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Why Should Your Organization Prefer AV over IP?

AV over IP

Why people prefer AV over IP  to traditional AV cabling? Why is it a one-stop solution for network managers?

Our World is changing into a blockchain environment. Blockchain is an electronic record-keeping mechanism that led out to the massive creation of Cryptocurrency. Like that in the AV industry, today, all devices are connected to a single cloud platform and seamlessly integrated using the help of IP networks. With the help of this advancement, you can check analytics, update the latest version of the software, upgrade new content from multiple transient sources, and nonetheless troubleshoot the device of a big organization in few clicks without even moving away from your desk. So, welcome to the new world of AV over IP, and we are going to discuss the advantages and benefits of using it. 

Cost is the key:

AV over IP doesn’t require any new cabling for implementation; we can use the existing legacy IP network infrastructure used for Internet connectivity. Traditional AV implementation requires a new set of multi-point or point-to-point conservative cables, which are tough to run in space shortage environments. Switching to AV over IP is highly cost-effective; significant investment will be a few hundred dollars on the PoE Network switches.

 AV over IP system can guarantee the Return on Investment:

  • Can save time spent on uploading the content for each device separately.
  • Can save time spent on monitoring individual software updates.
  • Can drastically reduce the labor required in maintaining the AV system.
  • Can control it quickly due to seamless integration of all devices in the system, enhances productivity during meetings, and easy to learn.

Scalability is the performance:

Business Organizations consider growth as their heartbeat, and any company works in achieving the targets and planning for the future. Traditional AV networks are no more competent in an organization that expands rapidly. A company can add as many sources as it wants in AV over IP, breaking the barrier of running out of physical ports in traditional AV. Multiple IP switches can be connected to expand the number of sources.

Security is the core:

 Most of them think traditional AV is relatively secure than AV over IP. But that’s not the truth; IP is end-to-end encrypted and can stop any data fraud. In conventional systems, we can’t even detect data theft at any level. The industry evolves every day in reducing cybercrime, data theft, and data manipulation. Having IP networks makes us adaptable to future technologies.

 High-Quality transmission:

 Ethernet cables allow carrying large amounts of data at extreme compressed levels, thanks to the latest technology advancements in compression protocols. Serial cables are not capable of transmitting HD and UHD videos for longer distances. Bi-way transmission is possible with IP networks.

 Reduced Latency is vital:

 In case of a live event, where all the company members can’t attend the meeting. During the pandemic, where the whole business runs on Audio Video conferencing with clients and other stakeholders. Latency has no delay between the time a request is initiated, and the response is given in standard terms known as buffering. So a crystal clear video conferencing or broadcast with no buffering is essential.

 AV over IP applications:

  • Conference Rooms
  • Video walls and Digital Signage
  • Wireless presentation system
  • Broadcast system
  • Hospitality and Leisure
  • Educational smart rooms

 Having a LAN network enables AV over IP solutions.

 

Right team in the Right place:

An experienced team of professionals with a blend of innovation and consistent learning makes a company great. VSSi matches the criterion and has implemented numerous AV over IP applications across Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC areas. To upgrade your existing AV system, please get in touch with us at https://vssi-av.com/contact-vssi/

 

 

 

Video Walls and Extreme Benefits of Owning Them

Video Wall is the new Buzz word of the Audio-Visual industry, but many think it can be easily replaced by a Projector or a single large display. However, that’s not the truth, and this article profoundly delves into the applications and benefits of a video wall.

What is a Video Wall?

A video wall is a set of tiled monitors to form one large screen. It may involve LCD or LED monitors, and the monitors used often have ultra-thin edges called bezels to make the disruption in between the screens less noticeable. The screens are typically connected through a daisy chain and have a video wall controller.

Advantages of having a Video Wall:

  • Fits any Size: Most of the time, single display screens are available in a standard size, which may not fit our space accurately, so it ends up with more unused space or less space hindering maintenance. But can fit video walls into any size with the highest customization options.
  • Makes any Shape: For artistic display of designs or aesthetical presentations out of the ordinary flat display concept such as curved, bent, and round surfaces, the one-word answer is Video Walls.
  • High Resolution: Video walls have high resolution powered by a video wall high-speed processor, and a projector can never match the resolution of a video wall. It provides end-users with extreme readability and an enriched visual experience. There are no requirements to control ambient lighting, making it useful in many open-air or big-sized crowded environments.

