Videoconferencing
The single most common refrain from videoconference users pertains to the difficulty in understanding what is being said and transmitted over the system. This is commonly known as intelligibility, or lack thereof. Most make the false assumption that the intelligibility problems are caused by the interface equipment. Although higher quality microphones and loudspeakers will help, the problem is not so much the equipment, but by less than ideal acoustics in the room.
The human brain (and our hearing system) is absolutely amazing! We can be in a loud nightclub with music blaring and people speaking at the top of their voices and still manage to communicate. Our ears magically tune out what is not important and focus our attention on what is. This remarkable ability is known as the cocktail effect. But when the voice is being ‘videoconferenced’, you are no longer in the room where the sound is originating. This means that your ears can no longer selectively listen to what is being said. All of the sounds in the room are captured by the microphones, blended together and then broadcast via a pair of loudspeakers some 5000 kilometers away. ‘You no longer get the carrots, you get soup.’
Greater number of panels are used to control excessive echo caused by hard surfaces like video screens.
Placing panels so that each parallel surface has some treatment will help reduce flutter echo.
The solution is simple: you need to simplify the message by eliminating any and all unnecessary background noise before it is transmitted. This is easily done by mounting Broadway acoustic panels in the videoconference room. The more panels you use; the darker or more intimate the transmission will sound. This is in fact the precise reason why radio and TV broadcasters employ acoustic panels: they want to ensure their message is as easy to understand as possible.
Placement is simply a matter of getting as many panels as you can inside the room. The more panels you put up on the walls; the better the transmission will be. For those with windows or limited wall space, Primacoustic Stratotiles provide a ready solution for T-Bar ceilings that will provide much better absorption than a typical ceiling tile.
The benefit also works at the receiving end. By eliminating as many reflective surfaces as possible, those listening will no longer be subjected to early reflections. This not only improves intelligibility but reduces ear fatigue.
Determining Coverage
To make panel selection simple, we have created a series of tables that suggest different levels of treatment. For optimal results, we recommend the medium level. If budgets are limited, minimal and light treatment has also been provided. The choice of panel is usually a mix between 1" and 2" thick panels. For ‘broadcast quality’, thicker panels will provide greater low frequency control. These can be butted up together to form larger panels using the Push-On Impalers.
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Radial Engineering Ltd. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.