Introduction
The United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City, originally designed to accommodate 75 nations, now hosts 193 member countries – and space for 204 representatives. Decades of use had taken a toll on the historic chamber, prompting a full renovation of the UN’s six-building headquarters campus beginning in 2008. The restoration returned the famed dome and frescos to their original vibrancy while integrating a modern audiovisual infrastructure to support the complex needs of today’s diplomatic environment.
The Challenge
The UN required a high-performance AV system capable of managing a diverse array of inputs, including laptops, cameras, and display screens, and delivering them to multiple outputs across the General Assembly Hall and 17-acre campus. Signals needed to be broadcast-ready for SDI outputs while also accessible on local displays, conference rooms, and digital signage. The challenge was synchronizing asynchronous AV sources with the broadcast facility’s timing requirements, ensuring flawless switching with no delays or signal degradation – an absolute necessity for the world’s most mission-critical conference room.
The Solution
The New York-based integrator VCA Global was engaged to implement a comprehensive AV solution for the General Assembly Hall. They deployed nine PureLink PureMedia™-series matrix switchers, including the PM-128×128, three 64×64, three 48×48, and one each 16×16 and 8×8, to manage input from computers, cameras, and other AV devices. These matrices interface directly with the facility’s 500×1540 broadcast router, enabling seamless cross-conversion between 3G/HD-SDI, DVI, HDMI, Fiber, and HDBaseT signals.
PureLink’s proprietary scaling engine ensures instantaneous, glitch-free switching across all inputs and outputs. This capability allows AV and broadcast feeds to operate in perfect synchronization – a requirement for live diplomatic sessions where any delay or flicker is unacceptable. The PM Tools™ software provided an intuitive interface for real-time configuration, signal diagnostics, and system management, allowing operators to monitor I/O ports, verify signal status, and generate test patterns efficiently.
The Result
With PureLink solutions in place, the UN General Assembly Hall now operates with a highly reliable, scalable, and fully integrated AV system. Input from any device can be routed to any display, synchronized with broadcast feeds, and managed centrally from a single interface. The upgrade eliminated previous limitations caused by disparate format conversions, reducing complexity and increasing system reliability. The AV infrastructure now seamlessly supports daily operations and high-profile international events, enhancing both functionality and user experience in the historic hall.
The Review
The PureLink matrix switchers provide the ability to take AV sources and make them synchronous with broadcast needs. Glitch-free switching and the cross-platform architecture allowed us to overcome challenges that previous systems couldn’t handle. The PM series removed limiting factors and allowed full integration across multiple facilities, making it a perfect fit for this project.
The System
Installation Diagram
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