conference room technology Blogs by American Sound

Videoconferencing Technology FAQs

Posted on November 16, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

What technology is used in videoconferencing?

Seamless video wall in a large meeting room

Even though it looks seamless, several components come together to make your videoconferencing technology work properly. It’s more than just a video screen with speakers.

Video input. Minimally, you’ll need video cameras on both ends of the connections to send video images to the other party. You can also send images from digital projectors and interactive whiteboards with cable connections.

Video output. Your videoconferencing technology must include a way to see the images the other side sends to you. You have some options here, depending on the size of your conference room. You can utilize a computer monitor, flatscreen TV, projector, or a video wall for large rooms.

Audio input. The other side of the connection needs to be able to hear you and your team correctly. Your videoconferencing system needs microphones to pick up every nuanced sound in the room. One larger microphone in a central location can do the trick. For larger rooms, you might need two microphones on each side of the room.

Audio output. Your team needs to hear the voices coming from the other end of the connection. Take care of this through speakers, strategically placed either near the monitor so everyone’s attention faces the screen or throughout the room for a surround-sound experience.

Coder-decoder (codec) technology. Any videoconferencing system needs a robust coder-decoder technology to make sure the rise and fall of sound signals don’t overpower the system. Your room’s codec uses noise suppression, echo cancellation, and gain control for ultra-clear audio signals.

Network data transfer. Most American companies have the infrastructure in place for fast data transmission with HD quality. Make sure your telecommunication lines are in place to handle the bandwidth you require.

Can videoconferencing technology be upgraded?

People in a Conference Room Looking at a Video Wall

Yes, and you want a system installed that you can easily upgrade in the future when the technology improves. For example, many video systems are well-equipped to handle HD signals. But what happens when things move to 4K Ultra HD? Is your system ready for an upgrade in five years?

Professional audio-visual companies can create a videoconferencing system that can be easily upgraded without changing out the entire system.

Again, it’s important to have the right infrastructure in place for this to happen.

What are some popular videoconferencing platforms?

People Using a Conference Room

Videoconferencing soared in popularity when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2019. Supply chain shortages caused delays in getting computer hardware in the hands of companies that needed it the most.

Software platforms also became very important, and they all had a sudden uptick in business. Most of these platforms work with a wide range of technological components.

Consider:

Zoom
Cisco WebEx
Google Meet
Skype for Business
Microsoft Teams
Slack
BlueJeans
GoToMeeting

A professional audio-visual equipment company can recommend the correct equipment to work with any of these platforms.

How can I improve my videoconferencing?

Office Team Looking a TV Monitor in a Videoconference

Your conference room equipment and technology are only part of the story for hosting great remote meetings.

Your team can improve the videoconferencing experience with a few quick tips.

Train on using the technology and equipment. When you introduce new technology to your company, everyone who expects to use it regularly should receive training. A professional installation company can take care of this training for you because they are the experts. It’s almost as good as receiving factory training on the conference room equipment!

Familiarize yourself with the software. Similarly, become familiar with how the software platform works for your videoconferencing equipment. Make sure you have the logins and passwords set up beforehand for best results.

Prepare ahead of time. Know how to use your equipment before the meeting. Start setting things up five to 10 minutes ahead of time. If there are any snafus with the equipment or software, you have time to work through them before the meeting time. Test out the audio and video connections to make sure you can be heard and seen. Many programs have a way to test things before the other participants arrive.

Keep charging equipment cords if you’re on a laptop or mobile device. For particularly long meetings, make sure you have chargers for laptops and mobile devices handy. Using a lot of bandwidth and constant use drains the batteries on these devices faster. If you know your meeting will be more than an hour, keep chargers handy because your full charge may drain quickly.

Reduce background distractions. Keep the door to the conference room closed as much as possible. Turn down cellphones to vibrate. Make sure your team is paying attention to what’s going on in the meeting.

Speak and act normally. Because the equipment is top-notch, there’s no need to shout or raise your voice. Microphones should be able to pick up your voice just fine.

How can I speed up my videoconference call?

Error Message on Computer Screen

Despite your best efforts, your videoconferencing technology doesn’t seem to be working right in the middle of your meeting. The problem might be your laptop connected to the screen.

Think of these quick troubleshooting tips on the fly:

Restart your computer. If your computer crashed, consider rebooting it and only start the programs you need for the meeting.

Update your browser. If you need to use an internet browser on your computer during the meeting, update it to see if that makes the connection better.

Restart your browser. Sometimes, your browser gets stuck from too many tabs open or some program on a window running in the background. Click out of your browser and get back into it to see if that solves the problem.

Close unnecessary programs. Keep unnecessary tabs and programs closed during the meeting. Additional programs can slow your computer’s operating speed.

Go incognito. Some browser extensions might hinder or interfere with the presentation coming from your computer. Try an incognito browser window to keep those browser extensions from getting in the way of your meeting.

Who should install my videoconferencing technology?

Professional installation is the best way to go for great videoconferencing technology, no matter the size of the room. Professionals, like those at American Sound, will make sure your new videoconferencing system looks cohesive, works properly, and trains the necessary staff on its operation.

