Audio Visual Bend Blog

Green AV

July 20th, 2021

Photo and Graphic Design By: Kate Couch

 
What is it and where is it going?
 
Written By: Kate Couch
 
Sustainability was at the top of the global agenda before the pandemic in 2020. But this thought was put to the wayside as disposable wipes, masks, and gloves now litter our sidewalks. With governments having bigger fish to fry, will the fight for sustainability come back? Though maybe not just yet, there is no question that sustainability is definitely is a movement here to stay, and with things finally starting to go back to normal, its importance will resurface. Green AV is the AV sustainability movement made popular in Europe around 2019. When it comes to sustainability it’s easy to point the finger at gas and oil companies. This is what we have done for the past decade, but it’s time that everyone (and every company) take a bit of responsibility. Making the world more sustainable, going green, and reducing waste to increase and preserve life on earth starts with every individual.
 
Because AV caters to clients and circles mainly around technology there isn’t a lot of invitations for green AV. The main source of sustainability through AV comes from partnering with a company called LEED. Described in an article by Market Scale last year as, “Promoting and recognizing sustainable efforts, the U.S. Green Building Certification Institute offers Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, or LEED, certification, which the Institute boasts as the “most widely used green building rating system in the world.” Though the major factors that go into earning LEED certification deal more with footprint, occupancy, energy, and water usage, and other data points that don’t directly correlate to AV solutions, integrators can help clients achieve their goals in numerous ways.” -What Sustainability Looks Like in the AV Industry.
 
LEED helps AV experts help their clients choose more sustainable options when integrating new technology. Market Scale also says that “by leveraging appliances and solutions that are able to be automated to turn off when not in use, spaces can cut down on wasted energy greatly. Choosing premium solutions with improved energy consumption is also tremendously beneficial. If appliances are more energy-efficient by design, the total cost of ownership decreases and disposal rates drop in the face of increased durability.”
 
One other large factor of Green AV is to reduced waste. As mentioned in past articles, it’s important as an AV expert to encourage a design and AV solution that is going to last. Having technology that is designed to be updated with the constant changing times reduces the need to constantly update a business’s systems. The nice thing about sustainable energy and green AV is that in a lot of ways it can save money. No technology is going to be timeless, but there is AV technology that’s going to outlast others.
Reducing how much your technology is powered on saves on energy bills. AV solutions and designs that are built to last several years reduce future business costs. It’s true that going the extra mile to use renewable sources of energy for your technology (like solar panels) can be more expensive up front, but when incorporating other green AV ideas, a company can break even on this change and sometimes come out ahead. Green AV, though currently not as prevalent, will defiantly be in the limelight in years to come, and getting ahead of the game is just one small change for the better.
 
*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com*
 
To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 

Across The Globe

July 7th, 2021

 

Image and Graphic Design By: Kate Couch with Canva

What does AV look like in other developed countries? 

 

Written By: Kate Couch for AV Bend

 

It’s very easy to forget how much of the amenities and services we have in the US are available in other countries. Just because they speak a different language than us or have different customs doesn’t mean they’re not using the same computer. In fact, in 2019 Apple sales went up 2% in Europe according to Apple Insider. So what does this mean for AV in other countries?

 

 AV was recently impacted in 2020 when the pandemic hit. This created a need for AV at home and for “Zoom Rooms” in corporate offices. Not every country was prepared to send their employees home due to lack of technology and wifi. Harvard Business Review designed a graph (see below) displaying the readiness of each country. Countries like Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia, and the UK scored high. These countries are highly developed technology-wise and use most of the same technology we use here in the US. Unfortunately, countries like Mexico, Chile, India, and South Africa scored low. Their ability to conform technologically was hindered due to their economic status and because of that, it hit their citizens harder. 

Image from Harvard Business Review

The goal is to make these second-world countries more up-to-date when it comes to AV and technology. Companies like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are doing studies to raise awareness of this need. Before the pandemic hit in August 2018, WIPO did a study on Africa’s need for audiovisual equipment. It specifically highlights how this would increase the accuracy of economic data collection. Their study was intended to “highlight the importance of gathering audiovisual market data to achieve tangible results in developing  effective policies, including for the acquisition, management and use of intellectual property (IP) rights, to strengthen the audiovisual sector in five African countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, and Senegal).” Read the full article here. Organizations and studies like these make it possible for second-world countries to become more integrative with recent audiovisual advancements. 

