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Audiofetch News & Information
Jul 20
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3 Steps to a Better Airport Experience

By | Waiting Rooms, airports | No Comments

Summertime air travel is expected to increase 3.4% over last year, and while the destination can be the reward, what about making the journey more enjoyable as well? Most of the stress of air travel is just a matter of surrendering your time to the process of getting there. For many, this begins by dealing with finding joy and gratitude in getting ready, getting to the airport, and getting on the plane.

The Night Before Your Flight

You’re all packed and have checked in online, now take some time to plan your travel outfit the night before you leave.  No matter how long your flight, you want to be comfortable, so choose your softest, most breathable clothes.  Keep in mind the difference between casual Friday and looking like you spent the last three weeks painting your house – you never know who you might run into at the airport. Being comfortable and looking put together also makes you “look the part” of someone who enjoys travel, which can add a bit more fun to your journey and might even get you some travel perks. If you’re on an international flight, consider packing a change of shirt, underwear and some deodorant wipes, so you can feel a bit more refreshed when you deplane.

Commuting To the Airport

Many of us have had the experience of rushing to the airport, hoping we don’t miss the flight and make the trip even more stressful and expensive. So, one of the best things you can do is allow yourself ample time to travel to the airport. Think of ways you can save yourself time like showering the night before, packing everything you’ll need in your carryon, from a snack to your passport, and if you’re a morning snoozer, try setting your alarm 20 minutes earlier.  If you live in a big city, you need to plan ahead for traffic and unexpected delays like an accident or a freeway closure – even if you are taking a cab or rideshare. If you are driving yourself, don’t forget to plan time for finding a parking spot and grabbing a shuttle to the terminal. The worst thing that could happen if you plan ahead, is that you’ll arrive at the airport so early you’ll actually have time to meander through security and maybe check a few emails before boarding even begins. 

Before You Board

Even inside the airport there is still traffic – the foot kind.  Whether you’re checking bags or headed straight to security, be sure your boarding pass and i.d. are handy. If you planned your travel outfit the night before, hopefully you’re wearing slip on shoes, minimal jewelry and pants that don’t need a belt. These simple steps can really help you breeze through security. 

If you’ve given yourself ample time to arrive at the airport, and have made it through security, you have the option of exploring some of the airport’s comfort options, like restaurants, lounges, televised news & sports, and (if you’re lucky) massage stations.  O’Hare in Chicago has a light show along the moving sidewalk.  Austin’s airport will give you a flavor of the city.  JFK in Queens has a view of the Manhattan skyline.  You can ask if the airport has an observation deck or if you’re on a stopover from an international flight, if the airport has showers. Be sure to pack your headphones and ask if there’s an airport audio streaming system for the televisions around the terminal. A wireless streaming solution that transmits television audio to your smartphone can ensure you hear every word of what’s on screen to help you pass the time while waiting for your flight. 

Finally, be sure to pack some breath mints or pick some up at one of the shops in the terminal. Once you’re finally on the plane, you can offer one to your seatmate as an ice breaker.

Bon voyage.

May 15
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Building Community Through Hearing Assistance

By | Hearing Assistance | No Comments

A new study at Cigna reveals that loneliness is at epic proportions in the United States. The UCLA Loneliness Scale indicated that nearly half of all Americans feel alone; older adults with hearing loss feel isolated, but Gen Z is the loneliest of all. The article suggests that getting enough sleep and exercise can help combat loneliness.

The best way of dealing with loneliness is to have a sense of community. Learning, work, and friendship are important aspects of living a full life and not understanding another person’s language or having trouble hearing them creates isolation. Without language translation or hearing assistance, people tend to congregate in their own groups and this creates exclusion. However, there are many locations for community building already in place: schools, churches, senior centers, sporting events and the workplace, to name a few. The key is to create social and cultural inclusion so that everyone feels welcome and understood.

Beyond addressing loneliness, there are benefits of cultural and language inclusion. It’s been proven that children who are taught in their own language learn faster and make better grades, and companies with inclusive policies have higher earnings.

