TV Carts: Save Money and Host Meetings Anywhere

This will sound familiar: you’re moving into a new office and you’re not sure which rooms need TVs. We can relate. We moved into our current space this past year, and it was impossible to tell in what rooms people would want to use a TV.

Before you know it, you have 14 giant TVs eating up your budget, and people are already complaining about the setup. Don’t panic! We recently went through this and saved a bunch of money. And we did it all with rolling TV carts and whiteboards.

What are the benefits of a TV Cart?

   
• Save cash. Buying 1-3 TVs and carts means you don’t have to buy 8-10 TVs and mounts.
   
• Give people the flexibility that they want. Empower people to hold pop up meetings, anywhere in the office. In our common spaces, we saved at least $10k purchasing mobile TV carts instead of a TV for each one.

🎶 This is how we do it 🎶

   
• TV. We use a 55” Samsung. Here’s a formula to figure out how large your TV should be.
   
• Cart. In this office, we’re big fans of Heckler, as it houses the accessories we use and consolidates the cords into one.
   
• Connectivity. Our TV has Chromecast built in, and many new TVs have some type of Smart TV functionality. You can also purchase an HDMI cable as a fallback.

How to make it a true mobile meeting room:

   
• Video Conferencing. We set up our TV on wheels with Google Meet for Chromebox. Though, there are several options out there like Zoom and more. We use the extra mic that comes with the Chrome kit to make sure everyone in the meeting space has their voice heard.
   
• Whiteboard. Nothing says collaboration like the roving whiteboard. We use Herman Miller’s Exclave. Here’s a less expensive option from Staples, too.

Other things we’ve learned:

   
• Make sure each TV cart has a permanent home. Employees should know to wheel them back to their base after each use. Depending on how large your company is, you may want to have check-in/out policy. You can also make a specific department, team, or colleague responsible for it.
   
• These carts tend to work best for: stand up meetings, informal brainstorming sessions on soft seating, larger events in common spaces, and all-hands meetings. We use our two TV carts, Bert and Ernie, for our all-hands, where we run the presentation on one and screen sharing for remote workers on the other.
   
• Plan to get at least one TV cart per area or level. If conference rooms are too far apart, employees might misuse or underuse the cart.
   
• Keep watch on the usage. So you know if you need to purchase more or upgrade to a permanent set up.

The rolling TV cart tends to really shine in flexible working environments, but we have seen healthy usage in more traditional office environments, too. If you’re having trouble coordinating other aspects of meeting rooms, you should check out Robin’s room booking software.