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July 11, 2023

The power of one – multiple benefits from centralized AV control

Centralized AV control

Written by:

Theo Van Niekerk
Theo Van Niekerk

APAC Products & Solutions Director, Kramer

Efficient control of audio-visual (AV) systems is critical for almost every enterprise and educational campus today. Centralized solutions for AV control offer a multitude of advantages, resulting in improved efficiency and notable cost reductions.

A centralized AV control system provides unified control, which allows effortless management and control of diverse AV devices. Displays, projectors, sound systems, lighting, and other in-room systems such as blinds and heating, can all be controlled via a single interface. This removes the complexities that typically come with the management of multiple control systems and technologies, enabling smooth and integrated control operations in multiple spaces and even multiple sites. Organizations gain higher operational efficiency, shorter setup times, and consistent, dependable control experiences across their premises.

Boosting user experience

In retail, the customer is always king. And when it comes to audio-visual systems, as any AV manager knows, it’s the user who reigns supreme. Easy use, with a minimal learning curve, is fundamental to both the user experience and the ongoing support workload of the AV or IT department.

That’s why one of the most significant benefits of centralized AV control lies in its impact on user experience. Having a centralized control interface enables users to effortlessly control and interact with AV equipment in various spaces through a consistent, customized interface that can be accessed from any device. With technical hurdles removed, staff can concentrate on their primary tasks, instead of managing the AV equipment. With streamlined AV control organizations can optimize productivity, promote collaboration and efficient workflows, and increase user satisfaction.

Reducing operational costs

Businesses and educational institutions often also find that implementing a centralized AV control system can drive substantial cost savings. It reduces labor costs by dramatically reducing or eliminating the need to provide onsite support and maintenance, as much of it can be done remotely. Additionally, remote monitoring and troubleshooting further reduces downtime and other service disruptions that can be both costly and aggravating.

Furthermore, because centralized AV control enables organizations to get more use and uptime from their AV systems, they can allocate resources more efficiently, reducing both equipment purchases and energy consumption.

Centralized control also makes an AV system inherently scalable, opening the way to long-term financial benefits, along with cost-savings within individual spaces and buildings, and even across multiple sites.

Centralized control in action

The experience of the Mandel Foundation, which works to cultivate leaders in the education, public and non-profit sectors, is an excellent example of how the benefits of centralized control can play out in a real-world implementation. The foundation needed to equip classrooms, meeting rooms, and a large auditorium with user-friendly AV systems. Even before construction on the new site began, Kramer’s experts worked closely with the Mandel Foundation’s IT team in planning a comprehensive audio-visual solution that covered display and collaboration devices (screens, cameras, speakers, microphones and more) in classrooms, the main auditorium, and even digital signage in public spaces.

The entire project was pulled together by the Kramer Control system, allowing for centralized management of the rooms, including real-time alerts and the ability to initiate system upgrades or provide an immediate response to possible malfunctions.

Oren Sharon, CEO, Or Lashir, the integrator that assisted with the project noted the value to end users: “We made sure that everything would be unified. That means if someone enters class one, two or three, they come across the same solution.”

Centralized control on the cloud

Centralized AV control does not have to be cloud-based but, with the growing adoption of cloud technologies across almost every aspect of business and education, it’s fast becoming the norm. As one of the first companies to introduce cloud-based control, Kramer has also lead the way in taking centralized AV control to the cloud.

Our cloud-based Kramer Control platform for room/space control and management enables users to operate any room with ease through a simple touch interface. The intuitive, drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to install, configure, and modify the control system – whether for a single room or a large enterprise or campus.

A final thought

There’s no doubt that centralized AV control provides huge value to enterprises and educational institutions. By adopting a centralized AV control system, organizations can streamline their control processes, improve user experiences, and boost their operational efficiency. Embracing the capabilities of centralized AV control will elevate control operations today and enable you to scale your AV solution as your needs grow in the future.

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Tags:

Education

Enterprise

Control

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Audio-Visual Control & Management

University of Insubria bridges the hybrid gap with Kramer AV

University of Insubria, a class where Kramer solutions are installed
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“Kramer delivers value for money, with robust and resilient equipment that works for a long time, without any problems.”
— Luca Mondini – Front and Back Office Service and User Support, University of Insubria

Background

The University of Insubria – with primary locations in Como and Varese, Italy – was officially established in 1998, though its origins go back further. Home to over 12,000 students, 400 faculty members, and 320 technical and administrative staff across seven departments, it aims to provide high-quality education and facilities that prepare students to enter the job market with the requisite knowledge and skills. It also emphasizes top-level research between national and international groups, across interdisciplinary fields.

