Dr Pranil Prasad, the dean at Australia’s Canterbury Institute of Management (CIM), has evaluated a wide range of audio conferencing solutions for hybrid learning. So, we were interested to get his assessment of the HDL200 system for midsize spaces in use at two of CIM’s campuses. Prasad’s numbers:
Audio quality: 10 out of 10.
Simplicity: 10 out of 10.
Yesss!
Regarding the audio quality, the HDL200 has delivered excellent full-room mic pickup in CIM’s classrooms. Prasad says, “We were thoroughly impressed with its performance.” And simplicity? “No provisioning or programming was required. Units worked straight out of the box.”
This was a big improvement for a school that had previously integrated lapel microphones with separate speakers and videoconferencing equipment. Audio feedback and issues between the systems were just some of the problems they faced. This solution wasn’t user friendly at all. “With the lapel mics and body packs, lecturers were spending 3 to 5 minutes setting them up before class. And they were restricted in their movement,” explained Prasad.
Something had to change.
Before they decided on Nureva® audio, Prasad and his IT team carefully researched a range of systems. One was a popular all-in-one bar for midsize spaces, but it didn’t have the mic coverage they needed. They also looked into a multicomponent system that, despite its marketing claims, turned out to be complicated and cumbersome.
Together, the teams at AVbyUSB, one of Australia’s leading AV consulting firms, and AV Supply Group, a trusted Nureva distributor, came to the rescue. Knowing CIM’s need for clear, full-room mic pickup, they introduced them to Nureva’s Microphone Mist™ technology, which fills a space with thousands of virtual microphones.
“It’s an important innovation in audio technology,” said a spokesperson for AVbyUSB’s consulting team. “We work hard to bring our clients progressive and proven solutions. That’s why we advised them to look at Nureva. We knew their systems would be a perfect solution for CIM’s hybrid learning requirements.”
Ultimately, CIM chose the HDL200 system because its features make it uniquely suitable for the complete mobile setup AVbyUSB recommended. The setup includes a MAXHUB® 86" interactive education display with OPS (Intel® Open Pluggable Specification) along with a MAXHUB large-room camera, all mounted on a movable cart that makes it easy to move from classroom to classroom.
At CIM, providing hybrid classes and meetings is mandatory. Each class has an average of 60 students, with at least 30% joining online. With that in mind, a primary focus is ensuring high-quality audio and microphone performance. Remote participants must be able to hear the lecturer and in-room students clearly. And when remote participants ask questions, both the in-room students and the lecturer should hear them distinctly.
By all (enthusiastic) reports, Nureva delivers on CIM’s audio performance requirements. And it makes the grade in other areas, such as flexibility and ease of use for both students and lecturers — and for IT team members as well. Prasad sums it up: “Nureva devices are easy to set up, user friendly and simple to operate and manage.”
Add to that the fact CIM has had no performance issues with the HDL200, which has a lower cost of ownership than other systems they looked at, and you can see why Prasad says he would recommend Nureva to other schools: “The HDL200 has worked well on our campus, so I’m confident the unit will work at most other education institutions. We are happy to recommend Nureva!”