Specifications

8 ExtroNews 11.2 May/June 2000
Through Extron, I have lived with the
Shoot-Out now for nine of its twelve years. In
recent years, International Communications
Industries Association (ICIA) expanded the
reach of INFOCOMM worldwide. This
produced many more Shoot-Outs in other
countries such that INFOCOMM 2000 marks
the 20th event…and, my 17th experience.
Please join me here for an inside look at what
it takes to produce the INFOCOMM Projection
Shoot-Out.
Back When…
Most beginnings are humble and the Shoot-
Out is no exception. Back in 1988 a few
product managers of some prominent projector
manufacturers got together informally and
brainstormed about the concept of getting
together a side-by-side comparison exhibition
of their projector technology. At that time, the
only reasonably priced commercial projectors
were CRT projectors.
In CRT projection, the technical
differences were there and changing
regularly at a rapid pace. The INFOCOMM
Show of 1989 debuted the transition of the
organization’s name from NAVA to ICIA. The
Projection Shoot-Out was the talk of the
show…everybody, including me, went to see
the exhibition of 24 CRT projectors in one
room. The Shoot-Out was staged in the C
Ballroom of the Dallas Convention Center.
Many people ask me why the event is
called a “shoot-out”. The reshaping of the
trade organization and the first side-by-side
projector comparison happened at that 1989
Dallas, Texas show. Imre Cseszar, then the
owner of Covid, was the first technical
coordinator as well as the committee
chairman for the group of manufacturers
that coalesced the first event. Many of us in
the industry can remember Imre donning a
cowboy’s outfit and wearing a pair of “six
shooters” to commemorate the first “Shoot-
Out” in Dallas. The event needed a name
and what better name than something
western that connotes the ultimate standoff
between opponents.
The Shoot-Out at Dallas was talked about
nearly continuously during the show. The
next INFOCOMM landed in Anaheim,
California. Once again, most show
attendees wandered around the display of
projector technology staged in the Anaheim
arena. There was a modest increase in the
number of participants, but I have to admit I
don’t remember how many. The next year,
1991, the show moved to Orlando, Florida.
Again, the Shoot-Out hummed with interest
and attendees. Sometime after the close of
the third Shoot-Out, Imre decided that he
wanted to pursue other interests. The
amount of effort and attention to detail were
becoming overwhelming. Managing the
entire Shoot-Out is difficult when you have
40 or more unique customers to satisfy. The
agenda for the annual Shoot-Out meeting in
Tempe, Arizona in September of 1991
included the selection of a new sponsoring
company and Shoot-Out Chairman.
This began Extron’s support role as we
Championing the
INFOCOMM Projection Shoot-Out®
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING...
by Steve Somers, Vice President of Engineering
T
o me, the Shoot-Out is a kind of chronicle of the history of large
screen projection technology. Now in its twelfth year, the Shoot-Out
remains almost an institutional aspect of INFOCOMM International, the
champion trade exhibition of the professional audio-visual market.