2015 Review
Welcome to our ‘2015 Review’.
2015 has come and gone and we are taking a look back at the year that was. From winning a ‘Most Innovative Display’ Award at Exhibitor Live to seeing our video wall share the stage with DJ / hip hop legend DJ Jazzy Jeff, this year was definitely one to remember.
Displays are an essential interface to the workings of other technologies but also very clearly much more than that, they are also an incredible enabler for creativity in applications as our blogs this year have shown. We wrap up 2015 with great anticipation for 2016 and the product releases and application developments as well as new technology announcements that are clearly on their way.
NAMM 2015
Volanti began the year off with a big bang. A ‘cubed’ big bang if that makes any sense. As 2014 drew to a close the Volanti engineering team were busy placing what would be the final touches on one of our most
highly anticipated display projects to date. The Cube. The Cube not only allowed for a user to showcase video content in a physical 3-Dimensional space but also encouraged them to create content that was no longer just bound to a single flat surfaced panel.
Who would these users be you ask? We asked ourselves this very question and immediately thought, “who better to deliver this kind of visual technology to than the music / live entertainment industry?”
So off we went to NAMM to unveil our video Cube to the world of musicians and entertainment giants. The experience was incredible and the response the cube received from attendees was absolutely overwhelming. Ideas for how the Cube could be used on stage or in venues rolled in by the dozens. Musicians like Thomas Pridgen, Amp Live and Too Short all stopped by the Volanti Booth to give their thoughts on how the Cube could change the way venue visuals are delivered to fans.
Among all the excitement we were honored to have DOT from Team Supreme giving booth attendees a live demo of her music while we spun live visuals on our various displays.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & Sir Mix-A-Lot
After the successful outing at NAMM, the Volanti team continued their music industry display tour when they attended / exhibited at Mobile Beat Las Vegas. Part of the excitement surrounding the Mobile Beat Volanti booth was the integration
of the Cube and a hands gesture device called Leap Motion. Guests who attended the Volanti booth had the unique experience of being able to control the Cube’s visuals with simple hand gestures. Lines of curious onlookers began to form as guests took their turns controlling the visual elements.
After a busy first day the Volanti team rushed over to the Tropicana Hotel where they began setting up their 55″ 3×3 HD Video Wall for what would be the visual backdrop to a VIP live performance by none other than DJ Jazzy Jeff and Sir Mix-A-Lot. The Volanti crew were able to meet and take photos with the two before they prepared for the show that night.
Later that night when the house was packed with eager fans, the two performed separate live sets while live concert visuals accompanied them. It was quite an experience seeing how impactful the 3×3 video wall was in a live performance setting. To see how fans reacted when the artists took the stage with their names and visuals flashing across so many screens was truly a remarkable experience.
Randi Zuckerberg and BrightPink.org
As Spring time rolled on the Volanti team was approached by Cocktails & Couture, a production company that hosts events
with retailers and non-profits to benefit various charity organizations. After sitting down and discussing the upcoming event with a few representatives from the organization, we were excited by the opportunity to donate a few of our more ‘innovative’ displays for the event. The event was to be hosted by Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark Zuckerberg, to benefit BrightPink.org and was to be held inside the Luxury Wing at Westfield’s Valley Fair Shopping Center.
Hundreds of finely dressed guests attended the event to sip cocktails while helping raise awareness for BrightPink.org. Guests gathered around our 55″ HD LCD table and were mesmerized by the visual content that played across the surface while others tried their best to figure the technology behind our video Cube. All in all it was an amazing experience for an even more amazing cause.
Exhibitor Live ‘Most Innovative Product’ Award
As the year rolled around the Volanti team headed out to Vegas once more to exhibit at this year’s Exhibitor Live Trade
Show. What they didn’t know is that they were about to be recipients of a very honorable award. The team rolled in with a few of their more impactful displays, specifically their Forza Mobile Video Wall. After the first day of demoing how the mobile video wall could be setup and broken down within 15 minutes, the team headed out to prepare for the following day.
Upon returning to the booth the next morning, the team was surprised to find that they had been selected as this year’s “New Product Showcase Innovator Award” recipient. The Exhibitor Live judges had walked the floor during the opening day searching for innovative products that jumped out to them and it had appeared that the Forza did just that.
The team attended the Exhibitor Live Award Show dinner that night and were presented with their award. It truly was an honor to not only showcase at this year’s event but to also walk away with such an amazing piece of hardware. Thanks Exhibitor Live for all the amazing memories.
Westfield Valley Fair Retail Display
As the summer season heated up so too did Volanti’s display design work. The Volanti team was contacted by representatives from Westfield Valley Fair Shopping Center to design / deliver a custom retail window display for Michael Kors’ latest summer line. The creative process began with a series of meetings with our design team and Westfield reps. The idea was to create a retail display that was both enchanting as well as eye catching. The Volanti team came up with the idea to construct a pyramid of books with a display sitting on top. What made this display so unique was the fact that the screen was embedded within a giant papier mache constructed book that had magically turning pages. See the finished design project video below!
IoT Displays
This year there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the three letter acronym that is IoT. Internet of Things has become the new craze around the Silicon Valley and beyond. The ability to gather analytics via smart mobile devices has set the industry on fire. Recent forecasts suggest that by 2020 there will be millions…Yes millions of connected devices all gathering huge chunks of reviewable data. This includes the displays industry. This year we introduced our clients and resellers to a series of onboard display sensors that can be added that allow for a multitude of analytics to be gathered. From sensors that gather screen temperatures to sensors that can detect light hitting the LCD surfaces, the world of IoT has officially been introduced to displays.
Exploring The International Space Station
We have seen a huge resurgence in science popularity. Perhaps it’s partly due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX program or films like The Martian that plant the seed of curiosity in the public mind, science has risen to rockstar status. After Volanti launched their InGlass tablet-like Touch Displays, the hype around what software to run became the real talk of the office. After putting our feelers out for companies offering large display touch software solutions we came across a company called Corinth. Using Corinth’s ISS ( International Space Station ) touch demo, we were able to explore the station in 4K from the comforts of our Silicon Valley showroom. What makes this even more exciting is how software like Corinth and touch displays like our 65″ 4K are changing the way in which we are learning. No longer are we bound to pictures on pages of books. Expect to see more 3D software on displays in the near future.
Contact Volanti Displays
For more information on LCD displays or if you would like to set up some time to discuss your display ideas with our team feel free to contact Volanti Displays.
Office: 408.579.1620
Hours: 8AM – 5PM PST