Extron‘s people have been out in the real world and one of the things they’ve come up with is a handy widget that installs out of sight to automatically take up cable once it has been disconnected and safely stores it on a hidden reel. On a university campus with 90 classrooms, I replace at least a half-dozen VGA cables every week because of people disconnecting and then dropping them on hard floors, bending the flanges. The new Extron Retractor that Lee Dodson showed me solves that problem. It’s a unique, patent-pending retraction and management system that works with Extron’s Cable Cubby access enclosures. Clearly, Extron’s people aren’t just a bunch of guys in white coats wandering around in windowless labs.

The education market is a prime spot for infrared wireless microphones and Extron has responded with its new VoiceLift IR mic system. Marketed centrally for K-12 classroom use, the VoiceLift system has no problems with the DTV changeover, and there are no worries concerning unauthorized interception since IR is light-of-sight. The technology has matured with the VoiceLift system in that these no longer resemble the clunky old monsters of just a couple of years ago. They easily pick up, and the instructor has a new freedom of movement that was impossible with IR microphone systems before. With the DTV transition, there has been a definite shift in interest toward IR mic systems, and the buzz around this part of Extron’s booth is an indicator.

Day Two at InfoComm 09 and the emerging theme is becoming clear: telepresense. Depending upon whom you talk to, telepresence is either the logical extension of video conferencing or a completely unique proposition unto itself. What sets it apart is the sense of immersiveness that its purveyors—a growing chunk of companies huddled mainly in the 3000 series of alleyways in the convention center—achieve by use of HD, multichannel audio, and staging the rooms in which telepresence conversations take place in such a way as to give the impression that the participants are in the same room with each other. The main players include Glowpoint, Tandberg, Polycom, LifeSize Communications, Teliris, and Cisco, the IT giant that is promoting its own proprietary approach to the telepresence. more…

One of the stars of this year’s InfoComm has turned out to be the new TouchLink configurable touchpanels from Extron. The TLP 700MV mounts into a lecturn or wall and is a 7in. screen. All the models have configurable, backlit hardware buttons, five down each side, to use for source selection and navigation. One very thoughful feature of these is that they sense proxomity of the operator’s hand instead of having to be actually touched. Many tech-challenged operators using other brands of touchscreens have called for AV help after wondering why nothing is showing on the screen, even after they hit all the hardware buttons. With the new TLP touchscreens from Extron, that problem is gone. more…

Press release

Aviom, exclusive developer of the world’s most powerful audio transport protocol, A-Net, will be introducing its Pro64 Network Manager PC application at this year’s InfoComm (Booth 6117), June 17-19. While the Pro64 Series is uniquely designed with a simple, front-panel user interface that makes it possible to design sophisticated networks without PC-based programming, the company is introducing a software control application this year for those users who desire centralized control and status monitoring. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

Press release

With the new MZF filter module, the MKH 8000 microphone series can provide excellent sound and climate resistance, even in tough broadcasting and film applications. The MZF 8000 filter module effectively suppresses both handling and wind noise. The signal level can be lowered via a high-quality pad allowing it to be optimally adapted to the recording equipment. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

Press release

Universal Remote Control (URC), a pioneer in control technology, today introduced its first ZigBee products. The MX-880z is a wand-style ZigBee RF (radio frequency) and IR (infrared) hard-button remote control with a two-inch color LCD screen, while its companion piece, the MRZ-260, is a ZigBee RF-to-IR base station. To further reinforce its commitment to ZigBee technology, URC also announced today that it has joined the ZigBee Alliance, an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

At the Harris booth (2342) InfoComm faculty member Lyle Bunn will moderate a case study panel on Harris’ digital signage installation for the Orlando Magic. It will look similar to today’s panel on the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center installation (pictured). Harris has dedicated this InfoComm to emphasizing its work in digital signage installation and workflow design. The sessions cover the deployment process, business objectives, supplier selection, technology, content, and funding.

On the booth you’ll see the range of powerful broadcast- and IT-driven technologies and systems that Harris is bringing to bear on the emerging digital signage industry.

We all know what acoustic panels look like, right? Pretty.

On the other hand, this is Auralex‘s Sonic Print. What you can’t see in the picture is the way they feel—they are not screen prints where the ink sits on top of the acoustic fabric—these fabrics feel like fabric, touchable texture,rich and saturated colors. Managing Director Dave Paxton calls them “lifestyle panels.” That’s because interior decorators like them for home theaters, home gyms, even kitchens and dining rooms. As well of course in the range of commercial installations. more…

At a press conference late today, Powersoft, the Italian supplier of lightweight space- and energy-efficient power amplifiers for the pro audio market, announced the release of Audio Suite control software for its Powersoft Amps. Available now, the visual software provides PC-based control for parameters on the current range of amplifiers (all K series and remote Q, D, and QTU series amps) and represents the control protocol for other current and future products. It will be downloadable free from the Powersoft website (it’s not there yet as of Thursday morning).

Also at the press conference co-founder Carlo Lastrucci and John Lee, President of Powersoft USA pressed their success in the U.S., most recently at the New Orleans Jazz festival (some 120 amps).