Welcome to NAB 2019: bigger, better, faster and more, more, MORE! David Aleksandersen reports from the world's largest trade show for the convergence of media, entertainment and technology, focusing on the broadcast sector of the AV industry. 

Projection mapping is one of the most popular ways to create an event that’s out-of-the-ordinary. From small indoor stage effects to larger-than-life visuals on entire arenas, landmark buildings or other architectural landscapes, projection mapping as a marketing tool is here to stay. 

“4K video delivers stunning beauty and resolution. But like most new technology, it comes with challenges to overcome as well.” These were the opening sentences of a Crestron white paper, published in 2014. Now it says 2019 on the calendar, and we have a wide range of display technologies with 8K resolution. Are we ready to rumble or are we stuck with the same challenges?

Audio comes in a wide range of formats and types, just like video and images. For a media server operator, knowing your way around the audio jungle is a real plus, potentially saving you time, effort and some sleepless nights. This blog looks at the three major audio categories, and gives media server programmers a hot tip on audio format!

With an ever-growing number of products and systems using networks for communication and content distribution, it's more important than ever to understand the most frequent concepts and terms. In a previous post, I looked at some of the basic skills a media server operator needs in our networked world. This post digs a bit deeper. Read on…

We live in a networked world – more and more services and products use networks for communication and content distribution. Do you need to be an IT engineer to be able to do network setups for your AV installation? Absolutely not.

If you rewind just a few years, sound, audio and lighting devices had their own, dedicated, communication connectivity. Not only did they have dedicated protocols, but also physical cables and connectors. What's more, inter-operability between these technologies was not a focus – neither for the users nor the developers. And IP (Internet Protocol) based networks were for the IT world, a completely different realm from the world of AV. But this is about to change. 

You don't need to be an IT engineer to do AV networks, but you really need to have some key network skills. In this blog post, we take a look at the following topics:

We all love an acronym and here's one that seems to be popping up more and more. MPCDI is a standard format for multi-projector alignment systems, allowing full integration among a range of devices, programs and display systems. But what does that mean in reality, and why are industry standards important? 

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics related to Multiple Projection Common Data Interchange (that’s MPCDI to us!)

Getting ready to invest in a media server? Take your time, because choosing the right solution for your application requires careful thought and consideration. And before you do anything, you need to tackle the central issue: should you build your own media server or opt for a pro off-the-shelf unit? In this blog post, we take a look at some of the key factors to keep in mind before making the final call.

As any craftsman will tell you, it’s not only a matter of knowing what you’re doing, but also having the right tools for the job. And in the case of video professionals, there are an awful lot of tools out there. Here's a list of my essential items. Think I’ve missed something off the list? Add your favorite in the comments box below!

We have embraced 4K, and while some are still struggling to get on top of the challenges that 4K brought, several manufacturers are gearing up for 8K resolutions – and beyond! What are the benefits and challenges of higher resolutions? What products are there in the market?

In this blog, I’ve taken a look at the race for higher resolutions, and sounded out two projector manufacturers, Barco and Digital Projection, as they ramp up for 8K.