Category: <span>General News</span>

Did you know that having good music can not only increase the ambiance of your space but also increase sales? It’s estimated that good, complimentary music can improve your sales by up to 9%!

But there are so many factors that go into choosing from the many background music systems and music genres. Don’t worry!

Here at JD Sound and Video, we can help you find the best system to help your customers be happier – and spend more. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about music in your business!

Background Music Systems: The Options

Depending on the type of business you run, you’ll want to choose a sound system that suits your situation. Let’s look at all the different options to find the best sound system for you!

What Type of Business Do You Have?

This is perhaps the most important to consider when choosing a background music system. For instance, a restaurant sound system is likely going to be playing at lower volumes, while a bar music system will probably be quite loud.

For restaurant speakers or venues like cafes, you’ll want good quality that can be played low. This means having good coverage (or minimal variation of sound level throughout the venue). You don’t want one area to have loud music and another to be too quiet to hear.

For louder areas such as bars or clubs, it’s important to have good intelligibility. Ensuring that the lyrics are clear and understandable is often important to ensure people are having a good time. Learn more about sound system quality objectives here!

Easy Controls for Staff

Did you know things don’t have to be super complicated anymore? With a good sound system, you can make music easy to control via apps on phones or tablets. This makes changing the mood a breeze.

Maybe you’re having special holiday events and you want to switch things up. Modern systems make selecting new music easy for all of your staff so there’s less required oversight.

Special Concerns

If you expect your venue to host live music or events it’s important to consult with experienced sound technicians. They can ensure that the system is easy to set up and use, with low feedback and noise.

Or maybe you run something like a sports bar, where music isn’t necessarily the name of the game. In this case, you’re likely to have some unique challenges when it comes to having audio and video flexibility.

When combining dining, drinking, and watching, you will likely want to create specific audio zones for the different customers and their viewing preferences.

But What About the Music?

So now you have all these details about which system will work better for you, you’re probably wondering what music you should actually have. There is actually a lot of science behind what sound and music can mean to us.

Sure, it’s vibrations in the air – but those vibrations can tell us to stop what we’re doing and listen and feel something.

Volume

This is one of the most important considerations when it comes to your music. If music is being played too loudly, people won’t be able to have conversations easily.

Sometimes this is the desired effect when it comes to live music or a club venue. Loud music and less chatting can mean more drinks sold! Other times it’s an annoyance that can put people off at a restaurant.

Meanwhile, music played at low volumes can actually affect the taste of your food. It can be known as “sonic seasoning.”

Low-pitched sounds can focus people on bitter elements, and high frequency can bring out sweetness. Coordinating music to savory and dessert dishes can be a fun science to bring to your establishment.

Tempo

When the background music is fast, you tend to eat faster too! And conversely, when the music is slow people tend to linger.

This can be vital to know if you need to turn tables quickly. By playing upbeat and quick rhythm songs you can expect diners to finish up faster. However, don’t decide only to play the fast tunes.

When you play those slower songs diners are more likely to take longer to finish, that’s true. But they are also more likely to spend more on extra drinks and dessert.

The Genre

Yes, this can affect how your guests react too! If you want your establishment to be viewed as high-class and justify the higher prices, the music should compliment that. Play classical or jazz to get your guests in the mood to feel classy and spend more happily.

Similarly, if you want your space to feel family-friendly, that same jazz and classical can feel off-putting. Choose something like rock or pop to have your patrons relax and be less likely to linger.

Always make sure your employees know what the vibe of your restaurant should be. Repeat customers won’t enjoy a place changing the genre frequently. People like consistency, so avoid having rap one day and blues the next!

What Else Should I Know About Sound Systems?

Now that you know what to look for in background music systems, you should be ready to choose! But who should you go to for designing and installation? JD Sound and Video specializing in any type of commercial venue sound system installation.

We’re ready to tailor our audio systems to suit you and your venue’s needs. From small to large spaces, we’re here to tackle any project! Check out our services today.

Did you know that 350 million people use Zoom daily? The company’s revenue has increased four times since 2019.

