At a glance
- Client: County of Placer, which holds its Board of Supervisors meetings in the chamber at the Domes
- Location: Placer County Administrative Center, 175 Fulweiler Avenue, Auburn, California — the Board of Supervisors hearing chamber
- Scope: Touch panel replacement on the chamber's existing Crestron control system, which fronts a Biamp TesiraFORTE AVB CI audio system with 13 Shure MX418S/C gooseneck microphones
- Platform: Crestron control running the county's existing SIMPL Windows program, Placer (AV3)
The situation: why replace a touch panel that still turns the room on?
The County of Placer runs its Board of Supervisors meetings from the hearing chamber at the Placer County Administrative Center in Auburn. Everyone locally calls the building the Domes. We have worked for the county at the Domes on a projector replacement, firmware updates, standing blocks of AV support hours, a full chamber audio refresh and display programming. The touch panel replacement is the next item on that list, and it is the kind of county government AV work where the room has to keep working the whole way through.
A touch panel is the only part of an AV system most people ever touch. When it goes, the room does not fail gracefully. The projector still works. The microphones still work. Nobody can start the meeting. That is true of every board room and council chamber we support, and it is why a panel gets replaced before it fails rather than after.
What made it hard
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few geodesic dome office complexes of its kind. The chamber keeps its original wood paneling and theater-style seating. The lower walls are eight-inch reinforced concrete. Nothing about that building invites you to cut a new opening or run a new conduit for the sake of a slightly larger screen.
The chamber is also a public meeting room on a published agenda. Meetings are noticed, recorded and streamed. Whatever the room did at the last meeting it has to do at the next one, and there is no quiet week to work in. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors chamber we worked on runs under the same rule.
How we designed it: matching the panel to the code, not the other way round
The chamber runs on a Crestron control system. The control code is Crestron SIMPL Windows, maintained as the Placer (AV3) program. We have worked inside it before. On the earlier projector replacement we updated the projector control within the existing Crestron code rather than rewriting it, and we commissioned the change on site.
That history sets the design rule for this project. The county's operators know one interface. The clerk starts a meeting the same way every time. Replacing the panel is a hardware problem only for as long as the new panel can run the existing project. The moment it cannot, it becomes a programming project with a retraining problem attached. When we look at Crestron touch panels for a room like this, the first question is whether the existing program supports the panel, and the screen size comes second.
The same principle governed the chamber audio refresh. That scope of work stated in writing that functionality, signal flow and user experience would stay consistent with current operations, with no changes to the user interface. Programming there was coordinated with Status Controls, the firm that maintains the county's control code. Keeping the incumbent programmer in the loop is why the operator interface came through that project unchanged. It is also why the touch panel work has to be coordinated rather than simply installed. This is the part of our control system and DSP programming work that clients rarely see, and it is the part that keeps a room control system usable for its operators.
Equipment the touch panel controls
The touch panel is the front end for the audio system rebuilt in the chamber audio refresh. The models below are the ones the as-built drawing and the serial sheet from that project record. None of this equipment is new on the touch panel project, so the table lists it without product links.
| Function | Model | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control system | Crestron control system, SIMPL Windows program Placer (AV3) | 1 | Existing; the touch panel is its front end |
| Audio DSP core | Biamp TesiraFORTE AVB CI | 1 | Existing, from the chamber audio refresh |
| Input expanders | Biamp Tesira EX-IN | 2 | Existing, PoE+ powered |
| Output expander | Biamp Tesira EX-OUT | 1 | Existing, PoE+ powered |
| Zone amplifiers | Biamp Tesira AMP-A460H | 2 | Existing |
| House amplifier | LEA Professional CS168N | 1 | Existing |
| Ceiling loudspeakers | Biamp Desono DX-IC6LP-W | 6 | Existing |
| Column loudspeakers | Biamp Desono ENT-FR on ENT-PB pan brackets | 2 | Existing |
| Gooseneck microphones | Shure MX418S/C, 18-inch cardioid | 13 | Existing; mute switch and LED at each position |
| Wireless microphone system | Shure SLXD24D+/58-G57, dual handheld | 1 | Existing |
| AV network switch | Netgear GSM4230P-100NAS (M4250 26G4F PoE+) | 1 | Existing |
| Projector | NEC projector | 1 | Existing, from the earlier projector replacement |
| Recorder, switcher, assistive listening, press feed | Owner-furnished | — | Denon network recorder, Constellation switcher, ALS, press plate XLR |
Named zones on the as-built are dais, front of house, lobby, outside and control room. The control room gets its own zone, as it would in any of the control rooms we build for operations teams. Named sources are seven dais microphones, the clerk's microphone, two department-head table positions, the podium microphone, the wireless handheld, program audio, a Denon network recorder, a switcher feed and assistive listening. If you are specifying a similar room, the categories to browse are audio DSP and signal routing and conference and chamber microphones.