A sporting event bypasses cultural and language barriers as well as hearing impairments, and sharing a game can bond a group. Audio streaming for bars and restaurants is a great way to include everyone, no matter which team they are rooting for. Not only that, many adults do not wish to admit that they have a hearing impairment as it implies disability, so offering an audio solution that helps groups to bond can make it easier for those with hearing disabilities to feel safe to ask for what they need.

To create stronger community at church and help to overcome language barriers, the congregation can use assisted listening devices for churches to translate the entire sermon into the non-dominant language so that parishioners understand what it’s like to hear in a language that they may not fully understand. Plus, those with hearing impairments can feel more included if they are able to use an audio streaming device with earbuds so that they don’t miss a word of the service no matter what language it’s in.

We hope that you will help to address the issue of loneliness by entering into a community or creating one that will show kindness to others. If you’d like to learn more about how our audio solutions could help, contact us.

Apr 22
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Level Up Your Next Field Trip with a WiFi PA System

By | Education, Hearing Assistance, Theater, Tour Guides | No Comments

Most students enjoy taking a field trip because it offers more time to socialize, it breaks up the routine of the classroom, and they don’t have to eat in the cafeteria! But field trips are also beneficial to learning because they expand a child’s awareness of the world and they help with memory.

According to a study at the University of Arkansas, taking a field trip to a live theater performance enhanced literary knowledge, tolerance and empathy among students. And, a recent study by Emilyn Ruble Whitesell at New York University, showed that middle-school students who participated in science field trips scored higher on a standardized science test. Ruble believes that this is because field trips and hands-on learning make concepts more memorable.

These studies point to the fact that field trips are beneficial for students on multiple levels, but that’s only if you can manage to keep students engaged. Increased class sizes can make many field trip groups difficult to manage, and with budget cuts it’s important to find an economical solution that makes the most of readily available resources like a student’s smartphone. A personal PA system for teachers or field trip guides, one with built in WiFi, can transmit audio from the speaker directly to a student’s smart device.

With a wireless tour guide system from AudioFetch, students can have the freedom to roam during a field trip while staying connected to the teacher or tour guide providing vital information about the experience. It can also keep students hands free to take notes, and because they use their own devices, the school doesn’t have to budget for upkeep on headsets or another type of wireless tour guide system. Finally, with built in WiFi, educators are empowered to take their class anywhere and ensure that learning is uninterrupted by others in the area.

If you’re an educator and want to learn more, contact us to find out if an AudioFetch personal PA system could help you level up your next field trip.

And don’t forget, we’re in the final weeks of our #WHYIGUIDE tour guide giveaway! To enter, record a video (<30 seconds) explaining why you love being a tour guide, and post it to our Facebook page or upload the video to your Instagram profile, and use the hashtags: #WhyIGuide and #TourGuideLife. Every video uploaded between March 18 and April 30 with those hashtags is automatically entered, and the winner will be chosen at random in May. Full rules and eligibility. 


Mar 12
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Addressing the Issue of Hearing Loss

By | AudioFetch News, Hearing Assistance | No Comments

Before installing an audio streaming solution to help your customers hear the audio they want, it’s important to be educated about the effects of hearing loss. Of the five human senses, hearing is the one that allows people to communicate with friends, family and coworkers and to enjoy entertainment. When we hear well it is a blessing, yet astonishingly, 1 in every 8 people over the age of 12 in the US has hearing loss in both ears. Age is a factor in hearing loss, particularly for people over 60, and men in that age group are twice as likely to suffer severe hearing loss as women.  

Hearing problems have significant effects on a person’s social life and sense of well being. Imagine the college student that can’t find a seat at the front of that huge classroom to hear the professor, or the parent attending their child’s school play, or one of your buddies who has joined you at the local pub to enjoy game day. Some people aren’t even aware that they have suffered hearing loss and when they do find out, it is very difficult to admit to others.  Oftentimes, people are reluctant to wear a hearing aid–afraid of the stigma or perception associated with them–which is why those with hearing loss can feel isolated.

