AV SuperFriends: On Topic

Recorded November 17, 2021

It’s the 2nd Annual AV SuperFriends Holiday Show! Yes, we’re recording this in November, even before Thanksgiving, which just feels weird, but such are the necessities of podcast publishing schedules. In return, we’ve added some additional production to the show in the form of not-at-all annoying sound effects and background music!

For our Holiday Show, we couldn’t decide between a standard gift exchange and a White Elephant gift exchange, so we’re doing both… virtually of course. We came up with rules: the gift must be AV-related, must exist in real life, but can cost any amount. It’s a podcast, so play along, folks!

This episode is really for us to have fun, but even so, there’s some good-natured discussion of our various podcast-from-home arrangements, challenges with supply chains, and campus network improvements.

So, a video wall for little Justin, a gold-plated microphone for little Rachel, a sound-proof booth for little Jamie, a set of packing crates for little Chris, network transceivers for little Marc, and new LED panels for little Larry.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

On Topic Episode 14: We Got a Zoomy Zoom Going

This month we dive deep into the world of AVoIP. It’s a thing. The cost-delta versus point-to-point transmission is almost nil, the technologies and products are maturing, and it opens an entire new world of finger pointing and shirking responsibility!

We first discussed AVoIP last October on Off the Rails Episode 4, so please give that a listen for more on how we’re leveraging it at our institutions. Justin is still living in the wild, wild west of networking, Jamie is firing NDI down dark fiber, Marc is transporting all his production cameras over the campus LAN, Larry is building an AVoIP eSports arena, and Chris is swapping HDBaseT for IP in new general classroom designs because why not?

While we all have different approaches, one item we all agree on is to work closely with your networking team. Some of us got lucky and just happened to be part of the Network/Telecom/Infrastructure teams and others had to go make friends to ensure their VLANs and ports were configured correctly. If you’re not a first-name basis with your networking colleagues, you will be soon, so be proactive and get to know them before you start firing traffic across the network.

We also do a quick Lightning Round about our preferred managed network switches and we’re again all over the map. Cisco, Extreme, Luxul, Netgear, there’s room for everyone!

And even after all that, there’s more to come, so stay tuned for the inevitable AVoIP part 3!

AV SuperFriends On Topic
Episode 13: Moron Refresh Rate

Recorded September 17, 2021

Fire up your RGB LEDs, put on your headset, and get caffeinated! For this month’s episode of On Topic, the AV SuperFriends are joined by Josh Kell, CEO of Horizon AVL System Integration, to talk about eSports. Josh has been working with Larry on a new eSports arena at UNCG and he provides a fascinating look at developing an eSports program holistically and not just piling a bunch of computers into a room and calling it good.

Despite this being an AV-focused show, the technology itself isn’t the most important aspect of eSports and we talk about laying the groundwork for a successful, long-term, and competitive eSports program, tying into existing academic programs on your campus, dogged persistence to get buy-in from university leadership, and ensuring everyone understands that eSports is not just video games.

We also give a preview of the two workshops the AV SuperFriends are leading at InfoComm 2021. Join us on Tuesday, October 26 for the Higher Ed AV Project Life Cycle Crash Course, and the Higher Ed AV Design Challenge: Developing Flexible Institutional AV Standards.

Links for Josh:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kell-50a24735/
• Tweeters: https://twitter.com/AVLKell
• Company: https://horizonavl.com

AV SuperFriends: On Topic - Episode 12: Other Duties as Assigned

Recorded August 27, 2021

This month’s topic is “Time for Change,” which we interpreted as “how do we think of classroom AV systems in 2021 as opposed to the same systems in 2019?” The technology hasn’t really changed, but the tasks in those classrooms most certainly have changed, which means we now select the technology differently.

But before we get into all that, we cover some recent news from QSC—or at least leaked from QSC via Rave—about how they’re responding to on-going supply chain shortages. Rather than continuously delay orders, QSC is apparently telling their industry partners (but not necessarily their end-user customers) that some product lines simply will not be available for the foreseeable future. It’s an interesting tact to be sure, and Jamie and Rachel are especially appreciative of it. Rachel also highly recommends an article by a colleague on communicating with customers during a crisis (linked below).

Then we discuss what a classroom system should look like in 2021 or 2022. Sure, the general technologies are the same as we’ve been recommending for years, but now what was once considered an optional add-on is a critical component that is absolutely required for day-to-day teaching and learning. Additionally, “classrooms” clearly extend beyond the four walls of the physical room, so other technology items that were previously considered to be core components can be removed as they no longer easily tie into the new model of mixed hybrid and hyflex learning.

