AV News June 2021

The direct channel to the industry

June 2021 www.avnews.co.uk Page13

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Alternatives to touch

Distribution and sales agent guide 2021

Making the bricks and mortar retail experience more compelling and engaging is seen as vital if we are to recover the footfall lost as a consequence of the pandemic.

According to AVIXA, the global professional audiovisual industry will grow to more than $325 billion in 2024, from $247 billion in 2019.

Panasonic launches new 4K line-up ISE

ISE Live and Online open ‘Hybrid-first’ for technology deployment Integrated Systems Events Managing Director Mike Blackman marked the opening of ISE Live & Online with a presentation at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via in front of an illustrious gathering of representatives from government, local executive boards and agencies, ISE’s owners and the media. ISE Live and Online was organ-

route in Geneva, the location of the first ISE show in 2004. ISE Live & Online is a special edition of ISE, is bringing the AV community together again for the first time since February 2020. Whether you joined joining in person at in Barcelona or online, visitors left equipped with the tools needed to build a roadmap for success in the

With many workers now combining a return to the office with continued home working, this ‘hybrid-first’ approach is also being reflected in the way that firms roll out new technologies for their employees. This is according to unified communications and collaboration specialist TelcoSwitch and bodes well for the future sustainability of businesses and how they adapt to a new working world. The somewhat makeshift nature of home working when it was first implemented last year

returns, we’re seeing IT teams start to embrace the hybrid working reality in terms of technical rollouts. When working on such projects, it’s now more about the fact that any employee could be anywhere on any given day, rather than introducing new tech based on the position they hold within the company, or whether they’re permanently based in the office. “This is a sensible approach, as it simplifies how IT departments manage blanket rollouts

With the introduction of new projectors and displays at ISE 2021, Panasonic offers the most complete line-up of 4K visual solutions to meet growing demand for highly detailed and richly immersive viewing experiences. With the additions of new 4K 1-Chip DLP projectors and interactive displays, Panasonic can offer 4K solutions for any environment, across all industry sectors, with projectors from 5,000-50,000 lumens and 43–98-inch displays. The technologies are all complemented by Panasonic’s 4K collaboration solutions, in-

cluding video conferencing and wireless presentation systems. “The time is now for 4K and we are seeing increased demand across all industry sectors,” explained said Hartmut Kulessa, European Marketing Manager at Panasonic Business. “The entertainment world is using 4K to draw back audiences with immersive attractions, education is using the rich detail of 4K images in the new blended learning environment and businesses are relying on 4K to

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At ISE in Barcelona, Panasonic has announced the Panasonic PTRDQ10 Series of 1-Chip DLP laser projectors designed for entertainment, rental and corporate organisations that want to captivate viewers with detailed 4K images.

Integrated Systems Events Managing Director Mike Blackman: “To more recent events; you do not need me to comment too deeply on our shared experiences of the past 15 months. The effects have been universal, and our heartfelt sympathy goes to all countries, businesses and individuals touched by it. No one has escaped.” ised as a unique hybrid event, livestreaming from the Fira and broadcasting to a global audience via the ISE Digital platform. The opening of ISE’s first show in Barcelona represents a significant milestone in the development of Integrated Systems Europe, and a personal and professional triumph for Blackman, who launched the event 17 years ago with a staff of three. Along with representatives of the Fira, ISE co-owner AVIXA and ISE exhibitors, Blackman made a symbolic trip by motorbike from ISE’s office in Munich to Barcelona, stopping en

post-pandemic era. Speaking at a press conference just before the doors to ISE in Barcelona opened, Blackman said: “What a journey! I’m not just talking about my motorbike trip from Munich to Barcelona over the past three days, though it did give me plenty of time to reflect. We stopped off in Geneva for a break. A beautiful city. Geneva was the location of the first ever ISE in 2004. I started thinking… How things have developed, how ISE has grown,

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TAP INTO TEAMS MEETINGS Logitech Tap for Microsoft Teams Powered by Lenovo ThinkSmart Edition Tiny

With many workers now combining a return to the office with continued home working, this ‘hybrid-first’ approach is also being reflected in the way that firms roll out new technologies for their employees. has now given way to a more permanent evolution in working culture. Instead of focusing purely on areas such as job role or seniority, organisations are now approaching the management of employees – and the technology that enables them to do their jobs – in a much more fluid manner. Aaron Foster, Chief Technology Officer at TelcoSwitch, said: “As a level of confidence in businesses and the economy

for technical solutions. The fact that companies are now much more aware of how a hybrid approach works also means that IT departments are putting the medium- and long-term plans in place to ensure the technology deployed effectively meets demand. Further, IT security and governance have generally been very well managed

Christie Inspire value projectors Christie has announced the launch of the Christie Inspire Series, a family of fixed zoom lens 1DLP laser projectors in

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three brightness options designed for small to mid-sized environments, including classrooms, boardrooms, museums, houses of worship and more. The Inspire Series offers professional-grade features in a budget-friendly package. A range of

Headline News Continued from page 1

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ISE Live and Online open

Christie Inspire value projectors

how we have faced down challenges and how we have finally landed here at Fira Gran Via Barcelona. The destination of a journey that began for ISE 17 years ago.” “To more recent events; you do not need me to comment too deeply on our shared experiences of the past 15 months. The effects have been universal, and our heartfelt sympathy goes to all countries, businesses and individuals touched by it. No one has escaped. Yes, in more recent times the light at the end of the tunnel has begun to glimmer and then to shine. Which is why after conducting exhaustive research with our exhibitors, partners,

brightness options, starting at 6000 lumens, as well as 7200 lumens and 8100 ANSI lumen options (7150, 8500, and 9600 ISO lumens respectively), brings bold images in WUXGA resolution to any application. And with laser illumination, the Inspire Series offers up to 20,000 hours of low-maintenance operation to 50% brightness. Easily integrate the Inspire Series into spaces that require a simplified projection solution, like meeting rooms and briefing rooms, with AMX and Crestron connectivity. Audiences will appreciate the Inspire Series’

and owners we decided that ISE Barcelona, Live and Online, should take place.” Running at the same time as ISE Barcelona and with some sessions livestreamed from the Main Stage in Barcelona, ISE Digital offers a rich programme of content, in an easy to access platform, powered by CISCO. And the third event in the series, ISE@London, (23-24 June) at Evolution Battersea, will offer more opportunities for the industry to get together, reconnect and do business. Registration for each or all of all of these ISE events is at https://www.iseurope.org/register.php?actioncode=LIVEMAY3

‘Hybrid-first’ for technology deployment throughout the upheaval of the last year, so we’re hoping to see this continue. “From a technology stack perspective, SaaS is very much at the top of the shopping list for hybrid specifications. This is due to a number of attributes that make it ideally suited to the task, including its low-tozero capex requirement, perseat licensing models, rapid deployment, scalability, low maintenance, self-sustaining or vendor-managed upgrade policies, and little to no downtime.” Looking a little further ahead, Foster believes there are a few key areas for IT departments to keep an eye on as they develop their hybrid approaches further. One of these is interoperability with various different applications across the organisation. He added: “Interoperability is a vital consideration where companies are simultaneously deploying a number of SaaS solutions throughout the busi-

ness. CRM systems are a key example of where this needs to be achieved, given the close links these platforms have between both the employee and customer. This need for seamless integration is only set to grow further as hybrid working strategies become more established, so it’s key that employees are able to easily access all the office systems they need from wherever they’re based.” Foster concluded: “Aside from this, IT departments should keep up the great work they’re doing in terms of security and continue evolving to meet the needs of the hybrid workforce. Achieve these objectives, and there’s every reason to be positive about the future.” INSERT PIC with caption: With many workers now combining a return to the office with continued home working, this ‘hybrid-first’ approach is also being reflected in the way that firms roll out new technologies for their employees.

Panasonic launches new 4K line-up ISE bring to life their collaborative meetings. Whatever the need, Panasonic has a 4K solution that suits.” At ISE in Barcelona, Panasonic has announced the Panasonic PT-RDQ10 Series of 1-Chip DLP laser projectors designed for entertainment, rental and corporate organisations that want to captivate viewers with detailed 4K images. The three models range from 8,000 to 10,000 lumens and there is an optional ET-DLE020 UltraShort-Throw Zoom Lens with zero offset to enable large-scale images even in the tightest spaces. To meet rising demand for ultra-fine detail resolution, Panasonic has added Quad Pixel Drive to its proven 1-Chip DLP SOLID SHINE Laser projection technology to create the 5,200 lumen PT-FRQ50 projector. Alongside smooth and richly detailed 4K (3840 x 2160) images ideal for education, corporates, art and museum exhibitions, the projector

also supports 240Hz/1080p frame rates with minimal input-to-output latency of under 8ms – widening the scope of the projector for use in simulation and esports. In addition, there is a new Panasonic ET-D3QW200 ShortThrow Zoom Lens with zero offset for its 50,000 lumen PTRQ50K 3-Chip DLP Projector to address the growing demand for indoor experiential entertainment requiring immersive Native 4K image reproduction at vast scale, free from shadows and at short throw-distances. Lastly, Premium InGlass and Infrared multi-touch displays will be available across the SQE1 Series, a high-end collection of bright and durable 4K UHD LCD displays ideal for executive-level meeting rooms. Infrared multi-touch will be available in the CQE1 Series, designed for cost efficient use in education and for public display. Models range from 55-86 inches.

whisper quiet operation, and omni-directional installation capabilities allows for added installation flexibility. “The Inspire Series offers a winning combination of low-maintenance performance and value, without sacrificing advanced capabilities,” says Chris Kee, executive director, Enterprise product development, Christie. “Motorised lenses offer easy zoom, focus and offset from the remote control, and our DWU960ST-iS 8100 ANSI lumen model is one of the brightest short throw projectors currently available.” The Inspire DWU760A-iS 6000 ANSI

lumen model is TAA compliant for government applications, like briefing rooms and meeting spaces. The new series goes beyond standard projector blending with Christie Twist, a proprietary built-in image warping and blending software for up to six arrayed projectors and up to 81 grid control points, and is compatible with Christie Mystique Lite, an automated camera-based alignment software for up to three Christie projectors. Mystique Lite is available for download at no additional cost. Christie’s range of 1DLP projectors are trusted by cus-

PPDS promotes Philips MediaSuite mastermind Jeroen Verhaeghe PPDS, exclusive global provider of Philips professional TV and digital signage products and solutions, has announced the promotion of Jeroen Verhaeghe to the global role of International Business Manager for hospitality. Hailed by his colleagues as ‘Mr Pro TV’, Jeroen first joined the organisation – under its original name – back in 1998. During his esteemed career, Jeroen has held a number of important strategic and product management positions – most recently as International Product Manager for Professional TVs (2014-2021) – with each helping to shape and positively drive the business forward through his infectious desire to break down barriers and bring highly innovative and often ‘world-first’ solutions to market. Clear evidence of this can be found with the highly acclaimed launch of the Philips MediaSuite Android hospitality TV range in 2019, for which Jeroen was the mastermind. The product – the first to include Chromecast built-in – took more than three years to develop and was one of EMEA’s best-selling pro TVs in 2020, with sales now surpassing 110,000. As part of further strengthening to the hospitality team, Jeroen’s previous responsibilities, which included defining the company’s product roadmap, including features, design, screen sizes and working closely with the R&D team to bring them to market, will be absorbed into a wider team. His new role as International Business Manager for Hospitality, will allow Jeroen to work even more closely with customers (channel and end users) across EMEA and North America – to better understand their needs, requirements and wants, while liaising closely with the PPDS product management team. Based in Gent, home of PPDS state-of-the-art, product showroom, training and product development centre, Jeroen will report to Director International Business Development, PPDS, Martijn van der Woude. “When I first joined the hospitality team back in 2014, we were at the start of what has be-

PPDS, exclusive global provider of Philips professional TV and digital signage products and solutions, has announced the promotion of Jeroen Verhaeghe to the global role of International Business Manager for hospitality. come an extraordinary journey – market, is to only enter if we feel a journey that has breathed new we can make a difference. To do life into a largely stagnant and that, we can’t just mirror what’s complacent market, by signifi- been done by our competitors cantly raising the bar for choice, or assume to know what the market really wants. It’s not for value and more longevity.” “The transformation of the us to dictate to them. Instead, business has been significant, we take a fresh approach, using and in my new role I’m able current and relevant research to get closer to the market in and analysis to offer something order to gain an even better new, innovative and, where posunderstanding of what they sible, truly transformational. “Jeroen’s hard work and inneed, and to translate that information into creating better credible vision, together with solutions. We may feel we have the whole team here, has algood knowledge of today’s mar- lowed our hospitality business ket needs, but complacency is a to become both disruptive and dangerous thing, and one which envied, quickly placing PPDS as a brand of choice for many is not accepted here at PPDS.” “As a business and as a team in the market.” we are always proactive rather than reactive and we always strive to be better. In my new position, we will always have our finger on the pulse, not just for the needs of today but those of tomorrow and in years to come, whether that in EMEA, North America or elsewhere. There is not a one size fits all and it’s vital we’re able to cater for everyone, where’re they are in the world.” Martijn van der Woude added: “Jeroen and his team introduced a truly world class product with Philips MediaSuite, bringing five-star quality and performance to tens of thousands of hotel rooms around the world. It would have been easy to simply launch a pro TV into the market and label it for hospitality, but at PPDS we like to do things differently. “Our ambition, as with all our products and in every vertical

tomers globally, and deliver amazing experiences including engaging students at the Naval Academy Athletic Association’s Akerson Theatre, transporting visitors at Daxing International Airport’s digital experience pavilion and entertaining guests at Alboa’s entertainment centres. Christie Inspire Series will be available beginning in August 2021.

Manufacturers turn to digital transformation to enhance operations Following the concerns bought about by the Covid pandemic, over half of manufacturers now have their sights set on digital transformation initiatives to enhance their operational performance, according to research from InfinityQS. The company’s 2021 Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey reveals that 52% of respondents have already or are exploring the option of adopting a digital transformation initiative, with advanced analytics (24%) as their top priority. Jason Chester, Director of Global Channel Programs at InfinityQS comments: “One thing that the pandemic did was expose significant and often widespread operational weaknesses within incumbent manufacturing environments. It brought into sharp relief where legacy systems and outdated processes exacerbated the problems that manufacturers faced alongside new challenges such as the rapid shift to remote working, and supply chain disruption.” Jason continues: “Prioritising digital transformation initiatives is the key in helping to address these new challenges. Data for example, is a great way for manufacturers to increase visibility into their operations as it can provide important insights into each stage of the production process. These valuable insights can then be leveraged to help make more informed and tactical decisions to secure long-term resilience and growth.” In addition to advanced analytics, the other most popular technologies on the priority list include Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud computing. Jason explains: “It’s understandable to see IIoT and cloud computing also being top of the agenda. Manufacturers want to leverage real-time data to make proactive decisions which can maximise performance, respond to fluctuations in demand, ensure flexible operations, and even build resilience for future “black-swan” events -all while maintaining high levels of product quality and safety.” “For manufacturers to stay ahead of competition and remain at the top of their industry they need to constantly adapt to their environment by making tactical digital investments. It is great to see the majority are rebounding from the pandemic and embracing digital transformation to increase their agility and maintain competitive edge, as companies that do are better equipped to improve their operations at a faster speed and even anticipate changes before they occur.” Jason concluded.

P3 AV News June 2021

Business News

Nureva and Almo distribution agreement Northamber partners with Vestel Nureva Inc and Almo Professional AV have announced a US distribution agreement. Almo will work with its integrators, dealers and consultants to accelerate adoption of Nureva’s revolutionary audio-conferencing product line throughout the United States. As the nation’s largest distributor of leading audio-visual solutions, Almo has an expansive coastto-coast geographic footprint with eight strategically located distribution centres supplying thousands of customers. The company’s well-established and growing network will bring Nureva closer to the largest dealers and integrators in the US and greatly increase market exposure for its audio-confer-

don the office. According to the survey, most companies are heading toward a hybrid workplace that will begin to take shape in the second quarter of 2021 where employees rotate in and out of offices configured as shared spaces. Recognizing that this trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, Almo is well positioned to expand and accelerate the market for Nureva’s audio-conferencing product line, which is an ideal fit for the hybrid workplace. Powered by patented Microphone Mist technology, Nureva audio conferencing systems bring clear, reliable audio to meeting and learning spaces. The technology fills a room with thousands of virtual micro-

ly combines ease-of-use, simplified deployment and flexible room coverage at a reasonable price point,” explained Rob Ziv, vice president of business development and strategy, Almo Professional AV. “Nureva products are now part of the Almo Sound Options professional audio group, which provides a curated portfolio of audio products combined with the audio-specific sales, technical and engineering expertise needed to complete a successful AV installation through a single source.” He added, “This distribution arrangement gives Almo partners in-stock, ready-to-ship access to Nureva products, and that is ideal for audio installations that must be

Northamber has announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Vestel Visual Solutions. The agreement will see Northamber promote and distribute Vestel’s large format displays to the pro AV and IT

Peter Dosanjh, Director of AV at Northamber, said: “We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Vestel. They have an extensive offering of high-quality professional display solutions. and their prod-

Flintoft, Sales & Marketing Director, Vestel, “and forming partnerships with leading distributors such as Northamber is critical for reaching this audience. Additionally, at Vestel we have ambitious growth tar-

Northamber has announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Vestel Visual Solutions.

