AV Issue 43

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Editorial Transubstantiating The Ghost It’s well known by everyone in AV who’s ever worked on corporate presentations that the last refuge of the presenter totally bereft of a useful idea is to start their presentation with either a clever quotation or a dictionary definition. So, I’ll start with the definition of holography.

Because the internet is such an unreliable source for such information, I took the opportunity to look up the substantial Shorter Oxford, Collins and Macquarie printed dictionaries on the shelf in my office before checking out both dictionary.com and the intermittently-accurate Wikipedia. The consensus of these references is that holography is a process that involves recording the interference pattern produced when a direct coherent wavefront meets a coherent wavefront reflected off an object. It goes on to note that this holographic recording contains three-dimensional information about the object which may be recreated/retrieved through the use of another coherent wavefront. I’ve modified their definitions a bit because most of the dictionary entries are obsessed with using lasers as the source of the coherent wavefront, despite there being a 20-odd year history of acoustic holography. Hold on to that definition for a few minutes, you will see the point, eventually.

A sometimes-spectacular optical gimmick that’s familiar to many of us working on AV in museums, exhibitions, theme parks, and sometimes even in live productions, is the Pepper’s Ghost illusion invented by Henry Dircks. First exploited in theatrical events in the 19th century, it’s a simple idea that involves using a partially-reflective transparent material such as glass, held at an angle to combine the direct real image you can see when looking through the

surface with an unseen image that is reflected off that surface. The ‘ghost’ element of the effect is due to the apparent transparency of the reflected component of the image.

If the concept sounds at all familiar, it’s probably because the effect is used in devices as familiar as the teleprompter/autocue and the heads-up displays used in everything from motor car instrumentation to tactical displays in both real aircraft and the ones you fly in simulations and games.

Until a couple of decades ago, every Pepper’s Ghost illusion used panes of glass as the viewing medium, and for many applications this remains the most robust and cost-effective material.

A number of other materials have now been used successfully despite being either expensive to manufacture, complex to rig or delicate to handle. These include acrylic (Perspex) sheets, holographically etched plastic films, partiallyreflective metallicised plastic foils, and most recently a metallic mesh.

However, it’s the source of the ‘ghost’ image that’s seen the most impact from developments in audiovisual technologies. The original images were reflections of brightly-lit real objects and real people hidden behind screens off-stage or in an orchestra pit-style bunker at the front of the stage. The source for the next generation of the effect used projection screens with life-sized images sourced from film or video recordings, while the introduction of large display panels and big-screen video modules has allowed the ghost image to be sourced directly from a compact display without the problems of finding places for projectors and their optical paths.

New materials such as glass sheets laminated

with holographic plastic films act as both the viewing pane and the rear projection surface for ghost images from a suitably-located projector, thereby eliminating an entire step in the optical process. A recently-developed partiallytransparent metal mesh holds out the promise of direct front projection of the ghost, but accurate technical information about this material appears to be deliberately being kept in short supply – possibly for trade secret purposes.

So now we get to the flat panel TV problem.

Remember when any TV screen with a resolution over 576i was sold as ‘High Definition’ and how much of a mess the marketing folk got into a few months later trying to explain that HD wasn’t actually HD anymore, and that we all really needed to buy real HD (1080p) screens. Then, having learned so well from that debacle, they immediately started marketing LCD panels with LED backlighting as LED panels, which is going to give us all headaches with our clients for years to come.

You see we’re about to have the same problem with Pepper’s Ghost systems. The marketing people who appear to believe that Star Trek was a documentary series, have started promoting productions and displays with (barely) twodimensional Pepper’s Ghosts as using ‘Holograms’ and ‘Live Hologram technology’, even when the ‘ghost’ is a CGI image of a deceased rap artist. As I’ve already seen the advances in AV from the time of epidiascopes and vacuum-tube valves to what’s being released at next month’s trade shows, I’d be very incautious to suggest we won’t eventually have real 3D holographic display technology. I wonder what we’ll have to call it?

Andy Ciddor, Editor: andy@avapac.net

Crew Paul is a freelance lighting designer based in Sydney.

Struggling to find work in his homeland, Paul spends much of the year in far flung places in perpetual search for the perfect breakfast and good coffee.

With a love of lights, gadgets and a good story, Paul makes an admirable effort to bring to AV reviews of products and events from around our small and wondrous globe.

Advertising Office: +61 (0)2 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Australia

Editorial Office: +61 (0)3 9998 1998 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353 Australia

Editor: Andy Ciddor (andy@avapac.net) Publication Director: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@avapac.net) Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@avapac.net) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@avapac.net)

Graeme Hague worked for the last twenty years in regional theatre venues as an audio, lighting and AV technician, before leaving to work freelance for local production companies and focus on becoming a full-time writer based in the south west of WA. Graeme is a regular contributor to Audio Technology magazine and was the principal writer for the new Guerrilla Guide to Recording and Production (www.guerrillaguide. com.au). He owns a Maglite, a Leatherman and a wardrobe of only black clothing which proves he is overwhelmingly qualified to write on any technical subject.

Art Director: Daniel Howard (daniel@avapac.net) News & Online Editor: Jen Temm (jen@avapac.net) Additional Design: Dominic Carey (dominic@avapac.net) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (jaedd@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@avapac.net)

Stephen Dawson is a long-time geek, whose geekery changes focus from time to time. He made his first microphone pre-amp from an Electronics Australia (remember them?) design back in the early 70s. His schooling involved melting a screwdriver on the school hall control panel, and receiving tingles from poorly-insulated antique lighting control pots. These days he spends just about all his time writing about audiovisual gear.

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Australia info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2014 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. The title AV is a registered Trademark.

Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy. 19/11/2014

Derek is an audiovisual consultant with AVDEC, specialising in tertiary education projects. Starting in broadcast TV and radio at the ABC, he bounced between event AV and video production before settling for 12 years at the University of Queensland. He is past president of the Association of Educational Technology Managers and has been a regular judge of the AVIA awards.

He now divides his time between consulting, writing and the occasional video production assignment.

Issue 43 REGULARS NEWS AV industry and product news highlights from the AV website.

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BUCHAREST TURNS 555 A crowd of 100,000 turns up for Bucharest's birthday party.

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INFOCOMM ASSOCIATION NEWS News and announcements for the Asia Pacific region.

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TERMINATION The joys of a technology refresh

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FEATURES THE 'HOUSE' UPDATES ITS STAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 22 What began as a simple system upgrade changed SOH to its technical core.

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USC ENGAGES WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGY Wring maximum value out of USC's AV dollar.

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DOCKLANDS – NOT VERY BOOKISH The City of Melbourne builds the 21st century library that we had to have.

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REVIEWS

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DYNACORD PM502 POWERED MIXER How digital technology has refreshed an old workhorse.

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PANDORAS BOX WIDGET DESIGNER. A software tool to rule the video universe

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TUTORIAL

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PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON PIXELS Video, codecs and containers.

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INFOCOMM TUTORIAL Marketing and Sales promoting your business

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NEWS

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NEWS

Highlights from AV News Online

‘POINT & SHOOT’ TOUCHMIX

BORN TO BE BRIGHT

DILEMMA DIMMER

QSC’s new TouchMix-8 and TouchMix-16 digital consoles are around the size and weight of a laptop with features including an on-board set-up wizard, advanced preset libraries and help menus to assist with channel configuration, proper gain adjustment and effects selection. TouchMix-8 offers eight mic preamps plus two stereo inputs along with L/R outs and four mono aux outs. On TouchMix-16 the complement is 16 mic along with eight auxiliaries. All input channels include full function gates, compressors, four-band parametric EQ and channel selectable phantom power. Four multieffects processors offer reverbs, delay, chorus and pitch change plus a pitch corrector. Output processing includes 1/3-octave graphic EQ, delay, limiter and notch filters. All presets, custom settings and mixer scenes can be saved to internal memory or USB. Up to 22 tracks (all inputs plus a stereo mix) can be recorded directly to USB drive and mixed down on TouchMix or exported to DAW. TouchMix is iOS-controllable and a USB wi-fi adapter is included along with a zip-up padded carrying case. TouchMix-8 and TouchMix-16 retail for AU$1499 and $2199 respectively.

Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or www.tag.com.au QSC: qsc.com

Robert Juliat’s Merlin is a powerful and rugged followspot for the touring market. With a 2500W HMI lamp and a 3° to 12° beam range, Merlin covers both long and medium throw ranges with newly designed body for durability, easy installation and maintenance.

Designed as ”a rugged four-wheel drive” complement to the long-established French manufacturer’s range, Merlin delivers a maximum zoom range with a powerful output using only two handles for easy zoom and focus change. Double condenser optics give an increased efficiency with a 4:1 ratio coefficient range that ensures both a wide and narrow beam can be achieved within one unit. An integrated flicker-free electronic power supply dispenses with the need for separate ballasts and flight cases, and plug and play installation is augmented by easy removal of the ballast for servicing. Standard offerings include a gobo holder, fully closing iris, horizontal and vertical shutters and a progressive frost glass, alongside new features such as an improved dimmer shutter with feedback information, an easy-to-install followspot sight and a USB connection.

Show Technology: (02) 9748 1122 or www.showtech.com.au Robert Juliat: www.robertjuliat.com

This year’s LDI show in Las Vegas will see two new lighting products that solve the difficulty of adding dimmable LED fixtures to existing lighting systems.

Chauvet Professional’s Ovation ED-190WW ellipsoidal and FD-165WW fresnel feature built-in power supplies that allow them to run off traditional dimming and DMX fixtures interchangeably, so they’ll work smoothly with existing dimmable incandescent fixtures. The new Ovation fixtures work with SCR, IGTB, rheostat, and thryristor dimmers to support both LED and incandescent dimming formats. Each has a built-in auto-sensor that determines which type of power the unit is receiving, and adjusts to it automatically.

Ovation product manager Ben Dickmann: “This should definitely make it easier for more theatres, schools and churches to discover the benefits of LED dimming without making wholesale changes to their existing incandescent rigs.”

Showtools International: (02) 9824 2382 or www.showtools.com.au Chauvet Professional: www.chauvetprofessional.com

NEWS IN BRIEF:

Nemetschek Vectorworks 2015 version comes with more than 100 updates and new features in architecture, BIM, urban planning and entertainment design. Nemetschek AG is also in the news, acquiring Californian software provider Bluebeam for US$100m. Bluebeam will continue operating as an independent brand with its current management team – but with greater access to Nemetshek’s extensive European and Asian markets, while Nemetschek reinforces its market presence in North America.

Vectorworks 2015: www.vectorworks2015.net Bluebeam: www.bluebeam.com

Riedel Australia has appointed Espen Brynildsen as its technical solutions manager. In this new position, Brynildsen will play a central role in designing and managing solutions delivered to customers throughout Australia and New Zealand. Brynildsen’s extensive experience includes stints as technical director at Microhire Sydney, technical sales manager at projectiondesign (now part of Barco), account manager at Digital Signage Group, and director at MIDIamore. He will be based in Riedel’s Sydney office.

Riedel Australia: (02) 9669 1199 or www.riedel.net

Queensland-based AV provider Videopro acquired Wizard Projects on 31 October. Wizard had entered into voluntary administration in July after a series of financial setbacks associated with several major projects. The two companies had been working closely, and the partnership “arose from an alignment of values and strategic direction, coupled with a dedication to quality outcomes” according to a media statement.

Videopro says it has retained Wizard’s facilities and key staff including founder Paul Van der Ent, who will focus on developing business in the Canberra region.

Videopro: 1300 843 367 or www.videopro.com.au

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German 3D audio specialist Iosono has become part of Barco’s Entertainment division and will now be known as Barco Audio Technologies. The move is expected to have a significant impact on the continued development of the Auro 11.1 immersive cinema sound system created by Barco and its partner Auro Technologies, with the addition of the Iosono team and assets providing a deeper pool of experience and expertise with object-based immersive sound.

Barco: www.barco.com

Danmon Asia has been appointed distributor of the Evertz line of audio and video infrastructure equipment for the television broadcast and film industry throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

“Danmon Asia is the ideal partner as we open up new markets in these emerging but fast-growing markets," says Evertz regional sales manager for Southeast Asia, Mark Moore. Danmon Asia is headquartered in Hanoi with a branch office in Ho Chi Minh City, and is part of the Dan Technologies Group.

Danmon Asia: www.danmonasia.com Evertz Technologies: www.evertz.com

STUDIO TECH JOINS DANTE PARTY Studio Technologies has introduced two Dante-to-partyline intercom interfaces, the 45DR and 45DC. The 45DR Dante to two-channel partyline intercom interface is designed for applications using two-channel analogue partyline intercom circuits, while the 45DC Dante to dual partyline intercom interface is designed for one or two single-channel analogue partyline intercom circuits. Both easily interface partyline circuits into standard Ethernet networks. Dante Audio-overEthernet media networking technology is used by both units to transport the send and receive audio channels associated with the partyline circuits. Two 45DR or 45DC units can interconnect point-to-point by way of a standard Ethernet network; alternatively, each model can interconnect with other devices such as matrix intercom systems, DSP processors and audio consoles. Both are directly compatible with the RTS ADAM OMNEO matrix intercom network. They can be powered by Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) or an external 12V DC source, and their lightweight, half-rack design suits portable, broadcast or rack-shelf applications. Optional front panels are available to allow one or two units to be mounted in 1U of a standard rack.

Madison Technologies: 1800 007 780 or www.madisontech.com.au Studio Technologies: www.studio-tech.com.

Coolux has released a free demo version of its Pandoras Box Manager software on its website, giving newcomers an introduction to the real-time media and show control systems.

You’ll need to register your details to get the direct download link, and you’ll get 60 days to trial the software – and there are online tutorials and a user manual to help. “It is important that people are empowered to make a truly informed decision about which system they will trust in the future,” says Coolux CEO Jan Huewel.

Coolux: www.coolux.de

Crestron’s new Fusion 10 enterprise building management software promises new and custom analytics reports, and simpler installation, configuration and operation. “Crestron Fusion 10 provides an integrated platform to create truly smart buildings that save energy and enhance worker productivity,” the company says. “From a centralised platform, Crestron Fusion 10 unifies and simplifies the way organisations control, monitor and manage building technology, orchestrate building and AV automation, and control energy usage.”

Crestron: www.crestron.com

Blackmagic Design has announced the release Camera 1.9.7 software for its Cinema and Pocket Cinema cameras with dashboard on-screen menus allowing fast selection of camera functions, and high performance in-camera disk formatting. Users also get the opportunity to choose between two disk formats: ExFAT (Windows and Mac OS X) and HFS+ (native Mac OS). The update is available for download on the company’s website.

New Magic Australia: (03) 9722 9700 or www.newmagic.com.au Blackmagic Design: www.blackmagicdesign.com

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NEWS

MEDIALINK CONTROLLERS GO SLEEK

POWER PROTECTION

HIGH OUTPUT RIBBON SURROUND

Extron’s new MLC 55 range of MediaLink controllers have been released with redesigned dual colour backlit buttons that can be custom labelled, and magneticallyattached faceplates that hide the mounting screws and configuration ports. Designed as economical and easy-to-use keypad controllers for common AV functions such as power, input selection, and volume in single display applications, the new models include unidirectional RS-232 and IR display control, and discrete On and Off display power controls. There are four models in the range to accommodate standard one-gang, standard two-gang, one-gang MK and twogang EU junction boxes, and the MLC 55,62,64 series configuration software provides fast and simple setup via USB when combined with one of ready-to-use RS-232 or IR device drivers available on the Extron website. The configuration programme and these four controllers also support IR Learning, for creating new IR drivers from the handheld remote of a source or display device.

