Recorded (and streamed live) on February 16, 2016

This month's topic is "rethinking spaces" so we decided to discuss projects that we've completed recently that we wish we'd approached differently. Marc hates microphones, Chris hates complexity, Justin hates how the AV services are marketed on campus, Jamie hates treating rooms as clones of one another, and Larry hates blanket approaches (and single monitors on lecterns).

We stream live on the 3rd Friday every month and you can listen to everything we record over at AVSuperFriends.com

Alternate show titles:

• Ninja stars
• If you're not going to do it right, don't do it at all
• Demanding higher quality
• That's not what I mean by kit
• We've stopped giving everybody everything
• They didn't need that thing to begin with

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Donate to AVSF: https://www.avsuperfriends.com/support

Recorded February 23, 2024

While planning the episode, we couldn't decide between a news story on VR or a news story on holograms, so we decided to cover them both. Hint: they're not real

Then we continue our discussion of how we each stratify and organize the different types of systems we commonly deploy on our campuses. It's just as messy as you'd think with us all declaring confidently we have rigid systems in place and nevermind all the exceptions.

News articles discussed:

• https://www.installation-international.com/case-studies/world-leading-vr-teaching-facility-opens-at-the-university-of-nottingham

• https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/teaching-learning/2024/02/23/holograms-begin-beaming-classrooms

Alternate show titles:

• They're just things in the wrong places

• It just rolls

• A content feed from an appliance

• Are we ready for positive town?

• HDMI Spigot

• Force them into a button panel

• Put that right into the projector

• You hear that sh*t, too

• Don't ask stupid questions

• Dinosaur chicken combination

• I do get a new screen; it is not 21:9

• That's the line in the sand

• Wheel of torture

• Cuttle Huddy

• That thing's freakin' huge!

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀

► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com

► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends

► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends

► Email: [email protected]

► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links:

► Chris Dechter: @cdechter

► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie

► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat

► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity

► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1

► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Donate to AVSF: https://www.avsuperfriends.com/support

Recorded February 9, 2024

Did y'all know ISE was just last week? That means we're obligated to talk about it at least one more time for the news, so we have an article that identifies three trends from ISE that we'll see again at InfoComm. Two of them are nothingburgers, but the third… so close, but yet so far.

Then we dive deep into how we structure our AV systems and room types. Do they all fit neatly into three or four categories (hint: nope!) or are we all over the road? Marc confidently declares he has only three types of systems (but then immediately identifies exceptions), Larry also notes the level of support in the nomenclature, Jamie uses human-readable names, Chris boxed himself in too early and is suffering the consequences, and Justin does his own thing because Kentucky! This is just the first segment in a series, so yell at your car stereo along with us!

And finally, some/most/all of us will be at the NWMET Conference in Oregon in March, so we hope you'll consider joining us there!

News article: https://www.avnetwork.com/news/ise-2024-3-trends-that-will-extend-to-infocomm-2024

NWMET Conference: https://www.nwmet.org

Alternate show titles:

• Hot Desking
• You give me everything or I don't want any of it
• Have it all or don't do it at all
• If it's not some common shit I don't want to look at it
• If it's Sharepoint, it's worse
• This is the new language
• Finger Lickin' Good
• We're that dumb
• If you call, we instal
• Kentucky Control System
• All that sh*t you use all the time
• Catch-all custom bucket
• Package Town

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Recorded January 19, 2024

Our topic for February is "things just won't go away" or "things that keep coming back year after year" like Groundhog Day. We've each selected items that we all hope might see their shadow and disappear for a while. BYOD, VR, terrible marketing, wireless sharing, and more. We're also testing some format changes to On Topic to keep the show shorter and LIVE on various platforms, so look for those unannounced live streams on the socials.

Alternate titles:

• I was thinking about this hard
• I still can't stop
• Bad marketing
• This is why people strap goggles to their head to visit the zoo
• It kinda fluctuates in and out
• This is why people think holograms exist
• Bring Your Own Goggles

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Recorded Feb 02, 2024

LIVE from ISE!

Well, not really, but given some of the other coverage from Barcelona, it's still more timely and more in depth from 5,000 miles away. This is our take on the news from ISE this week. In true AVSF style, this discussion is spicy, yet reasonable, as we review the new products, the coverage, the people, and the show itself.

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Recorded January 12, 2024

Remember when refrigerators would just sit there in the kitchen and keep food cold and we really, really wanted them to tell us what to cook? No? Well, too bad! We cover a story from CES about an AI-powered, excuse me, "AI" powered fridge that wants to scan your tomatoes!

Then, we delve into the concept of basing every AV system on the same equipment and same cabling... unless you're running Dante microphone arrays as analog sources. Price be damned, we're AVoIP everywhere, even when we don't need it because it's the future!

Finally, Oregon State University is hosting the NWMET conference in March and almost all of the AV SuperFriends will be there. Well, at least two of us will be there and the others will find last minute excuses like "I never requested the travel approval" or "I'm afraid of my boss and won't ask" so come join some of us for a great conference of fellow higher ed AV, IT, and learning design nerds!