With everyone’s lives being blindsided by the pandemic this past year, learning to adapt on the fly was the new normal. With businesses and offices closing, left at right, the majority worked from home. Due to this, popular streaming apps and services such as Zoom were pushed to the mainstream.

This changed the landscape of how we conduct meetings, making online meetings a more powerful solution. How can you ensure your live streaming runs smoothly? Read our informative guide before you hit record.

How Live Streaming Works

Whether you are hosting an event or coordinating a meeting, live streaming is a great way to reach your audience. For those who cannot attend in the same physical space, a digital meeting is the next best thing, and in many ways superior.

Brands will use live streaming to their advantage to engage with customers. This relatively new medium helps connect clients and consumers to an organization. When people can view you and your team in real-time, there is a certain special connection that comes through.

The possibilities of online meetings are virtually endless too. Whether it is a small closed digital meeting or something for the masses, you’ll want to take advantage too.

Feel free to get creative too to appeal to a larger meeting room. For example, you could interview important figureheads in your company.

Step 1: Plan Your Online Meetings

As you would your offline meetings, your online ought to follow a similar planning method. If you expect things to run smoothly during a digital meeting, you’ll want a purpose or goal in mind first. Having a purpose or goal will help with the logistics of everything as well.

Who

Who is your meeting for? When you know your target audience, other factors will fall into place too.

For example, will foreigners be hopping on the digital meeting? If so, be sure to have time zones and holidays in mind beforehand.

What

What category does your live streaming meeting or event fall under? Is it an informative business plan or perhaps a roundtable?

Having a topic in mind will give your online meetings a center. You’ll want to know what points to hit during the digital meeting too. If there are guests speakers attending, be sure to have a moderator to introduce everyone, have talking points, smooth transitions, and a way to wrap up the conversation.

Where

The “where” in this case are the online meeting platforms you’ll choose. We’ll discuss them more in-depth below, but different platforms will attract different audiences. Knowing which platform attracts which crowd will help inform your decision on which is best for your purposes.

In terms of the physical space or venue you choose, you need something with a solid internet connection for your live streaming needs. A spotty or poor-quality digital meeting will result in dropped viewers.

Step 2: Online Meeting Platforms

Different online meeting platforms will help you and your team achieve different goals. Will you choose Zoom, Jitsi, YouTube Live, Facebook, or Microsoft Teams? You will hear these services referred to as content delivery networks (CDNs).

Many of these online meeting platforms will have HTML5 video players by default that allow you to embed your video on your company’s site. Other key features include a server and sufficient bandwidth to handle all your live streaming requirements.

Many of these services are white-labeled which means you can display your company’s watermark too.

Step 3: Proper Equipment

As for the equipment you’ll need for online meetings, a lot of it is intuitive to use. Much of which you may already have already (such as a smartphone or laptop).

If you do end up using a smartphone, be sure to use a tripod to ensure a stable stream. Doing so will create the professional look you’re after.

Make sure you have good lighting too—avoid harsh lights or things being too blown out.

For sound, you don’t want people shutting doors and shuffling going on. Whatever is picked up on the microphone, the camera on the stream will switch to that viewer.

A pair of headphones with a microphone that you plug into the computer will do the trick. You could also take advantage of a lavalier mic which is what plenty of talk shows will use for voice.

For professional cameras and video systems, you’ll need encoding software. This allows the camera to “talk” to the streaming platform and broadcast your online meetings.

To up the production value, consider using a professional backdrop with a company logo. Anything that can give your live streaming some consistency will help spread the company’s awareness.

Step 4: Have a Test Run

Before you have the real deal, why not have a test run? Doing a dry run will put you and your staff at ease. Any concerns or kinks you need to iron out can be smoothed over.

Rather than having a panic attack during a digital meeting, troubleshoot the technical mistakes without the audience present.

Check things like your internet connection, lights, camera, and sound. Have people on your team act as the audience to make it feel as real as possible.

Ensure Your Live Streaming Is a Success

Are you ready to hit record yet?

If you’re ready to take your live streaming to the next level, you’ll want to hire us as your professional team. When you do so, you will ensure the next digital meeting you hold is a success.

We will provide the equipment and obtain the professionalism you’re after. Do not hesitate to reach out.

