Was there any game changing tech at ISE 2025 ?
Maybe not game changing, but Powersoft’s newly released NOTA (POE+ powered) amplifiers were impressive. It is tiny, probably 2 to 3 inches long by an inch square. So, if somebody wants to upgrade a system and wants say, a room to be included in their background music system, we can just put one of those in. We can then connect speakers to it and they’re good to go, well, as long as they provide us with the network connection. Innosonix have a slightly bigger version – the μMA04/POE, but it’s still quite a small unit. The Innosonix has the added benefit of having DANTE as well as AES67 capability.
What is the normal size?
The amplifiers we tend to use for background music, for example, will be around 19 inches wide. They sit in a rack and need cabling – going from the amp to wherever the speakers are. If we’re using audio over the network, we can just put these in anywhere e.g. ceiling voids or anywhere convenient and they don’t need a power supply as the networks provides the power. They’re not massively powerful, I think the Powersoft one was 2 channels at about 100 watts per channel. Saying that, for background music and that sort of thing or even in a home that’s more than enough, possibly for small office as well.
What was one of the main technologies which caught your attention at ISE 2025?
There was a lot of focus on video walls. They seem to be one of the big things at the moment.
Why is that?
It’s because they have micro-LED detail with different shapes and flexibility. Plus, the touch screens offer new uses, such as an interactive path from Roe.
The micro-LED solutions are interesting. They have panels which are now down to, I think it’s something like 0.9 millimetre so the detail on them is incredible. It’s really good too as the box doesn’t need too much power like the other ones. It is much easier to install. They are robust as well, they put an acrylic over the top of their panels, the Hikvision rep literally whacked it with his fist hard. It didn’t even flicker. Great for spaces where there is risk of the tech getting bashed a bit from passing traffic like schools, retail or leisure venues.
LG were presenting their transparent screen technology a fair bit. They’d even got a lot a transparent glass touchscreen pane set up, so you could swipe and rotate and configure a pair of sunglasses. You could change the colour of the lenses in the frames and whatever then spin the product round and order it from the panel. Great for retail.
LG also showcased a massive kinetic video wall. They set it up to upload a scanned photo of yourself and then turn it into a pop art abstract colour image. It then popped up on one of the cubes on this video wall. then all the cubes moved in and out and spun round, making the whole thing this moving artwork.
Where do you think this technology would be a good fit?
I think it would work for retailers or maybe for a corporate client, if they want to make a real statement in their reception area.
Another good solution for this was from LANG-AG. They showcased a semi-transparent LED video wall, which was in the video (you can see here). It is an LED lattice which gives a video wall effect on one side with a plain background on the other side. At ISE 2025 the video wall showed a waterfall effect. It makes a great focal point and would be great in retail window displays, in hospitality or leisure environments and corporate reception areas.
Was there a lot of iteration at ISE 2025? Which iterations caught your attention and why?
There was definitely more evolution than revolution. As an example, Samsung, Sony and LG’s hospitality TVs now offer Google Cast built into the screen, so you don’t need any additional units. This helps a lot for IPTV distribution.
Lutron gave more options. Now they produce toggle switches where previously we would have had to find them elsewhere. Having these from Lutron makes it a lot easier to integrate and programme an entire system.
Some new network Crestron ceiling speakers (SAROS DM-NAX-IC4A-W) were quite interesting, though again, not particularly powerful. They were only about 25 watts or so but for background music it’s quite good. You can run 4 speakers in the line of one powered network connection. With these network ceiling speakers, you don’t need amplifiers. They’re a bit more expensive but the trade-off is the removal of the amount of speaker cable you use for amplifiers. This isn’t needed when you can just run a network cable to each group of speakers.
K-Array came out with a new pair of floor standing speakers – The Dolomite. Can’t immediately see where we’re going to use them, but they sounded really nice. When you look at the size of them and the power of the audio quality, it’s probably going to be super prime residential, hospitality or leisure. It’s one of those things you really need to get somebody sat in front of.
madVR offered a great VR video processor which automatically changes the aspect ratio without affecting the content. So, it doesn’t distort the image or cut off the edges of the picture and that sort of thing. One advantage of these VR boxes is they improve the picture quality even on a lower budget projector. So, there is a cost saving and sustainability impact here. It avoids spending a lot more on a higher-end projector and could delay the need to replace an older model.
Power Distribution from Gude was interesting. They do predominantly rack mounted Power Distribution blocks, and they have expanded their range. So now you can power USB devices off their Power Distribution blocks. These USB sockets offer better control – you can switch them on and off individually. There was one with 8 connections but they split them into two banks of four. So you could have your audio equipment on one and then new video equipment on the other. This would avoid any potential power interference on your audio equipment, keeping it nice and clear. It might be a little thing but when you’re spending many thousands on an audio system, it can make a difference to the quality of the final outcome.
Having the new USB connector on the end also means you can plug equipment directly into the power supply and remotely access it (well, as long as you’re connected to the Internet). This has advantages from a support point of view. If a unit is playing up, they could remotely log in and reboot the individual unit. Plus, monitor power usage and that sort of thing. Other manufacturers offer the same thing, I just felt Gude just brought everything together a little bit better. It’s not necessarily the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
How would you sum up your experience at ISE 2025?
Overall it was very good and definitely worth going though nothing was really game changing. A lot of the stuff that we looked at we had actually heard announcements about the new products prior to going. So, there were no surprises revealed there. Saying that, it really helps to physically see and touch things to appreciate them. The demos are especially useful. It is so huge, it is quite difficult to really appreciate what some of the things got on offer can do e.g. how you can successfully put a speaker in a glass box. It is a great show and for one colleague it literally brought them new joy in this industry. Well done to the organisers.
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