Nureva Inc and Almo Professional AV have announced a US distribution agreement. encing systems. Many people across the United States are heading back into offices now that COVID vaccines are being administered, while many others will continue working remotely, at least part of the time. The need for reliable audio to accommodate this hybrid way of working will continue for years to come. A recent PwC Remote Work Survey found US executives and employees looking to a post-pandemic future with a lot more flexibility, but few are prepared to completely aban-

phones so in-room participants can move around, maintain physical distance and still be heard clearly by remote participants. The Nureva product line includes the HDL200 for small rooms, HDL300 for midsize rooms and Dual HDL300 for large rooms. They all feature true full-room microphone pickup, easy installation and continuous autocalibration that automatically adapts to any room configuration. “Nureva is one of the first companies to offer a room-based audio solution that successful-

completed right away, especially as employees return to their on-site workspaces.” “Almo is a highly reputable AV distribution company, and we are excited to work with them to accelerate adoption of our products in business and higher education,” said Nancy Knowlton, Nureva’s CEO. “With their renowned expertise and solid distribution experience, we expect that Almo will build on our success and substantially grow our channel beyond our established channel.”

Barco: “Meeting rooms take centre stage in the hybrid workplace” Barco ClickShare has revealed the results from its annual research on meeting trends and engagement. As the Meeting Barometer, Barco's meeting quality index, takes a plunge from +17 in 2020 to -25 now, the report marks 5 trends in work and meeting on the verge of returning to the office postcovid. Hybrid meeting creates opportunities for business leaders to change work culture, redesign the workplace and invest in usability and technology fully in synch with employee needs. Lieven Bertier, Segment Marketing Director Workplace, Barco says, “Meetings will play a crucial role in tomorrow’s workplace, as they will be key for business continuity during the

P4 AV News June 2021

transition into a new hybrid reality. Connecting workers wherever they are and making hybrid collaboration truly flow will be the road to future success, higher engagement and productivity. Business leaders can make a real impact on business outcomes starting from an employee-centric mindset” “In our newest, international survey we continued to monitor the engagement and needs of employees in meetings. We discovered 5 trending topics that business leaders can simply not ignore when preparing for a flexible, hybrid future:” “Back to office scenarios are not only pushed by C-level management, they are completely in line with what employees want. More than half

of the workforce is ready to return and 72% is expected to be back in the office one or more days by the end of June 2021. They want to work less from home than 6 months ago (2 days in 2020 – 1,5 days in 2021).” The Barco Meeting Barometer takes a plunge as people struggle with an overload of virtual meetings. An index of -25, compared to +17 in 2020 and +63 in 2019, clearly shows that meetings deteriorate. 49% feel remote collaboration does not come naturally.

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reseller channels. Vestel Visual Solutions is one of the primary global manufacturer of professional display solutions for a range of industries such as retail, hospitality, workplaces, schools and colleges. Coupled with dedicated services and support, it delivers bespoke display solutions which are tailored to the needs of its customers.

uct range is already available via our sister company AVM. We look forward to expanding upon this further by taking their large format displays to the Northamber pro AV and IT reseller channels.” “We believe that professional display solutions empower resellers to create new revenue streams within a growing technological space,” said David

gets for the UK market, none of which can be achieved without the vital support of our partners. Having already worked with Northamber’s sister company, we are excited to expand this partnership further to reach new audiences with our professional display solutions.” Northamber is able to offer Vestel’s products with immediate effect.

TeamViewer acquires Viscopic TeamViewer has announced the acquisition of Viscopic to expand TeamViewer’s enterprise AR portfolio, with pioneering solutions for interactive 3D visualisation and Mixed reality (MR) workflow digitalisation. Customers of the Munich-based startup including blue-chip companies Audi, Siemens Energy, and Deutsche Bahn use Viscopic’s highly innovative technologies for production, maintenance, quality assurance, and training purposes. Viscopic’s software runs on Mixed Reality smart glasses like Microsoft HoloLens as well as smartphones and tablets to assist frontline workers. Digital information like 3D pointers or step-by-step instructions can be pinned to real-world objects, and true-to-scale holograms placed into production environments. Viscopic’s intuitive 3D processing and authoring product enables the user to create Mixed Reality content without expert coding knowledge as well as the creation of 3D holograms based on CAD or similar data. TeamViewer’s CPO Hendrik Witt said: “We are excited to welcome the entire Viscopic team to the TeamViewer family. They are proven specialists in their technology field and a great extension to our existing enterprise AR suite. After TeamViewer’s acquisitions of

wearable computing leaders Ubimax and Upskill within the last year, Viscopic’s 3D visualisation capabilities enable additional use cases for example in manufacturing and quality assurance processes in the automotive sector or heavy industry. With 3D elements we can offer improved workflows and Mixed Reality experiences on the customer’s side, especially when complex situations require more visual support.” Viscopic’s co-founder Marco Maier adds: “We are happy and proud to join such a great company as TeamViewer that has developed into a truly global tech brand enabling digitalisation along the entire value-chain of businesses in all verticals. We see enormous potential for our powerful 3D

processing and mixed reality authoring technology to be implemented in TeamViewer’s industrial enterprise offering – creating additional value for TeamViewer’s and Viscopic’s customers. With TeamViewer’s global sales and marketing power we can take the use of our software to the next level.” Viscopic’s 3D AR product suite will be integrated into TeamViewer Frontline, an AR-based solution suite used to digitalise work processes and empower frontline workers on the shopfloor. TeamViewer Frontline provides AR and MR workflows, as well as remote assistance capabilities along the entire value chain. Main use cases include assembly, inspection, maintenance, remote assistance, and picking for logistics.

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Business News continued from page 4

Barco: “Meeting rooms take centre stage in the hybrid workplace” The search for more engagement drives us away from virtual. We look for more in-person meetings and less virtual interactions. 1 in 2 employees goes back to the office to host a meeting. The preference for hybrid, in-person or virtual, meetings depends on the purpose and type of a meeting, as well as on the number of meeting participants. High engagement activities like decision-making, solution-solving or relationship-building require office-based meetings. The laptop is our interface to the world. As the preference for people-centric tech becomes clearer, the laptop remains the number one tool for 70% of employees to host videocalls from. Traditional in-room systems are no longer preferred, in favour of

equipped with videoconferencing technology. The emerging hybrid workplace isn’t just about simply going back to our old-ways or about drastically changing present-day, virtual habits. It will be a careful balance between employee needs and business goals. For companies to daily bridge the gap between in-office and remote workers and allow them to be truly productive in meetings, both a change in work culture and technology investments like usability, BYOM and video solutions, will be crucial. In addition, the report includes 3 main take-aways that will enable decision-makers to anticipate and keep ahead of competition, as they shape the hybrid workplace moving forward:

differences across generations, gender, department and seniority level. Companies need to develop workplace strategies that allow for this kind of flexibility and empower employees to work the way they want. • Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) is the employee’s preferred choice for connecting to the world and to co-workers. The laptop is the heart of the meeting room eco-system and employees want to work with wireless & touchless meeting room tech that allows BYOM. 88% believe that easy-to-use technology can make for a better meeting. Lieven Bertier, Segment Marketing Director Workplace, Barco, “As the return to the office is near, there’s no better time to start investing in an

New way to reach elusive ‘invisible’ influencers With ‘invisible influencers’ posing a growing threat to B2B marketers, a global story selling agency is introducing a new way to reach out to powerful yet elusive users. Story Hero sets out to reinvent the traditional case study, supporting marketers as they create and

case studies can be a powerful weapon. Buyers love to hear compelling stories about similar businesses experiencing - and successfully overcoming - common challenges. That’s why Story Hero is reinventing the traditional case study with a helping hand from Hollywood.

foundation of pretty much every hero-based movie. By incorporating this formula into case study creation, Rostance believes that every B2B marketer can successfully connect emotionally with audiences. Story Hero uses the Hollywood framework as the basis of its

“We can tell ourselves whatever we want to hear, but the truth is that customers really don’t care about what we have to say about our products and services, yet they love to hear stories they can relate to; stories that could almost be about them,” says James Rostance, Story Hero Founder. “Our mission is to reinvent the classic advertorial case study with innovative story selling alternatives, adapted from a successful Hollywood movie formula. The formula Rostance refers to is commonly known as ‘Overcoming the Monster’; a framework that follows a linear threat-challenge-setback-victory journey that forms the

9-step ‘Customer Hero’ formula which prioritises the emotional needs of the buyer while simultaneously disabling the inherent push-back triggers that generate distrust. Through storytelling - which is already playing a significant role in many other aspects of marketing - B2B sellers can tap into the previously difficult-to-access emotional side of influencers to boost acceptance of case study content and facilitate a notable impact on decision making processes.

Photo by Korie Cull

Hybrid meeting creates opportunities for business leaders to change work culture, redesign the workplace and invest in usability and technology fully in synch with employee needs. BYOD and BYOM. The employee-centric workplace arises. Hybrid meeting investments should be in sync with employee expectations on how and where they want to work and collaborate. 42% believe that the company has not prioritized the investments they needed for better hybrid collaboration while 77% think that all meeting rooms need to be

• Re-connecting with the organization and with colleagues is crucial for employee engagement and retention. 71% of employees think their employer should start preparing for hybrid work now. • One size does not fit all. Not all meetings are equal, not all employees have the same needs or requirements for collaboration. There are many

employee-centric work model. This includes enabling Bring Your Own Meeting in meeting rooms, implementing flexible work and installing easy-to-use, worker-centric collaboration technology. Only with the focus on usability and engagement in hybrid meeting solutions will businesses be able to keep ahead of the curve”

The Russian opening is the latest in TIG's string of Experience Spaces now open in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Johannesburg, with Oslo and Dubai scheduled to open later this Spring. The new EMEA showrooms have all been specially designed to give visitors an interactive demonstration of Crestron's solutions for both the commercial and residential markets. The Moscow Experience Space has been carefully set up to provide an intimate environment for local integrators, consultants, specifiers and end-users to explore the solutions available, in the safest and most enlightening way. Serge Philippo, TIG's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Russia, comments: “The main purpose of our brand-new Mos-

cow Experience Space is customer satisfaction. End-users and partners are all welcome to get in touch with our experienced sales and technical teams, who can assist them with the design of their projects. Discover how Crestron simplifies the user experience and see its latest AV/UC technologies for the modern workspace, meeting rooms and smart homes!” The Moscow Experience Space is located at: Presnenskaya emb. 12, complex Federaciya, East Tower, 56 fl., office 12 Moscow, Russia Guests can book their one-toone appointment with their TIG expert by going to: https:// tig.eu/booking-form . TIG is committed to adhering to local

Covid-safety and social distancing regulations in all of its Experience Spaces and is dedicated to hosting safe meetings. The technologies available to explore in the Moscow Experience Space are built around the complete Crestron offering and include: •Collaboration and residential smart space technology from Crestron, including: Flex, NVX, DM and DM Lite, Room scheduling and Crestron Home solutions •Stylish keypads for the hotel and home from Black Nova •The Desk Sign by Embrava, which displays employee and workspace availability •Remote monitoring and power distribution solutions from GUDE TIG has also built a Virtual Experience Space, an immer-

publish engaging, persuasive, and shareable content with those who can get it in front of the right audiences. According to the 2020 B2B Buying Disconnect report by TrustRadius, almost half of all people who can influence decision making are considered to be ‘invisible influencers. Refusing to reach out to sales teams and preferring to selfserve, they’re best reached through shareable content, like case studies. The problem? Influencers - and their audiences - are increasingly viewing case studies as little more than brand adverts masquerading as testimonials. When done right, however,

TIG adds Moscow to Experience Space list

P6 AV News June 2021

sive online space as part of its website, which delivers an engaging and life-like experience: www.tig.eu/experience-us.

Technological Innovations Group (TIG) has opened its brand-new Crestron Experience Space in central Moscow.

Business News

VITEC strategic partnership with Christie appoints Visualization as UK distribution partner Zest Technologies VITEC has announced a strategic partnership with Zest Technologies, which will see the two companies work together to offer complete end-to-end workflow solutions for the broadcast market. VITEC has a growing product portfolio in the sector and with Zest’s value-added

VITEC. “Lorna has a wealth of relevant experience, and we have many shared values. She has the knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to provide us with the best solutions and to help VITEC gain further traction in the sectors. Our combined strengths allow us to jointly tai-

mal video technology solutions for our customers.” Zest Technologies grew out of Garland Partners Limited, which was co-founded in 2004 by Lorna Garrett and Malcolm Harland. Garland expanded rapidly as its reputation for providing the best digital vid-

Christie has announced a new UK partnership with Visualization. The UK-based company will be joining Christie as the UK’s Technical Distribution Partner, offering a full system design, build and supply of services and products, to the integration and dealer channel. Visualization is an associate company of AV Rack Build and is able to draw on a long-established relationship with Christie and its products. The new arrangement gives integrators a one-stop-shop for system pricing, orders, and an opportunity to take advantage of additional AV engineering services and technical expertise each step of the way. “Christie products are respected across the AV world and their reputation speaks for itself,” comments Nick Pidgeon, Managing Director at Visualization

and AV Rack Build. We have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Christie since early days with the first Dolby Cinema deployments and the move to formalise our relationship is a mutually beneficial step for both companies. From our side we’ve put together a great account team including industry stalwart Chris Brittan, who can draw on extensive experience of Christie solutions over the years. This is a very exciting time and I’m very much looking forward to the future.” “As business starts to open up again, it’s an exciting time for Christie to be partnering with Visualization,” says Miles Donovan, Senior Channel Development Manager at Christie. “Its particular focus will be on our Pandoras Box, Spyder, and Terra products, the demand for which is likely to be on an up-

LED board-to-board tolerance and uniformity. NanoLumens Displays are designed, assembled, and supported in the USA and are TAA and NDAA 899 compliant. VuWall’s high-performance VuScape video wall processor provides an easy way to control and distribute a hybrid array of

content sources to any video wall with flexibility and their full-featured management software TRx. Designed for mission-critical applications and big data visualization, a single VuScape can power virtually any video wall size and aspect ratio, capture up to 40x 4K sources, mix baseband and IP

ward trajectory for some time. With Visualization’s expertise, know-how and commitment to technical excellence, our customers are in safe hands.”

Christie has announced a new UK partnership with Visualization. The UK-based company will be joining Christie as the UK’s Technical Distribution Partner, offering a full system design, build and supply of services and products, to the integration and dealer channel.

VITEC has announced a strategic partnership with Zest Technologies, which will see the two companies work together to offer complete end-to-end workflow solutions for the broadcast market. (Mark Rushton, Business Development Director at VITEC with Zest Managing Director Lorna Garrett. services and distribution reach, the collaboration between the two companies offers a compelling proposition for broadcast customers across Europe. Zest Technologies was founded by its Managing Director Lorna Garrett, who has more than 16 years of experience in the video technology market, predominantly in the broadcast, sport, event and media sectors in addition to Lorna working with VITEC in previous roles. “Our broadcast product range has been evolving in our desire to work with a market leader who can add value end to end, and not be simply a reseller, Zest Technologies is a great fit.” says Mark Rushton, Business Development Director at

lor solutions and workflows, not just push products, that offer best value for existing and prospective clients.” “Broadcast applications are a demanding environment,” adds Lorna. Products have to be fit for purpose, both for the circumstances in which they will be used and in the results they will deliver. VITEC fits the bill on both counts, and I’m delighted to include them in Zest’s portfolio of solutions. I understand the demands for first-class products in the sector, having helped to solve video contribution needs for some of the largest companies in the market, and we at Zest know that by working with the VITEC team we can provide the opti-

eo solutions and service grew amongst many of the UK’s largest organisations. After 16 years, Garland’s success led to its acquisition, in February 2021, by LiveU. Zest Technologies was formed to continue to provide professional video contribution solutions and service offerings from Garland’s other world-class partners. VITEC manufactures solutions for broadcast, enterprise, government, military, sports and entertainment venues, specifically tailored to each customer’s unique workflow. At the core of every VITEC solution is a commitment to offer products with the lowest latency and most robust IPTV capability on the market.