Network and IT: why county IT reviews the panel
The chamber's audio rides an AVB network on a Netgear M4250 AV switch. The switch is PoE+ powered, and the Biamp expanders take power over the same cable that carries their audio. The county provided the network connectivity for the Tesira system, and the AV switch uplinks to county network ports.
A Crestron touch panel is another PoE device on a network like that. It is also the one with a screen, a web interface and a certificate store. That is why the panel, not the loudspeakers, is what county IT wants to talk about. We answer those questions in writing before a panel is ordered, because answering them during installation is slower. The network hardware under a chamber matters as much as the panel on the dais.
Support from here
The install is where the relationship starts. The chamber's closeout record from the audio refresh holds the as-built drawings, a serial number sheet and the Creation Networks workmanship guarantee. The serial sheet leaves its MAC address column empty. We want that column filled before a panel has to be re-provisioned on a county network at 7 a.m. before a meeting.
Our CreationCare support plans cover 24/7 remote support, with documentation about the specific install in front of the technician. They add on-site dispatch when remote support will not fix it, RMA handling, and firmware guidance. Firmware guidance matters more on control systems than anywhere else, because a new firmware release on a panel can break its connection to a processor running an older program. Plans run in Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers. First phone response is within four hours, two hours or one hour. On-site response is within two business days, one business day or next day. Each tier includes four, six or twelve on-site visits a year. Maintenance and best-practice sweeps run quarterly, bi-monthly or monthly. Service requests start through our support help desk.
Rooms drift. Firmware ages out from under a program. Certificates expire. A panel gets replaced under warranty and comes back with default settings. None of it announces itself, and it shows up as a meeting that starts late. A room only stays in spec because somebody is looking at it on a schedule, which is what our AV maintenance and support programme is for. The same applies to design: every room we design and integrate is handed over with the documentation the next technician needs.
Frequently Asked Questions — Board Chamber Touch Panel Replacement
Answers to the questions county IT managers, clerks and facilities teams ask most often about replacing a chamber touch panel on an existing control system.
Why keep the existing Crestron control program when a board chamber touch panel is replaced?
Creation Networks keeps the existing Crestron SIMPL Windows program in place at the Placer County chamber because the clerk and supervisors already know that interface, and a new panel that runs the existing Placer (AV3) project is a hardware swap rather than a programming and retraining project.
The first check on any replacement panel is whether the current control program supports it. If it does not, the job changes shape. It becomes a reprogramming project with training attached, and that needs its own schedule.
Can a county chamber keep its projector, microphones and audio DSP when only the touch panel is replaced?
Yes, because a touch panel is the interface rather than the system, and at the Domes the Biamp TesiraFORTE AVB CI, the 13 Shure MX418S/C gooseneck microphones, the NEC projector and the Netgear M4250 switch all stay in service while the panel on the front of the Crestron system changes.
Most of that equipment came in with the chamber audio refresh. The panel project only has to reconnect to it and keep controlling it the way operators expect.
Who programs the Crestron control system in the Placer County Board of Supervisors chamber?
The county's control code is maintained by Status Controls, and Creation Networks coordinates with them on chamber work, as we did on the audio refresh, where programming was coordinated so that the operator interface, signal flow and user experience stayed consistent with how the room already ran.
