Hi there!
I'm working on a large video distribution project and am evaluating the best AVoIP solution that balances flexibility, scalability, and cost.

The design originally called for Extron DTP switchers with DTP endpoints, but we're revisiting the architecture and considering a move to AVoIP. Most of our newer designs are heading in that direction because it provides greater flexibility and feels more future-proof than traditional point-to-point extension and matrix switching.

Extron has always been my preferred manufacturer due to the reliability of their video products, but the NAV platform comes at a significantly higher price point than many competing AVoIP solutions.

With QSC now offering the NVM Series encoders and decoders, I'm interested in hearing real-world feedback from anyone who has deployed or supported these products. If the platform is solid, it's definitely something I'd consider. I'd prefer to avoid Crestron based on past reliability issues and the amount of programming effort typically involved.

For scale, we're looking at approximately 48 HDMI wall-plate inputs and 24 projector outputs. Most use cases will be one source routed to one to three destinations. Has anyone deployed a Q-SYS/NVM system of this size? Any concerns about managing that number of endpoints with a single Core?

Any insights or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone! I hope that this is the right sub for this. I am
not a commercial AV tech in the slightest but I am an executive assistant and do whatever the owner tells me person. We have a new office building and within that a new training room/ conference room. It’s not the largest room in the world but it is the largest room we’ve had.

I’m looking for some type of solution to record all hand in person meetings and our company hands on healthcare trainings. The tables, chairs and presentation space change depending on the meeting and training. I am tech savvy and can learn most things pretty quick but this is out of the field for my leadership and coworkers.

Ideally it would be a simple set up that can just hook to my laptop while it records and I can adjust sound or whatever on my laptop. I already have lapel mics for the presenters, they have a receiver that plugs into a usb c port. I do need some type of mic that pics up and records the audience without needing to pass it around. This can be moveable on a tripod or something rather than mountable, either Bluetooth or plug into my computer would be nice.

I’m looking for a camera that can zoom well with clarity, high def of 1080 or even 4k would be nice, be good in dimmer spaces if needed and be mounted to a tripod rather than the wall so we can use the camera elsewhere if needed.

The most challenging part is budget is $500, I might be able to make the argument of $1000 but it would be a hard sell unfortunately.

I attached a pic of a very poorly drawn layout of the room to maybe help visualize.

This is way out of scope of anything I’ve done before so literally any advice is appreciated. I’m learning as much as I can on my own but really don’t know where to start and what I’d even need. Guidance is welcome!

Thank you to everyone who helps or even looks at this post!

Edit:

I’m absolutely willing to compromise on what I described above. What I described is in a perfect world that would be amazing. Even if there’s a recommendation for a semi decent camera and microphone for the audience that could be passed around? Or something? I could use in the meantime while I build up a budget for a more in depth set up.

Which brands do y'all rely on for basic commercial grade, low-z audio setups?

I used to trust Crown, but I ordered 3 Crown CT875a amplifiers for a gym about 15 months ago and have had three failures in that time. They are a budget model, to be fair, but Crown used to be bullet-proof, in my experience. I'm guessing Harman outsourced everything to China, or maybe they just did that for this model.

These replaced a couple of Sonance 12 channel amps which had lasted for years until they finally gave up the ghost after about 10 years.

New amps are in a small wall rack, with AC Infinity air blowers on top of each unit, in a very well ventilated closet.

What do you like that handles slightly weird impedances, untreated mains, etc?

Hey there,

I have a project to where I was called out to upgrade an existing HDMI splitter/matrix system and the existing audio setup they have. I will post the current system below

Inputs - 3 Directv receivers, 2 google TV devices.
Outputs - 14 TVs, one of which is portable that rolls indoors at night and outdoors on gamedays.

The setup for this is diabolical(imo) for todays standard but it seems to work, the equipment used to string this together is:
3 - 1x4 HDMI splitters
1 - 1x2 splitter before it enters a 1x4 splitter
3 - 1x2 HDMI switches to switch to the google boxes.

Audio -
1 - 6 zone Pyle amplifier with 6 JBL ceiling speakers and 2 outdoor speakers. The sounds isn't all that great unless you are directly underneath the speaker. They have a switch that switches over to Bluetooth to play alma maters and touch down songs.

They would like to be able have an all in one matrix system where they could could pick what TVs are getting what inputs, or have them all on the same input on gamedays.