Recognizing this chronic problem, some theaters such as Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse, are now offering open-captioned films for hearing impaired moviegoers.  While captioning is helpful in a movie theater, it’s not available for other group entertainment – concerts, speeches, rallies, lectures, plays, sports games, etc.  In those instances, WiFi audio streaming system would be more helpful.

Offering your hearing-impaired customers a solution that streams audio over WiFi to their cell phone provides a discreet and helpful way for them to hear what they want wherever they may be. If you’d like to learn more about audio solutions from AudioFetch, contact us!

Feb 19
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Watching Sports is Great for Your Health

By | Sports Bars, AudioFetch News, Business, Fitness Centers, Food for thought, Restaurants, streaming | No Comments

Sports fanatics everywhere rejoice! According to ScienceAlert, there’s research proving that watching sports is actually healthy for you.  

Vaughan Macefield, Professor of Integrative Physiology in the School of Medicine at University of West Sydney says, “We know that the sympathetic nervous system – which supplies the heart, sweat glands and blood vessels increases its activity during actual exercise, and now we have shown that it increases when you are watching a [runner] as if you were running yourself.”  

This means that your body gets a small workout just from watching a game. While watching your favorite team won’t replace real exercise, the research also proves that watching sports is an encouragement to get off the couch and break a sweat.

Watching your favorite team has psychological benefits as well. Sports psychologist William Wiener, PhD says that “People who root and are attached to their teams are less depressed than those who are uninvolved.”

Watching sports builds camaraderie with your friends which helps you live longer, builds identity with your community, and the entertainment factor is stress-relieving. Sports fans are also less lonely and have higher self-esteem. Best of all, watching sports with your partner can be good for your relationship (especially if your team wins!).   

So put on that face paint and join your friends at the local sports tavern for game day and have some healthy fun.

If you’d like to make your establishment an even better spot to catch any televised sporting event, contact us to learn about AudioFetch’s WiFi audio streaming equipment.

Jan 11
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What Type of Businesses Can Benefit from AudioFetch?

By | Dining, Education, General, Restaurants, Waiting Rooms | No Comments

Churches, fitness centers and sports bars already know the benefit of offering AudioFetch to their guests. But they’re not the only venues that can take advantage of wireless audio streaming. If your audience needs to hear, or hear better–regardless of who or where they are–AudioFetch is a great addition.

Below are 12 other types of businesses and organizations that use our wifi audio streaming systems:

1. Warehouses/Factory Floors
Giving your factory employees something to listen to while they work has been shown to improve employee morale and increase productivity. But you don’t want them getting distracted by allowing personal music selections or giving them internet access. That’s where AudioFetch shines–it provides audio entertainment for all employees, while eliminating the ability to surf the web. A win-win for employers and employees alike!

2. Coworking Spaces
Coworking spaces are popping up in large cities and small towns around the world. These shared business communities provide all the comfort and convenience of a traditional office without the major overhead, plus they inspire networking and collaboration amongst the various tenants through simple proximity and planned events. And most coworking spaces go the extra mile to have the most innovative technology and best office perks. AudioFetch addresses both of these benefits–using convenient, advanced technology to bring improve audio streaming for listening throughout the day, or broadcasting special events and announcements.

3. Fitness Trainers
A fitness instructor’s voice is their most powerful tool when leading a class. Their words ensure that students are performing the exercises accurately and safely, and help to keep them motivated throughout the class. So it’s imperative that students can hear the instructor, regardless of what exercise they’re doing and where the class is taking place. FetchExpress is a fitness instructor portable sound system that makes the instructor’s most powerful tool–their voice–even stronger.

If you are a fitness instructor or personal trainer, check out our blog “Boost Your Fitness Business with a Portable PA System” to learn more about how AudioFetch can help you get more students and keep them coming back.

