Last year I stayed away from InfoComm, the annual trade show for the AV industry, for the first time in nearly twenty years. In the midst of the worst recession I'd ever experienced and frozen credit markets, I wasn't really in the mood to go look at equipment I didn't know if I'd ever have the opportunity to purchase.
Twelve months later, and after a rollicking first half of 2010, I was feeling a lot more motivated when I stepped off the plane and into the inferno that is summertime in Las Vegas. For your reading pleasure, here's a short commentary on what I found and why it may be important for our community.
Before we get to the techie items, here are a few general impressions of the show. The show seemed well-attended and subsequent reports state that there were 32,000 attendees, making it the second largest show ever. Most booths reported good activity and at least the promise of significant future sales.
There was also increased evidence of the fracturing of the AV technology market. No longer is it sufficient to visit the big booths such as Barco, Christie, Sony and Panasonic and pay scant attention to the smaller manufacturers. At InfoComm 2010, one needed to be aware of the many Chinese and Korean LED manufacturers as well as the wide variety of monitor manufacturers such as LG and Samsung.
Now, on to the technology.
LED
LED video screens, long the preserve of the powerhouse manufacturers such as Barco, Element Labs and Lighthouse, have now been taken over by contract manufacturers from China and Korea. There are a number of systems available that share similar attributes including resolution, plastic/metal construction and a price range much lower than traditional models. You pick the features you want (better image quality vs. cost, or weight vs. robustness, for example) and "boom", you're in the LED panel business.
Soon to be available in 6mm pixel to pixel resolution, there are existing models available in 7mm, 8mm, 11mm, 15mm, 25mm, 30mm and 50mm. We've been working with the PixLED system (pixled.com) for the last two years and have had good success in a number of applications. This year PixLED showed a flexible mesh 37mm module that looked really interesting.
PROJECTORS
As mentioned in earlier articles, 3D projection technology is the lead attraction, and at InfoComm that trend continued. There were rumors that large-venue projectors will become available by the end of the year that can support standard 2D as well as stereo-optic 3D in single projector applications via an optional module. We currently handle 3D using a projector for right eye and another projector polarized for left eye; but having the ability to do it with a single unit would be helpful.
VIDEO MONITORS As indicated in my previous article, the shape and size of the video monitor has evolved into  numerous species and now presents the technology designer with a myriad of choices. I particularly liked the super-wide LCD monitors from Samsung, which measure 43" diagonally in a 4:1 (!) aspect ratio. These are intended for signage displays, such as the train station sign depicted, but if cheap enough they could be used for all kinds of interesting video tableaux. Following the 3D trend, there were a number of monitors showing 'no glasses' 3D images. I've seen various forms of these for years, and while the technology has improved somewhat, I don't think they get much traction from the viewer; and as far as I'm concerned they remain, more or less, a gimmick. If you disagree, let me know how you see this technology being used in the presentation business.
TELEPRESCENCE
InfoComm 2010 reminded me that business travel can be worthwhile and enjoyable, even in Las Vegas when it's 102° in the shade. It was great to see many of my friends, both vendors and competitors alike, face to face. However, there were many manufacturers at the convention center hawking technology intended to keep you connected while you remain in your office. Telepresence technology was certainly present again this year, and from this end of the hall I bring you what was undoubtedly the weirdest thing on the show floor - the VGo telepresence robot.
For $5,000 you can have this thing walking around your office and use it to view and communicate with your coworkers remotely. My guess is that within five minutes of use in my shop, it would be dragging a 25' length of toilet paper and have an "I'm stupid" sign hanging off the back of it.
|
