AV SuperFriends

Recorded June 15, 2023

We're back LIVE from the InfoComm show floor before the show floor is open with our thoughts on Day 1, trends we're seeing, products of interest, and noting that simply everything is on the network these days.

Alternate show titles:

• Everybody's big to Jamie
• It's about switch protection
• Cool, but unnecessary
• Using AI as a brand to sell it

Recorded June 14, 2023

We're celebrating our 100th full episode! When we started our podcast adventure, it was simply a way to continue sharing ideas during COVID and we're all heartened to hear just how many people really enjoy our nonsense.

For this very special episode, we were prepared to share our thoughts about Day 1 of InfoComm, but instead we invited a cadre of friends, listeners, supporters, and general well-wishers (and whoever was brave enough to wander over and pick up the mic) to join us for a few minutes and give their opinions.

Special thanks to Frank Kolavo and his team at Computer Comforts for letting us park at their booth! Visit them at: https://www.computercomforts.com

Featuring the voices of:

• Joe Way

• Tim Van Woeart

• Ken Williams

• Jim Wellings

• Ryan Gray

• Jimmie Singleton

• Frank Alaimo

• Ann Kelly

• BC Hatchett

• Natalie Gillespie

• Johanna Pierson

• Chris Hewitt

• Erin Maher-Moran

Alternate show titles:

• Tim was double dutching over here

• People are seeing the value in free

• That's a BS marketing term

• The way most people use it is nonsense

• "but not in every room"

• No, there's no cookies

• And the funfetti variety

• I think we're going to need a bigger booth

• All problems become nails

• Hot desking

• And you used the word compute correctly

Recorded June 14, 2023

For the first time ever, all six AV SuperFriends are in the same room… like close enough to touch each other… and touch each other we did! We recorded on the show floor before the show floor opened and shared our thoughts on InfoComm 2023, our plans for the day, where you can find us, hosted sessions, network challenges, and the possibility of gaining knowledge by… eating brains?

Alternate show titles:

• Hit the floor as hard as I can
• This is a product
• I want to see something out of this world
• Official Acquisitions Row
• Fake People

Recorded June 13, 2023

It's our first ever live recording with five of the six AV SuperFriends in the same room, so prepare for a show with an even more rambunctious atmosphere. We cover Apple's announcements of their new Goggles On Please Pro headset, Apple's overlooked announcement of FaceTime (and by extensions Zoom and Teams) coming to the Apple TV and thus to a conference room near you (we don't like it either, but it's going to happen), the AV SuperFriends thoughts on the first Higher Ed AV Awards, and our last set of predictions for InfoComm 2023. We'll be cranking these out every day this week, so get ready!

Apple Vision Pro:

• https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/
• https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/06/apple-vision-pro-screen-concession-gadget/674375/
• https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-vision-pro-virtual-keyboard-is-visually-stunning-heres-how-it-looks
• https://www.creativebloq.com/news/vision-pro-memes

Apple TV FaceTime support:

• https://www.zdnet.com/article/you-can-now-facetime-from-your-apple-tv/

HEAV Awards:

• https://higheredav.com/higher-ed-av-awards/

Alternate show titles:

• Openly groping each other
• Apple Room
• The Best Adjunct
• If kids were willing to come play with me
• Googled the Igloo thing
• They can change it with money
• The widest aspect display possible
• There's no reason to have AI in this
• You shop for AV where you get your bananas

Recorded May 19, 2023

It's June and, for the pro AV world, that means InfoComm… and that also happens to be the topic of this month's episode. Our download numbers show that you're likely listening to this before you travel to Orlando, so this episode is all about what we're doing there all week long. Justin is teaching a 3-day course, Chris is leading a HETMA workshop, Larry is presenting a case study, and we're recording and publishing every day, so look for a glut of content. If you're listening to this episode after InfoComm 2023, you can score us on our predictions and plans. See you in Orlando, y'all!

Recorded June 2, 2023

It's a veritable smorgasbord, a cornucopia, a plethora of topics! In our last show before InfoComm, we cover such diverse elements as fear, surprise, a ruthless efficien… wait.

We discuss the announcement of a 16K (consumer) display that isn't 16K or for consumers. It's weird, but most importantly, it's not in 21:9 but instead in 16:9 (AKA the correct aspect ratio).

Then, we delve into the challenges (and opportunities) with hiring qualified staff at our schools. Pay is too low to directly compete with the commercial AV industry, but work-life balance and the (generally) excellent benefits can offset that, partially. Marc talks about success hiring student workers as full timers, Chris warns about looking only at salary, Larry questions just how much the work-life balance is worth, Jamie came from an industry that somehow paid less than education, and Justin is working 14 jobs to afford his yacht.

