- In the lunchroom area, which doubles as a training/meeting space, Nu-Star used the SoundTube RS500i Series and the CM500i Series, depending on the configuration of the ceiling.FARMINGTON HILLS, MI--Daimler AG, with its line of premium Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and commercial vehicles, is a globally known corporation. The company's Financial Services division supports Daimler sales in more than 40 countries. In the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, systems integrator Nu-Star Technologies handles the AV and videoconferencing systems in all of Daimler's financial centers.
- A recent installation was completed by Nu-Star in Daimler's Farmington Hills, MI Financial Services Americas headquarters. "When Daimler and Chrysler split last year, Daimler was looking for a new state of the art audio/video presentation systems and corporate communication systems that would better meet their needs throughout all of the North American financial centers," said Nu-Star's Brian Vago. The Michigan installation included one main large boardroom and one mini boardroom, each with full Tandberg HD videoconferencing capabilities, a large lunchroom area that doubles as training/meeting space for up to 500 employees, and several conference rooms.
- "The cafeteria area is a very pleasant area for the employees to hang out in and relax during their breaks," said Vago. Daimler Financial installed room dividers, creating separate areas that can be sectioned off as needed for conferencing, training, or town hall meeting space, as well as lunchroom functions. The company further enhanced the lunchroom with the addition of a comfortable employee lounge area with two 58-inch Panasonic plasma displays and HD satellite boxes, a Nintendo Wii gaming system, a ping-pong table, and two foosball tables. The lunchroom audio feeds are processed through a Biamp AudiaFlex system and controlled via a Crestron Pro2 processor and QM switching systems.
- In the boardroom, a Tandberg Integrator series 6000 MXP was used for HD videoconferencing. A Crestron Pro2 control processor, DVPHD-PRO- for multi window configurations, and TPMC-8X touchpanel were used for controlling the AV system. Autopatch switchers were installed for handling the numerous PC feeds around the room and from Vaddio's MegaView in-ceiling document camera. "Daimler Financial chose to present the images on a 103-inch Panasonic plasma--what a huge TV!" Vago said. "For the audio portion of the boardroom we used a Biamp AudiaFlex processor which is then sent to Lab.gruppen amplifiers and SoundTube CMi Series loudspeakers." Overhead microphones were provided by Clockaudio (the C3100CP).
- SoundTube loudspeakers were used throughout the facility to handle the audio for all these types of functions. "Nu-Star uses SoundTube speakers for all of our installations because of the quality and sound of the speaker is phenomenal," Vago said. "SoundTube offers various speaker designs that fit exactly into the space décor, and of course they make installation a breeze."
- In the cafeteria area, Nu-Star used the RS500i Series, designed for open ceiling applications, and the CM500i Series, designed for closed ceiling applications, depending on the configuration of the ceiling. "Every single room that has audio playback has a SoundTube speaker in it," said Vago. "I like the SoundTube products because everything is standard--they install very quickly--and they work great off the shelf, not many mishaps, and if something is defective I get a replacement right away. Plus, the price point on their speakers is very attractive to our customers."
Shifting Gears
