- At the prestigious Harvard School of Public Health, the learning environment has forever changed. In an effort to use cutting-edge audiovisuals and one-touch control, GroupComm Systems of Newton, Mass., successfully integrated three auditoriums, 14 classes and a main control room. Traditional props have been replaced by projectors, projection screens, cameras and never-before-implemented fiber cabling. Speeches are now more exciting, lectures more dynamic and videoconferences more interactive.
"The complete AMX system provides tremendous tools to improve videoconferences, symposiums, distance learning and addressing large audiences. The response to this new technology has been overwhelmingly positive."
Reaching Another Level
- Initially, Harvard wanted to give faculty in-room control features to "run the show." The blueprints evolved to include a highly advanced main control room, where a technician could remotely take command of any networked equipment, in any interconnected room, at any time. This control room, with four flat-screen monitors, two 15-inch AMX® Touch Panels and three racks of equipment, processes every single command generated from all rooms and, more importantly, to convert ultra-fast fiber into cable through a special matrix patch.
Accessing The Right Tools
- In each room, a sleek AMX Touch Panel sits in a lectern. The simple press of a button on the interface adjusts lighting and sound levels, positions in-ceiling camera angles, cues a DVD or VCR player, streams audio and video between rooms, and broadcasts video feeds over the Internet. An exclusive AMX integration!Solutions i!-PCLink/PowerPoint® application also monitors PowerPoint presentations, organizes speakers notes and displays video off-site. The complete AMX system provides tremendous tools to improve videoconferences, symposiums, distance learning and addressing large audiences. The response to this new technology has been overwhelmingly positive.
Sending A Clear Signal
- Harvard professors have the ability to command in-room equipment instantly or, by pressing a custom help button on the Touch Panel, can request the main control room technician to assume command remotely. From here, an AMX NetLinx® Integrated Controller links together every piece of networked electronic equipment. With a dedicated NetLinx master in each classroom and auditorium, the systems can communicate back-and-forth to share control.
Planning Future Growth
- With this technology in place, the possibilities are endless. The control system code is written for future upgrades, which can easily handle more than 50 classrooms and accommodate well over 1,000. Harvard is taking control of the future of education.
