Connectivity Simplified—EAFIT University Streamlines with Lightware
Medellín-based AV integrator Era Electrónica was recently selected to enhance connectivity in the principals board room at Escuela de Administración, Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico (known as EAFIT University) in Columbia. The company chose Lightware Visual Engineering’s MMX4x2-HDMI-USB20-L, a compact matrix switcher, which features four HDMI inputs and two independent HDMI outputs. The MMX4x2-HDMI-USB20-L supports USB 2.0 connectivity to empower easy switching across four USB peripherals and four hosts.
Established in 1960, EAFIT University) is a private university in Medellín. When founded, the university was a school of management and finance and aimed to educate professionals seeking to overcome new challenges in technology, management and finance. Today, EAFIT University has grown immensely, including additional campuses in Bogotá, Pereira, and Llanogrande Rionegro.
“We required a solution that could integrate seamlessly with the existing Cisco system,” said Edwin Mesa, instrument and control engineer for EAFIT University. “EAFIT University is utilizing a Cisco-based solution for video conferencing and collaboration. We wanted to take advantage of the Cisco equipment that was currently installed while providing the ability to connect with third-party video conferencing platforms, such as Teams and Zoom.”
“We wanted to ensure that the Cisco-based console could communicate directly with third-party video conferencing platforms," Juan Carlos Quintero, infrastructure architect for EAFIT University, added, "This would allow us to have a single point for video conferencing and eliminate the requirement for multiple alternatives to host a video conference.”
Lightware, a Cisco Solutions Plus Partner, enables users to expand the number of inputs and outputs of a system, extend the connectivity over longer distances, and empower the user to natively control the entire solution via the Cisco Touch10 and Webex Room Navigator. Lightware adds intuitive controls to the Cisco Touch10 and Webex Room Navigator and enables a consistent user experience to deliver dynamic controls in the same way in every room.
“The most critical characteristic of Lightware’s MMX4x2-HDMI-USB20-L is the ability to connect seamlessly with the existing Cisco-based system,” said Mesa. It was a very important challenge to overcome. We talked to many manufacturers and none of them fulfilled the promises. Lightware delivered on their promises.”
The final result was a success overall. Lightware’s MMX4x2-HDMI-USB20-L created a simplified user experience for EAFIT University. As a result, the simplified system enables assistants, secretaries and the principal to access the system and control devices within the boardroom. Quintero explained, “Carlos Otero [director of sales, Lightware Latin America] provided us with support for the installation. Our experience was excellent and, so far, the system has performed flawlessly. The MMX4x2-HDMI-USB20-L has eliminated technical support calls by providing an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Now, the system is very transparent for the end user. The faculty and staff can access devices through Cisco’s Touch10 and the experience is seamless.”
