The Tech Challenge

Constructing the banquet hall improvements presented all of the typical challenges of a remodel. For the new AV system, WSSU’s Technology Support Analyst Chris Screen worked with Winston-Salem based AV integrator Recursav, LLC to meet those challenges. Although they had a blank slate of an empty room, they had to devise an AV design that could be installed with minimum disturbance to the existing walls and ceiling, while meeting the need for multiple screens on each wall to provide good viewing angles for people seated around dining tables throughout the room.

Plans also called for additional video screens in the lobby area at the banquet hall entrance, which required drilling through existing concrete structure for cable routing. To simplify cable pulls through existing construction, AV over IP signal distribution over CATx Ethernet cable was the logical choice.

The integrator selected a range of Extron switching, distribution, control, and audio products to meet system design requirements.

The Design Solution

Extron’s NAV Pro AV over IP Encoders and Decoders form the backbone of the video signal path, using 1 Gbps Ethernet cable infrastructure to send 4K video and RS-232 control signals throughout Anderson Center’s conference venues, including the McNeil Banquet Hall, the Dillard Auditorium, and their lobbies. The Ethernet cable distributes the audio, relying on Dante audio network connectivity. A NAVigator AV over IP System Manager configures the NAV encoder and decoder endpoints and also manages matrix switching between AV inputs and outputs through an IP network switch.

Signal Routing and Distribution with NAV Pro AV over IP NAV Pro provides several advantages that make it the right choice at Anderson Center. It transports video, audio, and control signals over standard CATx Ethernet cabling using readily available Ethernet network switches, saving installation time and expense, and allowing AV content routing from any source to any destination. WSSU plans to add more endpoints to the building’s AV over IP network during future budget cycles.

Projectors in the Banquet Hall

The banquet hall has five ceiling-mounted laser projectors aimed at two screens on the South wall, two screens on the North wall, and one screen on the East wall. The East wall with the single screen is considered the “front” of the room, but event organizers have the flexibility to make any wall the focal point of the room to suit varying crowd sizes, dining table layouts, or when dual screens are needed for a presentation. The projectors are fed HDMI content and RS-232 control signals from NAV decoders mounted atop each projector.

Flat Panel Displays in the Lobby

The hallway lobby at the banquet hall entrance serves as the “pre-function” area, where attendees can mingle, register and pick up badges before going into the hall. Two 65″ flat panel displays on the wall of the lobby display informational messages, entertainment, real-time views of presentations screening in the hall, or views of what is going on in the hall captured by two cameras located on the North and South walls of the hall. Extron NAV decoders mounted behind each display supply HDMI content and RS-232 control signals to the displays.

AV Connections Between Venues

The banquet hall also has bi-directional NAV AV over IP connectivity with the Dillard Auditorium, increasing event capacity by 400 seats. Content from the banquet hall can be sent to displays in the auditorium, or the auditorium can supply content to the banquet hall.

According to WSSU’s Screen, the latter option came in handy during a heavily attended strategic plan presentation conducted by the Chancellor. The event took place in the auditorium, which filled to capacity. Multiple studio-caliber cameras connected through a live production switcher to a NAV encoder allowed the overflow crowd to watch from the banquet hall, as well as streaming to YouTube via an SMP 352 streaming media processor.

Commenting on how Extron NAV technology makes this possible, Screen says, “To get that kind of AV distribution capability with just one network cable pull? I’m so impressed with that.”

Streaming, Recording & Software Codec Conferencing

An SMP 352 Dual Recording Streaming Media Processor receives HDMI from two NAV decoders, as well as two DSP-enhanced analog audio channels. WSSU uses the SMP 352 to record and stream events from both the banquet hall and the auditorium. This allows events and conferences to be disseminated to wider audiences beyond the confines of the two venues.

Distant participants can also join events interactively via web-based software codec applications like Zoom. The soft codecs run on the AV system’s PC, which is looped into the AV over IP network via a NAV encoder and decoder.

NAV Wallplate Encoders Located Near Each Projection Screen

In keeping with the concept of making the room layout flexible for all types of events, a NAV wallplate encoder is located next to each of the five projection screens in the banquet hall. No matter which screen the presenter chooses to use as the main screen, there is an encoder nearby where they can plug in their laptop or other HDMI content source. NAV wallplate encoders are also located near each of the two cameras on the hall’s North and South walls, allowing the cameras to feed their HDMI content into the AV over IP network.

