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How Mobile Tech Is Changing Post-Production

November 8th, 2011

“The only constant in life is change.” There’s another old saying about life’s promises – something about “death and taxes” – but we’ll leave that for the philosophers. For the present purpose, “change” means “progress,” such as the use of powerful new mobile technologies (“mobile tech”) at both ends of the entertainment media spectrum, creation and consumption.

Mobile Technology

New, smaller “targets”

On the creation side, mobile tech changed entertainment production and post-production by bringing additional target devices to the broadcast/distribution mix. Instead of preparing final output for just movie screens, TV or color print jobs, production pros now have smart phones, tablets, game consoles and iPad rental to consider. People are consuming content by the cyberbushel these days on all these devices.

The pros that produce all this content are doing so in new, decentralized ways because that same mobile tech keeps them plugged in to their production cycles from afar. The main challenge for content creators is preparing the vast majority of media that is going to be broadcast via live streaming. Apple, among many other firms, knows that the future of broadcast is the Internet, and has crafted super-potent hardware like the Mac Pro and flexible software like Final Cut to take us there. In the field of mobile tech, continuing education is not optional.

Enabling technologies

Already a media pro favorite, the iPad has over a dozen apps for remote control of a computer. Other mobile tech advances enable post pros to control their computers remotely via smart phones, Android tablets or a MacBook Pro, as well. And there are plenty of other mobile tech tools that empower the “virtual team” model – audio- and/or video-conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging and collaborative work environments (think Google Docs or iCloud) where project information and documentation can be shared.

Creative work can be done on a PC desktop computer rental in L.A. and integrated into workflows in India, Ireland or Italy, if need be, but when personal contact is required, many teams use video for virtual meetings. Both in-house solutions and “pre-fab” conference websites like LiveMeeting are critical for teams distributed across cities, states and nations. All major operating systems (OS) and environments that connect to the Internet will support this kind of collaboration, so Mac OSX, iOS 5, Android 3.0, Windows 7 and Linux users are all welcome to team up, virtually speaking.

Bottom line

Of course, it bears repeating that managing production and post-production does not depend on what kind of smart phone apps you have, or whether you’re working on a PC or an iMac. It comes down to planning, execution and oversight, all of which depend on good communication. Good communication is good management, all other things being equal.

Mobile tech has changed production in the entertainment industry, it’s true, but there’s another old saying about change that you should remember: The more things change, the more they stay the same. This applies to CRE, because no matter how far technology advances, you can count on us to be right on the leading edge. A call or e-mail is all it takes to get an experienced Account Executive on the job for you, or you can use the Quick Rental Quote form if you know what you need. Whatever the challenge, CRE is here to empower you.

First Look: Will iCloud Reign?

October 27th, 2011

Although you can use it as an remote archive, Apple’s new iCloud service that debuted on October 12th is not primarily for storage. It is made to keep your data synchronized among your iOS devices and computers (Mac, PC). After it’s set up, you can work on your iPad rental and know that the document will instantly be ready for editing on any synced device. Transferring files by e-mail or USB flash drives is on the fast track to obsolescence.

iCloud by Apple

How iCloud works

First off, iCloud doesn’t work without the latest OS X Lion update, 10.7.2, and the latest iTunes update, 10.5. For better iCloud integration, Safari also got a bump to 5.1.1. Pages, Numbers and Keynote – the iWork programs that run on every Macintosh, from the cutting-edge laptops to the mighty Mac Pro – now sync documents via iCloud. Contacts, Calendar and Mail data also updates automatically on multiple devices. Just as importantly, iCloud also stores device settings, apps, screen layouts, ring tones and text messages, so all your vital data comes with you when you upgrade devices.

The new Photo Stream lets you download up to 1,000 photos for 30 days without counting against your storage total (see “What’s the deal?” below). Third-party apps can also leverage iCloud services, and it’s vital to remember that iCloud is “open territory” where tablet PC rentals running Windows are free to roam, too. Future blogs will update you on the features developers implement for their various iCloud products and services.

What’s the deal?

