- Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region 9
- Location: Honolulu, HI — Pacific Area Office
- Scope: A single conference room with 4K video conferencing, ceiling Dante audio, wireless presentation, and a room scheduling panel
- Platform: Crestron AirMedia control, Poly video conferencing, Shure Dante audio
- Timeline: Designed September 2021
Background
FEMA's Region 9 covers the Pacific — California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Island territories — coordinating federal disaster response across a spread of geography that makes remote coordination essential rather than optional. Its Pacific Area Office in Honolulu needed a conference room built for exactly that: reliable video conferencing back to the mainland and other Pacific posts, not just a local meeting space.
The situation
FEMA needed its Pacific Area Office conference room outfitted with dual displays, 4K video conferencing, ceiling-based audio pickup, wireless presentation, and a room scheduling panel mounted outside the door — a complete, self-contained room build rather than an incremental upgrade to something already there.
What made it hard
A room meant for cross-Pacific disaster coordination can't have marginal audio or video quality — when the room is the link between Honolulu and a response happening somewhere else in the region, the system has to work every time, not most of the time. That meant a full Dante-networked ceiling microphone array rather than a single tabletop mic, and a dedicated 4K video codec rather than a laptop camera and a USB speakerphone.
How we designed it
The room runs on a Crestron DMPS3-4K-350-C AirMedia switcher as the head end, distributing video to dual owner-furnished displays over a Crestron 1:2 HDMI distribution amplifier. Video conferencing runs on a Poly G7500 4K codec, paired with a Vaddio ConferenceSHOT 10 PTZ camera and a Vaddio AV Bridge encoder — giving the room both a dedicated hardware codec and a USB-based path for soft clients when needed. Audio pickup runs through a Shure MXA910W ceiling Dante array feeding a Shure P300 IntelliMix processor, handling echo cancellation and mixing before the signal ever reaches the codec.
A 10.1" Crestron tabletop touch screen gives the room local control, while a 7" room scheduling touch screen with a light bar sits outside the door — letting anyone walking by see at a glance whether the room is available without opening the door and interrupting a call in progress. A dual-technology occupancy sensor and Extron USB extenders round out the room's automation and connectivity.
Equipment summary
| Category | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Switching/control | Crestron DMPS3-4K-350-C AirMedia, HD-DA2-4KZ-E | Head end, dual display output |
| Video conferencing | Poly G7500 4K codec, Vaddio ConferenceSHOT 10, Vaddio AV Bridge | Hardware codec + USB soft-client path |
| Audio | Shure MXA910W ceiling array, Shure P300 IntelliMix | Dante-networked ceiling pickup |
| Speakers | Crestron SAROS IC6T-W-T, 2x | In-ceiling |
| Control panels | Crestron TS-1070-GV-B-S (tabletop), TSS-770 scheduling panel (door) | Government version tabletop unit |
| Network | Luxul XMS-1208P managed PoE+ switch | Dedicated room switch |
Network and IT
The room's equipment runs on a dedicated Luxul XMS-1208P managed switch mounted in a Middle Atlantic vented rack shelf, keeping the room's Dante audio network and AV-over-IP traffic on its own segment rather than sharing bandwidth with the rest of the office.
The rollout
The room's pick list was finalized in September 2021, specified as a single coordinated build rather than a phased rollout — appropriate for a standalone conference room rather than a multi-room floor project.
Why would a conference room need a Dante ceiling microphone array instead of a tabletop mic?
FEMA's Pacific Area Office conference room runs a Shure MXA910W ceiling array specifically because the room is used for cross-region disaster coordination calls, where consistent audio pickup across a full table matters more than the simplicity of a single tabletop microphone.
What does a room scheduling panel outside a conference room actually do?
FEMA's room runs a 7" touch screen with a light bar mounted outside the door, letting anyone check room availability at a glance without opening the door and interrupting whoever is inside — useful in an office where the room may be mid-call with a disaster response team elsewhere in the Pacific.
Can a room run both a dedicated video conferencing codec and USB soft clients?
Yes — FEMA's room pairs a Poly G7500 hardware codec with a Vaddio AV Bridge encoder, giving the room a dedicated conferencing system alongside a USB path for laptop-based soft clients, rather than forcing every call through one method.
Technology partners on this 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 since 2006. Call 888-230-3661 or email sales@creationnetworks.net.
Federal government AV
Need Video Conferencing That Works Every Time? Let's Talk Design
Tell us the room's purpose — disaster coordination, daily meetings, or both — and a CTS-D engineer will reply within one business day to set up a site walk or room assessment — no charge, no obligation.
