Visionary brings IP technology to Christa McAuliffe Space Center

In order to allow video distribution between space center simulators, has opted for IP technology Visionary and, more specifically, by PacketAV Duet Matrix teams.

The series PacketAV Duet Matrix Visionary was selected to provide powerful IP technology and create a simple and cost-effective solution that would allow video to be distributed among the simulators installed in the Christa McAuliffe Space Center. Simulators, each with individual names and specific features, are located in separate rooms and represent different missions.

Located in Pleasant Grove (Utah), the Christa McAuliffe Space Center is a nearly 1.200 square meters that features simulators and a planetarium. Her name is due to an educator and astronaut who lost her life in the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and is designed to teach astronomy and social studies through simulators, with practical applications for education. Since its opening in 1990, more than 400.000 visitors have flocked to this space center and its simulated space missions.

Central Elementary School (Central Elementary School), whose campus houses the space center, was remodeled in May 2020. The new teaching facility, located in alpine's school district (Utah), reopened at the end of last year with revamped simulators.

“The Christa McAuliffe Space Center has been in existence for decades”, comments Kendall Bowman, audiovisual engineer Performance Audio. “It's a staple for students in the Utah Valley area. Central Elementary School is not only used by current K-12 students, but other neighboring centers use the facilities for hands-on educational experiences. The new facilities were to be designed to provide a high-tech experience to students who attend or are visiting for a day.”

Bowman comenta como durante la restauración, Central Elementary took the opportunity to update its audiovisual system. “They had an existing system that was a combination of solutions that had been added over time, but they weren't designed to work perfectly. Central Elementary selected BNA Consulting to create an easy AV experience”.

Simulators, each with individual names and specific features, are located in separate rooms representing missions based on aspects similar to the Star Trek universe. Each room creates interactive stories, normally applicable to historical events, to create a hands-on learning experience.

“The original design included a matrix solution, but as we moved forward in the design process, it made more sense to incorporate an IP solution”, Bowman explains. ” We chose Visionary's PacketAV Duet Matrix series because it offered us a cost-effective and flexible solution that would link the video of each simulator. The audio and control system is based on architecture QSC Q-SYS and, based on our experience, Visionary products work seamlessly with QSC technology. We work with BNA Consulting to incorporate network infrastructure and provide the customer with a smooth and flexible solution”.

Visionary's PacketAV Duet Matrix series is designed for a standard network infrastructure, which allowed Performance Audio to create a scalable solution for Central Elementary.

“Use 24 encoders and 12 Decoders PacketAV Duet to join the video between six simulators”, Bowman points out. “The end result was a flexible and robust solution. And most importantly, created a lot of value for our client, because you have the opportunity to add a screen or other input source without having to replace any of your technologies”.

Los codificadores y decodificadores de la serie de matrices PacketAV Duet redefinen los sistemas tradicionales de matrices de conmutación para crear una solución flexible, scalable and cinematic quality for IP networks. PacketAV endpoints offer very low latency, with unlimited distribution capabilities. Using existing network resources, encoders and decoders can be deployed quickly, enabling cost-effective distribution of multichannel audio and video Dante AES67 of Audinate.

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