Alibaba's Hujing Digital Media & Entertainment Group Studios has unveiled a new AV production facility at the company's Beijing headquarters, designed in partnership with WSDG. The expansive complex, featuring four specialized control rooms, a large live room, and multiple isolation booths, represents a significant infrastructure enhancement for the audio, video, and gaming content development arm of the global ecommerce platform.

[SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2025]

As the creative engine behind Alibaba's vast cultural and entertainment offerings, Hujing Digital Media & Entertainment Group Studios, which includes YOUKU and Damai Entertainment Group, required a production facility capable of supporting its diverse content creation demands for both users and industry partners. The decision to commission a comprehensive new AV production facility reflected the studio group's commitment to infrastructure that could match the scale and ambition of its operations.

WSDG was selected as the design partner for the project based on its global reputation in acoustic and AV technology consulting and design. The firm was entrusted with a complete recording studio design and systems package, including master planning, acoustic design, technical interior design, and AV systems design. Beyond the technical requirements, WSDG was also tasked with defining the visual identity of the facility as a whole, while giving each studio section its own unique character matched to its specific purpose.

Led by Silvia Molho, partner and art director, and Víctor Cañellas (Weike), China senior representative, with the effort supported by many other team members, WSDG delivered a creative environment spread across multiple distinct production areas, each aligned with Hujing Digital Media & Entertainment Group's varied content focuses. The design prioritizes high-quality acoustical control while incorporating abundant natural lighting and a warm interior aesthetic to foster a bright, artistic atmosphere conducive to creative work.

“The design approach combined Alibaba’s vision for minimalist, modernist spaces with the complex technical demands of world-class AV production,” said Molho, who spearheaded the studios’ design development. “Each control room was designed as a unique entity with its own spatial logic, yet all maintain visual cohesion through light wood details and custom technical furniture. The curved ceilings and flowing soffits were not only aesthetic choices—their geometries were precisely shaped to enhance acoustic and visual performance. Lighting plays a defining role, following the orientation of the acoustic treatment to emphasize structure and add movement through subtle changes in luminance and color.”

The facility's architecture provides a one-stop, full-chain service for film and television audio post-production, significantly enhancing overall work efficiency, reducing communication costs, and allowing creative teams to maintain focus on the work itself.

Each of the four control rooms serves a specialized purpose with equipment and design choices carefully matched to its intended use. Control Room A serves as the music production hub, featuring an AMS Neve Genesys Black G4 Console with ATC SCM300ASL Pro and Amphion Dolby Atmos monitoring configured for 9.1.6 production. The space embraces a clean, minimalist design with cream coloring, embedded LED lighting, and warm wooden flooring. A raised circular platform with comfortable seating allows artists to participate comfortably during mixing sessions.

Control Room B is designated for ADR vocal recording, with a smaller performance space located directly behind it. It includes a Kali Dolby Atmos Monitor System configured for 7.1.4. Both Control Rooms A and B feature ample sightlines to the live rooms and iso booths, maintaining crucial visual connection between engineers and talent. Control Room B features a clean white design with a futuristic aesthetic.

Control Room C, the larger of the two immersive mixing rooms, includes an Avid/CB Electronics Mix Controller and Genelec 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos Monitoring System. The space adopts a darker aesthetic with circular ceiling details and LED lighting, while Control Room D, also configured as an immersive mix room, includes a Kali 7.1.4 Atmos Monitoring System.

“A soft white palette dominates most areas, allowing light to shape the ambience, while progressively darker tones in certain control rooms optimize visual work for film and video mixing,” explained Molho. “We worked meticulously on every ceiling, wall, and object to ensure that every detail serves a technical and sensory purpose. Within the simple structures of the Alibaba building, we created a technical interior that offers a true journey for the senses.”

The success of the project reflected exceptional collaboration between all parties involved. “Our collaboration with WSDG has given us a deep appreciation of their exceptional professionalism,” shared Alibaba's Hujing Digital Media & Entertainment Group Studios team. “They took the time to truly listen and understand our needs, and every step, from design to implementation, was carried out with rigor, attention to detail, and thoughtful consideration.

“The final space is not only functionally sound but also reflects a profound understanding of sound and art, filled with creativity and inspiration. More than just a workplace, it feels like a vessel that energizes and nurtures creation. We look forward to using this space to work alongside peers, focusing steadily on producing more meaningful and impactful work.”

The Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in Rochester, NY offers accelerated, career-focused programs for students seeking a direct path into the business world. In just nine months, a vacant call center was transformed into a modern learning environment with flexible classrooms, a multi-use Forum, and a hands-on AI Beta Lab thanks to AV integrator Solutionz. The SCN Top 50 Systems Integrator led the technology deployment, collaborating closely with CJS Architects, the Golisano leadership team, and Cardan Solomon & Associates (CSA), the manufacturers' representative firm for SoundTube Entertainment, to design and install an advanced audiovisual infrastructure that’s as functional as it is future-ready.

[Enabling Immersive Classrooms]

To support Golisano’s vision of interactive, tech-forward instruction, CSA recommended SoundTube’s Dante-enabled IPD4 and CM62-BGM-II in-ceiling speakers for the classrooms, Forum, and open collaboration areas. Each instructional space uses a single PoE drop to power and network the lead IPD4 speaker, which drives up to three additional CM62 speakers. This configuration delivers even sound coverage without requiring external amplifiers, which is an important benefit in an environment where clean design and operational simplicity are top priorities.

“It’s a low-cost, high-impact solution: four speakers per drop, fewer cables, and no extra amplifiers,” explained Jeff Clark, account executive at Solutionz. “SoundTube helped us achieve professional-grade audio that blends into the ceiling that’s ideal for Golisano’s sleek, modern learning spaces.”

The system is fully integrated with the Institute’s Q-SYS control network, allowing seamless audio routing, zone management, and hybrid presentation support. In the Forum, used for guest lectures, large presentations, and overflow events, additional SoundTube speakers were easily added via network extension, maintaining aesthetic integrity while scaling audio coverage.

Designed to be intuitive for both instructors and students, the SoundTube solution supports the Institute’s commitment to collaborative, real-world learning. Zoned audio control provides consistent sound across diverse teaching styles and room layouts, while Dante-enabled networking makes it easy to expand or reconfigure as the campus grows.

“From classrooms to open gathering areas, our SoundTube solution delivers clarity and coverage without complication,” said Peter Melvin, VP at SoundTube. “This project demonstrates how the right audio foundation can elevate the entire learning experience.”

SoundTube’s role fits within a larger AV ecosystem that includes: Q-SYS for control and audio processing; AVPro Edge’s MXNet platform for IP-based video distribution; and T1V ThinkHub software and Avocor interactive displays for real-time collaboration.

All elements work together to support flexible learning environments, consistent user experiences, and seamless scalability. For students and faculty, that means technology that just works, whether presenting in the Forum or brainstorming in small teams.

With SoundTube’s audio technology as a cornerstone, the Golisano Institute now offers students a consistent, high-quality AV experience that mirrors today’s professional environments. The system supports hybrid learning, interactive instruction, and experimental applications in the AI Beta Lab that prepare students to lead in the modern workforce.

Global asset management firm AllianceBernstein (AB) recently unveiled its new, 189,000-square-foot office in New York City’s Hudson Yards. Located in The Spiral skyscraper, the interior spans four floors with outdoor terraces on each level and includes an open floor plan with mixed-use meeting areas, event space, and communal work cafés.

The AB team retained global architecture firm Gensler to design the office, and worked with them to help create a workplace aesthetic inspired by New York City’s vibrant energy. As described by Gensler, the new space is a fully integrated digital-physical experience that reflects the firm’s commitment to innovation and adaptability, as well as its leadership navigating the evolving digital landscape.

The Dreamwall

This vision comes to life in AB’s Client Reception Hub, where a 30-foot-wide and 9-foot-high Planar DirectLight Pro Series LED video wall with a 1.2mm pixel pitch serves as a living art piece. Known as the Dreamwall, the installation harnesses AI to generate ever-changing visual content. A meticulously trained AI engine generates digitally sourced, visually captivating, and brand-aligned imagery that unfurls approximately every 2 minutes, according to Gensler.

The AI system was developed through a creative process that involved curating over 12,000 images to define an algorithmic approach consistent with AB’s brand identity. The Dreamwall also incorporates custom TouchDesigner effects and LIDAR motion sensing, enabling it to respond to human movement in real time. And by pressing the “next” button, users can manually prompt the next dreamscape.

Bruce Manning, associate principal at Cerami and Associates, was the project consultant responsible for the AV design. “Resolution was critical with the Dreamwall because everything being generated is resolution-dependent,” he said. “In addition to interactive experiential design, the Dreamwall also functions as a presentation system. It integrates in the space like a natural extension of the architecture.”

Beautiful and Built to Last

A second Planar LED array—a nearly 36-foot-wide, 7-foot-high Planar DirectLight Ultra Series LED video wall with a 0.9mm pixel pitch—was installed in a nearby multipurpose room. With the video wall able to be split into multiple configurations, the display provides a flexible, high-resolution LED canvas for supporting uses such as presentations, meetings, or Microsoft Teams applications, according to Joe Hakiem, senior project manager with Forte’, which performed the video wall integrations.

“The Planar LED video walls blend perfectly with the beautiful interior design, bringing the space to life,” Hakiem said. “I’ve been working with Planar for nearly 10 years, and every project delivers the customizations, brightness, and clarity that the client expects.”

According to Manning, the Planar LED video walls provide flexibility and connectivity between the systems to meet the client’s needs. “They can accommodate a wide range of events—from trainings and receptions to banquets and TED-style talks,” he said.

With the new office located on the 24th floor, Manning stressed the importance of proper mounting to safeguard the video wall systems from the natural sway of high-rise buildings over time, which can cause seams and cracks or damage components. “We brought in rp Visual Solutions [based in Anaheim, California] to design structural mounts—and in close coordination with Planar and Forte, the displays were engineered for long-term reliability,” he said.

Hakiem emphasized how, as is the case with every Planar project, the manufacturer’s logistics and team support were critical to the timely completion of the AB installation. “This was a high-profile project with a very tight deadline, and it required a lot of coordination across the trades in order to deliver on time,” he said. “That’s where Planar really excels. The flexibility and assistance they provide is what sets them apart.”

Headquartered in Puyallup, WA, Builders Capital has grown into one of the nation’s largest private construction lenders, surpassing $15 billion in lifetime originations and fueling residential development projects from coast to coast. To support its expanding East Coast client base, Builders Capital recently opened its new regional headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL., upgraded with quality sound from LEA Professional.

[The Power of Predictable Audio Performance]

Its new regional headquarters includes a 2,000-square-foot training and conference facility designed for both internal development and client engagement. To deliver a premium experience in this space, Builders Capital tapped The Audio Visual Group, who integrated a flexible, high-performance sound system powered by LEA Professional amplifiers.

Shayne Ettienne, owner of The Audio Visual Group, designed and installed the audio system and knew that LEA amplifiers would be perfect to power the large room. “We love LEA amplifiers. They’re so powerful, and also literally a DSP that has amp features in it,” said Ettienne. “Because of its flexibility and the fact that we can control it without needing an external DSP, we've been using them in all kinds of scenarios. For Builders Capital, the combination of management tools, physical size, and quiet fan operation made them a perfect fit for the installation.”

The Audio Visual Group deployed Connect Series 354 amplifiers, designed with LEA Cloud built in, to power the training room’s 12 Tannoy OCV 6 coaxial pendant loudspeakers. The IoT-enabled 4-channel CS354 provides 350 watts per channel, supports Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel, and features Smart Power Bridge technology. Connect Series also includes 96kHz DSP, which is standard in all models and offers a range of benefits that significantly enhance audio performance and system versatility. Presets in the Crestron control system were used to switch the room between training and conferencing setups, which was made possible by LEA’s open API and the Crestron LEA Plugin. Elements of the amplifier can be monitored and adjusted via the API, allowing customers to integrate the Connect Series amplifiers with 3rd party equipment to create almost limitless, custom AV solutions.

As a financial services company, attention to detail is critical. Therefore, when Builders Capital trains staff on new offerings or works with clients, the training room’s audio must be crystal clear to ensure that nothing is missed, and everyone hears the same information. With LEA amplifiers, Builders Capital is well-equipped to grow its business with confidence in its audio system.

“We’ve used LEA amplifiers in many projects and look forward to working with them in many more projects in the future,” said Etienne. “They’re a great product with fabulous power offerings per rack space, full DSP, and best of all, great people. I highly recommend them.”

Ericsson has upgraded its 300-seat auditorium at its North American headquarters in Plano, TX, delivering a seamless and professional presentation environment powered by tvONE and Green Hippo solutions.

[Video Walls of Knowledge]

The project, led by the executive team at Audio Visual Dallas, replaced outdated projection and switching systems with technology designed to ensure flawless visuals for both in-person and remote audiences. Under the direction of Dave Pollock and Jason Nix, with support from operations manager Allie Stewart, Audio Visual Dallas managed the project from design and programming through installation and commissioning.

“Before upgrading, the auditorium housed a less-than-ideal setup,” explained Nix. “The main visual was a decade-old rear-projection screen supported by two 85-inch LCD displays. Presenters relied on small floor monitors for their notes, while two projectors on the back wall served as confidence monitors. The entire system ran on a standard HDMI matrix switcher.”

Initially tasked with a straightforward equipment refresh, Audio Visual Dallas quickly recognized the need to fully transform the user and audience experience. At the heart of the redesigned space is a 32x18-foot video wall.

“A major challenge with traditional switching is the jarring ‘no signal’ blue screen that appears during source changes,” Nix continued. “This brief but disruptive interruption can break a presenter’s momentum and distract the audience. To eliminate this, we specified a solution powered by tvONE and Green Hippo to provide flawless, instantaneous transitions, keeping attention locked on the content and the presenter.”

The installation includes a tvONE CALICO PRO as the main video controller and a Green Hippo Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Server. “We chose the CALICO PRO because it can seamlessly drive multiple displays at different resolutions simultaneously,” said Pollock. “To keep operation simple, we condensed the system’s advanced capabilities into a handful of presets. From the front-of-house control booth, operators can trigger complex layouts with a single command, eliminating technical distractions.”

The Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 was chosen for its ability to deliver flawless, high-resolution playback of video and images during live events. “Its power lies in mapping media across multiple outputs, which are then seamlessly distributed by the tvONE system,” Pollock added. “It’s a perfect pairing for visual excellence.”

The Hippotizer and Zookeeper software are housed in the main sound booth, giving the technical team an intuitive platform to run cues and collaborate during events. “The Boreal+ MK2 is essential for creating the right on-stage atmosphere, from seamless video backdrops and lower thirds to dynamic 4K visuals,” Nix noted.

The new system is designed for maximum versatility, easily handling Microsoft Teams calls, laptop presentations, 4K media, and multi-camera video. Its intuitive interface allows in-house staff to operate the system with ease, whether for boardroom meetings or large-scale productions.

With the upgrade, presentations are now described as “flawless and professional,” with smooth transitions between speakers, video and Teams calls. This reliability has boosted staff confidence, enabling them to explore new, creative ways of engaging their audiences.

"Both the tvONE and Green Hippo systems were straightforward to install, commission and program,” Pollock concluded. “We needed minimal manufacturer support, but when we did, the assistance was prompt and expert. Their quick, accurate responses ensured the project stayed on track.”

For modern workspace providers, ensuring consistent user experiences and a true bring-your-own-device (BYOD) meeting set-up is a top priority. London-based integrators, Tateside has collaborated with British furniture designer Matthew Hill on a custom screen shroud solution to meet common meeting space challenges.

[How to Deal with 'Hybrid Permanence']

Per Andy Sullivan, co-founder at Tateside, one of the most common issues encountered is users disconnecting devices, such as videoconferencing hardware, from the meeting room screens and plugging in their own devices.

While Tateside had already installed several videoconference systems, users still had the ability to remove cables and render the system functionless without intervention. Working closely with Matthew Hill, Sullivan and the team developed a shroud constructed of moisture-resistant substrate, finished in a matt black high-pressure laminate.

The shroud has been designed to be flat-packed for global deliveries and has pre-machined threaded mounting points for screen brackets and UC video bars, allowing for quick installation and alignment. It also comes with an acoustically transparent material to hide the UC bar behind.

The enclosures come in a range of sizes to fit screen sizes from 50-75 inches and to co-house Cisco Room Bars up to a 55-inch screen and Cisco Room Bar Pro models up to an 85-inch screen. The shroud fully encloses the screen and its peripherals, ensuring users cannot remove cables and therefore disrupt the room’s AV system setup. The shroud can be customized in a multitude of finishes, including wood grains, making it a stylish addition to any modern meeting space.

“What might seem like a minor inconvenience stacks up to a resource drain for onsite personnel having to continually reconnect and set up the room, resulting in unwanted downtime,” concluded Sullivan. “With the custom screen shroud, we’re not only solving the problem but providing a solution that complements the interior design and can be rolled out across dozens of sites, globally.”

Thanks to Extron's versatile NAV Pro AV over IP system and mobile modular furniture, the Caldwell County School System has elevated its humble meeting room into a hub of innovation and collaboration. The school system, located in North Carolina, equipped their boardroom with a modern audiovisual system that shows meeting agendas and presentations on multiple screens around the room for those attending in-person and streams broadcasts of board meetings to viewers attending meetings virtually.

[Video Walls of Knowledge]

Constantly booked, the venue hosts community forums, teacher in-service training sessions, K-12 classes, and monthly school board meetings. Eight AV-equipped workstations line the walls of the room. The workstations independently originate and display AV content shareable to the other workstations and to the Internet. Each workstation has a unique color ID, signified by the color of the buttons on its touchpanel user interface.

"People from other North Carolina school districts and neighboring states have attended meetings in this room, and they are definitely impressed," said Cody Greene, technology director at Caldwell County School System, who operates and maintains the AV system. "The AV system is rock solid in continuous day-to-day operation, and the only maintenance performed has been planned upgrades and operator interface changes."

Specifically, the room has eight AV content origination workstations and eight displays. A NAV Pro AV over IP 1 Gbps network links all displays to all content origination workstations, allowing any source to be shown on any or all of the displays. NAV encoders and scaling decoders provide ingress and egress to the IP network to switch and transport AV content from the sources to the displays.

Displays are spaced equidistant around the room, two on each wall. Two of the displays are 86-inch touchscreens. The other six are 98-inch displays. The touchscreen displays are used in teaching sessions where instructors can interact with the content shown on the screen. They are mounted on opposite walls so that classes can be held at either end of the room. The 98-inch displays are used during board meetings and community events to provide easily readable information to crowds or to provide background ambiance or informational images.

To support active learning and other use cases where people collaborate in small groups and also share to neighboring groups in the room, each workstation has its own display, PC, NAV encoder, NAV scaling decoder, and TouchLink Pro touchpanel. ShareLink Pro wireless presentation systems allow wireless sharing from portable devices.

"One reason we selected ShareLink is because a lot of the people who meet and collaborate in this room have Chromebooks," said Patrick Morgan, director, network and video technologies Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. "We pretested the casting capability of Chromebook with ShareLink, and it worked well. ShareLink also simplifies the AV system design and saves on additional equipment purchases because it has a built-in switcher to transfer between wired and wireless content sharing."

