Bose Headphones

news360.com/article/515580864

Let The Party Begin!

Let The Party Begin

On February 7, 2016, the San Francisco Bay Area will be hosting #SuperBowl 50! What an exciting time for the city by the bay. Many residents may not be in harmony with my opinion, and I can understand why. We’ll have additional crowds, blocked streets, super crowded public transportation…people everywhere. Over a million people just for the Super Bowl. Only about 70,000 can actually attend the event of the year, so the rest will be hanging out, going to parties, restaurants, and other attractions the city has to offer.

San Francisco has about 38,000-40,000 hotel rooms and most are already booked for the first week in February. This is going to be a challenging time for us Bay Area residents. It’s going to test our hospitality, our patience, our endurance and our ability to temporarily conform. But, you must admit, even if you’re not a fan of the #NFL, there’s a bit of excitement when you think about the #SuperBowl. The half-time show and the commercials have their own status. Well, we’re all hyperexcited here at KMT Technical.

As a reminder, if your having an event, office party, or any type of #SuperBowl celebration that requires event equipment, contact us today.

Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Our gratitude to you for this year!

Sound, Light and Video

To our partners and friends:

Thank you for your dedication to our company! We appreciate your loyalty and trust in us to get the job done. We thank the hotels, houses of worship, event venues for trusting our expertise in upgrading your facilities. And to our rental clients: you keep coming back year after year! We can NOT do it without you.

We look forward to working with our new #SB50 partners! The Superbowl will be in the Bay Area on February 7, 2016 and we are looking forward to providing AV equipment services for a host of new clients. Get your orders in soon for your events :).

A special thanks to #theinformation for providing articles on technology that “you won’t find anywhere else.” Thanks to #TWistartups for your consistent content. Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working.

There are so many to thank…so many that provide the highest level of service, the highest level of content and the highest level of support. We are grateful to all of you! We look forward to the coming year!

Don’t forget…order your equipment for #SuperBowl50 soon.

KMT Technical Team

Audiovisual Has Become Essential

Sound, Light and Video

As you may know from previous posts, I was invited to attend the #YCombinator #FemaleFounders Event in San Francisco earlier this year. While waiting in line I chatted up another attendee. She asked what I did and this is what I said, “I am the founder of a digital audio visual company. We rent and install equipment in different kinds of venues. I’m in the process of developing an app for aspect ratio, tone generation and voltage conversion.” Her reply, “I have NO idea what you just said.” It was funny but in a not-so-funny way. The audiovisual technology industry is a multibillion dollar industry, and growing every day. It’s a fascinating industry!

So why should you care about #AV? Here are just a few reasons. It is safe to assume that you have been to a football game, baseball game, soccer match or some sporting event that took place at a stadium. Stadiums today are extremely high tech. While at the sporting event, you no doubt noticed the large projection screens from where you can view the games. The sound engineer or videographer often pans the audience and voila! Your face may even show up. These screens are what audiovisual companies or AV integrators design and install. They are called jumbotrons. The Dallas Cowboy Stadium has screens that are 1,200 square-feet above the field. There are 72′ high 160′ long screens on each side and 48′ wide screens on each end. That’s audiovisual! The new Levi Strauss Stadium in Santa Clara California has over 2,000 LCD displays ranging from 40” to 85”. That’s a lot of video. Are you fascinated yet? No? Ok, continue strolling with me.

In 1995, I was staying at the Le Meridien in Barcelona, Spain. While touring the town, I remember these very large banners in almost every store window. The banners were displaying Windows(R) ‘95. I was proud and excited because Microsoft(R) was home grown. Let’s fast forward to the year 2000. It was February 17th and we were preparing to set up for the Microsoft(R) Windows 2000 launch at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco! I remember sitting and grooving to the sounds of Carlos Santana. The event was enhanced with lighting, sound (amplifiers, audio mixers), microphones, and cameras. Imagine if Microsoft(R) disregarded the need for audiovisual equipment. It’s safe to say they would have fallen short of a successful event.

