(Part 2) Best products from r/CommercialAV

Coaxial input from where? what device is sending the "coaxial" signal?

Coaxial is the type of cable, you can have an coaxial cable with RCA plugs at the end.

Its important to know where the coaxial cable comes from.

If its like an antenna or cable tv, you need a demodulator tuner to tune-in the signal and convert it to rca or hdmi, just search for RCA demodulator, or HDMI demodulator. You need to make sure the demodulator supports the kind of signal you are sending.

If you are just sending a composite signal like from a camera or dvd, and you have already a RF cable, you can just use these adapters.

The ideal is to crimp new connectors, like these ones, but they are expensive and need a special crimp tool.

I have no idea why a 5x5 matrix is necessary for this application, but you're not going to find that feature set in a sub $1k box. This one is pretty close to what you're looking for, but it's not cheap:
http://www.kanexpro.com/item/?id=MX-HDBASE4X4-4K

I personally own a Kramer VP-series switcher and am generally happy with their product line.

Here's another box I found on Amazon that's slightly closer to your price range: https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-Extender-Switcher-Receivers/dp/B01J6Q8KWS/

You will need a video Matrix Switcher as you say. While I've not used the device you link, Startech tends to be not great. As you mentioned, if you aren't playing audio from the TV's via HDMI (which you could) and instead are using a secondary sound system, you will either need to buy a switcher that has analog audio out or buy an HDMI audio de-embedder. Your'e only outputting 1 signal from the PC, the switcher will allow you to send that to any of the 4 outputs - so just 1 hdmi out. As for control, if all the tv's are the same and you are always using them all at once, you could just get an IR distribution system and run it to each tv, that way you'd just need 1 tv remote for them (on/off) and 1 for the switcher (and 1 for the apple tv and 1 for the sony system - which i assume is a dvd player). You could forego switcher and tv remotes and use a controller system, but it would be kind of complicated to design a pushbutton control if you are wanting unique sources on each tv. I'd say a touchpanel would be better suited for that (or just have people physically push the buttons on the switcher). If you did buy a pushbutton controller I guess you could do shift/macros where each button represents 1 tv and depending on how many times you press it will dictate the source.

Just for reference, you might also look at companies like Extron or Crestron or Kramer (maybe Atlona) they are generally reputable and carry all the products you would need for this (albeit much more expensive than what you are spending here). If you are just interested in cheap we use these monoprice matrix switchers for events and emergency backup. They seem to work ok, but i wouldn't use it anywhere that had to be reliable.

We are interested in seeing what we would need to improve our setup, whether or not that is a complete redesign. Cable channel is SD and I don't think they will be upgrading anytime soon. We are looking into getting a Video Capture device so we can plug into a computer during the meetings. I don't think this is an end-all solution though. Thanks for the advice!

There is never a need for true stereo audio in these types of situations so I would just mono sum the laptop right from the start. These little buggers work great for that...

https://www.amazon.com/Dsan-LSP-1-DSan-Laptop-SoundPort/dp/B010C6MJ50

I understand the need for the gain adjustment on the output side to the wall-input since if its off the noise could get funky, For your purposes, just get a variable in-line XLR pad and put an XLR -> 3.5mm adapter on the end. That way you can adjust for the in-room systems needs without screwing with your gain staging on the mixer side.

no way to know for sure, without knowing the company, but being able to recognize connectors, and their common uses, how to make said connections, and possibly troubleshooting a small system are the types of things i'd expect to see on a test for an entry level position.

as far as reading prints, knowing what a section line is, and how to read it, knowing how to read a detail or elevation flag, knowing common abbreviations, and what they mean, i.e. affl. knowing what a reflected ceiling plan is, and why its important.

if you have time it would be worth looking over the cts-i book, it covers most of these things.

http://www.amazon.com/CTS-I-Certified-Technology-Specialist-Installation-Guide-ebook/dp/B00TY08IL0/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=5182nTJylQL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_OU01_AC_UL160_SR130%2C160_&refRID=087618ZW3H5GGRZ4H44T

manufacture's often publish white papers that are worth reading as well.

Don't do this; for the love of commercial audio, please don't do this. These speakers are 8ohm only. You have to wire them in stereo pairs. The receiver would have to be run in 5ch stereo, again... please don't do this.

What kind of ceiling is in the space? The speakers you listed from amazon are for mounting in a hard lid. If this space has a drop ceiling you'll need tile bridges to the support the weight of any speaker can. Even if you did a cheap Atlas, OWI or Toa speaker you're looking at $45-60 per speaker plus the cost of the tile bridge. Also, these speakers sound like garbage BUT if you had no money I get it.

