Westin Long Beach Hotel Hosts Local Businesses and Events in High-Tech Meeting Space Protected by Furman

Competition is stiff among hotels that want to host events and corporate meetings for local businesses. To attract the event planners and meeting managers, the Westin Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, California, recently transformed its large ballroom into a 4-room convertible space with divisible walls. To further enhance the space, the hotel turned to local integration firm Spinitar to incorporate the latest audio system and technology. According to Rudy Zavala, Associate Systems Designer at the firm, the goal of the installation came down to three things: simplicity, functionality and reliability.

“One big ballroom is great if you want to host large receptions or conferences, but the ability to split the space into four smaller rooms offers the hotel greater revenue opportunities and opens access to smaller parties and budgets,” Zavala explained. “But it’s not as simple as just putting in some convertible walls. Separate rooms mean you need separate audio systems and control interfaces that can also function as a single unit when the room is fully open for a larger event. To do this we used QSC’s Core 500i network audio solution backed by the protection of a BlueBOLT-enabled Furman F1500-UPS to ensure smooth, effortless operation 365 days a year.”

Routing all the power through the Furman UPS boasts multiple advantages. Utilizing the BlueBOLT cloud-based power, energy and network management platform, the device enables Spintar to access the equipment at its power source from anywhere in the world using any Web-enabled device. In case of a locked-up device or system power issue, the integrators can do remote hard resets of the touch panels, amplifiers and network switcher, even the entire QSC system if needed, greatly reducing service calls. This provides efficiency for both the hotel and the integrator, saving them time, money and frustration.

Featuring Furman’s advanced Series Multi-Stage Protection (SMP) surge/spike protection circuit, Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) and Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT), the F1500-UPS provides the hotel with professional-level protection, filtration and backup combined with features engineered specifically for the needs of A/V systems. Fully programmable, the unit features an intuitive LCD front panel interface, which displays valuable system and diagnostic information, such as battery time remaining based on current load and voltage input/output. Additionally, critical load management capabilities allow hotel employees to prioritize allocations of battery power to connected equipment while the unit’s programmable IR blasters provide safe shutdown of remotely based equipment.

“Easy-to-use is an all encompassing term,” Zavala concluded. “This means that guests must be able to walk in to the space and use the system right away, every time. Additionally, the hotel managers and staff should be able to operate the meeting rooms without worrying about complicated technology. The GUI we created for the audio system is a floorplan of the space, with each touch panel opening up to its section of the room, and all the other sections are available by simply flipping to the next page of the interface. This way presenters can quickly use the input panels to hook up a microphone, iPod, or video player to one section or the whole room, while setting volumes for each specific area.”

Best of all, the system is designed to be easy-to-use for the integrators themselves. Incorporating the Furman F1500-UPS into the system simplifies the configuration, ultimately saving Zavala and his team time and money through BlueBOLT remote power management.

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Drones Offer Pro AV Dealers an Unprecedented New Revenue Opportunity as Surveillance Applications Take Off

Drones are becoming increasingly important in assisting first responders and law enforcement officials in the area of surveillance, according to Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly, who today asserted that this increase in drone usage offers ProAV dealers an unprecedented new opportunity in security, live event, and law enforcement surveillance applications.

“It should come as no surprise that one of the most immediate and promising applications of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, is in the area of surveillance,” Kelly said. “Law enforcement officers, first responders, live event producers — anyone engaged in the critically important tasks of security and surveillance are quickly understanding the benefits of drones, and the FAA is beginning to allow their use for these applications.” 

Just last month, according to Kelly, the Michigan State Police department became the first police force in the nation to receive statewide authorization by the FAA to use drones for law enforcement purposes. After reviewing the department’s safety and program procedures, the FAA approved the use of an unmanned aircraft to photograph crash sites, search for lost people, inspect natural disasters and conduct surveillance. 

“All of these applications are casebook examples of how an exciting new technology like drones can be immediately incorporated by ProAV dealers into their product mix,” Kelly added.  “Our industry, collectively, has the dealer network with the expertise in the video category and the vertical market end-user relationships required to seamlessly integrate drones into meaningful solutions that save time, money and in some cases, lives." 

According to Kelly, two issues have stood in the way of making the use of drones a practical reality for customers who need and rely upon cost-effective surveillance solutions in their day-to- day life — concerns about privacy and the availability of educational resources to train drone operators.  “In my opinion, both of these concerns can now be addressed in a way that allows for this remarkable new technology to quickly become a mainstream part of 21st century surveillance,” Kelly commented. 

