2013: A Busy Summer for the GSC Team

The Summer of 2013 has been a whirlwind of installation work for the GSC Team.  New Audio Visual systems, most with comprehensive touch screen control have been installed at the University of Vermont, including historic Ira Allen Chapel, lecture spaces in Harris, Morrill, Rowell, Votey, Kalkin halls, meeting rooms in the Davis center and more. 

Work also was completed at Mylan Pharmaceuticals in St. Albans and Seventh Generation world headquarters in Burlington. 

Throughout the fall, more installations at Community College of Vermont (CCV) campuses, as well as a revised system for Holy Angels Church in St. Albans and several others will be completed.

"We have been fortunate to both have the work and to have been able to complete such a large amount in a short period of time," stated company president David Geer. "Our team put in a great deal of effort, along with extended hours to achieve the short window hoped for by our clients."

Systems installed included a wide variety of display technology, including high powered projectors, large flat panels and more.  The most significant, perhaps, is the consistent adoption of full color touch panels on desks to make media switching simple, convenient and effortless.

"The touchscreen interface completely removes the mystery of operating a complex AV system," continues Geer.  "We have had great success and rave reviews for this control interface, and we see even greater adoption moving forward."

Formats, Formats, Formats

One of the more challenging aspects of Audio Visual Systems Integration is keeping track of so many potentially different formats, keeping them organized and in synchronization with switching, distribution and display technologies.  An example is the approaching "end of VGA"  (and analog formats in general) as society has known it.
 
The common "D-sub" jack, connecting computers to video monitors has already been removed from many contemporary laptops, towers and more.  However, for Systems Integrators, there is the reality of "legacy" components---lots of laptops, towers, etc. owned by educational institutions, corporations and more that function well and are in daily use.  Knowing what components are necessary to allow the continued use of legacy equipment as well as accommodating current and anticipated formats is what we're all about.
 
You may never hear about EDID, DRM, HDCP, DOT, ICT (or other industry acronyms) and the complexity they add to making an installed educational system, conference room, lecture hall or digital signage project work seamlessly.  If Geer Sound and Communcations has designed and installed your system, you may never have to.  

Endpoint Enhancement: When a Webcam with an Onboard Microphone Just Won't Do

It's a technical reality: Video Conferencing solutions--at least from a host standpoint--are a moving target.  We have successfully demonstrated using Google PLUS, Skype and other subscription conferencing hosts within our installations.
 
There are two parts of creating a seamless and productive video conferencing system that are often overlooked.

The first is the quality of your camera.  There are many over-the-counter (OTC) solutions that are extremely inexpensive.  However, the simple reality is in the physics.  Professional grade conference cameras have far superior lenses and far superior capture technologies.  The result from a professional grade camera is an image that can be zoomed, panned, tilted and in many cases follow facial recognition as well.  And, there's no substitute for glass.  Just as a single lens reflex camera uses exceptional lenses, so do professional web cams.
 
We test many of these professional systems at our offices.  On one wall is the web cam, on the other 25 feet away is two-inch high, handwritten text.  Not long ago we set up a video conference from our Vermont offices with a friend in Amsterdam NL.  He was viewing on an Apple Cinema screen, very high resolution.  We asked him to comment on cameras from Vaddio, Lifesize and an OTC model.  There is no question about his response... he said he could easily resolve the text on our distant wall with the larger cameras, but not with the OTC.
 
We did the same with another friend in Chapel Hill NC.  Same result.  The larger cameras provided much more detail.  What does this mean? It means the image you send out to your staffers, or potential clients, looks amazing.  It does make a difference. Yes, it is substantially more expensive to purchase a professional grade conference camera, but if you consider how long you hope to use it-in many cases regardless of host considerations-you'll realize it is a worthy purchase for the long run.
 
The second is audio.  The reality with a video conference is that there is nearly unlimited potential for infinite audio loops, or endless echos.  The loop is simple to describe: the audio from one location is transmitted to the second and picked up at the second location, transmitted back to the first retransmitted to the second, retransmitted to the first...well, we you get the idea.  The technology that has developed to deal with this and maintain full duplex (simultaneous) audio operation is called AEC, or Automatic Echo Cancellation.  By way of comparison, this is fairly sophisticated technology that relies on a complex computer algorithm (formula) to measure, judge and negate these unwanted echo signals.
 
We offer AEC as stand alone Digital Signal Processing or as part of other audio and conferencing systems.  It works fabulously and, when properly installed, invisibly.  Better units do a better job. We find you do get what you pay for in most video conference situations.
 
If you are considering a new video conferencing system, or an upgrade to an existing installation, contact us.  We're at the forefront of this technology and remain ready to help you arrive at a solution that is easy to use and will leave your facility looking (and sounding) great to the rest of your video conferencing participants.

Geer Sound & Communications Attends Stowe Education Fund Raiser

Recently Geer Sound & Communications was invited to attend the Benefit for the Stowe Education Fund. The Stowe Education Fund (SEF) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support and enrich education in the Stowe public school system.

Geer Sound and Communications’ employees presented event attendees with information about "Smart Technology" for classrooms, sports field sound systems, gym systems, and multi-purpose audio visual equipment.

There were many questions about Smart Classrooms and people were impressed by the technology and surprised by the affordability of the products shown.

A number of local business owners requested more information about the different technologies for use in their businesses.

The event was well attended and there was a great deal of interest in Geer Sound & Communications as a local Vermont company.

About Geer Sound & Communications

GEER Sound & Communications was founded over 17 years ago by David Geer, the owner and principal designer of the firm. His goal was to bring customer focused quality and local service to the professional audio installation industry in Vermont.

Operating from the Lake Champlain area of Vermont, GEER Sound & Communications originally focused on the design, installation, and service of sound systems. However, they soon found themselves fielding requests from educators and industry professionals who were seeking complete audio visual equipment solutions including video projection, sound systems and wireless control devices to address their growing multimedia presentation needs.

As audio video display media expanded into instructional and business presentation environments, GEER Sound & Communications developed into the premier audio visual systems design and installation company. Geer Sound & Communications has developed a solid reputation for designing the best quality and most reliable systems to fit their client's budgets.

Although the company's core capabilities and geographic coverage has expanded over the years, GEER Sound & Communications continues to be the preferred local provider for installed sound systems including church, school, and office applications, as well as large scale auditorium, public space, and sporting venues.



Media Contact

Dave Geer - dgeer@geersound.com
Geer Sound and Communications
160 River Street
Milton, VT - 05468
toll free: 800.639.8089
in Vermont: 802.893.6260
fax #: 802.893.3960