Category: Audio

Do you find your events lacking sparkle? Do the attendees at your conferences, ceremonies, fundraisers or product launches look less than enthralled? If so, you need to spice up your presentations with the right AV equipment. Not only will the right audio visual hire get your events swinging, it will boost participation and success by getting everyone involved in the action.

Most people have sat through a boring presentation or sales pitch made by an expert droning on while clicking through power point slides. It’s the kind of event where you keep looking at your watch to see how long to wait until the coffee break.

How different it is to see your message brought to vivid life through the use of audio visual equipment. In skillful hands, the dexterous employment of sound, music, still pictures and video, can really unleash a message and make it resonate with your audience.

The result is that your message reaches its audience in the right way and brings the desired response whether in the form of sales, membership sign ups, effective dissemination of key knowledge throughout the organisation or even a happy wedding. For the fact is that AV solutions work in social events as well as business.

Of course all this takes skill, knowledge, experience and the right modern technology. You need people with the vision to conceptualise your message and determine the right way to get it across with the right technology. Then you need technicians skilled at setting up AV equipment in a safe and efficient way.

When it comes to AV, you can either do the whole thing yourself or outsource some or all of the project. Your decision will depend on the scope of the project and your own resources.

However if you want to take your AV and thus your entire event to a new level you really need to employ professionals at all stages of the project. Only then can be sure you’re getting the most out of the AV.

AV firms offer the full gamut of services including lighting, sound optimization, projection, recording, video and broadcasting, exhibit displays, stage layouts and computer program management.

They can help you find a venue, design a custom set with lectern and other accessories, and help build your PowerPoint slides.

The best AV companies have the latest equipment. They’re constantly looking for and acquiring the newest technology. They also have their own workshops to develop customise sets and stages.

The best firms are skilled at handling a variety of presentation media such as video teleconferencing, electronic slides, streaming media, and video over IP, data, and audio in a way that’s both technically robust and a pleasure to the eyes and ears. Most importantly, they are able to harness the right media to make your message clear and irresistible.

Equally importantly, these AV firms have the staff to handle any kind of job. Effective AV demands a rare blend of art and technology that’s hard to find. A practitioner needs to have the vision to conceptualise a project and the technical knowledge to choose the right equipment to realise that vision. Only then can he really begin to define the right look and feel for your event.

Meanwhile he has to have the practical skill and experience to set up a project from scratch covering everything from stage and set design to video projectors and audio systems.

The best AV solutions firms can take care of everything from simple meetings to multi-venue, multi day events. They can also handle all your corporate event management needs with the flair and professionalism they need.

Full corporate event management services include everything from finding the right venue to planning to coordinating with attendees, the venue, speakers, and sponsors.

And remember that audio visual hires are not just for business. Other events where AV can add spice include weddings, special ceremonies, birthdays, training or instructional videos. AV is used in schools, churches, hospitals, in fact in any situation in which communication is key.

Check online the UK’s leading audio visual solutions providers and contact one today for a consultation. Then get ready to put on events that people will talk about for years to come.

One of the first mistakes new owners of surround sound systems make is playing around with the audio setup and not knowing what they are adjusting. This happens every time someone gets a new toy, it’s almost human nature, to tweak something, even if you do not know what you are doing. I did the same. This articles will explain how to setup your new surround sound audio settings. A quick note, before you make any adjustments, make sure to note what the original settings were on your system, so that you may be able to return to the manufactures default.

Welcome to your new surround sound system, it has lots of setting available to it, it may or may not have come with speakers and it has lots of interesting labels on it to tell you the formats it supports and you have no idea what it all means. Do not worry, you’ll get used to it soon enough.

Settings.

First a quick note: This article is going to be referring to generalizations, because different manufactures call their features by different names, so refer to your manual to find your manufactures equivalent to the feature described.

Independent speaker volume adjustment. This adjustment allows you to make fine tuning adjustments to each speaker independent from one another.

Adjustments are normally made in decibels (db) with a positive or negative number to reduce or increase volume across one or more speakers. This feature gets abused by many new owners of surround sound systems, most people will crank up the surrounds so that they get the full surround experience. The rear surround speakers are where the special effects are played. What listeners are actually doing when they crank up the rear speakers is distorting how the surround is played. This is not how the movie is supposed to sound, directors already optimize how the surround is supposed to be played, they want their viewers to be amazed by the realism of the movie. When you crank up the rear speakers, you are taking the sound out of context.

How to adjust. This one is simple, keep all the volumes the same. If you have to make an adjustment of any kind because of speaker weakness, adjust it to 1 db (decibels) above the front speakers. Sometimes if you are having trouble following the dialog, then adjust the center speaker to 1 or 2 db’s (decibels) above normal. I personally keep all volumes at 0 adjustment db (no adjustment at all). This is most manufactures default, but not all, so check to see if they are adjusted to the same volume.