US-based LED visualization solution provider, NanoLumens, announced today its partnership with VuWall - a global technology leader in video wall control systems and unified visualization solutions. Together, the companies are bringing customized high-performance LED and video wall control solutions to control rooms within the transportation, utilities, government and security operations markets. The solution offered by VuWall and NanoLumens benefits customers by consolidating and improving efficiency while giving them the flexibility to customize the size and shape of their LED display, transforming their environment into an immersive experience. NanoLumens’ LED displays combined with VuWall’s video wall control system enable users to have a

multi-view of data on any surface with any aspect ratio. NanoLumens’ fine pitch technology displays the highest image quality of any kind of content while VuWall’s ecosystem provides the most effective distribution of high-resolution data, from any source in any format. The combined solution eliminates inefficiencies by combining all collaboration and visualization tools in one place. “Our partnership with VuWall is a natural fit that allows us to provide the most effective distribution of critical information in real-time to ensure efficient operation in all of our applications,” said Kurt DeYoung, CRO at NanoLumens. “VuWall’s forward-thinking holistic technology, aligns with our corporate vision to provide our customers with flexible, immersive visualization experiences with fully

integrated control solutions.”. “We are thrilled to partner with award-winning LED display manufacturer NanoLumens. Their focus on customization and out-of-the-box approach aligns perfectly with our own corporate values,” said Paul Vander Plaetse, CEO, VuWall. “With NanoLumens, we are able to bring our customers a new level of flexibility and customization like never before.” NanoLumens LED displays are application-specific and purpose-built, designed to solve the unique challenges of each application with the minimum impact on infrastructure. Using state-of-the-art design processes and patented frame-and-skin topology with variable frame registration, their Nixels float unregistered on their framework, allowing for freeform curvatures and industry-leading

NanoLumens partners with VuWall

sources such as IP cameras, websites, RSS feeds, or desktop applications, display an unlimited number of windows per screen, encode a portion or an entire 4K video wall, and process 24-bit true colour images at full frame rate.

P7 AV News June 2021

Opinion

A successful future workplace must be data driven Foundations The modern workplace is evolving. It’s increasingly important for leaders to create an environment that enables agile processes and flexible working. In 2020, Knight Frank’s ‘Re-occupancy and Re-imagined Workplace Survey’ found that 47% of UK businesses believed their real estate strategies would include more serviced or coworking space in future. Leaders are being challenged

es to think differently about providing the right space for the work whilst helping employees to achieve the right work/life balance. But how can organisations know what approach is right for them?

Data Driven Decisions Data analytics is key. The insights gained from this can inform a workplace strategy that optimises use of space. According to a Gensler research study, 83% of corporate real

strategic business decisions, using 3 key elements.

Desk booking Introducing desk booking can provide employees that have been working from home, with reassurance about the prospect of returning to the office. They are able to select a desk in a workspace located close to colleagues with whom they need to collaborate. Desk Sensors further improve accuracy and predictability by

management by monitoring and quickly resolving common technical issues.

Visitor management: Visitor Management Solutions (VMS) in the short-term hold the key to implementing a successful track and trace pol-

contacting the host when the visitor arrives or having to type in all of the visitor details manually are taken care of digitally allowing the receptionist to focus on providing a hospitality experience.

Conclusion

performing workforce by delivering workplace solutions that align to the working practices of their employees. It also requires effective use of data to ensure they’re making the most effective use of the space they have now and to enable them model future scenarios in line with emerging business needs

Workplace management solutions like GoBright offer a passive method of data collection across the workplace to guide strategic business decisions, using 3 key elements. to evaluate the tasks people do and the most effective environment for those tasks and determine changes needed in the physical environment and workplace culture. Another study commissioned by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Elastic suggests that the companies that adapt quickly to new ways of working will perform better than those that don’t. Smart use of data to increase productivity and optimise space utilisation will yield a positive return on investment and increase the gap between the leaders and followers. Over the last year, organisations have adjusted to accommodate a remote workforce and now as they plan for a return to the office, the likelihood is that most will be considering a blend of onsite and remote working. Gone are the days of employees turning up to the office each day to work at their own desk. Organisations previously dedicated vast amounts of office space to individual desks and filing cabinets and squeezed in some limited collaboration space. The pandemic has provided the catalyst for business-

estate executives rank space utilisation as the most important metric for making effective workplace decisions. The return on investment that can be achieved by getting these things right can and does affect an organisation’s ability to achieve cost-effective growth. In the short-term, organisations need to track data to understand their own performance trends, for example the employees and departments accessing the office most frequently and the meeting rooms used most regularly. This data informs short-term decision making to ensure workplace effectiveness, employee wellbeing and adherence to safety requirements. However, we’re increasingly seeing organisations using data to determine longer term plans. As organisations gather and utilise data more effectively, it can inform development of an occupancy strategy which helps organisations to build an environment to support a highly productive workforce and better manage the cost of real estate. Workplace management solutions like GoBright offer a passive method of data collection across the workplace to guide

P8 AV News June 2021

enabling businesses to track people checking in and out automatically, without the need for additional hardware. In the short-term desk booking data is about controlling and managing occupancy, but in the long term the data gathered will enable businesses to plan accurately for future workplace needs. For example, as workspace demand changes there may be a requirement for fewer desks and more meeting spaces.

Room booking: Room booking data helps organisations to understand the number of rooms being used, the size of room most commonly selected and typical occupancy levels. When building a hub for the future it’s important to know the number and sizes of meeting spaces likely to be required. Collecting data can also help determine the type of technology users are most likely to need for their meetings and the services they most frequently book. Issues and incidents can also be logged to enable organisations to improve incident

icy. Organisations can monitor the number of visitors in their buildings in real time seeing exactly what times people are checking in and out and providing them with important safety information while they are onsite. Visitor levels can also be monitored over time, enabling organisations to identify which staff most frequently host visitors, the reasons for the visits and the most popular days for those visits. Additionally, VMS takes away a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ that traditionally would be placed on a receptionist. Tasks like

Ultimately the key to success for an organisation is its ability to optimise the use of space. This means creating an environment that supports a high

and changes in workplace behaviours.

Sources: GoBright: https://ascentae.com/products/gobright/ Knight Frank, Re-occupancy and Re-imagined Workplace Survey, 2020: https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/office-space/insights/ culture-and-space/6-things-uk-businesses-want-from-officespace Forrester Consulting, The Changing Role of the IT Leader 2021: https://www.elastic.co/fr/campaigns/forrester-covid-19-it-leader-employee-experience Gensler research: https://www.gensler.com/gri

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Profile Technology News

BrightSign: flourishing despite the pandemic You might think that the pandemic would have a negative impact on the digital signage business with the resulting impact on retail, hospitality and entertainment footfall. But no, says BrightSign CEO JeffHastings: “Far from it”. To underline he point, Jeff arranged a sneak peek of the new solutions scheduled for launch at the forthcoming ISE London and Barcelona events. AVN: Can I start by just asking you, what are your expectations of the year ahead, starting with the ISE events? JH: Well, we have put together a modest expectations for the ISE events and scaled the investments to match. We think there is going to be a modest showing of people; there are still a lot of people on the edge. So we have modest expectations. To compensate, we have arranged for our team to actually walk you through a virtual demonstration of what we will have in our booth. JH: So we are having a real trade show booth, so that we can have a presence there, but then secondly, be able to replicate it

virtually so that our sales folks talk to people and if they say they can't go. I thought it would be a good way to show you kind of how we're giving people the real experience of the event. And then secondarily, for people who can't make the real event, especially after they cancelled a few of them to give them a virtual event. On screen, you can actually see what's going on and ask questions, so it's literally just like being at the trade show, except it's virtual. AVN: We will probably do the London show but Barcelona depends on the quarantine requirements JH. Let's see what happens. In 2019 we introduced BSN SoundCloud.- a completely new product, cloud connected, and which allows our devices to instantly get on the cloud. Via SoundCloud users can access their control cloud and the content file. So you can a lot to look at all your devices online and do diagnostics and things like that. The cloud updates your experience, new content, and more. It's been going very well. We now have tens of thousands of units that are now connected to the control cloud and the content cloud. AVN: So what can you show as a virtual installation? JH: I can just look at the dashboard and my network on the control cloud. So if I click into this network. I just brought up a story of a small network. It's got five players in it. It's my network. So I'm constantly testing things. So there's always devices online that shows me those three devices online. I mean, two devices online and three devices offline. And then I can look at what was the last connection. For most people, this managing devices. If they're having some issues we can call tech support and they can get information about it. We can also run all kinds of diagnostics. So we could look at the network, we can see what the IP network looks like. We can actually do a network capture. So, if there were streaming issues, you can do a network capture, otherwise someone would have to take a PC into that network to do a network capture. We can do it all on our device and then we can do things like snapshot. It allows you to do this all instantaneously. So I'm doing this but player is somewhere else. It's not it's not a local player. So all this is being done over the Web from a Web based interface. You can even update the operating system. Even on the control side, you can actually reboot the player. You can factor a reset. So these are things that we added, like I said, in twenty nineteen as part of this in the cloud. And these have been just enormously powerful to the installers and the entities that use our devices, because now when they actually deploy these devices, all they have to do is plug them into an action blank SD card and it will contact our servers and pull down all the content - everything that's needed for that player. So, altogether it's been a real breakthrough whereas a lot of people think of us as just a hardware company. We build media players that this whole business in the cloud, especially with the control cloud, has completely changed the way that people view us. AVN: So what’s next? Which new improvements to the user experience will bring back the footfall? JH: It's been a very, very interesting period for us. From my perspective I thought this is going to be really bad. Now the picture is much clearer. Retail didn't close down. Not at all. Yes. There

P10 AV News June 2021

were winners and there were losers. The massive winners, the people that were declared essential businesses, boomed. In the first four months after the Covid crisis started, we received our single largest order in the history of the company. From a retailer that was one of the winners. Overall, our business in the retail sector was actually up. We got more revenue from retail than we had before Covid. Now, there was a bunch of losers. Smaller companies that were closed. There were not spending money, but the large retailers were spending an enormous amount of money on their stores. And their philosophy is we had a whole bunch of new customers come in and now we want to increase the experience to keep them coming back. At an emotional level. we can’t help sympathising with the people who are closed down, but for us, it was it was crazy that our retail business was actually up during Covid. So we're seeing those retailers that have that were declared essential. Their business is booming and they are putting lots of investments. And a lot of these were the bigger retailers where they had historically not and money on the store experience. Now, they're wanting to spend crazy money on the store experience to keep these new customers. AVN: What new features and facilities can people expect from Digital signage? JH: I think the clothing retailers are going to see a big resurgence

of people coming back because the act of buying things, trying them on and sending them back is just a lot of work. I think that its going to be a big boost to them as things open up. I think those clothing retailers are going to see a big resurgence. I thought it was going to be a horrible time with retail, but it was quite the opposite. It was our best year ever in terms of retail. I/m going to have Karen walk you through some of the demos that we're going to have at the at the ISE shows. I mean, but they're all, you know, reasonable looks at it. So with that, I'll turn it over to Karen in our Los Gatos office and can give you a live demo. Karen from BrightSign: I'm here in our headquarter offices in Los Gatos, California, and we've created this virtual showroom to demonstrate the power of BrightSign. As Jeff mentioned, we will be exhibiting with Next WebSphere, who offers interactive sensors and lighting elements that pair extremely well with our BrightSign players so that you can create really engaging experiences. Spare pushbuttons are installed under each of the players We can operate flawlessly because we have a solid-state platform. That means there's no moving parts to fail, there's no fan required, and it even has a patented aluminium enclosure. So our players can operate at extreme temperatures. So that makes them really ideal for these types of kiosk installations, any kind of space and even outdoor applications. So that single BrightSign player that is controlling this entire experience is also powering each of these eight Next WebSphere elements. So when I press one of the buttons to learn more about the product, you'll see the content changes. We're going to be highlighting this demonstration with new air button controllers . It works very much like a push button, but rather than physically pushing the button, you're simply cover your hand or your finger over the button by about one or two inches to trigger the same re-

sponse. It creates a touchless environment that's hygienic. We feel that this type of touchless interactivity is going to be here for some time to come. We can walk visitors through any number of these eight categories to try to learn more about whatever they might be interested in. And it's a massive multiplex presentation that only runs off our flagship player, because of the video and performance that's required to drive it. And that's partly because we can also launch twenty-two different example presentations with a touch of a buttons. For presentations categorized by market verticals and by feature sets, so when a visitor walks up and they want to see a realistic application for their feature or their market vertical, with a touch of a button to show them exactly what that means and how it looks. So next I can show you a video wall. This is a very eye-catching video wall because we have a different screen sizes, different orientations and aspect ratios. If it looks like it's lagging behind our frame accurate synchronization, we can connect each of the players driving the screens through the Internet connection so that we're constantly keeping the communication going and making sure everyone's playing the right content at the right. Now, this video wall is very impressive, and we can actually make our video interactive. It makes the wall a really engaging experience. There players are all of these are going to be installed into various finished fixtures so that you can see how they operate and realistic applications. And the same is we've got this mesosphere controller connected to eight different interactive devices and lighting sensors, and there's one single USB cable that uses black cable here that you could go into the BrightSign player to control and power all of these devices from a single USB connection. We do that using serial or over USB commands. We've got a presence sensor so that as you watch, the distance you are from that sensor you have intimate lighting that changes with the content. When I get further away, the lighting changes to purple and we've got different video content. We can also use an RFID antenna with a product that has a pickup pick-up sensor so that we can trigger content. You can keep a log file, which can be used to fine tune your display or just learn how people are utilizing it. We can also build-in a scanner that senses the gender of the person sitting in front of it. And you can sense my age and my gaze. So centre, left and right, and it's keeping account of male versus female. So you can either just use that as a data point or you can actually trigger your content to play back based on the gender that's detected. Moving on, we have a touchless sensor that they started providing in the pandemic age here. It's called Air Gesture: it's a touchless solution that operates much like you would swipe your smartphone screen. When you swipe across your screen to get to the next set of contests, you can do the same with this gesture sensor to navigate. You're just hovering. We've got these icons here along the bottom that we want to navigate through and simply by swiping my hand over the sensor. There's a proximity sensor located underneath the display that when you trigger it, it will move from a track that was playing into a call-to-action video. We've got a BrightSign built into this display here that oversees controlling the entire experience. And we've got RFID antennas installed into the shelves and sensors on the cosmetics. So to interact with it, I simply lift up one of the products they want to learn about. It plays the content that matches that product. JH: Thanks, Karen. You know, we've been using this tool actually during the pretty much this whole Covid crisis and actually giving people live demonstrations where our salespeople can't actually visit the customers. And as you say, it's pretty compelling that if we have to be in this virtual world to be able to give demonstrations like this.

Application News

Shure behind the scenes at the Eurovision Song Contest

DiGiCo delivers exceptional sound at Golden Stage Cross

Broadcast live from Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the 65th Eurovision Song Contest celebrated diverse musical talent from around the continent. The biggest European music contest handpicked the Shure Axient Digital Wireless System to help ensure impeccable audio quality throughout all performances for singers, musicians, and viewers to enjoy. With more than 40 artists on stage and an estimated audience of nearly 200 million viewers across Europe, the 2021 Eurovision edition needed a wireless system that could meet every contestant’s demands. Developed with input from top audio professionals, Axient Digital delivers outstanding signal quality that performs in even the most congested RF environments. It is designed to maximize control and scalability while providing stability, range, and clarity for flawless execution to exceed the most demanding wireless needs. Engineered with flexible hardware options and advanced connectivity, Axient Digital brought the most innovative sound technology to power the biggest European music event, which concluded with crowning the Italian rock band, Maneskin, as the eventual winner “With Shure’s Axient Digital we found the perfect system to monitor and coordinate the complex audio set up that Eurovision required, in which sound quality and spectrum efficiency are key,” said Aart Heus, Wireless Coordination Technician at Ampco Flashlight. “Shure’s Wireless Workbench was the most qualified software for it. The hardware not only provides control and stability, it is trustable and reliable which is essential for a show of this size.”

