In the lead-up to ISE 2013, new of product launches, breakthrough technologies and industry-shaping innovations are starting to circulate. These are some of the key areas in which you can expect to see announcements, with a round-up of what we’ve heard so far.
█ Progress in video walls
With Futuresource Consulting estimating that videowall technology will experience year-on-year growth of up to 60%, it comes as no surprise that videowalls will be right at the top of the agenda for many visitors. Among the many new releases you can look forward to seeing at ISE 2013 are the new Sharp (Hall 11 F78) plug and play Video Wall Solution Packages. Customers can select from a range of high-performance monitors, all with ultra-slim bezels. Available in a 2×2, 3×3 or 4×2 configuration, the walls come pre-tested and synchronised for seamless image movement across the displays. They are also supplied with accessories for building a video wall including cables, splitters and hubs.
Elsewhere, Panasonic (Hall 1 H56 and H74) will show the new TH-55LFV50 ultra-narrow bezel LCD videowall display. With a high brightness of 800 cd/m² and a wide viewing angle, the new display features a 5.3 mm bezel – said to be the smallest on offer in the market today – giving the video wall a more-or-less seamless and continuous appearance. The TH-55LFV50 video wall display can be used for up to 5×5 walls and offers no fewer than 10 connectivity ports, making it suitable for a variety of digital signage applications.
Planar Systems (Hall 3 A82) has announced the Planar Mosaic, a video wall system offering three flat panel tiles, including a new square LCD, and unique features designed specifically for the architectural wall coverings market. This is expected to be worth $26 billion in 2015, according to the Global Industry Analysts. Planar will also show a first-of-its-kind family of large-format LCD displays designed for digital signage. The Planar UltraLux Series is said to be the industry’s first range of 60”, 70” and 80” LCD displays to offer a unique zero-bezel, all-glass design. Planar UltraLux displays are available with white or black edge trim colour options. The profile of the Planar UltraLux displays, when wall mounted, is less than 3 inches.
█ CE brands focus on professional markets
The crisis in CE manufacturing has driven a number of household brands to pursue profits in the professional AV market. At ISE 2013 Sony (Hall 1-H100) will showcase a number of unique solutions that bring together products from across Sony’s portfolio – a number of which are not traditionally offered to ISE attendees. Sony says it will introduce an end-to-end corporate live meeting solution “that no other manufacturer can offer”. This will enable businesses to capture events live and then distribute the content out to distant audiences.
Sony will also be showcasing its value add classroom capture and DWZ audio solutions for the education market. These solutions bring together established Sony audio visual products in new ways, combining systems like OPSIGATE, SD/HD audio/ video switcher, multi-purpose camera systems, with PUD, BRAVIA B2B flat panel displays and corporate and education projectors. Sony also sees ISE as an opportunity to showcase its offering to the retail space with its new BRAVIA digital signage solution.
█ Projection will chase the value
With little sign of rationalisation, Sanyo excepted, in the projector market, manufacturers have been seeking to balance their portfolios with differentiated offering in niches where profits are still available. Canon Europe (Hall 1 N6) is planning use ISE 2013 to bring their channel partners into the product development cycle. Alan Dempster, Canon’s European projector product specialist explains: “We want to bring our community of system integrators and value-added resellers into the development cycle; to help them understand how the market is growing and what’s coming next from Canon.” Canon will showcase its full projector portfolio including its latest XEED installation models, the XEED SX6000 and the WX6000.
Mitsubishi (Hall 2 A24) will launch two new additions to its conventional projector range. The new WUXGA UD740U joins the 1080p FD730U model as a versatile, portable, network-capable projector for business or education applications. Delivering 4100 lumens, the 1920 x 1200 pixel UD740U offers the same 3000:1 contrast ratio as the FD730U, but with a number of extra features, such as tablet and smartphone compatibility, that make it especially well-adapted to corporate meeting rooms or higher education applications. Mitsubishi Electric will also announce an upgrade to its range-topping 8000 Series range of professional installation projectors at ISE 2013.
