Recorded September 9, 2022 The AV SuperFriends kick off Season 3 with some announcements of upcoming changes and a new show, AVSF: Live! Yes, live-- on video, that is-- but live! With video and you! We want you to join us! The link is below. Then we return to our Twitter poll from a few weeks ago to share the results. With equipment lead times continuing to be a challenge, what are other schools doing? We hash out the three most common approaches— waiting for preferred gear, looking around at al...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 1
This month’s topic is software AV and we couldn’t decide between software AVoIP content, software AV control, or software management platforms, so we’ll cover all three! We start with an article about a semiconductor manufacturer widening software (and hardware) support for SMPTE 2110, which gets us one step closer to HDBaseT-style interoperability… in theory. Then, it’s a whirlwind tour of software AV content, control, applications, and more. Why are we using legacy thinking when building our n...
Sep 08, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Recorded August 12, 2022 We fire up the AVSF time machine and travel back to 2010… to talk about HDBaseT. It’s all in good fun, but it’s a weird article to see in 2022. Then, what’s your threshold for standardization? That is, are you looking to broaden you AV equipment portfolio or just waiting out the on-going equipment delays? What happens if that wait becomes six, eight, 12, 16 months or more? Jamie is always game to try new gear, Chris is re-engineering systems from the ground up, Justin is...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Recorded August 5, 2022 Panopto is buying Kaltura! Sorta. The investment firm who owns Panopto also wants to own Kaltura. While this could mean we’ll see a really cool platform come from this “merger,” most likely it’ll be bad for all of us. Look for your license fees to increase dramatically. Then, what do you mean by “AV design?” What does it mean to be an AV designer? How much time are you spending doing documentation? How much is too much? Justin just wants to avoid questions, Larry would ra...
Aug 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Recorded July 15, 2022 It’s Back to School season! What will the 2022 - 2023 school year bring? We start with an article from EdSurge about schools who put massive student CRM systems on hold and are now restarting those massive projects. Regardless of how many times we’ve all been through this process, the end result seems to be the same: a litany of complaints, nostalgic stories of the previous system, and plans for the next upgrade. Then, plans for our Fall terms to start in just a few weeks....
Aug 08, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 11
We start with an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education that asks why colleges and universities are constructing so many new buildings, but leaving older facilities to rot? We’re all guilty of focusing on the new hotness and ignoring the old and busted, but what will happen now that enrollment is set to drop? Then, active learning rooms. Do they really need all that stuff (no) or all those options (no) or all those displays (no) ? Larry explains active learning as a food analogy, Marc su...
Jul 31, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Recorded July 8, 2022 Marc starts us off with an article about new, high resolution and AI-driven optical microphones that will never be a product, but will be in almost every audio product in five years... and probably in your phone, too. If this technology goes where we think it will, it’ll be the next version of beam-tracking & beam-steering. Then, with apologies to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, we apply the Five Stages of Grief to delayed AV projects (which in 2022 means every project). We disc...
Jul 16, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Recorded June 22, 2022 Have y’all heard of this VR thing? It’s a thing! Or is it… We start with an article about highly customized content for highly specialized academic programs and how that just doesn’t scale. And that leads a discussion covering everything from shared standards for metaverse content to nursing simulation systems to user generated content. Then, scope creep. Have you done that thing you didn’t know about and weren’t technically responsible to do? Why does it always seem to fa...
Jul 08, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Recorded June 24, 2022 It’s a Christmas Miracle— all six AV SuperFriends are on the same episode together! We start with some AV news that created a minor crisis for some of us (for about 30 minutes), but as it’s about one of our “favorite” products, we’re enjoying the schadenfreude. Also, maybe if your network allows unauthenticated devices to connect directly, you deserve the lumps. Then we’re joined by Geoff Robinson from PTZOptics to discuss their recent release of MIDI camera controls. Does...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Recorded June 09, 2022 Chris, Larry, Rachel, and Justin were all together in Las Vegas for the largest single gathering of AV SuperFriends since 2019, so we fired up the microphones to share our general impressions of the first InfoComm since the last one! We cover products of note, the best swag on the show floor, celebrity sightings, the utter lack of VR (yea!), the sad lack of esports (boo!), fidget spinners, Justin’s drug smuggling backpack, purses vs clutches, the single best product of the...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Doug McCartney from Oakland University and Jon Loney of Whitman College to talk about the NWMET that didn’t happen in 2020, Doug’s recent election to the NWMET Hall of Fame (and his brand new car!), plans for NWMET in the future, and Doug’s reflect...
Jun 10, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Jessica Sunset from LightWerks to talk about how colleges and universities can be better partners with integrators (hint: parking!) and how integrators can be better partners with colleges and universities (stop bidding the lowest cost gear). Jessi...
Jun 09, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Recorded May 13, 2022 It’s our annual InfoComm Preview show! Or, if you are listening to this after the first week of June, it’s our annual InfoComm Wrap-up show! Chris, Larry, and Justin will be there in person, so come join us for presentations, tours, and interviews. Or, listen to recordings of those same presentations, tours, and interviews because InfoComm is over! We hash through what we expect to see and hear: Chris is still expecting announcements of heretofore unannounced stuff, Justin ...
Jun 08, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Kramer’s Kristen Garner to talk about building the relationship with higher education, updating firmware, and Kramer’s recent purchase of UC Workspace. Kristen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisgarner/
Jun 08, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Robert Durbin from Crestron to talk high level concepts, Crestron’s A+ program, the four flavors of DM, and using tin snips to modernize your DMPS products. Note: please don’t modify your DMPS with tin snips. Robert’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin...
