Once again this year, at InfoComm 08 in Las Vegas, SVC’s editorial team fanned out to find some of the most important, leading-edge AV-related products debuting at the show, investigating if they might be deserving of our annual InfoComm Pick Hit awards. Read on at The Briefing Room

Offering a new level of versatility and performance to the education and corporate markets, Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Business Group will be exhibiting the CP-A100 LCD projector at InfoComm 08. This revolutionary new model features a very short throw distance, eliminating the problem of presenters obstructing the projected image by standing in front of the screen. Additionally, the CP-A100 offers networking capabilities, allowing multiple projectors to be controlled and monitored from a single location. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Over at the Rise Vision booth (N7341), fellow Contributing Editor Bennett Liles and I talked digital signage shop with VP Ryan Cahoy. The digital signage area in the North Hall is staggering—and more than a little confusing to some.

Cahoy says what it comes down to is achieving the content goal. That is, content is in an age where it is expected to be continually be updated. Cahoy says that often times users and integrators get hung up on the display systems, when really they should be focusing on content development and deployment. When you buy a computer, that system is already almost obsolete; the same is true of displays. Although users are always going to want display their content at the best quality possible, Cahoy says it’s a moot point if the content is stale. Which is why he points to Rise Vision’s Display Network web-based monitoring system. more…

Yesterday, I stopped over at Lencore’s booth (C4079). It never fails that I will get some good industry conversation from VP Jonathan Leonard and Marketing Director Jodi Jacobs. Sound masking is the general name of the company’s game, but it’s the way the company is sharing in the open-platform and integration conversations that’s really inspiring. When asked what Leonard was seeing at this year’s show compared to year’s past, he says, “Everything is getting smarter.” Indeed, it is. If you want to talk industry shop with people who are tapped in and passionate, head over to Lencore—it will remind you just why this industry has so much to offer. more…