Commercial Integrator February 2021 - 19

8K
& 16K
AUGMENTED
& VIRTUAL
REALITY
rants, hotels and other buildings they want
to enter if it's safe to do so. That means an
increased emphasis on providing the right
content quickly for people, said Walsh.
" One of the biggest problems digital
signage has always had is content, " he said.
" If the content isn't captivating, you lose
the audience. "
Digital signage has one main job, said
Mathews: " to share a message. "
Kinsella pointed to the " shared responsibility
between the owner and the creator "
of the digital signage content to ensure the
message being delivered is captivating and
informative.
Mathews called 5G " a really fast sports
car that's going to be stuck in the slow
lane for a while until we see new ones
built. " He sees great potential in telehealth
and distance learning using 5G and all of
the capabilities it's touted to have by its
developers.
Kinsella notes not all 5G experiences will
be the same, depending on the carrier delivering
it, but it's not a bad idea to invest in
enhanced video cameras that will make for
better collaboration and could mean better
audio with noise cancellation at some point
down the road.
commercialintegrator.com
4K is fi nally becoming a staple across
most segments of the AV industry but
there's been talk of 8K and 16K almost since
the introduction of 4K, so when does the
resolution become so fi ne that there's no
discernable diff erence to most people?
" There's still an opportunity to have better
resolution, even within 4K, " said Walsh,
noting medical applications can always use
more detailed images.
" One thing that's critical is how we're
going to get the content, " said Mathews.
" The other question is whether we want
to see the beach or the grains of sand. "
People have to sit 2 feet or less away from a
50-inch screen equipped with 8K to see a
diff erence, he said.
He sees potential for robust growth in
wearable technology and augmented reality.
AR can be used on construction sites
through building information modeling
software to virtually walk around a site,
he said.
Retailers could use AR to enhance online
shopping, said Kinsella, and businesses
might implement it more oſt en to reduce
travel and entertainment budgets.
" It's remarkable to see where this technology
is going to take us, " said Mathews.
Kinsella knows there will be a market for
high-resolution video displays, no matter
how fi ne they get.
" The same way audiophiles claim they
can hear the diff erence between a couple
of high-resolution speakers, there will those
who buy into the novelty of 8K and 16K,
he said. " I don't see mass adoption of 16K,
especially in the movie and TV industry,
though. "
Walsh and the DGI team have been
relying on virtual reality for a while to help
customers understand what their integrated
AV systems will feel and sound like before
they're installed.
" There's nothing like bringing a client
into your space and helping them conceptualize
or even making some changes, "
he said. DGI customers can test acoustics,
microphones, speakers and other elements
of systems through the VR platform
the company has set up in its HQ, said
Walsh. CI
To view this and
other sessions
from Total Tech
Summit Virtual 2020, visit:
totaltechsummit.com
FEBRUARY 2021 Commercial Integrator
19
http://www.totaltechsummit.com http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator February 2021
