The Media Centre at the Ontario AgriCentre in Guelph brings high tech communication resources to agricultural organizations. Videoscope worked with the design team, Timeline Communications,
to provide streamlined but flexible A/V tools.

The three-storey, 60,000-square-foot building houses agricultural organizations like the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association, Ontario Soybean Growers and Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board, as well headquarters for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. While each group has its own office space, the AgriCentre provides practical shared resources such as boardrooms and lunchrooms.

Peter Hannam, one of the principal investors, explained that the Centre would “create a ‘Main Street’ presence for agriculture that is highly visible and accessible and will be a permanent symbol of agriculture’s proud contribution to Canada.” (University of Guelph, Campus Bulletin October 06, 2004)

The Media Centre is designed to contribute to that goal. This modern multimedia studio is an ideal location for Press Conferences, with a 20 person audience capacity. But it can do much more. It is equipped for Videoconferencing, Webcasts, Webinars, Podcasts and videotaping meetings.

Agricultural Communications students from the University of Guelph have free access to the Centre for media training.

At the heart of the small control room is the Sony Anycast Station.
This compact, seven kilogram “laptop style” production device handles video switching, audio mixing, VISCA (remote) camera control and web streaming.

The Anycast Unit provides remote pan, tilt, zoom and focus control for the conference room camera (a Sony BRC-300.) Anycast also receives and switches inputs from a Pioneer DVD recorder (PRV-9200), two VTRs (Betacam and the Sony HVR-M10U HDV deck), a PC for presentations (like PowerPoint), and an Elmo document camera.
In addition, the Media Centre offers videoconferencing, with an IP based Polycom unit.

With a High Definition future in mind, the Conference Room features a high def, 45 inch, LCD display, the Sharp PN455. Thanks to a Folsom Image Pro HD video processor, all signals can be converted so that everything goes to the display in high definition. If standard definition is more suitable for a presentation, it can convert HD to SD as well. For ease of operation, the high def display is controlled by an AMX touch screen panel.

Since its successful Open House in June 2006, the Media Centre has been available to outside clients as well as to tenants of the Ontario AgriCentre.

Media Centre reservations can be made with Kelly Daynard at the Ontario Farm Animal Council, Suite 106,
519-837-1326. (kdaynard@ofac.org)
Technical support for the Studio is provided by
Timeline Communications, Michael Chapman & Chris Szabo at 519-766-1805. (timeline@sentex.net)

Through Rodd Rossoni, the system consultant in our London, Ontario office, Videoscope continues to work with Timeline Communications to update the Media Centre to bring the latest improvements to this future oriented facility.