In the EAW demo room, I ran into Jeffrey Cox, who’s here with a brand new title and role as VP of the newly-minted Pro Audio Group, part of a larger LOUD announcement that will be detailed in a press conference at 4 p.m.

It will likely be one of the most dissected announcements of the show, not least because it brings EAW and Martin together under Cox, an arrangement that begs the obvious question (see Jeffrey’s quote on that below). more…

David Rodgers, Marketing Manager for Elite Screens, has seen the Pro AV channel adopt Elite’s highest end home theater products. “I’m getting a growing number of requests from the corporate executive level,â€? Rodgers explains, saying that integrators will come to him looking to outfit CEO office and boardrooms in lux style with premium grade screens. “They want it to be the kind of place where Robert de Niro would in a chair getting things done. It’s theater. They see their offices as part of the diplomatic experience of their company.â€? As a result, the Cinetension 2 and Home 2 series lines (released end of last year) are moving through the commercial channels as well as the home theater channels. (Might be time to come up with some new names to suit the corporate channel). more…

At NAB, Broadcast Pix introduced three key upgrades to their line—in some ways these upgrades are even more pertinent to the InfoComm market, which sees them for the first time this week.

First: The introduction of an intermediate 2ME control surface. So now you can configure the system with either a soft touch screen, a compact 1ME, or the more expansive 2ME. Russell Whittaker, VP of Sales says the key difference between the 1ME and 2ME is not so much processing features and ease of use. There is more room to spread out the channels and subroutines. Also of course the 2ME config allows presentation users to dedicate 1ME to projectors and the other to broadcast (whether satellite or web). more…

I’m looking for a quote at the Tannoy demo room in the North Hall. “Three days in, not enough sleep, too much to drink?� offers Marc Bertrand helpfully. “Nothing our customer base doesn’t already know.�

Still, there is news at Tannoy, big news actually: the launch of the VQ Series—a line of precise directional loudspeakers, built for large scale installations that need great quality–and high SPLs. Really high SPLs.

Since the press release calls them “revolutionaryâ€? I need to know why, specifically. more…

Talking with Ralph Bachofen, senior director of product management and marketing. He’s here in at least two roles—he spoke at a packed NXTcomm session on video quality for IPTV and he’s on the LG booth at InfoComm with Treveni’s digital signage software.

Specifically they’re showing the Treveni software riding atop the built in controller of the LG M4210N HD LCD—called the Ensignia Digital Signage Lobby system. This is a wireless virtually installation-free deployment; it also comes in a networked version, that plays into what Bachofen says is a desire for end-to-end, simple systems. “You power it up and it’s a sign,â€? Bachofen says. Treveni already has a deal to distribute the Ensignia Lobby signage system here in Vegas through Innovative. more…

Digital Signage is a crowded and sometimes confusing marketplace of hardware, software, systems and services. There are a lot of in points. Today at the Visix press conference it was clear what Visix potentially brings to the mix.

President Sean Matthews did a brief overview backed by screen shots of the software which immediately started to suggest it’s applications as a content management and delivery system. Here’s the most important thing I got my head around: Visix turns every screen into a sign. That’s because it’s browser based software that enables distribution of a range of content elements (Flash, photos, power point, etc.) to any device–not just the usual sigange LCDs, but to desktop computers, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. anything with a screen capabile of carrying the content and reading an RSS. more…

Echolab‘s switchers become more interesting all the time as elements of broadcast and presentation continue to merge and overlap. With a long history serving broadcast, Echolab has always charted its own course in serving the presentation market. One of the first companies to really understand the importance of IT and how it did–and did not–translate to video, the company has never been afraid to work a little ahead of the curve towards a time when the expertise and technology of the two markets would edge ever closer. more…

The buzz is black, but the news is green at Da-Lite. I refer to the commercials on CNN, etc. promotiong Da-Lite‘s 3D Virtual Black theater and big queues for said theater here on site. The green news is that all 13+ of Da-Lite’s fabrics were certified by Green Guard on Friday, too late to include in the press announcements (though the team made two sets of booth graphics–one with the 5-screen certification that was already in place, one to announce the full-line certification). more…

It seems busy everywhere in Central Hall this year; the Bosch booth was dense with people at midday, especially around the conferencing and PA systems.

News includes the worldwide debut of the entry-level Plena Public Address Easy Line. This plug-and-play system has some reassuring ease-of-use features including Cat 5 loop-through call stations and wall panels. It sits on existing 70 volt PA and fire alarm systems with override to prioritize phones or alarms in an emergency.

Also new is the DCN Wireless Discussion System. While Bosch is well-known for their industry-standard, 32 channel wired and IR voice interpretation and translation systems, this new system with channel selection allows up to 10 languages plus 4 discussion channels all carried over a single channel on the 2.4 Ghz band. more…