Black Friday is just two sleeps and one turkey dinner away. Technology managers, media directors and tech enthusiasts in every organization are ready to scope out the best deals on flat screens, Blu-Ray players and more. There’s nothing wrong with looking for a sale to save your church, school or not-for-profit money… or is there?
Before you pick up that consumer flat screen from your local warehouse club or big box and try to hang it yourself on a wall mount just barely designed for a TV that size, we’d like you to think about a few things.
Are You Buying the Right Equipment for the Job?
Is a flat screen really just a flat screen? Yes and no. We cover the differences between commercial, consumer and hybrid flat screens in this blog post.
Choosing the “right” equipment also comes down to buying the right size and type screens, speakers, amplifiers and more, right down to the correct cables – and then putting it all in the right places to enhance the audiovisual experience for your visitors.
Audio visual “design” is not just about hanging a few screens on the wall or placing speakers in a drop ceiling. If you buy bargain gear at low prices on Black Friday, you may get it in and realize it completely fails to achieve the result you want. Between paying re-stocking fees and dealing with the hassle of returning equipment, that “sale” was really just money wasted.
What If It Doesn’t Work Once You Get It In?
Complex audio visual components that may work fine, separately, often don’t interface the way we expect in a real-world setting. This doesn’t mean the equipment is junk – sometimes it just takes a different cable, a scaler or another piece to make it all communicate properly.
A professional audio visual integrator has the knowledge and field experience to save you headaches. How many times have you started a home improvement project that seemed “easy”? After spending a week on this so-called “weekend project,” you call a professional – and he has it done the right way in just a few hours.
When you attempt a do-it-yourself AV project in a professional setting to save your organization money, anything can go wrong. And you’re not just losing time; you could lose face and make yourself look bad in the eyes of your superiors. Or, you can call a professional and be “the guy who found that great AV integrator who installed the system we love.” Which sounds better?
Do You Trust the Person Who Sold You This Audio Video Equipment?
On our parent company website, www.jdsystems.tv, I recently blogged — okay, ranted — about the lack of quality customer service across the retail environment lately. The post stemmed from my personal experience at a furniture store, but I’ve seen it happen with consumer electronics giants, as well. Too many people decide to go to that consumer electronics store to buy a TV screen for a commercial application, thinking they’ll save a few bucks. And yes, on Black Friday, it might be more than just a few bucks. But what happens when something goes wrong?
Trust isn’t just about knowing you have the right equipment in the right places. It’s also about knowing you can count on your audio video integrator if something goes wrong after everything is hooked up.
Your commercial audiovisual integrator is there for you, from the start of the consultation to service-after-the-sale. We understand your busy times, and we make sure to have enough staff on hand to answer service calls at that time. For churches, that time might be mid-December, when you blow an amp and need it fixed for Christmas Eve. Schools might need support during busy conference times. Whatever you need, whether it’s a question or a service call, we’re here to help.
Incidentally, the day after Black Friday is “Small Business Saturday.” Why not avoid the stampeding crowds and shop the Main Street stores in your neighborhood this weekend, instead?