The National Education Association of Costa Rica Teams Up with Legrand | AV

The National Education Association of Costa Rica needed to integrate a large-scale AV solution into their new convention center located in San Antonio de Belén, Heredia. The auditorium was originally designed without AV integration in mind. In addition, the end user group had never owned an auditorium of this size and was unfamiliar with AV solutions. 

The International Convention Center of the National Education Association of Costa Rica (CIC ANDE) included an auditorium seating 2,200 people and 15 adjoining conference rooms, and was designed for internal events including conferences, presentations, large meetings, videoconferencing and more. AV integration for the facility was handled by three companies: AV Consulting Group Latin America, DiseñoAcústico S.A., and Diller S.A.

The CIC ANDE needed an AV solution that accounted for the 180 degrees of seating areas around the stage. Furthermore, due to a very low ceiling, only 24.5 feet (7.5 meters) was available for screen placement. Because of the circular nature of the auditorium, rear projector screens also had to be angled and set up so anyone seated from any angle could see the same image. Line array speakers had to be placed across the stage without blocking audience view. 

“In this specific case, the National Education Association of Costa Rica was very new to the AV world, so we needed something high quality and simple, something that wouldn’t give them a headache in the future,” said Felipe Vargas of the AV Consulting Group Latin America.

In order to tackle these challenges, the AV integration team turned to Legrand | AV brands, using Da-Lite, Chief, Vaddio, and Middle Atlantic products to create a simple, yet robust solution. 

“We chose Legrand | AV for a simple reason: great products with great quality for the right prices,” said Vargas. “Working with one company for many different things to reduce the number of suppliers is a huge advantage.” 

To tackle the issue of the screen, the AV integration team utilized Da-Lite Fast-Fold Truss Frame Screens, the only solution that would allow attendees to see the video presented on the screen no matter where they were seated. In addition to the three main screens at the front of the auditorium, fifteen Da-Lite Contour Electrolyzing screens were installed beneath the second level to ensure to ensure visibility to all audience members, no matter where they are seated. 

“The main and key feature of this auditorium is the rear projection screens from Da-Lite, as this was the only solution possible for all attendees to see the video presented on the screens, by making it visible 180 degrees around the stage. The three projection screens will always have the same image, so all attendees can see the same video content,” Vargas said.  

The Vaddio RoboSHOT® 30E HDBT OneLINK system provides a top-of-the-line camera system that’s simple for the National Education Association of Costa Rica to operate while capturing high-quality video.

The AV system is supported by Chief and Middle Atlantic racks to ensure stability and ease of access.

While the onset of COVID-19 has prevented the new auditorium from being put into use, the National Education Association was very pleased with the final result.  

“The customer has done nothing but express how happy they are with the system, in particular how easy it is to use,” Vargas said. “Our experience has been great; Legrand | AV products are always simple to install and easy to use.” 

The auditorium contains screens that can be seen from any seating area, top of the line speakers ensures high-fidelity audio and don’t obscure anyone’s view, and an easy control system giving the National Education Association of Costa Rica an AV Solution that won’t cause any headaches in the future.