What does ISE represent?

ISE stands for Integrated Systems Europe. It's the largest exhibition in the field of AV and systems integration. Each year, the show welcomes thousands of exhibitors and visitors for four days, discussing the latest innovations and trends within the AV world.

Nicolas: "For the second time, ISE took place in Barcelona and I went there with my fellow business partner Simon. It's our annual appointment, although it had been a while ago. The previous editions were cancelled or took place only at the very last minute so we were extremely relieved to be there again this year. It is the perfect place to meet our partners and suppliers in real life."

What struck you most at ISE 2023?

Simon: "First of all, it is clear that (technology) fairs are 'alive and kicking' again. Nothing beats personal, physical contacts. Even in a digital world. We strongly believe in the power of technology, although we always combine it with real-life interaction. That's where we believe you can really make a difference as an organisation."

Simon: "Furthermore, there were once again a lot of visitors and exhibition stands at ISE, it is clear that the AV business continues to thrive."

Nicolas: "Another remarkable thing is that it became a real meeting fair. Whereas suppliers used to prefer to show off the biggest and most beautiful stand, the contacts themselves have now become much more important."

Nicolas: "Some companies have a completely different approach that makes them stand out from the crowd. Samsung for instance, also provided space to show how they want to become carbon neutral. Together with your own account manager, you could still go through their product range, although there was attention for other aspects as well. Not only does this make a visit much more personal, you can also gather more specific information and get inspired."

What does the future hold for technology?

Simon: "LED is clearly taking over. There was much less projection than in other years, although it remains the medium of choice to immerse visitors in a unique, creative way. Especially when you want to tell a fully immersive story using special shapes. With standard LEDs, you cannot go beyond the square shape unless you opt for special, curved LEDs."

Simon: "For instance, our partner Epson had a beautiful exhibition stand with projection on the wall and floor. Barco, too, is still betting on projection to create an immersive experience."

Nicolas: "We see this rise of LED mainly in rooms where people work closely together on certain projects. It serves as visual support and I think its use will only increase."

What are the innovations that we should keep an eye on?

Nicolas: "If there's one trend you should pay attention to, it's the virtual production studio. These are LED walls that are so good in terms of colour and image quality that they're perfect for livestreams. The LED wall is then used as a backdrop or background for a video (call)."

Simon: "This makes the investment of such LED wall also very well defendable as it becomes multi-purpose. Not only can you show interesting content on it, you can also use the LED wall as a backdrop for a physical or virtual meeting, webinar, livestream, ..."

Nicolas: "A fun gimmick are the 21:9 screens. You can compare the format with two screens side by side, but with one canvas. This gives you an extremely large screen, which is a nice extra for an application such as Microsoft Frontrow, for example. The application allows you to virtually sit at the table with the people who are physically present in a room."