On April 6, the Emerging Technology Alliance (ETechA) hosted an event specifically built for AV integrators and likeminded industry members to learn the ins and outs of 4K and high dynamic range (HDR).
The industry is in a transition period where integrators need to be offering 4K options to stay ahead of the competition, ETechA argues. The event helped attendees learn how to design and build an infrastructure that can handle 4K and HDR content, as well as learn why every type of 4K is not created equal and why 18Gps is more important than ever.
Courses held included: “Current Network Requirements for 4K,” “Industry Acronyms,” “Best Practices for 4K Video,” “4K Demystified” and “Corporate AV & Commercial Trends.”
The event was hosted by ETechA founding members Cleerline Technology Group, Techlogix Networx and Niveo.
Why ETechA?
“We joined ETechA because they’re like-minded individuals who are working on cutting-edge new technologies, be it fiber-optic, HDBaseT or 18Gps applications,” says Jeff Murray of AV Pro Global Holdings, a new member of ETechA.
“[ETechA] also combines its forces at the different tradeshows, ISE and InfoComm and CEDIA, to educate dealers on what’s possible with getting full, uncompressed, digital video out to multizone dwellings, along with residential and commercial venues,” Murray adds.
ETechA, along with its founding members, is committed to training in order to help integrators gain the knowledge they need to stay on top of this ever-changing marketplace.
Hear more from Ryan Prentice, principal, Cleerline about ETechA.
Why was it important for Cleerline to get involved with ETechA?
Prentice: Cleerline is a founding member of ETechA. Dealers understand connectivity is changing and over the last six years Cleerline has worked to educate and address the apprehension involved in learning to install and terminate fiber optic cables.
This involves addressing everything from the fiber types available to installation practices and that termination of SSF is truly as easy as making up an RJ45 jack.
Delivery of 4K video is one of the single largest areas of concern with the dealers we talk to on a daily basis. It will only be compounded with the release of the new HDMI 2.1 spec. Ryan Prentice, Cleerline
Being able to quickly and easily make fiber optic cable leads to questions regarding equipment and “what to plug into?” ETechA combines Cleerline with manufacturers that are providing these emerging technologies to integrators looking for these same answers and solutions.
There are obviously a lot of options for integrators and consultants looking for training. What does ETechA offer that complements those platforms?
Prentice: I think dealers find most training events to be brand-centric in that training is focused only a particular brand and its specific benefits. This is typically just one link in the chain in signal delivery for instance, and many times not addressing how the integrator puts together the other parts and pieces, adding these links together to form a chain, in this case 4K signal delivery from source to display and all the pieces in between and different types of delivery systems.
ETechA is a collaborative effort among the members involved to provide information to the dealers on not only the technology of the equipment involved, but more so how the technology displayed interacts.
Why does ETechA have a particular focus on 4K technologies during its training event prior to ISC West?
Prentice: Delivery of 4K video is one of the single largest areas of concern with the dealers we talk to on a daily basis. With all the questions already out there, it will only be compounded with the upcoming release of the new HDMI 2.1 spec, expected at the end of Q2. By focusing on 4K, we will be working to address these questions with the dealers that attend and how they can effectively design, install, and test todays 4K video signals with the technologies displayed.
Just to be clear, the timing of the ETechA event was not planned around ISC, just happened to be the same week.
