Case Study: AREC + Televic, the formula for every successful council

Dear ADENA Partners, in this case study, we review how Rochford Council in the UK successfully uses the AREC DS-4CU together with the Televic Confidea discussion system. Thanks to the efforts of our distributor, Tukans, and system integrator, Nuway, Rochford Council now embodies its “Simpler, clearer, faster” slogan in every council meeting, increasing transparency and improving public outreach. Learn more about how the systems work below and watch the system in action on the Council’s YouTube channel.

Rochford Council is a governmental institution responsible for district services and providing information for the Rochford district. This includes plans for local economic development, tourism, housing, jobs, and many other matters. The council’s workload necessitates frequent meetings and debates, which, until recently, were streamed with a single camera. 

While the streams did make the meetings publicly visible, they only conveyed the bare minimum. Important parts of the proceedings, such as computer-shared content and diagrams, could not be displayed, and it was not possible to focus on active speakers without manual control of the camera. Consequently, the council decided to look for a way to improve its streaming setup, and thanks to the efforts of our distributor, Tukans, and system integrator, Nuway, found that the AREC DS-4CU was exactly what they needed.

DS-4CU Speaker Tracking Station

The DS-4CU is a speaker-tracking station that supports up to four video sources connected by HDMI, VGA, or network. It is integrated with a variety of popular discussion systems on the market, including Audio-Technica, Shure, Bosch, Televic, and others. The station can select a customisable layout with multiple video sources, switch overlays and backgrounds, and control PTZ movement of each connected camera uniquely for every speaker in a fully automatic mode. The combination of these features allows Rochford Council to clearly display the current speaker, switch to opposite cameras to display councillors on the other side of the chambers, and show various computer content as part of the livestream. 

Televic Confidea

Our station is used together with the Televic Confidea, a bespoke and robust discussion system for councils. It ensures that every speaker is clearly heard and comes with a multitude of features tailored to council meetings, such as voting, RFID authentication, and more, which Rochford Council uses in every meeting.

The council has joined the long list of successful meeting transformation projects accomplished with AREC, and you can see the results on its YouTube channel. Is your council also looking for a solution to improve recording, streaming, and conferencing processes? Reach out to us at www.a-dena.com, and we will be happy to arrange a discussion to show why AREC is the right solution.

Case Study: AREC, Sennheiser and QSC Turn One Room into Three for an Energy Major

Dear ADENA Partners, this month's case study highlights how a major energy and chemical products distributor in Chile uses AREC infrared tracking cameras to enhance their conferencing experience. The solution, created by our partner Videocorp, is centred around AREC CI-T10 IR tracking cameras and products from other brands, including Epson, Sennheiser, and QSC. Together, our brands enable the company to conduct up to three simultaneous conference calls in a highly modular room with ease.

The company is one of the main Chilean distributors of fuels, lubricants, and other chemical products used in the industrial, marine, aviation, land transportation, construction, and other sectors. With more than 100 years of experience, the company has business interests in other countries as well, such as Paraguay and the USA. Consequently, the company’s headquarters are always bustling with activity and meetings between the different divisions and partners. Sometimes, these meetings require multiple divisions of the company to be present, while at other times, multiple separate meetings need to take place simultaneously. Since the existing room arrangements did not accommodate these specifics, the company sought a solution. Our partner Videocorp delivered it using AREC IR tracking cameras and several other brands.

The devised solution fully resolved the company’s needs. They redesigned the meeting rooms to be modular: when multiple meetings are taking place, the rooms work independently, separated by foldable walls. If a meeting requires more attendees, the walls fold, and the rooms become one. To capture the presenters and ensure they are tracked, each room is outfitted with a CI-T10 IR tracking camera and an AM-600 IR positioner. The simplicity in configuration and usage of these cameras makes them an ideal fit for modular rooms. The cameras follow the positioners in their field of view. They do not require zone configuration, face registration, or other settings, typically required by AI tracking cameras, so their tracking is not affected by different room configurations. Moreover, since the cameras only follow the positioners, they are not distracted by hand gestures, other people in view, or other kinds of obstructions. Tracking can be turned on, off, or paused by pressing one button on a positioner, giving the presenter full control over the camera at all times.

The presenters’ audio is picked up by Sennheiser handheld microphones, while ceiling microphones are used for the audience members. The combined audio is sent into the conferencing software. Presenters’ content and conferencing software are displayed by Epson projectors. Audio, video, and other elements of the room are controlled by QSC devices. The company’s staff can control projector screens, microphone audio, operate cameras, manage conferencing software, and perform other operations from control panels installed in every room.

With the renovated and adapted meeting spaces, the company is now fully equipped to hold effective meetings regardless of the needs of the day. Would you like to know more about how AREC solutions can be used to enhance conferencing rooms? Contact us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to arrange a discussion with you.

Case Study: AREC Puts Lithuanian Startups in Spotlight for Better Pitching

Dear ADENA Partners, in this case study we highlight how Sunrise Tech Park in Lithuania is using the AREC Portable Media Set to record and stream events. By using the devices to showcase a variety of business and scientific project webinars and activities, the case demonstrates how easy AREC systems are to use for live production.

Sunrise Tech Park is part of the Sunrise Valley Innovation Ecosystem, a non-profit organisation. It was established to promote entrepreneurship, knowledge and technology exchange, and to attract investment in business ideas. It serves as one of the prime gathering places for scientific organisations and startups in Lithuania, thanks to its key location and partnerships.

Many of the gatherings organised by Sunrise Tech Park take place online or in hybrid form, using videoconferencing software to connect remote speakers. Knowing the significant impact of visual presentation on a successful business pitch, the park started looking for solutions that could enhance the visibility of speakers and give them greater control over how they present their content. Thanks to our partner Tenesys, Sunrise Tech Park chose the AREC Media Capture System for this purpose.

The park uses a Portable Media Set that consists of a KL-3T, a CI-T21H IR Tracking camera with a CI-21H PTZ camera, and a RADA Bridge. The set fits neatly into a secure and easily movable suitcase, making it easy for Sunrise Tech Park to move the set to different locations depending on the ongoing events. The set's mobility is accentuated by the KL-3T — a 3-channel media station that comes with a built-in touchscreen. The station mixes the two network cameras, computer content, custom overlays, and backgrounds together into a mixed video, which is converted by the RADA Bridge into a USB webcam feed. This helps the remote attendees see the event in full. The camera’s PTZ presets can be controlled directly from the station, meaning that the operator doesn’t need a computer or any other device to manage the production.

Antanas Popiera, the Startups Project manager of Sunrise Tech Park commented on the system: "We use equipment for our hybrid workshops in support of various entrepreneurship initiatives on a weekly basis. This equipment allows us to fully include online participants, enhancing their participation and significantly improving the productivity and quality of their contributions."

With the AREC Portable Media Set, going live has become much easier for Sunrise Tech Park. We thank our partner Tenesys and Antanas Popiera for their work and information contribution. Is your organisation also looking to improve hybrid event production? Contact us at www.a-dena.com and we will be happy to discuss your project requirements.