 

  • Reliability: Performance is crucial in any application, and many video walls are designed for 24/7 operations with maximum uptime and resilience. They are reliable compared with counterparts as Displays and Projectors, and they have constant maintenance checks and lower uptime.
  • Flexibility: Our requirements frequently change on a daily or monthly basis based on the circumstances. Video Walls are tiled entities to be used as a four split-screen or six split-screen at ease. It provides the flexibility of making a screen split from two to sixteen or even more based on the number of tiles.
  • Interactivity: Video walls are meant to deliver engaging and interactive presentations that keep your audience immersed in what they are viewing. A football match can be effectively transposed with the same intensity.

Applications of Video Wall:

  • Corporate: Video walls empower communication effectively. It helps the visitors on promoting or learning the product. We can use it in reception areas, marketing rooms, or as digital signage. We have the options of streaming a live event, highlighting new policies, company targets, or employee performance stats with the internal audience.
  • Government: For mission-critical handling tasks, in a place where a team of professionals needs to assess and correlate multi-data points in taking highly critical decisions. Video wall helps them in case of a command center type of environment. Worldwide control rooms use the video walls to monitor stock markets, telecommunication networks, ATMs and Banks, and public transportation systems.
  • Education: Lectures on a whiteboard are things of the past. Now all educational institutions developed a way of immersive teaching solutions known as Edutainment. Interactive learning leads to a more explorative academic environment.
  • Hospitality and Leisure: Video Walls play a significant role in this industry compared to others with stunning graphic visuals in stadiums, good sports shows in sports bars, menu boards, self-explanatory museums, live concerts, and so on. Video Walls make the customers more engaging and informative and enhance their whole experience. It also contributes to creating an excellent aesthetical environment.
  • Places of Worship: Video Walls help in providing a brighter and clearer message for the congregation.

 

Excited to own a Video Wall, please get in touch with us at https://vssi-av.com/contact-vssi/

 

 

Why Structured Cabling is crucial for increased uptime?

Why Structured Cabling is crucial for increased uptime?

In today’s Internet of Things world, high-speed network connectivity is the lifeline to run any business size. Despite immense wireless connectivity improvement, we still can’t achieve a better range of coverage, efficiency in speed, and confidential transactions. Physical network connectivity always wins in terms of all aspects compared to wireless, and even wireless gets its source from network cabling systems. Structured Cabling is a critical component in ensuring robust business network connectivity.

What is Structured Cabling?

Structured Cabling connects every Internet outlet in a building with the Main Distribution Frame (MDF), involving a series of Intermediary Distribution Frame (IDF) and many additional small components in the network path. Main Distribution Frame distributes all the network facilities to the whole building with cables and other parts. It ensures the building is connected within itself for ethernet.

Structured Cabling comprises the following subsystems.

Demarcation:

Demarcation Point is also known as the entrance facility where the building’s internal network connects with the outside world network, most commonly known as the internet. Internet Service Provider’s wire or Campus network’s wire will be terminated here; also any physical protection devices such as surge protectors, firewalls, Intrusion, and outsider detection systems are installed here.

Main Distribution Frame:

Main Distribution Frame predominantly holds Network devices which usually splits the available network facilities to the Intermediate Distribution Frames. Also, it acts as a bridge between the Demarcation point and all other Intermediate Distribution Frames, and they are interconnected with each other via MDF.

Intermediate Distribution Frame:

An IDF room has distribution frames having telecom equipment powered by MDF’s network facilities, Patch panels, UPS, Power Distribution Units. IDF’s prominent role is to act as a bridge between work area internet outlets to MDF, and it patches all the horizontal cables from the floor with the network switch using patch cords.

Backbone Cabling

Backbone cabling connects all the MDF’s, IDF’s and demarcation points, and these are the crucial bloodlines making the building connected. They usually run between floors or buildings at times on a campus network system. Fiber optic cable is the most commonly used backbone cable because of its impeccable records; no other cable type cannot beat its efficiency.

Horizontal Cabling

Horizontal cabling connects all the Internet outlets on the floor with the IDF, the most commonly used cable type Copper Category 6 cable. Horizontal cables are run with the help of cable trays, J-Hooks, conduits, raised floor, and raceway.

Why Structured Cabling is important?

Old School Point to point cabling system is unfit for the modern network requirements and in case of a troubleshoot it creates havoc. Structured Cabling is an easy way of organized cables with the proper route map and traceability in case of a sudden downturn. It creates a huge return on investment during the times of least downtime in a manufacturing facility or a service-based company.