The first of these upgraded models will be unveiled at the show; the new WXGA WD8700U. This replaces the existing WD8200 model, offering the same specification, but with a 14% increase in light output taking it to 7,500 lumens. But the focal point of Mitsubishi’s projection showcase will be the nine-projector ultra short-throw edge-blended display demonstrating the PlayOut Composer content management platform. PlayOut Composer enables virtually any media source, including content streamed via IP, to be combined and deployed in real time in a single workspace. Content can then be scheduled and managed to create versatile signage systems.
█ Advances in touch technology
The all-in-one collaboration device category, currently just comprising the InFocus Mondopad (Hall 12 B74) launched year, will see some competition as vendors add PC intelligence, wireless networking and cameras to their displays. Visit the Sahara booth (Hall 3 A106) to see the prototype Clevertouch display with WePresent presentation gateway technology. The Sahara team wants feedback on whether the added functionality merits the small price premium.
Also of interest will be 3M’s prototype of its 46-inch multitouch chassis display (Hall 8 F210). The addition of the 46-inch model extends 3M’s projected capacitive technology further into the mainstream of large format displays. Combining 60-finger multi-touch capabilities with an ultra-wide viewing angle and high-definition (1080p) is said to greatly extend the possibilities for up-close, multiple user interactions.
For those looking to interact on a wider scale, MultiTouch Ltd (Hall 11 N53) will show a new remote management system, the MultiTaction Management Suite, and its first application, MultiTaction Site Manager. MultiTaction Site Manager enables system integrators, IT managers and content providers to manage thousands of globally dispersed, network connected interactive systems. Its uses are said to include managing the content and applications in real-time on each display, or group of displays, and setting up and configuring displays individually or as multi-display video wall or table.
MMD, the brand licence partner for Philips Public Signage (Hall 10 K119 and N120), will show infrared touch screens with 6 or 32 points which are said to register touches at an instant and without ‘ghost points’, whether a finger, a stylus or even a glove is used. Visitors will also see their Upgrade Public Signage Player (UPP!) – a digital signage device that allows cloud-based content management on an Android 4.0 interface.
█ Integrated mobile display solutions
Whether in educational, corporate or residential applications, the potential available from linking mobile devices with room-based displays and controls will form the core of many new product introductions at ISE 2013. Compatibility with Apple products will be the order of the day for 2013. The ProPanel (Hall 5 S92) app, for example, gives end-users control over any Pro Control system containing any ProLink control processor from their iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. With so many control app options for dealers, ProPanel claims theirs stands above the rest by enhancing the control experience for end users. Unique capabilities include full two-way feedback including cover art, weather graphics, dynamic image lists, and high-resolution graphics for the newest generation of iPad.
█ Progress in commercial 3D
With the consumer market having ticked the 3D box and moved on to 4K, gesture control and heaven knows what, ISE can now focus on some steady progress in 3D technologies with a commercial application. Eyevis (Hall 2 A73) will show a new version of the Active-Stereo omniSHAPES rear-projection unit, with 120Hz technology. Combined with active 3D shutter glasses, the system is said to provide realistic 3D visualisation. The company will also show a new 55-inch videowall LCD screen for the passive stereoscopic display of 3D images. With these new displays it is possible to set up videowalls for the presentation of 3D content of almost any size. Philips Public Signage (Hall 10 K119 and N120) will show their glasses-free, multi-view lenticular technologies with up to 28 lenticular views, claimed to offer the widest 3D viewing angles on the market (150° vert./hor.).
