The SVC Blogcast

Working within the IEEE 802 protocols, the AVB Group is about to release the first part of new standards for audio and video networking on Ethernet.
Networked AV Podcast Show 19

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In this edition, SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles talks with Lee Minich, president of LabX Technologies, an engineering design firm based in Rochester, N.Y. Minich and LabX have been instrumental in the work of the IEEE 802.1AV Bridging Task Group on development of new standards for audio and video networking on Ethernet. The first of the new standards is in the final stage of formal adoption, and Lee provides an update and some details on what the standards will do and on who is helping to develop them. He also talks about the new LinkedIn group he has started to keep those interested, up do date.
Show Notes:

• The IEE 802.1Working Group which is the parent body of the AVB Group

• An article in Broadcast Engineering magazine on the parts of the AV Bridging standards
• A story in SVC on the AES Convention and the new AVB standards
• The AVnu Alliance, a group of industry players advocating adoption of the standards
  Listen to Part 2 >>

Corporate AV Podcast Show 11
What it took to retrofit AV technology in a five-day deadline

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In part one of this two-part podcast, SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles talks with Paul Trepanier, channel partners manager for Single Source Group, a Nashua, N.H., firm specializing in fully customized voice, video, and data solutions for boardrooms, conference rooms, training facilities, and global offices. The SSG also provides digital signage, AV presentation, interactive learning, IP telephony, storage/streaming, network infrastructure, PEG broadcasting, and video conferencing solutions. Trepanier provides details on their installation of a state-of-the-art training courtroom for the prestigious Franklin Pierce Law Center.
Useful links:

• The Crestron AV2 unit that serves as the heart of the system
• The Elmo P 100 N that feeds monitors and streams evidence video to student computers
• For The Record software that is used to record the mock trials on multiple tracks
• The Crestron CNX B8B eight-button panels used by the clerk to operate the system
• The Sony EVID-70 PTZ camera that records video of the courtroom proceedings

Listen to Part 2 >>

House of Worship AV Podcast Show 68
How Mankin Media Systems delivered an audio and video infrastructure to support an immersive AV space for Southeast Christian Church’s 1,500 students.

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In this edition, SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles talks with Ben Mankin, owner of Mankin Media Systems in Franklin, Tenn. Mankin outlines the story of an ambitious project by the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., to offer a place for their high school and middle school youth to meet and have fun. The Block required a host of video sources, projection, audio routing, and control to be installed in the middle of a rock climbing venue, a huge house-of-blues-style lounge and musical performance hall.
Show Notes:

• A music video showing The Block and an electrifying band performing
• A photo outline of The Block and how Mankin Media Systems outfitted it
• A news story concerning the Gepco cable Mankin used in the installation
• The d&b speakers used in the massive audio system for The Block
• The Shure UHF-R wireless microphone system used by performers in The Block

.

Corporate AV Podcast Show 10

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In part two (listen to part one, SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles continues his talk with Jeffrey Washington, vice president of Professional Video Supply in Overland Park, Kan. Washington shares his experience on the installation of a new videoconferencing and digital signage network at the headquarters of agriculture giant, Specialty Fertilizer Company in Leawood, Kan. He goes into more detail on the installation of microphones and cabling. Useful links:

• The Audio-Technica ES947microphones installed on the conference table
• The Biamp AudioFLEX used for automatic mic mixing and echo cancellation
• The Sennheiser EW 100 Series wireless microphone system in the training room
• TheXPresenter application from X20 Media used by for presentations
• The JBL Control 25T loudspeakers that take audio output to the boardroom participants
• The Crown CTS Series amplifiers that drive the JBL conference room loudspeakers

.

Networked AV Podcast Show 18

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In part two (listen to part one), SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles continues his conversation with Director of Engineering, George Brosie of Innovative Technology Group, an audiovisual systems integration company based in St. Louis. Brosie goes into more specifics on the installation of a new state-of-the-art boardroom and videoconferencing system for animal nutrition firm Novus International. He relates how a touchpanel challenge was met and provides an insight on how audio and video cabling was handled.
Relevant links:

• Installation equipment list

.

House of Worship AV Podcast Show 67

To hear the Podcast, press the play button or download here.
In this edition (listen to part 1), SVC contributing editor Bennett Liles continues his talk with Richard O’Connell, principal at AV DesignBuild regarding the complete sound system upgrade at the 125-year-old Sacred Heart Church in Springfield, Mass. O’Connell outlines the steps he took with programming the Biamp AudiaSolo and how he solved a particularly vexing problem with intermittent RFI blasting over the system. New microphones, cabling, and conduits were installed along with a security mounting for the new mixer. Show Notes:

• The APB Dynasonics mixer used for the choir
• The SurgeX units installed to combat RFI problems
• The Gepco audio cable used within conduits to cut RFI
• The Tascam CD-RW700 player used with a footswitch for remote playback.

Listen to Part 1.

CEDIA CEO Utz Baldwin takes a few minutes out of a very busy first day at the expo to talk to SVC about the trends he sees in the consumer electronics market and the relationship that has developed between professionals in the commercial AV industry and those in the home electronics arena. He provides his take on current economic factors and their affect on consumer electronics product development. Utz also gives us a look into his own experience and how he rose through the CEDIA ranks to become CEO of this dynamic organization at an exciting time in its history.

Tim Alessi, director of HE New Product Development, showcases LG’s new line of LCDs, plasmas, and Blu-ray players. He details the features of LG’s new SL-80 and SL-90 series with a CCL only 1.8in. deep. The LG booth was outfitted with more than a dozen seamless look monitors mounted in over/under pairs with single video signals spanning the screen pairs. Alessi also outlines the various video signal formats the monitors are capable of handling.

Robert Lemer, director of business development, offers his take on the trends in the market for signal conversion and the AV signal transmission and distribution industry. He also provides an update on the state of the new display port technology, Gefen’s products in that area and where that and IP-based products are headed in the residential AV field.

Jeff Singer, Crestron public relations manager, takes a few minutes out from his marathon lecture schedule to tell SVC about Crestron’s new TPMC 3X Wi-Fi touchpanel along with an update on the company’s other product debuts. He also provides a few notes on how the company approaches programming its systems and training dealers and installers in the specifics of setup and installation.