Thank Goodness for the ADA: An AV Guy’s Challenge for 2016

Thank Goodness for the ADA: An AV Guy’s Challenge for 2016

Last week, I fell and hurt my leg. It’s not a serious injury, and I’ll be fine in a week or two, but it’s eye opening to see how much harder it is to work and live in a world designed for people with two working legs. I’m really grateful for the accessibility features of public buildings, particularly door openers and easy-to-grab handles and railings. Because I’m suddenly using these features, I’m noticing how often they are not there. In one venue, I came up against exterior doors and restroom doors without automatic door openers, room doors without easy-to-grab pull handles, and aisles between chairs and tables that were not wide enough to maneuver crutches through.

 

Click Through to Read More

You want how many microphones?

You want how many microphones?

“You want how many microphones?”

 

I’ve found myself asking clients that question on many occasions. Big board meeting. National membership meeting. Round-table committee discussion. Meetings where there are 30 to 100 people who all need to be able to hear and be heard.

 

I’ll be honest -- you cannot have 50 microphones live at once in one meeting room without digital processing and expect to not have feedback. There’s no way one sound technician can manually keep track of who’s speaking and who’s up next and keep it all going smoothly. It’s not going to be pretty. And think of how many cables you’d need!

 

Luckily there’s a solution that lets everyone have a mic, prevents feedback, and keeps technicians from ripping their hair out.

 

It’s called an Audio Discussion System, or alternately known as a “Congress” or push-to-talk system.

What Causes Audio Feedback?

What Causes Audio Feedback?

What is feedback?

Ouch! That screech you hear from the sound system when you hold the mic wrong? That’s Audio Feedback. No, no, not negative comments -- Audio Feedback is when sound from the loudspeakers comes back into the microphone, creating a “feedback loop” and causing an awful howl.

Here's a video explaining what feedback is and how it works...

Presenter's guide to preventing AV problems

Have you ever launched full-swing into a great multimedia presentation, only to have the technology fail in the middle of your talk? Have you been left wondering, “Why won’t my video play?” or “Why won’t my file open properly on this computer?” We know we can’t always be there to help, so we’ve developed this guide with our best tips to help you make sure your own presentations go off without a hitch.

You're prepared for your big presentation, with backups in hand, but what do you do if you encounter problems at setup, and don’t know how to fix them?