2024 Włocławek
The State Academy of Applied Sciences (SAAS) in Wloclawek was established in 2002 and is the only vocational university in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It educates students in 30 specialties, 16 fields of study, within 4 faculties. The advantage and distinguishing element of the University is education in practical fields. For almost 20 years, SAAS has been participating in the international exchange of students, teaching and administrative staff under the Erasmus program. The IT system for managing the university and the teaching process provides students with contact with the university from anywhere in the world.
The aim of the project for the State Academy of Applied Sciences in Wloclawek was to modernize two auditoriums to create modern lecture rooms enabling teaching in accordance with the university’s mission. The client also expected professional devices offering high sound and image quality. Additionally, there was a need to implement a videoconferencing system in the Senate Chamber so that meetings could be held in a hybrid mode. The challenge in this implementation was the need to adapt the executive designs to the existing audiovisual infrastructure, as well as the historic nature of the Senate Chamber.
Specialists from A+V conducted a site visit and a detailed technological audit of the facility to analyze the installation possibilities as well as risks and limitations resulting from the nature of the space. Thanks to that, an audiovisual system designed for the Academy was fully tailored to the client’s needs and could be intuitively controlled from a portable touch panel.
In the new SAAS audiovisual system in Wloclawek, the video signal is distributed via IP – using Crestron’s DM-NVX technology. It is possible to scale the AV system, manage it remotely and expand it with additional functionalities, including automatic control of lighting, air conditioning and blinds.
A HALL IN THE EDUCATIONAL BUILDING AT UL. ENERGETYKÓW
The hall where lectures are held for students is divided into two smaller rooms by a mobile wall. It was necessary to improve the quality of the displayed image, so a new projection system was installed in the auditorium, consisting of:
– two screens: one 4.5 m wide frame screen for the front room, and the other, electric, 3.3 m wide for the rear room.
– two Sony VPL-PHZ61 and VPL-PHZ51 laser projectors with high brightness – 6400/5300 lumens. The advantage of these devices is the Bright View technology developed by Sony, which guarantees impressive image brightness while maintaining color depth.
During lectures, photos, charts and texts often appear on the screens, which, thanks to the improved Reality Creation technology, are sharp and extremely legible even in strong light. Reality Text mode is responsible for sharpening lines and characters. Projectors are equipped with intelligent functions that not only improve image quality, but also contribute to economical operation. A sensor that measures the brightness in the room allows you to adjust the projector’s light strength to the conditions in the room.
Lecturers in the auditorium also have interactive whiteboards and 24-inch monitors for viewing. These devices work not only stationary, but also for remote and hybrid classes. Both separate rooms are also equipped with Sony SRG-X40UH PTZ cameras. Together with the provided audio system, they support the possibility of conducting online meetings, e.g. Microsoft Teams in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) mode. The PTZ camera uses a 4K Exmor R™ CMOS sensor and allows you to obtain high-resolution 4K images, large zoom and wide viewing angles. It also provides natural color reproduction and high sensitivity when it comes to capturing the appearance of faces and other details important for remote communication, even in low light conditions. This is important, for example, when transmitting content from the whiteboard. Control of the room settings is based on Crestron devices. The presenter conveniently and intuitively turns on the AV system, selects image sources and adjusts the volume using a portable touch panel.
The sound system in the auditorium was also improved by installing wall-mounted column speakers with a 2-channel audio amplifier from Audac and a DSP sound processor from QSC.
HALL IN THE EDUCATIONAL BUILDING AT OBROŃCÓW WISŁY 1920 ROKU STREET
In the auditorium, attention was paid primarily to improving the quality of projection – a large, four-meter electric screen was installed, three 24-inch viewing monitors were placed on the cathedral table and one in the rostrum. To ensure good visibility of the content for lecture participants seated in the back of the auditorium, two 65-inch Sony FW-65BZ30L viewing monitors were additionally installed in the room. The efficient Sony 4K HDR X1 processor and TRILUMINOS Pro technology are responsible for faithful reproduction of the color palette, while 4K X-Reality PRO processing improves the image quality by sharpening it in real time. A Sony SRG-X40UH PTZ camera was also installed in the auditorium to support remote communication.
The AV system also includes an interactive whiteboard used to annotate materials presented by the presenter and copy them to the video distribution system.
“In accordance with the project assumptions, we provided users with the opportunity to use the camera and audio system to conduct meetings on the Microsoft Teams platform. An unusual piece of equipment in the Hall of the Defenders of Wisła 1920 is the Audinate journalistic connection, which provides easy and quick access to a clean audio signal for television broadcasting. This is a special advantage, very useful when reporting on various events and conferences organized at SAAS Wloclawek.” – informs Iwona Pustkowiak, Education Specialist. A+V.