 

Even though other countries in Europe use different outlets than we use here in the US, there isn’t much difference in their audiovisual setups or how they use their technology. This is mainly because they are as economically advanced as the US. Economics plays a huge role in which technology and audiovisual setups are incorporated into the government and into citizens’ daily lives.  When it comes to providers and distributors there are slight differences. The European AV Group is a company whose goal is to “Become the most trusted supplier of professional Audio, Video and Control products across Europe,” according to their website. We don’t have this in the US (we have the unaffiliated USAV group which provides similar services) but the content they use and the products they sell are either the same or comparable to those in the US. 

 

Accessibility associated with economics has more to do with the differences in audiovisual than cultural differences. Developed countries model the US in technology and AV very closely. This is important as businesses expand on an employee and customer basis across the globe. 

 

*This article is by Tony Sprando of AV Bend’s intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch

 

USB Headaches

June 29th, 2021

 

Photo and Graphic Design By: Kate Couch

Even the inventor of the original USB thinks they’re hard to use: how far has USB come since? 

 

Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando 

 

In 2019 Fox News reported the following “Ajay Bhatt, who led the Intel team that created the Universal Serial Bus, told NPR the design of USB ports used to plug in devices such as keyboards, mice, printers and thumb drives is a bit annoying. Frustrated users have created several memes over the years mocking USB devices.” in this article. 

It is quite humerus and humble of Bhatt to come out and say this to the world who uses his invention daily. He is referring to the design of the USB which can only be plugged in one way. However, since Bhatt invent the first USB we have come up with faster and newer models. 

 

After the first USB (1.1) was the USB 2.0 which came out in the year 2000. USB 2.0 delivers a maximum transfer speed of 480 Megabits per second compared to the 12 Mbps (megabytes per second) of the original 1.1 USB. 10 years later the USB 3.0 came out. The USB 3.0 was a drastic step up. It delivers 640 Mbps and is 10 times faster. With these improvements, the ability of the USB and USB ports expanded. 

 

The reason why this continuous improvement with extended bandwidth in the USB timeline is so significant is that with every improvement made, the USB can support more technology. The USB 3.0 is the business-class video conferencing standard. USB 3.0 is needed to pass 4k video camera content/webcams, ptz cams, etc. Originally USB could only support low-bandwidth devices like keyboards mouses and printers but now USB can support things like 4K video, excessive amounts of storage, as well as laptop and device charging.

 

In 2014 USB-C came out. It too was a much faster improvement at 10Gbps which is on the scale of the billions where Mbps is on the scale of the millions. USB 3.0 has a capacity of 5 Gbps making the USB-C twice the speed as its predecessor. The most remarkable thing about the USB-C is that it is reversible. This fixes the 20-year problem of the non-reversible USB that has been long made fun of. It really is ironic that it took us 20 years to fix such an obvious problem but luckily those are all problems of the past! Both the USB 3.0 and the USB-C are used in today’s technology as they are both high bandwidth supporting and extremely fast. 

 

The interesting thing about technology is that even though the USB-C is the freshest thing out there right now in less than five years we will probably have something new and wouldn’t even be able to imagine using the USB-C. The audio-visual world is constantly changing and keeping up with it isn’t always easy. The important thing to keep in mind is to constantly be checking in for new trends and tech; on pages like this or other sites from around the web. 

Thanks For Reading!

 

*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch

 

Heath and wellness a bigger concern and fast-growing industry. 

June 22nd, 2021

 

Photo and Graphic Design By: Kate Couch

Health and wellness is a booming industry but does it involve audio and visual? 

 

Written By: Kate Couch 

 

The health and wellness industry is a much bigger industry than most people realize. In fact, according to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy is currently valued at 4.5 trillion dollars and represents 5.3% of global economic output. Because of Covid-19  companies are forced to be hyper-aware of how they are dealing with their employee’s and customers’ health. But how does audio-visual come into this? The biggest impact audio-visual has made in the health and wellness movement is on the corporate division: outdoor audio-visual setups. From the medical side, AV systems in hospital rooms and patient rooms.

