Shared by Joanne Ladio, NBS Audiovisual Solutions Specialist
June 14-16, 2017 – Orlando, FL
Over 44,000 people attended the InfoComm audiovisual trade show and conference this year – a record-breaking number! They should have counted the equipment displayed. I think it would have been a record-breaker too. It was impossible to see everything and try to take some classes too – but here are some of the highlights for me:
- 4K is here to stay. It’s happening faster than anyone predicted. Even though there’s still not a lot of content in 4K, displays in 4K are everywhere now. Just because it’s newer/hotter doesn’t mean 4K is good for everyone, so please check with your AV specialist.
- OLED sets are incredible. Without going into all the reasons, OLED sets are VERY thin, very bright and display the blackest blacks you’ll ever see in a display. There are wall-paper OLED sets that unroll. Back-to-back displays are about ¾ of an inch thick total, perfect for signage. They are flexible so you can have curved walls and sets that go around columns. Designers, we need to talk!
- Projectors aren’t going anywhere. Sorry. They are still the cheapest way to have a display over 100”. The big news is laser projectors. These don’t need lamps. They are still in the “big brightness” stage, but they are getting smaller.
- Skype for Business was everywhere. It’s the predominant conferencing product now, though most products usable for Skype for Business will work with Zoom, WebEx, Go-to-Meeting, etc. (The real label is Unified Collaboration –UC.) Products include all-in-one room conferencing systems that include cameras, audio, and content-sharing inputs. Crestron, Polycom, Vaddio, and Logitech are the manufacturers in this arena. There were also a million individual cameras, microphones, conference phones, etc. The Polycom Pano is one of these all-in-one systems that was also a hit at NeoCon. The Microsoft SurfaceHub is another.
- AV and IT are fully merged now. Yes, IT is our new best friend. Virtually everything AV connects to the network now – some can only work over the network, some devices are just controlled over the network – but they all touch it somehow.
Despite the fact that Orlando was experiencing its 21st straight rainy day, we had a good visit and look forward to implementing many of these new products and solutions for our clients.
