Industry Forums

May 11, 2005 4:09 PM

           

It was three years in the making and the product of an unprecedented cooperative effort between members of two of ICIA's leading councils, the Independent Consultants in Audiovisual Technologies (ICAT) and Sound, Audiovisual and Video Integrators (SAVVI). On Wednesday, June 8 (10:30a.m.-12:30p.m.), the two councils will introduce the AV Best Practices Guide at the AV Best Practices Forum. "The Hatfields and the McCoys" is how working group chair Mark Valenti characterizes the traditional relationship between consultants and integrators. "Enough was enough," he says, and the group set out to transcend conflicting business issues that got in the way of doing the best job for the client. The book began at InfoComm 2002, where 125 consultants and integrators gave voice to the issues. The process that followed delineated a series of best practices and disciplines that Valenti says will only enhance the credibility of both integrators and consultants. "If we're going to compete effectively in a world of convergences, we need to get our act together," he says. Based on the working group's dialogue and outline, authors Tim Cape of Technitect (the consultant) and Jim Smith of HB Communications (the integrator) tackled topics such as players and roles, project delivery, commissioning, and post-commissioning. "We're proud of the work that's happened through this group," Valenti says. "It's an amazingly unselfish group of people." Don't miss the chance to celebrate this accomplishment and get your hands on the book. A companion volume, The Basics of Audio and Visual Systems Design, will also be available for purchase as a set. The forum will also answer the inevitable question, "What should ICAT-SAVVI do next?" If you have an opinion, you'll want to get in on the ground floor of the next project.

And while you're thinking best practices, consider this unique forum. On Wednesday, June 8 (1:30p.m.-2:30p.m.), the Dashboard for Controls Working Group will present guidelines and templates for AV control panel design in Meet the Dashboard for Controls. In this session, participants can use an audience response system to respond to questions and comment on the Dashboard. The Dashboard itself has been almost four years in the making, says Greg Bronson (CTS-D), chair of the 50-member volunteer working group, and it grew out of his work at Cornell University in developing a touch-panel standard. The idea, Bronson says, was to emulate the car industry's example of having uniform but flexible intuitive interfaces. "We tried to build a consensus of what the primary elements are that can be used to make an end user experience more comfortable and accessible, to provide a common look and feel for AV control, so a teacher, presenter, or other end user could walk up to any system and be able to 'drive.'" At InfoComm, those who attend the forum will come away with dashboard templates and related best practices documentation. Panelists include: Bronson; David Silberstein, CTS, of Crestron; Tim Cape, CTS-D; Howard Nunes of PepperDash Technology; and Greg Maderic, CTS, of Control Concepts. Among the many volunteers who participated in the process, Bronson also cites the contribution of Andrew Faunce, CTS, of Dartmouth; Rem Remington from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and Rick Nimtz, CTS, of Notre Dame. For an even more in-depth view on the Dashboard, you can also attend Bronson's two-hour seminar S36 on the Technology Manager track.

And just as two working groups are presenting the fruits of their years of labor, another group starts down the road to tackle another industry challenge. On Thursday, June 9 (10:30a.m.-12:30p.m.), the Demystifying DSP Symposium will address the mysteries of DSP processors. A moderated panel of consultants, systems integrators, manufacturers, and independent programmers will solicit support from attendees to make better use of DSP technology. Topics include the difficulties of cross-specification, systems design and programming issues, construction administration, documentation, and signal transport issues.

A favorite returns as the ICIA Rental and Staging council holds its seventh annual Rental and Staging Industry forum on Wednesday, June 8 (3:30p.m.-5:30p.m.). A panel of international industry professionals shares solutions to common problems and insight into common issues facing the industry.

The ever-popular Manufacturers Industry Forum kicks off InfoComm's opening events on Tuesday, June 7 at 5:00pm.