The Involve AV School
Part 1 – The one covering the basic principles
We will be focusing on the importance of ‘A’ in AV in this 4 part blog, and why it shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated when it comes to budget planning. Plus, we’ll give some examples of how to do it (or how not to) with a few helpful hints thrown in to help guide your decisions when it comes to thinking about the next meeting space you are looking to commission.
Let’s start at the beginning. The importance of audio and why it shouldn’t be overlooked, or…
‘Get audio wrong at your peril’.
Often the focus of any AV system is on the display. How big is too big? Does it need to be 4k? Does it have enough ‘nits’? But is anyone thinking about the audio quality?!?
In the world of AV Integration our goal is to, at the very core, successfully facilitate the passing of information from one person (or group) to another. Whether that’s audio on its own, or video and audio.
Focusing on video and audio paired (a movie/a VC call), studies have shown that there is a clear interdependence between what is being seen and what is being heard by an audience. Video with poor quality or unintelligible accompanying audio is difficult to watch.
If it gets bad enough, we simply ‘turn off’. We’ve all experienced a version of this, so it makes sense that audio should be a priority!
Going one step further, in the world of audio integration, speech intelligibility is ‘the king’. Example? There is a big difference between hearing the CEO’s quarterly speech, and being able to easily understand what is being said (whether you want to or not).
In the upcoming blogs we will look further in detail at some more specific examples, but to summarize our opening issue, here are some top tips when thinking about planning the new meeting room or conference space.
Key points that any good audio system designer will consider when surveying a space:
What is the intended use of the space (e.g. boardroom / lecture theatre) and what will be the best way to capture voice in the space?
- Are microphones required? What type?
The best way to distribute the audio that needs to be heard within the space:
- Speakers? Which type?
- Don’t forget assisted listening (e.g. induction loops)!
The properties of the space itself:
- Dimensions
- Types of surfaces
- Sound leaking into other areas? This is an important one!
Look out for part 2 in our A before V series covering USB, which will be posted next week.
Contact Involve for guidance and assistance when thinking about your next integrated AV solution.