RGB Integration: (08) 8351 2188 or www.rgbintegration.com Extron: www.extron.com

The use of uninterruptible power supply systems in production and commercial AV isn’t new, but those designed for IT applications have some limitations in this space: most are designed for stationary use, many don’t fit into standard pro audio racks, and some have noisy fans or obnoxious alarms. Furman’s new F1500 UPS, designed specifically for the entertainment industry, addresses these issues and adds true sine wave output, third party control and monitoring, and programmable non-critical load management. The F1500 UPS isn’t intended to replace the mains supply for an indefinite period, but to provide enough time for an orderly save and shutdown of vulnerable equipment, and to switch over to a backup power supply such as a generator. Its key features include a 1500VA battery backup, series multi-stage protection (SMP) for AC surge suppression, linear filtering technology (LiFT) for audio/video clarity, extreme voltage shutdown (EVS) for protection from sustained overvoltage, an RS-232 interface allowing custom open source programming and control, a USB interface and BlueBolt technology with an optional TCP/IP card for remote control.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or www.jands.com.au Furman: www.furmansound.com

Alcons Audio’s new CRS12GT is a two-way passivefiltered loudspeaker, designed for immersive surround sound formats. Featuring proprietary pro-ribbon driver technology, the model delivers clarity and intelligibility with a high dynamic range and up to 90 per cent less distortion than traditional cinema surround systems, the Dutch company says. It comprises a six-inch proribbon driver for HF and a vented 12-inch mid-bass for LF reproduction. The HF section has a 1000W peak power input, enabling a 1:15 RMS-to-peak dynamic range with lowest distortion from 1000Hz to beyond 20kHz. The absence of a compression threshold caters for a linear tonal balance at any SPL from a whisper to the largest explosions. The CRS12GT90 model offers 90°H x 40°V dispersion, and the CRS12GT60 offers 60°H x 30°V dispersion for the surround locations closest to the screen channels, and both are available in four and eight Ohm versions. They come with a sixyear warranty and can be supplied in any RAL colour for interior blending. For full system performance Alcons recommends its ALC amplified loudspeaker controller.

Loud & Clear Sales: (02) 9439 9723 or loudandclearsales.com.au Alcons Audio: www.alconsaudio.com

VISION AUDIO EXTRACTOR

MEET SMARTER

TWICE THE ICON

Vision has launched an HDMI repeater with a pro-audio extractor built-in. The repeater comes with a power supply and a new chipset, which allows up to three units to be daisy-chained. To extract audio the unit modifies the EDID handshake so, for example, the display tells the source device 'send me a 1080P video signal with 5.1 surround audio signal' but the extractor changes the message to 'send me a 1080P video signal with 2.0 stereo audio'. It can then extract (or de-embed) the stereo analogue audio signal. Many audio deembedders don’t modify the EDID, instead taking the 5.1 signal and simply converting the left and right channels to analogue, so the content on the surround and centre audio channels isn’t included, whereas Vision says its new model ensures all audio content is combined into a stereo signal. The HDMI audio extractor’s built in EDID library can also be used to solve HDCP and EDID compatibility issues. Price: AU$159.

Hills SVL: 1800 685 487 or www.hillssvl.com.au Vision AV: visionaudiovisual.com

Kramer Electronics’ VIA product line includes Collage, Connect Pro and Connect. The wireless collaboration devices provide a shared workspace that simplifies realtime team collaboration. VIA Collage is Kramer’s most advanced collaboration hub, allowing the integration of PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices. Files can be shared between participants or with all participants at once, and an HDMI input allows full 1080p/60 HD video streaming. Up to six presenter screens can be displayed on a single display device, or up to 12 when two display devices are used. It supports third-party applications including Skype, Go To Meeting, Lync, WebEx and PowerPoint, and features built-in 1024-bit encryption for information sent between the Collage and the meeting participants as well as a dynamic room code to prevent unauthorised participation. Connect Pro allows users to share files, chat with other attendees and collaborate on a shared document using the whiteboard feature from their own devices, while Connect is a valueoriented presentation hub that can tile up to four users on a single screen.

Kramer Electronics: www.kramerelectronics.com

PLM+ is a new touring platform from Lab.gruppen offering the performance characteristics, flexibility and power of the 20000Q, but with twice the processing power, twice the throughput and a host of additional features and improvements. There are two models in the range – PLM20k44 and the PLM12k44 – each combining a true four-in/four-out configuration for audio I/O as well as four modules of Lake processing. The new platform offers four analogue inputs, four AES inputs, four power outputs, four Lake contour modules, 8x8 Dante I/O, two-port 1GB network switch and dual redundancy. Up to 16 inputs can be routed to a PLM+ device, allowing audio format conversion from one input type to another, and then delivering these inputs to other devices in the system. Matrixing/summing of inputs can be achieved and controlled within the Lake environment.

Audio Products Group: (02) 9669 3477 or www.audioproducts.com.au Lab.gruppen: labgruppen.com

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NEWS

ASPYRE UHD MATRIX SWITCHER

NOT SO UGLY BOX

PIANISSIMO WINDSHIELD

Aurora Multimedia’s new Aspyre series ASP-88-4K is an 8×8 4K HDMI matrix switcher that offers advanced protocol features and integrated web control for commercial applications with auto switching, digital signage with device detection, or residential systems with home automation. The switcher allows you to route Ultra HD video sources and multi-channel digital audio from any of the eight HDMI inputs to eight HDMI outputs at the same time. The front keypad and LCD are designed for easy operation and quick status of routing, while the integrated web control pages allow for remote control from any device with a web browser. LAN and RS-232 ports have advanced protocols allowing hot plug detection, signal detection, EDID table loading/recalling, presets, and more. The rackmountable switcher supports resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 @ 30Hz and 7.1 channel digital audio, with a fast 2 to 5 second channel switch response time.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or www.jands.com.au Aurora Multimedia: auroramultimedia.com

Sweden’s Wireless Solution has launched the MkII version of its W-DMX UglyBox, a compact tool for signal and DMX testing with a built-in DMX console.

Geared towards rental and installation, it features a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen, a transceiver for 2.4, 5.2 and 5.8GHz, and a built-in SD card reader, and runs off a rechargeable lithium battery. “Users can test, save, and have all the details before a job and know that the signal is rock solid. The unit is also built to update with additional features as they become available.” The company has also introduced its W-DMX COB (Chip on Board) transceiver solution in an ultra compact 6x6mm size. The SMT-mounted COB transceiver supports both DMX and RDM in a QFN48 package.

With 40mA current consumption, the low energy solution facilitates distances up to 200 meters with a standard antenna.

Show Technology: (02) 9748 1122 or www.showtech.com.au Wireless Solution Sweden: www.wirelessdmx.com

Following the success of its Piano windshield, French audio company Cinela has launched the Pianissimo for the new generation of short shotgun mics and coincident stereo, surround-sound combinations and other mics shorter than 21cm (eight inches).

Pianissimo integrates the ‘floating basket’ design pioneered by Cinela in 2007 with full-cage isolation to reduce vibration and handling noise, achieved with four flexible ‘U’ isolators installed around the cage, and a rubber bellows at the bottom of the cage to ensure flexibility and keep any wind out. Designed primarily for the pro film and video industries, the robust windshield weighs 330g and is compatible with mics including the DPA4017, Sanken CS1, Sennheiser 8060, Sennheiser MKH40/50, Schoeps CMC, CCM, MS, XY, and DMS with a variety of suspension modules. Other versions and upgrade kits are also available for two- or three-channel configurations, along with an optional Kelly rain cover. A polycarbonate hard transportation shell is included.

