Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently commissioned a versatile high tech lecture hall and an adjacent sunlit atrium in which they conduct classes and stage large college and community events. The 4,600 square foot lecture hall includes a stage facing an audience of 275. The room hosts presentations, plays, singing competitions, television broadcasts, and more. The 2,500 square foot atrium seats up to 95 at tables for work or dining and not only hosts stand-alone gatherings, but also serves as prefunction and overflow space for the lecture hall. Wake Tech’s Jennifer Unitis, Manager of Academic Computing and Joshua Cruz, End User Support Analyst II, worked with pro AV integrator Inter Technologies Corporation to design and install the AV systems. Extron was selected to supply AV switching, distribution, and control products.
“Reliability, cost, and ease of use have driven the decision for Wake Tech to select Extron as our preferred vendor. Most of our campuses are outfitted with Extron in our academic spaces and conference rooms,” says Joshua Cruz. “The hardware can easily be maintained by our team because they have received training and certification from Extron, and they are thoroughly familiar with the gear because they work with it every day. Additionally, the support from Extron is top notch.”
An 8×6 DTP CrossPoint 4K presentation matrix switcher services the lecture hall and atrium. It allows a variety of AV content sources to be shown on the lecture hall’s main on-stage projection screen and on flat panel displays at the lecture hall entry and in the atrium. AV content can come from the on-stage lectern, from the lecture hall control booth, from an HDMI wallplate in the atrium, or from stage-facing and audience-facing tracking PTZ cameras in the lecture hall. For theatrical performances, there is a concert-caliber control booth equipped with audio mixing and lighting control consoles, and an AV system control station. AV system control is handled by an IPCP Pro 350 control processor. TouchLink Pro touchpanels at the lectern and the control booth provide the user interface via intuitive GUIs.
