Châteauform’ City in Paris Chooses Extron for User-Friendly AV

Châteauform’, “The Home of Seminars,” specializes in organizing business meetings and seminars in its venues throughout Europe – spacious homes and properties that are transformed to combine the necessities of corporate meeting facilities with resort-style amenities in relaxing settings. A new location representing its urban concept, known as Châteauform’ City, is Les Jardins de Saint Dominique, which spans two seminar centers in central Paris. Châteauform’ wanted to equip the facilities at this venue with flexible AV presentation systems that accommodate a variety of sources, including guest devices. To meet these AV system requirements, integrator Ydeo, based near Paris, selected a range of Extron products including switchers, twisted pair extenders, distribution amplifiers, audio digital signal processors, amplifiers, and speakers.

The digital signal processing in the DMP 64 and MLS 608 D is an important capability that helped us develop faster and more powerful audio integrations.

Eric Jondot, Technical Manager - Ydeo

AV Needs and Challenges

Les Jardins de Saint Dominique has 34 meeting rooms. Three of them are large presentation rooms, most notably an auditorium seating up to 83 attendees, a multi-purpose room for 240 people, and a cocktail area that also functions as a restaurant for up to 300 people. Châteauform’ had several key goals for these three rooms, including the installation of versatile, user-friendly AV systems that would enable clients to connect their devices and deliver high resolution video presentations. It was also essential that the audio systems support a single presenter or multiple participants, and provide quality reproduction of music and other program content.

One of the challenges Ydeo encountered at the start of the project was that these rooms were already past the construction phase, and fully furnished and cleaned, so Ydeo had to be especially cautious when running cables and installing the AV systems. The low-voltage wiring conduits throughout the building had limited space available to pull cables for AV. In the multi-purpose room, floor-to-ceiling windows and several wall-mounted, flat-panel displays limited wall space for speaker installation. In addition, AV systems for the auditorium and multi-purpose room were conveniently housed in a nearby equipment room, but cable runs of up to 35 meters were required to reach the sources and displays in these two rooms.

Reliable AV Distribution for Each Facility

Ydeo chose Extron DXP HDMI Series 8x8 and 8x4 matrix switchers, DTP HDMI 4K 230 twisted pair extenders, and HDMI DA2 distribution amplifiers to provide video distribution for the auditorium and multi-purpose room. An Extron MLS 608 D switcher is used to provide AV switching in the cocktail area. The DXP HDMI matrix switchers and HDMI DA2 distribution amplifiers feature a number of exclusive Extron technologies including EDID Minder® to manage the resolutions of connected displays and Key Minder® which helps ensure that there are no HDCP issues, plus SpeedSwitch® on the matrix switchers to provide quick switching of HDCP-encrypted content. The DTP HDMI 4K 230 transmitters and MLS 608 D help simplify the cabling infrastructure by carrying high resolution video, audio, and RS-232 signals over twisted pair cable to compatible receivers. “The development of Extron twisted pair solutions, such as the DTP products, gave us the opportunity to simplify and optimize the installation,” says Eric Jondot, Technical Manager for Ydeo.

In each room, presenters typically use the resident PC or a guest laptop at the lectern, with content displayed using a projector. The multi-purpose room also features eight flat-panel displays to ensure complete coverage for the entire space. In the auditorium, an additional flat-panel display serves as a confidence monitor. Video, audio, power, and LAN connectivity are available at the lectern for the PC and guest devices, and at a few floor box locations for bringing in a podium.

HDMI from the DXP HDMI matrix switchers and RS-232 control signals from the control systems feed into DTP HDMI 4K 230 transmitters. In this installation, the transmitters send AV and control signals up to 35 meters over a twisted pair cable to the DTP HDMI 4K 230 receiver above each room’s projector and behind each flat-panel display. Fortunately, the DTP HDMI 4K 230 extenders can send signals up to 70 meters if needed. The DTP HDMI 4K 230 transmitters also remotely power the receivers over the same twisted pair cable, so fewer AC power outlets are needed in the rooms. HDMI DA2 distribution amplifiers provide additional distribution for the displays in the multi-purpose room.

