September 12. 2000


A High-Quality Presentation Facility - It's not a box

By Gary Kayye, CTS
Steven Thorburn, PE, CTS

 

 

 

 

Although the projector is one of the key components in building a high-quality presentation facility, it's certainly not the only one. In fact, the average boardroom, conference room or training room has over 50 parts from 14 vendors integrated together to make up a room that's supposed to be easy to use, not complex. The real key component is actually the control system. In fact, a control system is the component that determines how easy or hard a room actually is to use. What good is spending 10, 50 or even 100 thousand dollars on a room that no one except the Director or Education and Training can use? But, unlike buying a projector, picking the control system, or any of the other components for that matter, is not as simple as getting the brightest one made. It's a complex web of integration talent that's simplified by using an educated, talented systems integration company.

Of course, one of the crucial steps in designing a world-class presentation facility is choosing the right room control system. But it's not the only step. Here is a "how to" step-by-step guide that can be used to help create a top-notch room.

Step 1. Needs Analysis: Involve as many people in the needs analysis process as this is where you will identify the application for the room as well as how it is ultimately going to be used. Before moving to the next step, the following questions must be answered: ·

  • Who is going to use the room? Identify if the user is technically savvy or if they are "high maintenance" and keep this in mind throughout the design process.
  • Who is going to be in attendance in the meetings? Consideration must be given to factors such as any disabilities the attendees may have as well as factors related to their job function (i.e. if they are in sales, are there enough phones near the facility to return calls, etc).
  • How often will it be used? If the facility is a 24-hour facility, considerations must be given to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), lighting, fatigue, eye strain, equipment rack location, etc.
  • What kinds of equipment need to be in the room? In this stage you really don't need to consider the brands and model numbers, however, a general AV equipment list should be generated as well as any other items that will effect design (i.e. screens, projector lifts, white boards, etc.
  • What type of user interface (control system) should be provided? If there are to be multiple users in a room, consider designing a
    customized control system interface (touch screen interface) for each user. This will minimize calls to the in-house AV director from confused instructors.
  • Attend a few meetings in person. To really get a feel for how the room is going to be used and the technical level of the users, attend a few of the meetings held in other facilities around the company. This will familiarize you with the people involved as well as prepare you to be able to talk in terms that they are familiar with.
  • Formulate a general budget or better yet, a specific budget for the facility. This is a must as product performance and features vary with price and the sacrifice for budget will usually come in the form of dropping one-notch in quality level or performance if the budget is not realized.

Continue to Step 2