Apples, Oranges, and Sharp Pencils
In the world of sales idioms, you never want to compare “apples with oranges”, but you always want the salesperson to “sharpen their pencil.” You don’t want to compare two unlike things, but you do want to make sure you get the best possible price. So, in the world of audio-video design, how do you know that you are comparing apples with apples and making the right purchase for the right price? (more)
How Today’s Teachers Use Classroom Display Technology
Kids today have it all: the cell phone, the iPod, the iPad, the internet, digital cameras, video games, laptops – ahhh!!! With all this stimuli, teachers have to battle to win the ever-decreasing attention spans of their students. And any teacher knows the statistics of how students learn: most of what they get their hands on (tactile learning), some of what they see (visual learning), and little of what they hear (aural learning). The good news is that new classroom display technology enables teaches to fire on all cylinders and teach fluidly while using all three methods of communication. So, how are teachers doing it? (more)
Football Stadium Sound System Design | How to Control the Friday Night Roar
It’s 7pm on Friday night in the middle of September. You’re sitting down with your significant other to a nice refreshing beverage on your back porch. All is calm. It’s a beautiful evening. Suddenly a not-so-distant voice floats through your backyard let you know that #58 has just tackled #23 on the 35 yard line. You are, once again, thankful that your peaceful and idyllic life has been interrupted by the sound system from the local High School football game. No…you wish there was some way to contain that sound to the stadium where it’s supposed to be (NOT in my backyard)! (more)
Saving Money with Health Care AVL Design
The new 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities recommend sound reinforcement systems in healthcare environments. As such, we often get the question: how do you save money on audio-visual systems in the health care sector? Well, there are many practical ways to cut cost without cutting quality, and as independent consultants we often work with our clients to understand how to do just that. Here are a few good ideas that will help with the bottom line: (more)
Digital Signage System Design 101
Digital signage is making its way into stores and businesses everywhere: hotels, department stores, grocery stores, universities, churches, funeral homes, you name it. As audio-visual designers, we are hired to offer digital signage design services for a wide variety of industries. One of the first questions we always ask our clients is who is this for? Who are you trying to communicate with? Without a target you will never know if your investment succeeded. (more)
Is Technology the Bottom Line for Web Conferencing and Videoconferencing?
Sure, we all agree that the principle of “garbage in garbage out” applies to audio-visual technology. But is “top of the line equipment” the real bottom line for state of the art web conferencing or videoconferencing? Answer: It’s one of the bottom lines, but not the only bottom line. There are a lot of other factors that go into optimizing a space for web or videoconferencing. (more)
How Churches Use Multiple Screens in Worship
My last blog discussed using a large video screen as the backdrop for your church stage. We discussed the benefits of using that type of technology. Today, we’ll move beyond the single screen. There are several reasons why we we would consider using multiple screens to decorate the auditorium of a church. This blog features photos from my time on staff at Northridge Church in Plymouth, Michigan. (more)
Commissioning Audio-Visual Systems | Why it’s Essential
This past summer I went to commission a small sound system at a new facility. Not necessarily a big expensive project, but the client had hired us to commission the final installation and make sure everything was installed as specified. I showed up on site, confirmed all of the equipment was installed and then proceeded to check out how the wiring had been installed. At first everything looked pretty good, until I pulled one of the microphone input plates off the wall and discovered that there was no junction box behind it. Instead someone had busted a hole in the masonry block and tried to fish the wires down through the block from above. But they had run into a little problem at the steel beam. So they made another hole through the vapor barrier and ran the wires just inside the exterior brick. Problem solved, right? Uh… not so much. (more)
How Hotel Conference Rooms Can Make Money By Offering Audio-Visual Services In House
When hotel owners and managers consider the costs of upgrading their current hotel conference room audio-visual system, they often consider outsourcing these services to a live event production company – one that would bring in portable AV equipment and run it for the events. But more and more hotel managers are learning that offering the audio and video services in-house can be a lucrative cash cow. And they’re finding that the conference room guests prefer a well-designed AVL system as opposed to a portable hodge-podge system. So what is the best way to make upgrades to your hotel conference room audio-video system without losing your shirt in the process? (more)
Video Screen Backdrops are the new Stage Designs for Churches
Decorating and designing stage sets for church sanctuaries can be a daunting task. Let’s look at a brief calendar of the church year. Traditional Christmas services are followed by volunteer holidays and a New Year celebration. There may be a Super Bowl Sunday and then a candlelit Maundy Thursday followed quickly by an Easter sunrise celebration. You’ve got weddings, funerals, baptisms, baby dedications, and on and on. And most importantly, you’ve got the “normal” weekly church services and sermon series to keep you busy. Even the best decorating committees have trouble keeping the pace. So how can you make it all work? (more)
