Challenge
Farnham Rugby Union Club wanted to upgrade its old 50” LCD screens to larger projected images to enable hundreds of spectators, expected at the club for the Rugby World Cup, to watch the games. The installation had to be complete for the first Six Nations Game in February 2015 (England v Wales) so that it was all ready and tested to show all Six Nations games and then the major
international event being hosted by England from 18 September 2015. Richard Nicholls, Director of Complete Audio Visual Equipment, said: “The club already attracts a good number of fans for major games. It wanted to increase this footfall to allow hundreds to see the games.” The club hires out all or part of the facilities for business meetings, weddings and other functions – so it was important to upgrade the AV system to be easy to use and compatible with a range of sources.
Solution
The club was spending money on adding blackout blinds to all the windows, so it chose material for the 3.5m wide blinds that would be suitable to fulfil a dual purpose of becoming projection screens. Complete Audio Visual Equipment tested the image quality on the proposed material for the blinds and installed two Optoma ProScene EH501 projectors in the Dining Room and Main Bar. These rooms have a movable partition wall to make one large space during major sporting events or private functions.
Ideal for large meeting rooms and lecture theatres, the EH501 is also designed for medical professionals. Its DICOM simulation mode is specially tuned for viewing greyscale images and perfect for viewing X-rays and scans during medical training. Its 1.5x optical zoom makes installation easy when organisations are replacing their existing projectors and its vertical lens shift system simplifies installation further by adjusting the vertical position of the projected image. The projector has a USB Reader which can project a JPEG presentation directly from a USB flash drive. It has energy saving features including Eco+ lamp power management, standby mode and auto power off. With full support for Crestron, Extron, AMX, PJ-Link and Telnet LAN commands, the projector can be controlled and monitored remotely over a LAN. This can provide email alerts if an error occurs, a lamp fails or needs to be replaced.
The Farnham-based AV company also installed a CYP 8 x 8 Matrix Switcher, which provides multi-room connectivity with its ability to switch and distribute up to eight HDMI sources. This matrix features eight HDMI outputs and each HDMI output is mirrored to provide a Twin CAT output which runs simultaneously. Installers can connect a PU-1106RX Receiver to each of the Twin CAT outputs to extend the HDMI signal up to 45m for multi-room connectivity.
The matrix can be controlled via the IR Remote Control as well as from the front panel of the device.
Richard Nicholls, Director of Complete Audio Visual Equipment, said: “We used the CYP matrix as it’s a tried and tested product. I have used it before and found it works really well, switches fast and positively and is simple to operate by the end user.”
Julian Frost from Farnham Rugby Club said: “We are absolutely delighted with the installation. It should be a real draw for rugby fans in the local area to come down and watch the game. It creates a great atmosphere in the clubhouse. My only regret is that we hadn’t done it sooner.”
The main source used for the games is Sky HD, but the system is compatible with a Blu-Ray player and laptop inputs from around the club house.
Established in 1975, Farnham Rugby Club has grown to become Farnham’s largest charitable community sports club with over 1,000 members. Each weekend over 800 boys and girls, from as young as five years old, regularly play rugby at the club’s Wilkinson Way-grounds. The Club has produced a number of great players who have gone on to play for professional clubs and international honours – the most famous include Jonny Wilkinson and Peter Richards.