Following a recent funding resolution by the Lombardy Regional Council, the university had the opportunity to invest in new technologies for integrated teaching.

Andrea Fincato, AVC Project Manager, Adicom Group. The integrator who integrated Kramer's solutions in University of Insubria
 
“It is always a matter of target audience, but I highly recommend Kramer for AV projects. While it is true that there are different levels, in the level that Kramer is in, there really is no alternative or comparison.”
— Andrea Fincato, AVC Project Manager, Adicom Group

Goals

Insubria wanted to upgrade its AV equipment, to better support hybrid learning following the COVID-19 lockdowns. At the same time, the academic deans, who were concerned to differentiate Insubria from an online university, wanted these tools to help stimulate the return of students to the classroom.

“We were aiming for a simple solution that would ensure fluidity between remote and in-person students, so that there could continue to be a choice of the most suitable teaching delivery mode,” explains Luca Mondini, Front and Back Office Service and User Support at the University of Insubria. “Being a distributed university with locations scattered throughout the Insubria area (between Milan and Switzerland), we have always relied on audio-video communication tools. Previously, meetings and distance learning could be handled with systems such as Polycom. But with the arrival of a large number of users due to the pandemic, when we went from 12 simultaneous connections to 250 or more, such systems no longer held up.

Our critical points were the lack of integration between new technologies and existing platforms,” he continues. “For example, Teams made it difficult for remote learners to interact transparently. It was difficult for the teacher and students to hear each other mutually and intelligibly.” But as importantly, to ensure adoption, ease of use was key, so, as Luca puts it, “the technology wouldn’t become a burden on the teacher.”

Solution

Kramer was chosen for the Insubria learning spaces retrofit after extensive scouting, with Luca citing the “excellent price-performance ratio” as a crucial factor. The university prepared exact specifications for the equipment and its placement, and Adicom Group installed it in 25 classrooms, 5 lecture halls, and 10 mobile studios (used for recording lectures), across three campuses.

“The university was strongly leaning towards Kramer, and I must say that I would have chosen Kramer as well,” says Andrea Fincato, AVC Project Manager at Adicom Group. “Kramer is a vendor we know well and with whom we’ve been collaborating for years. Also, we were supported by the Italian Kramer staff throughout.”

In terms of practicalities, the system was entirely analog, so everything was redone by Adicom, including replacing the wiring to support digital HDBT. Adicom installed a Kramer VS-62DT matrix in the medium and medium-small classrooms, installed racks, and supplemented them with the necessary equipment.

As Andrea elaborates in describing the integration processes and decisions: “The heart of the system is the VS-62DT matrix implemented in all classrooms. Another specificity is HDBT transmission (TP-583T and TP-583R) for all the projectors. And in some classrooms, where there were multiple projectors, HDMI output was used so that it could be rebroadcast with two (VM-2DT) or four (VM-4HDT) dedicated HDBT lines addressed to the projectors. This all was complemented by the adoption of RC-208 control keypads to provide a simplified user experience.”

Value

Both faculty and students at Insubria appreciate the new possibilities that the Kramer AV systems offer, especially in accommodating hybrid learning.

The Kramer keypads provide maximum simplicity, so that teachers interface with an identical and recognizable control dashboard that always behaves the same way, no matter what is behind it. As Luca says: “Complexity had to remain within the rack, but at the same time the teacher needed to benefit from rich possibilities of tools use – from the Microsoft Surface whiteboard, to the use of Wacom-like technologies, to the PC in the room, to the document camera.”

“The goal was to give teachers the opportunity, respecting their different ways of working, to use all devices: room camera, desktop camera, laptop camera. In short, everything needed to provide an AV system that fits their habits so that they can teach hybrid classes,” Andrea expands.

In addition, the new AV equipment supports the university’s desire to return students to campus. “At the moment, we’re experiencing a turnaround; 99% in-person and 1% remote, though students still want the ability to follow classes remotely,” says Luca. “One of the main advantages of being properly hybrid-equipped is that the university has not had to suffer declines in the number of enrollments or increased dropouts due to students’ inability to continue studying remotely. Instead, we’re now able to ensure that lessons are always delivered with the same degree of involvement, regardless of where the students are.”

Luca rates Kramer as excellent for ease of use, describing, as an example, how the RC-208 keypads are used to control the inputs of a 6×2 matrix. “We opted for buttons with icons so we could make usage accessible to anyone; and we equipped the console with a QR code that the teacher can frame, to view the user guides – in an illustrated comic format – of the advanced instrumentation,” he explains.