For those with an interest in projected 3D, Epson (Hall 1-F52) will show, what it says is, the first passive 3D projector system compatible with all current signal formats: side-by-side, top-and-bottom, frame packing and frame sequential formats. The Epson EB-W16SK projector system is made up of two individual projector units, stacked together in a specially-designed mount. The projectors are connected via USB, in a command and control setting, with the supplied polarising plates attached to each lens. Elite Screens will also be showing a stacking solution from subsidiary
█ Advances in video networking
New networking technologies support rationalised installations, with advances in wireless networks for AV applications being particularly interesting. Of the emerging standards for AV networks, check out the rise-and-rise of HDBaseT. HD Connectivity (Hall 5 U117) will launch the HDanywhere 4×2 (four sources, two TV locations) hybrid matrix switcher, featuring HDMI, HDBaseT long-distance signal transmission technology and PoE (Power over Ethernet) – and all for an SRP of £499.99.
It’s also worth checking the Smart-e booth (Hall 4 U72) and the company’s new FuZionHD solutions. The new range is designed to merge the two worlds of VGA and HDMI. Jon Lane, Smart-e’s managing director explains: “Digital is great for many applications however there is a case, and numerous client requests, for solutions that require digital and analogue AV combined in one product. For example our new collaborative work space solution creates a new concept for workspace technology. The solution offers shared display elements and unique connectivity which allows for video-conferencing, audio-conferencing, web-conferencing and data-conferencing to be undertaken alongside presentation systems, giving greater flexibility for sharing information in conferences and presentations”
█ Accessories for new applications
The event will offer the usual extensive range of mounts and brackets, but with the focus on specialist products that open up new applications for AV displays. Chief (Hall 2 C42) will show its newest carts and stands including the new FUSION Series. The new cart design includes flexible cable covers to allow access at any point along the column, while concealing cables for a clean installation. A turn knob lets a single user raise and lower the screen to any height between 50 and 70 inches (127-177 cm). Chief engineers have created wider columns with rounded edges to make the carts easy to hold during the moving process.
In addition to its digital signage and video wall mounting solutions, B-Tech (Hall 4 R70) will show its Cantabria Hospitality Stands, which are designed for both residential and commercial use. Cantabria, which carries the Spanish quality control mark, comprises high quality AV stands and cabinets that are available in a mix of stainless steel, toughened safety glass and MDF lacquered melaminised particle board. B-Tech, based in Daventry, has recently opened a subsidiary in Spain.
Just Lamps chalks up a million
Just Lamps (Hall 1H92), the world’s largest specialist projector and rear-projection TV lamp distributor, plans to celebrate its one millionth lamp sale at ISE 2013. European sales and marketing manager Richard Charge explains: “It took us 7 years to reach the half million mark in 2009 and then another 4 to reach a million. That gives an indication of the rate of growth of the company.”
AV News at ISE 2013
The AV News’ Awards 2013 are to be presented at a press conference at 10.00 am on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2013 event in Amsterdam in January 2013. The presentation will be videoed, streamed to the web and promoted to more than 40,000 members of the AV community.
The AV News Awards 2013 will recognise the contribution made by individuals and teams to the development of the AV business, with special awards to technologists, sales, marketing and support professionals, in addition to those for the companies and organisations which make up the channel.
The AV News Awards 2013 will highlight the achievements of resellers and integrators in bringing AV products, solutions and services to market. A special Award will acknowledge an advance in audio-visual technology that has the potential to create new product or solution category, a service or application.
“We are looking forward to ISE 2013, it’s a must-attend event which sets the mood for the year to come in the pro AV industry. This tradeshow has come a long way since 2004, and with over 800 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors in 2012 keen to discover innovations, the show was a great testimonial to how healthy and dynamic our AV and electronic systems integration industry is.”
Dale Miller, vice president, EMEA, Christie
“ISE belongs to the most important events for Philips Public Signage in 2013 and we are glad to be present with one of the biggest booths of the show. There will be many new and amazing solutions to marvel at. Our whole team is very excited and looks forward to the 10th edition of the Integrated Systems Europe.”
Wilfred de Man, general manager of public signage, MMD, EMEA