DRC. Dynamic Range Control. This adjustment allows your surround sound to adjust the volumes itself during extra loud or extra low volume scenes of a movie. It is a great feature that Dolby brought to audio. I just love this feature. When you are watching a movie late at night and do not want to disturb your neighbors, DRC is what you are looking for. This is how it works. When encoding the DVD, a sound engineer will program the audio track for a normalized audio range. If the movie exceeds this volume range, DRC kicks in and lowers the volume to the normalized range of the whole move. This means that an explosion will not vibrate your walls and that a whisper in the dialog will be able to be heard.

DRC is normally used for nighttime listening because of its volume controlling nature. If you do not want to wake your kids at night when watching a movie, then turn on DRC. If you want the full audio range of a movie during the day, then turn off DRC.

Speaker existence. Some surround sound systems have this feature which allow you to tell the player whether a speaker is installed or not. If one of your speakers is not installed or has blown out, the make sure to tell the surround sound that the speaker does not exist. Many systems will try to adjust for the lack of that speaker. If at all possible, install all of the speakers and replace any blown speakers.

Distance. Distance is a measure of how far away the speakers are from the listener sweet spot. Please view my article on speaker placement before you adjust this feature. Distance from the listener translates to speaker delay. Since you want the sounds to approach you in the manner that the director intended, it is best to adjust the speaker distance so that the sounds will arrive at the same time. The setting is simple, take a measuring tape and measure the distance in a straight show from the speaker to the listener. Do this measurement for all speakers and adjust your distance accordingly.

Sometimes the distance feature is measured just in delay times or the feature itself may be called delay and the settings may be cryptic or measured in ms (milliseconds). The rule of thumb for this is 1 ms delay for every 1 foot of distance. For example if you sat 15 feet away from a speaker, the adjust that delay to 15ms. Sound travels approximately 1 foot per millisecond.

Prologic vs. Prologic II vs Dolby Digital.

Prologic and Prologic II are Dolby features. Prologic II is an enhanced version of Prologic. In fact Prologic II has a setting to make it work like Prologic. Prologic and Prologic II both process 2 channel audio to turn it into a simulated surround sound. However it is a simulated surround sound or virtual surround sound. It is a great feature! Take a normal stereo cd or stereo movie and it will transform into a great audio experience, however it is not true surround sound. For that you need Dobly Digital, however Dolby Digital is not a converter, Prologic and Prologic II are. This of couse is the dumbed down version. The technical specifications are on Dolby site.

Here’s a quick chart.

MEDIA USES

DVD Movie (with a Dolby Digital soundtrack) Dolby Digital

DVD Movie (stereo soundtrack) Prologic and Prologic II

CD (Stereo or Mono) Prologic and Prologic II

Prologic and Prologic II Settings. Prologic and Prologic II takes a mono or stereo signal and phase shifts the signal to the rear speakers. In mono this means that all the speakers will play the same audio, in stereo, the front left and front right speakers are duplicated (matrixed) to the rear speakers using a mathematical formula. Then end result sounds great, but remember it is still not surround sound, just simulated surround.

A quick note: Prologic II is backwards compatable with Prologic, Meaning that all Prologic media will play on a Prologic II processor.

Prologic does not have settings, but Prologic II does.

Pro Logic – It offers users the robust surround processing of the original Pro Logic which has mono surround channels and a 7KHz surround filter.

Virtual – Is usually used when Pro Logic II is connected to a virtual process for speaker use.

Movie – It can be called Pro Logic II. It has stereo surround channels and no surround filter, unlike Pro Logic which has a mono surround channels and a 7KHz surround filter. Movie mode is the standard required for all A/V systems.

Matrix – Its the same as the Music mode except that the directional enhancement logic is turned off. It may be used to enhance mono signals by making them seem larger.

Music – Is recommended as the mode for sound music systems stereo CD’s (without video).

Prologic II Music Mode. Pro Logic II Music Mode Sound Effects are available when the player is in Music Mode. The settings found in it are:
Dimension – A simple control that alters the ratio of L+R to L-R for the two channel input signals. It allows the user to gradually adjust the soundtrack either towards the front or towards the rear. If a recording is too spacious or strong from the surrounds, it can be adjusted forward to get a better balance. Likewise, if a stereo recording sounds too mono, it can be adjusted toward the rear to get a more enveloping sound.

Panorama – Extends the front stereo image to include the surround speakers for a wraparound effect.

Center Width Control – With Pro Logic decoding, dominant center signals can come only from the center speaker. If no center speaker is present, the decoder splits the center signals equally to the left and right speakers to create a phantom center image. The Center Width control allows adjustments of the center image so it may be heard only from the center speaker; only from the left/right speakers as a phantom image; or from all three front speakers to varying degrees.

Other Audio Setting to deal with stereo signals found on Surround Sound Systems.