 

Outdoor AV Setups

 

If following Covid guidelines gathering spaces have maximum capacities, however, that maximum capacity increases when the event is held outside. In addition to this when held outside, people usually don’t have to wear masks. Corporate companies and small businesses have been opting for more outside-oriented gathering places for customers and employees. This created the need for weatherproof audio-visual technology set-ups. Having large outdoor AV setups is something that’s now in high demand similar to the zoom rooms, which were in high demand last year. Large sturdy weatherproof monitors and screens paired with wind-resistant microphones and speakers all help created a better outdoor meeting place. 

 

Heath AV 

 

In addition to the corporate side of health and wellness AV, there’s also personal health and wellness AV. At-home gyms with AV setups for live streaming exercise classes are something you see in more homes now. Exercise equipment, like the Peloton that has a large display screen, has also made an impact on the market. Technology and audio-visual are integrating themselves into every industry and health and wellness are no exception.

 

Primary care AV 

 

AV in the last 5 years has made an impact on patient care in hospitals and nursing homes. This is probably one of the bigger impacts that AV has made on the health and wellness industry. Remote patient monitoring is a monitoring setup system in a patient’s room. Nurses and doctors can check up on patients without having to be in their rooms 24/7. Remote patient monitoring has decreased dangerous patient falls by 17.3% according to Building and Environment written by, E. Morales. Telehealth is also something that hospitals and primary care providers have implemented. This includes virtual doctors’ appointments, therapy sessions, or interpersonal meetings between doctors. These have to be done through a very secure and safe system for patients’ privacy. The proper audio-visual setup for these circumstances in hospitals and doctors’ offices is crucial. 

 

Hospitals have also been including other AV systems in their clinics, such as sound masking for auditory privacy. Technology integrated rooms with patient’s vitals being sent to AVscreens and hubs that are easier for everyone to access. 

 

The health and wellness industry is growing rapidly, it’s something that’s becoming more important to people and business. Audio-visual can be a big help in making sure that your employees and communities stay safe and healthy while adapting to the needs of new technology. If you’re interested in any of these systems reach out to a local audio-visual professional like Audio Visual Bend.

 

*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch

 

Heard and not seen

June 8th, 2021
 
 
What AV systems can be hidden away.

Photo and Graphics by: Kate Couch with Canva

Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando
 
Design over function is often an argued topic amongst the design community. We think that these things are in lieu of the other. That isn’t always the case. In many circumstances, the ability to get maximum function and purpose out of a system can in tandem blend in seamlessly with the design. Design with functionality is becoming more popular in the 21st century. With people living in less and less space, we need to maximize our design pieces so they can serve as both. Be that storage, organization, or just having a second purpose. This can go into the corporate office as well. It’s important to be able to maximize space when you don’t have that much and this is very plausible in most corporate workspaces. There’s also a lot of corporate workspaces that might need an AV system but the design is very important to their business. Any sort of waiting room or conference room that needs to look sleek and professional and represent the company can not have a bunch of wires and AV odds and ends sitting on a three-legged table in the corner. Visible AV systems aren’t always the most attractive option. So what is?
 
This is where AV systems are heard and not seen. There are certain things that you can install to make your AV systems tucked away or have them seamlessly blend in with your design. The first and most easy way to hide an AV system is to have it in a nearby closet. Having sort of a command center for your AV rack is an easy way to make your AV system accessible and keep it protected while it also being out of sight. But if you’re crunched on space there are other things you can do.
 
There are a couple of ideas when it comes to hiding audiovisual systems. It depends on what you have installed but for the most part, you can get low-profile speakers and microphones installed on the ceilings. People are less likely to look up so they’re out of the way while still serving their purpose.
When it comes to managing wires there is the molding that you can get that can be installed on the corners of a space. This molding similar to a baseboard can go vertically or horizontally on the ceilings, floor, or in between two walls. Inside the molding is a space for wires. This is an easy way to hide wires when you’re installing an audio-visual system after a house or office has been built. It’s important to keep in mind that you do want your AV system to be accessible for easy maintenance though. Make sure that just because you might not be able to see it that doesn’t mean you can’t get to it.
 