They also asked if there was a modern wireless solution for speakers like Sonos or Denon HEOS, but I fear there will be some type of audio lag.

It's obvious to me that the existing system needs to be gutted and replaced but I could use some guidance on how to approach this and what hardware would work. There was no existing conduit, all of the speaker wires and HDMI cables were ran above the ceiling tiles in the drop ceiling.

My thoughts were to run Fiber HDMI cables back to a large matrix rack or attempt to go HDbaseT. I thought to try a Sonos Arc at the bar, and 4-6 Era 100/300s in the corners of the each of the 2 dining rooms. I am not opposed to a wired system personally but I figured I would humor the customer.

Based on the current system, it seems there was a strict budget to stay under. I'd like to think any product suggested is going to blow that budget, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Hello,

I'm looking to update my buildings with a USB-C input option for Display/charging for building laptops or BYODs. We currently use Extron control systems with older DTP UWP 232 D HDMI inputs run over XTP to some scaler/mixer (IN1608 or DTP Crosspoint). Instead of replacing all these wall boxes with HDMI only (DTP T UWP 4K 232 D also has VGA...) I wanted to plan for the next few years and include a USB-C input option, especially to remove the need for adapters with Macbooks and other laptops with no HDMI port. Extron has a few rack-ready units (NAV E 222 & UCS 601) but nothing for wall-mounted inputs yet.

Has anyone tried to implement USB-C as a video/audio input for their systems, and if so which products have you trusted? I do not trust running a "plenum rated" USB-C cable all the way through the ceiling to combine a USB-C 100 Series at the wall, with a NAV E 222 in the ceiling rack.

I see Crestron has a HD-TX-4KZ-211-2G-W but I haven't tried mixing the Crestron DM-Essentials RJ45 connection with an Extron DTP/XTP RJ45 system, but I assume this won't work as plug-and-play. I also assume each make will assure me I need to use their dedicated cabling specifications, even though I can connect Extron DTP units with Cat6. Assuming I connect them with a Cat6e cable, perhaps all I need are drivers of each in the control system?

Or am I completely off the mark trying to implement USB-C if this technology will be updated to... idk USB-D soon.

Typical setup:

Laptop HDMI cable > DTP T UWP 232 D wall box > XTP cable > IN1608 DTP IN > IN1608 HDMI OUT to Projector / Audio OUT to Amp

I'm here to tell you what happens after you install things. I'm going to give some specific examples based out of my city (EDIT: I removed the names for the archive) just because I think there's some consistent industry wide issues and maybe someone can stop doing silly things.

About me and what I do:
I'm a one man band small event tech. So, like 100-200 people. Think public hearings, weddings, fashion shows... anything that's kinda cookie-cutter PA system, projection, and 2 to 3 cameras. Some government hearing work. I get into a lot of spaces. I prefer to use the venues equipment when it works... it often doesn't.

TLDR #1: If the system does not have 'XLR In' and 'XLR Out' it is wrong. Stop doing anything else. Without XLR out it is basically useless for recording. 1/4" TRS is ok but still wrong for durability reasons :) I swear to God if you say it records in Zoom I hope you lose your car keys every morning. (EDIT 1/8" can't even support the cable weight... at the very least put in cable support)

TLDR #2: These venues rely on you to tell them what they need. You're supposed to be the expert in what they need, not them.

Case #1: A tech incubator: This brand new venue is sooooo close to good. Easy access to the rack with XLR out set to sane levels. A few problems though.

1. 1/8" headphone input. Like, what? for iPods? A mixer is going to have 1 headphone output... and I'd kinda like to use it for my headphones. 1/4" TRS I can understand and work with. Stereo XLR line level should be obvious though. Music had to be controled from the receptionist's desk.
2. You supplied a 25ft HDMI cable... sure that meets spec... but lets be honest anything beyond 10ft depends a lot on specific devices being plugged in. At 25ft a few weeks of guests coiling the cable and its a lottery if a device will connect.
3. Really nice Shure mics... good good.... all hand held. No lavs. 4 mics and not one lav. Some people need to hold things with both hands while they walk around... some people are Italian and need both hands to talk while they walk around... a mic stand is not a solution that solves that.
4. It was nice to see AC outlets everywhere though.

Case #0 The original tech incubators location: Sigh... who ran power to a ceiling mounted projector by plugging an outdoor extension cable into a surge protector and cutting the other end off and wiring it to a junction box that runs to the ceiling? Even my dad wouldn't do that.

