Written By: Kate Couch Sustainability was at the top of the global agenda before the pandemic in 2020. But this thought was put to the wayside as disposable wipes, masks and gloves now litter our sidewalks. With governments having bigger fish to fry, will the fight for sustainability come back? Though maybe not just yet, […]

What does AV look like in other developed countries?  Written By: Kate Couch for AV Bend It’s easy to forget that many of the amenities and services we have in the U.S. are also available in other countries. Just because they speak a different language than us or have different customs doesn’t mean they’re not […]

Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando  In 2019, Fox News reported the following: “Ajay Bhatt, who led the intel team that created the Universal Serial Bus [USB], told NPR the design of USB ports used to plug in devices such as keyboards, mice, printers and thumb drives is a bit annoying. Frustrated users have […]

  Health and wellness is a booming industry but does it involve audio and visual?  Written By: Kate Couch The health and wellness industry is a much bigger industry than most people realize. In fact, according to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy is currently valued at 4.5 trillion dollars and represents 5.3% of […]

What AV systems can be put away? Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando Design over function is often an argued topic amongst the design community. We think that these things are in lieu of the other, but that isn’t always the case. In many circumstances, the ability to get maximum function and purpose out […]

Written by: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch “Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.” — Paul Wellstone We live in a “he said, she said” society. We interact through voice memos and quick videos focusing on what is said and not what is done. The art of holding to your word […]

There never are enough hours in the day, how can we maximize our time when time won’t wait for us? Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando Time management is something we start learning as early as 6 and really never stop learning. It’s something that goes into every area of your life. If you […]

  Photo by: Kate Couch with Canva Written By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch  What we believe and what we feel about a situation has strong ties. This usually circulates around the values we attach to something. When you reach for an apple in the grocery store, you hesitate and hover for a moment to […]

Written By: Kate Couch with inspiration from American Institute of Steel construction’s article:  Sound and Noise Control in Steel Frame Buildings.    At AV Bend we deal with a lot of commercial customers. People trying to design sound solutions for their commercial space. But one thing in AV that frequently flies under the radar is […]

What is digital marketing and how does one take advantage of it? By: Kate Couch Digital marketing focuses on video and virtual marketing. This digital focus centers on video advertisements or video placement on websites. It can also refer to virtual advertisements, gifs and other animations. Digital marketing is very prevalent for businesses in the […]

Picking an AV rack that’s right for your setup.   Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando   In past articles, we’ve mentioned how AV can be an eyesore or a design statement. This flows into lots of areas AV. Something that’s become more popular in recent years is cable design or cable management. With […]

What is the IOT and how will it affect AV?   Written By: Kate Couch   Earlier this month we mentioned how we would be going into depth about the Internet of Things. What is the Internet of Things? Simply put the Internet of Things is: device, connection, and data collection. It also is the […]

Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando   Finding the right equipment for your virtual meetings.   Many companies are now using the application Zoom for virtual meetings. This solves a lot of problems and even post-pandemic will probably be used on a regular basis. Virtual meetings are extremely efficient and helpful for traveling or […]

By Kate Couch How will smart devices be used in the corporate world in years and months to come? Last year, the corporate office took a large turn as many of us had to begin working remotely from home. This created an entirely new world for audiovisual — Zoom. Zoom, as most companies are aware, […]

Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando Whether you’re new to the audiovisual world or an old pro, a glossary of words to help you understand what we’re referencing in our articles and communications with you is a helpful tool. Below is some common audiovisual lingo with its proper definitions. It’s broken up into different […]

Image and Graphics By: Kate Couch with Canva   When cleaning out spaces and redesigning how to decided what AV systems to reuse and what ones need new life.   Written By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando   With spring just around the corner and the days becoming more consistently in the 50s it’s time […]

By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch Like many other people, I enjoy listening to (somewhat loud) music while I work. I can zone out of the background noise and get to the important stuff. I have noticed something recently that it is a shared interest, as I also hear others’ loud music while I work. […]

