ProAV can be a lot to consume. There are thousands of companies, products and people. And if you’re new to the industry like me, it can feel overwhelming. What do I need to know? How does it all connect? Will I ever understand what these product names mean?
The first step is always the hardest, but the best way to immerse yourself in the wide world of ProAV is to understand the basics of an AV system and how it all works together.
So, what is an AV system?
An AV system consists of about five different sections: displays, audio, power and processing, cabling and infrastructure and control. Let’s walk through what each of them are and how they work together.
Displays
Displays are one of the easiest components of an AV system to understand. You see them everywhere. Displays are output devices that present various types of content. They are the visual endpoint of an AV system. A visual signal begins at an input device like a laptop or camera, is processed by a device such as a switcher or a scaler, and then travels through cabling or network infrastructure before finally arriving at the display.
A display’s primary purpose is to show images, presentations, videos or data to an audience. ProAV displays are often found in commercial spaces and are engineered for longer run times and better brightness.
There are about six different types that we see on the market right now: LCD, LED, OLED, mini-LED, microLED and projectors.
One of the most common places you will see a display is on a college campus. AV veteran and founder of rAVe [PUBS] and AV Buyers Club, Gary Kayye says, “The cheapest and easiest way to do digital signage across a campus is through LCDs, because they’re readily available. They are ubiquitous.”
Displays might be the most visible aspect of an AV system, but they’re only part of the picture. In fact, many would argue that audio is the most important piece.
Audio
Chuck Espinoza, global education director for Aurora Multimedia and a former senior staff instructor for AVIXA, puts it simply: “Audio in an AV system is there to engage your Aural perception of the message that you are trying to communicate. And yes, it IS the most important role in AV.” He gives this example: “Think of a videoconference — Zoom or Teams. If the video stutters but the audio is clear, the meeting can progress. People will instinctively turn their cameras off and just talk or listen. If the audio is bad, that will pretty much kill the meeting.”
Audio is clearly the most critical role in an AV system and, at its simplest, is made up of sound waves. A more complicated version goes something like this: When you talk or sing into a microphone (an input device), the mic captures the sound wave, converts it into an audio signal, and sends it to a digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP cleans the signal up and often routes it to an amplifier. The amplifier boosts the signal and sends it through cables to a speaker (output device), which converts the signal back into a sound wave so the audience can hear the person talking or singing.
That’s only scratching the surface.
The above describes how a digital signal works, but you’ve probably also heard of analog audio. A digital signal is represented in ones and zeros, while an analog signal is continuous and physical. What does that mean?
Take a vinyl record, for example. Vinyl is an analog format. If you hold one up, you can see the grooves on the surface. Those grooves are a physical representation of the original sound waves. When you place a record player’s needle on the vinyl, it traces the grooves and produces sound.
Power and Processing
In the above section, we learned briefly about what a digital signal processor does. A DSP belongs to the power and processing section of an AV system. Processing refers to how AV signals are transformed, combined and routed to an output device (like a speaker). It ensures those signals are clear, consistent and adapted to the environment.
Power is what keeps an AV system running and ensures devices can function properly. Simply put, you need reliable power to have a stable AV system.
One popular term you have probably heard is Power over Ethernet (PoE). PoE lets you use just one cable for both electricity and Ethernet. Often, you need two separate cables for each, but with PoE, it’s all in one. Another advantage of PoE is that you can turn devices on or off remotely, through a network, without having to unplug them manually.
Another common term is Power over Cable (PoC). Like PoE, it combines two functions into one cable. The difference is that PoC delivers power and audio/video signals, instead of power and internet. Think of PoE as network plus power, and PoC as signal plus power.
While we’re on the topic of cables, let’s talk about cabling and infrastructure.
Cabling and Infrastructure
Cabling connects everything together. A cable is the physical pathway that carries power, audio, video and data between devices. Cabling, simply put, is about signal management and how that signal travels through an AV system. For example: When you speak into a microphone, that signal flows into a processor and eventually comes out of a speaker so others can hear it. Cabling is what makes that journey possible.
Cabling connects everything, but infrastructure supports and organizes it all. Infrastructure includes the racks and mounts that hold equipment, along with the pathways you choose for cables to run through. Good infrastructure ensures that signals can travel clearly. It is the physical support for your AV system.
We’ve talked about how everything connects to each other, but how does an AV system work together? This is where control comes in.
Control
Steve Greenblatt from Control Concepts says, “The control system is the heart of complex integrated AV systems. It provides the user experience with functionality tailored to the user’s needs. Instead of needing to understand how to operate each component, an AV control system simplifies the technical complexity into a straightforward and easy-to-use interface driven by programming.”
Control is the core of an AV system. It ties all the different devices together and makes them easy to use in a space. A control processor receives commands from a touch panel or routes through a switcher, then tells each piece of equipment what to do. If a switcher is like a train station board, the control processor is the conductor, making sure everything moves in sync.
For example, imagine you’re in a conference room and need the projector screen to drop down. You could do it manually with the touch panel, or the system could be programmed so the screen automatically lowers when the meeting begins. All of that logic lives in a control device.
Phew. That was a lot, wasn’t it? If you’re feeling like you need to reread a section or two, you’re not alone. I’ve gone back over these basics myself more than once while learning.
But understanding the basics of an AV system gives you a stronger foundation for every decision you’ll make about technology and feel more confident in AV conversations. Once you know what goes into a system, the next big question naturally comes up: Who actually puts it all together?
In my next blog, we’ll talk about integrators, what they are and when you might need one.
Click here for a full list of definitions of the terms bolded above.
