home theatre

Our Technical Director Sean Hotchkiss has recently returned from Amsterdam, where he attended Integrated Systems Events Europe 2018, the world´s largest AV systems integration show which ran February 6 – 9, 2018.

What Is Integrated Systems Events Europe?

Integrated Systems Events is a joint venture between AVIXA and CEDIA – the two leading industry associations for the global audiovisual industry. Since the first event in 2004, with 120 exhibitors and 3,500 attendees, the 2018 event has continued it’s crazy growth, with over 1200 exhibitors and more than 80,000 attendees.

Sean reports,“The best part for me was the all-encompassing perspective of the residential and commercial markets, on a global scale. Manufacturers were showing all of their offerings to this wide audience.Companies such as Crestron had their commercial and residential products and staff in the same booth (very large though it was), and any questions I had could be readily answered whether related to videoconferencing systems, or home theater processors.”

He felt that the ability to see companies and products from all corners of the electronics world allowed exposure to new ideas, methods, and products that just isn’t available anywhere else.

“Where else can you go to see video displays the size of a building, to management software, to cameras on flying drones, to audiophile stereo systems? It’s the best show to spend some of your time just wandering and brainstorming about possibilities and business ideas,” says Sean.

Significant Growth of Attendees at Integrated Systems Events

ISE added a fourth day to the show in an effort to give attendees more time to see everything at the show, although managing director Mike Blackman has acknowledged that’s an impossible feat even with proper advanced planning.

Overall, ISE included a full schedule of educational programs, trainings, networking events and product demonstrations in the exhibition hall. “All these events worked cooperatively to raise the standard of education and quality of the businesses that serve our clients,” Sean mentions.

Is it too big? Sean doesn’t think so. “I really appreciated the combination of the AVIXA (commercial) and CEDIA (residential) organizations working together under the same roof (roofs – the show was way too big for one building). There is even word that continuing education credits will be transferable between the organizations.” Talk about partnership!

Biggest Takeaways From Integrated Systems Europe 2018

“This year, audio/video and computer networking have converged so strongly, that it is difficult to separate the two. It is nearly impossible to have one without the other,” says Sean.

Products that take our satellite receivers, BluRay players, videoconference cameras, and computer graphics, and send them across a building to remote displays by means of IP converter boxes were everywhere.

The technology required to compress video in real-time and then decode it again without any perceivable delay was mind boggling. “We are no longer just ‘A/V guys’, but rather professionals that deliver a truly integrated experience as the new AVIXA organization name points out (Audio Video Integrated Experience Association),” Sean states.

Other important technologies we saw at the show were Mixed Reality – AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality), OLED and High Resolution and the use of robotics. Our team will be watching the developments of these technologies closely so we can remain on the cutting edge for our clients.

Sean’s final thoughts? “As someone who is working in the design and engineering of both corporate and residential electronics systems, this is indeed ‘the one show to rule them all’. I look forward to attending in the years to come.”

Are you interested in hearing more about what we saw at ISE 2018 and how it could benefit your project? We invite you to contact us today to start the conversation!