Returning from Integrated Systems Europe (ISE)
As part of our Continued Professional Development we attend Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) held at Amsterdam’s RAI exhibition centre each year. The show offers a fantastic glimpse at emerging audio-visual technology and continues to grow year on year with over 700 exhibitors and some 30,000 attendees this year.
AV Trending Results Speaks Volumes
Gartner have recently published their latest report ‘Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2010’ which the team have found makes rather pleasant reading. The document (which you can download here) summarizes the key findings of Gartner’s 2010 Hype Cycle report which is published annually and monitors the commercial viability of 1,600 technologies, applications, and trends in the 80 IT, business, and consumer markets.
One of the key themes emerging from this year’s Hype Cycle is how people experience and interact with technology. New styles of user interaction will drive new usage patterns, giving organizations opportunities to innovate how information and transactions are delivered to customers and employees. This includes devices such as media tablets and 3D flat-panel TVs and displays, and interaction styles such as gesture recognition and tangible user interfaces.
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AMITPRO Presentation – Why IT Partners need to know about Audio-visual (AV) Technology
AMITPRO is the Association of Midlands IT Professionals, a peer group of which RTS have been members of for just under a year now. The group is a fantastic opportunity for likeminded technology professionals to come together once a month to share best practices, marketplace developments, vendor presentations and even a beer or two afterwards.
Last night saw RTS’ first presentation to the group about why we feel now is the time for IT partners, as trusted business advisors, to have an understanding of Audio-visual (AV) technology. Over the course of the presentation we took the group through an overview of the AV industry, common client scenarios that we frequently see (Training rooms and Classrooms, Boardrooms, Video conferencing, Digital Signage and Audio systems) and offered our insight in to what we perceive the future of this emerging market to be.
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The Convergence of IT and AV (Audio-Visual) Technologies
Audio Visual (AV) technology is more than just projectors and HD televisions. The rapid growth of online media and entertainment has led to an explosion of interest and development within the industry as new technology such as digitisation and the IT market begin to increase pace. The AV industry should be proud of its growing presence; with the growth of digital signage, videoconferencing, and command-and-control facilities, InfoComm has recorded a 30-percent growth in demand for AV services over the past three years.
AV is now considered an integral part of many projects and planning undertaken by industries that are choosing to revolutionise the way they make their mark. Sixty percent of AV goods and services are purchased as part of a new construction or major renovation project.
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Building Schools for the Future
The recent announcement in July 2010 to scrap the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme forced over 700 schools and 123 academy schemes to halt plans for their redevelopment. Many had high hopes for this £45 billion project when it was announced back in 2003. But, what was it that caused the demise of such a promising programme?
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RTS receives a generous ‘Thank You’ (again)
Another happy client sent us a letter of thanks recently. A few months ago the St. John nursing home in Kent asked us to provide a new Audio Visual system and wireless networking infrastructure in order to improve the entertainment and communications provision for the residents.
Mrs J Mitchell, the matron, kindly wrote to us with feedback from the home.
“I wanted to say how very impressed I and my staff were with the way you and your staff conducted yourselves whilst working in the Home. Often it’s difficult to get people coming into the Home to appreciate that this is a Home and not an institution, and this seems to affect the quality of the work done and the care taken doing it.”
We always try to be considerate of our clients so the team was very happy to hear this. We are also considerate of our clients’ environments – much of the success of our solutions is owed to the care taken to fit the equipment with the surroundings.
“I am delighted with the way the installation of the TV and wireless connection has been done and the careful attention that you all gave to hiding all the wires etc away from view.”
Thank you Mrs Mitchell for your kind words, it’s always great to hear that our clients are enjoying their solutions.
The letter is duplicated below with the kind permission of Mrs Mitchell.
RTS helps Sports Cafe to show England vs. Ukraine International
Following the demise of broadcaster Setanta, the England vs. Ukraine match will be the first England international game for two decades not to be aired on TV. Instead, internet users are expected to pay a £4.99 subscription to stream the game over the internet.
The Sports Cafe, Birmingham has a reputation to uphold in delivering the best in big screen sports events from around the world. With their entire audio visual installation configured for receiving sport via broadcast media, The Sports Cafe needed to find a way to reliably stream the game to numerous screens around the venue.
RTS are providing all implementation services and will be using multiple internet providers to try and mitigate against the expected bottleneck of UK broadband (http://is.gd/48ZGK). We’ll also be on-site for the duration of the game, providing as much technical support as required to keep the feed alive and punters happy.
UK’s young digital Britons want more technology in the classroom
Four out of five students in England and Wales would like to see more technology in the classroom according to fresh research by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. The research suggests that the nation’s young believe that technology can help them learn, with around 40% saying they would be interested in a greater use of interactive whiteboards. A similar number would welcome an increase in AV equipment such as DVD players.
The Ipsos MORI research questioned 2,447 11 to 16 year olds about their feelings towards technology in the classroom. Of the students questioned, over half wanted their teachers to use computers and the internet to help advance learning techniques.
NETSA’s Chief Executive Jonathan Kestenbaum was excited by the findings. “Young people will be at the heart of the digital economy so it’s promising to see school children embracing digital technologies not just as a form of entertainment, but as a way to learn. This doesn’t mean we have to rip up text books ‘California-style’, but rather look at innovative ways of learning which will best prepare children for the future.”
The research found that many students would indeed support Governor Schwarzenegger’s ‘California-style’ call to replace traditional text books with new technologies.
Young people are traditionally strong adopters of new technology. A recent study by Ofcom (The Communications Market, 2008) indicates that 81% of boys and 77% of girls aged between 12 and 15 have access to the internet. The large majority (70%) use it every day.
Popularity of Interactive Whiteboards Rising
Worldwide sales of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) are rocketing. The market enjoyed a 32% rise from 2007 to 2008, with some 557,000 being shipped globally.
The data was released recently by Futuresource Consulting, an independent research company who were conducting a study on behalf of a leading interactive whiteboard manufacturer. Futuresource estimates that over 2 million interactive whiteboards are now installed in schools and businesses.
It is predicted that in the next 5 years this installed base will reach over 7 million, meaning that one in every five classrooms worldwide will have an IWB.
So, what is all the fuss about?
Interactive whiteboards can be used to deliver a wide variety of benefits to the classroom. They offer exciting new possibilities to display and edit work, conduct classes and engage children in ways that simply weren’t possible before.
