Should I Use Wireless for AV ?
One of the first questions our clients ask when we talk about their meeting and collaboration spaces is “Should we use wireless for our AV?” There are obviously pros and cons to both wired and wireless, and there are plenty of articles out there that address this issue in detail. (See links below). With our clients we address:
- Ease of use
- Speed
- Collaboration and workflow toolsets
- Security
Simple answer on the first two. It is infinitely easier to walk into a room and with a couple of key strokes or mouse clicks your device is on the big screen than it is to find the right cable and adapter to plug into a table or floor. With output standards changing on a fairly regular basis this can be a ridiculous situation.
No argument, a wired network is faster. But what are you doing in the space? More often you are presenting/sharing information on your device so this is a non-factor. Unless you are going out to the Internet, wired versus wireless speed is probably not an issue.
The bigger subject to address is what toolsets within a wireless product will make us more productive? Some wireless tools simply allow a single user to present on the main screen, while others allow any number of users to present simultaneously. There are wireless tools that allow annotation/white boarding, sharing and editing of documents as valuable tools for collaboration workflow. Some tools also allow users to share the main screen back to any individual’s device. Mix in chat, video streaming, and 3rd party conference apps and you have an incredibly powerful room.
Security is always a huge subject when it comes to wireless and we always address this subject directly with our client’s IT department. But simply put, wired has the advantage here.
Wireless in its simple form and in its most elaborate form are a huge advantage in presentation and collaboration. The critical thing to address are the toolsets you need to enhance and improve your workflow.
There is a lot of information available about wired vs wireless, see links below for additional discussions on this topic. These links are for informational purposes only and not an endorsement of the presenters or their companies.
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