Devising Innovative Features in AV Design

Grant's Perspective on ... delivering the hockey experience

People who have the experience to do design work generally love what they do. These are people who enjoy being creative and probably would not be pleased in life doing a mundane job (I usually use Accountants as my example…. I hear they count beans all day long - Boring!!!!!) In the Inland AV world the designers, sales staff and mangers, all get to work on projects that are what I call “enjoyable challenges”. Each project is different as each client is different.

Last week Barry C. was telling me about an idea he presented and used for an audio project at a sports complex. (For those who may not know Barry he is a fellow Inland AV designer who has a long list of successful large projects he can boast about, specializing in the design of audio systems for the large venues and worship environments) This particular sports complex requested the provision for live hockey commentary broadcast within the venue. Envision being in other areas of the venue other than the rink itself and listening to the game just like AHL and NHL hockey on the radio and TV.

To finish off the system and offer an extra feature that provides excitement to the system, Barry implemented microphones at ice level to capture the sounds of the game in action – slap shots, metal on ice, puck on the boards, crowd noise, etc – all that good stuff. These game sounds mixed in with the commentary offer an exciting and professional dynamic to the closed circuit broadcast that in turn eliminate the otherwise “dry” broadcast of voice only and provides a production that hockey fans are accustomed to.

Nice touch to that design! He’s now including this feature again with a current project at another sports venue.

And that’s a good example of what we do at the big AV company - we take an interest in the client’s vision and work with them and in the end they get that little bit extra that makes their project so much more.

Grant