The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) recently upgraded its outdated AV systems in its Rehabilitation Sciences Complex. The space, which is used for specialized rehabilitation health services training and nursing studies saw the original analog AV systems replaced with an all-digital solution using products from Extron.
“Extron was able to facilitate and support our needs to make the audio visual system fit the complexity of the teaching and learning pedagogies,” said Mike Pitcher, director of learning environments for the University of Texas at El Paso. “All this without a lot of extra time, effort, and investment.”
Each active learning multipurpose room includes two instructor lecterns, five student team stations with a 75-inch interactive touch display, and a front-of-room projection system with a 165-inch screen. Sources range from university servers and Apple TV to PTZ cameras, a PC within the instructor lectern, and AV connectivity for personal devices at each station and lectern. Students are able to annotate directly on a presentation at their station and save the screen with their notes for later review. Content from any source can be sent to one or more of the display devices over the university network using the Extron NAV Pro AV over IP system.
The NAV system is deployed as a high-performance AV matrix solution, combining the flexibility of an IP-based system with virtual video and audio switching. Video signals are distributed over the UTEP network at ultra‑low latency and bit rates, while ensuring optimal image quality. The same system also supports audio signals, streamlining the installation. NAV 1G encoders and scaling decoders are integrated into each station and instructor lectern. To manage the NAV endpoints, the NAVigator system manager is installed within the primary lectern, enabling any faculty member to customize content selection and presentation to best fit their personal teaching style. The faculty appreciated its quick switching speed and user-friendly operation, and the support team found the new installation easy to maintain and expand.
