The AV News Awards 2020 will be presented at a presentation breakfast at ISE 2020 on the first morning of the show, Tuesday 11th February 2020. Planned to ensure that Award winners can exhibit their trophies on their ISE booths, the invitation-only presentation breakfast will be streamed live from the venue at the Amsterdam RAI by Zoom Video Communications. Links to the live stream will be posted to our web site avnews.co.uk on the 11th January 2020.
The following is a shortlist of Award nominations in the Technology, Project, and Organisation Awards categories. As is our usual practice, winners of Awards in the Individual and Personal categories are not announced until the Presentation.
Enjoy the AV News Awards Presentation by Video
Courtesy of sponsor Zoom Video Communications, even if you cannot get a ticket to attend the Presentation, you can enjoy the event by video. Log into the live video stream from the AV News web site at www.avnews.co.uk. on or after 7.30 am (UK time) on the 11th February 2020. the stream will be available on www.avnews.co.uk after the event.
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Launcher by Display Note
DisplayNote was founded in 2012 to simplify how people present, share and collaborate with content in meeting rooms, huddles spaces, classrooms, lecture theatres and training rooms. Organisations utilise DisplayNote products to share ideas, make decisions and improve how information flows.
DisplayNote’s latest solution, Launcher, enables users to utilise their smartphone to create a secure, more personalised touchscreen meeting experience. Using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and an Office 365 account, you can get instant access to your content, calendars and calls on the large interactive touch screen.
Applications can be organised to make it easier for teams to find and launch the apps they need for their meetings. Launcher ensures that the setup is tailored and personalised to the needs of individuals.
1. Online meetings can be joined with one touch – to simplify and streamline the launch process of conference calls. With Microsoft Exchange integration, Launcher locates your Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business meetings.
2. Users can further benefit from the flexibility of the Launcher system through instant screen sharing between a phone and a display. This allows end users to begin a video call on a smartphone and to then further engage via the main display on the conference or meeting room when they enter this space.
3. Launcher is pre-loaded with DisplayNote applications for wireless presentations of different formats – to suit all online meetings. The ready-to-use applications include the wireless presentation software (Montage), a one-to-many screen solution (Broadcast) and an intuitive collaborative whiteboarding tool (Workspace).
4. Real-time view of meetings scheduled in the shared calendar. This enables more efficient meetings with participants knowing their calendar and upcoming commitments in real time.
5. Launcher places end users in complete control over meeting room displays. This feature ensures a smarter, more personalised user interface for end users as applications that are used consistently can be easily found on the home screen.
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Solstice Pod video conferencing integration by Mersive
Mersive has launched a video conferencing integration for Solstice Pod seamlessly connecting in-room and remote participants. With the new update, meeting goers can leverage Solstice’s rich in-room content sharing, control, and mark-up capabilities while also supporting remote users through integration with the conferencing service of choice. Solstice already enhances meeting productivity by allowing any number of users to easily share and control content from laptops and mobile devices to an in-room display. It is used by more than 8,000 organizations and education institutions around the world, including many on the Fortune 100.
● Multiple in-room users can easily share and control content at the same time using the familiar Solstice app, with content collaboration being automatically piped to the conference participants. In-room users are not limited to sharing one piece of content at a time, which is commonplace with video conferencing apps.
● The architecture of our video conferencing integration solution means only one in-room user is streaming out to the cloud and remote participants, versus everyone joining a video conference session and steaming individually to and from the cloud
● By combining Solstice with your room-based video conferencing system (connected via HDMI), users only need to open a single app per meeting. Remote participants just need to open their video conferencing app, while in-room users can share content into the session with Solstice as usual.
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Vivitek’s eco-system of solutions
If it’s true that no man’s an island, then it is also true that no product – in isolation – is a ‘solution’. Vivitek’s view is that it’s more beneficial to consider every aspect of an AV challenge, hence its harmonious range of complementary solutions that comprehensively address the complex issues or challenges faced by customers.
Under-pinned by industry-admired reliability and generous warranties, Vivitek’s eco-system comprises award-winning display devices combined with wireless collaboration solutions that bring AV technology and the BYOD principle together. They deliver tangible productivity results in environments ranging from the classroom to the boardroom, and everything in-between.
• All Vivitek’s NovoConnect solutions enable participants to seamlessly share content from any device onto the central meeting screen wirelessly. Connection is easy via the NovoConnect app on laptops or mobile devices, while guests can join using the optional LauncherPlus USB devices. All NovoConnect devices, from standalone to embedded solutions can be remotely managed over the network.