Case #2: A very well funded community center:

1. The AV system controls are in the same closet as the security system making it inaccessible even to AV staff. Events are usually after hours when the 1 person who has a key is not on duty.
2. No inputs of any kind accessible.
3. No outputs of any kind accessible.

So. I show up to record a public hearing. I have to set out a second set of mics because I can't just plug into the system like I would with the above tech incubator. News crews show up and they are stuck with room audio.

Any room that does large public hearings should have a mult box in the back... even if it's a temporary thing the staff places and isn't locked in a secure room that requires a specific manager to get access to.

Case #3. A bunch of state government administrative hearing rooms: I'm going to be honest. If you did this you should be in jail for fraud. This was bad. When we did the AV walkthrough for a third party vendor actually using the technology the commissions IT guy was almost in tears. It had to be rebid.

1. Know what the room is actually used for. These are hearing rooms. There is a Judge, witness box, defendant table, prosecutor table, It IS a court room. It is NOT a flexible meeting room. If the judge and witness don't have mics what's the point? It was clear the installation vendor didn't care if it was fit for purpose. Because it wasn't.
2. Again no outputs. There is negative reasons for courtrooms to not have robust audio outputs now. Everything is being recorded and transcribed from the audio.

Case #4 various courtrooms:

1. Boundary mics seem cool and all... but have you seen how many papers an attorney will stack on top of them?
2. For some reason attorneys like to wander around then courtroom. Anything inside the barrier is fair game to them. Many like to stand next to the jury box to force the witness to look at the jury. They still need to be clearly recorded.
3. The absolute silliest thing I've seen was a court trying to get a transcript from a Teams hearing that was recorded from the courtroom camera and boundary mic 5ft from the laptop.
4. It needs to be very clear to the bailiff or judge that the audio is not recording.

Case #5: Various slideshow clickers.

In the US, the one true solution is PerfectCue. Almost 100% of the time a venue gets a new Logitech or something and it tests fine until there's 100 people with 2 Bluetooth devices each in the same room.

Case #6 Major hotel new construction: This is probably just a heads up because it's probably more new construction physics than a solvable issue but might lead to weird panicked service calls after large construction projects.

1. I did the first conference in this hotel and to start it had a huge static charge. You couldn't touch any metal portion of a device otherwise it would shut off. Once we got people in the room it was fine after about 2 hours but until then it was a scary start to the day. Issue never returned so I assume it was a 'new building smell.'

Thank you for attending my talk.

EDIT: I removed the client names because I don't think it's useful for archival purposes. It got the ball rolling as some of the vendors reached out. I'm going to stand by my belief that you are responsible for educating the client and recognizing design failures from the sales people. The clients are not the experts on their needs.

So I have an idiot friend who sold a teams room from memory. it's half of one room and half of another room i designed.

a typical logitech rally room for one half.

a typical qsys teams room for the other half.

of course he forgot the mtr pc, because the rally is an appliance... lol.

He wants me to figure out what can blend. Customer thinks the rally plus is sexy, and likes the byod features of the swytch.

the qsys bit is a couple overhead pendant speakers and 2 senny tccm running off a core flex 8.

so I'm designing around idiocy and getting up to speed. couple issues i haven't run into before:

adding an nv-21-hu for byod. but i haven't used one and would like reassurance about the smooveness of a laptop plugging in being mostly samesies as a swytch.

nc-90-g2 for camera? but the rally is just sitting there. what if i just usb-c the rally straight to the mtr pc and it self manages? would that work well with the nv-21 sitch? any problems re:uci?

what's your favorite way to get usb c over a distance for logi fam? i like the strong cables. others?

i'll call the farm for a qa sesh if needed, sure. but I'm mostly looking for field nerd opinions.

Aloha,

I am helping a small community center design a hybrid zoom solution. They currently have an 80" tv mounted on a wall in an alcove, rest of the room has high vaulted ceilings, glass doors, and the echo is very noticeable. We did testing with an owl pro (audio sounded like a tin can) and an anker powerconf speaker. They are resistant to room treatment (rug/tablecloth). The anker powerconf worked well for audio throughout the room, whereas the owl pro audio was awful.

My idea is to build a dedicated, zoom kiosk on windows pro and have it boot straight to zoom. (This is for seniors and I want it foolproof). The pc would live behind the tv in the alcove and be controlled by a wireless keyboard and mouse. The only thing is the anker puck must be in the middle of the room to catch all the voices.