DB Audio Visual: (03) 9819 3630 or www.dbav.com.au Cinela: www.cinela.fr

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NEWS

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EXTRON EXTENDER ADDS USB 3.0 SUPPORT

MULTI-FORMAT MIXER SOLUTION

MARSHALL WAVEFORM MONITOR

Extron Electronics’ new Fox USB Extender Plus is a fibreoptic transmitter and receiver set capable of sending USB signals over long distances, enabling USB peripherals to be remote located up to 30km from the host computer. The extender has been upgraded to support a wider range of devices including USB 3.0, 2.0, 1.1 and 1.0 devices with data rates up to 480Mbps, and is capable of transmitting KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) when used with Extron’s Fox Series DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA extender. The transmitter includes USB peripheral emulation that supports booting of the host, as well as an integrated four-port hub with 5V, 500mA available on each port to power attached devices. Real-time status LED indicators provide visual confirmation of port activity between an active host and each connected peripheral device, and the 2.5cm high, quarter-rack width allows rack mounting or discreet installation beneath a table or inside a lectern.

Two formats are available: multimode for distances up to 2km, and singlemode for up to 30km.

RCB Integration: (08) 8351 2188 or extron@rgbintegration.com Extron: www.extron.com

Australian-based pro audio manufacturer ARX has announced the release of its MIXXMaker, a neat multi-format Bluetooth, USB and analogue audio mixer. "Smartphones, tablets, laptop computers and other Bluetooth, USB and minijack-enabled devices have rapidly become the program source of convenience,” explains ARX managing director Colin Park. "The MixxMaker is the solution wherever users of audio systems need to connect the sometimes bewildering variety of audio protocols and connectors quickly, easily and faultlessly.” The mixer features individual level controls on the Bluetooth receiver, USB connector and minijack inputs, with two balanced XLR microphone inputs, global three-way EQ control and phantom power for condenser microphones in a compact 1RU package. It is available in 100 to 120V AC or 220 to 240V AC versions, and power is connected via a standard three-pin IEC connector with built-in fuse and voltage change switch. Applications include large and small venue AV systems, industrial paging and BGM systems, broadcast submixers and multiinput sound reinforcement systems.

ARX: (03) 9555 7859 or www.arx.com.au

Marshall Electronics’ new M-Lynx-702W dual seven-inch high resolution rack mount display adds the company’s waveform feature to the original M-Lynx-702 model to monitor luminance and exposure, with analogue and digital inputs to suit multiple broadcast environments. The new version features both HDMI and 3GSDI (auto selects HDSDI/ SDI) with loop-through inputs, and analogue inputs include component and composite, also with loopthrough. All functions can be accessed directly through front panel controls. The two seven-inch monitors are 3RU high, each with 16:9 aspect ratio, a screen resolution of 1280x800 and a viewing angle of 150°. The monitors come complete with audio de-embedding and monitoring via front panel headphone jacks and builtin LED tally indicators (Red, Green, Yellow). Special features include waveform, vector, selectable markers, 1:1 pixel mapping, overscan and H/V delay modes, P-P, and ability to view individual colours.

Quinto Communications: sales@quinto.com.au Marshall Electronics: www.marshall-usa.com

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Happy 555th!: World’s Biggest Videomapping

The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, is big. In fact, the Pentagon is the only international administrative building bigger. To celebrate the 555th anniversary of the capital city, Creart (the city cultural centre), decided to offer something special to the good citizens of Bucharest and were impressed by the videomapping project submitted by local event stager, 360 Revolution.

On the 20th September 2014, iMapp Bucharest 555 mesmerised a crowd of 100,000.

360 Revolution managed the technical side of the event, and called in Hungarian videomapping specialist Maxin10sity to handle the colossal task of creating a videomapping as well as organising all video projection content, acting as a curator for this artistic performance. It selected and invited four other teams from around Europe to participate – five videos in all, each five minutes and 55 seconds long, of course.

The Palace of the Parliament is 270m long with an 86m high front façade, boasting a total projection area of 23,000sqm. Three weeks were required for Maxin10sity to complete the laser scan and 3D modelling of the façade before sending it to the artists. A Herculean

task. In fact, the scanning was so precise that there was only a 20mm shift at most in the end. But the scale of the event wasn’t the only challenge for Maxin10sity. On top of managing the entire content, acting as the leader of a team representing five countries, they were also busy working on their own content.

“For a project of this scale, 8K resolution quickly became an obvious requirement. We wanted the audience to experience this wow factor while at the same time create some emotion,” comments András Sass, Maxin10sity’s Art Director, who was in charge of developing the content with his colleague László Czigány.

“Working with this resolution allowed us to dramatically improve the rendering and deliver very sharp images.

“While working on the animation, we really pushed the software to the limit and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a projection mapping has ever been carried out in such detail. For example, we created a rendering with millions of particles that would agglomerate to shape the Parliament, before being blown by the wind the next second to

create other forms. It was not easy to create, preview and handle all this data, but we were able to achieve a great result.”

The projectors were installed in six different towers and arranged in 14 clusters: two clusters of two projectors, 10 clusters of eight and two clusters of 10. Considering the vast number of projectors, the green credentials were quite impressive for this project, as a single truck was required to deliver the projection equipment, and all 104 Panasonic PT-DZ21K projectors pulled only 260kW. Boasting 20,000 lumens, with a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and a 1920 x 1200 resolution (WUXGA), the PT-DZ21Ks reproduced razorsharp and lifelike images on the façade. The projectors were driven by five Pandoras Box quad server systems from Coolux.  Maxin10sity: www.maxin10sity.com 360 Revolution: www.360revolution.ro Panasonic: www.panasonic.com Coolux (Pandoras Box): www.coolux.de

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Connecting Up the House The Sydney Opera House upgraded its stage management desks but didn’t stop there. Now every audio, video or comms source is connected to any screen, speaker, cue light, VoIP phone or headset.

Text:/ Andy Ciddor

Everyone who’s worked in theatre, or merely visited the prompt corner on a stage, is familiar with the stage manager’s desk.

It has a place for the Prompt Copy of the show ‘script’ with its squiggles and notations of stage actions and cues for the all of the departments involved in the show, and most importantly a light to read it by. It has a big clear clock with a sweep second hand for starting and timing the show, and some form of silent telephone to connect with front of house staff managing the audience. There’s a microphone for cueing the performance crew and a push-to-talk mic key for paging the performers in their lairs. There’s also an array of switches for the cue lights that silently give ‘Stand-by’ and ‘Go’ information to the participants in a production.

Although that description is based on the first such desk I saw as teenager in the 1960s, with the addition of two-way crew talkback in the ’70s and a video monitor or two in the ’80s, the design has quite properly changed very little since the invention of the valve audio amplifier and the consequent development of the backstage tannoy system.

OFF THE PEG OR OFF THE HOOK?

So if you’re the Sydney Opera House (SOH) with a fleet of stage management desks (SMDs) successfully running hundreds of

performances per year across a multitude of venues, how would you improve the design and functionality for the next generation of your ageing SMDs? The conventional wisdom says to look at the latest generations of talkback, cueing, show relay and video monitoring systems, consider the differing production formats for each venue, then build the ideal desk for each of your venues.

Or you could do what David Claringbold, then SOH Technical Director did when he took up the job in 2006. “I knew it would take a long time to work through in terms of funding approval, design and consultation, so in around 2007 I began to talk to people about what they would need for the future.

In parallel to that, the Opera House itself began to talk a lot about digital and content from a broader enterprise perspective. Both of these projects were about audiovisual content storage distribution management in some form.

“They intersected/merged as the one project a few years after the initial discussions about what a stage management system should do. At one end of the spectrum there are people saying a stage management system is a clock and a light, and at the other end there are people who wanted it to have all the technical bells and the whistles.

“Eventually we broke the project down

into three really big chunks that were dependent on how funding worked. Chunk 1 was just core stage management – an ‘intercom and cue lights’-style of system.

