Valley View Agri-Systems Personalizes Office With Custom Table, Lighting Fixture, and ELAN g! System

Logos are one of the most important advertising tools that exist, helping us recognize and remember world famous brands regardless of language or location. Valley View Agri-Systems, a leader in grain storage and material handling solutions, took their logo to heart when redesigning their Arkansas office to impress visitors and potential clients. Using the logo throughout their design and incorporating an intelligent control system made by ELAN, the company created a meeting and working space truly unique to their brand.

In a new conference room dubbed “the war room,” a custom-designed conference table and lighting fixture in the shape of their logo accentuate the space and reinforce the idea that Valley View Agri-Systems is in control of the meeting environment. That control is further highlighted by the advanced ELAN g! control system, which allows meeting leaders to easily manage and use the war room’s audio and video systems from an iPad docked on the conference table or an ELAN HR2 handheld remote.

According to installer Ryan Heringer, owner of Jonesboro, Arkansas-based Sound Concepts, the consolidated control of A/V in the conference room and eight separate offices gives the Valley View staff another means of impressing potential clients and visitors.

“With a few taps they can pull up presentations and videos without any complications, every time,” Heringer said. “Anyone who has frequented board rooms for presentations using technology can likely tell you how frustrating it is when things don’t work perfectly, or that it is a nuisance for someone to require advanced knowledge to simply operate the TV and audio system. What we are able to provide through the ELAN g! system is a dead-simple interface that turns everything on and presents the video options and computer connections in a truly easy format so even a first-time user can dive into operating it with ease.”

In addition to the requirement that the system be basically foolproof, keeping everything hidden was a top priority. Using in-ceiling adjustable direction speakers and the wireless ELAN g! system, the only things visible in the room are an iPad for control and the TVs on the walls. Infrared signaling and IP connectivity allows for all the processing equipment, video players and amplifiers to remain behind the scenes in a rack located in small closet in the war room.

The war room consists of a 14-seat conference table in the shape of Valley View’s bulging-rectangle logo, situated directly beneath a matching lighting fixture designed in precisely the same shape. Beyond the head of the table is a wall-mounted 80” Sharp 1080p TV, with two 65” Samsung 1080p adjustable-angle TVs flanking the table’s long sides, providing easy presentation and video viewing for every person in the room. Eight in-ceiling speakers provide clear audio without cluttering the room.

Outside the conference room the integration extends into eight offices, each featuring a wall-mounted 40” Samsung TV and a single in-ceiling speaker. An ELAN S1616A amplifier/multi-room audio controller provides power for all 16 speakers throughout the conference room and offices, and can send separate signals to each room. This way the war room conference does not affect a smaller office meeting, while everything runs through the same reliable system. The equipment rack includes nine cable boxes, one for each separate room, in addition to two Apple TVs and an Integra Blu-ray player with access to Netflix and Vudu. A Binary 16x16 HDMI matrix switch routes all video from the equipment closet to the 11 TVs.

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Growing Bank Makes the Most of its Office Space With ELAN g! - Controlled Convertible Conference Room

As a company grows, its technology infrastructure can get complicated quickly. At Franklin Synergy Bank’s new headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, the company is taking steps to keep things simple, starting with its recent installation of an ELAN g! control system.

Working with local integrator Audio Video Elements, Franklin Synergy Bank was able to maximize its real estate by creating an AV system that works double duty in a convertible conference room with a retractable divider. Thanks to the ingenuity of the integrator and the flexibility of the ELAN g! system, the room’s AV system can be operated easily whether it is utilized as a single large conference room with one media presentation, or as two smaller rooms with separate audio and video for each room.

“Creating a single AV system that is easy to use in multiple configurations can be a challenge,” said Aaron Lawrence, owner of Audio video Elements, “but with the ELAN g! system nearly anything is possible. The final result is a multi-purpose room that converts from a large conference room with a singular AV system to two smaller rooms with two distinct AV systems, using all the same equipment and the same controls. Simplicity was extremely important for this project, and that extends all the way to the custom podium we designed that includes a 10-inch monitor so speakers can follow their presentations without having to turn around.” 

