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2010 Web Exellency Award Winner!

We just found out that our website won the Theatre Seats 2010 Web Exellency Award! A note from the Theatre Seats website:

“Unless you are trained in all the latest audiovisual technologies, know it all from the boardroom to the home theater and everything in-between, it’s best to gain advice from the experts. Since this is likely to be the case, a sound piece of advice would be to read through some blogs for helpful information on true audiovisual specialists. Don’t waste your time with just any blog, though – Hold out for the award winners handpicked by our talented judging team.

The sites listed below will hook you up to the AV specialists that will truly connect you to whatever setup your heart desires. Sometimes it’s best to leave things to the specialists, especially when it comes to technical and altogether expensive equipment, so take the plunge and click your way to some free knowledge and power. You’ll be glad you did.”

Thank you for including us! And, thank you to Watermark Design for our awesome site!

Sneak Peek…

We are in the middle of a super busy week- it seems like everyone needs some type of sound or lighting in Charlottesville! Here is a quick preview of some wedding lighting that we did at a private home in Madison, VA this weekend.  Congratulations to Zach & Katie and thank you for choosing The AV Company to provide lighting and sound (and a TV so you didn’t miss the Redskins game!) for your wedding weekend.

Skyline Tent Company’s beautiful clear tent looks great day & night!

Classroom Technology Trends

Photo from www.svconline.com

Summer was a very busy time for us this year- we spent much of it getting local high schools & universities ready for this time of year- back to school!

We noticed an increase in the need for more classrooms in general & more technology locally but now that things have slowed down a bit and we are catching up on our reading we have realized that it seems to be a trend nationwide as well!

This article (link below) makes a great point- the recession seems to have encouraged many people to head back to school which means that the schools have to keep up when it comes to enough space and the classroom technology to keep up with new students.

Also, because graduating students are entering companies that so have the latest technology, it it now even more important that schools keep up.

Check out this article from Sound & Video Contractor on the Top Four Trends in Classroom Technology  They include:

• Bigger Pictures and Sound
• Enhanced Audio
• Video Capture
• I/T is more important than ever!

Digital Signage in Restaurants

We are guessing you wouldn’t expect to walk into your favorite upscale Charlottesville restaurant and see digital signage featuring their menu items and ingredients.  But, digital signage is quickly becoming a big topic in the world of fast food restaurants.  New legislation in some states and people being more aware of what they are eating in general is leading to the need to publish nutritional and calorie information on menu boards.  Because menus are always changing and there restaurants have thousands of locations. this can be very expensive and time consuming.  Digital signage is the perfect solution.  It can even be updated from one location when a menu changes. 

We think this is something that you will see in school systems in the coming years as well to indicate the days menu, nutritional information and it could even include icons next to healthier items to teach students to make good choices.  Check out this article from Digital Signage Weekly on this subject.

Sample of Restaurant Digital Signage from matrox.com

Best of C-ville 2010

C-ville Weekly announced the 2010 Best Of winners today! If you haven’t seen them yet, you will find the list HERE. Congrats to everyone on their awards! We are very excited to provide lighting & decor for the Best of C-ville Party on Friday night at the Main Street Arena (formerly the Cville Ice Park)! It will ba a great time, as always, and we hope to see you there!

Back to school with the latest classroom technology

Can you believe it’s that time of year again?  Students are heading back to school again here in Charlottesville and at the University of Virginia.  Thank you to the Darden Graduate School of Business for trusting the AV company to provide classroom technology for the Darden Executive Education Program! We also just finished upgrading the technology in their second year classrooms to support record enrollment for this coming year.

Need technology for your school or university? The AV Company offers audio-visual design & installation of technology systems for K-12 and higher education classrooms, auditoriums, theatres, sports facilities and daycare facilities.  We provide teachers and other school personnel with professional training & support to ensure that they are comfortable using the new system once it is installed.  We also provide security & notification systems to keep your students safe and energy management systems to make your buildings more efficient.

We are currently providing the following technology solutions to school systems in Virginia.  Please contact us today for a complimentary consultation!

• Classroom Technology Systems
• Presentation Tools
• Media Management Systems
• Whiteboards & Smartboards
• Audience Response Systems
• Audio & Video Distribution
• Master Clocks System
• Intercom & Mass Notification Systems
• Digital Signage
• Security Systems
• Remote Energy Management
• Climate Control
• Lighting Automation
• Access Control
• Drapes, Shades, Screens
• Theatrical Lighting & Draping
• Acoustical Treatments

Summit Custom Homes Open House

Thank you to Summit Custom Homes  for inviting us to their open house in Old Trail yesterday.  We demonstrated how the iPad can control lighting, temperature, audio/video and security for local real estate agents.  It was a great event and we really enjoyed meeting everyone!

Unloading our equipment at Summit's beautiful home in Old Trail- Crozet, VA

Media Servers for your Home

Most people are familiar with having a ‘server’ in their office…the one that stores computer files, etc.  But, have you thought about having one at home?  More and more people are using media servers to store movies, music and digital photography! One of our recent favorites is the Fusion Genesis server.  It allows you to store all of your media in one place and then access it from multiple locations within your home. 

The system allows you to search, sort or filter literally thousands of titles
and have instant access to any of them with a single button press. It  can also stream multiple feeds throughout the network to different locations so that everyone in the family can watch what they want without bothering others.

Check out this VIDEO from Fusion on how to search through your collection!

Inspired Signage

We are currently working on a digital signage installation for a school system in Virginia.  They will soon be able create & update signage content from one location and it will appear in multiple locations at each of the schools.  Even better, this signage will also appear on a local TV station so they are also reaching every household who tunes into that channel from the same place…pretty cool!

WHAT is Digital Signage
The AV Company installs the Inspired Signage solution from AMX.  It enables customers to create, schedule and deliver their own vibrant, animated content dynamically to display screens across a network of sites locally, nationally or globally. Through pre-configured hardware and an intuitive software application, your existing staff can easily manage content, graphics and animation targeted to chosen audiences.

 Digital Signage is ideal for-

What time is it?

We were recently contracted by a local school system to provide master clocks and thought we would share a little more about them here on our blog.  Bogen Time Systems provide schools with the correct, up-to-the-second time everywhere in the school.  This means that every area  from classroom to cafeteria, gymnasium to media center, administrative office to the lobby are all in sync.  For more information, check out Bogen’s Time System Brochure or give us a call!