The weather is heating up and so is your inbox. You know what that means—it’s InfoComm season!
InfoComm is the largest professional AV-focused show in North America, with over 44,000 attendees expected to descend on the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, this month.
[Things You Can't Miss at InfoComm 2019]
“This year in Orlando we will be offering a robust program of 900-plus exhibitors, 200 education courses, and numerous networking events for our anticipated 44,000 attendees,” said Rochelle Richardson, AVIXA’s senior vice president of expositions and events. “We continue to expand the trade show and conference program with new and expanded areas of focus.”
According to Richardson, who joined AVIXA in late February 2019, the organization has a strategic five-year plan for the show partially based on AVIXA’s own research about growing markets.
“You’ll see a lot of content about solutions and trends in the hospitality and retail markets—content not only for members of our AV channel, but also for what we continue to see as a growing faction of customers seeking information about AV solutions at InfoComm,” she added. “AVIXA’s market intelligence has identified hospitality and retail as rapidly growing markets for AV and we want to make sure InfoComm offers ways to capitalize.”
Sean Wargo, AVIXA’s senior director of marketing intelligence, also weighed in: “In 2019 we expect retail globally to be a $20.3 billion industry in terms of pro AV revenues. That’s growing at about 5 percent annual out through 2023. Hospitality is about a $7.5 billion market segment, and this is growing at 6 percent.” Wargo will be presenting information from AVIXA’s Market Intelligence Reports on both retail (June 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Room W311H) and hospitality (June 13 at 12 p.m. in Room W307AB) at the show.
For additional focus on these markets, InfoComm has partnered with organizations such as the publishers of Blooloop, VMSD, and Hotel Management, as well as retail customer experience research firm PSFK, to broaden AV practitioners’ insights into the markets they serve. Additionally, AVIXA will continue to “build on the success of programs like Center Stage and the TIDE conference with really thought-provoking workshops and speakers who can tell the story of our dynamic industry in new and engaging ways,” said Richardson.
To help guide you through the show, we asked a panel of InfoComm exhibitors to share the trends and events they're excited to see and attend.
Sam Malik, Senior Director of Sales–Pro AV, Optoma
I’m looking forward to seeing the latest innovations and trends in display technology, including continued proliferation of 4K resolution and laser light source projectors. With new advancements in both interactive flat panels and LED displays, I’m also eager to see the latest developments in these categories, as they increase large display options with collaboration tools and added mobility.
Although this year’s show will be my 24th InfoComm, I always look forward to the ribbon cutting, because it creates a sense of excitement for the opening of the show, as well as the various seminars and workshops offered for continued learning. I appreciate seeing both newcomers and current members of the AV industry go through CTS certification, as I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of undergoing certification with members of my team. Overall, it’s great to see the new generation of AV professionals taking charge and ushering in change to continue reinvigorating the industry in new ways.
Sarah Beggs, Director, Commercial Marketing, Crestron
The convergence of AV and IT has hit both sides of the industry. IT professionals are more involved in technology decision-making than ever before, and many are now responsible for the myriad AV products that are touching the network. Even as AV and IT continue to blend, integrators and end users alike are still confused about the benefits and drawbacks that come from the convergence. This will be a popular topic at the show and one that will be discussed at Crestron’s booth at InfoComm 2019.
I am personally looking forward to the Young AV Professionals Reception. This is a great event where we can encourage and educate our younger generations that are coming into the industry, which, in turn, supports our industry’s future.
John McMahon, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Meyer Sound
After attending a few European trade shows in the beginning of the year, we are excited to see how InfoComm compares. We can always count on InfoComm to bring together the best in the audiovisual industry, and we expect nothing short of that this year. Immersive audio has been all the rage for a while now, and we are interested to see other technological developments in this area. These days it takes an exceptional experience to get people out of the comfort of consuming media in their own homes—lighting, visuals, and audio all have to work together to make this happen. We obviously have our own developments we’re bringing to the table, but this trade show is a comprehensive space for our industry, and we are always intrigued to see what’s new.
As the Avnu Alliance’s Pro AV segment chair, I’m also excited about the Milan interoperability demos in the Luminex booth (6967) throughout the entire show, along with Milan news updates in member demo rooms. We’re also hosting an AVIXA education session on Friday, June 14, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. to offer a technical overview of networked AV systems with Milan.
Brian McClimans, Vice President of Sales, Americas and APAC, Peerless-AV
You can always expect to see the newest and most innovative technologies at InfoComm, and this year will be no different. I’m looking forward to walking the floor to see what some of our partners are introducing. I’m specifically interested in advancements in LED technology and unique mounting patterns. I’m also looking forward to seeing some of the different applications being explored and how technologies like AI and analytics are being utilized.
