Flexibly into the Digital Future – Shure Microflex® Complete Wireless Conference System at Burg Seevetal

Customer Profile

When not serving as a temporary corona testing center during the global pandemic, the Burg Seevetal event complex in the northern German state of Lower Saxony offers several spaces with flexible layouts and seating for cultural events, meetings and conferences, as well as private celebrations. The 460-square-meter hall, which can accommodate up to 500 people, is regularly used for concerts, theater performances, trade fairs and political meetings. After being extensively renovated in 2018, Burg Seevetal last year upgraded its acoustic profile and audio technology – including replacing its previous wired conference system.

Challenge

Two fundamental factors determined the requirements for a new, modern conference system: switching from an analog wired system to a digital wireless solution, and increasing the flexibility of configuration options, which became even more necessary amid the coronavirus pandemic. Reliability was also crucial: In addition to ensuring long battery life for lengthy or back-to-back events, it was vital to be able to transmit critical information within the framework of conferences, committees and council meetings encrypted to avoid eavesdropping.

Solution

A first test using a digital Microflex Complete Wireless conference system was carried out during a parliamentary session back in May 2020. This convinced the mayor of the town of Seevetal, Martina Oertzen, of the system's quality. Since mid-October 2021, up to 40 MXCW640 wireless conference units with 40 cm MXC416/C gooseneck microphones are now in use. A single MXCWAPT access point transceiver serves as the control center for audio routing and frequency management. Double SB930 lithium-ion batteries lasting up to 11 hours are charged via four MXCWNCS charging stations. Digital signal transmission with integrated 128-bit AES encryption ensures eavesdropping security.

The Burg Seevetal building services team led by Carsten Paul under the direction of Birte Flügge, the event centre's deputy manager, installed the Microflex Complete Wireless conferencing system. The certified Shure dealer Groh Distribution acted as the supplier, providing advice during the planning and installation phase via its extensive partner network.

Advantages

Compared to the old analog system, speech intelligibility has increased significantly thanks to the integrated loudspeakers of the MXCW640 microphone unit – regardless of user location in the room and without having to rely on a public address system or wired headphones. Additionally, the complete conferencing system is easily integrated into the media control system of Burg Seevetal via Dante and an access point, which was installed during the recent modernization. The building services team is also pleased with the quick setup of the system, as well as the seamless scalability for changing conference scenarios and sizes. "A big plus for the future is the MXCW640 conferencing unit's integrated NFC card reader. The customer is already considering using this to identify session participants and make individual settings without manual configuration," explains Florian Lind, sales manager at Groh Distribution.

"The top quality of the expanded new audio system at Burg Seevetal offers new opportunities for conferences, meetings and the work of political committees. The digital Microflex Complete Wireless Conference System wins the day with its excellent sound, very good intelligibility and practicality even for more complex hybrid events. I am extremely pleased that, thanks to this modernization, the premises are now optimally positioned for future conferences."

-- Martina Oertzen, Mayor of Seevetal