Mexico. The Querétaro Congress Center in the city of Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, serves as the main professional meeting space for the state of Querétaro. The incredibly designed building can accommodate more than 15,000 people divided into several spaces.
Unique in location is its ability to provide specific uses for corporate meetings. Its Aqueduct Rooms, composed of 10 different rooms with capacity for 150 people each, and its Constitution Room, which can host a large gathering of up to 80 people, are packed throughout the year with a variety of in-person briefings and video conferences, seminars, corporate work sessions and other events.
The facility also features a Great Hall with a capacity of up to 12,000 people. Its main use is for exhibitions, trade fairs, concerts, sports, events and conventions. In addition, La Casa De Los Corregidores is a ballroom within the Convention Center with capacity for 2,800 people. It is used for banquets, conferences and conventions.
The location is also home to the Querétaro Teatro Metropolitano, which includes a theater for 1,345 people, a rehearsal room, and an "experimental" room where unique live performances are held.
The unifying factor across the multi-purpose campus? A scalable and interoperable AV over IP system backed by Audinate's Dante.
Enterprise flexibility to performance
Dante is the de facto standard for digital audio networks and distributes hundreds of channels of uncompressed multichannel digital audio over standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.
"When we looked at the technology we needed to use on the premises, it was very obvious to us that Dante would make a big difference in conference spaces and meeting rooms," said Joel Ramirez, production supervisor at the site. "What we had in meeting rooms before required a lot of wiring and manpower to make changes. We knew we needed a solution that would simplify the management of each room, allow us to scale the rooms up and down based on their use, and be visible from a single location. Dante is the answer to all that."
Joel's experience is actually live, and he was hired to oversee the facilities adjacent to the congress center. But he immediately defended the use of Dante in every possible place.
"Dante obviously makes sense in the theater and in those live event spaces," Joel said. "Everyone knows the benefits it brings. But we've seen in corporate spaces that it makes as much sense as any other use. If you have a lot of signs, you should be able to manage them effectively. That's what Dante does."
Corporate connections
The individual meeting rooms of the Querétaro Congress Center are key rental locations on the premises. The executive boardroom for 80 people and the meeting room for 150 people allow key government meetings, working sessions during conventions and private meetings to be held for anyone who may be renting the building.
In addition, the main event hall, which seats about 12,000 people, is often divided into smaller spaces for meetings to take place.
Ivan Romero, director of Ponle Audio, the company that integrated the system, said that because different configurations are often requested for meetings, the management of spaces used to require a lot of effort on the part of IT staff.
"The way things used to work, when we used traditional wiring, you basically needed a technician for every room," Joel said. "When the building was occupied, which was often, it was extremely difficult to manage."
In addition, each tenant of the space, from medical conventions to government hearings, had their own specific needs and configuration requirements.
"It was never just about reducing the amount of work," said Hector Quintero Martinez, the facility's chief operating officer. "Honestly, we needed to get to a place where the customer didn't worry about any setup. They just want to go in and use the system, so we needed it to be perfect."
A Dante-backed system provides just that: frictionless integration of any type of audio equipment that can be used during a meeting, presentation, or performance. More than 500 manufacturers produce more than 2,800 Dante-enabled products: the result: optimal interoperability.
"Most microphones and all speakers are Dante-enabled," Hector said, "We can control the system from a central location where we use a central DSP and route the audio to the 10 different locations. The control panels for each space mean that we can also offer you a local level of control. This configuration also allows us to offer service packages that are definitely going to meet the needs of anyone who is using the space."
An example Hector gives: the backup microphones in the building are ready to join the Dante network once they are turned on. If a client arrives from a program or a corporate meeting and suddenly needs many more microphones than previously thought, a request that usually happens at the last minute, the change is as simple as handing them more microphones.
"No more cables laid," said Jose Enrique Perez, head of forums. "It's honestly amazing how much things have improved. It's amazing to see it work and it's incredibly easy to use."
Dante-enabled equipment
The use of the meeting spaces of the Congress Center:
• Bose PM8500N amplifiers
• Bose PM8500N amplifiers
• Bose Panaray speakers with PowerMatch PM8250 power amplifiers
• Bose ESP4120 processors with Dante
• The system also uses a local system of Shure SM58 wireless microphones and Shure QLXD4 digital receivers that are converted into Dante signals once they enter Bose processors.
Meanwhile, in the theater, the following workflow is used:
• Bose PM8500N amplifiers
• Bose EX1280C processors
• Yamaha MMP1 speaker processor
• Yamaha SWP1-8MMF Switches
• Yamaha CL5 Digital Console
• Yamaha QL1 Digital Console
• Yamaha PM10 Digital Console
• Yamaha Rio Stage Modules
• Shure AD4Q wireless microphones
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