Plugging into the audio-visual trends
July, 2009

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Shedding new light on the advances

By Ralph Niekamp

The audiovisual aspect of the corporate meeting and event industry continues to evolve. Anything that can save time, money and reduce energy usage quickly becomes mainstream. Many of the new trends meet these criteria as well as offer a new and better way of doing things.

When people think of AV the first thing that usually comes to mind is projectors, and yes, they continue to be brighter, smaller and more affordable. While the “brighter, smaller, cheaper” trend has been around since LCD projectors were first introduced they have now become more specialized and sophisticated. 

Ultra-short throw projectors are a specialized product development. They project an 80” diagonal image from less than 30” of projection distance. It can be mounted on the top of an interactive whiteboard making it easier for the facilitator to conduct a training session (fewer distracting shadow puppets). The system is also portable as the interactive whiteboard and mounted projector can be wheeled from room to room. 

Michael Abramson, Pacific Media Associates notes that “in 2006 and 2007, there were less than five brands in the market with short-throw projectors. Now there are more than 15 brands and about 50 models in the short-throw market, including models that are standard aspect ratio as well as ones that are widescreen.”

Many businesses are now recognizing the advantages of bringing short-throw projection of large-screen images to rooms and settings that in the past may have been too constrained by tight space, lighting, or room design. In fact, to illustrate how short-throw projection is moving beyond education, Pro AV dealers in North America expect that about one-third of their short-throw sales in 2009 will be for training and other business applications.”

Event staging projectors have also become brighter and their set up is more flexible with the development of interchangeable lenses. A short-throw lens reduces the amount of space required for rear projection and a long-throw lens enables the projector to be set up behind the audience.

Micro-projectors (11 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm) are still in their infancy but they will continue to develop and will soon become a standard road warrior accessory projecting images from their laptop, iPod or mobile device.

High Definition (HD) has become an important consideration when people are looking at designing a new AV system. HD content availability is growing and people are future-proofing their AV investment by purchasing HD systems. Videoconferencing system users have also embraced HD as a more natural meeting experience than standard definition monitors.

Legal and Health industries have identified videoconferencing as a great communication tool.  Videoconferencing enables these industries to deliver expertise over great distances without the cost and travel time. This includes delivering keynote speeches at conferences. HR departments interview candidates via videoconferencing which also speeds up their decision making process.

50” and larger LCD monitors are frequently being integrated into small meeting rooms. The cost of the large monitors has come down and they are much better suited for small spaces where even a short-throw projector is obtrusive.

Facilities with multiple training rooms and meeting rooms have embraced AV systems that can be networked. Efficiencies of networked AV equipment include remote system access, maintenance program management, energy savings and even automated e-mail alerts if the equipment is disconnected from the system.

LED lighting continues to be an exciting AV development. It certainly meets the litmus test of “save time, money and reduce energy usage” and they deliver stunning visual impact. LED lighting saves time because each instrument can create many colors instead of only producing a single color per instrument.  The fewer instruments required means less time is needed to set up and dismantle the room. While LED instruments cost more than traditional lighting the reduction in the total number of instruments may reduce the overall cost of a lighting system. Traditional lighting systems require a 220-volt electrical system that usually translates to additional set up costs while LED light systems run off of a regular 110 volt outlet.

Did we mention that LED lighting looks great? We were recently part of an awards dinner hosted by a major Canadian bank and a few LED lights easily illuminated the room in the corporate colors. The lights added a dynamic element to the room as they moved and faded between corporate colors making the convention hall come alive.

The internet and Web 2.0 has made an impact everywhere and the meeting and event industry is no different. Dallas Ballance, of GoodwinBallance Communications in Winnipeg, Manitoba noted that “most presenters at large events would like to upload their presentations before they leave their office and that it will be loaded on a laptop in their presentation room ready to go.”

These same presentations are now often available for download after the event from a conference website or Facebook page. A presenter now has the ability to make last minute changes to the presentation based on what a person speaking earlier in the day said making the presentation more relevant and interesting to the audience. While this saves printing out the presentations it also adds this new dimension to multi-presenter events because the presentations are not being printed out a week before the event.

Webcasting has also changed meeting industry expectations as the reach of an event is now extended. People that could not attend in person can now participate in the live event or view it at a later date. This online trend will continue to grow as the infrastructure and understanding of this new tool increases.

Ralph Niekamp, Inland AV Saskatoon General Manager addresses audiovisual considerations important to event planners. As a branch manager, Ralph brings a unique perspective as he is involved in both permanent systems design and integration and AV rentals applications.

Filed under: The Industry