Re: Martin MLA pricing?
The limiting factor on ''seamless changeovers'' is fear. Fear that something won't work, fear that the band/boss/CEO will get mad and fire people when something doesn't work... and the result is that we do things the way we've always done them, the ways that have proven to be most reliable. The rest of the delay is ego 
As for implementing new technologies, I have to ask ''which ones'' and for what uses? There are lots of digital things that can make our lives better/faster/cheaper, but there has to be a payback for the investment. For new audio providers without ''legacy'' technologies to support, ''new'' technologies are very appealing. The reality check occurs when they have to interface with the existing world of audio. For the install world things are a little more insulated, but the need for speedy accommodation of changes in related (video, data) technologies is important.
I'm with you, Christian, we can/could do lots of things. Customers need to be willing to pay for them, though.
Standards that live longer than a pet rodent are needed, too. There have been a hand full of ''digital network audio'' standards over the last 20 years. Maybe 2 hand fulls. Which ones are in widespread use or have become a de facto standard? Even trying to get a uniform definition of digital filters for loudspeaker DSP seems a Quixotic task. The need for certain types of uniformity has yet to create uniformity.
It's certainly an exciting time to be in audio, though. The new stuff is what keeps me interested as I mature faster than the industry 
Have fun, good luck.
Tim Mc