• Vivitek’s NovoTouch interactive flat panels present customers with a new way to engage and interact with big data visualisation. Simple and easy to connect, the interactive flat panels (in a range for Education and Business) are pre-configured with Vivitek’s NovoConnect Solutions to bring wireless, cable-free and hassle-free presenting to improve meeting efficiency and productivity by driving increased collaboration. Supporting the BYOD concept, NovoTouch offers users complete wireless mirroring to a variety of devices.
• Vivitek’s NovoDisplay is an all-in-one flat screen solution that integrates three key functions – 4K-UHD display, wireless collaboration capabilities and digital signage – to create one productivity-boosting solution. The ability to seamlessly switch between meetings and digital signage opens a wide opportunity to maximize the investment and improve communication flow during and after meetings.
• The NovoProjector is an innovative all-in-one solution for organisations with meeting rooms that require a larger image than most flat panel displays can offer. NovoProjector allows them to benefit from its extensive wireless collaboration features.
• NovoDS is Vivitek’s Digital Signage Solution and is embedded in all ‘integrated’ solutions as an additional feature. It offers an affordable, network-based digital signage solution which is ideal for creating dynamic visual displays for corporate or public spaces. Digital signage content can incorporate text, photos, audio, video, and web content in fully customisable configurations for a variety of environments.
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone has been designed to be as accessible as the rest of the Zoom experience. There’s no need to download any complex software to use it. Zoom Phone makes transitioning from video to voice calls easy. Zoom Phone is available to buy as an add-on to an existing Zoom service. Pricing starts at £10 per month per user for a single app with access to voice, video, messaging, voicemail, meetings, conferencing, representing excellent value for money. PSTN calls can be made over cell data, or Wi-Fi connections. Additionally, Zoom is available through native MacOS, iOS, Windows, and Android apps.
• Ease of use for everyone: When you users click on their Zoom client, their Phone function will simply appear alongside their Meeting and Chat options. Just click on the phone, enter a person’s name or phone number, and users are ready to go. It’s simple and straightforward.
• Connect to external platforms: Users can connect to their SIP solution to external platforms from Five9 and Twilio too. This way, it’s easier to manage call routing options through some of the world’s favourite cloud calling services
• BYOC: Zoom is committed to innovating as quickly as possible for its customers to deliver functionality that suits the entire Zoom experience. The Bring Your Own Carrier, or BYOC option ensures that users can access all the advantages of Zoom Phone through their existing PSTN trunks
• Complete Freedom: Thanks to its integrations and the availability of BYOC, Zoom makes Zoom Phone as flexible as possible for today’s users. The solution means that Zoom Phone can be available in any country – even when localised services aren’t yet available
• Centralised Communication Management: Zoom Phone fits seamlessly into any user’s digital transformation strategy. The system allows companies and business leaders to manage and provision users freely, monitor business interactions, and more in a simple admin portal
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: CTouch BRIX Concept
As a designer and manufacturer of touchscreen solutions for education and corporate businesses, we 
often receive questions about sustainability in relation to our products. Most of those questions are related to the recycling of product packings and the usage of raw materials. Although these topics are important in the industry’s mission to limit excessive usage of (scarce) resources, we believe sustainability is much more than recycling. The environmental footprint and circularity of the consumer electronics that make our lives so much better should become a key topic on the agenda of AV industry pioneers.
During the spring and summer of 2019, CTOUCH Europe B.V. and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have conducted a research on the CO2 impact of the manufacturing and usage of interactive flat panel displays (IFPD). The first initiative is CTOUCH’ Circularity Passport. With the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), CTOUCH conducted research on the CO2 impact of manufacturing and using touchscreens. A material passport (‘The circularity passport’) enables us to create awareness about the CO2 impact of touchscreens. It also triggers dialogs with our partners about reusage of these electronics, creating environmental and commercial benefits.
The second initiative is above mentioned re-usage mission brought into practice: CTOUCH ‘BRIX’. This is a modular business model, using the touchscreen as a basic platform, which is upgradeable via modules. In a nutshell, this means companies will be able to upgrade or migrate to different collaboration solutions within their meeting room or huddle space. This can be done without having to completely replace their CTOUCH touchscreen. And that saves time, money and above all, production of completely new interactive displays that have a high CO2 impact.
· Modular. Sustainable. Futureproof.
· We keep in mind that we’re all different. We work in different ways, we have different needs. And the way we work today can be completely different from the way we’ll work tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be great if the tools that you are working with today, can still be used in your future workplace? Sounds complicated? Not at all. Get familiar with our rock solid solution ‘BRIX’. A flexible upgradable family of collaboration solutions for all end user needs and requirements.
· What is BRIX?
A display is just a display. Until you put smart, fast hardware and software inside. When companies decide that they want to do more with their touchscreen, they might need to buy a brand new one. Well not with CTOUCH!
