AV SuperFriends

Recorded July 8, 2022

Marc starts us off with an article about new, high resolution and AI-driven optical microphones that will never be a product, but will be in almost every audio product in five years... and probably in your phone, too. If this technology goes where we think it will, it'll be the next version of beam-tracking & beam-steering.

Then, with apologies to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, we apply the Five Stages of Grief to delayed AV projects (which in 2022 means every project). We discuss the client perspective as they experience denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. We also share some of the analogies we use to explain to clients why partially received AV systems can't be installed. Hamburgers and cars seem to be the most common. Also, Justin shares his terrible method of preparing hamburgers.

Finally, Larry has an idea about hand-me-down classrooms and we try to help determine if that's a good idea, bad idea, or just reality.

Article discussed:

• https://gizmodo.com/optical-mic-camera-record-multiple-instruments-separate-1849104793
• https://www.cs.cmu.edu/news/2022/optical-microphone

Recorded June 22, 2022

Have y'all heard of this VR thing? It's a thing! Or is it… We start with an article about highly customized content for highly specialized academic programs and how that just doesn't scale. And that leads a discussion covering everything from shared standards for metaverse content to nursing simulation systems to user generated content.

Then, scope creep. Have you done that thing you didn't know about and weren't technically responsible to do? Why does it always seem to fall to AV and IT to take on more than we're responsible for and clean up others' messes? Is it because we're the last ones in the door? Or, because everyone knows we'll get it done? Probably both.

EdScoop article: https://edscoop.com/virtual-reality-universities-class-design/

NYT article: https://rd.nytimes.com/projects/an-end-to-end-guide-to-photogrammetry-with-mobile-devices

Metaverse Standards: https://metaverse-standards.org/

Recorded June 24, 2022

It's a Christmas Miracle— all six AV SuperFriends are on the same episode together! We start with some AV news that created a minor crisis for some of us (for about 30 minutes), but as it's about one of our "favorite" products, we're enjoying the schadenfreude. Also, maybe if your network allows unauthenticated devices to connect directly, you deserve the lumps.

Then we're joined by Geoff Robinson from PTZOptics to discuss their recent release of MIDI camera controls. Does this mean you can use a drum kit as a control system? Sure! Can you tie presets to cues in your production software? Yepper! Jamie said it best in that we probably don't have an immediate use, but rather a myriad of future applications for this. Very cool!

Finally, we discuss the challenges of hiring qualified IT staff at universities. Chris and Larry are both hiring now, Jamie just went through the process a few months ago, Justin must keep the position listings as generic as possible to attract a wider applicant pool, Marc keeps getting asked to apply for internal positions to sandbag the search, and Rachel is amazed at just how regimented the hiring process is at universities. Anyone want a job? We're hiring!

PTZOptics MIDI Camera Control: https://ptzoptics.com/midi/

Articles discussed:

• https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/06/vulnerabilities-in-meeting-owl-videoconference-device-imperil-100k-users/
• https://edscoop.com/owl-labs-vulnerability-patch-cisa/

Recorded June 09, 2022

Chris, Larry, Rachel, and Justin were all together in Las Vegas for the largest single gathering of AV SuperFriends since 2019, so we fired up the microphones to share our general impressions of the first InfoComm since the last one!

We cover products of note, the best swag on the show floor, celebrity sightings, the utter lack of VR (yea!), the sad lack of esports (boo!), fidget spinners, Justin's drug smuggling backpack, purses vs clutches, the single best product of the show, the .87 miles from one side of the convention center to the other, computes are not a thing, AVlebrities, where to stay in Vegas, gauging distance by egg tossing, the best steaks in Vegas, Rachel's (and Chris's) apparent fandom of Smash Mouth, the best hangover breakfasts in Vegas, why Friday is the best day at InfoComm, and Justin's adventures in sneaking onto the show floor.

Special thanks to Chris Neto and our friends at Starin Marketing for the podcasting space!

Recorded March 31, 2022

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education.

In this episode, we're joined by Doug McCartney from Oakland University and Jon Loney of Whitman College to talk about the NWMET that didn't happen in 2020, Doug's recent election to the NWMET Hall of Fame (and his brand new car!), plans for NWMET in the future, and Doug's reflection on almost 40 years of educational technology.

Doug's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-mccartney-97aa2516/

Jon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonloneyakajlo/

Recorded March 31, 2022

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education.

In this episode, we're joined by Jessica Sunset from LightWerks to talk about how colleges and universities can be better partners with integrators (hint: parking!) and how integrators can be better partners with colleges and universities (stop bidding the lowest cost gear).

Jessica's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-sunset-38369b3/

Recorded May 13, 2022

It's our annual InfoComm Preview show! Or, if you are listening to this after the first week of June, it's our annual InfoComm Wrap-up show! Chris, Larry, and Justin will be there in person, so come join us for presentations, tours, and interviews. Or, listen to recordings of those same presentations, tours, and interviews because InfoComm is over! We hash through what we expect to see and hear: Chris is still expecting announcements of heretofore unannounced stuff, Justin is wondering if we'll see last year's gear with a new model number, Marc isn't expecting much of anything and would prefer manufacturers use the show to get product ideas from end users, Larry is expecting only minor announcements, and Jamie is giving up and going to the beach for a the week.

Follow us on Twitter @AVSuperFriends to stay updated with what we're doing!

Recorded March 31, 2022

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education.

In this episode, we're joined by Kramer's Kristen Garner to talk about building the relationship with higher education, updating firmware, and Kramer's recent purchase of UC Workspace.

Kristen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisgarner/

Recorded March 31, 2022

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education.

In this episode, we're joined by Robert Durbin from Crestron to talk high level concepts, Crestron's A+ program, the four flavors of DM, and using tin snips to modernize your DMPS products. Note: please don't modify your DMPS with tin snips.

Robert's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-durbin-64b79852/

Recorded March 31, 2022

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education.

In this episode, we grab Dave Stewart from Eastern Washington University (and Chris's former colleague!) and Kevin Gelman of Alfatron Electronics to talk about EWU's testing and implementation of advanced camera systems in their classrooms.

Dave Stewart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-stewart-558b7717/

Alfatron: https://www.alfatronelectronics.com