Anticipating the beginning of a new year, we generally think about what we hope the year will bring to us.  Meeting new people, completing exciting projects and making a difference for our clients.

PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- FrontRow expands their award-winning networkable classroom AV system with ezRoom Trio, an all-in-one solution that adds the convenience of a built-in speaker array that provides superior voice and media amplification. When combined with Conductor™, ezRoom Trio allows campus-wide communications, emergency alerts, bells, and paging. Each ezRoom Trio is custom built with multiple options to support a school's specific needs. The ezRoom Trio has two versions, the Trio and the Trio Alert, which includes a high power, multi-color LED beacon that provides visual notification for audio events and emergency alerts to students and teachers.

Huddle rooms, aka small conference rooms equipped with AV equipment, have grown popular in the past few years. They offer greater flexibility for impromptu meetings, are less expensive than large Boardrooms, and allow for interactive communication among teams. Some common huddle room AV solutions include a computer monitor or TV, and a camera with a microphone. There may be other equipment as well, depending on the company’s needs, including computers, phones, or media players. PCD recently completed various Huddle Room installations including one at the corporate offices of Covia and Traditional Medicinals.

PCD’s AVaaS program provides you with a working Audio Video system that is regularly maintained by trained and certified PCD staff. The preventative maintenance aspect of AVaaS allows flexibility for system upgrades as AV technology continues to improve through the years.

PCD has built a reputation of supporting education and theater arts throughout northern California with the installation of high definition Audio/Visual systems. With every project, our team creates a system that works for the end user’s space and needs.

This past year, PCD was contacted to help improve the sound quality of the City of Healdsburg’s Meeting Room and Council Chambers. Over the course of several visits to adjust and modify sound, City staff determined a design-build upgrade their current system would be best. When the City began upgrading and expanding their building facilities, this presented the perfect time for to implement an AV upgrade to stream and record the AV.

At PCD we design, install and fine-tune sound systems to fulfill the needs of theatrical productions and musical performances in schools, auditoriums and other multipurpose rooms on campus. Now that school is back in session, and new students and staff are on campus, PCD can optimize your AV systems and train your staff in the best use of your systems for your space.

What if you could integrate the latest AV technology every three years and have it maintained without an upfront financial burden? With our AVaaS program, this is now reality. As more industries move to Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS), this budget-friendly model is now available for your audio/visual needs no matter the size of your business.

In 2018, PCD was called to assist in providing a design-build solution to outfit a newly constructed building at Roseland University Preparatory campus. Their campus includes a “Big Room” space where the students can gather to see presentations in a large theater-style open-space room, as well as AV installations throughout various classrooms.

Here at PCD, our crew of highly-certified installers and technicians stand out because of their experience and knowledge of audio, video, and communications systems. PCD’s installation team are all members of the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) union. Our Northern California JATC training program for Apprentices is run through the Union as well, giving our staff consistency throughout their training and preparing them with the technical aptitude they need to succeed in an ever-changing technological world.

Ambient light rejection (ALR) projection screen technology has been around for a while now. Despite this, there is still confusion about how ALR works. Some of this confusion is caused by manufacturers making inaccurate claims or promoting non-ALR surfaces as a solution.

With today’s power being delivered to client’s facilities, the range of noise injected into the power can be minimal to highly impactive especially when it comes to video. The result is rolling bars, herringbone, and other anomalies including simple noise in the audio systems like pops, cracks and hums. Although there are many brands advertising solutions that utilize an inexpensive capacitor and diode(s), the Surgex products are far beyond the quality level of the competitors and PCD has seen them in action many times.

PCD takes pride in the selection and deployment of audio visual equipment to match the needs of the client and to the facility in which it is being installed. To that end, PCD carefully plans the rack construction with vigilant detail to ensure that the finished product functions properly but also looks neat, orderly, and clean. This kind of care helps to insure future serviceability by consistent and methodical dressing of cables and standardized wire identification.

PCD recently completed the installation of digital signage at Redwood Credit Union’s newest branch on Market Street in San Francisco.

As part of the “Active Learning Campus” trend in new construction, California Hall includes rotating seats and tables where students face their peers to work in teams instead of sitting and working solo.

Over the years PCD has installed numerous Audio / Video systems for a variety of customers and applications. The observations made, and feedback received from our clients indicate the greatest general frustrations with AV is that the technology changes rapidly enough that the systems become stale within a 3 to 5 year period. Without maintenance, the systems become inoperable due to an accumulation of small issues, revealing the need for regular attention. Scheduled maintenance creates the opportunity to have personnel retrained on operation of the systems so that presentations can become more effective.  Then there are also the ever-changing needs of organizations, especially as they grow.

Corporate client Covia in Walnut Creek reached out to PCD to install AV systems at their new Corporate headquarters facility in a variety of locations on campus. PCD was challenged with designing several conference rooms and huddle rooms to include Polycom teleconference systems and NuReva soundbars as the audio conferencing microphone and speaker system. The larger room called the “All Hands Room” utilized a 3x3 video wall that allowed a quality presentation on a high quality system, even with the surrounding ambient light and low ceilings.

With a recent shift towards open office layouts and staff working remotely, the need for effective AV collaboration and clear communication is increasing. Huddle Rooms offer small spaces for collaboration without booking a large conference room or disrupting neighboring offices.

PCD worked with Solano Community College’s Vacaville Campus and General Contractor, Rudolph & Sletten, to design an AV system that the staff can utilize while training new students to groom and educate them in preparation for potential job opportunities in the biotech industry.

PCD was tapped to provide a Design/Build solution for an aesthetically seamless and high-quality background music system for Hall Winery’s entire Tasting Room and outdoor areas. This system would be created for guests to enjoy the unique flow and artistic inspiration of the winery. The facility has private tasting rooms and a main Tasting Lounge, along with an upstairs deck and downstairs terrace areas. There is a large lawn seating area on one side of the building and an upper floor area that is set up to house events and celebrations in the winery’s Fermentation Room.