· Our Leddura touchscreens are based on a modular platform. We call it ‘BRIX’. How does it work? Well, simple. We’ve made part of the hardware inside our touchscreens modular. This means that users are able to replace a module, or even add a module to their CTOUCH touchscreens. They can start with basic whiteboarding and easy screen sharing. After that, they simply upgrade the CTOUCH screen with a BRIX module to add functionalities such as videoconferencing or room booking. Whatever their needs and requirements are, we’ll support them with the perfect fit!
Category: Collaboration Innovation of the Year
Nomination: IMPACT Plus part of the Clevertouch Plus Series
Launched at BETT Show in 2009, Clevertouch was the first manufacturer to show a dedicated large 
format true interactive displays (no overlays) designed specifically for the education market. Part of the Sahara Presentations Group, Clevertouch dominates the UK market with the number 1 selling touchscreen. Now with their fifth-generation screen, the newly launched IMPACT Plus is part of the Plus Series range and designed to meet the needs of the modern classroom. Our touchscreens are designed for teachers, by teachers. Informed by the government’s agenda, the product is designed to enable extraordinary lessons to take place in ordinary classrooms, transforming the learning experience. Our education solution is helping teachers and pupils shine in the digital classroom.
1. Ten years of Clevertouch for Education: Celebrating 10 years of continued innovation, the Clevertouch team supported by family business owners and brothers Kevin and Nigel Batley, bought the first generation of touchscreens to market at a time when the whole industry (manufacturers and education end users) were still very much focused on buying and installing interactive whiteboards and projectors.
2. With a turnover of £70 million (70% of the overall business), 2019 has been a tremendous year for Clevertouch’s Plus Series which has seen a 33% growth in unit sales around the world shoot up to 36,000 a far cry from the 100 sold in the first year. By 2023, Plus Series will generate £200 million of revenue for the business through rapid expansion and product investment.
3. Clevertouch has spent the past decade building relationships with key EdTech influencers and solution providers. From software companies to app developers, Clevertouch have found the ideal partners provides the largest range of resources for the classroom. If a teacher requests a new feature in the software, or for an app they’ve seen in their app store to be added to the Cleverstore, the Clevertouch team aim to fulfil the request within six months. Cleverstore is owned by Clevertouch and unlike the competition will never show external advertising. Boasting the dynamic duo of education software – Lynx and Snowflake, as well as over a hundred apps in various languages, subjects and age groups, Plus Series has everything a teacher would need in the classroom. Supporting both types of teaching style – on the fly and pre-prepared, the software can be accessed via the Cloud to allow teachers to work on their content from anywhere. Resources can be easily shared between colleagues or schools. And Plus Series follows the Clevertouch ethos – once you’ve purchased a screen you will never have to pay extra for software.
4. Whatever we create, others follow a year to 18 months later: Plus Series provides a complete wraparound classroom solution, we believe in supplying the complete solution rather a product in isolation. Led by feedback from teachers and IT departments, we always deliver technology that works for the end user and will fit seamlessly into any environment. It should never be the other way round. We will always work with IT departments to ensure we get the delivery and installation right the first time. Our customers matter. The current Plus Series Android module runs LUX 8, which makes teaching easy with some unique features including super glide touch, handwriting recognition, class voting, Whiteboard, split screen mode, spotlight, Cloud accounts, Chrome browser, GoogleDrive, CleverMessage and Clevershare. Sign into all your settings and cloud accounts by tapping your NFC card against the Plus Series bezel. With dual tip super cool stylus, ideal for group work, and the Clevershare app for screen sharing, IMPACT Plus is designed for the
Category: Digital Signage Innovation of the Year
Nomination: VNS GeoBox videowall processor
VNS’s unique 100% one-box video control solution, the 10-bit GeoBox G413, controls multiple displays at any angle, without additional software. No other solution allows unlimited angles without separate software. With a 4-channel output, the G413 can control a four-display videowall, whilst daisy-chaining multiple G413s via HDMI 2.0 loop-out ports allows for an unlimited number of cascading display configurations for large, irregular videowalls. Users can choose from 22 pre-programmed display modes without adjustment or setup, saving time and effort during installation. PIP and POP are allowed dual views on each display, and input resolution is maximum 4K/2K /60Hz or 7680 x 1200 / 30Hz.
