We were onsite all week at InfoComm 2014 in Las Vegas, discovering the latest and greatest in Pro Audio and AV. Here’s just a small taste of what we found at the show.
QSC Audio’s (l-r) David Fuller, Frank West and Jatan Shah comprise a triumvirate, guiding booth vistors through demos of various products. Among the gear in the company spotlight this year are an I/O frame, Q-Sys Core and Q-Sys Enterprise Core, all shown here.
UK live sound mixing console company Cadac is ramping up sales and support efforts in the US with the appointment of industry vet Paul Morini as general manager of its new Cadac USA operation. Paul has his sales pitch down to a single line: “Go ahead and mix.”
Allen & Heath is showing off its new Qu-32, a 38-in/28-out digital mixer. Qu-32 shares the Qu series’ key features, such as total recall of settings, Qu-Drive integrated multi-track recorder, dSNAKE for remote I/O and personal monitoring, multi-channel USB streaming, Qu-Pad control app and the Live FX Library. At the company’s booth yesterday, AM&S’ Michael Palmer shared the key specs of the Qu-32 and other products in the line.
Paul Isaacs, transitioning from engineering to marketing, has been explaining the features of the Video Devices 270 at InfoComm 2014. Video Devices is the new brand identity launched by Sound Devices to differentiate between its products. The 270 sports 64 MADI and 64 Dante audio inputs; simultaneous or sequential video (ProRes, DNxHD) and audio recording to four drives; one or multiple units can be controlled via web browser, with frame-accurate sync. Oh, and you won’t lose your recording in the event of an external power failure.
Jeffrey Cox (right) of Italian speaker company Eighteen Sound talks up the company’s new transducer, Neodymium compression driver and subwoofer. It’s the company’s first time at InfoComm, and it’s using the show as an opportunity, says Cox, to ask partners what they need and “What’s over the edge?” They want to be “exploring that boundary” to push technology forward and meet clients’ needs. He also noted that a new Eighteen Sound educational video series on loudspeaker component fundamentals and construction will launch online soon.
Audinate director Lee Ellison shows off just some of the growing number of products in the Dante family of licensees as he debuts Dante Via, which aims to simplify audio network building. All a user needs is two or more computers; no extra hardware required. Simply plug mics, I/O interfaces and other devices into the computers and voila! You have an audio network unconstrained by the relatively short reach of analog and USB cables.
Waves Audio North American Sales Director Luke Smith shows off a Pro Tools rig interface linked to the DigiGrid DLS integrated processing and network hub. The DLS and the DLI (hub only) are shipping soon.
With the FCC’s Incentive Auction allowing unlicensed wireless consumer white space devices into the frequency spectrum favored by many professional microphone, IEM and comms systems over the next few years, Radio Active Designs has introduced a wireless intercom system, UV-1G, that operates in the relatively unused VHF band. Expect to see other manufacturers roll out innovative products in the coming months and years in response to the FCC’s new RF rules.
MXL is introducing broadcast-style, multi-camera production to enterprise web conferencing. The MXL Teleconferencing solution combines Marshall HD miniature cameras, a seamless camera switcher, web conferencing mics and new HDSDI-to-USB3 converters in one AV solution. Advocating for the brand is MXL’s Devan Cress.
JBL which recently launched a line of commercial amplifiers and mixing amplifiers for installed venues, such as a bar or restaurant. The idea for these amplifiers is to offer the same caliber of power as Crown (a sister company to JBL under the Harman umbrella), but at a lower price point. The line is also Energy Star certified.
Roland Systems Group debuted its XS Series line of multi-format matrix switchers, aimed for fixed installations with both video and audio conversion and switching. The product is intended for video processing in education environments to switch between computers, smart phones, Blu-ray and other internal memory devices and transmit them to displays, or for use in teleconferencing.
Yamaha Commercial Audio is holding demos of its Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) System in its specially designed “Install Insiders Sport Bar.” Among the CIS Series is Yamaha’s VXS Series (surface mount) and VXC Series (ceiling mount) loudspeaker systems, along with the XMV Series and MA2030, and PA2030 amplifiers, and the MTX matrix processor.
