Nagano national highway office relies on Shure when disaster strikes

Customer Profile

The Regional Development Bureaus of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) are responsible for overseeing the safety of Japan's national highways, water and other infrastructure. Within MLIT’s Kanto Regional Development Bureau, the Nagano National Highway Office serves as a hub to coordinate with its seven branch offices in maintaining the safety and integrity of the national highways throughout the Nagano prefecture. When disasters such as landslides, cave-ins, or flooding occur, it is the job of the Office to implement a swift and appropriate response. For this purpose, the facility’s conference room doubles as a disaster management center equipped with a video conferencing system to establish prompt and reliable communication with branch offices.

CLIENT NEEDS

The technical team required a ceiling-mounted microphone as part of its new AV conferencing system to clear the conference table and cut down on setup time. The National Highway Office also has very strict requirements when it comes to the functionality of its conference system. More than anything, they required a solution with a simple interface that anyone can understand quickly and use easily.

Solution

The Office opted for a conferencing solution from Shure and installed the Microflex Advance MXA910 Ceiling Array Microphone with IntelliMix P300 Audio Conferencing Processor. The MXA910 microphone was installed above the conference table and configured with eight individual pick-up areas to capture meeting participants in the room. Audio from the MXA910 is routed to the IntelliMix P300 processor via a standard network switch. The P300 connects downstream to a standard video conferencing codec through an analog I/O interface. If needed, users can also connect their laptops to use cloud-based conferencing solutions, or even use a mobile device to set up a call. The P300 connects all these conferencing platforms while the MXA910 is used for voice capture.

RESULTS

In large meetings, sometimes with up to 20 people, there is not enough room at the conference table for all attendees. The single MXA910 is perfectly able to also capture voices from further away because of the adjustable size of its eight coverage zones. The technical team also commended the sound quality of the MXA910, which is able to pick up a wide vocal range where even low voices are distinctly audible without any noise. This was achieved thanks to the IntelliMix P300 Audio Processor which further enhances the MXA910’s integrated capabilities. The P300's compact body houses a powerful DSP that optimizes sound specifically for audio conferencing applications. In addition to acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction and automatic gain control for each of the MXA910’s eight audio channels, the processor also features automatic mixing and PEQ functions which improve sound and allow to overcome a variety of acoustical conditions.

Gear List

	Model Number	Quantity	Description
	MXA910		The new MXA910 with IntelliMix® represents the next evolution in the Microflex® Advance™ Ceiling Array Microphone platform.
	IntelliMix P300		Audio conferencing processor offers IntelliMix DSP algorithms optimized for audio/video conferencing applications.