Chunk 2 was what we called the Foyer Audio distribution system, with front of house and back of house distribution of audio for paging, show relay, etc., across the entire site.

Chunk 3 became a recording and archive system. We archive all the shows anyway, but everything was done in standard definition or lower, and wasn’t particularly reliable.

People were unable to automate recording something when they needed it, plus the stage managers didn’t have the video control they really wanted.”

BIGGER PICTURE

During development process Claringbold and his team got thinking about the bigger picture. In other words, the scope was broader than stage management systems, it was about a broader enterprise-wide audiovisual distribution system for the Opera House: “We asked ourselves questions such as: what should it be and to what degrees of segregation and what degrees of integration do we need to interface the stage management system over the top of that?

That then became the big picture look at what we were trying to design.

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Each foyer area can be used as a stand-alone venue in its own right with its full-range d&b audiotechnik E-series sound system.

Image courtesy of Sydney Opera House.

“Knowing the requirements from a recording, video conferencing and event streaming perspective and the audio distribution requirement, it seemed logical to have pretty much a broadcast standard infrastructure, so that we could tap in and out of that architecture as required for controlling shows and/or streaming and recording shows.”

GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Put all of these requirements together and you wind up with something quite different to your conventional stage management system. The SOH now has a unified fibreoptic production network with nearly 900 endpoints. While this network was originally constructed as a separate system from the general site-wide SOH data network, once all of the new systems were tested, the production network was merged with the existing network to form a single fibre backbone. Over that backbone runs a Riedel Mediornet vision distribution system, Dante digital audio from the Delec Oratis paging matrix, Riedel digital communications, and Nexus digital audio, plus a bunch of other virtual networks handling everything from VoIP telephones to lighting control data and an SNTP time server.

The Mediornet system digitally distributes

the HD video from all cameras (broadcast, production, FOH), all production switchers and all video recording and replay devices.

The Delec Oratis system distributes paging, announcements and show relay audio to all dressing rooms, common backstage areas, assembly areas and foyer spaces. The Riedel matrix-based digital talkback system has been in place for several years, connecting virtually every space in the entire SOH precinct. The Stagetec Nexus network, which had previously served for audio distribution in some venues, has now been expanded to link all input and output channels on the Euphonix consoles with the Pyramix and ProTools recorders and all other production sources and consoles in the precinct.

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

Although it was a grand, sweeping idea to create a unified audiovisual network that reaches into every point of the SOH site, connecting any audio, video or comms source with any screen, speaker, cue light, VoIP phone or headset, the realisation of this idea as a half a dozen stage management consoles, hundreds of comms stations, hundreds of dressing rooms, dozens of public spaces and dozens of technical areas, was an enormous and intensely detailed task. The design specification process required the

compilation of an exhaustive list of every aspect, of every required system function, and in sufficient detail so that not only could every function and system operation be specified to the suppliers, but that spec could later be used to verify that all functions operated correctly at the point of system commissioning and acceptance.

Brad Maiden who was assigned the task of SOH Technical Project Manager for the SMD project worked with consultant Dave Ludlum of TheatrePlan in the UK to build this complex specification. He explains the process: “We held two big weeks of workshops with stage managers, recording and broadcast personnel, technical support, sound and AV. Of course Rutledge was there and Mediagroup flew in a couple of people from Germany.

“Together we developed a document that became our User Story Document. We created an Excel spreadsheet. Every row of the sheet contained a statement such as ‘As a stage manager I want to page the Green Room so that I can call a performer to a show.’ Or ‘As a sound engineer I want to receive a notification that the off-stage singers are in position, so that I can safely add them to the mix’. At the end of the sessions we wound up with about 512 of these user stories.

Each of these went on to be developed into

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Above: Broadcast/recording video control room.

Right: Broadcast/recording audio control room, featuring an Avid Euphonix System 5 and ATC main monitoring.

Images courtesy of Rutledge AV.

functional requirements for the project. Indeed for most of the project we referred back to those user stories.”

THE SMDS

Because of the complexity of the environment in which the SMD was to operate and the vast number of operational requirements in the specification, the actual desks presented quite a challenge to the Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup’s development team in Buttenheim.

Although Stagetec has developed its own technologies and solutions for audio and video routing, paging and cue light systems and talkback and production communications, the SOH project involved integration of Mediagroups’s Delec Oratis paging and cue light system with the existing SOH Riedel networks for talkback and video distribution and its existing Stagetec Nexus system for audio distribution. The press of a single software-configurable LCD multicoloured button on the SMD could result in dozens of user-defined actions across the entire panoply of SOH systems from lighting control to video replay, to tally lights and comms, and cue lights, buzzers and cameras feeds.

Not only can every button on the SMD be assigned user-specific tasks from the console GUI, but the output of that process can be routed to any endpoint in any venue across the precinct.

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TOUR OF DUTY: DELEC NAM

A paging call button can be configured to deliver the output of the stage manager’s microphone to any dressing room, assembly space, foyer, control room or production headset in the building. A cue light button can be configured to flash any cue light anywhere in the building, from the props table behind the set to any control room or machine room in any venue. Who knows when somebody in the Opera Theatre may need to cue a camera drone released from the top of a scaffold tower in the forecourt, or the pipe band in the Concert Hall foyer to change tunes.

Every aspect of each SMD can be configured from its internal GUI-based menu system. All setup data is stored in a configuration database which is replicated in the SOH’s off-site disaster recovery centre. Every user’s production configuration can be uploaded into any one of the other SMDs, including the hot spare which is available to be wheeled into any venue in case of emergency.

One of the keys to the digital architecture of the SMD audiovisual media system is the ability to retain every signal in the digital domain for the entire creation, routing and distribution process. While this is relatively simple to achieve for video, comms and cue light endpoints, it’s quite a bit more problematic with audio announcements which are usually distributed entirely in the analogue domain over special-purpose cables from either line-level distribution amplifiers or central power amplifiers.

While developing the SOH SMD system, the Delec division of Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup found itself with all the parts to a digital paging and announcement network they were supplying for Sydney Trains station announcements, except the analogue audio output sub-system. Audio engineer Treva Head of Stagetec’s Australian office set about developing a peripheral that could sit on an Ethernet network carrying Audinate’s Dante 256-channel digital audio protocol, extract up to four designated channels, convert them to analogue audio and crank them out at up to 12W per channel.

The Network Amplifier Module (or NAM, as it was inventively named), eventually spawned two production variants, a weatherproof version with GPIO (switch closure) inputs and a built-in microphone for echo cancellation processing on railway stations, and a less bomb-proof version with an RS-485 input for connection to external devices. Like so many networked devices, the NAM is configured by accessing its internal web page.

Some 117 NAMs are deployed around the SOH precinct to provide the analogue audio feeds to drive the passive announcement and paging speakers in about 230 dressing rooms and assembly areas.

KNX-based volume controls are used to set speaker levels in areas such as dressing rooms where volume adjustment is permitted.

Hundreds of other NAMs are located in Sydney railway stations, while Stagetec are continuing to find dozens of other uses for them – pretty much wherever they want to drive a small loudspeaker from a digital source.

STUDIOS IN NEED OF A LIFT

Running in parallel to the SMD upgrade was a major construction project to create a new loading dock under the Opera House, three stories below sea level. Designed to enhance all aspects of SOH operations, large lifts were included to provide access to the main stage spaces. However, the only space available to house these truck-sized lift shafts included the existing broadcast and recording studios.

As a result, the SOH no longer has such a facility. Instead, every space in the building has the potential to be a recording studio, with its audio and vision control facilities located in one of the four new control rooms which are connected on the Mediornet network for all video paths and the Nexus audio distribution network for all sound.

SOH Head of Recording and Broadcast, Tony David Cray, describes it this way: “The notion of having multiple studios means we can do the same type of work, but we can put somebody else in that room today or upstairs in another room tomorrow. Because of the technology backbone the idea of a person operating and manipulating digital media is now virtualised. People literally login to the services they require.”

