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One of the great joys of the holiday season every year is all the sights and sounds associated with it. To the casual observer, this situation is just part of the festive atmosphere but to the business owner, the state of his digital signs, speakers and other AV equipment is of utmost importance as it helps to bring customers into the store and, once inside, to drive sales. In fact, it is a prudent idea for business owners to consider upgrading their location's signs and speakers every year or two to fully capitalize on the holiday rush. 

One of the best things you can do for your business is to keep your conference room equipment updated. To your customers and clients, this shows you are on the cutting edge. When people see your technology and engage with you through it, it needs to be a modern, clean and effective system. A system considered modern and functional, that complements the technology others are using, will go a long way in better helping your organization communicate, teach and sell. Your interaction with people through technology speaks volumes about who you are as a company. It tells people that you are offering them the latest conveniences by making the greatest use of the current technology.

Imagine your perfect conference room. A place where all of your staff and consultants work together on a project or participate in a meeting. There is an excellent feel, and a great communal and collaborative atmosphere. Everyone sits face-to-face, ready to exchange ideas that will help drive your company's short-term and long-term success.

With 2014 upon us and a whole host of new conference toom technology continuously being released, we thought it would be a good idea to look at some of things you should be thinking about for your business conference rooms.

Video conferencing is used for everything from providing guided tours of remote manufacturing facilities, to conducting legal depositions, to interviewing job candidates across the globe. Due to its cost effectiveness, video has another purposeful use that businesses leverage on a daily basis.

A video conferencing system is a major investment for any business, but if it's done correctly, it will result in considerable ROI for years to come. If your company relies on live meetings and conference calls to sell your product, engage with customers, or manage remote employees, a video conferencing system can save you thousands of dollars in travel expense while also improving the ways that you communicate.

Church Sound Systems, Amplify the Message

The Bells and Whistles

Even if they relied on acoustics alone, century-old places of worship have some kind of sound system to engage the participants and lead them through the service. But since audio products don’t age quite as gracefully as the stone and marble of ancient cathedrals, what was once considered state-of-the-art no longer meets the needs of today’s congregations. Of all the church sound systems we’ve done, we’ve found two extremes. Either the system is completely outdated and prone to failure, or we uncover a collection of obsolete components cobbled together with electrical tape and a prayer until something better can one day be implemented.

I have been noticing a trend lately when I go to see clients. Everyone seems to think that a flat panel display is the better tool for the job in conference or meeting rooms. I'm not sure if this is unique to the Tampa-St.Pete area or if it's nationwide. 

While in some cases a flat panel display may be the better choice, in many cases it is not. In a very small meeting room, say 6-8 people I think you could get away with a flat panel comfortably. Even then, I wouldn't consider anything less than 50 inches but preferably 52"-60". This also depends what the display is going to be used for. For example, a Power Point presentation with large graphics could get away with a smaller display than a meeting where you might be looking at Excel spreadsheets.

The use of digital signage marketing can help you promote your business, educate your clients and keep them entertained.  All of this can be done while you have a "captive audience" with the installation of digital signage at your business.     

Digital Signs have been around for a while now but have been difficult and expensive to implement, let alone explain to the end user.  For much of that time, industry insiders and trade publications have been telling us that the digital signage market is one market that is going to grow like crazy.  With the proliferation of inexpensive flat panel displays, it does seem like the time for that prediction to actually come true may have finally arrived. 

Now that the cost of flat panel displays is no longer an obstacle, the only other issue we had encountered with digital signage was with ease of use and content.  Scene Studio is a product created by our partners at RidgeLogic.  Their product addresses both concerns.  They now offer various content packages to give you great content and super easy implementation to simplify your signage production even more.   

This content is available on a subscription based service.  Having the content already produced is a major time saver.  Now, most any one with a basic understanding of computers can easily and quickly put together professional looking signage presentations.         

Back in the Stone Age – and by that, we mean the 1970s – the idea of speaking to another person with a real-time image was just a dream for the average business person. Sure, there were some huge corporations that could accomplish this by having TV cameras set up, but the reality was, most well-heeled business organizations could not really afford to have real-time video conferencing. Still, as technology progressed, modern video conferencing systems became an affordable, real-time way to communicate with employees and clients. And today, the newest technology surpasses expectations by turning any video conference into an online video collaboration.

For many businesses that rely on the distribution of HD or "High Definition" video content, there is some potential bad news coming. That "bad news" in my opinion will affect Sports Bars and Restaurants more so than any other industry.

