ELECT A NEW WAY TO BE PROFITABLE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDIO SOLUTIONS

You’re certainly familiar with working in the small to large business space, but what about working with your local government? Government entities are constantly engaged in tech refreshes of their facilities. The cycle takes a bit longer because public monies are being spent; therefore, most projects are sent out to bid. If you’re willing to work through the bid process you’ll be rewarded with a client that will definitely pay their bill at the end of the project!

Government opportunities in audio can come from anywhere: state legislatures, city councils, court houses, boards of education, water authorities, local transportation authorities, state and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations.

A secure system is a must.

These bodies have some unique requirements. To insure the integrity of the process, the system must be secure, either as a stand-alone system or if on the network, segmented with appropriate network controls such as a separate VLAN, firewall rules, and occasionally a dedicated physical network to move data from point to point.

Most government meetings have a set agenda that must be followed with procedural requirements. A complete system will allow for agenda mapping, voting, documentation and document sharing as well as local and facility-wide/WAN distribution. Legislative chambers have set protocols for participants to discuss and vote on key issues. Data collection ensures accountability on policy making.

Additional requirements for many meetings include controlled microphone activation, electronic voting, audio recording and archiving, and an agenda report. Some require the ability to display agenda and voting information to the audience, video tracking triggered by push-to-talk microphones for live streaming, and paperless document display.

ALMO has partnered with manufacturers uniquely qualified to fulfill these requirements.

Beyer Dynamics’ Quinta wireless conference systems’ product range includes gooseneck mics, revoluto array mics, and a wireless handheld mic unit that has the same functionality as a mic unit. For the government client that requires additional meeting management, Taiden offers a complete solution including voting, document management, video tracking and display. Both systems can provide simultaneous interpretation with additional hardware and appropriate software.

ALMO has the video, distribution and control systems solutions, and the relationships with our manufacturers’ technical support teams to ensure our customers a complete solution for their project.

Interested in finding out more? Call me!

Steve Alexander, CTS, PCVE, CCNA
Business Development Manager 

888-420-2566 x6648  |  [email protected]

Why Audio in the Conference Room is NOT a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

These days, video conferencing is a daily activity. What was once the prevue of only “C suite” executives is now available to everyone in the organization.  Conference rooms are becoming ubiquitous, and come in all shapes and sizes. Small, medium, or large – each size conference room has its own set of challenges that require different types of AV integration products and solutions.

Let’s break this down a little:

  • Let’s start small—AKA the huddle room. It’s estimated that worldwide, the number of huddle room installs will be in the six-figure range over the next few years. Huddle rooms are smaller spaces where AV/IT infrastructure is minimal and BYOD is the norm. It’s a collaboration environment. Folks need the ability to easily connect their computer and share content locally as well as remotely. Biamp has the solution for the huddle space environment, the Devio. A one cable connection from your computer to the Devio is all that’s required. The heart of the system is its’ beam –tracking microphone, which follows the conversation around the room.Crystal clear audio anywhere in the room is possible, thanks to the auto-setup feature which calibrates the mic and audio with the acoustics of the room. Connect a USB camera to the device and HDMI output from the Devio to a monitor and you’re all set. Two models provide interface capability with existing phone systems via the rooms’ phone headset output. The Devio even has a Bluetooth enabled version. AMX also has a player in this space, the Acendo Vibe. Included are JBL speakers and mics and a wide-angle camera to see everyone in the room.

Did you know that Almo Pro A/V offers a SOUND OPTIONS audio sourcing and engineering group? SOUND OPTIONS gives accessibility to favorite audio brands and technical expertise all through a single resource. Learn more here.

  • Medium sized rooms, AKA the “GRANDE,” are the perfect candidate for the Phoenix Stingray. This distributed array auto-mixer features mic-line inputs and can be configured as a stand-alone SIP client. The unit can be daisy-chained to add additional mics. The device can bridge two audio calls from different interfaces, has direction-finding and beamforming software which provides the ability to steer the directionality of the devices’ microphones. Speaking of mics, Phoenix has a number of mics certified to work with the device, such as the AKG CHM 99 hanging mic and the Beyer Dynamic Revoluto RM 30.
  • Large rooms — AKA the “big boy/executive conference room,” requires products like the BSS Soundweb London family of DSP processors is the way to go. The unit can come in a fixed I/O configuration or as a chassis, with a number of signal processors and I/Os in a variety of networked-audio configurations and slots for a variety of input/output cards. Available protocols include Cobra-Net, Digital Audio Bus, Dante, and AVB. The units are configurable through HiQnet London Architect.

Conferencing Taiden, AKG, and Beyer Dynamic are designed specifically for the conference room space that requires chairman/delegate assignments, remote mic control, voting, and can incorporate simultaneous interpretation as well. These systems are found in the conference rooms of Fortune 500 companies worldwide.

Taiden

AKG

Beyer Dynamic

In addition to these solutions, ALMO has the full line of Beyer Dynamic and AKG microphones, Ashly, Atlas, Crown, JBL amplification and speakers, Panasonic PTZ cameras, switchers, and a variety of video distribution options.

Small, medium, large…got a project in the works? Ring me up! We’d love the opportunity to help out!

 

Steve Alexander, CTS, PCVE, CCNA
Business Development Manager 

888-420-2566 x6648  |  [email protected]

 

Now Hear This—Your Ultimate Audio Source is Here.

Everyone has a story, and when you’ve been around professional audio as long as I have, you’ve heard them all … from headphone distribution system failures just as the clock starts with a room full of studio musicians to a client who thought that the female end of an XLR connector was the microphone. That’s right, I actually had that conversation years ago with a wannabe news stringer who was putting together their first ENG rig.

The point is, audio applications are varied, wide and deep. Some audio professionals spend their whole careers working with 70-volt installed sound and understand the challenges involved, whereas someone doing live sound or coming from a studio background may not have the knowledge and skill set to successfully design, build and install a system (and vice versa). Whatever your area of expertise, it’s critical to partner with a distributor who has the experience to deliver exactly what you need to get the job done.

A trusted resource has gotten even better.

A good mechanic has the correct tools for the job, and it’s the same with the audio professional. Audio design involves many choices, and we know that many times these choices boil down to the preference of the designer or engineer. That’s why Almo is expanding YOUR audio options through our new dedicated audio sourcing and technical support group, Sound Options.

Pack your toolkit with all of the brands you want.

Through Sound Options, we’re partnering with audio vendors to provide the tools you need to complete your project, your way. You’ll also receive the legendary sales assistance and technical support that’s helped make Almo the premier provider of exceptional audio solutions.

Ashly Audio–amplifiers, mic/line mixers, DSP processors

Beyerdynamic–microphones for any application

Phoenix Technologies–Stringray 4 channel auto-mixer

Taiden–wired and infrared wireless microphone conferencing and simultaneous interpretation

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