Commercial Sound and Video Systems
Looking to upgrade your tech? Explore the best AV solutions for 2025! Don’t miss out on these top picks for innovative AV gear.
Discover the perfect PTZ camera for seamless live streaming in our comprehensive guide and expert tips to elevate your live streaming services.
Explore how golf and country clubs are elevating member experiences and embracing innovation with country club AV latest solutions.
Explore innovative ways to enhance sermons, engage congregants, and create immersive worship experiences with video walls for your HOW.
Is your Conference Room AV setup showing its age? Discover five signs you may need an upgrade to boost professionalism in your meetings.
Discover what quality acoustical treatments and are and how they can seamlessly transform your business and help you close on clients.
Explore 5 innovative av trends that will help you update your workspace, from cutting-edge, sustainable audiovisual technologies to digital displays.
Uncover the top 5 compelling reasons why integrating retail av solutions in your mall or store is a game-changer for staying competitive.
Elevate your gaming experience! From crystal-clear audio to high-def visuals, our Esport AV gear takes your gameplay to the next level.
Discover the latest Church AV Solutions and learn how to enhance your worship experience with state-of-the-art technology.
With businesses being at various levels of work-from-home, communication is crucial in the workspace. Communication tends to be a concern no matter how big or small the space and team may be.
Digital soundboards are all the rage and the next natural step to upgrade a sound system. But what does that mean in my application? Good question. If you have a “plug & play” sound system where you just want to flip a switch and it works with a few Microphones and maybe a source or two, then this may not be an upgrade you need at this time. On the other hand, if you have an old soundboard and someone who runs it in your facility, you should look seriously at the latest Digital Mixing Board technologies. There are many reasons why and they certainly sound and perform better than analog components, but here are three initial (and important) reasons why you will benefit from a new Digital mixer; 1) Remote Tablet Control: New Digital consoles (or “control surfaces”, as some tend to call them) can interface with the internet and be controlled via an iPad, Droid or another tablet (or Smartphone). This allows the user maximum flexibility in being able to move around the listening area and adjust settlings or even run the digital mixer from the stage. This wireless interface has many benefits that will be enjoyed with a digital upgrade. 2) Pre-Set Scenes: You just went through a long rehearsal and you finally have the sound board all set where you need it (dozens of knobs are just the way you like it). A day or so later you walk back in the sound booth and nothing is the way you left it and the show starts in an hour. After screaming, your options are limited. But not with a digital board. Setting scenes on a new digital mixer will allow you to store dozens of scenarios and with a touch of a button (and perhaps a Password entry) all your settings come back to where you need them. 3) Post Mix Recording: Ever hear a sound (baby crying, a door creaking, a cough or two) in your recording (after an event) that you really wish was not there? How about an instrument or vocalist that should have been louder but was lost in the live mix? With a digital board (and the proper interface) a post sound mixing can be as easy (probably easier) as a Live Mix recording. On a digital board, all channels can be recorded simultaneously and therefore you will have control over each channel even after the live performance. Studios have done this style of mixing for decades, but now with digital soundboards, it can be done in your a/v booth or facility. These are but a few of the many reasons to consider a Digital Sound Board upgrade for your A/V system. Let CSAV Systems help you make the right choice and provide a cost-effective enhancement to your sound (and/or video) systems. www.CSAVsystems.com
Video projectors can be an expensive investment. Maintaining projectors is worth the effort and now more simple than ever. Projectors are air-cooled and it is critical that airflow remains constant to prevent overheating and damage to internal components. Fans bring air in from the outside, pass it through the projector, usually directed over critical sections and then out through a vented panel. Since room air is used in this process, dust that floats in room air is also pulled into the projector. The projector’s air filter prevents these particles from getting in the optical path and degrading image quality. If it is not regularly cleaned dust can clog the filter reducing airflow and ultimately damaging the projector. Below is a typical projector. This unit has a side-mounted filter. Depending on the model, filters will generally be located on the side or the bottom. After removing the filter cover, the filter should be exposed. Every model is slightly different so please consult the user’s manual for more specific instructions on removing the filter. In this photo, the filter can be seen. Note the dust in the filter. The lines are caused by the grill pattern on the filter cover. Once the projector filter has been removed, it can be cleaned in several ways. Compressed air can be used to blow the dust out of the filter from the opposite side. Most filters can also be cleaned with a vacuum or by using warm water. If you use water, be sure the filter is completely dry before putting it back into the projector. Reassemble the filter and cover according to the manual. Many projectors also come with timers that remind you it is time to clean the filter so check the instruction guide to see if your unit has a timer and how to reset the timer if necessary. Clean projector filters can make a projector last longer and help you get the most life out of the expensive lamps in the units. Dirty filters lead to many problems including overheating, poor image quality, blown lamps, and degraded optics. The projector filter cleaning process only takes a few minutes, but it is the single most important maintenance activity an end-user can perform.
One of the most common pieces of technology used in the professional AV industry today is the video projector. These units can be critical components of boardrooms, classrooms, training facilities, meeting rooms, auditoriums and even in Churches & Temples. Today projectors are feature rich and very diverse and choosing the right unit for your specific application can be difficult. To simplify this process here are three basic (but important) specifications to look for: 1) Brightness: Projectors today are becoming ever brighter and sharper. Where an ultra-bright projector a few years ago was 2000 lumens, most units today (for corporate environments) can be 4000 to 6000 lumens. Brightness is important but can be costly, it is also not the only specification you should be concerned with. If the room is bright and very well lit 5000 to 6000 lumens should be considered. In the average meeting space application with controlled lighting (no direct Sunlight on the screen) 4000 to 5000 lumens should be sufficient. 2) Resolution: The newest trends are towards HDMI interface with DVD players, Laptops and Teleconferencing devices. HDMI may very well replace the old VGA standard in the years ahead (perhaps sooner rather than later). But HDMI inputs on a projector do not mean that the unit can provide the full resolution quality that one may expect. Especially since most people are watching TVs at home that has a True HD (1920 X 1080) resolution. If the image is important to your presentations look for a minimum of a WXGA (1280 X 720) projector. Of course, a better choice would be SXGA (1280X1024) or the goal for HD at WUXGA (1920X1080) would be even better. Keep in mind this resolution rating will have a substantial impact on the cost of the unit, but will also affect the quality of the presentation. 3) Contrast Ratio: A less well known yet still important spec for any video display device is Contrast Ratio. The higher this number (1000 or 3000 or greater) the better the image quality on your screen. Contrast ratio in its simplest form is the ratio of the light reflected from an all-white image and an all-black image. So a projector with a 3000:1 contrast ratio means that the white image is 3000 times brighter than the black image. The higher the contrast ratio, the more detail you can see on the projected image whether its numbers, pictures, graphs, text, or video. Contrast is what makes it possible for us to see the subtle shades of colors. So good contrast is all about seeing the details. There are many other specifications and features that can be of value to review, but these three will give you a solid foundation for making the right choice to achieve the desired end-result. Who isn’t looking for the “biggest and brightest” but often budget will dictate what we will finally purchase. Of course, the most critical decision you can make will be choosing the right A/V vendor to install, replace or otherwise handle your sound and/or video needs. Relying on a trusted resource provider in A/V can save you and your company a lot of money, time and most importantly embarrassment… www.CSAVSystems.com
