Ivanhoe Grammar School prides itself on providing families in Melbourne’s North with leading educational outcomes. Campuses are situated in Ivanhoe, catering for students from Early Learning to Year 6 at Buckley House and Years 7 to 12 at The Ridgeway Campus, and Mernda with the Plenty Campus for Prep to Year 12.
DIB Australia installed new video conferencing systems into the new administration block at the Plenty Campus and also the Business Centre Conference Room at The Ridgeway Campus over the Christmas School Holidays.
The school requested a high quality and user friendly video conference system which would allow both school administration staff and teachers to video conference between the school campuses. Image clarity and ease of use was paramount to the school, to improve the quality of the video conferencing experience and to reduce the need to travel between the campuses and meet face to face. This not only saves time but can also support cross campus teaching for special subjects and training.
The technology was integrated and installation coordinated into the building program. Video conferencing takes into account many issues including: lighting, room acoustics, room layout, screen size and layout, camera location, microphone placement, ease of control, ease of connection and more. All of these aspects were designed and coordinated into the building process at Plenty Campus and taken into consideration at The Ridgeway Campus.
The initial step was for DIB Australia to demonstrate a range of technologies to Ivanhoe. This involved taking their clients to Polycom’s head office in Melbourne where a full range of equipment could be evaluated and experienced. From there, a preferred technology was identified and design and costing of the setups began.
The chosen Polycom RealPresence Group 500 video conference codec system made use of Polycom’s unique and proprietary ‘Eagle Eye’ technology. This technology adds significantly to the feeling of actually being in the room even though the other party are not. In a video conference experience, as people speak the dual camera automatically zooms in on them and frames them like a portrait so you feel closer to them. Then, when another person speaks, the system pans via a full view to the other person so it’s like shifting your attention naturally across the room.
Polycom’s Eagle Eye technology provides a realistic and natural view of speakers during conference
Another aspect which makes the system special is the custom touchscreen interface that DIB Australia developed for Ivanhoe. Using the Extron TLP700 touch control system, careful attention was paid to creating a user interface which was very simple to use when starting a conference and also very simple when users wanted to share content with the remote party.
Simple to use Extron TLP700 touch screen control system
Table box for connection of microphone and control system on conference room table
The conference system setup uses dual Philips BDL5520QL 55” full HD screens and full HD Polycom Eagle Eye Director camera. With Polycom’s codec technology, we were able to achieve full HD images and high quality sound. DIB Australia also integrated the whole setup with Ivanhoe’s Microsoft Lync system allowing for easier communication between staff members.
Winston Mattson, Director of Systems and Infrastructure at Ivanhoe, worked closely with DIB Australia throughout the whole process and is pleased with the finished result at both campuses. Winston says, “We have a reliable conference system & it’s easy to use.” This, along with smart looking screens, and blinds and lighting fully integrated into the system at the Plenty Campus makes for a professional looking boardroom. 
AV rack housing video conferencing equipment neatly located in cupboard
For assistance with your custom audio visual requirements, contact a DIB Audio Visual Solutions Consultant today. Phone (03) 9457-4800 or contact us