You get 5GB of iCloud storage for free, and iTunes music, e-books, apps and Photo Stream pics do not count toward your total. Your iCloud real estate will be populated by documents, application data, mail, non-Photo Stream photos, settings and other information. You can buy more storage for annual fees of $20 (10GB), $40 (20GB) and $100 (50GB), but Apple’s customer research indicates that 5GB of storage should be sufficient for most people. There are numerous variables – the size of your Camera Roll, how many documents you carry around, how much application data you’re amassing, etc. – so you will have to figure out what works for you.

iTunes Match confuses

There is a possible point of confusion with iCloud, and that revolves around iTunes integration. When you buy tracks from iTunes, they are automatically synced to your devices and don’t count toward your free storage total. However, if you want to sync music that was not purchased from iTunes, the privilege requires paying $25 a year for the separate iTunes Match service.

CRE, like Apple, is all about “value added” and excellence. From Audience Response Systems (ARS) to high-end digital gear and Xserve for that new post-production project, we’ve got you covered. One simple call or e-mail puts an experienced Account Executive on the job for you, while a couple of clicks gets the ball rolling with our Quick Rental Quote. We’re ready with solutions for whatever challenges you face!

iOS vs. Android – Feature by Feature

October 20th, 2011

Although Apple has monopolized the headlines lately – Steve Jobs’ death, the new iPhone 4S and iOS 5 – Google hasn’t let Android gather any dust. In fact, Honeycomb advanced to 3.1 before iOS 5 debuted, but runs only on “large display devices” (tablets). Android phones have to settle for version 2.3. On the other hand, Apple’s iOS 5 runs on the iPhone, the iPod touch and the iPad. Let’s take a quick look at both.

iOS vs. Android

What’s New: The best additions to iOS 5 are iMessage, iCloud support, native Twitter, enhanced Camera features and “multitasking gestures” for iPad 2. Android 3.1 rolled out the new “refined” UI (User Interface), a Recent Apps list, customizable Home screen and improved browsing.

Battery Life: This depends on your hardware, and there are many different Android tablets. You can rent laptops with battery time up to five or six hours, but tablet batteries last longer (up to 10 hours). In limited tests, iOS devices seemed to have slightly shorter battery life than Android models.

Browser support: Web surfing on a iMac rental is no different (except for screen size) than on an iOS device. Safari Reader now displays web articles without ads for offline reading. Android 3.1 also improved browsing, but has been weaker in this area.

User Interface (UI): Apple’s UIs changed the world. OS X Lion (10.7) is fabulous on a Mac Pro rental, while iOS 5 is also efficient and elegant. Google’s primary goal with Android 3.1 was refining the look, but it’s still a work in progress.

Third-Party Support: Android is open source software, based on Linux, which means more opportunities for more developers to improve it over time. Apple’s iOS 5 platform is not open source, and developers need to register with Apple and jump through the many hoops keeping Apple’s “ecosystem” in order. Of course, many of these hoops are actually quality control steps, which is why iOS apps meet a higher standard.

Apps & Games Availability: Apple’s App Store has over 300,000 apps – utilities, games, networking, social media, productivity, etc. – while there are some 100,000 in the Android Market.

Flash Support: Flash support used to be a big advantage for Android. The new iOS 5 provides full Flash support (for you tech-heads, it is done by “on-the-fly transcoding”). Flash apps are still not usable, but Flash video is now viewable, a welcome addition for iPad rental users, but an original feature of Android.

Conclusion: It’s silly to condescend to either Apple iOS 5 or Android 3.1. Both have new features making them even more efficient, reliable and robust. There is tough competition ahead between Android 3.1 and Apple iOS 5, as new products are introduced to make maximum use of their advanced features. We will keep you posted.

CRE’s high-tech rentals solve production bottlenecks, while our expert event production services empower you at trade shows and conferences. One call or e-mail (or a few clicks on our Quick Rental Quote page) puts an experienced Account Executive on the job for you right now!

