News Archives - Installments Blog

Almo’s Acquisition of IAVI from an EX IAVI Senior Manager’s Perspective

September 26, 2016 By Heather Wagaman Leave a Comment

There has obviously been a TON of information published, interviews conducted, Web X Meetings, etc, from both inside and outside the channel in regards to the acquisition of IAVI by Almo Pro AV. Now that the dust has settled, and as a 10 year employee and Senior Manager at IAVI before the acquisition, here is a look at the acquisition from (perhaps) a little DIFFERENT perspective.

FIRST THOUGHTS

“OMG we’ve been bought out by a competitor in the industry”
“OMG do I have a job?”
“Oh no, what ARE we going to do?”

Rewind 3 months to April 13th

IAVI was a 19 year old Commercial – Pro A/V Distributor; a veteran so to speak in the channel with HUGE growth percentages year after year since the mid 2000’s. Almo Pro AV, the company that acquired IAVI, was for the last 7 years one of our chief competitors, certainly our rival in the channel and now; they’ve both taken us out of the game and literally taken over in general. The world as WE knew is now totally upside down and “we” have seemingly LOST the battle.

Fast forward… (it’s now the end of September!)

Where are we today?

“We” as the new combined Almo Pro AV have participated in the third of our E4 AV Tour of the year in Boston, exhibited at InfoComm in June, conducted our annual National Sales Meeting in July, and have one more E4 AV Tour shows coming up soon: Dallas on October 18^th (SAVE THE DATE!)

Virtually ALL of Almo Corporation and Almo Pro AV Senior Management have visited the new Almo Florida office and have provided the EX IAVI team with their motives for acquiring the company, and their vision for the future. They’ve shared opinions and insights with us in regards to the “best practices” that had been identified early on between the two companies and we’ve watched as they’ve specifically implemented some of the IAVI practices quickly into the NEW combined Almo Pro AV.

The results of the due diligences investigations that took place prior to the acquisition have been shared and many of us have been proud to see our NEW company adopt and implement many IAVI practices into the new combined Almo Pro AV almost immediately.

Those of us that were offered positions at Almo have been extremely impressed with the ongoing thought process of Almo Corporation owners and the executive team in the Pro AV Division digging deep into all of the business practices of the acquired company to make the new combined company even BETTER than the previous two individual organizations.

My hats off to Gene, Roz, and Warren Chaiken, Sam Taylor and the rest of the Almo Pro AV Senior Management team for the care and dedication they demonstrated in trying to FIND ways to retain members of the IAVI Team throughout the entire organization in lieu of finding reasons to let them go.

Many people have told me over the years and especially right after the IAVI acquisition, that Almo is a PEOPLE first company and that they recognize their greatest assets as their employees. As a NEW employee of Almo Pro AV it’s my pleasure to testify to the truth of their words and it’s my pleasure to be a part of such a warm and caring organization. I for one am very PROUD to be a part of this incredible new Almo Pro AV TEAM!

3 Important Factors to Consider When Choosing the Right LED Sign

June 3, 2016 By Todd Heberlein 4 Comments

There are many factors that go into choosing the correct LED sign, but a few important attributes are commonly ignored. Below are three commonly overlooked factors that should be considered when deciding on a sign manufacturer.

1) Operating Cost

Capital expenditure, or initial investment cost, is typically the first and the most influential factor that most decision makers consider. What many overlook or only give a passing consideration is the ongoing expense of the sign. The larger the sign, the more important this factor becomes over the life of the sign. Knowing that you’re installing an energy efficient sign can save you tens of thousands in operating expenses down the road.

2) Ease of Use / Management

Signs that require proprietary software, or require the purchase of third-party software can add frustration for the end user, a large learning curve, as well as push up the total cost of the project. ADTI offers the flexibility of using their included content management system, SkyShow, or any signage solution that can utilize their standard HDMI input on the SkyPanel system.

