Thought leaders from more than 50 AV/IT manufacturers share their company's strategic plans for products, solutions, and philosophies for the second half of 2024.
In four installments throughout July, we will present more than 50 perspectives from CEOs, CTOs, CMOs, presidents, vice presidents, product directors, and others.
The following are excerpts of interviews from InfoComm 2024.
Thought Leaders On Second Half of 2024: Part 1
DAVID MISSALL, Insights Manager
At Sennheiser, one of our chief missions is the advancement of audio technology to facilitate seamless collaboration and learning experiences. Our focus remains steadfast on innovation, partnership, and delivering unparalleled solutions that set new standards in business communication.
Our highly anticipated TeamConnect Bars (TC Bars) are available and shipping. These all-in-one audio and video bars are the first in the market with integrated Dante, and are set to redefine meeting room experiences. They offer not just superior audio quality but also advanced features like integrated beamforming technology and AI-driven video capabilities. The two models, TC Bar M and TC Bar S, support a range of small- to medium-sized meeting rooms, offering unmatched versatility and adaptability in corporate and higher education environments.
Another large focus is the partnerships we have with other industry leaders. These key alliances ensure that installers can rely on Sennheiser solutions to work seamlessly with any deployed system.
We want to empower organizations with solutions that not only address their current challenges but also anticipate their needs in the future. Whether it’s through innovative features like Intelligent Noise Control or the patented TruVoicelift function, which offers perfect speech intelligibility while allowing flexibility in movement and position, our aim is to facilitate productive, engaging, and immersive communication experiences. With a diverse portfolio of solutions and a network of esteemed partners, we are poised to continue shaping the future of business communication.
KIM FRANKLIN, Vice President of Global Marketing
At Listen Technologies, innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that everyone deserves an exceptional listening experience. Our vision is to revolutionize how people connect, communicate, and engage through seamless audio solutions.
As smartphones and wearables, such as hearing aids, earbuds, and headphones, evolve, Listen Technologies remains at the forefront by offering creative, flexible solutions that enhance these advancements. Our latest products and solutions embody the future of assistive listening and wireless audio.
The next generation of audio over Wi-Fi, ListenWIFI, features a dedicated receiver, beacons, a new server, and enhanced software. Additionally, ListenWIFI simplifies venue management and delivers a superior experience for venues and guests.
We are proud to partner with Ampetronic and bring new audio technologies to market. Together, we are developing the first installed assistive listening system utilizing Auracast broadcast audio. This groundbreaking platform, Auri, will transform hearing assistance in public spaces and is expected to launch later this year.
In a world where sound is essential to connection, learning, and experience, Listen Technologies is more than an industry leader; we are committed to enhancing life’s moments through sound. As technology evolves, we remain at the cutting edge, revolutionizing how individuals connect and experience sound. We are excited about the future and proud to help end users engage in the things they love.
GARTH LOBBAN, Director of Marketing
As we look at the importance of media in the classroom, switchers and distribution systems must reflect the types of technology that are in use in these spaces today. From laptops with USB-C connections to interactive whiteboards that return signals back to the instructor’s laptop, plus the need for each AV device to be able to manage more elements in the room is critical. The Omega AT-OME-CS31-SA-C is a great example in that it manages a range of signals, plus audio mixing and amplification.
But that doesn’t mean that the corporate space is any less demanding in terms of managing AV systems. Many companies are looking for AV control simplicity in terms of the systems being used. Where we would have placed full control systems into rooms with separate control surfaces and control processors, it’s now important that we try to make these as much as an all-in-one product as possible. This is where the Velocity AT-VKP-8E comes in as a keypad controller with eight buttons, e-paper display, and the ability to control up to 10 devices.
Many in the industry are familiar with our game-changing AV-over-IP solution, OmniStream, but fewer people are aware that this powerhouse of a platform can also enable fun with learning. This critical backbone piece can be used to distribute all of the signals within a typical esports environment. Of course, Velocity comes along for the ride to make this complex four-zone demo station simple to manage.
