What does an audio visual technician do?

What is an Audio Visual Technician?

Are you the first person your friends call when they need help setting up their TV or home speakers? This career may be a perfect match for you!

An audio visual technician sets up and fixes audio and video equipment, such as televisions, stereo components, home theatre systems, video projectors and monitors, recording equipment, microphones, and speaker systems.

Audio visual technicians can be found working at concerts, meetings and conventions, presentations, news conferences, sports events, or in an electronics store. They may also spend significant time traveling to homes and places of business.

What does an Audio Visual Technician do?

Audio visual technicians install, troubleshoot, and fine-tune sound and picture quality, ensuring that a client’s entertainment system works at its peak capability. They work on many types of equipment, including customer’s televisions, stereos, satellite dishes, and surround-sound systems.

These technicians may specialize in one or many kinds of products. When working on small portable equipment, such as DVD players and video cameras, technicians generally work in central repair shops.

When repairing less mobile equipment, such as big-screen televisions or video projectors, however, they must travel to the customer’s home or business. If the job is overly complex, technicians may take the equipment back to the shop for further work.

Audio visual technicians generally do the following:

• Install electronic equipment and devices, such as televisions and speaker systems
• Inspect malfunctioning equipment and devices
• Read and interpret electronic circuit diagrams, specifications, and service manuals
• Take apart equipment and repair or replace loose, worn, or defective parts and wiring
• Calibrate, tune, or adjust equipment and instruments to specified performance levels
• Test equipment and parts after installing or repairing them
• Make service calls to customers’ homes
• Bring equipment or parts to shops for major repairs
• Teach customers the safe and proper use of audio and video equipment

An audio visual technician's work involves many different tools. For example, they may use basic hand tools, such as screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches, to disassemble and reassemble components. They may also use more sophisticated diagnostic tools, including multimeters, voltmeters, oscilloscopes, and digital storage scopes to identify electronic malfunctions, such as short circuits and failed capacitors.

Because of the growing complexity of entertainment systems, audio visual technicians frequently consult schematics and manufacturers' specifications for instructions on how to repair certain issues.

What is the workplace of an Audio Visual Technician like?

Depending on the work environment in which an audio visual technician is employed, they may be required to work directly with clients and/or performers to determine their specific audio and video equipment needs.

Given the wide variety of events and projects for which audio and video equipment is necessary, such as home installations, concerts, sporting events, conventions, conferences, and many others, the job opportunities for an audio visual technician are ample.