City of Bloomington, MN
As Communications Administrator at the City of Bloomington, Minnesota, one of Diann Kirby's tasks was to find a way to integrate the city's government access and public access TV channels previously located in two different buildings. “We needed the two channels to work together,” said Kirby. “And in order to do this, we knew we had to update our equipment.”
Broadcast and AV systems for mutliple city areas
Alpha Video was contacted by the City of Bloomington to provide and install broadcast and audiovisual systems for the cable access studio and control room. At the same time, Alpha was asked to provide audiovisual systems in a variety of other spaces in the city's new Civic Plaza, including the council chambers and control room, ten meeting rooms and the police department's emergency operations center.
Working with Ankeny Kell Architects and technology consultant Elert & Associates, Alpha installed Panasonic AWE cameras and a custom Telemetrics Triax robotic system. This technology forms the heart of the broadcast facilities for both the cable access and council chambers systems.
“We wanted as many rooms as possible to be integrated so we would have the ability to videotape from remote locations,” added Kirby.
Conference rooms get uprades
Kirby said the city wanted to update its conference rooms, and asked Alpha Video to provide these installations. “We had the basic setup, but we wanted the capability for computer presentations. With Alpha's help, not only are we able to do that now, but we also have the capability to tape presentations in some rooms. This puts us light years ahead of where we were!”
The staff at the City of Bloomington was very excited about the installations, knowing the new technology would help improve productivity. For example, the Schneider Theater now boasts robotic components, which means one person can operate all the equipment. “This has greatly improved our efficiency,” said Kirby.
In the beginning, the city's main priority was getting up to speed on all the new technology. “Naturally there was a bit of a learning curve, but everyone is looking forward to gaining new knowledge and skills,” said Kirby. “And Alpha has done a very nice job of staying in touch with our staff and making sure everything is running smoothly. We really appreciate that.”
Having completed the initial installation on a very tight timeline, Alpha Video received the honor of being presented with a special merit award from the City of Bloomington at the dedication ceremony for the new facility.
