With InAVate EMEA celebrating its 10th birthday this year, Tim Kridel canvasses opinion from distributors, integrators, manufacturers and consultants about what they thought would be the biggest changes in pro AV over the next 10 years?
In the Jan/Feb edition of InAVate magazine Tim Kridel looked ten years into the future with a cross-section of the AV industry. As an online exclusive you can also read some more detailed viewpoints from some of the people he interviewed for the article.
In this article he talks to audio manufacturer Biamp.
Graeme Harrison, executive vice president
• The move to generic hardware and saleable software for both audio and video processing;
• Common standard protocols for both the media and data layers of communication;
• AV systems will become a standard part of a converged network in smart buildings.
Steve Kawasaki, sales development director, Western North America
• Manufacturer offerings will move away from hardware and become more software based;
• Network transport of audio, video, and control will become both commonplace and standardised;
• Mobile device control of room AV systems, auto-calibrating levels, AEC, and EQ will be commonplace;
• Network-connected mics and amps will become increasingly less expensive and more widely available, and “generic” in the sense they can be used with anyone’s software;
• Mic designers will continue focusing on the cosmetic design in an effort to gain favour with architects and interior designers.
Michael Frank, sales development director, Eastern North America
• AV/IT technologies will be integrated contributors with effective Emergency Communication Systems within today’s intelligent environments;
• The current model by which today’s audio/visual integrators and consultants operate is changing and their adaptation to new design, sales, and integration strategies is inevitable (driven by technology savvy clients).
L. William Nattress III, director of channel strategy, Paging
• Ubiquitous wireless at our fingertips, whether at work or play;
• There will be rapid deployment of Named Data Networking; security will move off the hardware and into content/data;
• Expansion of classrooms without walls, think Universities without campuses;
• Individual preferred/selected communication formats: Both initiator and receiver able; to select preferred technology method during the same “call”.
Chris Fitzsimmons, Product Manager
• The sublimation of specialist AV knowledge to a consulting-only role. The work of installing what we think of as “AV products” today will be taken on by general IT contracting firms. The AV integration firm may choose to become an IT contractor or it could re-imagine itself as a consulting organisation;
• AV systems that learn user behaviour. A perfect example would be if Steve has a meeting on his calendar with Shell who is at a remote location. Steve walks into the meeting room, and the room “asks” Steve if he wants to call Shell’s Lync Enterprise Voice extension. Steve says yes. No conventional UI devices were involved, just the room mic and speakers.
Other Q&As in the series:
Mocom
Electrosonic
Cordless Consultants
Asimetrik
Polymedia
Hewshott International