Designing for AV

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Designing for AV
A guide to integrating AV facilities

Jim Fitton Extron Electronics
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Agenda

• Statutory requirements
• Legacy issues
• Aspirations
• Structure
• ME (Mechanical Electrical)
• Lighting
• Acoustics
• Infrastructure
• Aesthetic considerations

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Statutory Requirements

• Building codes
• Maximum Occupancy levels
• Fire Exits
• Electrical wiring regulations
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c. 50) 1995
• Chapter 50 Since October 2004 it is unlawful
  for a placement provider to discriminate against
  a disabled person seeking or undertaking a work
  placement

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Legacy issues

• Building style
• Listed or Historic
• Existing problems, I.E solid floor
• Room size, inc ceiling height
• Room Shape
• Existing services

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Aspirations What you need to know

• Information to be relayed to the area occupants
• PC presentations, video only, VC only or a mix?
• Number of Participants screen size
• VC dual screen?
• Image size v room size
• Image height x 6 for Data, x 8 for Video
• Ceiling height may be an issue
• Good Viewing!

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Good viewing..
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Good viewing..
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Aspirations What you need to know

• Information to be relayed to the area occupants
• PC presentations, video only, VC only or a mix?
• Number of Participants screen size
• VC dual screen?
• Image size v room size
• Image height x 6 for Data, x 8 for Video
• Ceiling height may be an issue
• Area Usage Fixed or Flexible
• More floorboxes, wall plates
• Trailing cables, configurable rooms

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Aspirations What you need to know

• Preferred display options If any
• May be determined by required screen size
• Or, available space
• Control of Area functionality Ergonomics
• Always recommend a control system, if there are
  more than 2 devices to interact with.
• Equipment Location
• Technical room, AV Credenza / lectern
• Budgetary Constraints
• May affect all of the above

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An environment to work.

• Room Shape
• Where to put the screen?
• Equipment Layout
• Connection points, source machines
• Room Décor
• Simple, uncluttered. No distractions
• VC has its own requirements
• Windows
• Shades or curtains!
• Beware internal windows into corridors

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An environment to work.

• Lighting
• Switched in banks or dimmable
• Remote control
• Acoustics
• Is a 2 way street!
• Noise from outside the room is distracting
• Noise from in the room, is distracting to others,
  and a potential security risk.
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c. 50)
• Accessible control points
• Low level rail systems
• Clear, level floor

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Structure

• Ceiling height
• If the screen cant be big enough, consider
  relay monitors
• Ceiling type
• Suspended or solid
• Tile or plasterboard
• Solid floors
• Is it level, or raked seating
• Solid walls
• Are they structural, Do you need an engineer?
• If they are stud walls, were they designed to
  hold weight?

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Mechanical Electrical (ME)

• Solid floors or walls
• Surface mounted containment, AV raceway solution?
• Or digging up the floor?

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Mechanical Electrical (ME)
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Mechanical Electrical (ME)
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Mechanical Electrical (ME)
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Mechanical Electrical (ME)

• Solid floors or walls
• Surface mounted containment, AV raceway solution?
• Or digging up the floor?
• Where is the power
• Ensure ALL the AV is on the same phase
• That means high low level.
• HVAC
• Increased heat load from new use?
• Specific cooling for AV Area?
• Comfort cooling for attendees

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Lighting

• Minimise external light, provide shades or
  curtains
• Allow for controllable lighting
• Switch the lighting in banks
• Dimmable is better
• A mix of fluorescent and down lights is best
• Remote control is preferred
• Think about reflections
• Highly polished furniture
• Even more important for VC!

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Acoustics

• Stereo or Mono
• For a simple presentation system, in a small
  room, Stereo is fine.
• Mono is better for larger rooms, because people
  will lose the Stereo image
• Mono is the best, for Video Audio Conferencing.
• Speaker choice.
• Display mounted or built in for small rooms
  only.
• Stereo speakers can be wall mounted
• Mono systems should be ceiling mounted
• Sometimes, a mix is required

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Acoustics

• Microphones
• Fixed is best.
• Tabletop is preferred, ceiling mics are less
  satisfactory, unless complex processing is used.