BROADCAST SELF SUFFICIENCY

While it has long been SOH policy to make archival recordings of all events and rehearsals, the cameras used for stage monitoring, production relay and even conductor relay are now all HD devices shared on the venue-wide broadcastquality network, and can become part of a stage manager’s display, while simultaneously being used by off-stage musicians and performers, or incorporated into a recording, web streaming or broadcast production.

The number of camera chains purchased as part of the studio replacement program was scaled back to allow those purchased to be of broadcast quality with decent lenses, providing sufficient vision quality for medium-scale independent broadcasts to be mounted without the need for outside broadcast trucks to be brought on site. To this end a Sony MVS7000X multi-format production switcher with four mix/ effects (M/E) rows was selected, as this switcher is familiar to most professional production directors. For most productions it’s expected the switcher will be partitioned as two independent dual M/E switchers. On a similar note there are a pair of 320-channel Avid/Euphonix System 5 consoles which are widely accepted for both live broadcast and post-production work. Together with Pyramix and EVS record and replay systems

the SOH now has the stand-alone capability to originate, record, post process and broadcast or stream a wide range of digital media.

SHOW RELAY

It’s customary to play show relay audio (and more recently video) in the foyer of a venue during a performance, so that latecomers can see and hear the production until the ‘suitable break in the performance’ when they’ll allowed into their seats. Show relay is also valuable to FOH staff who are preparing for an attack of the audience hordes for a cuppa or a quick glass (or several) during an interval, and it’s interesting to the public who may simply be passing through the foyer. Usually the audio system for show relay is something of suitable quality for background audio at comfortable listening levels, although

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Above: An SOH SMD during acceptance testing in Stagetec's Buttenheim facility in Germany. Photographer: Brad Maiden.

Right: The SOH fleet of SMDs under construction.

Image courtesy of Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup.

sometimes it gets cranked up past its best quality to provide a bit of background music during gala(h) openings and similar events.

As the show relay to SOH foyers and other public spaces have now become endpoints on the paging and show relay network and were therefore part of the overall media backbone, like everything else on the network their functionality became open to reconsideration.

Add to this the upgrade to foyer sound facilities that had been part of long-term SOH planning anyway, and you get to the point of installing SOH-quality d&b Audiotechnik White Range loudspeaker systems in all foyer spaces. As a result of consultant David Connor’s painstaking electroacoustic analysis and modelling, every space is now suitable for everything from a product or government policy launch, to drinks with live music after the show, video screenings, TED talks, live performances in the foyer and anything else the events department can squeeze in. Yet another not entirely-foreseeable spin-off from the stage management desk project.

MORE THAN STAGE MANAGEMENT

The SOH stage management desk project turned out to be not much of a project about stage management desks after all. Certainly the SOH has a half a dozen (five venues plus a hot spare) of the world’s most sophisticated, capable and almost infinitely-flexible stage management desks, but in the end these desks have turned out to be mere peripheral devices on a digital production and comms network that reaches into the heart of every aspect of The House’s production, performance and audience interaction. 

PROJECT SUPPLIERS

EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS

The tender for this huge project was awarded to a consortium of Australia’s Rutledge AV and Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup of Germany.

Rutledge brought many years of experience on other SOH projects, along with detailed knowledge of the building and its particular heritage and technical requirements. In short, they had a damned good idea of where the bodies were buried. Stagetec, with a branch already in Australia, had previously supplied equipment and expertise to SOH projects and is not only in the business of building SMDs and the underlying technologies for many of the world’s most high-profile venues, it had already supplied its highlydeterministic Nexus digital audio distribution and routing system for other SOH projects.

Rutledge AV (Head Supplier): www.rutledge.com.au Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup (SMD Technology): www.stagetec.com TheatrePlan (Theatre Technical Consultancy): theatreplan.co.uk Charlwood Design (Industrial Design): charlwood.com.au Indigo Systems (Electroacoustics): davidconnor.com.au d&b audiotechnik (loudspeakers): www.dbaudio.com Network Electrical (Electrical Contractor): +61 2 9948 0277

6 × Stage Managers’ desks 96 × 96 Video routing matrix (venue video archival recording) 132 × 104 Mediornet video routing matrix, (5 × venues, HDTV integration to MATV/IPTV, broadcast studios) 5 × Delec Oratis 128 × 128 paging routers 8 × Stagetec Nexus production audio routers 128 × 128 (performance ties, 5 × venues, ccr, 2 × broadcast studios) 8 × channels of EVS ISO recording (live to air & post production) 4 × Sony broadcast camera chains d&b audiotechnik E-series PA systems in all foyers and public spaces 672 × network endpoints 117 × Delec NAM network audio amplifiers 117 × d&b White Range loudspeakers House-wide master clock system (to synchronise all audio routing, mixing, video routing, camera and broadcast systems)

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Engaging with Immersive Technology Wringing maximum value out of USC’s AV dollar Text:/ Derek Powell “Good, Fast or Cheap: pick any two,” is the maxim that project managers the world over are fond of quoting. If you want it to be good and you need it fast, then it won’t be cheap. It is usually an inviolate law for any AV assignment but a recent project at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) may have slipped through this Iron Triangle using lateral thinking, a dash of doggedness, and sheer hard work.

Work on the new Learning and Teaching Hub at USC’s Sippy Downs campus was well underway when Scott Dukeson, the university’s audiovisual specialist, put out the call for a rather special project. The new building was to be home to the Engage Research Cluster and their leader, Associate Professor Christian Jones, had some radical ideas to explore.

EXPLORATION MISSION

Their mission is to research and develop interactive technologies such as software applications, social media, computer games and artworks, and their tools range from Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets to GoPro cameras

and sophisticated motion capture rigs. Dr. Jones needed two things. First, to develop their programming ideas, the group needed a multiroom video infrastructure where any of dozens of video and audio sources could plug in and be routed to display systems, capture devices and more, anywhere across the building. Second, the researchers needed an inspirational immersive environment with 270-degree floor-to-ceiling projection to test the virtual worlds they were creating. Their ideas were out of this world, but the budget for all this audiovisual technology was decidedly earthbound.

After a round of selection procedures, InDesign Technologies was handed the job, along with a near-impossible deadline. Managing director Peter Coman recalled that the first task, made urgent as the walls were about to be sheeted, was to specify the in-wall cabling that would link the lab spaces, rack rooms and displays across the building. It was a pretty tough ask, given the compressed schedule meant that the audiovisual design for the spaces to be linked had not yet been started! Fortunately, Coman

had a pretty good idea of how the Crestron range of Digital Media products could be used to both enable the individual spaces and provide the core routing that linked everything together.

CABLE PLANT

The first, and fundamental decision was to base the entire audiovisual system on a structuredcabling infrastructure. All video and control connection would be based on Crestron’s HDBaseT transmission and switching, while any separate audio would be implemented across a Dante Ethernet network. Crucially, all audiovisual cabling adheres to the University’s data cabling standards and could even be used as an ITC data network should that ever be required. To meet the schedule, both planning by InDesign, and installation, which was contracted to Programmed Electrical Technologies, proceeded round the clock. Despite the ‘backto-front’ cabling before design schedule, only a couple of extra runs were required when it came to final installation – a tribute to both the flexible design and clear thinking in the planning phase.

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Left: The Immerse space in action.

Above: The Immerse control room.

All images courtesy of InDesign Technologies. Photographer: Jason Smith.

“I want the ability to plug in anywhere and transmit anywhere”

Turning next to equipment design, the task was to gather the detailed user requirements for the Engage labs and the Immerse space.

