Hire audio-visual support
Audio-visual suppliers provide and operate the sound, lighting, screens and staging an event needs. The decision that matters most is whether you hire equipment only or hire an operator with it — unattended equipment with nobody trained to run it is behind a large share of event technical failures.
What AV suppliers do
- Specify a system that suits the room, audience size and content
- Supply and rig speakers, microphones, screens, projectors and lighting
- Run sound and vision live, including mixing and cueing
- Test and troubleshoot before doors, and stay to handle problems
- De-rig and remove equipment afterwards
When people book AV suppliers
- Conferences, panels and AGMs
- Product launches and presentations
- Live performances and showcases
- Weddings needing microphones and uplighting
- Hybrid and streamed events
What to ask before booking a AV technician
Take these to every candidate. The answers are usually more revealing than a portfolio.
- Does this include an operator on site, or equipment only?
- Have you worked this venue, and do you know its power and rigging limits?
- What backup do you carry if a microphone or projector fails?
- How long do you need for rig, test and de-rig?
- Who provides and tests presenter laptops and adapters?
- If we are streaming, who is responsible for the internet connection?
What to have ready when you post a request
The more of this you can give upfront, the more accurate the offers you get back.
- Room dimensions, ceiling height and a layout if you have one
- Audience size and seating arrangement
- What will be shown or played, and in what format
- Number of presenters and whether they need handheld or lapel mics
- Venue access times for rigging and de-rigging
What drives the cost of a AV technician
Quotes vary because these factors vary. Knowing which apply to you makes two quotes comparable.
- Equipment list and how much must be brought in
- Whether an operator is included, and for how many hours
- Rig and de-rig time, which often exceeds the event itself
- Room size and ceiling height, which drive speaker and screen specification
- Rigging, staging and power distribution requirements
- Streaming or recording, which needs extra equipment and crew
- Redundancy — a spare of everything critical costs more
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Hiring equipment with no operator, then having nobody who can fix it
- Not checking venue power, so the rig cannot run on the circuits available
- Forgetting adapters for presenter laptops, which stalls more events than any failure
- Budgeting event hours only, when rig and de-rig can take longer
- Leaving the streaming internet connection to the venue's public wifi
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an AV operator, or can I just hire the equipment?
Hire an operator for anything where a failure would be visible to an audience. Equipment-only is reasonable for simple background music. For presentations, panels or anything streamed, the value is someone who can diagnose a dead microphone in seconds rather than a room watching while nobody knows what to do.
How much time does AV setup take?
Often longer than the event. Rigging, cabling, testing and soundchecking a conference setup can take most of a day, and de-rig takes hours more. Confirm the venue's access window before booking, because a late load-in is a common reason setups are rushed and faults go uncaught.
What should I check about the venue?
Power first — available circuits and their capacity — then ceiling height, rigging points, room dimensions and load-in access. Ask whether your supplier has worked there before. A supplier who knows the room will spot constraints that do not appear on any floor plan.
What do I need for a streamed or hybrid event?
A wired internet connection with guaranteed upload bandwidth, not venue wifi, plus an encoder, dedicated audio feed and usually a separate operator for the stream. Agree explicitly who owns the connection, because streaming failures are most often network problems rather than equipment ones.
In a hurry? Booking a AV technician at the last minute covers how late is realistically too late, what to compromise on, and what never to skip.
Often booked together
Ready to book a AV technician?
Post what you need and compare offers from verified AV suppliers near you.