Multicolor LED light strips controlled by the AV system backlight the top and bottom of each station display to indicate at a glance which station is originating the content appearing on the screen. The bottom backlight shows the workstation's own color ID, while the top backlight shows the color ID of the workstation supplying the displayed content. The district’s in-house IT/AV team designed, installed, programmed and operates the boardroom AV system.

A recent rollout at Australia’s GPT Space&Co features Sennheiser’s TeamConnect Ceiling (TCC) microphone technology as the backbone of a scalable AV setup that supports today’s hybrid workforce. In partnership with AV integrator Programmed, the GPT Space&Co meeting rooms were outfitted with Sennheiser’s TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC 2) and the newer TeamConnect Ceiling M (TCC M) microphones across key spaces, enabling clear, reliable, and automated audio in any room layout.

Unlike traditional co-working models, GPT Space&Co focuses exclusively on premium meeting and event rooms, with technology designed to be as invisible and intuitive as possible. In 2024, GPT Space&Co opened four new A-Grade sites, including a flagship at 181 William Street in Melbourne, which was designed to provide seamless, on-demand meeting spaces for businesses that prioritize quality, flexibility, and integrated technology.

The Ceiling-Mounted Advantage

Each meeting space is designed to accommodate a wide range of use cases, from executive briefings to team workshops and hybrid presentations. These rooms are walk-in ready with Microsoft Teams Rooms, BYOD support, and an AV experience that requires no technical training.

“For the larger rooms, flexibility was a key focus,” Camden Webb, flexible workspace technology manager at The GPT Group, said. “Traditionally, when AV equipment is placed on or under tables, it limits how the furniture and, consequently, the space can be used. Whether the room is set up in a theatre style, boardroom style, or workshop style, users still receive the same high-quality experience.”

Webb added that ceiling-mounted audio has transformed the user experience: “The Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling microphones ensure that no matter where someone is located, they can be heard clearly. Remote participants can follow discussions and feel engaged, even if they are not physically present.”

Rooms like Petition and Verdict use TCC 2 microphones, allowing layouts to change daily without any impact on audio performance. The microphones auto-adjust to the speaker’s position thanks to patented beamforming technology, removing the need for tabletop devices.

Anthony Aloi, AV solutions manager at Programmed, noted that while fixed microphones can work well, they restrict modularity. “Ceiling-mounted microphones give us the flexibility dynamic spaces require,” he said. Webb agreed, adding that the system provides granular control over pickup zones to minimize background noise.

This integration is made even more valuable by the system’s compatibility with platforms such as Microsoft Co-Pilot, supporting AI-enhanced features like transcription, meeting summaries, and intelligent note-taking.

[Workplace 2025: Sennheiser]

Form Meets Function

The Chamber room at GPT Space&Co’s 181 William Street location is a 50-person event space with wall-to-wall glass and a unique geometric layout. Programmed specified three TeamConnect Ceiling M microphones for the space, offering powerful performance in a smaller, circular form factor suited to the room’s shape and acoustics.

“Combining three TCC Ms gave us great coverage of the space while allowing our team to program exclusion zones to minimize street noise,” Aloi said. “They are more cost-effective than the TCC 2s, and they look amazing.”

To preserve the room’s design, Programmed worked with Sennheiser and the builder to color-match the microphones to the ceiling finish. “In a premium space, integration is about more than function. The technology should disappear into the architecture,” Aloi said. The Judge boardroom uses the same setup for design and performance consistency.

With a broad range of users—ranging from lawyers to creatives—the solution also had to be intuitive and reliable. “These rooms are intuitive and support all devices,” Aloi said. “The technology stays out of the way so people can focus on the meeting.”

Webb noted that while a site manager is always present, their role is customer-facing, not technical: “Every guest needs to walk in, start their meeting, and go. Sennheiser’s microphones make that possible; they’re invisible to the user but essential to the experience.”

A Crystal-Clear Mission

As hybrid work evolves, GPT Space&Co’s latest rollout sets a new benchmark for flexible, elegant, and functional meeting spaces. With Sennheiser, they’ve built intelligent AV environments that scale with the needs of modern teams.

For Aloi, the mission is simple: Technology should empower people to connect—not complicate the experience. With Sennheiser, GPT is delivering a collaboration experience that’s consistent, confident, and ready for the future.

WorkBetter recently upgraded its flexible working premises with a range of dvLED, interactive, and signage solutions from PPDS.

[How to Deal with 'Hybrid Permanence']

Founded in 2021 during the pandemic, WorkBetter provides a range of flexible workspaces for businesses and individuals to help drive productivity and creativity with a range of co-working options, whether for daily, weekly, monthly or permanent residency, with businesses of all types. With such strong demand, WorkBetter’s co-founder and CEO, Tony Aleksandrov, has expanded to three locations.

WorkBetter, PPDS, and AV integration specialist, OmniChannel BG, worked together as part of an upgrade and modernization program in its original office buildings. This included a new suite of future-proof solutions, combining the latest in display technology and advanced screen sharing, interactive and collaboration capabilities, strategically placed throughout.

Supporting nearly 130,000 square feet (over 12,000 square meters} of flex-office space and more than 1,300 working stations combined, OmniChannel worked together with PPDS to create a network of displays and solutions, integrated into a smart, unified system. Following extensive consultations, this included a fleet of information displays to guide users with real time updates, presentation displays to deliver impactful visuals, collaboration displays to encourage creativity and teamwork, and room booking and control displays to simplify space management.

Always with an eye to the future, WorkBetter’s criteria also included the ability for its new solutions to adapt to future workspace needs and challenges. Sustainability was also crucial, with solutions that offered reduced power consumption and better efficiencies for management a key requirement.

A total of 30 Philips Professional Displays were selected to deliver a tailored solution with visual impact and intuitive performance.

Creating a digital journey at every turn, 12x10-inch Philips T-Line multi-touch displays were installed to create an advanced, remotely managed room booking system. Anall-in-one solution, content is easy to update remotely, with Power-over-Ethernet enabling flexible and effortless placement on office walls, these displays were also placed in the gym for easy control of the audio system there. Other displays selected for the project include 8х55-inch, 6х65-inch, and 2х75-inch Philips Business TVs, and a 65-inch Philips Collaboration (E-Line) display.

A large and visually pleasing Philips Unite LED 5000 Series 1.5 pixel pitch wall was also selected and installed. Enhancing brand image and other communication opportunities, the Philips Unite LED 5000 Series supports up to 12-bit colors and HDR10+ resolution for near perfect color and brightness accuracy and the deepest visual experiences.

Realizing lower energy consumption across each of the displays, the WorkBetter fleet is easily managed for time efficiencies, while also bringing the added benefit of a more connected and contented customer base.

The result was a seamless, high-impact environment with powerful technology that has exceeded client expectations.

“This project reflects our commitment to delivering cutting-edge AV solutions that empower teams to connect, collaborate, and communicate more effectively," Tony Aleksandrov, co-founder and CEO at WorkBetter, commented. Together we created a smart and engaging environment that supports productivity and innovation from day one. OmniChannel, PPDS, and Philips Professional Displays covered all of our expectations, and we are extremely satisfied with the result.”

Corporate AV technology is constantly evolving. From sound and lighting that shifts the mood of a workplace to BYOD setups for remote workers, companies are constantly adapting to the ever-changing landscape.

[Striving for Sustainability Success]

The meeting space is increasingly the pulse of any modern corporate facility, with most workers spending a majority of their workweeks in meetings. Techkinect, which provides AV solutions for commercial and residential clients, recently reinvented collaborative working for the Ohio-based headquarters of Deceuninck North America, a manufacturer of PVC windows, thanks to a three-way divisible meeting space complete with customized programming.

Build Your Backbone

Jacob Reek, director of business development at Techkinect, shared that the company's role in the storyline quickly evolved. “Deceuninck were reworking their training room and wanted to create a divisible, three-way space with the option to mix and match rooms,” he recalled. “That included bringing in additional videoconferencing and sound reinforcement systems to support different meeting configurations.”

Initially, the Deceuninck team reached out to request some new projectors, and it quickly turned into a much bigger project. “They were not thinking much beyond connecting a few computers and maybe adding some simple switching,” said Reek. “I followed with, ‘Hey, there’s a solution that will allow you to connect as many inputs and outputs you want across these three spaces and later scale throughout your building if you want, and hand you complete control of all the systems over the network.'"

That moment started Deceuninck’s journey into the world of networked AV and control, powered by Atlona’s OmniStream AV over IP and Velocity control solutions.

The in-house team at Deceuninck already began remodeling the room before Techkinect arrived on site, creating three separate spaces using acoustic walls while also painting and reworking other areas. The project required customized structuring in the drop ceiling to accommodate recessed projector screens that are also controlled with the system.

Leo Acuna, director of operations at Techkinect, led the team in the installation and quality assurance for the integration. The Techkinect team ran new Category cabling to each location to ensure simplified computer connections, switching and positioning of displays.

“I have learned from experience that too much cabling is better than too little,” said Reek. “People always end up adding more as a project develops, so adding it at the beginning creates a strong backbone. We decided on Cat 6 plenum and we ran multiple cables to every projector location, because we knew that cameras and microphones would be in the vicinity. We also ran it to each wall so that we could add a touchscreen in every room and optimize screen locations and speaker positions.”

Divisible Networking

All three rooms have the same audio and video, but just two have microphones and cameras. Techkinect's schematic identified equipment in each room, including IP and Mac addresses, as well as what port each product is plugged into on the switch and patch panel.

Techkinect used Atlona’s OmniStream AV over IP solutions in each space because of the multiple devices in use. For the HDMI signals, they chose a selection of decoders, encoders including single-channel encoders and decoders (AT-OMNI-111, AT-OMNI-121), and a dual-channel encoder (AT-OMNI-112). For routing USB signals over the network, the team employed USB to IP adapters for host devices (AT-OMNI-311) and IP to USB adapters (AT-OMNI-324) for peripheral devices.

“There are a lot of USB devices in these three spaces, and they wanted the freedom to plug in flash drives and bring their USB devices they could plug in for presentations,” explained Reek. “The OmniStream USB/IP adapters create a harmonious ecosystem where the host computer in each room still works no matter what peripherals are added to the mix.”

Completing the video distribution system, OmniStream encoders and decoders are used to route 1080p video to three BenQ LU930 projectors and three DragonFly 120-inch recessed screens.

On the audio side, signals from various microphones and other sources in the space are mixed and processed by ClearOne Converge Pro 2 DSP mixers, then routed to Atlona AT-GAIN-60 amplifiers. The GAIN 60 amplifiers power a total of eight Episode ECS-800-IC-6 70-volt ceiling speakers.

Techkinect emphasized the performance aspect of the audio system, adding that ClearOne’s voice tracking technology and Atlona’s amplification optimize the audio in each room. “The ClearOne BMA 360 microphone system used in the space has beamforming VoiceLift technology,” Reek noted. “This ensures seamless sound reinforcement without any acoustic or feedback problems.”

Reek chose camera tracking systems for Rooms A and B to capture various settings including conferences, virtual calls, and presenter tracking. “We deployed these cameras so that they face the presenter, and they work with ClearOne’s BMA 360 voice tracking capabilities," he said. "We use these to follow the host as they move around or between rooms. The microphone system and camera system pick up which room they're technically in, so operators don’t have to perform any manual switching.”

All technology components are programmed into Atlona’s Velocity control system, with an AT-VGW-HW-20 hardware gateway that is expandable to 20 rooms. “Velocity is also a powerful device management system that manages and configures Atlona IP-controllable devices on the network. It’s the brains of the entire system,” Reek noted. “It is a browser-based user portal that lets you discover, set up, and commission both Atlona and third-party IP-controllable products to help streamline the configuration of AV installations. Velocity provides continual system monitoring and the ability to manage firmware and credential updates."

Techkinect added AT-VTP-1000VL touchpanels in all three rooms for room scheduling and AV control. The entire project includes a custom programmed user interface from Techkinect’s design team, including company branding and integrated control.

“Deceuninck has three computer inputs in each room and a wireless input, as well as three outputs depending on the way the room is set up," Reek said. "For example, I have custom programming set up on the DSP, as well as in Velocity. Depending on what room they are in, I can send custom programmed serial commands to the DSP and explain how it is configured. This gives users the ability to control what they see on the screen and what they hear from the speakers.”

[On Your Business: Put Me In, Coach]

he upgrade to Deceuninck’s facilities offers complete versatility for every kind of meeting. "Across all three spaces, it’s a story of using flexible, expandable, and reliable AV systems within a divisible space that evolves with the times, and keeps up with the technological demands of corporate facilities," Reek said.

Envoy Air , a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, has transformed the employee experience at its headquarters in Irving, TX, through the deployment of Samsung digital signage and software. By implementing a connected ecosystem of Samsung display technology, Envoy Air now delivers real-time, engaging content that strengthens internal communications, reinforces company culture and recognizes team members.

[Check Out the Largest LED Wall in the Middle East]

Envoy Air relies on seamless communication to keep its team informed of critical updates, including weather events, shift schedules, performance metrics and safety alerts. While the company previously depended on a corporate intranet to share important news, much of its workforce, including pilots, flight attendants and ground crews, is rarely stationed in front of a computer. Some office locations had standalone digital signage, but these displays required manual updates via USB drives and were limited to static presentations. In a fast-paced aviation environment, this approach inhibited the dynamic communication necessary to keep every team member connected and prepared.

To address these challenges, Envoy Air partnered with Samsung to modernize its communications infrastructure. Building on American Airlines’ established relationship with Samsung, the airline deployed a comprehensive digital signage solution tailored to its operational needs. The rollout included Samsung’s All-in-One IAC 130-inch 2K displays; digital signage in key areas, such as conference rooms and break areas across multiple outstations; and a centralized CMS which empowers Envoy Air’s strategy and operations team to upload, manage and rotate content across all screens seamlessly.

Dive deeper in the video below.

Sponsored Content

For years, companies have relied on basic tools for webinars, video calls, and presentations. But today, clients expect the polish of network television—whether it’s for an all-hands meeting, a virtual event, or a public-facing livestream.

For AV consultants and system integrators, that shift has made control room design a top priority. Instead of putting together one-event setups, organizations are investing in centralized systems that deliver consistent, high-quality video across teams and locations.

These control rooms now anchor enterprise video—connecting offices, campuses, and global hubs, and supporting everything from leadership broadcasts to live internal events and studio productions. As video becomes part of everyday operations, rather than occasional productions, the control room is no longer a support tool but a strategic asset—the central hub for all AV production, whether within the corporate studio, production of a live event, or managing digital signage in corporate headquarters and satellite offices.

Simplifying Control Room Operations for All Users 

Traditional AV setups were built for one-room presentations—not necessarily for managing multi-location video at broadcast quality. Today’s corporate clients need capabilities like live switching, remote camera control, virtual sets, robotic camera systems, and automation to deliver polished content at scale—often while integrating with existing infrastructure. Virtual studios are also shaping enterprise AV plans. Many teams are turning to software-based production environments to create on-brand visuals with real-time graphics and virtual sets.

AV production crews span a wide range of experience—from beginners to seasoned professionals. Regardless of skill level or experience, users increasingly expect to walk into a room, press a button, and walk out with a broadcast-quality recording and a high level of automation—no crew required, no troubleshooting.

AV consultants help define those expectations, identifying where automation, remote control, and preconfigured workflows can streamline operations. Consultants and system integrators then design and deliver tools that produce consistent, high-quality results—easy to use and designed to minimize training and support.

User-friendly interfaces, repeatable workflows, and remote monitoring give AV teams the tools to manage studio-grade productions with solutions that are easy to use and deliver reliable, repeatable results.

Scaling Enterprise Video Without Overbuilding 

A single control room might handle a CEO keynote one morning, a video podcast in the afternoon, and a multi-source panel the next day—supporting internal communications and branded video from one centralized interface. To manage a broad range of productions reliably, systems must be compact, integrated, and easy to maintain. Overbuilt or piecemeal setups create friction and make scaling harder.

The most effective solutions are built to work within existing infrastructure and support protocols like NDI, Dante, ST 2110.

Ross Video offers a modular platform that supports this approach:

> Ultrix combines routing and audio processing into one compact, rack-efficient platform.

> XPression - 2D & 3D graphics and animations for any live video format, in real time.

> PTZ and Furio robotics provide automated, silent tracking cameras that enable multi-camera setups without large crews.

> Carbonite delivers intuitive switching for live production control.

> DashBoard offers no-code, customizable user interfaces that let internal teams manage productions easily and give AV teams the flexibility to tailor control panels for different workflows.

> Inception ties everything together with tools for content planning, scripting, and production workflow coordination.

Together, these tools support lean, repeatable control rooms—built for the demands of modern enterprise video, whatever the production format.

Supporting Every Stage of the Project

Control rooms often span multiple environments and require coordination across teams, spaces, and timelines.

AV consultants work with Ross Video solutions architects to validate workflows that help move projects quickly from planning to proposal, streamline approvals, and reduce guesswork. System integrators rely on modular implementation guidance and factory-tested builds, along with real-time assistance to reduce risk, stay on schedule, and deliver clean installs with confidence.

Ross Video stays involved from early consultation through installation and beyond—providing 24/7 technical support and responsive engineering resources that keep projects moving and give clients confidence long after the system goes live.

Enhance Control Room Performance

Broadcast-quality corporate video is now the standard. AV consultants and system integrators who deliver scalable, operator-friendly systems are becoming trusted partners to the enterprise.

Ross Video provides the tools, project collaboration, and support to help you build them.

Talk to a Ross AV solutions expert to get started.

About Ross Video Everything You Need to Connect With Your Audience Every day, Ross powers live productions for billions of viewers. With the industry’s widest range of high-impact, high-efficiency solutions and services, Ross helps all manner of organizations create and share compelling content, from leading broadcasters to houses of worship, stadiums, corporations, education and governments. With approximately 1300 team members around the world and manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Austria and the most reliable service in the industry, we are here to turn your ideas, plans and strategies into reality.

At InfoComm last year in Las Vegas, the Panasonic Connect booth featured an immersive meeting room demo that demonstrated the benefits of an enhanced collaboration experience. We're talking a conference table surrounded by wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling projected content showing everything from scenic backgrounds to flowcharts and apps. It was the result of a partnership with U.K.-based immersive spaces developer Igloo Vision, which also partnered with Christie and Fuji to showcase immersive spaces in their booths at the show.

[Viewpoint: If You Build It, Will They Come?]

So, are these the meeting spaces of the future? No—according to Igloo Vision, these innovative areas are already the meeting spaces of today.

Streamlining Cooperation

Immersive collaboration spaces allow meeting participants to view and manipulate data in new ways, explained Kerry Head, CEO at Igloo Vision. She said the AECO (architecture, engineering, construction, and operations) disciplines are using the technology to streamline the collaborative process, most notably by leveraging the ability to view digital twins of construction sites and engineering projects—and make design modifications on the fly, in real time, while meeting.