Clear, Powerful Sound in All Venues

The IP network also distributes audio, relying on Dante and AES67 network connectivity. Audio sources include program audio from presenters’ laptops, delivered through NAV wallplate encoders. Eight wireless mics provide audio from presenters and attendees. Sixteen SoundField ceiling speakers in the dining hall are driven by a NetPA four channel amplifier with 100 watts per channel.

A NetPA amplifier with two 100-watt channels drives six SoundField speakers in the pre-function area. Both amplifiers receive their inputs from the Dante audio network. Assistive listening transmitters at the North and South walls connect to the Dante network via AXI 22 AT D Dante audio interface wallplates and provide full coverage of the room for attendees who are issued portable auditory assistance receivers.

AV System Operation Through Touchpanels

Event organizers and presenters control the AV system at five TouchLink Pro 10″ touchpanels on the banquet hall walls next to each projection screen. Intuitive GUIs control the AV system power, raise and lower projection screens, route any AV source to any screen, and set up streaming and Zoom sessions. By entering a password at the home screen, AV technicians access a set of technical GUIs for performing advanced system configuration.

The touchpanels work together with an IPCP Pro xi control processor, an IPL EXP expansion interface, and the NAVigator AV over IP system manager to control all AV system functions. Using Extron Control for iOS, the control system mirrors the touchpanel GUIs via Wi-Fi to an iPad, enabling wireless control from anywhere in the room. Recursav designed and implemented the touchpanel GUIs using Global Configurator Professional and GUI Designer software.

A Flexible Space

On his first walkthrough of the McNeil Banquet Hall, WSSU Chancelor Elwood Robinson was inspired to post a panoramic photo of the space to his Facebook page with the comment, “The transformation of the Anderson Ball Room into a ‘State of the Art’ teleconferencing and technology center is amazing. I was blown away during my visit this morning!”

If the banquet hall’s packed booking schedule is any indication, those in the academic community and in the surrounding Winston-Salem community are blown away too. The hall hosts everything from educational symposiums to awards ceremonies, business meetings, weddings and memorials. First class food catering service and sophisticated multimedia capabilities make the McNeil Banquet Hall a natural choice for those seeking a convenient, cost-effective event space.

The post Extron’s NAV Pro AV over IP Powers WSSU Anderson Center Meeting Spaces appeared first on My TechDecisions.

While the show has historically catered to the professional audiovisual (AV) industry and AV integrators, the show has recently been making more of an effort to appeal to end users and IT professionals, who are ultimately the end customer of these solutions and services being showcased.

IT professionals not familiar with AV equipment and standards are now being forced to support their organizations’ remote and hybrid work needs, and InfoComm is one place where IT and their end users can go to learn more about the newest innovations in the conferencing and collaboration space, says David Labuskes, CEO of pro AV trade association AVIXA, which owns and operates the InfoComm show.

“The DNA of AVIXA and all of the exhibitors at InfoComm is the application of technology to connect people to people, and the professionals that are having to learn this on the fly and respond and react have a home in AVIXA and have an enormous resource in InfoComm’s education and the show itself,” Labuskes says.

InfoComm’s learning opportunities for IT professionals

InfoComm 2022 has 22 sessions that are “focused on the world of IT and networked AV,” Labuskes says, with topics including AV-over-IP, network security, cloud infrastructure, HDBaseT technology and even a panel session focused on the point of view of IT and end users.

Other sessions will explore cybersecurity implications for IoT, AV and workplace technology in enterprise environments, while a three-day course on networked AV systems will explore the impacts of AV systems on networks.

While the InfoComm show is becoming more IT friendly, Labuskes says AVIXA has been “tailoring its messaging and training to the IT audience for some time,” with newsletters focused specifically on conferencing and collaboration, training courses for AV-over-IP technologies and more.

Presenting that information to AV professionals oftentimes introduces them to IT standards and protocols, but AVIXA is hoping to also do the inverse.

InfoComm provides IT professionals the opportunity to learn more about AV technologies from other technologists that “speak a dialect” of their techie language, Labuskes says.

“The key is not to necessarily take a network engineer and turn them into an AV professional, or take an AV professional and turn them into a network engineer,” he says. “The key is to have them interact with each other and discover the expertise that each of them brings to solving the problems that are faced in today’s enterprises.”

Engage with vendors and solution providers

In addition to educating IT and end users on the newest AV technologies, the vendors themselves gain valuable insight into what their actual end customers need to do their jobs effectively, Labuskes says.

