What audio visual equipment is required for a modern office ?

October 7, 2007 4:25 PM

Help needed, designing an AV facility for the future.

The organisation I work for, together with a local univercity, are constructing a new five floor building.

Part of the fit-out involves AV equipment for a large lecture auditorium, board rooms, and smaller meetings rooms.

I've been asked (as IT Manager) to represent our interests on the AV committee.

I'm a little out of touch regarding AV developments, what equipment should I ask for ?

I will consult our staff members (end-users), but I'd like to hear about any awsome/awful equipment to take into consideration.

This is an opportunity to provide great facilities, and I want to embrace that, at the same time I know complex systems need more support.

I'm just as interested in the operational aspects of modern AV. For instance, will we require a dedicated AV resource ?

Thanks

Matt

posted by matholio to technology (6 answers total)

what equipment should I ask for ?

How do people want to use the new space?
posted by reeddavid at 5:45 PM on October 7, 2007

Although the requirements for such a space can vary wildly, I can think of a couple of things to look for. I'm assuming you'll be using front-projection screens for presentations; as such, look into projectors that can handle the standard AV plugs and a network connection as well. One example (I haven't used, just read about) is the Toshiba TW355U, which allows presentations to be made over WiFi or by a standalone USB thumb drive. On the other end of the projector scale is the Lumenlab 1000, which doesn't have the extra features or high-resolution output, but does claim $30 lamps that run 6000 hours, and the projector itself is only $500.

Keep some legacy equipment in the mix. You never know when someone will come in with something old to play.
posted by shinynewnick at 6:40 PM on October 7, 2007

On a second read-through, I think something like the Lumenlabs would be perfect for your smaller rooms. They can be run constantly at an affordable price, and maybe splurge for a fancy projector in your main lecture hall.

From an end-user perspective, make things as basic as possible for the average uses. For example, its very old school, but a master volume control knob for the room is easy to adjust.
posted by shinynewnick at 6:50 PM on October 7, 2007

First, my recommendation is to get an AV specialist firm to build the room for you. Getting everything right is not easy.

There three main components to the AV side of a room.

Monitoring:
• What kind of video display do you want? Typically a large LCD/plasma monitor, but some rooms are big enough for a projector.
• What kind of audio speakers do you want? Two for a small room? Surround? Sub-woofers?

Sources:
• What sources of signal will you need to display in the room? Typically there is the need for a computer. I recommend having a dedicated computer for the room AND the capability to plug in a laptop. You might consider cable TV settop box, a video input jack, a DVD player, or even a video tape player.

Switching:
• Perhaps the most overlooked element of the setup. You will need a good AV switch that takes all the inputs and allows switching of the correct signal to you montoring. Do not rely on the switching of the TV/monitor itself.
• Look at Crestron and AMX to get a feel for what is available these days.

Once again, I stress, bringing in an AV consultant will end up saving you money & headaches. I am a professional TV engineer, and we bring in the pros to handle this for us.
posted by Argyle at 7:28 PM on October 7, 2007

Oh yes, regarding a person to support it. Yes, you will need someone that knows how it all works and is available at a moment's notice to go help.

No matter how simple you make it, people will find a way to make the system not work.
posted by Argyle at 7:30 PM on October 7, 2007

I would second Argyle's advice to get someone to actually consult you on the specifics of your environment. When it comes to AV there are so many environmental variables that relate to how the audio bounces off walls, how large the screens need to be for certain size rooms, etc. You really need someone in there that knows this stuff like the back of their hand.

To point you in the right direction I'll just list a few companies that we use, some of who are somewhat of industry leaders in this area (for better or worse):

Crestron

Extron

SMART Technologies

ELMO

NEC
posted by genial at 6:04 AM on October 8, 2007