Just when college students have wrapped up their academic years it's back to school for High Resolution Systems whose UDC (Universal Device Controller) is now in use at the University of Phoenix's new Executive Briefing Center.
Located in the John G. Sperling Center for Educational Innovation in Tempe, Arizona, the Executive Briefing Center is part of an 8,000-square foot facility.
Cincinnati-based The Brand Experience and Executive Creative Director Geoff Thatcher turned to 3Stage Design of Jasper to take on the digital consulting responsibilities and implement the media and technology for several interactive experiences at the Executive Briefing Center.
One of these areas is the center's theater. When guests arrive in the theater they can view a video that tells the story of University of Phoenix founder and executive board chairman John G. Sperling and his vision for the school, which boasts students worldwide. 3Stage Design selected UDC to control all the source inputs and video playback in the theater.
"Over the years there has been limited choices for control systems, but now UDC is able to communicate with devices in a more cost effective, direct fashion and provide us with a custom interface for our client," says Todd Hall, who is partnered with Emile Wolsky in 3Stage Design.
"High Resolution Systems is a boutique shop, and if we need custom configurations they can accommodate us," notes Wolsky. "People come to us because of the uniqueness of their project -- they want a custom approach. So we need to partner with a company with the flexibility to adapt to our needs in a timely fashion."
High Resolution Systems' Drew Taylor says that using UDC offers numerous advantages for the Executive Briefing Center, including a significant cost savings over dedicated hardware and user-friendly operation. "UDC is quick and easy to update and change after the initial install," he notes. "We can react to changing customer needs as the room evolves; UDC can adapt and support any new equipment that's brought in."
For the opening of the Executive Briefing Center 3Stage Design needed to furnish control for 20 foot 4,000 pixel widescreen driven by three Barco W8 projectors, 7.1 surround sound, custom LED lighting, a Vista Spyder X20 image processor, and an Alcorn McBride media server.
High Resolution Systems provided 3Stage Design with UDC running on two Apple iPads and an Apple iPod Touch built into the wall.
"The way people interact with technology today they want to be able to control devices from a familiar interface - they don't want to acquire proprietary systems and experience a learning curve with them," explains Hall. "Where UDC shines is that it works on all platforms: It doesn't require any proprietary hardware."
UDC controls an array of inputs for the screen and the video playback from the Center's stylish round conference table. Hall and Wolsky chose the UDC platform because of how it integrates cleanly with the Spyder and it's unique ability for it to PIP multiple inputs at one time.
"A few weeks after the Center implemented UDC we followed up and discovered a very happy client," Hall reports. "High Resolution Systems was very responsive and quick throughout the project, which is important to a continuing relationship. We worked with them last year on booth for the NBAA trade show and were pleased to come back with this new project."
About High Resolution Systems
High Resolution Systems, a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers is a company with a strong systems engineering and applications background. Its founders have decades of experience in the audiovisual rental and staging industry, broadcast applications, A/V installations and system design. This combined experience allows them to provide the highest possible quality solutions to its customers in the most efficient manner. For more information, visit www.hrscontrol.com.
