How the Chip Shortage Could Decimate the AV, UCC and Digital Signage Markets and How You Can Avoid Its Effects

Do not underestimate what I am about to tell you. In case you haven’t been reading the tech sections of the newspapers lately, there’s a global semiconductor shortage (branded as the “chip shortage of 2021”) and, although it hasn’t affected our market yet, it will, starting in late July. So, who cares? Well, you’d better, […]

How the Chip Shortage Could Decimate the AV, UCC and Digital Signage Markets and How You Can Avoid Its Effects

Work Today Sucks — and Microsoft Just Proved It

Microsoft just completed its “2021 Work Trend Index: Annual Report.” And parts of it are frightening. While the world debates the future of work after the pandemic, this Microsoft report mainly zeroes in on the state of work today. This survey was conducted by among 31,092 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets between […]

Work Today Sucks — and Microsoft Just Proved It

Pixelart Is Now Fugo; This Is Why You Should Care

Need a creative software platform to drive your digital signage displays? Well, Fugo, formerly Pixelart, wants to be that company for you. Here’s a video explaining what Fugo is: COVID-19 has turbocharged digital signage as it’s helping everyone reopen. Things like touch-free experiences, facial recognition, proximity sensors, people counting and bridging the physical and online […]

Pixelart Is Now Fugo; This Is Why You Should Care

The Case for Sound Analytics

It’s not new — a company in Netherlands has been working diligently on this for at least 20 years. It is a company you’ll want to hear all about, however, and it is a company all about hearing: Sound Intelligence. The company is a global leader in advanced audio analytics. Based upon original research at […]

The Case for Sound Analytics

Bambuser Creates New In-Store Solutions Division

Sweden’s Bambuser announces the creation of “In-store Solutions,” a new business unit dedicated to building interactive experiences connecting physical and digital spaces. Bambuser is a software company specializing in interactive live video streaming supporting interactive, shoppable e-commerce experiences for global brands and retailers including Moda Operandi, Farfetch and Samsung. The Company’s primary product, “Live Video […]

Bambuser Creates New In-Store Solutions Division

Growth Opportunities Lie Ahead for Pro Displays After an Unprecedented Year

By Matthew Rubin Futuresource Consulting The past year has been one of the most volatile on record for the professional displays industry. As COVID-19 spread across the globe, supply chains were interrupted and end-user demand plummeted in some of the biggest markets. Add into the mix the increasing appeal of LED, which makes it a […]

Growth Opportunities Lie Ahead for Pro Displays After an Unprecedented Year

The Outlook for Home Working Beyond COVID-19

By Chris Pennell Futuresource Consulting Futuresource’s Home Working survey asked 1,500 employees across America, France, Germany, and the U.K. about the impact COVID-19 has had on their working patterns, as well as the use of work technology in the home. The findings indicate that post-COVID-19, respondents expect the changes to working patterns to continue in […]

The Outlook for Home Working Beyond COVID-19

Professional Audio in Broadcast and Video Production: Through the Pandemic and Beyond

By James Kirby Futuresource Consulting The Industry Begins to Recover The broadcast and video content industries have experienced significant changes over the past 12 months. The outbreak of COVID-19 has come as a substantial external shock, hindering the creation and supply of premium content. At the same time, demand for video content in the home […]

Professional Audio in Broadcast and Video Production: Through the Pandemic and Beyond

What The Work-From-Home Movement Means for AV Integrators and Office-Based Businesses

By Zee Hakimoglu Chair & CEO, ClearOne Over the last 12 months, the ideas of “work from home” and “distributed workforce” have evolved from novel ideas for office workers into necessary structures intended to protect the safety and health of employees while enabling continued business operations. As a result, organizations around the world are poised […]

What The Work-From-Home Movement Means for AV Integrators and Office-Based Businesses

RISE Spotlight: Live Events Experiences, Reinvented

Oh, how much we all miss live events. No matter how much you miss live events, you can’t possibly miss them as much as the people whose entire livelihood is based on live events. The latest thought-leading RISE series by ISE, turned its “Spotlight” on live event experiences and the “reinvention” that will mark their […]

RISE Spotlight: Live Events Experiences, Reinvented

RingCentral Launches Free Glip for ‘Smart Video Meetings’

Global managed services provider RingCentral brings out Glip, a free solution that offers video and audio conferencing — and integrates with team messaging, file sharing, contact, task and calendar management. The company refers to the integration as its “Smart Video Meetings” experience. You might have thought of Ring Central as a PBX-replacement, a telecom-as-a-solution cloud […]

