20 - 23 April

26 - 28 April

17 - 19 June

11 - 15 September
 
 

AV Specialist celebrates global AV Week
 

During late October AV Specialist and a number of Dubai-based AV suppliers hosted an AV Open Day at Dubai Internet City in support of Infocomm’s AV Week (21-27 October 2007).

During late October the local AV industry in Dubai celebrated Infocomm’s AV Week with an Open Day presented at Dubai Internet City. The celebration included a mini-expo held in the main concourse at Internet City, along with presentations by Tandberg, Audipack and Wiebel, and a round-circle discussion led by Funktion One’s Tony Andrews. Together with John Newsham, Tony founded Turbosound in the mid 1970s and brought that company to prominence through several generations of revolutionary loudspeaker designs. In 1992 they formed Funktion One and over the last fifteen years, they’ve focused on building audio systems that offer more clarity and intelligibility, more conversion of amplifier energy into acoustic energy, more clean SPL and more controlled dispersion with less size, less weight and less distortion. During the discussion Tony focused on some of the company’s prestigious work in both live and installed sound installations. “Whilst often imitated, our designs have not been surpassed and have been the first choice of many permanent and touring sound applications around the world,” he said.
 
 
Munzer Aloush from Tandberg delivered a very interesting presentation on the role of video conferencing in Dubai’s fast changing commercial environment – while Audipack’s Hans van den Berg gave some practical advice to AV installers working with flat panel displays and projector lifts. According to Hans, selecting the right mounting system at the start of the installation process impacts directly on the profitability of every AV installer. “Match the mount to the application and the needs of the user,” says Hans, “because with low profit margins you’re losing money every time you need to revisit an installation that’s not been done correctly the first time round.” This perspective was supported by Wiebel’s Herman Holtus, who went one step further when he warned of the financial pitfalls of using sub-standard projector lifts. “You may think you’re earning a higher margin on the initial sale but sub-standard products mean more call-backs. Installing a high-quality projector lift adds up to greater reliability, lower service costs, satisfied customers and more repeat business.”
 
 

The Open day concluded with a cocktail party at the SAS Radisson hotel sponsored by Infocomm International and IS Europe, the leading show for AV and electronic systems integration in Europe. At the cocktail party, Infocomms’ regional manager, Jonathan Seller and AV Specialist publisher Kevan Jones announced the formation of the Middle East Communications Industries Association (MECIA) – a not-for-profit trade association registered at Dubai Media City. This new Association will partner with Infocomm to promote the adoption of professional standards and industry certification in the broadcast and professional AV market.