“There’s real impact on product roadmaps that comes out of participating in an even like this—not only from a lead gen and sales promotion, but also from conversations with end users,” Labuskes says.

Notable exhibitors showcasing conferencing and collaboration solutions that might be familiar to IT professionals include HP, Intel, Logitech, Cisco, Sennheiser, Zoom, AVI-SPL, AVI Systems, Dell, DTEN, Lenovo, Nureva, Crestron, Poly, Pexip, QSC, Shure, Utelogy and many more.

Here are some InfoComm sessions IT professionals should check out (click on each to learn more about the session, schedules and participants):

• Point of View: IT End Users
• Higher Education Cloud Infrastructure for AV Ecosystems
• HDBaseT Master Program
• When and Why to Use the Three Major AV/IP Technologies
• Network Architectures for Ultra-scale AV over IP
• Monitoring Meeting Rooms and the Journey Towards a Single Pane of Glass
• Implementing Cybersecurity for IoT, AV, and Workplace Technology within Enterprise Environments
• Case Study: Implementing Alternative Control Systems to Improve Learning Spaces and Increase Functionality
• Case Study: Developing a Self-Service AV Portal using APIs and Neural Net Processing
• Leveraging NDI for Live Video Distribution over IP
• Crestron: DM NVX: Next Generation AVoIP Design and Implementation

Three-day courses:

• Networked AV Systems
• Networking Technology for AV Professionals

The post Why IT Pros Should Go To InfoComm appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Dante Ready will initially be available for devices using the Dante Embedded Platform. This is a software implementation of Dante audio designed for Linux-based audio appliances. Here, Dante Ready lets customers activate Dante as software online while devices are in the field. Customers then purchase only those channels of Dante audio they require, from 2×2 to 64×64. Once activated, the product license never expires. It can also expand as needed through later purchases. All purchases route through Audinate’s secure payment system.

Also Read: How This Harry Potter Fan-Favorite Cathedral Implemented Audinate’s Dante

“Dante Ready is a win for both manufacturers and audio professionals,” says Laurence Crew, Audinate senior product manager. “…They don’t need to make that decision in an up-front purchase, but may enable channels on demand.”

The Dante platform is a complete AV-over-IP solution that transports audio, video and control data over standard 1GB ethernet networks. More than 3,300 Dante-enabled products from more than 500 manufacturers support the platform, reveals Audinate. Dante thus replaces point-to-point analog and digital connections with software-based routing. It also effortlessly sends AV channels anywhere on the network with perfect digital fidelity.

The post Audinate Releases Dante Ready Licensing Program appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The institute stated that it wanted to enhance instruction and enable students attending from home to have an equal and seamless experience in the culinary classrooms.

Thus, it brought in E.R.I.C. Low Voltage Services (LVS) to design and program the installation. It also employed Consolidated Networks Corp. (CNC) to integrate the NAV Pro AVoIP system and the processor from the AV manufacturer.

Installing the New System to the Classroom

The culinary classroom includes six full commercial kitchens. Previously, the students gathered around the outside of the kitchen to watch the chef prepare and plate the dishes. However, visibility became an issue.

With that in mind, a rudimentary AV system was set up. The video was sourced from a GoPro camera that the chef wore around his neck or on his toque hat. While this improved visibility, the camera was cumbersome and the single point of view had limited value.

Later, a closed-circuit TV system was installed, with RG 59 to BNC connectors going from PTZ cameras directly to receivers installed behind the 55-inch wall-mounted displays. The next step was a network solution with streaming capabilities.

This is where the Extron NAV Pro AVoIP system came into the picture. According to the company, it ties three broadcast-quality 4K HDMI PTZ cameras to the existing displays as well as provides content to the streaming system. Additionally, an Extron NAV E 101 encoder was mounted with each camera. The encoder helps share video from the chef’s grill/range station and the two food preparation stations.

The cameras are placed on either side of the grill vent hood while the third is above the gas range. The chef’s PC is installed on a shelf beneath one of the prep tables. It is connected to an Extron NAV E 201 D wallplate HDMI encoder. The five transmitters stream AV signals over the 1 Gbps Ethernet network.

Additionally, an Extron MediaPort 200 HDMI and Audio to USB Scaling Bridge converts USB to HDMI. This supports the PC’s USB signals. The bridge also enhances the computer-sourced content for remote students.

