To meet the need for simultaneous interpretation and language distribution for the new Berlin conference facility, Philips supplied a 140-position Concentus DCN system. The top of the range Concentus is able to handle up to 15 languages with interpretation desks designed by working interpreters. A second, smaller Concentus system was installed in a separate plenary room for press conferences - this is an 8-position system incorporating non-standard 'voice-seeking' microphones in place of the standard pluggable stem microphones to give participants more freedom of movement when fielding questions from journalists.
This major order was won against fierce international competition by the Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup, a strategic Philips CSI partner and value-added re-seller/installer for the German market. Salzbrenner chose the Philips Concentus as the ideal solution for this impressive 333 long conference centre building for its ease of installation, flexibility and its technical performance, including CD quality digital sound. Key factors influencing the decision were the Concentus’ all digital design which allows easy installation using a single cable that carries all power, voice and control signals allowing simple daisy chaining of the 140 delegate units - cutting down on wiring complexity, cost and disruption.
Acoustic feedback problems caused by the customers choice of non-standard highly sensitive microphones were overcome using Philips Profecta, a digital signal processing unit developed to suppress audio feedback whilst maintaining high volume and good audio characteristics. In total, five Profecta units were installed to achieve perfect results.
(Lee Baldock)
