Cinos attend the Midwich Tech Xpo 2022 at Ascot Racecourse #TechXpo22

Spread over two days, #TechXpo22 featured over 50 of Midwich’s leading technology vendors. It provides businesses such as Cinos with a great opportunity to catch up with key partners, build new connections and see the latest technology in action.

As well as providing some of our key highlights below we would like to take this opportunity to thank our Account Manager Anton Vidal and the wider Midwich team for putting on a truly fantastic event, topped off with some first-class hospitality in the ON 5 Suite at Ascot Racecourse.

Upon entering the event, we could not miss the Samsung stand, where the latest and greatest display solutions were on show. We caught up with Pete Myton-Bayley who talked us through several key product offerings. Taking centre stage was the latest iteration of Samsung’s flagship display solution, The Wall. This all-in-one LED screen attracted the attention of many attendees, boasting a screen size of 146inches and delivering spectacular vibrancy and colour purity. Outside of the fantastic visual experience, Pete explained that Samsung had reinvented the installation process, using docking and hanging techniques, enabling The Wall to be built within a couple of hours, great news for our engineering teams.

Another Cinos favourite was on show in the form of the Samsung Flip. Pete introduced us to the latest models, ideal for both education and corporate applications. The new Samsung Flip Pro WMB Series builds on the success of its predecessors featuring a comprehensive range of connectivity options and multi-touch for up to 20 people. Furthermore, with the most advanced touch technology Samsung has ever introduced, users can benefit from the most precise writing and drawing experience and enjoy productivity without restriction in any setting.

As we left the Samsung stand, we were stopped almost immediately in our tracks by HYPERVSN’s Holographic Human. Powered by the unique HYPERVSN Solo L devices, the Holographic Human helps retail organisations connect with their audiences on a more personal level, increasing the impact of their marketing message. With our interest peaked, Chris Smith, UK Sales Director took us through HYPERVSN’s SmartV solutions, an innovative and flexible range of interactive 2D and 3D holographic signage solutions which bring the wow factor to retail environments by making video come to life and creating vibrant eye-catching content which appears to be floating in mid-air!

As more and more people return to the office, the demand for MTR and Zoom Rooms is on the rise and so checking out the latest offerings was high on our agenda.

Michael Waterworth, Channel Account Manager at Neat presented their range of meeting room solutions, comprising of The Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro and Neat Board. We were provided with an in-depth demonstration of each offering, showcasing how they provide everything organisations need to run effective Zoom or Teams meetings. As we went through the demo it was of no surprise that some of these solutions have been recognised as reddot winners in 2021 and 2022.

Each solution utilises Neat’s unique symmetry technology which combines people finding, video composing and AI technologies to recognise where people are in a room and frame them accurately. This state-of-the-art technology enables remote participants to see everyone in the room clearly and means participants stay more energised, focused, and productive for longer. The Neat Bar Pro is capable of driving up to three large screens and features two extreme resolution cameras with 16x zoom. The Neat Board brings interactivity to meetings in the form of a 65inch multi-touch screen, combined with a powerful audio system and versatile wide-angle camera.

To cater for the needs of the hybrid workforce, Neat were also showcasing the Neat Frame, a first of its kind portrait-orientated all-in-one video device for Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Ideal for homeworking, hotdesking or as a companion to your PC, this 15.6-inch capacitive multi-touch LED screen comes equipped with 4x digital zoom, 113° horizontal field of view camera, two-way loudspeaker system and three beamforming microphones.

Sticking with the MTR and Zoom Rooms theme, further down the hall we took some time to check out the solutions on show from Jabra. Combining style and sophistication with powerful functionality, the PanaCast range took centre stage, offering solutions for individuals, huddle spaces and meeting rooms.

For individuals and huddle spaces, the Jabra PanaCast has been engineered to be the world’s first intelligent 180° Panoramic-4K plug-and-play video solution with patented real-time video switching. In meeting rooms, the PanaCast 50 offers the same camera quality, combining this with active speaker framing technology and dynamic composition to provide a close-up view of up to four participants at once. Both solutions bring the traditional whiteboard back to the forefront of group collaboration. With the camera’s 180° field of view, users can share the whiteboard in real time. Jabra’s intelligent software automatically corrects the perspective to ensure the best possible view, even when the whiteboard is angled sharply away from the camera.

Away from video collaboration solutions, it was great to catch up with BrightSign and see their latest product release, dubbed the most powerful digital signage player in the industry. Shipping in November, the BrightSign XC5 combines elite HTML performance and stunning 8K video content with the functionality to power four screens at once. This gives organisations the ability to deliver captivating, multi-screen messages with confidence, drawing on the hardware’s accelerated 4K video rotation capabilities to fully engage their audiences with unique, eye-catching experiences.

Furthermore, BrightSign’s partner Nexmosphere was also on stand, showcasing their interactive digital signage capabilities, and opening up discussions about exciting opportunities across a wide range of vertical markets. Nexmosphere’s product range is comprised of intelligent technologies such as people tracking, pick-up and presence sensors, object detection and environmental sensing. These elements seamlessly integrate with control and digital signage technologies to provide an incredibly engaging and interactive experience. With the possibilities these solutions bring, the only limit is your imagination.

Sometimes, simple solutions which solve obvious problems can be a real blessing for AV integrators. This was certainly the case when we met the team from Shure who introduced us to the MXA Mute; a stylish and configurable PoE mute button equipped with an LED status ring to give users an immediate indication of whether a call is muted or not. The MXA Mute can be integrated into meeting spaces and is compatible with third-party control systems, enabling users to instantly mute a call with one simple press rather than frantically navigating control interfaces or laptop settings.

As we got a chance to review the wider Shure portfolio, our team were also impressed with the MXA920 Ceiling Array Microphone, certified for MS Teams and Zoom, as well as the sleek and stylish MXA710 Linear Array Microphone which boasts unprecedented flexibility to meet the requirements of small to large meeting spaces whilst subtly blending into any room’s aesthetics.

Whilst it would be impossible to mention everyone we saw at the show, we would like to thank Waseem and the Barco team for going talking through the latest ClickShare updates, the team at Yealink who were showcasing their new 4K Dual-Eye UVC86 Camera and to the LG representatives who took us through the latest developments in their display portfolio.

There is no doubt the Midwich TechXpo was a resounding success and we would once again like to thank Anton and the Midwich team for the outstanding effort they put in.

If you are interested in any of the products we have featured, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Our team would be delighted to discuss your requirements.