Preparing an Audiovisual Setup for a Business Meeting or Event

When you're planning a business meeting or event, you'll most likely need audiovisual equipment — such as microphones, projectors, screens, and lighting.

Some facilities, such as conference centers, offer the luxury of built-in audiovisual (AV) capabilities that often contain highly sophisticated equipment. However, if you have to rent the necessary gear, it helps to have a little knowledge.

You need to have a clear sense of how your AV equipment will enhance your event. Make sure that AV elements — and difficulties — don’t overpower the message being conveyed.

This article overviews some of the basic AV equipment and a few tricks of the trade so so you'll feel more comfortable deciding what equipment to use, and when.

Microphones

Let your presenters know what room setup you’ve organized, and then ask whether they have any specific needs — speakers often prefer a certain type of microphone. Some common microphone setups include:

• Lectern/podium microphone: This type of microphone is usually attached to the lectern with an adjustable arm. Speaker introductions are often conducted from this location, and speakers who use notes often feel more comfortable positioned here.
• Table microphone: As the name suggests, this type of microphone is used when the speaker is seated at a table. You often find these microphones used for panel discussions where the panelists are seated at a long table on the stage. You want to provide each participant with their own microphone, or at least one microphone between two people. It gets rather awkward and cumbersome when four people share one microphone and need to pass it to one another.
• Standing/aisle microphone: Entertainers, especially singers and comedians, prefer this kind of microphone, which is positioned on a stand. These microphones are also commonly placed in the aisles so that during a question-and-answer session, participants can walk up and speak questions or comments directly into the microphone for all to hear.
• Hand-held microphone: As the name says, this microphone is held in the hand. Corded and wireless versions are available. Entertainers and speakers who don’t need to use their hands during their speeches often choose to use these. The hand-held mic is not the best choice for an inexperienced presenter or one who needs to write notes or perform a demonstration.
• Lavaliere/lapel microphones: These microphones are small and easily clip onto clothing, preferably as close to the speaker’s mouth as possible. They can be corded or wireless. Speakers who need to use their hands throughout their presentations often prefer this type of microphone. Remind your speaker not to turn their head away from this microphone when they speak — their audibility will fade.

Should you use a wireless or corded mic? There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The corded mic keeps the speaker on a short leash but offers the most reliable connection. The wireless mic enables the speaker to move even off the stage, but may encounter more feedback. Rely on an experienced audio tech to help you identify your best option.

Projection screens

Any time your presenter uses visuals during the presentation, you need a screen. The common projection screen format is letterbox (similar in shape to a modern television with a 16:9 ratio). The key here is to have one that is large enough, so everyone can see clearly.

Follow these helpful guidelines to get what’s best:

• Decide whether you need a square or rectangular screen format. Choose a screen format that matches the projection equipment you’re using. Ask your AV supplier for help with this.
• Order a nonglare screen that is video-format with a matte-white surface and is either a tripod or fastfold.
• Place the screen in the center of the audience’s view, to the side, or in a corner. Much will depend on what’s more important: the speaker or the projected visual information.
• Seats should be located a distance that is no less than double the width of the projected image, and the farthest seat from the screen is no more than five times the width of the image.
• Make sure that the bottom of the screen is at least 5 feet up from the floor to ensure that those backbenchers get a good view.
• Place the screen on the stage if the ceiling height permits, but make sure that it’s dressed appropriately — side curtains, bottom skirt, and top valance. Naked screens are aesthetically uninteresting.

Projectors

You should anticipate that your presenter will have digitized visuals for their presentation. It is up to you to confirm that their format and your technology are compatible.

Select your projector first by their lumens. The minimum lumens for a small to medium-sized meeting room with a 100-inch screen is 2,500 lumens. The larger the room, the more lumens you need.

The latest digital video projectors offer wireless and Bluetooth connectivity while also featuring HDMI, USB, and micro-USB options. For the best connectivity, have a computer handy to support the apps being used (such as PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi).

