September 2001

Are There Vultures Among Us?
Is The Recent Re-Emergence of Videoconferencing Suspect?
By Max Kopsho
It's almost impossible to do anything today without thinking of the current economic situation and even more difficult putting out of mind the recent tragedies that struck our nation in New York, Washington D.C. and in Pennsylvania. I won't even try. So let's talk about what I've noticed since then.

Product Spotlight: Panamorph
Widescreen conversion lens

HDTV in the News
Compiled by Denise Harrison, producer, KNews
Within a few years, HDTV will be the standard, but television stations aren't waiting for the imposed deadline. ABC announced last week that it will broadcast all of its primetime comedies, dramas and theatricals this season.

Product Review: EZAV's Remora and Remora GT Micro-Computers
By Jody Thomas, CTS
This nifty little package (and I mean little) weighs in at only 9 ounces. This PDA-sized device is by no means a PDA; it contains a full-blown computer that is specifically designed for portable applications, such as presentations. Since this computer runs the latest Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows ME, 2000 or even the upcoming XP, all of the applications that you would commonly use on a desktop or laptop computer will run here, as well.

Orange County High School for the Arts Installs Studio Cameras
Orange County High School for the Arts added professional broadcast cameras for its expanded film and television program. Russel Bauman, Chairman of the school's Film and Television Department, ordered three Z-3000W cameras with Fujinon A19x8.7BRM lenses.

Product Profile: SmartKey Anti-Theft Mount

Projectors have become hot properties, and I do mean hot. The amount of thefts is growing in proportion to the popularity of the systems, and as more projectors are installed in classrooms and meeting facilities, it's only going to get worse. SmartKey is a new anti-theft device from Display Devices, Inc. (DDI) introduced at InfoComm. The device is designed not only for projectors, but for plasma displays, speakers and teleconferencing equipment as well.

August 2001

SmartPanel Video Projector Controller
by Denise Harrison, Producer
How many times do customer support teams for dealers and integrators answer calls from users who can't make the right connections? How many projectors have hand-written instructions taped on the wall next to them? Even the most sophisticated of us hate fumbling around with connections. SmartPanel from SP Controls, now shipping nationwide, is designed to make connections easier for even the newest of users.

It's a Good Time for CEDIA
by Denise Harrison
Home theater proliferation is running slightly behind the nice boom that Pro A/V has enjoyed. But this is the year it looks like it's taking off on a steady, if not monumental, growth that should last a good, long time. Just who is going to benefit most from the first wave of the boom is somewhat under question, though. Although there is certainly a market for those high end systems in 4,000-sq.-ft. homes, the masses have some options this year.

EduBlast Info

News from the International Communications Industries Association (ICIA)'s Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC).

August 2001
InfoComm Europe, seminars in New Zealand, South East Asia Audiovisual Boot Camp and more...

Audio for the Chicago Field Museum, Life Underground Exhibit
In 1998 John Cavalla with Archey & Cavalla was faced with creating sound for the Life Underground Exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. A new exhibit was being installed that recreated the experience of being shrunken down to insect size and traveling through an underground cavern.

The Web Dilemma
Contributed by EffectiveMeetings.com
For the last few years the Web has been hailed as the ultimate medium for presenters because you can deliver a presentation from the comfort of your own office. But even the biggest Web advocates will admit that Web presenting can't replace the value of a live presentation in terms of gauging the audience's reaction, interacting with attendees, or building rapport with the client.

Product Spotlight
WebEx: A One-Stop Web Communications Service
by Denise Harrison, Producer
Web-based meetings and collaboration have been around a while and they really work well for those corporations who decide to take the scary plunge. The problem has been that different companies offer different services and if you want to have meetings you go to one Web service, and customer support you had to go to another. From what it seems, WebEx is aiming to be a one-stop shop for conferencing over the Web.

Presentation Points
By Claudyne Wilder
Motivate your listeners; find the silence within, improving section placeholders.

Creating Visual Impact: What Integrators Need to Know
By David Teel
Avenida Network
We work and play in the ultimate image industry. Vibrant colors and bigger-than-life graphics appear in magazines, on web sites . . . on the big screen. The AV industry brings us a kaleidoscope of visual communications to captivate our minds and the minds of our customers every day. Here's why integrators Need to Create Visual Impact

Product Spotlight: Theatre Commander Modular Switcher
These days, users expect flexible preview switching. When you add two projectors and the ability to send what's on the screen to a video conferencing system, we're starting to talk about expensive routers and major time and effort to program the control system that drives them. Other applications, such as switching 50 or 60 VGA inputs to a single projector, can be hard to implement with off-the-shelf products. Command Systems' Theatre Commander Modular Switcher is designed to address these problems.

FRAUD: Another Dealer's Story
by Tracey Westbrook
A Visual Image, Inc.
A Visual Image, Inc. is also not a box sales house. We do, however, maintain a web-site for service purposes exclusively, no purchases may be made through it. Although the caller claimed to have found us off of the site, the call came in off of the Atlanta line that is forwarded to our Dallas office. The Atlanta line has not been published on our web-site for sometime, as that branch is closed. So, we're not certain how they found us.

FRAUD: Another Dealer's Story -- 2
FRAUD: Another Dealer's Story -- 3

Product Spotlight
New Ball and Socket Projector Mount from Peerless Industries
The new Vector Pro from Peerless Industries, Inc. (Melrose Park, IL) looks like a winner. With a ball and socket mechanical design, it makes installation and positioning versatile but also provides security for the ceiling mounted parts.

By Greg Jeffreys
There are two basic reasons for using Fresnel elements in screens. The first is the evenness of image brightness – avoiding the infamous ‘hot-spot’. The second – and secondary – reason is image brightness.

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