Held annually in March, the Golden Stage Cross Awards is a magical night celebrating World Theatre Day by recognizing the most significant productions, authors and professional artists in what has become Lithuania’s most anticipated performing arts awards. Due to the health and safety regulations, no spectators were allowed at the event this year, with the awards ceremony presented and broadcast live on Lithuanian national television, LRT (Lietuvos radijas ir televizija). NGR Service worked with show organisers to provide the sound system, deploying a DiGiCo SD12 96-channel console with D-Rack and D2-Rack to broadcast the audio “as it should sound”. Traditionally held in a different theatre every year, it was decided to host this year’s awards in the same venue as last year, at the spectacular Lithuanian Na-

Shure at the Eurovision Stage in Rotterdam (Image: Nathan Reinds)

The Eurovision Song Contest relied on Shure’s gear and trusted its Axient Digital for the sound set up, including: • 20 Axient Digital AD4Q Four Channel Quad receivers • 20 Axient Digital ADX2FD Handheld Wireless Microphone Transmitters including ShowLink Remote Control • 70 P10R+ Diversity Bodypack IEM Receivers The Axient Digital Wireless System was selected to ensure flawless performances not only on the main stage, but also in the rehearsal rooms, and the press centre. Both the performers and fans enjoyed the best professional audio quality possible. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is responsible every year for organising of the Eurovision Song Contest. The 2021 edition was led by Erwin Rintiema, Head of Production. Together with Host Broadcast-

ers NPO, NOS, AVROTROS and Ampco Flashlight, the official sound supplier for the contest, Shure Axient Digital was their go-to-solution to address the show’s demanding requirements. “Shure was the perfect solution offered by Ampco Flashlight that matched all our requests,” added Jeroen ten Brinke, Head of Live Sound at ESC. “The fact that channels are duplicated and can change frequency automatically when needed is an amazing feature. It was the best system in which we could trust for this major European event”.

Aart Heus, Ampco Flashlight. Wireless Coordination Technician with Shure’s Axient Digital at the Eurovision Stage (Image: Nathan Reinds)

garding the sound.” Whilst all the performances between the live presentations were pre-recorded at the theatre a week before the event, the actual ceremony and presentation of the awards happened in real time and was broadcast live on LRT. “We chose to use DiGiCo SD12 first and foremost because of its quality,” explains Ždanovičius. “DiGiCo’s SDRange brings a brilliance and transparency to the acoustic instruments and vocals, which was exactly what we needed, especially when working with the orchestra.” Another benefit that was particularly appreciated by Ždanovičius was the flexibility and functionality the SD12 offered. “It allowed us to build our workspace architecture in whatever way we wanted and needed. For example, having two independent screens is priceless when you are working

It was a deeply evocative experience for the NGR team to be using an SD12 for the Golden Stage Cross Awards as the same console was also deployed on the one-act opera The Flying Dutchman, staged by Klaipėda State Musical Theatre in August last year. Prestigious Golden Crosses were awarded to the professionals working on this magnificent musical production, including Dalius Abaris who received a Golden Cross for Best Director and Tadas Girininkas receiving equal merit for Best Soloist. “It was exciting beyond words to watch The Flying Dutchman receiving not just one, but two Golden Crosses, accolades truly deserved by Mr. Abaris and Mr. Girininkas,” shares Ždanovičius. “It was also extraordinary to know that we were part of the team bringing this production to life, and with the DiGiCo SD12 playing a significant role in the

Traditionally held in a different theatre every year, it was decided to host this year’s awards in the same venue as last year, at the spectacular Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT).

tional Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT), the largest theatre in the country. Most of the musical performances were pre-recorded to limit physical interaction, and for the few participants that attended the ceremony, testing negative for Covid-19 no more than 48 hours before the start of the awards was mandatory. NGR’s relationship with LNOBT goes back a long way having worked on several projects together, so when NGR was chosen for the event, they knew they had to go above and beyond to bring the creative concept of director Gediminas Šeduikis and his team into a reality. “We really enjoy working with Gediminas and the entire crew at LNOBT,” says Tomas Ždanovičius, NGR’s FOH Engineer. “They make our work even more interesting thanks to the always new, exciting, sometimes challenging but never boring ideas. Every time, we accept their challenge, and we prove again and again that we have the right expertise and equipment to tackle any creative and technical ask re-

with 90+ channels,” he adds. With 86 inputs utilized for the orchestra, soloists, playback, and video audio, plus with additional FX returns, the team had over 90 input channels, 10 stereo, two mono groups and eight Aux for monitoring systems at the event. “Routing was our key challenge, but with DiGiCo we were able to tackle that by extending and sharing our signals via DMI cards. In our case we used DMI-MADI-B and DMI-DANTE cards to share all the channels to be able to effectively communicate with Lithuanian National Television’s OB van,” continues Ždanovičius. Ždanovičius was using the SD12 largely as a monitor console, with a second team member positioned within close proximity to the musicians using an iPAD. “Such setup was done because the only option available to us was to use the monitor console at the FOH, which was manned by me and the other staff members,” he says.

success of the opera.” With the Golden Stage Cross awards ceremony being a ravishing success, both in terms of the viewing figures and internal feedback from the client, the NGR team could not help but feel proud when they heard Šeduikis saying “as always” when referring to NGR’s excellent service. “When we get a new project, we know we need to do it 100 percent and with the best tools available,” concludes Ždanovičius. “Whenever we use an SD12, the feedback is the same each time – ‘as always’ – which means that we have once again delivered the highest quality service to our clients and helped them deliver the audio as it should sound to the listeners’ ears. And that’s the golden magic of the SD12!”

P11 AV News June 2021

Application News

XR Studios pioneer disguise’s new virtual zoom for Katy Perry

By using the new virtual zoom feature, XR Studios were able to achieve shots that were previously unattainable.

For the past year, the world has been preoccupied with Zoom meetings. disguise, the technology innovator in extended reality (xR) and virtual production, has been looking at a very different type of zoom. Instead of video meetings, disguise allows its users to zoom in and out of a virtual world on camera. disguise’s award-winning extended reality (xR) workflow, released to the general public in April 2021 through its new r18 software, includes this ground-breaking new feature which extends the virtual scene to allow cameras to zoom in and out of each scene. With these capabilities, the community of disguise users can now build even more exciting and elaborate scenes than ever before. This is just one of the many features of disguise’s xR workflow which allows users to mix the physical and virtual worlds together. xR pioneers and disguise partners, XR Studios, were among the first to incorporate the new feature into their current workflow and explore its full potential. Their first project using virtual zoom was with singer Katy Perry. For what is now the third collaboration with Perry, XR Studios used the new feature to enhance her performance for the Lazada, the Malay e-commerce platform, annual Super Party that was simulcast across Southeast Asia

“The virtual zoom allowed us to work outside the box because we can now simulate shooting in a space that is ten times larger than ours,” says J.T. Rooney, Chief Creative Officer at XR Studios. Silent Partners Studios were the xR content designers on this project, and by partnering with XR Studios, they were able to create worlds that went beyond the limits of the physical screens. Perry performed against a giant Pierrot statue, Escher-inspired architecture, swan sculptures, and a fireworks display, with the camera zooming in and out on her in the virtual space —creating a huge sense of scale. Of course, using this kind of technology for the first time isn’t without its challenges. Not only were there tight turnarounds and short deadlines, but there was the added challenge of incorporating a brand new input into the workflow. “As always, creating worlds and content in xR is challenging, but it’s consistently a rewarding adventure to figure out the virtual space,” says Rooney. All disguise’s innovations are driven by the needs of its user community, informed by constant collaborations and conversations — and this innovation is no exception. “This new workflow is something that has been discussed for a long time and the XR Studios team was excited to see how we could

help push it further, give suggestions, and test and develop it in a live show environment,” says Rooney. By using the new virtual zoom feature, XR Studios were able to achieve shots that were previously unattainable. “Adding the virtual zoom to the workflow meant we could creatively see more of the scene and build a more elaborate environment,” explains Rooney. “Over the past 12 months, XR Studios have been trailblazing the use of our xR workflow,” says disguise CEO Fernando Kufer. “From their early days delivering Katy Perry’s first xR-powered performance on the American Idol season 18 finale, to, nearly a year later, pioneering our latest software features in their third collaboration with the artist. We love seeing them constantly break boundaries in xR production.”

Todd Rundgren’s “Clearly Human” hybrid show experience The Todd Rundgren ten week tour, “Clearly Human,” was scheduled and rescheduled three times since March 2020 before landing on what was the first-of-its-kind adaptation of a “road” tour, localized in Chicago but virtualized across 25 different “stops” in major US cities. Each stop was curated to the look and feel of each city and included all the elements of a “normal” tour - an enormous video wall, lighting system, pyrotechnics and special effects all of which required the same coordination as any major live music event. To ensure smooth communication between production team members as well as to maintain appropriate social distancing requirements, the tour employed Clear-Com’s Encore Analog Partyline Intercom System. After vetting several venues in the Chicago area, the band and crew were able to set up shop in Radius, a new live performance venue that had opened with two shows before closing again due to COVID. Ticket sales were available to fans with zip codes in that event's greater metropolitan area, and the night of the show, they could see themselves on monitors throughout the venue, local landmarks took over the video wall, city-specific food was catered, venue names were front-and-centre, clocks were reset, and the crew’s day sheets read, “Welcome to Seattle,” or whichever stop was on the schedule that day - the tour model even permitted a select few socially distant in-person tickets per gig. Although the shows were perhaps the closest thing to the real deal since early 2020, the restrictions brought about by COVID necessitated some key differences, including the need for an onset COVID Compliance Officer (CCO), a role picked up by Rundgren’s long-time Tour Manager, Production Manager and Monitor Engineer, Paul Froula. “As the CCO, I had to abide by the area’s safety protocols, which required my team to be really spread out, screaming at each other with 2-way radios,” said Froula. “We realized right away that we needed

to have comms.” Front of House, lighting, video, and stage right were located as far from each other as the venue would allow, with the Broadcast Engineer in a separate room off the main venue. The Encore system provided full-duplex, hands-free communication with optimal audio quality for users separated by greater-than-normal physical distances and challenged by the blaring nature of being at a live show. All production team members were also equipped with RS-501 beltpacks and CC95 single-muff headsets to ensure they did not miss a beat. “Clear-Com is always on our rider when the venue doesn’t provide the comms system, but the role of intercom became much more crucial and made my role as the Compliance Officer much easier to enforce,” explained Froula. “Things changed from aggravation to smooth as silk, and we were able to focus on the task athand.” Todd Rundgren’s hybrid tour employed many live events industry personnel whose livelihoods were severely impacted by COVID restrictions and who had been away from the work they love for over a year. Rundgren has since been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2021. “We were seeing people that were like family, and because of muscle memory everything fell into place,” said Froula. Everything

was tight, the band was great, everyone was ready to go, and everyone loved it—fans, press, cast, crew, total success!” Froula envisions a bright future for the live sound industry, with a lot of activity on the horizon. While there are still questions about what concerts may look like in the future, it’s apparent that comms will be considered from the outset of any new production. “What I’m really interested in now are the IP solutions from ClearCom. With remote production becoming much more popular, the ability to have a key member of the team be part of the conversation from across town - or across the country, for that matter - becomes so much more important.” The comms system and all other rental equipment was supplied by locally-based partner, TC Furlong, who Paul Froula says with admiration, “They’re always quick to help and respond. In a day everything was pulled and scheduled for delivery. TC Furlong is the number one provider in Chicago.” The “Clearly Human” tour operated in accordance with the COVID regulations of the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. The band and crew will be tested regularly throughout the tour and attendees were required to show proof of a negative COVID test result within 72 hours of the event.

Todd Rundgren ten week tour, “Clearly Human,” was scheduled and rescheduled three times since March 2020.

Peerless-AV video wall mounts at Imperial College London’s Harvard style teaching space Reflex managed the project, which consists of two new areas - a Harvard style teaching room/lecture theatre and a multi-modal collaborative space.

Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading universities, has completed a new installation for its Business School. Imperial’s integration partner Reflex managed the project, which consists of two new areas - a Harvard style teaching room/lecture theatre and a multi-modal collaborative space.

P12 AV News June 2021

In the latter, Reflex designed an area that can be used as a single large room or two smaller teaching spaces via a folding partition. On each side, a curved LCD wall has been installed with 16 ultra-narrow bezel 55-inch panels (NEC UN552VS) configured as four 4K UHD displays. Peerless-AV’s SmartMount Full Service Video Wall Mounts with Quick Release (DSVW765-LQR) were chosen as the mounting solution for the 32 panels for their time-saving features such as easy installation and precise adjustability.

The video walls are recessed in wooden frames and so, using the mount’s quick-release functionality, users can articulate the display from the wall for servicing and maintenance by gently pressing on the front of the display. The displays are driven by a collaborative learning system that gives groups the ability to work on a display each, while the lecturer can share content between groups or to the whole room. Zoom calls can also be fed into the system for multi-modal teaching, enabling remote participants to see the

collaborative work being done in the space. “Reflex uses Peerless-AV mounts as standard for LCD videowalls. They’re straightforward to specify, stock availability is good, and there are detailed, accurate CAD drawings showing the full range of articulation. We are always confident they will work for the project.”- Andi Allan, Head of Design at Reflex.

Feature

Alternatives to touch Making the bricks and mortar retail experience more compelling and engaging is seen as vital, if we are to recover the footfall lost as a consequence of the pandemic. Interactivity is considered to be key, but the bulk of this activity has relied on touch interfaces with screen displays – not cool, at this point in time. So what else is available to encourage customers to interact with goods and services? Direct interaction with a product in a retail setting is considered to be a vital step in the customers’ journey to making a purchase. It is the retailer’s opportunity to personalise the information available to the customer with text and video contact. In some instances, the retailer can offer an opportunity to sample the product. We first came across a system that triggered a customised response to an individual customer interaction in the good old days when customers could touch products and displays

plication relies on the product being in exactly the right spot on the shelf. Every time it is moved, the store staff have to reposition it. And NFC is too reliant on commitment from the shopper to do something, such as scan a QR code. STiNO offers a number of cutting-edge options. Proximity sensors – very cost-effective Bluetooth devices – are attached to products, which can then sit anywhere on a shelf. As shoppers approach it, content is triggered on a nearby display. When picked

figures change if it is moved to location B? If we display message A when it is picked up, how many customers put the product in their basket? What happens when we change the message?

Look, but don’t touch At the time of our STiNO demonstration, things were going swimmingly – but then came Covid, and picking products up to trigger a response became a no-co. Fortunately, we belong to be a brilliantly and innovative industry, which quik and agile enough

interfaces that use BrightSign media players to enable interactivity via buttons and sensors that don’t require physical touch. Though this has been an incredibly trying time for the AV industry as a whole, the silver lining is the emergence of an innovative range of alternatives to touchscreen interactivity.” “One such is QR codes that enable BYOD (bring your own device) interactivity with digital displays. By simply scanning a QR code, customers transfer control of the signage experience to their phones to browse or interact with content as they normally would, eliminating the need for physical contact. It’s a simple solution with no need for an internet connection or an app. Our new touchless solution BrightLink achieves just this, enabling customers to scan a QR code and remotely control a display via their mobile phones.”

Custom interface “A custom interface lets customers access detailed product information, discount coupons, wayfinders and even interactive product demonstrations. The retailer can additionally incite customers to opt-in to the store’s loyalty program or complete a sale via the retailer’s mobile e-commerce platform.

stallations with proximity sensors integrated into existing displays, eliminating the cost of replacing hardware. These engage content based on the proximity of a customer’s hand and can even interpret left, right, up and down swiping motions to navigate a digital menu, for example. The sensors can be synchronized with LED strip lighting or indicator lights to show direction and provide visual feedback, helping guide the customer engagement process and providing an even more immersive experience.” “It’s fair to say that touchless interactivity will continue for as long as customers remain wary of using shared surfaces. It’s likely that we’ll see touchless solutions gradually begin to complement traditional touch-interactive signage, providing retailers with even more opportunities for digital engagement. Adoption of touchless interactivity may have been accelerated due to COVID-19, but as the urgency of the pandemic fades, these new technologies will be here to stay.” Voice on trial Even before the pandemic was the scale of a problem that it is now, R&D was underway to im-

It gets to know you and learns from its users, to personalise how it helps each individual. Bixby serves as a personal assistant, making it quick and easy to complete a variety of tasks from start to finish through a growing number of third-party partners. If a user asks: “Hi, Bixby, give me a restaurant recommendation,” Bixby remembers cuisine preferences, like Italian, and brings those recommendations to the top of the list. Ask Bixby to buy tickets to a concert, and it will ask you follow up questions to find the best seats for the user To evolve Bixby into Samsung’s intelligence platform, the company is laying the groundwork to build a scalable AI platform, making it simpler and easier for developers to create user experiences powered by Bixby. As far back as the Samsung Developer Conference 2018, Samsung announced that it was opening Bixby Developer Studio, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), to developers. It offers access to the same development tools Samsung’s internal developers use to create Bixby Capsules, which is what developers build to add features to Bixby. It’s all part of Samsung’s unique approach to AI, with the goal of building a scalable, open AI

We first came across a system that triggered a customised response to an individual customer interaction in the good old days when customers could touch products and displays without risking contracting a potentially deadly disease. The technology was called STiNO and was, and still is, available through Ascentae. without risking contracting a potentially deadly disease. The technology was called STiNO and was and still available through Ascentae. STiNO is essentially a supplement to digital signage, and introduces some interesting new features to its digital communications software platform. STiNO recognises that ne of the keys to retail success is drawing the customer in to the qualities of a product with personalised content – that feeling of being ‘special’ and ‘valued’. Called ‘proximity marketing’, the technique works on the presumption that a customer action is the catalyst for a digital reaction. Typically, the base technologies used for this technique are radio frequency identification (RFID) or near field communications (NFC). Admittedly, these technologies are somewhat limited in what they can achieve. An RFID ap-

up, different content, perhaps more detailed, can be displayed for the benefit of the customer Taken to another level again, lasers can be incorporated to work in a similar way, but the content is generated once the laser beam is broken. Precise actions can be programmed to occur in different situations – say when a shopper is 5 metres away, 3 metres away, 1 metre away. With these capabilities, proximity marketing a powerful solution because this approach allows stores to tailor the content displayed to products or brands that customers are showing an interest in. Additional benefits are that the data collected from them allows retailers to plan their stores, their messaging and their inventories. How many people picked up a product at location A? How do those

to respond to a change of circumstances. Let me leave it to Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign. to explain how touchless interactivity has grown rapidly to provide a rapid response to the problems of touch born out of the pandemic: “‘Interactivity’ has long been synonymous with ‘touch,’ but, during the unique circumstances in which we find ourselves today, it has become necessary to redefine the term. Retailers, hospitality venues and other establishments now need to consider how they can bring intuitive and exciting shopping experiences to life for their customers without the touch-interfaces we have become so accustomed to.” “Many of the touchless solutions being rolled out today have been on the drawing board for a long time, with the pandemic accelerating their development. Indeed, here at BrightSign, we fasttracked developer support of new

We’ve also developed BrightMenu, designed specifically for restaurant customers to scan a QR code and browse a menu from an interface on their phone.” “In addition to BYOD, we’ve also seen some amazing in-

prove the application of voice technology to digital signage. Samsung had introduced the new Bixby – a more conversational, more personal and more useful intelligent assistant. Bixby keeps the dialogue moving forward to get things done.

platform where developers and service providers can access tools to bring Bixby to more people and devices around the world.

