Interpreting technology for your physical event: for live events on site

That depends on the room, the number of participants and the number of languages. For conferences with a programme, sound-insulated interpreting booths with radio or infrared transmission are the standard. For guided tours, audits or small groups a mobile tour guide system is usually enough.

Interpreting equipment carries the interpretation: booths, interpreter consoles, transmitters and receivers with headphones. Conference equipment makes sure that everyone in the room can be heard properly in the first place, so microphones, loudspeakers and a mixing desk. At multilingual events the two work together, because only what is spoken clearly into a microphone can be interpreted.

Any language can be interpreted simultaneously as long as it has its own booth and its own channel. Two interpreters work per language, taking turns. Two to six languages are common, and considerably more are possible at large congresses.

A standard booth for two interpreters needs a floor area of roughly 1.60 by 1.60 metres and a position with a clear view of the stage and the screen. Space for the technicians table is needed as well. Where several languages are interpreted, there is one booth per language.

A mobile system consisting of a transmitter microphone and receivers with headphones. The interpreter speaks into the microphone and participants listen through their receivers. It makes simultaneous interpreting possible without a booth and is the usual solution for factory tours, delegation visits and trade fair tours.

In consecutive interpreting the interpretation follows the speaker in sections, so the existing microphone and loudspeaker system is usually enough. Whispered and escort interpreting are simultaneous but work without a booth: here a mobile tour guide system is used, through which small groups listen to the interpretation on headphones.

Yes. The interpretation from the room can be fed into conference platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, so that participants joining online hear the same language channels as the audience in the room. Events of this kind are called hybrid. There is more on our pages about interpreting equipment for hybrid events and interpreting equipment for online events.

No. An AI interpretation also needs a clean audio signal from the room and a way for participants to hear it, either through receivers and headphones or on their own smartphone. The equipment in the room stays the same, whether people or an AI system do the interpreting. There is more on our page about AI interpreters.

That depends on the scale. A mobile interpreting booth with receivers is ready in two to three hours. Where several booths and sound reinforcement are involved, half a day to a full day before the event starts should be allowed. Dismantling is usually quicker but also needs a fixed slot in the schedule.

The price depends on the scale of the system, the number of languages and booths, the duration of the event and the set-up and dismantling. The number of receivers and the venue also play a part. A reliable quote is possible as soon as the date, the venue, the languages and the approximate number of participants are known.

Yes, interpreting and conference equipment can also be hired on its own. The usual and recommended option includes set-up, a test run and technical support on site, because that way faults never reach the audience in the first place. There is more on the page about hiring interpreting and conference equipment.

Typical settings are congresses and specialist conferences in medicine, science and pharmaceuticals, events in politics and association work, annual general meetings and supervisory board meetings, as well as works meetings, town halls and European works councils in industry and business. Factory tours, audits and trade fair appearances are part of it too.