How To Set Up Your Home Office For Video Conferencing

At the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us switched to working from home. However, it is not easy for everyone to adapt to that. If you want to work efficiently from the comfort of your home – it is important to think about how to equip your home office and how to set it up for video conferencing.

Working From Home Is More A Challenge Than A Benefit

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed great challenges for many of us. One of those challenges is working from home. Many will now say that this is an almost ideal option. You don’t travel to work, you don’t waste time and money on fuel or transportation – and there are no bosses to constantly stand over your head. Still, you need to know that working from home is a double-edged sword. True, some of us can organize our own time, but still most are required to “be at work” at the right time – and communicate with their colleagues online via Skype or some other conference platform. That’s cool if you’re just communicating with friends, but for business – you have to take it all far more seriously.

Are You Technically Savvy?

Today, the question is no longer whether we are – but how well we have mastered the techniques and tools for working from home. What you have certainly seen in the past two years – is the increasing use of conference platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Viber, etc. All of this is broadcast from your home office – and has become the backbone of the work from home. There are more and more people who give lectures, workshops, stream content, and even record TV shows – and all from their home, the so-called quarantine office. It is obvious that the media are also changing – and that in the future there will be many people who will work and communicate online from home. We are all changing. Not everyone is technically savvy and using a few simple things such as your online stream, a collective conference, or something like that – could get a far more professional look. So do not hesitate to call experts to install video conference system integrators. They know very well from the start what you need to do to have a good video conferencing system design – which means you will enjoy and be productive from your home office.

What Do You Need To Do To Set Up Video Conferencing In Your Home Office?

In the first months of the pandemic, we had to organize our work from home quickly – by using AV equipment that was at hand. Now is the time to move on, towards a better organization – and of course, better results. Working from the home office requires constant contact with colleagues – so the tools for video conferencing have advanced tremendously in recent years. What can you do to appear and sound better when you meet business partners and associates?

Hire Professionals To Install AV Integration

This is always the best solution. Truth be told, it also requires certain investments, but believe us – it pays off many times over. Just imagine you have to do everything yourself. Cables that can be seen and stretched from everywhere, poorly connected sound and video systems – all in all, it smells like a business disaster. That is why it is best to entrust the work to professionals. If you click here, you will learn much more about AV integrations, but also about the complexity of designing AV integrations according to needs, space, technical capabilities, etc. That’s why it is best to seek AV professional help – because they will design the entire system according to your needs and the conditions in which you work. In addition, by hiring AV integration professionals, you will have access to customer support that is extremely important to you.

Can You Do Something About It Yourself?

Of course, the most common problem for hiring AV integration professionals is the budget. While this may not necessarily be too expensive – sometimes we simply can’t afford it. Can we then do something ourselves to set up a solid home office for video conferencing? Here are some solutions.

• Good Computer

We don’t know if you already have a good home computer – either a desktop or a laptop. If the answer is NO, you should get it, and it’s not a cheap item either. However, we believe that you already have a computer that can support the scope of your work – and the need for setting up a home office. Of course, everything is much easier if the laptop is provided by a company – especially because in that case it will be configured so that you can immediately join the team and continue working. An external monitor, keyboard, and mouse will also be welcome accessories in this case, and that will make you do the job with less effort. A comfortable office armchair should be added to the list. Trust us – you will not enjoy the kitchen chair or couch – and during conference calls and streaming, it will not look very professional.

• Focus

Focus is an important part of visual content. However, it is far more important where you will sit. The routers you got from the operator are not always the best solution – and most of us do not use cable, but connect to the Internet via home WiFi. In that case, the seat needs to be as close as possible to the router. The richer the background, the better. But it shouldn’t be overcrowded. Be careful not to overdo it – because a lot of background content is distracting. Depth of focus is also something that, if possible, should be considered. It would be ideal to sit at least 2m from the background, but this is not crucial. Test the program before turning it on. Ask someone to rehearse it with you. Keep in mind that most of the focus should be on you – and stick to the principle of simplicity. That way your video conferencing will look professional, even if you do it from home.

• Sound

Good sound is something few people think about. Good sound is as important as a good picture. You do not want to be in a sound-repellent space and you do not want to sit completely straight facing the wall because such a surface reflects or absorbs sound. The microphone is the most important thing for good sound. If you’re using a laptop, place your hands near the keyboard, then get a little closer – and that’s the optimal distance for an integrated microphone. If you use a headset – position the microphone as close to your mouth as possible.

The Bottom Line

Those were some tips to help you get started and set up your home office. However, if your job carries a certain seriousness, or you have continuous audio and video contacts with colleagues and clients – then hiring professionals and installing AV integration is the best solution.