One definition of a crown jewel is “a particularly valuable or prized possession or asset.” The E4 Experience is all of the above for me. My time at each E4 is extremely valuable, it’s a major asset to our industry and indeed a prize possession that has been around for years. And now that summer is over, we’re falling right back into the second half of the E4 Experience tour.
After three long years, the first stop on the Fall Tour was Washington D.C. It was the same good ole vibes, but lots of new faces alongside new technology and new partnerships. Gary Kayye kicked off the event with his keynote. I’ve now had the pleasure of attending it three times this year, and it hasn’t become old at all. He’s tweaked the presentation at each stop on the tour so far, but I enjoyed the introduction of meeting equity when speaking to successfully build hybrid working solutions.
His keynote always sets the tone for the day and this stop was no different. The topic of “The Future of Workspaces is All About Experiences” was an overarching theme of the event and lined up perfectly for my panel discussion later in the day.
Revisiting Hottest Topics in AV
During a panel discussion of the future of AV, I was joined by Rob Voorhees, business development manager at Exertis Almo; Mark Pescatore, content director at SCN; and Nyere Hollingsworth, lead, global corporate real estate technology, at Under Armour. We kicked it off with one of our industry’s hottest topics — supply chain. How do we navigate projects and partner relations during a time when things just aren’t available? How do we become more creative with software solutions? Will supply-chain pains still be felt in 2023? Overall, we all agreed that issues will not resolve overnight, and we will still be navigating and becoming more creative by utilizing the software options out there.
We also discussed working from home or not working from home, another great debate that has taken over the world, not just the AV industry. Long story short, the panel was split and so was our audience. By a show of hands, a good amount of the crowd was working from home, but the remainder was also involved in hybrid working solutions or fully back in the office. Seeing that we had a mixed crowd led the conversation into how do we create meeting equity for all these different working models. The result was experience design. Here, we can no longer focus on just designing technology within a space, we have to shift focus to a total experience design.
The Showroom Floor
Education is always at the forefront of E4 experiences. During this fall half of the tour, Chrissy Sara of Sony has been added to the lineup of speakers. What’s amazing is that this was the first E4 tour stop in 2022 where there were two women on the speakers’ list! Sara’s class was all about discovering remote learning production and associated technologies. Sara will be at the next E4 event in Boston so register for her class and grab a few extra RUs.
It would be remiss if I didn’t speak to the top technologies on the showroom floor. One of the E’s in E4 is Expo! With hundreds of products and about 45 vendor partners, there is always something special to explore. So here is a quick look at my top five products I saw throughout the day:
5) PCM – Project Crew Multiplier
While PCM didn’t have products on display, they offer services that help Exertis Almo partners succeed. From labor and installation to drafting and design services, the Exertis Almo team is continuing to forge a strategic partnership that helps everyone involved. If you aren’t paying attention to services in our industry, you should be! Especially hone in on what Exteris Almo is doing as they continue to stack its robust network of service providers. Pay attention to this #Avtweeps. Trust me.
4) Spectrio
There is never a shortage of signage companies showcasing at E4 experiences. But now we’re beginning to see more emphasis on content creation, and customer engagement companies are joining in. Spectrio is new to the E4 tour, but they offer a different perspective and an added service that allow Exertis Almo partners to leverage the power of the displays and the content. At InfoComm 2022, we saw content becoming more prominent, and I believe our industry is starting to realize the importance of content especially for our end clients. It is a software solution built to create better engagement and experiences.
3) Listen Technologies
Shortly after the keynote, Kayye hosted a tour of the show floor. Being a busy floor, they utilized the technology that was on display. A product called Listen TALK was employed so the packed tour of AVtweeps could hear with clarity all that Kayye was talking about. Listen Talk is a simple two-way communications system that wireless, secure (it has encryption for privacy) and easy to use as well as manage. I love when I can not only see new technology but also experience it in a real-life application for myself. It makes a world of difference.
Also Read: Exertis Almo E4 Experience D.C. Unveils Packed Showroom
2) Yamaha UC
I had been hearing about Yamaha UC’s ADECIA Wireless Solution, but this was the first time I was able to see all the components that make up the full solution in person having missed it at InfoComm. The ADECIA Wireless Solution is a family of products designed to be easily installed and work seamlessly together. The solution is customizable so you can pick the perfect fit for your specific room or use case. I gained a lot of knowledge about the ADECIA tabletop, wireless and ceiling options. ADECIA solutions also come with networking switches, so you have everything you need for a simple and smooth installation.
1) Absen
The first thing you saw when you walked onto the show floor was the Absenicon! It’s big, bright and slim! It’s an all in one solution that comes in 110, 138 and 165 inches. It has a hidden cable design for all the cable management geeks out there which makes for a super elegant look. The user interface seems as simple as your standard TV. I can see the Absenicon being used in multiple applications, but it’s been brought to market for conferencing as a product that delivers the ultimate meeting experience.
Join E4 at Boston
The E4 Experience is truly a Crown Jewel event in our industry! Check out my full recap from D.C in the video below where I talk to a few first-timers and hear from Melody Craigmyle about what to expect in Boston on October 20.
Go, register as each stop on the E4 tour gets better and better!