These collaborative spaces can offer immersive experiences to both onsite meeting contributors and remote participants. “This is another really powerful tool, as you can see scale far beyond what a 2D render can provide, while also not compromising in-person meetings, which is a big advantage over using VR headsets,” she added. “We’ve seen this used by clients to conduct things like virtual site visits, completely eliminating the need to travel and the associated cost, time, and carbon footprint that comes with that."

Immersive collaboration space deployment involving Igloo Vision's technology consists of three primary components. First, there is the Igloo Core Engine (ICE), a software platform that Head likened to an operating system. Next is the hardware, which must be chosen with care based on the specific use case requirements for pixel density, audio, and even the application of sensors and head-tracking capabilities.

Igloo Vision has partnered with several OEMs that produce systems suitable for these environments; it also offers the Igloo Media Player (IMP), a single solution for Igloo Vision spaces. “Previously, to run a space like this you would need a combination of bulky technologies, but with an IMP it’s all run from one sleek box,” she said. (The IMP is available in Pro and Lite versions, based on customer needs.)

Content formatting is the third core component of an immersive collaboration space rollout, an important consideration if meeting participants are to view materials as they should. “This can often be trickier than you might think, as many solutions suffer from distortion if they’re not programmed properly—and that programming to make sure it’s correct can be a very complex job,” Head explained. Igloo Vision’s True Perspective feature is designed to facilitate this process by enabling users to perform content formatting with the click of a button, she added.

Location, Location, Location

Igloo Vision executes projects directly for end clients, but also works with AV designers and integrators. Immersive collaboration spaces from Igloo Vision can be custom, prefabricated, or installed into an existing facility that has been retrofitted for this purpose. Head said that prefabricated spaces—commonly in the form of a freestanding cube or cylinder that is mounted into an existing room—are the most popular among her company's customers, but that clients can achieve immersive collaboration in spaces of all sizes and shapes.

In fact, she recalled a project for a well-known real estate firm where an old broom closet was converted into an immersive collaboration space. "On the opposite end of the spectrum, we’ve installed bespoke designs that are much, much larger,” Head noted. “It’s all down to the client’s preference, what they want to achieve, and what they have available, [and] we work with whatever that might be.”

One challenge in delivering a true immersive experience is when the space features glass walls or windows. Head argued the problem is easily resolved: “We’ve had clients in the past that required dual-purpose rooms, so it was both an immersive space and a conventional meeting room,” she said. “To achieve this, we install blinds over the windows that are color-graded in the specific tone we know is most effective for projection, and these can be extended or retracted based on the needs of the room at the time.”

That said, the best immersive collaboration experiences are those that are as distraction-free as possible, according to Joe Whitesides, CTS-D, director of experience technology (XTG) at AVI-SPL. “You need to pick places where there’s less stimuli—fewer windows or no windows,” he said.

For a space to be immersive, all aspects of the environment should be controlled, including acoustics. “You don’t want to be able to hear anything outside [of the space] that would distract you from the message [that’s being delivered in the space],” Whitesides said.

When immersive collaboration spaces incorporate videoconferencing capabilities, Whitesides warned they run the risk of compromised camera performance. “You’re not going to get great exposure in a dark environment,” he explained, “so [during a videoconference] you’re not going to look your best.”

Let Me Show You Something

Display technology is a primary element of an immersive collaboration environment, and whether to specify dvLED or projection depends, once again, on the use case. According to Whitesides, the problem with dvLED is the heat, which can render a space uncomfortable for long collaboration sessions. At the same time, ambient light issues could complicate the delivery of an optimum experience that’s projector driven. “But there’s a cool factor to that, where you’re in a kind of theatrical mode,” Whitesides conceded. “People change their behaviors in these theatrical modes.”

The need for interactivity is another factor to consider when designing these environments. When integrated with displays, sensor technology can transform entire walls or conference tables into giant interactive tablets. In these spaces, Whitesides suggested the interactive walls need to be flat. When the space features curved displays, a table with interactive capabilities may be a better solution.

One of the challenges associated with selling immersive collaboration spaces is that it’s difficult to describe to clients the possibilities the technology has to offer. What’s more effective is when customers can experience these environments themselves. This is why tech developers and manufacturers are focusing on building showrooms that clients may visit to gain insight into the options that exist.

“Having a place where you can take customers—either physically or virtually—to experience the room is really important because people don’t realize what can be done,” said Petro Shimonishi, director of new business development at Panasonic Connect.

For these deployments to be successful, Shimonishi underlined the need for good communication between all project stakeholders. “Communicate with your industrial designer or interior designer,” she advised, noting that a siloed approach to project execution will produce unnecessary obstacles. “Having good communication amongst the different disciplines that are doing the construction is extremely important.”

[Viewpoint: Office Buzz or Buzzkill]

Shimonishi also encouraged AV designers and integrators to lean on their manufacturer partners for guidance and support when it comes to equipment selection, placement, and configuration. “You don’t need to do this on your own,” she said. “We’re here to help as people start easing into fully immersive spaces.”

Founded in 1967 by CEO Fred Done in a Salford betting shop, online betting giant BetFred has come a long way As one of the largest online betting companies in Europe, Betfred.com offers a full range of 24/7 sports betting, online casino, online games, bingo, lotto, online poker, and virtual sports as well as pool betting. The company recently undertook a multi-million pound revamp of the 50,000-square-foot Spectrum building as its new HQ in Warrington, with Aetria from Datapath emerging as the solution for comprehensive content flexibility.

[Toto... We're Not in Kansas Anymore—'Wizard of Oz' Hits the Vegas Sphere]

With a wealth of video data and technology running round the clock, the company wanted to improve its digital signage messaging, with several displays in prominent positions throughout the building. Content was to come from a variety of sources, including employee messages, news, live TV and company information. Consisting of two 4x3 video walls in the main office area and a 3x2 video wall, plus a single display, in the reception area, the requirement was to use a single user interface for control of content across all displays, powered by Aetria.

For Duncan McDonald, head of retail support at BetFred, past experiences of working with Datapath made them the frontrunner for supporting technology following a considerable HQ investment. “When our CEO, Joanne Whittaker, decided to embark on a huge refurb for our head office operation, she invested about £10 million in turning this iconic building, which goes back to the 1970s, into something that was really going to appeal to our employees,” he said.

“From a technology standpoint, it needed to spark innovation and stimulate growth & creativity among our teams. Our relationship with Datapath goes back nearly ten years—to when we asked them to help with our sportsbook installations in America. For us, Datapath was the obvious choice. We needed that wow factor. We needed, something that turned people's heads and gave them a positive place to focus for employee news, for live TV, for information about the company and its goals as well as targets and things that we’re working on.”

At the heart of the video management, and working in tandem, are Datapath’s VSN V3 video wall controller, along with a VSNMicro 600 supporting pixel management in BetFred’s reception area.

Equipped with several Image 2K graphics cards and VisionSC-HD4 capture cards, the system allows for full ‘any content, anywhere’ capability, with Aetria-WC-PRO software allowing operators to easily switch content sources or display templates.

Following installation, Datapath provided a comprehensive commissioning service to BetFred staff, giving them side-by-side support to ensure optimal efficiency with bespoke templates and layouts, as well as ensuring operators had instant access to the tools required for full display control. During the commissioning phase, any pain points can be addressed, giving complete peace of mind to BetFred’s end users.

With the project now up and running for several weeks, McDonald has high praise for both the installation process and the end result. “It does exactly what you expect it to do, and It does it very well,” he concluded. “The installation itself was seamless, and the operation of it since has very much ‘set it and forget it’ from the point of view of a technical install, which is ideally what you want.

“From the very beginning, the planning, installation and ongoing support that we have received from Datapath has been, as it always is, absolutely outstanding. We knew early on that we'd made the right choice. You want something to just go in and do what it says it's going to do really well. This system from Datapath does exactly that.”

When Draper began planning for a 2023 expansion of its U.S.-based manufacturing facility in Spiceland, IN, the company knew it also meant a bigger carbon footprint and energy bill. So, as part of the addition, Draper planned to add solar panels to the roof of its new 100,000-square-foot building. Now, more than 2,300 solar panels are now fully online and are expected to reduce the company’s dependence on purchased outside electricity by 40%.

“The Draper commitment to efficiency and sustainability should come as no surprise. We’ve been in the business of making buildings more sustainable since 1902,” said Chris Broome, president. “This was a great opportunity to continue in that grand tradition, but with a modern twist.”

The company also used its years of experience with lean manufacturing principles to help turn other negative impacts into more positive outcomes. “One of the biggest impacts on the sustainability of any building is its efficiency,” explained Harold Seib, director of engineering. “Improving efficiency reduces a building’s carbon footprint and impacts the cost of heating and cooling and other energy needs.”

Drape‍r instituted an energy monitoring and control system to shut down or reduce building systems in areas where they are not in use—including lights, air compressors, and HVAC, the three biggest energy users—during weekend and overnight hours. Seib said just shutting off the air compressor resulted in a 5-10% reduction over the weekends. Plus, the company is using motion-sensitive LED lighting throughout most of the factory, which shut down in unoccupied areas.

According to Chris Field, facilities manager, there's more to come. “One of the things we’re looking at right now is a building automation system," Field said. "This would take everything we’ve done on a building and campus-wide level and drill it down to the equipment level. That will be a very powerful tool for us to continue our sustainability and efficiency efforts.”

Landsure Systems, a Vancouver-based technology subsidiary, sought to create a dynamic and adaptable meeting room to meet the needs of its executive team. This room was to serve multiple purposes, from high-level executive meetings to training sessions and guest presentations. The room would be equipped with movable furniture, multiple display options, and an AV system that could quickly adapt to different meeting formats. This demanded a straightforward and reliable system, ensuring that even non-technical users could operate it with minimal training.

To meet these needs, they turned to Limitless AV, a trusted AV integrator with a reputation for delivering tailored solutions using the latest technologies. To ensure that the new space would be versatile, user-friendly, and meet the high standards of Landsure’s leadership, Limitless AV chose to integrate a range of Extron technologies. The result is a sophisticated yet easy-to-use AV system that exceeded client expectations.

“At Limitless AV, we prioritize delivering technically advanced and user-friendly solutions,” Barton Moxness, president of Limitless AV said. “With Extron technologies, we were able to create a meeting space for Landsure Systems that is both versatile and incredibly easy to operate.”

A significant challenge was the size and layout of the room, which required an AV system that could deliver consistent audio and video quality across an ample, multi-purpose space. The room’s complexity, with its need for multiple use cases and the demand for high-quality audio and video transmission, required a solution that seamlessly integrated various technologies while remaining user-friendly.

One of the critical elements of the new system was the integration of Extron technologies with Microsoft Teams Rooms and Logitech solutions. Extron TouchLink touchpanel GUI templates for Microsoft Teams Rooms allowed Limitless AV to create an intuitive and efficient user interface. This interface featured built-in presets, enabling users to quickly set up the room for different types of meetings with just a few taps. The simplified user interface is crucial in making the system accessible to all users, regardless of their technical expertise.

Limitless AV selected the Extron DMP 64 Plus, a compact digital matrix processor with six DSP input channels, for audio processing. The DMP 64 Plus is ideal for managing the room’s audio sources, ensuring clear and natural sound during meetings and presentations. The processor’s Acoustic Echo Cancellation technology maintains audio clarity during remote collaborations.

The audio system also includes the Extron XPA 2001 70V power amplifier, which provides reliable amplification in a compact form factor. Paired with Extron SF 26CT LP low-profile ceiling speakers, this setup delivers consistent, high-quality sound throughout the room.

“Extron’s products have consistently proven to be reliable and adaptable,” Moxness said. “The DMP 64 Plus and XPA 2001 amplifier, in particular, provided the high-quality audio performance essential for Landsure’s multipurpose room.”

The system also includes several Extron DTP HDMI 4K 230 transmitters and receivers for video distribution. These devices allow for the extension of HDMI signals up to 230 feet over a shielded CATx cable, ensuring that high-resolution video could be displayed on multiple screens with no loss of quality. A DA4 HD 4K distribution amplifier is used to distribute HDMI signals to multiple displays and allows for quick and easy configuration changes depending on the meeting type.

An Extron IPCP Pro 250 xi control processor provides centralized control over the entire AV system. This processor’s advanced security standards and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity ensure that the system is not only powerful, but also secure and reliable. The IPCP Pro 250 xi was seamlessly integrated into the Logitech Tap Touch Controller, enabling intuitive control over microphone volume, vocal reinforcement, TV display power, and additional custom automation features.

Overall, the Landsure Systems meeting room project was a resounding success, receiving high praise from both the client and end users, and meeting the high expectations of leadership. The collaboration between Limitless AV and Extron technologies resulted in a space that meets the company’s functional needs and enhances the overall user experience, making it easier than ever for teams to collaborate effectively.

When TAD Associates (TAD) relocated its New York headquarters to a new site near Times Square, they sought to create a workspace that went beyond the idea of a traditional office—rather, it was to be a stage for storytelling, experimentation, and innovation. A leading AV consultancy, TAD empowers businesses to create digital experiences that connect, support, and inspire people through interweaving technology, architecture, and design.

The team at TAD envisaged the new office as The Stage: a blank canvas on which different creations can take form and ideas can be trialed. RAIL by KSCAPE, an all-in-one architectural lighting and audio solution from Italian professional loudspeaker brand K-array, proved to be a crucial element in bringing this vision to life.

TAD worked with architects Model Practice to imagine a high-performing, yet flexible space. “Our ambition was to have an office that worked for us and the things we want to do in a flexible and coherent manner,” Daniel Pittman, TAD partner recalled. “This is the brief we shared with Model Practice, who worked closely with us to design this concept.”

A Solution Fit for (Multi) Purpose

A research lab for prototyping and a space to hold events, the new TAD workspace required a unique design approach. “We thought about the space like a stage,” Christopher Lee, partner at Model Practice explained. “Modular furniture, fittings, and other elements can be deployed, and the space can be divided to serve different purposes. Introducing a ceiling grid of KSCAPE RAIL elements allowed us to bring lighting and audio into play whilst reducing visible systems and maintaining the utilitarian aesthetic.”

With a sleek form factor, tunable lighting, and high-performance audio, RAIL represented an easy-to-incorporate solution that fulfilled many of TAD’s major technology requirements in a single device. With RAIL, TAD can benefit from lighting and color temperature control, as well as circadian syncing features, creating unique environments and zones that serve multiple purposes. Working closely with the team at K-array, TAD also had emergency lighting built into the RAIL fixtures, providing a complete corporate lighting solution without additional ceiling fixtures and fittings.

Over 100 units of 1.2m-long RAIL devices were installed in the custom ceiling grid system at TAD, both with and without integrated loudspeakers. The workspace is an open environment, with desks around the edge and an empty stage in the center for experimentation. The ceiling grid is pivotal to the functioning of the space, encompassing not only lighting and audio from RAIL but also data reels, power supplies, and room-dividing curtains, allowing the TAD team to bring utility to any point on the floor and construct or deconstruct ever-changing spaces. Sound and light from RAIL remain a constant.

A Customized, Optimized Environment

While the open workspace at TAD is largely flexible, three permanent zones exist: a studio workspace for employees, a gallery for showcasing the work of TAD and its clients, and the lab space for experimentation and research and development. The RAIL lighting control through Casambi enables TAD to redefine the zones as required, whether switching to brand colors for visiting client demos or syncing the lighting with outdoor conditions to provide optimal working conditions that promote employee wellbeing. Two further conference rooms also feature fully integrated RAIL devices, eliminating the need for adding ceiling loudspeakers and ensuring a coherent user experience across the entire TAD premises.

24 Rumble KU44X subwoofers along with 12 channels of K-array Kommander amplification were deployed to complete the sound system. “We wanted to do the sound properly and ensure we could cater for all kinds of events, so we worked with K-array to select subwoofers that would provide good, high-performance coverage for each of the zones,” Tom Sauter, TAD’s systems engineer for the project explained. “The smaller package of their Rumble subwoofers gave us flexibility in placement, and each unit was painted to match the ceiling, so the units remain discreet.”

Ease of control has proved to be a key benefit for the TAD team in their experience of KSCAPE RAIL. “With Casambi, users can set up zones for events or simply control the day-to-day performance of the lighting,” Sauter continued. “We’ve integrated the RAIL and Casambi controls into our internal app here at TAD, as well as making the technology accessible from an internal touchscreen and self-powered light switches at the points of entry, ensuring everyone can easily enjoy the functions of the space.”

Future-Proof Flexibility

The team at TAD are investigating the development of a RAIL integration with Show Control software. This will enable RAIL lighting to respond to digital signage and sensors in the space, further pushing the boundaries of architectural lighting thanks to KSCAPE’s open and innovative technology, and bringing the benefits of a theatrical lighting system to the space without the usual physical wiring constraints.

Besides the flexibility and functionality of RAIL, TAD’s employees also testify to the overall look and aesthetic that RAIL has brought to the space. Aside from the endless lighting possibilities, the audio quality—even when pushed to high volumes—has been a source of positive remarks throughout the office.

“The creation of the utility grid has given us the complete flexibility and performance we need, whilst the alignment with K-array throughout the journey has been excellent,” Pittman confirmed. “The result is a space that is comfortable and fit for both every day and more complex use. A lot of thought went into crafting a space that is truly functional yet simple, and with the right technology from KSCAPE and RAIL, we’ve achieved this.”

Founded in 2017 with a single office and an inherited basic conference room setup—a TV and a plug-in USB camera—private equity group and financial firm Further Global soon realized its limitations as conferencing needs increased and the business grew. After expanding into a second office space in the same building, Further Global set out to create a modern, high-quality conference center and meeting environment that would reflect the firm’s professionalism.

Mitch Pessin, vice president and co-founder of Solarus Technologies, and Kevin Muller, a director from Further Global’s operations team collaborated to design and implement a state-of-the-art AV solution that aligned with the firm’s vision and unique needs. Known for its commitment to custom solutions that cater to the unique needs of each client, Solarus Technologies has been a long-time partner of Yamaha Corporation of America and its Unified Communications division. With guidance from Susan Rullo, chief executive officer of Rullo Technologies, Pessin and Muller were able to provide the right solution.

“Our client required an AV solution that could meet a range of environments, including corporate and team meetings, remote conferences, and live events,” Pessin commented. “While focusing on audio clarity, ease of use, and system flexibility to support various conferencing platforms, Yamaha’s ADECIA solutions were a natural choice.”

The system upgrade for both rooms included a Yamaha RM-CR, a digital signal processor that is central to the room's audio system, managing sound clarity and distribution. RM-CG ceiling microphone arrays were positioned in each room for optimal audio capture, and Yamaha RM-TT tabletop microphones were used as supplemental mics to enhance audio capture, especially for meeting participants sitting farther from the ceiling mics. The tabletop microphones also serve the secondary but important purpose of distributing easily accessible MUTE buttons across the table, and the built-in red and green LEDs in each RM-TT indicate the room’s mute status during a meeting. The system in both rooms also includes a control room computer that can be operated from the conference table using a wireless mouse and keyboard and supports a BYOD setup for users to take advantage of ADECIA’s full audio capabilities.