News article discussed:

• France 24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhOIDbc3os4
• The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/27/24016939/samsung-2024-ai-family-hub-smart-fridge-features

NWMET: https://www.nwmet.org

Alternate show titles:

• That was very zigzaggy to me
• Mechanical sympathy
• Rethinking what signal flow means
• Physical Ins and Physical Outs
• It can do all kinds of weird sh*t
• Cloud-driven experiences
• I've done a lot of weird sh*t lately

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Recorded January 5, 2024

It's a new year and we're starting 2024 by looking backward! We return to a previous topic: working with integrators. On Off the Rails 78, we debated Marc's question about how to ensure we get delivered what we wanted from AV integrators… and that conversation prompted quite the debate on Twitter, led by friend of the show, Joe Way. So, we invited Joe on the show to talk in more than 140 characters. Did we solve it this time?

We also review an article from the Harvard Business review about working from home and we each select our favorite (or least favorite) products of 2023.

Article discussed: https://hbr.org/2023/12/research-the-growing-inequality-of-who-gets-to-work-from-home

Joe's Tweet response to OTR 78: https://twitter.com/JosiahWay/status/1734813050602156410

These are a few of our favorite things we used in 2023:

• Marc: Sennheiser TeamConnectCeiling 2 (but only in analog mode)
• Chris: Promethean ActivePanel LX
• Justin: Elgato Streamdeck
• Larry: Shure MXA310
• Jamie: Mystery Electronics FC8X
• Joe: Bose S1 Pro
• Joe's second pick: Symetrix xIO XLR

Alternate show titles:

• Waiting for you to ask for some petty thing
• How can I do this without everyone here at home?
• If you're at home, you're just jacking around
• Now that you have more than 140 characters
• Maybe I had too many edibles
• The logic is sound
• Here's my point to all this sh*t
• 80% of the time I sound like an idiot redneck
• The rubber is going to meet the road at some point
• Unicorn world

▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► Email: [email protected] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss

Individual Twitter links: ► Chris Dechter: @cdechter ► Jamie Rinehart: @avsfjamie ► Marc Cholewycynzski: @avdiplomat ► Rachel Bradshaw: @tempurity ► Larry Darling: @lsdarling1 ► Justin Rexing: @justinrexing

Recorded December 20, 2023

(Part 2 of 2)

It's our third annual prediction show! And I predict we'll do it again next year.

We first review our predictions from last year to see just how well we did. Some of us were dead on, others were hit & miss, and yet others seem to be deliberately vague just to claim accuracy regardless of outcome.

Then, we each prognosticate on what to expect in 2024. Much of it seems to be around AI and Teams. Sorry.

This discussion lasted almost an hour, so we split it into two episodes.

Alternate show titles:

• Don't touch my pixels

• Don't go anywhere near that V

• I've been exposed to more VR

• They're strapping it to every product

• Show us on the doll

• Blown all over your campus

• Justin Time

• All unicorns and rainbows

• We gotta keep up with our sh*t

Recorded December 20, 2023

(Part 1 of 2)

It's our third annual prediction show! And I predict we'll do it again next year.

We first review our predictions from last year to see just how well we did. Some of us were dead on, others were hit & miss, and yet others seem to be deliberately vague just to claim accuracy regardless of outcome.

Then, we each prognosticate on what to expect in 2024. Much of it seems to be around AI and Teams. Sorry.

This discussion lasted almost an hour, so we split it into two episodes.

Alternate show titles:

• Don't touch my pixels

• Don't go anywhere near that V

• I've been exposed to more VR

• They're strapping it to every product

• Show us on the doll

• Blown all over your campus

• Justin Time

• All unicorns and rainbows

• We gotta keep up with our sh*t

Recorded December 8, 2023

Today's news is a summary of the Geometry of Learning research project from friend of the show, Dr. Jon Dorbolo, about teaching in round classrooms. Done well, these are fantastic learning spaces with untold opportunity. Done poorly, they are technology-driven failures. Those two outcomes are not mutually exclusive.

Then, we attempted to discuss how to document projects so that external contracted integrators deliver what we need, regardless of who is providing the design and programming. We really didn't get anywhere and the conversation devolved into an almost-argument with one side simply repeating that they have it all figured out and the other swearing in frustration. It was… weird. We'll have to return to this project, but if you have suggestions for ironclad language to ensure what is delivered meets project specifications, we'd love to hear it.

Finally, we all summarize 2023 with an item that surprised us. For some, it was poorly conceptualized room systems, for others it was a return to building wide (or campus wide) AV systems, and at least one of us was pleasantly surprised by our own internal team's skillset.

Article discussed: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/12/collaboration-for-teaching-and-learning-in-the-round

Attend NWMET in March 2024: https://www.nwmet.org

Alternate show titles:

• Does it work, does it help?

• Does it do what you want it to do?

• Well-choreographed

• Success 10 years ago is not success now

• What's easy for them to do is not what's correct to do

• Soup to nuts

• Knowledge labor and manual labor

• Limited amount of knowledge workers

• Island unicorns

• It's just another layer on top of this BS

• Repeat, rinse until you get what you want

• It doesn't matter if it's useful stuff, but it's "stuff"

• You have to think about the culture here

• Flex our manpower