ELECTROSONIC SA NETWORKS AT ISE 2013 AMSTERDAM

ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) 2013 took place from 29 to 31 January in Amsterdam. With 825 exhibitors occupying more than 30,000 square metres of floor space the event attracted 44,151 registered visitors, up 8% from 2012.

Electrosonic SA sent three representatives to Netherlands, Eugene Coetzee (AV Systems Manager), Rupert Denoon (Crestron Manager), and Jason Johnstone (Kramer Product Manager). Upon their arrival in Amsterdam on the Saturday, they were greeted by a snow-covered city and icy roads. This did nothing to curb their enthusiasm to do a bit of exploring in Amsterdam and they each purchased a GVB "Gemeentevervoerbedrijf" (public transport) ticket for the week.

On Monday morning, 28 January, it was time for business as Eugene and Rupert attended Crestron's pre-exhibition dealer conference at the RAI convention centre while Jason headed off to the Kramer meeting.

The following are their unique perspectives on ISE 2013.

Rupert was amazed by the huge turn-out of distributors and Crestron staff at the dealer conference. "The venue was too small to accommodate us all". George Feldstein, CEO of Crestron Electronics, opened the floor thanking everyone for all their hard work and dedication. It was the first time George had been to ISE. "I believe this is testament to the growth of Crestron outside the USA, which is partly due to the impact ISE has on this industry general and Crestron in particular".

Randy Klein, executive Vice President of Crestron Electronics and Robin van Meeuwen, MD of Crestron UK each had an opportunity to address the delegates. It was interesting to hear that Crestron has over 20,000 certified DMC-D (Digital Media Certified Design) persons worldwide and that 1 million people visit the Crestron website per quarter, more than InfoComm and Cedia websites combined.

At 7:15 AM on the first day of ISE 2013 Rupert received a full tour of the Crestron stand by Dave Silberstein. If that sounds grandiose, then reflect for minute that the 650m2 stand is equal to three tennis courts.

Crestron showed off the new 3-series control processors. "The 3-Series features more power, speed, memory, network connectivity, and security than ever before," says Rupert "The unique distributed architecture enables multi-tasking, which is essential to an integrated building solution.

Rupert found the new CBLR Cable Retractors for FlipTop™ Boxes impressive – with the inside mechanism working very well. Up to four cable retractors can be installed depending on the FlipTop model. "These flip tops can support the following cables HDMI®, VGA, stereo audio, USB, Ethernet, HDBaseT™ and DigitalMedia 8G+™" says Rupert.

Crestron released the new Digital Media 64 x 64 frame which comes standard with a V15 Panel for preview and manual switching functions. New transmitters released included the DM-TX range:

• DM-TX-401-C DigitalMedia 8G+™ Transmitter 401 "Input Signal Types, DisplayPort, HDMI®, DVI, RGB, component (YPbPr), S-Video (Y/C), composite."
• DM-TX-401-S2 DigitalMedia 8G™ Single-Mode Fibre Transmitter 401
• DM-TX-401-S DigitalMedia 8G™ Fibre Transmitter 401

Rupert also points out that Crestron has a wide range of speakers and amplifiers for most applications. "What AV solution is complete without audio?" The various Air speakers that mount on QuickBall mounting brackets will make it easy for installers throughout the industry.

 

"Crestron is pushing lighting solutions in a big way," says Rupert referring to the impressive range of lighting products for all applications including the manufacture of LED lights and various ballasts.

The release of the infiNET EX wireless keypads and dimmers was also welcomed as this will assist in the residential market where retrofitting is key.

The following SA dealers enjoyed a tour by Rupert through the stand: Mike Guerin (AV Projects), Stuart Pringle & Stephen Kellaway (Omega Digital Technologies), George du Toit (Smart Spaces), Aldin van Zyl & Murray Matthews (Solution Technologies), Jaco Smit (Teljoy), Stefan Mayer (The Installation Company), Dean Tapuch (Two ships Trading) & Kobus Bosch (HFX systems).

"All our dealers where blown away by the solutions Crestron offers, and they all gave positive feedback on the booth".

Rupert regards ISE as a great place to network and build relationships with suppliers, and dealers. "The Crestron distributor conference always inspires me to push even harder to make Crestron a huge success in Southern Africa".

Jason spent most of his first visit to ISE helping clients on the Kramer stand. "Going through all the products with each client took 30 to 40 minutes" says Jason. Stats showed that the Kramer stand was the busiest it had ever been. "At times the crowd was so dense it was impossible to even see a product, never mind doing a tour".

Kramer had many new products on their stand and most of them will be available before the end of 2013. Some of the memorable and exciting items that stood out for Jason were: the new Kramer K-Touch control software for Apple or Android tablets; the new range of "range extenders" for HDBaseT; and, new cards for VS-1616D: HDBaseT cards, fibre cards, HDMI with de-embedded audio, and VGA cards.

Kramer also showcased their next generation step-in family. The TP-577 family offers much more control to an HD video distribution solution. Also on display was the new IP-based family KDS-EN2T/R which sends HDMI over an IP network. Part of this family is the new KDS-MP1 which is mainly for digital signage, but controllable over IP.

One of the announcements at ISE was that Kramer recently formed a new partnership with ComQi (formerly MiniCom Digital signage). Through existing customer channels Kramer will gain more market share in the growing field of Digital signage.

Jason's abiding impression is the interaction with various product managers on the Kramer stand. "They make you feel part of a big family and share tips and secrets that you would not normally pick up".

Eugene also attended the Crestron dealer conference. At the conference Crestron's focus was: Integrated by Design™, meaning that everything can be done using Crestron's own products, and that Crestron can integrate systems from front to end for a complete solution. "Crestron will be marketing the slogan aggressively for the next few years," says Eugene, "It will be appearing on the website, ads, mails, etc.".

In its 10th year at ISE Crestron announced that not only do they intend to remain the industry leader, but has also set itself the target of becoming the world's largest speaker company.

Eugene spent the next few days mostly around the Crestron and Kramer stands. "Apart from that I did make time to walk the aisles of ISE reconnecting with old acquaintances and making new connections" says Eugene.

A highlight at the Crestron Integration awards was when HFX systems received a Highly Commended award in the 'Best Digital Media Install' category for their work at SedibengBrewery. "What a fantastic achievement! Let's notforget Rupert and his team's involvement to make it happen!" says Eugene, vowing to enter dealers early for next year's awards. "We have some fantastic projects that deserved to be entered.

Another highlight was the Crestron cocktail party followed by a UB40 concert, "What can I say? UB40 was awesome. A great experience".

Eugene also made time to meet up with some suppliers namely Robin van Meeuwen, VP Crestron International, Steven Dullaert, Crestron's Director of Distributor sales and Michael Hochstein, Chairman at Kramer Electronics. Guido Mazzo of Screen International took him on a tour through their range of products which included new motorised screens and projection lifts.

Next he met with Ian Gobey of NEC. "NEC had an impressive and futuristic looking booth. I thought I was on the bridge of the Starship enterprise ..." jokes Eugene.

"ISE is a sensory overload with too much to absorb in three days, but what a great experience", Eugene added. "Much time was spent after dark with friends and colleagues enjoying all that Amsterdam has to offer".

At the conclusion of ISE 2013 Rupert, Jason, and Eugene agreed on three things. Firstly, that there were no ground-breaking revelations at the exhibition. Secondly, that Amsterdam is a great town, and thirdly, that Heineken is a great beer.