He’s also quick to point out his appreciation for the easier IT management enabled by a fully connected system across multiple sites. “We connected all equipment with their respective management systems to dedicated VLANs, then built a centralized server where we inputted Kramer solutions for programming the matrices and keypads, so that everything now works exactly as it was supposed to, and I can control everything from one place,” he says.

Andrea further notes that many Kramer products allow for the integration of multiple features, which speeds up and simplifies the installation phase, making for another simplicity advantage. For example, the VS-62DT matrix switcher and HDBT transmitter are already combined, avoiding the need to add external elements.

Overall, the university is extremely pleased with the value for money and the reliable, robust performance delivered by its Kramer AV solution. Over the next five years, it plans to continue its goal of 100% coverage, finishing the new auditorium and upgrading an additional 10 classrooms per year.

Tags:

Education

Control

Signal Management

EMEA

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March 12, 2023

Kramer announces new Australian partnership with AVA Distribution

Kramer logo and AVAD logo - one next to another

Brisbane, Australia, March 2023 – Kramer, the leading audio-visual experience company, today announced its expanded distribution partnership with AVA Distribution (AVAD), an audio-visual distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.

From innovative wireless presentation and collaboration, revolutionary room control built in the cloud, to web-based AV network management, Kramer is setting a new standard for AV/IT convergence upon an open ecosystem. The company is committed to providing the best products, solutions, and services, and remaining the all-round choice for the enterprise, education, and government markets.

With this new partnership, AVAD will  market, distribute, and support Kramer’s entire portfolio while delivering the most intuitive audio-visual experiences through its wide network of resellers, integrators, consultants & installers across Australia. Customers will now have access to a dedicated team, offering end-to-end audio-visual technologies with reliable support that drives their businesses forward.

The partnership falls under Kramer’s new ENGAGE Partner Program, designed to Enable its Network (of partners) to Grow, Accelerate, Gain and Excel. The scheme engages distributors, system integrators, and resellers to boost growth and profit via Kramer product portfolio adoption, training, certification, and marketing efforts. Accredited partners enjoy various benefits and incentives such as marketing development funds and special equipment discounts.

Marc Remond, Kramer President APAC, said: “We are very excited to partner with a value-added AV distributor such as AVAD to strengthen our position as a leading professional AV vendor in Australia. AVAD’s team is extremely professional, and the company has a longstanding reputation in the ProAV market.”

Thanks to this close partnership, both resellers and customers will gain access to Kramer’s secure and reliable products along with the technical support, training, and programming services they need to ensure their technology deployments are successful and provide the best possible return on investment.”

Santo Pappalardo, Managing Director at AVAD, said: “We have been a Kramer distributor since 2016 and are delighted to have been chosen to become their principal distributor for the new ENGAGE channel program. Kramer delivers a complete range of innovative products designed to help our ProAV resellers create the absolute best audio-visual experiences.”

About Kramer

Kramer audio-visual experiences power creativity, collaboration, and engagement. From AVSM to advanced cloud-based communication, collaboration, and control solutions, Kramer creates audio-visual experiences that are more engaging, more inclusive, and more connected than ever before. Headquartered in the heart of Startup Nation – Tel Aviv, Israel, with locations around the world, Kramer’s audio-visual experts are designing the future of engagement technology. Physical and digital boundaries have blurred. But no matter how hybrid our world becomes, our desire for real, human connection will never cease. Kramer’s intuitive, seamless technology breaks down walls, bridges gaps, and makes people feel closer together even when they’re far apart.

About AVA Distribution

AVA Distribution is a value-added distributor of ProAV products to AV integrators and installers throughout Australia. AVAD works closely with a small number of specialist vendor partners to supply professional audio-visual products and solutions to trade customers. Additionally, it offers a range of training, design & programming services to support its reseller network.

For more information, visit www.avad.com.au

Press Contact

For additional information, please contact:
Veralyne Tan or Mamolefe Molefe at [email protected]

Tags:

Education

Enterprise

Entertainment

Government and Defense

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AV Solutions for Education

The opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of the classroom, lab or lecture hall – with AV solutions for education.

AV solutions for education – Providing endless opportunities to teach and learn

Taking education beyond the class, lab, or lecture hall, we enable everyone to present, share, and engage no matter where they are. In every type of education space, our end-to-end solutions facilitate all imaginable learning experiences.

