Sound Transit
Boardroom AV refresh creates user-friendly meeting and broadcast experience
Project Overview and Goals
Sound Transit, the regional public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area, hosts and broadcasts public board and committee meetings from its Ruth Fisher Boardroom. The hybrid meeting space hosts agency executives, board members, and more than 650 members of the public remotely and in person for monthly meetings.
The space featured a complex set of video production technology for meeting communication and public broadcasts. This complexity required AV staff to manually operate equipment and switch camera angles. Time devoted to each camera often resulted in poor overall production quality and a slower response to other IT needs in the room.
Sound Transit sought a new AV system to boost staff support and meeting experiences for its high-profile audience.
Organization
Sound Transit
Location
Market
Transportation
Solutions
Biamp, Crestron, HP | Poly, Legrand AV, Logitech, Planar, Samsung, Shure
According to Sound Transit’s Senior IT Project Manager Anne Conery, “The new system had to be easy to operate, improve meeting experiences, modernize the space for years to come, and be installed quickly.”
In addition to a long life cycle, the new system had to go live in under 30 days.
AVI-SPL proposed a solution to elevate video and audio capture, improve boardroom interaction, and simplify broadcast processes.
“The last thing they wanted was more complexity,” said AVI-SPL Seattle Account Manager Tre Hertzberg. “They were looking for ways to automate the system and make it more user-friendly.”
AVI-SPL was the only provider that suggested automated speaker tracking to improve the meeting experience and streamline production. Sound Transit appreciated this modern approach to simplifying room operations and minimizing personnel needs.
Solution:
Crestron Automate VX-based solution automates broadcasts and enhances in-room meeting experience.
Streamlining meeting broadcasts with Crestron Automate VX.
Crestron’s Automate VX system serves as the hub for AVI-SPL’s custom Sound Transit boardroom solution.
The voice-activated system connects chosen AV/UC devices to recognize and auto-switch between presenters, record and stream content, and link to videoconferencing platforms.
AVI-SPL enhanced existing Shure microphones to improve audio quality and reliability. Each mic is hardwired into Automate VX to ensure seamless speaker tracking and clean transitions.
HP | Poly video bar and 4K camera upgrades improved video quality. Like the microphones, each camera is hardwired into Automate VX. The system’s visual AI feature uses each camera to auto-frame presenters.
Improving the in-person boardroom experience
The Ruth Fisher Boardroom is a large conference space with a horseshoe dais and more than 100 seats for the press and public. AVI-SPL proposed a series of audio, video, and unified communications devices from Biamp, Crestron, Logitech, Planar, and Samsung to elevate the in-room attendee experience.
A Biamp amplifier boosted presenter volume to ensure attendees could hear board conversations at the far end of the space.
Personal Planar touchscreen monitors allowed dais members to view content at their stations.
Samsung displays, supported by Legrand AV wall mounts, gave attendees better views of shared content.
Crestron Flex made it possible for staff members to launch meetings with the touch of a button.
Additionally, Sound Transit wanted to create a new focal point for the space. They settled on replacing the projector system with a video wall to add to the modern aesthetic and future-proof the overall experience.
“A video wall was something we explored when we first did the walkthrough,” Conery said. “There was a question about whether or not we would use the existing projector screen or go with a different solution. And we ended up going with a large video wall.”
AVI-SPL replaced the original projector screen with a 200+ inch Planar video wall.
Integration: Time was of the essence
A tight schedule of boardroom meetings left narrow windows for AVI-SPL AV/UC experts to install the new system.
“We timed it with Anne and Sound Transit’s team,” said Hertzberg. “Ultimately, the main council executive boardroom had to be completed in four weeks.”
AVI-SPL’s Seattle integration teams sourced and installed the Crestron Automate VX system and more than 100 devices in just 30 days. This includes 26 gooseneck mics and a ceiling array, 22 LCD touchscreen monitors, 10 4K cameras, six wall mounts, five LCD displays, and the amplifier and networking components.
In addition to AV equipment, AVI-SPL teams incorporated UCC components.
Results
Sound Transit went live on Zoom within days of installation. Leadership and their lead AV technician were on-site for the first refreshed board meeting. And the feedback has been positive.
“Our AV technician is very happy with the new system,” Conery said. “He has less work to do during a meeting to ensure it stays up and running. Our first meeting had a lot of visibility from leadership, and all of the feedback I received was very positive.”
Sound Transit is continuing to invest in its meeting experience and partnership with AVI-SPL by signing up for a one-year Elite service contract. AVI-SPL’s Elite service offering provides unlimited on-site and remote help desk support, manufacturer repair, and software and firmware updates.
Planning a boardroom, office floor, or facilitywide AV/UC refresh? Contact us today to get started.