Extron AVoIP and control foster collaboration at UT Delft

In the new building of the Delft Technical University AVoIP NAV system has been installed Extron to route all signals on the building network. A system that plays a key role as the center of the audiovisual system infrastructure.

The Delft Technical University (TU Delft) in Netherlands, It is the oldest and largest in the country. For the project carried out in the building Echo has opted for Extron AVoIP technology.

The Echo Building, a recent addition to your campus, It has been designed to address the school's dynamic requirements for adaptable teaching spaces both now and in the future.. This architectural space is a dynamic learning hub, collaboration and social interaction.

To address the university's requirements to connect different classrooms to accommodate situations where additional rooms must be used, system designers opted for the sistema NAV de AV over Extron IP to route all signals on the building network. This system plays an essential role as the center of the infrastructure of the entire audiovisual system..

The Echo building has more than 8.844 square meters, distributed over four floors. Various educational activities are held in this space, including conferences, tutoring, group collaborations, project based education, discussions and self-learning sessions.

The interior layout of the building has been designed to provide medium and large sized rooms, with capacity between 150 y 700 individuals. Additionally, several smaller rooms have been designed to facilitate specialized activities, like project-based education, accommodating groups of up to 70 participants.

AV system design

The different teaching rooms of the Echo building, including flexible layouts and the ability to divide the largest university classroom into three separate rooms, they required a system OFF highly adaptable. Ensure that AV equipment, like projectors, screens and microphones, being able to switch between different room configurations was crucial. The system had to accommodate different teaching methods, from traditional classes to interactive discussions and project-based activities.

UT Delft administrators wanted to encourage social interaction between students, teachers and visitors implementing an AV system that supports collaborative learning and group interaction. Additionally, had to be easy to use to ensure that students and teachers could easily operate and access the technology.

This school's commitment to sustainability and energy neutrality required that the selected AV equipment be able to support the building's energy savings initiatives.. This meant integrating a comprehensive set of energy-saving features and ultra-efficient power supplies..

With a growing student population and evolving educational methods, the AV system had to accommodate possible modifications to the teaching spaces.

The building's architects designed an attractive meeting place for students and visitors. The AV system had to be integrated with other functions of the facility. Coordination with these elements was essential to create a comprehensive user experience that encouraged social interaction and comfort within the building..

In summary, Designing AV systems for the Echo building involved addressing demands for versatile teaching spaces: improved user interaction, alignment with sustainability goals, guarantee of scalability and integration with the overall building design.

AV system design

The building's AV systems were designed by AV integrator PCI in collaboration with Marco Buitenhuis from TU Delft. Completion of the entire AV system project took almost four years, from the first discussions to the final installation phase.

Extron products have been the established standard in the AV spaces of UT Delft, promoting consistency and standardization across campus. This standardization addresses the improvement of the installation, AV control programming and troubleshooting, making them more effective.

Country house, AV/IT expert at TU Delft, explained some of the reasons why they chose Extron. “Due to integration into our existing AV ecosystem, a pilot system and technical support, “It was an easy choice to deploy Extron Professional AV over IP NAV systems to our new educational building.”.

The Echo building is home to ten educational spaces, each designed to meet a series of teaching methodologies. Between these spaces, five have been specifically designed for high-tech AV presentations. Each of these rooms is equipped with a digital whiteboard and a MGP multi-window processor 641 from Extron that supports 4K/60 video for an engaging learning experience.

Three of them serve as university classrooms, designed primarily for traditional teaching. The other two are designed for collaborative learning, promoting discussions and group activities.

Beyond these, The Echo building also offers a separate room dedicated exclusively to student discussions. Besides, There are four spaces created as project rooms that support different learning activities.

A feature that stands out in some of these rooms is the presence of sliding walls that provide flexibility to the room configuration.. NAV system plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth AV operations, regardless of whether the rooms are joined or separated.

To ensure smooth transitions between sources, These rooms use the HDMI switch Extron SW HD 4K Plus Series, which is managed via the TouchLink Pro touchscreen on the lectern.

A key advantage of this switch is the incorporation of the EDID Minder technology by Extron, ensuring uninterrupted communication with connected source devices.

AVoIP system management

The central rack of the building houses the manager of the sistema NAVigator, a secure device that centralizes control of the NAV system. Also accommodates multiple NAV encoders, that accept signals from cameras and digital whiteboards, as well as NAV scaler decoders, that provide signals to projectors and display devices.

Some of the NAV encoders and decoders They have a USB extension for access to the central servers. This centralized approach makes system design more efficient and simplifies maintenance.

The easy-to-use, browser-based NAVigator Systems Manager empowers technicians to configure, Monitor and troubleshoot your entire system through a single interface.

NAV encoders are strategically placed on each AV source, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, ultra-low latency video along with HDMI and AES67 audio. NAV Upscaling Decoders, placed behind each display device, deliver high-quality video tailored to the capabilities of the respective display devices.

System monitoring and control

Las TouchLink Pro touch screens They are located on lecterns and walls. They work with IPCP Pro xi control processors to provide easy-to-use, adaptable management of all AV functions in the room. They are also synchronized with the NAVigator system manager to distribute content over the network.

For general AV system monitoring, support staff uses GlobalViewer Enterprise (GVE) from Extron that manages all connected devices. With GVE, you can observe and evaluate the equipment and use of the room, plan maintenance tasks in advance and manage inventory with tailored reports.

The Echo building at UT Delft represents the university's commitment to innovation, adaptability and sustainability. As one of the world's leading institutions, Its progressive method is not only evident in its academic programs, but also in its infrastructure, combining cutting-edge technology with energy-saving designs.

With its advanced AV systems, The Echo Building fosters an environment that is conducive to both traditional and collaborative teaching methodology.

Installed equipment:

• Professional AV encoder over IP 1G – HDMI NAV E 101.
• Professional AV Encoder over IP 1G to HDMI, Ethernet y USB NAV E 501.
• Professional AV scaling decoder over IP 1G – HDMI NAV SD 101.
• Professional AV Scaler Decoder over IP 1G to HDMI, Ethernet y USB NAV SD 501.
• Professional AV systems manager over IP NAVigator.
• IP Link Pro IPCP Pro Control Processor 350.
• IPCP Pro xi control processor IPCP Pro S1 xi .
• IPL EXP RIO8 Control Systems I/O Expansion Interface.
• TouchLink Pro 10" Wall Mount Touchscreen″ (TLP Pro 1025M) 7″ (TLP Pro 725M) y 5″ (TLP Pro 525M), and desktop of 7″ (TLP Pro 725T).
• 4K/60 HDMI Switches with SW4 HD 4K Plus Ethernet Monitoring and Control.
• HDMI and audio scaling bridge to USB MediaPort 200.
• 4K/60 HDMI Multi-Window Processor with DTP2 MGP Extension 641.
• HDMI to 3G‑SDI Scaler with DSC HD‑3G A Audio Embedding.