InfoComm: A CTS Perspective

Christopher Neto, CTS, toured the floor Tuesday and has given us his impressions.

June 14, 2012 TD Staff Leave a Comment

Transparent display cubes were being shown by a few manufactures. This particular unit is a 22-inch Samsung Transparent Showcase. These units will grab your attention. To see an object in the box and the graphics in motion spotlighting that object is a great advertising tool. This product is a good example of how technology combined with an artistic eye of a professional graphic artist can bring out its true potential. When you add its optional touchscreen technology, the cool factor gets bumped up even more. Photo source: C. Neto

The VFI Collaboration Table was great example of form and function. The table, equipment rack, room PC storage, cable management and monitor stand are all built in. This is all-in-one design can save on infrastructure costs. I also can see this working out well in an open concept office design or in a leased property that is limited in conference room space. Photo source: C. Neto

I must have walked by this unit 10 times while journeying from booth to booth. Each time I stopped to look at the unit. The Casio Virtual Presenter is not a product that was just released this week but if its purpose in life was to catch people’s attention, it did its job very well. The retail market can easily use this as a door greeter or as an information mannequin that reminds shoppers of a particular sale. The point is it draws you in. In a corporate setting, could this be your future receptionist? Photo source: C. Neto

The Barco ClickShare was fun piece of technology. The Barco booth always had a lot of activity surrounding the ClickShare. I was able to play with the system at the Starin Booth. The system is simple and easy to use. In can take four PCs and wirelessly display them on a single monitor or as a quad with the built-in windowing feature. My favorite part of the unit it that it’s a USB Connection device that does not need any special software downloads. In a corporate environment software cannot be easily added to company laptops, so this feature will be well received by A/V managers. Photo source: C. Neto

Sometimes the simplest solution is the most needed. Crestron is well known for their electronic systems, but it was the new retractable cable box caught my eye. The C2n-FT-TPS-4 is nice clean solution to the conference room cable mess. The table box features lock tabs to keep the cables from recoiling at the wrong time. Photo source: C. Neto

Samsung had this bright 75-inch LED monitor on display. The monitor’s image looks massive. As large as it looks, it’s really thin in width and has that sleek modern look that end users like. A 75-inch monitor can now enter the discussion of Projection vs. Display. The image quality and the brightness will win over the traditional projector-install crowd. Photo source: C. Neto

Anytime you can extend the life of an older piece of hardware the better, especially when budgets are a concern. Projection Design has done that with the X-port system. The X-port system will add additional functionality to the popular FX35 line of projectors. The X-port will accommodate any future formats that come along, extending the projector’s useful life. As a former tech manager I know the value of “getting one more year” out of projector. Photo source: C. Neto

I love technology. I love cool gadgets that do interesting things. I love sound systems that can be played loud. I love big displays. You get the idea….I am in the right place!

InfoComm 2012 started on Tuesday for me. I flew across the country to be immersed in technology, and what better place to have this gathering then in Vegas? The minute you step off the plane your surrounded by lights and sounds. The Vegas Strip is a technology amusement park for A/V people. Some may say it can be overwhelming. The only thing I personally think would be overwhelming would be to drive down the strip. How do you see a red traffic light against a red-lit backdrop?

I do enjoy walking out and seeing the all the lights and sounds. I have to admit, like most people attending the show, my eye will go right to the one corner of the display that is off or off color.
Tuesday concluded with dinner. My seared tuna was accompanied with side order of 80s and 90s tunes mixed on the spot by a hardworking DJ. The sound system in this restaurant that would make most nightclubs back home bury their head in shame. I was in my element.

My first day at the convention center was a interesting. I was on a mission when I left my room. I was armed with a plan and a scheduled apointment. I was determined to make it work.

Within the first 60 minutes the plan was done. My first apointment did not take place due to people chatting. My second meeting was not a scheduled one, but that started 20 minutes late. Finally, the third meeting I canceled due to the late start of my second meeting. I gave up on meetings and ran around the floor searching out products without a plan.

Along the way I met fellow online Twitter AVTweeps. Though my favorite things to do at Infocomm is to play “Who do they work for now?” and “Six Degrees of Audiovisual,” games and Tweeps aside, I did see some nice equipment. At the end of the day I sorted through my notes and came across some products that I and you may or have not have seen. I see the products from the eyes of a former support person, so excuse me if I’m overly excited about something that I find easy to use and even easier to support.

View the slideshow for Chris Neto’s observations.

Christopher Neto, CTS, DMC-D, EAVA, TPE, SSYB, blogs at AVShout.com

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