Preview: Almo’s E4v Virtual Learning And Product Showcase Set For Oct. 27-29

October 22, 2020 by Dave Haynes

Pro AV distributor Almo Professional A/V has a long history of doing popular regional road show events that pair product marketing with education, but 2020 has gotten seriously in the way of how things normally work.

So the company has pivoted to online events, with a virtual program that does live online education and provides expert insight on topics resellers and integrators. The fall 2020 E4 Evolution (E4v) is set for three days next week, Oct. 27-29.

Says Almo:

Part of the award-winning E4 Experience platform, all E4v sessions are first-run and led by the industry’s most sought-after educators. Additionally, all sessions are worth both AVIXA CTS-I and CTS-D Renewal Units (RUs).

The complete list of sessions is HERE.

There are on-demand learning sessions, as well, on specific topics. Almo asked me if I could run a set of 15-minute interviews with vendors on digital signage and direct view LED. They’re educational, not product pitches, so well worth the time if you want to know what’s going on and what to think about.

Separate from those, I had a chance to chat ahead of time with Jake Sanders, who is Almo’s subject matter expert on direct view LED, having come to the company from the manufacturing side. He knows his stuff.

Sanders is a featured E4V speaker, running an LED 101 session aimed at integrators and solutions providers who are still largely unfamiliar with LED.

“I’m going to walk through basic design principles, talking about pixel pitch in different environments, requirements for brightness, going to outdoor solutions … different solutions that are available for everything from command and control and corporate installs, to house of worship,” says Sanders.

While LED is increasingly common in signage and AV jobs, Sanders confirmed my own sense that the vast majority of the pro AV ecosystem have not worked much or at all with the tech.

“I think of the dealer base, Alan Brawn and I were talking about this recently, and we think 80% of the pro AV dealers, United States wise, haven’t done a direct view LED project, yet,” adds Sanders. “So, it’s still new and this sort of education serves a real purpose.”

Essentials of dvLED Design

There’s a lot of mystery around dvLED design (from where do the specifications actually come?). Here, we’ll discuss how to design a dvLED display, from choosing an appropriate product to calculating the pertinent specifics.

That session next Thursday leads into two more sessions about LED, which we all tend to know where a lot of digital signage is both going and growing. 

The pro AV and signage ecosystem also gets the benefit of training credits out of the Almo event.

According to Almo’s master trainer Tom Kehr, more AV professionals are realizing the value of both CTS-I and CTS-D certifications. “With both credentials, clients can expect better design, better efficiency, and less rework and troubleshooting. And in the end, having a satisfied client can solidify an ongoing relationship and create reoccurring business opportunities.”

In Kehr’s October 29 session, “The Future of Events: Hybrid, In-Person, VR & More,” attendees will learn how the new world of hybrid events must be engineered and how the AV industry is equipped to do this through technology, UCC and AV systems. Joining Kehr, Donald Guzauckas Jr., Vice President and General Manager of HB Live will provide insight into what our post-COVID world will look like.

Additionally, E4v features three live NSCA roundtables covering the topics of Digital Signage Technology, Next-Generation Workspaces, and Direct-View LED Systems. For each day of E4v, Almo is providing the NSCA education foundation with a $1,000 donation to help further education opportunities for future systems integrators.

According to NSCA Director of Industry Outreach Tom LeBlanc, “One of the things we like about Almo’s E4 Experience and now E4v is the emphasis on helping integrators transition to earning more service revenue, which is an important focus for NSCA members.” LeBlanc continued, “Almo is creative when it comes to training and launching services for integrators to sell. We look forward to leading business lunch discussions throughout E4v about how to connect service and growth opportunities to current trends.”

Industry veteran and President of Steamroller Digital Joel Rollins is set to emcee the live fall E4v. “Just because people aren’t gathering physically – at least for now – doesn’t mean they aren’t continuing to learn and innovate,” explained Rollins. “There have been many virtual events this year, but Almo’s E4v in particular has done a fine job of pushing the limits of these conferences into real experiences. E4v is not just about following along, it’s about jumping in and challenging the organizations that make up our industry to be better, faster and smarter. I believe E4v attendees will get a lot of out of this event – as emcee for it, I know I will.”

The following companies are participating in E4v as sponsors:

Absen, AKG Harman, ARHT Media, Atlas IED, Atlona, Barco, BrightSign, Chief, Christie, Da-Lite, Epson, Harman, IAdea, Kramer, Legrand AV, LG Business Solutions, Listen Technologies, Maxell, Middle Atlantic Products, Mimo Monitors, NEC, Panasonic, Peerless-AV, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Soundcraft, SunBrite TV, Vaddio, VDO360, Vivitek and Yamaha.