An assisted living system is often one of the most overlooked elements of a church sound system. However, if you fail to include assisted listening, also called hearing assist, devices in your sound setup, it may result in some of your congregation not being able to hear what is being said. In some situations, you may even be breaking the law.

Assisted Listening Devices Defined

Personal assisted listening systems let people use personal audio devices to listen to what is going on from a unique sound reinforcement system. It can be used by members of the congregation who cannot hear well, use hearing aid technology, or want additional control over the volume of the sound coming into their ears.

Modern hearing assist systems include wireless transmitters that connect to a digital signal processor or mixing console and wireless receivers, which are used to pick up the signal. Users can then connect to the personal receiver using inductive neckloops compatible with telecoil-equipped hearing aids, earbuds, or headphones.

When Personal Assisted Listening Devices Are Needed

Today’s personal assisted listening devices are not only for individuals who are medically diagnosed as being hearing impaired. Even though some people using these devices can hear what is going on in the room, they may find it difficult to understand the words being said.

Usually, this is a problem that occurs in larger areas and worship rooms. It results from where the listener chooses to sit, bad acoustics, or personal hearing factors. It is possible to hear a much clearer audio signal right from the sound system with a personal listening device. The feed is free from any acoustic interference that occurs in some churches.

Individuals who use hearing aids can benefit from these devices for similar reasons. The biggest benefit of these devices is clear, unobstructed audio that can cut through the noise and other issues that may impact a space’s sound.

Important Legal Requirements and Considerations

According to the ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act – it is required that all assembly areas that feature sound reinforcement are equipped with some type of assistive listening system. There are also specific requirements that include the number of personal receivers that must be present based on the facility’s seating capacity.

Some churches are exempt from meeting the ADA requirements; however, even if a church is exempt, they should consider using assistive listening devices to ensure each member of the congregation can hear what is going on.

Installation of Assistive Listening Systems

Are you ready to have an assistive listening system installed in your church or house of worship? Do you want to learn more about these systems? If so, contact the professionals. They can evaluate your location and help ensure the right system is installed based on the size of the facility and the needs of your congregation. Being informed and knowing what to expect are the best ways to ensure the desired results are achieved.

Did you realize that over 30% of Americans rarely attend church? If you are the leader of a church, your main goal should be getting more people interested in what you are doing. While this will be difficult, it is definitely worth the effort invested. Using the power of technology is crucial when trying to get people around the world interested in your message. 

One of the best ways to expose more people to your message is by live streaming your sermons. With the right equipment and some professional help, live streaming your message around the world will be easy. Here are some reasons why live streaming church services is a great idea. 

A Great Way to Win Over Potential Visitors

Growing a small church is one of the hardest things you will have to do as a minister. While you can do this without the help of technology, it will take much longer. Allowing professionals to help you get the right equipment in place to stream your message is crucial. Once this equipment is functional, you can start the process of trying to reach a bigger audience. Before you start streaming your message to these new people, do some homework. 

Ideally, you want to tailor your message to include the visitors joining your congregation via live stream. The ultimate goal you should have is getting the people who are watching the live stream in the church. This is why you need to take every opportunity to invite these people in. As time goes by, you will become familiar with how to use this new medium to grow your congregation. 

Widen the Reach You Have

If your church is based in a small community, it can be hard to grow your congregation. Many ministers have goals that involve providing the word of God to as many people as they can. If you are tired of having a small group of people to spread your message to, it is time to think about the benefits of live streaming. 

There are many people who use live streaming as a way to reach larger audiences. Instead of trying to live stream services with low-quality equipment, you need to work with professionals. These professionals can help you find the right equipment and install it the right way. 

Make Going to Church Easier

Another reason why live streaming is a good idea for your church is that it can provide convenience to your members. If a person is unable to get to church because of a prior engagement or a sickness, they don’t have to worry about missing your sermon if you have live streaming. Getting the equipment needed to live stream is affordable, which means you don’t have to worry about over-extending your finances. 

We Are Here to Help!

Are you trying to live-stream your sermons? If so, contact JD Sound & Video to find out more about how we can help.

