World's first Digital Congress Network from Philips used in Grand Committee Room, Westminster

Citation

(2000), "World's first Digital Congress Network from Philips used in Grand Committee Room, Westminster", Facilities, Vol. 18 No. 10/11/12. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2000.06918jab.002

World's first Digital Congress Network from Philips used in Grand Committee Room, Westminster

World's first Digital Congress Network from Philips used in Grand Committee Room, Westminster

Keyword: Videoconferencing

As part of a £24 million restoration programme to improve parliamentary procedures, the Houses of Parliament at Westminster have been equipped with the latest digital conferencing technology from Philips Communication, Security & Imaging. The former Grand Committee Room at Westminster has been converted into a continental-style chamber for "non-controversial" debates. In use three days a week, MPs in the new chamber use the world's first entirely digital congress system from audio specialists Philips CSI (see Plate 2).

Plate 2 Hear! Hear! World's first Digital Congress Network from Philips used in Grand Committee Room, Westminster

The system uses Philips CSI's Digital Congress Network (DCN) to bring the benefits of digital technology to discussion, conference and congress applications with the highest quality audio. High digital sound quality means freedom from interference and signal corruption with an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio promoting high speech intelligibility for more effective, less tiring conferencing.

Installed and operated by Westminster Sound Systems, the Grand Committee Room system uses 35 table-top Philips Delegate Discussion Units (DDU) designed for use by two people sitting side by side. Comprising a loudspeaker, two headphone sockets and a flexible microphone stem, the DDUs allow up to 70 members to hear and be clearly heard. The direction sensitive microphone avoids unwanted peripheral noise and automatically mutes the local loudspeaker to avoid feedback.

Suitable for all areas of modern conference management from small informal gatherings to international, multi-lingual congresses with thousands of delegates, the DCN system is extremely versatile, easy to install and operate. Each system element has a socket and a cable with a plug, so components are simply connected together in a single loop or branch configuration, greatly simplifying wiring complexity and reducing costs. The multicore cable itself is thin, flexible and carries both power and all the system digital signals, eliminating the need for miles of bulky cabling. A Central Control Unit (CCU) enables easy conference management with multiple options using dedicated application specific software on a Windows¹ based PC.

Situated in a room overlooking the chamber, the Central Control Unit (CCU) is operated by a Westminster Sound Systems staff member via PC. The dedicated software displays a synoptic microphone system on screen, exactly mirroring the chamber layout. The operator simply clicks the relevant delegate unit icon with the mouse to allow that person to speak. As the chamber follows parliamentary conventions, the order of speakers is pre-ordained.

All chamber business is recorded for potential television broadcast, with the audio feed taken directly from the DCN. Public and press areas are catered for via a Philips Public Address system linked to the DCN, using two Philips 60-watt amplifiers feeding four wall-mounted 30-watt Philips loudspeakers.

The entire system, including cabling, took just ten days to set up, half the time it would have taken for a similar analogue system. Rob Wasmuth, Managing Director of Westminster Sound Systems, believes there is not a competitive system that can match Philips DCN. "They are much simpler to install and more flexible than traditional analogue systems and provide far superior sound quality."

A full range of DCN products is available from Philips CSI to cater for a wide range of conferencing requirements, including delegate identification/registration, electronic voting, information distribution/display and simultaneous interpretation. Complementary Philips equipment such as video displays, PCs, amplifiers and speakers are all fully compatible and extend the functionality of DCN.

For further information contact Adam Breeze or Philip Batten, Philips Communication, Security & Imaging, International Business Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex TW16 7DX. Tel: +44 (0) 1932 753314; Fax: +44 (0) 1932 783198; E-mail: adam.breeze@philips.com