There are also lots of design pieces that are secretly AV systems. TVs that look like framed pictures have become very popular in recent years. AV has been easier to hide in furniture pieces. This can be numerous amount of things, couches, tv consoles, desks, and pictures on walls can all hold and hide cameras, wires, and other AV corporate or home needs.
 
The last option would be to have an AV system that is only displayed when in use. For example, having a remote control system where your tv retracts from a picture frame on the wall. Or a projector or camera comes out of the ceiling. Though this is a slightly more expensive option this is the most streamlined and user-friendly. It is also easier to implement than many believe. Putting equipment on retractable tracks has become popular and is more accessible.
 
Keep all these things in mind when trying to implement new AV equipment and systems in your home or corporate office and make sure to ask your local AV company like AV Bend if these are possible for your project!
 
*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com*
 
To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 

Better well done than well said

June 1st, 2021

Photo By: Kate Couch with Canva

 
Written by: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch
 
“Never separate the life you live from the words you speak” – Paul Wellstone
 
We live in a he-said-she-said society. We interact through voice memos and quick videos focussing on what is said and not what is done. The art of holding to your word has seemed to have lost its value. But unlike a lot of change we’ve seen recently this is something that shouldn’t go. Sticking to your word and having a job well done better than an idea well said is a value I hope to see stick around in our society. When it comes to business, especially in the AV business, it’s important to be able to live up to the truth you speak.
 
We see it all the time in pop culture or even in our government. Politicians will make empty promises, celebrities will say they stand for one thing but their actions will do the opposite chasing a paycheck or cash out. It’s no secret we live in a fallen money-driven society. I know there’s not much we can do about that particular topic there is a lot we can do on our end about following through with our word. It is much better to be somebody that has validity behind their words. The old saying actions speak louder than words needs to make a comeback. it seems as though through years of media and mixing up truths and common goals we have put this idea about how our actions speak about us to bed.
 
Never separating the life you live from the words you speak can play into both professional and personal areas of our lives. In one very obvious way when we go out to give a bid we don’t like to make empty promises to people or go back on our word. I’m not going to tell a client that I can do something that’s not realistic or intentionally give them numbers that aren’t true. This is just good business. Nobody likes to be told one thing and then to have another done to them. There are ways that we unintentionally separate our actions from our words in business. This can be avoided when you’re talking with the client trying to understand their vision while making sure to also tell them realistic things about it. Making sure clients understand that AV workers are not miracle workers. Though you want to hear out their vision and solve their problems not everything is going to be possible, and not everything they want fits in their budget (like we talked about in last week’s article.)
 
It can be easy to want to make empty promises to clients unintentionally. You want to be able to give people what they want and sell the products that you want to sell. It’s important to remember the integrity of your business is in a direct parallel with the validity of your words. Making sure that you don’t just talk the talk but you can walk the walk. With the way that society treats the importance and value of your actions having a business that does what they say and has a good reputation because of its verbal integrity will make your business stand out compared to ones that don’t.
 
It’s also important to remember that your business and professional life is also a reflection of your personal life. It’s common knowledge to have some separation from your personal and professional life I know this is true it’s important to remember that when you’re treating co-workers or employees badly it’s easy to take that into your home and treat your children or spouse poorly as a result. This can go vice versa. This is why from a personal and professional standpoint it’s generally a good saying not to separate the life you live from the words you speak. Following through on your commitments, listening to what others say, and stop agreeing with people just to agree with people are all goals we should be making in 2021.
 
Make sure to follow along for more business tips, AV advice, and personal testimonies from AV Bend.
 
*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com*
 
To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
 

Time Will Not

May 25th, 2021

Photo By: Kate Couch with Canva

There never are enough hours in the day, how can we maximize our time when time won’t wait for us?
 
Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando
 
Time management is something we start learning as early as 6 and really never stop learning. It’s something that goes into every area of your life. If you have bad time management in the morning you’ll be late to work. If you have poor time management at work you’ll be late for dinner or you might not get assignments done on time. In school, if you had poor time management you have bad grades. If you have poor time management in the kitchen you’ll have burnt or cold food. Time management truly does affect every single aspect of our life if you really sit down and think about it. Time management is crucial in business and there’s been a lot of time management trends throughout the years. The newest time management trend is called timeboxing.
 
Timeboxing is a modern theory of time management. Benjamin Franklin wrote over 260 years ago “you may delay but time will not.” His idea still stands true today. There really never are enough hours in the day. I frequently find myself saying “whelp im going to have to push that till tomorrow” or “if I just had another hour.” I, unfortunately, struggle with time management all the…time (no pun intended.) Typical time management oftentimes looks like a to-do list. Walk the dog, write a presentation, send out emails, make phone calls, etc. We accomplish this to-do list by starting on a task and working on it until it’s finished. Timeboxing is actually sort of the opposite. When you make a timeboxing management schedule you schedule a certain time for things but once that time is up you stop doing that task. This means that especially in the beginning you won’t finish all of the tasks. Some things are straightforward, you walk the dog for 30 minutes, but others you may not have enough time for like, working on a presentation for only an hour.
 
This may seem like a problem at the beginning but the idea is that when you block off a certain scheduled amount of time for tasks your productivity will then learn to meet that time requirement. This helps eliminate distractions and increase your productivity. Maybe checking emails takes you an hour to two hours usually. You might find yourself getting distracted or having to reread emails over and over again. But when you only have 30 minutes to check and respond to emails it becomes something that needs to be done now. Your brain will go into hyper-focus, getting the task done hopefully before the time is up. It’s definitely a learning curve in the beginning and you probably won’t be able to finish tasks in the time that you give yourself. But the goal is the more consistent you are with timeboxing the more you will be able to meet your time limits.
 
Most professionals recommend having time boxes of 25 to 30 minutes. Timeboxing has become increasingly popular over the last decade and is even used by famous businessman Elon Musk. Elon Musk encourages 5-minute time boxing. He tries to block off every 5 minutes of his day. Scheduling every little thing with the minimum amount of time it takes to do it. This means that he genuinely makes the most out of every day. It’s not meant for everybody but a little bit of timeboxing in our lives, especially, with things that have stricter deadlines or with activities that you might like to be more productive with can make a big improvement in your personal and professional life. Timeboxing encourages increased productivity but also discourages distractions. It makes buckling down and getting the job done a lot easier. If you make time boxing part of your daily schedule it might also feel less overwhelming to fit excess things into your schedule.
 
Timeboxing is definitely an interesting way of time management. But it’s heavily encouraged by businessmen and professionals and it’s something you should consider trying.
 
*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com*
 
To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Where customers fall down

May 18th, 2021

Photo by: Kate Couch with Canva

Written By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch 

 

What we believe and what we feel about a situation has strong ties. This usually circulates around the value we put on something. Like when you reach for that apple in the grocery store, you hesitate and hover for a moment to grab the one that looks the best… without knowing where it was grown, what care was taken to get it there, and how it was carefully or handled by the grocery clerk. You are putting a certain amount of trust in that purchase, oftentimes based on how you were treated at the door. You buy based on what you need, price, influencing of marketing and item placement, and personal assessment of the item. When you think about it we put a lot of thought into these things subconsciously.

 

When it comes to something much more expensive, there is a higher level of feeling and assumption involved… or not. Over the past 20 years, I’ve done many audiovisual jobs. But for as many jobs I’ve done I’ve also calculated twice as many bids. end as somebody who works delivering a service you notice a pattern when giving a bid. You will find that when you go out and you assess what client needs, finding them the right services for a fair price, for some people it’s never enough. Oftentimes no matter how much you try to give some a deal, or explain why something is costly they will not think it is cheap enough. 

 

Where customers “fall down” starts as a client drilling the service provider to get the price down possibly to please a boss or to make them feel better about the service. Another example is leaning into friends, family, or a church friend for a deal. We might do this because “in the name of making an eternal difference” may guilt them into giving you a good deal, or believing that God demands we are “frugal” and we can’t have nice things because “the humble will inherit the earth” … a bible verse that is so often taken out of context. 

