Award

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 | 39 Audio Visual Systems P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y AV I -S P L Exploring the rapid advancements and influential developments reshaping the audio visual industry by ROBIN BRUNET A rguably, the industry that continues to undergo the most advancement in the shortest time frame is audio visual, with digital technology growing at a dizzying rate and artificial intelligence (AI) acting as a disruptor that will profoundly change the world. Mike Chorney, president at La Scala, describes 2023 as "a record year: we accomplished a lot, grew in size and volume, and won a few international awards, including Best Integrated Luxury Home from the 2023 CEDIA Smart Home Awards." The accolades were well deserved, considering La Scala's continued achieve- ments in the residential realm, including a recent solution for a homeowner in a Vancouver neighbourhood where garage space was severely restricted under municipal codes. "The home was in a steep location and required a car elevator rather than a conventional garage," he says. "We created an interlock system for the elevator that used motion sensors and other systems to make it safe and secure." La Scala was also hard at work in the latter half of 2023 creating an automa- tion system for the suites of a new False Creek multi-family residence. "The developer wants the homeowner to be able to call out, 'I'm leaving now' and everything will shut down: media will be switched off along with the lights, the temperature will be lowered, and so forth," Chorney says. Such capabilities used to be considered luxury, but as the False Creek project demonstrates, they are increasingly common in the mid-range market – and this leads Chorney to mention how AI is influencing his company. "One of the most significant benefits for us is that AI is eliminating the frustrations associated with voice commands," he says. "We're in the process of adopting technology whereby AI has the ability to recognize speech derivatives as well as detect exactly where a voice command is being issued – meaning in the near future you will be able to speak normally and no longer need to state where you are. "AI will also play a pivotal role in the administrative realm as it will help us build and automatically adjust project quotes. That's just the beginning of how AI will assist technology providers and their clients." AVI-SPL Inc. recently received Frost & Sullivan's 2023 Global Enabling Technology Leadership Award as best in class in the global experiential solutions industry. This came on the heels of AVI-SPL launching XTG, the Experience Technology Group, a new business unit that responds to the world's largest organizations for immersive experiences. While this serves venues such as museums, visitor centres, libraries, and hotels, perhaps more importantly in this post-COVID age immersive experiences plays a vital role in luring people back to offices. Julian Phillips, senior VP and managing director at XTG, says, "AV solutions are being used to reinvent the employee experience as well as customer experi- ence, and our projects deliver immersive experiences through the integration of space, content, and technology." XTG leverages cutting-edge advancements in virtual/mixed reality, advanced visualization, and AI by relying on AVI-SPL's in-house expertise and a broad ecosystem of partners. Businesses of all sizes are investing in holistic digital transformation to draw employees back to the office, and XTG offers engaging experiences from the lobby to the boardroom and everything in between. By allowing employees to view and interact with a mix of digital technologies, immersive experiences, and personalization features, it creates a place that fosters employee collaboration. Sonic BOOM! But this is not at the expense of XTG's ongoing work in public spaces and institutions. It was recently responsible for creating The Wall, a double-sided digital installation in the foyer of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library. At two storeys tall and 40 feet wide, its immense scale and touch-interactive capabili- ties make this a must-see for visitors. The technical specifications of this 1,200-square-foot installation consist of a Planer 1.8mm T VF LED solution (344 cabinets), along with 26 MultiTaction MTD-556XNB ultra-narrow bezel touch video wall displays. These displays pro- vide a faster, more accurate touch tracking system than any other touchscreen on the market. ClearLED is a leader in the design, development, and supply of transpar- ent LED displays, meeting the needs of clients who require everything from portable window-sized posters to giant custom LED walls. These systems have become the top choice for storefronts of all sizes as well as events and exhibi- tions. The systems have also proven to deliver a return on investment because of their spectacular ability to raise brand awareness and increase sales. Unsurprisingly, ClearLED's clients include leading global brands such as Land Rover, McDonald's, and Audi. ClearLED chief marketing officer, Jin Fan, reports that their latest project demonstrates that mainstream retail is a grow- ing sector for such technology: "We are supplying a 9K resolution video wall and LED tunnel for a new Jordan's Furniture in Connecticut, along with built-in media servers for that store's new restaurant component." Fan adds that Jordan's Furniture is laying claim to having the largest video wall in the retail sector on the U.S. east coast. Overall, the project heralds the further evolution of retail as a technologically immersive experience, supported by ClearLED's walls' numerous benefits: their transparency of up to 93 percent allows daylight to filter through, creating a natural interior atmosphere while still delivering video content. Also, the walls are modular and lightweight, with each module snapping into place in order to create different sizes. Commercial Electronics remains one of B.C.'s leading providers of the best and most advanced audio-visual systems for home use, and its professional ser- vices are heavily relied upon to transform ordinary dwellings into smart homes or upgrade existing systems. But John Madison, the company's general manager, points out that in one circumstance at least, customers are less concerned with optimum quality and more focused on consistency. He explains: "A lot of our work consists of multi-zone speaker set ups, and there is a growing demand for having the same level of sound throughout a living space – no spots where the sound is quieter than another. Generally speaking, this means multiple small speakers properly spaced and installed instead of two big speakers in one location. "The irony is that many clients are not worried about sound quality, they just want whatever is playing through the speakers to be of the same volume throughout the space. These customers are using music as more of a background ambiance than a focused listening experience." As for speaker appearance, Commercial Electronics has a huge range to consider, from those with decora- tive grilles to speakers that can be imbedded in walls and mudded over. A The Wall, Stanley A. Milner Library, Edmonton, AB.

• Cover