Conference Room Technology & Equipment FAQs

Posted on September 27, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

American Sound serves many industries, including offices and corporate spaces that need professional conference rooms to handle clear communication among team members or clients at remote locations.

Today, our team answers several FAQs regarding conference room technology and equipment.

What equipment do you need for effective conference room technology?

A conference room requires several technological components to work together, including:

Speakers or sound bar
Video screen
Microphones
Computer
Wireless capability
Interactive whiteboard

Different software requires various hardware. What works for Skype or Zoom may not work for Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. A professional sound installer can help you identify the right conference room equipment you need for your setup.

How do I set up conference room technology and equipment?

Size and budget are two main considerations for how you set up your conference room.

Start with the video display. Smaller rooms with fewer people may not need a huge 86-inch screen.
Choose a compatible video camera. Most video cameras attach to the back of the video display, meaning you look at the screen while people appear to look back at you. This setup increases engagement with your remote teams.
Next, look for appropriate speakers. You may only want one small speaker installed by the display because that is where everyone focuses their visual attention. Portable speakers may be convenient if you’re going to pass them from person to person. Larger rooms may need bigger or multiple speakers.
Microphones offer varying levels of sensitivity. While people can use laptops or portable mics, it may be more convenient to have a single microphone that can pick up everyone’s vocalizations in the room.

A professional audio-visual company can help you set up the conference room technology and train your staff to use it.

How big should a meeting room video display be?

The size of your video display depends on how far away the farthest viewer is from the screen.

65” screen is ideal for people 15 to 16 feet away from the monitor
75” screen for people 17 to 19 feet away
86” for 20 to 22 feet away
A video wall or multiple displays for anything larger than 22 feet of distance

Because these large screens require expert installation without damaging your nice office wall, we highly recommend professionals to mount the display to the wall. Our staff can center the monitor against the wall to optimize it for the size of the room.

What kind of table do I need for my conference room?

Your table must blend practicality with comfort. Purchase a conference table with outlets and charging ports for mobile devices and laptops.

The following room sizes and tables are a great rules to follow:

16 x 12 room size with an 8’ table to seat six to eight people

18 x 12 room with a 10’ table for eight to 10 people

20 x 12 room gets a 12’ table to seat 10 to 12 people

The room size and number of people determine how big of a video display you require.

Who should install my conference room technology and equipment?

Professional installation is the best way to go for conference room technology and equipment for excellent results and a cohesive appearance. American Sound can help! Contact us for more information or call (859) 261-9024.

Conference Room Technology Must-Haves In the Digital Age

Posted on August 20, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

In a post-COVID digital age where remote teams are still primarily the norm, it’s more important than ever for corporate entities to have adequate conference room technology. Having the right equipment will improve your productivity and communication and streamline your workflow.

If you’re ready to take your conference room to the next level, American Sound can help. Here are three conference room technology must-haves.

What types of touch panels should I use in my conference room?

No more typing on your computer or using a remote to present your ideas to clients and executives! Instead, touch panels (also sometimes called smartboards) are essentially giant smartphone screens that are mounted on the wall of your conference room. These fully interactive whiteboards allow you to draw, swipe, and write notes directly on the board to explain ideas with greater ease. You can even connect your printer to provide copies of your presentations with the notes included.

What video conferencing system should I install?

Whether you need to communicate with remote teams or meet with clients, world-class video conferencing technology with large screens and speakers can make group meetings much easier and more effective. With the right conference room technology and equipment, you can easily empower participants to communicate with one another (without bulky microphones), share files, capture screens, interact in real-time, and much more.

How should I integrate room scheduling technology into my conference room?

Gone are the days when teams accidentally book the same meeting room at the same time. Instead, room scheduling technology enables teams to tap into calendar software and easily schedule a meeting and avoid any conflicts. You can even combine this software with a virtual assistant and smart speakers to verbally schedule meetings without having to manually type anything into your computer.

Who can help me implement the latest conference room technology?

American Sound can help you. The recommendations above are all excellent additions to any conference room. If you’d like more details on the conference room systems we install, please call (859) 261-9024 or contact us.

Hardware to Use for Your Zoom Conference Room

Posted on July 13, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

Finding the proper hardware for your conference room or workstation can be the difference between hours of wasted time and consistently hosting productive and collaborative meetings. And with remote work becoming more of the norm today, it’s more essential than ever to have remote conference capabilities that provide high-quality sound, video, and interactive capabilities.

To ensure that your conference room is up to the challenge, here are a few devices that American Sound recommends installing because their design is a natural pairing to Zoom Rooms, Zoom Phone, and Zoom Meetings.

Neat Bar

The Neat Bar is a compact meeting device. It provides high-quality audio and video and comes with a built-in intelligent room sensor technology known as Neat Sense, which monitors the meeting space environment’s air quality, humidity, CO2, and the number of people in the room.

Logitech Rally Bar Appliance

This video bar is excellent for a mid-size conference room. Ideal for video collaboration, you can plug and play Rally Bar with any PC or Mac or run the Zoom Rooms on the device itself without a computer. It also features calendar integration, touch-to-join, instant content sharing, and more.

