VENUE & CONFERENCE

Practical AV is experienced in delivering Conferencing facilities that are easy to use, aesthetically pleasing and as discreet as required.

With a move towards ‘bring your own’ device, having a user-friendly interface has never been more important.

Whether it is a large-scale PA system, multi-room audio and projection, online conferencing facilities, CCTV, or networking and connectivity we can design a system with you to suit your budget and needs.

We used an RTI control system, with a gen 6 iPad and the RTI panel app. The control program was designed and created using the APEX platform and control over the camera was done using the Janus Technology Lilin driver.

To get the cameras to switch between the screens, with the HDMI input, we used an ATEN 4x4 4K Matrix, controlled via RS-232. The switching and EDID handling is almost instant, allowing fast control mid lesson. The cameras are inputted using two LILIN VD022 decoders, each set up to show only one camera each, this allows the Matrix to see each camera simply as a HDMI source, speeding up the switching.

The star feature of the system is the iPad interface, which has two previews of the cameras embedded on the GUI. This means the teachers can control what the students will see, without leaning around to look at the displays (or having an awkward relay monitor). These previews will change depending on which input is showing on which screen, making the control intuitive as well as reliable.

Old style lighting patch panels were replaced with a new custom 120-way panel, fitted with Neutrik "True 1" Powercon sockets and plugs which are specified for hot switching.

In parallel to the new dimmer circuits, we replaced all DMX cables to rig and stage with high spec Van Damme shielded cables, we added new 4mm speaker cabling throughout, upgraded the old DMX and XLR rack panels to new Neutrik connectors, and fitted a new HD show relay system coupling a CCTV feed to dressing room and common areas.

The bulk of the work was completed within a one-week half-term window in order to prepare the venue for City of Culture 2017 engagements the following week.