Saving Money

Efficient cabling infrastructures do not require a big team of IT technicians and professionals, which saves a lot of money. Primary troubleshoot techniques can be carried out by the employees themselves before hiring a technician. Finding the source of the issue is easy with properly Structured Cabling documentation.

Reduced Downtime

When your Internet stops, employee’s work also stops. In an unorganized network environment, it will be a tough job to locate the problem, and repairing the issue is will take a lot of time which directly translates into negative employee work efficiency. With Structured Cabling, we will never lose money on any significant downtime affecting employee’s adaptability and customer’s expectation.

Move, Add or Change Flexibility

Many organizations often undergo moving, adding, or changing their operating structure to meet the new business demands. That ultimately saves your team on installation, upgrade, and maintenance time, so they can focus on more critical tasks.

 

What do we do at VSSi?

Structured cabling projects without prior planning and expert supervision may end up creating future troubles. Moving into a new office space or renovation of the existing one is a daunting task and coordinating with many people and things is not a cakewalk. VSSi will work with you to design what you need regarding voice and data networks, wireless access points, internet connection, fax lines, and Audio-Visual systems. We have developed a brilliant 28-point questionnaire covering all your cabling needs, including the components’ color and aesthetics. After that, we will provide you with a Telecommunication design package that can be used for the bidding process. It paves the way for easy comparison between contractors for the same configuration of work.

 

For more details, please get in touch with. Click on the button below.

Unified Communication as a service(UCaaS): Does it match the employee productivity to pre-pandemic levels?

Unified Communication as a service(UCaaS): Does it match the employee productivity to pre-pandemic levels?

unified communication

Unified Communication as a service or cloud-based UCC became an emergency need for business survival during the pandemic outbreak. Companies having existing Unified communication setup were also forced to migrate to the cloud.

Since then, our teams have spent most of the work through Unified Communication Collaboration solutions. Any interactive session or brainstorming session has been conducted remotely, but your rockstar team’s productivity is sub-par to live meetings.

While the timeline for returning to in-person work remains unclear, one thing is for certain: More companies will embrace remote work, and more workers will view remote work policies as an expectation, not just a nice-to-have perk. Tech giants from Facebook to Google have already extended their remote work policies through 2021, and we can expect more companies to follow suit.

The Future Of UCaaS In Hybrid Work

Courtesy: The Future Of Unified Communications In The Wake Of Covid-19, Jed Brown, Forbes.com

We had victory too in getting our employees used to all the digital collaboration tools. But now, our vital role is to enhance the positive employee experience, which in return improves the business productivity, efficiency, and consistency. Also, our prime duty is to ensure our employees have an outstanding work-life balance.

Our teams need to pitch marketing proposals with an external network of potential clients, and we need to integrate with them seamlessly. Simultaneously, we need to have real-time collaboration with On-site teams, office teams, and remote employees. We need to collaborate with multiple companies when being a part of any big projects. So integration and flexibility to manage remote work or office work are mandatory for a smooth business operation.

Does your existing UCC are future-proof?

Do your existing hardware tools or platforms offer a future-proof Unified Communication Collaboration solution, which can seamlessly integrate with any kind of circumstances and demands? They are critical in driving business value with exceptional ROI—an investment where no one will regret in the future.

Remote First Future:

Employees prefer to work from home, the demand for remote working reached a critical mass in the past decade. Retaining better talents in the Post-Covid19 scenario workspace, offering remote work is an attractive benefit for employees with infants and children. Having all infrastructure for a remote working collaboration workspace will make us a Remote First Future compliant organization.

Employees should feel comfortable using the UC solutions, which guarantees all the tools are used to the maximum, reducing stress and workload arising from not easy-to-use user interfaces. Remote employees may not have the required network infrastructure with a larger bandwidth; this is a crucial problem to be addressed outside the UC environment but a lifeline to it.

Assess your existing UC:

First, let’s look at what we have, such as endpoints, user interfaces, touch controls, and network infrastructure. Then through which platforms and device management platforms, they are run. Documentation of this data is significant for evaluating the existing infrastructure and implementing required changes. The Task sheet contains what devices are used for particular tasks internally by the employees.

End-User Needs:

  • More than any stakeholder in the environment such as Owner, Architect, Integrator, or manufacturer, more weightage regarding a design of a Unified Communication Solution is to be gathered from end-users. They are the ones going to live with Engineered solutions. At VSSi, we have a brilliant questionnaire for end-users, design board is prepared only after carefully assessing end-user answers.

