The new EFE Agency headquarters relies on digital signage technology to inform its employees

The new efe Agency facilities in Madrid are already operational and value the technological means with which it has been equipped, in which large format screens and digital signage take on special prominence. Delatorre Consultoría e Ingeniería has been in charge of the project management, Technical projects and the transfer of audiovisual systems to the new headquarters.

The commissioning of the new headquarters of the EFE Agency in Madrid to the Genesis Building, on Avenida de Burgos, in the neighborhood of Chamartín, It has successfully concluded after a complex project to value the technical means that this news agency already had and provide it with state-of-the-art technological systems.

As already advanced Digital AV Magazine, The main contractor in this project –Tragsa-, has had leading companies in the technology industry to provide the necessary equipment to the new headquarters of EFE, how Telefónica Audiovisual Services, Sony, Unitecnic, Aeq, Albalá Engineers, Pentatel, Crosspoint, Pinanson, Technoantenna and BroadService, among others.

In this process, Delatorre Consulting and Engineering has been responsible for the project management, The processes and technical projects of the new audiovisual installations, as well as the planning and transfer of all this equipment to the new location; A nineteen-storey building, each with a surface area of more than 700 m2, of which the most important news agency in Spain occupies fifteen.

Digital signage throughout the building

In the design of the new headquarters of EFE digital signage systems take a special role to offer real-time information from a multitude of national and international media, with more than 150 Screens distributed in the entrance area of each of the fifteen floors and in all the newsrooms of the Agency.

This digital signage network has been integrated into the distribution system of television signals through IPTV, which is also used for various corporate channels for internal communications. The DTT signal is received from Torrespaña, FM, DAB and all polarities of Hispasat satellites, Astra and Hotbird.

additionally, eight channels generated from the Central TV Control matrix have been incorporated into the TV distribution system, the reception of the EFE Channel via IP, as well as the channels of corporate use for dissemination of internal communications. In addition, there is also a star RF network that allows the signal of these satellites to be available at any user point, which makes it easier for the agency to offer special services to its international counterparts that are located in these facilities.

In this way, all signals considered of interest by EFE can be distributed by both DTT and IPTV; The latter also allows the incorporation of video-on-demand channels and internal information generated through video files.

On the other hand, On the main floor of the Council has been installed an 85" screen, from where you can follow all kinds of events, both internal and external. The wireless presentation system, installed on this display, Allows up to four of the twenty seats on the Council Bureau to make presentations in a collaborative environment simultaneously. These signals can be recorded for internal use or broadcast if necessary..

This plant incorporates all the wiring and sockets necessary to generate radio or TV signals from any location without the need for additional wiring.

Multipurpose room

The new headquarters of the EFE Agency has a multipurpose room to host all kinds of events. Depending on your configuration, It can be totally diaphanous or subdivided into up to ten independent spaces.

This room has six large format TV screens, wireless microphone, four LED projectors and an array that allows you to generate content anywhere and that can be displayed in one place or another, depending on the configuration of the movable partitions, in addition to the possibility of displaying content from the TV Central Control matrix.

The public address system, hidden above the ceiling, can generate sound pressures greater than 100 dB SPL throughout the enclosure, with a high degree of intelligibility. Seven points have also been distributed to inject signals into the audiovisual system or generate radio and TV content anywhere in the world without any additional wiring..

On the other hand, A reserve of rooms has also been installed for the twenty-three spaces destined to hold meetings and events at the headquarters, with a display synchronized with Google Calendar to manage its occupation and uses centrally.

Signal reception platform

A satellite signal reception platform has been deployed on the roof of the building to follow the information 24×7. A motorized antenna of 3,7 meters allows the reception of signals, even in the most adverse weather conditions, of the satellites described above.

From the Central Television Control, signals are exchanged with the media and the different dependencies of the building, such as the rack room, which is interconnected with the Central Television Control and different rooms of EFE (laboratories, TV studio, EFE Radio, internal IPTV and RF system, Corporate use areas, Etc.); as well as with the Central Control Room, that has a large center console from where all the equipment is governed.

Estudio de televisión y de radio

With a surface of ones 80 m2, the agency's set includes all the necessary equipment to produce HD TV. Has LED lighting, Set boxes for connecting cameras, Sound elements and returns, with a separate room in which the electronic equipment is located to isolate the personnel from the noise and heat generated.

The control has production and sound consoles to make all kinds of TV programs, while in a multipurpose room the devices responsible for making the change between the different formats have been arranged (BetacamDigital, BetacamSP, XDCAM in both SD and HD, and MiniDV or DVD.

The TV set, with LED lighting, Allows the realization of small interview-type programs, Debates, Etc. The video equipment is also located in the multipurpose room and the realization can be located indistinctly from this space or on the set itself..

The facilities have three radio studios: two complete and one in self-control mode, and from its central control signals can be routed anywhere in the world. The installations are synchronized with the Central TV Control and allow the exchange of video and audio signals.

On the other hand, all the furniture for audiovisual use has also been designed by Delatorre and allows cables to pass through its interior without having to make modifications to the furniture, as well as incorporating equipment inside without overheating problems.

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