Hurrairah bin Sohail discovers how Mahajak deployed AV systems for a government installation where ensuring complete control across a range of rooms and spaces was a prime requisite.
Watthanawipat Building, the headquarters of Metropolitan Electricity Authority’s [MEA]
premises in Bangkok, Thailand,
spans three buildings which
feature a range of spaces from
an auditorium, meeting rooms,
seminar rooms and conferencing
suites. It fell to Mahajak to deploy
and commission AV systems for
these spaces as the integrator for
the project.
The wide scope of works meant
that the AV portion of the project
commenced in 2018 and was
completed in the middle of
2019. Yodpol Kaewsuttha, sales
manager project at Mahajak, gives
some idea regarding Mahajak’s
involvement with the project:
“Mahajak served as the system
integrator for this project and
our job was to make sure that the
audio, video, control and lighting
requirements of the client were
met completely.”
Starting with the façade of the
building, Mahajak has supplied
an outdoor LED display.
Measuring 13m wide and
approximately 2m high, ESD
Lumen 16mm pixel pitch LED
tiles have been paired with
RGBlink videowall processors
to create the display.
Kaewsuttha says: “The outdoor
LED has quite a high resolution.
Text and pictures can be seen
clearly at least 30m away from
the installation point. The screen
can show animations, slide,
shows, videos, graphics, moving
characters all with true colour.
The structure for the LED display
was done by the main contractor
and from there it was easy for us
to finish the installation.”
The largest space inside the
Watthanawipat Building, MEA’s
premises, is an auditorium that
can seat 216 people. AV systems
have been chosen according to
the premium stature of the space.
Kaewsuttha goes into detail:
“This auditorium is the heart of
Watthanawipat Building, MEA.
The audio system is used for a
variety of functions. Line array
loudspeakers provide equal levels
of loudness and clear sound to
both the front and rear seats
and support multi-functional
operations.”
JBL Vertec series line array
speakers and a JBL subwoofer
are installed together with
JBL AC series and JBL ASB series
speakers. Additional JBL PRX
series units are installed to
function as stage monitor. Crown
amplifiers and BSS Blu DSP
complete the audio system.
Shure QLXD series microphones
are used for audio input.
A Panasonic 11,000 lumens
and two Panasonic 5,000 lumens
projectors provide visuals onto
motorised Draper projection
screens. Video is transmitted over
IP with AMX SVSI encoders and
decoders in tandem with Cisco
switchers.
The video system required a
rejig and Kaewsuttha details:
“Because the conversations and
discussions about the AV system
design for the MEA project began
more than three years ago, the
initial idea was to use HDBaseT
for video transmission. However,
as we got closer to starting the
work for AV systems, video over
IP became much more mature.
So, we recommended the AMX
SVSI solution to the client and
told them how it will decrease the
burden of maintenance and also
make them 4K ready and they
decided to go for it.”
Stage lighting for the auditorium
comprises appropriate fittings
such as Martin Moving Head,
Martin Mac Quantum Profile,
Par LED, Fresnel and Profile.
The audio, video and lighting
systems in the auditorium serve
as a template for the design
of the AV systems across the
Watthanawipat Building and its
spaces. SVSI provides video
transmission over IP and BSS
Blu-Link is employed for audio
transport. The endpoints for
audio and video change to reflect
the needs of the spaces.
Three seminar rooms that
can be used individually or in
combined mode illustrate the
point. JBL CBT series speakers
provide audio in case of split
room usage. A JBL VRX series line
array system, with left and right
hangs, and a JBL STX series
subwoofer can be called upon
when the spaces are merged and
used as one whole.
Regarding further audio
provisions, Kaewsuttha says: “The
system is completed with the Shure
QLXD, a wireless microphone
system with antenna distribution
to increase efficiency for
transceivers during the meetings
or events. As this room serves as a
multi-functional room, Soundcraft
Si Performer series is used for the
seminar rooms as well.”
A Panasonic 11,000 lumens
projector provides visuals on a
300-in Draper projection screen,
Two Panasonic 7,000 lumens
projectors together with two
230-in motorised Draper
projection screens along with four
portable LED TVs are also
available.
Smaller meetings rooms
required conference microphone
systems so Mahajak chose the
Bosch CCS series discussion
system. Panasonic 3,500 lumens
projectors with a 106-in Draper
projection screens handle visuals.
Retractable motorised screens,
24-in in size, are also provided.
In the larger MOC room, Bosch
DCN series conference systems
are used. Kaewsuttha says: “We
needed to provide a digital system
that could deliver voting during
meetings and we chose the Bosch
DCN as the most suitable product
for the job.”
Interestingly, the MOC room
also features a 3x3 narrow bezel
videowall comprising Samsung
46-in panels as its main display.
Sony CCTV cameras and system
are also deployed to record the
meetings.
Poly hardware is used to
provide videoconferencing.
Kaewsuttha says: “While we
are seeing a trend towards soft
codecs, especially in the
corporate sector, hardware-based videoconferencing is still
relevant. The MEA has been
using Poly videoconferencing
and it was something that they
wanted to continue with to
ensure compatibility with the
existing systems.”
A core requirement for the
Watthanawipat Building, MEA
project was to ensure that the end
user had a central monitoring and
control system. The selection of
AMX SVSI to provide video over
IP transmission and BSS Blu-Link
for transporting audio meant that
AV signals could be centralised.
AMX NX series processors, AMX
MKP series eight button panels
and Apple iPads are provided
across the three buildings and
spaces to help provide control for
the AV systems.
Kaewsuttha says: “The control
programming for this project was
very extensive. First of all, the size
and scale of the project meant
that there were a lot of spaces
where control was required. From
the motorised projection screens,
motorised displays, lighting,
audio options to the video across
the different spaces, Mahajak had
to ensure that the end user could
control all these AV systems
without any complications.”
Kaewsuttha believes that
Mahajak hit the mark: “We have
central monitoring in a control
room from where all the AV
systems can be controlled. The
Cisco switch is situated there,
and all the relevant software is
run on virtual machines. End
users always need manpower to
take care of AV systems, but
with centralised control the AV
systems are easy to maintain
and Mahajak is there to provide
support when needed.”
MEA also wanted a
comprehensive central
monitoring and control system
to manage and monitor the
different spaces. AMX RMS
was used to provide this.
Kaewsuttha says: “The central
monitoring and control system
was the most challenging part of
the project. This was one of the
first times we were using AMX
RMS. Since this is a remarkable
government building, we had
to be mindful of security and
completely understand their
requirements to ensure that the
final system was according to
their specifications.”
To conclude, Kaewsuttha says:
“Mahajak has a long history and
expertise when it comes to
hardware and software
deployment. Nowadays, we are
focusing on human resource
development to increase IT
knowledge and this applies for
all our jobs.”