Commercial Integrator May 2022 - 29

SPONSORED CONTENT
3 QUESTIONS
Sennheiser on the
Importance of Audio
in Higher-Education
Environments
CI chats with Sennheiser's David Missall about why
integrators should consider audio fi rst, as well as the
company's latest technology innovations.
Commercial Integrator:
Explain why audio is key to
higher-ed setups and why it
is sometimes overlooked.
David Missall: I think it oſt en
is taken for granted - and not
only in the higher-ed market.
Audio is taken as a last thing
to think about, as opposed
to video, cameras and room
aesthetics. But things changed
drastically when universities
were forced into this hybridlearning
experience. They
learned that we have this unifi
ed communications aspect of
learning, but the collaboration
was not there. How to include
the remote person within the
room and vice versa, how to
make it clear and intelligible,
and to make them part of the
conversation, was all missing.
Those in higher-ed had to
reevaluate how to do audio.
They'd think, " How am I going
to pick up every student, if
they have a question, so the
remote person can listen? " That
became a bigger issue. For example,
think of music students;
now, they're learning remotely.
So, we have to make sure the
audio is correct. It could be the
music you're playing back and
forth, or it could be someone
commercialintegrator.com
at the far end who may not be
close to the microphone or be
on-microphone. How are they
going to get their point across
so that the remote person can
hear it properly?
So, I think higher-ed really
started to consider how they
could do this better and how
they could be inclusive to
everyone in the classroom
so that everyone feels part
of the learning experience.
A big part of that is audio...
understanding everything, not
missing anything and ensuring
everything is intelligible. So,
technology managers and facility
designers began to rethink
their approach on how to make
it work. They learned from it.
It forced them to embrace that
diff erent perspective.
CI: Speaking of Sennheiser's
most powerful technologies,
would you like to start with
TeamConnect Ceiling 2?
Missall: What you see is a really
big shiſt toward automation
and easy setup - especially
in the classroom technology
for the professor - along with
inclusivity. The TeamConnect
Ceiling 2 ceiling microphone
is a mic array. It has automatic,
David Missall, insights
manager for consultants and
technical application engineer
manager, Sennheiser.
beam-forming functionality as
part of the array to automatically
go to whoever is speaking in
the room. The professor doesn't
have to touch anything. They do
not have to put a microphone
on to be anywhere in the room.
The TeamConnect Ceiling 2 will
automatically pick them up. If
somebody asks a question, the
beam automatically goes to that
person and picks them up. The
person on the remote side hears
everyone in the room equally, regardless
of where they're sitting.
They hear the professor, regardless
of where they're standing.
So, they don't have to adjust
gain of a transmitter or think
about where they're standing
in relation to the microphone. It
just makes it a lot easier.
CI: Tell us about the value
proposition of SpeechLine
Digital Wireless.
Missall: The more traditional
wireless microphones are
still being used extensively.
Sennheiser off ers our SpeechLine
Digital Wireless systems.
Now, you're going to use the
mic...you're going to have a
beltpack on you...maybe a
handheld with you. But we've
done a lot with SpeechLine to
make it automated. You don't
have to do frequency coordination
because it uses DECT
technology. So, it automatically
picks frequencies for you and
actively will move within a
certain spectrum so that you're
never going to get interference.
The beltpack and the handheld
don't have gain control. So,
regardless of whether you're a
soſt or a loud speaker, it's going
to compensate for that and
you're not going to overload
or underpush the microphone itself.
So, if the professor puts the
lavaliere lower, or if it's too high,
or if they're too close to the mic,
it all doesn't matter.
We've tried to automate
these things and make it a lot
easier for the professor. We also
made it networkable so that
there is control and monitoring
of all devices across campus.
Because it must be easy for the
facility manager and the one
who's doing the service, so they
can monitor and make sure
everything is working from
room to room. SpeechLine
Digital Wireless has a lot of
technology under the hood for
ease of use for the end user,
and ease of workfl ow for facility
management.
MAY 2022 Commercial Integrator 29
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Commercial Integrator May 2022

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