AUDIO: Troubleshooting Classroom Audio

Audience

Employees

Question

How can I get my sound to work in a smart classroom or conference room?

Answer

Check these suggestions if you are having trouble getting audio to play in your classroom.

IF THERE IS NO SOUND: 

• Is there an amplifier in the room? Rooms with ceiling speakers generally will have an amp, rooms with wall mount speakers may not. 
• If there is an amp, make sure it’s on. There will be a green light above the power button on the front of the amp.

• There are two volume controls, one master volume and one labeled for each individual device connected. Make sure that neither of them is turned all the way down.  
• Check the volume on the laptop and make sure it isn’t muted. 
• Check the volume on the video they are playing. 
• If there is a touchscreen in the room, make sure the volume on the touchscreen is up and the sound isn’t muted.

• Try turning the volume up. Sometimes even if it isn’t all the way down it’s too low for a particular video.
• Try switching cables from VGA to HDMI or vice versa. Sometimes the headphone jack may not make a good connection, and switching to the HDMI cable will work. 

IF THE SOUND IS COMING FROM THE LAPTOP RATHER THAN THE ROOM SPEAKERS: 

• If using the VGA cable, make sure the audio cable plugged in. Some laptops display a screen to select what type of device is connected when you plug in an audio cable. Make sure that this window isn’t hidden behind another window waiting for a response.
• If using HDMI output in Windows, check the Sound Control Panel, Crestron should be selected as the playback device. 
• If using HDMI output in MacOS, check the System Preferences->Sound and make sure that HDMI is selected on the Output tab.