An Extron NAV SD 101 scaling decoder mounted behind each display scales the video to the device’s native resolution. The decoder includes the PURE3 codec, which leverages periods of low motion to stream high quality video at efficient bitrates. A serial control port on the NAV decoder passes control signals from the Extron control processor to the display. The NAV encoders and decoders are powered over Ethernet alongside the AV signals. Use of PoE+ streamlined installation and freed outlets for the many kitchen appliances.

Setting up the Control Panel

To control the AV system, the chef uses an Extron TLP Pro 1225TG 12-inch Tabletop TouchLink Pro Touchpanel installed next to the PC. Its quad-core processor ensures quick page loads. This allows the system to keep up with the chef. Installed under the prep table, the panel is within reach of the chef. Furthermore, it is protected from splashes and direct heat.

The touchpanel is paired with the Extron IPCP Pro 255 IP Link Pro control processor, which includes the LinkLicense for User Interfaces upgrade. The control processor automatically distributes IP addresses and network configuration parameters for the PC, camera system, and other AV sources connected over the school network. LinkLicense provides a means for the control GUI to be run on wireless devices.

Read Next: Extron Switching, Distribution, Control Systems Power Viettel Group HQ AV System

The system programmer used Extron’s Global Configurator Professional software to create six presets that provide advance selection of camera angles and playback of supplemental lesson content.

The system also includes a NAVigator System Manager. This helps the NAV system operate as a flexible network matrix switching solution. NAVigator is integrated directly with the control processor. The integration isolates the signals from the rest of the school’s network traffic. This ensures high performance system operation without interference or switching delays.

The system components are rack-mounted in an equipment room located down the hall.

Enhancing Sound Clarity with Extron Audio Products

Audio is picked up by the Shure BLX wireless microphone system and the lavalier worn by the chef. It is designed by zone. For instance, the chef’s kitchen and each student kitchen is a separate zone. Signals are then fed into an Extron DMP 64 Plus C V AT 6×4 digital audio matrix processor that includes AEC, VOIP, and Dante.

Two of the processor’s four line outputs support the videoconferencing and ALS systems. A third output enables connection of the MediaPort scaling bridge. The bridge provides an AEC reference point for the videoconferencing system, ensuring verbal clarity at remote locations.

Within the classroom, an Extron NetPA U 1004 power amplifier with Dante and DSP 100 watts per channel drives a 70 V distributed audio system. Consisting of twelve Extron SF26CT SoundField ceiling speakers, the system provides clear audio throughout the classroom. It also allows students to hear over the clatter of pots, pans, and chopping blades. Being convection cooled, it can also withstand the fluctuating temperatures. Like the DMP64 Plus processor, the audio amplifier receives signals from the network switch over Dante.

Integrating the SMP 111 Streaming Processor

Three years ago, CNC upgraded the school to a CAT 6 cable infrastructure that provided a 40 Gbps backbone with at least a 10 Gbps uplink between the switches.

Currently, the system maintains 40 Gbps with up to 100 Gbps in some spots of the switching architecture. This gave the school the bandwidth needed to support streaming.

The Extron SMP 111 streaming media processor captures and distributes the camera feeds and other resources for selectable live streaming. The content can be streamed to offices, classrooms as well as the remote students. The SMP 111 also provides simultaneous recording of the HDMI video and audio. These recordings include extensive metadata. Some of the metadata includes date and time stamps, chef’s name, recipe title, and cooking techniques.

Results of the Extron NAV Pro AVoIP System Upgrade

From concept to commissioning, the entire project was completed in two weeks.

CNC credits this in part to Extron’s products and the support engineers. The administration expressed its pleasure on the success of the Extron NAV Pro AVoIP system upgrade in the culinary classroom.

At the chef’s request, a fourth PTZ camera is now being mounted to the front of the vent hood. This will allow each student to see a hands-on view of the chef at work. According to the programmer, adding to a NAV system using GC Pro only requires very little time.

“In my experience of programming products from a wide variety of AV manufacturers, NAV is by far the easiest system to configure and program, and Extron support is top notch,” says Eric Marshall of E.R.I.C. LVS.

Brian Baesler, program manager at CNC, concludes, “[The] integration of Extron’s NAV Pro AV over IP system and the SMP 111 streaming processor lets the students at home be on the same page as those in the classroom, making this AV system just what the chef ordered.”

The post How Networked AV and Streaming Systems Enhance Culinary Program appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Simply put, we have watched as remote meeting tools evolved more robustly into broadcast tools – and, equally, as broadcast tools began to be utilized more frequently in video conferencing.

