Page 6 - Campus Technology, August/September 2017

AV SMARTS mike tomei
6 AV Trends from InfoComm 2017
An audiovisual design and management consultant offers six takeaways from the biggest AV trade show of the year.
INFOCOMM 2017 proved to be another record- setting show, with over 44,000 audiovisual and IT professionals converging in Orlando this June. Higher education AV technology managers and design/support staff made a very strong showing, with quite a few IT staff also attending to sort out these new AV support duties they’ve been tasked with. While there weren’t any blockbuster product announcements, the overall feeling of the show was that of an industry that’s healthy and growing.
Due to my background in higher ed AV design and support roles, I walked the show floor looking through the lens of a higher ed technology manager. I also spent some time visiting manufacturers’ booths with Ryan Engels from Ithaca College (NY), so I could experience the perspective of a forward-thinking higher ed technology manager. Most of his show experience was focused on developing his networked, centrally managed AV model, often diving
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | August/September 2017
Photo: InfoComm