Summertime Trends Shaping the Pro AV Sphere: Top 4 Focus Areas
The Pro AV industry is experiencing a significant shift, with a growing focus on technologies that enhance hybrid learning, virtual production, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Universities, such as UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), are placing a greater emphasis on training higher-education professionals to meet the demands of this evolving landscape.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly incorporated into AV products, streamlining tasks like automated video editing, speech recognition, predictive maintenance, real-time analytics, AI-powered transcription, facial recognition, and personalized content recommendations. This integration aims to improve efficiency and user experience in educational and production environments.
Hybrid learning solutions, which combine in-person and remote education, are also gaining traction. Advanced video conferencing systems, interactive displays, and cloud-based collaboration tools are being utilised to bridge physical and virtual classrooms, ensuring seamless engagement for both students and educators.
Virtual production studios, leveraging mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) technologies, are creating immersive production environments. These studios enable real-time virtual set creation, remote collaboration, and high-quality content production for educational broadcasts and other uses.
Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies offer interactive and immersive learning experiences, useful for remote training, simulations, and virtual tours. The growth of these technologies is driven by advances in hardware/software and 5G integration, which offers higher speeds and lower latency, enhancing performance and adoption rates in education.
The Pro AV market is projected to grow steadily, with AI integration growing about 10% annually. The AR/VR market for enterprise and educational uses is expected to reach $209.2 billion by 2025, supporting increased adoption in training and hybrid meeting solutions.
The broadcast convergence into Pro AV is undeniable, with industry experts discussing the elements needed to create successful, high-quality virtual productions at a fraction of the cost of outside studios. Cindy Davis from AV Technology held a webinar on the elements of a successful virtual production studio, while companies like Meptik and BrandStar have been instrumental in creating virtual production studios for clients such as WWE and FAU (Florida Atlantic University).
In education, from K-12 to universities, hybrid learning technology is a significant focus. Short-throw projectors are being considered as advantages in the classroom, and bigger videoboards, without sacrificing any pixels, are preferred for sports events and other large-scale presentations.
As we move into August, some schools have already started, while others are still enjoying the last weeks of summer. Seminole High School, for instance, has a new video board, as covered by SCN (System Contractor News). The College of Southern Nevada is also a subject of interest, with 5 things to know about it mentioned.
Hybrid workplaces remain a continuing trend, with conversations revolving around conference rooms, bigger displays, and AI-driven videoconferencing solutions. The death of the cookie cutter employee concept has emerged from the pandemic, emphasizing the need for workplace equity for in-person and remote employees.
AI is omnipresent, being used in remote work, content creation, social media, and the focus of various events and discussions, such as the keynote address at the 2024 AV/IT Summit and Cindy Davis's thought leader series "AI & AV". The Pro AV industry's current momentum is toward developing AI-powered, mixed reality-enhanced, and cloud-integrated solutions that enable effective hybrid learning and immersive virtual productions, driven by steady market growth and technological advancements such as 5G and AI analytics.
Events featuring discussions about AI's role in the Pro AV industry, such as the 2024 AV/IT Summit and Cindy Davis's "AI & AV" thought leader series, highlight the growing importance of AI in remote work, content creation, and social media.
Educational institutions, like Seminole High School with its new video board and the College of Southern Nevada, are embracing technology for eventslike large-scale presentations and hybrid learning, with a focus on tools like short-throw projectors and bigger, higher-resolution video boards.
