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FEBRUA RY 2019 | 21 Audio Visual Systems PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY COMMERCIAL ELECTRONICS The long-term value of professionals in the world of audio visual systems by ROBIN BRUNET N owhere does evolution come at such lightning-like speed as in the audio visual sector, where change is happening too quickly for even con- noisseurs to fully appreciate. "Huge changes have occurred in the space of a year, the most startling being how the do-it-yourself integra- tion of systems has become so prevalent in the mass market," says Hal Clark, director, systems design/ engineering for Commercial Electronics. But as is the case with any sudden change, do-it- yourself integration has its problems along with its benefits. On the plus ledger, virtually any homeowner can now attempt to make his or her home "smart" by simply going to Best Buy, hoping the bits and pieces will work – and hardly feel the impact on their credit card. On the minus side, despite advances in technol- ogy, their money might not necessarily be well spent. Clark explains, "For one thing, these commoditized systems rely upon confusing multiple apps and also haven't been firewalled against hackers, and they can access your personal data by coming through some- thing as innocuous as your baby monitor. "The homeowner may wish to customize, upgrade, or make additions to their system, or perhaps they will need other forms of service – and this can wind up costing plenty, because most experts don't want to touch the mass market systems." Now that the drawbacks of do-it-yourself are start- ing to be discussed in media channels, more attention is being focused on the long-term value of professional integrators such as those at Commercial Electronics. "The future of our industry is service, and integrators such as us can use the latest technology to everyone's benefit, one example being the Crestron Pyng con- troller, which literally saves thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent on programming 'smart' home components, because it is an intelligent compo- nent discovery system," says Clark. With the Crestron Pyng OS2, complete customized automation and control of clients' lighting, climate, shades, including audio/video, can be delivered with incredible speed and in a remarkably user-friendly manner, since it does not require complex program- ming at all. Of course, tech evolution isn't focused exclusively on the do-it-yourself crowd or functional devices such as the Pyng. "Bang & Olufsen's BeoVision Eclipse television is considered the definitive television fea- turing the latest 4K HDR OLED screen and the world's best TV sound that matches that company's high-end speakers," says Clark. Or, for those seeking the ultimate in home theatre experience, Sony offers a range of laser projectors whose illumination hardware is vastly superior to, and lasts a lot longer than traditional projectors. "Image quality is vastly improved and the laser ele- ments can last up to seven years," says Clark. "Plus, Sony offers a short throw projector [Sony's VPL- VZ1000ES] that projects an image from a distance as little as 18 inches." La Scala Integrated Media lives up to its name by taking the time to understand how each of its cli- ents will live in their home and interact as a family, in order to provide the best and most appropriate AV components, media rooms, and related devices (such as security and surveillance) to customers. La Scala has been winning awards for its integra- tion expertise since 2006, when voice commands were still widely regarded as exotic and only for rich end-users. Today, Mike Chorney, president of La Scala Media, says, "Voice recognition went from nine- million to 17-million users in the U.S. in just three months, and it's estimated that it will be in 58 per- cent of all households within five years. Today, there are 59-million smart speakers, and best estimates show a 15 percent increase expected every quarter. So automation is fundamentally changing the way we interact with our physical world." Chorney adds that automation (which he loosely defines as having elements of a home such as light- ing, temperature and so forth, controlled by a single panel) is easy to achieve "with technology such as Alexa Dot interfacing with our cloud-based network." However, although the temptation for homeown- ers to get their integration solutions from big box retailers is stronger than ever, Chorney stresses the importance of consulting a professional integrator, in order to make sure they're getting the best tech to suit their needs, that the features are compatible, and that the installation is done to the highest standards. In a similar vein, GAV MGMT Inc. was founded with the intimate understanding that one of the com- plications of rapidly evolving tech such as low-voltage LED lighting, security, and energy management solu- tions is that they require leading professionals to design, engineer, install, integrate, program, and commission in order to function at optimum lev- els. These are exactly the services provided by GAV MGMT's team of system designers, technology spe- cialists, and draftsmen. Unsurprisingly, business for GAV MGMT has grown substantially, and its consulting has resulted in many benefits for clients, case in point: it delivered Come To Your Senses a 40 percent savings in energy consumption for the Ritz-Carlton Montreal, through the carefully-consid- ered use of audio/visual, digital signage and network infrastructure in addition to programmable/control- lable thermostats, motion detection, room occupancy sensors, and LED-lighting. Technological evolution also benefits the trades, as GAV MGMT principal and owner Maurice Gaudio points out: "The advent a few years ago of Category 6 fibre optic cable, which is typically for lighting control proj- ects, adds an extra 25 percent to any project, whereas prior, electricians would merely sell the fixtures." ClearLED, the world's leading transparent LED and media facade solution provider, is taking advan- tage of a groundbreaking technological advance via Bang & Olufsen's BeoVision Eclipse television. Crestron Pyng OS2 control system.

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