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Parlé Presenter Lift: Survey and Preliminary Design

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This article covers the first phase of a successful Parlé Presenter Lift (PPL) deployment: surveying the physical space and creating a preliminary system design. This phase is critical for determining if a room is a suitable candidate for PPL and for generating the necessary data for installation and commissioning.

 

Applicable hardware, software, and requirements

Hardware and software

This article applies to the following Biamp hardware and software:

  • Microphones: Parlé TCM-X, Parlé TCM-XA, Parlé TTM-X
  • PoE Amps: AMP-450P, AMP-450BP
  • Processors: TesiraFORTE X (and Voltera D and DM products in special cases)
  • Software: Tesira Software 5.4 or newer, Presentation Space Designer

Requirements for this PPL step

  • A calibrated SPL meter capable of A-weighted measurements.
  • A tool for measuring RT60 (reverberation time).
  • A reliable laser tape measure.
  • The Biamp Presentation Space Designer web tool.
  • A thorough understanding of the Parlé Presenter Lift: System Overview article.

 

 

Section 1: Conducting the Room Survey


Before any design work begins, validate that the room meets the "Pillars of a Successful PPL system".

Measure Room Acoustics

  1. With the room in its normal use state (HVAC on, projectors on, etc.), use an SPL meter to measure and document the ambient Noise Floor. The ideal reading is 43 dBA or lower.
  2. Using an appropriate tool, measure and document the room's RT60. The ideal value is 500ms or lower.
  3. If the Noise Floor and/or RT measurements fall outside of recommended values, please evaluate whether the room is a good candidate for PPL.

Room Acoustics

Noise Floor

Reverb Time (RT60)

 Max. Mic-to-Talker Distance
TCM-X TTM-X
Good 35-43 dBA 400-500 ms 3 meters (10 ft.) 1.7 meters (5.6 ft.)
Great 30-35 dBA 300-400 ms 3.8 meters (12.5 ft.) 2.1 meters (6.9 ft.)
Perfect less than 30 dBA less than 300 ms 5 meters (16.3 ft.) 2.5 meters (8.2 ft.)

Measure Room Dimensions

  1. Measure and document the extent of the room:
    • Length
    • Width
    • Ceiling height
      • Ceiling type and RCP should be gathered as well.
  2. Identify the primary presentation area (stage, lectern area, etc.) and document its dimensions.
    • Measure and document the distance from the center of this area to the seating position of the furthest listener. This distance ideally should be greater than 35-40 feet (10.7-12.2 meters).

Evaluate Loudspeaker Plan

  1. Obtain an accurate Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP) of the room. This is often available from the owner. 
  2. Review and confirm ceiling availability for Parlé microphones and appropriately zoned loudspeakers. 
    • Each zone (typically a row of speakers) must be wired to a dedicated amplifier channel for proper gain mapping.
    • Ensure that coverage is focused tightly on the audience seating areas while keeping a 6 ft. offset from the nearest microphones.
    • If the ceiling is open architecture, the microphones and loudspeakers need to share the same mounting plane.  

 

 

Section 2: Using Presentation Space Designer

This tool helps surveyors document and model rooms and generate reports with important configuration data. It should be used concurrently with Section 1 to complete documentation quickly.

Access the Design Tool - Use a web browser to access Presentation Space Designer. 

Define the Room Parameters - Follow the guidance in the Presentation Space Designer tool and complete all details to replicate the room.

  • Enter the project room dimensions, ceiling height, and acoustic data (Noise Floor and RT60) gathered during the room survey.
  • Note: The design tool measures all device coordinates from the top-left corner of the canvas. To avoid confusion, you may orient your room diagram to Portrait Mode so that the "front-left" corner of the room corresponds to the "top-left" origin point in the tool.

Place Equipment and Define Areas - Place the presenter area, Parlé microphones, and audience loudspeakers on the design canvas, matching their intended physical locations based on available ceiling locations. Please mark out ceiling tiles or locations that are not available for microphones or loudspeakers.

Verify Microphone Coverage - Use the rendering tools to verify microphone beam coverage of the presentation area.

Generate Commissioning Report - Once the design is complete, save and export the design report PDF. This report contains all entered room dimensions and details, and provides two critical pieces of information for commissioning:

  • Microphone Beam Aiming Data: Specific Azimuth and Elevation values for each of the microphone's beams.
  • Gain Mapping Data: Specific attenuation values (in dB) for each loudspeaker zone.

Share and Archive the Design - Save the link and export the PDF report to share with the project team. Save a copy of the PDF to archive. 

 

Note: If the system requires microphone coverage of the audience or student areas, use Biamp Classroom Designer to determine additional needs.

  • Save the link and export the PDF report to share with the project team. Save a copy of the PDF to archive.

 

 

Section 3: Creating the Initial Tesira File


With the design validated, create the foundational Tesira file.

  1. Biamp provides a base PPL file and Processing Library to help users get started with the core signal flow. However, each system design is unique, and this base file requires customization to match the room design needs.
  2. Open Tesira software and import the above resources. Edit and add the project-specific hardware blocks to the layout (e.g., TCM-X, TCM-XA, AMP-450, TTM-X, etc.).
  3. Ensure the Tesira signal flow and blocks support the design provided by the Presentation Space Designer.
  4. Compile the Tesira file and check the Equipment Table to confirm specification and ordering of proper Tesira equipment for the project.
  5. Save and share this file with the project team.

 

 

Section 4: Additional Resources

The following applications and resources may be helpful to the survey process:

iOS:

Android:

PC & Mac:

Professional Grade:

 

Related Room Acoustical Standards:

 

 

Further Reading

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