Pro AV news, trends, and expert voices for the AV industry
Pro AV Today, hosted by Ben Thomas, covers the latest developments in professional audio-visual technology, including new products, industry trends, and the people driving change across the AV sector. The show gives AV professionals, integrators, and technology buyers a consistent source of expert-driven news and analysis. Published on MarketScale, it reaches a targeted B2B audience across the professional AV industry.
Infrastructure and workforce are the real bottlenecks, not technology
Pro AV Today argues that the industry's next phase depends less on innovation than on solving labor shortages, scaling operations, and aligning with IT infrastructure. The channel backs this through event reports, market data, and operator interviews.
Pro AV Today makes a consistent argument: the audiovisual industry has shifted from a specs-driven technology story to a practical, systems-integration narrative shaped by workforce constraints and IT convergence. The channel validates this through on-the-ground reporting from major industry events, market forecasts grounded in analyst data, and named operator perspectives. The proof pattern is concrete: survey results on talent shortages, market size projections, and direct interviews with practitioners wrestling with scaling, retention, and infrastructure alignment.
Drawn from InfoComm 2026 felt different: less specs, more… and 3 more →
“AV systems now sit squarely on the IT backbone. In fact, the majority of newly upgraded conference rooms require network-centric workflows compared to five years ago.”
Pro AV Today, Episode 2: Real-World IT Practices Are Streamlining AV Deployments
By the numbers
What the channel argues
Who and what shows up
Kumar Sokka
Security industry executive (referenced by title/context in Episode 6)
Discussed balancing rapid innovation with mission values as security buyers include IT, HR, and compliance leaders, reflecting how role evolution is reshaping industry decision-making.
Fredrik Nilsson
Vice President of the Americas, Axis Communications
Spoke to how AI, cloud computing, and new compression standards (AV1) are reshaping security technology deployment and threat detection across industries.
Maile Keone
Assistive audio expert
Discussed how high-quality sound design and innovations like AuraCast and NFC pairing extend beyond traditional hearing aids to reshape accessibility across venues.
Ben Thomas
Host, Pro AV Today
Conducted on-the-ground interviews at InfoComm 2026, Connected America 2025, and other events, synthesizing industry shifts around infrastructure, workforce, and convergence themes.
Questions this channel answers
Why are AV integrators struggling to grow despite rising market demand?
72% of integrators cite talent shortages as their top profitability threat due to retirements, increased project complexity, and rising demand across education, healthcare, and retail sectors. Without new skilled professionals, growth risks project delays and margin erosion.
Talking Recruiting, Retention and Everything in Between … →How is AV converging with IT, and what does that mean for job skills?
AV systems now sit on the IT backbone; the majority of new conference rooms require network-centric workflows. AV professionals must develop IT skills and partner with IT teams as security, cloud adoption, and hybrid work reshape deployment practices.
Real-World IT Practices Are Streamlining AV Deployments … →What are buyers actually looking for at industry events like InfoComm?
Buyers are moving beyond product specifications toward real-world problem-solving and practical deployment strategies. InfoComm 2026 reflected this shift, with conversations focused on innovative solutions to specific industry challenges rather than feature lists.
InfoComm 2026 felt different: less specs, more real prob… →How can smaller AV integrators compete for a larger share of the $422B market by 2029?
Service innovations like LinkLab help integrators scale operations without proportional headcount growth, offering remote support and CTS-certified training to navigate labor shortages, regional growth, and evolving client expectations.
How AV Integrators Can Face the Challenge of Scaling The… →How are immersive technologies reshaping conferencing and accessibility?
HP Dimension with Google Beam delivers 3D spatial realism without headsets at $25,000, while innovations like AuraCast and NFC pairing are making assistive audio more accessible. Both aim to improve trust and communication in hybrid work environments.
Lifelike and Headset-Free: HP’s New Spatial Conferencing… →Best place to start
Talking Recruiting, Retention and Everything in Between for the AV IndustryAnchors the channel's core thesis with hard data: 72% of integrators cite talent shortages as their biggest threat, a finding that explains growth constraints across all episodes.
Real-World IT Practices Are Streamlining AV Deployments and Raising the Bar for ConsistencyExplains the AV-IT convergence reshaping job skills and deployment practices, grounding the channel's argument that infrastructure and governance matter more than product specs.Industry context
Labor market challenges, particularly upskilling and reskilling requirements for existing workforces, are reshaping SME capacity across sectors and regions, as workforce adaptation becomes critical to organizational performance.
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