3) Ease of Installation

This is a factor that is commonly skipped over, and almost never is considered by the end user. Since it ultimately affects the bottom line, as well as the timeline of the project, I think it’s an attribute that deserves consideration. If the installation requires special structural changes because of the weight, fabrication to enclose the sign for weatherproofing, or modification to allow for extra depth, the money you saved on the lower cost hardware shrinks considerably, or is completely wiped out.

ADTI

The difficulty of measuring the increase in quality in comparison to the increase in cost, can cause endless hours of agonizing research, and can freeze the final decision. Many are drawn in by the low cost LED panels they’ve seen coming out of China, and end user’s tend to lean towards the frugal choice for the initial capital expenditure and ignore the ongoing operating expense of running an LED sign; which can be an expensive mistake. With ADTI, you don’t have to make that compromise. The combination of affordable initial cost, American made quality, IP67 weatherproofing, and incredibly low power consumption, makes for a visually stunning, “no compromise” solution.

Large Format Displays as Window Signage – Is There a Difference?

June 2, 2016 By John Wills 2 Comments

A couple of months ago, I spoke with one of our Arizona integrators about a window digital signage project for a large retail jewelry store. As we discussed the project, I asked for specifics as to display size dimensions and quickly moved to content, media player, and signal distribution scheme. The spec seemed relatively straightforward and a bill of materials would be easy to create.

But as I reviewed drawings and artist renderings, I quickly asked myself:

What direction do the windows face? Southwest exposure?
Coverings shading the windows?
Portrait or landscape orientation?
City ordinances on night time brightness?

The answers to the above questions quickly convinced me that I was actually dealing with a high ambient light specification than that of a typical within-the-building digital signage project. Additionally, this window project calls for commercial grade, 24/7 displays (for use well into the night after closing hours) that must have the following design attributes:

Higher brightness rating than that of a typical indoor display to ensure crystal clear visibility during the daytime
Resistant to the effects of high temperatures and direct sunlight that cause an isotropic blackening effect on liquid crystal
Advanced heat management to provide proper cooling given high temperatures and extensive operational hours
Polarizing film on the displays so as to be seen by polarized sunglasses in either portrait or landscape orientation
Ambient light sensors to dim displays in low sunlight or nighttime

So, as you can easily surmise, we’re now talking about specially designed displays for this project. NEC, for example, manufactures 47”, 55”, and 75” high brightness displays designed for front-facing window display applications. The XHB Series of displays addresses the above needs with:

High brightness (2000-2700 nits) for high ambient light conditions
High resistance to isotropic effects from direct sunlight
Quarter Lambda Polarizing film so content can be easily seen regardless of orientation or polarized sunglasses
Internal heat management and self-diagnostics to insure reliable 24/7 operation
Ambient light sensors to dim the panel for lower light and nighttime conditions

Bottom line—front-facing window signage demands are different from indoor or outdoor models. Be sure to know the application when an end user mentions windows in a digital signage application. Yes, these panels are an investment, but if you can’t see the displays, why have the signage?

My Visit to LG’s Business Innovation Center

May 25, 2016 By Eric Olson 1 Comment

Recently, I was fortunate enough to visit the LG Business Innovation Center (BIC) outside of Chicago at LG’s corporate headquarters. It was quite an experience where all of LG’s newest innovations and product verticals are on display to see and feel. You really get a chance to experience everything that LG has on their commercial display product roadmap, and it’s there specifically for customers and end users to absorb and engage in the future of their technologies.

For every vertical market there was an LG display suited perfectly for it. Whatever the application, the LG BIC has the full array of products for Hospitality, Healthcare, QSR (Quick Serve Restaurants), Transportation scheduling, Museums/Art Galleries, Indoor/Outdoor Digital Signage, Video Walls, Open-frame OLED technology, LED lighting…it’s all here for the taking. They’ve even created a new market for “digital décor” which stems from their uniquely designed 86-inch Ultra-Stretch 4K model that is ideal for art galleries, museums and the high-end digital signage projects.

