When you witness the two letters of AV, your mind may instantly refer back to the yellow and red cables used in old, bulky televisions thus allowing the TV to work. This is a perfect baseline that introduces us into the world of the AV industry; these two cables each representing the A, audio, and V, visual which make up the core concept of the business. So, how complex can it really be, surely it’s just setting up some screens and a speaker for a classroom or business meeting? Yes and no, some jobs are simple and do in fact only require the bare minimum of a screen and sound system. Others, however, may require much more, for example: lighting, user-friendly controls, setup, and even a brand-new design that both the customer, and a company like Mustard Presentations create together. In this blog I am going to explain all you need to know about Audio Visual Installations and highlight the industries that require these services and why.
Mustard Presentations are a great instance of a company who offer everything you need, from the get-go until the dust has cleared on the process of your AV installation. As aforementioned, Mustard are happy to start from scratch with the very bare bones, taking a customer’s idea from the pre-planning stage, through to installation and first-time setup. Even more so, it doesn’t matter who is interested, whether you’re an educational institution such as a university or high-school, local business, small or large, even a conference hall looking to upgrade their showcase. Mustard Presentations are available around the clock, all across the United Kingdom and Europe. It’s also worth noting that, regardless of the intention, setup or company providing the service, it’s fair to say that the numbers certainly don’t lie. Switching gears to the US for a moment, we see that in 2016 alone, the AV industry generated over $65 billion in revenue and as a whole, the industry was worth around $53 billion, expected to hit at least $83 billion by the time we get to 2022 (statistics cited from AV Network). Those are gigantic numbers for something so simple, yet clearly so necessary to the varied businesses around the world.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the AV industry, first, we’ll break down what a company’s goal is. Ultimately, they want to offer consumers the best, highest quality AV equipment for their setup, regardless of the intention, while also offering a great price-point and efficient installation. So, how can they do this? Referring back to our previous example of the educational sector, we can offer a quick rundown of what to expect. A classroom will want a few things: screens, perhaps a simple projector, or a more sophisticated touchscreen. While also bringing potential audio into the mix, be that for the screen, or also for the overall school system itself when giving important announcements. From here, it can only get more complex, but that doesn’t always mean more difficult. Lecture theatres, assembly halls and dance floors are all just as appropriate as a classroom in educational institutes, and as a result are given just as much consideration. In a larger, more open area the AV industry understands that lighting and acoustics become very important, so those are two more factors to add to our list, but how do you cater for acoustics? Well, the room can be designed, or redesigned to offer a more adequate setup in relation to the sound, which is just as possible of an outcome as a screen and projector. Moving away from the bright lights we can look at additional inputs, such as a tap-in solution offered by many modern universities. This is an arguably smaller, but just as useful solution, allowing students to tap their identification card against a sensor, counting as their registration and giving back precious time to the students and their teacher.
The beauty of these differing services is that a company like Mustard Presentations covers all bases, and we mean all. From a weekend presentation at a hotel, to a sports venue, you may ask, well what’s the difference between the two? Time is a big difference, in regard to the fact that one service may be temporary, while the other is a permanent fixture. Either of them are no problem at all as the equipment can be rented out for the weekend, bringing the equipment such as screens and speakers in, then taking them out when the event is done. Or, all equipment can be purchased outright, installed and setup as yours forever.
Educational institutions need these types of AV installation services for an obvious circumstance, to relay information at a large and efficient capacity; teaching young children or growing adults, be that in a classroom or a lecture hall. However, what other companies would need these setups, what kind of company really needs all those screens and fancy pieces of equipment, especially for an extended period of time? Let’s use the ExCeL convention centre in the London docklands as a prime example. This is the perfect context that requires the very best in AV services for exhibitions that are hosted all throughout the year regarding: gaming, beauty, sports, business, any and all kinds of event are showcased here, including huge attractions such as RTX London and the MCM comic-convention. For those of you who aren’t aware, the ExCeL is a large structure filled with multiple levels that offer dozens of different sized halls, ranging from hundreds of feet, to smaller, more intimate rooms. This acts as a great juxtaposition to that of a hotel or classroom, because now you’ve thrown variety into the mix. This kind of job would likely be on the longer side of the timeframe, as the contractors would have to look at every aspect of the build, from the people front and centre of the platinum suite, to those standing in line, trying to get a view of the screen at centre stage.
The bottom line of these examples shows that the industry, or the company interested in these installations really isn’t important, what’s important is the end result. Each of these customers, be it a convention centre, hotel, sports bar or conference room of a bank are all looking for the same thing: the ability to convey information to a wide audience, with an experience that keeps them engaged and absorbing information. Mustard Presentations has been offering such services all across the United Kingdom for years and because of their experience, they’re able work with a streamlined efficiency you won’t find anywhere else. Better yet, it’s an experience that thrives in the presence of variety, a chance to offer unique setups that cater specifically for the current buyer.
Of course, with such useful and impactful changes to an institution and their structure, the matter at hand will require a few things: expertise, making sure that the engineers know exactly what they’re doing, equipment, so that the build has longevity and quality over the long, or short period of time it’s in use, and most importantly, time, to make sure the job is designed properly and built up to specification.
With these three things in mind we can once again look to Mustard Presentations, an AV installation company that offers an effective practice towards all of the above factors and more. With our base of operations in the midlands of the United Kingdom being over ten thousand square feet, and hosting a large team of region, operation and project managers, coordinators and the fully trained AV technicians themselves, there aren’t many places around the country that we can’t reach. Plus, if you’re looking for work out of the country, it’s more than possible if you simply get in contact. From our headquarters in the midlands, our mobility allows us to bring all the state of the art audio, visual, lighting and AV projection equipment with us to the next big project, be that a meeting or conference room, training institution or live event venue.
Beyond that, it can get a bit more specific – as well as the basic jobs, Mustard Presentations can also offer design work, in regard to helping you sketch up the plans for your new theatre or hotel hall, but the creativity doesn’t just end with design. Back at the midlands there are plenty of opportunities for production in regard to videos or graphic design, showing that the AV installation job doesn’t end when the gear is set up. Instead, Mustard goes above and beyond in offering a full menu of support for anyone and everyone looking to host a high-quality event that both gathers and engages a crowd.
