AV News to Know April 10, 2020: New Products, Cool Projects and People in New Places

In this week’s edition: Boldie launches facial recognition camera, Deschutes Pediatric Dentristy gets a new look and Group One gets its first CFO.

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AV News to Know April 10, 2020: New Products, Cool Projects and People in New Places

Here’s a closer look at some of the AV news, products and projects you might have missed this week. We call it AV News to Know:

New AV Products

ClearOne CONVERGENCE AV Network Manager Now Available Worldwide

ClearOne this week announced availability of its first release of CONVERGENCE AV Network Manager, a unified AV network management platform to monitor, control, and audit ClearOne Pro audio and video products and services.

A beta version was available to AV practitioners for their evaluation prior to this release.

The new AV management system provides remote real-time system access for at-a-glance and all-inclusive dashboard views in any browser from desktop to mobile.  Its scalability supports organizations of any size and can be configured for one of 12 languages.

The new release provides batch firmware updates on multiple audio and video devices at once. The release adds the ability to download, back up, or restore project files simultaneously for multiple CONVERGE Pro 2 and CONVERGE Huddle systems.

The release provides the ability to provision CONVERGE Pro 2 VoIP lines and view VoIP registration status through the browser interface. The AV management system facilitates downloads of device logs and provides reports for devices and peripherals, users, histories and calls.

NewTek Launches Global Channel Program

NewTek this week announced a new channel program for resellers across the globe. The NewTek line of products, most notably TriCaster, 3Play and NDI-based camera and encoder technology products will be sold exclusively through the reseller channel.

The program offers three tiers of partnerships with benefits and requirements tailored to assure NewTek customers are near a channel partner who can provide sales, service and support that meet their needs.

The NewTek Channel Program features a series of benefits from demand generation and marketing support elements to a discount and rebate structure.

Bolide Releases Touchless Facial Recognition Camera

Bolide’s new BN-2600ACTC access control camera is a touchless device that arms any facility with access control while minimizing contact at the workplace, helping avoid the spread of germs and viruses.

An on-board camera with facial recognition technology identifies employees while reading abnormal body temperature to prevent sick employees from entering. All these features are packaged in a device that will should enhance security in any business.

Hall Research Releases 4K HDMI and USB Wall-Plate Extender Kit

The Hall Research EX-4KU is a kit comprised of a single-gang wall plate transmitter plus a compact receiver.

The product is used to extend 4K HDMI video and USB data over a single UTP cable. The EX-4KU incorporates HDBaseT 2.0 technology in order to extend video and USB with zero latency and zero compression.

The wall plate transmitter provides an HDMI input plus a USB port for connection to a host such as a PC or a Mac.  The HDMI input supports all PC and HDTV resolutions up to and including 4K UHD.  The wall plate provides two USB charging ports for convenience.

The extender supports all USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices such as keyboards, mice, touchscreens, interactive whiteboards, and USB cameras.

D&H Distributing Offers $50M in Credit, Extended Terms

D&H Distributing, a major provider of SMB and consumer technologies to the North American high-tech channel, announces it has established several new credit options along with finance partners including DLL for qualified D&H partners, to support them during the COVID-19 crisis.

The programs cater to the needs of the SMB resellers and MSPs that make up the majority of D&H’s customer base, with no additional requirements to apply and at no additional charge. These include extended deadlines and terms up to 90-days, depending upon the offering.

Audio Visual Projects

Deschutes Pediatric Dentistry Likes Its New Look

When Deschutes Pediatric Dentistry prepared the design of their new office building, they knew they would need to approach their office technology needs differently. The young patients who are seen in the office can be difficult to keep occupied during procedures.

The dentist had previously utilized old 4:3 television sets and Bluetooth headsets for the kids during visits but encountered issues with connectivity and the practice had sanitation concerns with the headphones. Additionally, the equipment was difficult for patients to use.

Senior dentist and owner Steve Christensen reached out to Tony Sprando, senior AV designer at Audio Visual Bend, to design and install a new system. The system needed to be easy to control, function seamlessly and reliably with low long-term maintenance costs.

Sprando worked closely with Deschutes Pediatric Dentistry to create a modern approach for the office technology design for their new building.

“One of our goals was to have an entertainment system at each dental chair that would keep the patient in the ideal position for treatment, which increases the dentist’s workflow while giving the patient a state-of-the-art audiovisual experience,” said Sprando.

“We designed it so only the patient could hear the audio they selected.  And all common areas of the practice use Dante-controlled background music,” he said.

The 12 patient stations include the Creston MPC3-101-B touchpad, allowing each station to have touch control of the audio and video system at their fingertips, with focused speakers aligned over the pediatric patients, and a video display over the dental chair.