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Acoustics

• Microphones
• Fixed is best.
• Tabletop is preferred, ceiling mics are less
  satisfactory, unless complex processing is used.
• Noise rating (NR)
• The measurement of existing, or anticipated
  background noise.
• From people, external noise, Equipment etc
• AC has a huge impact
• VC AC rooms should be NR25
• General meeting rooms around NR35
• Open offices are around NR55

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Infrastructure

• Cabling
• Where is it?
• Under the floor, in the walls, above the ceiling?
• Surface mounted cabling, AV raceway.
• What is it?
• Conventional CO-AX cables cost effective within
  a room
• Cat5/6 Structured cabling great for distances
  lt200m
• Fibre optic cabling long distance, totally
  secure
• Many large systems use a mix of the above,
  dependant upon the signal being transmitted, and
  the distance its being sent.

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Aesthetic considerations

• Tidy cable routing and connection panels
• Wall mounted

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Aesthetic considerations

• Tidy cable routing and connection panels
• Wall mounted
• Table top hatches

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Aesthetic considerations

• Tidy cable routing and connection panels
• Wall mounted
• Table top hatches
• Specialist table products

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Aesthetic considerations

• Tidy connection panels
• Wall mounted
• Table top hatches
• Specialist table products
• Lectern top solutions
• Built-in equipment
• Ensure adequate space for ventilation
  maintenance
• Upgrade path?

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Aesthetic considerations
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Good Practice

• Standardise the design wherever possible
• Easier to support and train the users
• Users will be more confident
• Less spares holding
• Simplify the operation.
• Just because a device has a specific feature, if
  no-one will use it, dont offer it
• Lighting, dont give users dimming control, set
  Presets
• Remote management, it really does save time
  money

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Any questions?..
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Example Room Type Videoconference Usage
Location of Room A quiet and central location is
preferred. High levels of structural and air
borne noise will be a problem so the room needs
to be located away from sources of noise such as
traffic, air conditioning ducts, etc. In existing
spaces, noise levels should be sampled and, if
needed, steps taken to minimise ambient
noise. Room Shape To reduce undesirable acoustic
effects square rooms should be avoided if
possible. An oblong or irregular shaped room is
best, as these minimise echoes. Rooms with non
parallel opposite walls are good acoustically but
unlikely to be found in practice. When
acoustically treating walls it is best practice
to treat adjacent walls as opposed to opposite
walls as this will break up potential echo as
opposed to channel. Echo Cancellation may be
required in existing spaces, and equipment can be
specified to allow for this function.

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Example Room Type Videoconference Usage
Room Layout Room layout will depend on the number
of participants and the available space. Main
cameras are positioned close to the viewing
monitor(s) so that participants are normally
looking in the direction of the camera lens this
produces natural and expected images at the far
site. A horseshoe arrangement of seats permits
a clear view of each participant but some panning
of the camera will be necessary to optimise
results. Room Decor Certain Videoconference
cameras have limited contrast handling ability,
so wall decoration should be neither too light
nor too dark. Mid tones (e.g. Blue-Sky Blue) are
preferred to give the room a bright atmosphere.
If the walls are to be painted, a matt finish
will minimise reflections. Grey walls can create
a dull background and shades of red or any other
fully saturated colours should be avoided.

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Example Room Type Videoconference Usage
Windows Windows always cause problems for
videoconference cameras due to the changing
lighting levels. A room without windows is to be
preferred. If windows are inevitable then
adequate blackout must be provided to exclude all
natural light. Roller or vertical blinds are
seldom successful and heavy curtains are
preferred. These will also assist in improving
the acoustics. Lighting With modern
videoconference cameras a much better picture
will be produced by providing high lighting
levels. Tungsten/Halogen lighting is commonplace
but in the videoconferencing environment it is
unsuitable due to the amount of heat it
generates. Fluorescent lighting is the only
realistic choice it is energy efficient,
dissipates little heat and is relatively
inexpensive. Light levels of around 500 Lux, and
an intermediate or warm fluorescent tube
colour,equivalent colour temperature 3200-4000
Kelvin.Fittings should be arranged so that a
higher level of illumination is produced in front
of the participants than either above or behind
them so as to prevent shadows on faces.