Each year AVIXA continues to outdo itself with new additions to the InfoComm show, making it one of the can’t-miss events in North America. This year I am once again looking forward to attending the AVIXA Women’s Council Networking Breakfast. Held on June 13, this breakfast is a wonderful opportunity to meet with some of the leading women in AV and hear their perspectives on the industry. Not only is it nice to sit and enjoy breakfast with our peers, but it also is a true knowledge-sharing experience. I would highly encourage anyone who has not yet registered to do so.
Clint Hoffman, CEO, Kramer
I’m looking forward to the continuing evolution of traditional hardware solutions into what I would call software-based AV platforms. We at Kramer are leading that change in the marketplace, and it’s an exciting one.
[Kramer to Elevate IT at InfoComm 2019]
Gina Sansivero, Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications, AtlasIED
I am really excited to see the continued growth of end users and technology managers at the show. They are increasingly important to the development of products and the adoption of emerging technologies. I have spoken with more integrators this year who see this attendance trend as here to stay, and they actually have booth space on the show floor this year to host tech manager guests.
Personally,I’m looking forward to the AVIXA Women’s Council Networking Breakfast—getting together with our fellow council members is a great way to spark new connections and spend time with friends.
Mark Bohs, Director of Sales, Americas, Datapath
Large displays are certainly in a period of flux, with more direct view LED technologies being seen at key trade shows. We expect to be seeing smaller pitch, more cost-effective displays, as well as aiming to show how Datapath systems work seamlessly with these large canvases.
There is also some great progress being made with data transfer, with some exciting new technologies for extenders, which all helps with distributing video signals over long distances. It was obvious from ISE in Amsterdam that AV over IP is now taking a firm hold on the industry, and it will be interesting to see the latest developments in Orlando.
Bob Michaels, CEO, ZeeVee
I am particularly interested in seeing the expanding field of AVoIP applications and products from SDVoE members. This will be the biggest year yet for the platform, with many companies working to their strengths to create high-performance products and systems with seamless interoperability. SDVoE presentations and training sessions—in which we will be participating and attending—will be a highlight of the show for me. These will offer a crucial sneak peek at the future direction of AVoIP solutions for many applications.
Bernice Cramer, Director of Product Management and Global Marketing, Bose
As all market sectors are getting more system-oriented, I am interested in following the evolution and maturation of this trend at InfoComm 2019. As the industry continues to adopt systems handling control and transportation of both audio and video signals, our company is proactively providing solutions that give system integrators and their customers intuitive, cost-effective enabling solutions for their day-to-day work. I am also interested in meeting with integrators to discuss market trends and to learn about their needs and priorities. Those invaluable discussions lead beyond feature-driven product development to needs- and application-driven solutions.
Garth Lobban, Director of Marketing, Atlona
As a manufacturer, the trends that excite us are the ones that are fulfilling customer needs. At InfoComm, that trend is the increased demand for USB-C in meeting spaces. USB-C brings a broad array of benefits to these environments, offering immediate compatibility and less clutter while supporting multiple needs. For example, the ability for users to manage audio and video connectivity alongside support for peripheral devices, as well as device charging. USB-C is serving traditional needs while enabling new capabilities for the next generation of desktops, laptops and BYOD. The products that fulfill the thirst for USB-C and all that it brings, without stepping away from HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort, are the products we expect to strike the right chord with AV integrators, tech managers, and end users alike.
Michael Wiener, President and CEO, Vanguard
We fully comprehend that InfoComm is the key show of the entire year for the LED display industry, and that all our key customers will be in attendance. One can refer to it as inspiration or motivation, but as a result we make every effort to launch all of our latest technologies to coincide with InfoComm. From an LED video display perspective, I really have no clue as to what trends my competitors will be showing. However, Vanguard will be launching a revolutionary trend at the show called Chip-on-Board (COB) technology.
Lauren Simmen, Director, Marketing for AMETEK Electronic Systems Protection (SurgeX)
One trend we’ve been paying very close attention to is the rise of conference technology and the increased demand that these spaces—and the technology housed within—simply work as intended, regardless of the operator or where in the world they are located. The rise of telecommuting and remote offices and workers has placed increased emphasis on these facilities, and proper power protection can serve to keep them online and functioning as intended to avoid dreaded downtime. We’re very eager to continue monitoring this trend, as it reveals new business opportunities for the industry.
One event we are excited for at InfoComm is the NSCA Drunk Unkles concert that we sponsor each year. All proceeds this year benefit the Ignite program, which continues to spark interest and encourages students to consider career paths within our industry.
Brandon White, Director of New Product Development, Vanco International
Last year at InfoComm we saw some 8K in action, and I am looking forward to seeing how much more the technology has evolved in sources, display, connections testing, and cabling. We have seen it coming and have developed our HDMI AOC lines to take advantage of some of the upcoming features and benefits brought on by the new standard such as eARC, 48 Gbps, 8K@60Hz, and 4K@120Hz.
In terms of events, we always look forward to the AVNation Tweetup as an opportunity to break away from meetings and catch up with customers and industry friends over a casual drink on the show floor.
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