Without a doubt, 2020 was a tough year for the world. We lost friends and family, we lost colleagues. We shifted our kitchens into home offices, and we became our children’s teachers. Despite these challenges, we embraced technology in new and valuable ways.
Before the term social distancing was part of our everyday nomenclature, videoconferencing and online communications were cost savings tools. Prior to the pandemic, today’s popular platforms—Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype—were used as ways to circumvent travel expenses and expedite planning. Today, we’re at a turning point in the pro AV industry. Videoconferencing and live streaming systems have become essential business tools.
Video production and streaming is here to stay. Embracing the future of pro AV, our industry’s experts recognize where technology has the most potential to shift businesses’ bottom lines. Sales and marketing teams can use video production software, cameras, switchers and other tools to create more engaging social media content and live streams. Videos will replace expensive, printed brochures. The worlds of engagement, education, and entertainment will interweave like never before.
Trends in Broadcasting
Of course, new technologies are also changing the pro AV landscape. NDI, or Network Device Interface, for example, is one of the most widely adopted IP technologies on the market today. A brand of the Vizrt Group, NDI SDK is a royalty-free technology that allows video and audio sources to be shared bi-directionally across a network, eliminating the need for costly direct connections, expensive cable runs, and infrastructure upgrades while turning every source into a destination instantly available anywhere on the network. Dante and Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) are also changing the landscape of IP video transport.
AV Meets IT
The key to growth in pro AV is understanding customers’ immediate needs, future goals, and how both intersect with their IT departments. As organizations continue to adapt, implementing video production and live streaming strategies will be part of the “new normal.” In the process, IT managers will have to support a wide variety of technologies in these organizations. In some cases, IT teams may need to standardize the AV equipment they’re adopting. Upgrading and even replacing equipment that doesn’t fit that standard will be necessary.
The Future Lies with Simplicity
Our industry has a unique opportunity to define the standards that support video communications and live streaming. From the classroom and the boardroom to the sanctuary, AV professionals are leading the charge that will improve communications today and into the future. Paramount among those goals will be to create easy-to-use and manage systems for the end users. Technologies that utilize artificial intelligence, wireless compatibility and touchless systems will be the norm.
While our customers are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, our work lies in providing the most effective, scalable solutions. Pro AV professionals will integrate technologies that fit this “new normal.” From lecture capture systems to live streaming and podcasting studios, these integrations will provide a return on investment for our customers in the form of sales, engagement and public perception. This is the future of production and streaming.
Paul Richards was part of the discussion “What’s Next for Production and Streaming?” at AV³ on June 17, 2021.
Other stories with Paul Richards, a member of SCN's 2021 class of The Nine:
- Distance and Hybrid Learning Trends in Higher Ed, March 15, 2021
- The Increased Role of PTZs, Feb. 20, 2021
- Touchless Systems: Manufacturers Discuss AV's Latest Trend, Dec. 22, 2020
- Flexibility Is Key for Tech Planning in Capture and Streaming, Aug. 20, 2020
- The PTZ Goes Remote, May 22, 2020
