center is a commanding presence. It attracts all forms of entertainment, from Broadway tours to stand-up comedians. But at 11-years old, it wasn't as state-of-the-art as its competition. "We didn't have the amenities...

   

ProAV's Guide to Doing Business

Other Articles

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  Mood Swings

  When Mark Marek set out to launch a new nightclub in downtown Philadelphia, he envisioned a space unlike anything the city had ever seen–something reminiscent of flashy Miami Beach or infamous Las Vegas hot spots.

   

Tools & Tech

Feature

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  Virtually Real

  There are now pages of print and online media dedicated to the history-making night known as "Election Night in America." Part of that history is the debut of new "hologram" technology by cable network CNN. Show anchor Wolf Blitzer told the world it was something that had never been done on TV...

   

Peer Review

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  Peer Review: WorxAudio TrueLine M80X1-P

  Paul Boone, president of Boone Audio and Video, a design/build firm in Burlington N.C. that specializes in the house of worship market, gives his two cents on WorxAudio Technologies' TrueLine M80X1-P self-powered install line array.

   

Software Suite

• Software Suite: Timed Release

  Between 30 and 40 percent of Scala's customers use its digital signage platform in an advertising-based scenario, says Jeff Porter, the company's executive vice president.

   

Bright Idea

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  Bright Idea: Streamlined Audio

  Digital audio is the way of the future. But for some, the future is now, and Attero Tech's Outside-the-Box series of CobraNet audio interface products are designed make the conversion of analog signals to digital easier for AV pros.

   

Spec to Spec

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  Flat-Screen Displays For Digital Signage

  Despite the recession, digital signage is on the rise, though adoption may stabilize in 2009. "We still see growth," says Chris Connery, vice president of PC and large-format commercial displays for DisplaySearch. "Projects started in 2008 will continue on in 2009."

   

What's Next

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  Throwing Signage on the Bus

  Faced with budget shortfalls, Chicago has quit plowing side streets to save money. But the snow and cold were made a bit more tolerable for some of the city's public transit passengers, thanks to Kraft Foods, which provided heat at some bus shelters as part of an ad campaign for Stove Top Stuffing.

   

Audio Files

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  Audio Files: Behind the Design

  Acoustic consultant and audio designer Sam Berkow launches a new column exploring audio technology through interviews with product engineers. Here he talks to Perrin Meyer, who works in advanced R&D at Meyer Sound.

   

New Products

Audio

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  Matrix Switcher

  RGB Spectrum's Linx 8x8sp is a compact version of the Linx 8x8 DVI matrix switcher.

   
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  Fiber Link

  Emcore's Optiva Single and Dual-Link DVI transmits the full range of VESA dual-link DVI and SMPTE compliant video over long or short distances with a single wavelength.

   
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  Digital Tuner

  The new V-Tune Pro HD from Aurora Multimedia delivers a tuning solution for integrated systems, including those that require NTSC tuning or ATSC/QAM capability.

   
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  Ethernet Extender

  The GefenTV Ethernet over PLC (Power Line Connection) extender from Gefen allows users to tap into their existing in-wall power line cables to extend up to four Ethernet connections in an office or home without rewiring or running new cables.

   
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  Video Standby Switcher

  The SPK Series of loudspeakers from Kramer Electronics comprises six models for various pro AV applications.

   
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  Mic Covers

  Sennheiser's new Mic Skins customize G2 Series handheld microphones with design themes for musical performers and houses of worship.

   
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  AV Mount

  Peerless' SmartMount Wall Furniture, available in single- and double-stud models, allow shelving units to be centered under a flat-panel display.

   
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  Loudspeakers

  The SPK Series of loudspeakers from Kramer Electronics comprises six models for various pro AV applications.

   
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  Shotgun Microphone

  The new Superlux PRA-116B from Avlex has a lightweight form factor and includes a camera shoe shockmount adapter, mic clip, wind screen, carrying pouch, and one 1.5 volt AA alkaline battery for a cost-effective solution for satellite news gathering, electronic news gathering, broadcast, video, or...

   
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  Loudspeakers

  Canton redesigned its GLE series of loudspeakers–which includes six models: two floor-standing models, two compact loudspeakers, a horizontal center-channel, and a low-depth on-wall loudspeaker.

   
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  Outdoor Loudspeakers

  Technomad's next generation of Berlin weather­proof outdoor loudspeakers offers a narrower dispersion pattern than previous models.

   
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  Wireless Microphone System

  The SPK Series of loudspeakers from Kramer Electronics comprises six models for various pro AV applications.

   

• Tannoy i9Vp Vandal-Proof Loudspeaker

  The SPK Series of loudspeakers from Kramer Electronics comprises six models for various pro AV applications.

   
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  Amplifier

  The TX-PA40D 40 W stereo audio power amplifier from RDL delivers 20 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms or 15 watts RMS per channel into 4 ohms.

   

Video

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  3LCD Projector

  The TLP-X200U from Toshiba's Digital Products Division is its first projector with voice guidance, which, according to company officials, reduces maintenance costs by audibly directing users through the projector's operating instructions and system warnings.

   
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  Rear-Projection Display

  Planar's Clarity Margay II is a 50-inch high-resolution rear-projection display intended for public venue videowalls and space-constrained control rooms.

   
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  Video Streaming Appliance

  The TLP-X200U from Toshiba's Digital Products Division is its first projector with voice guidance, which, according to company officials, reduces maintenance costs by audibly directing users through the projector's operating instructions and system warnings.

   
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  Projector Lifts

  Engineered with a fixed pivot point, the Da-Lite Pivot motorized projector lift provides proper alignment during and after installation, says the company.

   

Cheat Sheet

• Securing a Wireless Network

  Whether you're using Wi-Fi for an AV controller or a digital signage system, the devices you integrate must be secure–or you could compromise your client's network.