RingCentral Launches Free Glip for ‘Smart Video Meetings’

Kayye’s Krystal Ball: 2021 Edition

Welcome to my 21st annual Kayye’s Krystal Ball! I love writing this annual predictions article — it’s both humbling and rewarding. It requires me to stop and research anything new, evaluate the potential impact it will have and then articulate it in a way that matters to readers. If you’re a regular reader of my […]

Kayye’s Krystal Ball: 2021 Edition

I Got the Pfizer Vaccine in September; Here’s What You Should Know

Some of my closest #AVtweeps know that back last summer, I volunteered to be one of the 43,448 people within the global trial to get injected with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (aka: BNT162b2 0.3 ml). Yes, I received the actual vaccine rather than the placebo (21,720 people in the study received BNT162b2 and 21,728 received […]

I Got the Pfizer Vaccine in September; Here’s What You Should Know

Administrative Tools Are the New K-12 Ed Tech Battleground

By Chris Pennell Futuresource Consulting As the number of electronic devices in use across North American schools continues to proliferate, K-12 curriculum leaders and IT decision makers are turning to administrative tools to manage data assets, track progress and provide support. A new end user study from Futuresource Consulting explores the impact of these tools, […]

Administrative Tools Are the New K-12 Ed Tech Battleground

IDC Report Finds Many Offices Plan to Stay Remote/Hybrid for Foreseeable Future

In the weird/unpredictable/unprecedented (did I get all the cliches in there?) times we are in, a question has stayed at the forefront of all of our minds: What the heck are our jobs going to make us do when COVID-19 is no longer a thing? For the past (almost) year, we’ve said “new normal” this […]

IDC Report Finds Many Offices Plan to Stay Remote/Hybrid for Foreseeable Future

The Top 10 Stories of 2020

2020 sucked! So, now that we got that out of the way, let’s review the top 10 AV, UCC and Digital Signage stories, according to data, in 2020! The top story of 2020 was the the acquisition of Whitlock by AVI-SPL. Marketed as a merger, this didn’t appear to be one in hindsight. Whitlock is now […]

The Top 10 Stories of 2020

The Movie Theater Is Now Dead, Plus a Prediction: Apple Will Buy Sony

As much as I hated writing that headline, it’s true. And, despite years of warnings that the future of the cineplex was nothing but apocalyptic, Hollywood wasn’t prepared. Let’s back-up. Back in the late ’90s, companies started building DVD servers for home theaters. The idea was that a homeowner could buy a cache of DVDs […]

The Movie Theater Is Now Dead, Plus a Prediction: Apple Will Buy Sony

Cyviz Fuels Global Growth With Shares Listing

Meet the company behind the new ticker symbol “CYVIZ.” Norway’s Cyviz goes to the Oslo Børs to secure a Euronext Growth listing, selling shares at NOK 34.50 (34 euros) and reaching a market capitalization of NOK 370 million (37 million euros). Cyviz designs, develops and delivers software and hardware solutions for conference rooms, control rooms […]

Cyviz Fuels Global Growth With Shares Listing

Sessions We Loved from D=SIGN, Day 2

It’s not every day that we get a brand new conference in the AV industry. Especially from industry-leading associations like AVIXA and the Digital Signage Federation (DSF). ESPECIALLY in a pandemic year. That’s why we were so excited for the debut of D=SIGN, which kicked off Tuesday on Day 1 with a flurry of fantastically […]

Sessions We Loved from D=SIGN, Day 2

Sessions We Loved from D=SIGN, Day 1

History’s first-ever D=SIGN: The Digital Signage Conference — an exciting new event created by AVIXA and the Digital Signage Federation (DSF) — began Tuesday. The two-day conference, delivered virtually this year,* was packed with products, education and networking for those in the digital signage industry: think AV integrators, retail/hospitality/healthcare/QSR operators, media and content professionals, and […]

Sessions We Loved from D=SIGN, Day 1

Why You Should Hire an Acoustics Specialist at the Outset

Not long ago, while on LinkedIn, I had a brief but interesting exchange that made me stop and think. A seemingly innocuous post and an ensuing comment by a connection on the platform generated an internal dialogue that I’m not sure I’ve completely resolved. I share it here because it may not only have ramifications […]

