posted on Sunday, 5th August 2012 by David Slater
Last week, CEDIA held an evening lecture with noted American CI
veteran Rich Green. Inside CI was there for what turned
out to be a fascinating event. The agenda? 2017: The Five-Year
Technology Horizon.
We just love these new social/educational events that CEDIA UK is
bringing to Custom Install. Rich Green is an icon in the
installation technology market - having worked alongside some of
the biggest names in tech, from Twitter's founder to people
involved in Apple's original iPod launch. The prospect of hearing
him lecture was too good to miss.
From the day I first joined CEDIA back in 2000 with my install
company DSE DIGITAL, I have found these talks inspiring. Knowledge
is a powerful tool in any business, but it's even more relevant in
the custom install industry - and Green covered plenty of
ground.
Significantly he explained how the business landscape is changing.
Media is moving to the cloud, and new interfaces will be operating
source components from gesturing to voice control. We have seen a
little of this technology all ready from the likes of Xbox Kinnect
and Samsung's ES8000 TV range. Sustainable eco lifestyles will
increasingly drive your business into a different direction in the
future.
One question Rich asked us all is: "Are you in control of your
clients?" This is a very interesting topic, since I find we are
never fully in control; changes in specification just as you start
the contract always put you on the back foot. We find that
sometimes the client just wants the system to go too far, Apple
devices have opened the door to affordable devices which are really
slick.
The main point that came over is that profit margins are being
seriously squeezed, and it appears to be a global effect. The guys
in US are having the same problems as we're having in UK. Margins
are being killed by the low cost of kit and we all know nobody
makes money on iPads.
Another interesting fact highlighted by Green was that our
businesses are becoming ever more inter-connected with the world of
PCs and IT. This is all leading to a point in the future where both
IT and CI will merge, heralding Virtual Reality. Over the last two
years I have found that my IT skills have come to the forefront of
all our jobs; if you get an IP clash, your lovely all-singing,
all-dancing system will not operate.
Cash is no longer going to be king with the likes of Paypal Here and the new
iPhone 5 which is expected to have NFC (Near Field Communication),
the next big step forward in mobile payment. You'll soon be able to
plug a card reader into your phone's headphone jack and turn it
into a credit card reader. Google Now will use your mobile's
microphone to find what you are up to. It will work out you are at
an underground station by the sounds it picks up and will attempt
to send you info on the tube. Now I am starting to become scared -
is this taking privacy issues to a place you don't want to
be?
Wi-Fi will shortly take a leap forward with the next generation of
the 802.11 standard - known as IEEE 802.11ac. This will be big when
the devices catch up and have this high-bandwidth pipe built-in.
HDBaseT is another technology which we love at this moment in time.
The matrix is now really stable and reliable. We have just started
playing with these on our installs and have to say I have now got
my confidence back when selling picture distribution, with the
installs being up there in stability with the trusty old component
switchers.
One subject close to my heart is the development of 4K and 8K
devices. Inside CI has had a sneaky look over the past six
months at some great next generation displays and projectors. I
believe this is one of the most exciting developments over the last
couple of years. In my experience, CI clients are willing to pay
for quality, we all still miss the days when Pioneer produced a
professional plasma range.
And if you want something radical, there's always Google's Project
Glass. Wow, this is life changing stuff! I suggest you take a
look at the Google Project
glass advert at this link, it's really clever.
Green ended his talk on the arrival immersive next generation
surround formats. Dolby Atmos may seem tad overkill for the home
cinema environment at the moment, but it promises a genuinely
awesome experience in a true cinema.
I think CEDIA UK is thinking long and hard about where the CI
market is going, and bringing these interesting conferences to its
members is a step forward. If the opportunity arises, and you get
time in your schedule, I would urge you to go to a Rich Green talk.
He is a font of knowledge and has great passion for custom install
that's certain to help you in your business.
David Slater started his writing career with SVI writing a popular column, he has also guested on publications like Home Cinema Choice and
Living North
Inside CI © 2011 | Web Development by Chocolate Grape