Barco : Sponsors Bi-Coastal Tech Talk with a PUNCH!

Launching July 11, 2018, AV Smackdown is a new YouTube web series featuring two industry experts discussing and debating the most relevant Pro AV topics of the day. Marketed as 'Bi-Coastal Tech Talk with a Punch,' the series is anchored by Chris Neto and Mark Coxon. Each episode includes an industry thought leader who selects the topic for the episode and acts as guest moderator. The initial episodes were filmed at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas, NV.

AV Smackdown facilitates meaningful discussions on the challenges that currently exist in the Pro AV space, while also encouraging viewer interaction and engagement in an effort to move the industry forward. Neto and Coxon embrace a broad view of workplace collaboration in a way that makes sense for an enterprise's corporate culture, and they value robust but simple and secure ways to provide solutions. Both have worked in the field as tech managers and integrators, and bring that experience to the table. An overarching theme for each episode is making sense of current ecosystems and arriving at a correct product mix to create the right experience for the end user, whether it's for a theme park, a huddle space, or something in between.

Ultimately, all Pro AV ecosystems are about creating a reliable collaboration network of solutions that play well together. To that end, there are often different approaches to the same challenge. The best end-user experiences are often a delicate balance of technology, budget, and expertise of the players.

Industry leader Barco is sponsoring the project to provide a forum for these continued ecosystem discussions within the ProAV industry.

'We love the idea of Smackdown as it's a continuation of the conversations we see and engage in every day,' said Kurt Deyoung, Vice President of Marketing of the Americas. 'Barco's sponsorship of the program is a great way to continue to push these conversations forward and to get some new and exciting viewpoints.'

Each episode frames a central issue for discussion where viewers can exchange ideas via social media or at avsmackdown1@gmail.com. Subscribe to the YouTube channel here and you will receive notifications when new episodes are added.

About the anchors

Chris Neto, CTS

For the past 20 years, Chris has been involved in the Pro AV industry. He began as an onsite tech for some the largest pharmaceutical companies installing, designing and supporting major systems across the country. Since 2011, he has been a prolific blogger and speaker, and is also known for his social media presence. He is currently a Business Development Manager and Consultant Liaison for the Northeast with Barco, a position he has held since May 2017. In early 2018, Chris was named AV Nation Person of the Year for his contributions to the industry. Follow Chris on @chris_neto on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Mark Coxon , CTS-D, CTS-I

As one of only a handful of techs double CTS certified worldwide, Mark has been involved with a variety of manufacturers and end users throughout his career, including Milestone, Horizon Display and Orange ProAV. Mark is a popular writer, speaker and commentator on the ProAV circuit. Mark loves a challenge, especially working with end users to solve difficult problems. Mark joined Barco in late 2017 as a Regional Sales Manager covering California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. Follow Mark at @AVPhenom or on LinkedIn.