We wrap with coverage of scholarship opportunities by AVIXA, so for those of you with student workers, be sure they apply!

Articles discussed:

• https://www.avinteractive.com/news/displays/world-first-110-16k-consumer-tv-unveiled-at-display-week-31-05-2023

• https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/5/pivoting-to-higher-ed-4-ways-to-successfully-recruit-tech-job-applicants

• https://go.avixa.org/webmail/888683/700837296/90dd14f350fbe5467659035de80fe48665ee767781cff5863c2db82a62f754ce

Alternate Show Titles:

• Home digital signage

• Why did you make this product?

• I was very disappointed by the article

• Long Paws

• Even moving to higher ed was a raise

• San Fran-freakin-cisco

• The "me" in central Iowa

• Expose yourself to the industry

• Kickback or pushback

Recorded May 12, 2023

Well, it finally happened; a big school is going all in on VR in a big, general ed program. Goggles on, please. Arizona State is replacing their introductory biology lab classes with VR. Chris is not amused.

Then, we review recent technologies to determine if they are just marketing or if these are real, long-term solutions. Marc doesn't like term "broadcast" anywhere near your PTZ cameras and Zoom events, Chris says USB-C is just marketing and a real thing, Justin reviews recent "automatic" setup utilities for DSPs and network switches, Jamie really has it in for MTRs, and Larry notes where Hyflex falls short.

Finally, the AV SuperFriends are taking over #AVintheAM on Twitter. Look for that on May 21, 2023, so if you're listening to this after that date, that's why Twitter shut down forever on May 22.

News: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/digital-teaching-learning/2023/05/10/arizona-states-big-bet-virtual-reality

Alternate Show Titles:

• River City Ransom

• Excel sheets in VR

• Chemy 101

• Walmart-ify It

• It's trash, too

• I'm using air quotes you can't see

• Most of the time it works

• It's just a hose

• It doesn't care what you try to put through it

• The value of the easy button

• Difficult Mode

• You plug it in and it doesn't work

• Just drop it on your network and see what happens

• Giant displays of heads

• You can do it!

• Zeams Rooms

• Move it around your WAN

• Happy little trees

AV SuperFriends #AVintheAM - May 21, 2023

Recorded May 5, 2023

We start with a news story about making digital content accessible and that leads to a larger discussion of accessibility in AV. Look for that on a future show.

Then we talk "selling" our campus clients on AV in order to deliver the experience they think they want; especially in conference rooms. Marc leverages the client's business case to convince them how to spend, Justin hates the word "sales," and the rest of us are simply trying to drive prices downward on standard spaces. Except Chris, who is the only one of the AVSF who actually budgets projects correctly including required specialized infrastructure, labor, and contingency pricing. It's an apples-to-oranges discussion, but Chris is correct and everyone else is wrong (because I write these descriptions).

Finally, we stay on conference rooms and share our thoughts on BYOM and why it's not a thing. Yes, we get it, you can make it happen with all-in-wonder packages, commodity AV hardware, and wireless doodads, not to mention larger switching infrastructure (unless you're doing it via IP which requires none of that), but that all pales to a simple installed PC.

News: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-05-03-digital-accessibility-is-a-bigger-education-issue-than-we-think-here-s-what-we-can-do-about-it

Alternate show titles:

• Still cashing those checks
• It's just "effort"
• The Easiest Way to Say No
• He Called you for everything he shouldn't have clicked on
• And you realize it was nothing that was in the ticket
• What you just said IS sales
• Half-giraffes
• They wanted to look good
• Athletics is an Arms Race
• I charge only in nickels and dimes
• I don't know what sales is to you all
• All the shiny furniture
• What's an adapter?
• There's a lot of letters between I and O
• You can bring your laptop and it will probably work

Recorded April 14, 2023

Is it over yet? While the topic for this month's show wasn't clear, it was assumed to be about the approaching end of the school year. Instead, we opted to discuss technologies that we're just sick and tired of discussing. And, if you know us, you know we just love VR and the metaverse. And while we don't wish anyone ill will, we do enjoy our schadenfreude.

News articles:

• https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-eliminates-its-metaverse-division-as-part-of-companys-layoffs-plan-94b03650

• https://futurism.com/the-byte/virtual-metaverse-real-estate-trouble

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-03-26/apple-reality-headset-details-pro-features-top-100-meeting-watch-like-start-lfpgdgdb

• https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/technology/apple-augmented-reality-dissent.html

Alternate show titles:

• Curved-D

• Mass Deployment Everywhere All the Time

• I didn't mean to be intentional

• Would you say I have a plethora?

• It's swinging and we're just jamming stuff in there

• Smarthat

• Strap the thing to your ass