LSE: Sheikh Zayed Theatre

AV INSTALLED

Extron NAV system

Epson projectors

UNICOL mounts

Sony BRAVIA displays

JM lectern

WolfVision visualisers

Extron control

Mersive wireless sharing

Panasonic PTZ

Magewell USB Capture

​​​​​​​Audio visual case study swindon

A globally recognised institution, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a University renowned for its commitment to academic excellence and innovation. With a rich history dating back to 1895, LSE is at the forefront of shaping future of education through its academic programs and groundbreaking research initiatives.

On the city’s historic Lincoln’s Inn Fields public square, the University’s prestigious Law School and the Department of Geography and Environment are situated within the Cheng Kin Ku Building. Inside, the Sheikh Zayed Theatre is the building’s largest lecture theatre with capacity for up to 400 people.

In 2023, GVAV were appointed to collaborate with LSE to undertake a huge upgrade of the audio visual systems in the theatre. Through upgrading kit and transitioning to a modern Extron NAV system, the aim was to deliver a state-of-the-art, premium hybrid conferencing facility to meet the dynamic requirements of the client.

Warwick Business School at The Shard​​​​​​​

With its expansive 400-seat tiered capacity, the theatre demanded a solution that could deliver immersive presentations and crystal-clear audio for everybody in attendance. As a multi-use space in a post-pandemic era, the requirement for modern, adaptable audio visual infrastructure in teaching spaces such as this has never been more important.

Throughout the planning phase, GVAV worked closely with LSE to tailor a comprehensive solution aligned with these requirements. To achieve clear, bright visuals on the room’s main display, a dual projection system was devised with three edge-blended Epson EBPU2010W laser projectors.

With 10,000 lumens each and built-in 4K enhancement technology, even those at the very back of the theatre can clearly see the presentation content.

Complementing the projected images are two UNICOL-mounted 75” 4K Sony BRAVIA displays on each side wall, offering repeated or supplementary presentation content depending on the event requirement. At the front of the auditorium, the lecturer has access to a client-supplied comfort monitor, allowing the convenience to see visual prompts whilst still directly facing those in attendance.

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Also on the stage at the speaker’s right hand side is a custom-branded JM Quantum Graduate lectern.

Over two metres in length, this height-adjustable teaching station features a comprehensive array of integrated teaching and presentation tools including two WolfVision VZ8UHD 4K visualisers with recording and streaming capabilities.

Also integrated into the lectern are the University PC, an iiyama display, a selection of Sennheiser wireless microphones and a 12” Extron touchpanel.

The new Extron NAV system is a critical component in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre AV setup, enabling efficient distribution and management of AV signals across various devices. Comprising of numerous encoders and decoders, this system allows high-quality transmission of video and audio over the network, ensuring that content from compatible sources is delivered to the projectors, displays and remote users without latency.

The NAV system's integration with the Extron TouchLink Pro touchpanel allows for centralised front-end control of all AV components. With a GVAV-designed custom GUI, teaching staff are presented with an easy, familiar and intuitive interface to control the space. With just a few taps of the panel, content can be shared to the main or ancillary displays from a range of inputs including HDMI, the WolfVision visualisers, or wirelessly from any device via a Mersive SP8000 device. Crystal-clear audio transmission is ensured via a selection of integrated Sennheiser handheld and lavalier microphones.

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Around the lecture theatre, four Panasonic AWUE50 PTZ cameras have been installed, expanding keynote conferences and teaching sessions to a remote audience.

The ability to record and stream was a key requirement for the upgraded space, allowing the client to open events up beyond the confines of the theatre’s walls. Chosen for their 4K resolution, built-in tracking function and 24x optical zoom capability, the Panasonic PTZ cameras are integrated with a controller at the mixing desk in the adjacent control room.

A Magewell USB Capture HDMI 4K Plus device enables high-quality capture and transmission of video content from the cameras to the network for seamless integration with the client’s chosen streaming and recording software.

Building on a long and supportive relationship with the client, the GVAV London and South East team worked closely with LSE’s in-house AV team to ensure a seamless install, minimising disruption to scheduling by undertaking on-site work over the Christmas period.

Leveraging our recently enhanced in-branch capability, much of the rack build, testing and configuring could be done within GVAV’s purpose-designed Head Office facility before the kit arrived on site.

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"In this key University lecture theatre, GVAV were tasked with delivering a modernised space with updated kit within a new AVoIP network. Having worked with GVAV on a number of previous AV projects, we were confident in their knowledge and experience to devise a solution to meet the requirements for this space.

We couldn’t be happier with the professionalism of the GV technical team, the quality of the work, and the timely manner in which it was delivered."

Mark Seaton | AV Manager, LSE

Centring around not only the deployment of state-of-the-art output devices such as the Epson projectors and Sony BRAVIA displays, the theatre’s new comprehensive AV system brings this technology together with easy-to-use simplicity. Alongside LSE’s collective of world class teaching staff, the upgraded Sheikh Zayed Theatre is helping to deliver more immersive visual presentations for both in-person and remote participants, as well as providing a dynamic space for a range of different types of conferencing with greatest flexibility.

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