Laser TV

The evolution of television goes a long way, from the old school knob laden black and white CRT based TV, to color TV, (remote control was introduced somewhere here), to LCD flat screen, to Plasma screen and finally, the now emerging LED TV. What’s next? You know what they say, when you hit the peak, there’s no way to go but up and Mitsubishi might just be the next “up” of the “tube”. Mitsubishi just marked the laser era with their new LaserVue Laser TV. It uses the world’s purest light source to deliver the greatest picture in the planet. The laser beam brings unmatched range of rich and complex colors, unparalleled clarity, and realistic depth field. It can deliver up to two times the color of today’s leading HDTV with just around one-third or one-fourth of power consumption. The LaserVue TV produces great images in Full 1920 × 1080 HD resolution.

Robocoaster

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World includes a robocoaster and projected images in combination with real movie props. Once you have flown out of the observatory, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley emerge, flying on brooms ahead of you. They are dressed in their Quidditch outfits and want you to follow them to the match. However, upon approaching a large Hogwarts Castle bridge, you briefly slow your flight as you spot Hagrid standing there, holding a large broken shackle at the end of a chain. He wonders if you’ve seen a dragon around. Well, sure enough, a huge dragon appears moments later and begins to chase you, Harry, and Ron, spitting fire while twisting and turning around you. Ultimately you take a turn toward what appears to be the Forbidden Forest.

How it’s done: This entire sequence is a video projection onto a dome surrounding you on all sides. Since the projection stretches all around you, you and the other three passengers with you in your vehicle are essentially immersed in your own private flight around Hogwarts. It’s a very unique twist on the motion simulator technology that makes The Simpsons Ride and Soarin’ possible. Unlike those attractions during which you’re likely to catch a glimpse of other riders and their vehicles, there is no chance of this happening on Forbidden Journey.

Remote for Soccer (Football) Fans

Armchair soccer fans everywhere will love this Soccer Remote.

Pre-programmed to control all brands of TV, VCRs as well as Satellite and DVD systems, it’s padded and durable enough to take being thrown at the TV when your team’s not doing well.

With an effective range of over seven meters, it’s ideal for even the biggest of living room sports events and you can even throw and catch it, in the unlikely event that you’re willing to give up control!

So, next time there’s a big game on, break out this remote and really get into the spirit of things.

How do you Media Stream with Windows 7

1. Set up your home PC so you can access your media libraries while away from home
2. Allow other Windows 7 PCs and devices to push media to your Player and control it
3. Quickly authorize all home PCs and devices to access your media collection

HomeGroup introduces the concept of “shared libraries” for music, pictures, and video. These shared libraries are accessible from within the navigation pane of Windows Explorer and Windows Media Player, and from the “shared” view of each media category within Windows Media Center. The scope of these libraries is the same from each of these views

Windows Explorer will automatically discover and provide access to shared media libraries on other HomeGroup PCs. In addition, Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center will automatically discover shared libraries from:

1. Windows Media Player 11 and 12
2. Windows Home Server
3. All DLNA compliant media servers (e.g. network attached storage

In addition to all HomeGroup PCs being able to access your media, we made it easy to allow devices to access shared media libraries on Windows 7 PCs. This can be done conveniently from either HomeGroup settings or within Windows Media Player:

LifeSize Video Conferencing

I was sitting in on a conference call with Tim Alguire, Senior Account Manager at Conti Electronics, he was explaining the benefits of LifeSize Video Conferencing. There are quite a few differentiators other than the best price and product. Not only can LifeSize perform HD specs at less than a Meg but also has multipoint x8 capabilities. Why stop there, add streaming and you have the complete package.

The LifeSize phone can cover a 60 person boardroom no problem. LifeSize also offer Multipoint x12 and x24.

Ask for a LifeSize demo.

Three Years of Battery Life!

Wireless keyboards and mouse combos are really great additions to your computer. No wires getting tangled up and spilling your coffee all over your desk and no restrictions as to where you place your keyboard and mouse. However, there is one major drawback to having a wireless system – batteries. They are rather costly, and from previous experiences don’t last very long in keyboards and mice. Logitech have however launched a new wireless keyboard and mouse said to offer up to three years of battery life.

To achieve three years of battery life, Logitech’s 2.4 GHz wireless technology transmits information much faster and more efficiently than typical 27 MHz wireless systems. Furthermore, by reducing the amount of time the keyboard and mouse remain in active mode when left idle, the Wireless Desktop MK710 conserves power and minimises lag when you resume typing or mousing. (Battery life of Logitech keyboards is based on a calculation of an estimated two million keystrokes per year in an office environment; battery life for Logitech mice may vary based on user and computing conditions.)

R2D2 Video Projector

This R2D2 replica (1/2 scale) is fully remote control; you can move him in any direction, rotate his head and even tilt him backwards, has all the usual realistic sounds and lights but is also a video projector that can show your video etc. onto any wall (or ceiling) with max screen size of up to 80 inches. With 20W of integrated stereo speakers, the sound ain't too bad either.