• Totally unique to market
• Industry-leading 10 bits processing capability
• No other solution allows unlimited angles without separate software
• Can daisy-chain for unlimited cascading display configurations
• Image cropping in any place at any angle
Category: Digital Signage Innovation of the Year
Nomination: VITEC’s Enterprise Grade IPTV & Digital Signage Platform
VITEC’s Enterprise Grade IPTV & Digital Signage Platform combines powerful Digital Signage capabilities with broadcast quality IPTV distribution with into an all-in-one solution. Designed to seamlessly integrate with any IT environment, EZ TV is the ideal digital signage solution for enterprise customers, sports stadiums and arenas, medical facilities and government agencies looking for a secure, scalable, cost-effective way to distribute video and display dynamic signs using their existing IP network.
· Communicate with your audience and turn any screen into a digital signage opportunity: Driven by VITEC’s high-performance, hardware-based endpoints, operators can turn any screen on the network into a new monetary opportunity, delivering eye-catching digital content with dynamic data and the highest quality IPTV content — all managed from a centralised server. The onboard administration and analytics tools empower organisations with campaign information vital to pulling in untapped revenue streams.
· All-in-one system: Unlike other signage solutions designed as stand-alone systems – EZ TV’s Digital Signage software suite is tightly integrated with the IPTV Portal to form a powerful all-in-one platform that streamlines video and Signage work-flows, simplifies configuration and management and allows the operator to mix IPTV content with signage on any display while maintaining highest broadcast quality. VITEC’s Digital Signage End-Points feature dual discrete hardware processors for the ultimate TV experience combining Full-HD videos, live IPTV streams, picture playlists, social media content, dynamically updating data such as sports scores, meeting rooms and food catering databases – all using a small, PoE-enabled cost effective video player appliance.
· Ultra-low latency, mission-critical reliability: Designed to ensure 100% up time for an organization’s critical IPTV and Signage services – EZ TV uses VITEC’s cutting edge video playback and security engines to deliver the lowest latency playback on any device. The hardware-based IPTV set-top-boxes and Signage Endpoints cost a fraction of the price of PC-based media players while consistently delivering a smooth, secure, uninterrupted viewing experience for the most demanding graphics and video applications. These ASIC-based decoders guarantee longer service life and less time spent troubleshooting problems during major events.
· Latest compression standards: EZ TV supports the latest compression standard HEVC (H.265) up to 4K, in addition to HD and SD live and on-demand streams in MPEG-1/2/4 and H.264 formats. Full integration with Microsoft Active Directory for managing access to live and on demand content for network users and groups using PCs, STB and mobile devices. EZ TV gives the audience an engaging and interactive experience, whilst offering users robust digital signage features, including easy-to-use signage authoring, administration, and analytics tools.
· Seamless integration and easy to manage: Designed to integrate with any IT environment and run on all types of networks — including LAN, WAN, and wireless — EZ TV is a future-proof and scalable platform for centralised creation, distribution, and monitoring of live and on-demand content that can be shown on every display throughout a facility.
Category: Digital Signage Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Reserva Edge Room Booking
Reserva Edge room booking solution transforms meeting room signage. An industry first, Reserva Edge not only works to optimise workspace, but provides a dynamic communications platform on which businesses, educational institutions and hospitality venues can advertise, build brand awareness and share their internal communications. With a clear 10″ screen size, it offers a best-in class ergonomic design, making it a seamless and easy fit for every application, from conference centres and corporate offices to university campuses and huddle spaces, where space is at a premium.
1. Elegant industrial design – ergonomic tilted touchscreen interface, edge to edge glass, anti-fingerprint coating, fully concealed cables and connectors, clear LED status illumination inside and outside the room and fully integrated NFC reader (optional)
2. Digital Signage capability – Edge can be used as a communications platform with multizone layout design and extensive playlist and scheduling controls
3. 3. Security – Best in class security framework based on ONELAN’s proprietary NTB Linux operating system. Update the full software stack remotely over the network benefiting from continually platform and security updates
4. 4. Performance – Leveraging the Intel Atom platform the Reserva Edge offers significant improvements in performance and responsiveness.
5. 5, Manageability – remotely manage all aspects of device configuration via your web browser. Optionally manage all devices centrally from the ONELAN CMS alongside a full digital signage network.
Category: Digital Signage Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Sedao Digital Signage
Sedao Digital Signage was established in 2004 and built a reputation for innovative yet cost effective solutions. In 2015 the company launched SedaoLive CLOUD and in 2017 was acquired by Sahara Presentations Group providing the company with the ability to grow their R&D team. Sedao now offers an integrated solution for complete organisational wide digital communications. The solution is managed from a single platform driven by CLOUD or Local CMS technology and information broadcast to hardware including LFD screens for public and staff facing areas, SedaoLive Rooms for room booking management and Clevertouch panels for within meeting and training rooms.
