AMX Acquires SVSi
Many SVSi dealers were surprised to see the company’s name above AMX’s booth at this year’s InfoComm. SVSi is based out of Huntsville, AL.
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
Pizza Hut Has Created a Disposable Projector
businessinsider.com
Pizza Hut has introduced a projector into some of their pizza boxes. The box has a punch out hole for the lens they give you, and you use your phone to play whatever you want.
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
CEO of InfoComm Apologizes to PSNI
David Labuskes, InfoComm’s International Executive Director and CEO, expressed frustration at InfoComm’s and PSNI’s strained relationship. During the buyer’s group partner breakfast at InfoComm, he expressed that he now has a hard time getting integrators to return his calls, or to schedule meetings. Chris Miller, Executive Director of PSNI, later said, “...the issue is that it’s unclear what the integrator community wants to do for us.”
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
IC Realtime Adds IOT Capabilities to its Video Solutions*
IC Realtime recently announced that its entire line of surveillance cameras will fully integrate with Paxton’s Net2 Software.
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
Can Do or Must Do?*
Mark LaVecchia explores the difference between “those who can” and “those who must” in this article. According to LeVecchia, those who can are professional and trained, and if they sense that they will have to compromise their performance or integrity for a project, will walk away. Those who must claim their name because they absolutely must get any and every project they can. Those “who must” often put good engineers in bad situations, and thus are always dealing with high turnover rates. Cutting corners always leads to the project not going well, and those who must often have to pay the field team extra to fix all the problems that will come with the install. According to LaVecchia, this is where those who must begin to blame others. They blame:
- Manufacturers, for “faulty” products
- Subcontractors, for having “horrible” install issues
- The Network, because there isn’t one, or it’s a faulty one
- Lastly, they’ll start creating “change orders”, telling clients that a certain piece of equipment “never worked”, but this one will- and it will cost extra money.
None of this ever happens to those who can. They saw all of the above coming when they heard how much the project went for.
Those who must have now alienated clients, manufacturers, consultants, subcontractors, and the network team. Is it any wonder the AV relationship is dying?
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
Top Georgia Integrators According to Commercial Integration
- How Integrators: OMEGA Audio Video in Acworth
- Retail Integrators: RPAV/Pathway AV/R&D Fabrication in Bowersville
- Government Integrators: Technical Innovation in Atlanta
*From Commercial Integrator, August 2015
Are DVR’s Relevant Anymore?
Simon Chester explores if DVR’s have lost their relevance in techradar.com. Whereas DVR’s used to be an add-on in most home theaters, they are now generally included in general purpose video players now. Some features that still make DVR’s relevant though, are:
- Netflix does not have an exhaustive catalog of shows
- Removing ad’s
- Built in tuners
Who Is the Most Important Person on Your Integration Team?
Engineers, project managers, sales people, installers, service people are all integral parts of your team. But the most important person in your team, according to Max Kopsho, is your customer. If you can engage and include your customer on a level where they join your team, you’ve created a winning situation.
Kopsho gives an example of when he was a younger salesman. He was preparing to give a presentation with a customer to the customer’s management team for final approval. In the middle of rehearsing, the customer stopped him and said, “You’re solving a problem we don’t have.” If this had not been a relationship where both people were on the same team, that customer may have not stopped him to teach him about the company’s situation. The customer knows more about their application, situation and usage model than anyone else on your team. Use them and learn from them.
Is the Television Set Dying?
With Millennials and Gen X mostly watching TV from tablets, phones, and laptops, will TV survive? Sony recently announced that they will no longer sell TV’s from online. Samsung is no longer creating their ultimate remote control, and Sharp will no longer be selling TV’s in the America’s.
Walk Away from Horrible Clients
I recently picked up a second contract with a client. Upon completion, I sent them two invoices for the two contracts in the same email. When I checked my bank account the next day, I noticed that a seemingly random (and much lower) sum had been deposited, so I emailed the client to find out what was going on.
Me: Hi, I’ve received a partial payment for these two contracts. Can you please confirm when the remaining amount will be paid?
Client: Oh no, it’s all paid. I used the amounts in the invoices you sent me.
Me: But this is only around a third of the total of the two invoices.
Client: Yes, I subtracted the amount of the smaller invoice from that of the larger invoice and paid you the difference.
Which TV is the Best For ProAV Installs?
Hands down, the Samsung Smart TV.
3D Isn’t As Dead As You Thought
- 3D still has the support of major manufacturers like Sony
- 3D is still included as a feature in consumer TV’s
- 3D movies are still being sold
- VR has presented itself as a way for 3D to survive
DirecTV’s Moving Service
[At 1:22 into my call with DirecTV] I'm headed to the roof of my new house to jump, but it's only one story, so I would likely only break a bone or two.
Windows 10 Prepares for IOT
Microsoft launched Windows 10 on July 29th. Trying to regain respect in the mobile operating systems market is the least of their worries. Thier first priority is gaining traction in the IOT market. Windows 10 offers three different types of operating systems:
- Windows 10 IoT for small devices with X86 or ARM processors, 256MB RAM, 2GB storage, no Shell, and universal apps and drivers.
- Windows 10 IoT for mobile devices with ARM processors, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, Modern Shell, and universal apps and drivers.
- Windows 10 IoT for industry devices with X86 processors, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, Desktop Shell, Win32 apps, and universal apps and drivers.
Home Robots Still Have a Way to Go
Viot discusses in this article that while home robots can move around and react to what they sense, they still know almost nothing about where they’re actually at (are they in the living room or kitchen if both are the same wood?). In the close future, however, Viot says that UWB technology will bring accurate location tracking to a lot of robots.
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