Specifications

14 ExtroNews 12.2 March/April 2001
UNIQUE TECHNIQUES
“Using the SS 200s let Shen Milsom &
Wilke deliver a more cost-effective systems
design to our client,” says Emspak. “The
benefits appeared in a couple of areas.”
Running three-wire cable into and out of the
switcher cut the cost and the labor expense.
Using these sync stabilizers also meant
Emspak could spec a three-level (RGB) matrix
switcher instead of a four or five level
switcher—enabling even more cost savings.
Additionally, the SS 200s reduced the
number of cables used from 6,000 to 4,000.
This cut down the weight of the cable runs,
as well as the number of equipment racks in
the computer room, leaving room for future
expansion. (See
Image 4.)
Image 4. Using the Extron SS 200 reduced the number of cables used,leaving room for future expansion.
make it all work. Huge amounts of cable
influenced the install in two main ways: cost
and weight.
“Keeping in mind that we were dealing
with 200 inputs and 200 outputs, cable cost
was a significant issue due to the size of the
switch,” explains Steve Emspak, Principal
with Shen Milsom & Wilke, who worked
extensively on the project. “Cable density
also became an issue when we realized that
[because of the sheer magnitude of the
installation] we had a significant amount of
weight invested in the cables.” Cable weight
affects both the time and labor it takes to
physically build an application, as well as
potentially affecting the structural integrity
of the building itself.
Emspak began looking for a way to cut
down the number of cables he needed
without affecting the signal quality of the
install. His solution was to use 180 Extron
SS 200 sync stabilizers directly in front of all
LCD projectors—141 in the Operations
Theater and 39 on the wallboard opposite
the Visitors’ Observation Theater.
The Extron SS 200 is a sync stabilizer that
accepts RGBHV, RGBS, or RGsB and, utilizing
a method exclusive to Extron, digitally
restores the sync, providing a stabilized RGBS
or RGBHV ouput signal. The SS 200 outputs
simultaneously on five BNCs and a female
15-pin HD connector, so output can be sent
directly to the projector no matter what type
of input it has.
Using the SS 200, Emspak ran an RGsB
video signal on three wires into and out of
the 200 x 200 matrix switcher. He placed an
SS 200 in front of each digital display and
converted the RGsB to RGBHV, making a
short, five-wire cable run directly into the
projector. This technique let Emspak spec
smaller, lighter cabling for the majority of the
long cable runs throughout the GNOC.
Emspak was so pleased with the impact
the SS 200s had on the AT&T install that
he’s used them to accomplish similar goals
in other locations. “Since using the SS 200s
for AT&T, we have had similar success with
them where we needed to provide our
clients with advanced A/V capabilities
confined within a pre-existing
infrastructure with limited conduit
capacity,” he says.
Today, the GNOC is on the leading edge of
A/V technology. The SS 200s have helped
make AT&T’s Global Network Operations
Center ready for the systems of tomorrow
by leaving plenty of room to grow.
AT&T with A/V (cont.)