What VSSi can do for your UC requirement?

Unified Communication integration is particularly beneficial to those who need to reach business partners and clients on a global scale. VSSi is able to design and install video facilities to suit the needs of any company requirements, and to help it excel in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace.

The key benefit here is the integration of high definition hardware and simple software solutions which means less time wasted on setup and technical issues and more productivity and focus on the meeting itself.

Choosing UCC teams such as Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex teams depends completely on the customer experience and IT support alignments. Sometimes we may need both solutions.

We are here to solve:

Conveying a positive representative encounter within the cross-platform work environment is challenging since the post-pandemic environment is liquid. Advertising the finest UC solutions for your on-site and further group individuals enables a positive client encounter and boost productivity. What do your groups get to get work done? A single one-size-fits-all arrangement, or a choice of a couple of stages? Assess your current UC choices presently and we construct a needed solution for any changes you recommend.

Get in touch us at a click https://vssi-av.com/contact-vssi/

Interactive Whiteboard Solutions for Schools: One Screen and Samsung Flip

Interactive Whiteboard Solutions for Schools: One Screen and Samsung Flip

Interactive whiteboard solutions like OneScreen and Samsung Flip or Whiteboard engage the whole class, give educators more powerful tools, and add entirely new dimensions to the learning process.

Today’s students are digital natives – they’re used to interacting with devices in every facet of their lives. Bringing these devices into the classroom creates new avenues through which to engage these modern learners.

The best educational audiovisual solutions create interactive spaces in which students can contribute their own insights during presentations and collaborate both with instructors and each other.

Whether they’re in the same room or half a planet away, students and teachers alike can use interactive white boards to impart knowledge in new and powerful ways.

 

OneScreen

OneScreen offers interactive whiteboards and device integration which engage students and help instructors deliver more effective lessons and lectures.

Some of the benefits of OneScreen in the classroom include, for starters:

  • Wireless presentations
  • Interactive, annotatable whiteboarding
  • Lesson development, presentation, and delivery (they also offer built-in curriculum using state-based core curricula)
  • One click access for both your network and the web
  • Drag and drop files
  • The ability to easily record and save class sessions for remote students or to play back later for those who are absent.
  • In-classroom collaboration tools to fit the bring-your-own-device culture. Students can work together on projects from their different devices, answer live polls and quizzes, and share screens with each other.
  • Distance learning support, including remote access for students to take online courses and catch up with assignments online.
  • User-friendly interfaces and easy integration Polycom and other solutions to avoid installation delays
  • Unlimited support and training

These tools are especially important to improve remote student attendance, live collaboration in-class, and make it easier for students to catch up on previous notes and class material.  

It’s also easy to add multimedia live news to presentations for more engaging lessons and instantly dial in student attention.

 

Samsung Flip

Samsung’s Flip technology aims to bring 21st century digital technologies into accessible educational settings. Kids as young as 3-4 can easily manipulate and draw on these digital whiteboards.

The Flip is a flexible, portable option that improves attention and interactivity like OneScreen. It can easily move with students and educators into new classrooms or settings, offering easily accessible tools for live annotating, presenting, and collaborative projects.

Instead of relegating new tech to a computer lab, it also integrates the latest software and hardware with tactile and visual lessons throughout the educational environment.

For students with disabilities, the Samsung Flip can also make many interactions and material formats more accessible.

Because of the portable, wheeled-stand-based design, it’s also easy to use an install. As the tech advances, Samsung has plans to incorporate more virtual and augmented reality features to make learning increasingly collaborative and intuitive for modern students, as well as gamify educational opportunities to make them more appealing.

While using the interactive whiteboards, students can pass the pen to each other, write on the board itself using anything, or watch videos in high-quality HD.

The intent is to get the best of the feeling of traditional pen and paper writing, but with the power of a digital format, and collaboration between up to four people at the same time and in real-time speeds. Students can share and notate within almost any content files and save conversations as well as the content of their work online.

Samsung Flip interactive whiteboards also integrates with Microsoft and Adobe software, using a built-in document viewer to extend files and present them to bigger audiences with the wireless screen sharing functionality.

 

Want to learn more about an interactive whiteboard could help your students?

The right audiovisual solution for your classroom can:

  • Engage students and improve test scores
  • Make it easier to catch students up after a sick day or teach classes remotely
  • Make lessons a two-way street
  • Foster collaboration and interactivity
  • Provide teachers with a host of new tools to manage a classroom, design new lessons and present them.

