Recent Work

Cutting-edge demonstration inspires imaginations for VR applications in higher education, corporate, and scientific AVenvironments

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 26, 2019 – Atlona unveiled an industry-first VR over IP innovation for the commercial AV industry atInfoComm 2019 show, with a focus on immersive AV for higher education applications. Ideal for university research labs and engineering programs, Atlona’s VR over IP breakthrough will enable student-researches to visualize educational environments in ways not previously possible.

Powered by Atlona’s OmniStream AV over IP family, the dynamic demonstration delivered immersive VR experiences over 1 Gbps Ethernet networks. Visitors to the stand experienced the demo through VR headsets and controllers, offering viewers a window into how VR can be applied in real-world AV applications.

According to Dr. Gregory Mirsky, Product Manager, Atlona, the demonstration was born from a customer request in the higher education market. While Atlona expects that market to capture the most initial interest, the company sees location-independent collaboration, training and simulation, and data visualization as potentially compelling VR over IP applications in corporate and scientific AV environments.

“Using our OmniStream AV encoders, decoders and USB over IP adapters, the demonstration proved how OmniStream can support VR-specific 2160 x 1200 resolutions, working at 233 million pixels per second and with a 90Hz refresh rate,” said Dr. Gregory Mirsky, Product Manager, Atlona. “The takeaway for integrators and tech managers is that OmniStream’s core benefits around bandwidth efficiency and low-latency distribution apply to the very advanced requirements of managing VR environments over IP networks.”

The complete Atlona VR over IP demonstration leveraged OmniStream AT-OMNI-111 single-channel encoders, AT-OMNI-121 single-channel decoders, and network-switchable USB over IP device adapters (AT-OMNI-311, AT-OMNI-324).

For more information on the application, visit https://atlona.com/virtual-reality-vr/.

About Atlona

Atlona, a Panduit company, is a leading global manufacturer of AV over IP distribution, connectivity, and control solutions. The company designs and engineers innovative, award-winning products for a diverse range of residential and commercial AV and IT markets. Backed by an award-winning 10-year warranty, Atlona’s products are developed to enable our customers’ ability to connect and collaborate with simplicity. More information about Atlona is available at atlona.com.

About Panduit

Global connectivity leader Panduit Corp. creates innovative electrical and network infrastructure solutions for applications across the enterprise. Headquartered in Tinley Park, Ill. and operating in 112 worldwide locations, Panduit’s technology leadership and robust ecosystem help support, sustain, and empower business growth in a connected world. panduit.com

Dugger to replace National Trustee Clifton Hunt of Nashville NewsChannel 5

NASHVILLE, June 25, 2019 — After serving the organization for 22 years, Nashville native Nic Dugger has been elected President of the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Scientist, NATAS, effective today. Nic most recently served as Vice President of the Board as well as the Student Awards Chairman.

The Nashville/Midsouth Region, founded in 1984, encompasses North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and the television market of Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to granting the Midsouth Regional Emmy® Awards, the chapter awards scholarships, honors quarter-century industry veterans with the Silver Circle. The chapter also conducts Regional Student Television Awards of Excellence for high schools, offers a free, nationwide Job Bank, provides member discounts, and participates in judging Emmy entries at regional and national levels.

“Nic has been one of the most active members of our chapter since become an intern in 1997,” says NATAS Midsouth Executive Director Geneva Brignolo. “He volunteered while a student at Middle Tennessee State University, and went on to provide his mobile units for our live telecasts when he started TNDV: Television in 2004. We are proud of Nic, and we look forward to many years of service to come.”

This new appointment adds to a growing list of accolades for Dugger, which includes TNDV;s recognition as Nashville’s Overall Small Business of the Year in 2016. Nic also joined the list of the Nashville Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2017, and was selected for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award by Middle Tennessee State University, its highest honor.

