Connect two venues through a two-way AV window

Two complete paths, with an owner at each venue

1. A: camera + voice → send
2. B: receive → display + audio
3. B: camera + voice → send
4. A: receive → display + audio

At A, the camera frames the participation zone and the microphone captures local speech. The communication system delivers those signals to B for display and playback. B needs its own camera, audio capture, and return transmission to A. A broadcast aimed at viewers does not by itself provide this conversation.

• Picture: set camera height, framing, gaze direction, figure scale, and audience position. Show each person where to stand or sit.
• Audio: send the required mix to each destination without returning its own remote signal. Mix-minus design and acoustic echo control need audio review.
• Coordination: a host manages turns; an operator at each venue checks returns and reports issues through a separate crew channel.
• Link: survey actual access, venue policies, and both transmission paths. An isolated speed test does not validate the experience.

Proposed layout: A’s display shows B, and B’s return display shows A. Label camera and voice sends by venue. Do not automatically send the combined program to every destination: it may send someone’s own picture or sound back to them.

During rehearsal, check one voice at a time, then interruptions and conversation. Record received picture, intelligibility, echo, lip sync, and response time in both directions. If one venue drops out, the host explains and the operator switches to an approved local clip, avoiding a frozen figure that appears connected. Restore the connection in preview first.

Voice, mix-minus, and turns: what each venue hears

Before choosing a console or platform, write down who must hear whom. The send to B may include A’s local voice and a clip, but must exclude B’s return already arriving at A. Document the reverse direction too.

• For each destination, list included/excluded sources, mix owner, and check point. Separate participant return, operator monitoring, and the program for any authorized recording.
• Identify microphones, listening positions, and ambient noise. A microphone that works close to the mouth may not cover an entire participation area.
• Agree turns: host invitation, listening indication, end of answer, and interruption method. Provide visual support or captions as appropriate.
• Rehearse local voice alone, remote voice alone, dialogue, and a clip. Listen at both ends and verify the expected silence in each excluded path.

Mix-minus prevents unwanted return routes; it does not by itself fix every sound entering a microphone from loudspeakers. Biamp distinguishes echo cancellation for the far end, local echo, and acoustic feedback. Audio review must treat routing, placement, and processing as related but different issues.

If echo is heard, the host pauses the exchange while audio staff locate the returning signal and route. Do not blindly raise gain. The operator can use explicit speaking turns or a local clip during review. Check speech intelligibility from the intended positions and adjust AEC for each venue’s signal chain and acoustics.

Remote presence at human scale

A person can appear close to life size on a screen without becoming a volumetric figure. The effect depends on framing, display height, and the viewer’s position. Camera and screen sit in different places: image size does not establish perfect eye contact.

• Survey visible height/width, audience distance, seated/standing eye level, and camera position. Check framing with an authorized reference silhouette.
• Agree on full body, half body, or close-up. Avoid accidental head/foot cropping and reserve caption space without covering gestures.
• Prepare remote lighting and background for the intended figure. Review reflections, backlight, and contrast from audience positions.
• Decide what the remote participant sees: their counterpart, the whole zone, or a selected program. Their orientation also needs rehearsal.

Proposed preparation: use a position mark and framing pattern to adjust scale, then check movement and voice through the final chain. Keep the same crop from rehearsal to program. A sample picture on a laptop only validates composition on that screen.

Measure A→B and B→A separately and record test time, method, and configuration. Do not automatically halve a round-trip time to infer both delays. Design pauses and turns so people can respond without talking over one another. Transparent or projected surfaces add optical and installation assessments.

Multiple venues: destination matrix and hosting

Adding a third space means one mix for everyone may return each venue’s own audio or show an unhelpful view. Define separate sources and destinations by function: audience, performers, operators, and recording if authorized. Every mix needs an owner.

• Script: who opens, moderates, requests a turn, and decides to cut. Keep venue names readable.
• Time: share a program reference and understandable countdown. An operational clock does not prove every frame is synchronized.
• Isolation: remove a lost venue from composition without cutting the others. Agree whether remaining participants continue or wait.
• Log: record destination changes and issues against operational time. Recording is neither assumed nor enabled by default.

Proposed rehearsal: check each destination with an identified source, verify audio exclusions, change the speaking turn, and simulate a venue leaving. Production and audio owners agree the operational matrix. Viable venue numbers depend on verified resources, links, platform, and staffing; check those limits before adding another venue.

Keep the experience useful when the link drops

Fallback should make sense to the audience and be executable locally. It must not rely on immediate internet recovery. Prepare content that preserves the activity’s purpose and a host line explaining the change without pretending the connection remains live.

• Keep approved local content at each venue, with version and language identified. Test launch without the remote service.
• Give the operator a clear idle/local action and define who authorizes returning to the exchange. Avoid conflicting controls.
• Agree a script-appropriate decision period for pausing or continuing; define what will play if the connection stays down.
• Log failure, displayed content, and return time. Picture recovery does not explain the cause of the drop.

Proposed off-program rehearsal: simulate loss with a test source and check visual transition, audio, and the host’s announcement. Restore in the work monitor first, then return by agreed cue. Link redundancy requires examining actual routes and dependencies: two devices on one access path may share the same failure. Identify the commands for switching to local content and resuming the conversation.

Collaborative game across venues: delay-tolerant rules

Proposed scenario: two groups build a mural in turns. Each venue chooses a piece and gets local acknowledgment; shared state decides when it is incorporated. Success does not require an identical instant at both venues.

• Assign shared-state ownership, round identifier, and rules for duplicate, late, or out-of-turn actions.
• Separate local input acknowledgment from accepted shared outcome. Immediate animation must not promise an unconfirmed point.
• On reconnection, recover current state instead of blindly replaying old actions. Allow pause or host-led operation.

Proposed fictional-event test: simultaneous actions, reordered arrival, duplicate, loss, and reconnection. Agree expected outcome at both venues and log differences. Video transport does not automatically synchronize game logic.

Avoid precision competitive timing without appropriate architecture/measurement. Design cooperation, turn choices, and collective goals instead. People need clear rules and an indication of their turn; fallback maintains a meaningful local activity.