I would like to share a recent situation I was in, which is directly related to when a consultant requests equipment from a manufacturer for “long-term evaluation.” This aspect of the industry was something I didn't know about until I was working for a consulting firm years ago—typically, equipment manufacturers (some more than others) don't mind giving consultants equipment to test and use, with no return date in the near future.
[Beyond the Tech: The Cost of Doing Business]
Integrators typically don't get the same treatment. The reason is simple, of course: Integrators buy equipment and sell it for a profit, while consultants don't buy or sell equipment at all, they just recommend equipment.
In Search Of…a Scaler
I have an older TV in our playroom and wanted to hook a PC to it. It was not going so well—connectivity issues, format issues, you know what happens when you try to save some money. To be clear, I planned on replacing the TV in the future, so I didn’t want to buy anything.
One of the new manufacturer’s reps I had met was touting a company’s video products that I had never used before, so I looked at their product lineup and asked to try a particular scaler with a VGA-to-HDMI out. It worked great. I went into the menu and was able to customize and shift the picture to get it just right. A few weeks later, the rep got back to me and said he would gladly sell it to me for 10% over cost or he wanted it back. I returned it.
[On Your Business: Avoid Friction with Effective Management]
Now that I knew what I needed, I contacted a few other manufacturers looking for their version of the piece. I was up front in my request. Everyone I contacted had been burned by consultants trying pieces, never returning them, so I got no after no.
That is, until a rep came around who I had not worked with before with a product I had never used before. He was very accommodating, so I asked how he would feel about a “loaner” piece for me to try. He figured there wasn't a better way to show how good his product than to let me use it.
He was right, by the way. It worked great. I was impressed with its picture and ease of use, and I started specifying his product on some projects.
Troubleshooting on a Deadline
Later, I got a call requesting onsite troubleshooting help for a system that wasn't working. It was in a new stadium for a university—more than 200 displays sourced by nine cable tuners for HD. The issue was that the HDMI outputs of the cable tuners going into the modulator wouldn't produce a picture. The upcoming event, just a few days away, would host many of the facility contributors, and the organizers wanted HD pictures throughout the stadium during the tours.
The manufacturers, consultant, and integrator had been working on it for almost two weeks, and nothing was successful, except putting a composite signal out of the tuner directly into the modulator. They decided to use the component output of the tuner to feed a scaler that would send HDMI to the modulator. The modulator manufacturer specified a piece, the consultant signed off, and nine units were purchased. I won't name names here, but the devices didn't work with the modulator, though they did work directly to a display. This added to the frustration and ultimate decision to bring in someone else (me).
When I reviewed the drawings they sent, l thought it might be an HDCP issue. Why weren’t they going directly into the Blonder Tongue modulator’s component input if the HDMI did not display a picture? It turned out the Blonder Tongue was “value engineered” out of the system, and a less expensive modulator from another manufacturer only had HDMI and composite inputs, hence the need for a scaler.
Of course, I was immediately concerned, as they didn't even have the right drawings to reflect the installation. Still, I signed on to the project and visited the site the next day. And since I had that loaner scaler with VGA or component in and HDMI out, I decided to bring it.
When I arrived, I started systematically looking at all the devices, testing each for functionality. After a few hours, I reached the same conclusions as the others. With much resistance from the team, I tried my scaler—and just like that, HD pictures everywhere!
[Beyond the Tech: Problem Solving Against the Clock]
I had to laugh; what were the chances that I would have the exact piece needed to fix this? I called the rep and let him know we needed nine of these for a project. He was thrilled that his efforts really paid off here (and so was I).
There was some engineering to do, such as logistics for the placement of the scalers (another rack and complete re-racking was required), but in the end, the solution worked and the consultant signed off. So, to all those manufacturers who missed out, what's the ROI of your long-term evaluation strategy?
