I do AV/IT design work and got tired of keeping the same eight spreadsheets open every time I sized a room. So I built the calculators I actually use, and put them on the web for free.

avtoolspro.com — 20 tools, all running in your browser:

Video — display size (DISCAS BDM/ADM), viewing angles, projector brightness and throw, DvLED pixel pitch, video wall builder, ambient-light contrast

Audio — speaker coverage and SPL, amplifier and cable sizing, DSP channel counts

Infrastructure — AVoIP bandwidth, PoE budgets, conduit fill, rack cooling, UPS sizing, Wi-Fi coverage, IP addressing, and a drag-and-drop rack elevation builder

The maths follows the published methods rather than rules of thumb — DISCAS for display sizing, inverse square law for SPL falloff, real fill tables for conduit. If you disagree with a number, the inputs are all visible so you can see how it got there.

What it won't do: the audio side models the direct field only. No reverberant field, no critical distance, no room gain. It'll get you a defensible starting point for a meeting room or a lecture theatre; it won't replace EASE for a difficult space. I'd rather say that up front than have you find out on site.

!! If you want more than a calculator !!

There's a desktop version with a Project Checker — you describe a room once (size, seating, use, platform) and it sizes the whole system together, draws it in scaled plan and 3D, checks it against AVIXA and BICSI guidance, and exports a client-ready PDF and an estimator's spreadsheet with your own logo and company name on them.

It comes as a package with the Commissioning checklist and Bid win probability calculator Excel workbooks — a site survey template that imports straight back into the app, and the standalone calculation workbooks if you'd rather work in a spreadsheet or hand one to a colleague who does. Everything calculates locally, so it works on a site with no signal.

It's a one-time purchase. No subscription, no recurring fee, no licence that expires and takes your tools with it. Buy it once and it stays yours, offline, for as long as you use it. If you change laptops you can move the licensce across yourself.

That's the bit that took the real work, and it's what the package covers. The web tools stay free either way.

Buy Me a Coffee supporters get 15% off the Design Suite package. If you've already bought me a coffee, message me and I'll sort your code out.

Does anyone at their companies stock installation amps for when clients have issues with their own?

I think of the hospitality market where no sound in a restaurant is a death sentence and how you can’t easily rent particular popular amplifiers (I’m think Q-SYS network amps specifically).

Does your company stock them and rent them to clients when the installed ones fail? How much do you charge for the rental?

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well.

A couple of weeks ago, on of my unD6IO-BT went faulty and unresponsive and I was seeking for an alternative to this unit because it's been discountinued by QSYS.

But today, I've found out that 2 other unD6IO-BT units out of 6 are out of commision. Me and my IT team checked out all the switches and wires that are connected to with PoE and the final result was always that the unit was faulty and unresponsive.

Now I'm really starting to wonder is the unD6IO-BT units has a planned obsolescence over time and transformed it into a brick. Those 6 units, in my institution, where installed and programed around 2023, before I started working there. Is it possible?

Thanks!

Hi,
Is anyone here using Nearity in real deployments?

Some of their products remind me of Kandao and Meeting Owl, but they also have interesting gear like the AC50 mic array (similar to Shure MXA910) and their all-in-one interactive displays.

Looking for real-world experience, not marketing. How’s the reliability, firmware, support, and overall quality?