ADECIA handles all the audio balancing and adjusting automatically, which ensures that no matter where participants are in the room, their voices are picked up clearly at normal conversation volume. “In the AV world, audio quality is critical,” Pessin highlighted. “If the video drops during a Zoom call, but the audio remains, you’re fine. But if you lose audio, you’re kind of sunk.”

Muller added, “Our team has reported a significant improvement in the audio quality of their live events and remote meetings. It’s incredibly user-friendly and adaptable to various audiences and needs. The setup is sleek; it combines a modern and minimalistic design with automated functions so that everything works perfectly with minimal intervention.”

Yamaha’s ADECIA solutions are advanced yet straightforward, and its open architecture is engineered for ultimate adaptability. In Further Global’s application, the ADECIA system integrates with an AVer PTZ310, a 4K Ultra HD resolution pan-tilt-zoom camera with IP-based control. In the smaller conference room, the camera features auto voice tracking, which allows it to automatically follow the voice of the person presenting and zoom in on speakers. The open architecture of ADECIA ensures that its sound system and AVer’s cameras can seamlessly communicate with each other over standard protocols.

“Another key advantage of the ADECIA architecture is that everything is powered over PoE, which greatly streamlined the installation,” Pessin added. “Since one cable carries both the audio signals and power, we could reduce cable clutter and keep the installation much more organized.”

Global’s new system upgrade is designed to be more than just a conference space; it is a shared workspace that reinforces a culture of teamwork. The system’s USB audio capabilities allow for multiple audio inputs, making it easy to switch between sources with the push of a button. Similarly, the HDMI support allows for video to be switched between different sources—like a personal computer or a device at the table—providing quick, seamless transitions for different types of work and collaboration.

With these conference room upgrades, Further Global has two spaces that embody their dedication to quality and forward-thinking. The Yamaha ADECIA system delivers crystal-clear audio and adaptability, turning these rooms into dynamic spaces where both in-person and virtual collaboration flow effortlessly and strengthen client relationships and teamwork.

The Absen New York Experience Center, where AV professionals can explore the latest in LED display technology, is now open. Located at 525 7th Ave, Suite 506, in the heart of Manhattan, the 2,694-square-foot facility will provide hands-on product demonstrations, technical training, and industry collaboration opportunities.

The Experience Center showcases Absen’s most advanced dvLED solutions, designed for applications in corporate, retail, live events, broadcast, and virtual production. Strategically positioned just blocks from Penn Station and Times Square, the facility will offer a convenient and immersive space for AV professionals, system integrators, and end users to experience the latest in LED display technology.

[INTERVIEW: At Esports and Sports Venues, Absen Calls the Shots]

“As the demand for high-performance LED display solutions continues to grow, the Absen New York Experience Center will serve as a vital resource for industry professionals to explore our latest innovations,” said James Liu, president at Absen. “This new facility is designed to bring our technology closer to our customers, providing hands-on experiences, expert insights, and real-world applications.”

The New York Experience Center will offer an in-depth look at Absen’s latest LED display technologies, including the Absen K V3 Series; Absen KLCOB V2; Absenicon X 108, Absen N Series; Absen PL V2 Serie; Absen AX Pro Series; and curved LED solutions.

Visitors to the Experience Center will also see innovations from Absen's technology partners like Yealink, TSI Touch, Haivision, B-Tech AV Mounts, tvOne and Green Hippo, Brompton Technology, and Rocket Alumni Solutions.

Since its founding in 1950, United Community has grown steadily, establishing a strong presence throughout the southeastern United States. Today, the bank is one of the largest full-service financial institutions in the southeast, known for its commitment to customer service and community engagement, with numerous branches across several states.

When United opened its $65 million corporate headquarters in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, the new seven-story, 118,000-square-foot building was designed to meet the WELL Building Standard, which emphasizes a holistic approach to health in the built environment. Located along the Reedy River, the facility incorporates open and light-filled spaces, advanced air and water filtration systems, and carefully selected building materials to provide efficiency and thermal comfort. Amenities include quiet zones for fostering collaboration and downtime, two terraces, 29 conference rooms, and a dedicated gathering space and coffee bar.

United’s new headquarters also features two Planar fine-pitch LED video walls installed by commercial AV designer and integrator Advanced Video Group. According to Jason Lynch, director of facilities and purchasing at United Community Bank, the LED installations reflect the pivotal role that technology plays in the building’s interior design. “It’s a very important piece to the experience we want to create,” he said.

In the fourth-floor lobby and gathering space, the Welcome Wall is United’s statement-piece. The installation is a nearly 14-foot-wide, 8-foot-high (7x7) Planar MGP Series LED video wall with a 1.2mm pixel pitch that provides a variety of uses, including digital signage, messaging, presentations, and entertainment. “It’s a showstopper,” Lynch said. “When you come off the elevator, the video wall is the first thing you see.”

As a message board, the Welcome Wall allows United to post news, announcements, or corporate-wide updates like quarterly results. It can also be used to extend personalized greetings to clients and other visitors, leaving a lasting impression. “When people come to this building, we want the experience to be one they remember,” Lynch added.

For United’s employees, Lynch said the video wall enhances the work atmosphere, providing a vivid display to recognize birthdays and work anniversaries or see the bank’s social media posts in real-time: “It supports our corporate culture and fits within our vision to create a workplace that employees are excited about.”

Fit for a Boardroom

In the bank’s new boardroom, Advanced Video Group installed a nearly 12-foot-wide, 7-foot-high (6x6) Planar TVF Series LED video wall with a 1.5mm pixel pitch. Complemented with automatic tracking cameras, microphones, and a Cisco Webex room pro system, the LED video wall provides a tailored solution for presentations and video conferencing.

“The 16:9 aspect ratio of the Planar TVF Series video wall matches their traditional video sources without the need for scaling,” Adam Dox, president of Advanced Video Group said. “From an integration standpoint, we’ve had tremendous success with Planar’s LED lineup over many years. We have peace of mind knowing that Planar displays will perform reliably in high-visibility, high-traffic areas, confirming that the investment is truly worthwhile.”

According to Mark Terry, chief information officer at United Community Bank, the superior performance of the Planar displays was a key factor in their decision. “We looked at other options, but in the end, kept coming back to Planar for its picture quality,” he said. “It’s not just a piece of technology—it’s something that brings our community together.”

L’Oréal Poland has redefined the modern office space with its new Innovative Creative Workspace in Warsaw. Designed to support dynamic collaboration, video conferencing, and interactive training sessions, this cutting-edge environment was brought to life through a sophisticated AV integration by AV Architektura, with Jupiter Systems' Pana displays playing a pivotal role in achieving the workspace's vision.

As a global leader in beauty and cosmetics, L’Oréal required a space that was aesthetically aligned with its brand and technologically advanced. The goal was to create a multi-functional environment that could seamlessly accommodate hybrid meetings, high-quality video recordings, and interactive workshops. One of the primary challenges was finding large-format displays that supported an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio, ensuring an immersive and effective workspace for both in-person and remote collaboration.

To meet these challenges, Jupiter Pana 105T and Pana 34 monitors were selected as the centerpieces of the AV system, and a number of standout features within the finished installation would not have been possible without them: The ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio of the Pana 105T (105 inches) and Pana 34 (34 inches) displays delivered an expansive digital canvas, ideal for hybrid collaboration and high-definition content sharing; high 5K resolution ensured superior image quality, which is crucial for L’Oréal’s work with high-precision color and design; daisy chain connectivity enabled efficient signal distribution, reducing the need for additional AV hardware; the interactive capabilities of the Pana 34 monitors allowed direct annotation, making creative meetings and training sessions more engaging; seamless integration of Jupiter Systems' displays proved game-changing in configuring the space to support multiple functions; and the mounting of the Pana 105T on a custom mobile system allowed repositioning within a 3m range, ensuring adaptability for different meeting formats.

[On Hybrid Work 2024: Jupiter Systems]

The integration of Jupiter Systems’ displays transformed L’Oréal’s Warsaw workspace into a state-of-the-art creative hub. The Pana displays played a critical role in enabling fluid content sharing, seamless hybrid collaboration, and high-quality video experiences. The installation has set a benchmark for AV innovation in corporate office environments, demonstrating how cutting-edge display technology can enhance productivity, collaboration, and engagement.

For AV integrators and AV/IT managers looking for inspiration, L’Oréal Poland’s project is a prime example of how Jupiter Systems’ Pana displays can help redefine workspace functionality. Whether for corporate offices, training centers, or hybrid collaboration spaces, Jupiter’s ultra-wide, high-resolution displays provide a future-proof solution that blends technology with creativity.

Meeting equity is not a new idea. Since the pandemic, Pro AV technology and IT teams in office spaces and classrooms have been trying to solve the riddle of how to keep employees engaged in hybrid meetings—whether in person or remote. And while each passing year seems to get closer to goal, we aren’t there yet.

“The bar for an excellent audio/video experience at work is currently higher than it ever has been,” said Sam Read, CTS, PNW area operations manager for Avidex. “Integrators speak of the latest and greatest in terms of acoustic echo cancellation [AEC] technology, camera/sound bars, and beamforming microphone arrays, when in fact most people can get a better audio/video experience out of the cell phone in their pocket. Employees expect that a valued conversation they can have over video call with a loved one should be equally as good as a hybrid meeting with their company.”

Quality AV for All

How do you better connect employees who are distributed all over the country or globe? Vizrt recently conducted a study on hybrid workflows, and two startling numbers stood out: 69% of employees feel the quality of communications from their company affects how engaged they are as an employee, and 40% of employees would consider leaving their company if its video communication efforts were poor.

“Over the past five years, demand for remote connecting technologies skyrocketed, but that demand came from necessity," explained Chris Black, global head of brand and communications for Vizrt. “Now, we can meet face–to–face again … yet there are no signs of the hybrid working model slowing down. With this in mind, this research was conducted to understand how hybrid working has affected communication, and how the demands for effective communication have shifted.”

[Hybrid: The Next Generation]

Biamp also completed a survey last year of 2,400 workers across North America and Europe. Respondents were divided into two groups: non-managerial “end users” of conferencing technology and “decision makers” who set the course for a given organization across human resources, technology, and operations management. “Both groups relayed that great sound trumps video—videoconferencing solutions need great sound to be effective above all,” noted Joe Andrulis, EVP of corporate development at Biamp.

“Obviously, intelligible audio is of the utmost importance,” added Ashish Maru, director of AV technology at Red Thread. “Without that a meeting can’t happen, but as far as other audio features that go beyond just intelligibility—like Dolby sound, immersive audio, or spatial audio—we have not much adoption or need for them. However, we have seen much more progress toward enhancing the user experience via video with camera features like auto tracking, presenter tracking, group framing, speaker tracking, etc.”

"Clear video and audio open the door to productive and equitable experiences," agreed Nathan Coutinho, director of business strategy, Logitech. "However, we’ll venture to say that clear audio is the more important of the two. Without audio, there is no meeting, but the same can’t be said for video. Crystal-clear audio allows participants to focus on content and collaboration rather than struggling to understand speakers."

[SCN Hybrid World: Out of Sight Sound]

The answer sounds simple: To connect people here, there, and everywhere, a conference room must be equipped with the right AV solutions. Having the right solutions is not an extravagance for employees, it is a necessity to bring them into the conversation.

“Quality audio and video are crucial to engage hybrid workers,” Black said. “The survey we conducted revealed this significantly impacts employee satisfaction. For effective employer communication, 85% of those surveyed agree that video quality and 88% agree that audio quality is important. But quality audio and video can also bring the hybrid experience a bit more entertainment, if paired with certain elements like AR graphics. Elevating production in a simple way with graphics can significantly impact viewer engagement.”

Tools of the Trade

Many hybrid workers are typically granted the same equipment for their remote work: a laptop with an internal camera, speakers, and microphone. This might be excellent for the remote worker, but it can also be very poor for hybrid meetings. A little education for the hybrid worker could go a long way in getting the setting just right.

“Organizations could greatly benefit from providing documentation to remote employees about how their room setup impacts the quality of meetings,” said Read. “With some simple “dos and don’ts” documented to these employees on how to set up their working environment, basic modifications to lighting, camera position, and room acoustics can provide a drastic improvement to the hybrid experience at minimal cost to the employee and organization.”

Biamp's 2023 survey showed that one of the most desired features, besides effective audio and video, was for remote attendees to feel as involved as those in the physical conference room. As Andrulis said, AI and the widespread adoption of UC platforms are improving the situation.

“But we're not quite there yet," he added. "The key to creating true meeting equity lies in implementing conferencing systems that deliver experiences that are simple, fast, and incredibly reliable. An effective solution requires more than just the usual hardware—microphones, loudspeakers, and video cameras. It calls for an integrated AV solution with intelligent features, including AI, that enhance the experience for both in-room and remote participants.”

Auto tracking in both microphone systems and videoconference cameras is imperative to keep active speakers in view for the remote participant. But what happens when participants turn their heads to speak to another person in the back of the room?

"[That's] where we took a disproportionately bigger leap in getting closer to meeting equity: Smart Switching," Coutinho said. "It uses adaptive intelligence to choose the best view between the camera on the table [Sight] and the camera at the front of the room, tracking conversations as they move between participants and consistently maintaining the best angle of in-person interactions as the conversation flows between in-room and remote participants."

The Road to Equity

Is there an actual path to meeting equity between the remote and in-person worker? “I am not sure if there will ever be true equity between local and remote experience,” Maru opined. "There are too many variables. The in-person meeting experience is about much more than the technology—it’s the connections before and after the meeting, too.”

Some are more optimistic, but it will take more than just the “right” technology. Don't overlook the spaces themselves. As businesses continue to reduce their physical footprints, Andrulis said their leaders to be more intentional and strategic with how they utilize individual offices, shared workspaces, and conference rooms. As a result, many organizations are adopting hoteling strategies.

“Instead of having dedicated workstations, employees reserve desks or meeting rooms as needed," Andrulis noted. "This approach allows for maximum flexibility, enabling workers to choose the most suitable workspace based on their specific tasks and requirements.”

As far as what needs to be done in advancing hybrid videoconferencing technology, Read thinks an emphasis needs to be made at the intent of a design of what experience the end user is looking to gain from a hybrid meeting. “Putting the needs of the end user in context of the developments in AI and video teleconferencing allows for the best possible meeting equity through a conferencing system,” he said. “Creating an equitable hybrid meeting is very possible with our current state of technology; asking the right questions leads integrators to providing the expected quality from their customers.”

"As technology walks toward becoming fully software-based, and therefore relies on standard computer equipment, it’s becoming easier to properly equip hybrid workers," added Black. "This is because of the accessibility computers provide, sure. But when technology is designed to be used universally, it means making it easy and efficient enough for someone with little to no knowledge to pick it up."

[Viewpoint: Office Buzz or Buzzkill]

There is still much work to be done, according to Coutinho. "The evolving nature of dynamic workplaces will continue to present new obstacles for meeting equity," he added, "but our industry continues to innovate toward the all-important goal: making everyone feel seen, heard, and engaged."

Founded in 1857 by brothers Herman and Augustus Kountze, First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) has grown substantially over the years. Today, FNBO has more than $30 billion in assets and is one of the largest privately held banks in the United States.

[Strategies and Solutions for Corporate Campus Displays]

In 2020, FNBO decided to fully refresh the AV systems in its Omaha, NE-based, 45-story headquarters, which is the tallest building between Chicago and Denver. The refresh included more than 250 conference rooms on 40 floors and the construction of the project's crown jewel, the Experience Center on the 19th floor.

Longtime FNBO AV supplier CTI was chosen to do the multi-year refresh, which wrapped up at the end of 2024. “The reason we chose CTI to be part of our team is we needed a partner that could be part of us, dream with us, be visionary with us, but yet then provide a practical, functional solution that would work for us,” said FNBO SVP Brenda Dooley. “We kind of knew what we wanted, but we didn't know how to pull it together. So, it was important that we had a partner with us long term as we look to how technology changes in the future and provide those solutions for us.”

To put it mildly, the refresh was very much a transformation. “FNBO’s idea of a video collaboration-style conference room had been a wall-mounted TV with an HDMI cord coiled up beside it,” said Josh Keller, design consultant, CTI. “Then COVID happened and they had to reinvent everything. Everybody was now at home—and the company had not been set up for videoconferencing and didn't have the infrastructure in place to do it. That's where this project came from.”

The Crown Jewel

Without a doubt, FNBO’s Experience Center is the peak of CTI’s AV refresh. It is a large, comfortable space with extensive seating, bolstered by ceiling-mounted Barco video projectors and Shure microphones, Samsung LED monitors, Absen video walls, and LG BH Series Ultra Stretch digital signage. “They wanted to create an environment that would appeal to the caliber of clients they’re trying to attract,” Keller said. “Because their focus is on credit card processing, their goal is to ensure these high-level customers feel welcomed and valued the moment they walk through the door."

To describe the Experience Center’s video assets as eye-catching is an understatement. "As soon as you step off the elevator, you’re greeted by an Absen 1.5-pixel wraparound LED video wall designed to immediately draw you in,” said Keller. “We incorporated several portrait-mounted Samsung Q Series 98-inch displays and strategically placed ultra-stretch screens throughout the space. Add in the immersive background audio, a high-end lounge area for client meetings, and multiple conference rooms, and the Experience Center delivers a truly engaging environment.”

Barco projector mapping helps the Experience Center combine storytelling, discovery, and hospitality on its walls. “We incorporated several truly unique elements,” Keller said. “There’s a custom wood relief map wall that’s brought to life with projection mapping, allowing visitors to see each branch location highlighted on the surface. Another highlight is a section where their original 19th-century charter is embossed onto the wall. Motion-activated by walking up to the wall simulates the charter being written in real time as someone approaches. It’s a uniquely immersive way to connect their roots with modern storytelling.”

Universally User Friendly

Given that FNBO’s staff are not tech gurus, CTI designed the bank’s conference rooms (of varying sizes) to be consistent in design while being very easy to use. Basically, if you know how to run one FNBO conference room AV system, you know how to run them all.

[The 8K Debate]

“Everything had to be standardized,” said Keller. “When you're doing something like this, if you go through and sit down and try to design every single room by itself, it's just not possible. For instance, we standardized on Samsung for pretty much all the in-room displays; whether it's their smallest display at 55 inches or all the way up to 98 inches.”

Functionally speaking, FNBO’s rooms are controlled using touchpads loaded with Zoom videoconferencing software. CTI selected Neat bars and control pads equipped with cameras, speakers, and microphones for use in the smaller rooms, while Shure MXA910 ceiling array mics, Logitech Rally cameras, and Altas speakers were used in the larger spaces.

“Any video routing was done through Crestron DM NVX equipment throughout the building,” Keller said. “Anything that we had to tie in through a video matrix was done that way. Most of the system controls throughout the building go through Crestron as well.”

It is the Zoom touchpads that provide a standardized user experience in all FNBO’s conference rooms. “When you walk into any of their rooms, they have a Zoom touchpanel so that the user experience is exactly the same no matter the size of the room,” said Keller. “When we get to the real advanced rooms, we do add a secondary page for additional controls. But you still have that main Zoom user interface so that it doesn’t matter who is walking into the room: Anybody could have a basic meeting there.

