What is AV?

This question is more relevant today than ever. If you’ve been in the AV industry for two years, 20 or even 40, you’ve witnessed its dramatic evolution. AV integrators are now de facto technologists, IT specialists, C# and HTML5 programmers, visual and UI/UX designers, third-party automation experts, subsystem communication pros — and yes, even mathematicians. Way more math than you’d expect.

Now, combine all those hats with something far less predictable: perception. How does it sound — to you? How does it look, feel or move? The perceived success of any AV system hinges on an individual’s experience with the audible, the visual, the haptic and the immersive.

So what is AV?

Are we just AV experts hanging TVs and mounting speakers? Are we rigging stages, flying stacks, aiding rovers on Mars, coding in the cloud, managing switches, designing custom UIs?

Yes — and then some.

We’re system designers, creative technologists, immersive inventors. On any given day, we’re all of it.

The most successful AV pros I’ve seen are masters of many. They blend wide-reaching technical knowledge with creative insight and construction know-how. More than anything, they’re translators — bridging the gap between the human experience and the hardware that makes the magic happen.

We’ve been automating homes, buildings, cars and public spaces for decades — and it’s not slowing down.

AV connects everything — from the built environment to IT infrastructure, from sensor networks to creative content. We coordinate with architects, designers, consultants and trades. We challenge protocols, push bandwidth limits and rethink space. And we do it all with one goal: to shape a seamless human experience, driven by individual perception.

So again, what is AV?

Some of the best AV pros I know didn’t start here. Many are self-taught, having stumbled into the industry from entirely different backgrounds — artists, musicians, welders, scientists, engineers. Most just liked making things work. They loved connecting hardware, solving problems and seeing how it all came together.

Back in the day, AV had a cowboy culture. No formal certifications, no real rules — just low voltage and a good attitude. If you showed up and figured it out, you had a shot. With the right mentor and enough drive, you could build a career that challenged and rewarded you in ways you never expected.

We’ve come a long way. And we’re just getting started.

Now that things have evolved, AV has many overseeing associations, certifications and prerequisites. And that’s a good thing. We’re getting site time and coordination earlier in project cycles. Architects and designers understand our products and the client’s need for our discipline. I love that.

We collaborate well with IT — and finally, they willingly accept us as a bespoke, unique network requirement. Awesome. Thank you.

We’ve made our way into almost every pocket, house, building, plane, car and Mars rover — which is so insanely awesome. So yeah, AV has come a long way, even just in my time.

But really, after all this — have I cleared it up? I don’t think so. The question remains: What is AV? Could you sum it up in one sentence? I certainly can’t. After 30 years in the industry and 20 as a business owner, I still find it hard to boil it down to its essence.

So I’ll offer one more opinion: I think AV is a concept. It’s inherently analog. It works through human senses and requires both creativity and logic to succeed. AV can transform built and virtual environments. It can enhance the human condition, open minds and make life more fun. It’s the bridge between our tangible world and the digital domain.

So is AV IT? No. Is AV VR? Also no. Is AV simple? Hell no.

For AV to succeed, you have to master perception. You have to focus on creating visceral experiences — and on transforming technology from a soulless stream of inputs and outputs into something that actually moves people.

So I hope all of us in this industry keep asking: What is AV? And I hope we keep growing — and casting a wide net for the dreamers and tinkerers, the misfit engineers, the eccentric sales pros, the artists-turned-programmers and the builders who never needed a blueprint to get it right.

This is still a home for the cowboys. For the curious. For anyone who wants to turn technology into something that moves people.

Let that freak flag fly. It’s AV. Let’s have some fun.