Pioneering a technological future of hybrid events at IET Birmingham: Austin Court

The IET as an organisation has exerted a worldwide pioneering ability to revolutionise and inspire for almost 150 years

At Austin Court, supported by an unparalleled tech team, we continue to lead the way in redefining the nature of events through innovative AV, placing delegate integration at the forefront.

Austin Court was already well-versed in the streamlined delivery of technical AV long before lockdown.

In recent weeks, the approach of the AV team has been to refute the concept of online streaming as an interim makeshift solution for live events and endorse the elevated importance of interaction through the use of the very best technology to come up with a worthy solution.

To ensure the success of hybrid events

Our AV team has been working closely with video production specialists, Titan Film & Events, integrating popular online meeting platforms into their own AV systems, so online and live audiences can interact simultaneously with presenters and speakers, as well as with each other.

Multi-layer video switchers and digital sound desks allow the management of audio and video coming from different sources and locations and can merge them together in a multilevel communication layout.

The packages offer optional add-ons like Sli.do, which can be embedded into the streaming to encourage interactivity.

AV technology post lockdown will be the stepping-stone towards a more stable live events industry.

Video streaming, webinars, and online meeting platforms will be more and more integrated into our traditional venue-based events, and we needed to find bespoke solutions to include and engage people, rather than making them bare spectators.

As such, it is not about ‘making do’ when we can’t host a full capacity live event, but about enhancing the experience for delegates from afar by making them feel more embedded than ever.

The structure of hybrid events at Austin Court has been built around an online audience

For an all-encompassing online experience, rather than simply persevering with a reduced live event and making the footage available for others to watch.

It is the team’s experience and unparalleled equipment that allow this approach to be executed professionally – something that cannot be replaced by the interim solution of home web-casting that we have all become accustomed to in recent months.