The R2 unit is more than just a video projector, it is a full blown multimedia player. It has an integrated DVD and player and ports to connect external devices such as memory cards, USB flash drives and even an integrated iPod dock in a hidden compartment on the front of Artoo’s body.

Fully motorized and with built in sensors to stop it going over the edge of stairs and to prevent it's legs getting tangled, the Artoo unit is control by a remote unit modelled on the Millennium Falcon, that also controls all the video and audio functions and iPod to boot. Check out the demo at http://www.nikkor2d2.com/

Controller Free Control

If you're used to using the Wii, take it one step further with the new
Xbox 360 console, a deal with ESPN were among the announcements Microsoft’s Xbox team made to kick off its presence at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles.

In what they called the “biggest year ever” for Xbox, Microsoft’s Xbox team also shared details about – and in some cases demonstrated – anticipated new installments of Halo, Call of Duty, and Fable. The company also announced Kingdoms, a brand new gaming franchise for Xbox 360. Voice control is also part of this package.

This takes us one step closer to a keyboard less and mouse less society.

Skinput Touch Interface

Skinput is a new futuristic interface currently being developed by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University. The system is the combination of two technologies, the ability to detect ultralow-frequency sound, and a microchip-sized projector.

This amazing interface can recognise which parts of the body has been tapped using the sounds that is created by the sin, bone and skeleton. The Skinput technology uses a band which is strapped on to the arm. The armband contains piezoelectric cantilevers, or sensors that measure pressure, acceleration and force.

True LED Projector

NEC has shown off the “world’s brightest” LED projector, which pumps out an eye-burning 2,000 lumens from its hefty body. It manages this by simply adding more red, green and blue LEDs to increase light output.

But even this doesn’t outshine the other kinds of projectors we normally buy. LCD and DLP projectors can get brighter, and NEC plans to match the 3,000 to 4,000 lumens commonly found on home machines. This actual device will never make its way outside of the lab, or at least outside trade-shows like InfoComm 2010 in Vegas where it is being shown off, but we suspect the tech will trickle down into other products eventually.

More impressive than the brightness thrown out is the wide color gamut displayed. According to NEC, it can display 98% of the colors in the Adobe RGB color-space, compared to the more usual 60%. This should make a big difference.

We hope NEC uses this tech in a consumer product. LEDs don’t burn out, break down or get hot. They just sip power, shine light and sit there quietly. That’s exactly the kind of projector I want.

Facial Recognition Advertising

In advertising these days, the brass ring goes to those who can measure everything — how many people see a particular advertisement, when they see it, who they are. All of that is easy on the Internet, and getting easier in television and print.

The ad is equipped with a camera that gathers details on passers-by.
Billboards are a different story. For the most part, they are still a relic of old-world media, and the best guesses about viewership numbers come from foot traffic counts or highway reports, neither of which guarantees that the people passing by were really looking at the billboard, or that they were the ones sought out.

Now, some entrepreneurs have introduced technology to solve that problem. They are equipping billboards with tiny cameras that gather details about passers-by — their gender, approximate age and how long they looked at the billboard. These details are transmitted to a central database.

Behind the technology are small start-ups that say they are not storing actual images of the passers-by, so privacy should not be a concern. The cameras, they say, use software to determine that a person is standing in front of a billboard, then analyze facial features (like cheekbone height and the distance between the nose and the chin) to judge the person’s gender and age. So far the companies are not using race as a parameter, but they say that they can and will soon.

Free Digital Signage Software as a Revenue Maker

VUKUNET. THE UNIVERSAL AD PLATFORM THAT CONNECTS DIGITAL OUT-OF-HOME NETWORKS WITH ADVERTISING REVENUE
You have the display screens and the audience. VUKUNET will connect your screens with advertisers to earn you money through advertising. The system is totally automated and can run with your existing content management system.

Ultra Short Throw Projection

The SMART Board 685ix interactive whiteboard system has an ultra-short-throw projector, the SMART UX60, which virtually eliminates shadows, glare and distracting projector light. The projector is positioned directly above the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, projecting crisp, bright images from only 12" (30.5 cm) away. And because the system's interactive whiteboard is widescreen, it has 20% more working space than a standard interactive whiteboard.

The 685ix comes with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software, which connects you to dynamic content, tools and support that will help you create, deliver and manage compelling lessons. And like all SMART Board interactive whiteboards, this system enables you to write in digital ink, control applications and save your work.

Wireless Power

I have a couple of devices at home with this technology like my electric tooth brush.

Wireless energy transfer or wireless power transmission is the process that takes place in any system where electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an electrical load without interconnecting wires. Wireless transmission is useful in cases where instantaneous or continuous energy transfer is needed but interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or impossible.

Wireless energy transfer is different from wireless transmission of information, such as radio, where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or the percentage of power received becomes critical only if it is too low to recover the signal successfully. With wireless energy transfer, efficiency is the more important parameter.

Yes, we still require batteries but at least we don't have to find the right power supply and attach the cables any more.

