Memory Bliss: Top 5 Moments of E4 Tour 2016

I’m going to be perfectly honest with you and say I’m a little glad the E4 events have wrapped up.  It has been a busy year for the Almo team and we are all ready for a breather. Not so fast – Chicago is March 22nd and San Jose is April 19th (deep cleansing breathe). It’s time to reflect on the top 5 moments of the E4 2016 tour:

Top Moments of 2016 E4 AV Tour

1.  Almo Becomes First Distributor to Live Stream a CTS RU Certified Class

We wrapped up 2016 with a bang by becoming the first AV distributor to live stream a CTS RU certified course on Facebook. With over 100 online attendees, we were excited to extend the education of the E4 beyond the Dallas, TX area to the whole world.

2. Almo Services Offering Launches

Although we introduced Almo Connect in late 2015, the first time Almo customers got to really learn about it was at the E4 in Atlanta. In talking about the bandwidth needs in the 4K keynote, it was a perfect foray into conversations about reselling Almo Connect services. Next we launched Almo Control at the Boston event, our new control systems programming.

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3. E4 Experience Launches

We take feedback from the tour very seriously. One aspect that was missing from E4 was a more hands-on approach to product learning. So we launched the E4 Experience with two “experience rooms” – Design a Huddle Space and Create & Publish Digital Signage Content. Each experience was sold out for every event.

4. World’s First Keynote in True 4K

Last year Gary Kayye came to me and said he had a “killer” keynote idea. To present the keynote about 4K IN 4K! We did it with some magic from Barco in Atlanta and rocked the house. I’ve never had so many comments about an E4 keynote about how much they learned about 4K and all the myths dispelled.

5. Almo Announces Acquisition of IAVI at Washington DC Eventalmo+iavi

While in the middle of planning two E4 events, we were also gearing up for the acquisition of IAVI in April and announced the news to our vendors at what they thought was an appreciation event but ended up being more of a press conference. Surprise – we just doubled in size! Very exciting times!

Just because the tour is over doesn’t mean the learning has to stop! Check out our recorded classes, including Gary’s Keynote where you can STILL earn CTS RU’s, our videos, blogs and photos.

AV in the National Park Service: Preserving the Sounds of Nature

I’m a huge fan of the park service and visit them quite frequently. This summer I’m headed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. My idea of camping is with a full service hotel and restaurant but I do like it when there’s no TV and no cell phone reception, which was the case on my visit to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Check out these pictures of ancient Pueblo Indian dwellings from yours truly.

Pueblo Indian

Pueblo Indian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year the National Park Service is celebrating its 100 anniversary in August and there have been lots of stories on the news providing coverage on the celebratory activities throughout the country. A few weeks ago, NPR did a segment on how sound engineers are going deep into the parks to record the natural soundscapes of streams, waterfalls, animals and all parts of nature that make our parks so spectacular. I was thinking about all those kids that grow up wanting to be a park ranger, then get into a band in high school carting around their own A/V equipment. Then through a turn of events, they end up in the A/V industry. Well guess what? Apparently you can do both!

One thing that was particularly interesting are the studies they are doing on how humans and our sound pollution affect the animals. The bio acoustical scientist in the interview, Kurt Fristrup, explained that just a few changes in decibels can have a great effect on their ability to hunt.

“Imagine you’re an owl looking for your dinner,” Fristrup said. “A three decibel increase in sound level cuts in half the area in which you could hear those sounds,” he said. “So you are half as efficient in finding food, with a relatively subtle increase in background sound level.”

Click Here to read the entire interview or download the segment.

Is Tiny the Next Big Thing in Techorating?

I wrote several months ago about one of the most impressive large displays of techorating I’ve ever encountered at the Comcast headquarters in Philadelphia. These massive installations and others with image mapping on buildings have been covered in all the major AV outlets and yes, they are impressive. But for the average dealer, techorating may seem like an area that’s out of reach. Well I have a little case study that just might get you thinking about how you can use flat panels or projection to change the atmosphere of a space, even in just a small way.

I just finished a vacation in Puerto Rico on a more remote part of the island, which was very relaxing and beautiful. But after five days on the beach, I was ready to explore. And my husband heard those three little words that every man wants to hear “Let’s go shopping” (of course, I’m being totally sarcastic).

Into Old San Juan we go because he’s just a good sport like that and after brunch we start hitting the shops. It was blazing hot so for a little respite and a clean restroom, I suggested we visit the Museo Del Mar – Museum of the Sea.

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It has an impressive collection of memorabilia of some of the most momentous highlights of nautical history, from both the modern and contemporary eras. It also holds the Guinness Book of World Records title as home to the largest display of original life preservers – from different ships – in the entire world. Real estate in Old San Juan is a premium, so it was not a big space. They were using several 32” Samsung displays to show videos of nautical history.

Off to the side was a lovely door with a port hole. I’m sure it was a door to administrative offices but instead of leaving it plain with a boring sign saying “employees only”, they used a tiny bit of techorating to mimic the sea – check out this video:video

Pretty cool, huh? There was audio as well with simply sounds of the ocean to give it a little ambiance. Nothing spectacular, nothing difficult but nonetheless, it lent a little more of the nautical atmosphere to a small space.

