AV Room Consist Of

Technology Components Create An Effective Collaboration

A place to communicate, a place to meet remote team members, a place to show slides from PowerPoint, none of these functions will occur without proper room design and configuration. The integration of technology and the real room atmosphere are important factors in designing an ideal meeting area. An integrated audio-visual space is a blend of art and science.

The art is in the design of the room itself; the lighting, furniture, and the selection of the right technologies that will eventually come together. The science comes in with the building of those technology connections and making each device work together as if they were one.

Displays

The first thing people notice when walking into a conference room is the display. This is the “visual” part of conference room audio visual, and it is one of your main collaboration tools. The display enables you to see colleagues in other locations, view presentations, and screen share from laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Companies like Samsung, Sharp, and NEC all have a hand in the game, developing state-of-the-art displays to fit a variety of needs. 4K UHD is now the standard in display technology, but a display alone doesn’t necessarily mean a 4K UHD image. The bandwidth and content can all impact image quality.

Single displays are a go-to choice for many small conference rooms. Dual displays are a popular option, especially for companies that are heavy video-call users. These dual, or even tri, displays allow screen sharing and video conferencing to share the spotlight.

Dual displays offer a solution to the picture in picture view. Meeting attendees see both the content being presented and the other video participants, each on their own full-screen. Instead of choosing between content and people, you can see both clearly. We’ve found this helps collaboration by enabling the team to see nuances like facial expressions during the presentation.

Audio or Video Conferencing

The next choice in conference room technology is whether you need audio conferencing, video conferencing, or both.

Video conferencing has taken center stage in the meeting room. Zoom, Teams, Poly (previously Polycom), StarLeaf, and LifeSize all offer various conference room solutions. Most platforms provide Outlook and Google integrations for easy meeting scheduling. Push to join is also becoming a more readily available option.

Audio is the second piece of the meeting room communication. While some companies are comfortable going all-in with video calls, others still want the option for audio conferencing. It’s common for companies to have both audio and video conferencing technology in a single room, just let your AV partner know in the design process so they can include the functionality in your design.

Scaling web conferencing is a big trend. More and more companies are standardizing on technologies like Zoom and Skype for Business/Teams in their conference rooms. Crestron, StarLeaf and Polycom are a few of the manufacturers that offer hardware to scale these platforms in the conference room.

Microphones & Speakers

Microphones and speakers are an important addition to conference room audio visual. These can be either in-ceiling, on-table, or a sound bar mounted below the display (sound bars can be an appropriate solution for smaller spaces).

Based on how you intend to use the room and the features of the space, your audio visual integration partner can select the right mix of microphones and speakers.

The choice of microphones and speakers will have a significant impact on the overall conferencing experience. The right set-up can reduce echo, feedback and other noises heard by conference participants.

Camera

If your room is staged for video calls it will need to be equipped with a camera. This can range from a small camera in a huddle room to something more sophisticated in larger spaces.

Depending on your huddle room furniture configuration, you might consider a camera with a 180 degree viewing angle, like Huddlecams. The nature of huddle rooms are small collaboration spaces. Therefore, the table and chairs are often pushed close to the display and camera. If the camera’s viewing angle is too narrow then those sitting closest to the display will be left out of the field of view.

Pan-tilt-zoom cameras are common in large conference rooms. A variety of manufacturers offer these types of cameras. Your video conferencing platform may dictate the camera needed, or your AV partner will specify one of the preferred camera solutions.

Control Panel

Finding an easy-to-use, well thought-out control panel is important to your success, as the control panel acts as your control center for the whole conference room audio visual system.

The user interface on the control panel is critical. It should be easy for employees to get in the conference room and connect to video calls or launch presentations. The systems allow you to transition from a screen sharing presentation to video conferencing, all with a single touch.

Companies like Crestron and Extron develop hardware for the system control. Both offer excellent conference room solutions with the right programming. The control system has to be programmed to work with all of your conference room equipment, so finding an audio visual integration provider with Crestron or Extron certifications can save you a big headache when it comes time to put it all together.

Connectivity

You have three choices when it comes to connectivity: (1) wired, (2) wireless, or (3) a combination of wired and wireless. Both wired and wireless connectivity have their pros and cons, and ultimately it will come down to a matter of personal preference.

Many people prefer wireless connectivity simply because it eliminates the clutter of cords, but table inserts however can discretely hide wired connectivity that would provide a typically higher-quality and more stable presentation experience.

Connected table boxes can also include electrical outlets for charging or a wired connection for plug and play. If you want to be able to screen share without plugging in, a wireless connectivity solution may be the right choice for you.

Interactive Whiteboard

If you host brainstorming sessions in your office or work with people that are visual learners (around 65% of people), an interactive whiteboard can be a valuable tool to add to your system of conference room equipment. Interactive displays, like Clevertouch allow you to write directly on the board in various colors, annotating over web pages or documents.

In addition, video conferencing platforms like Zoom enable users to whiteboard while on the call and share to other participants in real-time or after the conference has completed. This can be helpful if your employees present over video conferencing and can create a more engaging experience for the others on the call.

Room Schedulers

Conference room scheduling technology is at the intersection of hardware and software. The hardware includes room scheduling panels and hallway signs while the software connects to business calendars and offers room analytics.

Conference room scheduling panels feature a touch panel that sits outside the conference room. They either mount on the glass or in the wall. Passerby’s can see when the room is scheduled, what it’s scheduled for, and who’s invited to the meeting.

An important piece to conference room schedulers is integration with calendars. Systems integrate with the platforms your business already uses (Outlook, Office 365, Google Calendar and more so employees don’t have to learn a new system. They invite a room to the meeting the same way they’d invite a colleague.

Meeting room schedulers offer an impromptu meeting management tool. Employees can move a conversation from an open off space into a huddle room. They look at the panel, ensure it’s available, and add their meeting to the calendar with the touch of a button. Analytics update to include the new meeting, and the room’s status changes to unavailable.