[Product Review: Shokz OpenMeet UC Presents New Twist on Office Headset]

"Since we were getting to retrain the users at this point, the way that we wanted to retrain them was that you don't even need an HDMI cable at this point,” he added. “We recommended that they join wirelessly through Zoom, and then share any content that they had through that connection. This approach met their needs."

Security Considerations

Completing the FNBO project did not come without its challenges. Besides the sheer scope of the project with its hundreds of rooms, CTI had to ensure that the system was sufficiently secure to protect bank financial information and other confidential data.

“We had to make sure that everything was vetted by their team,” said Keller. “So, in the very beginning, all the equipment had to be penetration-tested to verify its security. We did have to provide those tests back to them and make sure that the security team itself was signing off on everything that was going to be on their network before we installed it.”

All content that runs on FNBO’s AV LAN is kept isolated from the traffic on the company’s main network. "We built a separate AV network that was a closed loop and not connected to the internet at all,” Keller explained. “Only the UC engines and anything that needed to have active security updates on a daily basis has been connected to the outside world."

[Viewpoint: Office Buzz or Buzzkill]

Today, FNBO’s advanced AV system is wowing visitors and staff alike. “Overall, I thought the refresh project went really well,” said Keller. “This was one of my largest projects in my career to date. But thanks to CTI’s skilled engineering team, it worked.”

The Connor Group is a real estate investment firm in Dayton, Ohio. Specializing in luxury apartments across the United States, the company is well known for its impressive property portfolio, and innovative and award-winning headquarters building. This unique property features an impressive two-story atrium and expansive skylight, within an extraordinary design, that embodies the company’s commitment to setting high standards and achieving excellence in everything it does.

Faced with workforce growth, The Connor Group recently embarked on an ambitious headquarters renovation. Their vision encompassed adding several new office spaces, an advanced meeting and conference room, and a state-of-the-art and inviting lobby—all of which required cutting-edge technology solutions.

The Technology Operations team at The Connor Group had several critical criteria for their project: firstly, to find an aesthetically pleasing and cost-effective video-wall-type solution for the lobby space. However, in addition, they also needed to find a large-format display brand that could effectively adapt to various meeting spaces, contribute to and enhance the internal app development process, double as an information/signage solution, and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation among staff.

Following a comprehensive evaluation of available solutions from various leading brands, Connor Group selected Avocor L Series and G Series displays for three main reasons: The intuitive touch screens offer user-friendly interaction to foster productive collaboration; the high-resolution video quality delivers crisp visuals for presentations and video conferencing and ensures clear communication and engagement; and the in-built interactivity functions make an impressive contribution to the company’s app development efforts. The in-house app development teams have been able to leverage screen mirroring to showcase works in progress directly to the executive team on a large scale. This particular function has fostered deeper collaboration, facilitated valuable feedback opportunities, and accelerated the app development process.

For Ethan Watson, director of Technology Operations at The Connor Group, the screen mirroring was a key feature for the team. “Being able to test their apps on a larger screen has proved to be a really useful tool for our development team,” he said. “Now, they can see how apps will look and function on different devices, while simultaneously using their phone or tablet to interact with the app on the larger display. The team can use screen mirroring to display apps to potential investors or clients to get feedback on the app’s design and functionality.”

A 105-inch L Series display serves as the centerpiece for the main reception area. The technology operations team was impressed by the look and finish of the product, which, very importantly, fits in with the stylish design scheme of the company headquarters. Mobile carts equipped with 65-inch G Series displays offer remarkable adaptability, catering to various meeting space needs. Strategically placed 75-inch G Series displays in other rooms standardize the setup across all conference spaces, eliminating the need for separate system training, which saves valuable time and resources and ensures a consistent user experience.

In addition, outdated TVs have been replaced with versatile Avocor displays for presentations, company announcements, and video conferences—all of which now come alive with engaging visuals to capture the attention and foster information dissemination. An intuitive whiteboard feature helps fuel brainstorming sessions and real-time collaboration, promoting a culture of open communication and shared ideas.

The implementation of Avocor’s G Series displays yielded many benefits for Connor Group, including improved collaboration and engagement, enhanced productivity, and increased staff satisfaction. Looking ahead, the company is working on a large, interactive map to display information and data from various remote company locations. It is envisioned that a 65-inch G Series will be utilized for this purpose.

[Avocor Acquired by AUO]

West Hollywood's The Luckman Club, an exclusive lounge space at Soho House. The location, which hosts a variety of events from corporate events to private parties, offers members a sophisticated bar and lounge with musical performances. When management sought a sound system that could support a variety of events, Pinnacle Audio, Video, & Lighting spearheaded the installation of the distributed 1 SOUND system. 

For the two main lounge areas audio design, 1 SOUND’s Cannon coaxials were selected. Pinnacle implemented Cannon C6i’s because of their sonic high fidelity, extended lower register, and their SPL capability. The properties of the C6 allow this loudspeaker to be highly intelligible and soft on the ear in bar and dining setting while having the SPL and bandwidth to support creating a higher energy in the room for parties, events, or live musical performances. They were mounted utilizing color-matched C-Clamp and L-Bracket accessories that allowed for aiming the loudspeakers both horizontally and vertically. For bass, 1 SOUND’s reflex SUB12s were hidden in the larger lounge areas while a MiniSUB5 was deployed in a private dining room.

[Exploring Audio's Evolution]

Soho House was pleased with the audio design because in addition to the sonic quality and the system fitting their needs, they were able to color match the loudspeaker to the space using 1 SOUND’s Custom Shop. This system was powered by Powersoft Quattrocanali 2404 and 2804 amplifiers.

The AVIT manager for The Luckman Club explained that this was the system he had been looking for to allow for many different types of events without the need for outside equipment. He also commented on the 1 SOUND team's job  balancing the room especially when you consider the amount of glass and hard surfaces in the space.”

[Pro AV 2025: What's Trendy?]

1 SOUND team visited Luckman Lounge to ensure system optimization. "Thankful as always to the 1 SOUND team for continuing to go above and beyond," stated Sam Conklan, technical development program director, Soho House. "I knew the equipment was great, but this was the first time I was able to work with Lou and Michael to commission a system. The attention to detail to the entire AV system to ensure it provided the best sound quality was refreshing. I knew the team would be impressed with the space as soon as we finished."

NetApp has a portfolio of leading data, application, and storage solutions that help organizations manage applications and data everywhere across hybrid environments. They have over 30 years of innovation under their belts, helping them to be the proven leader in all-flash storage. As a technology innovator, it would only make sense for NetApp’s in-house technology to be top-of-the-line, especially as they prepared to relocate its global headquarters to new offices on Santana Row in San Jose, California. This move to state-of-the-art offices is part of the company’s ongoing transformation and future of work strategy, where NetApp and its employees will adopt a hybrid model of working to thrive in the new normal post-pandemic.

Bart Saunders, Multimedia Specialist for NetApp, turned to Sharp to ensure the new facility was built with leading, innovative displays in mind. With this vision, Bart worked with the Sharp team to install four direct-view indoor 137” LED video walls in four separate conference rooms of the new headquarters conference center. Bart and the Sharp team worked hand-in-hand with Creation Networks, Inc., which was key to the success of this installation. Creation Networks is a leading audio visual solutions integrator company headquartered in Concord, California. “It has been great to work with NetApp on their collaboration projects,” said Eric Benson, Director of Engineering for Creation Networks, Inc. “The NEC dvLED videowalls and display devices have been an integral part of the current room refresh.”

[A Crystal-Clear Vision for the Future of Sharp]

Updating Outdated Conferencing Tech

In previous office locations, the NetApp team had experienced unstable, noisy projectors, creating a need for ongoing maintenance requests. Even worse, these were distracting and a nuisance during company gatherings as the projectors were placed directly above conference tables and were impacting the microphones used during conference calls, webinars, and other executive gatherings.

Bart and his team were tasked with ensuring the displays at NetApp’s new headquarters were stable and reliable and allowed the team to hold meetings without technological disruptions. Bart needed to work with a partner who would be able to help them swap out the tech they had used in previous offices that were to be placed in major conference rooms. With this in mind, Bart immediately turned to Sharp to get the job done. Ultimately, NetApp selected Sharp due to the reliability and overall appearance of the products, which is, according to Bart, what sets Sharp apart from competitors.

[Impressive Lobby Befitting a Top AV Integration Firm]

After learning of the tech troubles NetApp had struggled with in the past, the Sharp team worked with Bart to have four NEC LED video walls installed across the new headquarter’s conference rooms, specifically the NEC LED-FE015I2-137.

“The final fit and finish of these LED walls were a great addition to our new headquarters, both aesthetically and operationally,” said Saunders. “The screens have a clean look and feel, even when the products aren’t on.”

An Immediate Conference Room Improvement

Bart and his team saw an immediate difference in the caliber of their newly installed conference center display technology. “The most notable improvement is that the image quality has greatly improved since we installed these Sharp products,” said Saunders. “The image quality is nice and crisp and is sure to provide a better overall meeting experience for our executives and their guests.”

With these new video walls from NEC’s LED FE Series, the NetApp conference center was upgraded with modern display technology that delivered excellent imaging at a low cost. The video walls provide vibrant LED imaging built with NEC’s 1.58mm LED-FE015i2 module designed to deliver impressive content visualization. The 1.58mm pixel pitch is ideal for viewing from 3 to 8 feet away - perfect for NetApp’s conferencing needs. The modules provide better contrast, viewing angles, brightness uniformity and color uniformity than previous models and other providers on the market.

Bart and his team were also thrilled about the easy access that enabled quick maintenance to the modules when needed. “The way the tiles go on and off make maintenance easy and quickly accessible,” he said.

With these new LED video walls the NetApp team now has state-of-the-art technology to match their tech-forward vision for its new headquarters location. The team now has stunning displays to visualize crucial information, while also allowing them to carry out organizational meetings without disruption.With these new LED video walls the NetApp team now has state-of-the-art technology to match their tech-forward vision for its new headquarters location. The team now has stunning displays to visualize crucial information, while also allowing them to carry out organizational meetings without disruption.

Atlona has added several recently introduced products to its Omega Room Builder, a unique online resource to help integrators understand how various Omega products can work together in an AV system. The update brings especially strong value to the education vertical through the addition of several new Atlona Omega products developed with modern learning environments in mind. The updated Omega Room Builder experience also brings enhanced benefits for modern meeting spaces, including new recommendations for huddle room configurations.

[Top Integrators 2024: Conference Room AV]

“The Omega Room Builder has become a very popular resource to help our customers better understand which products can work together in a system,” said Perry Sun, product marketing manager, Atlona. “Our latest update includes a new, dedicated classroom that highlights our latest products and relevant system options for the growing education vertical. The Omega Room Builder remains a convenient starting point for further engagement with us, to help you create the ideal system that best meets the requirements of your customers.

The Omega Series is a premier AV line from Atlona featuring 30 products ideal for collaborative spaces. The Omega Room Builder’s intuitive user experience is designed to provide recommended Omega Series AV switchers, transmitters, and receivers, as well as Atlona cameras most suitable to the customer’s system design and/or integration project. The latest Omega products added to the online resource include the AT-OME-TX11-WP wallplate transmitter, AT-OME-MS42-HDBT matrix switcher, and AT-OME-CS31-SA HDMI and USB-C switcher family for the education market.

[Doing More with Meetings]

Upon visiting builder.atlona.com, visitors can choose from a gallery of six room environments that address design and integration options for classrooms, auditoriums, and meeting spaces. After selecting the appropriate room setting, users can choose from a series of system options to match the application’s requirement. The Omega Room Builder presents a downloadable BOM (bill of materials) upon completion, with the option to work with Atlona’s support team to fine-tune product selection and/or the overall system design.

Imagine stepping into a meeting room or classroom that operates with the seamless precision of an autonomous vehicle. No fumbling with cables, no repositioning a mic, or worrying about connectivity. Tell the room to start and away the host and participants go with the room’s technology working silently in the background, enabling flawless collaboration and productivity. While fully autonomous meeting rooms aren't a reality yet, significant strides are being made toward that goal. This article will explore the innovations, best practices, and design changes that are paving the way.

Today’s Autonomous Meeting Room

The goal of the meeting room or classroom is to facilitate seamless collaboration, ensuring everyone is heard and seen, with technology operating effortlessly in the background. The most significant challenge is how to make this happen without the user having to think about the technology. Meeting participants need to stay focused on the meeting, not troubleshooting technology. To that end, the technology needs to be nearly invisible.

While it’s not practical for all technology to be invisible, audio is one component that can be. Ceiling microphones are an ideal starting point because they remove the need for visible equipment and shift the focus away from managing audio. Plus, they reduce tech clutter for a cleaner, more organized space.

While designers will choose the best microphone for the needs of the room, the ceiling mic has come a long way, thanks to beamforming microphone technology. These advanced microphones use multiple microphone elements to create a focused pickup pattern that can target specific areas of the room, effectively isolating the speaker's voice from background noise. The evolution of beamforming microphones has been instrumental in enhancing audio quality and user experience. Early models required complex setup and calibration, but modern versions are much more user-friendly and capable of automatically adjusting to the room's acoustics. Now the same technology is being incorporated into video bars, delivering an all-in-one solution that prioritizes audio intelligibility alongside video.

Additional intelligent features are simplifying the user experience. This includes meeting control and scheduling that uses heat mapping data to determine what rooms are more popular, where people are sitting, and how they use the room. On the video side, face tracking gives an equitable experience to all those joining. From a productivity standpoint, AI capabilities are enabling automatic meeting notes and language interpretation. All these components have helped to create a meeting experience that is much more automated, simpler to use, and increases productivity.

Designing a Room for a Great Installation and User Experience

Automation isn’t just for users. It’s essential that the design and configuration experience be just as seamless because in many cases there are multiple rooms to be commissioned. Designing a single room is one thing but implementing a design across 100 rooms is a different challenge altogether. This is where effective room planning and visualization tools as well as solutions designed for scalability can be beneficial.

From an audio design standpoint, it’s important to know what part of the room needs to be covered. Audio is a complex science, and it’s much easier to grasp and plan for when done visually. Tools like Sennheiser’s Room Planner and partnerships with virtual reality companies such as Modus VR can map out the room and identify the optimal placement for microphones, cameras, and other elements in the room.

[On Hybrid Work 2024: Sennheiser]

The other prerequisite for a flawless experience is ensuring that the devices in the room are interoperable. In the past, AV professionals had to do a lot of manual work to get disparate devices to work together. Now, interoperability out of the box can speed up deployments. For example, if an organization is using Crestron or Q-SYS for device control and management, knowing that the beamforming ceiling mics can talk to the system—providing information such as positioning data—ensures consistent, seamless performance for end-users and streamlines setup and management. On the backend, these manufacturer partnerships ensure that they’re using the same protocol, command structure, and network. This allows programmers to create a user control GUI that is simple and straightforward much more quickly than before. For example, a button that allows meeting hosts to walk in and get the meeting or class started, with or without camera tracking.

Interoperability also enhances user experience by delivering proactive monitoring of devices, reducing downtime, and ensuring smooth operation. Long gone are the days when users were expected to call when something wasn’t working right. Now tech managers can remotely monitor these devices, receiving alerts before a user discovers the problem and it holds up the meeting. This capability ensures that meetings can start on time and aren’t derailed. After all, research shows that focus is lost after just 10 minutes.

The theoretical benefits of autonomous meeting rooms are compelling, but practical applications and real-world examples bring these concepts to life. At Michigan State University, more than 30 Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphones were deployed across campus, as well as 500 Speechline Digital Wireless Microphones, and other room systems. Managing such a large-scale installation could easily have been a logistical nightmare, but Control Cockpit—Sennheiser’s powerful centralized software—transformed the experience. What once required teams of technicians darting between rooms is now handled seamlessly from a single dashboard. Every microphone in every room across an entire campus can be monitored, adjusted, and maintained remotely.

Designing, deploying, and monitoring such a massive deployment on a consistent basis without the advances mentioned above would be impractical and expensive. With intelligent, interoperable, and easily monitored and managed microphones in these classrooms, the school improved the experience all around—for installers, tech managers, staff, and students.

What’s Next?

The future of autonomous meeting rooms promises advanced features such as adaptive AI, real-time analytics, and even more sophisticated automation. Current innovations such as room planning, auto audio configuration, face tracking, real-time language interpretation, and advanced remote maintenance and monitoring are just the beginning of that reality. By leveraging solutions with these capabilities, organizations can create environments where technology produces pristine intelligibility and boosts productivity and collaboration yet fades into the background. Participants can focus on the meeting objective. As we move forward, these technologies will be crucial for enhancing the performance of these rooms for a user experience that’s as seamless and intuitive as getting into a self-driving car and simply enjoying the ride.

Corporate AV-reinforced events are commonly staged in auditoriums, ballrooms, and large offices that have basic AV infrastructures in place. But since those infrastructures are basic, they typically have to be supplemented by video cameras, displays and/or projections screens, speakers, microphones, and lighting.

[Talking Points from 2024 AV/IT Summit]

This begs the question: How can spaces that host temporary AV-reinforced events be designed to make the setup and operation of those events faster and more painless? To find out, SCN spoke to Dan Abrams, Aspire Technology’s practice director for digital workplace and physical security; Joshua Greenstein, president of the 2twelve Consulting Group; and Kevin Henneman, president of KMH Integration.

SCN: What sort of roadblocks do integrators run into when they are designing (or retrofitting) spaces that were never intended to be used for video production—and what can they do to clear them?

Dan Abrams: There is a myriad of potential challenges that could arise when integrators are designing or retrofitting spaces that weren't originally intended for video production purposes. Lighting, acoustics, sightlines, power, connectivity, infrastructure, accessibility, and many more could all make the project a nightmare.

Kevin Henneman: Advances in AV-over-IP protocols have created more options for offering lower latency and higher-resolution compression engines. With the current streaming technology and protocols, you can build a system that is fully IP-based and allows scalable control from a single platform. The acceleration of new IP protocols, including SRT, NDI, and the newest IPMX, are enabling a real melding of AV with broadcast.

Joshua Greenstein: There are intelligent design decisions that really show forethought in putting together a design that's going to be scalable easily. For instance, on the streaming side, the key is access to reliable internet.

[SCN Hybrid World: Out of Sight Sound]

SCN: How can integrators better design basic AV systems that host temporary events to make them easier to use by production crews?

Greenstein: They should begin by having a complete understanding of the type of events most commonly held or that the space is marketed for. Overbuilding unnecessary infrastructure for one-off events can be expensive and increase the complexity of the system without ever truly being leveraged. Design and build for what will actually be used and allow the true one-off uses to be unique and less reliant on integrated infrastructure.

Henneman: Whether it's employees plugging into a conference room's AV system or a broadcast video crew setting up a temporary location shoot for a corporate event, it all comes down to delivering a high-quality, plug-and-play experience. That's all based on designing rooms and public spaces for maximum flexibility and optimal performance. And at the same time that you're creating a true plug-and-play environment for broadcast crews, you're also enabling a flexible Bring Your Own Device [BYOD] experience for corporate employees during the workday.