Engage Customers with Touch Technology

September 29th, 2011

Yankee Group analysts estimate that Apple Stores earn about $5,000 per square foot, surpassing even Tiffany’s $2,700 figure. Among the reasons for their success? The stores are totally “touchy feely.” Touchscreens abound while self-paced intros and other multimedia programming pull buyers ever deeper into the “Apple Universe.”

At your next trade show or conference, you too can engage customers with touch technology. Whether you equip your trade show booth with an LCD touchscreen monitor rental, or use one in combination with ipads or tablets, the hands-on approach is a winner with customers everywhere.

Why use touch technology?

Visitors to your trade show booth will be (a) people you invited or (b) passersby motivated to stop. They need some sort of business solution, and your product or service may be it. How do you engage them?

Set up your touch-enabled devices so that you can capture trade show prospects with a plasma display rental running an animated invitation or video. Or, showcase touch-to-learn presentations, sales collateral materials or technical papers installed on iPad rental, tablets or touch-enabled monitors.

It is easy enough to connect a Mac Pro to touchscreen monitors, but what if your product is PC software, what do you do? CRE has an all-in-one multitouch display PC that is perfect for you. And don’t forget, if you have a tangible product (or an intangible, like software, in a tangible box), people will want to “touch” that, too.

Tips to engage customers

Once you get people’s attention, you have to deliver a good show. Here are some tips:

• Trade show visitors complain about leaving booths feeling “unimportant.” You must be personally proactive and not simply rely on trade show convention rentals and equipment to do the whole job.

• Your presentations and interactive marketing tools are not just visual. Sound design is critical, so get your creative folks to find the right sound effects, dialog and background music for the effect you seek.

• Finally, don’t forget that you can rent interactive kiosks that are touchscreen-equipped, as well. These are handy for capturing contact information in places you can’t be.

You want to create a smooth, flowing process: Capture passersby, use your touch-enabled tools to let them “try before buying,” turn them loose at their own pace – then be on hand to answer any questions.

Want to learn how to use touch technology at your next trade show or event? Call or e-mail an Account Executive who can walk you through all the “touch” tools we carry. If you know what you need, use the Quick Rental Quote form right now!

Impressing Conference Attendees, Part 1

September 21st, 2011

Conventions and conferences are tremendous opportunities to reach the right kind of people, the ones that need your product or service (whether they know it or not). Appearing at the right venues will enhance your brand identity and increase your firm’s visibility, while you are simultaneously generating leads and driving new sales. As a leading provider of state-of-the-art event production services, CRE Rentals can not only advise you – we can equip you.

Participating in the right events helps you

• make new business connections,

• keep abreast of industry trends,

• observe your competitors in action and

• hone your marketing and sales strategies.

Naturally, you will want to impress attendees without breaking the bank, and much of the answer lies in the old “4P Method” – Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Remember, too, that most cost overruns are due to excessive revision and redundancy. So (1) do things right the first time and (2) stay on schedule.

Your pre-event checklist

• The first thing that will impress conference attendees is an invitation. You can use e-mail blasts, phone calls, press releases and other approaches in the mix that works best for you. Target existing customers, prospects, business leaders, industry analysts, bloggers and anyone else who may be interested – or should be!

• To ensure you have the right exhibit to fulfill your marketing goals (within your budget, of course) you should check out different booth designs. You will need visual appeal, so CRE plasma rentals should be at the top of your list.

• If you do a little research, you can discover what unique and creative booth ideas generated buzz on the exhibition floor of other conferences. Not everyone you invite will show up, so you must attract visitors to your booth.

• Consider which accessories, lighting setups and audio visual rentals will solidify your brand image. Compelling sights should be used in tandem with compelling sounds – without blasting the neighbors, of course.

• Also: Stock some cost-effective giveaways, make sure your booth staff project a professional image, prepare a talking points one-sheet and be proactive in steering people to your exhibit area.

Two overlooked strategies

Early Bird – Start your pre-conference promotion before the ink dries on your booth contract. If you have sales and field personnel using iPad rentals, make sure they carry PDF versions of your promo pieces, and tell them to spread the news.

Cast a Net – Most industries have numerous conferences and trade shows every year, but many firms cannot afford to go to more than one. If this is your situation, arrange to get your promotional materials to associates in non-competitive industries that are exhibiting at shows scheduled before yours.

