InfoComm 2023 Recap
Today we are joined in the lounge by 4Wall Account Executive Mark Consiglio. Mark joined 4Wall earlier this year and has helped shape the event technology industry for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in all aspects of the Audio/Visual industry. He began studying electronic engineering and troubleshooting as a student and worked his way up from an entry-level technician to a Global Product Manager. Mark has extensive event production experience working across many verticals such as hotel AV, systems integration, television broadcast and most recently sports and entertainment partnerships. Check out his recap of the 2023 InfoComm show below.
This past week, Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA) held its annual Infocomm event in Orlando, FL. InfoComm is the largest professional audiovisual trade show in North America, with thousands of products for audio, unified communications and collaboration, display, video, control, digital signage, home automation, security, VR, and live events. The event had been a shadow of its former self the past few years due to pandemic restrictions, however, 2023 felt like a return to form, and everyone in attendance appeared to have the same sentiment.
4Wall had a presence with a few of our partners on the floor, particularly in the Absen booth with some of our thought leaders discussing topics like "xR in Broadcast" and "The World of Color in LED". We also had a chance to take a look at some new products and solutions for all sorts of needs and here are just a few.
Before we jump into the products, let's take a look at InfoComm's 📊 from AVIXA:
📈 - 29,325 verified attendees from 115 countries.
🌎 - International attendance made up 20%. (37% were first-time attendees)
📝 - More than 2,000 unique individuals participated in continuing education.
Yamaha DM7 Series Digital Mixers
The next step in the digital mixer evolution for Yamaha gives us the DM7 series of digital mixers.
DM7 Compact with DM7 Control
DM7 with DM7 Control
DM7 Compact
"From broadcasting, streaming, and music production, to live hybrid events and concert performances, the advanced capabilities of the DM7 series set a new standard in operability and workflow while simultaneously staying true to Yamaha's sonic tradition of "natural sound". As the times continue to change, your DM7 will keep you ahead of the curve with a user experience that's a
cut above anything in its class, and sonic performance well beyond the expectations of audiences and engineers alike." - Yamaha
Obsidian Control Systems - NS8IP
A rugged, IP65 chassis packed with an 8-port giga-bit switch for managing data intensive entertainment applications. Designed to work with Artnet, sACN, X-Net, HogNet, MA-Net and more. Configurable by an internal webpage and all 8 ports can be set to POE with POE+ support. It all lives in a powder coated housing designed to be mounted to truss with the M12 mounting hole, or it can also be wall mounted with the included adapter.
NS8IP
RFVenue - Wireless System Builder
The geniuses over at RFVenue have created a tool for system designers and live event technicians to use when designing a system in difficult RF spaces. The Wireless System Builder is FREE and helps you design a system either based on the location and equipment you already have. You can also go through the process and select "no equipment" to have it tell you the different skus you can use across many brands. You can even compare the information you receive with scan data that you export from
software like Shure Wireless Workbench (Which also released V7 this past week).
MUXWAVE Holographic LED Screens
Muxwave out of Shenzhen China, has a product on the market that gives one of the best representations of "transparent" LED. By utilizing a system of mesh LEDs with no infrastructure behind it, you get a holographic effect when video is displayed. When video is turned off or removed, the mesh is so thin that it appears to be a form of diffusion rather than the skeleton of a large LED wall system. It gives a great effect in person and appears very clean and tidy. This type of technology seems like a no-brainer for systems and installs where you want to utilize window space that also acts as window and isn;t covered up by a bunch of skeletal design and cables. I'm not sure yet how this could apply to live events where the set/strike nature of building the system may need to be flushed out a bit more, but for something semi-permanent, it could be game-changing.
AudioPressBox - Dante Enabled Press Box with USB-C
AudioPressBox has been making a name for themselves with Dante enabled audio interfaces, which distribute audio signal from microphones authentically and securely to all journalists, cameramen and broadcasters. One new product at the show was the AudioPressBox APB-320 C-USB. A Professional portable, active, pressbox with 2 Analog Line/Mic inputs, 1 Digital USB-C input & output and 16 Analog Line/Mic & 4 Digital USB-C outputs. It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor press conferences due to built-in rechargeable accu pack and heavy duty Nanuk case. The USB-C also allows a video conference in & out connection for a hybrid press conference.
We look forward to attending many more shows and events this year where we can get a sense of upcoming trends in the event technology market. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to Mark Consiglio at mconsiglio@4wall.com