At a recent gathering of the Baltimore Tech Breakfast, I saw a demonstration of technology that could change the way A/V is used at events. The product is called SpeakerBlast and instead of using a central speaker system, it uses Internet connected devices as the broadcasting medium. So in lieu of the labor and expense of installing A/V hardware, the system sends the audio presentation through smartphones, laptops and tablets.
A real life example of the technology was demonstrated at the Tech Breakfast. The most remarkable aspect of the demonstration was that the music always stayed in sync despite being played on dozens of devices. By using the device’s “clock timer,” SpeakerBlast was able to keep the audio playing at a uniform and pleasant level.
Like any great idea, the software got started from a simple need to have a group of friends play the viral video “Harlem Shake” on their phones at the same time. The solution they came up with was for the lead person to distribute a link to an audio clip (via the “Create a Blast” button) that the other people can also play. When the lead person presses the “Play” button, the other devices start playing the recording in unison.
The service is currently for free and has a number of different uses at events. For example, one person can be the “disk jockey” who can then blast the music through people’s devices. If you are showing a video, SpeakerBlast can distribute the audio as in a drive-in movie. I think the more exciting possibility is that this technology could be used to replace a microphone system in its entirety. In particular, maybe one day a speaker can broadcast his or her presentation through people’s devices rather than through a centralized system.
Try out the product and find out more about SpeakerBlast at http://speakerblast.com.