High Performance Extron Audio Capabilities

The sound systems in the three presentation rooms consist of speech and program audio zones, plus several fixed and wireless microphones. Ydeo selected Extron DMP 64 audio digital signal processors for the two meeting rooms, and the MLS 608 D with its integrated audio DSP for the cocktail area. The DMP 64 and MLS 608 D provide key audio functions including mixing and routing, as well as equalization and tone controls. “The digital signal processing in the DMP 64 and MLS 608 D is an important capability that helped us develop faster and more powerful audio integrations,” Eric Jondot says.

The DMP 64 units in the equipment room accept audio from the microphones in the auditorium and multi-purpose room. Ydeo also used Extron HAE 100 HDMI audio de-embedder units to integrate HDMI audio from the matrix switchers. For amplifying voice and program audio content, Ydeo chose a range of ENERGY STAR® qualified Extron power amplifiers, including the XPA 2003C three channel amplifier for the auditorium. The XPA 2003C delivers two channels of 200 watts into 4 ohms for Extron SI 28 two-way surface mount speakers, and a third channel with 200 watts at 100 volts for a distributed system of Extron SI 26CT two-way ceiling speakers.

An XPA 2004 four channel power amplifier and XPA 1002 two channel power amplifier provide a total of 1,000 watts power output for Extron SM 3 and SI 28 surface mount speakers in the multi-purpose room, while an XPA 2001 -100V two channel, 100 volt power amplifier outputs 100 watts per channel in the cocktail area for a distributed system of SI 26CT ceiling speakers. The XPA Series amplifiers are ENERGY STAR qualified for energy efficiency, provide ample power for the speaker zones, and generate little heat. They are housed in compact 1U enclosures, saving valuable rack space so that each room’s AV equipment fits in compact 24U equipment racks without the need for extra ventilation space or dedicated cooling.

Extron SM 3 SpeedMount® compact surface mount speakers were installed beside each flat-panel display in the multi-purpose room. The displays occupy most of the wall space between the floor-to-ceiling windows, limiting the space available for speakers. The SM 3 speakers were an ideal choice since their compact sizes and low profiles enabled them to be easily and discreetly situated within the limited spaces. Additionally, the included wall mounting system made installation simple. In the auditorium and cocktail area, Ydeo installed SI 26CT ceiling speakers that fulfill aesthetic needs and provide the necessary sound reinforcement. An additional pair of SI 28 speakers at the front of each meeting room delivers optimal sound quality for background music and program content.

“The white SM 3 and SI 26CT speakers were quite appreciated for their compact sizes,” says Eric Jondot. “We were able to place the speakers in discreet locations throughout the rooms without any compromise to the sound quality.”

Simplified Control

For simplified AV system control in two of the presentation rooms, Ydeo selected two Extron IPCP 505 IP Link® Control Processors. The IPCP 505 units give users the ability to control the switchers, as well as the projectors and flat-panel displays from a Web browser-based control interface. In the cocktail area, an Extron MLC 226 IP MediaLink® Controller provides a simple-to-use interface to control and operate the system, including source selection, volume control, and powering the projector on or off.

Results

The use of Extron products at Les Jardins de Saint Dominique fulfills the need for systems that combine performance, reliability, flexibility, and ease of use. “The complete offering of Extron equipment allowed us to create consistent AV systems with full compatibility among all devices,” Eric Jondot says. “It’s a huge gain in terms of engineering, time, and more importantly, functionality.” Ydeo also chose Extron for their dedicated support. “Extron has provided us with continuous support, which helped us to quickly respond to customer questions and deliver an efficient and powerful solution that exceeded initial expectations,” says Ervin Le Goaziou, Ydeo Sales Manager for this project.