Extron NAV facilitates activity at the Euro Auctions auction center

At the Leeds facility, The AV system has been designed with encoders and decoders Extron NAV, using existing Ethernet cable infrastructure 1 Gbps to send 4K video and control RS-232 devices over long distances.

Euro Auctions, whose headquarters are located in Northern Ireland, is one of the largest auctioneers of industrial machinery, construction and agricultural. Has offices in Europe, United Kingdom, USA, United Arab Emirates and Australia. In a normal year, carries out more than 50 billion dollar auctions. La reciente ampliación realizada en Leeds (United Kingdom) has doubled the area, becoming the largest permanent auction facilities in Europe. Extron NAV solutions have been used for the new AV systems.

The expansion included the construction of new workshops, an office and administration center, and three auction areas, each with a sales ramp through which equipment passes for bidders to inspect.

Included in the expansion was the installation of AV systems, designed to provide bidders with videos of the items up for auction, as well as instant updates on current auctions, with video and audio on the screens and public address speakers located throughout the auction areas.

Euro Auctions went to Visavv, an integration services division of global audiovisual technology specialist group Saville, based in york, United Kingdom, to design, Install and commission new AV systems.

Visavvi accessed its extensive and varied registry of accredited manufacturing partners, including Extron, to create a flexible system, scalable and reliable to support Euro Auctions' business.

In an environment of accelerated auctions, latency in AV distribution is not an option. As bidding changes rapidly the speed of the auctioneer's singing must be heard and seen instantly.

Extron Professional AV over IP NAV encoders and decoders form the ultra-low latency centerpiece of the video signal path, using existing Ethernet cable infrastructure 1 Gbps to send 4K video and control RS-232 devices over long distances within facilities.

Existing Ethernet cable plant also distributes audio, based on Dante network connectivity. Dante AXI audio interfaces 44 Extron ATs perform input and output functions for the Dante network, placing audio inputs from the auctioneers' microphones and computers on the network and transmitting the audio from the network to the public address' high-powered active speakers and amplifiers.

Flexible video routing and display

The Extron NAV system provides several advantages that make it the right choice for Euro Auctions – Leeds. Transports video over existing Ethernet cabling to network connections, saving installation time and cost, and allowing AV content to be routed from any source to any destination.

When separate auctions take place in each zone, Three different auction booths and their presentation ramps stream content to speakers and displays in their own area. When different zones are combined for larger auctions, the contents of one booth are broadcast to one or two of the other two zones.

The video can even be seen in the canteen, allowing bidders to monitor the auction while they go for refreshments. NAV's Pure3 codec provides the ultra-low latency required for an auction application. equally important, is to provide flexible video scaling to accommodate different resolutions of display devices, allowing you to display high resolution images of the products for sale, next to a clearly emitted text showing the bids.

Due to the harsh outdoor environment, Display devices are housed in special cases that protect them from rain and dust. As NAV encoders have a slim and compact format and have PoE, They are ideal to fit into waterproof cases for display devices.

Intuitive operation

At the center of the system is the Extron NAVigator, a hardware device that manages, configure and control professional AV system over IP. This allowed the Visavvi integration team to quickly deploy endpoint NAV encoders and decoders., using the intuitive web-based interface.

Technicians can use the same interface to reconfigure endpoints whenever necessary. Daily operation of the system is handled by an IP Link Pro IPL Pro S1 control processor., reacting to commands from the communications room TLP Pro 1025M touchscreen and NBP button panels 100 from each of the three auctioneer booths.

Visavvi's experienced AV programmers have used Global Scripter's Python programming to adapt human-computer interfaces for intuitive and hassle-free operation., both for an AV technician using the interactive GUI on the communications room touch screen to route AV content, like for an auctioneer hitting the button panel of his booth to activate the speaker or display device.

Euro Auctions are pleased with the way the AV system at the new Leeds facility has improved the auction experience, for both the bidders and their staff.

Plans are underway to expand the system and it is apparent that professional AV over IP NAV systems are poised for further growth and more displays within the existing design, and with a minimum investment.