The DV200 delegate units incorporate voting buttons, microphone, ChipCard reader and loudspeaker for voice-raising, while the Chairman's unit includes a priority button for remote control of speaking rights. The units are portable and can easily be moved to various locations, depending on the layout of the room. An intelligent camera system has also been installed which will focus on the relevant councillor when their microphone is turned on. The video images are shown on plasma displays in the chamber and press areas, which also show voting results and video replays via DVD.
The CDS-VAN software is used to combine audio sources including radio mics, a DVD player, and audio from any sources added to the system in future. CDS-VAN distributes the processed audio back to all the councillor units as well as to the chamber's PA and induction loop for the hard of hearing. The council can also record to meetings in the chamber to hard-disk and send audio and video out over web-cast. As CDS-VAN is software based it will always be possible to add new features as they become available and is far more cost-effective than buying racks of additional processing.
Will Robertson of Brähler ICS said: "We recently installed the same CDS200 discussion system into Northamptonshire County Council, who have their offices nearby. Councillors from the Borough Council were so impressed by it that our brief was to provide exactly what the County Council had! This truly demonstrates how user-friendly, flexible and powerful our systems are."
(Lee Baldock)
