For the first time ever, AV Buyers.Club and AVNation have teamed up to present the Top 10 at InfoComm 2024 Awards. This collaboration is designed to celebrate and highlight the most innovative and user-centric products within the AV industry. We’re excited to unveil the standout products that have excelled in keeping the end user at the forefront of their design.
Eligibility for this award was based on several key criteria: the product must be new (released and/or shipping within 90 days prior to InfoComm 2024), it must demonstrate a strong focus on user experience and it must be showcased at this year’s InfoComm event. Exhibitors who felt confident that their product met these standards were encouraged to submit their entries for consideration.
Steph Beckett and I took to the InfoComm show floor to evaluate contenders. We’ve also spent time watching rAVe and AVNation videos for anyone we did not make in person. Cause we are only two people and InfoComm was huge. Today, we are thrilled to announce the winners. Join us in celebrating products that put user experience at the forefront of their design!
Below are our winners (in alphabetical order by company)
- AtlasIED IntelliSee — AtlasIED announced a “significant equity investment” in IntelliSee ahead of ISC West in April, and as this is a new partnership, we are pleased to award this with one of our Top 10 awards. IntelliSee is an AI-powered risk mitigation platform that helps schools, hospitals and businesses monitor camera feeds and detect threats in real-time. This is an incredibly unique product that directly impacts and helps our industry’s end users by using tech to protect students and workers.
- Crestron 1 Beyond — Crestron has leveraged its acquisition of 1 Beyond by launching the new 1 Beyond PTZ line of cameras. The i12, i20, p12 and p20 come with optical zoom. That means the glass inside the cameras move forward and back when zooming, not digitally. The thing that makes these useful in classrooms and conference rooms is the built-in AI framing and tracking. When you pair two of these cameras together, they act in concert, switching between the audience and the presenter. Should someone step into the “presenter area,” the camera is switched automagically from a visual cue, not an audio one.
- Hovercam Pilot 8 — Hovercam released its original Pilot a few years ago, but we were very impressed with the updates for the Pilot 8. The cordless teaching station can be moved to any space or even potentially be used for a boardroom. The product includes a confidence monitor and the ability to wirelessly screenshare content to a display via its own transmitter and receiver. With wireless USB touch, you can use the display as a whiteboard and annotate as necessary. We don’t think there is anything similar on the market that caters to so many needs as elegantly.
- Legrand AV – Chief Fit Mobile Cart for Interactive Displays — The cart’s design helps it maneuver displays through doorways and tight spaces, something necessary in schools and hospitals. The cart also includes an interface bracket that helps accommodate displays with VESA patterns larger than 400×400 millimeters.
- Marshall Mobile Mixing Cart — Every campus tech manager has set up a portable speaker system for the president of the college, visiting dignitaries or someone giving a special presentation in the gardens or some other area. This Marshall Mobile Mixing Cart is built for these situations. It is completely enclosed when moving. Once you get the cart positioned, open up the top and the mixing board pops up at an easily usable angle. The top separates, creating ample working space on either side of the soundboard. Underneath are rack spaces to load up processing, wireless mics or any other rack-mounted equipment.
- Poly Studio G62 — The latest edition of HP Poly’s quest to be as flexible as possible is the Poly Studio G62. This base station allows you to support in-person, fully remote or hybrid meetings in any way that your team wants. The system has native Zoom and Microsoft Teams built-in the one device. No need to remember which version to order. Your IT department can specify which mic and camera to use in each room or standardize across your rooms. Up to you. You can power the G62 over POE+, use HDMI or USB-C video inputs, and connect standard USB cameras. The G62 should be put into your company’s utility toolbox when designing new rooms or updating old ones.
- SiliconCore Mobile All-in-One — While this is not the first product like this I have seen, I think its presence at InfoComm really signifies something big happening within the AV industry. A few years ago, no one would have dreamed of a 135-inch portable dvLED that folds up and can be transported with little fuss and hassle. This is fantastic for classrooms, flex spaces and any other environment where you may have to shuffle a display around. This beauty packs up easily and can fit on standard elevators and through standard-sized doors.
- Sony FW-98BZ53L — What does “blackest blacks” really mean? On this Sony display, it means not only do you have incredible contrast, but your colors are going to pop. Really pop. And those colors are going to be the shade your creative team intended them to be. The other side of this new Bravia line is the non-glare coating on the screen. Yes, it’s big and bright. However, the fact that you marry the contrast with the non-glare surface makes this display excellent in classrooms, retail signage, signage across campuses and in areas where you normally would be concerned with ambient light.
- SoundTube CM62-BGM-II-US — For government and schools, occasionally, they have stipulations on how they can spend their funds. Many of our readers have probably heard of the TAA program, which limits the country of origin for products sold through certain contracts. Similarly, the BAA program limits to products only made in America. SoundTube released a new version of its ceiling speaker that meets BAA requirements, one of very few that are BAA-compliant in our industry. This is of utmost importance to the buyers at these organizations that have to comply.
- Utelogy — Remote management is a baseline need for any campus or company taking care of more than a few AV systems. Utelogy has updated its U-Manage cloud solution with U-Server and Tech Tool. The new system gives IT and tech managers the power to troubleshoot, manage and maintain spaces both locally and globally through the cloud. This move also saves organizations money in power consumption, server costs and network costs. The platform was built to be agnostic in the equipment and systems they monitor and control. This update continues that legacy of a level playing field for all devices.
We’d like to thank everyone who submitted their products. Congratulations to everyone who won. It was a great experience to look at InfoComm through the lens of what is available now and what is going to have the biggest impact on your daily life.
Tim Albright is the founder of AVNation and is the driving force behind the AVNation network. He carries the InfoComm CTS, a B.S. from Greenville College and is pursuing an M.S. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. When not steering the AVNation ship, Tim has spent his career designing systems for churches both large and small, Fortune 500 companies, and education facilities.
