Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Question about AV systems in common houses

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Dec 13, 2024, at 12:22 PM, Becky Lubold via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:

> Rachel Carson EcoVillage, (beginning construction in western Pennsylvania) is 
> considering how to equip and provide for audio-visual (AV) programming in our 
> common house. Could anyone share their experience or recommendations?

A smart goal for planning. I can’t share recommended solutions but can add some 
warnings.

Don’t buy anything until you know it is the latest and the most likely to be 
state of the art for a while. Reviews of equipment often discuss whether this 
technology is new and if a significant upgrade is coming next year. Waiting a 
year can be a great gain.

Purchase the highest-grade equipment you can afford that is not all glitz and 
glamour. Solid with no bells and whistles you don't need. 

We purchased a projector that produced good enough quality compared to nothing, 
but it was quickly outdated by a new technology. It was also rather backward in 
that we spent a lot of time figuring out adapters for a variety of computers. 
It seemed all our members had different brands, technologies within brands, and 
setups on their computers. And no one knew anything about their own connectors. 

We are now purchasing again. Newer technology, easier connections, professional 
quality (can read the projected text easily from the back of the room). 

Choose equipment for the most clueless and inexperienced non-techies. We have 
professional techies who put together a hybrid meeting ensemble that works very 
well but requires that members have or want more understanding than those 
techies. No reflection on our techies, but professionals often underestimate 
how much they know. As an artisan who uses all kinds of media, I overestimate 
how easy materials and techniques are to use — and we are talking paintbrushes. 

We have a lovely setup including a rolling cabinet to store all the stuff but 
the learning curve to set it up and troubleshoot is steep. Once set up it is 
easy to use but only 2-3 people can set it up now and 1-2 of those people is 
likely to be working or unavailable. Others are learning but it takes time. In 
the meantime, if someone forgets to schedule a tech when they schedule a 
meeting, it can’t be hybrid. 

Ease-of-use technology allows the community to support equality for all (or 
most) members and avoid having expertise and certain personalities dominate 
community events. 

Some of our people have a strong preference for F2F meetings. Others prefer 
Zoom meetings because they can hear better and others because they can cook 
dinner or take care of children at the same time. An average of 2-3 households 
are out-of-town or even out of the country for any given meeting. And they do 
attend Zoom meetings from Ethiopia, Italy, California, Florida, etc. People 
considering joining the community are also more likely to attend Zoom or hybrid 
meetings.

Communications technology is as essential as low-VOC products were 20 years ago.

Don’t forget about plugs, wires extending across floors, and cabinets to hide 
equipment to retain the look of a cozy relaxed dining room.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org