Tech Manager’s Wish List
Well, it’s that wonderful time of year again where most people are thinking about the joys of gift-giving! If your family is like mine, you are all busy making wish lists – the list of special items you would just love to receive this holiday season. I’m going to age myself here, but it reminds me of the old Sears and JC Penny Christmas catalogs – Wish Books! I’d spend hours poring over every page of the toy section and making notes of all the amazing things I would love to get that year. What if we had a Wish Book for higher education technology managers? What would this amazing Wish Book contain? Well, let’s get into the holiday mood and do a little dreaming!
One item on the list would have to be the ability to buy direct. There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about how many audiovisual teams in higher ed serve as in-house integrators. There are even a few institutions that have an annual spend that is equivalent to a small- (or even medium-) sized audiovisual integration firm. We often have all the same certifications and training as an integrator and have a tendency to self-help without leaning too heavily on manufacturers. Given all that, it would make sense to allow us an opportunity to buy directly from the manufacturers at dealer price. I do agree there may need to be limits and requirements; make sure we are adequately trained and staffed, make sure we sign non-disclosures and make sure we are not reselling at a profit. But we are likely the best trained of any “end-user” vertical, and we deserve a little credit for that. So, give us our holiday present and set up a program to allow us to buy direct.
Another item in the Wish Book is the consolidation and implementation of open standards. There are so many unique and functional components in the ProAV world that simply are not compatible with one another, even in our new network-centric reality. There are dozens of competing protocols. Many manufacturers have their own protocols (NVX, SVSI, NAV) that are neither open nor compatible. Even among published standards, we have a plethora including SDVoE, AVB, NDI, Dante, AES67, and SMPTE 2110. Some may have limited overlap (Dante/AES67, HDBaseT/DTP/DM), but even that can be frustrating to plan for. Is it too much to ask for as an industry to get together and standardize? Let’s work with one audiovisual protocol and one audio-only protocol (that ideally can also work together). This would actually open up the market for greater adoption (raising all boats) and dramatic innovation. Then, as audiovisual designers, we can choose the exact right tool for any situation and know that all those tools will work seamlessly in harmony! Doesn’t all that harmonious living sound like the holidays to you?
Ok, enough with the conceptual, let’s get down to nuts and bolts. The Wish Book would also contain rollable OLED displays at affordable prices. It turns out the only part of this wish that is far-fetched is the affordable price. LG has already demonstrated its capability. Just dream with me for a bit. What if we could get a display in roll, and roll it out flat on the wall – think active display wallpaper. No mounts needed and no ADA depth concerns. It would get signal and power via a single POE+ network connection. Or, even better, you mount a wireless power charger inside the wall and the display connects via WiFi to those universal standards we just received – no cables necessary. What if when the time came to upgrade a projector, you replaced the screen with an OLED display that rolls down out of the ceiling or wall-mounted case instead? No projectors needed! As crazy as all that sounds, I don’t think it is a matter of if, but when.
Finally, let’s go for the truly practical list, the list of things you could put on your Amazon wishlist today for all your #AVTweeps to buy for you:
- USB Podcasting Microphone. I mean starting a Podcast seems to be in fashion right now among higher-ed AV pros, and I don’t have a podcasting mic yet. Maybe soon! So many to choose from, but I’ve heard high marks for the Shure MV7, Blue Yeti, and RØDE NT-USB.
- Laser measuring device. Want to know how far that screen is from the projector? Don’t bother with that annoying tape measure, just grab your laser tape out of your bag, and Voilà you know the distance! I lean toward the units from Bosch, including the GLM 40 X.
- Professional webcam. I’m sure you can get the Logitech C920 just in time for the holidays in 2021!
- Look, I’ll be the first to admit the rush on drones at InfoComm was, well, misplaced. But they are fun! No reputable higher ed audiovisual team should go without one. The leading choice, really the only pro-choice, has to be DJI. I’ll take a PHANTOM 4 PRO V2.0, thank you.
- Telepresence Robot. Every higher education AV pro has moments where they need to be in two places at once. Well, there is a solution for that, your own personal telepresence robot. Now you can be terminating cable in that new build and coaching that instructor on how to turn on the system across campus at the same time! I’d recommend a Double Robotics Double 3 on every floor with AV on every building on campus.
Of course, no wish list would be complete without wishing for world peace! It actually seems a lot more plausible to occur than universally accepted AV-over-IP standards.
On a serious note, I’d personally like to wish each of you a safe, COVID-free, peaceful holiday season and an amazing 2021!
It is this community that has kept us all sane and collected during this trying year. Thank you for your amazing contributions to your institutions and the audiovisual industry.
So, what’s on your wishlist this year? What super-obvious thing did I miss?
Mike Pedersen
Audiovisual Experience Manager, Iowa State University
Mike Pedersen has over 21 years in the Pro AV industry and was the 2018 CTS Holder of the Year. Mike joined Iowa State University in 2018 as the Audiovisual Experience Manager. The Audiovisual Experience Team (AVXT) is responsible for AV consulting, installation, and repairs across the university. Mike previously worked for AV integrator Mechdyne Corporation for almost 19 years serving several roles including engineering manager, R&D, and pre-sales engineering. He currently serves as Chair of the Technology Managers Council and a member of the Certification Steering Committee for AVIXA. Mike serves on the Steering Committee for the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA). In Iowa, he is currently an appointee to the governor’s North Central Iowa Regional STEM Advisory Board.
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