Keeping the incumbent programmer involved is what stops a hardware change from becoming an interface change. We cover this in our control system and DSP programming work.
What makes AV work difficult in a National Register building like the Placer County Domes?
The Domes is a geodesic dome office complex on the National Register of Historic Places, and its chamber keeps original wood paneling, theater-style seating and eight-inch reinforced concrete lower walls, so new openings or new conduit runs are the last thing anyone wants for a slightly larger screen.
That pushes design toward equipment that fits existing positions and existing cable. A panel that fits the current opening avoids work on the historic interior.
How is AV work scheduled in a county chamber that holds public meetings?
Work in the Placer County chamber is planned around the published meeting agenda, because meetings are noticed, recorded and streamed, and the room has to do at the next meeting exactly what it did at the last one, with no quiet week available to take it out of service.
On the chamber audio refresh, our on-site work ran across two consecutive weekdays. The county handled the physical removal and installation, and we handled programming and commissioning.
What other AV work has Creation Networks done at the Placer County Domes?
Creation Networks has worked at the Domes on a projector replacement, firmware updates, standing blocks of AV support hours, display programming and a chamber audio refresh built on a Biamp TesiraFORTE AVB CI core, and the touch panel replacement follows that same pattern of small, well-documented changes to a working room.
The audio work is written up separately as a council chamber audio refresh across 15 microphone paths.
Why does county IT care more about a new touch panel than about the loudspeakers?
A Crestron touch panel is a PoE network device with a screen, a web interface and a certificate store, so on a chamber network like the Placer County Netgear M4250 AV switch it is the device county IT wants to review, while passive loudspeakers raise no network questions at all.
Typical questions cover which network the panel sits on, how it authenticates, whether default credentials are disabled, and who holds admin access afterwards. We answer them in writing before the panel is ordered.
What network does the Placer County chamber AV system run on?
The chamber audio system runs on AVB over a single Netgear M4250 26G4F PoE+ AV switch, with the Biamp Tesira EX-IN and EX-OUT expanders drawing PoE+ from that switch, and the county provided the network connectivity for the Tesira system, with the AV switch uplinking to county network ports.
A touch panel added to that system is another PoE device. Its power and port need to be planned alongside the audio devices already on the switch.
What does a CreationCare support plan cover for a county board chamber?
CreationCare covers 24/7 remote support with the install documentation in front of the technician, plus on-site dispatch, RMA handling, firmware guidance and scheduled maintenance sweeps, in Silver, Gold or Platinum tiers with first phone response in four hours, two hours or one hour.
Tiers include four, six or twelve on-site visits a year. Sweeps run quarterly, bi-monthly or monthly. The contract period is a one-year minimum. Details are on our maintenance and support page.
Why does firmware matter so much on a chamber touch panel?
Firmware matters on a Crestron touch panel because a new firmware release on the panel can break its connection to a processor still running an older control program, and in a chamber that means a meeting that cannot start until someone rolls the panel back or updates the program to match.
This is why CreationCare includes firmware guidance based on known good versions. A panel replaced under warranty can also come back with default settings, and it needs checking before the next meeting.
What should a closeout package record so the next touch panel swap is easy?
A closeout package should record the as-built drawings, the serial numbers and the MAC address of every networked device, so that when a touch panel is discontinued or fails, the replacement can be provisioned on the county network without anyone tracing ports or guessing at settings.
The chamber audio refresh closeout carries as-builts and a serial sheet, but its MAC address column is empty. We want that gap closed before the next panel change.
Technology partners on this project
Next step
If your chamber, council room or hearing room runs on a touch panel nobody stocks any more, we will walk the room and tell you whether it needs a panel swap or a control system project.
Creation Networks, Inc. — nationwide commercial AV integrator, CTS-D certified, based in Concord, CA and Incline Village, NV. Design, engineering, programming, installation, and support from a single point of contact. Call 888-230-3661 or email sales@creationnetworks.net.
COUNTY CHAMBER CONTROL
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