Libsyn Directory

AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - Every now and then I stupid my way into smart

Release Date: 02/11/2026

AV SuperFriends: On Topic - Chargeback Nation

AV SuperFriends

Recorded May 1, 2026 In this episode, the crew tackles the cursed middle ground of campus AV: spaces that are technically classrooms, sort of event venues, occasionally multipurpose rooms, and absolutely someone else’s problem until the microphone dies five minutes before the dean walks in. The discussion starts with classrooms hiding inside dorms, performance venues moonlighting as lecture halls, performing arts spaces being asked to behave like standard teaching rooms, and the eternal mystery of “who exactly is moving the lectern back?” From there, the panel wanders into the even...

AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails Episode 137 - Markdown APIs

AV SuperFriends

Recorded May 8, 2026 This week on Off the Rails, the gang celebrates finals week the only way higher ed AV/IT knows how: by watching a major cloud platform wobble and quietly whispering sweet nothings to the on-prem rack. The Instructure Canvas mess kicks off a discussion about cloud dependency, LMS integrations, sketchy APIs, cyber insurance, and the comforting lie that “hosted” means “not our problem.” Then it’s on to upcoming NWMET and InfoComm sessions about building local AI tools for AV design, documentation, math, and workflows… because sometimes the best cloud strategy is...

AV SuperFriends: On Topic - Why are you doing speechlift from the can?

AV SuperFriends

Recorded April 17, 2026 In this episode, the crew turns a simple question about classroom speakers into a full-blown AV theology fight. Should small classrooms use ceiling speakers, front-wall point-source speakers, voice lift, program audio, or whatever happens to be lying around in the warehouse? Naturally, the answer is “it depends,” followed immediately by 35 minutes of everyone insisting their version of “depends” is the only sane one. The discussion gets into the real-world mess of higher ed classroom audio: even coverage, voice lift thresholds, ceiling lay-in speakers...

AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails Episode 136: It’s IT with cameras…

AV SuperFriends

Recorded May 24, 2026 This week, the AV SuperFriends rummage through the NAB grab bag without actually attending NAB, because nothing says “industry analysis” like judging announcements from press releases and email blasts. But first, the crew starts with Marc’s field report from Biamp’s 50th anniversary event, including factory tours, anechoic chamber weirdness, voice lift demos, ClearOne gear being reborn in Biamp boxes, and the very real threat of an electric Hummer rental becoming a police chase subplot. Then it’s on to the blurred lines between production AV and presentation AV:...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

More Episodes

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 front of the room” mentality, unpacking how faculty behavior, room geometry, and instructional goals should drive camera placement, not product marketing. From multi-camera approaches to integrated camera bars and tracking features, the discussion centers on what actually improves teaching and learning versus what just checks a feature box.

Naturally, the conversation eventually drifts into resolution arms races, with healthy skepticism about 8K’s relevance and outright disbelief at the industry’s eagerness to jump to 16K.

News articles discussed:

Alternate show titles:

One step at a time, Marc
This pane of glass is a pain in my ass
Shoebox worth of sh*t
I want to be all inclusive
Listen, pal…
You know what, maybe he’s right?
With as much proliferication…
I haven’t quite got to the “I’m yelling at you” part
When it exposes itself…
Four cameras!
I heard that’s supposed to save lives
I heard that’s the bees knees
Oh, joy!
I don’t think physics works like that

We stream live every Friday at about 315p Eastern/1215p Pacific and you can listen to everything we record over at AVSuperFriends.com

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