To achieve a smooth event, aspects such as planning, technical quality of the equipment and personnel involved, advice, contingency plans, responsiveness and speaking the same language with the client must be taken into account.
Richard Santa
It is not an easy task to organize an event that includes more than 900 presentations, 11 rooms operating in parallel, that begins each day with the plenary hall for 1,200 people and then separates it in a very short interval in two rooms to, at the end of the day, return to work in plenary mode.
That was the challenge assumed by the Chilean rental company RLASAV, which organized the XXII World Congress of Neurology in Santiago de Chile, which required the implementation of audio, HD projection, lighting, and networking, to receive 3,500 participants from 120 different countries for six days.
Hernán Godoy, corporate business and innovation manager of RLASAV, explained to AVI LATINOAMÉRICA that the Congress was held at the Casa Piedra Event Center, using 100% of its capacity. A multidisciplinary team composed of 26 technical experts in audio, projection, lighting and networking, formed the technical staff that participated in this project.
"The client had in mind a simpler assembly, with good technology, but not as advanced as the one we proposed. However, after discussing it and putting forward our proposal, they agreed and trusted our experience," he said.
Video for minimal details
The quality of the image turned out to be fundamental for the proper functioning of the Congress of Neurology, the level of detail of the images required it. Therefore, the decision of wiring and distribution of signals became a neuralgic issue, taking into consideration that they had to choose a reliable system and less susceptible to being "contaminated" by parasitic signals.
"In this way it was decided to carry out the wiring through HDBaseT technology, available in the range of Epson projectors used; extend signal via CAT6 cables, converters, distributors, scalers and HDMI video switch. In this way the chain of connections for the projection in the different rooms was 100% digital and in high definition, "he added.
Of the 11 rooms that casa Piedra Has in the Casa Piedra Events Center, the largest room arranged for plenary conferences should have the capacity to be divided into two rooms, in a limited time. To achieve this requirement, it was essential to carry out a correct planning of signal distribution, so that the changes in the systems were minimal at the time of the separation of rooms, and that in addition these changes did not mean connecting and disconnecting equipment, since they would increase the probabilities of errors and failures.
Amplification of presentations
As for the audio systems used, they opted for Bose L1 II audio systems, equipment that is suitable for this type of event, due to the ability they have to fill the spaces homogeneously and the clarity they deliver mainly in the amplification of the voice.
In the same realm, the wireless microphone used was Shure's QLXD line. Due to the large number of rooms implemented, and therefore the large number of microphones used in each room, this range of microphones is the one that delivers better results at the level of signal transmission quality, since it is less susceptible to signal sweeping.
Hernán Godoy pointed out that "A Speaker Room controlled each of the 900 presentations that took place. The complete implementation of the systems was in charge of RLASAV. For a day we worked on the assembly and wiring of all the rooms."
Integrated systems
The assembly for the six days of the Neurology Congress was complemented by a networking system for which an internal network was created throughout the conference center, with the ability to load from this room the presentations in each of the talk rooms. In this room each exhibitor had the possibility to review their presentations and through the RLASAV attendees make the transfer.
"We had a very interesting challenge because of the size of the event and 11 rooms running in parallel. The division of the plenary hall in a very short interval was a complex maneuver given the tight times, but that we could handle without inconvenience since the conferences had defined times, to be able to fulfill the agenda. Everything was backed up and with a careful contingency plan, with overflow rooms in the event that the public was more than predicted, plans that with just one button were activated. A perfect matrix of the entire convention center," said Hernán Godoy.
The equipment used during the days of the event were:
Projection
- Epson GT6770 projectors (6000 ansilumens)
- HD Baset Kramer Matrix
- Krammer HDMI Distributors
- Extend HDMI Krammer
- Escaler TV One by Coriomaster
Audio:
- Bose L1 II audio systems
- Behringer X32 digital audio consoles
- Shure wireless microphone model QLXD
Lighting:
The main hall was implemented with stage and decorative lighting consisting of:
- 12 1kw Fresneles
- 6 675W robotic
12 Optipares 8W
The Chat Rooms were mainly implemented with stage lighting composed of 2 Fresneles of 1KW each.
"The decision to use this type of equipment and brands was mainly based on the good experiences obtained in hundreds of past events. Both the client and the RLASAV staff agreed on the equipment to be used. We really formed a good team between the client and the technicians that favored the excellent results of the event," he said.
A hassle-free week
At the end of the week of the congress, both the client and the rental company were able to give a positive part. Fortunately, there were no problems, neither in the implementation nor in the execution of the project.
The representative of RLASAV stressed that in this case, the client had a very orderly, structured and technical team, which facilitated the planning. In addition, by being prepared with action plans in case of technical difficulties, unforeseen events are minimized as much as possible.
"Having really professional staff, sound engineers, industrial engineers, civil, audiovisual technicians, bilingual staff, greatly facilitated the possibility of speaking "the same language" with the client. As local suppliers, we know the Casa Piedra Event Center very well, this streamlined assembly times and allowed us to deliver a higher, more detailed level of advice and plan contingency plans more efficiently."
Finally, the director of RLASAV stressed that "we proudly affirm that the technology we use in this Congress is the most advanced that can be found in Latin America. We are highly trained to operate it, and we work under InfoComm standards complying with the international guidelines necessary to implement Congresses of this magnitude."
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