The room includes two identical projection systems with Optoma 1080p projectors and 132” motorized Draper projection screens that drop from the ceiling, along with six pairs of in-ceiling speakers and two Shure wireless microphones. Video can be displayed from permanently connected cable boxes, users’ laptops or a Blu-ray player. When the motorized divider is open, the full room can be controlled from a 7” ELAN touchpanel to the right of the projection screens, and when the divider is closed, that same touchpanel controls only the right side equipment, while a second 7” ELAN touchpanel adjacent to the left projection screen controls the left side equipment. Lawrence programmed the g! system so that this happens seamlessly, with no work required to switch between a single- or dual-room configuration. To add to the convertible nature of the room, the stage is hydraulic and can be lowered to ground level to increase floor space when required.

“We installed TVs and data infrastructure throughout the whole building, requiring more than 100 Cat5 runs, but the crown jewel is this conference room,” Lawrence said. “The versatility of this conference room will allow Franklin Synergy Bank to use it as they see fit, and to do so easily. Even though the technology is very advanced, it took less than 10 minutes to show employees how to use it.  That’s what’s so great about the ELAN g! system, that it can perform all these really powerful automation processes but is easy enough for a complete technophobe to operate.”

In addition to the ELAN touchpanels, several employees have access to the system through the ELAN g! mobile app on their smartphones. This way they can operate the system without getting up, if necessary. All of the equipment is housed is a separate room in a rack that is protected by a Panamax M4315PRO surge protector, ensuring smooth operation for years to come.

ELAN g! Eliminates Conference Room Headaches, Paves Way For Office-Wide Integration

Business owners know that planning for the future is important, so whenever possible, it’s smart to build in flexibility to adjust to new needs and circumstances. This idea is especially important when it comes to office technology and infrastructure, which is why Permobil, a leading designer and manufacturer of power wheelchairs, has installed the affordable ELAN g! control system to integrate the AV system in a conference room, with potential to add digital signage and surveillance integration in the future.

According to integrator Aaron Lawrence, owner of Audio Video Elements based near Nashville, Tennessee, Permobil’s new ELAN system keeps with the new-age aura of the office, which he likens to the Google campus, famous for its lounge areas, in-office recreation and free employee cafeteria. “Permobil is a company that is always looking to the future,” he said, “and that extends from its employee policies to its product development to its office infrastructure. This installation wasn’t overly complicated or elaborate, but we were able to effectively solve their problems while setting them up to add greater enhancements down the line.”

One of the company’s main conference rooms relied on a 106” projection system to make presentations, but it never lived up to the expectations of those who used it. From the messy wired tabletop control panel to issues with the programming that meant the projector almost never turned off, the company decided it was time to try something new.  Lawrence suggested the ELAN g! system to them not only because ELAN developed one of the simplest control interfaces ever, but also because the system is highly flexible and would allow them to expand control beyond the conference room when they are ready to do so.

“Right now the room is approximately 100 percent better and more functional than it was,” Lawrence said. “We removed the projection system, which was hard to see because the screen sat in front of a large window and the room was usually brightly lit, and replaced it with an 84-inch JVC 4K display that will allow them to adapt to new video formats as they gain popularity. We suspended the TV from the ceiling to remedy the window issue, and also added two more Samsung 65” TVs on an adjacent wall so every seat in the room has a clear view of what is being presented.

“Once the design was agreed upon it was just a matter of making it easy to use. That’s where the ELAN g! system came in, and management couldn’t be happier with it. We were able to eliminate all the visible wiring from the room, and now the system is controlled from an iPad that is mounted on the table and can be dismounted if necessary. The four HDMI inputs built into the conference table make it easy for multiple people to share their ideas, requiring just a simple button press in the ELAN g! app to switch from one input to the next.”

One of the biggest selling points for management was the possibility to tie in building-wide systems in the future, such as digital signage situated in lobbies and common areas, and surveillance cameras that would make it easier to review security events or monitor building issues. This would allow the company to manage all the TVs in the building from a single interface, so they could power the entire AV system on and off together, as well as change the video being displayed. Lawrence also provided access to the ELAN g! system on several employees’ smartphones through the ELAN g! mobile app, ensuring that even if a technical issue arises with the main iPad, there is a backup to make things run smoothly.

“Being prepared for growth is a characteristic of a successful company, and Permobil is taking steps to increase the flexibility of their office for just that reason,” Lawrence continued. “Simplifying an office’s technology reduces employees’ frustration and helps promote increased efficiency, while also bringing a little bit of ‘wow’ factor with simple but powerful tools that many people haven’t used before. I expect that more and more companies will choose powerful, affordable control systems like ELAN g! for their offices in the near future and beyond.”