Article posted on July 6, 2010

Morningstar - Chicago, Illinois

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research. When Morningstar decided to move to their new facility, McCann Systems was hired as the AV consultant. Once the design concept was complete we were commissioned to build the audio visual systems at Morningstar’s new facility located in the center of Chicago at Daley Plaza.

The five rack AV head end is located in the 6th floor data center. An IPTV system was designed and deployed in the space allowing the IT director to stream AV channels over their network to workstations. For locations where there are only flat panels and projectors we installed an IPTV decoder that rides on the network, saving a significant amount of money because this allows everything to be streamed on the network. It also gives the IT Administrator complete control of what is being broadcast and to whom.

The Theater, Broadcast Center, Tiered Classroom, Divisible Training Room, Video Conference Rooms and the Atrium are located on the 7th Floor. The Theater has tiered seating and includes a 220” Da-Lite Screen and a Christie projector. There are four plasmas that are suspended from the ceiling for viewing from the rear of the space. The Bose speaker system includes subwoofers, incorporating quality sound.

The Broadcast Center adjacent to the Theater runs along the corridor. The main wall of the control room which spans the two Broadcast Centers is made of glass allowing people to watch an event unfold. There is a fiber optic uplink that allows the client to send actual broadcasts to all major news outlets. Floor and wall boxes are placed throughout the facility in the event an interview takes place elsewhere in the building; giving the user broadcast capability throughout.

The Tiered Classroom has a Panasonic Projector and a 100” Da-Lite screen. The sleek custom designed lectern offers laptop connectivity as well as a built in microphone. In the Divisible Training Room each section has a Panasonic Projector and a 100” Da-Lite Screen. The Video Conference Rooms use plasmas behind smoked glass making them seem invisible. In the Atrium, McCann Systems installed JBL Speakers throughout.

The eighth floor Boardroom opens to the Atrium. Flanking the 80” Stewart StarGlas screen are Bose speakers which are recessed and hidden inside of the front wall. RPV designed a rear-projection single mirror bounce system for the NEC projector. The Creston System controls all of the rooms, integrating the shades and light for both the 7th and 8th floors of the facility.

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