Audiovisual Rack Design Tool

Grant's Perspective on ... Chief's online rack builder application.

ChiefMounts Canada, an Inland AV supplier of monitor & projector mounts as well as racks and accessories has posted a rack builder application. You can configure your own rack by following their step-by-step process. You choose the size and style of rack and then add components and  accessories and save. The finished result is a PDF or jpeg file that you can share with your audiovisual supplier when discussing your new AV system.

 

This is a nifty little tool to help visualize a rack and see how it will look before ordering.

The one issue we had in testing the application was that it ran best in Explorer and Chrome. We had trouble with it when tested in Firefox. Not perfect but a great tool to visualize a project before the money is spent.

Grant

Dr AV Recommends More Fibre

Grant's Perspective on ...fiber optic cables for AV systems

Would most people be surprised to see that their systems design calls for the transmission of video over fiber?

This technology is being used more and more to transmit digital video from source to display.

In fact many in our industry believe that eventually fiber will replace copper twisted pair (CAT5) and coaxial cables.

Where do I use it most often? Well, two major areas:

1) Video conferencing. Clients want that image to be sharp! They want to see details and with many systems now utilizing Tandberg HD video the images look fantastic. After all, we're creating an environment that is the next best thing to being there.

2) Digital signage. A corporations marketing must look top notch. Yes, an obvious point. Just like an airline wouldn’t want coffee stains on their seatback trays as it might give the impression they don't take pride in the rest of the systems that keep the plane in the air, the images in a digital signage system should not have smears and ghosting and fuzzy and/or jagged edges etc.

Bottom line: avoid degradation of the high-resolution video during transport because IT’S GOTTA LOOK GOOD!

The SHARP commercial grade LCD monitors we use in our projects do an absolutely fantastic job of recreating video. However, if the transmission of that video signal to the monitor is poor, the monitor can’t help that. Therefore send digital video in a digital realm.

Why is fiber so healthy for your system? Basically the digital information comes out the same at the other end (that almost sounds too graphic).

Fiber provides low loss of the video signal over long distances and high bandwidth properties. But it's not only a requirement for long cable distances. Transmitting over fiber provides greater resistance to electromagnetic noise from motors, radios, other cables, AC power power cables.... in other words, noise immunity. You are probably familiar with hum bars slowly moving up your image and sparkle in the picture. No more with fiber. Fiber is also non-conductive, which has its advantages, and is good for our friends in the high security areas as it is very difficult to tap into.



In comparison, twisted pair cables will suffice for short runs and low bandwidth signals. Hi-res coax cable has remained popular for most reasonable distances (within the confines of a typical boardroom, training room, or presentation theatre) and high bandwidth signals. Copper is costing more (so they tell me) so the additional cost of going with fibre is becoming less and less. With HD video having become mainstream you WILL see more of this.

Would most people be surprised to see that their system design calls for the transmission of video over fiber? Yes, but they'll know their Inland AV guy is looking out for their best interests.


Grant

Sales Staff Tribute

Grant's Perspective on ...Sales personnel in the Inland AV world

I have some observations about the sales staff I work with that I want to share. No this isn't a complaint, more of me wanting to show my respect to good sales people. Here at the big AV company I've observed the sales staff designing their own systems, and they absolutely love doing it.

I think this is really cool as, and I'm being frank here, they're not just people who are out to sell something in a box and put another notch on their pencil. If I were the customer, I'd notice that and appreciate this dynamic. The biggest trait I brag about when I talk about the big AV company is their passion. Perhaps they don’t want anyone knowing this about them but they get totally pumped about deriving an innovative system that will work for their clients.

See the picture below of Brian and Glenn discussing ideas with a client at our open house.



Yes they're a different breed than us mellow designer types, but hey, the only thing worse than an over eager sales person, is one who isn't passionate about what they do. Everyone benefits. So hat's off to the passionate Inland AV sales people.

Grant

Cable Clutter on the Table

Grant's Perspective on ... Cable Clutter on the Table

My previous post was a bit of a rant about people who spend a huge sum of cash on their boardroom aesthetics and almost nothing on the room's communications system. I'm following this up with another pet peeve; a great looking room and a great AV system but with cables everywhere.

Consider connecting a laptop on a boardroom table or a lectern when doing a presentation. You'll need to at least connect the computer video, possibly power, and potentially computer audio and a LAN connection. So often this means the aesthetics of the room and presentation is marred by a tangle of cables.

There are a few options when it comes to table top cable management. By that I refer to the connection points where a user will plug-in their equipment to an AV system. Not to a traditional wall plate loaded with connection points located far away from the boardroom table, but a place conveniently right on the table.

On a boardroom table you may find connection point devices that are either pop-up, tilt-up, flip-open, or well style. There may be more than one per table and when in the closed state they hide the connection points while providing an elegant solution to a well designed AV system.

A pop-up, when activated, will elevate itself above the table to expose the connection points. A tilt-up is very similar but a tad more discreet. A flip-open is simply a lid that when open allows access to the connection points recessed below the level of the table.

All of the above require interconnect cables. These are the cables that connect your device to the connection point. I personally don't like the fact that the excess cables lay on top of the boardroom table cluttering up the area, which looks unkempt and may be a distraction.

My preferred method is the cable well where the required interconnects already exist within the well and can be extracted when required. This way the user simply pulls out only the desired connection point to the required length to their laptop.

To do one better than that, there are wells available that also include a keypad in the lid (see the picture at the top of this post). This provides the user with control of the AV system right at the location where they connect their device. How cool is that? No more searching for the projector remote or walking across the room to a wall mounted controller and an audio mixer located in a credenza. A common example of this would allow the meeting chairperson to connect their laptop, turn on the AV system, and throughout the course of the meeting adjust the volume and select any of the other connected laptops to be displayed.

The goal is to provide a reliable AV system that is very easy to use while keeping the room looking neat and clean.

Grant