Call or e-mail an Account Executive for all your on-site production needs, as well as trade show expertise. Know what you need? Use the Quick Rental Quote form right now!

Don’t forget to check out Part 2 of “Impressing Conference Attendees” on Thursday, September 22nd.

5 Great iPad Apps for Events

September 6th, 2011

Mobile, powerful, flexible and customizable, the original iPad was already a great device for event planning when we blogged about the subject in January of this year. Since then, we have seen the introduction of a potent upgrade, the iPad 2, with plenty of new (as well as newly improved) apps. Here are five great iPad apps for events.

Flexible planner

OmniGraffle, by The Omni Group, is among the most expensive iPad apps (at $49.99), but is worth every cent. With simple gestures you can draw shapes, make notes and develop your ideas, while templates (called “stencils”) help you track convention rentals, create floor plans, visualize processes and manage people. You can output PDFs or transfer your files to OmniGraffle for Mac with this professional-grade app.

Banquet boss

You can get a lot of power for less, too, like $2.99 for myBanquet by Upiksoft. It gives you everything you need to manage food services for small meetings or annual shareholder conferences. You can import contacts, design floor plans, assign seating, manage guest lists/RSVPs and more. You can also save banquet plans for reuse and share them with other myBanquet users. There are similar programs for tablet PC rentals or laptops, but the iPad’s small form factor and ease of use make it the platform of choice.

Travel troubles?

GroundLink lets you book car service in seconds for today, tomorrow or next month. As opposed to some “limo” apps that work only in select cities, GroundLink works around the world. With the app running on one of our iPad rentals, you can see what vehicles are available, track the arrival of your car with a specified ETA, view your route and check the charges prior to booking.

The simple things

Avantar’s free White & Yellow Pages app has comprehensive listings and powerful search functions. Search for people and businesses – by industry, name, address or phone number – and work with the results to add/edit contacts, save favorites, link to sites and get GPS driving directions. Whether you need to find a photographer or some plasma rentals, this phone book is all you need.

Ever improving Evernote

The free Evernote app is the original iOS “cloud service.” Its evolving set of capabilities can help you plan an event of any size, style or purpose. Simply create a “notebook” for your event and save your notes, ideas, photos, Web sites, contacts, contracts and voice memos. You can install the appropriate Evernote program on everything from iPhones to iMac rentals, too, to keep everything (and everyone) in sync.

When you and your digital workflow are out of sync, a simple call or e-mail to our experienced Account Executives can get you back on track. With post-production gear (like AJA Io HD rentals) and everything you need for a successful trade show exhibit (like LCD touchscreen monitor rentals), we’ve got you covered – completely. (Know what you need? Use our handy Quick Rental Quote form.)

Best iPad Apps for Marketers (Part 2 of 2)

August 18th, 2011

Today, we are wrapping up our list of best iPad apps for Marketers (check out Part 1 ). These mobile marketing tools include iPad apps for event organizers to news aggregators and more. Let’s jump right in.

iPad apps

iPad apps for planning and event management

Great marketing campaigns succeed because the responsibilities are defined, the tasks organized and the schedule followed. Personal planners, like Todo, help make all that happen, and document how, as you proceed step by step to your goals. The app syncs with iCal or Outlook calendars, including ones shared on iMac rentals, enabling you to schedule reminders, set alerts, keep a conference team in sync and manage your contacts. ($4.99)

Bento is something like Todo, as it also helps you organize customers and contacts. It has a “big brand” pedigree, though, as it is from the makers of Filmaker Pro, a full-fledged relational database. Like Filemaker, Bento can track projects, organize meetings and plan events. With 25 templates to customize for whatever you could possibly have to organize – a Keynote presentation, your customer contacts, an event schematic or date/time lists of things to do – Bento will take you all the way. ($4.99)

