AV systems integrator LightWerks Communication Systems recently deployed two Bose Professional ControlSpace EX-1280C Conferencing processors at the Harbor Regional Center (HRC) in Torrance, CA, a private, not-for-profit corporation contracting with the state of California for the provision of services to persons with developmental disabilities.
Specifically, HRC executives and managers need to maintain contact with a large pool of other support organizations and people, with Lightwerks implementing the Bose processors in the facility’s newly renovated conference room to help accomplish this. The processors allow the room to be divided into two separate and fully independent conferencing spaces, and to also operate as a single integrated processor when the room serves as a larger conference space.
In addition to its own processor, each space also has its own distributed sound system, with eight Bose FreeSpace ceiling-mounted loudspeakers for one part of the room and six more for the other. These are driven by a pair of Bose PowerShare PS602 amplifiers that, like the processors, can function independently or as a single integrated power source.
“The client needed a fairly large number of microphones in the conference rooms,” explains William Bensley (CTS-D, CTS-I), LA install manager for LightWerks. “But in addition, these microphones are networked, so we needed a conference processor that could accommodate the Dante network. The Bose ControlSpace EX-1280C processors gave us that, and a lot more.”
The processors include all common audio teleconferencing connections – USB for soft codecs, VoIP, PSTN/analog telephone, and analog I/O for video conferencing connections. They also include 12 routable acoustic echo cancellers and other new algorithms (the Conference Room Router and conference room combining groups, for example) to simplify setup and reduce troubleshooting time.
The three EX Dante endpoints offer unique advantages for conferencing applications, including support for any type of analog conferencing microphone, support for USB to Dante, and easy telephone handset to Dante conversion.
“Getting the microphone sources into the EX-1280C was simple and straightforward, as is managing the conferencing system — the EX-1280C interfaces seamlessly with the Crestron control system we installed,” says Bensley, who did all of the programming on the EX-1280C. “All of the users of the rooms are able to access all of the functions easily. And in terms of formats, they can go from software codecs to USB connections to POTS without a hiccup. The EX-1280C was ready to work with it all. We didn’t have to go out and buy difference cards to adapt the processor.”
