Commercial Integrator July 2022 - 20

2022 INTEGRATION AWARDS Small Office
McCann Systems:
Proscenium Collaborative Studio
at McCann Systems N.J.
Venerable integrator faces
down the pandemic by
investing in its team, its
space and a next-level
collaboration environment.
By Dan Ferrisi
MCCANN SYSTEMS, a prominent integrator
based in Wallingford, Conn. and with
offices across the country, developed the
Proscenium connected studio environment
over the last eight years. Over the past 24
months, it has deployed its solution, offering
it to higher-education and corporate clients.
In mid-2021, the integrator wrapped up a
build in its own small office, commandeering
precious warehouse space to build and kit
out a Proscenium demo studio for McCann's
use, for clients' use and to show prospective
clients the future of collaboration.
In just 750 square feet in its Edison, N.J.,
building, McCann built a studio environment
that can host up to 12 people in the
room, with two instructors, as well as another
42 on the fine-pitch LED walls, faceted
to give everyone proper perspective. This
engages the entire team, regardless of
where team members are in the world.
From Warehouse to
Collaboration Space
When the COVID-19 pandemic descended
in 2020, McCann made a unilateral
decision not to cut people, pay, hours or
benefits. The integrator also had some inventory,
with equipment shipping channels
tightening. In a creative move, McCann
hired themselves to create what it intended
to be the best studio collab space in the
20
Commercial Integrator JULY 2022
According to an employee at McCann Systems, its Proscenium Collaborative Studio could
be used to run a nation - or perhaps the best fantasy football draft of all time!
northeast. Leveraging what it had on hand
and what trusted vendors could provide,
McCann designed and built this space in its
New Jersey office. Formerly, the space had
been used for warehousing.
Thus, in McCann's words, " We stole a
piece of the warehouse! " But those who
enter the space would never believe it, as
it's now fully decked out for collaboration.
Bringing the Space to Life
The installation took place over about eight
months, right at the peak of COVID-19-related
problems with supply lines. McCann
Systems worked with the small amount
of stock it had in the small space that it
thought could be made available. From
there, McCann did what it does best -
namely, it ideated and got creative.
The resulting installation involves 21 individual
LED screens, which have a 1.2mm
pixel pitch for super tight and close-up
viewing. McCann leveraged the intuitive
Barco weConnect platform and participant
perspective cameras are mounted in a way
that gives each remote participant a view
of the instructor from where they are in the
room. This is essential to letting people interact
with each other as if they were in the
same room. Full-duplex directional audio
from that same perspective, using mics and
speakers, completes the system.
McCann Systems has invited several
universities, corporations and assorted
teams to use the room, and all have given
glowing reviews. The consensus all around
is " mind-blowing. "
Equipment Highlights
Unilumin 1.2 mm LED Crestron
Control Processor Barco WeConnect
platform Biamp audio
processor Cisco switches
commercialintegrator.com
COURTESY OF MCCANN SYSTEMS
http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator July 2022
