Display Technology
Staffordshire University makes timely investment in Densitron IDS
The need for a customisable clock display was among the requirements met by the installation of a Densitron Intelligent Display System (IDS), which is also bringing welcome ‘flexibility and scalability’ to the West Midlands-located university
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or some years now, Densitron’s IDS has been a popular choice for colleges and universities who require a versatile and reliable display and control solution. The latest establishment to benefit from IDS is Staffordshire University, a highly regarded UK university based in Stoke-on-Trent with other campuses located in Stafford, Shrewsbury and London.
Providing a range of traditional and vocational-based undergraduate and postgraduate degree and apprenticeship courses, Staffordshire University is now using the IDS system across multiple media- related courses, including some or all of the following: Journalism and Digital Media, Sports Journalism, Film/TV/Radio, Esports, and Media Film Production.
According to Matt Lewis, technical specialist (digital media production) at the university, the initial starting point for the new installation was the need to resolve timing issues associated with existing clocks on campus. “The university historically used radio- controlled clocks within our broadcast facilities, such as our broadcast newsroom, radio studios and TV news set,” he says. “We found that these clocks would fall out of sync with one another, particularly when transitioning between BST and GMT. These clocks were erratic and couldn’t be trusted, and considering the importance of time and
timings within broadcast, we felt the need to look for a new solution.”
Mindful of finding a solution that could accommodate a wide range of applications, Lewis began searching for a “straightforward but customisable clock display system”. Chief among its requirements was the ability to have all times correctly synchronised to one core device/server, which would essentially “look after itself with minimal input or interaction from a technical perspective”. Then, at a London trade event, Lewis discovered IDS. Combining proprietary hardware and software, IDS enables users to connect, control and automate devices and activities in and around the studio – or, for that matter, the university seminar room or training facility. Information and content from the IDS platform can be displayed at any end-point, integrating seamlessly with a wide range of displays from Densitron or third parties.
Simplicity, flexibility, scalability As soon as IDS had been demonstrated, Lewis knew that it was to be the product of choice for the university upgrade. Recalling his first interaction with the system, he says: “It was the simplicity, flexibility and scalability that appealed to us. Not only that, but the solution was ubiquitous across the BBC, and it was important for us to match the technologies as closely as possible to
those found within the broadcast industry.” The popularity of the system across broadcast and media was always going to be a strong point in its favour. Competition for media jobs is more intense than ever, and students need to have the chance to gain hands-on experience of systems they are likely to encounter once they graduate. With IDS, they have access to a display and control system that is regularly found in broadcast studios, control rooms and outside broadcast facilities. Whilst Lewis knew that he was getting a powerful new solution with IDS, the full capabilities of the system have been repeatedly underlined post-installation. First and foremost, “we now have a completely reliable clock system within our studio facilities, which our students and academic staff have complete confidence in. As anticipated, the system can largely be left alone – especially when the clocks change – with minor upgrades required every once in a while”.
An IDS-based clock timer is also being used in the TV gallery, where it has proven invaluable in timing rehearsals, OB links and live two-ways. Staff and students have also been struck by IDS’ ability to interact with other integral studio equipment, including radio microphones and broadcast consoles. “For instance,” says Lewis, “I wanted to adapt our IDS clock displays to be able to identify when any of our radio studio
26 May 2022 Components in Electronics
mics were live – both within and outside of the studios. We use Sonifex S2 broadcast consoles in our radio studios, and the team behind IDS offered a solution which easily interacted with these consoles, enabling the IDS platform to be able to trigger whenever a studio mic was made live. From here we were able to make design tweaks to our clock displays, and now we can see which studios have ‘hot mics’ using our IDS clocks.” Impressed by the “highly approachable” IDS team at Densitron, Lewis hopes to expand the university’s use of the system in the future. In particular, he would like to utilise IDS’ support for the NDI networking protocol, while he also hopes to investigate the “addition of visual branding content within our radio studios, which I know the IDS system can incorporate”.
Reuben Such, global business director for IDS at Densitron, comments: “It’s wonderful to see Staffordshire University making such extensive use of IDS, which has evidently been a hit with staff and students. Thanks to its reliability and versatility, it is widely used in real-world media applications, so the ability to use the system as part of degree or post-graduate courses is going to be very beneficial later. Truly a win-win situation!”
https://www.densitron.com
www.cieonline.co.uk
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