Calling all Architects! AMX Education Program for CEU's

As with all other aspects of our lives, technology is becoming more and more integrated in to the built environment. It is now possible to have a "smart" home or office building capable of automating complex tasks such as lighing regulation, heating & cooling regulation, daylight harvesting, shade & blind control, sound & video distribution, and a number of other devices.

As a designer it is important to stay ahead of the curve and know how to work with technology in your design. Technology and architecture really can co-exist to create amazingly beautiful - and functional - spaces.

MediaLogix is your partner in Technology Systems design & engineering. We are commited to working with you to design cutting edge homes and offices. We have partnered with AMX to offer our architect partners a series of classes designed to educate you on technology systems integration and how to integrate these systems in to your projects.

Choose from any of the following classes for AIA and/or IDCEC credits:

A/V Control Systems for Commercial Properties

In this one-hour course students will have the opportunity to 1) understand the principles of an A/V Control System, 2) learn about issues that must be considered when designing for a control system, 3) observe the functional roles of each piece of a control system and 4) learn how a control system can help achieve LEED points 5) see examples of an A/V Control System in Commercial applications.

A/V Control Systems and Energy Efficient Applications

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to the idea of using an A/V control and automation system to contribute to the energy efficiency in all building types. Participants will learn practical soltions for integrating control systems and the possible contribution a control system could have in a project seeking LEED certification.

Introduction to Digital Signage

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to the features and benefits of using Digital Signage. Each student will have the opportunity to understand 1 ) What Is Digital Signage, 2) Digital Signage Definitions, 3) What is Pre-Packaged Digital Signage and 4) How to plan and design a project for Digital Signage.

Introduction to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to RFID control. Each student will be introduced to the concept of using an RFID badge in order to control, manage and monitor their environment in all vertical market applications. The course defines clearly RFID, 1) what is RFID, 2) features of an RFID system, 3) components of an RFID system and 4) how to plan for using an RFID based control system,

To get more information or sign up for any of these classes, please click here to contact us.

We are happy to come to your office or will happily host the class at either our Downtown Denver or Littleton offices.

- The MediaLogix Team

Control your building with your iPhone!

Let me just start by saying how cool my job is. Really. I get to work with the newest and coolest technology available to businesses. Every day we seem to learn about something new that we haven’t used or implemented yet. One thing I knew was on the horizon but didn’t expect so soon was the Crestron Mobile App. Now anyone with an iPhone (and a Crestron control system obviously) can monitor, control and update their home or business from anywhere in the world right from their phone! All you need is a network connection which can be 3G, Edge or WiFi at this point.

Smart phones are taking over! This is just one of many amazing new tools that you will be able to use directly from your Smart Phone. We can’t wait to start implementing this with some of our customers. If one of you are reading this now and want to give it a try, just let me know!

The Dangers of Videoconferencing

While we are mostly serious folks over here at MediaLogix, sometimes humor is just what you need to bring you up from an otherwise slow monday! Luckily this video pertains to one of the things we do best: Videoconferencing! The funniest part about this is that with Green Screen Technology, you can actually make any image your background when conducting a Videoconference call. Just like how the newscasters do it.

High End Car Dealerships Embracing RFID & Digital Signage Integration

I read more cool things about the uses for RFID every day. An article I just read in RFID Journal talks about how high-end car dealerships across America are starting to use RFID to improve customer service & experience. RFID equipped cars alert the service station workers as the car is pulling up and display information to the customer as they are driving in to the service center such as “Welcome back Mr. Wilson”. Additionally, the service can be linked to a customer database where information can be stored and routed as necessary. An example they give in the article talks about a new car buyer getting his car washed at the dealer. Since the RFID tag in his car is linked to his customer account, the system knows when the car is ready to be picked up and can send the customer an email, text message or both.

This is just the beginning of what is going to be happening with RFID. We already posted about how a retail store in Germany is using the technology. This is one example of what MediaLogix can do for industry specific clients. If you can dream it, we can make it happen.

What do you think about RFID? Does this stuff scare you or get you excited? Let us know about other cool RFID implementations you may know about?

Technology Systems Integration - What the heck does it mean?

This post is in response to a familiar question I get from clients and partners on a daily basis. The question is:

“What exactly is a Technology Systems Integrator?”

Here is the elevator pitch:

My company is a solutions company. We solve everyday business problems through the use of innovative and sometimes “radical” technology systems.

Of course that being said, the next logical questions is:

What the heck does that mean?!

And now we get to the real meat of my post. My industry (The Audiovisual and Systems Integration industry) is tough to understand. We are literally right in the middle where Audio systems (think churches, stadiums, performing arts centers), Video Systems (Think theaters, Big projection screens, Digital Signage), building technology (think intelligent buildings, automated systems controls, over the top boardrooms) and digital services (think video conferencing, interactive whiteboards) all meet up. It is extremely hard to wrap any one of things under one description, let alone all of them put together. We do so many things for so many different people and industries. Our biggest challenge is educating our partners on what it is we actually do. After all, our firm is a commercial contractor, systems design firm, engineering firm, software development firm and low voltage systems project management firm. On top of that, we work with acoustics, network systems, software systems, audio and video optimization and a variety of one off system types for specialty applications. We represent and sell literally thousands of different products from hundreds of different manufacturers. To further complicate things, we have different solutions and products for a number of different industries including Corporate, Non-Profit, Education, Hospitality, Government, Transportation, and more…

So to wrap things up here, I want to make a point. We are a solutions company. We help our clients increase efficiency, increase profits and increase their competitive advantages through the use of innovative technology solutions. It means something different to every client. It means we aren’t just “technology geeks”. We ask questions, we probe, we dig deep to understand the business our clients are in. We consult. We design. We engineer. We Value Engineer. Often we do this over and over again until we get things just right for our client. Overall while we do work with technology, the business we are in is really about leveraging the core competencies of our clients and amplifying those competencies through the use of intelligent systems.

Keep your eyes on our blog. This is where we will continue to post on Integrated Technology Design & Integration. We welcome feedback and thoughts on how you view our industry and what firms like ours can do to serve you and our other clients best!