Extron Helps Address Disasters in North Carolina

The emergency operations center's AV system has been renovated and replaced with a FOX3 modular fiber optic matrix switcher. Extron. Besides, they have connected 14 new meeting rooms through a multimode cable solution.

Extron FOX3 provides AV information, USB data and control via fiber optics in the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center.

El North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) needed to upgrade its emergency operations center (EOC) and add spaces for groups for internal use and other organizations. Located on the ground floor of the National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, The EOC is the State's core for disaster recovery, national security, threat mitigation, preparedness in case of nuclear accident, etc.

The AV systems update should support more sources, such as computers with specialized software, media servers and news program streams.

Users needed to be able to plug their laptops and other devices into stands and tables with little or no technical support. Display devices were to range from professional projection systems to a 3-inch video wall.×3 and display devices with sizes up to 96 inches.

Additional requirements were interconnectivity between all rooms, Enhanced streaming capabilities and adaptation of existing video conferencing and broadcast systems. The entire installation had to be powerful, flexible and reliable in this mission critical environment. Besides, it had to have intuitive operation.

State officials hired Integrated Information Systems (IIS) to organize and develop the AV system. Working together with the State IT Department, selected Extron FOX3 fiber optic systems.

AV infrastructure

To support those who respond to a wide variety of emergency-related activities, the AV system was replaced with an Extron FOX3 modular fiber optic matrix switcher, and they connected 14 new small meeting rooms via multimode fiber optic cable solution.

Before final commissioning, More rooms were added to the facilities and connected via fiber. Total spaces include updated emergency room, which is the main axis during crises, and a variety of conference rooms, meetings and training, plus designated areas to be used by specific organizations.

These range from local services, state and federal for the medical staff, from firefighters and police to public and private organizations such as FEMA and the American Red Cross.

Content from multiple HDMI 4K/60 and USB sources and camera streams is available for presentation simultaneously on the EOC's many display devices.

during a crisis, the video wall of 3×3 mounted in the emergency room is the coordination center. This and the room's many display devices provide aggregate information used for crisis and resource monitoring., analysis and coordination of services.

The FOX3 Matrix transmitted to a procesador de videowall 4K Quantum Ultra from Extron that allows multiple windows to appear in any layout on the video wall.

Integrated technologies such as scaling Vector 4K y bus HyperLane from Extron ensure precise up- and down-scaling of the image and smooth, real-time font presentation, without changing frame rates, regardless of design.

meeting rooms

Small meeting rooms have access to the same sources as the emergency room, including each display devices with the appropriate size, flat screen from 55 until 75 inches, and projectors 10.000 lumens. Staff rooms include up to five workstations with a display device 75 inches mounted on the wall near them.

Rooms with at least one projection system are used for press and guests. Some examples are the Joint Information Center in which the State coordinates the information presented to the public; and the press room, used by the governor and lieutenant governor to conduct televised briefings with emergency personnel, VIP and the press.

In cases of excess audience, An entrance hall provides comfortable seating in front of a display device 75 inches.

Center for the Red Cross

Another room with multiple viewing devices is the emergency business operations center that is also available to the Red Cross, commercial donors and qualified volunteers. An Extron FOX3 modular fiber optic matrix switcher provides signal distribution to all rooms, and can be configured to support up to 160 tickets and 160 Departures.

The FOX3 Matrix 160x, currently configured with 104×104, Provides switching and distribution of HDMI 4K/60 video signals, audio, USB and control via multimode fiber optic cable infrastructure throughout the center. I/O cards support chroma sampling 4:4:4, ensuring that the best quality content is delivered to different viewing devices. If necessary, Support team can activate 3D sync via fiber optic cable. The remaining slots on the array are reserved for future system expansion.

System mapping facilitates bi-directional signal routing, like USB and control, while maintaining secure unidirectional data flows for video and audio within the EOC, and between it and remote locations. These and other features and capabilities of the modular FOX3 Matrix, such as hot-swappable power supplies and system monitoring, future-proof the AV system and ensure continued operation in the event of a state crisis, national or international.

FOX3 fiber optic transmitters send AV signals over a single fiber, and the receivers that serve as interconnection between the rooms also use a single fiber.

A second fiber allows RS-232 insertion for device control through the FOX3 receiver mounted with each display device.

The middle school series Extron's H.264 streaming media processors enable event recording, as well as sending AV content by streaming to other rooms and to the field. To help with video conferencing in the emergency room, an Extron MediaPort HDMI and audio to USB scaling bridge is connected to the system at the main workstation.

Clear and simple collaboration

To support distributed audio in the emergency room, and DSP processor 12 audio×8 Extron DMP Plus Series is connected to one of the two Dante ports on the FOX3 Matrix. Another of the four Dante ports on the audio processor is connected to the center's network.

DSP processor provides automatic mixing and easy configuration of audio filters, dynamic, AEC y VoIP, just like Dante. It also sends audio to one of the media processors for streaming and to the microphone/line input of the bridge. MediaPort scaling to complete the solution.

A four-channel power amplifier XPA Ultra series Extron rack-mounted equipment room speaker distributes amplified audio to Flat Field full-range loudspeakers.

The IIS team discovered that the output of 70 V of the amplifiers provided the necessary power, plus save rack space with its half rack width enclosure. Convection-cooled amplifier locking captive screw output made integration safe and easy.

The 61 Low Profile Ceiling Plate Speakers×61 cm were easy to place in place from the suspended ceiling, making the installation even more efficient.

North Carolina state officials appreciated system improvements that allowed content to be displayed quickly and seamlessly. They use the EOC to monitor, centrally control and share video and audio from a wide variety of sources to communicate with staff and those in the field.

The FOX3 system has not only been effective and efficient during daily activity, But the new facility has facilitated supervision and collaboration between different organizations in response exercises and drills..