Because of the rate by which audiovisual technology is growing, basing your AV decisions on the possible growth of your organisation is absolutely vital. People that make mistakes in the technical systems world make them because they don’t think through decisions based upon where they want to be in the long run. Know where you want to be 5 years or 10 years from today. Every decision in AV that’s made today will impact you for a minimum of 4 to 5 years. The technical world today is changing too fast not to think about it.
When it comes to training your staff to use AV equipment, think about using a “layered-operation” approach. You need to have operators of different skill sets. In a worship center quite often volunteers are called upon to run AV equipment – but professional service is expected. Don’t pay $60,000 for a sound system and then hand it off. Making an error like that is similar to buying a Steinway piano and then just assuming that anyone will be able to come in and play it.
As is true when it comes to the operation of AV equipment, we emphasise that a common mistake in the AV world is having an unqualified person designing, purchasing, and even possibly installing a system with no prior AV experience. That scenario rarely yields good results. If you don’t know much about AV systems, read up and make an effort to learn more, or select a supplier with proven experience who can assist. Keep in mind that the purpose of an AV system is to facilitate communication – not to look glitzy or showy.