Abrams: Having really good conversations upfront with stakeholders who understand how that space is used is really important. As well, identify consultants and other people who use this space to find out how they want to interface with a "blank canvas" of a space.                                         

SCN: How can spaces used for corporate events such as all-hands meetings, town halls, and stockholder meetings be better designed better for temporary AV crews? For example, should these spaces have permanent PTZ camera installations?

Greenstein: Yes. The PTZ example is a really good one. If you have an event space that has three or four PTZs already in place and routed to a central point, that makes it easy for a temporary crew to connect them to their video mixer.

Abrams: System designs for flexible spaces should incorporate temporary system configurations from their inception. Consideration should be made for "sharing" all audio and video sources in some capacity with an external production crew. Understanding how the spaces may be used is critical to getting it right. As well, allowing the base system to be used in a standalone or operator-driven configuration can support greater overall use of the space and support many different types of events.

SCN: How can integrators ensure that the space is able to "plug into the cloud" to support video streaming and remote viewer interactions?

Abrams: They need to have the in-house ability or an outside partner capable of providing IT excellence. AV connectivity itself isn't nearly as challenging as the network requirements for these types of systems, so having proper IT resources that can deliver on the necessary distribution requirements is essential for success.

[Product Review: Sennheiser Keeps It Simple]

SCN: What can be done to create better lighting in these spaces without a grid? What type of audio equipment (mics and speakers) should be standard? And when it comes to streaming, what do these crews need as far as a "foundation" for effective distribution?

Abrams: Lots to unpack in this question! Let's take one thing at a time. We'll start with lighting: If you're not going to have a grid, portable lights are a necessity. But portable doesn’t have to always mean tripods. It could be a small portable truss system or similar variant. Success in streaming is directly tied to a strong IT infrastructure designed to have connectivity available in proper locations in and around production areas within the given space.

Audio equipment truly depends on the space. Speaker selection, configuration, and deployment is a function of the architectural environment and type of reinforcement they are meant to provide. So, there isn't a standard answer when it comes to speakers. Microphones are a little easier. Having an appropriate quantity of wireless channels available with options for handheld, lavaliere, or head-worn mics is essential. Strategically located inputs for wired microphones is also very beneficial as well.

Henneman: Corporate users can build temporary grids with lights on floor stands or clamp lights to existing infrastructure, such as Kindorf or Unistrut components. There are also lighting systems that are Wi-Fi or Bluetooth controllable, so you don't have to run wires to every light. This makes installation easier and doesn't clutter the event floor space as much. The traditional approach to audio management during a live stream has been to control audio signals as separate paths, but the newer streaming protocols have greatly streamlined this process.

Greenstein: Depending on the space and size of the room, lighting trees that are either in temporary fixed locations or come in on an as-needed basis for any show are most useful. If you're going to be installing audio or wireless mics that are going to permanently live in a space, you want to go with top-of-the-line equipment because you want it to be versatile.

[Strategies and Solutions for Corporate Campus Displays]

SCN: Finally, what is the best advice you can offer to integrators for designing spaces that are optimized for AV?

Greenstein: I think flexibility, scalability, and versatility are the three things that are really going to make an AV space work, especially in a corporate setting.

Henneman: People can view high-quality video on their 65-inch TVs, streaming services, tablets, and phones. As a result, corporate audiences now expect that same level of quality in the workplace, on their laptops, Zoom or Teams meetings, on the video displays used in multi-purpose areas and during every presentation.

Abrams: Ask lots of questions to the client and define in writing exactly what the goals of the system are, then set realistic expectations regarding challenges that are outside of your control. And remember: You're better off doing a few things great rather than an OK job at everything.

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) brand is a global behemoth, with events that are among the most electrifying experiences in live entertainment. On occasion, WWE brings private events home to its new Stamford, CT-based corporate headquarters, where it seeks to deliver the energy and excitement of a sold-out stadium bout into its stunning, sunlit atrium.

The atrium is a long, tall, and narrow rectangular space with the building’s massive glass façade on the west side and three stories of open balconies on the east, each with a high-resolution LED video screen as its fascia and a fourth lining the top of the space. The central LED wall on the south end spans four stories from the base of the main floor and commands attention from any vantage point.

To design and install a PK Sound T10 robotic line array system for the unique space, the WWE tagged in the team at OSA International, which has offices in Las Vegas, Nashville and Chicago. The system’s acoustic coverage is precisely tailored to the atrium’s architecture to maximize clarity and consistency.

[Meptik Is Ready to Rumble]

“We program events like company town halls and parties in our lobby space, which presents some major acoustic challenges,” said Joseph Solari, VP of studio operations at WWE. “The PK Sound solution devised by OSA is configured to keep acoustic energy off reflective surfaces and focus it only where people are gathered, and the results are truly phenomenal. Our first town hall with the new system was like night and day compared to our previous events, with clean, intelligible, and impactful sound reproduction across the board.”

The main array of eight PK Sound T10 robotic line source modules is installed above the center of the south video wall via a custom rigging solution by Atlanta Rigging Systems, with a column of three T218 intelligent subwoofers flown behind it for ample low-frequency reproduction. From there, variable horizontal coverage is configured on each module in the array and easily reconfigured remotely via PK .dynamics control software.

For events with smaller crowds, coverage can be symmetrically focused only on the ground floor. When the WWE hosts busier events with spectators on the upper floors, sound can be directed asymmetrically to include the crowds on the balconies while minimizing spillage onto the reflective LED screens. Content for the AV system is fed through a range of sources, including The Studios at WWE, the building’s new production facility that’s equipped with five studios and highlighted by a virtual production stage.

[Adele to Enter Guinness Book of World Records with Largest Outdoor Video Wall]

“WWE sets the standard for content creation and delivery, and we knew a PK Sound robotic line array system could overcome the atrium’s challenging acoustic environment and match the excitement and impact of the LED video content,” explained Jim Risgin, VP of design and engineering with OSA International. “Designed with support from PK Sound and ACT Entertainment, our solution gives them the flexibility to optimize acoustic coverage remotely and in real time for the best possible audio in any application, whether it’s a short spoken-word address for a few inside teams or a packed, high-energy party with WWE superstars on stage and music covering multiple floors.”

“This project is a great example of how PK Sound’s multi-axis robotics can effectively combat acoustic limitations and remove the room from the equation, resulting in pure and natural reinforcement,” added Ralph Mastrangelo, director of sales, live sound, with ACT Entertainment, PK Sound’s exclusive North American distributor. “Both WWE and OSA are at the forefront of their respective industries, so we were proud to play a small part in this collaboration and couldn’t be happier with the results—an audiovisual experience that reinforces WWE’s reputation as a global leader in live entertainment."

Stamford, CT, may be known as "The City That Works," but the downtown headquarters for Charter Communications and its new 250-seat auditorium space may just be known as "The HQ That Connects." Part of the latest phase of developing its innovative campus, which opened in 2022, the auditorium is positioned to be the next evolution of a campus centered around collaboration, flexibility, and innovation.

[Strategies and Solutions for Corporate Campus Displays]

Addressing the changing landscape of hybrid work while offering multi-use spaces for events, town hall meetings, and companywide presentations, the auditorium is predicated on ease of use and consistency. What sets it apart is its high-caliber broadcasting for remote capabilities, a feature that is sure to impress. With a build and integration that took about eight months from the start of construction through completion, Charter collaborated with architecture firm HLW and technology integrator Diversified to deliver a highly utilized space with high-level broadcast capabilities.

Independent Infrastructures

Integrating advanced technology within a sophisticated design, the larger scope of the project included typical AV and broadcast production components while dealing with specialty components, including an auditorium wrapper and an interactive fountain in the adjacent courtyard. “Each of these systems had independent infrastructure requirements and phasing needs which had to be resolved within tight assemblies and minimal footprints,” said Jeremiah Hancock, associate principal, studio director CT, media & entertainment lead, HLW.

Central to the visual capabilities of the space is a 12x20-foot Planar video wall that delivers HD video presentations and offers adequate viewing no matter where you are seated within the auditorium space. “While typical conference rooms incorporate architectural detailing to accommodate the inevitable change in screen sizes over the life of the fit-out, the auditorium design strived for a more integrated and refined aesthetic aligning with its more prominent use case,” said Hancock.

The JBL audio system was designed to deliver clear and impactful audio for various events. The network includes JBL PSB-1 soundbars placed on each side of the video wall and connected to the HDMI matrix for high-quality audio output. Custom-configured amplifiers are integrated to provide adequate power and control for the speakers. Advanced audio processors ensure optimal sound quality and distribution, and provide the flexibility to meet a wide range of event requirements while supporting multiple audio formats.

The entire system is housed and organized in a rack system that allows all necessary components for signal distribution and control to be housed in one optimal location. It was ensured that the auditorium would be located away from the perimeter glass of the building due to its proximity to the local train station, helping the team limit any acoustical challenges that may have been caused.

Lights and Mics

The space includes a combination of architectural and theatrical lighting on the interior, while dynamic, decorative lighting is incorporated into the "wrapper" that encloses the suite of spaces, along with soft glowing details within the stairs and walls for greater visibility. The lowest portion of the wrapper is clad in marble and includes seamless detailing of the infographic displays near the auditorium entrance, along with a mesh ceiling stretching down to meet the floor.

[Money Talks]

"The lighting design includes a complex open cell ceiling system with over 1,900 LED nodes and 20-foot vertical RGB LED strips integrated into the auditorium's architectural wrapper," added Hancock. "This setup allows for dynamic lighting effects that can be synchronized with media content for a fully immersive experience."

The architectural lighting features continuous linear pendants designed to follow the curve of the ceiling openings. The theatrical stage lighting comprises two rows of alternating ETC Source 4 key, ETC Desire wash lights, and an ETC ColorSource Linear backlight row on the stage, enhancing visibility for performers.

Martin VC-Strip LED video strips with a 15mm pixel pitch were used for the lighting system, and Color Kinetic FlexElite IntelliHue fixtures were integrated for the ceiling nodes. P3 system controllers manage the LED and lighting fixtures, delivering synchronized operation and real-time control. The system also allows for the integration of video and lighting controls through a unified platform, supporting both DMX and Art-Net protocols.

With a wide range of speaking and presentation scenarios planned for the auditorium space, the microphone system included wireless mics for mobility as well as handheld and lavalier mics to accommodate all speaking preferences, ensuring a clear audio presentation no matter where the presenter was located. The microphone network is managed through an integrated control system, including signal processing and feedback prevention, ensuring seamless integration with the room's more extensive audio setup.

Versatile audio options, combined with simplified docking and content sharing, make the spaces more universally accessible. “These components together create a comprehensive audio system that supports high-quality sound reinforcement for any event held in the auditorium,” said Michael Branca, project manager with Diversified.

Local and Remote Control

After careful consideration with internal subject matter experts across the Spectrum team, Charter identified the need for an on-site production studio and control room to enhance the auditorium space's production capabilities, helping to record and deliver company-wide messages and announcements along with other Spectrum branded content. “While the facility does not have the redundancy typical of a television broadcast studio, it packs all of the capabilities into a creatively packaged suite of spaces, set within a larger pre-function and event space at the ground floor of their campus,” Hancock explained.

Due to their complexity, a specialty team manages the auditorium and studio control systems. Still, presets are available to the end user to facilitate the use of basic WebEx and content sharing capabilities. The internal, on-site team manages any needs for planned large-scale events.

The Crestron CP3N control system manages the auditorium, 50 conference rooms across 15 floors, and a conference center on the plaza level. Charter’s internal IT services department can operate the system locally through touchpanels at the AV equipment racks and within the auditorium, while having the ability to manage remotely via web interfaces. Supported by a private, isolated IP network, it can issue alerts and failover commands, and the backend hardware is protected by a UPS system, ensuring reliability and high availability during all events.

['Tough Tech' on Display]

“This system provides a dedicated Control Subnet, allowing for seamless control and management of all connected devices. It supports a variety of communication protocols, including Ethernet, Cresnet, and USB, and allows for real-time multitasking and modular programming,” said Travis Heitchew, enterprise program manager with Diversified.

Even though the partners said the new auditorium space is open to continuous evolution, especially concerning lighting, the space as currently outfitted has accomplished everything Charter hoped for, fitting in seamlessly within other work areas within its headquarters. “The auditorium space has been successfully received and is highly utilized by many teams across the headquarters population,” added Hancock.

Fersa Bearings—an innovator in the automotive industry—recently relocated to a glass-walled headquarters in Zaragoza, Spain, and required a range of visual solutions to communicate and showcase its position of excellence, while creating new innovative presentation opportunities and other corporate activities for its expanding workforce. PPDS was called upon to install two new, large dvLED walls inside the headquarters, transforming communications between teams and visitors, while delivering more sustainable working environments.

To turn their vision into reality, Fersa Bearings teamed up with PPDS and HubTech—a local Zaragoza-based AV system integration specialist—to create two supersized bezel-free video walls. The Philips Public LED High Bright 7000 Series was quickly identified as the standout choice for the installation of the imposing 5x2.75m and 6x3.5m dvLED video walls in the building’s main hall and auditorium spaces.

[Talking Points from 2024 AV/IT Summit]

Tailored to meet their exact needs and requirements, the engaging Philips dvLED walls take center stage from the moment of entering the building, delivering an instantly positive and professional impression of the business. In the main hall, the 6x3.35m display wall brings opportunities for branded communications showcasing product innovations and corporate values, inspiring both visitors and staff alike. Inside the company’s 40-seat auditorium, Fersa Bearings’ 5x2.75m video wall provides elevated presentations—whether as part of a team meeting or to existing or prospective customers—with every detail brought to life, from video to detailed spreadsheets, with bright, high-quality color and picture quality.

With the main hall and auditorium featuring wall-to-wall glass windows, the Philips Public LED High Bright 7000 Series’ 1200 nits’ brightness ensures uncompromised viewing experiences at all times—including exposure to direct sunlight—key to the project’s success.

For optimal performance, both videowalls feature Philips dvLED’s 24/7 Active Health Monitoring, helping Fersa Bearings’ AV/IT management teams to predict, pinpoint, and resolve any issues before they even occur. Adding further protection, the Philips dvLED videowalls include IP30 rated conformal coating, making them resistant to potentially harmful airborne pollutants, including dust, dirt, fungus, and moisture, reducing the risk of corrosion and short circuiting.

[Adele to Enter Guinness Book of World Records with Largest Outdoor Video Wall]

“The audiovisual integration in Fersa's new corporate building not only meets the technical requirements, it significantly elevates the experience in both the hall and the auditorium, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to excellence in technological and audiovisual solutions," said Angel Alonso, managing director, HubTech. "This project is a testament to the ability to adapt and innovate in creating modern and technologically advanced corporate environments.”

As organizations continue to grapple with how to optimize their real estate under the hybrid work model, the opportunity for on-site technology to accommodate a more flexible way of working is strong. A core component of this is video display systems—and the good news is that clients want more of them.

[Viewpoint: Exploring the 5 Pillars of the New Workplace Paradigm]

“It is a tremendously expanding market,” said Mary Landis, vice president of enterprise sales at Avidex, an AV design and integration firm headquartered in Cary, NC. “The smartphone revolutionized our industry because everybody expects to be able to touch it and get the answer that they’re looking for. The natural technology evolution is such that people want to see monitors everywhere.”

Projection Options

Where corporate AV used to focus on the boardroom, now it’s extended to ad-hoc meeting hotspots in open offices, huddle spaces, elevators, and lobbies. And while presentation and collaboration may be the primary use cases, displays are also being leveraged for wayfinding, in addition to serving as art pieces designed to impress those visiting a corporate campus.

“That expanded use of especially touch displays—as well as monitors and technology of all sizes—has really helped drive price points down,” Landis said. Those lower prices, in turn, have contributed to increased adoption. 

[Classroom Projectors: What You Need to Know for the First Day of School]

Projection technology continues to do a good job of addressing challenges related to corporate conference room and meeting space design, noted Jason Young, national sales manager for professional display solutions at Sony. “With flexibility in room layout, projectors seamlessly accommodate various spatial constraints, from compact huddle rooms to expansive boardrooms,” he said.

Depending on the client’s budget, projectors can also be a more cost-effective option over larger dvLED, LED, or video walls. Landis said clients who require larger images—but who don’t have the budget for dvLED—are turning to projection technology. She cited multipurpose spaces and training rooms as two examples where projectors remain a strong presence. Corporate lobbies and immersive environments are other areas for which these systems are well-suited.

“With all the incredible lensing that’s now available to us," she added, "it has really opened up the opportunity for creative applications. We can really morph and change the size and dynamic of the installation. Projection is still very much a viable technology—and with screen materials advancements, it’s quite effective.”

Conference Room Choices

Selecting the best display type for a conference room is based on room size, required image quality, use case, and, of course, budget. For example, Young highlighted Sony’s BRAVIA LCD displays series, which offers models designed for small, medium, or large conference rooms that need high image quality and brightness. On the other hand, its dvLED Crystal LED displays are used in large conference rooms as backdrops for what he calls “state of the union-type" gatherings.

Similar to the variables involved in selecting display types, identifying the best aspect ratio for corporate campus displays comes down to the space—most notably, its size and layout. Budget, as always, remains a factor, as is what content will be presented on the screen not only today but in the future.

“When considering conference room applications, each display technology offers distinct advantages tailored to specific needs,” Young said. “Balancing performance, compatibility, and cost-effectiveness is crucial in selecting a display solution that best meets the needs of the conference room environment and its users.”

Landis believes that decisions around aspect ratios will be based increasingly on what collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer. “There’s quite a bit of buzz about [21:9] right now," she said, "but not yet widespread adoption, as companies are looking at the global standardization of: Are we building to 16:9? Are we building to dual screen? And what is the appropriate quantity of displays—and location of displays—in our meeting rooms?”

Interactive Display Best Practices

Touchscreens are a great way to drive collaboration between meeting participants, which can result in higher participation levels and overall engagement. Young noted that because multiple participants can manipulate content, they are a good tool for streamlining workflow.

For this to happen seamlessly, however, there are a few things to consider. “It’s critical to pick a touch-enabled display with responsiveness and touch accuracy to minimize frustration and poor user experience,” Young said. Screens should also receive the maintenance required to ensure that they’re clean and continue to perform well.

For Landis, room layout determines how successfully interactive displays will perform. “I have to make sure there’s room for folks to be able to stand up, walk around, get to a screen, and touch,” she explained.

Rooms must accommodate people of all shapes and sizes, she added, and the entire display must be accessible to all users, including those with limited mobility. “Workplace technology in general is all about making everyone a part of the workplace solution,” Landis said. “If folks are going to make the effort to go to the office, we have to make sure that they can use the technology.” After all, she added, if someone can’t reach the top square of the interactive display to close the application they’re using, “it’s not going to do you much good.”

[Supply Chain Lessons Learned]

There's also the need to drive adoption of interactive display technology through training. “You cannot just buy an interactive touchscreen, put it in a conference room where touch has never been used within an organization, and expect to get return on investment from your employees using it,” said Jeff Boggess, director of product marketing at Avocor. “It requires some type of training and onboarding for employees.”