Most notable was the new OLED display technology that LG recently unveiled. They showcase a cutting-edge 55-inch OLED 4K UHD Wallpaper display that is absolutely unreal! (see Front View) Everyone at the meeting was completely blown away. No one could believe their eyes when they saw how thin this unit actually is. This amazing display is literally thinner than a credit card (see side view). And, not only was it a gorgeous image, but at less than 4 pounds, this stunning display was installed using Velcro (you can also use magnets)!

LG’s 55-inch OLED 4K UHD Wallpaper Display (Front View):

Yes, I said Velcro! That was not a typo.

You also may notice a black plastic frame behind the actual display (see side view image), but this is not part of the actual OLED display portion and is required for structural stability due to the extremely thin, flexible OLED layer in front of it. This model is truly going to be a game-changer for the industry. Get ready for a groundbreaking 2016 with LG’s sights set on the future of OLED technology, and the technical developments and advancements that result from those efforts.

LG’s 55-inch OLED 4K UHD Display (side view):

So next time you are in the Chicago (or Atlanta) area and looking to see the latest and greatest that LG Electronics offers, make the trip to their Business Innovation Center. It will be well worth it, I promise!

For more information on LG’s latest products, please do not hesitate to contact me, Eric Olson, via phone at (888) 420-2566 ext. 4082 or via email at eolson@almo.com.

Majority of AV Respondents Prefer LinkedIn [Infographic]

May 16, 2016 By admin Leave a Comment

Recently, we asked AV respondents about their social media usage. As we suspected, a clear majority of Atlanta E4 AV Tour attendees say they use LinkedIn the most for business. They were evenly split between Facebook and Twitter as second most used social network.

When AV Respondents Check Social Media

When do you check?

6pm or later 70%

9am to 12pm 65%

12pm to 3 pm 54%

3pm to 6pm 52%

How Many Times a Day Do You Check Social Media?

Five or more 43%

One to three 39%

Three to five 19%

See the full infographic here.

How do these results match up with your own preferences? Special thanks for all those who took the time to respond to our survey! We can’t wait to see what our Boston and Dallas E4 AV Tour attendees will have to say about their social media habits. Don’t forget to join us at our upcoming E4 AV Tour!

Stay in touch with us. Check us out on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter to keep up-to-date with all our latest news, events and campaigns.

WOW – Another E4

April 20, 2016 By Rob Ziv Leave a Comment

Wow; another E4 season is underway. There are so many things I enjoy about working the E4, from meeting great people, to sharpening technical skills in CTS RU certifies classes, to seeing new products up close with factory experts on hand to dig into the details. I look forward to E4’s every off-season and just wish they were longer when they do roll around. The kickoff in DC certainly did not disappoint. From a product perspective alone we saw a number of cool new items that are starting to make noise; some quite literally.

It’s not often a product creates a new market. This is exactly what Panasonic has done with their innovative Space Player. This was a huge draw at ISE in Amsterdam and the Almo E4 may have been the first time it appeared in public in the US. This highly anticipated little projector mounts to a standard lighting track and has built in SD Card slot and Wi-Fi for media playback. Being that it is about the size of a track lighting fixture, it is ideal of retail signage applications and flexible ambient techorating. Panasonic showed the unit mapped onto stationary products with active content highlighting the subjects. If you have customers looking for you to bring creative solutions, check out the video for further applications to get your imagination going. (Make sure to look for the butterflies in the restaurant.)

Another first for Almo were the ongoing live demos of the Bose F1 Flexible Line Array system. (My apologies to the 11AM Interactive E4 Experience…. perhaps we got a wee bit too loud with the EDM.) The venue’s octagonal room and dome ceiling certainly would have presented significant challenges for lesser systems. This self powered unit brings the advantages of line arrays to the portable market. Proving very popular in HOW, education, and performance spaces, the flexible vertical control makes it a great option in diverse setups and integrated systems, too.

QSC showed their super efficient Energy Star qualified SPA series of multi channel power amplifiers that provide up to 200 watts into low-z applications and 250W into 70V – and they fit in half a rack space. We’ll be hearing more about these amps as the word continues to spread.

