Tony Sprando
Tony Sprando has worked in the AV industry since 1994. For the past 20 years, he has designed commercial AVL solutions, managed a design process team, on-site installations, and is well-known for his blogs and customer satisfaction reviews on Google and Reviewability. Connect with him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando and Instgram https://www.instagram.com/tonytheavguy/
I just love conference rooms. These rooms have such power in them and strengthen the attendees with a sense that “I am safe to share my ideas in private, with people who want to be here.” Then there are times I enter one, and I see all the possibilities of a space that could host […]
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We had a lot of fun last week researching the AV demands of Generation Z, especially as those demands related to higher education. Now we are going to address the overlap of three of those demands as they relate to business success. They are augmented reality, touch screens and live streaming. For each trend, we […]
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The January/February 2017 CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY issue is fascinating, thought-provoking, intriguing, and overwhelming. Do you realize that the current generation, Generation Z, is now entering their college-age years? Soon, this group of approximately 60 million young people will be future employees, home owners, entrepreneurs, and economic decision makers. For those of us in the AV industry, […]
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It’s about time we got what we asked for. Residents in Central Oregon are tired of hearing the words, “home theater” and “stereo.” One local home owner stated, “I will go to the theater if I want to see a blockbuster on a 20-foot screen. And if I want a stereo, those are at Goodwill. […]
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The market is flooded with online look-a-likes. Sadly, most people will just “rubber-neck” their way through it as the salesperson talks right over their heads in hopes that they’ll just get exhausted enough to press the “buy now” button and move on. I love the quote from the movie Tommy Boy as he is trying […]
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Every IT and Office Manager should be asking themselves, “Does our technology translate into increased revenue?” And although it’s a compelling question, the answer is even more important for the bottom line of a business. I believe that it is more common than not that technology is purchased and implemented with an optimistic point of […]
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Do you remember the 2002 movie by Steven Spielberg, “Minority Report?” This futuristic film featured Tom Cruise as the main character, PreCrime Captain John Anderton, who is the subject of a murder prediction based upon visions of the “Precogs.” And since, in the movie, the PreCrime police department has the authority to imprison would-be murderers, […]
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How do you fulfill service recovery when you are guilty of poor service? This a very viable topic even if you think you are perfect. Yeah, I was wrong once last year… I think. Right. Seriously though, great customer service is a cornerstone for any successful business. I can be an expert in my industry, […]
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Welcome to Part 2 of the Sound and Video Contractor featured podcast with Tony sharing more about the Riverhouse project. The following is the transcription for your easy reference or you can click the link below to listen to the 10-minute interview. Click here to download and listen. This is the SVC Podcast from Sound […]
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We are so pleased to share that the Audio Visual Bend team has been featured on another national media site – Sound and Video Contractor. The following is the transcription from the SVC Podcast from Sound & Video Contractor Magazine with Tony Sprando of Audio Visual Bend. This is the first part of a two […]
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By Guest Writer: Isaac Imig, Owner of Integrated Audio/Video There is a beautiful new memory care facility in Bend, Oregon called Mt. Bachelor Memory Care. On their website, they state: The mission of Mt. Bachelor Memory Care is to serve the special needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other forms of memory […]
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By Guest Writer: Tim Williams of Dwyer, Williams, Potter Attorneys, LLP Edited by: Lauren Breslin, AV Bend Social Media Coordinator This past week, Tony had the pleasure of connecting with Tim Williams who shared some of his writings regarding the use of technology in the courtroom. The following highlights areas he addressed that specifically refer […]
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Written by Audio Visual Bend Guest Blogger: Isaac Imig, Owner of Integrated Audio/Video Light and sound are both waves. The propagation, or distribution of sound, is actually very similar to light, just a whole lot slower. The waves of sound or light both reflect, refract, and attenuate depending on their environment. For example, you may […]
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An article by guest blogger for Audio Visual Bend, Erik Beyer – regional VP of sales – CLAIR Solutions How do we, as professionals in the AV industry, help small businesses recognize the opportunities that are better serving of their needs? Systems that will better serve them in the long run and, in some cases, […]
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A Mix-up for Movie Night This past Friday, the PTO of Lava Ridge Elementary in Bend, Oregon decided to host an End-of-Summer Movie Night in the playground. What a good idea to bring parents together with the kids to enjoy one more good community event before the cold sets in. Everyone loves a movie night […]