LED Displays

LED large-scale displays have been the preferred choice when quality and reliability are mission critical. For both indoor and outdoor uses a variety of screen sizes and resolutions can match any requirement. LED Video displays have been star performers at major events worldwide. Sports stadiums, race tracks, arenas, coliseums and concert halls have come to depend on LED's for the highest resolution, the brightest, most colorful and clearest imaging available today.

LED is the only way to go outdoors. Images must be bright and durable enough to compete with the sun and weather.

What Ever Happened to OLED TV's

The Sony XEL-1 OLED TV is a beautiful display. Its contrast ratio makes pictures pop, it's thinner than a credit card, but with an 11-inch screen, it's too small, and at $2,500, too expensive.

But it's been a year since it was introduced in January 2008, and as of today, it still has no competitors. Where are they?

Though we've been long promised that the era of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs is just around the corner, it appears we're going to have to wait even longer. The major players in electronics who have the resources to build OLED TVs have been whacked by the global financial meltdown along with the rest of us. In other words, the timing to jump-start a brand new TV technology is terrible.

There was some hope that Samsung and Sony would be able to release larger OLED TVs this year. But if they were, they'd have brought them to CES in January in order to stir up excitement for them. That didn't happen. Instead, Sony brought the same 11-inch XEL-1 product that's been available for a year, as well as a 21-inch prototype. Samsung brought out a 40-inch prototype.

It's not that OLED is completely impossible to produce. There are a variety of gadgets sporting OLED screens made by these companies, but they're really small: cell phones, GPS devices, and now portable media players.

360° Panoramic Video Conferencing

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy this product, but make sure you know the facts before you do so. Setting up a vidcon unit in the centre of a boardroom table is definitely thinking outside the box but it probably won't give you the meeting interaction everyone is looking for when it comes to videoconferencing. This is when the engineering part of a project kicks in. Designing a room system doesn't consist of buying a consumer product at a store and plugging it in, there are quite a few other factors to consider. The object of videoconferencing is to make it feel like you are having a face-to-face conversation with someone who isn't in the room. placement of the display, camera, microphone and speakers is imperative. The better the placement the more immersive your meeting will become.

360° panoramic view of the conference room when used with Microsoft Live Meeting 2007 is not going to do this for you.

iPhone 4

iPhone 4 makes calling with video on a cell phone a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun.

iPhone 4 has two built-in cameras, one on the front above the display and one on the back next to the LED flash. The front camera has been tuned for FaceTime. It has just the right field of view and focal length to focus on your face at arm’s length. So it always presents you in the best possible light.

The Retina display on iPhone 4 is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels. Which makes text amazingly crisp and images stunningly sharp.

Shoot your own movies in high definition. Capture impressive video even in low-light settings, thanks to the advanced backside illumination sensor and built-in LED light.

Crestron has an ap to control audio visual, HVAC, security and lighting.

Software

I have used all types of software to run an AV business. Some software can run every application to manage a project from start to finish. Others are piece-meal. Be very careful when looking at software packages. Quite typically software is oversold by the rep and doesn't follow-though with all the promises made. I have seen many software packages customized to meet AV integration requirements. Changes, revisions and add-ons' cost a lot of money. Even software that claims it can do everything often requires custom programming. I have seen companies spend anywhere from $100,000.00 - $500,000.00 for software and even after spending that much money more often than not systems and processes related to the software are very clunky. At this point in time you would think that we would have figured everything out. It possibly could be because AV is such a niche industry that you can't quite fit a "square" software peg into a "round" requirement.

Streaming

The Polycom RSS 4000 recording and streaming server is a network-based video conferencing solution that gives companies the ability to record conference calls, produce archive files of the recordings, and simultaneously stream the conferences to thousands of employees worldwide. It uses the video conferencing network as the source for employee-produced videos, such as training modules or CEO broadcasts, thereby leveraging the investment in a video conferencing network.

The Polycom Video Media Center (VMC) 1000 solution is a complete, scaleable video-on-demand content management system and live broadcast/streaming solution. Linking the worlds of video conferencing and Web streaming, Polycom VMC plays a critical role in any comprehensive video strategy. Video content is packaged with presentations and other media in a secure and easy to navigate user interfaces. Customized Broadcasts are easily set up with question submissions and polling for live Webcasts and quickly turned into Video on Demand content

8 Channel Wireless Microphones

I have specified the Revolabs 8 channel wireless mic systems for quite a few boardrooms and video conferencing systems. I like the idea that each microphone has a great pick-up pattern and is rechargeable. Revolabs has thought outside the box with this one, the design for table top or lapel application does very well. Each mic has its own output, this works very well for audio dsp matrixing which is standard for most high-end applications.

Document Cameras

Remember the old days when teachers put a piece of paper on an overhead and projected it on a wall or screen? This is still done with document cameras.

Document cameras can connect directly to a projector or laptop and project on a screen. Advantages with the new system is that images can be stored, manipulated and/or emailed.

There are also fixed ceiling document cameras. They flush mount into a ceiling and take a snap shot usually to a table. This is handy for large drawings and schematics.