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Getting the Right Audio and Video Equipment for Your Event

By Renee Shaker

Contacting an audio/video vendor for your event can be an intimidating process, not unlike visiting a car mechanic. For many, our experience with audio is pretty much limited to our home stereo system. Caterers speak your language. Designers are on the same page. Florists – they know instinctively what you need. But, those boys with the black T-shirts who look like bouncers at a rock concert – well, how do you communicate with them?

With some basic knowledge, however, you can get exactly what you need and in a way that makes you comfortable and confident that you are in control – not the guy who wants to make your cocktail party sound like a U2 concert. And, who knows, with a little experience, maybe you'll even be able to impress your car mechanic with your command of woofers, tweeters, EQ and more.

The Basics

First is defining the basic system you need. Are you having music, either with a DJ, a band or maybe just playing some CDs or an I-Pod for background music? Here, you need a sound system. Will there be presentations, a panel discussion maybe or an auctioneer that needs a podium and microphone? This calls for an A/V (audio/video) expert. In both of these instances, what you need is a PA system, for projecting either music or speech. And, finally, do you need a plasma screen with your company's logo or a video projector with a Power Point presentation? Of course, a video company can give you what you need here.

There are many companies who can help you with each of your needs and some companies that can cover all of these areas. Be aware, though, that even these one-stop shopping companies started out specializing in one area or the other – music, corporate A/V or video – and built their practice to include the other areas of expertise. So, it is a good idea to ask how much of its business is in each of these distinct markets. Expertise in one area does not guarantee competency in the others.

Okay, now that you've identified your basic needs – music, A/V, video or all three – the next step is getting the right equipment for your event. For this, you do not need to know all the technical terms of the trade, but must have an understanding of what you want the equipment to do. Here, some basic information will help your vendor formulate the best solution.

The Space

It sounds self-evident, but the first place to start is with the venue. How large is the space in which you are having your event or the area in which you want sound? Square footage and number of guests are important. So is ceiling height. Is there more than one room or multiple floors that need coverage?

You also want to think about how the space will be used and here a good floor plan will be indispensable to your vendor. Will you have a dance floors where the music will be concentrated, or do you want even coverage throughout the whole space?

Think, too, of your guest's needs. People always appreciate a quiet area in which they can talk and you likely don't want a lot of music near the food stations or bar areas. Strategically targeting your coverage can also save you money.

Even if you have all this information readily available for your vendor, you will still want to do a walk-through. A visit to the space with your audio/video company is essential for completely and accurately communicating your vision for the space and to avoid potential misunderstandings. Even if a company says they've done this space many times, it is your party they are working on now.

Sound Systems for Music

There can be significant differences in the equipment you will need depending on whether you are having a band, a DJ or CD/I-Pod for background music. In each instance, though, there is a distinction between the PA – they system that carries the sound throughout your venue – and the performers' personal equipment needs.

The size and configuration of the venue will determine the best PA system for each music form. A band will have a main speaker system flanking it on stage, from which radiates the music throughout the room. If it is a large space and the speakers don't cover the entire room, your vendor may add fill speakers (back-fill, side-fill, etc.) to give everyone the same enjoyment level of music. On the other hand, background music requires a distributed system with many speakers placed around the room in such a ways as to provide total, even coverage. The type of music to be played is also an important factor. Loud, bass-heavy music such as dance, reggae, hip hop, etc. requires extra speakers (subwoofers) to create the right sound.

Bands and many DJs have equipment riders listing the personal gear they require. The first thing to ask is if your vendor can provide everything that is on the list. If your supplier needs to provide substitute brands/models, make sure this is this okay with your musicians or DJ – don't just assume it is. Here is a list of gear you can expect to see in a typical equipment rider:

Bands: Mixing console, microphones, monitor speakers, processing equipment (reverb, effects, EQ, compressors/limiters), backline (guitar or bass amplifiers, drum kits, keyboards and any instruments the band does not bring itself). A good sound system is a lot more than just speakers, amplifiers and instruments. Even if you do not know what all of these are or what they do, each plays an important part in the sound system and you can rest assured that you are not being required to pay for things you don't necessarily need.

