Whether you’re a business that delivers frequent presentations or a church that holds weekly sermons, technology systems help you provide the best and most immersive experience possible. With the right combination of lighting, video and audio, you can engage your audience effectively and create a lasting impact.
Much like your car or home, your technology systems require maintenance and eventually upgrades to ensure they continue to operate correctly — removing any worry that you’ll lose lights or video at the worst possible time. In this guide, we offer tips for prolonging the life of your technology systems, and when an upgrade would be the best course of action.
You can use the following criteria to measure the current health of your technology.
As your technology system ages, it may experience glitches or system failures that weren’t happening when the system was new. For example, as the system glitches, you may experience flickering lights or interference in the audio. The video signal may even drop entirely, causing disruptions in the presentation or display.
As your business grows and changes, the technology you require may also change. In the past, an overhead projector was enough to serve the needs of a 50-person church congregation. Over time, the traditional overhead projector became obsolete, in part due to a growing congregation and churchgoers not being able to see the content being displayed.
A larger audience means a greater need for brighter, more updated display technology — moving from a digital projector to a laser projector, and eventually to an LED wall. This is particularly the case for churches that are changing formats to a more contemporary service, and want to incorporate multifaceted displays into their stage design.
It’s natural for your organization’s goals to change over time. As you plan for the future, you’ll likely want technology to meet these changing priorities. Rather than simply adding new ports and components to your existing system, it can be more beneficial in the long run to think about your entire system differently. Partnering with the professionals — like Illuminated Integration — can help you find a technology solution that meets the long-term goals of your business.
After assessing your current technology setup, the next step will be to look at your specific audio, video and lighting systems to determine whether it’s time to invest in upgrades.
You can spend hours planning the most engaging presentation, but it will only have an impact if your audience can hear it. While you may be getting by with your current audio system, here are some factors to consider:
High-quality video is an essential element for any video system. Here are a few warning signs of outdated video technology:
A lighting system defines how a space functions while occupied. When it malfunctions, performance and safety issues will negatively affect the entire venue.
The key to an efficient technology system upgrade is planning. When you partner with local technology experts and vendors, they will conduct a comprehensive site visit, giving you the information needed to create an effective upgrade plan across your audio, video and lighting components.
Another important consideration in your planning is your budget. Working with a professional ensures the project is completed correctly using the best materials and equipment available — rather than cheaper options that may not provide long-term reliability. At Illuminated Integration, our team can help you rethink your current system and determine how to optimize what you have within budget.
Upgrading your system will involve some downtime, so it’s important to plan this process during non-peak times to ensure minimal disruptions. The team at Illuminated Integration has years of experience designing and implementing technology systems, and each installation is custom-built from the ground up. We will take time to understand your goals and priorities, and work efficiently to keep the project on track.
Choosing the most up-to-date technology system is one thing, but you can only leverage its capabilities if you know how to use it. Partnering with a vendor that provides training and support at each stage of your upgrade allows for a more seamless transition.
It’s important to have access to assistance at every step of the process, from initial design and installation to post-implementation. At Illuminated Integration, we are here for your team even after implementation, providing technical support and assistance and acting as a lifelong integration consultant.
One of the best ways to prevent extensive repairs and upgrades is future-proofing your technology. This can involve choosing cutting-edge video, audio and lighting systems that align with your current needs, and creating a regular schedule for maintenance and upgrades.
For example, the dimmer rack you installed in 1999 may have been the best at the time. But this technology is now antiquated — as it starts to fail, you may hear loud buzzing noises, or the lights may not turn on when you press the switch. Instead of waiting for a complete failure that results in unexpected downtime, you can continually evaluate your current video, audio and lighting components and systems, and determine whether more proactive upgrades are in order.
Frequent downtime, costly repairs and audio/video compatibility issues are signs it’s time to upgrade your technology systems. Rethinking your audio, video and lighting setup can reinforce the “wow factor” in your presentations and events.
Illuminated Integration specializes in helping businesses across industries create the most immersive experience for their audience. Our design-build philosophy enables us to provide turnkey integration solutions, bringing knowledge, creativity and passion to every project.
Take the first step towards prioritizing your technology upgrade by scheduling a call with our creative team. We’ll walk you through each step of our custom process and talk more about how we can create an immersive experience for your audience.
