Commercial AV Upgrade — Nelson Hotel Conference Facilities
A Nelson hotel needed to bring its conference facilities up to a standard that could reliably host corporate events and weddings. The existing system — a mix of ageing analogue audio distribution, VGA-over-CAT5 video switching, and hand-patched inputs — was causing daily frustration for venue staff and inconsistent results for clients.
The brief
Replace audio and video distribution across three conference rooms and the main ballroom with a single networked system. Audio routing had to be flexible enough to combine or isolate rooms, and video switching needed to be dead simple for a non-technical operator to run from a wall panel. The work had to happen in two phases so the venue could stay open and take bookings throughout.
Approach
We specified a Dante-networked audio backbone with PoE-powered ceiling speakers in each room, a central DSP processor (BSS BLU-100) for routing and room tuning, and HDBaseT video distribution from a central rack to wall-mounted displays. A Crestron control processor with 7-inch touch panels replaced the old button matrix. Phase one covered the ballroom and the largest conference room over a two-week window; phase two picked up the remaining rooms once the summer wedding season ended.
Technology
- Dante audio networking with PoE ceiling speakers
- BSS BLU-100 DSP — room-specific EQ and level presets
- HDBaseT video distribution — 4K-capable, single-CAT6 to each display
- Crestron control — two 7-inch touch panels, one wireless
- Rack rebuild with structured cabling, labelled patching and UPS
Outcome
The venue now runs corporate events and weddings with a one-touch “room mode” preset that sets audio routing, display inputs and volume levels. Venue staff no longer need to call an AV technician for room setup, and the digital backbone means adding a fourth conference room later is a matter of patching in another Dante endpoint.