The FAA has made it very clear that it is in the process of developing standards and guidelines for the safe and legal use of drones in commercial applications, in ways that do not violate an individual’s right to privacy. The guiding principle in this process is to make sure that drones are used, not in a broad general way, but rather in an controlled environment where the owner/operator would have a right to have a security professional present. “The altitude limit of 500 feet further ensures that drones used for surveillance will not be used to monitor the activities of the at large general population,” Kelly added. 

Secondly, Kelly said, there is now a very clear path forward for ProAV dealers seeking to offer their drone customers a complete solution.  “Thanks to a strategic alliance Stampede has formed with Unmanned Vehicle University (www.uxvuniversity.com) ProAV dealers will now be able to purchase and resell to their customers specific certified courses that will enable them to operate drones in a safe and sanctioned way,” he added. 

Unmanned Vehicle University is now designing dedicated manufacturer based product training that is customized to show vertical market specific dealers how to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles into their product offerings to customers.  Finally, there is a way to educate dealers on how to integrate drones into their commercial offering and then provide the necessary training to both their employees on the category and their customers on how to operate the drones, providing a complete turnkey solution.  What’s more, the dealers will profit when they resell UVU’s unique training courses.  

“The size commercial drone market will grow to be 12% of the $98-billion in cumulative global spending on aerial drones over the next decade,” Kelly added. “This partnership with UVU will help our customers to be ready to go when these licensing and training regulations are finalized. It will also allow our dealers to offer UVU’s training courses to their end-users as part of their camera drone offering and profit on every class they sell.”

Stampede Partners with InfoComm Roundtable Events for the Big Book of AV Tour and Conference Stop in Houston, Texas

The 2015 Stampede Big Book of AV (BBOAV) Tour and Conference, the ProAV industry’s biggest annual traveling roadshow, will make its next stop at the Houston Marriott South Hobby Airport Hotel on March 26th, where it will team up with InfoComm to provide dealers with a jam packed agenda of hands-on product demonstrations, information-rich presentations, CTS-certified training classes, and an InfoComm roundtable discussion on industry issues.

“Fueled by a huge dealer interest in all things related to drones, 2015 is turning out to be our biggest tour yet,” Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly said today. “Our partnership with InfoComm’s Roundtable Events provides attendees with additional access to leading industry executives and subject matter experts.  And, of course, the participation of leading manufacturers from every product category make the 2015 Big Book of AV Tour & Conference a must-attend networking and business developing event for any forward-looking ProAV dealer.”

After stopping first in Tampa, Las Vegas, and, most recently, Chicago, the 2015 Stampede BBOAV Tour and Conference is set to provide Houston-area dealers and AV professionals with the opportunity to meet with leading AV industry manufacturers, attend CTS-certified trainings, and participate in industry-focused roundtable discussions.

Specifically, the Houston stop will feature a morning keynote by InfoComm SVP Duffy Wilbert, CTS, CAE, and three industry training sessions entitled “Samsung, Sorting Out Media Players for Digital Signage,” by Jonathan Brawn of Brawn Consulting, “Sony Unified Communications & Video Conferencing Fundamentals,” and “Overview of the Drone/ UAS Industry and Business Potential” both by Paul Dragos, Stampede Unified Communications Group's Director of Engineering and Unmanned Vehicle University’s Dean of School of Flight Training. 

“Dealers are finally getting the message that drones represent a major new revenue opportunity that they can immediately begin to incorporate into their portfolio of solutions,” Kelly explained.  “And Stampede offers them a very clear way to profit from drones by offering the industry’s broadest range of drones for every possible application, along with the training courses that dealers can resell to their customers. Our strategic alliance with Unmanned Vehicle University provides Stampede with a compelling end-to-end solution that includes product, training, and service support.” 

Furthermore, Stampede will be offering event incentives such as a $500 Stampede credit to qualified attendees and a $50 Amex gift card to all in attendance the day of the Tour and Conference. Every attendee will also be entered into a drawing to win a 42” HD television.

Manufacturers participating in the 2015 Stampede Big Book of AV Tour & Conference include Optoma, Sharp, Chief, Mustang, Ken-a-vision, Lumens, Sony, Christie, Hitatchi, Hitachi Starboard, Samsung, Ladibug, Atlona, Balt, Iogear, Epson, LG, Vision, NEC, Benq, Da-Lite, Casio, AVteq, Canon, Peerless AV, Hall Research, DynoScan, Vidyo, Circle Technology, WHOOSH! Screen Shine, Gefin, MediaPointe, AmpliVox, Audio Solutions, Vaddio, Luidia, and BrightSign.

For more information about the event and to register to attend, dealers and AV professionals should go to www.bigbookofavtour.com.