The areas of “audio visual,” “videoconferencing,” and “broadcast” have traditionally been viewed and deployed as their own silos. Today these elements have, in many ways, become a singular environment. United through two major factors – the wider adoption of AV-over-IP and software defined deployments – these three offerings now work in lockstep to offer more robust, impressive, and creative AV and videoconferencing deployments.

To see this in action, consider the common examples of a corporate meeting room, university lecture hall, or worship space. Over the past 18 months we have seen each of these environments embrace a “broadcast” mentality by seeking ways to involve more virtual participants.

Read: Putting the IT in Audio Conferencing Systems

Meanwhile, the nature of back-and-forth interactivity in these spaces has been brought back to broadcast. Today, a videocall powered by a webcam and laptop into a live broadcast is considered common-place and has been widely accepted by viewers.

Further, there appears to be very little fatigue in using these technologies – especially in the traditional AV space – as they enable impressive long-term uses.

Employees and students have, for some time, wanted an easier process for interacting with content and media sharing. After all, they have content served to them easily through smart TVs, smart Hi-Fi, and mobile devices. In many ways, working and studying from home has been liberating both in a technical and work/life balance sense.

Meanwhile, corporations and educators that provide facilities for AV and videoconferencing are now aware that requiring people to work or attend class in a facility on a day-to-day basis may not be a concrete requirement.

So, what is the big change required to find a balance and serve these new ways of thinking?

Everyone is an artist

Corporations, educational institutions, workspaces, and other hubs of creative activity are now thinking beyond “what’s enough to provide.” Instead, they are looking to what can be provided to entice workers back to the office or campus. How can spaces be used to provide unique multimedia communication offerings and experiences that can’t be accessed at home?

Yes, “video call fatigue” is a real thing when it’s the daily grid of just faces and screen sharing. To combat that, we see an interesting twist on “everyone is an artist” – what if the facilities at an office enable you to present as well as you might see on any TV show? Reliably, solidly, and with entertaining flair? Even better, what if this is possible in a way that is easy, global, and affordable?

Corporate innovation

The corporate space has found that you can reenergize and engage employees by enabling broadcast grade experiences for communication. They break the “daily grid” fatigue and empower employees to become better communicators.

How do they achieve this? Many facilities of this type employ a live production system (more on these below) that are easily automated yet provide creative expression and ease of use. The simpler it is to engage and share with cohorts, the greater the usability – and the more effective stories can be told.

The best firms will continue to trust their employees to work remotely while remembering that nothing beats face-to-face communication. Providing unique, creative, media-rich experiences and facilities on campus enables employees to bridge that gap in a hybrid environment – offering an engaging experience for employees no-matter where they might be working…but at the same time reminding them of impressive, dynamic, and creative tools and offerings that are available to them at the home office.

Education innovation

Education requirements are not too dissimilar to the experiences in corporate. All verticals are facing the same challenges of maintaining engagement and communication remotely, locally, and now in a hybridized manner.

The biggest challenge in education, however, is delivering practical education such as the lab environment, the tooled workshop, collaborative performance, and close-up detailed learning.

Listen to the Collaboration Space Podcast: AV Considerations for Higher Education E-sports Gamers & Spectators

Again, live production systems with AV-over-IP technologies at their core provide an answer. These systems enable everything to become a video source, including a laptop display, a phone camera, a tablet, even document cameras and USB microscopes. By adding these visual elements seamlessly to a video conference – or by distributing them to every screen across multiple classrooms – you reengage the learner with specific and detailed visuals critical to their learning.

Further, adding lecture capture capabilities ensures coursework is available long-term – a capability that allows students to recall lectures the next day, or even the next year. This custodial capability is crucial as it maintains our knowledge for future generations.

Just as with corporate, the education market leads by being as agile as possible between local and remote delivery.

Making it happen

Medical, events, performing arts, training – over the past 18 months there have been few markets that haven’t leaned on videoconferencing in some shape or form. That said, what tools can be used to maintain engagement and communicate better?

The answer is in unifying best-of breed technologies through IP, which in turn liberates all communication. Any fluid media environment is only as strong as its underlying fabric. You can have world-class endpoints and processing capability, but they will still be undermined by a poor network infrastructure. Your network fabric locally, and your connectivity remotely is the nervous system of any deployment.

The good news is that it’s easier than ever to get this right. Network vendors are now rising to the challenge of rapid deployment to support this new world. And free-to-use AV protocols are now available that have been adopted by multiple manufacturers.