Audiovisual is essential for many reasons. One of the most significant is its existence in healthcare. Doctors can now communicate with staff members and patients via video conferencing. “Telemedicine is one of the most prominent uses of audiovisual, thanks in part to ongoing government funding of videoconferencing gear in rural clinics, but also to the fact that telemedicine spans so many applications.” Tim Kridel, Special to InfoComm International®

Here’s another example of how essential #AV is. While upgrading the audiovisual equipment for our client, the National Parks Conservancy, we were also asked to participate in the upgrade of the Listening Devices on Alcatraz Island. Without these essential devices, thousands of hearing impaired visitors would be unable to enjoy our national parks! Knowing the pleasure and beauty of our national parks, it would be deplorable if a certain segment of our society were left out. Today, our national parks provide services for the hearing impaired, via use of audiovisual equipment.

I can’t very well write an article about AV technology without mentioning the most popular devices that we, as a society, have become dependent upon. Our smart phones and our tablets also interface with AV technology. So, the next time you’re streaming from your iPhone, iPad or iPod or ANY other mobile or portable device, know that the only way to connect your device to your monitor or television is via an AV cable. It’s essential for streaming from all portable devices.

Speaking of #Apple, I can easily recall most of Steve #Jobs presentations. He generated a certain style while presenting and from what I hear today, it’s a style that Tim Cook does not stray from. Neither presented without the use of audiovisual aids. Apple believes in “picture superiority,” which means there are always visual aids. “Apple is dedicated to the concept of picture superiority. Simply put, the brain processes information more effectively when the content is presented in words and pictures, instead of words alone.” Carmino Gallo, Forbes Contributor

Audiovisual is fun and exciting and flexible. It has become an essential part of our everyday lives. If you are interested in learning more, contact us for our Basic AV Training Course.
@kmt_technical

Inside BB King’s High Tech Tour Bus

The seven Crestron touch panels included a 12-inch touch panel in the rear lounge, an 8-inch panel in the front lounge, and a 6-inch panel for the driver (also for backup camera) and 4-inch touch panels in each bunk. All controls were hardwired.

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Kaleidescape server for King’s viewing and gaming pleasure. King also had auxiliary input jacks for computers, HDMI, AV, etc. in the front and rear loung

Before BB King had the Kaleidescape servers, he had a tiny table that was cluttered with five portable hard drives and a laptop plugged into a CD recorder. King had more 200 movies on the Kaleidescape servers and more than 100 TV shows recorded on TiVo within the first month of owning the tour bus.

Even the driver had a 12-button keypad at his disposal. King’s keypad in the main lounge had an emergency button in case he needed something.

Note: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner B.B. King died Thursday at 89. The legendary blues guitarist delighted audiences for more than six decades with his trusty sidekick, Lucille. Here’s a look at his life on the road. This article was published on CI sister publication CE Pro a couple years ago.

For legendary blues guitarist #BB #King, the thrill isn’t gone when it comes to touring. The ‘King of the Blues’ is still on the road with his famous Gibson guitar ‘Lucille’ performing 100 concerts per year. And BB gets from gig to gig on more than just a simple set of wheels.
BB rides in a $1 million, 45–foot luxury motor coach that has more than $135,000 worth of electronics inside, making it a centre of inspiration for laying down tracks, reviewing audio and video, keeping up to date on news and communicating with his fans and crew. But, most importantly, he’s entertained by a first-class #AV setup.
The interior design of the Prevost XL motor coach was done by Superior Coach Interiors in Nashville, Tenn., while the electronics were installed by Digital Home Lifestyles of Phoenix, Ariz.
The tour bus has seven miles of cabling from Liberty Cable, five miles of Cat5 wiring and 3,000 feet of CresNET. The pre-wiring was done before the walls on the tour bus went up, requiring large bulks of wiring in channels and luggage bays that run the length of the vehicle.
BB has a music and video server system that allows him to access a collection of more than 20,000 CDs, 6,000 DVDs and “more VHS tapes than I have ever seen,” according to Daniel Henderson of Digital Home Lifestyles.
Daniel met BB King’s tour manager several years ago when he was brought in to troubleshoot signal quality issues on BB’s previous tour bus. The job, which was bid on a fixed fee basis, according to Jeff Beall, president and CEO of Digital Home Lifestyles, took 100 hours of design time and 300 hours of installation. The company used a CAIP programmer, Infusebox, for the programming.

