AVNation TV

Tag: California

  • Port of Oakland Monitors and Manages Critical Operations with RGB Spectrum’s Galileo Video Wall Processor

    Port of Oakland Monitors and Manages Critical Operations with RGB Spectrum’s Galileo Video Wall Processor

    ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Port of Oakland in Northern California is the fifth busiest seaport in the U.S and a vital driver of economic activity on the West Coast. The Port recently upgraded its mission-critical Transportation Management and Emergency Operations Center (TMC/EOC) to oversee the Port’s traffic flow, improve its maritime operations and provide a safer, more secure maritime area.

    The role of the TMC/EOC is to manage the Port’s complex transportation logistics, control Port traffic, and provide 24/7 security monitoring.  Its multi-faceted functions encompass improved situational awareness throughout the Port and all perimeter zones, monitoring freight activity, collecting and disseminating transportation data, communicating and collaborating with inter-agency and Port partners, disseminating traffic flow and wait time status to truck drivers, tracking incoming and outgoing vehicles, coordinating intermodal freight shippers, and monitoring local rail traffic.

    The goals of the upgrade were to improve freight movement and logistics efficiency, along with ensuring awareness and resiliency in the Oakland Seaport area.  To achieve these objectives, the TMC/EOC deployed a state-of-the-art video wall powered by RGB Spectrum’s Galileo video wall processor.

    RGB Spectrum Port of Oakland
    The Port of Oakland upgraded its Transportation Management and Emergency Operations Center
    with a new video wall powered by RGB Spectrum’s Galileo processor to improve Port operational efficiency and ensure 24/7 security.

    RGB Spectrum’s Galileo processor was selected for its superb real-time performance, its ability to support a diverse variety of disparate digital and IP-based signal sources, and its exceptional 4K image quality.

    The Galileo processor receives an extensive range of inputs, including conventional and infrared surveillance cameras, intrusion detection systems, digitized map data, traffic sensors, news feeds, local TV broadcasts, interagency communications, road condition data, weather information, RFID truck sensors, truck queue feeds and traffic incident information.

    The Galileo processor consolidates this vast volume of critical visuals and data to provide a centralized, correlated view on the video wall. These sources are displayed in windows of any size, anywhere on the expansive 2 x 4 video wall. Operators can instantly switch input sources, choose customizable, preset display layouts, and pan and zoom to view items of particular interest.  Operators collaboratively view this information for assessment, analysis and decision-making.  The result: better decisions, faster.

    Port of Oakland Director of Maritime Bryan Brandes said, “The TMC/EOC’s new video wall system helps improve the Port’s maritime operations and provides a safer, more secure maritime area.”

    With superior 4K image quality, 24/7 reliability, and feature-rich capabilities, RGB Spectrum’s Galileo video wall processor is the ideal choice for security operations centers, control rooms, command centers, traffic management facilities, network operations centers, emergency operations centers, digital signage and lobby displays.

    The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland Seaport, Oakland International Airport, and nearly 20 miles of waterfront including Jack London Square.  Since its founding in 1927, the Oakland Seaport has served as the principle ocean gateway for international containerized cargo shipments in Northern California.  The Oakland Seaport oversees 1,300 acres of maritime-related facilities serving a local market of over 14.5 million consumers. For more information, visit www.portofoakland.com.

    RGB Spectrum is a leading designer and manufacturer of enterprise-class audio-visual products for civilian and government applications. Best-of-breed systems combine both hardware and software elements to satisfy the unique needs of our client base. For more information, visit www.rgb.com

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Carousel Digital Signage Modernizes Local Government Communications in California

    Carousel Digital Signage Modernizes Local Government Communications in California

    MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Carousel Digital Signage has substantially increased the efficiency of internal communications for the San Bernardino County Department of Child Support Services in California, a local government branch operating in the Los Angeles region. The Department’s IT organization recently deployed a Carousel Cloud digital signage network across its three locations in Loma Linda, Ontario, and Victorville, California.

     

    Headquartered in Loma Linda, San Bernardino’s Department of Child Support Services currently uses Carousel Cloud to communicate content and messaging related to the company’s mission of delivering reliable child support services, and making a positive difference in the lives of local children. The organization previously used SharePoint to disseminate messaging, which caused significant challenges in reaching staff members in a timely and consistent manner.

