December 18, 2024
4 min read
Effective content relies on clear audio and video elements that are perfectly in sync. Few things are more disorienting than watching a video where what you’re hearing doesn’t match what you’re seeing. Yet, while audio integration is vitally important, it can also be difficult, involving multiple inputs and third-party controls. Panasonic Connect offers simple solutions such as integrated microphones and PTZ cameras to ensure your audio and video work together seamlessly.
In this blog series, The AV Take: A Q&A Series with Panasonic Connect, we talk to Peter Granberg, the product manager of Pro Audio and Software at Panasonic Connect, to learn more about Panasonic Connect audio solutions and the benefits of audio integration with PTZ cameras.
Q: What are some benefits of audio integration with video capture equipment such as PTZ cameras?
Granberg: There are multiple benefits from audio integration and PTZ cameras, as it offers a lot of flexibility. For example, the Panasonic UE160 offers not just 1-channel, but 2-channel XLR inputs. For those who still want to go the analog route instead of using Dante, we can provide that. A lot of the Panasonic PTZ cameras also offer a 3.5mm Mic/Line input. For example, our new UE30 offers this capability.
Outside of the analog/physical integration, there’s software integration, which allows the microphone and PTZ camera to talk to one another over the network. This is a huge benefit for an integrator to easily set up a conference room or classroom. On top of that, it can even be seen as a benefit for the end user to walk into a room where everything simply works.
Q: What are the challenges of audio integration? How does Panasonic Connect’s AV integration differ from other companies?
Granberg: One challenge people face when it comes to audio integration is having multiple components from different manufacturers. This seems to be the biggest challenge, but it is getting better as time goes on due to strategic partnerships. Usually, a room will consist of a different speaker brand, different microphone brand, different DSP brand, and so on. When an issue arises, this makes it difficult to troubleshoot. Fingers get pointed in the wrong direction since there are so many compatibility challenges due to how many manufacturers you might need to talk to.
Panasonic differs from this by being able to provide all of that technology.
Our new microphone that we released back in April, the WX-AM800, is our take on the ceiling microphone market with built-in software DSP. You’re getting a two-in-one. On top of that, we make our own PTZ cameras, projectors, and displays. So, depending on your room’s setup, Panasonic can offer a full-room solution to make it easy on the integrator and end user. If something were to go wrong, at least you don’t have to talk to multiple manufacturers.
Now, for those integrators and end users who do have multiple products from multiple manufacturers, have no fear. At Panasonic, we work with industry partners like QSC and Crestron to provide third-party control if you want to go that route.
Q: What are some of the audio systems Panasonic offers, and how do they suit different use cases?
Granberg: Panasonic Connect offers a complete but simple system. We offer a traditional 2-channel or 4-channel rack receiver system that can be expanded into eight channels with our expansion receiver, which runs on the 1.9GHz spectrum.
The beauty behind this system is that it also has a built-in antenna distribution system. This allows you to connect up to eight antennas into one system, allowing a very wide range of coverage. Our system works in analog and Dante, and we have boundary, gooseneck, handheld, and bodypack/lavalier combinations.
A system like this could cover a medium-sized conference room with boundary or gooseneck microphones or a larger boardroom where multiple antennas would be needed. Our largest install to date was at Virginia Tech, where up to 44 channels of wireless are in their training room, utilizing mostly gooseneck microphones and some boundary microphones.
Our WX-AM800 ceiling array microphone can be used in small to medium-sized rooms where we can pick up the sound without the clutter on tables or desks. We also have a 2-channel receiver antenna that you could pair with the ceiling microphone to enable audio for the audience and then pair our microphone to the antenna receiver system for a dedicated speaker (i.e., a professor at a podium using our gooseneck, and then our ceiling microphone for the audience).
Can these systems be used together (switch between different mics or from one system to another)?
Granberg: Absolutely. Because all of our wireless utilizes 1.9GHz or DECT technology, our transmitters can be used with any of our systems. Our WX-AM800 ceiling microphone also speaks Dante, so we’re able to tie in the audio anywhere Dante can go.
Can they all be integrated with PTZ cameras?
Granberg: Yes! Our PTZ cameras can integrate with our traditional rack receiver system by utilizing our AW-SF300 software plug-in, which allows a certain number of presets to be recalled/triggered when audio is picked up from the microphone. With our WX-AM800 ceiling array microphone, we take that a step further by removing the need for the AW-SF300 software plug-in and allowing up to 16 camera presets based on where the audio is being picked up from the array.
Q: Are these AV integrations user-friendly? How much specialized knowledge do users need to maximize the functionality of Panasonic Connect audio systems?
Granberg: Extremely user-friendly. Very little specialized knowledge is required. If you can plug in an ethernet cable and understand basic IP knowledge, you can get up and running in minutes.
From the software standpoint, we try to develop intuitive software to facilitate ease of use, so people don’t get stuck or frustrated configuring settings for our audio and PTZ cameras. You can find our software for free on our website. For audio, that’s our Microphone System Configuration Center (MicCC), and for our PTZ cameras, that’s Media Production Suite (MPS).
Panasonic Connect Makes AV Integration Easy
You don’t need to be an expert to make expert-quality videos. With audio integration, Panasonic Connect is further expanding its wide array of AV technology and software solutions to make high-quality content creation accessible to everyone.
See more from Peter Granberg demonstrating audio integration at this year’s NAB Show New York.
