Metinteractive Upgrades Audio and Video Systems for the West Point Glee Club

Metinteractive, a women-owned AV and IT systems integrator, has completed an audio and video systems upgrade in Egner Hall at the United States Military Academy at West Point, giving the West Point Glee Club the ability to record and play back its own rehearsals.

Egner Hall is home to the West Point Glee Club, the West Point Band and the Spirit Band. A major renovation added rehearsal spaces, an acoustic system and recording capabilities to the 1932 building.

Metinteractive’s design-build scope added the ability to record Glee Club rehearsals in the large rehearsal room, with connectivity to the control room upstairs.

“We are the blissful recipients of all that my predecessor of 26 years, Constance Chase, the Association of Graduates and donors did to make this install a reality,” says the Rev. Daniel Toven, who has directed the West Point Glee Club for the past two years. Toven retired after 22 years of active duty, most recently as commander of the West Point Band, where he oversaw the building renovation with his team handling project management.

The Academy team had already specified the equipment it wanted for a portable TV cart, chosen so the system would not take up wall space in the rehearsal room.

“We redesigned the gear to put less on the cart and make things easier for the end user,” says Metinteractive project supervisor Scott Tunkel. “We specified a Q-SYS Core 8 Flex control processor, which was the right choice for the room and gives them the ability to expand in the future.”

The Q-SYS system includes the Core processor, an audio/video conferencing bridge and a camera with digital zoom, all accessed and controlled from a Q-SYS touch panel.

“The rehearsal room has challenging acoustics, and there was no other space on campus that would be better,” Toven says. “The goal was to change the acoustics so that when we rehearse, we can hear ourselves, which is vital to the quality of our performance.”

Existing infrastructure kept construction to a minimum. “The room had a wallplate for data connections to the equipment rack, so we used its audio tie lines and data lines, which eliminated the need for a network switch and for pulling new cable,” Tunkel says. “It really reduced any physical construction.” An owner-furnished 75-inch monitor is controlled by CEC commands from the touch panel.

“Metinteractive worked closely with our team to assure maximum interoperability with the technology already here,” Toven says. “They had to create a suitable acoustic environment for our rehearsals and integrate with the recording technology we already had and do it seamlessly. Now there is very little setup required when we lay down rehearsal tracks.”

Users start and stop audio recordings from the touch panel. Files are stored on the Core processor, can be given a custom name and time stamp, and can be selected from a list and played back with a full set of transport controls. Onboard storage holds roughly 200 hours of stereo 24-bit/48 kHz WAV audio, or 1,480 hours of 192 kbps. Video is recorded, with audio, on a user-provided computer connected by a single USB-C cable, with playback on the monitor. The touch panel also handles pan, tilt and zoom control of the camera and switches among three audio sources (player, PC and control room).

Rich Gold performed extensive custom programming for recording, switching and monitor control in Metinteractive’s in-house shop. Metinteractive also provided testing, commissioning and training, with Nick Alberto serving as site technician.

“The system has been a game changer,” Toven says. “The installation has been transformative and produced immediate, noticeable results in the quality of the Glee Club’s performance.”