Secondly, you're worried about ASCAP compliance and are willing to pay for Pandora for business? That's like $300/yr plus the cost of the player. I'd recommend something with a better quality stream like Soundtrack Your Brand which works and sounds better than Pandora. I'm not telling you not to worry about licensing, but if you don't have anything to spend on the audio system why spend on the licensing? Just asking.

In a commercial space, if you want to "be sure the same audio is played over each speaker, and not divided into left/right channels", what you're looking for is a 70V speaker system, where all of the speakers can be run in a circuit. You need a 70V amplifier to do this and you'd need to run a wire to the first (closest) speaker and daisy chain there after. You can get these 8 70V speakers from Amazon for $250 but an amp to power them is $300. I promise you that you'll still be unhappy with this quality and will most likely regret spending $1000 in parts and wire and a full day if installing for the crappy quality you will get from this system.

Might I suggest another option. Bluetooth speakers, even streaming ones, are about $500. I think you and your wife would be way happier with 1 or even 2 Sonos or Klipsch speakers in opposite corners of the space. If you place them high up they will fill the space with good quality sound even at low volume. Sonos Play:5 is $500. Klipsch The Three is $400.

Just my opinion. There are tons of ways to do this, and I'm not trying to spend your money. This is what I do for a living. I've looked enough frustrated customers in the eyes face to face that would make me comment on this thread.

Update to my search

So far, this is the best thing that I have found that doesn’t blow my budget.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072M8QZNF/?coliid=I2GYBCYF0RLBZ6&colid=393QOUEHGNCDE&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Does anyone have any experience with this switch? It appears that I will be able to get everything I need out of it. Any input is appreciated.

Go to this page and scroll down to the "Connect module" to see the I/O. You've got USB In/Out, and 3.5mm In/Out. I forgot what the 3.5mm input/output specifically, but our integrator said it wasn't what he expected and was difficult to integrate.

In contrast, look at the Phoenix Audio Condor, specifically the "Connections" tab. It's go t USB, built-in SIP phone, analog RCA ins/outs, and digital optical ins/outs. These outputs are AEC-treated speaker outputs.

As a testament to how good the AEC is on this thing, they have a very simple TV cart setup in one of their larger conference rooms. It's literally a TV on a rolling cart with a computer, a Condor, and this soundbar hooked up to the condor via optical output. It gets insanely loud and has zero echo on the farside. It's really unbelievable how good this thing is.

Thanks. I think the powepoint slide narration recording should be pretty straight forward. Do you think this microphone will output to a PC? http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Lavalier-Microphone-Transmitter-Operating/dp/B001I1SZRK/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1372086892&sr=1-3&keywords=sony+lapel+microphone+wireless

HDMI Distro amp

cheap

http://www.amazon.com/HD-104-Powered-Splitter-Support-Outputs/dp/B007NKOC2W/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1420269911&sr=8-8&keywords=hdmi+distribution+amplifier

cheap for a reason, but it works till you find a better solution

You can try this. I am not sure it will work on a Mac but it should give you another output. You will have to play with it to see if it will let you mirror the main image like you want.

If money is no object, I have had great success with these:

https://www.amazon.com/MXL-Mics-USB-Microphone-AC-360-Z/dp/B07DV1C6Y3

This is what everybody typically comes to recommend.

However, we found that the MiniDP adapter on this ring is actually fatter than the distance from the bottom of the port to the bottom of our laptops (Dell E series), so it was bending the adapters and the ports. We switched over to manually tethering these with coated fishing line.

With USB C getting more popular, we've been debating what to do - it's pretty unwieldy to have two 6" adapters tethered to one hdmi cable, and the ring option sucks, and the cable we actually want (CAB-HDMI-MUL4K-9M=) is $600.

Then This and any DVD player you want. Put the thing in a cabinet, another room if you want, wherever. Also, has the added bonus of being able to switch what you plug into it- i.e. laptop, ipad, etc.

Btw- if you're intent on putting it behind the tv, this Toshiba is the only one of its type I've run across. Amazon sells a mount for it too. Definitely read the reviews however- I didn't think it worth the risk.

something like this with a A-B 3.0 cable would work: https://www.amazon.com/Printer-Extender-Connection-F-USB_B-USB_A-USB_B/dp/B01N5LE9YD/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2CAQ34FWSY6MT&keywords=usb+b+to+a+female+adapter&qid=1568068140&s=electronics&sprefix=usb+B+to+A+femal%2Celectronics%2C169&sr=1-4