As an added bonus, whiteboard solutions often enable you to convert existing tools to minimize outfitting costs, and many are designed to be flexible and portable so you can use the same solution for multiple classes and classrooms.

Cutting-edge technology like Samsung’s Flip and the OneScreen are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to audio-visual classroom technology.

While it’s possible to DIY one of these solutions, it can be overwhelming to research and then configure one yourself. VSSi is here to help you get the best possible bang for your buck. We build a variety of high-quality educational AV solutions for a variety of schools and universities. 

To learn more about what options might be the best fit for your school or institution, get in touch for a no-strings-attached free consultation here.

LED Walls Vs. Projection System. Who is the Winner of This Competition?

LED Walls Vs. Projection System. Who is the Winner of This Competition?

Regardless of your presentation needs, there are many potential AV configurations on the market. VSSi works with businesses to help design custom AV solutions to fit any space and business scenario.

Many of our customers are unsure whether a video wall or projection-based system will better suit their needs.

Of course, both LED video walls and projection systems are highly functional and impressive solutions.

Both can be customized to provide modern high-tech aesthetics and support multi-media presentations. Both offer cost-effective, high-res, and flexible solutions.

However, whether a video wall vs. projection system will be more effective for you depends on a few key elements about your organization’s space, business, and AV-needs.

Here’s a short guide to video walls vs. projectors:

LED Wall Considerations:

Video walls have changed dramatically over the past two decades; modern solutions are slimmer, more energy efficient, and offer much higher resolution, and less bezels (space between panels) than ever before.

Since they’re made up of multiple panels working together, video walls can be configured into multiple shapes and viewed at many angles. LED panels also reduce glare and can be used outside and in areas with plenty of ambient light.

They are also modern, impressive-looking and elevate the spaces they’re installed in. Unlike some projection screens, video walls can be installed piece by piece. If you need a big solution, but have space constraints like small doorways which might otherwise prohibit large hardware, video walls are a great option.

Because the picture is native to the screen, video walls often require less space than projectors and can be viewed from farther away. They often also have better color saturation.

They are typically a larger up-front investment, since installation can be intensive and component parts are high-tech and must match each other. Some older models can also be more energy intensive than projectors, since each panel used to require its own power source.

Projection Considerations:

Projection systems have been around for much longer than video walls. Since there are more options available on the market, projector component parts tend to be more interchangeable. It’s generally possible, for example, to upgrade only the projection screen or only the projector and scale up slowly. Depending on the model, projection screens are also more energy efficient than multiple-panel video walls.

Ambient light can be a problem for projection systems; they work best in conference rooms, banquet halls, and other rooms which can be darkened to avoid glare. Because the video is removed from the source, you’ll also need a way to keep the space between projector and screen clear of people and other obstructions.

However, projection screens are highly customizable by size and can more easily be moved to new locations. Projection-based systems can be cut into multiple configurations to fit unique shapes.

Projection systems are typically much less expensive up front than video walls, though replacement parts – especially bulbs – can increase the price tag.  You may need to factor in potential additional costs such as cleaning and maintenance, blackout curtains or high-quality projection screens.

LED displays are typically less high-definition than projectors, though this again varies depending on the specific solution you install. Standard high-def projectors can be up to twice the pixel height of standard LED video walls. Whether this matters to you will depend on how far away your audience will be – at larger distances, attributes such as brightness and color saturation may be more important than fine details, or vice versa.

Video Wall vs Projection System: What’s best for your space?

Both projection systems and video walls can be customized to provide an impressive and flexible solution for your organization’s needs.

Knowing how you will use your AV system and what your space is like will help you weigh the pros and cons when choosing a video wall vs. projection system. In light of the considerations detailed above, questions such as:

  • How big is the space? Is it an indoor room which can be fitted with blackout curtains, or a sunlight lobby?
  • How far away is the audience, and what kind of presentations will you be supporting with AV?
  • How much do you want to invest now, vs. down the line?
  • Will space constraints make installation difficult? and
  • How important are color saturation and brightness vs.  image sharpness?

are all important to consider when making a decision.

Whether you want a custom video wall or cutting-edge projection solution, VSSi will work with you to ensure that you maximize the results of your budget and end up with a solution that fits both your space and your organization’s needs. VSSi makes custom-built high-tech AV solutions and supports projects from concept through execution and support down the road.

To learn more, see some of our past installations or get in touch with us here.

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