Neat Board

This collaboration device features a 65” 4K multi-touch screen, wide-angle camera, and powerful audio capabilities. Set up is easy, and you can choose from a floor stand, wall, or table mount to fit your conference room. It also offers Neat Sense technology so you can monitor your meeting space.

Yealink MeetingBar A30

Practical and straightforward, the Yealink MeetingBar A30 is an all-in-one video collaboration bar, ideal for a medium-sized conference room. It’s based on Android 9.0 OS and features a dual-camera system, enhanced smart video and HD audio, and more.

If you’re using the A30 meeting bar, no PC or Mac is required, and you’ll enjoy a convenient and fast setup because it combines a computing unit, camera, speaker, microphones, Wi-FI, and Bluetooth.

Want more details on conference room hardware installation?

Our hardware recommendations are all great additions to any conference room, but if you’d like to know which meeting room systems we install, please call (859) 261-9024 or contact us online.

How American Sound Optimizes Your Conference Rooms

Posted on June 30, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

Having the right conference room equipment and setup makes it easier to connect, collaborate, and produce great things! If your conference room is lacking, there are many ways you can optimize your setup for the best results. Here are some of the ways American Sound can take your conference rooms to the next level.

More AV equipment

Your computer’s microphone and a set of speakers simply aren’t going to cut it in a modern setup. With more employees working these days remotely, conference rooms demand much more, and poor sound quality can significantly disrupt your company’s ability to be productive.

We can help you improve by outfitting your meeting space with microphones specifically designed for video conferencing, so everyone can easily hear one another without having to pass a mic around the room.

We can install several microphone pickups for larger conference rooms to fit the space better and ensure the best sound quality possible. Ceiling and wall-mounted microphones are even an option.

These will significantly improve your meetings, so you’ll spend less time trying to decipher what team members are saying and more time making progress on projects and tasks.

Room scheduling with smart speaker integration

For large organizations, room scheduling gives employees the ability to book conference rooms for meetings or workspace. With high-quality room scheduling technology, individuals can quickly locate the space that best serves their needs and reserve it right away.

At American Sound, we can help you implement this technology and combine it with smart speakers and a virtual assistant so you can verbally book your meeting in the fitting conference room without having to type a thing. (Talk about convenience!) A room scheduler can also connect with remote workers for easy collaboration.

Interactive video conferences

Remote video collaboration can do wonders to build your team and boost productivity. With an interactive display, you can host highly engaging and inclusive meetings with employees who work remotely and on-site.

Whether you favor Zoom, Go To Meeting, Slack, or some other conference call software, we can install an interactive video display that will enable you to include things like polls, quizzes, and virtual whiteboard annotations in meetings and presentations.

Find Out How We Can Optimize Your Conference Rooms Today

Having the right reliable equipment can genuinely transform any conference room into a well-used space that produces fruitful meetings and enhances collaborative efforts. If you’re ready to update your conference room with new hardware installation, call us at (859) 261-9024 or contact us online to learn more about our services.

Conference Room Technology Design Trends to Watch

Posted on June 26, 2021July 3, 2023 by American Sound & Electronics

With many companies fully embracing remote work opportunities, conference room technology design trends are quickly changing. To stay competitive, look at some of the top trends to watch for.

1. LED Video Walls

LED video walls are more common now, and thus, they’re also more affordable. They offer better quality visuals than projectors or monitors do, with bright and vivid colors and high-quality, clear, and sharp images. LED video walls can also save you money down the line because they are extremely energy-efficient. (For reference, they use about half as much energy as projectors.) They also boast lower operational and maintenance costs when compared to monitors and projectors.

2. Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards give you the ability to create more dynamic presentations and keep people engaged. This conference room technology makes meetings run more smoothly by enhancing video conferencing with premium features that allow you to do several things.

Interactive whiteboards can:

Record video conferences.
Spotlight a particular area on the whiteboard (drive attention there instead of elsewhere).
Zoom in and magnify images.
Screen shade (hide particular information and reveal it when needed).
Take screenshots (to use later as handouts).
Run files, programs, and apps that are designed for computers.
Surf the internet.
Play videos.

3. Custom-Branded Conference Rooms

With video conferencing becoming the new norm for many businesses, more organizations are jazzing up their conference rooms to spark creativity and inspire employees. Adding custom-branded signage, painting an accent wall with branded images and design, is a great way to transform a boring conference room, enhance a team’s company culture, and make online conferences more interesting and engaging. However, you’ll want to be careful that you don’t go overboard. Too much signage or paint might also be distracting, so balance is key.

4. Full Automation

When your conference room technology fails you and refuses to work well together, company leaders and employees get equally frustrated and annoyed. Not to mention how it hampers your productivity. Instead, many organizations are beginning to install an intuitive automation system in their conference room. This type of automated system ensures that lighting and audio/visual gear all work efficiently and cohesively.

Need Conference Room Technology Installation From the Pros?

If you want to take your conference room technology to the next level, contact American Sound for installation. We can help you transform your conference room into a more useful and effective space.