During InfoComm 2018, Listen Technologies celebrated two decades of helping people overcome the challenges of noise, distance and hearing loss with demonstrations of its products and several new introductions. Listen Technologies’ booth featured a series of interactive displays that represent different listening environments, and visitors were able to experience the power of complementary listening solutions in four realistic scenes that depict the audio challenges of each specific venue.
Depicting a manufacturing and plant environment scenario, Listen was showing how background noise from machinery and ventilation systems can make it nearly impossible to hear, posing challenges to worker safety and productivity. For those situations Listen Technologies’ demonstrated the applicability of its ListenTALK two-way audio solutions for facilitating plant floor communications and management walk-throughs and building tours. Visitors to the booth were also able to experience how the new Audio Everywhere solutions can promote a relaxing and comfortable environment in employee lounges and common areas by enabling individuals to stream TV audio directly to their smart phones.
Simulating a hospitality environment, Listen Technologies demonstrated how Audio Everywhere can also be used in a sports bar, leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones and power of the Cloud to provide guests with multiple sound choices for the multiple screens available. Audio Everywhere from Listen Technologies works over a venue’s existing wireless network and can accommodate thousands of users. Guests are able to stream sound from the media screen of their choice to their smartphones and clearly hear a news broadcast or play-by-play sports commentary no matter how noisy or crowded the venue. The customizable Audio Everywhere app also lets venues provide customized content, including announcements and promotions, to guests for greater engagement.
For houses of worship, Listen Technologies’ audio solutions include the whole portfolio of Audio Everywhere, ListenTALK, ListenLOOP, ListenIR and ListenRF products, effective on their own and complementing each other to overcome the challenges of poor acoustics and address the needs of congregants who are hard of hearing and hearing impaired. Also, for education, Listen Technologies was showing how to leverage ListenIR (infrared) to wirelessly transmit high quality audio to compact, portable receivers that students can carry seamlessly from one classroom to another, or how to use ListenTALK to create an engaging two-way assistive listening solution for students. ListenTALK cleverly combines Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to quickly configure groups with the push of a button, and uses license-free DECT 1.9Ghz audio transmission.
“Listen Technologies knows that every audio environment and every person is different and that a one-size-fits-all approach to providing listening solutions across industries and venues is ineffective in delivering clear, powerful sound experiences that promote inclusion and engagement,” says Russ Gentner, president and CEO of Listen Technologies. “We are excited to showcase our suite of solutions at InfoComm 2018 in an interactive booth that enables visitors to experience first-hand how our products complement one another and work in tandem to solve the unique audio challenges associated with different markets and venues.”
Audio Everywhere
Audio Everywhere from Listen Technologies is the first low-cost assistive listening solution for smartphones that utilizes existing wireless networks for truly plug and play audio streaming. The InfoComm Show marked the first public demonstration of the technology in the United States since the audio-over-Wi-Fi product was announced late last year.
ListenWiFi became Audio Everywhere from Listen Technologies and began shipping globally in December 2017. The new product works over existing wireless networks and has very low latency so it can be used as an assistive listening solution or a solution for live audio and language translation. The Audio Everywhere from Listen Technologies app also enables to easily push advertising and customized content to users.
Audio Everywhere is easy and affordable for venues to install and can accommodate thousands of users and over 50 channels, providing more choices and an enhanced experience for patrons and guests. Venues are able to leverage their existing wireless networks and connect audio from their audio sources to the local area network using the Audio Everywhere server. This enables them to stream clear audio directly to their guests’ smartphones. Guests simply download the free app on their mobile device, connect to the venue’s Wi-Fi network and tune into the audio channel of their choice. There is no need to borrow special equipment. Guests use their own earbuds or headphones, or if they have Bluetooth connected hearing aids, they can stream audio directly from their smart phone to the hearing aid.
New ListenTALK Accessories
Listen Technologies also showcased a full line of new accessories for its wireless, two-way communication product, ListenTALK, at InfoComm 2018. ListenTALK features a wireless, pocket-sized device that makes it easy for groups of two or more people to listen and talk with the push of a button. The solution, announced at last year’s InfoComm Show, and shipping since July 2017, is ideal for noisy, crowded and/or mobile environments.
The new ListenTALK accessories are intended to enhance the user experience in all applications and now include a breakaway lanyard to facilitates fastening the ListenTALK transceiver around the neck; new lanyard color options; an option to use disposable AAA batteries, instead of the lithium-ion rechargeable ones; a line/headset mix cable, to allow leader to share audio from his/her phone or other audio device with a group via the ListenTALK leader unit. Other accessories include a silicone protective case with integrated belt/lanyard clip, a cable management pocket, and the new compact Docking Station 4, to charge, store, program and transport 4 ListenTALK transceivers, in alternative to the standard 16-unit station.
These solutions have been already used by other manufacturers during InfoComm 2018, who used ListenTALK to facilitate communication in their booths, and on tours throughout the convention center.
Listen Technologies also announced, in partnership with Ampetronic, the debut of new C Series hearing loop amplifiers (pictured above) at InfoComm 2018. The two companies also showcased Ampetronic’s flagship D series Networkable DSP (Digital Signal Processing) drivers, and new Core series drivers.
www.listentech.com | www.listentalk.com
