Takeaways From InfoComm 2019

Fearing’s is dedicated to staying up-to-date on the most current industry trends for our clients and our business. In doing so, we often travel to conferences around the country. In early June, our travels took us to InfoComm 2019. InfoComm is the largest pro-AV show and conference in North America, representing every facet of audio and visual technology. Ehren Tresner, VP of Engineering, went to the conference.

Here are some of his biggest takeaways:

Q: Why did Fearing’s go?
Ehren: It is important to keep up on what the latest and greatest products are, plus, it’s the best place to get your hands, eyes and ears on the coolest AV gear! There are also a ton of classes, training sessions, demos and tours to attend.

Q: What was your biggest takeaway from the conference?
Ehren: Web conferencing integration and supporting technologies are popping up everywhere and there are so many new, cool devices to make your conferencing look and sound better. Customers are demanding centralized ways to manage their systems and devices, so numerous companies are launching or have launched supporting applications or platforms to address this need.

Q: A memorable moment from the conference?
Ehren: There were many moments, but seeing great products “live” and “in action”, such as LG’s curved OLED video display and their transparent touch screen displays, Sony’s giant direct LED 8k video wall, virtual reality design tools, automatic translator devices and DMC. I also thought Mark McGrath doing Fight for Your Right to Party (at the Crestron party) was pretty awesome.

Q: What does the future for the AV Industry look like from what you saw at the conference?
Ehren: We are all waiting for machine learning and AI to enter the AV space, which will lead to making smart decisions and actions, improving the systems and enhancing people’s experiences. That has not happened yet, but things are in the works. Also, as prices continue to drop for displays, direct LED walls and laser projectors and technology is making them all more flexible, thin and innovative, so we can more freely design displays into spaces and make them part of the interior design of the space. Audio Video solutions and design planning are increasingly being done by a company’s IT or technology departments, making for an integrated overall approach attaining AV needs and solutions.

Q:  Any wacky/bizarre things you saw at the conference?
Ehren: The custom display/speaker enclosure that was designed to look retro like a 1960’s display. Not that very wacky, but it was actually very cool.