Viewpoints

Crossed Wires By Paul Chavez, January 6, 2012 I’m fortunate to live in a city with a world-class music venue: the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. When I have attended concerts there, they have always sounded great to me—some of the best I’ve ever heard. The More..
Strategic Reinvention By R. Randal Riebe, December 14, 2011 Wow, it’s already the December issue of Systems Contractor News. It’s hard to believe that we are nearing the threshold of departing 2011 and about to step into 2012. This is always a great time of year—a few extra days off, More..
Plays Well With Worship By Ken McKibben, December 2, 2011 In the ’90s, the idea of integrating sound, video, and lighting systems in the church market was basically non-existent. Some of the larger churches had a basic video system, and the industry consisted mostly of sound More..
Remembering the Giants Among Us By Mike Bradley, November 16, 2011 Do you ever take the time to reflect on the history of your business, why and More..
Everything Is Amazing By Paul Chavez, October 27, 2011 Is it just my imagination, or has most of the cool new technology that has been invented over the past 20 years been in the world of audio and video? Video projectors, audio and video digital signal processing, amplified More..
The Elusive System Check Out By Steven J. Thorburn, October 17, 2011 Increasingly, in both our home and work environments, we live in a world of automation. And, accordingly, our demands have risen just beyond the limits of reasonable expectation. Is it any wonder, then, that we frequently hear More..
Building a Bridge By Ted Leamy, August 16, 2011 It is amazing that large buildings ever even get built. Consider the amount of thoughtful coordination required by the people involved throughout the design cycle through to the onsite execution of erecting, fitting and More..
Managing Complexity By Paul Chavez, August 9, 2011 For many years I was an advocate of simplicity when it came to user interface design, maybe to an extreme. Making interfaces simple is very hard work, but at the time my personal interest was fueled by the high number of bad, More..
Securing Education By Mike Bradley, June 8, 2011 Depending on your region, the education market today may be excellent or non-existent. The economy in the Southwest was driven for years by growth, and growth was driven by construction—primarily housing. Enter the recession More..
The Collaborative Office By R. Randal Riebe, June 3, 2011 Today’s business environment has dramatically changed in the past few years. The marketplace has become global, creating a non-stop hypercompetitive environment that requires constant creativity and innovation. We are in the More..
Define Value Engineering By Ted Leamy, March 18, 2011 How often have you heard the phrase “value engineering,” or even used the words yourself, in the context of an AV integration project? If you are like me, you are probably tired of hearing what probably started out as a term to More..
Integrity Matters By Mike Bradley, February 8, 2011 I’m writing this column following the loss of a dear friend and industry leader. Randy Vaughan represented the best our industry had to offer. He was a humble leader who truly brought out the best in those around him and More..
The Recession Is Over! By Steven J. Thorburn, January 12, 2011 As I walked into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) 2010 trade floor, it was clear that there was an energy level on the floor that I had not felt in 10 years. This industry took a big hit More..
AV Meets UC In 2011 By R. RANDAL RIEBE, December 16, 2010 As we look forward to 2011, you may want to give some thought to Albert Einstein’s quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” For many in the AV industry, 2009 and 2010 were More..
At Your Service By Steven J. Thorburn, November 17, 2010 It has been one of those months—the kind where there seems to be a permanent target on your back. It began with my partner trying to rent a car. We both travel a lot, and are members of this company’s highest-level More..

Next