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BSS Audio Gets Down to Business
The single largest BSS Audio Soundweb London and CobraNet-enabled audio network in New Zealand has been completed, and fully commissioned, at the University of Auckland Business School.
As part of a long-term redevelopment plan, the University of Auckland had decided to construct a 74,000 sq. metre building to house the Business School on the Auckland City Campus. This would allow the School to consolidate its activities into one integrated complex, providing increased opportunities to develop relationships between the staff of different disciplines and the students.
The audio networking system for the Business School was a two-stage process, with involvement of both Pitney Bowes NZ and ProVision of Auckland, with system design and commissioning by Jands NZ.
A total of 19 lecture areas use Soundweb London devices from BSS Audio, a Harman International Company, for audio mixing and room combining. The Soundweb London networked venues include two 600-seat lecture theatres, two 300-seat lecture theatres, a 150-seat lecture theatre and four 75-seat lecture theatres. Additionally, ten smaller lecture rooms each use a Soundweb London BLU-80, configured 12 x 4 for room tuning and source mixing.
The original design for the 600-seat theatres called for eight 8 x 8 DSP processors, networked together over a proprietary audio network. This would provide the required 32 audio inputs, with a fifth unit then used to convert the audio into CobraNet, to send the signal to Crown CTs/CN amplifiers.
But Paul Edlin and Robson Birch of the Jands NZ Technical Resource Group (TRG) reviewed the original design and modified it so that two BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-80 12 x 4 devices were used. This provided 24 inputs, with an additional eight inputs provided by a Crown CTs8200CN amplifier, which was configured as a CobraNet ‘On-Ramp’. This reduced the total equipment requirement considerably and thus had a flow-on effect of reducing the cost to the client.
The Soundweb London BLU-80 devices were configured to provide EQ, matrix and time-alignment for each lecture theatre, also allowing for overflow feeds via CobraNet to the master control room, or to a dedicated record feed or video conferencing units. The use of a dedicated listen bus also allows the technical staff to monitor audio feeds of the various lecture rooms from either the local control rooms or the master control room.
The use of Crown CTs8200CN amplification not only provided the additional inputs to the system via CobraNet, but also allowed the amplifiers to be monitored via HiQnet System Architect in real time, with any faults being reported to the local technical support staff via email.
Each teaching floor has wireless access and classrooms are equipped with data shows, document cameras, DVD and VCR players, surround sound, guest laptop capabilities and individual laptops for the students. The fully-integrated system is operated from a touch screen control panel fitted to the lecturer’s desk. AMX was used as the control system throughout the venue, with dedicated pages for all the microphone and source volumes, and enabling any room overflow settings.
Via Pitney Bowes and ProVision, JANDS NZ provided a total of 22 x BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-80 12 x 4, seven BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-32 12 x 4, 12 Crown CTs8200CN, two Crown CTs4200CN and 124 Crown PZM20R microphones for the installation.
25th February 2008
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