New Keynote Focuses on Smart Building Technologies; New Courses Worth InfoComm CTS RUs; Industry Veteran Tom Stimson Joins Tour

Philadelphia, PA — Almo Professional A/V, in partnership with InfoComm International, invites AV resellers, integrators and consultants to “Navigate to New Horizons” at the first E4 AV Tour event of 2014 in Dallas on March 11. E4 Dallas will include a first-run keynote address focused on pre-engineering AV into smart buildings, and new courses led by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Tom Stimson, past president of InfoComm International. E4 Dallas will also feature a dynamic array of more than 35 manufacturing partners and infinite networking opportunities with business colleagues and other AV professionals.

Now in its fifth year, the E4 tour continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of AV resellers, integrators and consultants. Credited as the industry’s most specialized one-day dealer event, E4 has traveled to countless cities to serve the product, technical and business training needs of thousands of resellers and installers while creating the ideal forum for professional networking.

“While we continue to build on each E4, the successful formula for our event remains the same,” said Melody Craigmyle, vice president of marketing for Almo Professional A/V. “We are returning to the Dallas venue we visited in 2012 to spend time with a concentrated group of Almo partners in a city that is home to one of our largest local warehouses and our newest sales VP Sean McNeill.”

Like the “Navigate to New Horizons” theme suggests, Craigmyle noted that attendees can expect a lot of firsts at E4 Dallas, including new products from Samsung, Sharp Aquos, Planar, Canon and BrightSign. “Well-known industry veteran Tom Stimson has joined the tour to share his expertise on how to win more business in today’s changing reseller world. And we have a new keynote on the emerging importance of integrating AV into the Building Information Management (BIM) layer,” Craigmyle explained.

According to keynote speaker Gary Kayye, chief visionary at Kayye Consulting, “AV has finally hit the mainstream, crossing the chasm from early adopter to early majority and we're about to be specified by every architect and facility manager on the planet. And if you want to be part of the impending explosive growth that's about to occur with pre-engineering AV into every room in new construction, you'll need to learn all about Smart Building technology yourself so that you can become a preferred provider to the architect or facility manager.”

E4 Dallas will include the following courses, worth a total of nine valuable InfoComm Renewal Units:

• Audio Gain Structure Andre LeJeune, InfoComm International Learn two easy methods for setting gain structure in an audio system
• Demystifying Media Players for Digital Signage Jonathan Brawn, Brawn Consulting (Sponsored by Samsung) Demystify the concepts and specifications of media players, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type and understand the emerging technologies that can change the deployment of digital signage
• Don’t Be a Commodity: Dealing with RFPs (Highlighted E4 AV Tour Addition) Tom Stimson, Stimson Group, LLC Discover how to turn price shoppers into value customers
• Assessing Network Readiness for AV Systems Andre LeJeune, InfoComm International Review documentation, demo a free network planning tool and discuss what to do when an unexpected error occurs
• How to Compete Against Old-School AV Dealers (Highlighted E4 AV Tour Addition) Tom Stimson, Stimson Group, LLC Discusses how to modernize the basic business model to include services with the product sale
• The Ins and Outs of Projector Edge Blending Technology Dave Arnott, NEC Demonstrates how to complete a proper edge blend technique to display a single, high-resolution image
• Five Technologies that Will Impact AV Joe Cornwall, C2G Explores the five wired/wireless technologies that will deliver the greatest effect on deployment of digital video infrastructure over the next five years
• Metrics and Analytics for ROI in Digital Signage Jonathan Brawn, Brawn Consulting Focuses on understanding digital signage analytics and measurement tools and technologies for realistic expectations and a positive outcome for a project

E4 Dallas Details E4 Dallas is on March 11, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas and runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is an entirely free event, including parking, for Almo Pro A/V’s reseller, integrator and consultant partners. To register, go to www.e4avtour.com. The E4 AV program can be accessed on demand during and after each event for instructor videos, copies of the course presentations and live Twitter updates. More information about E4 Dallas will be available prior to the event.

About the E4 AV Tour Launched in December 2009, The E4 AV tour is a free, full-day program with an intense educational focus that allows partners to earn valuable InfoComm International CTS RUs while networking with the industry’s top manufacturers. Thousands of professionals have attended the E4 events across the nation, resulting in hundreds of well-earned InfoComm RUs, countless business connections, and thousands of products shown and sold through this event. For more information, go to www.e4avtour.com.

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About InfoComm International InfoComm International® is the international trade association representing the professional audiovisual and information communications industries. Established in 1939, InfoComm has more than 5,000 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, independent consultants, programmers, rental and staging companies, end-users and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. InfoComm International is the leading resource for AV standards, market research and news. Its training, certification and education programs set a standard of excellence for AV professionals. InfoComm International is the founder of InfoComm, the largest annual conference and exhibition for AV buyers and sellers worldwide. InfoComm also produces trade shows in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and China. Additional information is available at www.infocomm.org.

About Almo Professional A/V Almo Professional A/V provides the industry’s most advanced product distribution, training and education, and technical support options available for the Pro AV community. With a highly skilled sales team, reseller education programs, seven distribution centers across the U.S. and product lines for the Pro A/V channel, Almo Professional A/V provides customers with the full distribution experience on a local and a personal level. Almo Professional A/V is a division of Almo Corp., the nation’s leading independent distributor of consumer electronics and major appliances. For more information about Almo Professional A/V, please call 888-420-2566 or go to www.almoproav.com. Almo Professional A/V can also be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/almoproav and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/almoproav.

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