Who Needs a Professional to Install AV Equipment?

Sometimes customers ask us if we can simply drop off their parts so they can install the items themselves.  Sometimes a customer might order equipment online to save a few dollars and attempt to add it to the installation themselves. I'm sure the thought process is something like this: why should we pay “x” amount of dollars for the installation when we already have an IT or maintenance department on staff?

The picture above is an example of what a professional AV installation looks like. 

To answer the question of whether it's worthwhile to have a professional do the job, let's compare the picture above with the picture below. One is neatly wired; the signal flow paths are obvious and fluid. In the other, the wires are sloppy and running across the floor. They are untied and hanging loosely; an accident waiting to happen. Also, the cover for the wiring conduit does not fit back on its box because the wires are coming out.

To answer the question of whether or not it’s worthwhile to hire a professional, let’s take a look at this example (pictured below) of a job we had previously installed. (Unfortunately, there is no before picture, only the after picture.) That said, I can assure you at the time of completion on this installation and during the inspection everything was done neatly. It was nicely tied together and easy to trace the lines. However, since the completion and subsequent inspection on this job the customer moved all of the equipment to a different equipment rack.

Can you guess how long this rack has been on the jobsite before it came to look like this? 

a.) 7 days, b.) 45 days, c.) 1 year, d.) 3 years, e.) 5 years

The correct answer is:

(b.) just 45 days later

Bottom line, at some point you decided your business would benefit from the addition of an AV system. You made a conscious decision to invest in the equipment and installation. 

After looking at the picture above, and knowing that this is all too typical, the real question is: why would you ever not hire a professional?

If installations are done wrong the first time, it makes future repairs and system expansions more labor intensive and therefore more expensive. Get it done right the first time and you’ll remain operational and in control. Time is money.