Commercial AV Best Practices

We get called into a lot of conference rooms after they've already been designed. The architect has picked the finishes, the furniture is ordered, construction is halfway done. And then someone realizes: "Oh right, we need screens and microphones and stuff."

This is the wrong way to do it.

Not because we don't like a challenge—we do. But because fixing AV problems after the fact costs 3-5x more than getting it right from the start. And you usually end up with compromises nobody's happy about.

So here's what we've learned from doing this for 20+ years. Some of it's technical. Most of it's practical. All of it will save you money and headaches.

Start with the Use Case (Not the Technology)

The first question shouldn't be "What screens should we buy?" It should be "What's this room for?"

A small huddle room for 4 people needs different tech than a boardroom for 20. A training room needs different equipment than a video production studio. A room that's 50% video calls needs a different setup than one that's 90% presentations.

We always start by asking:

• How many people will typically use this room?
• What percentage of meetings involve remote participants?
• Will presentations come from laptops, or do you need wireless sharing?
• Is this room bookable, or is it first-come first-served?
• What's your AV support situation—do you have an IT team, or are employees on their own?

The answers drive everything else. A room that's mostly used for video calls needs great cameras and microphones. A room that's mostly internal presentations needs a big screen and good wireless sharing. Trying to make one room do everything perfectly usually means it does nothing particularly well.

Acoustics: The Thing Nobody Thinks About Until It's Too Late

Here's a story we tell new clients: We installed a beautiful boardroom in a downtown Denver high-rise. 20-person table, 98-inch display, multiple cameras, ceiling microphones, the works. Budget was $200K, and it looked amazing.

Then they tried to have their first video call. The echo was so bad that remote participants couldn't understand anything. The room was basically a concrete box with floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides. Perfect for views, terrible for acoustics.

Fixing it meant adding acoustic panels, ceiling clouds, and some strategic furniture placement. Cost an extra $35K and delayed the project by three weeks. All of which could have been avoided if acoustics were part of the original design.

Good acoustics aren't negotiable. You can have the best microphones money can buy, but if your room sounds like a parking garage, your calls will be miserable.

Rule of thumb: If you can hear yourself echo when you clap in an empty room, you've got an acoustics problem. Fix it before you install anything else.

Display Size: Bigger Isn't Always Better (But It Usually Is)

There's actual math for this. Take the distance from the farthest seat to the screen, divide by two, and that's roughly the minimum diagonal screen size you need. So if your back row is 20 feet from the screen, you need at least a 120-inch (10-foot) diagonal display.

People always think this sounds too big. Then they see it in person and say "Oh, yeah, that's perfect."

We're seeing a lot more LED video walls in conference rooms now. They're expensive—figure $30-50K for a decent-sized wall—but they're bright, they work in any lighting conditions, and they look incredible. Plus they don't have the size limitations of traditional displays.

But honestly? For most conference rooms, a good 85-98 inch display works great and costs a fraction as much. Save the LED wall for the executive boardroom or the lobby.

Video Conferencing: Get the Basics Right

Video calls are now 60-70% of what conference rooms are used for. So let's talk about what makes them not suck.

Cameras: The built-in laptop camera is not good enough for a room with more than two people. You need a proper room camera, and it needs to be positioned correctly—roughly at eye level when people are seated, centered on the table.

Auto-framing cameras are neat in theory—they zoom and pan to follow whoever's talking. In practice, they're hit or miss. Sometimes they work great. Sometimes they spend the whole meeting framing the person nervously tapping their pen. We usually stick with fixed cameras that frame the whole table.

Microphones: Ceiling microphones are our default for most rooms. They pick up voices from anywhere at the table, they're invisible, and they don't require everyone to remember to unmute themselves.

For larger rooms, you might need multiple ceiling mics, or a combination of ceiling mics and a tabletop mic for the far end. The key is having even coverage—you don't want the people on one end of the table sounding great while the other end is barely audible.

Speakers: Built-in display speakers aren't good enough for anything larger than a small huddle room. You need real speakers, and they need to be loud enough to hear clearly but not so loud that they cause echo issues.

Keep It Simple (Seriously)

The fancier your system, the more ways it can break. And the more training your users need before they can run a meeting.

Our most successful conference rooms have:

• One button to turn everything on
• One cable to connect your laptop (HDMI or USB-C)
• Clear labels for every input
• A laminated "How to use this room" card on the table

That's it. No 15-button touchpanels with obscure icons. No needing to select the right input source and adjust the audio routing. Just plug in and go.

