AV Technology - May 2008 - (Page 52)

SMART AV ports in all of its AV products and control products so that they could be integrated into a package and made part of an intelligent solution. “We’ve always been known as the ‘United Nation’ to the electronics world,” says Bill Schaffer, director of sales, Crestron. “We take other people’s languages and bring them all together. We can make them talk to each other. We act as that bridge and provide the user interface and control to make it all work seamlessly together.” AMX, Richardson, TX, makes similar claims. “The beauty of our control box is that we can talk pretty much any language or protocol you want, so we can interface with most systems,” says Robert Noble, chief technology officer, AMX. “Basically, we’re kind of an open book, if you will, and we bolted on to several different building management systems out there from an applications level.” But despite these claims, some designers are still encountering obstacles in finding a common language. “You do get integration in that they go to each system independently, but it’s not as efficient as it could be,” Morman says. “Right now, the AV control integrators are not up to speed. It still requires custom programming.” In intelligent buildings, AV is still a new technology. Despite many protocols that are available and well defined, they’re not typically supported by most of the intelligent AV control processors. “That’s why AV ends up being a user of data provided from the networks, but not necessarily able to contribute to that data,” Brustad says. “Manufacturers have yet to provide the necessary software programming tools and interfaces to easily implement intelligent building communication with these systems. Rather than providing a single communication link to the main building control, they’re going to each of these services independently, and that’s a huge disadvantage. It’s basically bypassing one of the best advantages of building automation, which is the one point of communication between all devices.” To help overcome this challenge, CABA has taken a strong industry stand that the industry needs to move to open standards. “When you have proprietary standards, the end-users will sometimes feel like they’re locked into a specific system or products and services provided by a specific company, and if they want to tie it in with other systems, it become an issue,” Zimmer says. With open standards, decisions for purchase can be based on the best product for the building’s needs, the service that the manufacturer provides, such as warranty and user workshops, as well as price. “It’s something that’s frustrating because networked AV has great potential, but it’s happening slower and more gradually than anybody would like to see,” Ehrlich says. “But that’s probably typical of anything that goes on in the construction trades. Nothing happens fast.” Beck Ireland is a freelance writer and editor based in Kansas City, MO. She has more than five years of professional experience as a journalist serving the entertainment technology and electrical construction industries. She can be reached at twitteringmachine@gmail.com. http://www.divigear.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - May 2008

AV Technology - May 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: How to Qualify an AV Supplier Education: Working Smarter AV Technology's Guide to Networked AV Government: IPv6 — Why You Should Care Calculating ROI on Your Digital Signage Investment Enhancing Audio in the Classroom Minimizing Equipment Theft Smart AV The Tribe Has Spoken AV Enables Interactive Research AV Image Enhancement Product Spotlight Tech Horizons Product Review New Products AV MO

AV Technology - May 2008

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