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Simplicity that works for everyone

Kramer solutions are all about education, not about technology. From planning and deployment to everyday teaching and learning, all the way to controlling and managing all classrooms, anyone can work with Kramer’s AV solutions for education, with ease. Teachers can simply teach, and students can simply learn. IT managers can stay on top of classrooms, any time, from anywhere.

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Peace of mind in the class, and beyond

Deploying and managing classrooms is made easy and efficient. Designed by Kramer’s education experts and providing outstanding reliability backed by market-leading warranties and award-winning support, peace of mind is built-in to every Kramer’s AV solution for education.

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Meeting your evolving needs

Our AV solutions for education are built with robust security to protect the network, in-room equipment and all content shared during lessons. They are flexible, easily scalable and future-proofed. With Kramer’s AV for education, today’s perfect-fit audio visual aids in education, can be adapted as your requirements change, protecting your investment for the long term.

Innovative learning spaces

Simple and natural collaboration from anywhere in the space, and beyond

Teaching and learning today look very different to just a few years ago. As technology has advanced, varied new learning models have come to the fore. Location is now less important, as both teaching and learning can take place from anywhere. Likewise, by utilizing audio visual equipment used in education, learning can be synchronous or asynchronous, with students learning at their own pace, alone or with others.

Innovative learning spaces
A picture of a classroom in which Kramer's solutions are installed

Auditoriums and lecture halls

Extend the lecture experience beyond the physical space

Today, adding remote participants to lecture halls is a must. But providing a natural hybrid experience for participants, while enabling lecturers to continue with their preferred ways of teaching habits, is far from simple. The requirements may vary depending on the design, architecture and focus of the campus, but all demand easy connectivity, top-quality audio and video that can be clearly heard and seen by everyone, and easy content sharing. With AV technology for higher education, collaboration in lecture halls becomes a breeze.

Auditoriums and lecture halls
A picture of a lectures hall/auditorium in which Kramer's solutions are installed

Classroom spaces

Moving to a digitized environment

Classroom teaching methods have evolved greatly since we were children. By using audio visual technology in education, today’s teachers utilize a wide range of methodologies, and it is vital that classroom technology stays updated, enabling a high-quality educational experience for teachers and students alike.

Classrooms spaces
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Victoria University empowers formal and informal learning across its new campus with Kramer’s VIA solution

Victoria University, AU, shot from outside the building - where Kramer's products are installed
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“The students are loving the experience here in the building, in terms of discovery of spaces and the enablement of their formal and informal learnings. They’re very grateful for the quality, and the fit-for-purpose customized spaces.”
— Kirsten Jeffery | Project Director, Victoria University City Tower

Customer

Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Industry

Education

Goals

  • Enable wireless presentation in varied spaces for formal and informal learning
  • Ensure fast video streaming and smooth audio and video transitions, regardless of end-user device
  • Remotely manage all AV devices and digital signage, university-wide

Project Scope

  • Install about 400 wireless presentation devices in new 32-floor Victoria University City Tower Campus

Value

  • Supports goals for closer engagement between students and the teachers
  • Empowers students to collaborate independently and cast presentations to multiple screens
  • Small-footprint devices save room space
  • Full management flexibility
  • High reliability 24/7 across years of use

Solution

Background

Victoria University (VU) is one of Australia’s few dual-sector universities combining higher education and vocational education. It achieved university status in 1991, though its preceding institutions date back to 2016. In recent years, VU has repeatedly ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide. Today, over 40,000 students study at its seven campuses. The VU City Tower campus, which opened in 2022 in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district, offers both higher education and vocational learning, from practical TAFE certificates through to PhDs. Undergraduate and diploma students study with the award-winning VU Block Model, learning in interactive, workshop-style classes and completing one subject at a time.

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“The relationship with Kramer is a very long one… since the early 2000s. The lecture theaters are possibly 10, 15 years old, and these devices just keep running 24/7 without fail.”
— Kieran Parboo | Client Services & AV Coordinator, Victoria University

Goals

The 32-floor VU City Tower was built to consolidate three pre-existing VU city-based buildings into one vertical campus. The plans called for varied dynamic and interactive learning spaces, including purpose-built practical classrooms and clinics, informal learning spaces, and collaboration spaces of different sizes.

The audio-visual system in the new campus needed to support the VU Block Model, which is very focused on interactive, collaborative, industry-based problem-solving. The fundamental requirement was wireless presentation capabilities that would support formal and informal learning. With that, the key factors were the streaming rates and how smooth the audio and video transition would be when presenting from varied devices, including laptops and mobile phones.

Solution

Although Victoria University was already a very satisfied, long-time user of Kramer AV products, it conducted a review of available products before ultimately choosing Kramer VIA solutions for its new campus.