MARK BONIFACIO, Director of Business Management, Professional Display Solutions
Sony’s philosophy continues to hold strong and our theme remains “Creating Connected Experiences.” We’re committed to making our solutions easier to use and more environmentally conscious, providing a more comprehensive ecosystem, and partnering with other industry leaders for the benefit of our users. We are looking to engage even more with the community, as we highlight our key areas of focus.
On the digital signage and CMS front, we’ve been proactively augmenting our offerings through our Alliance Partner Program, which aligns Sony with the industry’s preferred tools, vendors, and solutions for increased usability that promotes our collective strengths and provides great value to our users. Additionally, our Device Management Platform for monitoring and deploying displays with ease will be prominently featured. While we’re proud of the inclusive portfolio that Sony offers the Pro AV industry, we recognize there are new areas for growth that we can explore through integrations with other top companies in the space.
We also showcased some of the hot trends that permeated the show, such as AI, which helps our latest PTZ cameras, including the SRG-A series and BRC-AM7, consistently track and accurately frame presenters.
Finally, last year at InfoComm, we debuted Sony’s Deep Black Non-Glare display technology, which offers low reflection while maintaining deep blacks, high contrast, and precise image quality in direct or high ambient light environments. We’re building upon that minimal glare technology at the show with a new 98-inch professional BRAVIA display that offers the same benefits our customers have raved about.
[Winners Announced: Best of Show at InfoComm 2024 for AV Technology]
Mark Bohs, Director of Sales, Americas
We’re excited to welcome Fountainhead, Absen and B-Tech Mounts solutions. Aetria offers the ultimate in Control Room video management and these alliances allows attendees to see how other vital control room elements work in harmony in a real-use environment.
Datapath has teamed up with Absen, B-Tech AV Mounts, and Fountainhead Control Rooms to demonstrate a complete control room solution of video processing and distribution, LED video wall displays, mounts, and consoles. This provided InfoComm attendees a ‘closer’ experience of a control room set-up and the chance to explore and experience other vendor control room-related products.
The set-up was driven by Datapath’s powerful Aetria solution, showing the latest advances in the management and control of multi-source, multi-end point video, including ‘operator video walls’ and the latest Touch control interface.
With the vast increase in the volumes of video data now required in today’s control rooms, there are huge challenges around how critical information is made available to operators in and out of the control room. As the data volume increases, solutions like Datapath’s Aetria are needed to help operators make sense of it, allowing ‘anything, anywhere’ video management.
Managing video processing and content in the Datapath Control Room demo area was a VSN video wall controller with Datapath capture and graphics cards installed. Five Aligo QTX and 18 x Aligo RX100 managed seamless AVoIP operations, with four Arqa TX and eight Arqa RX units working alongside them to transmit and receive video data.
SEAN BOWMAN, Associate Vice President, North America
How we collaborate has changed dramatically over the last several years. Regardless of what environment you are in—corporate, higher education, government, in-person, or remote—we’ve evolved to new methods of communication. Audio has been key to ensuring that this communication is effective. The products we’ll showcase at InfoComm this year have been specifically designed to meet these changing communication needs.
This includes the Microflex Wireless (MXW) neXt 2 Wireless Microphone System, designed for corporate and education environments that require user-friendly audio technology. We’ve designed MXW neXt 2 for environments where two wireless microphones are needed, along with the ability to connect to videoconferencing systems for remote participants. This solution is easy to set up right out of the box. This means that AV/IT integrators can spend less time setting up individual rooms and more time setting up entire university campuses, for example.
ShureCloud is a unified platform for customers to update, manage, and control Shure hardware and software products in one place. ShureCloud includes two new services: Shure Cloud License Management for IntelliMix Room and ShureCloud Device Management for Microflex Wireless Microphones.
Attendees also experienced the brand-new Shure WL18Xm professional lavalier condenser microphones—an enhanced, low-profile lavalier solution for speakers who want full and accurate sound quality.
