What does an Audio/Video Control System do?

An Audio/Video control system primarily consists of a Central Controller where all the various audio/video devices converge and are controlled through some type of a control interface like a touch panel etc.

Imagine that you have an important meeting on a Monday. You walk in to the conference room in the morning, switch on the touch panel and select the meeting mode (one touch). The projector screen gets lowered automatically, the projector comes down from the ceiling with the motorized ceiling mount kit, the projector is switched on, your laptop source is automatically detected and the laptop screen is projected via the projector. Wait, it’s not yet over! The audio system is switched on (speakers, mixers, amplifiers etc) and the Mic’s are activated. The video conferencing system is switched on and the camera’s are focused as per their preset positions, ready for the conference to start!

With the same touch of a button, some vendors provide additional functionalities too: The lights are automatically dimmed (zone wise), the air conditioning system can be set to a specified temperature required for the meeting, the widow drapes can be automatically closed to ensure that it is dark enough to see the projector display properly.

The above is just for one preset mode, and there could be multiple such preset modes – For example, for a casual meeting, it could be programmed to just switch On the plasma display, DVD player, open the window drapes and switch On the Air Conditioning with a single touch of a button.