“We benchmarked against other devices to see what else it could bring to the table,” recalls Kieran Parboo, Client Services & AV Coordinator, Victoria University. “What we found is Kramer had an extensive range of options within the device itself that we could manage as a university, but also offer to academics to use to enable their teaching. And that’s where we came to the solution.”

VU installed a total of about 400 VIA presentation devices in the new VU City Tower. These are in addition to approximately 200 VIA devices installed on various other VU campuses. VIA Connect Plus enables simultaneous wired and wireless presentation and collaboration, and VIA GO2 provides a compact and secure device for 4K wireless presentation.

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“The VIA GO² is a small footprint device that sits in a rack. They’re very, very small, which is great for us. With our digital footprint, we want to keep that as low as possible.”
— Kieran Parboo | Client Services & AV Coordinator, Victoria University

Value

The VIA solution is a hit with VU City Tower administrators, teaching staff and students.

With the VIA display on the screens in the collaboration-style rooms, students are able to get started on collaborative work with ease. Kieran explains: “They simply walk up, enter the IP address, enter the code, and away they go. It allows students to collaborate independently, and then cast that around the room as required.”

According to Kirsten Jeffery, Project Director, Victoria University City Tower, the response to the collaboration capabilities supported by the new campus has been overwhelmingly positive. “The students are loving the experience here in the building, just in terms of discovery of spaces and the enablement of their formal and informal learnings. They’re very, very grateful and very appreciative for the quality, and, I think, the fit-for-purpose customized spaces.”

She also notes, “It’s terrific that we are able to showcase that commitment to students, and providing them with a quality education, surrounded by customized contemporary purpose-built facilities.”

With hundreds of VIA devices installed across the campus, the VIA Site Management (VSM) platform has proved critical to the AV services team’s day-to-day work. Kieran explains: “We use it not only for the management side to see if things are on or off or in a different state. We also use it for digital signage. We can also enable applications or disable applications. So, we have that full management flexibility with that platform, and it’s critical to us.”

When asked about the experience of working with Kramer, Kieran is unequivocal. “The relationship with Kramer is a very long one. It was before my time here at the university, and I’ve been here for 12 years. And they’ve been a big part of the university since the early 2000s. The lecture theaters are possibly 10, 15 years old, and these devices just keep running 24/7 without fail. They definitely stand the test of time.”

The next steps toward that future are already underway. With just under 600 VIA presentation devices now installed throughout VU, the university is planning to install additional VIA devices when it adds new collaboration-style rooms across the campuses later in the year.

Tags:

Education

Collaboration Applications

APAC

Australia

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AV Solutions for Classroom spaces

Bringing all the benefits of advanced technology into today’s classrooms and enabling tested, standards-based solutions that simply work for users

Classroom AV Solutions –
High-quality educational experience for teachers and students

Moving to a digitized environment brings all the benefits of advanced technology into today’s classrooms and enables tested, standards-based solutions that simply work for users. At the same time, with budgets often limited, legacy devices must be accommodated in the solution design.

Kramer classroom solutions are informed by years of expertise, research and close engagement with education customers. Our wide range of audio visual aids in classrooms, for both in-class and hybrid classes, empower educators to simply teach, without concerning themselves with technology. Zero hassle, zero hesitation. Based on open architecture, our flexible solutions work with many legacy and third-party devices, enabling cost-effective classrooms and long-lasting high value.

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Effortless classroom AV system operation and control

Our audio-visual technology in the classroom, including dual-display features, allows for simultaneous viewing of the main content and the remote participants.

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Simple wireless content sharing

Students can easily share content from their devices, with quad-mode capability for up to four devices simultaneously.

Comprehensive connectivity options

For teachers’ or guests’ laptops, facilitating access to classroom AV equipment, including peripherals.

Digital classroom

In our hybrid classroom model, we create a dynamic, interconnected hub, prioritizing clear audio communication and easy content sharing between in-person and remote participants. This intuitively designed learning environment, utilizing the classroom AV solutions for learning spaces, facilitates smooth, inclusive collaborations and can be seamlessly navigated without requiring extensive tech knowledge in classroom audio visual equipment.

 

Hybrid Classroom

In our hybrid classroom model, we create a dynamic, interconnected hub, prioritizing clear audio communication and easy content sharing between in-person and remote participants. This intuitively designed learning environment, utilizing the classroom AV solutions for learning spaces, facilitates smooth, inclusive collaborations and can be seamlessly navigated without requiring extensive tech knowledge in classroom audio visual equipment.

