Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation

Multifunctional multimedia complex based on the conference hall of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

 The key tasks while equipping the conference room were:

We had to very carefully dismantle all outdated equipment, to re-run all communications, equip the hall with modern conference system, design and implement a powerful audio and video infrastructure, as well as to integrate centralized digital control system of the entire complex. Due to increased requirements for reliability it was decided to duplicate system key elements: in case of failure of one of them, the system can be transferred to the other one in a matter of minutes, almost in the hot-swap mode. All types of work had to be completed no later than within a month. The task seems to be not simple from a first glance, but it was not exceptionally challenging for our company’s specialists.

Customized Conference System

Televic TCS5500 System with simultaneous interpretation and voting function produced by the Belgian company was chosen as a Conference System, which had, in addition to high functional and technical characteristics, such an important feature as redundancy of lines (if a cable is broken, the system remains operational). At the same time, as a result of the joint work of the specialists of our company, the customer and the manufacturer, unique microphone units with functionality and performance for specific requirements were designed and produced. All units are built into furniture and equipped with goose neck microphones with a LED light; equipped with voting buttons, speakers and connectors for broadcasting simultaneous interpretation channels to headphones. There are also interpreter units and LCD monitors showing speakers and a presentation image in each of 6 booths for interpreters located in the back of the hall. All 9 seats in the presidium, as well as the stand are also equipped with built-in units and high-resolution LCD monitors. The seat of the conference chairman is additionally equipped with the functionality of the priority presentation and information touch panel, controlling the speech duration in accordance with the established regulations.

Sound Quality and Reliability

The hall received great integrated sound. All the speakers in the hall are mounted in the ceiling, walls, stage and are practically invisible. Connecting speakers in groups allows to control the sound distribution in the hall and increases the system reliability. In case of failure of any cable, the sound will be lost only in one of the groups of speakers, which is almost imperceptible in terms of the integrated sound. The sound system is built using the latest matrix Symetrix Audio Platforms of Dante series using advanced audio platform interoperability bus and one of the most powerful processors on the market for maximum sound processing flexibility. The key components of the audio system have been duplicated for redundancy purposes. In the event of failure of any system element, the conference will be continued by means of backup components. It is also important to mention the narrow reception of microphones on the tables, which allows to output the speech of the speaker avoiding extraneous noise. Shielding technology fully protects microphones from interference caused by mobile phones.

HD Video and Live TV Broadcasting

The HD-SDI “television” standard was selected as the main standard for video transmission in the hall. This made it possible to implement a highly reliable, high resolution video distribution network. Solution for switching and video signal conversion were developed based on Kramer and Blackmagic equipment, providing together high quality results with a limited budget. Automated television in the hall is built on the basis of HD PTZ Sony video cameras, which is the world leader in the field of production of PTZ hall cameras. The cameras are installed in such a way that up to four cameras could be pointed simultaneously at any conference participant at any location of the hall. This ensures the display of the speaker in the most winning perspective. Besides, ArthurHolm Desktop Monitors with high resolution and small size were specifically designed for this project. This allows displaying information in high resolution and at the same time not to block sight of the participants in the presidium and in the hall from each other. A huge lifting projection screen and a projector represent a large-scale and spectacular visual information display. As in the case with the sound system, all key components of the video system are equipped with ready-to-work backups.

One Touch Control

The multimedia complex control of the conference hall is implemented at three levels. The first one carries out the full range of control functions in the control operating room outside the hall. The operator monitors the conference operation through multiple displays and PTZ cameras, as well as continuously monitors the equipment status. He/she is ready to make all the necessary adjustments and changes at any time. The second level is the audio and video operational control directly in the hall, which is carried out by the second operator, directly observing what is happening during the conference. And finally, the third one controlling the discussion and voting control. This function is implemented at the workplace of the presidium chairman. The control is carried out at all the levels using touch panels with an intuitive, graphical interface specially designed for the Accounts Chamber. Cue System equipment was chosen as the control system. Unlike the equipment of many other manufacturers, when building an multi-unit system on it, it does not have a central controller. In the event that any controller fails, the system retains a partial efficiency, and the controller is replaced as soon as possible from the spares by uploading to it a portion of the code processed by the failed controller.

Additional Features

A number of interesting solutions were implemented in this project, complementing the main functionality of the hall. For example, the ability to stream and record events on the base of Epiphan equipment. This allows to capture and record high-quality video with automatic download to the network storage. The automated television system has more than 700 presets for automatic camera pointing. The complex includes a titling system that works in conjunction with Televic conference system Cocon software, which provides overlay on the video with additional textual information about the speaker (titles). Text information can be of any kind depending on the event program: personalities of speakers, scrolling text informational messages, comments, etc. The hall is equipped with special audio outputs for the convenience of journalists, when connected to them during press conferences, media representatives can make audio recordings of the conference. The implemented video system has the potential of cable broadcasting from any video camera and microphone. If desired, the customer can easily transmit everything that happens in the hall throughout the building of the Accounts Chamber and beyond.