Jun 07, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we grab Dave Stewart from Eastern Washington University (and Chris’s former colleague!) and Kevin Gelman of Alfatron Electronics to talk about EWU’s testing and implementation of advanced camera systems in their classrooms. Dave Stewart: https://www.linkedin.com/i...
Jun 06, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Recorded May 20, 2022 We start with a new story about Morehouse College wanting VR for everyone. It certainly seems more viable at smaller schools, but we’re skeptical. Then, Chris wants help creating a truly useful sandbox space. Marc suggests lots of infrastructure, Justin recommends an area for bench testing and a nicer version for outside users, Larry talks about the concept of “a safe space to fail,” and Jamie is building sandboxes all over campus on someone else’s dime. Finally, Marc has a...
Jun 05, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Recorded May 6, 2022 Before the show even begins, Chris grabs the mic and expresses his frustrations with participants on video calls. It’s 2022 and there’s simply no excuse. Then, Larry poses an interesting question: If we all had the funding and time to update or replace almost every AV system on our campuses, how would we do it? Would we stay the course and get a few years ahead on refresh cycles? Would we dramatically shift directions, capabilities, and platforms? Or, would we panic and flou...
May 17, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Recorded April 29, 2022 Hey, Rachel is back! Well, for the news segment, anyway. NAB was this past week and Rachel shares some insights into what trade shows might portend for the future. Then it’s time to dive deep into the software we all use throughout all aspects of an AV project. Notes, task management, shared network folders, CAD, Sketchup, and everything in between. Also, if you’re taking notes on your phone, yes, we all think you’re texting. Stop it. Finally, we all have gear that just w...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Marc Yakubisin from Diversified and talk through how integrators can be better partners with colleges and universities AND how those colleges and universities can be better partners with their integrators. Marc on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com...
May 10, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by new kid on the block, Joe Way from USC. We talk faculty feedback, incremental software upgrades to existing systems, faculty feedback, a deliberate design process, and faculty feedback. We also try to stump Joe by asking what he would do differentl...
May 09, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Recorded April 8, 2022 Working with integrators and consultants is a necessary part of the job for any higher ed AV manager, and the AV SuperFriends have plenty of suggestions to make that process easier. Step 1, don’t give away engineering and design. Step 2, don’t give away consulting and end user interaction. Step 3, don’t give away programming. Step 4, don’t give away integration. In fact, just do it all in house. Marc has recommendations about working on capital projects, Larry is happy to ...
May 08, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Recorded March 31, 2022 Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in March and set up a table in the middle of the hallway to talk with as many people as possible about AV in higher education. In this episode, we’re joined by Frank Alaimo and Andy Borts from UNLV to talk about their more measured approach to creating and supporting modern teaching and learning spaces. Frank shares his big, bold plan for the hardware and AV systems and Andy discusses his unique and highl...
May 03, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Recorded April 22, 2022 After over a month away, we’re back and have all sorts of things to talk about… but not on this episode. We start with more data from EDUCAUSE that suggests leadership should talk with their local IT staff who support the learning spaces on campus. It’s a good article from a trusted source to forward on to your managers and directors. Then, what’s all this event support we keep getting roped into? Can we build our learning spaces to support events or will users just want ...
May 02, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Recorded March 11, 2022 Jamie brings an article that describes two very different experiences with warranty and support… of socks. It’s relevant in a weird way. And in a year when we’re having to be extra flexible with our choices of equipment due to the supply chain madness, it does raise the question of just how much that manufacturer support weighs in our decisions of what to specify. Speaking of supply chain, let’s talk supply chain! Marc can’t plan for projects, Larry is wary of replacing a...
Apr 08, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Recorded March 18, 2022 We immediately derail the show with an in-depth discussion of blockchain and educational credentials. Larry and Marc have been looking into this and it seems to be the future of education… sort of. Then, we cover campus support structures. That is, how is your support team staffed? Is your install team your support team? Do you have your own support desk or do all the calls go to the university help desk— and can they actually help? Take notes! Finally, Chris wants to kno...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Recorded March 4, 2022 Marc brings an article about the commoditization of IT skills as organizations mature. It spurs some good discussion for our next topic about hiring staff. So, is it better to hire an IT person who then learns AV or hire an AV person who then learns IT? Larry put a similar question out on Twitter related to hiring or growing programmers. Finally, Marc wants to know what out standard cabling infrastructure looks like. Are we following all the TIA standards and best practice...
Mar 15, 2022•58 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Recorded February 18, 2022 If we’re discussing emerging technologies in learning spaces, we’re obviously going to talk about the metaverse… but not the one you’re thinking of. Marc brings an article and associated study from Forbes and JP Morgan that reveals the plans that that the financial world has for the future. And no, it’s not goggles. Larry also references an article from 2012 that raises many of the same issues. Links are all below. So, will the metaverse take over classrooms? Not in th...
Mar 08, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Recorded February 11, 2022 QSC divides into two divisions, focusing on their pro audio products and burgeoning control and AV transport lines respectively. Is this a good move? Time will tell, but they certainly have the metrics to show what website visitors are looking for. Oddly enough, after this announcement, QSC held an event where they announced products in both lines. It was… weird. Then we dive into AV replacement cycles, refresh cycles, life expectancy— whatever you prefer to call it. D...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Recorded February 4, 2022 In the AV news, we review Kramer purchasing UC Workspace, best known for their Quicklaunch software. I find this intriguing because as PCs become the center of conferencing systems, Quicklaunch provides a customizable unifying interface regardless of platform. Then Chris demands the rest of the AV SuperFriends help him determine the “best” method for integrating multiple (that is, more than one) PTZ cameras into a classroom system. Should we transport baseband video and...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 11