 

Wireless Classroom

 

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An auditorium hall, with purple and green seats

Auditoriums and lecture halls

Auditoriums and lecture halls, long a mainstay of education institutions everywhere, got a refresh when hybrid technologies were introduced.

Extend the lecture experience beyond the physical space

Today, adding remote participants to lecture halls is a must. But providing a natural hybrid experience for participants, while enabling lecturers to continue with their preferred ways of teaching habits, is far from simple. The requirements may vary depending on the design, architecture and focus of the campus, but all demand easy connectivity, top-quality audio and video that can be clearly heard and seen by everyone, and easy content sharing.

At Kramer, we offer a wide range of flexible solutions for lecture halls and auditoriums, tailormade to meet specific needs. Our platform-agnostic, open architecture approach enables continued utilization of legacy devices, while providing a coherent, professional solution. With wide-view video, best-in-class audio, easy connectivity from any device, and simple content sharing by everyone, we help extend the lecture experience beyond the physical space.

Auditoriums

Lecture Halls

 

Enhance learning experiences with innovative audio visual solutions

Get in touch!
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February 9, 2023

Kramer announces
the new distribution partnership with Westan NZ

westan logo on a black bacground, partners of Kramer - with Kramer's logo on a grey background

Auckland, New Zealand, February 9, 2023 – Kramer, the leading audio-visual experience company, today announced its distribution partnership in New Zealand with Westan NZ, one of the largest AV/IT media technology distributors headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

From innovative wireless presentation and collaboration, revolutionary room control built in the cloud, to web-based AV network management, Kramer is setting a new standard for AV/IT convergence. The company is committed to providing the best products, solutions and services across the enterprise, education, and government markets.

With this new partnership, Westan NZ will be able to market, distribute and support Kramer’s entire portfolio while delivering the most intuitive audio-visual experiences through its wide network of resellers, integrators, planners and architects across New Zealand. Customers will now have access to a dedicated team offering the most intuitive end-to-end audio-visual experience with reliable support that drives the business forward. 

Marc Remond, Kramer President APAC, said: “Partnering with a distributor as credible and professional as the team at Westan NZ makes me excited for the future of this collaboration. Together, customers in New Zealand will gain access to Kramer’s secure and reliable AV products, that is further boosted by the seamless support from Westan NZ, ultimately driving innovative audio-visual experiences that power creativity, collaboration, and engagement across New Zealand.”

Kam Aghtan, Director Westan is also delighted about the new agreement, stating: “Kramer stands for a high level of innovation. The range of solutions ideally complements Westan’s wide-ranging product portfolios covering everything from interactive solutions for Commercial to Education verticals – the synergy is endless and we’re very excited.”

About Kramer

Kramer audio-visual experiences power creativity, collaboration, and engagement. From AVSM to advanced cloud-based communication, collaboration, and control solutions, Kramer creates audio-visual experiences that are more engaging, more inclusive, and more connected than ever before. Headquartered in the heart of Startup Nation – Tel Aviv, Israel, with locations around the world, Kramer’s audio-visual experts are designing the future of engagement technology. Physical and digital boundaries have blurred. But no matter how hybrid our world becomes, our desire for real, human connection will never cease. Kramer’s intuitive, seamless technology breaks down walls, bridges gaps, and makes people feel closer together even when they’re far apart.

About Westan

Westan has been in distribution in Australia for almost 30 years and has developed its own infrastructure and national network. All our offices are connected via cloud-based services and a browser-based ERP, allowing access virtually anywhere in the world.

Today Westan is a focused audio-visual and technology distributor for internationally recognised brands.

Westan has a specialized sales team across Australia and New Zealand with both internal and external sales team members operating out of each branch. These teams provide value-added distribution into a variety of channels. We don’t just ship products; we train, support, and advise on the right solution for our resellers and their end users.

Our channels include specialist AV Retail, Mass Retail, Education, Commercial AV, Digital Signage, Hospitality and Telecommunications.

Our sales team is complemented by a technical support team spread amongst our NZ, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane offices. We believe we are the most flexible distributor in our space and offer services, including pre-validation of your commercial AV delivery technologies, solution consulting, and integrated cloud-based help-desk support for end users and our field-based service providers.

For more information visit us at www.westan.net.nz

Press Contact

For additional information, please contact:
Veralyne Tan or Mamolefe Molefe at [email protected]

Tags:

Education

Enterprise

Entertainment

Government and Defense

Related Content

Sennheiser and Kramer partner to deliver video conferencing solution with outstanding sound quality

Respective industry leaders harmonize to take hybrid meetings to new heights

Kramer logo and Sennheiser logo - one next to another

Barcelona, Spain, February 1, 2023: Kramer, the leading audio-visual experiences company, has partnered with world-renowned audio experts Sennheiser to create an assured, flexible, and easily deployed audio solution for optimized hybrid teleconferencing.

