InfoComm 2013: Education Preview

The InfoComm Show (June 12-14, Orlando) is a leading nexus for A/V technology. Much of what is seen and heard in sports venues was seen and heard at these annual conferences and expos a year or two earlier. Here’s a heads-up about two new educational opportunities around the show this year.

Walking Down the AVnu
The AVnu Alliance, the industry consortium that certifies Audio Video Bridging (AVB) products for interoperability, will launch a new AVB education program at the show. The Alliance will also host 17 member companies at a dedicated AVnu Alliance technology and product pavilion at Booth 459a. The pavilion includes participation from AVnu Alliance members demonstrating the latest in AVB-enabled endpoints and switches. Participating members include Analog Devices, AudioScience, Avid, Barco, Biamp, Echo Digital Audio, Extreme Networks, Harman, Lab X, Riedel, Sennheiser, Shure, Uman, Vitesse, Waves, XMOS, and Yamaha. Visitors to the pavilion will be able to meet with C-level executives from member companies and see demonstrations of A/V devices that make up the growing AVB ecosystem. The Alliance Pavilion will enable visitors to learn more about the certification and interoperability testing for AVB-enabled networking bridges and professional audio endpoints, available to AVnu Alliance members.

A System Designer session will be taught as part of InfoComm’s educational track. “How To Design and Specify With AVB” will focus on the system-level understanding needed for AVB success. The session, scheduled at 12:30-2:00 p.m. on June 13, will be taught by InfoComm adjunct faculty Dave Theis. Alliance members Chris Pane, VP of business development at Lab X Technologies, and Jeff Koftinoff, software conductor at Meyer Sound, will lead the “AVB for AV Network Engineers” session, 2:30-4:30 p.m. on June 13, which will dive deeper into technical AVB networking.

Also part of InfoComm’s own education program at the show are several Technology Pavilions of interest to SVG readers: the Audio Pavilion in Hall A, the Digital Signage Pavilion in Hall C, and the Lighting and Staging Pavilion, which includes such items as rigging equipment, LEDs, projection systems, large-venue audio arrays, lighting fixtures, and controllers. Also featured at this pavilion, located in Hall D, are the Production Camera Showcase and the Rigging and Staging Demos.

AV Networking World 2013 is being held today in Orlando. The free, all-day event at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando is sponsored by Allen & Heath USA, Attero Tech, Audinate, Bosch Communication Systems, Focusrite, Innovative Electronic Devices, Peavey Commercial Audio, Stewart Audio, Symetrix, and Yamaha Commercial Audio. Panel discussions involving 16 design consultants, installation contractors, networking experts, and major manufacturers of professional audio equipment cover case studies on deployment of small- and large-scale networked A/V systems. Sessions include Network Audio for Small & Medium Venues and Networked Audio for Stadiums/Requirements for Stadiums and Arenas. In addition to the broad spectrum of informative panel discussions and presentations, a major interoperability networking demonstration is being conducted.