This account from Integrated Systems Europe ISE , has been written alongside colleague Phil Petrides, Specialist AV Systems Technician, who joined me on this trip.
The following photographs highlight what we felt were the more interesting and relevant technologies seen on the stands at ISE 2013, billed as ‘the world’s best-attended trade show for the professional AV and electronic systems industry’ held at the RAI in Amsterdam. The show was even bigger this year, with halls dedicated to Digital Signage, Unified Communications, sound and home entertainment systems. We were part of the 40,000 people from 130 countries who walked the enormous spaces to find the innovative and effective technology that could enhance and enliven our learning spaces.
The Epson stand showed some simple to use new wall mounted interface units for their short throw projectors. Interesting as we have almost 10 of these data projectors at LCF.
An alternative slightly bulky solution from Epson to wall mounted Extron control panels.
Maybe not very useful, but clever use of data projector mapping on 3D objects by Panasonic, see the next photo;
HD PTZ camera from Panasonic 
We looked for effective solutions for integrating mobile devices with projectors and screens, this from Panasonic was simple but limited in what the wifi enabled projector could show from this iPad, other devices could also connect via host WiFi network.
The following photos show the latest offering from Sony for lecture capture, featuring their Opsigate software solution and dedicated server.
The Vaddio stand was showing a number of devices for lecture capture that looked quite promising, despite the explanation being a little too generic for our situation. The sign of a good stand is if the staff actually ask you what the context is in relation to their products.
WiDi was a new term that featured on the NEC stand
Digital signage mini PCs that slot into the back of a screen
Displaynote is a partner product with NEC and proved one of the most interesting ideas for BYOD collaboration with devices such as iPads. Worth a closer look.
Samsung had the biggest display stand for LCD and digital displays, but disappointingly there were no signs of any other AV kit we potentially might have been interested in (i.e. visualisers, speakers, etc).
Whilst there many projection screens on display this particular one caught our eye for it’s distinction curvature and also a potential nightmare to get projection onto it. Unless you have the luxury of edge blending projectors!
Christie stand – demonstrating their various range of projectors by using edge-blending technology to create a seamless digital signage area above their stand.
This video is a quick demonstration of the Lang video wall which is made up of several HD LED screens but with invisible bezels. The sheer quality of this display was jaw droppingly-good. Click here for video Lang video
A sound focusing speaker which targets only a small area directly underneath it’s dome. Made by a company called Soundtube, we thought this could be a very useful product in social spaces as it also incorporates an LED light with motion sensor to detect when a person is underneath.
A lot of technology is now being targeted at the prosumer market particularly for hiding equipment within spaces.
BlackMagic had a large stand that was attracting considerable attention from the audience. We have a number of Black Magic video recorders where we need to develop a production process for staff. So we decided to talk about our set up and particularly to know more about file transfer, we spoke to Black Magic who explained how the best direct connection was via Thunderbolt on a newer Mac laptop or Mac Mini via bridge such as this one from Seagate.
This is the Pro deck with increased functionality that is twice the price of the Hyperdecks that we installed with the PTZ cameras in 2012.
Something else that could be useful for content production.
Similarly, the Crestron stand had a Capture HD Pro box for lecture recording which looked very interesting, although not designed for streaming to a seperate media server, it has a USB slot for direct recording by users.
The BOSE stand had this very smart and simple powered speaker unit, the L1 Compact System, which would be suitable for simple plug and play events. The speaker pole can be modified for smaller events but still sounds very impressive.
Again, eye-catching if not immediately useful, these are interactive micro tiles from Christie, who are renown for high end data projectors, this is targeted at retail but perhaps could be tailored for garment design and styling purposes.
Dalen Top Tec have a number of equipment housing and furniture solutions that we have successfully integrated.
In terms of using iPads securely, these look quite robust and the design can be modified to each users’ specific application or purpose.
Still at Dalen TopTec – their Synergy workspace looked very interesting and we could definitely incorporate this type of technology in different areas of LCF
We have standardised on Ecler for loudspeakers for most learning spaces, so it was intriguing to see their latest products at ISE.
This is their new powered speaker, similar to many rooms where we have the Audeo106 speaker that is essentially the same apart from the built in amplification.
This small amplifier could be useful in smaller installations where there isn’t room for a cabinet or lectern and users could have control over the sound output.
The Wolfvision stand hosted a number of high end visualisers and cameras, particularly the D6 which can ‘see’ inside 3D objects, could be useful for practical applications such as footwear and accessories where the tutors might find such detail incredibly useful.
Even more exciting is the 3D visualiser, a snip at £19,ooo but could be incredibly useful again for 3D courses or students creating clothing. The advantage is that the content is real and doesnt require sophisticated software design.
Whilst not very practical for LCF, we had to stop and look at this display stand just for letting visitors know their speakers were waterproof. I guess these days a simple sign is not enough to grab people’s attention.
Photographs and words by Phil Petrides and James Rutherford