We live in an age where communication is no longer restricted by physical distance or space. You can be all alone in your room physically, while at the same time being connected to thousands, even millions of people, through a single computer, in real-time. For businesses, this presents a huge opportunity, and generally, all kinds of organizations can benefit from this technology.
Improved audio and video communication is changing the way organizations operate. They are changing how businesses are able to communicate, how educational institutions teach students, and even how places of worship address the attendees.
While the digital transformation of audio and video communication is a powerful tool, in order to get the most out of it, you need to know exactly what kind of hardware and software you need for your application. Here are some tips to help you achieve maximum efficiency from your audio and video setup.
Cameras
Whether you are working from home and need to have a meeting with the boss, or you want to talk to an international client over a quick Zoom call, having a solid camera is mandatory. Most laptops today come with built-in cameras but these often don’t cut it for people that need high image quality or require a camera with a quality mic. These cameras are great for the occasional video call with friends and family, but when you are representing your organization you want something more robust. Especially if you plan on having a single camera to televise your entire team during a company event or you need wide-angle viewing, going for an after-market camera will be your best option.
Mics
Good video quality only tells half the story; you will also need a good mic to get your entire message across in the best possible way. There are tons of mic options to choose from, and even though after-market cameras do come with built-in mics, it would still be a good investment to get a secondary dedicated mic to go with your video conferencing setup. According to the audio team at CSAV Systems, an aftermarket mic can be used for a lot more than just video conferencing. It can be a great asset for your local meeting room, or you could go for a portable option that a speaker can wear during a presentation or a seminar. The right mic will integrate into your existing system and help to enhance the quality of work you are currently doing.
Speakers
Audio equipment can be extremely pricey as you start to move into well-known brands and high-performance equipment. Your meeting room, conference room, or home office would be incomplete without a good speaker but you don’t have to spend thousands to get the job done. Especially if you are looking to outfit a small area, a decent-sized speaker will do well. However, you don’t want to go for the lowest-priced options as these generally aren’t very durable, nor is the sound quality worth the money. You would be far better off spending just a little bit more buying something that you will be able to use for several years to come.
Before the purchase, look into the specific features of the speaker that you need such as Bluetooth connectivity, surround sound, wired connectivity, or the ability to support different input sources. You can also choose between tabletop, wall-mounted, or roof-mounted options depending on the space that you want to install them in. You can also find a lot of good options that can be installed out of sight without compromising on the quality of the audio.
Wireless Connections
Whether it is a conference room or a home office where you and a couple of friends are getting together to work, you need to have the right wireless connection options to help everyone get their job done. This could be a wireless connection for the internet or a wireless connection for various machines and gadgets within the office. The important thing to keep in mind is how many people you need support for and how much bandwidth each person is going to be using.
Especially for office setups where people are constantly accessing data wirelessly from a server or sharing files to a remote storage station wirelessly, being able to transmit this data quickly and securely is a prime concern. Again, standard solutions will form part of your tablet or laptop, but for better performance, a device option is a way to go. Consider your long-term goals and then decide on something that will offer not just what you need right now, but will be just right when your team grows or the nature of your work evolves.
Visual
You also need to be able to see your meeting notes, your presentations, and even the rest of the team during a video conference. Seeing all these things on your laptop screen will be possible, but it will be far from ideal when you have a group of twenty people trying to get a glimpse from the tiny 13-inch screen. Projectors are the ideal solution for these situations, and they also double up as excellent displays for regular activities like watching cable TV or just having a bigger display to use as your work monitor.
Even with the right technology, you need to have the right software to bring it all together to get the most out of it. This is why it really helps to look at your software requirements before investing in hardware, find out exactly which software you will be using the most, and then work your way back from there.
This way, you won’t have any complaints about conflicting software and hardware, and you can be sure that you are getting the most value from all the money you spent on buying top-quality components for your business. When setting things up, you must also pay close attention to connections and the kinds of cables that you are using to bring everything together. Sometimes it’s simple connectivity errors that create the most painful problems, and the fact that they are hard to identify only makes the situation more challenging.