These audio solutions showcase Shure’s dedication to introducing products that are easy for users to integrate into their communication environments while continuing to provide superior audio. InfoComm is an opportunity to share the latest developments from our company with a diverse community of AV professionals. Our focus at the show will be on highlighting our cutting-edge audio solutions and building relationships with attendees, exhibitors, and industry professionals.
LAURA MADAIO, Director of Marketing
At Yamaha Unified Communications, our recent efforts have been dedicated to enhancing the quality of audio and video for remote meetings. We have focused on developing simplified configuration tools that enable users to achieve optimal audio performance without needing to be audio experts. By incorporating advanced technologies that prioritize meeting participants and minimize interruptions from irrelevant sources, we have created market-leading products that significantly improve the setup and meeting experiences for our customers.
Looking ahead, our philosophy is to build on these advancements by expanding our product family, introducing new features, and providing tools that simplify the design, installation, and optimization of our solutions. At InfoComm 2024, we were excited to showcase our latest AI-driven technologies and new components. These innovations highlight how AI has enhanced the detection of meaningful audio, identification of speakers, and delivery of a superior meeting experience for remote participants.
AI technology has been instrumental in improving our audiovisual products over the past few years. It has enabled better differentiation between meaningful and non-meaningful audio, improved speaker detection in both audio and video and ensured a high-quality meeting experience for remote participants. As we move forward, the integration of AI into our products will continue to grow, providing even more meaningful experiences for users at the far end of meetings.
Importantly, these advancements can be implemented through firmware upgrades, eliminating the need for extensive infrastructure changes. This ensures that our customers can benefit from the latest innovations without undergoing costly and time-consuming upgrades.
By transforming the way they connect, communicate, and collaborate, we are shaping the future of audio communication and setting new standards in the industry.
MATT MORGAN, Business Development Manager, Corporate Solutions
At Ross Video, we recognize the convergence of AV and broadcast video solutions across the industry, and we’ve rolled out some compelling new offerings to meet that demand.
At InfoComm, we pulled back the curtain to showcase our most exciting lineup yet, tailor-made to meet the ever-evolving needs of the industry. From Quorum, our newest meeting control solution with a user-friendly web interface that empowers users to effortlessly generate engaging professional-grade content, to Carbonite CODE, featuring a complete NDI-based production switcher, we’re bringing innovation front and center. We’re also excited to have announced the addition of native Dante integration to our Hyperconverged platform!
At the AVIXA booth, we produced and live-streamed seven episodes throughout the show, showcasing the practical application of virtual production technologies. Check out the preview here.
Whether you’re enhancing a presentation or broadcasting a large-scale event, Ross Video has got your back.
DAN HOLLAND, Marketing Manager
Over the years, our company has witnessed a major shift in the Pro AV industry, migrating to file-based video distribution strategies regarding content storage, control room management, and the sharing of content over remote access workstations. IHSE’s KVM and extender solutions are a perfect fit for this type of data management, and we are always amazed at the new ways customers utilize our equipment to simplify their workflow needs.
At InfoComm 2024, we showcased the new Tera Web Control for easy GUI monitor arrangements of a KVM system, HD and 4K extenders for control room display management, and the award-winning kvm-tec Scalable Pro Line for 4K/5K multiview applications. The IHSE Tera Web Control is the latest addition to its KVM matrix series. Tera Web Control enhances connectivity for both single- and multi-console workstations commonly found in control room applications. In addition to fast hotkey and OSD menu control, which are particularly popular with power users, Tera Web Control simplifies the process of managing connections in an HTML-based graphical user interface. Also highlighted are the secure 4K KVM extender and switch products supporting long-distance separation between computers and operator workspaces that provide out-of-the-box connectivity to any operating system at a single user’s desktop without adding, moving, or changing hardware. Also on display will be IHSE’s kvm-tec Scalable Pro Line, which supports networked 4K multiviewer capabilities over a 10G network switch. It uniquely features the ability to control and manage up to 16 computer sources on a single display via a single keyboard and mouse.