Harman Professional brought their new interactive “virtual rack” to sit alongside their stacks of gear. This touch screen-driven self-guided demonstration allows attendees to dig deeper into many items from the extensive product families of JBL, Crown, dbx, and others. With product experts at their side, the virtual rack allowed attendees to experience a broader range of solutions than typically available on a show floor.

From the “you can teach an old dog new tricks” department, Chief brought along the new SYSAU Suspended Ceiling Projector System. “It’s just another mount” you say? Wrong! How about a system that includes everything you need for 90% of all projector installs – all in a single box. No more finding the right ceiling plate, length of extension column, trim ring, etc, etc. This makes spec’ing, quoting, and installing projectors faster – period. Plus, if you inventory mounting components, this will make life much easier. (Yes – another video.)

With so much to see and do, I’m sure I missed some of the highlights. Please share yours and I look forward to seeing on the next stop of the E4 AV Tour!

Laser Projectors – A Game Changer

March 10, 2016 By Brian Rhatigan 3 Comments

While lampless projectors are not brand new, the technology has evolved and continues to improve as time goes on. Imagine an installation grade projector that can run 24/7 with virtually no maintenance and no lamp changes and carry a three year warranty. Imagine not waiting for your projector to warm up or cool down, where the projector will reach maximum brightness and turn off almost immediately. Combine this with advanced features like projection mapping, edge blending, and an HDBaseT input packaged in a bright enough projector for large venues and you have quite a value proposition for your clients.

Laser projectors offer several benefits over traditional lamp based technologies. Let me clarify that laser simply refers to the light source, so the projection technologies like 3LCD are still a major part of these new projectors. Traditional lamp based projectors require the lamp to be replaced roughly every 1500 to 6000 hours depending upon the projector and the mode you run it in, while the average lifespan of a laser based projector is 20,000 hours.

Additionally, with most traditional lamp based projectors it takes a few minutes for the projector to warm up after powering on, and can take up to thirty minutes to provide a stable brightness level and often need to remain plugged in after powering off in order to properly cool the lamp. With laser based projectors they are ready to go almost immediately after being powered on and do not require a connected power source upon powering off with no worry of damaging the projector’s light source.

As far as the light source, projector lamps lose most of their brightness in the first half of their lifecycle whereas with a laser based light source the brightness loss is linear over the 20,000 hour lifecycle. What does this mean? This means that if you compare a laser based projector with a lamp based projector, both with the same light output rating (lumens) that within a very short period of time the laser projector will have the brighter image. Furthermore, even lamp based projectors with higher light output ratings than a laser based projector will quickly provide a lower light output than the laser projector due to the steep curve in degradation of the lamps brightness.

Epson’s popular Pro G and Pro Z installation grade projectors will soon be joined by the new Pro L series of laser based projectors with multiple choices ranging in brightness from 6,000 lumens to 12,000 lumens and multiple lens options with all of the features that users of the Pro G and Pro Z models have grown to love. Expect to start seeing these shipping in June of 2016. I know I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

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For more information on Epson Projectors contact Brian Rhatigan at brhatigan@almo.com or 888.420.2566 x6546

March Madness Arrives Early: Via Indonesia and Amsterdam

March 1, 2016 By Melody Craigmyle 1 Comment

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.

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.

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:

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:

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!

Welcome to San Antonio: In Super High “Razor”-lution

February 26, 2016 By Melody Craigmyle Leave a Comment

It’s especially nice when the manufacturers plan their distributor summits in a nice warm location during the dead of February. Such was the case this month with Samsung in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. Distributors, resellers and DMR’s gathered to hear the vision to 2016 and beyond, while seeing some of the latest product developments.

One of the greatest things about these functions is the networking aspect. You’re surrounded by customers, the manufacturer’s folks and even your friendly competitors (and if you are lucky a celebrity or two). The opening reception kicked off this portion of the conference. Here I am rubbing elbows with George Gervin from the San Antonio Spurs (left) and Director, US B2B Distribution for Samsung, Tom Perrier (right):

A lot of the conversations revolved around the ever-present dilemma of shrinking and sometimes even razor thin margins on displays in both the Pro and especially consumer markets. I think Samsung has got some new things up their sleeve that may be impactful for their partners as to help with the margin issue. More on that later. Now speaking of razor….

