CCS Audio Visual Solutions Partner Crestron Advances Microsoft’s Meeting Room Technology

At CCS Presentation Systems, we often work with great manufacturers of audio-visual equipment who themselves work with some of the world’s leading technology companies. Crestron Electronics is one of those companies.

Crestron is a leader in advanced home, campus & building control automation solutions. With offices all over the globe, Crestron is the go-to manufacturer and system provider for audio visual solutions for homes, offices, schools, hospitals, hotels and more. That’s the reason global giants like Microsoft Corporation sought out Crestron’s expertise.

Microsoft’s global facility managers faced an issue – they struggled with conference room availability issues. Even with 3,400 conference rooms in North America alone, Microsoft employees would take whatever rooms they could find. Attendees for scheduled meetings found themselves in dispute with others, and scheduled rooms would go empty when organizers cancelled meetings but didn’t update the calendar. Microsoft’s Real Estate and Facilities team knew they had to bring about a renewed efficiency and meaningful cost controls for standard and room management processes.

Enter Crestron. After evaluating all available vendor solutions, Microsoft standardized on Crestron hardware and software products across its enterprise, including iLux® for lighting and shade control, MPCs (wall mount media presentation controllers) for in-room device control, TPMC-8L touchpanels for Hallway Display and Crestron Roomview® to fulfill the RDM (Remote Device Management) requirement.

As the software bridge between the MPCs and Exchange, RoomView enables room scheduling from touchpanels, remote asset management, and provides the reporting tools and usage data RE&F employs to redefine conference space standards at Microsoft, including the technology installed in conference rooms and the number of room types built in a new Microsoft office building. Crestron DigitalMediaTM (DM) was implemented to manage and distribute HDMI with HDCP with legacy analog support, all in a cost effective, single-cable solution.

It’s part of our mission at CCS to work with great partners and we’re happy to count Crestron among them. CCS is authorized reseller for leading audio visual equipment manufacturers including Altinex, AMX, Crown, Crestron, Da-lite, Epson, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, Polycom, Shure, SMART Technologies, SONY, Tandberg and many others. The specialization and depth of audio visual services offered by CCS Presentation Systems, including design, installation and training, allows the complete fulfillment of a wide range of audio visual solutions and technical systems integration throughout the great Phoenix and Tucson areas of Arizona.

Reduce Audio Visual Installation Times with Cables to Go

The technology is readily available to allow a non-technical user to easily add and update content to keep it fresh and relevant, but one important consideration is the connectivity process. A large investment in technology can miss reaching its full potential with cables that are unreliable, cumbersome or time-consuming to install, particularly in buildings where retrofitting in areas with walls made from brick, cinder block or concrete.

CCS Presentations Systems’ often receives requests to install different types of digital signage solutions for applications such as conference rooms, cafeteria menus, scheduling and customer interaction. In these requests, CCS faces complex installations all the time. But no matter the ease or complexity of the audio visual installation, they use RapidRun from Cables To Go to significantly reduce installation times.

Cables To Go is a company that delivers connectivity products renowned for quality, value and innovation. Cables To Go uses premier components and the latest technologies to maximize cable performance and ensure compliance with industry specifications for each cable and its designated application.

RapidRun is a modular cabling system that can transmit multiple signals over a single runner cable. At the end of the RapidRun cable, users can connect different flying leads and wall plates with connections for HDMI, DVI, VGA, USB, 3.5mm audio, RCA and more. Instead of running multiple cables for installations, a single RapidRun cable works. It gives customers a high quality and reliable signal.

Even in normal AV installations, CCS reduces cable installation labor time by as much as 25 percent. As the difficulty level increases, such as through solid ceilings and walls, the time savings are compounded even more. Cables To Go and the RapidRun modular cabling system allow CCS  to minimize the time spent on A/V installations, which translates to lower labor costs.

Advanced Technologies for Home Theater to Hollywood Studios

When you’re watching a new film from 20th Century Fox, chances are that much of the technology within the movie comes as a result of one of our partners, AMX Control Systems. AMX hardware and software solutions simplify the way people interact with technology. Its award-winning products span control and automation, system-wide switching and audio/video signal distribution, digital signage and technology management.