Electronics

The electronics on the bus would make any integrator blush. There’s a distributed audio/video system with eight zones of video and nine zones of audio. The front and rear lounges have 7.1 surround sound systems that are fed through a combination of dedicated and distributed sources.

The sources include:

4 DirecTV HR21-PRO DVRs (1 dedicated to the rear lounge, 3 for distributing audio and video)
4 Kaleidescape 1080p players (1 dedicated to the rear lounge, 3 for distributed AV)
1 Kaleidescape 3U server
1 Crestron iPod dock that is distributed throughout the coach
4 individual iPod docks for each bunk
1 Crestron XM tuner (distributed to all zones with feedback on all the touch panels
1 AM/FM radio (distributed with feedback on all the touch panels)
2 Integra Blu-ray DVD players (1 dedicated to the rear lounge and 1 dedicated to the front lounge)
1 PS3 and 1 Xbox 360 in the front lounge
1 Sony Professional DAT Player (dedicated to the rear lounge)
1 Aiphone back-up camera (for driver’s touch panel)
1 Aiphone PTZ front door security camera (distributed to all TVs and touch panels)

There also are auxiliary input jacks for computers, HDMI, AV, etc. in the front and rear lounges. Ethernet (Gigabit) connections are offered in each lounge, bunk and sitting area. The coach has a full-time broadband connection with remote access for diagnostics and programming updates. The coach also has the ability to track weather on any touch panel.

Thanks BB King for your contribution to the world of music! From street corners to stadiums, your unique sound resonated and my mom loved you! Angie

Basics: How We Use AudioVisuals

Part 1 – CONFERENCES (including meetings, workshops, live seminars)

Audiovisual is a vast industry. It has many, many facets. What’s important to note is that we can do nothing without it in today’s world. To say that audiovisual is literally everywhere, is not an exaggeration. Most of us are familiar with what equipment is commonly used in #meetings, #events and #conferences. Let’s go through the basic equipment:
1. Microphone – All microphones convert sound energy into electric energy, but that will all be covered in another post, the science of #audiovisual. Keep an eye out for it. In a conference setting, we commonly see the wired microphone. It is exactly what it says, a WIRED microphone. It will always have a wire connected to it. It is sometimes on a mic (pronounced MIKE) stand or on a podium. Another common type of #microphone is the handheld wireless microphone. This mic allows the presenter/speaker to roam and move about. It is held in the hand and has no wire to drag around. The next most commonly used microphone in a conference setting is the hands free wireless mic. This comes in various configurations such as a headset (wear on the head), or a #lavaliere or lapel microphone (worn on the blouse, suit, or collar). None of these microphones really rule; they are all loved equally. It’s a matter of preference.
2. Projection Screen – Screens have come quite far in their design. There was a time we were limited to the 5’, 6’, 8’ and 10’ tripod screen. Today it is very likely that you may walk into a conference facility and there will be an installed screen. This screen may have a manual string to pull it down or depending on the construction, it may be electric. The greatest difference with screens would probably be the cost and this varies based on how the screen is set up. Is it portable, is it collapsible, installed, tripod, FastFold®(FastFold® screens are assembled and the screens are attached to frame)? These are all options for screens. Another huge consideration for a screen would be the format. In another post I will discuss more about aspect ratio, but I’m making a conscious effort to make this easy to understand. I am, however, sensitive to the fact that many factors are involved. The most common format is 16:9. It’s become the de facto standard. With a large screen, 4:3 is suggested and with a super big screen we would use 2.35:1. Remember, is all depends on what you final image is that will appear on the screen. The projector you use, is also a factor when determining screen size.
3. Projector – It’s overwhelming to even think about trying to abbreviate a conversation about #projectors. They range from portable to installed projectors. They vary in size, weight, portability, illumination (brightness, lumens), lens, aspect ratio, resolution, cost and friendliness. Don’t let a projector overpower you. If you are using a portable projector, it’s basically plug and play. It comes with little hardware, has a minimum about of cables and even has a case to carry it in. If projectors intimidate you, call in a professional. #KMT #Technical Services is available to ease your fears!
4. Sound System – Like with projectors, there are as many options as there are brands. Most conference and meeting venues have existing installed sound systems. In this case, an AV company can merely “patch” or plug into that system for sound. Some venues charge outside companies a fee to patch into their system, but this is becoming obsolete. There is nothing unique about any installed system, any audiovisual professional can operate it. If a venue does not have a system, we bring in the sound. Again, what is used is all based on the size of the room, the set-up, and the number of attendees. This basic system will have an #amplifier, #audio mixer, and #speakers. A professional takes into account how loud the sound needs to be or how much wattage she/he needs. As professionals we determine this by the venue size, the number of floors, the type of walls, ceiling height, and if floors are carpeted. We will cover wattage, and calibration when we discuss the science of audiovisual.
5. Flip Charts – Sometimes called easels, are most often used for educational meetings. There are large pads of paper on some type of tripod (stationary). Used for teaching and illustration. In this category or basic equipment, I will also include the white board and the interactive white board. Dry erase markers or digital pencils are used for making presentation.
6. Conference Phones – Voice conferences have been used for many years in boardroom and conference environments. Having high quality voice conference solutions is paramount for any business professional. Today there are many solutions ranging from a table top system (with amplification) to a networked system to an installed audio solution.