As our community churches have been quickly learning better ways of reaching people with their services remotely during this pandemic, we are hoping that re-opening phases will be successful and that doors to important worship services can be reopened soon. Many churches are anticipating what social distancing services may look and sound like for the future, and are already making adjustments to their audio and visual capabilities to meet the needs of a changing worship landscape.

Opening The Doors

Several states have already begun opening doors to religious gatherings in phases, limiting building capacity and requiring certain health rules be strictly enforced. Churches, temples, and other houses of worship can welcome people back, however meeting the new demands of social distancing guidelines to keep people safe will require forethought and change.

New Audio & Visual Needs

With an upgraded, or even slight changes to your church’s audio and visual system, churches can maximize their entire space to ensure everyone can be included in the worship experience easily and safely. While not every church may need extensive new audio and visual system designs, some may do well to reimagine how their community will best receive their messaging.

Screen Assessment

Now that worshippers must sit further apart at services, as well as further away from the pulpit, churches should take a look at their existing screens or think about adding screens to their space. Check to see if the existing screens are large enough, if they should be increased in number and if their placement is best suited to meet the needs of those in the back. Adding multiple screens in various spaces around the worship center will also increase peoples ability to watch the service from anywhere in the buildings.

Sound System Fine Tuning

Sound systems can be tuned to meet the needs of less people who are further away from the speakers. Acoustics in a church can be muffled a great deal when it is filled to capacity, but with fewer people in the space, the sound from the audio systems may need to be adjusted to meed the current needs. Again, adding speakers and sound system capabilities to overflow areas of your church will enable all spaces of your worship center to be used as extra seating for services.

Opportunity To Grow

Upgrading and adding new and advanced audio and video systems to your place of worship is a necessary part of meeting the needs of our community’s current health crisis. Being able to welcome people safely back is of utmost importance, and churches must rise to the occasion.

At JD Sound & Video, we are committed to helping our community reach their communication goals, safely, effectively and affordably. Call us today to find out how we can upgrade and enhance your audio and visual systems.

On average, Americans spend over $100 billion a year on sports. If you are looking for a great way to generate revenue and keep people in your community active, building a sports complex is a wise move. While it will be expensive to construct one of these facilities from scratch, it is a great investment.

Properly planning out the design of your new sports complex is imperative. Working with professionals who have experience with building these facilities can help you get the results you are after. Be sure to consider the following factors when building your new sports complex.

A State-of-the-Art Audio and Video System

The people who come to your sports complex to watch games should have a great time. The more fun these individuals have, the easier it will be to keep them coming back time and time again. If you are trying to find a way to improve the interactive element of the games at your complex, a modern audio and video system is a great investment.

With these systems, you can keep the crowd entertained and informed. Choosing the right A/V components and getting them installed properly is no easy task. This is why you need to entrust this complicated job to professionals. Allowing professionals to install and maintain your A/V system will allow you to keep it functional for years to come.

Irrigation and Drainage Systems are a Must

Having healthy and lush green grass is essential for the overall success of your new sports facility. Keeping the turf or sod you put down healthy will require lots of work. The main thing the grass in your facility needs to stay green and full is water. This is why investing in an irrigation system is so important.

You also need to make sure you have an adequate drainage system in place. Without this drainage system, you will have to deal with flooded fields regularly. If you are unsure about what type of drainage and irrigation systems to get, you need to enlist the help of professionals. The money invested in these systems will be worth it considering the problems they can help you avoid.

Selecting a Contractor to Bring Your Vision to Life

While you may have a good idea of what your new sports facility will look like, you probably don’t have the experience or equipment to bring this vision to life. This is why hiring a knowledgeable contractor to help you out is so important. Before hiring a company to do this work, you need to find out more about their previous experience.

Choosing a company that has constructed sports facilities in the past is wise. With the help of online research and onsite estimates, finding the right contractor to build your sports facility will be easy.

A Great Audio and Video Experience Awaits You!

At JD Sound & Video, you can get a great deal on the A/V system you need. Contact us for more information on the services we provide.

At J.D. Sound and Video, we are excited about our ability to help our customers develop cutting-edge audiovisual systems that are customized to their business environments.

