What's the best AV for a boardroom?

The best boardroom AV pairs twin large displays (or an LED video wall), ceiling array microphones, a PTZ or 360-degree camera, DSP-driven audio, AV-over-IP for content distribution and a custom-programmed touch panel, all integrated into joinery for an executive aesthetic. Budgets typically run £30,000 to £100,000+ depending on capacity, display strategy and the level of bespoke joinery and programming.

The components that earn their place in a 10 to 20+ capacity boardroom:

• Display strategy. Twin 86 to 98 inch UHD displays for active speaker plus content, or a 1.5mm-pitch LED video wall for boards that present to investors or run frequent town-halls. Brightness 500 nits or higher if the room has glazed walls.
• Camera. A PTZ camera (Aver CAM550, Vaddio RoboSHOT, Sony SRG) for presenter-track shots and optical zoom, or a 360-degree device (Logitech Sight, Poly Studio E70) for round-table layouts where there's no fixed front.
• Microphones. Ceiling arrays (Sennheiser TCC2, Shure MXA920, Audio-Technica ATND8677) sized to room depth, fed into a Q-SYS Core or Biamp Tesira DSP for AEC, gain sharing and beam-steering.
• Speakers. Distributed ceiling speakers driven from the DSP so audio is even across the table.
• Control. A custom-programmed Crestron or Q-SYS touch panel (TSS-1070, Crestron TSW-1070, Q-SYS TSC-7t) that launches calls, recalls scenes, controls lights and blinds and routes content.
• Distribution. Crestron NVX or Q-SYS NV-32-H AV-over-IP so any source can route to any display, including breakout panels and video walls.
• Aesthetic. Equipment recessed into ceiling tiles and joinery; cables concealed in floor boxes; only the touch panel and a discreet table mic visible.

The boardroom is also the room where programming complexity, change-control discipline and ongoing support matter most because failures during a board meeting are expensive. A specialist meeting room AV integrator will spend the time on consultation and design before specification, because retrofit changes once joinery is built are slow and costly.

Quick reference: twin 86-98 inch displays (or 1.5mm-pitch LED video wall), ceiling array microphones into a Q-SYS or Biamp DSP, PTZ or 360-degree camera, distributed ceiling speakers, custom-programmed Crestron or Q-SYS touch panel, AV-over-IP distribution, equipment recessed into joinery.