Read: Why Focus on People in the Age of Automation?

Aside from the underlying fabric, software defined approaches to video production also offer long-term flexibility and scalability to make your investment count.

Finally, this is all brought together in practice by the live production system, which serves as the beating heart of these types of unique and exciting deployments. A live production system allows you to seamlessly bring in all the unique video sources in a building – from PTZ cameras to cell phone cameras – and mix them together professionally. Text, graphics, and transitions can all be added seamlessly. Video callers can be added in as sources elegantly. And the automation that is available make the learning curve on these systems very approachable.

The technologies involved in these workflows have been truly democratized, with entry price points that ensure high-powered, creatively designed, and engaging video is available to more schools, offices, organizations, worship facilities, and more.

Finally, and most importantly, is to make sure you partner with an integrator and manufacturers who are engaged in your business, passionate about the changing landscape of AV, videoconferencing, and broadcast, and – most importantly – want to partner in your success long term. With the right team backing your organization, you can offer an integrated platform for collaboration, learning, and interactivity that is truly better than broadcast.

The post AV Is Making Everyone An Artist With Broadcast Technology appeared first on My TechDecisions.

However, the University of Southern California was already planning a massive technology upgrade that would allow for remote connectivity and hybrid learning even before the coronavirus pandemic hit.  Using networked AV and Audinate’s Dante, Joe Way and the audiovisual and IT staff at the university created a scalable, flexible system to support those hybrid environments.

In a My TechDecisions and Commercial Integrator webinar, the university’s director of learning environments detailed the endless possibilities of the $2 million system that he brought to the Los Angeles campus.

According to Way, he joined the university’s tech team in August with the goal of creating a highly available and intuitive teaching and learning technology experience for the campus community through sustainable, accessible and safe user-centered environments.

Along with a new team of AV professionals and student workers and a heavy reliance on Dante, Way created a sustainable, collaborative IP-based, software-defined AV/IT solution that features a simplified user interface, redesigned AV wall boxes and an overhauled control and monitoring center.

Dante is featured throughout the system, according to Way.

“From start to finish, the entire system runs Dante audio point to point,” Way says.

That created a networked AV system that allows AV signals to be sent from anywhere to anywhere.

“Not just across campus, but across the globe,” Way says.

Read Next: Audinate Wins Emmy Award for Audio-over-IP Innovation

How networked AV and Dante can solve the COVID-19 education crisis

The U.S. is about a month away from sending students back to class, yet there is still no clear picture of what that will look like. Fully remote, fully on-premises and hybrid learning environments are all possibilities, but COVID-19 has proven to be unpredictable.

However, if USC’s campus were to shut down completely or embrace a hybrid learning model in which some students learn on campus and others learn remote, they’ll be ready. In March when students left the campus due to the pandemic, Way’s office began receiving questions on how the school would be able to support remote learning.

That began a spate of meetings, panic and anxieties to overcome an unprecedented educational challenge.

“I said, ‘We’ve already solved this, actually,’” Way remembers saying. “We already had the plan to do this.”

What began as a project to overhaul the AV in 226 rooms grew to a 318-room project featuring 1,008 Dante nodes and the Dante Domain Manager.

The system was already designed to allow educators to use videoconferencing to connect with a field expert to present to students. Now, it will allow the audio and video to be captured and sent to overflow rooms to accommodate social distancing since the number of students in rooms will be limited.

That same content can be sent to anywhere in the world if students wish to remain of campus, Way said.

“It’s amazing how these use cases seem to grow every day,” Way says.

The post How Networked AV Will Help Support Hybrid Learning at USC appeared first on My TechDecisions.

There is likely a large-format commercial display. It might even be a touchscreen display for collaboration among in-office and remote employees.

There is most likely a high-end camera to capture the participants in the room. It might even feature auto-zoom on people speaking, or cropping to only cover the portions of the room where people are sitting.

There is some kind of audio system as well. Ceiling microphones? Gooseneck mics? A soundbar? Is there a sound masking solution? Are there acoustic panels fitted to the walls to mitigate echoes and the like? Or is it simply a conference phone in the center of the table – maybe even the same one that was there before the five-figure videoconferencing system was put in?

The truth is, many technology managers overlook the importance of audio when it comes to videoconferencing environments. While it’s true that videoconferencing offers an added layer of communication – facial expressions and body language primarily – poor audio completely negates that benefit. You can have a crisp, 4K image of the participant on the other line, but unless you’re a lip reader poor audio disrupts communication no matter the video quality.

