We were on the second day of my client’s meeting, and she came to me to say they were going to have one of their vice presidents call in to present the next session. “Can we set up a speaker phone?” she said. “We could, but what you really want is a Telos.” I replied.
What I actually should have said is a “hybrid telephone system”, but most people in AV refer to them as a “Gentner” or “Telos”, which are name brands.
If you have more than 20 or so people and you’re using a speaker phone, chances are the caller will have trouble hearing all the participants on-site, and they won’t be able to hear the caller. Instead, a hybrid telephone system connects the phone line to your sound system. The on-site attendees hear the caller through the primary speakers, and the caller hears anyone speaking into a microphone.
Of course one of the requirements for a conference call is a phone line. Ideally request one from the venue well in advance. There’s two types of phone lines, analog and digital. It’s possible to work with either, but you’ll want to share that info with your AV partner, or put them in touch directly with the venue. Given a choice many technicians prefer analog because it’s easier to interface with.