by RENEE PATRICK Cascade Business News Feature Writer
Tony Sprando, owner of Audio Visual Presentations based in Bend, is taking big steps in increasing the capacity of his technology-based company by expanding his business and services. The new office and Audio Video Design and Presentation Center at 20585 Brinson Blvd in Bend offers 4,600 square feet of access to cutting edge technology and the means to teach the community and businesses how to use it.
Sprando shares that his vision has always included educating people on how to use technology. Since opening his business in downtown Bend in 1999, the 900 square foot space wasn’t quite big enough to encompass all Sprando wished to accomplish; the new location, which opened June 1 will be able to accommodate a variety of purposes with the presentation room, training loft and private meeting room.
Sprando will launch what he calls the Last Friday program entitled Where Technology Meets the User. Beginning August 26, the last Friday of every month will feature a speaker from the community on various topics such as iDevise Beyond Games, Droid-aholics Anonymous, It’s not Your Teachers Whiteboard Anymore, Live Video Streaming and Sound 101. This bag lunch series is designed to bring in folks from the technology sector in Bend as well as the community at large to help them keep up with the highly evolving and changing technology field. The slated speaker for the inaugural event will be David Smith of Tech Support.
The installation side of the business continues to provide Central Oregon with high-end audio visual equipment rentals and commercial installations. Sprando believes he has weathered the recent economic downturn by providing the area with his unique services and products. He has kept busy with projects at schools and education centers and hopes his new focus on technology education will help to further integrate Audio Visual Presentations in the community.
At the heart of the business, Sprando’s focus is on helping his customers communicate with sound, picture and projection. The niche he has filled is due in part to his focus on customer relations and custom design services. His in-house design team will take in to account special needs and create a media system customized to fit any budget and space constraints from concept to installation. AV Presentations has created complete systems and solutions in many community/worship centers, municipal buildings and destination resorts such as Central Oregon Community College, Faith Christian Center, First Baptist Church of Bend and multiple conference rooms including Les Schwab Headquarters.
For the budget conscious or those with short term events, rental opportunities are offered. Sound equipment is available for any size audience as well as projectors and screens up to ten feet wide. AV Presentations offers live video support that can be broadcast live on the internet or saved for
later viewing.
Sprando offers the latest in live streaming capabilities, delivering high quality results with an easy to use system. Through integrated transcoding, content is optimized for online delivery. Live servers capture the video and audio feed in real-time and digitize the video signal. It is ideal for flexible cross-platform delivery and is the perfect solution for live event streaming of worship services, conferences, trainings, private broadcasts and pay-per-view events. The technology can even be applied to iPhone, iPod and iPad platforms.
The Video On Demand function provides state-of-the-art translation of traditional audio and video media to a variety of digital formats, making content available anytime, day or night. Through the self-service management tools, meta data is easily uploaded, encoded and syndicated.
The Presentation Room uses the eBeam Complete System, a powerful tool for copyboard functions and direct interactivity with any computer. It provides a more affordable approach to whiteboard interactivity, using an existing whiteboard or any other flat surface. This technology captures all dry erase marker notes straight to the computer where they can be broadcast online in real-time to anyone with an internet connection. Once saved to the computer, the notes can be edited, printed, or e-mailed. The interactive pen provided becomes like a mouse and has the capabilities to control an entire computer from the front of the room.
Audio Visual Presentations offers free estimates and consultation for sales or rentals as well as free delivery and initial setup for all equipment needs. Sprando has a competent staff of audio, video and lighting experts as well as qualified installers who can expertly complete any job. Ensuring each client knows how to properly run their media systems has always been an important aspect to Sprando’s business and the opening of the new location will help to continue this goal.
Doors to the Last Friday programs open at 11:30am. Presentations are from 12–1pm. Please bring a bag lunch. Topics of interest are welcome, contact Tony Sprando at Tony@av-pres.com for more information.
www.av-pres.com/, 541-388-1732. Watch for updates on the Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/AudioVisualPresentations.
