By Scarlett Woodford Futuresource Consulting As corporates continue to implement return-to-office mandates, next-generation collaboration technology will become a key component of the post-COVID office environment. A new report from Futuresource Consulting shows that corporate AV budgets were squeezed during 2022 and into 2023, and the situation was exacerbated by chipset price hikes and supply chain […]

In September, AMX announced a new line of controllers. The most interesting thing about these controllers is, per AMX’s press release, the ability to “simultaneously process a virtually unlimited number of scripts written in JavaScript, Python or Groovy and natively support Low-Code development with Node-RED.” I have written before on the problems with walled gardens, […]

Remember that one guy in your classes who would ask the professor a “question?” I used quotes because their question was always a thinly veiled excuse to expound and fill up the air with their own opinions. I never liked that guy when I was in school. As a result, I try to avoid being […]

There’s someone who is betting that lots of European companies need a new AV brand. The multibillion-dollar Econocom Group launches Gather, its new AV brand. As one of Europe’s leading tech providers, the publicly listed group announces Gather will create intelligent audiovisual, unified communications and information technology solutions from state-of-the-art collaboration spaces to smart digital […]

I am on a mail list that has recently had a thread about whether dedicated computers are still necessary. There are several arguments for and against this, although in this particular thread most of the arguments seemed to be for removing the dedicated computers. For some background, higher education has a long history of providing […]

In my last rAVe column, I summarized some recent cyberattacks on MGM and Caesars’ casinos. In that article, I tried to drop some social engineering science and some lessons learned from Scattered Spider (aka 0ktapus, UNC3944, Starfraud, Scatter Swine, Muddled Libra and most recently, Octo Tempest). I warned #AVtweeps about their aggressive social engineering Tactics, […]

We made it! Day Two of DSE and LDI. If you were at the show(s) this year, you may have noticed some familiar faces video shooting on the show floor this time. That’s because it was entirely our full-time staff! We each had a video section, and I was humbled by the fact that I […]

Black Friday has come and gone. Not for the first time, I am struck by the differences between working in distribution and frontline retail. Chatting with one of my vendor contacts on Friday, I reflected that Black Friday was a quiet day for me. The only emails I received on Black Friday — both of […]

Hello everyone! You might know me as the managing editor of rAVe [PUBS], co-host of rAVe [TV] or, if you attended DSE and/or LDI 2023, perhaps you know me as that woman who came around and strong-armed you into shooting product videos. Just kidding! I know you all secretly love being the star of a […]

As DSE and LDI are swiftly approaching on Dec. 3-5, we’ve crafted a guide to help you make the most of your time at both shows. We consulted with the respective show directors of DSE and LDI, along with input from past attendees and exhibitors, to compile the must-see highlights from these co-located trade shows. […]

Rewind 10 years ago, and the stack of hardware in a basic conference room included a display, an audiovisual matrix switcher, an audio amplifier, a control processor, a DSP, a hardware based codec, a PTZ camera, ceiling or table microphones, wall or ceiling speakers, and a proprietary touch panel. All that was held together with […]

While this article features two lectern companies, it’s really about all lecterns. The author has no commercial involvement with any of the companies mentioned in this article. There it is, always on stage. Standing on a podium for so long and so often, some of the users even call it a podium. But it’s not […]

As integrators, at the bare minimum, we are value added resellers of AV equipment. We make AV systems more valuable than the sum of their parts through expertise in installation, maintenance, and long term support of technology. However as prices decrease, all-in-one products replace multiple SKUs, and systems come preconfigured out of the box, that […]

A recent discussion on social media centered around relationship selling, what it was and the value of it for all the parties involved. It was a great topic, but on a social media platform, there is very limited time and space to discuss something so important, so I am expanding on my thinking here. Relationship […]

A friend who’s an avid mountain climber once said to me that the thing about climbing a mountain is that once you reach the summit the first things you see are … more mountains. It doesn’t take a great leap to recognize the metaphor here: Once you’ve achieved a goal, a new goal beckons to […]

By Ted Romanowitz Futuresource Consulting The True MicroLED display market for pro AV and consumer televisions is set to skyrocket. According to a newly released report from Futuresource Consulting, it will accelerate from just $24.0 million in 2023, to reach annual revenues of $26.2 billion in 2032, despite expected aggressive price erosion. The specialist research […]