Audio is available on some projectors and this may work well for a smaller setting, but using additional speakers and a mixing board to bring the sound clearly into a large conference room or auditorium is your best bet.

Here are some options for video projectors:

• DLP: Digital light processing technology uses micro-mirrors to project images from a monitor onto a large screen. DLP is seen in stand-alone projection units, in rear projection TVs, and in most of the digital cinema projections. DLP provides excellent images, is compact and low maintenance, and works well in large rooms. Get one with LEDs for illumination.
• LCD: Liquid crystal display projectors send light through a prism to display video, images, or computer data onto a screen or flat surface. These projectors tend to be bulky and pixilated. Be sure to have an extra lamp on hand as they are sensitive, hot, and can burn out during your presentation. Newer LCDs are available with an LED light source.
• LED: Light emitting diode projectors are identified by their light source, the LEDs. They are compact — a little larger than your hand — very portable, and a great workhorse for meetings in close quarters.

The old-school overhead projector has been upgraded to make it compatible with digital technology called a digital document camera. These cameras (also known as visual presenters, visualizers, digital overheads, or docucams) are real-time image capture devices for displaying paper, transparencies, or an object to an audience.

Digital document cameras come with a light to illuminate objects or surfaces below the camera so you can feed live content into your computer to share online. For live events, you can elect to send the images to a projector, delivering the picture to the screen.

The brighter the projector, the more versatile it will be under different lighting conditions. Projectors that provide brightness ratings of 1,000 lumens or more can produce excellent images in larger rooms, even without dimming the lights.

Lighting

Don’t leave your meeting participants in the dark! Good lighting is essential to a good meeting, particularly when it includes a visual presentation or speech. Your goal is to light your meeting room unequally, following these basic guidelines:

• For a keynote or general session, most of the light ought to be channeled onto the main presentation area enabling the audience to see as much of the presenter’s facial features as possible. To avoid creating a spotlight effect and blinding your speaker, use cross lighting with two separate lights, one on either side of the presentation area. Less lighting is needed on the audience.
• For a presentation where participants are expected to take notes, allow enough lighting to cover the audience so that they can do this without strain.
• You should have no light directly above or on any screens or monitors showing slides or other video or computer presentations. Definitely avoid fluorescent lighting near screens and monitors because this washes out any of the images you want to project.

Ideally, you should be able to control and dim individual lights in the meeting room. If you can’t control the lighting, you can arrange to have venue management unscrew specific bulbs ahead of time to achieve the desired effect for your event.

To avoid any washed-out images on a screen, arrange to have bulbs unscrewed that shine directly above or onto the screen. This task is particularly easy with recessed halogen spotlights.

AV needs for presenters

The following is a typical list of audiovisual needs that speakers often request:

• LCD projector
• Screen
• Table microphone
• Hand-held corded microphone
• Wireless hand-held microphone
• Corded Lavaliere microphone (with 50-inch cord)
• Wireless Lavaliere microphone
• Flip chart or oversized sticky notes with markers

Remember to give presenters a deadline date for their requests because equipment ordered on-site is often more expensive, if it’s even available.

Tuning into licensing

Before you crank up that oldies-but-goodies playlist to entertain your meeting audience or add a little life to a presentation, familiarize yourself with some of the legal know-how to save yourself from any problems that may occur down the road.

Copyright law states that you must get permission from the copyright holder before you play a piece of music either live or from a recording. You don’t have to track down the recording artists in an attempt to get their blessing before using the music — thankfully, the process is much simpler than that.

To get permission to play a piece of copyrighted music, all you need to do is pay a fee through one of two major performers’ rights organizations: BMI or ASCAP. Both of these nonprofit groups collect license fees on behalf of the composers and performers they represent. They then distribute the funds as royalties to the appropriate writers, composers, and copyright holders.

Note that the law does not apply to music over 75 years old that has not been revised and copyrighted. For music licensed after 1978 the copyright protection expires 50 years after the death of the last surviving author or composer.

For more detailed information about copyrights and trademarks check out this web page on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.