Off the Rails Episode 23: Blowing It All Over the Network

Recorded July 9, 2021

In AV news, Sharp/NEC announces a new display with support for an insertable module (SDM, the replacement for OPS) that has NDI and Dante onboard. While that sounds as exciting as burnt toast, it could be a harbinger of things to come— displays (and general AV devices) with support for multiple AVoIP transport protocols on a single NIC. It’s clearly the way of the future, so let’s hope we see more of this in the coming months.

Speaking of harbingers, we then review some disruptive technologies that are available today and changing how we think about designing classroom AV systems. Some of these technologies are so disruptive, we’re including them in our newest classroom standards… if that makes sense. We also return to the idea of a PC as the center of the AV system, instead of the monstrous $5,000 all-in-one switcher.

Finally, students are keeping us on our toes as we have to adapt to their learning styles and comfort with multiple, simultaneous content streams— official and unofficial— during classes. Should we really let the whims of 19 year old students determine the future of learning spaces and AV design? Like, for sure, boomer.