Why You Should Hire an Acoustics Specialist at the Outset

You’ve Got to Have Seoul

Seoul extends its “destination marketing” by being the first city to offer a virtual meetings platform for event organizers. In response to the COVID-19 era, Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) launches the “Virtual Seoul Platform” to be used for holding MICE events in the digital world. According to the organization (and our own knowledge), this is […]

You’ve Got to Have Seoul

Diversified Builds Out Workplace Safety Ecosystem

With 2000+ employees, 50 worldwide locations, and more than $1 billion in an annual revenue, Diversified is a technology solutions provider delivering innovations in digital media, collaborative technology, broadcasting, electronic security and OTT solutions to a global clientele. rAVe Europe’s Bob Snyder chats with Michael Parker, director, strategic accounts EMEA at Diversified in London. Parker […]

Diversified Builds Out Workplace Safety Ecosystem

The Impact of Organizational Trust

By Jon Sidwick Collabtech Group Back in March, the world started to close down. Traditional working environments changed overnight with knowledge workers shifting from the office to their homes, retail outlets closing or putting in strict protocols and the events industry all but disappearing. This has brought about an incredible shift in power. Suddenly, the […]

The Impact of Organizational Trust

Audio Collaborative 2020 — The Blog Version, Pt. 2

By: Leah McCann & Steph Beckett Audio Collaborative 2020 kicked off Wednesday with some excellent insights into the audio sector of the AV industry. (In case you missed it, our day one recap is here.) Thursday, we were excited for more. Day two of the show would bring forth topics from esports and the music […]

Audio Collaborative 2020 — The Blog Version, Pt. 2

Audio Collaborative 2020 — The Blog Version, Pt. 1

By: Steph Beckett & Leah McCann Wednesday marked the start of the seventh-annual Audio Collaborative conference put on by UK-based Futuresource Consulting. Over two days, the 2020 conference, a virtual version of the show this year, tapped a lineup of industry experts to inspire a listening audience. Who was that audience? AV, technology and IT […]

Audio Collaborative 2020 — The Blog Version, Pt. 1

What’s the Next Big Thing at Samsung Displays?

It’s the kind of breakthrough any lab hopes for — one that starts with a current technology and discovers a revolutionary way to take it to an unexpected level. Researchers at Stanford University and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) developed a proof of concept for a metaphotonic display technology that could improve the […]

What’s the Next Big Thing at Samsung Displays?

What Is the Difference Between 5G and 4G?

By Daniel Reynolds Dynamo LED Displays As mobile market penetration hits an all-time high, data has become the new oil of our generation. With data consumption skyrocketing, the industry is scrambling to tackle network congestion of existing spectrum bands to keep up with our need for speed. You may often have experienced such breakdowns in […]

What Is the Difference Between 5G and 4G?

When are We Going to Start to Pay More Attention to Nvidia? Probably Now.

This month, Nvidia announces an open beta for Omniverse, a 3D simulation and collaboration platform — and Maxine, a cloud-native streaming video AI platform. It’s now a phygital world — and as the physical and digital worlds fuse to simulate reality in real time and with pixel perfect detail, the company that AV should pay […]

When are We Going to Start to Pay More Attention to Nvidia? Probably Now.

September: An Interesting Month for Trade Shows

In case you were not paying attention during the month of September, a few news stories broke regarding industry trade shows: Sept. 16 — ISE announced it was moving from February to June for 2021. Soon after Sept. 16 — InfoComm announced it was keeping its previously planned June dates. Sept. 21 — DSE announces […]

September: An Interesting Month for Trade Shows

DSF AND AVIXA Just Made Sure Digital Signage Will Be Fastest Growing Segment of AV in 2021

AVIXA has partnered with the Digital Signage Federation (DSF) to bring digital signage education content to the association’s trade shows and events. AVIXA will announce details later this month on events where DSF will bring its content. The Digital Signage Federation is a not-for-profit organization that supports digital signage professionals through education, certification, networking and […]

DSF AND AVIXA Just Made Sure Digital Signage Will Be Fastest Growing Segment of AV in 2021

“We’re Also an Audio Company,” Says Microsoft

From “Hey, Cortana” to cloud-enabled interactive sound for HoloLens to Windows Sonic (Windows 10 comes with support for virtual surround sound), Microsoft invests heavily in research on audio. And the company is convinced the ProAV market fails to recognize this. They have a point here. Did you know speaker detection technology developed by Microsoft researchers […]

“We’re Also an Audio Company,” Says Microsoft