But AMX is not only active in film production. Its systems are implemented worldwide in conference room audio visual, homes, classrooms, network operation / command centers, hotels, entertainment venues, broadcast facilities, among others.

With the increasing number of technologies and operating platforms at work and home, our partner AMX, solves the complexity of managing this technology with reliable, consistant and scalable audio visual systems.  Today’s fastest growing media affiliates and largest film studios incorporate AMX technology as a way to maximize the return on investment by optimizing their time in such rapid-fire, pressure-packed environments.

When you are viewing a live newscast, listening to the radio, or watching a movie, the advanced control and automation features of AMX are used to manage every second. Powerful AMX Control Systems and user-friendly AMX Touch Panels facilitate peak efficiency and achieve broadcast quality without compromising overall production or creativity. Within the walls of the media control room and film screening/editing/dubbing stages, AMX makes a significant contribution that can be reflected in Nielson ratings and box office results – two areas in which AMX control has assisted in yielding big numbers.

The next time you marvel at the special effects and animation of a high-budget production, consider all the work that went into creating these amazing visuals. Hours upon hours of computer graphic development. A variety of post production equipment designed to review daily filming. And, of course, AMX integration to bring it all together to quickly and effectively analyze each frame and edit audio. This kind of emphasis by the directors and producers on giving the audience something new and jaw-dropping requires leading control technology behind the scenes from Day One. The amount of media formats available can be mind-boggling.

Daily television newscasts and radio broadcasts, as well as movie releases throughout the year, represent a conglomerate of digital, video, tape, satellite, print and Internet media. What’s great about AMX is its way to provide easy-to-understand control capabilities to effectively manage the consistency of all content plus the seamless flow of different video and film. In a nutshell, AMX takes sophisticated electronics and lessens the learning curve.

We’re excited about our work with AMX. Its products are available domestically through CCS Presentation Systems, who sell, install and service the products.

Adding Digital Cinema Projection to Your Business

Today’s movie theater operators must feel like they are in a version of Moore’s Law, the famous idea generally describing the rapid (every 18 months) overhaul of computer technology. With the advancements of digital film technology, it’s imperative for movie theater operators and other large venue screen projection facilities to stay abreast of this fast-changing technology.

There are choices between the types of projection technologies, two approved pixel formats (resolutions), and technologies for 3D, a high value add-on for digital cinema projection. And lastly, there is the choice of an audio visual consultant and vendor.

Our partners at Christie Digital Systems USA detailed some of the options open to large venue theater operators in a recent white paper.  Choosing the right projection technology has the greatest affect on image quality, as well as on other factors important to theatrical exhibition, including functionality, reliability and cost of ownership.

“For instance, a 4K image has twice as many pixels in both the horizontal and vertical directions as a 2K image, which results in four pixels in the space a single pixel occupies in a 2K image,” wrote the white paper’s author. “Since the pixels are half the size in each direction they are proportionally harder to detect. This becomes more important for wider screens, since the increased width of the theater places more seats closer to the screen.”

One argument made for 4K is simply that it has far more pixels than 1080p high-definition televisions. Why would patrons come to a theater to see almost the same number of pixels they can watch at home? One reason is that digital cinema images are far better than even the best home video formats (e.g., Blu-ray Disc™). Compared to Blu-ray Disc, digital cinema images have a wider color gamut, four times the color information, up to sixteen times finer gray shade resolution and have been compressed far more lightly with a compression scheme that inherently creates less visible artifacts (JPEG 2000).”

If you are seeking digital projection for your business or theater operation, contact CCS Presentation Systems for insights, consultation and installation. We will work with you to determine your needs, the ideal setup and the appropriate price points.

Upgrading classrooms with Interactive Whiteboards

As Arizona students return to the classroom this month, some will see a change in their classroom setups. Instead of old-style chalkboards, they will find interactive whiteboards, developed by leading technology manufacturers across the US and installed by CCS Presentation Systems.  