For integrators, an understanding of how those employees could benefit from touch is essential in making the right recommendations. For example, what applications do members of the accounting department use daily, and how would they want to interact with them via touch during their meetings?

“Integrators [should] take the time to survey who they’re working with and ask: What are the different departments within your organization? What are their day-to-day tasks? And then understand use cases where touchscreens make sense,” Boggess advised.

When touchscreens do make sense, it’s necessary to understand how people will be using them, said Brian Soto, director of product management at Optoma. For example, will project teams require displays that support multiple touch? “If they don’t, do you need to consider an external computer that will be connected to the display to give you the software you need to interact and collaborate?” he asked.

Soto added that displays that incorporate cloud-based solutions require internet access; if wired internet connectivity isn’t available, the display will need to support a wireless card. For applications requiring more than one screen, it’s necessary to confirm that the displays will accommodate multiple screen collaboration.

Let's All Go to the Lobby

We all know what they say about first impressions—in the context of a corporate campus, the lobby serves to shape how customers and visitors perceive an organization. Some display installations are there to inform people about the company itself, while others help visitors navigate the facility. And then there are those that are designed to tap into our emotions. The question is: Can one display achieve all three?

[History on Display]

Ideally, no, according to Landis. “The trend—when budget allows—is something that’s the wow factor,” she described. “There may be more detailed information at the receptionist’s desk. Wayfinding is going to be its own separate display and its own separate interface.”

One trend that Landis highlights is an increased demand for curved displays for lobby installations that are designed to impress those entering the building. “The ability for mount manufacturers and LED manufacturers to accommodate unusual shapes and textures in technology is an exciting development as we look at those one-off, attention-getting displays," she said.

Regardless of the size of the investment, the effectiveness of lobby displays depends on content. Landis underlines the importance of engaging with those in charge of content creation and management before specifying equipment. “When you’re focused on signage and you’re focused on communicating a message, you need to make sure that the stakeholder is involved in the process so that the technology you’re choosing best matches what the message is,” she said. “Ultimately, it’s about the message.”

AV Technology's content director, Cindy Davis, recently visited Hall Technologies' Dallas headquarters. There, she interviewed CEO Ken Eagle and co-founders Ali and Gail Haghjoo about the company's 40 years in business and the markets it serves, such as healthcare, corporate, and education.

Ali Haghjoo reflected on the early days when in 1990 he engineered products for the financial industry. "I came up with the first multi-user interface, and that was our foray into the AV market, that product. We started to make little switchers, matrix switchers, video splitters, and pretty soon we found ourselves in this market called Pro AV market."

Hall Technologies' foray into the healthcare market began with engineering switchers and extenders to work over several hundred feet. Today, healthcare is one of Hall's largest markets followed by corporate and education.

The Haghjoos and Eagle discussed the organizational changes that began in 2018 with funding from Gun Lake Investments, a rebranding, and a move to Dallas.

[Meet Hall Technologies' CEO]

When asked about Hall Technologies philosophy, Eagle responded, "That's simple. A lot of people may have seen the brand for a long time, maybe moved away from the brand, or maybe they're new and coming back to it. The thing to know about Hall Technologies is we're built on custom solutions and reliability. So, if you're looking for a standout brand that's unique, that maybe fits what you do in a sea of a lot of "me too" products, Hall is the place you want to go. You'll find reliability, you'll find customization, and you'll find a product that will fit your need, differentiate you from the other solutions that are out there, and make you more valuable to your customer."

Check out the video for the full interview.

Samsung  is teaming up with the Los Angeles Chargers to outfit the team’s new headquarters and practice facility—The Bolt— in El Segundo, CA, with an ecosystem of over 250 Samsung LED displays dedicated to player training and wellness, team branding and media functions. The 150,000-square-foot facility that sits on 14 acres of land, including three natural grass practice fields, in the heart of Los Angeles’ South Bay will open its doors this summer.

The partnership builds on Samsung’s work with the Chargers’ home field, SoFi Stadium. Looking to make practice perfect, the Chargers wanted to integrate the same innovative technologies from SoFi Stadium into their practice facilities to set a new standard of excellence in professional football training.

[NFL Draft Ready: New York Giants, Crestron Partner for Immersive Football Hub]

“The Chargers had a vision to create an environment that would offer its players, coaches and staff everything needed to gear up for a winning season,” said David Phelps, head of the display division, Samsung Electronics America. “Partnering with Samsung to bring this vision to life was a natural matchup. Our displays will support and enhance all facets of the training experience, from team workouts to game plan coordination. When the new facility opens, the Chargers will further cement its reputation as one of the NFL’s most innovative teams with Samsung’s cutting-edge technology for training day and game day.”

Designed by Gensler Sports design firm, The Bolt places Chargers players at the center of a meticulously planned three-floor layout. The ground floor encompasses an expansive locker room, equipment room, training space, weight room, hydrotherapy room, team lounge and direct access to the practice fields. Each room features Samsung 4K Smart Signage in sizes ranging from 43 to 85 inches that will be utilized for everything from informational nutrition and strength and performance displays to still photos and video custom-tailored for each space. Fans attending training camp will notice Samsung XRB outdoor LED ribbon displays on the east façade of the facility facing the outdoor fields that will be illuminated similar to those surrounding the field at SoFi Stadium.

Ascending to the second floor, one finds coaching and scouting offices alongside a lounge and individual meeting rooms for players. When the team wants to relax, they can enjoy the outdoor courtyard with a lap pool, grill and patio area lined with several models of Samsung’s outdoor TV, The Terrace, available in screen sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches. The QLED 4K screen automatically optimizes screen brightness and color and has advanced glare resistance, ensuring the players can watch their favorite content in any weather condition.

Perched atop the facility, the Chargers LUX Lounge offers a sprawling exterior deck overlooking the fields and captivating views of downtown Los Angeles. This floor also houses executive offices, conference rooms and meeting areas outfitted with Samsung LCD signage, fostering team collaboration.

[Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal FC Power Technology in Football]

Upon entering the facility, visitors will notice the striking Samsung ISC Indoor LED in the main reception area. Adjacent to the main entrance, the Chargers’ Media Center will showcase Samsung’s Indoor LED Signage and use an LCD Video Wall as a dynamic backdrop during press conferences.

Located in East Lansing, MI, the 63,000-square-foot headquarters for software company TechSmith opened in fall 2022. The building features nearly 150 meeting spaces, ranging from small offices designed for one person and a guest, all the way up to a training room designed for 50 people—and every size in between.

According to David Zink, director of shared services at TechSmith, the company provides screen capture software and productivity solutions for more than 73 million people globally, and is most known for Snagit, an asynchronous workplace communication tool; Camtasia, an all-in-one screen recording and video editor; and Audiate, an audio recorder and text-based audio editing application.

In 2019, during the initial planning stages for the $15 million building, Zink and his team sought “hybrid-friendly” room solutions while still having the majority of employees working in the office. “It was around this time we signed our first deal with Zoom to integrate its Zoom Rooms feature for video conferencing,” Zink said. “We were looking to make it a better experience for the small percentage of folks that were remote at that time because equity was still just as important to us then as it is now. We were looking at different brands of cameras and microphones and talking through what we might want to try and then the pandemic hit.”

A Change of Plans

When the pandemic forced TechSmith to go fully remote, the team’s priorities for their new headquarters shifted. “We had to reset on some of the planning, and shifted the focus to be 100 percent ‘hybrid-first,’” Zink said. “An example of this new planning focus was scaling back the building from three stories to two and adding more space in the team rooms.”

And while Zoom had been a part of the company’s collaboration framework from the start, the platform suddenly took center stage. “All of our collaboration spaces were built from the ground up with Zoom technology, where the push of a button can bring up all the current meetings happening across offices. As part of our ‘hybrid-first’ focus, the team rooms were specifically built with Zoom-enabled Neat.boards so brainstorming can happen from anywhere and at any time.” Zink continued, “The Neat.board was best suited for our needs, as they offered a 65-inch size.”

AV-Enabled Collaboration

In addition to the Neat.boards, a number of complementary technologies have helped facilitate hybrid work at TechSmith. “For our larger collaboration spaces, we wanted to get away from having to pass around a microphone for hybrid meetings,” Zink said. “So we outfitted our conference rooms, board rooms, and training rooms with ceiling-mounted microphone arrays (approximately 32 microphones in each room) from Yamaha UC and Shure.”

As for the small offices that were not equipped with ceiling-mounted mics, Zink and his team selected the Razer Seiren X. “After rigorous testing, we went with the Razer due to its cost and ease of use. We liked that it had a physical mute button but not a lot of other controls to worry about. We learned that when it comes to outfitting an office with tech, usability is the most important component.” He continued, “So far, this decision has done really well for us. We also tested the microphones with Snagit, Camtasia, and Audiate since we use those to regularly communicate asynchronously.”

And while a small number of employees with dedicated offices opted for single, ultra-wide computer monitors in their offices, they outfitted the majority of spaces with dual Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C hub monitors. “The general consensus was two 4K displays provided us flexibility for developers and testers to use those displays at various resolutions, and that would better allow them to test customer issues as our data showed fewer customers used ultra-wide displays,” Zink said.

Hybrid Culture

Zink emphasized that it wasn’t just the building that changed, but also the culture within the building. “Towards the end of the pandemic in July 2022, we held an ‘Async-First’ experiment where all teams, almost exclusively, worked and communicated asynchronously through Zoom, Slack, or by sending pre-recorded videos through our Snagit and Camtasia products,” he said. 

“This was originally to address the virtual meeting fatigue and our employees’ desire for ‘fewer, better meetings.’” Zink continued, “But the feedback from this experiment also helped shape our current flexible work policy and solidified our vision for what the new building is today—a structure created to establish equitable communication where everyone can participate on equal footing, whether remote or in-person.”

TechSmith’s hybrid policies, in concert with the collaboration tech and the layout of the building itself, have ultimately resulted in greater scheduling flexibility and improved work-life balance among staff, without sacrificing the employee interactions that are vital to moving the company forward. The hybrid work policy has guidelines on what types of communication make the most sense. 

“In-person is considered the richest form of collaborative work and is important when the goal is to build and maintain relationships (onboarding, team bonding, celebrations) and working on a single project or problem to completion,” Zink said. “Synchronous is preferred when something requires immediate feedback or time-sensitive decisioning is required, and when there is ambiguity or sensitivity to the subject matter at hand (discussing a new problem that spans multiple teams, IT fire drill, etc.). Asynchronous is ideal when collaboration isn’t immediate and doesn’t need to occur in real-time (solicit feedback, review content) or when there is a one-way share of information (quarterly updates, campaign results). Our current hybrid culture enables and supports treating people equitably, empowering people to take accountability, being transparent and inclusive.

This is literal, as there are policies promoting accidental employee ‘collisions’ that leadership believes spark innovation that is irreplicable in remote-first environments. On the flip side, now that we are 100 percent hybrid-first, more people are willing to stay home when they are sick and don’t feel the pressure to go in and prove something.” He continued, “Our belief is that ‘anyone can work from home,’ but when you’re in the office, take that one or two days a week to interact and engage with others, which naturally helps create new innovative ideas.”

[How the AI-Powered Zoom Workplace Will Reimagine Teamwork]

A Worthwhile Investment

Feedback on the variety of collaborative meeting spaces in the new building has been overwhelmingly positive. The team rooms, which are designed for groups of six to eight people, have proven to be particularly popular. “On most Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which are the most common days for hybrid workers to come into the office, all 23 of those rooms are usually occupied,” Zink explained. “There isn't a single department that doesn't try to get time in a team room at some point during the week. In fact, people quite often use the Neat.board for brainstorms even when they are not on a Zoom call!”

Zink noted that the more than $6 million investment has been worth it to ensure a parity of experience for all TechSmith employees. “All of this was necessary so our in-office, remote, and hybrid staff could all come together and work in a way that is equitable and feels natural,” he said. “Without all of these technologies, we wouldn’t be able to work as seamlessly as we do, and it also serves as an important reminder to all staff that they are treated equally when in-office or remote.”

Hybrid Wisdom

As many companies are looking to move into new spaces or to reduce the overall footprint, Zink offered the following advice. “Whether you're building a new building, or just trying to reduce your footprint, my best advice is to involve employees in the discussion. Consider what they need, be as flexible as you can with what you're going to offer and focus on doing it well and not taking shortcuts to get there. Think about outcomes, not necessarily size/footprint. It’s more about what your employees want to use the space for and less about the actual size.”

For CEOs still grappling with giving into a hybrid workplace, Zink offered the following. “Any decisions, whether to stay fully remote, in-person or become a hybrid workplace, should be supported by information such as employee sentiment, which can be captured via employee surveys, and an understanding of how a hybrid environment may impact the way your product or service is developed or the way you engage with customers. It is also important to realize and communicate that a shift to hybrid is an evolving process so different policies and rules may change as you’re trying to find the right balance.”

ROOMS WITH A PURPOSE

TechSmith has a variety of different collaboration spaces in different sizes.

>> 70 “smoffices” (small offices, designed for one person and a guest chair)

>> 30 double rooms (designed for two people)

>> Five huddle rooms (designed for four people)

>> Four standup rooms (designed for eight people)

>> 23 team rooms (designed for six to eight people)

>> Six conference rooms (designed for nine people)

>> One board room (designed for 15 to 25 people)

>> One training room (designed for 50 people)

>> One creative collaboration space (designed for eight people)

>> One “programming” room (designed for two people): This room is typically used by developers, QA, marketing, HR and a few other departments. It has two 65-inch screens and two desks that people can sit at and wirelessly share to screens via Zoom.

>> One video studio: This was the most expensive room with lights and extra insulation that any employee can use.

>> One audio recording room

>> One atrium space with two 75-inch DTEN screens: Generally one displays company information and the other screen is used as a digital whiteboard or we have used it to display meetings that are going on in the training room as it is near where we have snacks and refreshments are and it is also used as an overflow space.

PLUS: The family room, four wellness rooms, and the game room have a screen with Zoom to display company information. TechSmith partnered with a local arcade to rotate a couple of pinball machines and a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga cabinet.

In Greenwood Village, Colorado, NexGen Resources is a privately held company dedicated to the development and procurement of natural resources. Since its inception in 1993, NexGen and its affiliated entities have grown into a closely held investment group managing a diverse portfolio of investments in companies at multiple stages of growth and across multiple industries.

To establish a new corporate headquarters, NexGen acquired a building in the Denver Tech Center and performed a complete renovation with the goal of creating a space with a modern aesthetic accentuated by visualization technology. Harnessing its technology expertise, NexGen’s leadership meticulously researched the display market and ultimately selected Planar as their preferred display provider, and engaged technology integrator Logic Integration to design and install a comprehensive, office-wide audio visual solution featuring two floor-to-ceiling Planar LED video walls as standout elements.

In NexGen’s new corporate lobby, Logic Integration installed a nearly 24-foot-wide, 9-foot-high (12-by-8) Planar MGP Series LED video wall with a 1.2mm pixel pitch (MGP 1.2). “The client was very knowledgeable and had a clear vision of what they wanted,” David Soran, Logic Integration’s vice president of commercial sales said. “The lobby installation is their statement piece. It’s the first thing you see when entering their office and it takes up an entire front wall.”

According to Soran, the Planar MGP Series LED video wall provides a beautiful background for art, natural scenic imagery, and full motion videos—all in stunning 5K resolution. Logic Integration added custom programming and video wall processing to allow the display to receive content from a variety of sources and locations in the building. “NexGen has the flexibility to also use the video wall for presentations, client-focused messaging, and similar purposes,” he said.

All Hands

The other installation is a nearly 16-foot-wide, 9-foot-high (8-by-8) Planar MGP Series LED video wall with a 1.2mm pixel pitch that is located in an “all-hands” meeting area. For this display, Logic Integration included a signage solution that gives NexGen the ability to display striking 4K content, including other media like cable programming and internal company messaging. For both video walls, Logic Integration strategically chose the 1.2mm fine pixel pitch to deliver sharp images even from close viewing distances.

“The imaging is very clear and precise, and the content they’ve created for the video walls looks impressive,” Soran said. “Aesthetics were really important for the client, and the great feature of the Planar video walls is the inclusion of trim kits, which creates a finished edge with no visible cables, resulting in a beautiful final product.”

NexGen Resources vice president Ryan McNeil said the video walls represent a great marriage between Logic Integration and Planar. “The result speaks volumes.”

Oracle Red Bull Racing—for which PPDS has been the official team supplier since 2022—recently upgraded its MK-7 marketing team offices in Milton Keynes, U.K. With the goal of enhancing team collaboration and creative capabilities, 13 Philips Professional Displays were installed. 

Following detailed discussions covering the ORBR marketing teams’ needs for both today and into the future, a fleet of 10 Philips Collaboration C-Line displays (65-86 inches)—based on the Windows (8000 Series) and Android (6000 Series) OS—were integrated into the marketing team’s management offices, meeting rooms, and shared spaces, such as the ‘Break Out Zone’ and ‘Energy Lounge’.

You can watch highlights of the installation in the video below and then keep reading for more details.

The Philips Collaboration C-Line displays have proved themselves an instant game changer for the Oracle Red Bull Racing marketing team, transforming each space into a hive of activity, bringing new energy and enhanced productivity, and new collaborative working capabilities, throughout.

The displays also provide the marketing team with advanced and seamless wireless sharing capabilities, with up to 64 devices (people) able to simultaneously connect to the screen, for quick content switching between participants in the room as well as remotely.

Combining multi-touch technology with the Philips Collaboration displays’ whiteboard mode, users can write and draw directly on the screen—with near-zero latency, for more natural user experiences—either by hand or with dedicated markers, with all actions streamed back to all connected devices for easy file sharing.

Complementing the Philips Collaboration displays, two imposing 98-inch Philips Signage 4000 Series D-Line displays have been installed side by side in the marketing team’s ‘Paddock’ area, which features grandstand seating, with a single 86-inch model, installed in the Oracle Suite. Each is used to provide a variety of functions, including live coverage of track action and other associated events, delivering important team news, results and other content to the team.

For maximum versatility, the team also benefits from the Philips 4000 Series’ QuadViewer feature, transforming single displays into stylishly framed 2x2 videowalls with no interior bezels. Marketing teams can connect and play content from up to four independent sources simultaneously on the same screen—a great solution when multiple feeds need to be visible, such as broadcasting qualifying sessions or the race itself.

“We looked at several vendors, but PPDS and Philips Professional Displays were the ones that had the best product to answer what we were looking for," said Olly Hughes, chief marketing officer at Oracle Red Bull Racing. “Getting the marketing teams together, working on content collaboratively, viewing it in sharp, bold contrast, on quality displays is really important. These Philips Professional Displays are a game changer and the perfect solution for our marketing office environment.”

Download NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Hybrid Work 2024

42 AV/IT Thought Leaders share their perspectives and insights into trends that will play a role in the workplace culture, space planning, and technologies in the coming year.

Hybrid In Action: An employee-centered approach to collaboration technology is at the heart of one software company’s new, state-of-the-art flagship facility.

AV/IT Team: For a growing shared workplace franchise, comprehensive sound masking leads to improved tenant satisfaction and retention.

