byron – Consultbyron.com

Lucky Break!

byron — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 01:05:37 +0000

While working a recent event I noted that the room’s DSP was showing a strange error message. I don’t always poke at the house DSP, but when I do…. I notice things that are out of place. The QSC Core510i said effectively “I’m broken, please re-upload my firmware.” Backing away slowly, I left it exactly where it was. At the time I noted the error, audio was still passing and we needed that to continue in order to finish our event.

I did all the usual prep-work, booking the room for an entire day, contacting QSC support first to open a ticket and ensure I was following all of the correct steps. I knew that I was just as likely to finish off the DSP as repair it. Nobody wants to read the play-by-play so here’s the short version: Firmware goes in, blank screen and then BIOS screen comes back out. No worky worky.

It was at this point I rolled in the spare unit we keep onsite, updated it, swapped the I/O cards with the help of some co-workers, and sent the old unit off for RMA.

If I hadn’t noticed the failure, and handled it in this way, and had an on-site spare; the next power cycle or reboot would’ve left the company with no audio in their main auditorium. It was a good day

Conference Rooms

byron — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 22:54:57 +0000

For the last 10 years, conference room design, maintenance, tuning, and training have been my bread and butter job. The goal is to produce an autonomous space where people can collaborate with as little friction as possible. The process is relatively straight forward but occasionally there’s room for some creative problem solving.

To set the stage, I do system engineering, design, and specialize in audio consulting work. There were multiple other people on my team involved in the build, as well as other teams doing the interior design and physical installation.

This space pictured was one of my recent projects. My work includes assessing client needs, measuring the space, conceptualizing the build with a scope of work document, CAD drawing the AV installation plan, and then contacting a vendor for a quote. Once accepted, I helped oversee the AV portion of installation, commissioned the audio system, and performed final system testing.

Sound System Design

byron — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 22:03:15 +0000

When was the last time you attended an event where it was difficult to hear what was being said or sung? The art of covering any space with intelligible sound while considering budget, logistics, and controlling variables like acoustics, is something most are not even aware of – nor should they have to be! This is where an audio system designer can really help you out with your project, be it a whole building, a single room, an auditorium, or even outdoors!

When starting on a new audio project I like to start from the desired experience, both acoustically and visually for the attendees, then consider the user experience of the operator (if required) and then work backwards to placement and equipment to develop the design. Inherently, this helps the final result to be the best it can be for the budget.

Questions I might ask during an initial project meeting:

Who is your target audience
What is your content typically like? Who is speaking? What is being played?
What are the dimensions of the space(s)?
Do you have an operator, a person (or a team) responsible for the AV systems?
What’s their skill level? What would you like it to be?
What infrastructure exists already? Can the AV design modify it?
What is the budget available to accomplish your goals?

A good system designer can save you a TON of money in equipment and re-work. The old adage, “Do it right, or do it twice,” is unfortunately, still true in 2024. Most problems have multiple solutions and often I’d recommend options in a Good, Better, Best way based around your budget and available infrastructure.