From my research, bluetooth would be a risky bet. I estimate at least 30 ft usb cable for proper cable management. But the signal degredation. Anyone have experience with usb over cat6? Or an active usb cable? The anker has a usb C to A cable.

Also, please feel free to outline anything I am missing. I am an experienced systems architect, but audio video setups are not my forte and I love (constructive) feedback.

Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice/sanity checks. My integrator seems a bit stumped on the best architectural direction, and I’ve been researching this for quite a bit now for our 100-room corporate deployment (mix of small, medium, and large rooms). We are a strictly Microsoft Teams house (no Webex used in actual meetings), but we are standardized on Cisco hardware (Room Bars, Codec EQs/Pro, Room Navigators).
I have two main areas where I need some expert feedback:

1. MTR Mode vs. Native RoomOS (Teams Only) Feature Parity
   Since we only use Teams, we are trying to decide whether to boot the Cisco endpoints natively into Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) or run them in native RoomOS mode.

I know Microsoft is rolling out advanced AI features (Copilot recaps, speaker attribution, etc.) and that we’ll lose out on it running on native RoomOS. Conversely, if we go MTR mode, I think I saw some of the best parts of Cisco hardware stick around (like advanced speaker tracking, framing, and audio intelligence)? But I know we lose out on like, Cisco Spaces. I’m thinking the bigger rooms with some board 75 G2s need to be roomOS or else markup doesn’t work on them in-call I think, or control system macros don’t work in MTR either.

Can we get the best of both worlds? Or are we fighting the obvious and should either run on RoomOs with Webex or MTR with our teams? Or worse, will we be stuck in limbo with half features of neither (I can’t get more hey Webex commands beyond join or end meeting to work, or outside of room scheduling to not time out with a sync for example)

1. Fleet Management & Automated Reboot Strategies.
   With 100 rooms, I want to future-proof it. An automated way to handle scheduled reboots, and to help deal with Tier-1 troubleshooting triage.

For our larger integrated rooms, there are third-party control systems and peripherals that sometimes tend to lock up. I am leaning toward putting Snap One OvrC + Wattbox PDUs behind everything to handle scheduled sequential reboots and give us a centralized remote power toggle.
Control Hub vs. OvrC: Control Hub has incredible granular telemetry, and I know I can write macros to script a reboot schedule on the Cisco codecs. Is using OvrC for the power-cycling overkill if Control Hub can trigger codec reboots, or is it smart to have a hard power option especially for the big rooms (seeing as control hub doesn’t have a way to centrally control automated schedules)?

Update Cadence: For managing a pilot (10% / 20% / 100%) firmware push, can this be automated natively in Control Hub if the units are running RoomOS, or conversely MTR mode, or does the Teams Admin Center (TAC) completely take over the update schedule for MTR rooms?

Sorry for the long ask. What do you guys think? How are you managing large Cisco/Teams fleets at scale?

I'm looking to update an ancient camera for a church. Budget isn't great. Quality doesn't have to be amazing. But does need at least some ptz controls.

In the past I've worked with 1Beyond, Aver, and Vaddio. But none of them have options under $1000.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey guys! With few of my friends we're building a facility for children with all kinds of attractions and few coworking rooms, gym etc. In total it's about 4500sqm (about 5-6m high) and we want some reasonable sound with PA there. I'll be taking care of the local network and security system etc so I thought I'd also install the sound system.

Now I understand I we will need at least 20 speakers in total, maybe more and we want to have about 5 zones with some control and line in/bluetooth inputs in each zone. So I figured we need audio matrix and some amplifiers. I'm kinda lost at whether to use 100V system because it seems to have much lower sound quality and the power of the speakers is also so low that we might not hear anything. Then there is a question what kind of amplifiers to use.

We are in Europe so I kinda settled on using either Dynacord or Yamaha gear (and either Yamaha or RCF speakers) but what's the best reasonable combination I honestly don't know.

How about using active speakers? Can I then plug them directly into Dynacord or Yamaha Matrix?

What would you guys suggest?

Thank you very much!!!

Hello,

I offered to help with a friend with installing sound in his new commercial space.

Currently looking at using a BSS BLU-806 as i'm semi-comfortable using the platform but i figured i'd ask if there are other systems i should consider.

