Author Archives: Scott Tiner, CTS

About Scott Tiner, CTS

As a trained educator, Scott has worked in AV and IT for public K-12, private K-12 and higher education institutions for fifteen years. As Bates College's Assistant Director for Digital Media, Classroom Technology & Event Support, Scott designs learning spaces and provides support and instruction for their multimedia studio. Scott is passionate about collaborating with faculty on innovative ways to use technology in teaching and learning. Scott is a regular contributor and Chief Surveyologist at AV-1. He has presented at both regional and national conferences. He served as the 2011-2012 Chair of the Technology Managers Council of InfoCOMM. LinkedIn Twitter

It’s Like Christmas Every Day

Posted on by
Reply

One of the things I love about my job (and this industry), is that it is never the same.  I can truly say that from day to day I never know what new project is going to be requested of me and my team.    Every day is like Christmas morning, you never know what is in that wrapped box.

At the end of 2011, Bates College announced our new President.  We wanted to make a splash, so we kept the name secret until the last minute.  Our communications offfice wanted to stream the event, and wanted a nice production.  That led to the purchase of a NewTek Tricaster, contracts with Content Delivery Networks, and all types of coordination with firms we hired for the video portion.  Some may have complained about the short notice (we had about 9 days) but for me it was a thrill.  Check out what we did.

And that is only one example.  We have also started projects in classroom capture (using the new Crestron Capture HD platform and Sony Vaddio Cameras), are in the process of transitioning to digital (I think I could write a book, never mind a blog on this issue) installed a digital signage network on campus (we use the server version of Tightrope Media Systems) and continue to find ways to support our users in their daily use of campus equipment.  For all I know, tomorrow, I may be asked to design an audio and video installation for a field house style gymnasium, with terrible acoustics.  Oh wait, that was last Friday I got that request.

No day is ever the same for someone in a job like this, and I think that is why we love it. However, I have to go now, I have to do some research on scissor lifts for that gym project. Merry Christmas!

AV-1 Insiders Initiative Announced

Posted on by
1

Since 2001, AV-1 has grown into a global community of thousands of leaders and learners, teachers and techies from more than 500 institutions (K-20, corporate, municipal, and military), all sharing a genuine commitment to measurable success in the art and science of communications and learning technologies.

AV-1 is where we seek guidance and freely share our experiences and our tools, so that our colleagues need not reinvent the wheel. It is the rising tide that lifts all boats. Continue reading →

AV Anxiety

Posted on by
1

Many of us suffer from anxiety when running a live show of any type. We constantly run though our minds of all the possible problems and we plan ahead for anything that can go wrong.

However, I wonder, who else has ever suffered from anxiety during a show for which you are not even responsible.  Whether it is at a local basketball game, a church service or even watching the Oscars last night, I find myself a little stressed out.  At the basketball game, I hear some feedback and think, oh man, that headset mic is too hot, they gotta bring the gain down.  During the Oscars when they shut off the mics when a thank you speech goes on too long I think, man, I am glad that I did not have to shut that off during this gal’s one moment!  At the church service when a mic crackles I wonder if they are going to turn to me and ask me to do something.

Am I alone in this, or are there others out there who suffer from this affliction?

Class Capture

Posted on by
1

I have been working with the new Crestron Capture HD. So far, I am very impressed. What I like most about it is that there is not huge backend required to use it. A simple USB thumb drive will suffice. Therefore, the initial cost is much lower than anything else on the market. What I am not nuts about is that it records in .ts. This format is a real pain to work with. So far, all I have really found that plays nice with .ts is VLC.

Survey Analysis: Analog-to-Digital Transition

Posted on by
1

In an ideal world, we might leap at the chance to dig into new technologies that promise breathtaking video resolution with minimal tweaking, however digital transitioning also brings the potential to disrupt and/or bankrupt services at a time when few operations have capacity to spare for a major overhaul of RGB-based analog video systems.

Recent discussions regarding the transition from analog to digital video transport suggest that many feel that they have little control over this technological sea-change. We conceived our Analog-to-Digital Transition survey in order to put a finer point on the current “state of digital”. This is the summary of what we learned. Continue reading →

Survey: Analog-to-Digital Transition

Posted on by

Recent discussions regarding the transition from analog to digital video transport suggest that many feel that they have little control over this technological sea-change.

In an ideal world, we might leap at the chance to dig into new technologies that promise breathtaking video resolution with minimal tweaking, however transitioning also brings the potential to disrupt and/or bankrupt services at a time when few operations have capacity to spare for a major overhaul of RGB-based analog video systems.

Please take a moment to respond to the following eight questions so that we may will put a finer point on the “state of digital” — particularly as we approach summer upgrade season.

The Big Picture…

This survey departs from previous anonymous surveys by asking for your email address. We ask this in preparation for AV-1′s upcoming budget survey series in which we hope to gain a better understanding of prevailing budget and lifecycle practices. An undertaking of this magnitude will take more than six or eight questions, so rather than try your patience, we have devised a plan for a series of short-but-sweet surveys on key operational areas. We hope to use your email address as an internal “key field” to re-assemble your responses across multiple surveys so that we can begin to map data to institutional demographics (i.e. Midwest private liberal arts college with 10,000 enrolled). As always, your survey responses will remain anonymous.

Scott Tiner

Bates College

Continue reading →

Return to the RS-232 Issue: Extron Chimes In

Posted on by
Reply

A recent survey on AV-1 questioned technology manager’s experiences with RS-232 control of their projectors. The results revealed widespread, intermittent RS-232 problems especially with serial-controlled projectors.