Similarly to the Auditorium at Energetyków Street, the AV system settings are controlled via a touch panel. You can additionally control the lighting from the panel and blinds.
As part of the work carried out, A+V also delivered new furniture for the cathedral (lectern, desks and wardrobe).
W skład systemu AV wchodzi również tablica interaktywna służąca do nanoszenia notatek na materiały prezentowane przez prowadzącego i kopiowanie ich do systemu dystrybucji wideo.
SENAT CHAMBER
The client wanted the meetings held in the Senate Hall to be not limited to stationary meetings. The task of A+V Sp. z o. o. was to provide a system thanks to which hybrid meetings could be held in the Senate Hall, comfortable for all participants.
The Academy Senate is one of the most important collegial bodies in the organizational structure of the University. It has a historic room at its disposal. Due to its special nature, all supplied equipment had to be mobile, as interference with the wall structure had to be minimized. The equipment for conducting online videoconferencing on the Microsoft Teams platform consists of a Logitech Rally Bar videoconferencing set and an interactive monitor on a mobile trolley. The set can also be used in other university spaces.
To ensure good audibility of all meeting participants, the set was supplemented with two Logitech microphones – extending the range, which were installed in the table. The comfort of working in the room, the audibility and readability of speech were improved by installing absorbent acoustic panels suspended from the ceiling.
„Zgodnie z założeniami projektu, zapewniliśmy użytkownikom możliwość wykorzystania kamery oraz systemu audio w celu przeprowadzania spotkań na platformie Microsoft Teams. Niecodziennym wyposażeniem Auli Obrońców Wisły 1920 roku jest przyłącze dziennikarskie Audinate, które zapewnia łatwy i szybki dostęp do czystego sygnału audio dla transmisji telewizyjnej. Jest to szczególny atut, bardzo przydatny podczas relacjonowania różnych wydarzeń i konferencji organizowanych w PANS Włocławek.” – informuje Iwona Pustkowiak, Specjalista ds. Edukacji,. A+V Sp. z o.o.
Podobnie, jak w Auli przy ulicy Energetyków, sterowanie ustawieniami systemu AV odbywa się z poziomu panelu dotykowego. Z panelu można sterować dodatkowo oświetleniem
i roletami. W ramach prowadzonych prac A+V Sp. z o.o. dostarczyło również nowe meble na katedrę (mównicę, biurka oraz szafę).
SALA SENATU
Klientowi zależało na tym, aby spotkania odbywające się w Sali Senatu nie ograniczały się jedynie do spotkań stacjonarnych. Zadaniem A+V Sp. z o.o. było dostarczenie systemu, dzięki któremu w Sali Senatu mogłyby odbywać się spotkania hybrydowe komfortowe dla wszystkich uczestników.
Senat Akademii to jeden z najważniejszych organów kolegialnych w strukturze organizacyjnej Uczelni. Ma on do dyspozycji zabytkową salę. Ze względu na jej szczególny charakter, całe dostarczone wyposażenie musiało być mobilne, ponieważ należało ograniczyć do minimum ingerencję w strukturę ścian. Wyposażenie służące do przeprowadzania wideokonferencji online na platformie Microsoft Teams składa się z zestawu wideokonferencyjnego Logitech Rally Bar oraz monitora interaktywnego na wózku mobilnym. Zestaw może być wykorzystywany również w innych przestrzeniach uczelni.
Aby zapewnić dobrą słyszalność wszystkim uczestnikom spotkania, zestaw został uzupełniony o dwa mikrofony Logitech – rozszerzające zasięg, które zostały zamontowane w stole. Komfort pracy w pomieszczeniu, słyszalność i czytelność mowy poprawiono montując zwieszane z sufitu, absorpcyjne panele akustyczne.
Thanks to the modernization, the National Academy of Applied Sciences in Wloclawek has modern audiovisual systems with high-quality image and sound. This is appreciated by students and lecturers, especially those who remember previous solutions. The ability to control the AV system from a panel with the University logo looks professional and does not cause any difficulties.
In order for the system to be used properly and fulfill the required functions in teaching, A+V provided instructions for technical employees of SAAS Wloclawek in the scope necessary for the proper use of the system. The project is covered by a 3-year warranty, so a team of A+V specialists ensures the proper operation of the audiovisual systems and carries out regular inspections.
The installed AV system gives the University the ability to scale in the future, remotely manage it and expand it with additional functionalities. Quality and stability were key to this project, but we cannot forget about easy and intuitive operation, which was equally important from the customer’s perspective. All assumptions were implemented, which gives a sense of satisfaction from a well-carried out modernization.