Quick Answer: An executive boardroom AV upgrade should address display resolution (minimum 4K at 86 inches for a 20-foot table), microphone coverage (beamforming array or distributed ceiling mics), camera quality (auto-framing PTZ), and one-touch control via Crestron. Restrepo Innovations upgrades boardrooms in NJ and Manhattan with zero-learning-curve operation for every participant.
The boardroom had been built a decade earlier, when a ceiling-mounted projector throwing onto a pull-down screen was the standard answer for executive conference spaces. By the time we were called in, the projector lamp was failing for the third time, the analog audio system produced feedback during calls, and the control interface. a series of wall-mounted buttons with no logical grouping. required a laminated cheat sheet to operate. The room was used for board meetings and investor presentations. It had stopped performing at that level years before.
The challenge was not just the technology. The firm occupied the building full time. We had no access during business hours, limited overnight windows, and could not tear open walls without restoring finished surfaces by morning. Every aspect of the project plan was built around minimizing impact on a functioning office. the same kind of discipline we describe in our post on what rack day actually looks like.
<.-- BEGIN newsletter inline block (proxy v2) --> <.-- END newsletter inline block (proxy v2) -->What We Removed
The ceiling projector and its associated mount, the pull-down screen, approximately 200 feet of aging RG6 and unshielded Cat5 cabling, three analog audio mixers, a VHS/DVD combo unit that had not been touched in five years, and a control system processor that was three generations out of support. None of it was serviceable to modern standards. Keeping any of it and working around it would have created more problems than starting clean.
Cable removal in an occupied commercial ceiling is careful work. Every run was traced and documented before removal, the ceiling tiles were handled individually and relabeled for reinstallation, and any penetration that was patched was matched to the existing finish. By 7:00 AM each morning, the room looked untouched.
The Replacement System
The display strategy shifted from projection to direct view. Two Samsung QM85B 85-inch commercial displays were installed on a custom dual-display wall mount at the head of the table. side by side, with minimal gap. Combined, they create an effective viewing surface of over 14 feet. Brightness is consistent across the room regardless of ambient light, which a projector in a windowed conference space can never reliably deliver.
Conferencing runs on Biamp Tesira: a DSP platform with proper acoustic echo cancellation, auto-mixing across eight ceiling microphones, and integration with Microsoft Teams and Zoom at the system level rather than through a laptop audio driver. The difference is significant. Remote participants report hearing the room clearly. Local participants hear remote audio through ceiling-mounted speakers without feedback or variable levels as people move around the table.
“The worst thing you can do in a boardroom is make the technology the thing people are talking about. When a presentation drops, when a call sounds terrible, when nobody can figure out how to share their screen — those moments undermine the room’s purpose. The system should be invisible.” __EMDASH_PROTECT_0__
Control and Scheduling
Control is Crestron, with a Crestron TSW-770 touchpanel recessed into the credenza surface at the head of the table. The interface was programmed specifically for this room: a presentation mode, a videoconference mode, and a display-off state. No submenus, no source-juggling, no instructions required. The same touchpanel integrates with Crestron room scheduling. a panel outside the door shows occupancy status and allows ad hoc booking without accessing the calendar system. For a broader look at what Crestron control delivers in conference environments, see our post on conference room AV that actually works.
Cable management throughout was addressed with surface-mounted raceways in a finish matching the millwork, low-profile floor boxes at the table positions, and a redesigned AV credenza with proper ventilation for the rack components inside. The room finished cleaner than it started.
Working in Occupied Space
Commercial retrofit work demands a discipline that new-construction projects do not. The scheduling, the phased approach, the daily restoration of the workspace. these are project management capabilities, not just technical ones. We delivered this project across three overnight installation phases with no disruption to the client’s operations and no punch-list items at commissioning.
If your conference spaces are limiting your team’s ability to communicate, present, and collaborate, the technology infrastructure is likely the root of it. Our commercial practice designs and installs boardroom and conference AV that performs at the level these rooms are intended for.