Professor Jones was very clear that flexibility was key for the research group. “I want the ability to plug in anywhere and transmit anywhere,” he noted during the briefing. However when Coman tallied the requirements for a total of 80 inputs and outputs across more than a dozen spaces, he found a major snag. A 64 x 64 matrix would be required to provide a fully-flexible solution but the budget simply would not stretch that far. The

80 endpoints weren’t about to disappear, so after a great deal of thought, and the combustion of considerable midnight oil, InDesign proposed a simple and ingenious solution.

PATCHED UP

The plan was to wire all inputs and outputs back to a patch panel first and then to a more affordable Crestron 32 x 32 Digital Media matrix. The plan categorised endpoints into permanent inputs and outputs and user-definable inputs and outputs.

The permanent outputs (such as projectors or displays) were patched directly into the matrix, leaving 20 user-definable points located within floor boxes and on wall plates, which would only occasionally be used. To make any of these points live simply required a Crestron Digital Media (DM) transmitter or receiver to be connected at the outlet and the other end to be temporarily patched into the Crestron DM matrix. While it mightn’t have worked on many projects, the highly-technical Engage researchers immediately recognised the potential, and quickly gave it the green light.

There were a couple of practical problems to solve, of course – the first, and a perennial bugbear for installers, was to figure out an effective way to provide DM patch points on walls and in floor boxes. Unfortunately the RJ-45 (8P8C) sockets used for DM look exactly like any other RJ-45 sockets, and this would doubtless lead to users trying to connect Ethernet through the video patches. Instead, InDesign specified Siemon’s TERA connectors (normally used with Cat7A cables) for the DM connections and made sure the portable Crestron transmitters and receivers were supplied with their own TERA patch leads.

One problem down, Coman turned his attention to adapting a floor box to take a pair of patch points. Working with CMS Electracom he devised an elegant solution to fitting the TERA sockets into a low profile floor box, but then took it one step further, working out a way to mount a Crestron DM-TX-200 transmitter within the box as an alternative input. This provided an interface for computer inputs from HDMI, VGA, USB and audio into the DM network.

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IMMERSION ON A SHOESTRING

DANCING ON THE CEILING

Having already performed a (budgetary) miracle to provide anything-to-anywhere connectivity in the Engage spaces, attention now turned to providing a wow-factor immersive environment on a similar shoestring budget. Here, though the challenges weren’t just financial. Mainstream simulation theatres often make use of elaborate (and expensive) custom curved screens, or even rear projection coupled with massively-specialised projectors to create wrap-around vision but when InDesign presented a few options, it was quickly realised there wasn’t enough space for a curved or rear projection solution. What’s more, without a slab floor above there simply weren’t structures in the ceiling on which to mount projectors with the requisite millimetric-precision.

Back at the drawing board, Coman worked out a way to fill three of the walls using six relatively-standard Epson HD projectors with short-throw lenses. The upside was the staggering impact of a 10,848 x 1200-pixel room-filling image (albeit with square corners) but that still left the considerable problem of how to mount so many projectors on a flimsy ceiling structure and achieve rock-solid alignment.

“I had to put my architect’s hat on!” Coman laughed, “And come up with a rigid structure that still allowed for adjustment to get six images perfectly aligned.” It was no mean feat and the final design, with cross-members fixed to structural I-beams, is so tight for space that the projection beams actually cross through each other at the corners.

There’s a whole lot going on at the ceiling.

In addition to the six projectors, there’s a 7.1 surround sound system along with four Panasonic HD cameras and two, tri-element ClearOne microphones to record audience reactions to the immersive experience.

However, as Associate Professor Jones specified that the imaging system: “…must be a blank canvas that we can do anything on”, the image creation system has been kept as simple and flexible as possible.

In normal operation, images are sourced from a single server fitted with a six-head video output card. Edge-blending duties are shared between the video graphics card and the projectors, with no intervening processors. Because flexibility is the watchword for everything, the projectors are driven via the matrix switcher so different

World's Biggest Minecraft Lab?: Six Epson HD projectors (for a 10,848 x 1200-pixel image), a 7.1 surround sound system, four Panasonic HD cameras, two tri-element ClearOne mics (to record audience reactions), and at least three beanbags combine to bring you this 270° Immerse space.

MORE INFORMATION The University of the Sunshine Coast: www.usc.edu.au/research/research-concentrations/ engage-research-cluster InDesign Technologies: indesigntechnologies.com.au Programmed Electrical Technologies: www.programmed.com.au

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Above left: Room control UI. Above right: Immerse audience response monitoring via overhead microphone and HD camera.

Right: Direct DigitalMedia inputs are via TERA cat7 connectors while computer inputs are via a DM TX-200 panel.

sources within the building can be used as needed to create the 270° panorama.

With the room darkened, the realism of the wrap-around picture, along with the enveloping sound field can be absolutely uncanny, and the system can just as easily simulate a real environment as produce an utterly-immersive fantasy gaming experience. Associate Professor Christian Jones is totally upbeat about the limitless potential the Immerse space affords.

“The studio can be used to simulate a busy nursing ward for our Nursing Science students, a war scene for our journalism students to report on, or a car accident scene for our road safety researchers and paramedics,” he said. “We are currently developing immersive experiences such as simulations of coastal flooding, visualisations of neurological pathways in the brain, installations of interactive digital art and animation, and innovative gaming mechanics for individual and shared exploration and learning.”

Whichever direction you look, there’s no sign of a budget compromise and behind the scenes, the immaculate cabling and rack building undertaken by the Programmed team is an absolute work of art. While they haven’t quite dismantled the project manager’s traditional quality-cost-time relationship; between them USC, InDesign Technologies and Programmed have taken that fabled Iron Triangle and bent it well out of shape! 

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EQUIPMENT LIST 1 × Crestron Digital Media 32 x 32 matrix 10 × Crestron Digital Media ScalerC 3 × Crestron Digital Media RMC200 scaler 13 × Crestron Digital Media TX201 transmitters 2 × Crestron Digital Media TX200 1 × Crestron 15-inch touch screen 3 × Crestron 7-inch touch screens 1 × Crestron 10-inch touch screen 6 × Crestron Cameo keypads 2 × Crestron 16-port DigitalMedia PoDM power supplies 3 × Crestron 3 x 210W audio amplifiers 2 × Crestron 30W audio amplifier 1 × Crestron HD-XSP 7.1 HD surround sound processor 1 × Crestron CP3 processor 1 × Crestron DIN-AP2 lighting controller 1 × Crestron DIN-DALI-2 lighting controller 1 × Crestron DIN-8SW8 lighting controller 1 × Crestron DIN-2MC2 lighting controller 1 × Crestron DIN-PWS50 lighting controller 1 × Crestron DIN-distribution block 4 × Panasonic HE2 Full HD cameras 2 × ClearOne tri-element microphones 1 × APC SmartUPS 5000kVA UPS 1 × APC 8959 24-port x 16Amp power rail with temperature and humidly sensors 1 × ElectroVoice NetMax N8000-1500 DSP with Dante 15 × Bose / EV speakers 2 × Epson G6550 full HD short-throw projectors 6 × Epson G6900 full HD short-throw projectors 1 × 55-inch Samsung interactive LCD display 3 × William TX-75 IR hearing augmentation transmitters 3 × Custom rack-mounted power supplies 7 × Custom Crestron floor boxes

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Bookish This library for the 21st century sticks a community together with lashings of AV glue.

Text:/ Christopher Holder

Melbourne’s Docklands is a high-rise development that needs all the friends it can get.

The luckless Southern Star ferris wheel seems emblematic of the waterside suburb – expensive and beleaguered.

But there’s lots to like about the new AU$23m Library at The Dock. Well-designed, futuristic, sitting lightly on its surroundings, and brimming with beauty and soul. Little wonder then that it’s very quickly become a community touchstone.

This isn’t your standard concrete and steel building. Clare Design as design architects employed some innovative construction techniques. The cross-laminated timber frame was shipped from Austria [The one without the kangaroos-Ed], which meant the AV needed to be considered from very early in the design process.