I’ve been on the road a lot lately, and even though I consider myself a season traveler, inevitable I forget something. This time it was a razor so I went down to the JW Marriott gift shop. Filled with cowboy hats, sombreros, ponchos, hot sauces and other Texas sized treats, it was your typical gift shop. I grabbed my usual brand from the stand, went up to the register and the cashier said, “That will be $20.12”. WHAT???!! $20.12 for one disposable razor?

I said no thanks and started to wonder…in this age of fighting declining margins in our industry, how is it that a commodity product like the razor can command 3000% mark up? Location, location, location. Resourcefulness took me to the spa and they ponied up a razor at no charge.

On to the Samsung Product Showcase – in usually Samsung fashion they never disappoint when it comes to new product development. It was good to see some of the concept things coming to fruition such as:

The transparent display which holds a multitude of applications such as retail and anywhere the end user just basically wants to be uber swank.

The mirror display which they showed in a retail setting with RF technology in clothing and shoes that dynamically changed when the user took them to the mirror. Here is our Business Development Manager extraordinaire, Apryl Lamberti taking it for a spin.

Outdoor displays – not just ruggedized, coated and cased back- lit LED panels but..

Surfs’up! Samsung’s YESCO acquisition last year brings the new outdoor LED.

Finally the indoor LED was quite a hit. Here is Apryl examining the type of panel used to make the video wall in the background.

I think the future looks bright with the new LED products (no pun intended). What Samsung was showing are solutions that require an ecosystem of services, which is where the margin lies and value to our partners. The opportunity for services such as content creation, can create that long-term relationship with a customer, long past the sale of the display.

Making the Move to 4K Ultra High Definition

February 25, 2016 By Sam Taylor 1 Comment

The use of 4K Ultra High Definition has skyrocketed since its commercial introduction in 2010. Professional installs of all kinds – digital signage, hospitality, corporate, education, command and control – can be dramatically enhanced due to the stunning beauty and astounding resolutions made possible with this display technology.

The worldwide 4K display market is expected to reach $52 billion by 2020 according to industry researchers. And while commercial displays are still the top use for 4K, the technology has even started to appear in the entire range of display devices we commonly use, including PC monitors, notebooks, tablets and even smartphone screens.

Here are some common questions we get asked about moving to 4K:

What makes 4K UHD such a critical display tool for commercial integrators?

A 4K UHD display has four times the number of pixels (3840 x 2160) compared to full HD (1080p) resolution. The major advantage of using 4K displays is that you can ultimately deliver a very immersive and rich experience that is in close proximity to the display without sacrificing image quality. UHD provides the ability to display finer details, amazing depth of colors and more information on a screen. As the technology matures and costs are driven down, we will see 4K screens become the norm and 1080 slowly drift away due to lack of production.

Why purchase a 4K display through Almo Pro A/V?

Almo offers a range of 4K displays, including exclusive accessibility to the Sharp AQUOS® 70-inch display, which features the Revelation Upscaler to display all content at near-4K quality for an amazing picture all the time, no matter which source is being used. Almo also offers a host of powerful media players with high storage capability from manufacturers like BrightSign to drive the data and produce the best results based on the content that is being shown.

So, what about content?

Obtaining 4K content has been the biggest 4K barrier to date, however, as the technology increases in popularity, more content is becoming available and the cost to create that content is decreasing. With Almo’s Content Creation Services, integrators have the opportunity to offer 4K standard and customized still images or full motion video content as part of an initial installation and ongoing maintenance package. This creates recurring revenue, builds margins and lengthens customer relationships.

What if I need support to help select and integrate the 4K displays?

Almo has a highly specialized fleet of Business Development Managers that offer technical knowledge, system design assistance and in-depth brand knowledge about 4K displays to help you integrate the technology into your commercial installs. No other distributor in the AV industry provides this level of expertise to its partner community.