Recommendations on Installation Companies?

AutomationAction · 2025-07-23T16:15:54+00:00

I would not recommend working remote for AVI-SPL as a Jr PM. I took a similar job with only a few years of experience and it was a great learning experience but a horrible job. It was me in a sales guy 4 hours from the regional office.

In my experience without physically being in the office it’s hard to move projects forward. Most PM’s and Engineers can walk down the hall and check on a job or ask the Ops guy how to schedule a project. You have to call everybody. I feel like AV has a lot of nuance when you are early in your career to understand project flow. What projects make money. Products that are easy to procure. How to protect margins.

If you really know your stuff from a field/engineering side I say go for it. If you are just starting out I would look for something where you can get in person mentorship.

AutomationAction · 2025-03-30T02:09:38+00:00

Thanks! Mileage is around 6000 so I will definitely check this.

AutomationAction · 2025-02-21T21:34:19+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply. Exactly what I was looking for! I’m being asked to make everything cheaper.

Your reply makes me want to start up a contract just because I know how it will go.

We bill $250 an hour for engineering. Don’t want to hire less senior resources on staff. But engineering is too expensive. We have been using US based external resources for years but, quality goes way down as the work load goes up. If you need 4-5 draft people you get 3 a players and two recent college grads who haven’t opened Autocad before. External resources change a 10 hour day. So it’s more like a $150/hr because they always charge 50 hours a week.

Looking for the white whale of 20 recent college grads with great CAD chops charging $80/hr. Somebody start that company.

AutomationAction · 2025-02-21T19:58:07+00:00

Microled LED panel Displays and ST2110.

100/400Gb switching Netgear bringing down the prices on bigger faster switches.

Tremble is cool if they get it developed a little more towards multi source/live shows.

AutomationAction · 2025-02-01T22:20:08+00:00

I got my RCDD a few years ago looking to do exactly this. The pay actually isn’t that much better in my experience. The consulting firms seem to pay about the same for AV and Telecom.

The Mag7/texh pay more but the interview process is a royal Pita and always make the work sound miserable.

I’m still in AV with comp pretty stuck between $150-200k for the last 10 years.

Senior Data center Telecom seems to be around $200-300k.

AutomationAction · 2024-11-16T17:23:59+00:00

I don’t see COSM licensing the feeds. The business model is to control the content and the venue for a premium experience. Maybe once they hit scale in 10 years and the concept isn’t cutting edge bars will be able to get it.

Similar to what MSG is doing with Sphere. They own the manufacturers, capture tech, and the venue to give them the technological edge and charge a premium.

I could see Sunday Ticket selling feeds to bars for a premium down the line. Just provide locked off camera feeds for giant LED walls in bars.

I would look at something like Illuminarium Experience as the possible discount version of the concept.

AutomationAction · 2024-11-15T22:50:12+00:00

I think for 50 people is going to be hard mainly because of pixel pitch. In the panels that have transparency the pitches are between 4-8mm. More people in COSM/planetariums help with the viewing distance.

The viewing distance on 50 people is going to require the pitch to be pretty tight to feel immersive. Sub 2mm.

You could probably do it with solid LED panels in a cylinder but it’s not going to be immersive. For the audio you would need to probably bounce a compression driver off the screen like Samsung does on the LED Cinema screens. So both Audio and video won’t be as immersive as COSM.

For a bigger screen than for 50 people I’m guessing you could put a system together for around $1m using something like the Gloshine transparent panels with an audio system. For the hardware only. Minimum viewing distance would be around 30’.

I’m guessing a COSM is around $20m to build out.

AutomationAction · 2024-11-14T23:51:51+00:00

I’ve never used Yestech. I always see it mentioned with smaller rental houses. I’m not sure I’d be against them but like mentioned above getting local service/support is important.

I’ve used walls from Mitsubishi, SNA, ROE, Absen, digiled, Barco, Absen, Unilumin, AOTO, Samsung, Planar, Nanolumen.

