Lecture Theatre AV Upgrade for a London University

Lecture theatre AV for a London university: twin Epson laser projectors, Sennheiser ceiling mics, Q-SYS AV-over-IP and PTZ cameras for hybrid teaching.

education

Completed September 2025

Project leadDavid Corker, Technical Sales Director

Quick reference: Lecture theatre for more than 100 students at a London university, one of three on a refurbished teaching floor: 2 Epson EB-PU1008B laser projectors, 2 NEC 75-inch repeater displays and a 43-inch confidence monitor, Q-SYS Core 8 Flex with NV-32-H AV-over-IP, 4 Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 mics, Shure MXW neXt wearables and a Catchbox, 2 QSC NC-12x80 PTZ cameras, 18 pendant speakers, Crestron Flex for Zoom Rooms, handed over 30 September 2025.

A large lecture theatre for a London university

Strive AV fitted out the AV across a refurbished teaching floor for a London university: three lecture theatres, five small teaching rooms and four study booths. This case study covers the first lecture theatre, a flat-floor room with rows of bench desks for more than 100 students, handed over on 30 September 2025. It runs two Epson laser projectors side by side on the front wall, with NEC 75-inch repeater displays for the side seats, four Sennheiser ceiling microphone arrays, two QSC PTZ cameras and a Q-SYS audio, video and control system, all operated from a height-adjustable lectern.

Front wall of a university lecture theatre with twin projection screens, two 75-inch repeater displays and the lecturer lectern

Rows of bench desks facing the twin projection screens in a London university lecture theatre

Lecture theatre front wall with two projection screens above the whiteboards and bench seating in the foreground

Sennheiser ceiling microphone array and ceiling projectors above the lecture theatre seating

Pendant loudspeaker above the seating, with the projection screens and lectern at the front of the lecture theatre

Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 beamforming microphone array mounted in the lecture theatre ceiling

Ceiling-mounted laser projector above rows of bench desks in the lecture theatre

PTZ camera mounted above the projection screens for lecture capture and hybrid teaching

The challenge: a delayed refurbishment and a six-week install

The floor was a refurbishment with the main contractor running late. By late July 2025 only two of the three lecture theatres were ready for first fix, so the speakers, microphones and projector mounts went in there first while the third theatre and the smaller rooms waited for the building works. The main AV install started on 18 August 2025, which left about six weeks to install, programme and commission three lecture theatres and the supporting rooms before the first theatre was handed over.

Key Requirements

•Twin-image projection for side-by-side content in a large lecture theatre
•Clear sightlines for side seats through repeater displays
•Ceiling microphone coverage plus wearable and throwable mics for hybrid teaching and recording
•PTZ cameras and a Zoom Rooms system for remote participants
•Assistive listening for hearing-impaired students
•One touch panel and a height-adjustable lectern any lecturer can use
•Installation compressed around a delayed main contractor programme

Twin projection, ceiling microphones and Q-SYS

Two Epson EB-PU1008B laser projectors give lecturers two large images side by side, so slides can sit next to the WolfVision VZ-3neo visualiser, a laptop or a remote participant. Two NEC 75-inch displays repeat the content for seats with a poor view of the main screens, and a 43-inch NEC confidence monitor faces the lecturer. Video runs over the network on Q-SYS NV-32-H and NV-21 endpoints, with a Lightware Taurus UCX switcher at the lectern providing USB-C and HDMI inputs, and a WolfVision unit for wireless presenting. Audio is built on a Q-SYS Core 8 Flex. Four Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 beamforming arrays cover the room, alongside two Shure MXW neXt wearable mics for the lecturer and a Catchbox throwable mic for audience questions. Eighteen Q-SYS pendant speakers over the seating and two column speakers at the front are driven by Q-SYS SPA4-100 amplifiers, and a Sennheiser networked assistive listening system supports hearing-impaired students. Two QSC NC-12x80 PTZ cameras, Magewell USB capture and a Crestron Flex kit for Zoom Rooms handle hybrid teaching and recording. Everything is controlled from a Q-SYS 10-inch touch panel on a TeamMate height-adjustable twin-rack lectern, with Gude IP-controlled power for remote restarts. The system was commissioned in the week of 22 September 2025, including Lightware programming, with user acceptance testing on 29 September.

What went into the teaching floor
Space	Rooms	What was installed
Lecture theatres	3	Twin Epson laser projection, Q-SYS AV-over-IP, two QSC PTZ cameras each, Shure MXW neXt wearables, Catchbox and assistive listening
Lecture theatres 1 and 2	2 of the 3	Also two NEC 75-inch repeaters, a 43-inch confidence monitor, four Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 mics and a Q-SYS Core 8 Flex
Small teaching rooms	5	Speakers and additional Q-SYS equipment
Study booths	4	LG 32-inch screens

Featured Solution

Twin laser projection

Two Epson EB-PU1008B laser projectors side by side, with NEC 75-inch repeaters for the side seats and a 43-inch confidence monitor.

Ceiling, wearable and throwable mics

Four Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 arrays, two Shure MXW neXt wearables and a Catchbox, mixed on a Q-SYS Core 8 Flex.

Hybrid teaching

Two QSC NC-12x80 PTZ cameras, Magewell capture and a Crestron Flex kit for Zoom Rooms.

Q-SYS AV-over-IP and control

NV-32-H and NV-21 network video endpoints, a Lightware Taurus UCX lectern switcher and a Q-SYS 10-inch touch panel.

Questions about lecture theatre AV

What AV does a university lecture theatre need for hybrid teaching?

At minimum: a camera framing the lecturer, microphones that pick up both the lecturer and audience questions, a route into the lecture-capture or video platform, and displays everyone in the room can read. In this London university theatre that meant two QSC PTZ cameras, four Sennheiser ceiling arrays plus wearable and throwable mics, a Crestron Flex kit for Zoom Rooms, twin projection with repeater screens and one Q-SYS touch panel to run it all. More on how we approach these rooms: lecture theatre AV.

Why use ceiling microphones instead of lectern goosenecks in a lecture theatre?

A gooseneck only works when the lecturer stays at the lectern and speaks into it. Ceiling arrays cover the teaching area wherever the lecturer stands and can be zoned to pick up audience contributions, which matters for recordings and remote students. This theatre uses four Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 arrays, with Shure wearable mics for the lecturer and a Catchbox for questions as well. See our audio systems page for how ceiling microphones and speaker coverage are designed.

Do you need twin projection or repeater screens in a large lecture theatre?

Twin projection lets lecturers show two sources side by side, for example slides next to a visualiser. Repeater displays solve a different problem: seats at the sides that can't read the main screens comfortably. Deep or wide rooms often need both, which is why this theatre pairs two Epson laser projectors with two NEC 75-inch repeaters.

How long does a lecture theatre AV upgrade take?

On this project first fix ran in July 2025, the main install started on 18 August, the systems were programmed and commissioned in the week of 22 September, user acceptance testing ran on 29 September and the first lecture theatre was handed over on 30 September: about six weeks from the start of the main install to the first handover. Most universities plan this work around the summer vacation, so survey, design and equipment lead times need to be worked back from the install window.