8 Case Studies: University Refreshes Hybrid Learning Strategy | The Power of Remote Production | Security Operations Get a Pro Display Upgrade | A Long-Awaited Conference Space Solution | LED Video Walls Light Up Corporate Headquarters | Powerful AV Over IP Brings Media Center to Life | Blending the Digital and Natural Worlds | Space Booking Shifts into High Gear

34 Products that Facilitate Hybrid

BONUS: Best of Show Awards from ISE 2024 

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to 2024 Company Roadmaps

2024 Company Roadmaps Exclusive access to the roadmaps of 42 industry-leading AV/IT manufacturers and solutions providers. We talked with CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CTOs, presidents, executive vice presidents and vice presidents, directors of product, sales, and global marketing, co-founders, chief innovation officers, and so many more involved in the direction of the companies they represent to bring you a rare insider's perspective.

Bringing Hybrid Workers Closer Together: The AV/IT team at Sharp Business Systems is on a mission to illustrate smart office technology that elevates the work experience and addresses the needs of the modern hybrid workforce.

Five Use-cases with a Fresh Perspective: The Future of Remote Collaboration at Microsoft's Global Workplaces | The Perfect Recipe for Remote Learning | Immersive Audio for Fitness Enthusiasts | A Long-Overdue Visual Upgrade | Hospital Donors Recognized in Fine-Pitch LED

Products That Matter for 2024 Plus products announced at Integrated Systems Europe.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Great Installs of 2023

24 Great Installs of 2023 We present 24 outstanding installations that span multiple applications: An experience that can be seen from space | The shape of the new collaboration | Immersive and interactive experiences | Command and control | Esports that level up | Refined audio in a house of worship, a meeting space and classroom | Engaging casinos | An airport that informs | and more!

Celebrating 10 AV/IT Teams behind the great installs of 2023 within higher education: University of Nevada, Las Vegas | University of Southern California | University of Québec in Montreal School of Management | James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University (NC State) | Stevens Institute of Technology | North Carolina State University (NC State) | Sonic College | Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology | Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l’Appareil Digestif | City University of Hong Kong 

21 AV/IT Industry Thought Leaders on how their companies support AV/IT managers in creating a successful experience. While some responses are similar, the offerings and philosophies are nuanced.

19 Products That Matter for 2024

DOWNLOAD NOW!

DOWNLOAD NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to What’s Trending in Esports

DOWNLOAD the AV Technology Manager’s Guide to What’s Trending in Esports and learn why, where and how esports is expanding. 

22 AV/IT Thought Leaders from across the esports space share their thoughts on setting up an esports program at any level, the technologies that make a difference, as well as the elements that create an immersive experience for athletes and spectators alike.

AV/IT Team: Go inside one of the best esports arenas in America. A custom, 20-foot-wide video wall serves as the centerpiece of extreme gaming and diverse multimedia applications at one of the nation’s top esports facilities.

5 Case Studies: Festival-Scale Cabling, Made Simple | An Esports Powerhouse in the Big East | Nurturing Future Production Professionals | Audio, Control, and Switching Take the Win | Another Link in the Esports Pipeline

31 Pro AV Best in Market 2023 Award Winners: New or newly upgraded products from AV/IT companies were recognized in the inaugural program. 

26 Esports Products that help propel the game.   

DOWNLOAD NOW

DOWNLOAD NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Collaboration Near & Far 

Download the AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Collaboration Near & Far and learn why Bring Your Own Device, Bring Your Own Meeting, and even, Bring Yourself have undergone a paradigm shift.

34 Thought Leaders from across the AV/IT industry discuss the new hybrid workplace and the elements that make up a successful collaboration environment—near and far.

2 AV/IT Teams: Implementing a frictionless, global collaboration solution at WeWork was a true team effort. | From Barbie to Hot Wheels, customer presentations and corporate productions at Mattel are all about education, engagement, and collaboration.

5 Case Studies: A Quiet Environment for Private Conversation | Making the Dream Work with Teams | Giving Back Through Collaboration | A 360-Degree Business Approach | Boosting Efficiency and Reducing Costs

42 Products that enable collaboration, content sharing, intelligible audio, and clear visuals.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Humly’s premium hardware solutions for the modern workplace are now prominently visible throughout all five floors of The Engine, a Boston-based enterprise that provides a professional business environment for technology innovators throughout the region. That visibility has provided immediate value for the technology innovators and facility managers that now know the precise status of nearly every private gathering space in the building, thanks to the color-coded Humly Room Display panels mounted outside their doorways. 

The Engine Accelerator completed the rollout of its new Humly Room Display network in September, installing more than 50 Humly Room Display panels outside meeting spaces of all sizes, from large board and conference rooms down to small focus rooms and labs. The panels interface with The Engine’s existing Nexudus software booking system, ensuring that all bookings automatically synchronize with corresponding Humly Room Display panels. The result is a simple and streamlined space booking ecosystem that populates current meeting details and booking status on each panel throughout the facility.

[SCN Hybrid World: How to Make Room Scheduling Easy]

The Engine Accelerator bills itself as “a home for tough tech” and plays an important role in helping its technology residents translate breakthrough research into “world-changing” technologies through the convergence of science and engineering. The facility is a core component of The Engine Accelerator’s ecosystem, offering participants a unique combination of space, programs, and resources along with a collaborative tech community.

“Our main objective is bringing top tech founders together and putting them into a system where they can freely collaborate with each other,” said Nana Kusi Minka, community operations associate for The Engine Accelerator. “Our facility has resources for chem-based, bio-based and engineering-based businesses, and being able to have all of these resources in place and supplement them with programming and networking elements allows our technology residents to get the most out of our facility.”

[JUST RELEASED: SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2023] 

With an active community of innovators moving throughout the facility each business day, places to meet, gather and collaborate often come at a premium. “The Engine is a very fast-paced environment with a lot of movement, and people here need a system that can manage and track all of the activity throughout the building,” said Kusi Minka. “Our Nexudus software has been exceptional, allowing our residents to easily book spaces from their laptops and personal devices through a front end portal. Less exceptional were the previous meeting room display panels at each door, which had no direct integration to Nexudus. That often led to confusion as to whether a room was free or booked.”

The Humly Room Display panels have solved that problem. Each panel displays the room number and meeting duration along with green (open) and red (booked) bezel lighting and type that are visible from a distance, eliminating any confusion as to whether a room is available or not. Since Humly Room Display constantly speaks to Nexudus over The Engine’s local-area and Wi-Fi networks, residents can now book an open room on the spot with the assurance they won’t interrupt an important meeting or be interrupted once theirs is underway. 

[Top Integrators 2023: Hybrid Office Systems]

Kusi Minka added that the Humly Room Display panels was easy to install, with in-house IT staff managing all panel installation and LAN/Wi-Fi network connections. He also shares that the on-display presentation of Humly adds a touch of class to the visual atmosphere. “Humly adds to the brand of our office,” he concluded. “As we create more meeting spaces, the expectation is that Humly’s presence will continue to spread throughout the facility.”

Through Jetbuilt’s cloud-based platform for proposal generation and 360-degree project management, the sales team at Kinly have entered a new era of operations. Kinly can now better allocate resources and manage lead-in times, ultimately providing an improved client experience with a workflow that saves time and money and adapts quickly to client needs, while the team can focus on building customer relationships. 

Like many businesses, Kinly relied on manual and outdated processes for creating system quotes and proposals, often leading to delays in their sales cycle. "We put designs together using an Excel-based solution that was very manual and time-consuming,” recalled Mark Kempson, head of consulting at Kinly U.K. "Our proposals had to go through two departments before finally reaching clients." This disjointed approach made it difficult to streamline operations and provide accurate quotes in a timely manner, while changes in a project specification often required the whole process to be restarted again.

[Jetbuilt Integrates with Leading CRM Platforms—Here's How]

Kinly's journey to Jetbuilt began a few years ago when Mark Kempson was introduced to the platform. "My manager had suggested looking into Jetbuilt, and I first spoke to members of the Jetbuilt team at ISE in 2019,” explained Kempson. “I visited the stand and saw demos of their product and thought it looked interesting." The motivation to look closer at inefficiencies in the proposal process stemmed from a broader initiative to examine internal operations at Kinly, a project undertaken in collaboration with a business consultancy firm. A pain point exercise revealed that one of Kinly’s top priorities was to find a quicker and easier-to-use quoting process, which would align with Kinly's ongoing efforts to become more efficient overall.

The decision to move Kinly’s quote-building process to Jetbuilt was the direct response to a trial exercise, initiated by Kempson, to demonstrate the potential benefits of making the switch. What began as an exercise to show the time-saving abilities of a dedicated quoting tool soon revealed other unexpected benefits. Mark Kempson and his team assessed how many jobs they handled annually across a variety of price ranges before focusing on their average quotation cost and calculating how long it took and how many resources were required to produce a quote for this average-size project.

[Everything We Know about the Vegas Sphere, So Far—A Running Blog]

“The results were eye-opening,” recalled Kempson. “Not only were proposals taking a fraction of the time to generate, but the efficiencies mainly achieved from utilizing the inbuilt pricing, led to incredible workforce savings, allowing the pre-sales team to spend more time building client relationships rather than dealing with infinite Excel sheets. Jetbuilt also significantly reduced the cost of creating quotes.” Aside from the subscription, Jetbuilt costs nothing to use, while using the traditional system, Kinly spent money during the process of producing a proposal and sourcing the necessary product information and pricing. Product information and live dealer pricing are readily available on the Jetbuilt platform. "The switch was a no-brainer,” confirmed Kempson. “We came up with a report that was presented to our leadership team to get a trial phase off the ground."

“We designed Jetbuilt as a 100% return-on-investment tool that provides a substantial net gain for companies of all sizes,” explained Paul Dexter, CEO at Jetbuilt. “Learning about this exercise to test Jetbuilt and measure real savings across Kinly’s most commonly quoted projects was interesting and, ultimately gratifying.”

The team at Kinly estimates that they have saved at least one person's salary worth of manual pricing-related work. While some were apprehensive of this tool taking away their day-to-day work, this newfound efficiency has instead allowed them to focus on projects they actually sell, rather than dealing with prospective quotes all day. As a result, Jetbuilt has led to improved job satisfaction and productivity. Additionally, Jetbuilt's live pricing and data accuracy have made Kinly more reactive and agile in its quoting processes.

Another major value that Kinly has implemented is Jetbuilt’s latest innovation: Integrated Project Registration. “Product Registration is a very important feature for us,” confirms Kempson. “Now, when we land a project we can automate the process of registering products with manufacturers, rather than reaching out to each one individually; the sales support team loves it.”

[Cloud-Based Production: Opportunity or Threat for Integrators?]

Following the success of the trial phase, Kinly first rolled out the Jetbuilt platform to the entire U.K. pre-sales and sales support teams, with the sales team set to join the platform before the end of the year. This has been followed by the decision to proceed with wider adoption of Jetbuilt across its global services operations in the US, and on European projects managed from the UK, demonstrating the integration of the platform into everyday operations at the company.

“Working closely with Kinly through their evaluation process was as critical for our team as it was for theirs,” concluded Dexter. “We are constantly learning the diverse and demanding needs of integrators. Through client feedback, we discover opportunities for growth, while confirming and reinforcing our strengths. I am proud that Jetbuilt meets the needs of the world’s leading integrators.”

DOWNLOAD NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to The State of AVoX 

Download the AV Technology Manager’s Guide to The State of AVoX and learn why industry thought leaders are bullish on the pace of the AV/IT conversion.

34 Thought Leaders from across the AV industry answer the questions that are foremost on the minds of AV/IT teams looking to take networked AV to the next level.

AV/IT Team Carefully specified and implemented technology by the Stevens Institute of Technology’s AV/IT dream team acts as a frictionless facilitator, enabling effortless connections between students, teachers, and course material.

7 Case Studies Control Upgrade for Underwater Operations | Taking Control of Public Safety | Manufacturing Solutions Meet Control Solutions | AV-over-IP Ties It Together for Medical School | Seamless Networking on The Strip | Streamlined Security and Mobility | School Principal Broadcasts Positivity

35 Products That Matter AV/IT enterprise and campus-worthy AV solutions that convert, serve, stream, transmit, receive, control, amplify, streamline, and so much more.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Legrand has partnered with Microsoft to create a new hybrid conferencing space with Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms featuring products from Legrand, North and Central America. In the hybrid age of remote and in-person work, Microsoft's solutions paired with Legrand technology can now enhance how people collaborate and learn. 

"In this post-pandemic era, hybrid workplaces are the future, and in any office, we must consider both in-person and remote experiences," said John Selldorff, president and CEO of Legrand, North and Central America. "By partnering with Teams, we can combine the technology and breadth of products to design the future of conference rooms to create an exceptional audio-visual experience for employees both in person and remote."

[How top Collaborate on Collaboration]

Signature Teams Rooms were developed to be immersive and inclusive meeting spaces enhanced for hybrid experiences that can be easily deployed at scale around the world.  To implement this vision, either for new construction or retrofits, Microsoft had to develop new equipment and standards. This involved changes to the room layout, furniture, audiovisual equipment, and Teams. Microsoft looked at technologies that could make remote employees feel more included in meetings and help people present in the room feel more connected to those joining remotely. Legrand proved to be a valuable partner because of its breadth of AV infrastructure, building controls, electrical infrastructure, lighting, and acoustics solutions.

[Legrand | AV Talks Next-Gen Audio]

For these two new showcase spaces, Legrand provided key components that helped simplify the typical order, delivery, and integration experience for Microsoft. These include:

• Productivity and AV solutions from Middle Atlantic and Chief, including the Forum Arc Tables, which ensure everyone physically in the room faces the camera, the Forum Collaboration Suite Display Stand, which is robust enough to support the Jupiter Pana 105 display, and Chief's Voyager Cart to deliver the Microsoft Surface Hub to any point in the room for better collaboration.
• Legrand offers a variety of furniture power solutions that supply convenient and configurable power and charging access — including units that install directly into desks, tabletops, and upholstered furniture along with the Evolution Series 8" Recessed Poke-Thru device for access to power and audio/video services recessed below floor level.
• Architectural acoustic wall panels from Focal Point provide improved room acoustics for both remote and in-person users while also establishing a cohesive, modern aesthetic with the Forum Display Stand.

DOWNLOAD NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Visualization Technologies 

Download the AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Visualization Technologies and learn how you can entice and engage students, employees, and visitors using today’s latest display solutions.

34 Thought Leaders from across the AV industry–from mounting, to panels, to projection—share their thoughts on the current state of the visualization ecosystem, where it’s going, and what decision-makers should bear in mind when planning for their next purchases.

AV/IT Team With the help of an elite digital art duo, a Florida casino uses laser projectors to dazzle both visitors and passers-by year-round.

8 Case Studies Digital art imitates life | Standardizing on displays transforms university campus | A fail-safe emergency operations solution | Wave of the future crests | The inspiration lab | Video wall drives vehicle design | Mounting a tavern TV takeover | A contemporary conference room display makeover

32 Products That Matter AV/IT enterprise and campus-worthy visualization solutions will make you shine

DOWNLOAD NOW!

DOWNLOAD NOW >> AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Next-Gen Audio BONUS: Best of Show, InfoComm 2023 Award-Winning Products

For the past three years, the most common refrain during a video conference is, “You’re on mute.” That is an easy enough fix. But if that were the only issue regarding speech intelligibility, then we wouldn’t have created the AV Technology Manager’s Guide to Next-Gen Audio.

14 Thought Leaders share technology suggestions, best practices, and some sound advice for ensuring the near and far ends of the conversation are intelligible.

The AV/IT Team at Middle Tennessee State University has gone all-in and upgraded every classroom to improve audio quality for hybrid students.

3 Case Studies An audio upgrade for an Oslo landmark. | Hybrid learning tech that means business. | Teleconferencing that exceeds expectations.

22 Products That Matter AV/IT enterprise- and campus-worthy audio products and solutions.

BONUS: Introducing the Best of InfoComm Check out the winners of the InfoComm 2023 Best of Show for AV Technology, Digital Signage, and Tech&Learning publications.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Blue Foundry Bank has provided comprehensive financial products and services to Northern New Jersey for nearly 150 years. The Rutherford-based company creates services using innovative methods, attention to detail, and craftsmanship to deliver the best experience for its customers.

For Blue Foundry’s new 40,000-square-foot administrative hub, the financial institution’s President and CEO, James Nesci, sought to create a space where employees would have the opportunity to work collectively in a flexible workspace. As Blue Foundry Bank considered the design of their new hybrid offices, they viewed a technologically infused working environment as an essential investment to engage and retain employees while also attracting new ones.

Global Team

Blue Foundry partnered with global collaboration services provider Kinly and designers at DMR Architects to adapt a technology standard that would foster a more collaborative and productive office environment. As an office standardized on Microsoft Teams, Crestron’s ability to seamlessly integrate and support the software made the Crestron Flex Digital Workplace Platform an easy selection. 

With Crestron Flex, employees can fully embrace the opportunities afforded by a hybrid work schedule, collaborating seamlessly with their teams and remote workers. Additionally, the range of the Flex platform allowed Blue Foundry to utilize different form factors to scale the audio and video experience appropriately for every space.

“The versatility that Crestron provides is tremendous,” said Nesci. “We have been able to evaluate our spaces and get the proper feedback to equip each meeting space with the Crestron Flex solution that will best serve our employees.”

[Clancy: Crestron Answering Hybrid Workforce Needs]

The Crestron and Microsoft Room Scheduling Panels with Microsoft Teams software help foster a productive work environment where personnel can book rooms like a hotel. Employees have embraced the scheduling system, structuring meeting room usage and streamlining management of these spaces. For the health and safety of employees, wave sensors were also installed to eliminate touchpoints throughout the office.

Blue Foundry Bank worked with Kinly to fully integrate every piece of Crestron technology, driving how the office functions and performs for employees. The audiovisual experience is consistent throughout the office, creating an engaging experience in common spaces and more. Music plays throughout the facility to enhance the ambiance as employees go about their day. To support health and wellness, Blue Foundry has installed circadian rhythm lighting—dimming, brightening, and changing hues to adjust with the natural light of the sun throughout the day.

Connecting Via Technology

The new office space also features many customized finishes and unique amenities such as a wellness room, lounges with fireplaces, and a café which serves as a space for teams to connect. In the café, twelve large displays show sports games and news programming, in addition to corporate branding and advertising content. To boost morale and show appreciation for employees, Blue Foundry also displays company signage to acknowledge work anniversaries, significant events, and more.

“Incorporating Crestron technology into the office encourages employees to engage,” said Kevin Carpenter, operations manager at Kinly. “Blue Foundry’s philosophy on the modern workplace allows their company to stand out as an industry trendsetter.”

Technology is an avenue for Blue Foundry Bank to expand its products and services to meet the needs of its employees, customers, and communities beyond the administrative headquarters. With the success of the recent Crestron deployment, Blue Foundry is exploring bringing similar experiences into their branches as well.

“At Blue Foundry Bank, we think of the technology solutions not only for today, but also for tomorrow’s growth,” said Nesci. “With Crestron, we were able to future-proof our business.”