     

    “Items would get posted to our SharePoint site, and staff members would receive an email alerting them to new messages,” said Timothy Stewart, systems analyst at the organization. “If they read it, they read it––if they didn’t, they didn’t. We were looking for a solution that let us deliver these communications in a real-time format, and that didn’t require logging into the system and finding the right link to read it. With digital signage, the messaging is everywhere. Carousel Cloud ensures that our staff only has to look at the displays mounted throughout our offices.”

     

    While Stewart has a solid background in audiovisual technology, he shares that this was his first digital signage rollout. “Carousel Cloud made it easy,” he said. “It required almost no engineering; you drag-and-drop your configurations into the platform and away you go. I was able to get my head around it in a day.” Over the next two weeks, he and his team deployed BrightSign players at all three office locations. “It was pretty much plug-and-play. There wasn’t much to it.”

     

    Network content today is primarily made up of COVID safety information, case management best practices, and communications from staff committees about current projects and events. That content, shared across all three locations simultaneously, is built from text and graphics, with the Department’s media team responsible for content creation, playlist management, and network distribution. He notes that the organization’s media team leader picked it up in less than an hour, citing the learning curve as a huge benefit for an organization that has limited AV experience.

     

    Stewart expects to diversify content across the network in the near future, having created separate channels for each office. Currently, a real-time weather bug local to each office represents the only targeted content – but he has plans to go further, including public-facing messages and content to lobby screens.

     

    “Carousel Cloud makes it easy to customize content and target the distribution,” he said. “Thanks to Carousel Cloud’s user-friendly platform, scaling and management is hassle-free when we add new screens and mix in different content. The content management interface is surprisingly well-designed, and the workflow is very intuitive. This was exactly the right choice for taking organizational communications to new heights.”

  • HETMA formalizes organization and elects inaugural Board of Directors

    HETMA formalizes organization and elects inaugural Board of Directors

    LOS ANGELES – The Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA), founded in 2019 by Joe Way, PhD (University of Southern California) and BC Hatchett, M.A.Ed. (Vanderbilt University), has filed formal articles of incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the State of California. This move positions HETMA to further its mission of advocating for technology managers’ needs and their respective higher education institutions within the greater audiovisual industry, accounting for over $22.6B in global annual spend.

    HETMA is dedicated to providing educational and networking opportunities to its members to empower and grow the influence of higher education as an industry vertical. A core belief is that all resources and services provided by HETMA are done so at no charge to their membership. Becoming a 501(c)(3) charitable organization furthers this goal, affording HETMA both legal protections and fundraising capabilities. HETMA’s membership has grown from its initial ten-member steering committee in 2019 to over seven hundred rostered members in 2021 drawing from a diverse range of colleges and universities from large, small, public, private, religious, 2-year, and 4-year institutions from around the globe. HETMA has already earned industry recognition by being voted as the Best Virtual Event of 2020 and forming key strategic partnerships with AV-industry organizations, manufacturers, and media outlets.

    As its initial formal action, the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA) held an open call for nominations and vote of its membership to elect the first board of directors. The results are:

    Executive Board
    Chair, Board of Directors: Joe Way, University of Southern California
    Vice-Chair, Board of Directors: BC Hatchett, Vanderbilt University
    Secretary: Annie Foster, Elizabethtown College
    Treasurer: Dean Wentworth, US Courts / Formerly, United States Military Academy West Point
    At-Large, 3-Year: James King, Stockton University
    At-Large, 2-Year: Erin Maher-Moran, Johns Hopkins University
    At Large, 1-Year: Tim Van Woeart, Rutgers University

    Committee Chairs
    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Kayden Kassof, American University
    Conference Committee: Jimmie Singleton, University of Southern CaliforniaHETMA Approved Program: Donovan Monday, West Virginia University
    Membership: Mike Pedersen, Iowa State University
    Regional Team Co-Chair: Craig Shibley, California Baptist University
    Regional Team Co-Chair: Will DeWitt, College of Charleston
    Communications: Lex Peters, University of Southern California
    Focus Groups: Raj Singh, University of Southern California

    HETMA’s key 2021-2022 initiatives include:
    • Establishing the “HETMA Approved” products program.
    • Commencing focus group partnerships with manufacturers.
    • Advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in higher ed and the AV industry.
    • Establishing an AV buyers’ group for the higher education vertical.
    • Furthering partnership opportunities.
    • Hosting its fourth virtual conference.
    • Hosting its first formal banquet and awards/recognition ceremony.
    • Establishing area and regional networking groups.