Purchasing resources for A/V Carts

When you can't access an audio/visual cart, nothing is worse than lugging your projector through a building for a presentation while making separate trips for presentation notes, briefcase, handouts, laptop, laser pointer and other items. Hopefully, your projector weighs in on the light side, because your audience won't find you very pleasing to watch if you've recently been sweating and are still a little out of breath.

Whether you show movies at school, in a training session or make Power Point presentations to a corporate audience or prospective client, an A/V cart consolidates your belongings and the number of trips you have to make to the presentation room. Additionally, most carts also double as storage carts for AV equipment, so you don't have to store your projector, TV or DVD/VHS player separate from its accessories. As you shop suppliers of A/V carts, keep the following in mind:

1. Buy a portable AV cart with a locking storage cabinet for storing your projector when you're not around.

2. Get an audio/visual cart with adjustable heights that you can tailor to every situation.

3. Check your TV's weight before you shop to ensure it meets a particular cart's weight capacity.

Purchase A/V carts designed for TVs

You'll find numerous suppliers of audio visual carts who provide carts designed specifically to hold a television or viewing monitor. A/V cart suppliers carry carts for both plasma TVs and CRT TVs where the back end sticks out. Mobile AV carts let you conveniently position your television for optimum viewing by the entire audience and then just as easily push the TV out of the way and into a closet when you're not using it.

Buy portable AV carts designed for projectors

When you don't have an AV cart, you can waste a lot of time looking for somewhere to put the projector and then have to find books to place under it because it won't adjust to the height and angle you need. AV carts allow a projector to sit on an elevated platform, and you can push the cart to any location in the room.

Consider renting an A/V cart

Purchasing an A/V cart doesn't always make sense. If you only make a handful of presentations at your place of business in a year, it may make more sense to rent an A/V cart when you need one.

• When you shop for AV cart rentals, check for the company's policy on cancellations. Many companies won't penalize you if you give them at least a one-day notice.