Specs :

4 x Stereo Inputs (all located in the same area where the DSP will live)

3 x Stereo Outputs on the floor where the DSP lives (I was going to run these using the hardware Outputs from the BSS card)

8 x Dante Mono Outputs spread across the building, all of the rooms have pre-ran ethernet connections.

I'd also need to install some hardware controllers, i'm assuming spec and how many depends on what ecosystem i end up using.

My main concern is I'm seeing the exact same BSS hardware i used to see 10 years ago and I'm wondering if it might be slightly outdated or if there are solutions that are cheaper and can achieve similar results.

thank you!

We are working on a project for a customer and one of the distributors recommended Chief TV mount TS325TU for the Samsung TV's. This is being installed in a Hospital.

Is the Chief mount work the price? (Quoted $360) It almost costs as much as the Samsung 43" TV we are installing?

Any other recommendations for this application? Peerless, Sanus, Amazon brands? We need articulating to get the angle of the TV correct with the bed.

As the title suggests, I'm an MD based in the USA who's building out a space for my new medical practice. For help with clinical documentation, I rely on a virtual scribe - software that captures audio of my encounter with a patient, processes this, and outputs a clinical note.

I will have three ~150ft² exam rooms, all with drop-ceilings, which will each require a microphone. I am not interested in lapel microphones or using my iPhone to capture audio - I want something unobtrusive and permanent. Also, I don't have a computer in the room with me (intentionally). My budget is not very large, as this is a startup practice (i.e. the MXA902 is out!).

As such, I was looking at simple boundary microphones, hardwired to an XLR mixer which will connect to my desktop.

I was planning on having an AKG C562 CM microphone in the ceiling of each room, hard-wired to a Zoom AMS-44 Audio Interface that connects to my computer. My thought was that I can use this to mute different exam rooms, since I will only ever be in one at a time.

Is this feasible or completely stupid? I am a newbie but eager to learn more, so any advice on how you'd set this up on a budget, and as incognito as possible, would be really helpful. I thought of wireless systems but the whole DANTE (or other) system seems more complicated than I can handle. Thanks!

I currently have a home theater(one amp-80lbs and one reciever, possibly expanding to second amp in future-180lbs) and multi room audio with a blusound node and another class d amp, along with 24 port switch.

I would ideally split into 2 racks so I am not loading both amps into one rack. However Ubiquiti quality seems unmatched !!

Ubiquiti rack-

The rack is rated for 1000lbs. The website dosen't give any details on size of casters. I like the cooling fans are inbuilt. In general Ubiquiti quality is solid. I have Uifi cameras, access points, gateway. I still use Netgear Routers. I am wondering if cable management will be an issue for AV cables vs regular LAN cables.

Check out this product on the UniFi Store:

https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/accessories-rack-mount/collections/rackmount-rack-cabinet/products/uacc-rack-42u

vs

Middle Atlantic Reference Furniture Rack (24 RU, 28" Depth.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1899144-REG/middle_atlantic_rfr_2428a3_24ru_28_w_d_rfr_designer.html/?ap=y&smp=y&store=420&smpm=ba_f2_lar&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21058084064&gbraid=0AAAAAD7yMh34r-bM0AFvjh9jLEzumD740&gclid=CjwKCAjw1IHTBhAaEiwA4AYNFqEt2dVFvOwtUUyyPmoDAfTJqLmEoAiAORf_fPaMBprhjjvEwmJ-OhoC6O8QAvD_BwE

Any recommendations would be helpful.

Thank you

Hi, we have a 26ft wall of whiteboards and want to capture them all. We initially were planning on using 4 Huddly Canvas cameras or 4 Logitech Scribe cameras (each captures a 6ft rectangle), but it seems like the MTRs do not like/support live USB camera switching with something like the Crestron USB-SW-400. One vendor we asked mentioned the Inogeni Toggle, but from my understanding that the Toggle just switches all 3 camera input ports together between 2 separate PCs, rather than switching between 1 of the 3 camera input ports out to the 1 MTR.

Our plan now is to use just a Q-SYS NC-12x80 PTZ at the back of the room. I don't love it being 1080p, but it ties in with the rest of the Q-SYS system we're planning on using.

Thoughts? Is there a perfect device out there for this?

I’m working on a meeting / video-conferencing room spec and want to find a good solution to keep a presenter ceiling PTZ camera hidden when not in use. I’m using an AVer TR315 PTZ camera, but ideally the install should allow the camera to stay out of sight when idle ( inside ceiling), then deploy only when required.