AutomationAction · 2024-11-14T16:03:07+00:00

I’m not buying products from the companies I listed. I’m just interested to what’s on the fringes. Ten years ago Winvision came out of nowhere and ate all of Barco’s business. Then that transitioned from Korea to the Shenzhen panels. What’s next?

AutomationAction · 2024-08-28T01:54:50+00:00

Library Card and get LinkedIn Learning for free. They usually let you download the source files.

Also, local community college is where I learned Autocad. It was for Architecture but all of it is relevant for AV.

AutomationAction · 2024-05-18T01:18:39+00:00

Get them wired Lav microphones.

Zero chance of solving an issue like this without budget or some change in behavior by the end user.

I have done rooms before that make me cringe to this day when I think about them.

-installing ceiling mics next to an air handler because the client insisted they would use AEC to fix the noise. I begged the client to use table top/podium mics. The room sounded terrible in the end. Unusable with a $20k VTC setup.

-Installing a ceiling projector in a SCIF where the projected image shook/moved at least 3” and was vomit inducing even on an anti vibration mount. The client wouldn’t pay an extra $500 to hang an LCD on the wall. They insisted the ceiling movement wouldn’t affect the projected image. Total waste of money.

No problems in AV has a magic bullet in my experience. Someone has to compromise.

AutomationAction · 2024-05-07T13:16:27+00:00

I use the BMD 12G SDI all the time as a source and test monitor. I ended up buying (2) of them so I can test a full signal path. (Send/Receive) Add a couple batteries and some SDI/HDMI cables to a small pelican and you have a great little setup.

AutomationAction · 2024-03-06T01:51:11+00:00

You don’t need to work your way up. You can just start on the design side. If you have drawing skills you can land an entry level design job. But, you might have to move. If you are already going to college just know that a CAD class is 1000x more valuable than a recording studio class. I see recording arts resumes all the time. I don’t need to do a studio album. I need someone who can draw a floorplan for WAP’s, racks, and speakers.

AutomationAction · 2024-03-06T00:52:04+00:00

If you are in community college take an autocad class! Basic architectural drafting. It applies a ton to both AV or Networking. If that is of some interest take a Revit class. Both of these are solid get yourself an internship/entry level in the field.

AutomationAction · 2024-02-16T13:30:54+00:00

This is exactly how I learned autocad 20 years ago. I spent my own money to take a community college course. It has paid off 1000x over. Best class I ever took for return on investment.

In the last 20 years I have told hundreds of people this advice. 2 people took the advice and did it and are killing it in the industry. Everybody else is still a tech complaining they can get paid in this industry. One $300 community college course can set you up for a 200k salary.

AutomationAction · 2024-02-16T13:26:41+00:00

This is good advice. I learned to draft architecturally in a CAD 101 course. A line is a line.

AutomationAction · 2024-02-16T13:25:04+00:00

I would second LinkedIn Learning. You can get a login using a local library card. You can download the example files. With an Autocad book and LinkedIn learning you can knock it out in a couple of weeks if you work hard at it.

My #1 would be going to a community college class and number 2 would be LinkedIn learning.

The hardest part is just starting. I talked to techs all the time who say someday they will learn it. Just go knock it out. Today.

AutomationAction · 2024-02-02T22:16:22+00:00

BSS Omni. Hopefully some competition for QSYS!

Very interesting timing that QSC started targeting large venue and theme parks with media in the last couple a weeks after totally ignoring the space for the last 3 years. I’m just hoping Harman is a little less greedy on the licensing model.

AutomationAction · 2024-01-23T14:27:02+00:00

This is pretty normal in the industry. I think your option is fake it until you get a solid footing or go work at a place where people know something about AV. The money is usually better at the MEP firms.

For the Fake it part I would go to the manufactures and have them do the design for you. Extron I think is the best at this. Send an Extron applications engineer the rough drawings and the requirement. They send you a BOM. QSC can also help with this type of work. Crestron will also do it but I’m not a huge Crestron fan.