 

Lastly, we can go wrong by blindly going with the lowest bid and trusting the provider that they know what they are doing, this would be coined as the belief in poverty theology. This is a trap many frugal people fall into. Unfortunately doing something cheap isn’t always doing something right. When you go with the cheapest option then find out that it’s not working properly after. I find that they patch the problems with their audiovisual system and suffer through it until… eventually calling out for help to rescue them from a subpar system installation. Unfortunately at this point, the price tag is usually much higher. It’s a well-known fact that it is easier to build something new than try to salvage or demo an existing audiovisual system.

 

In all my years of AV, I have seen a much higher success rate in investing in people and not worrying as much about the money. Set the profit you need to run a business, then stand tall as you hand over the bid or proposal… and if the customer does his or her due diligence then they will find an Audiovisual integrator that is highly spoken of and then just spends the money once. Though your job may cost a bit more than you may have thought, your actions will give the AV group confidence that they are not being squeezed. This will allow them to work freely, giving you a quality system you can stand up to with confidence.

All that being said this doesn’t mean a job can’t be cost-efficient. We always want to work with our clients to find a cost-efficient solution for them that gets their goals completed and that will last. Quality over quantity, vice-versa, is an age-old debate and each one has its time and place. But I will settle it for AV, when you build a quality AV system using a reliable service provider, you will be happy with results that will stand the test of time and meet your needs: the first time. 

 

*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch

 

Sound and Noice Control in Steel Frame Buildings

May 11th, 2021

Photo and graphics by Kate Couch with Canva

Written By: Kate Couch with inspiration from American Institute of Steel construction’s article:  Sound and Noise Control in Steel Frame Buildings. 

 

At AV Bend we deal with a lot of commercial customers. People trying to design sound solutions for their commercial space. But one thing in AV that frequently flies under the radar is sound isolation in steel-frame and metal buildings. With more corporate offices being built similar to homes the industrial-type buildings are left by the wayside. But they still exist and lots of them still need proper acoustical treatment. So that poses the question: how do you treat a mental space? Ironically enough that question isn’t just for Audio Visual. Owner of AV Bend Tony Sprando has a son who owns a 1981 VW Rabbit, which until the other day was extremely loud. After some thought, they decided to line the interior with, Dynamat 11102 Dynaliner a thick self-adhesive sound deadener. This reduced the noise of the car by over 50% and was a simple and cheap fix for the sound metal problem. The fact that metal is such a loud material realy can affect multiple different areas. 

 

Sound and noise control with metal and steel frame buildings begins in architecture. When an architect is designing these buildings (which frequently are schools warehouses and studios) they take certain design styles into account when using these materials. Taking the principle of acoustic comfort, which is what materials a designer uses, they will combine the louder more reflective materials such as metal with more sound-absorbent ones like wood. The sound absorbency of a material is referred to as its sound transmission class. This reduces how much sound is bouncing off of the walls. In some cases, something called flanking transmission happens when sound travels through walls and ceilings. So in addition to adding more of those materials that absorb sound, they also tend to make thicker walls with heavier-set insulation which decreases the sound travel or flanking transmission from room to room. Stud size and spacing, as well as the thickness of the walls, will all determine how much sound blockage and absorption there is. The more layers in a wall the less sound travel. 

 

How sound travels is a science and this is something that architects also have to keep in mind. In addition to what materials they use and how much materials they use, how they placed these materials in the design of the building will also heavily affect sound travel. Architects that are dealing with louder materials like metal will frequently design a more acoustically quiet architectural design. Placing walls and ceilings strategically so the sound travels in a quieter way. But in order to completely do an architectural acoustical treatment, you need to take both materials and design into account. For example, how you place the walls and ceilings can dampen the sound of traveling voices but not hard sole shoes on tile metal or wood floors. Shoes can really drive up the decibel count of space. This is called Impact Insulation Class or IIC. This is why it’s important to also consider the materials used. Adding things like carpet the hallways that may need to be quieter.

