Commercial Audio Systems | What You Need To Know

Opening a bar, restaurant or any commercial venue isn’t easy.  With so many big decisions to be made, it can be easy to overlook the importance of commercial audio systems.  Some business owners will opt for the quick and easy option: setting up an off-the-shelf home audio system rather than spending the extra money for a professional commercial AV system installation.

Perhaps you’ve been in this boat and figure that you just need something simple to be able to play sound in your restaurant.  Don’t make the mistake of assuming a consumer sound system will work well enough for your bar or restaurant audio system needs.  Here’s a few examples of why you should think twice before cutting costs on audio visual systems for restaurants.

Durability and Performance

Consumer audio equipment is usually only intended for a few hours of use each day.  This means it will break down faster and be much less reliable over time. Commercial audio systems on the other hand are built to handle more stress.  More rugged wiring and electrical components make commercial audio systems the way to go if you plan on pumping sound into your restaurant for most of the day.

Keep It Cool

Home audio systems typically don’t encounter issues with overheating. Natural convection is enough to keep things cool over a few hours of use.  However, restaurants are a whole different environment than a typical living room and natural cooling isn’t as effective. The less ventilated environment often requires more sophisticated techniques to keep from overheating.  Make sure you at least get a consultation from a professional before you attempt an audio system installation in Buffalo.

Different Kinds of Audio Systems

The biggest difference between consumer and commercial audio systems is in how they’re wired.  Commercial audio systems use balanced lines (positive, negative and ground) whereas consumer equipment uses unbalanced lines (positive and ground only).  The biggest drawback of an unbalanced system is the potential for interference. In a commercial setting this becomes a serious problem because of the extra signals floating around from WiFi, TVs, radios and other devices.

Where To Put Your Commercial Audio Systems

Bars and restaurants can be pretty noisy which means providing quality audio can be a challenge.  DIY audio installs usually wind up with speakers placed wherever it’s most convenient. It’s common for business owners to put speakers and audio systems up and out of the way rather than finding out the best acoustic location.  A team of experienced engineers is essential to getting the most out of your audio/visual systems for restaurants.

To make sure your commercial AV system installation in Buffalo goes well, look to Park Place Installations.  Our team of experts have been handling AV integration in Buffalo for years. Call us today to get a quote or if you want more information on how we can help setting up your commercial audio systems.

TV Wall Installations Buffalo | Why You Should Hire A Professional

Whether you’re looking to design your own home theater or simply want to reorganize the space in your living room, you should consider the benefits of a television wall mount.  The idea of installing a TV wall mount yourself might not seem like a big deal, but it requires a lot of decisions to be made and a fair amount of technical know-how as well. If you aren’t thrilled with the idea of all that work you can always hire an experienced TV mounting service to handle all the heavy lifting for you.  Whatever you decide to do, here’s a few things you’ll have to consider for any TV wall mount project in your home.

 

Is Your Wall Tough Enough?

The most important thing about any TV wall installation is making sure your television is going to stay on the wall where you put it.  After all, you don’t want your expensive new flat screen taking a dive because your wall couldn’t hold its weight or it wasn’t installed properly.  Of course it’s always essential to mount your TV directly to the studs but even with a stud finder they can be a little tricky to find. A professional installer will have no trouble with this and can notify you of any other potential issues with your walls that you should be aware of.

Cord Concealing

A tangle of ugly cords hanging out the back can ruin the sleek appearance of a wall mounted television.  Thankfully there’s a couple of options to keep them out of sight and out of mind. A cord concealer will house your dangling cords and attach right to your wall.  You can camouflage it by painting it the same color as your wall and it shouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. The better option though is to thread the cords inside your wall.  This is not easy and will require a professional TV mounting service to be done correctly without ruining your wires or your wall.

Television over Fireplace?

Mounting a television over fireplace may seem like a great way to utilize dead space in your room.  However, there are a lot of complications that come along with this type of project and many TV mounting services wouldn’t recommend it.  If you think it’s right for you, you’ll definitely want to seek the help of a professional who can make sure your TV is mounted securely and won’t experience any issues down the road.

Cosmetic Effects

The whole point of having a TV in the first place is be able to enjoy watching it.  When mounting a TV on a wall you’ll be watching from whole new viewing angle. With your TV mounted a little higher than it would be on a traditional stand, you may encounter a different set of glares from lights and windows.  An experienced TV mounting service will be able to offer advice on how and where to install your TV to reduce the nasty cosmetic side effects that could ruin your viewing experience.

 

Park Place Installations is an experienced provider of audio visual installation in Buffalo.  Over our years of serving the community in and around Buffalo we’ve never encountered a TV wall installation we couldn’t handle.  Our team of experienced technicians will know exactly how to tackle your TV wall mount project and can answer any other questions you might have.  For the best TV mounting service in Buffalo NY, look to Park Place Installations.

Upgrading Your TV? Here’s What You Need to Know About 4K TV

 

We like to take time to help our customers understand what they need to know when looking for new additions to their home theater or entertainment room. You remember a few years ago when we thought a huge clunky projection big screen was the coolest way to watch TV? How about having to move that 300lb tube television? Hope you had at least 3 guys with you to get a task like that done. Things are moving pretty quickly and it’s already been a few years since the changeover from standard definition to high definition. We also saw the 3D television come out, and here we have a new way to see in high def. 4K Ultra HD. It’s not easy keeping up on this stuff, so what is 4K?

What Does 4K TV Mean?

You’ve probably heard or seen the term 1080p (1920×1080) if you’ve watched any HDTV. 4K is a display that has at least 8 million active pixels. For televisions, the resolution has multiplied by 4, to a standard resolution of 3840×2160, and for 4K movie theaters, or digital cinema, the number is even greater at 4096×2160. In comparison of 1080p, for every space holding 1 pixel, a 4K space of the same size can hold 4 pixels. This creates a much sharper image.

Should I go 1080p or 4K?

If you truly want the best looking display available, 4K is the way to go. That being said, a few other factors come into play. Some people can’t tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, but the larger the television, the easier it is to see the difference. The size of the television, should reflect on the size of the room. You want enough room where you can be at a distance that is far enough away to be able to get the full effect. If you are thinking about going with a television that is 50” or more, you should probably just go ahead and go with the 4K, because it’s going to maximize your investment. As tech improves, 4K will become the standard for viewing content.

What Can I watch In 4K?

Though your options aren’t endless, more and more 4K content is coming everyday. Amazon and Netflix provide a good amount of of 4K content to stream, as long as you have solid internet connection. YouTube also supports 4K video. You can also find Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, but Ultra HD Blu-ray players are still rare and hard to find. It’s safe to say that streaming is the way it’s going to be from here on, so don’t waste your money on the Ultra HD Blu-rays. As VHS, CD’s, and DVD’s became obsolete, it’s safe to say stick to streaming.

This should get you started on the search for that new big screen. If you have any questions about what brands are best, what the first steps should be, what mount to use, just give us a call. We’d be happy to help you out, and you don’t want to go hanging up a brand new 54” 4K television without doing it right. We can mount a tv pretty much wherever you want it. We’ve seen people have them in their kitchen, garage, patio, etc. If you’re looking for information on mancaves and home theaters, Park Place has the answers!