Technical barriers

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Feature

Unlike an application in a consumer appliance or a car, where communication is effectively one-to-one, voice control of a digital sign has to select one voice command from a cacophony of background chatter. How often have you found the far field microphones installed in voice-controlled devices accidentally picked up a stray ‘Alexa’ or ‘Siri’ command from a bystander? In a conversation with Jeff

solution when compared to Alexa, but the product is lacking the direction needed to exploit and perfect Cortana across the wider market for voice control. Amazon’s Alexa, on the other hand, is compatible with a much wider range of devices but both technologies suffer a similar disadvantage of being predominantly tied to the English language. While Alexa’s progress might be largely attributable to marketing

reliable information on common illnesses. The DoH said the NHS would not be giving patients Amazon Echo devices for dispensing NHS-verified information. The Guardian newspaper reports that half of all searches are expected to be made via voice-assisted technology. “Under the NHS long-term plan, which aims to improve the quality of patient care and health outcomes in an effort to relieve

Voice-activated signage used in a wayfinding application.

Hastings, he acknowledged that voice does have a role in digital signage, and that the development of near field microphones is something that BrightSign is actively pursuing. Another chain of development is the combination of digital signage and the mobile phone where information flow is bidirectional. This obviously poses privacy problems in one of the most likely applications to emerge, that of medical advice dispensed from digital signs in doctor’s waiting rooms and pharmacies.

success, there are signs that the technology is spreading to more serious applications. For example, the NHS is working with Amazon to allow elderly people, blind people and other patients who cannot easily search for health advice on the internet to access the informa-

pressure on the health service, it has committed to making more services available digitally.” Placing sensitive medical information on a digital device or network is always a sensitive issue. Further privacy concerns were raised about Alexa after

to automatically delete your data every couple of months. Amazon’s Alexa stores queries until the user manually deletes them, and both Amazon and Google employ contractors to review a small number of their recordings. Cortana collects voice data “in order to improve its service”, and Samsung’s Bixby does the same.

signage, we intend to follow this trend. We want to see even the smallest of schools and local businesses welcoming this innovation as this is where it can have the largest impact.” Voice-activation is on the cusp

of widespread adoption in digital signage, and while there are undoubtedly technical issues to be resolved, these might be trivial in comparison to the social and political challenges.

Signage applications Signagelive and AOPEN showcased voice activated digital signage as long ago as 2017. The showcase was presented at Google’s Munich office featuring Google Home, and the audience was the Google Chrome for Work Summit. This is an annual event that Google hold for EMEA based end users and resellers to update them on the latest technologies from Google and vendor partners. Signagelive has supported Google with this event in the past and this year was no different With the help of AOPEN, Signagelive showcased the Web Triggers feature to instantly change content running on devices. Using Google Home the user can start a conversation with a bot and control the content displayed on a Signagelive managed smart display or player. In this case, the new Chromebox Mini from AOPEN was used. TrouDigital is another voice-activated digital signage pioneer, They say: “It’s only a matter of time until the majority of people will be comfortable speaking to their tech at work and out in public. By 2020, 50% of all

BrightSign and Nexmosphere create new retail experiences BrightSign, LLC has announced that BrightSign players have been integrated with Nexmosphere technology to help tempt customers back into bricks and mortar retail stores as they reopen. The solutions enable customer interactivity with touchless technology using sensors to deliver engaging, memorable and hygienic shopping experiences. Commenting on the range,

sensing technology allows the sensor to be placed behind or below any non-metal surface. Another product integrated with BrightSign players is the Nexmosphere XY-240 presence sensor featuring AirButton functionality. This Time-ofFlight sensor registers not only the presence of a customer in front of an installation, but also their distance from it. The Air-

Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign, said, “Retail faces a brave new world following COVID. We have spent years encouraging customers to interact with touch-screen interfaces, and now we are finding new ways to deliver exciting in-store experiences. BrightSign players and Nexmosphere technologies together face today’s challenges head-on with forward-thinking technology that is sure to bring digital displays to life without touch.” To enable touchless navigation of digital content on screen, the new Nexmosphere XT-EF650 AirGesture sensor has been integrated with BrightSign players to register hand swipes. In addition, the Air Button feature detects when a customer’s hand enters or leaves the sensor’s detection field. Installation is simplified with various sizes available, adjustable sensitivity and auto-calibration. Capacitive

Button sensor delivers touchless user input functionality, allowing the viewer to control their experience effectively and hygienically. BrightSign players have also been integrated with Nexmosphere’s XC-700 controllers featuring LightMark LED control allowing the ambient lighting to be controlled in tune with the digital signage presentation. Interfaced to Nexmosphere XC-700 series controllers with LightMark interfaces, BrightSign players can control multiple Pixel LED strips, RGBW LED strips or optical audio switching. LightMark LED technology allows for the selection of one of many pre-programmed animation patterns with flexibility to adapt these to suit an installation. The X-Talk interface allows for easy connection with a range of sensors, buttons or other components to create an interactive experience with no additional setup required.

Background noise Microsoft revealed a push to get OEMs to support Cortana on Windows 10 better, via support for wake on voice and far-field technology. Far-field technology would allow users to access Cortana on their PC from up to 4 metres away, much as an Amazon Echo works now, even while music and noise is playing. It requires a PC include a high-quality microphone which meets Microsoft speech spec 2.0. Lately. there is something of a battle raging between Microsoft with its Cortana technology and Amazon with Alexa, Critics point out that while the two are often seen as synonymous, there are differences. Microsoft has been spreading Cortana around as much as Amazon has Alexa. The difference is that Alexa is a single, cheap device sitting in a room, its relatively easy to implement and permeate the market. Microsoft Cortana is generally considered to be the more powerful potential

tion through Alexa. The health service hopes patients asking Alexa for health advice will ease pressure on the NHS, with Amazon’s algorithm using information from the NHS website to provide answers to questions such as: “Alexa, how do I treat a migraine?”; ‘Alexa, what are the symptoms of flu?’; and “Alexa what are the symptoms of chickenpox?”. The ROI? The Department of Health (DoH) said it would empower patients and hopefully reduce the pressure on the NHS by providing

P14 AV News June 2021

Bloomberg News reported that Amazon employees around the world regularly listen to recordings from the company’s smart speakers as part of the development process for new services. Apple trades on the assertion that high-level security comes included within its products’ high prices, it has always been clear that by using Siri, or any voice assistant, the user must allow their phone to record and analyse their voice. It’s also known that Google Assistant records and stores audio, but there is at least an option

searches are predicted to be voice. A fundamental mentality change is imminent, a new type of consumer behaviour is emerging that all businesses need to seriously anticipate.” TrouDigital has been working on an integration between a signage platform and Google Assistant. “One of the reasons we are so excited about voice-activated signage is it’s accessibility to all. The Google Home and Amazon Echo are taking over in part because they are affordably priced to consumers. With our own voice-activated digital

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Distribution Survey

Top pro-av distributors active in the UK According to AVIXA, the global professional audiovisual industry will grow to more than $325 billion in 2024, from $247 billion in 2019. Demand for pro-AV products and services is driven by rising GDP across much of the globe because the pro-AV industry provides solutions to nearly all facets of the economy. “Those who have followed AVIXA's previous forecasts will note the new estimates represent an upward revision," said Sean Wargo, Senior Director of Market Intelligence, AVIXA. "The hike in the revised forecasts reflects strong economies and demand for new products and services. The growth in pro-AV revenue is actually outpacing expectations for global GDP growth.” For the first time. AVIXA’s report includes additional data from distributors and integrators to track the amount of mark-up over the manufacturer price that is applied by the pro-AV channel. In 2019, mark-ups are projected to represent an additional $22 billion in revenues globally, before accounting for services revenue. “The story of pro AV is ultimately one of the value-add offered by the distributor and providers in the creation of exceptional experiences from the raw materials of AV products,” said Wargo. “This story isn't complete without accounting for this value through the mark-ups applied by the channel, as they source and optimize hardware and services together. AVIXA now more accurately accounts for this in its channel revenue estimates.” The pro-AV market in the Americas is projected to continue its growth, although at a slower pace than APAC. With a CAGR of 4.7 percent, the Americas will reach $112 billion in revenue in 2024. The corporate segment will be a major driver of pro-AV market growth for the region, with revenue rising at a CAGR of 4.2 percent from 2019 through 2024. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) will experience moderate growth of 4.5 percent CAGR through 2024, despite near-term economic challenges. The region will capture the largest percentage of revenue for audio equipment among the three regions and is expected to overtake the Americas in this segment with $6.7 billion in 2024. Revenue from video displays, particularly direct-view LED, will see considerable growth in EMEA. This product segment is forecasted to grow at 8.4 percent in the region over the next five years. The region's highest pro-AV revenue source is the corporate market. Although the revenue from the corporate market in EMEA is smaller than the amount captured by other regions, this $18 billion market is a crucial part of EMEA pro AV. The sample of distributors reported below represents those active in the UK but with many building operations internationally and even globally.

Anders+Kern UK Ltd

About

Founded in 1989, Anders+Kern UK Ltd is a leading distributor & integrator of audio-visual solutions. This position is underpinned by our technical expertise, which covers digital signage, meeting room booking systems, technical services projection screens. With access to some the world’s leading AV presentation brands, including Smart Media Solutions, Evoko, Projecta and Stewart Filmscreen, A+K is at the forefront of AV innovation. Our in-house technical team, A+K Technical, works with trade partners to unlock the value of their audio-visual projects. From off-the-shelf solutions to full- turnkey installations, we deliver a complete AV solution.

Fact file

Parent company: SmartSpace Software Plc Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: UK only Key vendors: Evoko, Smart Media Solutions (SMS), NDS PADS4, SmartSpace Software, Stewart Filmscreen, Projecta, BOX-IT Design. Key exclusive vendors: NDS PADS4 (exclusive for the UK) Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Installation service and support, plus Service Level Agreements for onsite, telephone and remote support. Key specialisations: Meeting room management technology (hardware and software), pace utilisation, occupancy and digital signage.

When we go into work and learning spaces, we are asked about: - How do I know the technology I buy now won’t be obsolete in 5 years’ time? - How can technology help me work smarter? - Can technology help me adopt new ways of working that will drive forward my organisation? - Where do I find an AV supplier who knows about the latest solutions? Our channel partners’ concerns revolve around finding differentiated technologies that will help them create solutions for their customers, designed to solve business and educational challenges. Ascentae recognises these challenges and focuses on identifying hand picked technologies that we believe tackle these questions and more.”

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £2M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): £2M Geographical reach: UK only Key vendors: Nureva, Evoko, SMS, Stino, Vpod, VXL Key exclusive vendors: Nureva, Stino Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Value added sales support, training, installation support Key specialisations: Workplace solutions, collaboration technology, microphones, digital signage, room booking.

Audio Visual Material Ltd

Ascentae About About

“The modern world is noisy with an unprecedented choice of technology, vendors and distributors. Integrators are challenged by their customers to find technologies that offer real value and differentiation. Meanwhile users are unsure where to learn about solutions that support new ways of working or learning.

“Audio Visual Material is a trade only distributor of professional audio-visual products. As you'd expect, we provide a comprehensive range of quality products from stock, including projectors, projection screens, LCD and LED displays, mounts and brackets, signal management and other technical products to suit the Pro AV and IT market integrators. And we provide a personalised dry hire service to events and rental organisations.” “But we offer much more than that. Our aim is to provide you with ‘Distribution with a Difference’. Unlike some of the large distributors in the market, we provide a bespoke, personal service, offering ‘best in class’ technologies from a small number of handpicked partners. And we back that up with some of the best technical support in the industry.” “We have a team of technical experts who know our product ranges inside out and are always on hand to help you. And we negotiate unique extended warranties, available only from ourselves, on your behalf. ‘Distribution with a Difference’ means we are always looking at how we can give you extra value and help you make more margin.”

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £7.3M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 – 2019: £7.3M Geographical reach: UK only Key vendors: Christie Digital, Digital Projection, Eiki. Vivitek. Screen Int. Draper. DaLite. Stumpfl, ScreenLabs, Philips, Vestel, DigiLED, SY, DEXON, Projecta, Roland, Cayin Key exclusive vendors: Cayin, DigiLED, ScreenLabs and Eiki Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Rental, training, tailor made warranties, on-site support, assisted install service. commissioning Key specialisations: Projection screens Large venue projectors, flat screen displays (FPD/LED), signal management, digital signage, technical support.

Exertis About

“Exertis is an industry leading distributor of technology products and specialist services. Our customers are retailers and companies that resell technology products that people use every day in their home, office or whilst on the move. Chances are these products have passed through one of our logistic centres or that a technology solution has been prescribed by one of our expert teams.

P16 AV News June 2021

Distribution Survey

We partner with 1,400 emerging and global technology brands and over 50,000 resellers, e-commerce operators and retailers across Europe. In our most recent financial year to 31st March 2019, Exertis had a turnover of £3.631 billion and grew by 20.8%. Our mission is to be the leading technology distributor and specialist service provider for our vendors and customers by providing innovative and value-added solutions delivered to the highest standard. Exertis UK partners with 700+ emerging and global technology brands and over 13,000 resellers, e-commerce operators and retailers. In our most recent financial year to 31st March 2019, Exertis UK had a turnover of £2.604 billion and grew by 18.6%.”

Fact file

Parent company: DCC Technologies Geographical reach: Global Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £3,631M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Key vendors: Samsung, LG, NEC, Philips, Christie, Hitachi Epson, Optoma and NEC, CTOUCH, Promethean and Vivitek Key exclusive vendors: NA Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Full consultancy, design, and installation services alongside access to an unmatched range of vendors. Global supply chain solutions, virtual warehousing, full AV system design, pre-sales consultancy and project support, dedicated white glove delivery services, LED design and consultancy, finance and credit leasing programmes Key specialisations: A range of services that include: LED consultancy and design; global AV supply chain service solutions; AV installation; a 24 x 7 TAC facility and a dedicated technical solutions team.

Ingram Micro Pro AV

About

“Our passion for excellence drives us to develop innovative solutions, customer-driven approach, alongside leading-edge technology. We approach every project as an opportunity to bring smart, intuitive solutions to the reseller Channel. It’s important for us to listen to our Partners and explore ways to enhance their visual solutions. Ingram Micro ProAV is fully dedicated to providing solutions that satisfy and exceed the expectations of our Clients audio/visual needs. Ingram Micro ProAV is focused on working with our Customers to deliver end to end AV Solutions; in addition to leading edge technologies we are able to provide a host of Professional Services.”

