A demand for quality and AV excellence collide at a Saudi Arabian government boardroom. Reece Webb explores.
Located in Riyadh, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing (Momrah) is a government body responsible for urban planning and housing development across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
As part of a modernisation initiative, Momrah carried out a full refurbishment of its most important boardroom space, requiring an upgrade of worldclass standard. Momrah called upon systems integrator MaktabiTech to deliver a total renovation from the furniture down to the AV equipment.
MaktabiTech is no stranger to government projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, having previously worked with the ministry.
Khaled Al Sheikh, technical director, MaktabiTech, took the lead on project delivery, working with a dedicated team to complete a full refurbishment under a stringent installation period of one week.
Al Sheikh explains: “The Ministry had previously called us to address some issues with their existing AV system. We helped them sort out problems between the codec and the audio in the room, and after that, they told us they were going to release a tender to renovate the entire space.
“They asked us to make recommendations for the system, which we advised them with. When the tender was released, the client had incorporated some other advice and spoken to other integrators. We submitted our proposal through the tender process, and we were chosen.”
MaktabiTech was tasked with delivering a world-class boardroom for high-end decision making, delivering comprehensive videoconferencing, audio, display and even furnishings.
“There are 27 chairs inside the boardroom, surrounding a 14-metre long table,” says Al Sheikh. “We also supplied the meeting tables and chairs. This was a challenge as this is an unusual part of the job for us. We had to give the client several finishes and approve the design, so this process of approval took about one month before finalising. This was a complete renovation from top to bottom.”
Dominating the space is a Samsung The Wall direct view LED, supported by an Extron scaler and matrix, which Al Sheikh says works as the brain of the system. “We love to use this [Extron system], as it’s an all-in-one 8:4 4K matrix switcher which has built-in control, switcher, scaler and amplifier, so it has everything we need to do the job. We used HDBaseT more than streaming, because on government projects, there is often distance between the IT team and facility managers, they want the equipment to be connected into a local network without a lot of streaming. This is why the tender was released in this way instead of with encoders and decoders used over the network, this isn’t how the department wanted to work. At Momrah they like everything isolated from the existing IT infrastructure or network.
“This is a very high end room, so the client didn’t want the risk of sending data over the IT infrastructure. That’s why we used Extron’s DTP which is based on HDBaseT technology. We also added three cable cubbies into the table to share presentations as an end-point. The Extron really acts as the brain of this boardroom. The system is very stable because of the amount of Extron products in this system; it’s the very core. The control, the switching and extension of the video all comes from one brand which helped us avoid a lot of problems.”
MaktabiTech supplied Arthur Holm 15-in retractable screens for each of the 27 delegate chairs in the room, while the chairman is equipped with a 17-in screen. Al Sheikh continues: “We integrated the Arthur Holm screens with Televic microphones for audio discussions. We have also integrated the Televic built-in speakers into the body of the Arthur Holm screens for sound reinforcement inside the room. This has allowed us to use just a few speakers in the ceiling, as most of the audio is coming from the table itself. Whenever there is a microphone that is not active, the audio is coming out of the built-in speakers.”
MaktabiTech also supplied HD extenders, with switchers installed in the tables to take the three end-points from the cable cubbies. A Barco ClickShare X30 wireless videoconferencing system was built into the table to bring additional flexibility when interacting with remote participants.
“This runs to the rack where the large matrix switcher is, with four inputs taken from the videoconferencing Webex kit. This is supported by two Cisco PTZ cameras and six ceiling speakers with an Extron touchpanel to handle switching and control.”
MaktabiTech was given an uncompromisingly short deadline, requiring the integrator to source, deliver, install and commission each item of equipment as soon as it arrived on site.
“Time was an issue," explains Al Sheikh. “We had one week to complete the whole project, including installation, programming, testing and commissioning. This was very challenging for us. As it’s a minister’s room, there was no space to move things around, so we were working up until the last minute to get the project finished on time.”
To facilitate this, the MaktabiTech team kept ahead of the curve, developing a meticulously detailed plan that included product placement, and cable runs with precise measurements, allowing the integration team to install the system with confidence and precision.
Al Sheikh continues: “The design team prepared excellent drawings for the project, they understood precisely what was required and where cables would be installed. I loved that about this project. MaktabiTech’s team spent a lot of time designing the solution. It was a quick job for the project team to install the whole thing. They did not spend a lot of time wondering about where to bring a cable or item as the system was designed properly.”
Today, Momrah is equipped with a state-of-the-art boardroom with world-class technologies that enable efficient and secure working for the ministry’s staff.
MaktabiTech is providing a two year SLA agreement, including four preventative maintenance visits and two emergency visits included.
“We are still working with the client,” says Al Sheikh. “We have been troubleshooting their
command and control space which we could potentially renovate once they release a tender, supplying a new LED screen and processor.”
Tech spec
Apple iPad tablet
Arthur Holm DynamicX2Talk retractable screens
Barco ClickShare X30 system
Bose FS2C in-ceiling loudspeakers
Cisco RoomKit Pro PTZ cameras, Webex
Extron DTP TX/RX receivers, TouchLink touchpanel, SW4 HD 4K PLUS switcher, DA HD 4K PLUS amplifiers, TouchLink Pro touchpanels, DTP CrossPoint 84 4K matrix switcher/scaler
Lutron HQP7-1 lighting interface
Samsung The Wall Direct View LED
Televic D-MIC 50 SL microphones, CoCon Discussion meeting management software, Confidea F-DD delegate unit, Confidea F-CD chairperson unit, Plixus AE-R audio engine