Case Study: AREC Tracking Speakers for Costa-Rica’s Governmental Meetings

Dear ADENA Partners, our new case study from Costa Rica is about the construction and equipping of a ‘Türkiye Room’ in ICAP, a public administration institute. Designed by our partner in Costa Rica, Interactiva, the room features various AREC, RADA, and other brands’ conferencing solutions. Together, these solutions have significantly improved the organisation’s video conferencing meeting experience. 

The Central American Institute of Public Administration (ICAP) is an organisation within the Central American Integration System (SICA), an economic and political union of Central American states. ICAP’s function is to modernise the public sector and develop human resources, thus increasing the integration between SICA member countries. ICAP does this by holding meetings with partners from all over the world through video conferencing and in-person meetings.

Effective conferencing necessitates the usage of quality AV products. Knowing that, ICAP got an opportunity to upgrade their existing conferencing venue with the help of one of their partners, the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination, otherwise known as TIKA. The two organisations envisaged for this updated venue to have the latest technology in AV conferencing. It was decided that the room needed to host 40 participants, featured a way to quickly display active speakers, and could output multiple cameras simultaneously into conferencing apps like Teams, Zoom, and others. Our partner Interactiva offered a solution based on the AREC DS-4CU Speaker Tracking Station, CI-21H PTZ Camera, and CI-T10 IR Tracking Camera, as well as the RADA A-BR01 HDMI to USB Bridge.

The DS-4CU is a device that allows users to connect up to 4 video sources, such as network and regular cameras, network streams, computers, and others. These sources can be mixed and displayed in customisable layouts with user-uploaded overlay and background graphics. It is set apart from other devices by its unique feature — tracking integration of discussion systems from brands like Televic, Shure, Bosch, Audio-Technica, and others. This allows the station to automatically change how it displays the video sources according to the active microphone on supported systems from these brands. 

Importantly, this switching can also be done manually, even if you do not have a compatible discussion system. This is precisely the case with ICAP, where custom presets are set up for every chair. The operator switches both the video and PTZ presets through the station’s graphical user interface by tapping on seat numbers. ICAP uses CI-21H PTZ network camera to capture each of the possible 40 participants, and a CI-T10 IR Tracking Camera to ensure that the main presenter has freedom of movement. Additionally, a computer with slides is connected as another source to the DS-4CU, and the mixed output of the station is converted into USB by an A-BR01 RADA Bridge. This allows ICAP to join conferencing calls and display their whole room with computer content, active speakers from the audience, and the main presenter all at the same time.

With the AREC system in place, ICAP’s conferencing calls can now effectively display every active participant for the remote side. Interested in learning more about this or other solutions you can build with AREC? Let us know at www.a-dena.com, and we will arrange a demonstration for you.

DS-4CU’s Latest Integration — Audio-Technica Ceiling Array Mics!

Dear ADENA Partners, we are delighted to announce a new integration for the AREC DS-4CU Speaker Tracking Station — Audio-Technica’s ATND1061 Beamforming Ceiling Array Microphone! This system was designed for large and small conference rooms and meeting spaces, and it is easy to set up and operate while providing excellent audio quality. The DS-4CU integration with this product allows it to track active speakers in up to 8 preconfigured zones, ensuring that active speakers are always in the centre of attention.

The integration between these products makes configuring them very simple. To begin with, simply input the IP address of the ceiling microphone and define which video sources and in which positions to display them when nobody is talking. Then, do the same for when multiple speakers are active. Lastly, configure which video sources should be used and in which PTZ positions in up to 8 microphone pickup zones. And that’s it; you are ready to start!

The new integration is available on the latest DS-4CU firmware, version 6.1.10.13.

You can download it for free from our website www.a-dena.com. If you have any questions about the DS-4CU or our other products, please let us know, and we will be happy to answer you.

Case Study: AREC Hits a Homerun with WBSC

Dear ADENA Partners, our case study this time focuses on the headquarters of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Completed in collaboration with our distributor Prase and system integrator Tecnovox, this project exemplifies the seamless integration capabilities of the AREC Media Capture System with other leading professional AV brands, including Atlona, Shure, Biamp, and Genelec.

The WBSC functions as the global governing body for baseball and softball, overseeing 191 national federations and numerous associate members across 136 countries worldwide. Responsible for managing international competitions involving national teams, eSports, Olympic Games, and similar events, effective communication with this extensive network of organizations necessitates high-quality conferencing hardware. Hence, the organization recently decided to renovate and enhance their headquarters in Pully, Switzerland. Thanks to our partners' efforts and the features of our products, AREC cameras and tracking solutions were selected to make this upgrade possible.

DS-4CU Speaker Tracking Statio

CI-21H PTZ Camera

At the core of the WBSC conference room lies the DS-4CU Speaker Tracking Station. This station, equipped with four channels, is designed to automatically track and display active speakers. It is compatible with AREC and third-party cameras, and supports RTP/RTSP/RTMP network streams, alongside HDMI and VGA as video inputs. Integrated with a number of popular discussion system brands such as Shure, Televic, Bosch, Audio-Technica, and others, this station can efficiently track up to 99 speakers. Each speaker can have unique layouts, overlays, and backgrounds made specifically for them. In the WBSC's case, it operates in conjunction with a Shure push-to-talk discussion system. When a speaker activates the talk button, the station commands the cameras to focus on the speaker's position, adjusting the video layout accordingly to ensure the speaker remains in focus.

For capturing meeting participants, AREC CI-21H PTZ cameras are utilised. These professional network cameras function in Full HD at 60 frames per second and are connected to the DS-4CU via the network. Additionally, they offer HDMI and USB outputs for flexibility. The DS-4CU creates a mixed video output, incorporating speaker titles, logos, and custom backgrounds, and through other brands participating in this installation, sends it into video conferencing applications, effectively becoming a webcam. This ensures that the remote attendees consistently see the active speaker and effortlessly promotes the organisation's branding.

The WBSC’s headquarters are now equipped with user-friendly and efficient conferencing solutions, significantly enhancing the organisation's meeting experiences. Is your company ready for an upgrade? Contact us at www.a-dena.com and discover how AREC solutions can benefit your business.

Text: Anastasia Yakimenko