DJs: Anything that plays pre-recorded music – records, CDs, cassette tapes, etc. – is called a playback system. For most DJs today this includes turntables and a CD player. In addition, he/she will need a mixer, monitor and sometimes a microphone. Increasingly, DJs are now bringing their computers or I-Pods which connect to the system's mixer. And a new item being requested with increasing frequency is a Rane Serato. This piece of equipment, which is usually connected to the DJ's computer, allows him or her to replicate the sounds made on a turntable without having to lug their whole record collection.

An important element of a band's (and some DJ's) equipment is its monitor system. To play its very best, a band needs to hear itself, but because the main PA system is directed out into the audience, it often needs its own set of speakers, called monitors, that play back to them what the audience hears. These are the black boxes you see on the stage floor facing up towards the musicians. The monitor system can be a significant part of the total sound system required by the band (and cost), but most good entertainers will not play without them.

If your band is used to playing large concert halls and your are hiring it for a small party, usually its technical engineer can work with your vendor to scale down the system to a more suitable level. In all cases, it is important to give your vendor direct access to your entertainers, but require that they explain to you any changes that are being made to the original rider.

A/V Systems for Speech

As different as speech is from music, so, too, can be the audio systems required. There are whole lines of loudspeakers devoted specifically to one form or the other, although many good speakers will deliver quality sound for both. Generally, though, you will not need any subwoofers as the human voice does not normally go so low. A full range loudspeaker with good low-end will suffice.

The main objective for the PA in these instances is to have sufficient, even coverage throughout the entire listening space. While two loudspeakers flanking your presenter can often work in a small space, it is often better for larger spaces to consider a number of loudspeakers placed strategically around the room, as in the distributed systems used for background music.

The operative words for these systems are clear, crisp sound. While important for music, also, it is essential for a good presentation. Each room has its own acoustic personality and spaces with a lot of bare walls, high ceilings, glass windows or other reflective surfaces can be difficult environments. Here again, using a distributed system helps. By having the load carried by several speakers that can operate at lower levels than two main speakers doing all the work, the sound reflecting off the bare surfaces is reduced and more clarity is preserved.

The type of speaker your vendor will use is also important and here he/she will want a loudspeaker with a tighter dispersion pattern. Each loudspeaker has a pattern for how it projects sound: straight out, up, down and sideways. Speakers that minimize sound coming out up and down will also result in less reflective sound bouncing off the ceiling and floor.

The most common and often the biggest impediment to clear sound is feedback. Feedback is caused when a certain part of the audio signal gets stuck in a loop feeding between the microphone and loudspeaker. By staying away from the front of the loudspeakers when using the microphone, feedback can often be avoided. But, audio signals move in complicated – and unseen – ways and the room's acoustic personality will also affect this process. So, before the event starts, your audio technician will ring out the room using a microphone and a graphic EQ (equalizer). By moving around the room while speaking into a microphone, a technician is often able to identify the audio frequencies most susceptible to causing feedback. Then, with the graphic EQ, he/she can notch out the offending frequencies.

Microphone usage is important for both speech and music and the type your vendor uses will affect sound quality and feedback. But it is a complicated topic best left for another paper. For now, the important issue in choosing microphones is wired or wireless. The freedom of movement offered by wireless microphones is often a great benefit. But, the problems with interference can often be significant. With the increasing use of wireless technology for everything from laptops to telephones, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened up the radio bands available for these technologies. Unfortunately, the bands are within those now used for wireless audio, so the problems with interference are likely to grow. If you have a choice and don't absolutely need wireless, it is always safer to use traditional wired microphones.

Sometimes your event is just so good you must share it with the world, that world being the press. In these instances, the press may want to record directly the speeches and presentations being made. This is accomplished with a mult box or multi-box. This is a device that acts as an interface between the press recording equipment and your audio system.

Video Systems

Video is no longer a tool for the corporate types making Power Point presentations in hotel room conferences. Today, video is being incorporated into everything from fashion shows to weddings, cocktail parties to music concerts. The source can be as varied as a computer, a DVD player, a VCR, beta deck or even slide projector (yes, they still have those). And the two main types of projection are the traditional projector and screen and plasma screens.

Today, the main factors in choosing the right video technology are size of image being projected and overall design/look of event. The former will be determined by the content being projected and your room and audience size, although you can often accomplish with two or more plasma screens the same audience viewing as you can with one large projection screen. The latter, however, is a personal choice to be made by you and your design team.

