Cases

Pharmaceutical Technology Conference

The Challenge:

A pharmaceutical company held a technology conference for their clients in Princeton, NJ. An identical conference was held several months later in San Francisco, CA.

The events were held in hotel ballrooms which required sound reinforcement, projection for presentations, teleconferencing, and video recording for archival purposes. Tables were set up at the front of the room for a panel of speakers and a podium was used by presenters.

How Reid Sound made the room come alive:

The sound system consisted of several small loudspeakers placed on stands throughout the room. These loudspeakers were set with varying levels of delay compensation, allowing all users to hear the audio signal in the room without any one location being too loud in comparison to another, but providing all listeners with the image that the sound was emanating from the front of the room. A separate audio mix was provided to a telephone hybrid that was used for teleconferencing. In addition, a speaker was provided as a monitor for the presenters, allowing them to hear questions from attendees on the teleconference.

Microphones were placed on the front table for the panel discussions. Two microphones were placed on the podium (one live and one for backup) and a wireless lapel microphone was provided for those who wished to use it. A wireless handheld microphone was provided any attendee who wished to ask a question.

The video system consisted of a projector set up in a front-projection configuration. A second projector was provided as back-up in case the first one failed. Two computers were set up at the technician's operating station and connected to a wireless remote system. This system allowed both computers to run the same PowerPoint presentation and switch slides simultaneously. In the event that one computer failed, the technician could seamlessly switch to the back-up computer with no interruption in the presentation. The presenter was able to switch slides from the podium with a button press. Alternatively, a cue light could be lit up at the technician's operation station, providing him with a visual indication of when to manually advance the slides.

A switching device was used to change between the PowerPoint presentation, a DVD player, and a "splash" screen which carried the company's logo for use during transitions between presenters. This allowed Reid Sound technicians to switch presentations without the attendees being aware of the change, while still leaving an image on the screen and avoiding "dead air".

Reid Sound was able to provide all equipment from our inventory for the event in Princeton. For the event in San Francisco, equipment that was shipped by Reid Sound to California was augmented by our network of suppliers.

If you are holding a similar event, Reid Sound can also provide the following:

• Small LCD screens for confidence monitoring. This allows presenters at the podium to see their slides without having to turn and look at the screen behind them.
• Video conferencing for attendees who cannot be at the live event. Live streaming over the Internet is also available.
• Lighting for presenters at the podium or accent lighting to help improve the aesthetics of the space. Company logos can also be projected on walls, floors, ceilings, or even the outside of the building for nighttime events.