Fater Uses Extron for Impressive Presentations and Hotel Suite Upgrades

Fater S.p.a., a successful equal joint venture between the Angelini Group and Procter & Gamble since 1992, focuses on the development and marketing of several multinational personal care brands. In line with the Italian company’s attention to technological innovation, Fater wanted to upgrade AV systems in the Business Innovation Center’s boardroom, the refresher course room, and two suites of the Villa Maria Hotel and Spa reserved for visiting clients. Fater needed an advanced, yet user-friendly AV control system that would help achieve visually exciting presentations for clients. AV integrator HD-Point chose Extron equipment to meet these goals.

The graphic overlapping of images and text within AV presentations makes the Annotator a truly powerful and versatile product.

Stefano Farina, Owner of HD-Point

Boardroom

Client meetings are held in the boardroom, at a table hosting 12 LCD screens that display content from a source PC driven by the meeting organizer. A second PC sends this presentation content to the room’s projector. When clients arrive before a meeting or during breaks, a third PC uses the projector to display images of the region’s scenery and monuments accompanied by background music. An Extron TLP 700TV 7" Tabletop TouchLink® Touchpanel and IPL 250 IP Link® Control Processor provide control for AV source selection, audio level adjustment, as well as control of the PC dedicated to image display. The TouchLink touchpanel is an elegant, easy-to-use solution that helps minimize device clutter on the table and provides all necessary control and image sequencing tasks.

Eight workstations at the table offer USB, video, and audio connectivity via table-mounted Architectural Adapter Plates. HD-Point took advantage of the customizable GUI on the TouchLink touchpanel to re-create the shape of the boardroom table, placing selection buttons in the same position as the workstations. The video signals are sent to the Extron Annotator, an annotation graphics processor, alongside video from the presentation PC. The Annotator also receives component video from a Sky satellite receiver.

The Annotator allows the presenter to draw, point, and add text to electronic presentation material using a touchscreen. Images can be captured with the Annotator’s snapshot function and stored on a network storage device. HD-Point chose the Extron SW2 USB Switcher to provide additional USB ports for connecting a memory stick or other peripheral devices to the main PC, or for connecting a graphics tablet to the Annotator.

“The Annotator is great for handling various video sources and signal formats; these capabilities, plus the built-in scaler and high-quality video output, solve many challenges often encountered in the design and installation of new systems or during integration with legacy systems,” says Stefano Farina, Owner of HD-Point. “The graphic overlapping of images and text within AV presentations makes the Annotator a truly powerful and versatile product.”

The Extron HDMI DA2 Distribution Amplifier distributes the HDMI signal from the Sky receiver to a 3D flat panel display in the lunchroom using the Extron HDMI 201 Twisted Pair Extender, and to a projector in a 3D-capable room using the DTP HDMI 301 Long Distance Twisted Pair Extender. The HDMI DA2 features EDID Minder® to manage the resolutions of connected displays and Key Minder®, which helped ensure that there were no HDCP issues.

Refresher Course Room

Training for corporate employees occurs in the refresher course room. Presentation sources include a Blu-ray player, laptop, satellite receiver, and a microphone, so high quality images and audio are necessary. HDMI signals from the Blu-ray player and receiver feed into the Extron SW4 HDMI LC Switcher and are routed to the room’s projector. The system is controlled using an Extron TLP 350CV 3.5" Cable Cubby® TouchLink Touchpanel and an IPL 250. “The TLP 350CV is the ideal choice for its convenience and versatility in offering an enclosure that provides configurable AAP openings and a touchpanel interface,” says Farina. “The TLP 350CV also reflects the quality and features of the larger TouchLink touchpanels in a smaller size, an advantage in terms of aesthetics.” To mix and process source audio for output to the room’s sound reinforcement system, HD-Point chose the Extron DMP 64 Digital Matrix Processor.

Villa Maria Hotel and Spa

Located near the Business Innovation Center, the Villa Maria Hotel and Spa hosts two upgraded suites. It was important that the system in each suite give visiting clients the opportunity to customize their room for added comfort during their stay. Upgraded rooms include AV receiver-based surround sound, a smart TV, a Webcam, and two wall-mounted displays framed to resemble digital paintings. The Extron TLP 710MV 7" Wall Mount TouchLink Touchpanel and IPL 250 provide AV device control, while full HD media players deliver video content for the framed displays. With a simple tap on the touchpanel screen, the client can choose which painting to show on each display, and control the room’s audio and lighting.

Audio in a separate part of the suite is handled by an Extron MPA 152 Stereo Amplifier, which receives audio signals from the main room’s AV receiver. A wall-mounted Extron VCM 200 D Volume and Mute Controller is used for remote volume and mute control of the amplifier. Compact enclosure sizes facilitated installation of the MPA 152 and IPL 250 within the column where the touchpanel is also encased.

Results

For Fater S.p.a., the new AV systems fully meet the company’s needs for high quality presentations, ease of use, and reliable performance. “Extron products were chosen based on the quality and reliability of the devices, the wide range of products that can meet any kind of design requirements, and for the excellent technical support available,” says Farina.