That’s essentially what our A/V Design-Build-Integrate program is – it’s about customizing a setup to your space, but it’s also about a lot more than that.

Our proprietary method of support and service provision makes it easy for companies to innovate in multimedia on-site!

Manuals and Training

One important pillar of our A/V Design-Build-Integrate program is our ability to showcase these systems in an accessible way.

That helps customers tackle the learning curve on day one.

Here’s the thing: everyone knows intuitively that audiovisual and sound equipment can be difficult to troubleshoot.

Many times, it’s intimidating to start using these tools without any outside direction.

Our technician teams focus on making these systems translatable, so that your in-house people will not be left scratching their heads or fiddling with frustrating complex features without the right information to use them effectively.

In other words, you’ll have the handbook – in your hand!

The Importance of In-House Design: No Gratuitous Outsourcing!

We also feel very strongly that top-class AV systems should not be outsourced to subcontractors.

From design to installation, to the aforementioned training setups, we do everything in-house. That way, you know who your partners are and are able to rely on consistent high-quality delivery.

Fine-Tuning Hardware and Presentation Needs

In so many ways, good A/V design is about having the right hardware in the right place and calibrated correctly.

There’s the in-depth study of acoustics, which we always bring to an indoor business space – and then there’s the study of how to align presentation equipment with business needs.

For example, do you want projectors close to windows, in order to use natural light in a certain way?

That might seem like planning overkill, but it’s not. Ask any pro.

Having a solid plan is key to getting the most out of your systems when they’re in place. If you don’t have a handle on new internal space best practices, you might be disappointed when you get systems set up. It’s okay –  we’ll help.

Most architects or business leaders using a space have a plan for how often and where presentations will be made, so we take that into account when designing your system. We talk to you, and offer professional consulting that helps you get the most out of a plan.

To learn more, go to our website and check out all of the services that we provide in an exciting industry!

Every year, millions of dollars get spent on audio equipment. If you own a business that hosts a number of large meetings, you need a high-quality sound system. Choosing the right system and getting it installed is a lot harder than you may realize. Allowing professionals to assist you in making this important decision is a must. With their guidance, you can get a great deal on the right sound system.

Once your new commercial sound system is in place, keeping it functional should be your top concern. Accomplishing this goal will be easy if you follow the tips in this article. 

Routine Dusting is Essential

Keeping your commercial building clean should be one of your main concerns. Allowing your workspace to become dirty and dusty can result in a number of problems. Not only is the dirt and dust bad for your lungs, it can also be harmful to your commercial sound system. The speakers you have in place require a certain amount of air flow to stay functional. Without the proper amount of air flow, it is only a matter of time before they overheat. 

Allowing the speakers to overheat on a regular basis can damage them. Taking the time to dust the various components of your commercial sound system is a great way to avoid problems. The time you spend cleaning your sound system will pay off considering the repair issues it can help you avoid. 

Keep an Eye on Your Cables Condition

Connecting the audio components of your sound system to the soundboard requires the use of cables. These cables keep your speakers sounding and functioning great. However, if the cables are pulled or damaged, it can result in the system ceasing to work. If you have a lot of foot traffic in the room your sound system is located in, you need to keep the cables out of sight. 

Allowing people to walk on them can lead to the cables getting pulled out of the speaker. If this happens regularly, it will cause the ends of the cables to get damaged. This is why putting the cables in conduit or other protective casings is advisable. Consulting with a commercial sound system professional is a great way to figure out how to keep these vital cables safe and undamaged. 

Allow Professionals to Inspect the Sound System

Scheduling professional inspections and maintenance for your commercial sound system is also a good idea. Hiring the company that installed the system to do this work will help to ensure no mistakes occur. During this inspection, professionals will put your system through the paces. If any problems are found during the inspection, the professionals can address them before any damage is done. 

Looking For a Great Deal on a Commercial Sound System?

The team at JD Sound and Video can help you get a new commercial sound system in place. Contact us today to learn about the services we provide.

How well businesses communicate with their employees as well as their customers is key to their ultimate success. Technology has advanced rapidly, giving companies more options for forms of communication that make delivering their message easier than ever before. 

