AMX systems form A/V backbone at Melton Library and Learning Hub
Published: ASIA
AUSTRALIA: ICT and A/V specialist CHW Consulting was recently tasked with designing the extensive A/V backbone for the new Melton Library and Learning Hub in Victoria, Australia. The function of the community library has shifted over recent decades, and now houses over 68,000 titles across multiple media, but also incorporates integrated meeting spaces, an auditorium, a gaming area, a youth chill-out space, an interactive children’s area as well as providing computer access and digital signage.
CHW Consulting was required to design an A/V backbone that was capable of making
complicated systems simple to operate for any member of the public. Multiple spaces utilise projectors, screens, loudspeakers, microphones, playback inputs, wired and wireless computer connectivity, gaming and broadcast television to address the broadest needs of the library’s community.
To unify and streamline the experience for the user, AMX Modero touchscreens and keypads were installed. Seventeen different areas contain individual systems, from meetings rooms to full auditoria, with some systems switching between up to t10 sources. All vision is in full 1080p HD, with video, audio and data carried via HDMI throughout.
Soundcorp’s account manager Nick Jebson and project manager Nash Summers were tasked with overseeing the installation and commissioning of the building’s A/V. With assistance from Soundcorp’s AMX programming expert Martin Smith, they took the brief and ensured the community’s needs were best served by every piece of technology included in the project.
‘The scope was to make it as user-friendly as possible and as robust as we could,’ said Mr Jebson. ‘It’s being used by people from all walks of life, so it had to be easy to use.’
‘We came up with a system in which the librarian can either enable or lock-off areas from a central location,’ Mr Smith explained. ‘All public areas can be controlled via an AMX touch screen from the main reception desk. When the job was done and the staff walked in, they said: “great, this is exactly what we needed it to do”. That was great for us because this wasn’t an explicit part of the brief.’
The central processors of the A/V system are the new AMX Enova DVX-3150HD digital integrated presentation switchers. AMX’s Jared Walley assisted Mr Smith with integrating some of the new features they include, such as SmartScaleTM. Smaller AMX NI-700 NetLinx Integrated Controllers were distributed around the facility behind their respective display panels. A combination of RS232 and Ethernet control means all functionality is accessible via the A/V network rack, which is integrated to the EWIS. Five LCD panels comprise the digital signage element of the installation, with content scheduled to media players integrated with the screens.
The converged, networked backbone of the system is an all-digital installation, with no analogue cabling used to distribute signals. Motion detectors in every room activate lighting when people enter and shut down again on exit, and multiple lighting presets are also available to trigger manually. Individual low-spill hearing induction loops have been incorporated into all areas, including into three small adjoining meeting rooms. Signal spill between the three rooms is controlled by an extra induction loop around each perimeter.
Meanwhile, a new children’s area features a 70-inch LCD screen, dedicated ceiling speakers, lapel mic and DVD player. Sue Robertson, long-serving library technician at Melton, has been running ‘Story Time’ for children for years. ‘We run everything from a PowerPoint on the screen,’ she explained. ‘It has a running order of what we’re doing and all the words to the songs. It helps children with special needs who really benefit from knowing what’s next and exactly what we’re doing.’
One of this Community Lounge Room’s most popular spots is the Gaming Area, which has three PlayStation3s hooked up to three LCD screens. Dual headphone connections at each station let them play against each other without disturbing the students at the study tables nearby.
‘On the surface it appears simple, but underneath it’s quite complicated,’ said Mr Smith. ‘What makes it work is the simplicity and reliability of the touchscreens and keypads; this is where high-end control systems leave the other options for dead. They increase system reliability in the end.’
This has led to more people using the library for more purposes more often. Author events, movie nights, ESL courses and historical society presentations all run regularly without staff intervention. ‘It’s so straightforward and really easy,’ agreed Ms Robertson. ‘People walk in, the lights turn on, they connect their laptops by wireless or HDMI and off they go. Next year we’re holding more Internet, iPad and eReader courses. The future of the library is integrated.’