Schools in districts across Arizona are purchasing interactive whiteboards due to research that supports their positive impact on learning. Interactive whiteboards are also a cost-effective way to bring advanced education technology into the classroom.  

Our manufacturing partner, Smart Technologies, offers the industry’s best interactive whiteboards with its patented, award-winning SMART Notebook software – the engine behind all of SMART’s interactive whiteboards. With it, teachers and students can:

• Control any computer application
• Write in digital ink over applications, Web pages or even moving video
• Save all your work to a single Notebook file
• Convert handwriting to text
• Record synchronized audio and data files 
• Access a Gallery of more than 6,000 images, videos, sounds, Macromedia® Flash® movies and backgrounds  

SMART’s multiple free services and resources, including software upgrades and technical support, eliminate many ownership costs, making total cost of ownership very affordable. K−12 educators have made the SMART Board interactive whiteboard the most widely purchased and widely standardized interactive classroom whiteboard in the world because it offers the best quality, ease of use and value for both the short and long term.

Ask us for more information on the SMART whiteboards, or general digital display solutions, questions to ask, costs involved and more.

Digital Signage Solutions for Specialty Retailers

If you’re a specialty retailer, then you know that getting your customers’ attention is a tough task in today’s multimedia rich world. Having interactive solutions and a digital signage system for your connected customers can be a tremendous bonus to your business. When you work with top manufacturers and CCS as your audio-visual equipment systems integrator, you’re working with the best.  

There are numerous benefits to bringing in state of the art digital signage:

• Digital signage can power your brand’s image and reinforce your identity, look and feel of the brand attributes to customers. The color and accuracy of LCD screens in your stores’ retail environment far surpasses quality printed signage.
• Digital signage improves your customers’ in-store shopping experience. Entertain your customers in checkout lines with promotional material, information feeds, news feeds and more. Or during the holidays, screencast holiday music and imagery.
• With touchscreen kiosk technology, customers can
  search your inventory and store environment for specific products. The screen can also pass along sales events.
• Moving to digital signage can save on costs by eliminating the production step in the overall process – your outlet can move from design stage to live display. No more shipping costs, no more print production costs.
• Digital signage can be set up and controlled from a single point of access, whether it’s multiple screens from one location, or screens across multiple franchises. Store owners can program the display units according to location, times of day and much more.  

Our manufacturing partner NEC offers the following solutions in a terrific case study. Learn about general digital display solutions, questions to ask, costs involved and more. For your free copy, please click here to download the case study.

Accelerating the Learning Process

The Orange County (FL) Acceleration Academy is a high profile high school of about 500 students. In late 2010/early 2011, the school administration team for the Academy had a goal: to create a more data-driven classroom environment for each teacher, by incorporating the use of technology already in place within the school. In this instance, that meant better utilization of the interactive whiteboards for learning.

Better use of the whiteboards would help provide teachers with the ability to consistently monitor student progress throughout the school year, by bringing into the classroom a daily assessment activity and RTI opportunities for use by teachers.

To meet these goals, the school worked with The LearningStation team to install and operate the Insight School platform for all teachers and administrators within the school. Early trainings with teachers went great, and after additional practice, another program to assess professional development for teachers was implemented to increase proficiency in the use of the Insight platform, as well as assessment tools in general.

The new classroom technology benefits teachers at the Acceleration Academy in several ways:

 

• Teachers are using Insight to integrate textbook and end of course exams with their learner response devices.
• Teachers are also using Insight to deliver bell work to their class – students are logging into their Insight account and answering questions set up as a daily assignment.
• Lead teachers are building their own question banks inside of the Insight Platform in order to create custom assessments.
• Teachers at the Acceleration Academy are printing out their Test Reports from the Insight Assessment Platform for their data notebooks (data notebooks are required in the district).  Teachers in each department collaborate during their bi-monthly meetings to discuss the contents of these data notebooks.
• School administrators have created and delivered school-wide benchmark assessments in preparation for the FCAT test every April.
• The administration team is using FCAT practice tests using content taken directly from the Florida Department of Education website and delivering these FCAT practice tests through the Insight Platform.