At the risk of oversimplifying this, I will attempt to breakdown what this means to our customers over the next few paragraphs. 

Obviously being in this business we do a lot of jobs that require the installation of a video projector. There are multiple issues we run into when we visit a job site to tale a look at the project. One major issue is, currently almost any laptop you'll buy is going to be a widescreen laptop. The widescreen has become, it seems the de facto standard. However, most companies that have had an AV setup for any length of time, seem to usually have the old 4:3 ratio screens. This presents a problem because the preferred "new" source is widescreen but the display area is not. Not every customer wants to change a perfectly good screen just because they are replacing the projector.

When considering a projector in a conference room design, there are many things to consider. Here in this article, we try to narrow it down to the top few items you should consider. 

We have installed many video surveillance cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs) around the Tampa and Clearwater areas over the years. In over 30 years of securing businesses in Florida, we've learned that commercial video surveillance cameras benefit and protect your business in more than one way. 

In today's blog, we'll explore a few of these advantages so you know how to make the most of your security solutions. Let's dive in!

3 Technologies that Can Have a Positive Impact on Your Tampa Company

The big question businesses owners often face is not whether they need a surveillance system, but how advanced that system needs to be. It can be tempting just to get an “off the shelf” generic CCTV solution, but before you go down that road, consider the advantages that modern surveillance technologies offer. The best approach for Florida companies is to get a system that is tailored to their needs, and that means considering all of the surveillance cameras’ possible capabilities. Keep reading to learn about some innovative features that could add value to your business:

If you have ever considered the idea of wall mounting flat panel TV's in your place of business you may want to read on. One of several reasons to mount those flat panel TV's and quickly is a recent (2007) study* that shows injuries to young children is up over 41% since 1990.**  Those injuries cited in the study occurred because the flat panel TV fell over and caused an injury to the child. 

One of our favorite newer projects is the audio system we installed at the new Idaba Spa at Innisbrook Golf Resort. As you walk into the beautifully manicured grounds, set amongst the landscaping are several SoundTube outdoor speakers. Peaceful music emanates from these speakers setting a relaxing tone as the client walks from the parking area towards the main entrance.

This was a very interesting project we took from the planning stages, to ground breaking and then eventually to completion. The Citrus County Arts League center is essentially a performing arts center.

At the heart of the design is a sound reinforcement system that has to work well with the very wide and relatively shallow audience area. Included along with the main systems design are several other sub systems throughout the theater. 

The main sound system uses a cluster of three EV SX500 speakers aimed directly towards specific areas of the audience. This is done to make sure you can hear equally well from all seats in the venue. Above the audience there is a dual 18" subwoofer hung from the ceiling to provide some extra punch for the low frequencies when it is required. Amplification power is provided by QSC's CX series of amplifiers. Each speakers signal passes though EV's speaker processor before being amplified to make sure the EQ is just right for the room. 

In addition to the main speakers there is a 70v distributed audio system out in the lobby and the restrooms. This 70v background music system entertains the audience during intermission and also can notify the audience when the show is about to start up again. We incorporated Telex's Sound-Mate assisted listening system to help performers be heard by audience members with hearing difficulty. The system consists of a transmitter placed out in the audience area that broadcasts to a receiver. This receiver is worn by an individual that wants to use the assisted listening system. Each receiver has a set of ear buds that connect from the receiver to the listeners ear with an adjustable volume control. With the assisted listening system everyone can enjoy the show even if they normally have trouble hearing in these situations. 

There is also a sound and video communication system with which the sound booth can communicate to cast members in the dressing room. With this system they can notify the cast when to get ready to go on stage. We put video monitors in each of the dressing room so that in addition to hearing the performance the cast can see it as well. 

In addition there is also another communication system for the sound booth down to the stage hands. This Telex communication system is wired to locations at the stage so the stage hands can communicate with the sound booth and not interrupt the show.

Learn Which Products Will Work Best in Your Tampa Boardroom

If you have decided to take advantage of boardroom automation technology in your Tampa, FL business, the next logical step is choosing which products will give you the reliable, convenient experience you want for your clients and employees. Our boardroom integrators understand which products excel at improving productivity and client experiences. Below, we’ve covered some of the best boardroom automation technologies available today.

We just finished a major renovation for the DoubleTree Hotel in the Westshore area of Tampa. The goal was to replace the worn out and dated room combining/sound system with something newer.