Fact file

Group turnover (Ingram Micro (UK) Ltd 2017): £126,066,000 Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: Global Key vendors: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Lenovo, HP PSG, AMD, Ergotech, Star Micronics, HPE – Compute, IBM, Fujitsu, Dropbox, Hikvision, Nuance, Opengear, Panduit, Poly, Pulse Secure, Microsoft, Ubiquity, LG, GN Netcom/Jabra, Fortinet, Brother, Dell EMC, SonicWall Key exclusive vendors: NA Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: On-site installation services, training services (coming soon), content development services (coming soon), leasing and financial services Key specialisations:

Maverick AV Solutions About

In 2017, Maverick AV Solutions announced plans for global expansion, to incorporate the Americas and Asia Pacific into its European operation. Maverick AV Solutions remained under the direction of Jon Sidwick, vice president, reporting to Michael Urban, corporate vice president, Strategy, Transformation and Global Vendor Management at Tech Data. Joel Chimoindes joined Maverick as European commercial director to manage the continued growth in the region. Jon Sidwick, VP Maverick AV Solutions explained: “This is a new chapter for Maverick with a new brand and the strongest mix of manufacturer partners we have ever worked with. We are extreme-

ly proud of relationships we have built with our customers and vendor partners and I want to take this opportunity to thank them for the support of Maverick to date. I am excited for a new challenge, working with an already established team of AV specialists in these markets to bring the experience from the European teams and create new services and solutions for customers in the regions.” Joel Chimoindes joins the team with considerable senior management experience, having spent the last year as managing director at Beta Digital Media Solutions and 18 months as European solution & innovation director at technology and infrastructure solutions business, Azlan, also part of the Tech Data Group. His role will be to work alongside the European management team to continue the unprecedented growth within the region, growing the vendor portfolio and helping deliver improved solutions and services for client. The huge growth in audio visual applications being adopted by companies of all sizes, educational institutions and government agencies, around the world means that now is the perfect time to expand Maverick’s approach across the globe. Maverick’s model will now be expanded into the Americas and Asia Pacific. In the Americas, the Visual Solutions practice, part of the endpoint solutions portfolio, was incorporated into Maverick.

Fact file

Parent company: Tech Data Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £37,000M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): £1,000M Geographical reach: Global Key vendors: Epson, Samsung, Logitech, Microsoft, LG, NEC, Barco, Promethean, Sony, Philips, Lenovo, HP and Vision Key exclusive vendors: Vision Product exclusives from Logitech, Lenovo and HP Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Stock, logistics, credit, installation, AV security, network integration and training Key specialisations: Smart meetings, smart signage, integrating networking and IoT into AV.

Midwich Group Plc About:

In April of this year, Midwich celebrated its 40th anniversary. Established in 1979 by husband and wife David and Ruth Watson, Midwich Computer Company (“the Company”) initially sold computer components and supplied BBC computers to schools and colleges. In 1991, the Company was

sold to Memec PLC, an Oxfordshire-based distribution company. In the mid-1990s the Company decided to focus on trade only customers and started to sell AV products. Following a management buy-out in 2001, the Company decided to focus on the AV market. In 2006, Midwich started a programme of acquisition, focusing initially on building its range of specialist AV products, and latterly using acquisition to enter new geographical markets. From an initial entry into Ireland, through the acquisition of Square One. Over the next ten years the company has expanded across most of Europe and now has a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region. In 2016, Midwich celebrated a milestone when it was admitted to the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market with a market capitalization of £165m and became Midwich Group plc. The Group’s development has continued apace following its flotation, with turnover increasing by over 80% and the net profit doubling. Midwich now employs 900 people across the UK and Ireland, Continental Europe and Asia Pacific and has a large and diverse base of over 17,000 customers. For the full year 2018, Midwich generated £574m of revenues.

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £573.7M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: International Key vendors: 400 vendors Key exclusive vendors: The Midwich Group operates as the sole or largest in-country distributor for a number of its vendors in their respective product sets. Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Key specialisations: Large format displays, projectors, digital signage and professional audio.

Nimans/ Videonations About

Part of the Nycomm Group of companies, Nimans describes itselfas the UK's leading telecommunications and data distribution specialist for telephones, telephone systems, headsets, audio conferencing units, integrated systems, structured cabling solutions and all ancillary products. Videonations is a leading video conferencing and audio-visual equipment solutions provider. Operating from a purpose-built headquarters at Agecroft Business Park, Salford, near Manchester, Nimans employs around 200 staff as part of a growing business which is currently generating in excess of £80 million in annual

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Distribution Survey

turnover. Nimans has grown into the UK's largest and best-known distributor of voice and data communication products such as integrated telephone systems, headsets, conferencing units, faxes and much more.

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): £95M Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: Based in the UK Key vendors: Avaya, Cisco, ClearOne, Crestron. Grandstream. Jabra, Konexx, Konftel, Plantronics, Poly, Sennheiser. Titan, Yealink Key exclusive vendors: NA Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Utilising a team of engineers and technical support staff, Nimans On-Site Services acts as a valuable extension to your own work force – putting you in greater control of your business operations. Major brands covered include Samsung, Panasonic, NEC and Unify in addition to many manufacturers not sold by the distributor. Key specialisations: Systems, data and voice, telephony conferencing, public address and networking

PSCo

About

Trade only rental and distribution. “We are specialists in new technologies including LED and Laser Projection, working closely with leading manufacturers - including Absen, Samsung and Epson - to find the right solution. We hold extensive product stock and support our partners with preferential payment terms, bespoke and off-the-shelf mounting solutions and full technical services.” “Access the latest and highest quality display technologies on the market with our extensive rental portfolio. We're trade only, so all equipment, vehicles and technicians are unbranded to work as a silent extension of your team. With the PSCo Price Promise, we guarantee we'll match any like for like quotation.”

Fact file

Parent company: Midwich Group Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019):NA Geographical reach: International Key vendors: Absen, Samsung, Leyard and Epson Key exclusive vendors:

Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: The PSCo Assessment Centre holds the latest Narrow Pixel Pitch (NPP) LED technologies, including 1mm, 2mm, 3mm and 4mm pixel pitch LED products from leading brands Absen, Samsung and Leyard. You can also see Epson's leading range of Laser Projectors. Set-up in real life application sizes, our portfolio is available to view side by side to make a true technology comparison, including testing bespoke

content. Key specialisations:Training, servicing, dedicated leasing and technical services

RGB Communications

About

RGB is a technical, audio visual (AV) distributor, representing a select group of well-known manufacturers, many exclusively. We distribute our products to AV Dealers/installers, Rental & Staging companies and Residential Custom installers throughout the UK, Eire & Europe and have done so since 1991. RGB’s product range includes audio & video conferencing, signal management (traditional, fibre and IP), racks, power management and networks, image processing, home cinema & complete home automation, lighting control (artificial & natural), media servers, projection (projectors and screens) and speakers.

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: Key vendors: Atlona. Chief, Lutron, Qmotion, TechLogix, RCB Spectrum, Savant, SurgeX, Metra. Middle Atlantic, Pakedge, Crowdbeamer, iRoom, Kramer, Lande, Cleerline. ClearOne, Canon, Barco, AV Stumpfl Artson, Absolute and Appeal Home Shading Key exclusive vendors: Appeal Home Shading for the CI market Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: system design right through to diagnostics, fault finding, maintenance and commissioning, sales support, technical support and marketing support Key specialisations:

P18 AV News June 2021

Distribution Survey

Sahara Presentation Systems PLC

About “Sahara has been established in its current identity for over 35 years but the company's foundations date back to 1924, when the current Chairman, Mr Peter Williams, and Mr Terry Batley, the father of the current owners, Kevin and Nigel, set up a typewriter company. Today, with Kevin Batley as Managing Director, and Nigel Batley as Financial Director, Sahara continues to grow from strength to strength, having moved into new 290,047 ft² premises with their logistic partner, Europa Worldwide Group, to accommodate the company's rapid growth and future expansion plans. The facility will enable Sahara to boost its current capacity by 50% with the opportunity for further development on the new site. As a distributor, Sahara's objectives and overall strategy hinges on bringing the most innovative AV products and technologies to market and always responding to the needs of their resellers and end-users. Having a clear understanding of the market and maintaining a tight ship financially has fuelled Sahara's evolution as a distributor and it's what has kept them at the forefront of their industry.”

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): Geographical reach: Key vendors: Key exclusive vendors: Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Key specialisations:

Fact file

Parent company: DCC Technologies (Exertis) Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2017) US$280 million Geographical reach: International Key vendors: as Christie, Epson, LG, NEC, Samsung and Sharp Key exclusive vendors: NA Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: Big Book of AV, Stampede University recently upgraded to a state-of-the art learning management system (LMS) platform for training resellers and sales team. Key specialisations:Drone video systems, large format displays, projectors, lamps and accessories

Fact file

Group turnover (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: Based in the UK Key vendors: Aavara, Angekis, Aveo Systems, Clockaudio, Hall Research, MediaPlatform, Phoenix Audio, Reach, SpinetiX, Tannoy and Teq AVIT Key exclusive vendors: NA Key services offered to reseller / SI clients: NA Key specialisations: Huddle rooms, meeting rooms, corporate boardrooms, lecture capture, auditoriums, training rooms, digital signage, presentations. collaborative working and media distribution

Tukans

About

Tukans is a specialist Audio Visual product distributor based in the UK. We were bourne out of a desire by the founders, Yvonne Womersley and Andrew Popely, to find, use and tell others about innovative products. Tukans is a trade distributor, selling to systems integrators who demand the highest quality products, backed by a distributor who offers exceptional support. If you are an end-user looking to use any of the equipment we supply, contact us and we can put you in touch with an appropriate reseller, best suited to your application or location.

Red Solutions About

Parent Company: Website: www.redsolutions.co.uk Landline Number: +44 (0) 1784 491 084 Address: Red Solutions is based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. Corporate structure: NA Group turnover (millions 2020 - 2021): NA Turnover from proAV (millions 2018 - 2019): NA Geographical reach: UK Which of the following technologies do you offer to customers: Room booking, Content apps. Interactive solutions. Video wall technologies, Display technologies. Digital signage, IPTV / Streaming solutions Key hardware / software vendors: Researva, Datapath, ONELAN, onemedia. nfs Services offered to vendor partners: sales, business development Key services offered to reseller partners by your company: Digital Signage, Creative Signage & Video Wall Services. Interactive Solutions, Digital Signage Apps, Consultancy, Training & Commissioning. Room Booking & Bespoke Resource Management. Video Wall Technologies. Screens, Touch Screens & Kiosks Which of the following financial services and facilities does your company offer to reseller partners: NA of these specialisations does your company offer: Retail digital signage

Stampede

About

Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Stampede is one of the leading specialist Pro AV distributors in the US, supplies Pro AV products including large format display, projectors, lamps, drones and accessories to system integrators, value-added resellers, retailers and etailers in the US, Canada and the UK. Stampede also provides Pro AV solutions to the hospitality, government, corporate and education sectors. In October 2018 announced the integration of its UK and European operations into the DCC Exertis AV Solutions division. According to Stampede President & CEO Kevin Kelly, the move provides customers of Stampede and Exertis with a greater range of resource, products and support across those regions.

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Technology News

Logitech collaborative whiteboard for hybrid offices and classrooms Logitech has created a more equitable meeting experience for remote participants with the launch of Logitech Scribe, an AI-powered whiteboard camera. Logitech Scribe, compatible with leading services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, broadcasts whiteboard content into video meetings with incredible clarity, virtually transporting everyone into the same room. From meeting rooms to classrooms, Logitech Scribe comes at a crucial time when hybrid work and learning has become more pervasive. Logitech Scribe makes brainstorming, teaching, and team meetings equally accessible and productive for all participants through its simple-to-use design. Levelling the playing field for distributed teams, Scribe gives everyone - in-room or remote -a perfect view of the board. Enhanced integrations with Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms make the experience effortless. In-room participants can begin sharing whiteboard content into video meetings by simply pressing the wireless button included with Scribe or tapping the meeting room touch controller, like Logitech Tap. The wireless button currently works with Zoom Rooms, and support for Teams Rooms will come later this year. Scribe also works as a USB content camera with virtually any video conferencing application, providing the flexibility to use Scribe in meeting rooms, classrooms, or even home offices. “We’ve obsessively worked toward solving the problems of providing high-quality audio and video collaboration in both meeting rooms and remote

desktops, but there remains a gap in integrating non-digital content like whiteboards, or Post-its into virtual meetings,” said Scott Wharton, general manager and vice president, Logitech Video Collaboration. “Logitech Scribe works because it takes advantage of what people already know how to do: pick up a marker and draw on a whiteboard. Now, we’re able to elevate non-digital collaborative content for everyone to see in high fidelity, while being extremely easy to use and share, thanks to its compatibility with today's most popular cloud services like Teams and Zoom.” Capturing dry erase surfaces up to six by four feet, Logitech Scribe is a dedicated whiteboard camera that gives virtual meeting participants a clear, real-time view of the whiteboard. Using built-in artificial intelligence, Scribe can render the presenter transparent, so remote users can see the whiteboard with nothing in the way, and automatically enhances the colour of markers so the content is easier to read. Scribe even has the ability to detect other non-digital content like Post-its, a favourite tool for collaboration sessions. Whether viewing from a laptop at home or on the meeting room display, Scribe makes sure everyone has the best seat at the table. With a clean, wall-mounted design and thoughtful cable management, Scribe elegantly blends into any modern office or classroom. Plus, it comes with everything you need to quickly get it up and running. Together with the whiteboard content camera, Scribe includes a wireless share button, mounting components, power supply, and

Using built-in artificial intelligence, Scribe can render the presenter transparent, so remote users can see the whiteboard with nothing in the way, and automatically enhances the colour of markers so the content is easier to read.

category cables for deployment at scale. With Scribe, Logitech is expanding what it does best: creating collaborative tools that make it easier for people to interact with the digital world in more natural and meaningful ways. “With the almost immediate corporate change from in-office to work from home, this past year has required us to make a lot of adjustments. Logitech may have seen these same issues, but they didn’t stop

working and created a great product,” said Will Cool, video conference standards and operations at PayPal. “Scribe brings the ‘in-room collaboration’ feeling to global conferencing through a sleek and modern whiteboard device. Scribe’s high-definition imaging and plug-and-play connectivity make for an effective and easy to install tool that is essential within the hybrid collaboration industry.” Continued Ehrika Gladden,

vice president of the global video collaboration commercial organization at Logitech, "Whether your mission includes creativity, design, development, or teaching we’ve gotten a glimpse of what the tech-enabled collaboration of the future can look like with Scribe.” Logitech Scribe is now available in select markets with MSRP starting at £1199. It is currently compatible with Teams Rooms on Windows and Zoom Rooms. Zoom Rooms Ap-

pliances support will be available after launch. For virtually any video conferencing service, Scribe can also operate as a standalone USB content camera when connected to a computer or laptop.

MediaStar Systems boosts new version of Media Manager

MediaStar Systems, developer of the powerful MediaStar range of IPTV, streaming and digital signage solutions, has launched the latest iteration of its popular content management system, Media Manager, with the important addition of an Analytics Module.

P20 AV News June 2021

MediaStar Systems, developer of the powerful MediaStar range of IPTV, streaming and digital signage solutions, has launched the latest iteration of its popular content management system, Media Manager, with the important addition of an Analytics Module. This will allow users to gain a much greater understanding of how and where content is being used across their IPTV or streaming environment, to enhance diagnostics and deliver ‘proof of play’. MediaStar Media Manager Version 11 will make it easy to create and run charts that analyse and compare media usage on the network. A System Overview Report delivers a summary of the content being played on individual endpoints and enables users to adjust the timeframe so they can see when, and for how long, it was streamed, and how many times

this was repeated. The Analytics Module includes graphs that can be configured to a company’s own specific needs, providing them with dynamic running reports and an animated view of media playout and usage over time. Groups of charts can be easily compiled into the Analytics Dashboard for review, and users can create shortcuts to store the charts they need to access most frequently. Shaun Oxenham, CEO at MediaStar Systems, said: “As an enterprise video content management system, it is important that Media Manager not only aggregates everything from live broadcasts and locally encoded streams, through to HLS, iVOD and VOD content, but that it informs users about how, where and when that content is distributed.” “The addition of the Analytics Module, gives our CMS an

extra edge, providing proof of play, essential for venues or locations where companies are paying for their ads or promotions to be displayed. They now have vital data and diagnostic reports, which, particularly for complex IPTV networks with multiple media and endpoints in play, can be easily digested and quickly acted upon.” The Analytics Module allows data to be easily exported to PDF or Word format and information can also be published to HTML for use in MediaStar web-based applications. Where content is sensitive, there is an option to protect graphs so only authorised users can access it as part of Media Manager’s sub-admin security scheme. MediaStar will be making Media Manager vs 11 with Analytics available with immediate effect.