If your system requires more than 30 seconds of explanation, it's too complicated. Simplify or redesign.

Wireless Presentation: Worth the Investment

Wireless presentation systems (like Crestron AirMedia or Barco ClickShare) are one of the best investments you can make. No more hunting for the right cable, no more "Does anyone have a dongle for USB-C to HDMI?"

Users press a button, connect wirelessly, and their screen shows up on the display. Takes 10 seconds. Works every time.

Yes, they're expensive—$2-3K per room. But if you calculate the cost of wasted meeting time from AV troubleshooting, they pay for themselves in a couple months.

Cable Management (Or: How to Not Hate Your Conference Table)

Conference room tables need power and data connections. But nobody wants a tangle of cables running across the table surface or outlets hanging off the edge.

Do it right: Install recessed floor boxes with power and network connections, or use table boxes that mount flush with the table surface. Plan for at least two connections per four people—more if you're trying to future-proof.

Also, leave extra conduit for future cable runs. Because someone will eventually want something you didn't plan for, and running conduit is way easier before the walls are closed up.

Lighting: The Detail Nobody Plans For

Conference room lighting needs to do two things: make people look good on video calls, and not cause glare on screens.

The default ceiling lighting in most offices does neither. It creates harsh shadows on faces and washes out displays. You need dimmable lighting with separate zones—brighter near people's faces, dimmer near the screen.

And windows? They're great for the view, terrible for video calls. You need blackout shades or sheers that you can control. Preferably motorized so people actually use them.

The Stuff You'll Regret Cheaping Out On

Network Infrastructure: Your AV system lives on the network. If the network sucks, your AV will suck. You need proper switches, dedicated VLANs for AV traffic, and enough bandwidth to handle multiple rooms doing high-quality video calls at the same time.

Control Systems: Consumer-grade control systems (like basic HDMI switchers with a remote) work fine until they don't. Then you're troubleshooting why input 3 isn't showing up while 15 people wait. Professional control systems (Crestron, AMX, Extron) cost more but they actually work reliably.

Installation: Hiring the architect's cousin who "knows about audio" is not a money-saving move. Professional installation costs more upfront but it's still cheaper than paying someone to fix it after it breaks.

What About Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms?

These are packaged video conferencing solutions that come preconfigured for either Teams or Zoom. They're actually pretty good—the equipment is certified to work together, the setup is standardized, and users usually don't need much training.

Downsides: You're locked into one platform. If your company switches from Teams to Zoom (or vice versa), you're replacing all the room hardware. And they're not as flexible if you have non-standard requirements.

Our take: They're great for standardizing multiple identical conference rooms. Less good if you have unique spaces or need custom functionality.

Ongoing Support: Budget for It

Conference room AV isn't set-it-and-forget-it. Things break, software updates cause problems, users have questions. If you don't have internal AV support, you need a service contract.

We typically recommend one of two models:

Time and materials: Pay as you go. Works if you have simple systems and don't need help very often.

Managed services: Monthly fee, we proactively monitor your systems and respond quickly when there's an issue. Makes sense for multiple rooms or mission-critical spaces.

Either way, don't wait until something breaks to figure out who's going to fix it.

The Questions to Ask Your Integrator

If you're hiring someone to design and install your conference room AV, here's what to ask:

• "How many similar projects have you done?" (You want 10+)
• "What happens if something breaks?" (You want a clear answer with response time guarantees)
• "Will you train our team on using the system?" (The answer should be yes)
• "What's your process for addressing acoustics?" (If they say "We don't really worry about that," run)
• "Can you show me a similar room you've done?" (Go see it in person, not just photos)

Real Budget Numbers

People always want to know what things cost. Here's the rough range for Denver metro in 2024:

Final Thoughts

Good conference room AV should be invisible. When it works right, nobody thinks about the technology—they just have productive meetings.

That takes planning, proper design, quality equipment, and professional installation. It's not cheap, but neither is a $5 million office buildout with conference rooms nobody wants to use because the AV is frustrating.

Get it right the first time. Your employees will thank you, your remote participants will thank you, and you won't be calling us six months later to fix things that should have been done correctly from day one.

Planning a new office or renovating your conference rooms? We do this all day. Let's talk through your project—no charge for the first consultation, and we promise to tell you if something's a bad idea.