AVS set up a bank of computers in the equipment rooms, each with appropriate access to relevant networks, data and security systems. Each CPD operator has simultaneous access to at least three of them at any given time, and they can access a Crestron 3-Series control processor to toggle back and forth from source to source as needed.
Data and video relevant to the group as a whole can be shared via the DigitalMedia network and the video wall.
Some of the work is done in reaction to incoming calls, but operators can work proactively as well, says Chuchla.
“There’s no way CPIC can watch the entire city at once,” he says, “but if there’s a large public event or they know a gang dispute is going on, operators will monitor the relevant information and share it as needed with officers on the street.”
Handling the Flow
One of the most important requirements for this complex data and media routing system was the need to keep its operation simple. AVS equipped each operator with a 5-inch Crestron touch screen at his or her workstation, which shows a three-column list of relevant sources, switches the operator’s keyboard and mouse to a selected source and allows him to choose the local display.
At the supervisor station, AVS included a 15-inch touch screen with the same local controls plus the ability to route any source to the video wall, dial and receive video conferencing calls and control and route news media from six cable TV boxes.
One programming challenge was that the sources are constantly changing, and as they change the labels must appear on the touch panels. Another was the complexity of the audio system, which has hundreds of potential sources routed to operators’ headsets through a QSys audio processor.
“We gave the operators six simple audio choices on their Crestron touch screens,” Chuchla says. “There’s the phone, the police radio, what’s on each local monitor, and what’s on the room speakers.”
The video wall consists of 12 Planar 55-inch Clarity Matrix displays mounted on the front wall at CPIC, four on the left wall and two on the right wall. To help keep the system simple and affordable, AVS used the processing built into the Planar displays rather than a separate video wall controller.
The main switcher is the DM128X128, the biggest one Crestron makes. AVS also used five DM32X32 switchers to act as media converters, taking all of the analog video sources and routing them in digital form.
AVS also specified 12-inch Middle Atlantic Viewpoint operators’ workstations –a significant upgrade from the tables CPD had chosen for the 2003 remodel– as well as Middle Atlantic racks and cable management products.
Installation began by converting a lunchroom in another part of the building into a temporary CPIC and transferring operations there, followed by the physical demolition and reconstruction of the existing space, the construction of a new equipment room, major backup power upgrades and finally the installation of all of the new furniture and equipment.
After the equipment was in place and working, the lengthy process began of configuring and debugging the network and software. Although this is only the third major rebuild of the space, Chuchla says it has been upgraded almost constantly since day one, as new computer, audio and video systems become available both in the facility and out in the field.
Chuchla expects “many more upgrades of this constantly-changing facility” and hopes AVS will be part of them when they happen.
