Barco CTRL or TransForm N: how to choose a control-room platform

This material is based on official information from Barco.

For a control room or situation room, the platform choice often comes down to: Barco CTRL or TransForm N? In reality it isn't always an either-or question, the platforms solve different problems and in many projects run together.

KVM-over-IT: the operator's workstation

Barco CTRL solves the problem of giving an operator access to computer desktops: from one physical seat, with one keyboard and mouse, the operator switches between several computers and systems, and their desktops can be output simultaneously to both an individual monitor and a shared video wall. It's a platform for the workstation, not for signal distribution as such.

AV-over-IP: distributing sources over the network

TransForm N solves a neighbouring problem: delivering video signals from sources scattered across a building or between sites to wherever they're needed, over a standard IP network without dedicated cable runs for every scenario. The platform isn't tied to a specific operator's seat, it handles the infrastructure for delivering the signal.

When one platform is enough, and when you need both

A small control room with a fixed set of computers and one operator seat is often well served by Barco CTRL alone, without TransForm N. A large situation room with sources on different floors or sites, where signals need to reach both the video wall and several operators' seats over the network, generally needs both platforms: TransForm N delivers the signals over the network, while Barco CTRL organizes operator access to the right computers from their own seats.

• If the task is just "give an operator access to different computers from one seat", Barco CTRL is enough.
• If sources are physically spread out and the signal needs to reach several points over the network at once, you need TransForm N.
• For large sites with multiple workstations and distributed sources, the architecture is usually built on both platforms together.

At Infra Technologies we start designing a control room by mapping out the operators' actual workflows and the topology of the signal sources, and only after that do we decide whether one platform is enough or whether the project needs a combination of Barco CTRL and TransForm N.