Extron Provides Flexible and Easy-to-Use AV for Hong Kong University

The world-renowned University of Hong Kong - HKU is the foremost university in Hong Kong. As part of its 100th anniversary in 2012, the university is undertaking numerous enhancements to the facilities within and beyond the main campus. Among these many initiatives, the HKU Faculty of Business of Economics facility was recently refurbished and given a fresh new look, which included a 100-seat lecture theater and a new, state-of-the-art audio visual system.

We specified the Extron TouchLink-based control system because it added value to our system solution with features of simplicity, stability, and flexibility.

Finson Lam, BAP Technology Consultants Limited

The lack of any IT or technical AV personnel on site meant that the AV control system would have to be flexible, easy-to-use, and functionally self-sufficient. The integrator, BAP Technology Consultants Limited, needed all AV to be centrally controlled and able to run on a platform without a traditional programming infrastructure. This would satisfy long-term budget needs, as well as shorten the integration timeline. In addition to traditional AV system control, system designers also wanted to give users the ability to select from several preconfigured lighting presets using a touchpanel.

Configurable Touchpanel Control

To meet all these needs, BAP chose Extron, and assembled the AV control system with a TLP 700TV , 7” Tabletop TouchLink® Touchpanel paired with IPL T S6 and IPL CR48 IP Link® Control Processors. With this system in place, all AV sources and light dimming control systems could be monitored and controlled from a central location. The TLP 700TV allows users to easily control any device in the lecture theater, such as the projector, projection screen, LCD TV, microphone system, audio mixer, power amplifier, and lighting dimmers.

The integrator selected an Extron TouchLink-based control system because of its price, simplicity, stability, and ease-of-use. HKU is very pleased with the installation. All of its control needs were satisfied without the need for traditional programming. Since the Extron control system is configuration-based, future system upgrades or equipment replacements are easy to perform. The configurable approach minimizes ongoing maintenance costs, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the system as a whole.

Audiovisual System

The lecture theater has been equipped with three front projection systems, consisting of Mitsubishi XD600U 4500 lumen projectors and Da-Lite 100-inch Slimline electric screens. A 42-inch LG LCD panel was mounted on a structural column as a preview display for the instructor.

Audio integration includes wireless handheld and lavaliere microphones routed through an Extron DMP 64 6 x 4 digital matrix processor with DSP to provide mixing and feedback suppression. The system also utilizes an HAE 100 to de-embed digital audio from HDMI sources. Extron’s power-saving XPA 2001-70V amplifiers provided a high impedance, 200 watt output for distributed ceiling speakers.

An Extron MVX 44 VGA A - 4x4 VGA and audio matrix switcher was used to route input signals from various floor boxes and wallplates to the four displays, while a DVI/HDMI to VGA converter, the DVI-RGB 200 , was used for converting HDMI signals to analog VGA signals for integration into the signal distribution system. Extron’s EDID 101V EDID emulator was employed in the system to provide constant and continuous EDID - Extended Display Identification Data management for the VGA sources. Extron’s EDID Minder technology ensures that all sources power up properly and reliably output content for each display.

Dimming Control

The University required an easy-to-use interface for controlling its energy-saving light dimming system. BAP Technology used Extron GUI Configurator to create a custom TouchLink GUI for the TLP 700TV. The user interface simplifies the control of the lighting dimmers and allows all lighting adjustments to be preset and recalled from the touchpanel.