AV Technology - May 2008 - (Page B5)

MARKET PERSPECTIVES THE GOVERNMENT VIEW By Gary L. Hall The U.S. federal government is moving toward network AV adoption through high-level directives from entities such as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Defense (DoD). These directives are intended to help break down barriers to collaboration and interoperability. Despite initial progress, barriers still exist. Key barriers include bandwidth limitations, cultural resistance, stovepiped networks, security concerns, budget constraints, difficulty enabling multicasting, and the lack of qualified AV network managers and technicians. Many federal IT managers still regard AV technologies as risks to their network stability. Their number one complaint is the amount of bandwidth required by AV. Proper QoS provisioning and the use of network performance monitoring tools can overcome many of these concerns. The second major concern is the complexity of properly integrating and configuring network AV components — which is where knowledgeable AV/IT personnel will help. Agencies are converging formerly stovepiped AV networks onto enterprise networks to facilitate interoperability between roombased videoconferencing systems and new desktop units, as well as streaming media and other collaboration technologies. The emergence of unified communications as well as Web 2.0 and IPv6 trends has framed AV technologies in terms that are familiar and understandable to IT managers, which will help promote widespread adoption. THE CORPORATE VIEW By Joey D’Angelo There are many ways that network technology is drastically changing the AV industry as we know it. We all know about the benefits associated with the application of networks to control systems, schedule rooms, and manage assets, but there are some less obvious benefits that can save money on large projects. Recently, while engineering a large museum-type AV project, I found myself in a budgetary pinch. This project contained no fewer then 47 edge-blended projected images. In the past we would have connected each projector to a large-scale matrix switcher. The problem was that this matrix switcher would have cost about $500,000, almost 1/3 of our $1.4 million total budget. But by using the capability of networked AV components, we were able to come in under budget and deliver a higher degree of flexibility. We replaced the large matrix switcher with small, networked MPEG video players at each projector. Then we put each MPEG player on their own small network using relatively inexpensive off-the-shelf hubs. Lastly, we used a simple software application to control the content at each projector. The result was the same capability of a big matrix switcher at a fraction of the cost with far fewer potential points of failure. If one were to take this networked content distribution scheme a few years into the future, it would probably be no surprise to see all projectors and flat panel displays with network cards and built-in players for all sorts of video content. It’s only a matter of time before network AV becomes the norm, not the exception. THE EDUCATION VIEW By Steve Cunningham Network AV in education today is used primarily for on-demand delivery of multimedia course materials to students. Recent initiatives in education include efforts to create a “learner-centric” environment where students can study on irregular schedules and working adults can retrain themselves while holding down full time jobs. Streaming course materials are considered key to creating this environment. Network AV is a minimum requirement for these initiatives as an integral component of Course Management Systems (CMS) like Blackboard and Moodle. Today the CMS has filtered down from post-secondary schools to secondary and even primary schools, driving the demand for online teaching materials that range from basic audio and video podcasts, to master classes conducted via live videoconference. Other applications for network AV include real-time videoconferencing, widely used for collaborative research and for teaching between remote campuses and different universities. It is also vital to libraries, as we digitize their collections and make them available to students online. Rather than invest in separate network AV infrastructures, many schools are content to use their existing networks for delivering multiple forms of streaming media. Where the network infrastructure cannot handle large streaming files, it’s feasible to adapt by compressing the material and breaking it up into smaller chunks. One notable exception is Internet2, a consortium of 207 universities who have each implemented a closed highspeed network for research and experimentation purposes. GUIDE TO NETWORKED AV 5

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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