3 Stereo – produces three channels (front left, center, front right) of sound from a two channel analog signal. It is not a surround format and does not use the surround speakers.

Soundfield Effects – Digital Soundfield Effects recreates the effects of sounds reflected from walls or ceilings to obtain the sound presence of real environments, basically this enhances a stereo soundtrack to sound like you are in a particular environment.

– Stadium: recreates a large stadium using very long reflection times.

– Stage: recreates a stage environment, increasing sound from the front speakers.

– Hall: recreates a hall using lots of reflection. Suitable for orchestral music such as classical and opera.

– Disco: recreates the disco or club music effect.

– Live: suitable for all types of music.

About the dot numbers

2.0, 2.1, 3.0,4.0, 5.1,6.1,7.1 and probably many other numbers all really mean the same thing; number of speakers and number of sub-woofers, separated by a period. As you may guess 2.0 means a standard stereo and 2.1 is a stereo with a sub-woofer. 3.0 is a stereo and center channel 3.1 is stereo and center channel with a sub-woofer. 4.0 is a quadraphonic system, now obsolete, however still has a strong following. 5.1 is a standard surround sound system with a front left, front right, center, left surround, right surround and a sub-woofer. 6.1 and 7.1 are a new type of speaker setup that has the same speakers as a 5.1, however it adds a rear channel much like the center channel for the front speakers. 6.1 has one rear speakers and 7.1 has 2 rear speakers

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The way you think will reflect on all aspects of your life, if you have become embittered and pessimistic due to past experiences, you are most likely not living to your full potential. If you are tired of living in mediocrity and you want to move forward with your life, then you should make listening to a positive thinking hypnosis audio download a part of your self improvement efforts.

Failure can be a great learning process, but it can also cause you to be fearful and hesitant of trying again. Without the right frame of mind, it is easy to develop insecurities and self doubt that will prevent you from realizing your full potential. Hypnosis can help you to heal your mind of these debilitating thoughts and afflictions by strengthening your positive thoughts through subliminal messaging.

Subliminal messaging is completely safe and it does not lead to any undesirable side effects. You do not have to worry about getting any weird ideas from it since it can only boost your positive thoughts. It is unable to introduce foreign thoughts into your subconscious, as it needs your permission to work. It is useless without your desire to improve and think positively.

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Exciting new technologies like interactive computer use, live video enhancement of speakers, and teleconferencing can be utilized but the associated cost of these new technologies can be steep. The type of AV support you will need for your meeting or event may be simple or more complex. Be sure to review all your options and plan ahead:

Get a list of all speakers’ needs well in advance of your meeting date and schedule a rehearsal.

Allow for rehearsal and set-up time in your meeting rooms.

Give speakers a chance to rehearse with equipment they will be using.

Test equipment immediately prior to the beginning of the event. Check acoustics Clap your hands sharply… talk loudly… listen carefully Check to see if there are any echo’s or dead spots. Do drapes or acoustic panels need to be added.? Plug-in and test the audio. Is the public address system working? Is there any feedback at working level? Are the speakers correctly placed? Are there enough microphones, cords, stands?

Have spare bulks and extension cords on hand. If you are taping, is the tape recorder microphone working? Check to see if you have to erect a stand or move a table

Is the audiovisual the right distance from the screen, rigid and level? Know the location of circuit breakers and fuses Have spare fuses and standby circuits ready Test the intercom system. Is the emergency work light ready?

Having a technician available to attend to your needs throughout the meeting may be your best insurance policy.

If the facility where you are holding your meeting has AV equipment available check to make sure it is in good working order.

Remember that poor-quality AV equipment can ruin a meeting.

To maximize your audio visual budget, try the following:

If using an outside vendor, choose a reputable company and reserve equipment early. If you have never worked with the supplier before, ask for references and check them.

Negotiate all costs. Package deals are good for you and the rental companies. If they know your needs and have your timelines, it will be more cost effective.

Make sure all agreements are in writing. If one company is not able to meet your needs, look at other companies until your needs are met.

Provide clear instructions in writing. Include agendas and room layouts so your vendors know exactly what you expect.

If you need help, find experienced production managers and technicians to oversee the AV portions of your event. Introduce yourself to the technicians who will be working your event, and find out how to contact them should the need arise.

Barter goods and services with your rental companies. They may want to advertise in your publications, exhibit at your trade show, or acquire leads from your attendees.

Guaranteed performance is often a policy of AV companies. They will compensate clients for rental costs in the event of equipment failure. Even better, many will provide on-site back-up.

Check the audio-visual equipment that is available at the meeting facility you are using. Many facilities have their own in-house audio department. Ask if any audio-visual equipment is included in your room charge? Be sure to check out the quality and age of the equipment provided.

Most facilities only provide a podium and microphone, so you will need to rent additional equipment from a qualified local audio-visual rental company. The facility where you are holding your meeting can provide recommendations.

Written by Yvon Douran, www.keynoteresource.com