 

Read here about technical systems integration projects in the K-12 education sector or click over to our blog to find out more how CCS is changing the ways classrooms use Smartboard technology.

Case Study #3 – Customer Testimonials

At CCS Arizona, we’re proud and excited when customers love our audio and video installation work so much that they offer up kind words on our behalf. It’s that sense of accomplishment and the pride of knowing a job was well executed that has kept up the growth and profitability of our company.

We’d like to share a few with you that we’ve received, to give you a glimpse into the type of technical systems integration work that we at CCS Presentation Systems can provide.    

Non-Profit

“CCS provided two projectors and retractable screens which have allowed the congregation to participate more fully in the services. CCS really made an effort to understand what we needed and provided only what was necessary. The installation was very well done, and the follow-up was terrific. The whole process was very pleasant from beginning to end.” 

Pastor Scott Thomas 

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church    

Higher Education

“Any time we have a new project and need installation, I go to CCS.  We are a private school and a non-profit so we are the caretakers of our own finances. I’ve always trusted CCS with our projects; I think it’s a major part of why I come back to CCS time and time again. They’re a full service vendor that provides service, purchasing, installation with quality work. I know at the end they will do their best to make the product look good, with all those aspects coming together I don’t think you can ask for more in a partner.”     

Brett Beyers 

Thunderbird School of Global Management    

Corporate

“CCS designed our main dining room so that from one chair you can watch up to nine events, just by turning your head – and the smallest screen is 42 inches. You can imagine what that’s like during football season. CCS designed the control system to give us access to 13 different events at a time and even though the installation and the switching equipment was extremely complicated, the installation was very smooth. We have plans for four and we committed to CCS being our only supplier for all of them.” 

Dennis Alexander 

Half Moon Sports Grill

Case Study #2 – Arizona State University

Today’s educators are challenged like never before to make students learn more in less time. To aid in the retention and understanding of increasingly complex topics, a multitude of media are being utilized. 

In recent years, higher education has seen the promise that interactive learning and technology can bring to the classroom. CCS Presentations Systems is at the vanguard of this apex between large scale presentation systems and interactive learning.  

A recent example is the Lattie F. Coor Building, located on the main campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, which opened its doors a few years ago. This 275,000 square-foot academic center, which cost approximately $59 million to build during a two-year span, relies on AMX NI Series controllers as the proverbial lifeline to automate and monitor a variety of audio/video equipment. CSS Presentation Systems partnered with another Phoenix based company to work with ASU’s IT technical support team to complete a $2.4 million integrated control system that includes 24 mediated classrooms and a 299-seat auditorium.  

When it was all completed, it ushered faculty, students and IT technical support staff into the future of enhanced teaching methods, technology-aided learning, proactive maintenance and rapid response times. CCS Presentation Systems has the capability to provide sound consulting and service to businesses across the country. Our specialization, depth and knowledge of audio visual systems allows complete fulfillment of a wide range of audio video needs. Learn more at CCS Arizona.

Case Study #1 – Sundale Tulare Elementary / Adaptive Curriculum

When Sundale Tulare Elementary School in Tulare, CA wanted to bring in a new interactive math and science learning system, it needed first to equip its school rooms with interactive whiteboards, enabling the full power of the new interactive learning system to take hold.  

After teacher training and system implementation, students began using the program diligently, and within months, 8th graders showed a marked improvement in test scores, rising from 31 to 59 points during the year.  

With 26 offices across the country, CCS Presentation Systems is one of the leading providers of audio video products and solutions in the nation. CCS is currently the 3rd largest audio visual systems integrator in the United States as rated by System Contractor News.

CCS provides high-quality, on-time design, integration, installation, service, and training on AV equipment, video conferencing, control systems and other project installations of any size in the most demanding of environments.  From school classrooms to world-class resorts, CCS provides superior audio video products, services, and solutions to meet the unique needs of every client. Learn more at CCS Arizona.