Each seat at the dais has its own flat-panel display with built-in speakers and connections for lap-top computers and Internet access.

Video, Audio, Internet Integrated in Board Room

The latest project that Swiderski has done for the village, a suburb northwest of Chicago, is a state-of-the-art sound, video broadcast and Internet system for the village hall’s boardroom. Previous systems have included security and audio/visual systems for an athletic facility run by the village’s park district.

“The majority of our work is design/build, and we’re an application integration company,” explained Joe Swiderski, president/CEO. “In this case, we started talking with the Mt. Prospect Park District about what was involved in designing and developing the entire complex. It started as design only and then moved to design/build.”

That job, which was completed in 2002, led to the company’s work on the audio, video and Internet system at the village hall in 2004.

“We’ve done this for Highland Park, Lincolnshire and Barrington, Ill., and others at various levels of sophistication to present quality imaging to communities,” reported Paul Swiderski, president and director of engineering. “This is a trend through all the villages, and the technology is readily available.

“Mt. Prospect is leading the pack with the level of complexity,” Joe said, referring to the sophisticated, award-winning live local cable broadcasts that originate in the village hall’s control room.

During board meetings, audio/visual presentations can be front-projected with two Sony, 5,200-lumen projectors on 10-foot-by-10-foot screens on each end of an approximately 26-foot-long dais, at which board members and village officials are seated.

“Everyone at the dais has his own flat-panel display so board and committee members can see what is going on,” Joe Swiderski pointed out. The 15-inch LCD monitors at each seat on the dais and at the lectern have built-in speakers and show what is on each front-projected screen, which can be operated independently. Connections for laptop computers and Internet access also are provided at each seat.

“They have an LCD monitor at their position that they can pull up whatever is being presented so they can see detail,” he described. “They can select the LCD left or right screen if specific information is on one versus the other.”

The board’s proceedings are broadcast and/or recorded through four broadcast-quality, 3-CCD ceiling-mounted Panasonic cameras with Fujinon lenses and pan-tilt-zoom capability operated from the control room.

“They have a system that is on a preset basis on the chamber council, but allows for manual control override and zeroes in on an individual as they stand up to speak,” Paul explained. “The audio system was integrated with the aesthetics of the room.”

Besides speakers on the walls and on each side of the projection screens, speakers also were hung inside fixtures that resemble electric lights.

“The dispersion on that is quite wide,” Paul noted. “They were required to give the audience multidirectional coverage.”

The 14 LCD monitors are swivel-mounted. Pushbuttons can be used to mute the microphone or switch video sources. A gooseneck microphone is included.

The lectern also has a gooseneck microphone, laptop connectivity, a pull-out drawer with document camera and another one for wheelchair access with a second, attachable microphone.

“Developers come in with DVDs or videotapes or PowerPoint and make a complete presentation to the board,” Joe explained. “The chamber is also used for committee meetings as well as the zoning board.

“The automated audio system picks up as soon as someone starts talking,” he continued. “The president has a button he can basically mute.

“The other thing the system has is scan converters that allow us to output on screen a high-resolution graphic image that can be incorporated into the field to the TV system to the community,” Joe noted. “They cut between the presenter and what is being shown both on-screen as well as the person presenting it.

In the control room, the projection systems, volume levels of speakers and microphones and video sources can be controlled by a single touch panel. Lighting also can be adjusted from the room along with a camera control system, preview monitors, an audio mixer and a cable distribution system to broadcast live or record council meetings.

Swiderski Electronics also specializes in security system installation. At the Mt. Prospect Park District facility, which was converted from an industrial building, four outdoor and four indoor Panasonic CCTV cameras are displayed and recorded. Access is controlled by a card swipe system from GE Security, InfoGraphics.

“They used to have problems with keys,” Paul related. “The people would change and they would be losing the keys. The new system provides a picture ID with a swipe on the back. Now they have full control of the facility on a scheduled basis. The card won’t work if you aren’t scheduled.”

The facility has a full-size in-line skating rink, a weight room, basketball court, party and meeting rooms, a preschool center and a board room for park district council meetings.

The skating rink has an extensive sound system that is used for other events that are staged on the rink’s surface. Proceedings of the council are broadcast live on the local cable company as the village board meetings are.