Yes one can certainly rent video conferencing equipment in a larger hotel or convention center. You will, however confront three problems — One of them is a very big problem! Let’s address the big problem first – The Network or lack thereof. These days’ most large hotels and convention centers have a network, but more often than not they cannot accommodate a video conference because their network is shared by other guests and there is no dedicated public IP address for an outside connection. There are two ways to resolve this issue. One way is work with the hotel to make adjustments in the network. This is the hard way and there is a very good chance the network will fail. The second and preferable way is to bring in your own network. There are providers that can offer wireless dedicated bandwidth with a static, public IP address. This will cost money, but if you want a good night’s sleep before your big meeting its worth every nickel.
On to the other two problems — One is where do you rent the video conferencing equipment and the second is the audio. Generally the hotel does not have the video conferencing equipment, but they often work with an AV rental house that does. This should be your first option. Make sure the AV rental house has experience renting video conferencing equipment and has the expertise and technical staff to operate the equipment in the meeting. Ok – Two problems are addressed including the first problem, the network.
We will assume that your video conference is in a large hall and the presenter, perhaps your keynote speaker is the one on the video conference. This brings us to the third problem – Audio. Audio is in a video conference is critical. Your entire video meeting will fail if the audio is poor. Large halls in convention centers often have in-house audio, but this generally accommodates a presenter at the facility not on a video conference. The AV rental house should have the amplifiers, audio mixers and appropriate speakers to produce clear and easily heard audio through a video conference in a large hall or meeting room.
Some convention centers do have the video conferencing in-house, but this is rare. The centers that do, generally do a very good job. One example of quality in-house capability is the John S. Knight Center in Akron Ohio. They can move video conferencing to a large room or small room. They also have a knowledgeable staff. Their network accommodates video conferencing, and they are great people to work with. If you are planning a large meeting and need worry free video conferencing call Bill Stewart at the John S. Knight Center in Akron. You will get a good night’s sleep with no worries about your meeting. This is how you contact Bill – 330-374-8922. If you call Bill make sure you reference this article.
J.W. Hornyak Videoconferencing & Telecommunications
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