LEVI LAVRINYUK, Director of Marketing
USB-C has become the primary connection point for laptops and mobile devices. The corporate meeting space and modern learning environments have not yet caught up, escalating the challenge of how presenters effectively take advantage of AV and USB assets in the room. Lightware’s InfoComm strategy will demonstrate how the integration and end-user communities can get the most mileage from the USB-C standard. For installers, it means building simpler rooms with more versatile functionality at a lower price point. For end users, it means simplifying how presenters connect to cameras and sound systems to share and present their content.
USB-C offers the efficiency of passing video, audio, control data, and device charging over a single cable. Lightware’s Taurus product line simplifies USB-C switching within collaborative environments, allowing users to walk into a room, connect their laptop or device, and use all available USB assets. Our Taurus exhibits at Infocomm will prove how our technologies not only make connectivity and content presentation simple for end users but also help integrators overcome common challenges, such as extending USB over longer distances.
Lightware has big plans for 2024 and beyond that also look to the future needs of collaborative environments. We will share our vision of UC convergence with networked AV architectures by introducing the Taurus TPN, alongside a new Taurus UCX variant which includes the industry’s first multiscreen solution capable of moving two 4K signals to two independent screens over a single USB-C cable. This innovation represents the thirst for bridging the gap between USB-C devices and an array of existing USB peripherals in the room. We will furthermore help our customers develop room systems, automate functionality, and share configurations across adjacent spaces in consistent ways that lower project costs, reduce programming labor, and accelerate deployments.
COURTNEY MAMUSCIA, Senior Director of Marketing
At InfoComm 2024, RGB Spectrum was excited to unveil our latest innovations in audiovisual technology and IP networking, reflecting our commitment to advancing the modern control room. Our roadmap is centered on providing comprehensive solutions that empower operators, enhance command center capabilities, and seamlessly integrate with the external networked world.
RGB Spectrum is dedicated to driving the evolution of control rooms through innovation and integration. Our philosophy focuses on delivering technologies that streamline operations, enhance workflows, and improve data distribution. We believe in empowering operators with precise, real-time information and tools that foster effective decision-making and collaboration.
Our solutions showcased at InfoComm 2024 demonstrated how we address the critical needs of the control room environment, focusing on three main domains: the console, the front-of-room video wall, and the external networked world.
Visitors to our booth can also expect to see live demonstrations and interactive sessions that highlight our innovative approaches. First among these is that our solutions streamline complex processes, allowing operators to manage and respond to situations more efficiently. By integrating various data sources and applications, we ensure that the right information is available at the right time.
Second, our technology supports high-resolution video walls and multi-screen setups, providing clear, comprehensive views of critical information that help operators quickly grasp and respond to evolving situations.
Third, our systems provide a real-time common operating picture, consolidating data from multiple sources into a single, coherent view.
Fourth, our integrated solutions offer a unified view of all operations. This common operating picture allows for better resource management, more effective decision-making, and improved overall operational efficiency.
And finally, whether in the same room or across the globe, our solutions facilitate the seamless sharing of information and interactive decision-making, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and can act swiftly and cohesively.
EFFI GOLDSTEIN, President
Providing AV professionals with low-cost, high-performance, and reliable SuperSpeed USB extension continues to be at the core of the HDBaseT Alliance 2024 roadmap as we head into InfoComm International. Our new HDBaseT-USB3 standard has already proven to be a big hit this year, including winning multiple awards at CES and ISE. Our new technology provides professional-grade extension of not only USB 3.2, but also USB 2.0, controls, power, and frame synchronization up to 328 feet (100m) over a single Category cable.
The technology is essential for streamlining BYOD meeting spaces and hot desking, an extension of USB 3.0 peripherals and high-definition multi-camera setups, as well as integrated room appliance control. A collection of the first extenders, hubs, and cameras supporting HDBaseT-USB3 were showcased in our booth at ISE, and even more will be on display at InfoComm. We invite everyone to visit the Alliance booth C5550 for a first-hand look at over a dozen of these next-generation devices as they get set to take SuperSpeed USB further with HDBaseT plug-and-play simplicity.
