How to Design a Conference Room That Doesn’t Suck: A Guide to Modern A/V

We’ve all been there.

The big meeting is about to start. A client is waiting on the video call. You try to share your screen, but nothing happens. You can’t find the right cable. The remote doesn’t work. The audio echoes terribly. Ten minutes later, after a frantic scramble of unplugging and replugging wires, you give up and huddle around a single laptop.

The conference room is supposed to be a hub of productivity. A place for collaboration and important decisions. Yet for many businesses, it’s the most frustrating room in the office.

The problem isn’t the room itself. It’s the technology inside it. A poorly planned Audio/Visual (A/V) setup can bring a meeting to a grinding halt. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Designing a conference room that doesn’t suck is about planning for simplicity, reliability, and ease of use. It’s about creating a space where the technology disappears, allowing your team to focus on what really matters: the meeting. This guide will walk you through the key elements of a modern conference room A/V system that actually works.

1. The Display: Bigger is Almost Always Better

The centerpiece of any conference room is the screen. This is where you’ll see your remote colleagues and share your presentations. Huddling around a small TV is not a professional solution.

• Choose the Right Size. A common mistake is picking a screen that is too small. A good rule of thumb: the screen’s diagonal size should be about half the distance to the furthest chair. For a 15-foot-long room, you need at least a 75-inch display.
• 4K is the Standard. Don’t even consider a 1080p display. A 4K Ultra HD screen provides the sharpness needed to read text on spreadsheets and see fine details in presentations.
• Commercial vs. Consumer TVs. It’s tempting to buy a consumer TV from a big-box store. However, a commercial display is built for this job. They are rated for longer hours of operation, have better warranties, and often lack the distracting “smart TV” features you don’t need. They are designed to turn on and show a picture, period.

2. The Camera: See Everyone Clearly

A laptop’s built-in webcam is not a conference room camera. It has a narrow field of view and low-quality video. Remote participants will only see one or two people, while everyone else is a blurry figure in the background. A dedicated conference room camera is essential.

• Get a Wide-Angle View. The camera must be able to see everyone at the table, from corner to corner. Look for cameras with a 120-degree field of view or wider.
• Embrace PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom). For larger rooms, a PTZ camera is a game-changer. It can mechanically pan, tilt, and zoom in on the person who is speaking. Modern AI-powered cameras can even do this automatically, creating a more engaging and professional experience for remote viewers.
• Placement is Key. Mount the camera directly above or below the main display. This ensures that when people in the room look at the screen, they appear to be making eye contact with the remote participants.

3. The Audio: If You Can’t Hear, You Can’t Meet

Audio is arguably the most critical part of any hybrid meeting. If video fails, you can still talk. If audio fails, the meeting is over. Your laptop’s microphone and speakers are not enough.

• Use Dedicated Microphones. For small “huddle” rooms, a high-quality all-in-one video bar with a built-in microphone array might work. For any room larger than that, you need dedicated mics. These can be tabletop microphones placed in the center of the table, or even discreet ceiling-mounted microphones that capture clear audio from everyone.
• Echo is the Enemy. Echo is caused when the microphone picks up the sound coming from the speaker. A professional A/V system uses a component called an “Acoustic Echo Canceller” (AEC) to eliminate this problem, ensuring clean, echo-free audio.
• Don’t Forget the Speakers. The tiny speakers on a TV are not designed for clear voice reproduction. A set of wall-mounted speakers or a high-quality soundbar will ensure that everyone in the room can clearly hear the remote participants without straining.

4. The Connection: Make it Wireless and Painless

The frantic search for the right dongle or adapter is the number one cause of meeting delays. The goal should be to allow anyone to walk into the room and share their screen in seconds, without plugging in a single cable.

• Implement a Wireless Presentation System. This is the single biggest quality-of-life improvement you can make. Systems like Barco ClickShare or Mersive Solstice allow users to share their screen with the push of a button from a small USB dongle or a simple app. No drivers, no cables, no hassle.
• Provide a Backup Cable. While wireless is the goal, always have one clearly labeled, easy-to-access HDMI cable available as a universal backup. Make sure it’s long enough to reach the center of the table.
• Hide the Wires. All the permanent cables—for the display, camera, and speakers—should be professionally run through the walls or in a clean conduit. A mess of visible wires looks unprofessional and creates a trip hazard.

5. The Control: One Button to Start

Your team shouldn’t need a PhD in electrical engineering to start a meeting. The entire system should be controlled from a single, simple interface.

• Use a Simple Touch Panel. A small touch-screen controller on the table is the professional standard. It should have large, clear buttons: “Start Meeting,” “Share Screen,” “Adjust Volume.”
• Automate Everything. A well-designed system automates the startup sequence. When you press “Start Meeting,” the display should turn on, the camera should activate, and the video call should launch—all automatically. The user should not have to juggle three different remote controls.

Stop the Frustration

A conference room that “just works” is not a fantasy. It’s the result of careful planning and an investment in the right commercial-grade equipment. By focusing on these five key areas, you can transform your most frustrating room into your most productive one, creating a seamless collaboration experience for both your in-office and remote teams.