We also use AV in many other industries such as, sporting events, concerts, stage productions and at home. We will cover these and other industries in future posts.

What’s the difference between LCD, LED, and Plasma Technology?

As a #presenter, #facility owner/manager, #event planner, #meeting planner, #hotel manager (or anyone in the hospitality industry) have you ever been curious about the different types of displays? Have you ever wondered what LCD really means? Well in this brief article I am going to try and define each of the three main display #technologies (I will not be including DLP technology).

LCD DISPLAY – LCD means Liquid Crystal Display. It’s what you have in your television, it’s your computer monitor and if you are old enough to remember mood rings, it’s that same technology. Remember mood rings?! Ok, back to my lesson :). There is a light in the back of the screen that makes the screen brighter…a back light, if you will. In 3LCD projectors, this beam of light hits mirrors (think of a prism). When this light hits the mirrors they break into three colors RGB (red, green and blue). These three colors pass through a liquid crystal display which has teeny pixels. The light passes through these screens in the same RGB colors. This light passes through the projector lens and onto the screen. However, on the screen we see full color, not the RGB colors that the light reflected inside of the projector. This is due to the prism effect. It’s good information to have if you’re trying to sell a projector to a client. It’s important to understand and be well acquainted with your product.

LED DISPLAY – #LED means (Light Emitting Diode). Most people associate LED technology with those brilliant digital display screens along side the freeway distracting traffic. LED is synonymous with BRIGHT. LED technology can also be remembered by the clocks we used to have in our home (or still do), with huge, bright, glowing digits. Or even on our television remote controls. In this technology, a pixel has a RGB (red, green and blue) elements and when they are on at the same brightness, they are very bright! I love LED’s. I love the brightness, which is their greatest asset. LED’s are basically bulbs, small bulbs that fit into a socket, like incandescent light bulbs. What’s the difference? Well LED’s are really bright, they are not hot upon touch and they last for thousands of hours; they don’t have the filament that will burn out like ordinary light bulbs. Another great quality about LED’s is they can compete with that brilliant, luminous star…the sun. Just remember for LED’s…brightness and longevity.

Plasma DISPLAY – Plasma is a gas with ions and electrons. When there is current running through it, the ions and electrons get all excited and run toward each other or rather bump into each other. In all this excitement, they produce protons, phosphorous and ultimately, color. Things to remember about plasma screens – they can not be repaired. Once they are gone, that’s it. Images on a plasma need to be moving continuously, which is a down side. An upside is they produce better contrast and could be less expensive.

A Few Tips on Creating an Impressionable Presentation

Which microphone is right for you?