• Easy to use – simple and intuitive interface
• Cost effective – managed from one platform minimising investment in multiple solutions, software and training
• Flexible & Scalable – deploy any aspect of the integrated solution (LFD/Room Booking/Collaborative panel) and add on over time
• Feature packed – innovative features such as virtual and physical buttons, shared library functionality, and unlock editing for redesigning the 100+ templates
• Secure – internal account IP whitelisting and reCAPTCHA login increases platform security
AV Presentation Innovation of the Year
Nomination DisplayNote Montage
DisplayNote was founded in 2012 to simplify how people present, share and collaborate on content in meeting rooms, huddles spaces, classrooms, lecture theatres and training rooms. Organisations utilise DisplayNote products to share ideas, make decisions and improve how information flows. DisplayNote’s Montage is a simple, effective and intuitive wireless presentation system that is compatible with all the major hardware and software providers. With DisplayNote Montage, any attendee can share their screen without the need to pass cables, use a plugin, or replace someone in an active session.
1. Presenter mode – with one click, any meeting attendee can become the presenter to enable the flow of information to be constant throughout a meeting.
2. Dual network – Attendees can wirelessly present from the primary or guest network, ensuring the right individual is always in control.
3. Share files – folders, documents and links can be securely shared to anyone connected to the meeting. The ability to share work heightens the sense of collaboration promoted by the montage solution
4. Media player – multimedia files, including MP4 and URLs, can be viewed on the main screen within the presentation with no latency. This maintains the focus of the meeting participants.
5. Two-way collaboration – An inbuilt whiteboard allows attendees to brainstorm ideas and annotate documents over the main screen. With multiple attendees, this intuitive features ensures that the notes taken during the presentation can be shared.
Category: AV Display Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Christie MicroTiles LED
With a mission to develop the best LED video wall display technology available, Christie engineers applied everything that made the original MicroTiles a global success and combined it with the latest narrow pixel pitch LED technology and advanced mechanical design. The result is an intelligent system architecture that excels beyond any other LED display on the market. Delivering P3 colour space, fully compliant HDR-10 and patented software that keeps the wall calibrated at 97 percent or greater uniformity, MicroTiles LED are suitable for broadcast sets, corporation venues, museums, retail, stadiums, arenas, and higher education. MicroTiles LED includes a low-profile ADA-compliant QuickMount™ system so displays can be created in any shape and size, including 90-degree inside/outside corners and both concave and convex curves.
• DESIGN FREEDOM: MicroTiles LED expands design possibilities, making corners, curves and shapes easy. Smaller tiles provide a sharper radius offer more design flexibility. Its QuickMount system is a completely flexible template that can be cut to the design rather than being designed around. The QuickMount system greatly simplifies product installation and serviceability. System accuracy ensures achieving no seams is easy. Once up, you simply put the tiles into place – no adjustment should be required – just click and go. Installed in about half of the time of competitive products.
• SUPERIOR VISUAL QUALITY: MicroTiles LED offers a premium visual experience that is second to none with true 4K/120Hz, cinematic colour, HDR 10 compatibility and automatic colour/brightness correction.
• CABINET FREE TILES: The cabinet-free tile design is key to making it easy – smaller size and install depth, lighter weight, and easier to handle. Wiring and electrical are drastically streamlined and simplified – each tile has a single Ethernet connection.
• NEIGHBOUR DETECTION AND AutoMatch: Just like its predecessor, MicroTiles LED feature patented neighbour detection. This feature automatically identifies and locates each tile as it gets added to a display eliminating the time-consuming process of manually mapping. Once located, on-board sensors with AutoMatch will automatically match colour and brightness of each tile to achieve >97% uniformity across the entire display.
• WEB UI INTERFACE: The intuitive, easy-to-use web-based control interface can be accessed from any connected device such as a laptop, tablet or mobile device. MicroTiles LED’s web user interface gives users complete command of display setup, control and management. And by adding Christie or third-party processing, media servers or content management solutions, customers benefit from a completely optimized workflow.
Category: AV Display Innovation of the Year
Nomination: Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display
Peerless-AV’s Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display offers the highest environmental rating in its class and the widest operating temperature range in the industry. The capabilities of this fully sealed, weatherproof commercial display are currently unmatched, making it one of the most hotly anticipated display technologies of the past 12 months. Since June 2018, a total 1870 units have already sold around the world to a wide variety of customers, including major international airports, ballparks, universities, racetracks, advertising companies and ski resorts.
1. Overcoming barriers: A major barrier to outdoor display integration was the inability to use a conventional flat panel display anywhere outside a climate-controlled environment. They were unable to survive extreme temperatures or withstand rain, humidity, snow, dirt and insects. High heat shortened component lifespans, while cold impacted LCD operation. Fluctuating temperatures created condensation and glare affected the ability to deliver a crisp picture.
