The conference room is an essential part of any workplace, as it’s where you’re going to be brainstorming and attending meetings that will decide the future of your organization.
The AV equipment is crucial to the functionality of that particular room, as you will be using it to present your ideas or host online conferences when need be.
Listed below are 4 crucial pieces of AV equipment that you must invest in:
1. Proper Video Display
The video display in your conference room is the center piece of your room where you will be presenting the visuals for each meeting. It’s important for you to choose the proper display to ensure the best quality presentation. After all, every part of your meeting room is a crucial extension to your brand identity; you wouldn’t want your clients to see a lack of professionalism in your display. Therefore, it’s important that you keep it at the best condition possible.
One of the biggest decisions is whether to go with a projector or a flat screen display. Either choice is a major investment, but it is well worth the cost for something that will provide quality video, images and conferencing options. The best choice for your conference room will depend on the size of the space and the main purposes of the screen.
Projectors tend to be more cost effective and easier to see in bigger spaces or with larger groups of people. The downside to projectors is that sometimes lighting (especially sunlight) can make the video or image hard to see. If you decide a projector is best, you’ll want to get the right lighting and possibly window coverings to avoid problems with glare.
Flat screen displays are generally better from a lighting standpoint, but they are also smaller, so they work better in smaller rooms. If you decide a flat screen is better for your space, you’ll also want to consider the benefits of LCD vs. LED screens and 1080P vs. 4K resolution.
Another point to consider is purchasing multiple screens so that one can be used to show images or graphics from a presentation and the other can be used simultaneously for video conferencing a client or employee.
If you have a small conference room, you should look to use a display of around 40” to 50”. The bigger the room is, the bigger the display you will need. If you have a massive conference room being used to host board meetings, you may need more than one display. However, you will still have to make sure to invest in a screen large enough to be clearly visible to everyone attending. When you’re showing numbers and graphs, you want to make sure that everyone in the room can see it, as it won’t be a good look for your company if your clients have to squint to read the text. Therefore, ensure that you look for a high-quality display of the appropriate size to ensure that everything is visible and sharp.
2. High-Quality Audio System
The audio is another essential element of every presentation, especially in a large conference room. You don’t want to be yelling when you speak. Therefore, ensure that you invest in an audio system that allows every word to be heard clearly throughout the room with a quality speech reinforcement system. Poor audio can frustrate the audience, reducing the credibility and authority of your company.
When you’re hosting a presentation, you want to make sure everyone can hear what you’re saying clearly, especially during a conference call. Using your laptop to call someone is often a good idea to include them in the conference, but it can be difficult for them to hear what you’re saying thanks to the delays and the echos of online communication. To minimize this issue, you must make sure your voice is as loud and clear as possible, which is where a teleconferencing system comes in. You need to make sure you use the best-quality equipment to guarantee a crisp and discernable voice that is easy to hear and understand.
3. State of the Art Control System
It is crucial that all conference room components from video to audio to lighting and shades work seamlessly together. A high-quality control system makes every aspect of the conference room extremely easy to use. You spend less time worrying and more time succeeding. With a rock-solid control system any employee can walk in and start a presentation. No longer will an IT Manager need to be pulled away from other projects to set up the room prior to each meeting. A control system with a user-intuitive interface can easily control the smallest huddle space to the most elaborate corporate boardroom.
4. Echo-Minimizing Room Design
The design of the conference room is by far the one of the most important aspects of the AV considerations. If there’s a lot of reverberations and echoing in the room, it will reduce the quality of the audio, making it difficult to hear and understand what’s being said. Additionally, it will be quite difficult to control the loudness of the audio.
What’s more, when there’s no noise control, people outside the conference room may be able to hear what’s being discussed, which can cause valuable information to leak into the public. For this reason, you need to incorporate some noise canceling options to the room to ensure that no noise can escape the room. Acoustic treatment and speech privacy systems are a great way to minimize reverberation and provide additional sound control.