A recent whitepaper discusses how audio-over-IP delivers quality, centrally managed conferencing benefits. Obviously that quality is something that should be coveted by technology managers when it comes to conferencing environments. However, centrally managed audio is also something IT pros should be excited about:

• Scalability – provide more microphones and devices for larger groups conferencing, where endpoints can be added as needed with little complexity.
• Flexibility – Microphones and speakers can be placed where they are needed, rather than being restricted by the length of cabling.
• Superior Solutions – better microphones that audio professionals tout can be added to audio-over-IP environments
• BYOD – Users can bring in their own laptops and equipment and easily connect.
• IT Resource – the IT department can bring devices into toolsets for managing connected devices, and monitor them as they would any other.

Check out the whitepaper to learn more about the benefits of Audio-over-IP conferencing environments, and make sure your participants can be heard, not just seen.

The post The Importance of Audio in Conferencing Environments appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Even as AV and IT continue to blend, integrators and end users alike are still confused about the benefits or drawbacks that come from the convergence. Perhaps no trend better exemplifies the convergence of AV and IT than AV over IP, and yet there are still plenty of organizations that have not yet started taking advantage of this new way to utilize AV technology. Even those that have a full and clear understanding of AV over IP might still be under the impression that the cost isn’t worth the benefits. That simply is not the case.

Click here to sign up for this webinar now! Date: May 8th, 2019 at 2:00 PM ET

AV has traditionally been designed around having a matrix switch in the middle that you tie your AV devices into. AV over IP allows for that same AV signal to be sent over the network. This means more flexibility and less need for hardware space when it comes to installations and implementations.

Today, a host of applications are possible with AV over IP. The flexibility and quality of AV over IP has long been understood within the industry.  But now the low cost makes it a must-have for every organization.

Just as businesses started building their operations around the possibilities afforded by the internet, today’s integrators need to build around AV over IP because of features like:

• Cost effectiveness
• Low latency
• Flexibility

In this combined AVI-SPL, Crestron, Commercial Integrator, and TechDecisions webinar, presented by Crestron’s Dan Jackson and with a panel discussion where Dan will be joined by Josh Vallon of AVI-SPL, you’ll understand why AV over IP is the right choice and how you can leverage the devices and infrastructure you already have. We’ll also address issues like security, bandwidth costs, image quality, and more. Not to mention the criteria necessary for evaluating AV over IP technology.

Sign up for the webinar now to learn why you need to implement AV over IP, ASAP!

The post Webinar: Why You Need AV over IP in the Workplace appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Sister site Commercial Integrator, which service integration firms that provide audio, video, automation, security, communication, collaboration and conferencing solutions to folks like you, recently unveiled its glossary of AV acronyms as a resource for newcomers to the industry.

Related: How to Write the Perfect RFP

Meanwhile, AV folks do have a reputation for tech talk. We figured that some of the acronyms defined for integrators might be just as valuable for IT pros and technology managers.

AudioVisual Tech Protocols

• AVoIP – short for “AV over IP,” or the transfer of audio visual data over an client’s IP network.
• SDVoE – “software-defined video over ethernet;” this refers to an AVoIP protocol that utilizes off-the-shelf ethernet switches.
• HDCP – “High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection;” a form of copy protection (scrambling of signals) that prevents copying of audio & video content as it travels across cables or connections.
• HDMI – “High-Definition Multimedia Interface;” an uncompressed digital connector providing an interface between 8-channel digital audio and HDTV standards.
• HDBaseT – “high-definition video, audio, power, home networking, Ethernet, USB, & control over category cable.”
• AVB – “Audio Video Bridging”
• LED – “light-emitting diode;” a material that emits light when electricity passes through it.
• OLED – “organic light-emitting diode;” a polymer or other organic substance used as a semiconductor in an LED

Guides for Requesting Any Type of AV Solution 

Audio Visual Acronyms for Business Practices

• SaaS – “software as a service”
• RFP – “request for proposals”
• OFE – “owner-furnished equipment”