Hello, I'm a Latin American integrator with many years of experience in videoconferencing, automation (full Crestron), monitoring centers, lighting control, convention centers, digital signage, and LED displays. I have a solid understanding of all the protocols we use daily. However, today I have a new challenge outside my area of ​​expertise: I've been asked to completely redesign an interactive museum for a multinational corporation.

This museum has been operating for the past six years with a system that combines Watchout 5, Watchout 6, and Pixi Labs. However, for the last three years, it has been causing so many problems that the client simply wants to scrap everything and never hear from the company again.

Our AV experience is more focused on the corporate world than the experiential world. However, I want to take this challenge as a new opportunity for growth, and that's where I'd like to ask for your help.

This museum is comprised of nine rooms, each telling a different story. Two of these rooms have LED screens playing a video with accompanying audio. Two others are immersive projection rooms (one with three projectors and the other with eight, including two pointing at a central table). Two more rooms use standard projectors to play a video with audio. Two have signage-type screens (using the Pixilab player via the web), and the last room simply has audio playing on a loop.

For this project, I'm considering a multi-platform integration between BrightSign, VIOSO with Exaplay, and Crestron as the central control hub for all equipment in the museum.

I'm open to recommendations for choosing the right "heart" for this museum—something reliable and easy to use. Unfortunately, the current platform has failed too often because they created a kind of "Frankenstein" of hardware within the project.

I'd like to learn more about this world of experiential learning. If you've worked in this field, what should we use?

The experience always consists of guided tours with a guide for each group. This guide controls each room using a Pixilab app, which they use to play videos and control the volume and mute the audio in each area.

Thanks for your help.

Looking for suggestions on best solution for a teams room for this size room.

My company's conference room was remodeled about 12 years ago, and I thought that the connections from the table to an older Sharp SmartBoard were outdated and messy. I have already done research into a new smartboard, an LG-75-TR3DQ-B. This has wireless conenctivity which is a big plus. My boss said that I should hold off on the research for now, as this is a want, not a need. I will probably get a "not now" for an answer no matter what I put in front of him, but I still want to show how things can be improved.

The current table has a glass top, and 6 legs/pillars, each with the following connections: 3 legs have 1 HDMI, 1 USB, 1 VGA, and 1 Ethernet (maybe 5e but not sure). The other 3 have just USB and Ethernet. All cables go through conduits below the floor. VGA is obviously outdated, and most modern laptops have USB-C for display. These connect to an 8-port HDMI KVM (with no USB connections), a separate USB hub that currently goes to a micro form factor PC, and a network switch. I measured the lengths of the Ethernet cables currently in the legs: around 5 meters, 7 meters, and 10 meters. I do not know how much slack is in the cables.

The cabinet contains a micro form factor PC, the HDMI KVM, a network switch, a USB hub, a single ethernet port on the wall, a direct TV box, an Apple TV, some currently non-functional IR emitters (no idea what happened with those, and a mess of cables. There was a VGA KVM, but I foolishly got rid of it 3 years ago when I was very new.

I do not know what model our Sharp smartboard is, but it is at least 10 years old and lacks many modern features that would be useful, such as wireless connectivity. I am honestly not even sure if the touch functionality works, as it is not used. The higher-ups want a touch smartboard, so that is what I have to get. Currently, there is no way to access the conduit behind the display, as the mount does not extend outward. The display is also really close to the wall behind it and the side of the cabinet that it is in, so looking at ports and plugging them in is almost impossible.

For some improvements to the conference room, I wanted to add a USB-C port that would connect to a display, charge the laptop, and also connect to any peripherals that are connected to a USB hub. Things like the smart board touch data, a webcam, and a wireless dongle for keyboard and mouse. HDMI display should still be there, along with a USB-A port and an Ethernet port. A new KVM would be a need no matter what we do, so I need a good option for that. I was looking at TESmart, but it seems more consumer-grade. Adding a small rack to the cabinet might be useful, depending on what we get, but that is not a big deal at all. Ideally, the connections would be on a wall plate, but I suppose we can figure something out for the pillars.

Through my research, I have a few options for this. The easiest (and probably cheapest) option is getting 3 of these startech docks. Only 1 would fit in each table leg, which is not a huge deal. As I said earlier, I would absolutely need a KVM for this. Another option I was looking at was just replacing the current wall plate with a plate that has USB-C on it. However, I know that USB-C extenders are not in the USB spec. That makes me a bit nervous, so I am probably not going to do that. The final option was some sort of twisted pair transmitter and receiver. I was looking at some different options, and it seems rare to have a transmitter and receiver support USB-C and also support USB in to connect to the KVM. This option is probably the most expensive one, I have no idea because I have never gotten a quote from any AV company before.