4. Tour Guides
Tour guides typically operate in a very noisy environment (i.e., public space or tourist attraction) with lots of distractions or a very quiet environment (i.e., museum or library), where they risk becoming the distraction. In either situation, tour groups can find it difficult to hear their narrative. FetchExpress solves both of these challenges. The small portable wireless audio guide can be easily strapped to a belt or carried in a bag or hand, along for the ride with every step or mile traveled on the tour. People on the tour then use their smartphones to login on the wireless network integrated into the FetchExpress, and use the AudioFetch app to hear the tour guide’s voice. Voila! Everyone on the tour can hear and everyone else in the museum stops throwing the stink eye and shushing.

5. Doctor or Dentist Offices
The waiting room at healthcare office sometimes feels as painful as the actual visit with the doctor. By offering entertainment options with local wifi audio streaming, you can make that experience more comfortable for your patients. Then, when their appointment time comes up, they’ll be more relaxed and amiable when visiting with your staff.

6. Court Room Jury Selection Wait Rooms
Most people loathe jury duty. Even worse, though, is waiting all day in the selection room but never having your number called. Again, offering entertainment via mounted TVs around the room can make the experience a bit more pleasant for the potential jurors. And, with any luck, the next time they receive a summons in the mail, they will be ever so slightly more enthusiastic about showing up.

7. DMV
Where else do people wait for long periods of time? The dreaded DMV, of course! Offering entertainment choices on multiple TVs can make the experience a little less dreadful. The wait won’t feel as long, creating a more pleasant experience for the folks waiting and, subsequently, for the employees they’ll eventually work with. Another win-win!

8. Theaters/Concert Halls
Audio is tough in cavernous theaters and concert halls. You want every seat in the house to hear the performance perfectly, but ambient noise, echoes, hearing impairments and numerous other factors make it seem impossible to ensure that perfection. Wireless assistive listening devices for theaters gets you as close as possible to perfect. Each guest, no matter if they’re right behind the pit or in the very last row of the top balcony, can listen to the performance at the level they prefer through their smartphone. And no cumbersome, un-hygenic portable receivers to checkout and in.

9. Outdoor Movie Nights
Outdoor movie nights are a great way to bring the community together for a fun, family-friendly event. But the neighbor trying to sleep before a graveyard shift who’s kept awake by the massive explosions of The Martian or catchy tunes of Grease won’t think they’re so fun. Rather than using public speakers, allow viewers to listen to the films’ audio through the AudioFetch app, creating a more community-friendly event for the audience and the neighborhood.

10. Marketplaces/Food Halls
Marketplaces and food halls are a hot new trend in the foodservice industry. Inspired by long-standing European markets, they’re popping up all over the United States, bringing a convenient, fun and artisanal vibe to dining out and shopping for groceries. Most marketplaces are found in revamped warehouses, and contain a central bar, coffee shop, bakery, butcher and numerous other boutique shops and restaurants. The old warehouses are ideal for space, but not ideal for noise. AudioFetch can allow guests to listen to mounted TVs while they enjoy a drink and dinner, or tune out the crowd din with local music broadcasts while trying to work from the coffee shop.

11. Craft Breweries & Tap Rooms
Craft breweries, and even cider houses and local vintners, use mounted televisions in their tap rooms to provide entertainment and announcements to their guests. With AudioFetch, those guests can listen to the TVs without being distracted by or distracting others. It’s the same idea behind the bar entertainment systems that our sports bar and restaurant customers have found so useful.

12. Community Centers
With the numerous classes, workshops, clubs, meetings and events, community centers can find near innumerable uses for local audio streaming. Whenever guests need to hear better during a townhall meeting or quilting class, the AudioFetch system and portable FetchExpress make it easier and more convenient.

With real-time audio streaming, multiple input types, up to 64 channels, hassle free installation, the option for integrated WiFi, and go-anywhere portability, our audio streaming solutions can be used by just about any business or organization.

Don’t see your business listed here? Not to worry! Contact us today to learn how we can help you create a better experience for your guests and grow your business.