2. Performance beyond expectations: There has never been an outdoor daylight readable display built to withstand the harsh outdoor elements like the Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display. The display provides 2500 nits of light output to combat high ambient light conditions in the most challenging indoor and outdoor Digital Signage applications. With an IP68 and NEMA 6 rating, the Xtreme High Bright is fully sealed to protect against moisture, brake dust, dirt, fumes, insects, chemical clouds, hose directed water and the entry of water during temporary submersion.
3. Easy install, maintenance free: The most important criteria for integrators and end users when evaluating technology for outdoor Digital Signage, is that it works reliably and as maintenance free as possible, even under extreme conditions in rain, snow and freezing temperatures. Owing to the IP68 rating, the new Xtreme line ensures consistent 24/7 high bright operation with low power consumption and is simple to install.
4. High contrast, picture perfect: A fundamental feature of the new Xtreme is optical bonding, a process used in the manufacturing of outdoor displays that accomplishes multiple feats. Firstly, as mentioned above, optical bonding significantly increases image contrast by eliminating the air gap between the panel and the safety glass. Secondly, it reduces glare and reflection through the adhesive gel inserted between the protective glass and the screen to dramatically improve the readability of the display in direct sunlight. Thirdly, this adhesive layer prevents entry of moisture and formation of condensation.
5. Aesthetics and connectivity
Aesthetics, size and weight used to be big drawbacks in an industry working towards thinner, lighter, brighter displays, and traditional outdoor displays were generally too large for many locations. The new Xtreme is slim and sleek enough to fit in any modern Digital Signage application, in landscape or portrait orientation, and is available in 43″, 49″ and 55″, with 65″ coming soon.
Category: AV Display Innovation of the Year
Nomination: The Wall Luxury
The Wall Luxury brings a new level of immersive viewing and ensures that consumers can experience this superior picture quality in the comfort of their own homes. Ideal for even the brightest areas of the luxury residential space, The Wall Luxury is configurable and customizable to a variety of sizes and ratios from 73″ in 2K definition, to 292″ in 8K definition. With a depth less than 30 mm, the slim, bezel-less infinity design along with customizable décor frames allows the display to blend seamlessly into its surroundings, ensuring no disruption to the desired ambience of its environment.
· Based on research into the lifestyles of target consumers and their preferences, the new luxury model goes beyond just image quality and provides a personalized user experience.
· Thanks to the 100,000-hour lifetime of its self-emitting diodes, The Wall is designed to never turn off, but to change into a digital canvas best matching the owner`s interior needs and personal mood.
· When the screen is not used, the Ambient Mode can display a variety of curated art from paintings, photographs and video art to customizable pictures with digital frames – that best suit the homeowner’s tastes.
· The Wall Luxury is also equipped with the AI picture quality engine, Quantum Processor Flex. This delivers optimized picture quality scene-by-scene, regardless of the original source format.
· Quantum Processor Flex is a machine learning-based picture quality engine that analyses millions of image data to automatically calibrate the original low resolution according to the modular screen resolution
Category: AV Project of the Year (Commercial)
Nomination: One Times Square
Samsung Electronics completed a massive state-of-the-art five-screen LED display installation at the iconic One Times Square building in New York City on May 31, 2019. The new high-end displays from Samsung measure more than 11,639 square feet (1,081 square meters) when combined. Samsung’s new displays at One Times Square take up the entire front facing panel and reflect some of the most valuable advertising displays in the world.
· Samsung’s SMART LED Signage XPS Series features a reinforced design to deliver uninterrupted colour-uniform content in any setting.
· The XPS 160 and XPS 080 models used at One Times Square feature advanced colour calibration, an energy-saving design and the industry’s highest-quality, tier-one LED diodes.
· The displays feature premium center-stage exposure with full motion video, live-streaming and interactive capabilities.
· A time lapse video highlighting the three-month transformation process was created to capture the accomplishment, showcasing the visual impact of the displays from day to night and their durability that can withstand extreme weather conditions.
· Last year, Samsung also completed installation of outdoor LED signage at Two Times Square, located opposite from this recently completed project.
Category: AV Project of the Year (Commercial)
Nomination: Sentry One
SentryOne is a leading provider of database performance monitoring and data DevOps solutions for the Microsoft data platform in multi-cloud and hybrid environments. When the 130 employees relocated to a building of over 3.000 m2, they deployed end-to-end Crestron solutions throughout the meeting rooms, huddle spaces, mezzanine including hoteling workstations, impressive training facility and event space.
With Crestron, SentryOne has a secure and scalable platform that they can depend on. Not only does Crestron technology instil confidence in their team, but it allows all employees to focus on their customers and successfully drive value in other areas of the company.
