Boston’s AVH Technology Partners selected an Analog Way Aquilon C to be at the heart of a new Executive Briefing Center (EBC) in the corporate headquarters of a major New England-based software developer. Designed with impressive capabilities to deliver compelling presentations for investors, informative daily briefs for staff and engaging training sessions for end-users, the EBC is a vibrant space that not only fulfills the needs of the client today but also meets the technological demands of the future.
“The client is very creative and wanted to push the envelope in everything,” notes Steve Grace, AVH President. “Featuring a large LED video screen, spatial audio and theatrical lighting, the EBC can synchronize video content with acoustic and lighting effects. This is a space with capabilities seldom found in corporate environments.”
When AVH began the search for equipment that could deliver what the client wanted to achieve in the EBC, “Analog Way checked all the boxes for us,” says AVH Vice President Collin Hogan, who designed the system. “We needed seamless switching, complex videowall processing, Dante audio, 12G SDI and true 4K HDR 4:4:4. The competition’s gear had restrictions on those features, but Aquilon C offered everything – and in one box, which simplified our schematics tremendously.”
Part of Analog Way’s LivePremier family of products, Aquilon C is a fully modular and scalable 4K/8K multiscreen presentation system and videowall processor. In the EBC, a 16 x 12 Aquilon C drives an approximately 12 x 7-foot 0.9 mm Planar LED video screen that features an easy-to-use, browser-based Crestron control system. Mike Valadao of Devine Technology Partners in Canton, Massachusetts integrated and installed the Aquilon for AVH.
“The EBC has a real ‘wow’ effect on everyone who sees it, and we’re proud to be part of this project,” notes Seth Teates, Analog Way’s Senior Regional Sales Manager. “Aquilon delivers everything that AVH was looking for. It can take in various signal types up to 4K60 HDR and output those signals with rock solid performance. It also futureproofs the EBC providing room to grow with future sources and displays. Aquilon can seamlessly switch, scale and window to any output creating multiple layers of content and PIPs on the main screen and other displays. And with our low latency from input to output there’s no delay to the conversation if the client wants to do videoconferencing.”
AVH Project Manager Ed Hondzinski points out that the EBC is “currently using just a small portion of Aquilon’s capabilities. But there are big plans for what’s to come” in the space, and he’s confident that Aquilon can handle it.
For example, “This was our first project which required the ability to integrate with Unreal Engine and a full spatial audio system,” reports Hogan. “Analog Way has crazy capabilities, so it’s not a stretch for them. The client’s video team will be taking a deep dive into Aquilon’s technical aspects as they do more elaborate projects.”
System control can be performed in an on-site control room with a touch panel and preview monitors or in the EBC itself with a desk and simple, automated GUI, which makes operation “very approachable for the day-to-day user,” notes Hogan.
Supply chain issues persist in all industries in the post-COVID world, and AVH designed the EBC at a time when everyone was unsure of equipment availability. “The whole project was based around a product that had to be built in and delivered from Europe, but Analog Way saved the day by providing us with a spare system of theirs in the US that got the EBC up and running until the unit we ordered arrives,” says Grace.
“The client has told us how happy they are with the EBC and with how beautiful the LED video screen looks with its windows, transitions and navigation,” Hondzinski says. “They’re very proud of the space.”
“Analog Way has really come into its own in the last decade and is outclassing others in the same space, especially in regard to LED video,” says Grace. “The company has made huge strides.”
“Aquilon jumped off the page to us,” adds Hogan. “The cost of Aquilon was similar to other processors but a mile ahead in features and performance.”
