AV is one of the most dynamically changing markets in technology, encompassing everything from lighting to smart TVs to the latest generation of folding screens.
With TVs, the popularity of Netflix, Amazon and other applications has prompted the industry to move to software-based integration over peripheral hardware.
For businesses, this brings the advantage of less ICT equipment going into a building with consequently reduced disposal and recycling (and a potential cost saving) as the building matures.
It also means that components such as digital signage players can be replaced by screens that already have all the necessary software built in.
Open technologies for integration and instant messaging have evolved to allow for instant video, and today’s commercial screens can easily offer an all-in-one videoconferencing unit.
Such aids to collaboration could be important in helping UK companies lift their productivity levels (research shows it still lags 20% behind our next nearest neighbour, France, and below that of Europe as a whole).
In a somewhat sci-fi future, the video conferencing sector is already looking at holographic meetings as the next major advance.
Meanwhile lighting continues to emerge out of AV in its own right. In fact light is often now viewed as a building ‘material’, vital in providing ambient illumination, creating a mood and supporting an appealing aesthetic.