Communication Is Crucial

Today, harnessing the full power of audio and video communication technology is not only imperative to remaining competitive in your industry, but it can also mean it’s very survival. The commercial and economic landscape is changing as we learn to adapt to the health crisis that our communities now face. Equipping your team and customers with technology solutions that afford them the ability to communicate effectively will enable your organization to thrive under any conditions. 

Benefits Of Audio And Visual Communication Systems

For businesses, schools, houses of worship, communication needs can vary. Systems can be designed and tailored to meet the needs of in house presentations, live performance feeds, virtual work connections, and an almost endless array of possibilities. 

Board rooms and collaborative spaces can be outfitted to include audio and visual technology that enables your team to utilize creative methods of presentations. State of the art technology in meeting rooms also shows clients the level of professionalism that they can expect with your company. 

Be Wary Of Piecing A System Together

However, integrating this type of technology into your organization, or upgrading your outdated existing system, should be a well thought out plan. Often businesses find they have piecemealed their system together to keep it running at the status quo. The result of this can be a mismatched collection of pieces that require a lot of manual labor to keep running. 

Custom Designed Systems Are Key

Instead of having a lot of separate pieces mixed together, a more efficient way to establish an audio and video system for your organization that will carry you well into the future is to have a plan professionally designed. This design can incorporate all of your current and potential future needs, allowing room for growth and expansion without the need for continued redesigns.

Having a professionally designed audio and visual system means everything is all controlled in one place, making it run more smoothly and without as many potential pitfalls. This system, specifically designed to meet your needs, promotes cohesiveness throughout your organization’s communication outlets, which increases your level of professionalism and production.

JD Video & Sound can provide your organization with custom audio and visual system designs to meet your communication needs. Whether it is for broadcasting live performances, conducting virtual meetings with employees, promoting products to customers, or any other type of communication, let JD Video & Sound help you bring your vision to life.

When you add sound to a space, it will make that space seem quieter. While it may sound counterintuitive, it’s true. That’s because the sound that’s been added helps to reduce the intelligibility of people talking. If you aren’t able to understand what someone is saying, then the words aren’t as distracting – in fact, there’s a good chance you won’t even notice them. 

Put simply, sound masking (when done properly), helps to make a building seem like it is quieter. Sound masking is actually an ambient sound, just like the sound of airflow. It’s engineered specifically to the frequency of human speech, so you are able to target conversational distractions and help make them less distracting. 

Keep in mind, sound masking won’t cancel out sound or eliminate all the speech noise. It will just reduce how far away a conversation is able to be heard and actually understood by others (which referred to as the radius of distraction). 

White Noise vs. Sound Masking 

Many people refer to sound masking as white noise. However, the sound curves of these vary quite a bit. Unlike typical white noise, sound masking has been specifically engineered to match the frequency of human speech and to sound somewhat pleasant to people who hear it. When sound masking is implemented properly, it will fade into the background, similar to the “hum” of an office, all while making speech much more difficult to understand and hear. 

If you tried to use the frequency of white noise to do this, it would be extremely irritating. That’s because it would have to be amplified to a volume that would be effective for masking human speech. An example of this would be a very loud AM radio static. While it would cover the sounds of people talking, it would not do so in a non-distracting manner, which is the goal of sound masking. 

What Businesses Can Benefit from Sound Masking?

The fact is sound masking can be beneficial in virtually any business or commercial setting. It can help to reduce distractions for workers and make the overall environment more comfortable. 

However, there are some commercial spaces that find this technology more beneficial than others, such as those that involve people discussing sensitive or personal information. Some examples of these types of businesses include insurance offices, law offices, call centers, financial institutions, and hospitals. 

A Basic Overview of the Sound Masking System 

Most sound masking systems will consist of a masking noise generator, one or more power amplifiers, special loudspeakers installed over a drop ceiling, and an equalizer. It’s important to note that for these systems to work effectively, the room acoustics have to be considered. 

If you believe that a masking system would be beneficial for your business or commercial space, it’s best to work with the professionals. This is going to help ensure you can get a quality system installed that best meets the needs of your office or work environment.