The building was also fitted with a 12×12 video matrix which screens channels around the building. The lobby of the office boasts an LG 65UM7300PUA display with an Iadea MBR-1100 media player for control of digital signage.

L-Acoustics Brings Ultimate Sound Experience to Sleeping Beauty Dreams

Sleeping Beauty Dreams is a fusion of contemporary dance, real-time digital avatar technology and hypnotic electronic music.

Based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tale, the spectacular production explores The Princess’ often-haunting dreams, passions and temptations during her hundred-year slumber.

Sound and movement achieved stunning cohesion as NOISIA’s Thijs de Vlieger’s futuristic score was presented in L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology, with every movement of The Princess, performed by dancer Diana Vishneva, tracked in real time with BlackTrax motion tracking.

The avant-garde rendition of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, conceived by Miami-based Magic Reality Group (MRG), combines visual art, contemporary dance and cutting-edge avatar-mapping projection, set to an immersive sound of harsh and, at times, darkly ambient electronic music, to create a unique multi-dimensional scenic experience.

L-ISA partner BlackTrax real-time motion tracking was used throughout the entire production of SBD in innovative and profound ways by perfectly synchronizing lighting and audio elements, giving precise responses from each and offering complete coverage to the stage and freedom of movement for Vishneva.

BlackTrax was also integrated with L-Acoustics L-ISA, which received positional data from BlackTrax to connect visual and audio imaging to deliver a fully immerse experience to the audience.

The live content was generated by using Perception Neuron system to track dancer’s graceful movements via 17 inertial sensors attached to Vishneva’s costume, mapping her movements to giant digital avatars gliding across a large screen just as Prima Ballerina did on the stage floor.

The integration of both technologies was done by the Fuse team.

People and Places

Group One Limited Promotes Trisha Matulewicz to Chief Financial Officer

Group One Limited, the Long Island, New York-based US distributor for Avolites, Calrec, DiGiCo, KLANG, Solid State Logic and several other professional audio and lighting manufacturers, has promoted Trisha Matulewicz to the new position of chief financial officer.

As of April 1, Matulewicz has stepped up to the new post from her previous role as financial controller, a position she has held since joining the company nearly two years ago. Before coming to Group One, she served as the VP of finance at NYC-based Medical Knowledge Group.

Prior to that, Matulewicz spent time in public accounting where she managed audits of hedge funds, broker dealers and 401(k) plans.

Roadie Rescue Campaign Nears $70,000 in Donations

Less than one month after announcing an effort to raise money to provide relief to eligible freelance professionals affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to event cancellations, the Roadie Rescue Campaign has raised close to $70,000 in donations to date.

That total includes money both through direct contributions to the GoFundMe campaign started in its name and to a special Show Makers Symposium (pending 501C-3) fund set up in the name of the Roadie Rescue Campaign.

The contribution milestone was achieved by major contributions from three donors. Kim and Tom Scholz, multi-instrumentalist founder of the American rock band, Boston, made a $50,000 campaign contribution to Roadie Rescue managed by Show Makers Symposium.

Take1 Insurance made a $10,000 contribution directly to the GoFundMe campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise $250,000 in donations to provide relief to eligible freelance professionals affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to event cancellations.

Extron Announces Free Online Certifications and Extron Institute Classes

Extron recently announced the company is waiving the fees for its online certifications. In addition, Extron is conducting free live online instructor-led Extron Institute classes to help technology professionals who are working remotely.

Extron online training has always been free and AV professionals now have a unique opportunity to earn their AV Associate or Extron Control Specialist certification without charge. Online Extron training and certification programs are available via any platform.

The courses cover a range of AV technology topics and all of them provide additional opportunities to earn required industry certification Renewal Units. Extron recently added live, instructor-led Extron Institute classes designed to help participants master 4K AV technologies in a week-long series of two-hour sessions. The student-instructor ratio is kept low to enhance the student experience.

DPA Microphones Offers Online Training

DPA Microphones is providing a variety of online resources and virtual entertainment in the wake of the current COVID-19 situation.

As part of its efforts, DPA is hosting a variety of digital content including:

  • Online training webinars focused on products, segments, techniques and more.
  • Interviews with industry professionals, such as Whit Norris, Brad Maddox and Eddie Caipo on multiple streaming platforms.
  • Live streamed performances by industry-leading musicians, including symphony and orchestra engineer Mary Mazurek.
  • Additional Mic University articles, including our most recent ones, focused on tips for stay-at-home content providers and a cleaning guide that provides ways to ensure proper mic hygiene.

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