Another consideration is the brightness of the room. With plasma screens this is not an issue. But with a traditional projection system, the strength of the projector (and the cost) will be determined by the room's lighting. Projector strength, or brightness, is measured in lumens and the lighter the room the higher the lumens are needed to obtain a sharp, clear image.

There are two other important items you need to decide on with a traditional projection system: how far away from the screen you would like to put the projector and how large of an image you would like. There are precise mathematical calculations that go into determining the proper lens that balances distance with image size. Extra long distances or wide angles may require special lenses. There is also the option of rear projection in which the projector is behind the screen.

And, of course, you need to let your vendor know if there is any audio associated with your content so a loudspeaker system can be added to the setup.

With advances in plasma and LCD technology, the affordable options available have widened. It is no longer true that plasma is more expensive. In fact, very high end projectors with high lumens ratings can cost considerably more. However, neither is it true that plasma gives you a sharper image. Today's better projectors can rival plasma screens for clarity and visibility.

The Design Element

You spend a great deal of effort in creating the right look for your event and along comes your audio vendor with these big black boxes that are not only ugly, but look downright scary. In the past you didn't have much of a choice. But today you do and there are more options for speakers and other equipment that can blend into the design of your event.

Black is no longer the only color option. Many manufacturers now make their speakers in white. There are also some new speakers that cut a sleeker, more elegant profile, shaped like thin cylinders or rectangular columns. Many of these innovations have come from the contracting and house of worship markets but can be readily adapted for live events. And small bookshelf speakers have come a long way in sound quality and power. With today's technology, many of these smaller boxes can pack a pretty big punch.

That is not to say, however, that you can make speakers do what is physically impossible. Loud, bass heavy music is reproduced my moving a lot of air, something only a larger speaker can do. The laws of physics make it impossible to create big, low-end sound from a small box. In these instances, size does matter.

There is also a saying, a speaker not seen is a speaker not heard. When it comes to laying out the system in your room, there are certain parameters to keep in mind. The ideal speaker height is ear level. Sound from speakers too low or on the floor will get muffled with the bodies and speakers too high will produce sound over everyone's head. This also means that you cannot place speakers behind anything or have them face in any other direction than towards your guests. There are, however, some very thin fabrics that can be used to cover speakers that will have only minimal impact on sound quality, certainly not enough for the average person to hear. So, if you must have speakers in the latest shade of magenta, well, that may be possible.

Another major detraction with audio and video equipment is the cabling. Many designers and event planners ask why can't I have wireless speakers? In theory, wireless speakers are possible and there are even some wireless systems on the market. But these are mainly for home audio where the size needed is small and the distance short.

For professional use, particularly in urban environments, the potential problems with wireless microphones – interference, dropped signals, etc. – are the same for wireless loudspeakers, only more so. For this reason, most vendors consider the use of wireless speakers much too risky. Even if you were to use wireless speakers, this will eliminate the cable needed for the audio signal only; you will still have to run a cable for power, sometimes long distance as it is unlikely you will find an outlet near every speaker position.

So, for the foreseeable future, we're stuck with cables. White and colored speaker cable is available in the contracting market but the options for live sound are limited. It is not common and most vendors don't carry it, but there is white speaker cable suitable for live audio. Otherwise, it's basic black. With some effort, though, a conscientious vendor will take the time to dress the cable and otherwise minimize its visibility. Gaff or gaffers tape, which is available in a limited number of colors, is often preferred because it's a clean tape that leaves no glue residue and will not pull the finish off surfaces.

Your Vision

Today, it is no longer a world where what your vendor has to offer is all there is – take it or leave it. Technology has significantly widened the range of tools your vendor has for creating the ideal audio and video environment for your event. You do not need to know what these tools are called or how they work. But you do need a clear command of what your goals are. The ability to clearly articulate what you want, with an understanding of the basic limitations that exist, will go a long way towards helping your vendor make your vision a reality.

And, of course, these tools are only as good as the people who provide them. So, the first place to start in getting exactly the right equipment for your event is selecting a vendor who, above all else, understands that it is all about creating your vision and has the creativity, knowledge and flexibility to meet those expectations in an environment of trust, confidence and peace of mind. If you have this, then everything else will fall into place.

Renee Shaker is a president of Sine Audio Inc., New York's premier audio and video company specializing in high profile events for the fashion, retail, media, art, corporate and private events markets. Visit www.sineaudio.com.