Industrial Paging System Safety Code Requirements
Generally speaking, sound systems in industrial spaces are there to serve two purposes. One is to reproduce pages for people in the plant to hear. The second is to play background music for people to listen to. For years, it’s been about that simple. An amplifier, maybe a small mixer, and a few paging horns were all you needed. But the “rules” for industrial sound systems are changing, and the safety requirements are getting much more complex. How complex are these safety requirements? I’m glad you asked. (more)
Why Your Conference Room Technology May Soon Be Obsolete: Part II
As the VGA connector continues its rapid transition towards obsolescence (referred to in Part I of this post) many people simply assume that using adapters (such as HDMI to VGA) will solve the digital-to-analog connectivity problem. While this may work in the short term, it ignores the looming problem of DRM (Digital Rights Management), a way of encrypting new media to protect against copyright infringement. DRM uses something called HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to control which devices are allowed to receive the video signal. So how will you know if you’re using digitally protected content? Well, for starters, your adapter will just stop working. (more)
Why Techies Buy Audio-Video Gear Online
My church recently decided to upgrade from our old analog mixing board to a brand new digital mixing console. The interesting part of this process was that they did not buy it through a local AV contractor. They purchased the sound board online through a company that specializes in phone and internet box sales. This got me thinking about the trend over the past few years in which more and more Audio Visual end-users purchase equipment from online sources instead of the local dealer or shop. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? And why is this becoming the norm? (more)
The Speaker Shootout at High Noon
Question: How do you assure your client that they are getting the best possible speakers for their Auditorium or Fine Arts Center? Answer: You hold a “speaker shootout”. Recently one of our clients was in this exact situation, so we did just that. We invited several manufacturers of line array speakers to show up, all on the same day, so we could let our client hear the differences in sound quality back and forth in the exact same auditorium they would be installed in. Three different manufacturers arrived, speakers in tow, to hang their line arrays for the shootout. As the client’s AV Consulting Firm, we were there to moderate the shootout and ensure that each manufacturer got a fair shake (clean signal, volume levels, sound power levels, and so on). And then we began. The client had arranged for a group of about 20 listeners and key decision makers to join us for the shootout as a virtual “jury” to help decide which speakers to purchase. May the best speakers win! (more)
Why Your Conference Room Technology May Soon Be Obsolete
You can’t get away from the digital age. It seems like digital technology is everywhere. As Audio-Video designers, the march towards all things digital is having an impact on display technologies as well. Meanwhile, flying under the radar, there is a subtle shift happening in how the average person shows information from a computer onto a projector or display. (more)
White Space Update for Wireless Microphones
Several months ago (10-13-08) I wrote about the current state of the wireless microphone frequency spectrum and how the actions of congress and the FCC are shaping the future of wireless technology. Well, several notable updates and changes have been made since that time. You may recall that February 17, 2009, was the date set for the transition to DTV (Digital TV). Congress (in all its wisdom) decided that it would extend the deadline to June 12, 2009. (more)
How LEED V3 Changes Everything
It’s official! The all new LEED Version 3 has been launched by the U.S. Green Building Council. The new system makes several big changes that affect everyone from architects and engineers to builders and building owners. This information is especially important if you are working on a LEED project or if you are a LEED Accredited Professional. Here are some of the initial updates at a glance: (more)
HD Videoconferencing and The 21st Century Patient
Whether you watch HD from Blu-ray disks or over-the-air HD broadcasts, the clarity of the image is stunning. With widespread availability of professional HD imaging devices, monitors, and support gear, the clarity we’re seeing at home is now making its mark on the workplace and on the healthcare setting. A new phenomenon in smaller medical facilities is the use of HD videoconferencing with offsite offices and specialists. A properly designed system allows medical professionals to instantly collaborate with offsite experts, delivering an accurate and timely diagnosis while reducing the costs of time and travel for the patient. This stuff really works, and it is fast becoming a new benchmark of healthcare facility design. (more)
Coordination for AVL Consultants and Project Teams
Perhaps the toughest and most critical element of designing AVL systems for auditoriums is proper coordination with all the other teams. As audio-visual and theatrical lighting designers, we find ourselves being selected to join teams all throughout the process, from design development to construction administration to commissioning, and this can create a lot of challenges for the AVL system integration. (more)
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