 

After the architect designs a building with noise control and acoustical treatment in mind then a company like AV Bend comes in. This is when the decoration design and additional things we can add to the building come in hand. If things like wall thickness and materials didn’t do the job we can then take our acoustical treatment plans that we use for other commercial spaces into metal frame buildings. We also consider what is happening in the room. Taking into account the frequency of those sounds to design something custom. Adding foam wall panels considering certain types of furniture and its placement. All the way down to what is hung on the walls and where a local AV company we’ll take the design of the building and treat it for its specific noise issues. 

 

If you have a metal-framed building for your corporate office consider using a local company like AV Bend to treat your sound issues.

 

*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch

 

Digital Marketing for your Business in 2021

May 4th, 2021

What is a digital marketing and how to take advantage of it? 

 

Written By: Kate Couch

 

Digital marketing is a form of online marketing, it usually circulates video and virtual marketing such as video advertisements or video placement on websites. It can also refer to virtual advertisements, gifs, and other animations. Digital marketing in the world of IOT and technology is very prevalent for businesses. In audiovisual we work to present digital marketing for clients and cater to clients who need screens and audio for digital marketing. But as a business, it’s also important to note that digital marketing is something that every business should consider integrating. 

 

There are four main types of digital marketing, pencil drawing animation, character animations, graphic animations, avatar animations. These are all displayed across the internet and other forms of virtual marketing. A lot of these are achieved through apps like Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Procreate, and more. It is graphic design geared towards marketing and oftentimes animated graphic design. But digital marketing can also be purely video and live actors as well. Digital marketing as a whole means how you can mark your product or service using the internet. How can you sell a product using audio-visual? With everyone using the internet 24/7 it’s an easy question. The hard one is: where and how? 

 

One of the main helpers of digital marketing and SEO is Google. Which has a lot of digital marketing plans. The nice thing about the internet of things (IOT) which we talked about in our last article is that it’s all about collecting data. With this data, you can see your customer bases and get their analytics. See what your customers need and what they’re using. You could use this in any form of audio-visual or small business. With this information, you can go even deeper into digital marketing. Once you understand what you need to mark it and who to, is developing digital advertising. 

 

With graphics design apps like Adobe or Canva, you can create ads. If you want to display video digital marketing you could use apps such as Vidivy, Lumen5, or Avairy which helps aid video marketing. You can then use local audiovisual companies (like AV Bend) help to display your video marketing or even help you create it. 

 

It’s important with digital marketing to develop a goal. After you identify what your customers need you can then identify what form of digital marketing you would like to use to reach these customers and why you want to reach them. Then you can come up with an action plan of how you’re going to reach them and what things you are going to do to reach them. It’s also important to identify why you are reaching these people. By using the data from IOT and other analytics like Google you can identify why you are doing this type of marketing to avoid wasting time or money. 

 

The most general form of digital marketing is Media. Media has is been an up-and-coming job title in recent years. Because we are always on our phones media and marketing through media can play a really huge role in your business. Making sure you’re connected to popular social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and Reddit. Will help you market to a younger generation and keep your business streamlined for the future. Below are a few tips that you can follow to help keep up on social media.

  • Assign somebody from your team to take photos of projects before and after
  • Post frequently frequency reminds  customers that you’re around and that you have good communication
  • Join groups on social media to stay connected with people that are interested in areas of your business
  • Keep it clean and consistent. Consistency is important with social media to properly display your business format. Keep it clean by being picky with where you post making sure it’s only on relevant sites. 
  • Make sure to invest locally. You can do this through local papers or websites or blogs. When you establish your business as part of the community You build loyalty among it. Integrating locally is extremely important.

 

Digital marketing is going to become the only form of marketing in the future so the sooner you understand it and start to integrate it into your company the easier the transition will be. These last few years have been very technology-heavy, and the technological advancements that have been made even in the last year are insane. It’s important as a business owner and of clients of audio-visual to understand these changes and hop on the trends so our technology doesn’t start to run us; we run it. 

 

*This article is Tony Sprando of AV Bends intellectual property. To use or reference this article please contact: Tony@avbend.com

 

To know more about Tony and his professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

 

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

 

www.tonythevguy.com 

 

To know more about Kate and her professional profile see these:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-couch-a7318220a/

 

https://k8couch.wixsite.com/katecouch