Apps for news, info and connections

Flipboard is an “aggregator,” not a creator of original content. According to your preferences and how much personal data you are willing to give up, the app scours the Internet to present just what you want in a slick, magazine-style layout. Mix business magazines with The Onion, subscribe to whatever feeds you want and monitor your Twitter, Google Reader, Facebook and Flickr accounts. You can keep multiple “boards” with different kinds of contacts and information, making Flipboard an excellent communications solution for business and personal use. (Free)

It’s not the first app to turn into a cult, but Instapaper Pro users in the millions (yes, millions) swear it changed their lives. This potent product lets you save Web pages for later offline reading – just click to save the “good stuff,” which you can then access from smart phones, laptop rentals and other devices. It is unsurpassed as a browser tool for researchers, writers, corporate creatives and tech professionals – and the marketing pros that sometimes wear all those hats. ($4.99)

All apps are available at the App Store, iTunes, the developer’s site and other locations.

CRE doesn’t just have the best, most powerful high-tech tools – from Xserve rentals for networking to the post-production pro’s best friend, our render farm rentals – but expert Account Executives to provide specific solutions to your unique challenges. A quick call or e-mail, or a visit to our Quick Rental Quote page, will get you what you need to get you to your goal. It’s what we do.

Best iPad Apps for Marketers (Part 1 of 2)

August 16th, 2011

One reason for the Apple iPad’s astonishing success is its versatility. CRE’s experience with iPad rentals shows they can be all things to all people – a sketchpad for designers, a portable presentation platform for exhibitors, even a mobile video editor. It’s because of the high-quality apps developed for iOS, the software platform iPads share with the iPhone.

iPad Apps

The App Store launched in July 2008 with 500 apps. Apple approved the 500,000th app in late May of this year. From among them, pundits and end-users have made various lists of iPad marketing apps, many overlapping in their suggestions. Of the many apps for tracking trends, leveraging social media, publishing content, planning marketing campaigns and analyzing results, here are the Best iPad Apps for Marketers (Part 1 today, Part 2 on Thursday, August 18th).

Socializing = networking

You will need some or all of your networking apps – Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – but it is easy to overload and get bogged down. Here comes HootSuite to the rescue, managing your multiple profiles. HootSuite integrates them all so you can post breaking news, locate people, manage schedules, track stats and monitor lists, #hashtags and keywords. (Free)

Content is king

If you have a WordPress blog, the WordPress app for iPad is a no-brainer. A “lite” version focused on easy blogging, it’s best to do page design and other major work on a computer. Still, the widescreen layout gives you plenty of room to write, edit, moderate comments, add/remove images and stay on top of your content wherever you are. WordPress also released a plug-in that makes Web sites “iPad friendly”. (Both free)

Photos and graphics

Pictures do speak louder (and faster) than words. They bring life and energy to blogs, marketing brochures and e-mail ads. Photoshop Express, now at version 2.0, is the perfect photo-editing tool for on-the-go marketing pros, a simple but sophisticated app for creating, cropping, rotating, revising and repurposing photos and images. (Free, optional tool pack $3.99)

Analyze sites and monitor ROI

AnalyticsPro is a powerful, flexible app that uses your Google Analytics account for on-the-fly decision-making. You can get detailed reports on Search Keywords, Top Content, Top 10 Countries, Referral Sources, Traffic Sources, etc., and analyze the Return On Investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns. You can export those reports as PDF and other formats, and view them on everything from smart phones to tablet PC rentals. ($5.99)

All apps are available at the App Store, iTunes, the developer’s site and other locations.

Deadlines ahead? Conference coming? An Account Executive will help you get just what you need, to get where you need to go. Make a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll get you what you need to succeed – indeed!

Watch for Part 2 of Best iPad Apps for Marketers coming up on Thursday, August 18th.

7 Simple Steps for Greener Meetings

August 9th, 2011

The “green” movement promotes the wise use of existing energy and the development of new, renewable resources. It’s a long-term goal, certainly, and one that CRE supports, but in the meantime you can still bring green thinking to your company’s meetings, conferences and other events. Stay on the road to sustainability with 7 simple steps for greener meetings.