By Todd Heberlein Exertis Almo When my friends and I were kids, there really wasn’t a question of IF you were going to play sports, but rather which sports your parents would allow you to play. Every kid in my neighborhood was involved in some sort of team sport, ranging from baseball to volleyball. As […]

Google has recently announced that it is winding down the JamBoard product, and it will no longer be available after December 2024. Along with no longer selling the hardware, the software is also being discontinued. In a little over one year, the product will be completely useless. Google has said that it will work with […]

In the contemporary landscape of communication and safety, digital signage and IP-based audio systems have emerged as crucial tools for mass notification applications. This article delves into the latest trends in these technologies, shedding light on their role in enhancing security and streamlining communication. As we navigate the dynamic world of digital signage and audio […]

Hybrid work isn’t going anywhere, and the return to historic levels of in-office work and daily attendance is not anywhere on the horizon as far as I can tell — and for good reason. The utility of knowledge-based work can be done from anywhere. The proliferation of high speed internet, Wi-Fi, and cloud-based applications coupled […]

By Grant Youngman Futuresource Consulting The professional microphone market continues to achieve slow but steady post-pandemic growth, with a new report from Futuresource Consulting forecasting a CAGR of 5.9% over the next five years. That’s despite a general feeling of caution and nervousness among buyers, resulting from current economic and geopolitical issues. Recovery for the […]

When I was in junior high, our baseball coach constantly impressed upon us the importance of conquering the basics, or the fundamentals of the sport. The reason was that consistently and successfully executing the basics on the field is what wins games. Here’s what he had to say about showboating or trying to be fancy, […]

By Marco Cella Extron There was a girl in my circle of college acquaintances named Aubrey; she was a very talented composer and welcoming spirit that could easily fit alongside every human archetype on Earth. Arguing with her was impossible: shoulder shrug, wide smile and heartland accent were the lethal weapons that made her extremely […]

By Shubham Kumar and Olivia Lowden Futuresource Consulting After enjoying unprecedented growth during the pandemic, the global professional pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera market has become increasingly competitive. Futuresource Consulting’s new report shows the global pro PTZ market declined in value YoY in FY2022 for the first time since the pandemic, as the urgency to equip spaces […]

Companies often focus on things that are unique to them, or that they do very well. A company may have new, cutting-edge technology that makes them stand out, or it may have amazing logistics that allow them to have lower prices. The one thing that every company needs to have, regardless of its strategy and […]

Some solid advice I received long ago was that “you can’t chase every rabbit.” My dogs would disagree, and I see their point, but as business advice goes, it holds up. You need to cultivate long-term relationships with the people you can do business with, not just to look after their needs on a repeat […]

Megapixel Brings Hollywood Tech to Architectural Applications With Launch of Ventana MicroLED Displays With Hollywood’s rapid adoption of virtual production studios, you’ll find Megapixel whose core technology (with more than 200 patents) for LED displays and video processing helped transform the way Hollywood produces its visual effects. Megapixel’s Emmy- and Oscar-winning technologies have become the […]

Every year, I write a column about what I experienced at InfoComm. In 2023, I made a large number of new acquaintances from June 13-16 by visiting many exhibitor booths, some sponsored events, a dinner, my own happy hours and participating in a streaming video. Let’s review what it’s like to make connections at one […]

In the past year, there has seemed to be a growing number of companies who are looking to provide financial services to colleges and universities. They reach out to purchasing agents in the school and tell them all the benefits of leasing, and how they are making a big mistake if they are not leasing. […]

On Sept. 11, 2023, a number of MGM resorts and casinos were simultaneously disrupted by ransomware and data extortion attackers, costing the company $100 million, according to AP News. Caesar’s Entertainment was also attacked, which the Wall Street Journal reported resulted in the company paying roughly half of the $30 million demanded. The resorts and […]

Command and control rooms are where information, technology and human expertise converge to enable effective decision making, resource management and responses to different scenarios. The importance of control rooms extends across a wide and growing range of sectors, and they help contribute to safety, security and operational efficiency. Let’s explore key trends in command and […]

As our online lives expand, the average user has gone from having just a few passwords to now managing upwards of 100. That’s 100 unique passwords to remember, if you’re using strong password habits. Password managers can save users the trouble of having to remember multiple passwords and make accounts safer by recommending strong, unique […]