Working with integrators and consultants is a necessary part of the job for any higher ed AV manager, and the AV SuperFriends have plenty of suggestions to make that process easier. Step 1, don’t give away engineering and design. Step 2, don’t give away consulting and end user interaction. Step 3, don’t give away programming. Step 4, don’t give away integration. In fact, just do it all in house.

Chris and Marc were at NWMET 2022 in March and spoke with Frank Alaimo and Andy Borts from UNLV about their more measured approach to creating and supporting modern teaching and learning spaces.

After over a month away, we’re back and have all sorts of things to talk about… but not on this episode. We start with an EDUCAUSE article, then cover event support in learning spaces, and finally discuss our clever little ways to avoid the dreaded capital asset tags.

Jamie brings an article that describes two very different experiences with warranty and support… of socks. Then, let’s talk supply chain! Marc can’t plan for projects, Larry is wary of replacing anything until everything is here, Chris is using the summer for maintenance and staff training, Justin is tired of spending 50% of his time getting asked for schedule updates, and Jamie thinks 2022 might just be the year of deferred maintenance. We’ll check back in 12… 16… 26 weeks…

Blockchain and educational credentials, campus support structures, and auto-framing and auto-tracking cameras

The commoditization of IT skills as organizations mature, is it better to hire an IT person who then learns AV or hire an AV person who then learns IT? What's our standard cabling infrastructure and are we following all the TIA standards?

Will the metaverse take over classrooms? Not in the Lawnmower Man way you’re thinking, but definitely look for persistent, unique identifiers, NFTs, and blockchain technology to show up in your favorite content platforms, campus LMS, and productivity software. Besides, the goggles do nothing.

QSC divides into two divisions, focusing on their pro audio products and burgeoning control and AV transport lines respectively.

Then we dive into AV replacement cycles. Do we set arbitrary schedules of 5, 7, 10 years or tie AV refresh projects to capital projects and building renovations.

Finally, we celebrate the little widgets, tchotchkes, adapters, converters, and odds & ends that keep our AV systems running. These products are truly the glue that holds the industry together.

In the AV news, we review Kramer purchasing UC Workspace, best known for their Quicklaunch software.

Then AV SuperFriends help determine the “best” method for integrating multiple (that is, more than one) PTZ cameras into a classroom system. Should we transport baseband video? What about IP video? Or, do we use USB?

Finally, it’s the first ever AVSF Hall of Shame/Fame awards.

This month’s topic was supposed to be about the return of ISE and the upcoming HETMA Spring conference, but in light of ISE cancelling their show and “rescheduling” to May, we figured it was time to write an obituary.

Then, what of the future? Will we still have massive national expositions or regional tradeshows?

Also, the AV SuperFriends will be presenting a session at the HETMA Spring conference this month, so go sign up and bring your best questions. Register at https://www.HETMA.org