Articles discussed:
https://www.ravepubs.com/qsc-stop-fulfilling-orders/
https://castercomm.com/2021/08/27/three-pillars-that-should-define-your-crisis-comms/

Recorded July 7, 2021

It’s Back to School season, so get some new shoes, a nice shirt for the first day, a new Trapper Keeper and pencil bag, and let’s all take an awkward picture by the front door on the way out to catch the school bus. And, we have some survey results to discuss— and we love our surveys! — from Classroom Technology on the ways Online Learning (whatever that means) is changing post-pandemic. The students are driving change, so it’ll be interesting to return to this topic after a year and see how we did.

Next up, Marc knows what our top Help Desk ticket issues will be this fall and lets us all in on the secret. Are you prepared? It really focuses on the dichotomy of experience between teaching and learning at home and from a classroom. And it will inform AV design for years to come. Also, get rid of your codecs in classrooms.

Finally, do you have rooms you haven’t been in for over a year? Well, chase those spiders away, those rooms need to be 100% for the start of Fall classes! Jamie walks us through how UMKC does their room checks and the advantages of allocating resources to support that model.

Article discussed during the show:

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/06/22/how-the-pandemic-changed-higher-eds-priorities-for-online-learning.aspx

Recorded June 11, 2021

It’s summer! Spend the next three hours as the AV SuperFriends review all their summer projects, one by one. No, that’s boring and tedious. We’re all doing the same thing you’re doing at your school.

Instead, let’s talk about supply chain. We’re joined by Clay Stahlka, Senior PreSales Engineer at Starin to talk about the current situation regarding the AV and electronics supply chain. Clay shares his insider perspective and gives some great tips on planning projects early in order to get your gear on time.

Marc also shares an article about holograms (which don’t really exist). They’re the future! No, no they’re not, but not because we don’t all want a Star Trek Holodeck— Rachel reminds us that there’s simply no content for holograms (which still don’t exist).

Connect with Clay Stahlka on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/clay-stahlka-cts-d-06205941/
Articles from the episode:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-companies-want-to-make-holograms-part-of-routine-office-life-11623232800
https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/

Recorded May 14, 2021

The AV SuperFriends welcome Mandy Beckner, President and Chief Operating Officer at THE rAVe Agency to the show and peer into our Magic 8 Ball to determine what trade shows, conferences, and events are going to look like in the future. The 8 Ball says “Reply hazy, try again,” which isn’t terribly helpful.

Some events are already returning with various approaches to COVID-19 safety while others are seemingly going to wait out 2021 and hope for better luck in 2022. Regardless of the status of your favorite conference or tradeshow, online events— or some variation thereof— seem to be here to stay. In a world where information is king, how do you sell the shared conference experience over the actual information? Are manufacturers, sponsors, presenters, and attendees alike willing to admit that it’s not just about the information, but the larger experience?

News stories discussed:
ISE throws in the towel in Amsterdam and Munich
What Is the Future of the Edtech Conference?

Originally recorded April 16, 2021

Is AV part of IT? It’s a topic that keeps coming up in the larger higher ed AV circle and it’s the focus of our discussion this month. Did you know there are still schools out there who don’t consider their AV department to be under the auspices of IT? Some are located in the library, some are under the Provost, some are under facilities, some are part of the TV/video production team, and some are part of events. And, in our collective not-so-humble opinion, those schools need a new org chart. After all, AV and IT use many of the same technologies, the same standards, and certainly the same infrastructure, so why shouldn’t we all be one big happy family?

We also play a game of “You might not be using AVOIP if…”

On a recent episode, we peered 20 years into the future to imagine what universities and learning spaces might look like. The most fun aspect of that discussion was trying to the envision technologies that would be in use at the time. It was a balance between outlandish and very real technology of 2021, even if it currently exists only as a tech demo.

On this episode, the AV SuperFriends are all on the same page about what the next groundbreaking AV technology might be— and it’s not exciting to the end-users, but it is to the nerds in all of us. Hint: we’re looking for the “Dante of video.”

Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.

This month’s theme is supposed to be “the one year anniversary of COVID-19” but as that’s something we’ve all been living 24/7, it fell flat as a topic of discussion for the AV SuperFriends. Instead, we decided to look at long term impacts that COVID might have on higher ed AV and eLearning. We managed to push a monitor cart up to 88 mph and captured a recording of the AV SuperFriends: On Topic from March of 2041. Take that, space-time continuum!

Presenting six perspectives on what universities, higher ed AV, and elearning looks like 20 years from now, here are six tales featuring drone cameras, swarms of microphones, multi-content display walls, corporate sponsorships, and apprenticeships aplenty!