AVSF Perspectives - ETC AETM SCHOMS Global Higher Ed AV Tech Day 2026
AV SuperFriends
Recorded April 17, 2026 AV SuperFriends goes global! In this quick episode, the gang chats with Darryl Krall about the new Global Higher Education AV Technology Day, a joint event uniting ETC, AETM, and SCHOMS for a worldwide day of higher ed AV conversation. There is talk of presenters, time zones, sessions, time zones, topics, time zones, and the hope that this turns into a long-running annual tradition, plus the usual AVSF nonsense about naps, calendars, and making the whole thing just a little worse in the best possible way. Also, time zones. Join the event on April 29: Join your...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - I don't vacuum my carpet
AV SuperFriends
Recorded April 10, 2026 In this episode, the goon squad takes a swing at the AI gold rush, the made-up drama of “AV-over-IP 2.0,” and the growing industry tradition of rebranding the same old nonsense with shinier buzzwords. If you’ve ever wondered whether cloud creep, interoperability promises, and subscription pricing are solving real problems or just creating newer, dumber ones, this one’s for you. Then the panel gets into one of higher ed AV’s favorite recurring fights: why everyone thinks classroom tech should cost about $600, why “just throw a TV on the wall” is never the...
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AV SuperFriends: On Topic - It's functioning but not fully functional
AV SuperFriends
Recorded March 13, 2026 This episode of On Topic tackles “Spring cleaning” by focusing less on tidy closets and more on the grime higher ed AV teams create for themselves. The panel trades stories about delayed refreshes, inherited programming messes, legacy systems that refuse to die, rushed project deadlines, and the temporary fixes that somehow become permanent. Before you get clean, revel in the filth… It’s a funny, brutally honest look at technical debt, bad design choices, and the institutional rot that keeps old problems hanging around far longer than they should. If your campus...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - AV Network Security (There's no such thing as an island)
AV SuperFriends
Recorded March 20, 2026 In this episode, the panel tackles one of the most overdue conversations in higher ed: AV network security. The regular panel is joined by the founding members of AV Trust, Doug Schaefer, Colin Birney, and Frank Padikkala. The news segment focuses on cybersecurity education pipelines, exploring how earlier hands-on exposure and employer partnerships could help build a more prepared workforce for technical fields. The main segment discusses the newly launched AV Trust initiative and the broader challenge of securing AV systems that increasingly live on shared...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - BDubs Active Learning Room
AV SuperFriends
Recorded March 6, 2026 In this episode of Off the Rails, the panel opens with a conversation about AV Trust and what it means for cybersecurity, standards, and the growing expectation that AV systems have to be treated like serious networked technology, not mysterious boxes that somehow get a pass. Join us on March 20 when we’ll have the whole team from AV Trust on the show to talk network security. From there, the crew turns to a much deeper discussion on design drawings and schematics. Where different designers start, how they think through a system, what belongs on a drawing, and how...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - I'm the only Eric
AV SuperFriends
Recorded February 20, 2026 The panel this week is full of guest voices. The news segment examines AI-driven collaboration tools, particularly automatic recordings and transcripts, and the governance risks they introduce. The focus isn’t hype, but ownership, confidentiality, consent, and what happens when institutional policy lags behind platform features. Then the panel explores storytelling as a leadership skill. The discussion centers on intentional framing, timing, and how AV professionals can better communicate impact to stakeholders beyond technical specifications. The final...
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AV SuperFriends: On Topic - The Ten Suggestions
AV SuperFriends
Recorded February 13, 2026 It’s March (yes, March– deal with it), the AV SuperFriends gather to lay down the law… higher ed AV law, that is. This month’s On Topic tackles the Top Ten Commandments of AV: the rules you should follow, the ones you sometimes break, and the ones you pretend you’ve always believed in. From protecting audio at all costs and designing for serviceability, to avoiding 4K hype, over-automation, USB abuse, and unlabeled cables, the panel debates what actually matters when building and supporting campus systems. It’s a fast-moving mix of standards, safety...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - Every now and then I stupid my way into smart
AV SuperFriends
Recorded February 6, 2026 ISE season is in full swing, and while much of the AV world is busy chasing booth demos and press releases from Europe, the AV SuperFriends are back doing what they do best: cutting through the hype. In this episode, the panel digs into the latest ISE announcements and trends, separating what’s genuinely useful for higher ed from what looks great under trade-show lighting but falls apart in real classrooms. A major thread of the conversation focuses on rethinking camera deployments in teaching and meeting spaces. The crew challenges the default “one camera at the...
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AV SuperFriends: On Topic - If it happened last year, you can ignore it
AV SuperFriends
Recorded January 16, 2026 In this episode of On Topic, the panel leans hard into the “Groundhog Day” reality of higher ed AV, where every semester feels like a rerun of the last one. From the same classrooms and support tickets to the same mysterious $7 HDMI cable failures, the panel reflects on why our work so often feels stuck on repeat, even as we insist “this time it’ll be different.” With their usual mix of sarcasm, experience, and self-awareness, they review the projects, services, and processes that keep coming back year after year… sometimes for good reasons, sometimes...
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AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - I’m a psychologist, but I’m not YOUR psychologist
AV SuperFriends
Recorded January 23, 2026 In this episode, the panel looks into the growing disconnect between AI hype and the realities of higher-ed operations. As campuses spin up task forces and strategy decks, the people closest to the work are still trying to explain that real progress comes from solid processes, clean data, and systems that actually integrate, not shiny tools bolted on top of chaos. The conversation drifts (on purpose) through buzzwords, half-baked pilots, and the familiar frustration of being asked to support technologies that skipped the fundamentals. Along the way, the panel brings a...
info_outlineRecorded June 13, 2025
In this episode, Jamie catches up with Shaun from Xilica at InfoComm 2025 to delve into the innovative audio technology solutions that Xilica has been developing for over 20 years. Based in Toronto, Xilica is making strides in the audio DSP market, particularly in university classrooms, conference rooms, and courtrooms.
Shaun shares insights into the company's flexible and modular DSP products, highlighting the benefits of open architecture that allows for easy upgrades and cost optimization. With a focus on reducing inventory complexity for integrators and enhancing user experience for end customers, Xilica is redefining audio solutions.
Listeners will learn about Xilica's standout offerings, including the compact PoE DSP and the upcoming Room Hub, designed to simplify audio installations with built-in AI technology for noise reduction and device discovery. This episode is packed with valuable insights into Xilica's approach to audio technology and their vision for the future.
For more information about Xilica and their products, visit https://www.Xilica.com .
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