ABOUT TNDV: Television

Formed in 2004, TNDV: Television represents the culmination of over 26 years of broadcast and live production for Nic Dugger, owner and president; and his staff of full-time engineers. TNDV produces events from small single-camera productions all the way up to multi-million-dollar international TV events, and takes pride in building custom solutions for challenging productions of any size, in any situation.  Recent projects include the live 4K broadcast of the Final Four Concert Series, the National Christmas Tree Lighting with President Trump in Washington DC, and for the multi-Emmy winning Bluegrass Underground televised nationally on PBS. Please call 615-585-6528 or visit www.tndv.com for more information.

New cameras elevate image quality while enabling producers to create more dynamic video experiences

Woodbury, NY, June 25, 2019 — As San Jose, California-area WestGate Church expanded beyond its original Saratoga campus to multiple satellite locations, live video became a vital enabler of its ongoing growth. Looking to improve picture quality and production flexibility for its multi-site broadcasts, the church purchased two Z-HD5500 HDTV studio and field production cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai)and has been delighted with the results.

“When I joined the church, we had maxed out our capacity in Saratoga, and had dreams of going multi-site,” said Kevan Long, production director at WestGate Church. “Adding satellite campuses was crucial in extending our reach into other pockets of the Silicon Valley region, and linking them with video is an essential part of our worship experience.”

Adding new locations over the past three years, WestGate Church now spans four campuses – Saratoga, South Hills, Sunnyvale, and the Spanish-language Casa de Fe – with more than 3000 total congregants attending services each week. Live broadcasts of services with lead pastor Steve Clifford originate from the Saratoga site’s 800-seat worship center and are streamed with a five-minute time delay to South Hills and Casa de Fe, while evening attendees at the Sunnyvale location watch a recording captured earlier the same day.

As their dependency on video increased, the church recognized the need to upgrade their cameras. “We needed better image capture quality as we expanded to multiple sites,” explained Long. “Our existing robotic PTZ cameras created a fairly decent 720p image, but we knew our video could be much better with true broadcast-grade cameras. Following our communicators across the stage with robotic cameras also didn’t look very good, so we had to ask them to limit their actions so they didn’t step out of the frame.”

Low-light handling was also among the key criteria as the church evaluated new cameras. “We don’t like to flood our stage with lights, preferring to run it a bit on the darker side to give it a warmer feel,” said Long. “Our previous cameras weren’t great in low-light situations, so we needed ones with better sensors and sensitivity.”

Worship-oriented systems integrator E2i Design recommended the Z-HD5500 to the WestGate Church team. As the Z-HD5500 was brand new at the time, Long spoke to other churches that were using earlier Hitachi camera models, and was impressed by what he heard. These endorsements combined with the cameras’ technical benefits to make the Z-HD5500s ideal for WestGate’s needs.

“Hitachi Kokusai as a company has a great reputation, and the video from their cameras looks great,” said Long. “The Z-HD5500’s full frame rate 1080p capability was a factor in our decision, and its 62dB signal-to-noise ratio is pretty amazing. Its new sensor’s ability to handle the challenges of LED lighting at different refresh rates was also very appealing, as our stage and house lighting are almost entirely LED, and we plan to add LED video walls in the future.”

The Z-HD5500s have delivered all of the benefits the church was looking for, improving the visual quality of their productions while enabling their on-stage communicators to move about freely. “The image quality of the Hitachi cameras is just stellar, and we could clearly see as soon as we put them in that their depth of field and low-light performance were so much better than what we had previously,” praised Long. “The ability to follow our communicators on stage has also enabled us to create a more dynamic video experience, making us much more engaging to watch than our old locked-down shots.”

While the church’s video crew was new to broadcast-class cameras, they found the Hitachi cameras easy to learn. “We held a 30-minute group training session on the basic controls, then came early to practice during rehearsals for the first month,” recalled Long. “The transition was pretty seamless.”

Long is completely satisfied with the Z-HD5500s, and would love to add two more to WestGate Church’s productions if budget and space in the sanctuary permit. “We couldn’t be happier with the decision we made to go with the Hitachi cameras,” he summarized. “They are vital in our inter-campus content delivery and have made us better as a production team, which in turn has made us better as a ministry in reaching our community.”

About Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a company that manufactures broadcasting systems, security and surveillance systems, wireless communications and information systems. Fiscal 2017(ended March 31, 2018) sales totaled 171,791 million Yen. For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi-kokusai.co.jp/global/en/index.html.

Company ramps up online and hands-on education, adding three new levels and in-person monthly trainings with an AV over IP focus

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 20, 2019 – Atlona continues to ramp up its Atlona Academy training and certification program, adding new, higher level courses for systems integrators seeking to sharpen their AV over IP expertise. The targeted education initiative will allow participants to earn valuable AVIXA Renewal Units (RU’S) and CEDIA Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s).

Earlier this year, and to meet growing demand for targeted, certified training with continuing education credits, Atlona updated its suite of accredited online courses, revising and streamlining its 100 and 200 level programs offered through the Atlona Education Portal. These initial programs provide up-to-date instruction and information for the design, configurationand use of Atlona’s complete suite of AV over IP products and solutions. Atlona also added new accredited courses for its Velocity™ IP-based control AV control platform.

Now, in addition to the core 100 and 200 level classes, Atlona has expanded the educational resource with three new online certification courses:

• 300 Level – Velocity™ Control Certification Training
• 400 Level – Networking for A/V
• 500 Level – OmniStream™ Setup and Configuration

Atlona has also enhanced its Hands-On Factory Training Courses to include three advanced level training curriculum programs:

• Advanced 100 and 200 Level – Circuit Based Solutions
• Advanced 300 Level – Velocity Control System Course
• Advanced 400 and 500 Levels – Networking for AV, OmniStream Setup and Configuration Course

Both 300 and 400 Level Courses are now live at the Atlona Academy Education Portal and 500 Level Courses will be available online beginning July 1.

Atlona will also now offer “Advanced Hands-On Factory Training” courses that will be held monthly at its corporate headquarters in San Jose beginning July 16, and repeated monthly. Atlona partners outside of the Americas will receive the same trainings at international headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Refer to the calendar for current dates, locations and online registrations.

“Now AV professionals have a clear path and end-to-end process to design, rollout and integrate  AV over IP systems, as well as handle set-up, management and control of the underlying IP network,” said Ken Eagle, Senior Director of Global Training, Atlona. “By making use of the Atlona Academy Education Portal and the integrator-specific dashboard, they can further advance their knowledge not only of specific products, but on AV networking and design. We want to help them to be successful on the job site—on their first attempts—in setting up advanced, networked AV solutions.”

The Atlona Education Portal is one of many training resources Atlona offers. Atlona’s overarching goals are to teach established and aspiring AV industry professionals how to maximize the company’s industry-leading AV and control solutions, as well as the broader array of AV over IP technologies on the market today. Atlona also offers a video on demand Education Video Library and periodic webinars.

For those seeking more personalized training and hands-on product experience, Atlona will offer ten Atlona AV Factory Training events in 2019, including six to be held at its San Jose headquarters. Internationally, Atlona will offer four multi-lingual events at its Zurich facility in English, French, or German.

The newly revised course materials, as well as quizzes and tests, have been approved for AVIXA and CEDIA certifications and credits. These credentials, which are awarded upon completion of a course or program, signify the qualifications achieved by AV professionals, and are especially valuable to those seeking to advance within the industry.

The Atlona Education Portal is accessible to anyone at http://www.atlona.com/training.

About Atlona

Atlona, a Panduit company, is a leading global manufacturer of AV over IP distribution, connectivity, and control solutions. The company designs and engineers innovative, award-winning products for a diverse range of residential and commercial AV and IT markets. Backed by an award-winning 10-year warranty, Atlona’s products are developed to enable our customers’ ability to connect and collaborate with simplicity. More information about Atlona is available at atlona.com.

About Panduit

Global connectivity leader Panduit Corp. creates innovative electrical and network infrastructure solutions for applications across the enterprise. Headquartered in Tinley Park, Ill. and operating in 112 worldwide locations, Panduit’s technology leadership and robust ecosystem help support, sustain, and empower business growth in a connected world. panduit.com

Broadcaster will upgrade seven metropolitan stations and one regional station with high-efficiency GatesAir transmitters, lowering operational costs through reduced footprint

CINCINNATI, June 17, 2019 — GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for TV and radio broadcasters, has won a large contract with NOVA Entertainment in Australia to upgrade six FM radio transmission sites within the continent. GatesAir will supply a total of 16 Flexiva FAX air-cooled FM transmitters, with in-country partner RaeAir conducting all site evaluations, installation, commissioning, and post-sales services.

