Table of Contents 2009

 
  • University AV: Doubling Down in the Downturn

    The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression is forcing some institutions of higher education to scale back or delay AV projects. Yet the federal government's efforts to pump money into the overall economy could trickle down to universities, giving decision makers the confidence they need...

     
  • PRO AV Blueprint for University AV

    New AV technology continues to march through colleges and universities despite economic upheaval. More than ever, universities see the value in bringing high-resolution presentation systems and online collaboration tools to educate the 21st century workforce faster, better, and more affordably...

     
  • Healthcare Install: Weill Cornell Medical College

    Medical science may have changed over the years, but the skills needed to be a good doctor–listening to patients, making the proper diagnosis, and not panicking in complex situations–have not. The Weill Cornell Medical College in New York was founded nearly 200 years ago to provide the best...

     
  • Broadcast Install: Fox News, Studio H

    Creating the 36-by-48-foot Studio H on the 12th floor of the Fox News building in midtown Manhattan began with the build-out of a new two-story studio shell, complete with video cabling and a powered lighting grid. As executives fielded design ideas and bids, the race began: Deadlines were tight...

     
  • National Oilwell Varco Boardroom

    The ability to hide AV systsems, in deference to a room's aesthetics, is a constant challenge for AV pros, especially in high-end corporate boardrooms. Company executives usually want all the capabilities of modern AV technology but don't want to see blank screens and messy wires when it's not in...

     
  • InfoComm Products '09: Cables & Accessories

    New Chief mounts, Lutron's wireless shading system, Bretford technology carts, more

     
  • InfoComm '09 Products: Video

    Christie LED projection, Stewart Filmscreen's new-construction screens, Digital Projection's sealed projector, more

     
  • InfoComm '09 Products: Audio

    Yamaha amps and mixers, Audio-Technica's newest lavalier mic, Lectrosonics new audio networking family, more

     
  • Infocomm '09 Products: Signal Managment

    New Chief mounts, Lutron's wireless shading system, Bretford technology carts, more

     
  • AV Intelligence: AV's Boys of Summer

    Not that you sit there along the left field line, taking in a ball game on a warm summer evening, and think, "I wonder what went into this sound system" (maybe you do). But sure as Opening Day follows Spring Training, every year baseball stadiums seem to undergo AV upgrades. Perhaps more than any...

     
  • Reaching Out

    Quintiles Transnational wanted nothing like an old-style, fortress-like boardroom. The company, which performs pharmaceutical clinical trials and sells directly to physicians around the world, was expanding. So the boardroom was just one piece of a major AV upgrade of numerous rooms on eight floors...

     
  • Blueprint for Success: Corporate Boardrooms

    The tony corporate boardroom is a well-trod market for AV integrators, but not the most hospitable one. Some rooms are older than the oldest board members, barely wired for speakerphone, let alone stereo surround sound and high-definition plasmas. Others, the new rooms, are so image-conscious...

     
  • Well-Oiled Machine

    Though well-known in racing circles because of its omnipresent logo, Lucas Oil Products was hardly a household name in Indianapolis two years ago. So it began to formulate a marketing plan that would take full advantage of audiovisual technology while meeting expectations for a state-of-the-art...

     
  • Just in Time: A Rocky Mountain Makeover

    Doug Hardman had a lot of work to do to bring the AV system in the Ada City-County Emergency Management Center (ACCEM) in Boise, Idaho, into the 21st century. The center, housed in a concrete building, had two projectors and some chalkboards. The low-tech setup didn't do justice to its importance...

     
  • Under the Dome

    Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry is known for its innovative programming and exhibits. When the Henry Crown Space Center was added to the museum in July 1986, it included a simulated space station, artifacts from the Apollo 8 and Aurora 7 Mercury missions, as well as the city's only...

     
  • AV and IT Meet at JFK

    You've heard it all before: AV and information technology have come to a head. Nowhere is this more apparent, perhaps, than in efforts to move video content over Cat-5 cabling, which is often the economical choice. Many times it's already in place before an integrator begins work on a project. And...

     
  • Think Locally

    The University of Georgia's college of Pharmacy has a respectable history with distance learning, but it will push even more confidently into the 21st century when its 84,000-square-foot addition opens this fall in Athens. Two 200-seat lecture halls, two conference rooms, four classrooms, and a...

     
  • Virtual Education: A Blueprint for Distance Learning

    It seems pro AV and distance learning were made for each other. But that wasn't always the case. In the past, classroom technology and AV conferencing were mostly analog, disconnected things. Meanwhile desktop software had static documents down pat, but choked on video. Today, all that has changed...

     
  • Welcome to an AV Mecca

    Deep in a bunker built into a mountainside in Culpepper, Va., sits what could be described as an AV enthusiast's ultimate destination. Housed in a former Federal Reserve building, the Library of Congress' new National Audiovisual Conservation Center (NAVCC) contains an inventory of more than 6...

     
  • Hurray for Dollywood

    When the folks at Dollywood, the theme park of singer Dolly Parton, got the idea to convert a 100-seat theater from 70mm film to digital–and add 3D to boot–it seemed fairly logical. Such outsized ambition isn't surprising when it's associated with a star known for dreaming big.

     
  • The Movement Builds

    Green is good. It's a mindset that has permeated almost every part of life. New efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle in stores, homes, and offices have many of us feeling like we're saving the polar ice caps one reusable shopping bag at a time. But greening the AV industry is progressing slower...

     
  • Throwing Signage on the Bus

    Faced with budget shortfalls, Chicago has quit plowing side streets to save money. But the snow and cold were made a bit more tolerable for some of the city's public transit passengers, thanks to Kraft Foods, which provided heat at some bus shelters as part of an ad campaign for Stove Top Stuffing.

     
  • Live Wired

    Keeping consumers in one place in a competitive entertainment market like Los Angeles, not to mention revitalizing the city's long-neglected downtown area, has required ambition and deep pockets. Over the past 10 years, billionaire developer Philip Anschutz has shown both in his efforts to bring...

     
  • Arts Install: Bravado by the Bay

    Poised along the banks of the Hillsborough River, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center is a commanding presence. It attracts all forms of entertainment, from Broadway tours to stand-up comedians. But at 11-years old, it wasn't as state-of-the-art as its competition. "We didn't have the amenities...

     
  • Vital Signs: Trends in Digital Signage

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  • Jan./Feb. 2009 Guide to Doing Business in Restaurants and Nightclubs: Trends

    Despite the fact that consumers are cutting back on spending in reaction to the current state of the U.S. economy, the restaurant industry is expected to post modest sales growth in 2009. In its recently released "2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast," the National Restaurant Association projects that...

     
  • Mood Swings

    When Mark Marek set out to launch a new nightclub in downtown Philadelphia, he envisioned a space unlike anything the city had ever seen–something reminiscent of flashy Miami Beach or infamous Las Vegas hot spots.