The radical renovation, started in 2015, of a well-known Opera building in Pisa, gave the opportunity for a rethinking of the audio/video systems of the conference room. In the new project, Aten products are central and structure a practical and performing system.
The renovation started in 2015, but Aten was consulted last year, with the task of updating the video systems of the Museum’s conference room. The work, carried out with the fundamental collaboration of Ekklesia and Allnet, resulted in the installation of a fully automated system with connection to a WAN network, as well as the addition, overall, of a new collaborative space, located at the front of the room, from which four people have the ability to connect HDMI and VGA equipment. From the conference room, video signals can also be sent to various screens and projectors, both inside the room and outside in other locations.
The customer’s requirements were very clear: ability to carry signals over long distances, flexibility of network connections and multiple support interfaces. For the transport of the signals, the HDBaseT technology was chosen, which allows you to reach reach 100 meters of distance in 4K and 150 meters in FullHD using Cat5e/6a cables. Network flexibility, on the other hand, is guaranteed by the ability to control the matrix via Ethernet from any location, and the system has the ability to distribute multiple different inputs to multiple outputs, allowing users a complete “domain” of the audio/video grid. In short, a modern and well-equipped conference room able to meet all needs, including remote connections.
The heart of the system is the VM5808H HDMI 8×8 matrix, capable not only of sending each source to a different display but, thanks to an integrated scaler, also of easily converting different input resolutions into various output display resolutions, offering therefore the best possible quality on all screens.
The system is completed by the Aten VC1280 switch converters, which facilitate the connection of HDMI and VGA sources to an HDMI screen or projector, by the VE802 extenders (HDMI HDBaseT-Lite with POH, capable of carrying the 4K signal up to 40 meters ) and VE8900 (HDMI over IP which, by connecting it point to point with cat 5e / 6 cable, brings the signal to 1080p up to 100 meters away). The VC1280 converter/switch has built-in VGA conversion, thus allowing the transmission of VGA signals to the HDMI output without having to resort to additional adapters or scalers. Really interesting is also the VS184A 4-port 4K HDMI splitter, a practical solution for transmitting a high-definition video source on four screens simultaneously. VS184A supports all HDMI equipment, from DVD players to satellite set-top boxes as well as displays, and is HDCP compliant, suitable for multiple applications.
The system designed for the conference room of the Opera, in Pisa, therefore offers particularly smart features: it supports a wide range of displays from different brands, offers high interoperability and extensibility – thanks to the HDBaseT standard – and, being hardware-based, is solid as regards the signal transmission. In short, in spite of its antiquity, the Primaziale of Pisa proudly looks to the future and, thanks to the collaboration between ATEN, Allnet and Ekklesia, can show off a new technological look.