1. Save trees. Materials can be distributed via Web sites, e-mail or peer-to-peer communication using iPad rentals, WiFi-enabled laptops and smart phones. For everything from pre-event PR to post-event customer follow-up, cross-platform file formats like PDF and HTML make it easy to reach wired and wireless devices of every kind.

2. Make a personal pitch. Whether in a PC video chat, over the phone, in a YouTube clip or, better yet, in person, you need to open your mouth and promote that meeting, seminar or trade show presence. Put promotional materials on the tablet PC rentals that you provide your conference team.

3. Cultivate “enviro-allies”. Share your company’s green statement, or a new one created for your planned event, with vendors, attendees, exhibitors and speakers. Get everyone on the same page and working together toward a mutual goal.

recycling bins

4. The three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Your efforts to use the three Rs should be visible and accessible. As you reduce the use of paper, also reuse glassware instead of buying disposable cups and recycle as much metal, glass and plastic trash as you can.

5. Energy saving plans. Whether you’re running the show or using CRE’s event production services, you will need to ensure, among other things, that lights and air conditioning are turned off in empty rooms. You can tailor other energy-efficient strategies depending on the event type and building.

6. Eat green. Make local, seasonal produce part of the fare if you are also playing caterer. Fresh, healthy foods are never out of style, and eating wisely is an important part of a positive lifestyle.

7. Save gas and time. For off-site events, keep traveling distances short. The host city should be close to as many attendees as possible, and within that city pick one of the hotel conference centers near the airport.

Meeting planning and convention rentals are just two areas of CRE Rentals’ broad expertise, which ranges from all kinds of computer rentals to serious post-production gear. A simple call or e-mail gets an experienced Account Executive on the job, focused on the solution to your unique challenges. (Know what you need? Use our handy Quick Rental Quote form to start “greening” your next event.)

Gadget Fun for August

August 4th, 2011

Once a month or so we like to show you that high tech can be fun, too. With new ways to connect you to the world – the real one you’re photographing or the virtual one you’re immersed in – and inventive ways for you to express yourself, gadgets may begin their lives as “cool new things” but often wind up being indispensable new tools for creative pros. Let’s check ‘em out.

Hasbro My3D

There are lots of ways to watch 3D movies, so that’s not the aim of this new device that you use with your iPhone or iPod touch. Hasbro’s My3D has seven applications that insert you into virtual worlds like a shark tank (that’s fun?) or an asteroid belt in space. Sure, people have figured out how to watch 3D material on computers like our iMac rentals, but those attempts fail to deliver the “immersive experience” of My3D’s closed goggles. Like the venerable ViewMaster, Hasbro’s My3D opens up new worlds for you to explore.

Eye-Fi Direct Mode

Eye-Fi Direct Mode SD cards send photos wirelessly from your camera to your smart phone. What’s the big deal? Before Direct Mode, you’d use Eye-Fi cards to transfer photos to a computer, a photo-upload service like Flickr or a social site, but you had to access a Wi-Fi hotspot first. What a hassle. Now you can take advantage of the wireless network you carry – your smart phone, CRE laptop rentals with 3G dongles, anything like that – and upload directly to Facebook, Twitter or wherever you want. In essence, it gives your camera the power and connectivity of whatever 3G device you use. Cool!

Wacom Bamboo Stylus for the iPad

Wacom desktop tablets are the unchallenged standard in the industry. Now the company has released the Bamboo Stylus and a companion app, Bamboo Paper, with some of the same great functionality. With the firm, nearly frictionless black rubber tip, using the stylus comes very close to the feel of pen on paper. Using it in place of your finger feels strange the first few times, but you get used to it fast. The Bamboo Paper app is free in Apple’s App Store whether you have the stylus or not. And if you do have the stylus, you can use the app on CRE iPad rentals or your own iPad, as the device is not linked in any way to any certain device. Great stuff!

Whatever cool gadgets you need to plow through your digital workflow, a call or e-mail to CRE’s experienced Account Executives is all that’s required. Use the Quick Rental Quote form if you know what you need, talk to us if you don’t. We don’t charge anything to help you figure out what to do, and then we provide the best tech at the best prices for your CRE solution.

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