The majority of business parties, meetings and even entertainment events require the right audio visual equipment to keep everyone focused on the agenda at hand. While, investing hundreds of dollars to hire the latest audio visual equipment is not always a good idea, in some situations it may be the only option. The line between deciding to pay a lot of money and little money for equipment really depends on the type of event you’re planning for. In this article we will look at what factors will and should dictate your decision to spend top dollar on entertainment equipment.
Size of the venue
You will want to start with considering the size of the venue. For instance, an average size venue packed with around twenty to thirty people may not require 30 inch speakers and a 200 inch display. However, a larger venue will require adequate sized speakers, a professional sound system and maybe a live band if it’s an entertainment event. The best way is to measure the acoustics of the venue, also speak to the venue manager to get their opinion on what type of equipment will be needed.
Have a budget in mind
Once you know the size of the venue it’s time to put the right budget in the books. The budget has to be realistic based on the number of people you want to entertain. For instance, expensive equipment will cost you around $100 per head, depending on how many people will be at the event and the size of the venue. When budgeting you also need to take other aspects of the event into consideration as well i.e. food, lighting, venue rent etc.
Consider overhead projectors versus large 4K screens
If you are on a budget and cannot afford to pay $800 or more for a large 4K screen then you may want to consider an overhead projector. Overhead projections are great for business presentations and are a lot cheaper to hire. The disadvantages include its often long warm-up times and some amount of noise associated with it. You will also have to put up with its average quality content being displaying capabilities which is fine if the content is graphs, charts and a few words.
Hire a DJ
Regardless, of if it’s a business event or a regular party if entertainment is your goal then perhaps a much more reasonable step would be to hire a DJ. A DJ service usually has all the lighting, visual and audio required for the event, all they will do is to pay the location a visit a few hours before the event, set up everything, test and start playing when scheduled. While DJ services are a lot cheaper than hiring individual pieces of equipment and then hiring a technician to set everything up, usually DJs have midrange and low end equipment. This means that if you want to save money and time then a DJ is a good choice but if you want the best equipment hiring individual pieces of equipment is your only option.
Schedule a test
Apart from getting quotes you should also schedule a test of the equipment. Shortlist the equipment that fits within your budget then pay the company a visit and ask for a test. A test will give you some idea as to how good and loud the sound is and if the visuals on the screen you’re hiring is good enough.
Check if the audio visual equipment is insured
Your company or you shouldn’t be held liable for any damage that occurs when the equipment is in use during your event. However, not all audio visual equipment hire companies and even DJs are insured. This can make things very difficult because if something goes wrong you’ll need to pay for the hefty cost of repair. Always check with the company to make sure that their equipment costing upwards of $1000 is insured. You should also ideally ask the company you hire the equipment from to send over a technician to set everything up, something that Sydney based Staging Connections highly recommends just to save you from the blame that the equipment blew up because it was incorrectly setup.
Manu Alias has been in the entertainment industry for a very long time. However, his experience in the entertainment industry has been specifically as a technician. This is why he knows everything there is about audio visual equipment, rental, pricing and setup.
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