Plymouth Marine Laboratory - Marine Matters Centre

AV INSTALLED

NEC Projector

Extron Control

DNP Supernova XL 

65" Philips Display

JM Supplies Alpha Lectern

QSC Loudspeakers

QSC PTZ Cameras


Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) is a world-leading marine research organisation and charity committed to the delivery of impactful, cutting-edge environmental and social science in support of a healthy and sustainable ocean.

Located at PML’s main site - a short walk away from Plymouth city centre and the Hoe waterfront, the Marine Matters Centre (MMC) is a flexible conference venue with facilities to host up to 200 attendees.

PML commissioned the design and installation of audio visual solutions in the multi-purpose lecture theatre to provide enhanced quality projection to support presentations, workshops and a variety of meetings and events. This included content streaming capabilities via a unified communications system such as Teams or Zoom, with the additional option of live streaming to YouTube or other such services. These new facilities have been partially funded by a charitable foundation grant and PML

To do

High-quality projection

For a high-quality projection image, a single high brightness, 10,000 lumens, NEC projector was implemented with a DNP Supernova XL high gain projection screen to enhance the contrast of the projection for an improved viewing experience. At the rear of the lecture theatre, a 65” Philips display acts as a confidence monitor for the presenter or to support hybrid lectures. A JM Supplies Alpha Presenter 1800 lectern features at the front of the lecture theatre, with customised PML branding for a smart and flexible mobile teaching solution.

To meet the requirements for an exceptional audio experience for all attendees, 16 Extron ceiling speakers, coupled with QSC Acoustic Design series column loudspeakers, were selected. Offering a versatile solution with extremely controlled coverage, this ensures that speech intelligibility is maintained throughout the large space and prevents unwanted pickup from microphones within the room.

The true technical feat is that of the auto-tracking system within the space. Driven by a single QSC Core110f, running a custom script, three QSC PTZ cameras auto track to speakers within the room, using speech, picked up from four Shure MXA 910 ceiling microphones. They do this by triggering a range of camera locations to be shown, based on the position of the active speaker in relation to the microphones’ eight pickup lobes. This system has been fine-tuned for an array of seating arrangements and speaker heights, to ensure both the audience and presenters can be picked up accurately, without any background sounds being audible.

An easy-to-use control system was essential for a smooth user experience. As such, an Extron control system was implemented on the lectern, featuring a 10” touch-panel, interfacing seamlessly with all of the equipment within the space. An Extron SMP streaming device allows any of the video and audio sources to be recorded, live streamed and framed, using high quality encoding as per the clients’ requirements.