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 Video Conferencing Tips for Setting up your Video Facilities

1. Location

A room that works well for ordinary meetings will typicallywork well for a video conference. When selecting your

video conference facility, ensure that it is in an area away

from noise distractions such as lift shafts, air conditioning

plant, high speed photocopiers and noisy corridors.

If the corridor outside the room carries significant traffic,

you should consider ways to deaden any traffic noise.

One recommendation is to carpet the corridor section

outside the room. You should also look into the acoustic

properties of the adjoining entrance and exit doors and

door seals.

It must be able to accommodate all the people you wish to

participate in the conference, and have few or no windows

to reduce the glare of natural lighting.

2. Room Access

It is a good idea to plan for two doors on either side or in

the back of the room to allow for entering and exiting the

conference room so that the camera's field of vision is not

obstructed and conference participants are not distracted.

This will also help access for installation and maintenance

of your video conferencing systems.

3. Room Size

Rectangular-shaped rooms are ideal for meetings with

four or more people. Square rooms are suitable for

meetings with three or less people. When setting up your

room, ensure that all participants are visible in the

camera's field of vision.

4. Room Acoustics

Because audio is the number one criterion for an effective

video conference, it is important to pay attention to your

room's sound quality.

The walls and ceiling of your room may need to be treated

to help reduce noise and acoustic reflections. You should

test the ambient noise levels and if it exceeds 42 dBA

apply treatments such as fabric panelling on the walls and

acoustic perforated ceiling tiles. Ideally an NC-35 noise

rating specification should be achieved.

Wherever possible, it is strongly recommended that air-

conditioning package units and Variable Air Valves (VAVs)

not be located in your video conferencing meeting room,

especially if ceiling microphones are part of your audio

visual design.

Also, these devices should not be near a motorised screen

ceiling aperture. The forced air will create unsightly

"screen rippling" during projection presentations.

If you are looking at using ceiling microphones you should

engage an acoustic consultant. This person can advise

you on the best method of reducing acoustic reflections

and noise within your room to enable the system to

perform correctly.

How can you create the best meeting environment for your video conference? By 

taking on these recommendations, you can create an environment for your 

participants to work together just as effectively as if they were in the same room.

M E L B O U R N E S Y D N E Y C A N B E R R A B R I S B A N E A D E L A I D E P E R T H

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 You should also address the noise from inbuilt equipment

in the room, such as fridges inside joinery units, by

insulating them.

What is on the floor of your room can also affect the sound

quality. A dense pile carpet with a heavy felt underlay is

recommended to provide additional acoustic damping.

5. Room Decor 

Lighter shades of blue or grey are the best choice for

background colour as white will reflect the light and make

it difficult to see the participants faces. If colours other

than these must be used avoid shiny surfaces or strong

bold colours.

Ideally, finishes should be free from patterns that may

create difficult working conditions for cameras. That is,

the patterns will create more detail in the image causing it

to become difficult to compress and result in jerky images.

The curtains and wall coverings in your room should be as

simple as possible. Medium to pastel blue tones provide

good skin toning on video cameras. If this is not possible,you should consider video conference specific backdrop

blinds that can be lowered when required.

The furniture in your room should have a matt (or at worst

satin) surface and should not be lighter than oak or darker

than medium teak. Particularly, the furniture should not

have any chrome or bright metal finishes which could

reflect light into the camera lens.

6. Table, Shape & Placement

The best table shape is the trapezoidal which features a

wide end closest to the camera and a narrow end furthestfrom the camera. This shape allows every participant to be

seen by the camera without leaning forward or blocking

the person in front. This creates a more natural meeting

environment with everyone on the near end being viewed

by every participant on the far end.

7. Room Lighting 

The ideal source of lighting is indirect fluorescent lighting.

Lights should shine upward to reflect off the ceiling, rather

than pointing downward directly onto the participant's

faces, which can cause a shadow effect.

The optimal lighting level is between 450 and 600 Lux on

the faces of the meeting participants. Suitable fluorescent

tubes have a colour temperature of 3000K to 3500K.

 You should ensure that all the tubes in the room are the

same colour temperature.

Ideally, your lighting should be switchable in banks. This

is so you can switch the bank of lights positioned directly

over the projection or television screens on or off to avoid

glare, independently from the rest of the lighting in the

room.

It is also important to control natural light coming into the

room. To ensure consistent lighting conditions useblackout drapes on your windows.

8. Camera & Display Positioning 

Positioning the camera to get everyone in view is one of 

the most important things to keep in mind when setting

up your video conference. Successful and effective

meetings depend on whether the 'far end' can see and

hear all of the meeting participants.

In smaller meeting rooms or boardrooms the video

conference camera should ideally be located as close to

the centre line of the display device as possible. Theheight of the camera should be approximately 1200mm

above finished floor height placing it close to eye level of 

a seated person.

The device your video conference is displayed on should

be either a direct view type such as a CRT television or

plasma screen or a rear projection type. Front projection

systems may be used but care must be taken to avoid

ambient light adversely affecting the image quality in

smaller rooms.

9. Equipment Cabinet / Rack 

The best way to house your video conferencing equipment

is in a purpose built cabinet. This provides a tidy system

for cabling and easy access to the equipment for servicing.

If you have a number of audio visual components as part

of your system, ideally they should be housed in a 19"

equipment rack inside the cabinet. The rack can be rolled

out of the cabinet, or have rear access, for servicing.

Where possible, cool ducted air-conditioning should be

used inside the rack to avoid the equipment overheating.

HEAD OFFICE Level 9, 10 Queens Road Melbourne Victoria 3004

Telephone +61 3 9864 6644 Facsimile +61 3 9866 6838 Email info@vantage.com.au Website www.vantage.com.au