Start with the problem. Choose the products last.
I’ve spent more than 25 years designing, programming, installing, and supporting audio, video, and control systems, from high-end homes to enterprise spaces and live-event stages. I work as a technical consultant, a partner, and an advocate for the client. I find out what has been failing, design the fix with the network and security teams, and stay with it through support.
How an engagement runs
What I tell every client
Problems before products
Products and vendors come after the problem is clear and the success criteria are written down.
Spend on equipment, save on install labor
Install labor will always cost more than equipment. A device that mounts behind the display and takes one network patch cable is money well spent.
AV is part of the network
Since Crestron DM NVX moved video onto the network in 2017, AV has been an IT project. AV devices get the same virtual LANs (VLANs), monitoring, and security review as any other network device.
Plain language
I explain the problem and the fix in terms the client can act on, whether that is an IT director or a church sound volunteer.
What I advise on
In most organizations every room was designed by a different integrator at a different time, so every room fails in its own way and every repair starts from scratch. My advice is one standard that is cheaper to buy, faster to support, and works the same way in every room. Because Dante audio, NVX video, and Q-SYS processing share the same switches and firewalls as everything else, that standard has to be built with the network and security teams.
Room standards
- Room tiers, such as huddle, conference, boardroom, training, and divisible spaces
- A standard design and equipment list for each tier
- The same meeting experience in every room, including Microsoft Teams Rooms
Standard code and configuration
- One control programming template and touch panel layout for every room type
- Standard DSP and video configuration files
- As-built documentation for every room, kept current
Network and security
- AV VLANs, multicast, and quality of service for Dante and NVX, agreed with the network team
- An inventory of every AV device and its firmware
- AV devices treated as network devices, with the same security review
Support and lifecycle
- Proactive monitoring and remote management, so problems are found before the meeting
- A refresh calendar and budget for each room tier
- Integrators held to standard scopes of work and the approved equipment list
Where the advice comes from
The final escalation tier for AV and network problems on a managed services platform. I manage and monitor 150+ IPsec VPN tunnels on FortiGate and take the problems nobody else could close. I first joined in 2018 and was rehired after six months away.
Programmed Crestron control systems for a global audio-visual integrator.
Set deployment strategy, vetted new technology, and ran the cost comparisons that shaped what we recommended to customers.
Ran my own Crestron Service Provider business, and was named to the Crestron CSP Advisory Board in April 2015.
Designed the video distribution from the production switcher to the video walls at a regional amphitheater, and monitored the signal during live events.
High-end residential and commercial systems covering audio, video, control, and lighting, built on Crestron, Vantage, Lutron, and LiteTouch.
AV and collaboration certifications
Each certification links to the page of the manufacturer or association that issues it.
Industry and collaboration
- AVIXA Certified Technology Specialist (CTS)The audiovisual industry’s general credential, accredited to the ISO/IEC 17024 standard for personnel certification. It covers creating, installing, supporting, and servicing AV systems, and it is the base for AVIXA’s design and installation specialties.
- AVIXA CTS-D (Design)AVIXA’s design specialty, which requires a current CTS first. It covers assessing client needs, designing AV systems, documenting the design, and verifying the finished system.
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate (MS-700)Microsoft’s administrator certification for Teams. It covers configuring Teams, managing meetings and calling, and monitoring and troubleshooting, which is the platform behind Microsoft Teams Rooms.
Control and video
- Crestron Masters Certified Programmer, SilverCrestron’s advanced programming credential. It starts from Crestron Certified Programmer status, and Silver requires attending three Crestron Masters events and passing a practical project exam.
- Crestron DigitalMedia 4KCrestron’s certification for its DigitalMedia 4K video distribution systems. Crestron’s own design guidance calls for DigitalMedia certified people to design and commission these systems.
- Crestron DM NVX Network CertifiedCrestron’s certification for DM NVX, its AV over IP video system. It covers the network side: topology, unicast and multicast traffic, and troubleshooting.
- Vantage Certified InstallerVantage, part of Legrand, makes lighting and building control systems. Its systems are programmed and commissioned by installers the manufacturer has certified.
Audio and networked audio
- Q-SYS Level 2Q-SYS’s advanced hands-on course, which requires Level 1 first. It covers deployment, building user control interfaces, and networking and control, and it ends with a troubleshooting exam drawn from real installation scenarios.
- Audinate Dante Level 3Audinate’s most advanced Dante certification, aimed at enterprise systems. It covers running Dante across subnets, clock synchronization with Precision Time Protocol (PTP), Dante Domain Manager, and building secure, resilient AV networks.
- Biamp TesiraFORTÉBiamp’s certification for TesiraFORTÉ, a digital signal processor (DSP) used widely for conference room audio. It covers configuring and programming the processor in Biamp’s Tesira software.
- Allen & Heath dLiveAllen & Heath’s certification for dLive, its flagship digital mixing system for touring, corporate events, houses of worship, and installed sound.
Talk to me about your AV program
Tell me what has been failing in your rooms. I can walk through how I would assess them and build a standard, starting from what you have today.