Technology News

Vivitek's NovoDisplay - optimised for digital signage Vivitek has introduced its updated NovoDisplay. The all-inone 4K displays have been further optimised in terms of user experience, video conferencing and digital signage use. They are ideal for conference and training rooms thanks to the integrated wireless collaboration solution NovoConnect. The NovoDisplays are available in four sizes, ranging from 43 inch to 75-inch displays. A highlight is the 55-inch variant of Vivitek's NovoDisplay, which can be called a digital signage master. It can be used in both classic landscape and portrait mode and is designed for 18/7 operation. Further flexibility is provided by the integrated NovoDS software, which makes content management child's play. Using NovoDS Studio, playlists can be created intuitively via a drag and drop function and filled with images, videos, RSS feed, etc. In addition, content from social media accounts can be integrated directly into the digital signage application and a software API integration allows for additional functionality

in managing content. In times of social distancing, adherence to guidelines is of course essential for health and safety. For this purpose, Vivitek has integrated a people counting widget into its digital signage application. In combination with the VIVOTEK counting camera, it makes it easy to control entrances in order not to exceed the maximum number of people allowed. The application shares the information from the counting camera with the digital signage display, reducing the risk of overcrowding by always having up-to-date people counts. With the corona pandemic still prevalent, video conferencing has become an essential part of the business world. Accordingly, Vivitek has enhanced the user interface of NovoDisplay with a ‘Web Conferencing’ button on the home screen. This takes users directly to the pre-installed apps, such as MS Teams, Zoom or Google Meet. With the new integrated sleep timer, the usage time of the displays can be planned over the entire week. For example,

retailers can configure the timer so that the display automatically switches on or off during opening hours. Thanks to the auto-reboot function, the restart of the device can be scheduled or deactivated as desired. Whether in a classroom or conference room, too much blue light is harmful to the eyes. Vivitek has also considered this and equipped its NovoDisplay with a Low Blue Light function. Of course, the new NovoDisplays from Vivitek work in harmony with the entire Novo Ecosystem. This consists of the NovoConnect collaboration systems to supplement the existing infrastructure and the integrated products NovoProjector, NovoDisplay and NovoTouch. Various projectors and 4K displays are available as all-in-one devices for wireless collaboration and digital signage usage. Thanks to these features, they are ideally suited for conference rooms, meeting areas and corporate lobby areas. The NovoDisplays offer 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) for

Vision launches stand for Microsoft 50-inch Hub 2S

Vision’s VFM-F10/HB one-box solution includes the Vision Hub Halo, which matches Hub’s unique rounded bump on the back of the Hub and which replaces the standard VESA universal mount used to attached other displays, and a battery bracket with the F10 stand.

The Vision VFM-F10/HB for the 50-inch Hub 2S from Microsoft simplifies and streamlines installation of the popular collaboration device for installers, by providing all required parts create a robust but also mobile stand in a one-box solution. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand for mobile stands for Microsoft 50-inch Hub 2S but installers face increasing pressure to complete installs faster, especially from end-user customers deploying at scale, explains Vision Managing Director Stuart Lockhart. “To make their lives easier, we’ve put everything they need to install Hub in one box, with a single part number.” Vision’s VFM-F10/HB one-

box solution includes the Vision Hub Halo, which matches Hub’s unique rounded bump on the back of the Hub and which replaces the standard VESA universal mount used to attached other displays, and a battery bracket with the F10 stand. The F10 is ideal for Hub; it is robust with medical-grade 4-inch lockable wheels that reduce vibration and ensure the stand is easy to pull, even on deep carpet, and its width ensures it can be wheeled easily through a standard doorway. Cables can be hidden within the F10’s legs while its popular tilt feature enables users to easily alter the angle of the display to suit the needs of seated or standing viewers at

varying distances from the display and supporting the mixed use required as we return to socially-distanced office working. Vision has also invested in production robots to enhance the fit and finish of the product and redesigned packaging to provide enhanced resilience. “It’s a constant process of development and improvement,” adds Lockhart. “We want to ensure our mounts enhance the user experience, but also answer the needs of installers - reliable, good value products that are also easy to buy and install.” The VFM-F10/HB in one box ships from July and like all Vision products, is backed by a Vision’s Lifetime Guarantee.

detailed and razor-sharp images. For peace of mind, they are also offer ISO 27001 for security, ISO 9001 Quality Assurance and offer ISO 14001 Level 1 Energy Efficiency. Excluding VAT, the MSPR for the range is as follows: NovoDisplay DK431 £890; NovoDisplay DK551 £990; NovoDisplay DK651 £1,690; NovoDisplay DK751 £2,390. Commenting on the updated NovoDisplay range, Holger Graeff, General Manager, Vivitek EMEA said: “The role of digital signage has been transformed in the last 12 months, as organisations of all sizes realise their importance in displaying critical information. Vivitek NovoDisplay is extremely easy to use, thus making it simple to update information and keep the public or guests to venues informed. The new revisions serve to make the range even more attractive to use in office and signage applications, while even further enhancing the value, feature set, security and high quality that Vivitek is so well known for.”

Konftel gets new video kit Conferencing and collaboration specialist Konftel has developed a combined personal video and audio solution for wherever people are working. The Konftel Personal Video Kit creates conferencing convenience – and is ideally suited to today’s growing hybrid working trends, spanning both the home and traditional office. The complete conferencing package consists of the new Konftel Cam10 webcam and popular Konftel Ego speakerphone – delivering business class performance with high levels of usability as part of a compact and portable overall design. “The Konftel Personal Video Kit is specifically designed for desktop users who demand professional quality conferences anywhere,” says UK Sales Director, Jeff May. “High quality video matched by crystal clear audio.” Users can take advantage of an enhanced visual and audio experience, with a 90 degree viewing angle, full HD video output and acclaimed OmniSound audio performance. “With USB plug and play, this portable kit is the perfect home and traditional office companion,” May adds. “The Konftel Cam10 is ideal for users with single or multiple external displays. Placed in an optimal position on top of the main screen, it promotes a natural lifelike viewing experience.” In addition the Konftel Cam10 features innovative noise reduction technology, low light capabilities, swift autofocus

and a 4x digital zoom for great flexibility. The Konftel Ego is a Red Dot design award winner and despite its compact size, it delivers exceptional sound – together with a smart and clear LCD display. The Konftel Ego is a good alternative to a headset; more comfortable for longer calls with the capability of room filling music too. “Designed for today’s hybrid working trends – where more and more business critical meetings take place online – this professional USB web camera and speakerphone combine advanced technologies with big performance. The Konftel Personal Video Kit is ideally suited for more flexible ways of working. It’s personal, productive and performance-driven,” May explained.

Whatever the preferred app or cloud service, the Konftel Personal Video kit fits all collaboration needs. Users just connect the USB cables to their laptop or PC and they’re good to go – with optional Bluetooth for audio too. A simple desktop app enables zoom, customization of image and camera features. The Personal Video Kit is part of Konftel’s recently renewed Climate Neutral certification – where all greenhouse gas emissions are offset – so people can conference ‘with a clear climate conscience’. The Konftel Personal Video Kit has a list price of £209.

The Konftel Ego is a Red Dot design award winner and despite its compact size, it delivers exceptional sound – together with a smart and clear LCD display.

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Column

Is remote work here to stay? When we think about the changes to our daily lives brought about by COVID-19, one of the first things that comes to mind is the consolidation of remote working. Although, in general, remote working only began as a kind of 'experiment’ out of necessity, the truth is that as a model, it really works. So much so that more and more companies are starting to treat it as a normal part of their operations. For months we have all been working from home, using just our laptops in most cases, because we did not have any other choice. Videoconferences all day long, getting used to coordinating remotely with people we had always dealt with on a face-to-face basis, and getting used to new technologies that we did not know before...

wonderful tool to complement what we had before. Let´s explore an example. While some months ago we held meetings with around 10 people in a meeting room, it looks like the most common scenario nowadays is the hybrid meeting, 50/50, 60/40 or so. Then, normally around 5 members would attend the meeting phys-

But since a new norm has arrived, we also have found out that remote working full time is not the most convenient option in most of cases, there are still some situations that may happen in the office or at least, are more convenient for them to happen there. However, to work efficiently and effectively, sometimes it is essential to leave home. More and more, remote working will form part of a hybrid model, one designed to take advantage of the best of what this new way of working has to offer, without losing what the traditional way of doing things has also brought us. But let no one have any doubts at this point that there is no going back. Since regular use of videoconference has taken off, many have complained that these technologies are no substitute for face-to-face meetings. How can virtual contact ever take the place of meeting with somebody in person? Why are we in such a hurry to compare them? Rather, we could see them as a

ically and in the same room, and the remaining 5 would connect remotely. By incorporating interactive screens such as MIRA, corporations can opt for teleworking by ensuring permanent collaboration and videoconference between those in the office and those who connect remotely from home or from remote offices. This hybrid model also helps by saving time – during lock down we noticed that videoconference meetings are more efficient. Waiting time for attendees is reduced and topics are addressed more directly. Using a personal device such as Flex, they serve for much more than just holding meetings, as they encourage the creation of collaborative digital spaces where people can interact, share ideas, documents, make notes in real time and hold simultaneous conversations. In this new reality there is another frequently used scenario, that is not just taking place in the education environment, but also in the corporate business,

P22 AV News June 2021

when making presentations. With the current situation more than ever, it is necessary to share the content with the students/attendees regardless of whether they are physically or remotely present, and to connect the remote attendees by videoconference, with the tools of each host´s choice. An external camera to record the

session of the speaker interacting with the interactive display during the presentation is key to catch the audience´s attention. In the case of remote learning, the engagement of sharing content remotely to the students increases when the teacher is being seen interacting, writing, drawing, etc. as they do

in face-to-face lessons. In the case of an additional webcam embedded in the touchscreen, it can face the room-based attendees too, which makes the solution even more powerful. Our environment has a clear influence on the way we work, and being properly updated and prepared for any possible contingency will help us to deal with changes in a more efficient and advantageous way. Having the right technology gives us the capacity to adapt, and currently having interactive solutions such as MIRA or Flex, which facilitate remote or faceto-face collaboration, will help us to more easily face the new realities that arise, both in the corporate and educational environment.

Reviews

ViewSonic ViewBoard Pen Display ID1330 ViewSonic has launched an innovative range of portable products – ViewBoard Pen Display ID1330, ViewBoard Notepad PF0730-I0WW and WoodPad 7 a next-generation product to improvise E-learning in the current and post- pandemic situation. These products are equipped with user friendly features, and while ViewSonic concedes that the primary market for the ViewBoard Pen Display is education, AV News reviews process revealed other applications, It’s been a while since we got really involved with graphics tablets, digitisers or whatever you prefer to call them. A graphics tablet includes a screen. The whole screen becomes a drawing surface, and the artist interacts directly with the display. This gives a more natural and precise drawing experience. The pen, or stylus that comes with a drawing tablet includes a pressure sensitive tip that can determine line width and transparency adding to the drawing experience. These days, buyers also have the choice of using a tablet PC for this function. such as an iPad or the Microsoft equivalent, increasing the range of options and so complicating the selection process. There's absolutely loads of choice out there, and even when you plug in your specific needs and your budget, you'll probably find you have several viable options on your hands. Whether you choose a dedicated surface for drawing and nothing else, or a more rounded tablet that you can use to watch movies, gaming etc, you'll find plenty of choice. Wacom is still a significant player in this market and in addition to a number of direct competitors. Wacom probably still be the choice of the graphic arts professional but there are plenty of other use-cases

particularly in education, presentations and basic illustration.So which is the best choice for you? Currently, options can be classified as: 1.Graphics tablets, which you draw directly onto with a special pen or stylus 2.Pressure-sensitive pen displays, which are hooked up to a monitor 3.Tablet computers, which can be adapted for drawing with an app The physical specifications include •Resolution - This is the size of the display, expressed in the number of pixels shown on the screen. The larger the resolution, the clearer your image will be. •Pressure sensitivity - Pressure sensitivity means the pressure on the surface of the tablet. Pressure sensitivity is necessary for smooth designing. If the device can handle more pressure, it will help you to do draw more freely. Most tablets have a pressure level of 256, 512 or 1024. •Processor - This is the chip that drives the tablet. A tablet with a quad-core processor will generally perform better than a tablet with a dual-core processor. ... •Battery life - The published battery life can't usually be trusted, since it is measured under the most optimal condi-

tions set by the manufacturer. •RAM/Memory - This is the memory that allows your tablet to multitask and run memory-intensive apps. This specification is really only apparent if you're comparing Android models. •Storage - This is the amount of space that the tablet has to store media, apps, and any other files and documents. With its ability to innovate and to manufacture, why has ViewSonic chosen to get involved now?

Motivation Muneer Ahmad, Business Head, AV, ViewSonic India explained: “With the growing demand of online education or remote teaching, we felt the need to develop a product which complements with classroom education and ensures an optimal environment for both teachers and students. Adding to our portable segment and the current need, we developed innovative and user – friendly products which are equipped with high level features and offer the advantage of digitised teaching & learning. We expect that these solutions will have a positive impact on the Indian market and will be a popular choice amongst the audience”. Described in full as the “ViewBoard Pen Display ID1330– Portable Teaching Device”, the 13.3” Pen Display is an ultra-thin (7mm) and ultra-light weight (0.8kg) LCD display. It also provides pen pressure levels of 8,192 and +/-60-degree pen tilt angle for a natural handwriting experience. The newly launched device is equipped with battery free pen which is specifically designed to allow for precise yet diverse handwriting of text, math formulas, and other common teaching content This innovative yet utilitarian product is timely, as remote teaching presents a lot of challenges. Understanding the customer need, ViewSonic’s ViewBoard Pen display offers high level specification and features

which ease the teaching method. Teachers can write, create, manage notes and it intuitively transmits course materials in a digitized whiteboard handwriting format directly to each student. Also, to provide better user-friendly feature, this new product has Six user defined Hotkeys which allows teachers to set up shortcuts for functions they use most often, like ‘Eraser’ or ‘Recovery.’ The product is also equipped with one cable USB type – C support which helps in keeping desktop clean and tidy. Uses for the graphics tablet include digitising diagrams, illustrations, and any graphic device for incorporating a graphic element into a digital document or publication.

Buying considerations The way you connect your tablet to your computer varies between different tablets with USB being the most popular. Older computers might offer a serial interface which requires a separate power source. The latest generation of tablets might also offer a Bluetooth interface for wireless connectivity or, like the ViewSonic, USB-C. The pen or stylus is ergonomically designed and does not need a battery. Buttons on the pen will work as the right click or the left click of the mouse. Also, another button will work as an eraser that will help you erase something if necessary. The pressure sensitivity controls the line thickness. Your

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tablet will be more responsive if the pressure level is high. The most relevant technical specification is pressure sensitivity. The more, the better is the rule of thumb but we found the ViewSonic ViewBoard Pen display fine for our applications. A graphics tablet is an alternative type of input device or in conjunction with the mouse, a trackball or the other pointing device, It allows the natural drawing motions. It produces smoother curves, and it makes small, complex shapes more easily than the mouse. Non-artists can use the graphics tablet because it offers a more ergonomic method of input that can reduce the repetitive strain injury, When combined with the art application such as Painter or Photoshop, The talented artist can produce incredible illustrations and images with it.

Conclusions The graphics tablet is much more natural means to draw diagrams with the pencil type implement (the stylus) rather than with the mouse, The great level of accuracy can be achieved, applying more pressure with the pen leaves the darker line, while less pressure makes the lighter one.

