Rennes 2 University opts for Panasonic cameras to support distance learning

Set up in 1990, the Centre for Audiovisual Resources and Studies (commonly known as CRÉA) is one of Rennes 2 University's key departments, and is responsible for managing all of the institutions' audiovisual activities.

It consists of a team of22 camera operators, technicians and producers who manage the entire AV infrastructure of the campus - that being a total of 300 multimedia rooms, 30 lecture theatres, an auditorium, videoconference equipment, and an audiovisual recording and production unit.

The team havebeen able to record and broadcast courses and live events on campus thanks to itsusage of Panasonic PTZ cameras, including 1x AW-UE150 4K PTZ camera, 4x AW-HE130, and 4x AW-HE40 HD PTZ cameras.

Lectures and seminars with the teaching staff are captured using the PTZ cameras, which is reliant upon the IT network across the university. That content is then recorded, encoded and uploaded to an online platformso that students can access it remotely.

Several camera operators, technicians and producers are involved in ensuring that the courses provided on campus are recorded and broadcast with the use of the Panasonic PTZ cameras.

When it comes to events, the CRÉArelies upon its own fibre optic network. A total of 30 locationsincluding lecture theatres, film studios and auditoriums areconnected to the university's video control room where the recordingsare managed.

The recent health crisis has turned usual practices on their head and forced the university's students to complete their respective courses remotely. As a result, the CRÉAhas been tasked with ensuring that the courses taught on campus at Rennes 2 are recorded and broadcast. In 2020, during thein-service days for teaching staff, the centre recorded and broadast a total of 431lessons in 22 on-campus lecture theatres injust three weeks.

“In light of the current health crisis, we had to adapt quickly. We had to implement the necessary tools to enable the university to offer distance learning immediately. That's why we decided to work with the Panasonic cameras. They have met all of our expectations as they are able to produce exceptionally high-quality videos and enable us to broadcast all of the on-campus courses remotely, directly from our control room”, explains Christian Allio, Director of Rennes 2 University's Audiovisual department.

Students on the professional bachelor's degree course specialising in “Sound and Image Techniques”, provided on the Saint-Brieuc campus, have also set up a small control room so that they can record the courses themselves with three AW-HE40 cameras and an AW-RP50 camera controller and share them online for distance learning purposes.

“In addition to featuring impeccable image quality, we also expect our cameras to boast impressive movement and to be controlled remotely. The Panasonic cameras met all of these criteria”, says Christian Allio.

“What's more, thanks to the Panasonic controller which can be operated with just one hand, we can now control several cameras at the same time. We are delighted with the cameras that we chose. We have never had any technical issues or failures!”, concludes Christian Allio.