AV/IT TEAM:
Left to right: Todd Hughes, AV project manager; Michael Kozar, Technical Services director; John Hahn, Technical Services assistant director; Andy Beasom, AV Systems and Infrastructure engineer
GOALS: The technical support staff of Duquesne University’s Conference and Event Services and the Office of Classroom Technologies worked together to design a new AV system for the Student Union ballroom.
CHALLENGES: The 16-year-old AV system used Cat5e cabling to connect a projector and eight 55-inch flat panels. Implementation of a matrix switcher was discussed, but the challenge of re-cabling a 57-year-old concrete building with two-foot solid concrete beams spaced throughout the ceiling was a daunting task.
FINAL INSTALL/USER BENEFITS: Knowing the future of technology is in AVoIP, the aged system was replaced with a network-based solution, providing a cost-effective, flexible, and scalable result that has improved the presentation options of the ballroom. The system uses professional NETGEAR network switches and Extron’s NAV AVoIP distribution solution to connect 15 endpoints for easy manageability over the existing Cat5e cabling. This complex design also includes both a touch panel and a network button panel programmed for user control and operation. Design, configuration, programming, and installation were completed by the in-house team for a first-of-its-kind system on campus.
Extron Navigator; Extron NAV E 101 encoders (4); Extron NAV SD 101 decoders (12); Extron IPCP Pro 255Q XI; NETGEAR GSM 4328PA-100NES; NETGEAR GSM4212p-100NAS network switches; Avio Dante XLR adapter (2)
Use of the ballroom is very diverse, ranging from groups using a simple, empty stage to the need for major presentations. An additional design aspect was needed to accommodate system access at a movable podium for an HDMI connection, basic system control, and access to a 55-inch floor-standing confidence monitor. The Extron NAV system and NETGEAR switches allow for a secondary switch at the podium, which permits the Network Button Panel, NAV encoder (for the HDMI connection), and NAV decoder (for the confidence monitor) to be connected with a single Cat6 cable, making the podium configuration quick and easy.
Due to their extensive AV and IT knowledge, as well as their technical teamwork, the team delivered a robust, future-proof solution at a fraction of the cost of an external vendor. The commitment to advancing technology has provided a full scope of options available to ballroom users. Now, instead of displaying the same content to all displays in the ballroom, users have a plethora of options. Having the ability to manipulate the displays and other equipment throughout the room sounds like a simple idea, but the behind-the-scenes implementation was no easy task. Thanks to the efforts of Duquesne’s AV and IT staff, the Student Union ballroom is now at the cutting edge of today’s technology.