Discover nine simple things to consider that will help you find the best display for your business.
The meeting room in any business should be the beating heart of collaboration. A place where ideas can be shared and plans brought to fruition. However, we know that for many people this isn’t the case. Through research with office workers, we found only 42% of people would describe the meetings they have at work as “collaborative,” with 58% of people agreeing meetings would be better if everyone was more able to get involved.
One way to improve things is by setting up a meeting room with technology that encourages people to contribute. A professional display helps people to present their ideas more effectively in a way that’s more likely to generate feedback. Some interactive displays let people add notes and contribute via their own devices, and adding video collaboration means you can involve colleagues from other offices with no travel.
Knowing where to start can be daunting so here we look at nine simple things to consider to help you find the best display for your business.
1: Think about the number of people who will typically be viewing it at any given time. Meeting room displays come in a wide range of sizes, typically from 60-inch up to the latest 80-inch interactive models, so opt for one that meets your immediate and long-term needs.
Think about where the display will be mounted as the shape of your meeting room may well determine the size of screen you can fit. You need to consider a balance between what is optimum for the room and what is right for those viewing.
2: You should also consider how easy it is to setup and use. Complicated technology that isn’t easy to use takes up a lot of time and tends to be avoided by many employees, making collaboration even less likely. Make ease of use something you prioritise when choosing the display. If multiple users will have access to the screen then consider training, or having a guide to setup and turning the display somewhere in the room. The best solution is to opt for a display with intuitive controls that can be personalised to your company’s needs.
3: Light ambience can often play a part in the final image quality of a display. Luckily, the latest LCD displays work well in meeting rooms with multiple windows as they do darker, light restricted rooms. However, it’s worth making sure the display you choose can cope with a wide variety of lighting conditions.
4: When it comes to screen content – what will actually be shown on the screen – it pays to think about future needs as well as immediate concerns. Will you simply be showing presentations or will you need to use it for collaboration?
5: If you find that collaboration is a vital part of your setup, then you’ll need to consider touchscreen interactivity, such as the Sharp BIG PAD range of displays. With the latest Advanced Multi-Board option you can even share content and work simultaneously across three displays.
6: Another consideration is video-conferencing. Do you need a camera and additional audio? Make sure you have a good network connection and high quality microphone; 18% people told us that they haven’t been able to follow a remote meeting due to bad sound quality.[1]
7: When choosing an interactive display, make sure that it works with your current business setup. To this end, make sure that it comes with Windows embedded into the display, or runs an OS that is compatible and approved by your IT department.
8: Whether you opt for an interactive display or a non-touch HD screen, you will need to consider how people will connect their devices to the screen. From USB to HDMI consider the range of wired options you will need and plan accordingly. Increasingly, wireless connectivity is becoming the norm in offices and this is one method that can allow for quick and cable-free access.
9: Whichever screen size and display technology you choose for your meeting room, make sure you keep it in tip-top working order by making sure you have a Service and Support agreement in place. In this way, you’ll find that any issues can be fixed next-day, saving down time and money.
Now you know what to consider when looking to buy a display for a meeting room, it’s time to meet the compelling range of Sharp Visual Solutions in both Interactive Displays and Professional Displays.
[1] Research was conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of Sharp, with 6,045 office workers in nine EU countries (France, Germany, UK, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Hungary), April 2016
