What role does your commercial AV system have to play in a world increasingly conscious of its environmental footprint?
Learn about AV’s impact on green building design, the contributions your system can make to LEED certification, and the single biggest impact AV technology has had on reducing emissions.
Speech intelligibility is fundamental to effective communication. An AV system that merely conveys sound isn't sufficient; it must facilitate understanding.
Factors such as background noise, reverberation, speaker placement, microphone selection, and frequency response all affect clarity of speech. Remember, it's not just about hearing – it's about comprehending, collaborating and connecting through crystal-clear communication.
Bringing a commercial audiovisual system from conception to reality is no simple task. It requires the careful orchestration of various technical, logistical and human components to arrive at a system that users genuinely want to use and that benefits their organization.
Sam Scott shares the 10 most common AV system pitfalls he sees in his work as a commercial AV consultant — and how you can avoid them.
In 2016, hacking an AV system was often as easy as 1-2-3. The industry has come a long way since then, so what is the state of AV system security today?
In this piece, we'll unpack the basics of an AV system attack, provide some current examples of commercial and consumer system security, and offer actionable tips to protect AV devices no matter how or where they connect.
October 31, 2017 | Sam Scott
Last month I was invited to my first official speaking gig at Datavisual on Display in Edmonton and Calgary. I was pleased to talk to a full house in both cities and had an engaged audience who peppered me with thoughtful questions throughout the talk and after. It was great to meet so many folks from the audio visual community in Alberta. I hope to be back soon.
As requested, here are my slides:
January 4, 2017 | Sam Scott
If you're considering a major project, it's hard to know how to begin.
The field of project management can be daunting. There are documents, processes and methodologies for every conceivable situation It's hard to sift through them all to figure out what's essential. If you want to take your company somewhere it's never been before, you've got to make a plan.
In this article I want to lay out four simple steps to complete a one page project plan. Follow these steps and you'll have your project sketched out and have a good foundation to build on.
The first step seems obvious, but it's important to get it right. Define your project's goals. This is the reason your project exists in the first place. It must be clear and concise. Answer these two questions: How will your organization be better once the project is complete? What will you do to get there? Some examples:
We want to renovate our boardrooms to allow staff to collaborate more effectively so we can work faster.
Our goal is to set up an online video platform to allow employees across the country to access training videos whenever they need them.
I want to dominate the known universe by creating a galactic super-weapon.
For any technical project large or small, there's a business driver behind it. You won't be able to secure money and resources for systems and equipment if they don't improve the condition of your organization. When it comes time to ask for money and resources, you'll need to make the value proposition clear.
Set a start and end date for your project. It's important to set the expectations for the schedule right away. It will help you set aside resources and fit your project into your organization's regular operating cycles. Setting a schedule will also keep the project from taking longer than it should. Even if you have very little idea about the time it will take to achieve your goal, make your best estimate.
Answering a few more key questions will help you articulate the requirements and the extent of the project.
Keep these answers short for now. By answering these, you've taken the first steps in building out a full project plan. Again, if you can only make a guess at this point, that's fine. You've got to start somewhere.
The next step is to identify who will be involved and how you'll communicate with them. Ask yourself these three questions:
Establish communication routines right away and stick to them throughout the project.
Collect this information in a short document. You now have the framework for a solid project plan. What you have in front of you are the seeds that make elements of a full-blown project plan. You've taken the first difficult step in making your project a reality.
Need help taking the next step? We're project pros!