Photo By: Robert H. Pexels.com  Solving problems of outdoor electronic screens and touch screens.  Written By: Kate Couch with collaboration with Tony Sprando  Outdoor TVs, touch screens, and monitors are nothing new. They’ve been used for decades to display things like game scores, travel plans, city maps, advertisements, bus and train routes, and general outdoor […]

By: Kate Couch Solving audio problems in commercial buildings with multiple uses. In last week’s article, we focused on solving audio problems in a residential home. However, AV Bend works primarily with commercial buildings. Though there are a lot of the same principles, working and solving commercial problems looks drastically different than solving problems in […]

Solving Volume and Noise Problems in a Home By: Kate Couch and Tony Sprando When most people contact Audio Visual for noise control and noise solutions they often don’t realize what’s truly contributing to the volume of the sound. When you’re in your home trying to get work done and you can hear the birds […]

Things to keep in mind when establishing the reputation of your company. By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch Most people fall under the assumption that reputation can only be built over time. The mom-and-pop shop that’s been around since the ‘50s doing things the good old-fashioned way. Or the tried-and-true Google ratings. Though these things […]

  By Tony Sprando and Kate Couch “Age appears to be best in four things — old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” — Alonso Of Aragon Age is something we have been redefining for many years as a human race. In the ’40s […]

Earlier this year I found myself in predicament. Late at night, I would like to lift weights, work out, and do a bit of overtime, all while blasting music to keep the energy up. This quickly caused a problem as the rest of the household didn’t appreciate the concerts I held in the middle of […]

Upon researching definitions for the “wow factor,” I came across the following descriptions: A set of properties belonging to an object or service that pleasantly surprises a consumer. From commercials to cool electronics, the wow factor is an important aspect to consider. A striking or impressive feature We create entertaining and interactive experiences that result […]

The arrival of 5G is transforming technology and our AV industry. You can barely scan your News Feed or watch television without some type of news or advertisement about 5G and its impending impact on your life.  And while this whole 5G thing sounds like amazing hype, I’ve found that many of our customers and […]

Thank you for joining us for Part 4 in our series. So far, we’ve presented: Part 1 – The Key Players in AVL Design Part 2 – The Key Tools in AVL Design Part 3 – The Key Phases in AVL Design Now, we’ll finish our series by addressing the final phase of AVL Design […]

  InfoComm is the largest, most exciting event in North America focused on the pro-AV industry, with 1,000 exhibitors, thousands of products, and 44,000 attendees from 110 countries. I had the pleasure of attending this year, and it was a blast! The following is a list (not in any particular order) of my favorite booths, […]

In Part 1 of our AVL Design series, we listed and summarized the key players in AVL design. Then in Part 2, we shared about the key tools that those key players may interact with and use. For Part 3, we will move forward to discuss the important phases of the design process. Let’s begin […]

By Erik Byer Guest Blogger for Tony the AV Guy & AV Bend In part 1 of our AVL Design series, we listed and summarized The Key Players in AVL Design including the architect, the consultants, the engineers, an owner’s representative, and a general contractor. And depending on the complexity of your AVL project, these […]

By Erik Beyer Guest Blogger for Tony the AV Guy & AV Bend Whether it’s a major project around your home or a major project you have been assigned to manage at work, when it comes time to find people and companies to get the job done, the choices and process can seem overwhelming. The […]

As we all know, the IT world is converging with the AV world more and more every day. For most of us, this is quite exciting. For others, this can be daunting. In facilities where the IT and AV world are working together, if something goes wrong whom do you call? If you don’t have […]

There are going to be moments when we all just feel dumb and clumsy…argh! And it feels so awful.  For me, this photo really brings those feelings to life. Whether it’s an ice cream cone or the latest technology, many people feel inept, gawky, and awkward when handling something potentially fragile and easy to drop. […]