Campus AV on a Budget

Managing AV systems across a university campus can be daunting, especially when budgets are tight. From lecture halls to simulation labs, IT and AV teams need to balance cost, usability, and flexibility while ensuring faculty and students have reliable, high-quality AV experiences.

Catchbox joined the recent AVIXA-hosted webinar where AV leaders from Dublin City University, Imperial College London, and the University of Oxford shared strategies for running campus AV efficiently without overspending. Here are six practical tips from the webinar that can help your campus AV run efficiently on a budget.

Tip 1: Standardize Your Equipment

Standardizing equipment simplifies maintenance, reduces training time, and ensures spare parts can be shared across rooms. It’s especially effective for teams managing multiple spaces with limited staff.

Carolyn Carter, Head of AV at Imperial College London, explained that they use just one or two core designs across their entire estate, saying it “makes life easy for people because they know where all the programs are, they know how the programs are adapted”.

Tip 2: Build Flexibility into Your AV Procurement

While standardization helps, flexibility is just as important when scaling or upgrading. The University of Oxford’s Lewis Logan-Fowler highlighted the importance of maintaining open partnerships with multiple integrators rather than relying on a single vendor.

He noted that with “new projects opening up all the time, we need the flexibility to reach out to different integrators, contractors, and suppliers to meet demand”.

Tip 3: Make Data-Driven Decisions

Before investing in expensive new systems, it’s essential to understand how spaces are actually being used. The University of Oxford recently launched an audit service to assess room performance and target upgrades more effectively.

Lewis explained that it helps departments “go to local teams and say, these are your problem spaces - here’s the solution.” Carolyn Carter added that data also helps justify new requests, noting, “You need to be able to prove that the extra £50,000 is really worth it.”

Tip 4: Consider Mobile AV Solutions

Not every classroom needs a permanent installation. Mobile or trolley-based AV setups can be a flexible and cost-effective backup when permanent systems fail.

Lewis shared that Oxford developed an “emergency mobile teaching platform” - a trolley with a screen, audio, and control system ready to deploy when rooms go down.

Tip 5: Embrace Simpler, Smarter Audio Solutions

As campus AV needs expand, audio systems are becoming increasingly complex. With so many components to integrate, it’s easy to overspend on equipment, installation, and maintenance.

Miķelis Studers, CEO of Catchbox, explained that the company’s mission is to “provide simplicity while combining several technical factors in one solution.” To support this statement, Catchbox recently introduced a full-featured audio processing Hub that delivers the power of a dedicated DSP, a 12-channel automixer, and multi-platform connectivity in one compact, classroom-ready solution.

Tip 6: Collaborate and Share Knowledge

No campus operates in isolation. Collaboration across institutions and with manufacturers helps identify what works, what doesn’t, and where costs can be cut.

Justin Dawson from Dublin City University emphasized that sharing experiences through networks like AVIXA, LTSMG, and others helps everyone make smarter purchasing and design choices.

Conclusion

From standardized hardware to smarter data and flexible procurement, these strategies prove that innovation doesn’t have to come with a premium price tag. Whether you manage 10 classrooms or 2,000, thoughtful planning and collaboration can turn a limited AV budget into a long-term, scalable investment.