· Pixel perfect imaging quality thanks to Crestron DM NVXTM network AV technology, used to distribute digital signage, streaming video, and live TV throughout campus
· Time and resources saved by efficiently deploying, managing, and monitoring over 80 devices with Crestron XiO Cloud
· The Crestron Flex UC Solutions’ native integration with Microsoft Teams ensures a simple on-touch experience
· Successful integration of a variety of spaces with different technology while maintaining a consistent user interface and experience
Category: AV Project of the Year (Commercial)
Nomination: The MSC Grandiosa
The MSC Grandiosa is the largest ship in the MSC Cruises MSC Grandiosa’s indoor promenade, Galleria Grandiosa, is the central social hub of the ship, linking many of the bars and specialty restaurants, and its home to the 93-meter Samsung LED IF040H-D sky dome that creates an awe-inspiring atmosphere 24 hours a day. With mesmerizing shows three times a day, the promenade also hosts many of the ships’ themed parties. To deliver tremendous experience to passengers throughout the voyage, Samsung not only created the LED sky dome with 1,750 LED cabinets, but also integrated 4,200 hospitality displays into suites.
· To present unique and memorable experience to passengers, Samsung installed 4,201 hospitality displays into suites and cabins as well as providing a total of 2,061 LED cabinets and 148 touchscreen displays throughout enriched facilities inside the cruise.
· Samsung integrated 1,750 cabinets of LED IF040H-D to create 93-meter LED sky dome changing depending on the consumer’s atmospheric preference.
· Samsung LED IF040H-D, with 4.0mm pixel pitch, presents superior picture quality to passengers and visitors with 1,700 nit peak brightness and 7,000:1 peak contrast ratio.
· The LED sky dome is in use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 100,000 hours of LED lifetime.
· The curved LED sky dome embraces the Galleria Grandiosa from the ceiling with 6,000R curvature and operates stably aboard the cruise ship.
Category: AV Project of the Year (Education)
Nomination: Keele University’s Central Science Laboratories
Keele University’s Central Science Laboratories is a four-floor, state-of-the-art building. It includes open plan teaching and research laboratories alongside social learning spaces. Due to an increase in student numbers and a desire to challenge traditional teaching methods the AV installation includes 20 flexible teaching locations and 90 screens designed to accommodate varying student numbers and different pedagogical approaches. The system utilises AV over IP to distribute HD signals building-wide, and simple, standardized control makes it straightforward for the room user to operate. The first large-scale AV over IP installation at the University, it has set a precedent for future projects.
1. Positive Feedback: The feedback from academic users highlights the ease of use of the system. The simple, self-explanatory button controllers are straightforward to use, and the flexibility of the learning spaces creates the opportunity to apply different approaches to delivering learning content.
2. A Flexible solution: The AV in the building is fully configurable and able to work alongside the flexible set-up of the learning spaces, it provides high-quality sound and visual reproduction and an easy to understand interface for users. The use of AV over IP ensures the system is ready for future expansion. Every floor of the building comprises of different teaching zones, each of which have a teaching point, a digital microphone and ceiling speakers. IR Induction Loop transmitters and large format displays ensure the space is as accessible as possible for all users.
3. The completed solution allows for zones to be used individually or combined with others, depending on the required capacity.
4. AV where you need it: Throughout the building, there are 20 flexible teaching locations and 90 screens, each of which receives content from an AV over IP receiver. Additional AV items in the building include a four-screen video wall in the main entrance and seven digital signage screens installed across the four floors. The design of the building presented challenges for audio. Speakers with a low spill and narrow distribution were selected so that adjacent sessions were not subject to auditory disruption.
5. Bespoke programming: In CSL the need to control 90+ ethernet devices presented a challenge as the usual practice of using Extron’s Global Configurator Professional Software (GCP) only allows for a maximum of 32 Ethernet controlled devices. To overcome this, Extron’s Global Scripter was required. Pure AV, utilising Global Scripter programmed a bespoke system able to meet the University’s AV control requirements.
Category: AV Project of the Year (Education)
Nomination: Ministry of Human Resource Development of India
In partnership with the Ministry of Human Resource Development of India, Samsung Electronics has integrated 1,150 of 65-inch Samsung Flip 2, Interactive Digital Whiteboards. These boards will be used in colleges and universities to further boost quality education for students in 170 engineering colleges across India. Lecturers and students now can easily bring any content from personal cloud using Microsoft OneDrive, Office 365 and Web Browser as well as from mobile, PCs, or tablets with screen mirroring. They not only have direct access to PDF documents and Microsoft Office files, but also can annotate on or edit directly.
