Welcome to the third installment in our It Really Can (and Maybe Should) Be Interconnected series. Biamp’s Vocia platform is part of the larger integration picture. With Vocia, Biamp is leading the way in paging and public address and voice evacuation technologies. A Vocia integration ensures that end users can deploy informational pages that are audible and intelligible, which is crucial in times of emergency. In addition to broadcasting critical information during times of emergency, facility operators must communicate throughout their facilities during ordinary work days. Every communication is important, and must be heard and understood.

Vocia systems are installed in airports, convention centers, transit stations, hospitals, universities, government and military facilities, corporate buildings, and museums, all over the world. Tesira, our flagship audio DSP product family, is present in boardrooms, conference rooms, and many other venues. With Tesira integrated into presentation venues/rooms, the networked building-wide paging system can include those venues/rooms in a critical incident page. Vocia can be programmed to page into Tesira systems if an emergency occurs, overriding each room’s audio and allowing essential information to be delivered. Like Tesira, Vocia is network-based. This is a perfect example of Vocia and Tesira working in tandem as an integrated Networked Media System.

Biamp’s Networked Media Systems allow for creative designs, particularly those involving TesiraFORTÉ. The possibilities will be even greater upon the release of Tesira 2.4 firmware later this year. For example, when you are designing a system and you need just one more channel beyond a single TesiraFORTÉ’s capability, what do you do? With Tesira 2.4, you can add a Tesira expansion device to any TesiraFORTÉ (AVB model) or SERVER-IO (with an AVB card), and no longer need an AVB switch. As discussed in our previous post, Tesira 2.4 brings many additional networking capabilities to the Tesira platform.

Networked Media Systems provide end users with many advantages for their AV systems. These include cost savings of AV deployment, increased efficiency, flexibility of design and implementation, scalable solutions, greater interoperability, and more sustainable design/integrations.

Audio Video Bridging (AVB), a suite of network standards published by IEEE, is supported in the Tesira platform and has become an important instrument that has led to Tesira’s popularity and expansive growth. AVB will continue to play an integral role in the growth and expansion of Biamp’s Networked Media Systems.

Stay Tuned

Future posts in this series will focus on AVB, as well as the importance of enhanced and ongoing training for individuals who provide AV/IT integrations.