NOVA Entertainment’s national FM footprint first took shape in 2001 with the launch of Nova 96.9 in Sydney, followed by stations in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The broadcaster will first upgrade these five metropolitan sites, beginning with the Melbourne and Perth locations. NOVA Entertainment will subsequently upgrade the remaining metropolitan sites, followed by a regional location on the NSW Central Coast.

GatesAir won the contract in large part due to its growing presence in Australia, bolstered by the recent expansion of its in-country sales and support team. NOVA Entertainment also anticipates an attractive return on investment through GatesAir’s high-efficiency transmitter designs, which will reduce annual rental and utility costs at transmission sites.

“The remarkable compact footprint of GatesAir transmitters will take up substantially less space than our existing transmitters, lowering our monthly expenditures and our long-term total cost of ownership,” said Matt Steadman, Head of Technology, NOVA Entertainment. “We are also confident that GatesAir’s Australian presence, both through direct personnel and their partners at RaeAir, will efficiently guide us through the installation process and ensure excellent post-sales service and support.”

NOVA Entertainment’s FM radio transmission project represents part of a broader strategic initiative that follows a recent upgrade of its studio systems. GatesAir will deliver twelve 10kW and four 20kW models, with redundant transmitter configurations for all five metropolitan sites; and integrated IP-based control and monitoring across the network. NOVA Entertainment will also benefit from streamlined maintenance and the ability to share common spare parts across the network.

“GatesAir and our partners at RaeAir worked closely with the NOVA Entertainment team to develop a strategy that would transition them to a high-efficiency FM infrastructure, and with the greatest possible ROI,” said Rich Redmond, President and Managing Director, International for GatesAir. “The exceptional performance of our Flexiva transmitters will also optimize audio quality and performance for NOVA Entertainment’s number one metropolitan network. We look forward to working closely with their team for many years to come.”

About GatesAir    

GatesAir, Inc., a portfolio company of The Gores Group, provides complete solutions for over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, leveraging wireless spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel, mission-critical services. Powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability for nearly 100 years, GatesAir’s turnkey solutions enable broadcasters to create, transport and transmit radio and TV content.  With customers in more than 185 countries, the company leads the industry in innovation and design breakthroughs, improving efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership with all products designed and assembled in the USA and Europe. Visit www.gatesair.com for more information, Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gatesair, and follow us on Twitter at @GatesAir.

About The Gores Group

The Gores Group, founded in 1987 by Alec Gores, is a global investment firm focused on partnering with differentiated businesses that can benefit from its extensive industry knowledge, decades long experience and flexible capital base. Over its 30 year history, the firm has developed a deep understanding of and appreciation for building businesses and creating value alongside management. For more information, please visit www.gores.com.

About NOVA Entertainment

NOVA Entertainment is Australia’s fastest growing entertainment company with broad interests across the media industry. NOVA Entertainment owns and operates the Nova Network, the most listened to metro network in Australia, which includes Nova 96.9 Sydney, Nova 100 Melbourne, Nova 106.9 Brisbane, Nova 937 Perth and Nova 919 Adelaide. In addition, NOVA Entertainment owns and operates smoothfm in Sydney and Melbourne, the talk station FIVEaa in Adelaide, Star 104.5 on the NSW Central Coast and three digital radio stations – smoothfm, Coles Radio and Koffee. The company’s radio stations are complemented by a range of digital assets across social, mobile and digital including Nova’s Red Room, the experiential music event brand, smooth channel on FOXTEL, the biggest podcast offering in the Australian market through a partnership with Acast, the millennial platform GOAT, bespoke experiential, events and activation partnership exp., and a strategic partnership with the world’s leading e-sports company ESL.