· Large amount of one interactive whiteboard model, Samsung Flip 2, has been rolled out for one single project
· Samsung Flip 2 has been recognized as powerful solution to boost quality education by India government. With versatile connectivity options and real-time sharing, errors due to handwritten notes are completely eradicated.
· Samsung Flip 2 will help the operation to convert a classroom into a digital classroom and make available the e-resources at any time and at any place to students with its easy connectivity with mobile devices, cloud, and web browser.
· While importing PDF documents or files from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, lecturers can annotate on top of the documents directly and easily edit any contents on the display.
· Content are stored within the Flip in real-time, easily sharable across mobile, email, and network storage as well as USB storage and printer to help students review what they’ve learned and discussed after classes.
Category: AV Project of the Year (Education)
Nomination: ViewSonic
Ashford School is an independent boarding school in Kent. As part of its new digital strategy (‘Prepare, present and participate’), the school was looking to upgrade its classroom displays to facilitate improved group interactions and the sharing of annotated content and ideas. For staff, there was also a need to eliminate back-facing teaching. To achieve its vision the school installed a number of ViewBoard displays. These multi-touch panels support Microsoft Office 365, allow content to be annotated and accessed remotely – including after class and during revision periods – and allow teachers to increase one-on-one engagement with pupils.
· Following the installation, Ashford School was recognised as one of the UK’s Top 50 EdTech schools 2019
· ViewBoard displays seamlessly integrate with other devices and software deployed by the school, adding value to the installation
· ViewBoard S units installed on teacher’s desks allows teachers to change display content and make touchscreen inputs from their desktop touchscreen – creating a front-facing classroom
· Free myViewBoard software powers the ViewBoard platform – myViewBoard is device agnostic, allowing teachers to quickly deliver lesson materials that are age appropriate and improve collaboration
· ViewBoard displays allow for dynamic lessons that put the focus on collaboration and are easy to use – improving student engagement with the curriculum and academic developments
Category: AV Project of the Year (Live Events)
Nomination: Chase Center Arena
Samsung LED technologies installed a detailed and realistic centrehung at the Chase Center Arena, ensuring each fan is immersed in the action every seat. The new Warriors centrehung main videoboard adds up to a massive 9,699 square feet of active video display, making it the largest LED video display centrehung installed in a sports arena. The centrehung integrates 15 displays varying from 6.7 mm pixel pitch on the main displays and upper halo ring, to 4mm pixel pitch on the underbelly displays, amassing a total of more than 26.3 million individual LEDs.
· Samsung is very committed to changing the way fans experience live events through technology.
· The Chase Center is a world-class sports and entertainment venue providing incredible fan experiences including more than 64 LED video displays including the largest centrehung video display in the NBA as well as 1,100 of Samsung SMART Signages.
· The Chase Center project is ground-breaking in many ways. By the numbers, it exceeds or bests all other facilities in pixel count, square footage, viewing angles and advanced technologies.
· The true success story is really about the collaboration needed to deliver on a project of this magnitude. Prismview alone engaged in over 16,600 labour hours to complete this state-of-the-art facility.
· The team of designers, consultants, construction managers, fabricators, and ownership worked tirelessly to achieve the common goal of the best in the industry. There could be no weak link with that lofty aspiration
Category: AV Project of the Year (Live Events)
Nomination: The Roncalli Circus
The Roncalli circus, founded in Germany in 1976, wanted to transform the traditional circus experience 
while also taking a stance against the mistreatment of wildlife in their industry. Founder Bernhard Paul came up with the idea to replace the problematic practice of keeping animals in captivity by replacing the animals with 3D holograms. In cooperation with Roncalli’s agency TAG/TRAUM, blueBOX was appointed to make this dream a reality for the entire 32 x 5 m arena. Choosing 11 Optoma ZU850 laser projectors to bring the animated horses, elephants and goldfish to life, Birger Wunderlich at blueBOX said: “We have been using Optoma projectors for six years and have consistently had a very positive experience with reliability, performance and affordability.”
· Optoma’s ZU850 projectors bring the Roncalli circus to life, thrilling audiences all over Germany with entertaining holographic footage.
· Boasting superior colour performance and 360° projection capability, Optoma’s ZU850 models with innovative MultiColor laser technology have assisted in creating a phenomenal experience for Roncalli circus visitors.
· The installation was completed using 11 BX-CTA03 long throw lenses allowing the ZU850 models to be positioned further away for ultimate flexibility.
· Optoma’s ZU850 projectors bring the Roncalli circus to life, thrilling audiences all over Germany with entertaining holographic footage.
· Thousands of visitors now enjoy a modern, entertaining twist on the circus experience. With 360° projection of horses galloping around the arena and elephants doing head stands, the Roncalli circus experience is not one to miss.
