If you’re considering professional, commercial grade audio visual systems for your New York sports bar, restaurant or ultra-lounge, first let us say you’re making the right choice. You have a lot at stake here. You don’t want the liability of a flat screen falling on someone’s head in the middle of the big game. You don’t want your audio video systems to go down on Saturday night, either. Professional installation from a company you can trust, who is licensed and insured, is the way to go.
So maybe you’ve already called around to a few guys and you’re narrowing your choices. You might have heard this question: “What’s your budget?”
Did you have an answer ready?
Of course, you know how much you want to spend, and how much you really have available… but what did you tell the audio video integrator who was interested in your business? Did you trust him enough to give him an honest figure? Or did you hesitate because you were afraid he was going to try to spend every last dime, maybe even on audio video equipment you didn’t need?
What We Mean When We Ask About Your Audio Video Budget
When we ask your budget, our goal is to get you at or below your budget without sacrificing quality. We don’t want to play games or go back and forth on price. A lot of integrators are used to working through a bid process, where we only have one chance to get it right. When you give us the opportunity to provide a quote rather than bidding for your work, that quote will be fair, honest, and accurate… and within your budget. So it’s best to be honest when you tell us your budget.
We want to give you the best systems that your money can buy. But we don’t want to play games. We’ll provide you the best prices we can from the beginning. Let’s take an example of a typical New York sports bar with a reasonable, but not over-the-top, budget.
Video Design on a Budget
Let’s say you outline your needs to us and you need about 50 screens of varying sizes across the sports bar, the ability to send any source to any screen and, of course, a way to get the game broadcasts to those HDTVs. You’re looking at a video matrix, flat screens or projector/screen combinations, and a source like DirecTV. Maybe a control system, too.
If you told us the sky’s the limit, we’d consider a few really large projection screens and projectors to “wow” your guests, LEDs in 70-inch sizes and smaller, and a Crestron controller with a hard-wired controller at the bar and iPad control for the wait staff to change channels and adjust levels on the fly right at a table. You could even give guests limited control of channels and volume on screens in the booths, equipping each private booth with its own touchpad controller.
We could set up a motion-sensing video wall that changes inputs or activate images upon sensing customers in in the vicinity. Digital signage in the entry, showing the latest specials or upcoming events. And don’t forget the LEDs in the bathrooms – men’s and ladies’ rooms.
However, if you said you had a limited budget, we’d have to know just how limited. We could then recommend less costly screens, or even a modulator system in lieu of the video matrix. We might look at other options for controlling the system. If we did install a matrix switcher, you could change sources and channels directly from the box. iPad control at every table is a luxury you don’t need, and the cost savings can add up.
For a sports bar, we’d probably specify 1080i screens with component inputs and a video matrix with the same. We recently saved a sports bar client about $100,000 with this solution. Since most broadcasts are in 1080i anyway and — let’s be honest, your customers are not going to notice either way – running the signal through a digital switcher and across HDMI adds up to cash you don’t have to spend.
We could also skip the video wall, digital signage and restroom screens. (In all likelihood, those three things would be the first to go.) You can always add those bells and whistles later when business is pouring in and you want to raise the bar even higher.
An Audio Video System for Every Budget
Here at JD Systems, we firmly believe there isan audio visual system for every budget. If you tell us you need functionality at rock bottom prices, we will work with you to get there.
Make no mistake: your sports bar or restaurant needs an audio video system. (Could you imagine a sports bar with no video system? It would just be… a bar.) But you don’t have to break the bank to get the quality and functionality you need.
With the Super Bowl coming up right around the corner, if you’re upgrading your audio video systems or opening a new sports bar in the New York area, give us a call and we’ll help talk you through your options with an audio visual consultant.