Earlier this month, we braved the onslaught of “the storm of the century”, Storm Ciara, and defied all odds to travel to the RAI Amsterdam for this year’s Integrated Systems Europe. It was well worth the trip, with mind-blowing audio-visual displays and innovative installations filling every square inch of the exhibition centre. Exhibiting for the second time along with 1,300 others, we had a truly fantastic show and relished in the opportunity it presented to speak face-to-face with our existing customers. We met a whole lot of new faces over the four days too, so are now even more excited about what’s in store for the year ahead.
Wings, water-cooling, and a wall of PoE
Stationed in Hall 15 among the likes of HP, Dell Technologies, and Google Cloud, our stand was completely kitted out with some of our most impressive applications. This included an entire wall dedicated solely to our Intel-based Power over Ethernet (PoE) products; our 1U NUC, Fanless NUC, and Bantam PCs. The units proved incredibly popular and really got our customers talking about the power of PoE. Our 3U PC also succeeded in attracting a lot of attention, its open lid proudly showing off two AMD Radeon Pro graphics cards to the delight of passing AV professionals and gamers alike. Equally as cool, our 2U PC was host to a bespoke water-cooling solution for AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 3970X live on the stand, featuring reengineered Alphacool parts we’d designed specifically for the application. High above the stand, our highly portable 2U Nano flew on neon wings, demonstrating its suitability for transport in flight cases.
Lots to see at this year’s ISE
In spite of industry leader LG Electronics’ absence as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in China, there were countless new technologies and solutions across the show’s 15 halls to get our teeth into. This included a particularly notable installation from Epson, #EpsonUnboxed, which featured a revolving projection-mapped box that housed a Formula One racing car. Speaking of racing, Christie also caught our attention with their Scalextric track – using RFID tags, the cars were tracked and images projected in their wake. This theme of gaming continued throughout the Audio and Live Events Hall, with Panasonic displaying a panel of gamers competing in real-time on their 4K screen. Possibly the most controversial installation, however, was Vogel’s pole-dancing robot, “Elettre”, which appeared to demonstrate the robust nature of their display mounts, but not without raising a few eyebrows in the process.
Take a tour of the stand
If you missed us at ISE and didn’t get the chance to hear from our MD Chris Hollidge, you’re in luck! We sat down with AV Magazine while at the show to film for AVTV and gave them a unique insight into why our design-led approach to computer engineering sets us apart from other manufacturers and why we believe PoE is a huge game-changer for AV integrators. For a quick tour of our stand and to learn more about our solutions, watch the video here.
Back for Barcelona
We’re looking forward to seeing how the show will transfer as it heads to Barcelona next year. ISE 2021 will take place at Gran Via, part of the Fira de Barcelona complex, from 2nd – 5th February. We hope to see you there!
