The Port Coquitlam Community Centre in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada hosts sporting events and provides fitness and recreation services plus facilities to the community in a rapidly expanding 205,000 sq ft property. Divided into multi-functional spaces, the Centre covers two new ice rinks that host on-ice and dry arena sporting events for the community. The rinks can also be rented out for skating parties, host hockey lessons and other events. Once constructed, the sizeable ice rinks awaited a state-of-the-art method of delivering audiovisual to the video wall scoreboards. Responding to the RFP was Steve Klassen of Sapphire Sound, an integrator who specialises in mid-size area installations and various scoreboard projects.
“The objective was to give control of two computers that drive large video wall scoreboards in two different ice rinks in the Community Centre,” said Steve. “Now there was a bit of a challenge preceding me because originally the consultant working on the project had recommended an HDbaseT solution.” This solution from another manufacturer was actually installed, but due to the way the electrical conduits were run, the cabling lengths required to reach the video walls far exceeded the limits of the HdBaseT solution.
Steve instead recommended MuxLab’s HDMI KVM over IP PoE (model 500770) transmitters and receivers, delivering HDMI and USB for keyboard and mouse nearly any distance when riding on an Ethernet LAN. Video is delivered at 1920×1200 and 1080p at 60Hz resolutions. Both transmitters and receivers can be added to upscale (or downscale) as needed, connecting computers and remote displays to an Ethernet Switch from up to 100-metres away using standard CAT 5e cable. Once connected, signal delivery is instantaneous. Computer content is transmitted from computers to one or many displays for flawless video wall applications. With this system, one receiver can be switched via hotkey sequences to any transmitter on the network, allowing a single operator to manage multiple workstations. Each receiver also provides a four-port USB hub for connecting a keyboard, mouse, printer, drawing pad, storage device, camera, etc. When PoE is enabled on the Ethernet Switch, power supplies are eliminated for both transmitters and receivers.