90% of survey respondents indicated that at least once a month their projectors have “locked up” and stopped responding to RS-232 commands. Ill-timed, random malfunctions of this sort can result in event interruptions and loss of end user confidence in presentation systems and support services.

Translation: This is a serious issue that must be resolved. Continue reading →

Survey Results: Projector Freeze

Posted on by
7

Have you ever asked a question to which you were certain that you already knew the answer? On this week’s survey, we thought we had done just that. Expecting to hear that one particular brand of projector, when coupled with one particular control system manufacturer would cause periodic problems with RS-232, we relished the “reveal” moment when we could proclaim, “It was Colonel Mustard in the parlor with a knife!” Sadly, we hadn’t a clue.

Continue reading →

Survey: Projector Freeze

Posted on by

Recently in a thread on the AV-1 forum, many members indicated that they had encountered difficulties with projectors locking up. In these cases ‘locking up” was defined as the projector not responding to any commands, either via RS-232, IP or IR. We wondered if it might be possible for AV-1 to assist in some way.

We thought that if our community could identify specific products, or a combination of products that are experiencing these issues, perhaps as a community (of 600+ IT/AV people) we could approach the manufacturers and explain the problems and see if they could develop a solution. Please take a moment to complete our projector/control system malfunction survey.

 Scott Tiner

Bates College

Continue reading →

Survey Results: Managed vs. On-Demand Service

Posted on by
1

Exclusive in-house support is one of the legacies of audiovisual “media services” groups. As technology evolves and becomes much more complex, many organizations find themselves in the position of reconsidering the cost of maintaining an expanding stable of technology specialists.

In-house specialists require regular knowledge upgrades (to preserve efficiency) and salary increases (to ensure retention).

Given these costs, it is little wonder that many organizations have arranged for outboard services in conjunction with large projects that represent workload increases that cannot be absorbed by existing support infrastructure. (According to this survey, more than 62% of the respondents had at least considered managed services.) However, from time to time, most of us have relied upon services on-demand from local integrators, especially when pinched for time or manpower.

What serves the customer best

[easychart type="pie" title="What type of outside support do you use?" groupnames="38% On-Demand (pay by the hour),8% Service Contract,25% Combination of both,25% We never use outside support" group1values="20" group2values="4" group3values="13" group4values="13" chartfadecolor="FFFFFF" hidechartdata="true"]

Only 25% of the respondents do all their work internally. The majority rely on some level of on-demand service, perhaps expecting that outside support is called in only to off-load the few complex technical issues not easily resolved internally.

Do you think that the availability of on-call technicians who can tackle most any problem is a trend for most institutions?

[easychart type="pie" title="What is the biggest disadvantage to having a service contract?" groupnames="15% Too expensive,64% Not immediate enough,8% Uncertain quality,6% Less staff for major events" group1values="8" group2values="34" group3values="4" group4values="3" chartfadecolor="FFFFFF" hidechartdata="true"]

For most respondents, customer service trumps budget-savings. 64% indicated that they need to have someone in their rooms within five-minutes of any reported problems.  Simply logging the problems for an outside technician to fix a some later point, would not work.

“After running AV departments in Universities for 20+ years, I have found that having on hand technicians spread out over a campus is crucial, for optimal support and efficiency when  something goes wrong or technical assistance to no technical people is required. If the support staff were contracted from a supplier, they would still need to be there full time, either in busy periods for on hand support or in quiet for maintenance and upgrades, the cost factor is almost balanced out.”

While answers to the question, “What would be the biggest advantage of a service contract?” proved to be quite diverse, we believe they follow a similar customer-service-centric theme. For example, without having to worry about training and time off, we could simply focus on getting things working properly.

[easychart type="pie" title="What do you consider the biggest advantage of a service contract?" groupnames="28% Less staff + lower costs,28% highly qualified techs,13% no staff leave-days,15% someone to blame" group1values="15" group2values="15" group3values="7" group4values="8" chartfadecolor="FFFFFF" hidechartdata="true"]

As usual, some of the best thoughts and comments came directly from you, when you were not pushed into a multiple choice question.  Here are some of those comments:

“I think there is a break-even point in which the volume of equipment justifies an in-house staff to provide on-demand responses for support, operations and maintenance. At lower levels, it would depend large on competencies of your system integrators.”

“Maybe I am a control freak, but I know the systems and I know what my clients want/need. I can not imagine an outsourced support group provide the “personal” touch and have our innate knowledge of each room.”

“For me to use an outside vendor, I have to play ringleader, where I have to coordinate that service department with the Registrar’s office for access to the classrooms.  It’s less downtime and coordination to provide the support ourselves.”

“We have always used on demand service but with the increase of technology rooms, 280+, no increase in staff, equipment reaching its warranty limit, & availability of technology fee funds we are moving toward service contracts this FY July 2010.”

“When we looked at a service contract for 70+ rooms, the contract cost was more than double what we had actually spent on time & material repairs over the past 3 years.”

“Our department of three has been cut to a department of two, so now we’re increasingly finding ourselves short-handed for larger events and without the expertise of the missing employee. Management doesn’t offer any solutions other than vague references to service contracts for upcoming building renovations.  Our concern is that we’re in a smaller market which means the contract would go to a local provider who we don’t trust (they’ve goofed up several previous installations) or to a non-local crew who flies in, installs, and then leaves. I’m a big supporter of having in house staff, but cross-training them so they can perform other tasks when A/V needs aren’t paramount.”

“My service contacts consists of warranties and replacement schedules within a 24-hour period. The techs install, program and do trouble calls. If the problem is more that they can handle, we call the vendors who honor the warranties and send the defective equipment out for repair.”

If you missed our survey or have additional ideas and experiences you would like to share, please use the comments section below or start a conversation on the AV-1.forum.