It is one of modern life’s little ironies that the average meeting space is no longer a space where people meet – at least, not all of them. With hybrid working obviously here to stay, equipping meeting spaces now involves a delicate balancing act to satisfy the needs of both…
Author Archives: Paul Bray
Inside Tech: Cutting the umbilical cable
The ‘Spaghetti Junction’ of cabling that once surrounded the average AV system can now be replaced by wireless networking technologies. Some are already well established, and applications such as Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex and Zoom now enable wireless sharing of content directly from the application. “Wireless is becoming more popular…
Theme parks and attractions: AV for thrill seekers
AV technology has become a must-have for almost all modern theme parks and visitor attractions. “Whereas 30 years ago AV was relatively rare, it’s now rare not to have it in many parts of a major park or attraction,” says Kevin Murphy, senior vice-president of sales and business development at…
Intelligent AV: Who’s a clever endpoint, then?
I shouldn’t be surprised if the average AV endpoint now has more compute power and built-in intelligence than took Neil Armstrong to the moon. We almost take for granted the ability of self-steering microphones and tracking cameras to home in on whoever is speaking and keep them centre-frame and clearly…
Vodafone Studios, Germany: Stretching reality
Hi-tech companies like to be seen to practise what they preach. So when Vodafone Germany opened its own extended reality (XR) studio at its Düsseldorf headquarters in December 2022, it went for something absolutely state of the art. “When we designed Vodafone Studios, I don’t think anyone in Germany had…
Retail: Experiences in the aisles
You may not find much cutting-edge AV in your local supermarket, because no one in their right mind goes there for a good time. But higher up the retail tree – in fashion and luxury goods, for example – it’s a different story. “Customers desiring mid- to high-quality products are…
AV Essentials: All under control in the control room
The control room market for AV has burgeoned in recent years, as more verticals have adopted the technology, and traditional situational awareness and process control implementations have been augmented by new applications, such as network security and online surveillance. “There’s a trend towards consolidating control room operations to fewer, larger…
How AV can take the problem of poor lighting seriously
Lighting does not normally fall within the AV remit, but it should do, believes Greg Jeffreys, managing consultant at Greg Jeffreys Consulting. “Good lighting is essential for video conference cameras and the hybrid workspace. Without good lighting even the best VC camera struggles, and the meeting’s remote participants will get…
Buying Advice: Remote events and conferences
We seem to be reaching a sweet spot in the development of remote events and conferences. “Thanks to a convergence of affordable technology that delivers great results, and behaviour changes necessitated by Covid, the sky is really the limit on what’s possible,” says Stu Siegal, executive producer and creative director…
Experience centres: just a posh showroom?
You wouldn’t buy a car without driving it. You wouldn’t buy a violin without playing it. So why would anyone buy an AV system without seeing or hearing what it can do? A simple idea, perhaps, but one that is at the heart of a trend that seems to be…