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In a recent article in Church Designer Magazine, author and design leader Chuck Hultstrand, provides an excellent overview of the key elements required to create visual experiences through the use of integrated sightlines. As a review… Just what are sightlines again? Sightlines are hypothetical lines from someone’s eye to what is seen (used especially with […]
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In a recent article in Church Designer Magazine, author and design leader Chuck Hultstrand provides an excellent overview of the key elements required to create visual experiences through the use of integrated sightlines. With this article as our inspiration, we will use his writings as a launch pad for a series of upcoming blogs. The […]
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Look up there! In the air! Do you see it? It looks like a brewery. No, wait. It looks like an observatory? What is it?!?! It’s a Hopservatory! Our local paper, the Bend Bulletin, featured an article on it. Check it out. Worthy Brewing to erect a “hopservatory” as part of their two-story expansion. Owner: […]
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In a side by side comparison of color display, the Inorganic LCD Projector was far superior to a single chip DLP projector. This is most noticeable for customers who are creating marketing materials for display use. Just imagine spending hours on creating a new brand with a variety of colors, handpicked by you and your […]
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In the Audio Visual industry, choosing and mounting display screens is a large segment of our business and services. And upon conducting research for this blog post, other industries including marketing, psychology, and photography, have a lot to say about which type of display, vertical or horizontal, is better. And the winner seems to be… […]
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This week, I am working with a hotel chain and the placement of a TV in a Multi-Purpose Room/Fitness Room. The typical math behind TV placement is to place the center of the TV screen approximately 10-15 degrees above eye level. Of course, we have to consider the distance of the TV from the viewer. […]
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A cheerful summer season to you from Central Oregon! While many industries seem to slow down during the summer months, the AV Bend team is as busy as ever. So far this month, we have been active in our community and I would like to share a project review of choir mic placement and evaluation […]
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The History and Uses of Microphones The microphone was first invented in the 1870s and has advanced over the last 140 years as technology has allowed. The type of materials, circuitry and tools these days have made precision microphones of all types and for all uses imaginable. Microphone options for live environments are so numbered […]
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This week, I would like to explore the crossroads we often come to when we want to add technology to a space. It is so easy to get all “wound up” on all the AV technology possibilities we could do with a space. However, when all is said and done, that space could easily end […]
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An article by guest blogger, Erik Beyer – Regional VP of Sales – CLAIR Solutions The industry of live sound installations continues to advance with new and refined technologies. One area that has expanded is loudspeaker choices. The use of line arrays goes back quite a ways and is also known as column arrays. Of […]
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Saltwater kills. These are two words that should never be in the same sentence when you are trying to get your wireless microphones to work. What do Saltwater and Radio Frequencies (RF) have in common? Answer: Nothing, really. But, I have a scenario for you that may help you make a connection. Imagine you are […]
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“I will not fail.” This thought just came to me recently and it flows from my recent post about building and maintaining “Forever Customers.” Then, I found this meme which says it all. The point is, you have to go into every opportunity and be able to say to your customer, in one way or […]
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The truth is, “You will always be remembered.” But, the question is, “How will you be remembered?” As a business owner and service/product provider, I recommend the following principles to establish good customers because of your good reputations: Focus on being relevant, but realistic, in your offerings. Just because your customer does not want to […]
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The stack of publications was piling up on the corner of my desk. I thought it was about time to read them. There were so many articles about using tech in our schools; tech to collaborate, tech to teach, tech to produce content, on and on. I had to stop and ask myself, “What did […]
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In all my years of doing audio visual rentals and designing installed systems, Stage Lighting seemed to be one of those requests that were few and far between. Like projection, it is a controlled beam of light, so I used to think this was pretty straight forward. Well, I was wrong; it actually takes a […]
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Every seasoned audio visual technician can relate to this. There are three things that cause a good working audio visual system to fail: #1 is a user cord, #2 is the power source (which is what I am covering today), and #3 is user error and I may cover that on a future post…maybe :). […]
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Pretty much the coolest thing you can do with audio is make a huge wall of speakers (or single huge speaker like Marty McFly in Back to the Future) by tying them all together and then, BLAST THE MUSIC! Well, at least that is what I thought years ago. Hey, it makes sense, right? Most […]
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