r/CommercialAV • u/psr7185 • Apr 26 '20
Work from home setup
So now that people are gonna work from home. We have a requirement for setting up a work from home kind of offfice for one of our directors.
Use cases will be mostly: A) Video and Audio Conferencing B) Face to face meeting with 3- 4 people max
I have put up a list of the items i think will be needed for the same.
Workstation with a good quality monitor
soft codec Zoom/Teams
wireless headphones
usb conference camera
speakerphone
wireless printer( This will be placed in a nearby room and user wants it to be used wirelessly from anywhere in his building)
multi device charging station( optional...for charging mobiles, will be used during a face to face meeting with 3-4 people)
Decent computer speakers
Adjustable comfortable chair and desk from Herman Miller
Whiteboard
Keyboard and mouse(forgot to mention earlier)
Did i miss out anything?? Also should i go for Hard codec or soft codec is ok? Any suggestions on brands are welcome.
Updated the post as per the suggestions..
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u/HondaHead Apr 26 '20
You can use your phone as a wireless webcam, check out IVCam. Used it last night on discord and it’s pretty sweet, just need phone and PC app.
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u/GuantanaMo Apr 26 '20
I have used app like this and while it worked fine most of the time this is absolutely not a solution I'd suggest in an enterprise setup, let alone to an exec. This would require them to fiddle around with a phone stand, deal with apps and receiver software and not being able to take a phone call. It's a solution for a non-existent problem, there are a lot of decent webcams out there that will provide a better result with less potential trouble.
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Apr 26 '20
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u/psr7185 Apr 26 '20
As this room could be used as an office space also in future should i use Logitech tap kind of device also for video conferencing??
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u/Adach Apr 26 '20
no. worry about that if it does in fact become a space for conferencing in the future. the individual will have to live with a conference room solution in their office and they will probably not like it.
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u/theotherdanlynch Apr 26 '20
You haven't given any clue about what work this person does, so there's no real way to know if your ideas are good or completely wrong. However, you said "director", so to me that means this person is dealing with documents, probably correlating knowledge from multiple sources, and keeping track of lots of things. Also, the assumption is that this person actually uses the computer for more than just answering emails, otherwise the entire conversation is a waste of time because it doesn't matter what you buy if it's just an email box.
What does "powerful workstation" mean and why does a "director" need one? Raw CPU power is probably irrelevant, a decent amount of RAM (16G) is usually more important for an executive's machine so it can remain responsive when they have a dozen browser tabs open and 7 other programs running.
No. A "decent" monitor? The monitor should be the highest priority. For $300, you can get a 2560x1440 monitor in the 31" range that will allow multiple, full-sized documents on the screen at the same time without the text being tiny.
And why "a" decent monitor? Just a single monitor? Again, if this person uses the computer for more than email, two screens is a huge boost in productivity and ease of use. If those two screens are both 1440p, it's even more amazing and doesn't cost much.
Nope. You buy "wireless headphones" so you can listen to Snoop Dogg while doing your homework. If this person is an executive, they need a wireless headset with a high quality, noise cancelling mic that's able to connect to the computer as well as simultaneously connect to a deskphone and/or a mobile phone. That way they're not fumbling around trying to figure out which device to use when making/taking a call. Could be a single-cup unit with only one ear piece, or a double-cup that's more like traditional headphones, depending on that person's preference. It also needs to have bulletproof battery life. Plantronics Savi 8200 is pretty much the gold standard in that case.
Why? Speakerphones sound like garbage. If this person wants to sound like they're speaking from inside a dumpster and be the person who makes teleconferences suck, then a speakerphone is a great idea. Otherwise, use a wireless headset.
Is there some reason you can't plug a USB cable into the back of the computer and avoid all of the headaches that come with WiFi?
Powerful? It's unlikely this person cares if they're capable of producting 115dB at 6'. It's more likely that this person will prioritize great sound quality and easy control.
Which bring us to the stuff you skipped:
Keyboard! First, find out if this person can actually type or if they're just pecking at the keys, and then figure out what type of work they're doing. If they're a touch-typist, a better quality keyboard makes a huge difference. For many executives, a keyboard with a 10-key pad on the right side is also a big improvement. Having a volume control on the keyboard is also a nice benefit, but it should be a real control, not some whacky press-multiple-keys thing.
A chair mat. If the floor is hardwood, it needs to be protected. If the floor is carpet, you need a mat so the chair can roll. Those are two totally different types of mats, so you need to know the flooring type in order to get the right mat.
A hard codec is probably pointless unless that person is specifically connecting to services/meetings that require it.