Take the Samsung SmartSignage platform that comes in the small 10” form factor with power over ethernet. Where could this tiny digital signage fit in your next installation? Or a 22” perhaps on an end cap? The possibilities for Tiny Digital Signage are really endless. All you have to do is use your imagination and show the customer how digital signage or techorating can make a big difference even in small spaces. Adios for now!

 

 

 

 

Margaritaville + SunBriteTV + Blender = Fantastic

I just returned from a much needed vacation in Puerto Rico at the Wyndham Rio Mar resort. This property recently completed a $500M addition of Wyndham vacation condos in partnership with his royal beach-iness and head Parrot, Jimmy Buffet. The Margaritaville themed portion of the resort was impressive and had that cool Buffet laid-back vibe. As a marketer, I’m amazed at how this artist, who hasn’t had a record on the charts in the last couple of decades (save collaborations Zac Brown and Alan Jackson), has managed to become a global brand commanding licensing agreements from everything to restaurants, merchandising and now resorts.

The outdoor cabana with swim up pool was the centerpieces of the resort, appropriately named Margaritaville. You even got your own mondo margarita cup shaped like, you guessed it, a blender!

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Hanging above the bar was a gorgeous installation of SunBriteTV’s, made to withstand the heat, humidity, wind and sand rolling off the beach just a few feet away. Trust me when I say it’s humid down there and the TV’s looked fantastic. Note that the clock on the wall is always on 5 o’clock.

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Fast forward a couple of evenings and we go to a beautiful restaurant that was completely open to the elements with a view to die for overlooking the ocean. We got there right before the sunset and ordered the sangria. I look over to my shoulder and there it is…the ultimate no-no in outdoor installations.  It was Visio (cue the scary organ music!)

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AND to top it off, it was plugged into a cheap power strip, totally exposed OVER AN ICE MACHINE! (Cue even scarier organ music) Can you say electrical fire/accident waiting to happen? Somebody call OSHA!!!!

We just had training from the very smart folks at SunBriteTV who reiterated that there are very real safety concerns with putting consumer TV’s outside. Forget about there being no warranty, or that the picture will be terrible in a matter of months, or that you can’t view those TV’s in direct sunlight. If you are working with a restaurant owner who wants to go on the cheap with his outdoor TV’s, tell him to call his insurance company and get a rider for electrocution for TV’s that aren’t UL certified for outdoor use. Maybe that will get him thinking. Business owners need peace of mind that their customers will be safe and happy. Use SunBriteTV and you can chill and go to your happy place – kind of like this…

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March Madness Arrives Early: Via Indonesia and Amsterdam

I am a proud alumnus of the University of Kentucky and as such, a huge college basketball fan. I followed in the footsteps of the uber fan, Ashley Judd and started as a French major. I quickly decided to double major in marketing because the prospects of finding a job with just a French degree didn’t seem to grow on trees. I certainly wasn’t following Ashley any further than the UK Campus and into Hollywood.

UK

As proof of my loyalty, here I am last year at the National Championship in Indianapolis. For those of you who don’t follow or just don’t remember, Kentucky was undefeated going into the finals and on the threshold of history. Alas, they lost in the first round and now on to a new year of basketball.

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Fast forward to February 2016 and I’m in Amsterdam at the ISE show, the largest Audio Visual show in the world. After taking in the show, my colleague and I decided to sample of the local fare. I asked my friend Sara Abrons from rAVe publications and she commenced with a small history lesson to explain her recommendation.

Indonesia was a Dutch colony back in the day and to brag about their conquest, they wanted to showcase the breadth of spices imported from the colony. This came in the form of an Indonesia “tasting table” which is not Indonesian at all but the result of the peacock feathered bragging meal made palatable for the Dutch and now I’m sure for the tourists like myself.

Presented with about 20 plates and a warming tray, we dove in to a wonderful display. It was a small place with a varied décor – suffice it to say kind of like an Indonesian/Dutch TGI Friday’s with all sorts of pictures, signs and license plates on the walls. I’m looking at these licensed plates and notice some of them are from America when suddenly, I see a familiar face next to the Oliver North for President:

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I say to my colleagues, “That’s a UK license plate!” He contends it has to be from the United Kingdom. I remind him that all four years at UK, I worked as a cashier at Kennedy Book Store and rang up THOUSANDS of those plates! Upon further examination, it was confirmed.

Walking back to the hotel (or should I say rolling after 20 courses of Indonesian tasting plate), we are rounding the corner which is adjacent to the MOMO restaurant. By day it’s a sun drenched breakfast nook. By night, it becomes a swanky restaurant/club. Curious, I look through the window at the D.J. Low and behold:

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The guy is wearing a Kentucky Wildcats shirt! I tell my colleague that we have to go in and get photographic evidence because no one would believe me. I walk in and the hostess asked me if I had a reservation and I told her, “I’m with the D.J”

They guy was surprised when I ran up to him, complimenting his shirt. He said he got it at a second hand clothing shop in Amsterdam and didn’t even know what it was. He liked the color. I tried to explain it was the greatest college basketball team in the U.S. but I could tell it was no use. It was, in fact, a good color on him. Go Wildcats!

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