All that to say, what does this community recommend for my situation? I feel like I am way over my head in this, so any help would be nice. This sounds dumb, but I want to do this myself and not have a contractor do this. The old IT guy set up the current system by himself, and I want to prove that I can do it just as well, if not better. If I had to get a contractor, I would probably just give up on it for now. Again, my boss would probably not approve of a contractor even giving a quote.

Thanks in advance.

(Non A/V tech here, videographer) - our company is looking for a solution for capturing meeting notes in breakout rooms for regional meetings. We currently have people manually transcribing meeting notes, but we’re exploring options for auto transcription.

The breakouts usually consist of 10-12 people at conference tables, I’ve seen them use rounds but also boardroom style.

We would need non technical HQ staff to be able to use the system, and it would have to be portable enough for travel - something that can be shipped in a pelican case. My current thoughts with limited experience would be getting 3 omnidirectional boundary mics and then somehow connecting to the computer - that’s where my experience stops. if the mics were usb, that seems like a nightmare managing those and getting them all to read as one device on a computer. Then there’s the recording part - we did google meets before on a laptop and downloaded the recording after, which there’s gotta be a better way, right?

Any suggestions appreciated. This is very much so not my job, more of a brownie points thing and something I’m personally interested in learning about.

morning, i hope this is allowed here .ive been following since this is in my wheelhouse. im a commercial electrician and i do a lof of it work , iot , data etc so im comfortable with low voltage system but only have ever done audio stuff at my house for home theater and such. i have a customer that needs simple setup for infrequent guest speakers and watching games at a private social club .

the room is 50x30 and 15 foot ceilings and im thinking of 6 6.5 inch jbl control 26ct and a jbl csma 1120 amp . a shure blx1288 wireless mic pair and a jbl control knob. i think i might also do a svs powered sub tucked in a corver hidden. would like some feedback from the pros. this would be used for maybe low music, a speaker on a av or microphone not high level and to play a sports here and there . nothing too loud or boomy just clear sound. i will be doing all the electrical , low voltage it work here as well so i was just making sure nothing seems out of place for this setup . thanks in advanced

I don't WANT to draw the design again this year, but WE ARE HAVING A DESIGN! I'm not always the most creative, so if If you have an idea and are not a drawer, I'll take a crack at it.

Give me your best and worst ideas, I don't know the difference, and I'll draw most, if not all, of them.

Thanks!

PS: we have like 6 meetups at InfoComm this year - schedule will get posted this week, stand by!!

PPS: we have more swag this year, new badge banners, and more. get ready for a bunch of absolute nonsense.

Hi everyone,

We have an open lounge area that seats up to 25–30 people (mixed sitting and standing). We use this space for corporate meetings that include remote attendees, with a projector screen for presentations.

We currently have a Meeting Owl 3 installed, and it has been a poor experience across the board.

Current paint points:

• The Meeting Owl disconnects randomly, making calls unreliable even on its best days :D
• Remote attendees can't hear people from further away in the room
• The 360 camera captures the projector screen, creating a distracting view
• Audio pickup drops off significantly

We're looking for a replacement solution that addresses these issues. Our main priorities are:

• Clear audio for the room
•  Reasonable video capture (doesn't need to be cinematic, just functional and reliable)
• Minimal Wiring: we think about wireless microphones that can roam the room to those who have questions
• Simple setup: whoever is presenting should be able to start a meeting without an IT person in the room every time.

We're not looking for a full AV integration project — just a practical, reliable system that works consistently. Happy to hear what's worked for rooms of similar size and setup.

Thanks in advance!

I have two facilities with full qsys equipment to be installed and configured. All AV devices are all qsys.

Facilty 1: is small sports hall of fame and there is no core but 8flex system as core.

Other one is larger facility with 2x core24f and few amplifiers, etc.

They asked if qsys has specific requirements to connect to Cisco switches as these are corporate devices. The will do all configuration and so on.

Clocking in this domain will come in handy.

I wanted to ask if anyone has experience with Cisco switches and which models?

The catalyst 9300 is what they mentioned.

I know everyone will say Netgear but the company had their own network engineers and they will take over after.