Key takeaway
Key takeaways
- The hotel's in-house AV instead of a production company
- Gooseneck microphones on the table instead of a delegate system
- Projection instead of LED screens for a conference
- Running without a show caller
The honest comparison
- The hotel's in-house AV instead of a production companyOur verdict
For a boardroom session or a single-screen seminar, in-house is cheaper, already installed and perfectly adequate. For a multi-speaker conference with IMAG, panels, recording and a running order, in-house kit and staffing are usually sized for the former and get overwhelmed by the latter.
- Gooseneck microphones on the table instead of a delegate systemOur verdict
Plain goosenecks are cheaper and fine for a three-person panel in a small room. A delegate system's request-to-speak queueing and automatic mixing is what keeps a twelve-person panel in a big ballroom intelligible.
- Projection instead of LED screens for a conferenceOur verdict
In a darkened hall with controlled lighting, projection gives a bigger image for less money and is genuinely the right choice. The moment the room is brightly lit for cameras or the ambience the client wants, projection washes out and LED becomes necessary.
- Running without a show callerOur verdict
A single-session seminar does not need one. A six-speaker morning with videos, panels, walk-ons and a sponsor reel does — the caller is the cheapest person on the crew list and the one who determines whether you finish on time.
What you are comparing against
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Delegate systems | Bosch DICENTIS and CCS 1000 D, Shure Microflex Complete with request-to-speak |
| Speech intelligibility target | STI of approximately 0.5 or better across the seating area |
| Speech level | 70 – 75 dBA at the seat from distributed, time-aligned loudspeakers |
| Automatic mixing | Gating and NOM attenuation to limit simultaneously open microphones |
| Presentation switching | Barco E2, Roland or ATEM with independent screen, stage, record and stream outputs |
| Playback redundancy | Two mirrored presentation machines advanced in parallel by the operator |
| Confidence monitors | Downstage current and next slide, plus a stage-only countdown timer |
| Wireless presentation | Barco ClickShare or equivalent for bring-your-own-laptop speakers |
| Breakout rooms | Independent screen, microphone, recording and technician per room |
| Session capture | Per-room recording with clean programme audio, not camera on-board sound |
The technical reality
Someone has to run the day, and that is the show caller. Working from a cue-marked running order on headset comms to audio, video, lighting and the stage manager, they call every walk-on, every slide hand-off, every video roll and every break. A conference with breakout rooms multiplies this: each room needs its own projection or screen, its own microphones, its own recording, and a technician who can hold a session alone while the main hall runs. Session recordings, usually required for internal distribution, are captured per room with a clean programme audio feed rather than a camera's on-board microphone.
Where the market is going
Indian clients increasingly specify for the camera as much as the room, fire sound, video and lighting from one timecoded cue list, and add a spectacle finale only where it earns its place. Get an itemised quote from Prime AV Solutions within 24 hours — call +91 93093 80958 or WhatsApp our producers.
Published 15 April 2026 by the Prime AV Solutions production team.