Miscellaneous Audio Visual Acronyms

• CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I – “Certified Technology Specialist;” AVIXA’s pro AV certification program (D for design; I for installation)
• AV – “Audio-Visual;” if you’re reading this list, you surely must know this one above all other audio visual acronyms.
• VAR – “Value-Added Reseller”
• AIA – “American Institute of Architects”
• APEX – “Audiovisual Provider of Excellence;” AVIXA program that honors member companies that achieve certain levels of employee certification and training
• AR – “augmented reality;” formerly thought of as a gimmick, we’re seeing its use in more creative display projects each year.
• VR – “virtual reality”
• AI – “artificial intelligence;” hotly-debated whether or not this belongs in the AV industry.
• BYOD – “bring your own device;” a trend in corporate meeting spaces where customers are demanding the capability to join a meeting using only the tech they bring to it, such as a smartphone or laptop.
• CCTV – “Closed Circuit Television”
• PSIM – “Physical Security Information Management”
• BIM – “Building Information Modeling”

Digital Signage Certifications

DSCE, DSDE, DSNE, DCME and DSSP  — the certifications for the digital signage industry as adopted by the DSE, DSF, and ISA, stand for:

• Digital Signage Certified Expert (DSCE) the fundamentals course
• Digital Signage Display Expert (DSDE) on displays
• Digital Signage Network Expert (DSNE) on networks
• Digital Content and Media Ex[pert (DCME) on content and media
• Digital Signage Sales Professional (DSSP)

Related: Tips for Purchasing Digital Signage 

Don’t see some audio visual acronyms which should have been on this list? Let us know by putting them in the comments below!

The post An IT Pro’s Guide to Audio Visual Acronyms appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Futuresource writes that the low-latency pro AV market has global shipments of encoders and decoders growth significantly.

“Despite positive market developments and unrivaled growth, the technology has thus far failed to displace existing extension technologies en masse in low-latency pro AV segments,” according to the Futuresource press release.

“We’re seeing a lot of developments around AV-over-IP solutions,” says Anthony Brennan, analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “Shipments have increased more than 60 percent year-on-year and vendors are reporting significant volume growth but there continue to be a number of challenges plaguing vendors in the market.

“Yes, volume growth has been significant this year, there’s no doubt about it. Interest and demand are moving in the right direction, but AV-over-IP has fallen behind the high expectations of many in 2018, with solutions facing significant obstacles to mass adoption.

“The market is still in its early stages, with significant volume growth on the horizon,” he says.

Related: 3 AV-over-IP Security Tips

The 1G vs 10G AV-over-IP Dilemma

1G and 10G solutions continue to battle it out, with 1G taking the lion’s share of the market. Extron’s market entrance with an offering that supports both 1G and 10G installations means that competition in this segment is expected to escalate.

“Our forecasts show both 1G and 10G solutions growing rapidly during the next five years,” says Brennan, “but the 1G market is significantly further along than the 10G space, with major vendors continuing to focus solely on the 1G segment and price point, bandwidth requirements, and the widespread availability of 1G networks helping grow shipments here.”

Corporate Meeting Room Developments

Corporate and higher education verticals are key growth opportunities for AV-over-IP, as businesses adopt innovative video distribution techniques across meeting rooms, and universities ramp up demand for AV-over-IP solutions.

Despite substantial growth forecasted in these segments, wider developments in the meeting room are set to have a significant impact here, with the uptake in UC platforms and demographic shifts in the size of meeting rooms having the potential to dampen demand for video distribution.

Slideshow: 14 Impressive AV-over-IP Products

These could impact demand in two key areas:

Firstly, the corporate vertical is seeing growing interest and demand for UC to handle content sharing and communication between meeting rooms, thus lowering the desire for video distribution across companies.

Secondly, meeting room design is shifting towards simplistic huddle rooms and small meeting rooms which require less extension and more simplistic AV setups. While this has yet to make a real impact on demand in this market, it is certainly a trend that vendors should be aware of.

U.S. Leads the Way, China on the Rise

“Looking at a geographical perspective, the USA maintains its position as a key player in the AV-over-IP space,” says Brennan. “China is also making headway, with volumes in this market already noteworthy and growing rapidly.

Moving forwards, China’s position as both a manufacturing hub and burgeoning marketplace will reap rewards.

Western Europe is also witnessing high demand, with the widespread availability of existing 1G networks helping to increase interest in countries such as the UK, Benelux, France and the Nordics.

“Despite significant growth, it has been a mixed year for the AV-over-IP market,” says Brennan.

“Some vendors have enjoyed rapid sales growth, but many believe that the market has much more to offer in the coming months and years.”

The original version of this article ran on sister site Commercial Integrator.

The post Research: AV-over-IP Adoption Is Growing … But Not Exploding appeared first on My TechDecisions.