Officially launching at the organizations’ ISE 2023 booths (Kramer 3B300, Sennheiser 3C600), the new solution combines Kramer’s AFM-DSP20-AEC audio matrix switcher with Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) and TeamConnect Ceiling Medium (TCC M) ceiling microphones. This collaboration delivers premium-quality sound while providing an immersive, engaging, and inclusive audio-visual experience in any medium or large space.

Kramer’s partnership with audio technology leader Sennheiser is part of the company’s drive to expand the Kramer ecosystem, offering ultra-immersive user experiences in hybrid meeting and learning spaces and expanded flexibility for its customers and partners.

Engaging, immersive hybrid meeting experiences

The combination of Kramer’s best-in-class digital signal processor (DSP) and the premium performance of Sennheiser’s TCC2 and TCC M ceiling microphones ensures all participants are clearly heard for easy collaboration, efficient learning, and more productive meetings.

The Kramer DSP maintains the quality of the original audio signal with selectable sampling rates up to 96 kHz, ensuring flat frequency response, unmatched sonic performance, excellent signal-to-noise ratio, and extraordinarily low distortion levels. Meanwhile, acoustic echo cancellation further improves teleconferencing sound quality. With all in-room and remote participants able to hear and be heard, meetings can proceed smoothly and effectively.

The collaboration also offers simplified audio and room-wide control. It supports Audinate’s Dante and can be operable by Kramer Control, enabling full automation of the microphones along with other room elements, such as screens, lights, and shades, via a simple click. By removing the time and hassle required to manage a meeting space or classroom, participants can focus on holding their most productive, immersive hybrid calls and lessons yet.

Simple deployment within any working or learning space

The vendor-agnostic design of the Sennheiser microphone and Kramer DSP, dual digital and analog connectivity, and centralized control make a unique solution for everyday use flexible and simple.

As a result, the combined Kramer-Sennheiser solution is ideal for any medium to large classrooms, lecture spaces, and meeting rooms where intelligible speech, simple handling, and seamless integration into the existing room environment are required. Both the Sennheiser ceiling microphone and the Kramer DSP are supported by Kramer’s proven low-latency video infrastructure, providing full configuration and installation flexibility.

Assured reliability and accessible support

Millions of Kramer and Sennheiser products are already installed and in use across the globe, trusted by mission-critical organizations for their quality and reliability. The Sennheiser TCC2 and TCC M microphones and Kramer AFM-DSP20-AEC audio matrix switcher solution are no different, having been cross-certified for compatibility to ensure superior audio performance.

The components of the combined solution are available directly from the global sales networks of Kramer and Sennheiser respectively. The solution is supported by the two companies’ industry-leading, worldwide support networks, enabling end-users to easily access any help or advice if required.

Gilad Yron, CEO of Kramer, said: “It’s a beautiful experience when two audio-visual heavyweights, like Kramer and Sennheiser, come together to create a solution that transcends our respective specialisms. This combined expertise will help to power creativity, collaboration, and engagement within both meeting and education spaces worldwide – and with a wealth of innovations from both companies already shaping the audio-visual experiences of the future, we hope this is the first collaboration of many.”

Charlie Jones, Global Alliance & Partnership Manager, Business Communication, at Sennheiser said: “At Sennheiser, we’re proud to combine our renowned audio expertise with Kramer’s reliability and ease of use to bring this solution to the market. This is only the first step, as both companies continue to grow our unified communications portfolios and expand our partnership into new meeting room sizes. ISE attendees should make plans to stop by our booths, Sennheiser at 3C600 and Kramer at 3B300, to see the fruits of this partnership come to life.”

About Kramer

Kramer audio-visual experiences power creativity, collaboration, and engagement. From AVSM to advanced cloud-based communication, collaboration and control solutions, Kramer creates audio-visual experiences that are more engaging, more inclusive and more connected than ever before.

Headquartered in the heart of Startup Nation – Tel Aviv, Israel with locations around the world, Kramer’s audio-visual experts are designing the future of engagement technology. Physical and digital boundaries have blurred. But no matter how hybrid our world becomes, our desire for real, human connection will never cease.

Kramer’s intuitive, seamless technology breaks down walls, bridges gaps, and makes people feel closer together even when they’re far apart.