As AV professionals, we witness hundreds of presenters and speakers in various environments and landscapes. Over the years, it has become apparent to me that most presenters are less concerned about the type of equipment and more concerned with functionality. That is completely logical. We have mastered the fundamentals, which means you can count on us for a good experience. We make certain your sound and visuals are superior.
What is equally important to us is our relationship with you, our client. We strive to understand you and your company so that our approach can be entirely customized to your needs.
Below are a few sites that can help you create a beautiful presentation that will impact your audience:

Animoto – One of the most popular sites/apps for creating beautiful-looking slideshows with an educational portal.
Flixtime – A cool site for mixing photos, videos, and music to create a stunning presentation.
Knovio – A nice site for adding video or audio to a PowerPoint presentation. Ideal for Pecha Kucha style presentations.
Photoshow (Roxio) – One of my favorites. A nice site for creating slideshows with photos, videos, and music, and sharing publicly or privately.
Slideshare – One of the most popular sites around for uploading and sharing presentations in a secure environment.
Vizlingo – A cool site for making a slideshow out of text.

There are many more sites and applications to assist you in creating dynamic presentations! Best of luck and contact #kmt_technical for your next event![

Female Founders Conference Part I

Jessica Livingston & Paul Graham Studio 1.0

One Saturday morning in 2014, I was watching the Bloomberg Channel (which I normally do on a Saturday morning). It was: Silicon Valley legends Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston, the co-founders of startup incubator Y Combinator, sit down with #Bloomberg’s Emily Chang on Studio 1.0.

This is when I thoroughly learned of Y Combinator. By the way, I really love the way Emily Chang interviews. She’s not acutely intense, but just enough to get one to open up and share. What urged me to continue listening to this particular interview was not how chatty Paul Graham was but how humble and modest Jessica Livingston was. Jessica admitted how most of her work was done in the background and how comfortable she was not being prominent. That was admirable but the quality that jumped out at me was her uncanny belief in herself and her abilities. It wasn’t essential for her to be on the front line when she could accomplish just as much or more quietly in the rear. I think that’s admirable and confident.

After the interview or perhaps during (I don’t remember exactly), I started reading more about Y Combinator. It was then I learned of the 2015 #FemaleFounders Conference sponsored by #YCombinator. My business is always my priority since it’s my bread and butter. I don’t make money, we don’t eat. Plain and simple. So my immediate approach was to investigate what their AV or audiovisual needs were. I sent an email to a general email box and received a response from Tara, “we have that taken care of.” I conformed, although, I know this would be a great partnership.

My next responsibility to myself was to participate; get inside and be connected to what I believed would be one of the most motivating and inspiring events for women! I sprung into action and submitted my application. Now it was a matter of waiting. So I remained in a state of repose until I received a response. The response was positive! I was accepted to attend the Y Combinator 2015 Female Founders Conference! Yippee 🙂

Stay in touch to continue reading Part II

2014 Our Year in Review

As this year, 2014, comes to a close, I want to review some of the highlights.

We formally launched our education and testing service. With our partnership with Prometric® and Certiport®, we now certify in the following products: Adobe Certified Associate, Adobe Certified Expert, Autodesk Certified User, HP Institute, IC3 Digital Literacy Certification, Microsoft® Certified Educator, #Microsoft® Certified Specialist, Microsoft® Technology Associate, Quickbooks Certified User.

#KMT Management Services has been a Microsoft® Partner for almost a decade, however, this year we became Microsoft® Certified Educators and Windows 8 and 8.1 Certified.

This year #KMT #Technical Services started and completed phase one and began the final phase of upgrading the sound system at the #Olympic Club in San Francisco. We decided on the #MTX5-D, a new #Yamaha product. A comprehensive system that includes the processor, the mic tray amps, and the amplifier. It’s an amazing product and the perfect solution for the Olympic Club, who went from analog to digital.

We’ve taken on additional AV rental corporate clients. We maintain our relationship with local urban schools and non-profits, providing technical training to students in after school enrichment programs.

We incorporated.

As we enter 2015, keep us in mind for your #audiovisual rental and #video #production needs. Keep us in mind for your in-house #installation and #integration services ranging from site surveys, recommendations, digital signage, flat panel #monitors, interactive whiteboards, #projectors, screen automation, testing and training.

Many, many thanks to our current clientele! Without you, there would be no us! We appreciate your loyalty and trust. We look forward to being of service to you in 2015!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