InfoComm 04 was a success by all measures, attendance was up, and more people were trained than ever before in the history of the conference.
The sessions led by our team included: Facilities Design for Universities, June 5-7, 2004 (Three Days); Project Management, June 8, 2004 (All Day); Defining the Perfect Teaching Station for Colleges and Universities, June 9 (2 Hours); and Advanced Acoustics, June 10, 2004 (2 Hours). With standing room only, the Project Management session caught the eye of the fire inspector and the seating had to be reworked at our first break… Not a bad problem to have.
One of the highlights for us was the Consultants’ Summit that began the last night of the show and continued the next day. This was the second Summit with the first held four years ago in Las Vegas. During the first Summit, the Consultant Community felt that the following were the big five things that would impact us over the next 5 years (2001 to 2006) in no particular order.
– High-Bandwidth Wireless Networks
– Flat High-Resolution Displays (digital ink / non-“glass-based,” large screen imaging technologies)
– Network Appliances (printers, storage, projectors)
– Internet 2
– Interface Technology (web based control systems, control from PDA’s)
The group felt that comments from 2001 were pretty much right on, with flat high resolution non-glass displays the only item lagging the five year predictions. This year we discussed the future impact of IT on the audiovisual industry and the limitations of being able to move, display, and store information at the desired speed. It was even conjectured that TV and video would no longer be broadcast by networks as we know them but over some type of on demand system over the world wide web public network — a hybrid between cable, internet access and TIVO.
The only thing the group felt was constant is we would all still be needed, since display technology and the delivery method has and will always change, but someone still needs to know how to design the room so people can see and hear. So until next year, as Yogi Berra stated: “The future just ain’t what it used to be.”