Video Immersion

Vaddio, the leading manufacturer and OEM distributor of specialty PTZ cameras and high-end camera control systems used in the broadcasting, audio/visual and videoconferencing industries, provided Immersion Graphics Inc. with three WallVIEW 70 systems at the new headquarters of ITC Holdings Corp., an electric transmission company based out of Novi, Mich.

"Because we’ve had such a longstanding relationship with ITC, we wanted to provide them with a simple, yet reliable solution for their new headquarters," explained Steve Harman, installation and services manager for Immersion Graphics. "The project included an Operations Control Room (OCR); a training room configured like the OCR, a boardroom with a 10-foot-wide rear-projection and videoconferencing system, and a 400-seat auditorium with full AV videoconferencing capabilities."

Both videoconferencing applications, the corporate boardroom and the auditorium, include Vaddio WallVIEW 70 pan/tilt/zoom camera systems used in conjunction with Polycom 8000 series VTC systems. Positioned in the rear of the corporate boardroom, an unobtrusive wall-mounted WallVIEW 70 system delivers local video to a Polycom codec placed in the front of the room. Because of Vaddio’s ability to run video, power and control over Cat. 5 cable, the need to place a camera on the opposite wall of the Polycom was not an issue. Two additional WallVIEW camera systems are wall-mounted in the auditorium, also controlled through a Polycom 8000 series codec.

The WallVIEW 70 systems include a Sony EVI-D70 PTZ camera, a thin profile wall-mount bracket for the camera and the Vaddio EZCamera Cabling System. The EZCamera Cabling System allows the installer to use Cat. 5 cabling to run power, video and camera control.

"The use of Cat 5. cabling was particularly important in this installation because union workers were contracted to run all cabling throughout the building," stated Harman. "Because of Vaddio’s Cat. 5 cabling systems we didn’t have to use any special or proprietary cabling, which allowed us to easily work within union codes."

"We’ve worked with Vaddio countless times in the past, mostly with automotive and military clients, and their systems are easy to install and always reliable," said Harman. "Vaddio’s systems just work."