Contact details 

For additional information, please contact:
Veralyne Tan or Mamolefe Molefe at [email protected]

Tags:

Education

Enterprise

Collaboration Applications

Collaboration Devices

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Kramer and Samsung team up to transform smart learning and meeting collaboration experiences

Audio-visual industry leaders create the perfect environment for effortless collaboration and optimized productivity

Kramer logo and Samsung logo - one next to another

Barcelona, Spain, January 31, 2023: Kramer, the leading audio-visual experiences pioneer, and Samsung, the world’s premier display manufacturer, today announce the certified compatibility of Kramer’s quicklaunch™ collaboration software with Samsung’s Flip Pro and QMB display series.

Officially unveiled at Kramer’s ISE booth (Booth 3B300, Area A), and at Samsung ISE booth (Booth 3F600). This cross-certified solution creates immersive smart learning and meeting collaboration experiences in any type of classroom or office meeting space. It delivers high-quality video and audio, enriched with professional features and intuitive design, to elevate innovation, efficiency, and collaboration in business and education environments.

Kramer’s partnership with Samsung is another significant step in its drive to expand the Kramer ecosystem, enabling enriched collaborative work and learning experiences and offering expanded flexibility for customers and partners.

Effortless collaboration, enhanced productivity and efficient deployment

With quicklaunch™, end-users can launch and control any meeting quickly and securely, regardless of the conferencing provider. The all-in-one interface streamlines AV and room control, providing a standardized experience across all collaboration spaces. The high image quality of Samsung’s Flip Pro and QMB displays allows for easy and clear information sharing, while the non-glare designs provide better visibility from all angles, any time of day, and a clean cable guide reduces distractions.

The complementary strengths of Kramer’s quicklaunch™ and Samsung’s displays offer easy and cost-efficient deployment of new collaboration spaces. Kramer quicklaunch™ can be instantly deployed to multiple Samsung Flip Pro and QMB displays and spaces using the mass deployment utility, organizations can simultaneously customize the user interface for multiple spaces, simplifying and speeding up installation. Additionally, organizations can build a fully agnostic room solution, utilizing Kramer’s wider suite of products for advanced and efficient collaboration.

The complementary strengths of Kramer’s quicklaunch™ and Samsung’s displays support end-users to deploy new collaboration spaces and modernize existing ones quickly and cost-effectively. The solution supports interactive and non-interactive displays with multiple connectivity options, including USB, HDMI, and DP, as well as NUC and OPS, to fit any physical requirements.

Robust security and simplified management

Security and management are also key factors of this solution. quicklaunch™ ensures no data remains in the meeting room once a session ends and is fully compliant with security requirements for all supported conferencing platforms. This ensures personal information is fully protected throughout a meeting. The Samsung Tizen Zero Config enables easy operation of multiple units across different locations, plus the remote installation of new apps, providing flexible customization, standardization, and management of all spaces, from anywhere.

Gilad Yron, CEO of Kramer, said: “Our collaboration with Samsung reflects the levels of collaboration we hope to enable within our end-users – seamless, intuitive, and above all, effective. Cross-certifying quicklaunch™ with Samsung’s fantastic Flip Pro and QMB display series was an easy decision, particularly aligned with our open ecosystem strategy. We can’t wait to see this new alliance power creativity, engagement, and connections between people and organizations worldwide.”

Andy Haywood, Head of Global Sales (Europe) at Samsung said: “The future of collaboration requires both immersive, engaging audio-visual technology and the flexibility for end-users to communicate via their preferred space and platform. So, a strategic partnership with Kramer is a match made in heaven. We’re very proud to play a role in the exciting ideas, developments, and innovations that our combined technologies will help to cultivate.”

About Kramer

Kramer audio-visual experiences power creativity, collaboration, and engagement. From AVSM to advanced cloud-based communication, collaboration and control solutions, Kramer creates audio-visual experiences that are more engaging, more inclusive and more connected than ever before.

Headquartered in the heart of Startup Nation – Tel Aviv, Israel with locations around the world, Kramer’s audio-visual experts are designing the future of engagement technology. Physical and digital boundaries have blurred. But no matter how hybrid our world becomes, our desire for real, human connection will never cease.

Kramer’s intuitive, seamless technology breaks down walls, bridges gaps, and makes people feel closer together even when they’re far apart. 

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions.

For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com

For additional information, please contact Kris Hogg at [email protected]

Contact details 

For additional information, please contact:
Veralyne Tan or Mamolefe Molefe at [email protected]

Tags:

Education

Enterprise

Collaboration Applications

Related Content