ClubMulwala has been a focal point for socialising in the Mulwala district of New South Wales, Australia, evolving as a centre for enjoyment and recreation since it was founded in the early 1950’s by the local sub-branch of the Returned Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia.
The challenge
Today, ClubMulwala is firmly established as a modern destination for fun, relaxation and holiday breaks – with live entertainment, dining, resort accommodation, day spa & beauty services, sport and social activities, with beautiful outdoor spaces providing the perfect backdrop – but it also wants to keep pace with the changing demands of clients. Installing a state-of-the-art IPTV and digital signage system to better engage with today’s tech-savvy consumers was vital to keeping the club contemporary and fresh.
In 2019, ClubMulwala’s owners decided to upgrade its audio-visual facilities with a deployment that would meet with the evolving expectations and needs of its members. The existing facility-wide TV system was based on an old analogue design and only offered standard definition TV and a limited number of channels. It also had no unified way to change channels or content, instead relying on a confusing collection of remote controls. Furthermore, there was a feeling that it lacked modern media such as digital signage to communicate efficiently with guests around the resort.
The Solution
To deliver the project, the Club contacted The Avit Group, a forward-thinking AV technology company with over 50 years of combined experience in AV installation across commercial, corporate and educational markets.
“The Club is in quite a remote part of NSW, and one of the main requirements was reliability and ease of use,” explains Brad Magri, Operations Manager for The Avit Group. “We had worked with VITEC (originally Exterity, acquired by VITEC in 2021), on other projects and it has all the features the Club needed, but more importantly, the technology has never let us down.”
Magri also highlights the flexibility of the software and remote management capabilities that also ensure that Avit – which is based in Sydney – can remotely configure and update the system if needed. The project, which spans the entire club, including Gaming lounge, lounge area, bar, Alfresco Gaming and café areas, was planned around a multi-phase deployment to ensure that the Club could remain open throughout the installation.
The first part of the project was a replacement of the core video distribution system that Avit upgraded to a VITEC based IPTV solution, and which is integrated with a Creston control function to allow staff to easily manage screens and audio equipment via a simple control deck. The TV quality has been upgraded to full HD with the option to deploy 4K as required in the future.
In addition, each of the 28 screens across the gaming lounge has digital signage capability that is supported by four dedicated, portrait mode LCD screens that run marketing and other promotional messages to visitors.
The Results
All management functions are delivered from the VITEC AvediaServer central server and ArtioSign software and, following a short training session provided by Avit, the Club’s facilities team has been able to run the system independently, including creating their own promotional material without any further assistance.
“The new IPTV system offers great picture quality and has proven incredibly ease to use – it definitely enhances the entire guest experience,” says Alan Rowe, CEO at Club Mulwala. “We are looking forward to finalising the project and upgrading the rest of our facility to offer our members modern and engaging communications and entertainment throughout the Club.”
