Public Sector
The Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center,
Culpeper, VA
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The Library of Congress’ new Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts, and sound recordings. It contains underground storage for this entire collection – 5.7 million items -- on 90 miles of shelving, along with extensive modern facilities for the acquisition, digitization, cataloging and preservation of all audio-visual formats.
One of the primary goals of the facility was the digital duplication and storage of all the items that would be kept at the campus. Much of the facility was previously used by the Federal Reserve Bank as a depository for emergency funds in the event of a major disaster, such as a nuclear attack. The underground, climate-controlled vaults in the building made it well-suited for holding valuable, often fragile films and recordings, but its original design, with inadequate conduits, power and HVAC, also presented challenges for converting it to use by the Library.
The Library of Congress brought in CEI to handle the installation and integration of all the equipment that will be used for digitizing the audio and video archives at the NAVCC.
CEI was challenged with handling the wide range of formats that the original materials use, many dating back to the 1800s. This meant acquiring many types of equipment for playback -- often very old machines that needed refurbishing -- as well as all other conversion equipment, and building several screening and playback rooms.
Special consideration of the playback equipment had to be given in the construction of the playback rooms, such as creating extremely stable environments for audio turntables. Compressed air had to be supplied for the numerous quad videotape machines throughout the building. In addition, the reference levels for the variety of playback and recording equipment had to be closely checked and maintained.
Following design updates and infrastructure upgrades, CEI constructed seven audio conversion rooms and three video conversion rooms, featuring a variety of playback equipment that will be maintained, repaired and calibrated by CEI technicians.
The campus now has extensive capabilities and capacities for the preservation reformatting of all audiovisual media formats and their long-term safekeeping in a petabyte-level digital storage archive. The NAVCC includes 415,000 square feet, 35 climate-controlled vaults for sound recording, safety film, and videotape, and 124 individual vaults for more flammable nitrate film.
The NAVCC also hostS a regular series of film and television programming in its 206-seat theater. The state-of-the-art projection booth, built by CEI, is capable of showing everything from nitrate film to modern digital cinema. The theater features two 16/35 mm projectors and two 35/70 mm projectors, allowing films to be shown side by side for comparison. CEI also installed audio-video monitoring and playback systems in NAVCC’s executive conference room and in three smaller meeting rooms.
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Advanced Television Test Center, Alexandria, VA
This project consisted of turnkey consulting, design, engineering, equipment supply and implementation services performed by CEI. The scope of work specified the creation of one of the most sophisticated test facilities in the world to evaluate all candidate improved definition or high definition transmission systems either in the analog or digital domain. The completion of these tests will result in the recommendation of a new standard television transmission system for the United States. CEI was chosen for this project because of our strong involvement with advanced technologies and expertise in trend setting design techniques. Additional areas of CEI service included:
- All floor plan layouts, acoustic, HVAC, power and grounding specifications
- Complex designs for accommodation and testing of any proposed improved definition or high definition television format
- Systems designed for baseband and RF format testing
- Design and construction of all operating consoles and cabinetry
- Extensive mix of HDTV, Digital Component, Digital Composite, NTSC, Digital Audio and custom format equipment all interfaced to work as a complete system
- Comprehensive digital and analog audio distribution and test facilities
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The George Washington University (GWU), Washington, DC
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This turnkey project started with design collaboration with the GWU architecture and new building team. CEI's tasks then evolved to design state-of-the-art broadcast and communications capabilities that were integral to the mission of the GWU new 142,000 square foot School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) building. After the completion of an initial technical design, the project continued with a CEI-led comprehensive technical design and system integration effort for the broadcast, A/V, Teleconference, and MATV technical solutions.
The GWU SMPA building, completed in 2001, includes a 258-seat auditorium, 80-seat multimedia teleconference facility, broadcast studio, video and audio control rooms, editing areas, graphics, and multimedia workstation areas. The new six-story SMPA building and integrated capabilities will deliver GWU's world-class academic coursework for the evolving field of media journalism, which incorporates print, broadcast, and electronic media environments.
Integrated communications links between GWU campus buildings and locations throughout the Washington, D.C. area connect SMPA faculty, students, classrooms, and other broadcast spaces to support GW's academic mission and live broadcast events as well as to provide media production and broadcast services to outside clients.
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Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), Baltimore, Maryland
Communications Engineering, Inc. (CEI) completed a turnkey broadcast design for the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) headquarters building. This HCFA Baltimore site is the location for its HQ operations and includes the capability to create and facilitate employee training and communications. The facility includes:
- 3 camera studio with lighting under computer control
- Auditorium and multimedia meeting rooms integrated with full lighting, audio and sound reinforcement
- Production control room
- Offline tape/edit room
- An online post production suite
- Dubbing facility and tape library
- Full console design and ergonomic layout
- Sound reinforcement and amplification engineering
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NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Communications Engineering, Inc. (CEI) has provided the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with consulting, engineering design, equipment supply, test and training services for the new NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC. CEI constructed a new studio, multiple production edit suites, radio production system, computerized graphics room, cassette library management and equipment support room for the production and editing of high quality program materials NASA. The facility also originates all programming for the NASA Select cable television channel.
CEI was responsible for full technical area programming and space planning, including detailed facility floor plan and layout. CEI also provided HVAC, power and grounding systems design and specifications, detailed design and documentation of all technical systems, as well as design and construction of all operating consoles, cabinetry and custom monitor walls. After providing full equipment procurement services, CEI tested and fully debugged all systems and provided complete training of NASA personnel.
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AARP - American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, D.C.
Full broadcast turnkey, consulting, design, engineering, equipment supply and implementation services performed by CEI for complete construction of a new building and facilities housing AARP teleproduction operations and offices.
Control Room and Edit 2 Services:
- Full technical area programming space planning
- Detailed facility floor plans layouts
- HVAC, power grounding systems design specifications
- Detailed design documentation of all broadcast technical systems
- Design and construction of all operating consoles cabinetry
- Satellite antenna for transmit & receive
- Two control rooms, studios post-production facilities
- Complete earth station computer control system
- Multiple fiber optic links interconnecting board, conference rooms offices with teleproduction facilities
Tape Operations:
- Building construction monitoring
- Installation & test of all broadcast technical systems
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RNC - Republican National Committee,Washington, D.C.
Full broadcast turnkey, consulting, design, construction, engineering, equipment supply and implementation services performed by CEI for complete construction of a new compact teleproduction space and facilities housing all GOP-TV broadcast operations.
GOP-TV Studio Services:
- Full technical area programming space planning
- Detailed facility floor plans layouts
- HVAC, power grounding systems design specifications
- Demolition and construction of facility
- Detailed design documentation of all broadcast technical systems
- Design construction of operating consoles cabinetry
- Combined production/post-production control room
- Digital video production switcher
- Digital audio production console
- Digital video tape recording
- Analog Off-Line editing room
- Radio production control room
- Announce booth
- Full equipment procurement services
- Installation & test of all broadcast technical systems Production/Post Production Control Room
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David Taylor Research Center (DTRC) Bethesda, MD.
Complete turnkey project to design, construct and install a digital post-production edit suite and equipment support room for the production and editing of high quality presentation materials for the Department of the Navy.
Digital Edit Room Services:
- Full technical area programming
- Space planning
- Detailed facility floor plan layout
- HVAC, power, grounding systems design specifications
- Detailed design documentation of all edit room systems
- Design and construction of all operating consoles cabinetry
- Complete training of DTRC edit team personnel
- Installation & test of edit room system
- On-going maintenance training contract
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