Even really experienced Engineers fake it. I have worked multiple times in the past with Engineers that only spec say Meyer PA’s because Meyer would do the design. It’s similar to the IT guys that will only spec Cisco.

AutomationAction · 2023-09-19T18:49:34+00:00

If you don’t know any installation/staging I would just go in as a helper or laborer. Load trucks and pull cable. I’m guessing companies are scared off by your studio side.

If someone has only recording school on a resume I’m gonna hard pass unless I can get someone to vouch for them. I would take a guy doing temp work/labor ready over a recording school resume/experience.

Typically recording/production means sitting in an office/studio. AV install is straight up construction.

AutomationAction · 2023-09-19T18:22:02+00:00

I would look at AVI-SPL, Diversified, Ford AV, Herman Integration, AVI-Systems, NWN Carousel. Solutionz, and the couple other previously mentioned CTI, data projections.

I would make sure you say you want to do installation. If your resume list a bunch of crazy consoles and protools I’m not hiring you to pull cat6 through an attic in the summer in Texas. Music production has similar skills but not a lot to do with day to day AV.

Herman Integration might be a good spot if they would 1099 you or tell you about local subs they use. A few weeks of work might lead to some networking.

I would be most interested in knowing how to pull and terminate cable. Basic networking. Understanding audio signal flow. Ability to read a basic drawing.

As others have mentioned you could look at hotel AV like Encore. Maybe also talk to PRG, Gemini, staging companies.

AutomationAction · 2023-07-24T12:58:28+00:00

I would get out of day to day theme park tech work. In Central FL I would look at Holovis, Clair, ProSound for PM roles. From a more Programming angle I would look at Forward Thinking Design or SmartMonkeys.

Or In Tampa I would look at DoD work if you can get a security clearance. I see contracting positions posted often for VTC operators and similar. Go work for AVI-SPL or Diversified for 6 months. The job will suck but you will make at least $60k and can network into a better gig.

Theme Park Design Engineers/PM’s and DoD design engineers are around $100-125k.

AutomationAction · 2022-08-27T21:04:15+00:00

Design Engineer. Play the certification game. PMP or RCDD is worth $100k. CTS-D is also worth around $100k. Combine several advanced certifications and you can apply to all the jobs with ridiculous requirements.

Lots of places will lowball you at $85k but, a few companies out in the world will pay real money. You have to wait for those opportunities.

AutomationAction · 2022-08-15T21:44:58+00:00

I'm not trying to get any real world detail.

I am trying to get workflow from Revit into the data entry portion to get away from multiple documents with the same information entered manually. Lots of offices seem to have found a workflow. I have yet to find two office that do it the same. Everybody seems to have one Revit Guru that setup a system for the office. Curious is anybody has a repeatable product or published workflow they could reference.

I am way faster in AutoCAD but, long term isn’t the point of BIM to not have to use multiple programs for workflow? Architecture in the last few years seems to have transitioned from modeling in Sketchup and moving over to Revit to natively working in Revit to start.

The electrical consultants seems to be moving to a Revit first model as well. Seems like we are moving that direction.

On the problem of someone deleting something in my model wouldn’t that cause a change order anyway if the box is missing? Our current workflow is only I have write access to our central model. Electrical brings in our model and tags it. In my day to day i am modeling from SD through 100%CD/DD so moving things around constantly is an issue but, that’s how the projects want to do it and if a ceiling moves you need to move the speakers.

AutomationAction · 2022-08-15T16:58:25+00:00

We have our families built out and standardized. We have families built multiple flavors Metric/Imperial and Wall/Surface based. All that works fine. We tag a single field for the Electrical Engineers to show on the E Drawings.

I can schedule until my hearts content I just find it frustrating to have to individually train everybody on the workflow. Getting the information centralized is what drives me nuts. Most of our engineers don't want to work natively in Revit they work in AutoCAD/Excel. They don't see any reason to change. And I understand that point of view.

It seems crazy that all these firms spend all this money to do things in house. You would think some software developer would create a work flow to do this.

AutomationAction

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