P23 AV News June 2021

Peoplewatch

Peoplewatch 4ICG Group, the Scottish headquartered digital specialists, has appointed a new European Operations Director to lead its growth on the continent. Lydia McKinnon has joined to lead the expansion of 4ICG’s team in Malaga as well as the establishment of its new office in Tenerife, which was announced by the company in March. Another 200 jobs are being created in Malaga, as well as the 150 roles previously announced at its Santa Cruz base in Tenerife. 4ICG Group’s roster of brands includes Software Advisory Service, Pursuit Marketing and Fierce Digital. The company plans to announce further expansion, with additional locations, in Europe in the next six months. Lydia joins 4ICG with a wealth of experience in senior operations roles at HP and Kura. She will be based in Malaga initially and will spend time in each location as operations dictate. Lydia said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to work with a fast paced, progressive and ambitious Scottish business as they build their presence in Europe. The Malaga office has been a great success so far for 4ICG but will benefit from additional leadership on the ground as we target new business and add to the existing team.” “The chance to help establish the Tenerife office will also be really enjoyable in the months ahead and I’m looking forward to using my experience to help the company flourish in these locations.” Lorraine Gray, Director at 4ICG Group, said: “Lydia’s experience, knowledge and enthusiasm made her the outstanding candidate for this role. Our Malaga operation has been hugely successful since launching April 2019. Growing that team from 70 to 270 FTE will mean a busy 12 months of expansion but with Lydia joining our senior leadership team, we are confident our growth can be expedited in this territory and across Europe. “We’re in active talks about opening other 4ICG offices in Europe and hope to announce further news on that soon.”

competitive appeal of their products with versatile new features. Tolka has a heritage of turning ideas into total solutions that meet the demands of traditional as well as IP-based television viewing, profiled content delivery and person to person video communication. An excellent example is CastMark, a highly secure cloudbased watermarking implementation which allows broadcasters to protect their content from unauthorized infringement of copyright and consequent loss of revenue. CastMark watermarking is invisibly inserted into the playout transport stream. Each subscriber's viewing device is assigned a unique signature. If pirate content is detected, the signature of the set-top box or mobile platform is automatically reported." A telecommunications industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in broadcast technology and business management, Michael Day has worked closely with Tolka since its formation in 2015. As CEO, he will supervise corporate, commercial and technical activity at Tolka's Atlanta headquarters and research facility in Taiwan. His appointment follows on from the recent introduction of TV AnyWhere, a complete and easy to manage solution which allows cable, satellite and digital terrestrial TV services to provide full support for revenue-generating personalized advertising without needing a return feed. The Tolka Conditional Access System, TCAS, is integrated to ensure secure delivery.

Michael Möller joins the Peerless-AV EMEA sales team as Senior Sales Manager, Germany. expand our brand visibility and market share throughout the country. High bright outdoor displays and dvLED are in high demand from a lot of big accounts and, especially as business returns to normal post-pandemic, we look forward to significant growth in the coming months and years for these product areas.” For more information on the full range of Peerless-AV mounts and solutions visit www.peerless-av.com. Follow the latest Peerless-AV news and updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blog.

Tolka has announced the appointment of Michael Day as chief executive officer

4ICG Group, the Scottish headquartered digital specialists, has appointed a new European Operations Director to lead its growth on the continent. Lydia McKinnon has joined to lead the expansion of 4ICG’s team in Malaga as well as the establishment of its new office in Tenerife Tolka has announced the appointment of Michael Day as chief executive officer His role will include spearheading the company's expansion as a globally active producer of equipment, software and services for the broadcast telecommunications market. "Tolka is a dynamic company with proven talent for software development and systems integration," Michael Day comments. "One of our key objectives is to partner with set-top box and TV display manufacturers around the world so that they can extend the

P24 AV News June 2021

Peerless-AV has announced that Michael Möller has joined as Senior Sales Manager for Germany in response to increasing sales growth and opportunities in the region, especially for dvLED and Outdoor Emerging Technology lines. Michael will support Director of Sales, Germany, Michaela Hirsch working in close partnership with OEMs, distributors and system integrators. “We welcome Michael to the EMEA Sales team. An experienced sales manager with good relationships and knowledge of digital signage - from an end user, distribution and vendor perspective - will be very important for identifying new leads in new markets, and for the continued growth of our business in the German market,” said Keith Dutch, Managing Director – EMEA, Peerless-AV. With over 10 years’ experience in AV, Michael was previously a key account manager at LG Electronics for three years, where he was responsible for strategic expansion and new customer acquisition in the South and Middle of Germany for digital signage and LED. Working with major blue-chip clients he was involved in the management of big projects across Europe and Internationally. Prior to that, Michael was at Ingram Micro for seven years in various roles, including, most recently, sales consultant for hospitality and digital signage products. Michael is fluent in English and is based in Munich. Commenting on his new role at Peerless-AV, Michael said, “The German AV industry is all about relationships and so I look forward to building and strengthening key integrator and distributor connections to

Peerless-AV has announced the appointment of Martin Romanowski as Regional Sales Director EMEA, responsible for the Nordics, Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russia. Based in Sweden, Martin has extensive AV sales and marketing experience having worked in manufacturing and distribution for businesses across all areas of the industry from software to displays and digital signage to mounting solutions. His local market knowledge and connections will be invaluable for building Peerless-AV brand visibility and market share. Martin joins the Peerless-AV team with over 20 years of experience in senior local and international roles at several major OEMs and distributors in the IT and AV sectors. He was responsible for go to market strategy, strategic partnerships, and growth in the EMEA region. Previously, he was CEO/Co-Owner of a digital signage software company responsible for international expansion and growth assignment. “Our investment in senior regional heads continues with the appointment of Martin to the EMEA business,” said Keith Dutch, Managing Director – EMEA, Peerless-AV. “His broad knowledge of organisational culture, business management and go to market strategies within SME’s and multinationals, as well as his local knowhow and strong relationships, makes him the ideal candidate to grow our brand and customer base in his territories.” “My background in business and dealing with cultural differences is wide-ranging; especially having run my own business, I know all the ins and outs of an organisation and what makes it tick from front to back of house. Therefore, I know I can help and support the Peerless-AV EMEA business in its sales and marketing efforts, to educate the Nordic, Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russian markets on the product range, increase brand awareness and open new opportunities through the emerging technology growth areas such as dvLED mounting systems and Xtreme Outdoor Displays”. Martin has military officer and leadership training and holds a Master of Economics degree from Stockholm University. He is fluent in Swedish, Polish, English and also speaks Norwegian and Danish.

Peoplewatch

Peoplewatch programmer and will therefore make a superb asset to the team, thanks to his perspective acquired from past roles as System Integrator and Automation Programmer. He brings a technical mindset and vast industry knowledge to help us ensure our continued, exceptional customer service for the Residential market.” Alexandre adds: “I feel so happy and proud to join such a talented team and recognised brand. Crestron offers system integrators and homeowners alike with so many opportunities and I'm looking forward to providing our partners with the tools and knowledge they need to deliver outstanding Residential projects. Sharing this passion is what motivates us, and I can't wait to be a part of the success story!”

Leader Electronics has announced the appointment of Terry Millard as UK-based European Business Development Manager.

Peerless-AV has announced the appointment of Martin Romanowski as Regional Sales Director EMEA, responsible for the Nordics, Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russia. Leader Electronics has announced the appointment of Terry Millard as UK-based European Business Development Manager. This new addition to the Leader team forms part of the company's ongoing support-development strategy. “Terry has exactly the right skills and personality for this position, including a quarter century of broadcast industry experience,” says Leader Europe Managing Director Koichi Fukagawa. “He is proactive and has a good reputation for building rapport with customers. He also knows how to explain the practical application of Leader instruments both as production and maintenance tools, and the ease with which they can be configured to support latest-generation standards such as HD-HDR, 4K and 8K. He will be working with Germany-based Djamel Djadi (European Business Development Manager) and UK-based Kevin Salvidge (European Regional Development Manager) as the European division reaches out to an expanding customer population.” “Leader fully lives up to its name as the logical choice for high-precision test and measurement across every aspect of digital cinematography, broadcast video and audio," Terry Millard adds. "Leader instruments have long enjoyed a high reputation for accuracy, robust build quality and versatility. Leader's modular upgrade approach is based on easy firmware expansion and software enhancement. This allows customers to specify what they need for their current SDI, IP or hybrid workflow while retaining the freedom to add new features as and when they choose.” After graduating with a BA Honours degree in Performance Arts, Terry Millard commenced his broadcast career in 1996 with London-based media facilities provider Onsight, advancing to General Manager. After 14 years with Onsight, he progressed in 2011 to the role of Business Development Director at Video Europe. He joins Leader after five years as Sales Manager with Digital Garage Group.

Technological Innovations Group (TIG), the leading technology sales agency offering integrated AV solutions for both residential and commercial smart spaces, is pleased to welcome Alexandre Martin into the role of Residential Sales Engineer in France. Reporting to Christophe Malsot, TIG's Director of Hospitality, Leisure and Retail, Alexandre will be the go-to technical specialist for system integrators and smart home customers, working closely with the expert regional sales team. Christophe Malsot comments: “Alexandre is a Crestron certified Technological Innovations Group (TIG), the leading technology sales agency offering integrated AV solutions for both residential and commercial smart spaces, is pleased to welcome Alexandre Martin into the role of Residential Sales Engineer in France.

Chyron today announced the hiring of Nigel Davies as the company's new venues account manager responsible for building and extending relationships with college and professional sports venues across North America. Davies will focus on increasing awareness and adoption of the Chyron PRIME Click Effects solution for stadium and in-venue production and fan engagement, as well as the broader PRIME Live Platform. He will report directly to Gregoire Rouyer, vice president, enterprise accounts, at Chyron. “I am beyond excited to join Greg's already stellar team at Chyron and to use my sports event experience to help customers push the boundaries of the live fan experience using Click Effects and Chyron's other leading products,” said Davies. “I look forward to supporting Chyron's current partners and growing pivotal new relationships in the North American market.” Following his time as captain of the UCLA track and field team, Davies began his professional career at Relevent Sports Group and the 2013 International Champions Cup [ICC]. While with Relevent, Davies established client relationships with world-renowned, multibillion-dollar sports properties while driving digital growth, implementing ticket sales campaigns, and executing both client and ICC sponsor deliverables. He subsequently completed the FIFA Executive Programme in Sports Management and went on to build a strong track record in end-to-end sponsor portfolio management, customer acquisition and retention, and revenue generation. “Nigel is a great addition to our venues team at just the right time,” said Rouyer. “The pandemic drove innovation in fan engagement, and now the return of fans to the stands is fuelling further investment in solutions for producing compelling visual content. With his experience in the sports market and his understanding of stadium and in-venue operations, Nigel will help Chyron to seize new opportunities in providing advanced graphics and production solutions built on proven technology.” Chyron's Click Effects content control and delivery solutions for sports and entertainment productions enable arenas, stadiums, and other event venues to engage fans, strengthen brand loyalty, and boost sponsor revenues. Customers that adopt the full PRIME Live Platform can generate a complementary revenue-generating stream for fans in the stadium or for external audiences. Thanks to Chyron's close relationship with its sister brands, Tracab and Hego, Davies will be uniquely positioned to offer stadium and in-venue solutions that also incorporate next-gen tracking and data visualization, as well as complete operations and support services.

Chyron today announced the hiring of Nigel Davies as the company's new venues account manager

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P25 AV News June 2021

Diary and Events

IBC postponed

ISE announces Barcelona highlights

The IBC Show has been moved to 3rd-6th of December. The show’s board took the decision to move the show to the “fall back dates” which were first announced earlier this year. Event CEO Mike Crimp said the event’s organisers feel the “best opportunity” for the show would be the move to the end of the year. He added that the decision to move the date has not been taken lightly. All of the feedback the organisers received from their discussions with stakeholders showed that the sentiment has shifted to a move to December. “There’s a really strong desire for us to deliver a show in Amsterdam,” added Crimp. “December offers us the opportunity to implement the best safety protocols. September would have been tight in what we needed to achieve,” he explained. “Having more time to concentrate on the marketplace and what the market wants was more important than being the first major trade show to take place.”

ISE Live and Online is the first physical ISE event since last February and it will be the first in-person event held this year at the Fira Barcelona Gran Vía. Attendees can visit the Catalan Innovation Zone, the AV Experience Zone and exhibitor booths, experience live keynotes, roundtables and presentations from the ISE Main Stage, and enjoy numerous opportunities to network and reconnect with the AV community.

These are the Top 10 highlights of the event: 1. Paving the way forward – A roadmap to success from the Main Stage A fascinating programme of live and digital content curated by The Next Web (TNW), AVIXA, CEDIA and ISE exhibitors and partners to provide you with tools to navigate out of the pandemic, mixing live action from Barcelona with the ISE Digital agenda. https://www. iseurope.org/main-stage-programme/ 2. AV Experience Zone (in association with AVIXA) Attend Spanish-language AV integrator presentations of case studies, panel discussions, networking events, customer testimonials and talks on new trends. Here, professionals working in Retail, Corporate, Education and Hospitality will be able to discover the latest technologies and solutions provided by the AV industry.

The IBC Show has been moved to 3rd-6th of December. The show’s board took the decision to move the show to the “fall back dates” which were first announced earlier this year.

IFA Berlin 2021 cancelled Messe Berlin and GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH have announced that IFA 2021 will not take place in September as a physical live event as originally planned. The decision was made following detailed conversations with public health experts and multiple stakeholders. Ultimately, several key global health metrics did not move as fast in the right direction as had been hoped for - from the rapid emergence of new COVID-19 variants, for example in South Asia, to continued uncertainties about the speed of the rollout of vaccination programmes around the world. This in turn is adding uncertainty for the companies that were committed or interested in coming to Berlin, as well as media and visitors – all of whom have to plan well ahead with regards to budgets, investments and travel – not just for IFA, but all similar events around the world. Another consideration is the fact that Messe Berlin continues to support the fight against COVID-19 by converting parts of its exhibition area into a vaccination centre and an emergency hospital facility; both are now likely to be required for longer than originally anticipated. "Innovation needs a platform; it needs the focus of global attention. That's why brands and manufacturers across the tech industry were very keen to come to IFA Berlin 2021. Unfortunately, the latest public health developments introduced too much risk into everybody's planning for the event," said Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH. "There simply are now too many uncertainties. Therefore, right now it has become near impossible for anyone to responsibly plan their participation in any trade show.” "We did not take this decision lightly. IFA Berlin is arguably the most important event of the year for brands and retailers alike. IFA Berlin connects our industry with trade visitors, media and real consumers like no other event. However, the health and safety of everybody has to be absolutely paramount. The efforts to contain this pandemic – from the roll-out of vaccination programs to the resumption of international travel - did not happen at the pace we had hoped for. Given these developments, this difficult and disappointing decision was inevitable," said Martin Ecknig, the CEO of Messe Berlin.

Messe Berlin and GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH have announced that IFA 2021 will not take place in September as a physical live event as originally planned.

P26 AV News June 2021

3. Catalan Innovation Zone (in association with ACCIÓ) ACCIÓ, an agency of the Government of Catalunya promoting Business Competitiveness, is hosting a dedicated zone showcasing some of the leading companies and technologies from the region. 4. Exhibitor Booths Explore the ISE show floor with exhibiting brands including Alfalite, Ampio, Barco, Equipson, ic audio, Infinitus, Jetbuilt, Lumotubo, Nexmosphere, UDE, Waapiti and West Telco. 9 5. Spanish Language Keynote Speakers ‘Digital Transformation for Tech-led Business’ with Marc Vidal on 1 June. Marc is considered one of the most influential figures in Digital Economy of Spain and is a specialist in Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0. ‘Long Live Retail’ with Dr Maria Callis Bañeres on 2 June. The business retail and design strategy specialist and president of the Retail Design Institute Spain will show why we need to make the move from ‘Omnichannel to Phygital Experience’. Case studies will include IKEA, Barça and MADE. 6 Reporter Roundtables Livestreamed from the Main Stage, these lively panel discussions curated by TNW include: 1 June: ‘Marketing Tactics in an Online World’. Rebecca Roth, Social Media Specialist & Imaging Coordinator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Genia Shipova, Chief Marketing Officer at Daily Motion talk digital marketing tactics. 2 June: ‘What’s Your Purpose?’ Alice K. Steenland, Chief Sustainability Officer, Dassault Systèmes, is joined by other experts for this peer-to-peer knowledge exchange on how to position your brand and service in a post pandemic world. 7Startup Nation ACCIÓ is partnering with ISE and TNW to produce three Startup Nation sessions across both days on the Main Stage, highlighting upcoming Catalan entrepreneurial start-up talent from the business sectors of Smart Cities, Gaming and XR. A must-see for investors… 8Catalonian Audiovisual Cluster The local AV association will present three Main Stage sessions across the two days. On Tuesday at 10:20, ‘Big Light Shows’ will highlight work from studios including Moment Factory, Onionlab and Minoria Absoluta. Spanish-language presentations will be devoted to an update on AV technology in Spanish universities (Wednesday 10:20), and to recent achievements in the live events sector (Wednesday 10:40). 9ISE Business Brokerage Service Available to users through the ACCIO b2match app, the B2B brokerage service scheduling tool bridges the gap by connecting individuals and companies with specific products or services. Pre-scheduled 30-minute meetings can be held either in person alongside ISE Live & Online Barcelona (1-2 June) or online (3- 4 June). 10. ISE Networking Event To wrap up the first day, please joins us for an in-person networking event, sponsored by ACCIO. Come and enjoy live entertainment from the Barcelona Cool Covers Band and celebrate being #BackToLive as you meet and connect with the AV community. Visitors will also be able to watch highlights from the ISE Digital event (1-2 June), which will be broadcast to screens on the Main Stage during the two days. Join ISE as we look forward as an industry. Registration is free, quick, and simple – don’t miss out – reserve your ticket now: https://www.iseurope.org/register.php?actioncode=LIVEAPR4