In fact, in a world where AV too often gets called in after the walls have already been plastered, project AV consultants Parity Technology Consultants (Parity) had the opposite problem.

According to Parity partner Pasquale Valpied: “All the penetrations needed to be finalised prior to the timber frame being fabricated. Fortunately we got all our calculations right!”

Naturally, the construction phase was the customary bunfight, with AV contractors ProAV Solutions fighting the good fight to ensure the cable and duct infrastructure was in before the floors were poured. ProAV’s project manager Kevin McMahon reflected on the frenetic months of the build: “We had some very long cable runs. For example, the performance space and recording spaces were linked, so we needed to be on our toes. We also took care of the power to the outdoor Mitsubishi screen and had to get that in under the floor.

“Towards the end of the job we had weekly meetings with the client and Parity. Problems were worked through on the spot, which certainly made our lives easier. It was a great bunch of people to work with.”

Library at The Dock has been delivered through a tripartnership arrangement between the City of Melbourne, Lend Lease and Places Victoria.

Photos: Copyright City of Melbourne/Dianna Snape Photography (exterior building and interactive floor image).

OUTDOOR LED The building provides a hint of the digital revolution that lurks within. A Mitsubishi outdoor LED display acts as a beacon to all of Docklands. The 2560mm x 4480mm, 10mm pixel pitch panel was chosen for its wide viewing angle and brightness. The screen provides HD processing, is serviceable from the front, self-contained, and provides additional protection for all electrical components through the use of internal cooling fans and salt air filters. It’s mostly a digital billboard and allows the library to advertise events.

Mitsubishi: (02) 9684 7777 or www.mitsubishielectric.com.au

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INTERACTIVE TOUCH Another key specialist supplier was Interactivity, which designed and built the touch tables and interactive floor in the Children’s Area.

The interactive floor display combines two, ‘stacked’ ceiling-mounted Mitsubishi projectors and a camera that picks up breaks in an infrared beam. Kids need no invitation to jump onto the PVC ‘screen’ laid on the floor and interact with the Flash animations. The system is the brainchild of Interactivity and has been a huge hit, clocking up nearly 60,000 individual interactions in the first six months.

Self-contained 10-touch tables are also dotted about the library. Affectionately dubbed the Octopus, it’s a white Corian-shrouded 47-inch touch table, with an Intel NUC computer under the bonnet, built in Australia under license by Interactivity.

Interactivity (Interactive Floor & Tables): (03) 9555 1600 or www.interactivity.com.au

ENVY OF THE WORLD

A truly contemporary library may still have the majority of its floor space occupied by books and journals, but there’s a far heavier emphasis on community spaces. With that, technology plays an enabling role – to educate, entertain, and allow people to plug in, to help themselves, to come together. And this library was to be cutting edge, the envy of the world, in fact.

“You want the technology to be as transparent and seamless as possible,” noted Pasquale Valpied. “We don’t want people thinking about how they use it, they just interact.”

Technologically, there’s more variety than a Frankfurt Book Fair. In no particular order the building packs: an external big-screen LED, digital signage, an interactive floor and tables, meeting rooms with conferencing capabilities, activity rooms with a weatherproof screen, a recording studio, an exhibition space with laser projection, an IPTV system, and a 120-seat performance

space that can function as a 7.1 cinema. Yes, you can find a quiet spot to read a book in this library, but you could just as easily find yourself in a yoga class, a training seminar, language class, mothers’ group, or sipping on a skinnicino in the library café with the morning papers.

PERFORMANCE VENUE

Often clients’ expectations need to be reined in.

The message is made loud and clear very early on: ‘of course you can have whatever you like, but it comes at a cost’, and of course the cost rises exponentially with every new, seemingly innocuous, demand.

So when the Library at The Dock wanted the freedom to ‘do anything’ in its performance venue – theatre, cinema, concerts, training, seminars, awards nights, recording space, product launches, etc. – Parity played along, expecting the wishlist to be pared down as the financial reality set in. Only… it never did. The

performance venue, is one of the most flexible in the country. Parity’s Pasquale Valpied talks us through the venue.

Projection: “It’s not a huge space, which was our initial concern when building in all this functionality. There are five lighting bars but it’s not the highest ceiling. So with that we were worried about sight lines with the Projectiondesign F32 projector shooting underneath the lighting bars. We had to very careful with the motorised projection screen and where that was installed. The EAW front of house PA system is quite sizeable and we had to ensure that it too wasn’t affecting sight lines.

“The Projectiondesign F32 projector is right for the task. We’ve used it before and we know its capabilities. We knew the space needed high brightness, good reliability, and good installation flexibility. We also wanted a 1080 x 1920 projector not 1200 x 1920, to match the preview monitors on the sound desk and in the lectern

038

FEATURE

Quite the Performance: The Library's jewel in the crown is the Performance Venue, a 120 (retractable) seat multipurpose theatre that combines a 7.1 cinema audio system, theatrical lighting rig, a state-of-the-art lectern with touch control, Allen&Heath digital audio mixer, Martin lighting control and enough floor boxes and I/O to allow for full freedom of presentation, not to mention Dante 'tielines' back to the recording studio in case you'd like to record a full drum kit.

PERFORMANCE VENUE GEAR

which are all 16:9. It’s harder than it sounds to find a good 16:9 rather than 16:10 projector.”

Theatrical Lighting: “Lightmoves was subcontracted to design and supply the theatrical lighting. We procured a combination of traditional incandescent and LED fixtures, while the 40A per phase dimmers give us the capacity to load up any lighting bar with a full complement of traditional fixtures. Or, it’s possible to bring in traditional lights on stands and plug them in – we have floor level connections for DMX512 control and dimmer power. The lighting bars aren’t motorised because they’re low enough to (legally) adjusted from a ladder. We ran the power internally in the lighting bars to maintain clean lines.”

Video: “We’ve allowed for two cameras in

the back corners. An HD-SDI camera can plug straight into the patch panel and the cabling will go straight to a Crestron 8 x 8 DigitalMedia frame populated with the appropriate I/O cards – which also allows us to expand as necessary. The addition of a Haivision H.264 encoder means we could put that video on our IPTV system using the building’s Cat6 infrastructure, via our own switch. Another future option is to stream that vision over wi-fi, so anyone in the building with a handheld device can watch it on IPTV. Haivision has a solution for that. Just click on the option on the Library’s home page and you'll be taken to the YouTube channel for the in-house IPTV.” Audio: “The Performance Space is a fullblown 7.1 cinema. EAW eight-inch coaxial cinema loudspeakers account for the surrounds,

Crestron DigitalMedia frame Projectiondesign F32 projector Allen & Heath iLive T80 Powersoft M Series amps EAW front of house (2 x JF29NT/SBK250 subs) EAW CR72Z 7.1 surround loudspeakers Crestron 7.1 surround processor Martin M2GO controller with 22-inch ELO LCD touch monitor 2 × LSC Redback 12-channel dimmers 12 × Philips Showline SL PAR 150 4 × Selecon SPX profile 4 × Selecon RAMA HP fresnel Blue Gum Joinery (Lectern): (02) 9625 3309 or info@bluegumjoinery.com.au Crestron: 1800 685 487 or www.crestron.com.au TAG (Allen & Heath): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au PAVT (EAW, Powersoft): (03) 9264 8000 or sales@productionaudio.com.au Lightmoves (Theatrical Lighting): www.lightmoves.com.au

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FEATURE

DIGITAL SIGNAGE The digital signage system needed to cater a range of needs, varying from a simple single-screen installation, up to an enterprise‑wide solution, with full authoring and scheduling tools. Detailed research was undertaken into multiple products available, and the client ended up opting for an externally-managed solution. Although very nearly falling in with NEC Live, Parity felt it the system needed to be outsourced to a specialist.

Just Digital Signage (also known as Aeris) was engaged to provide the signage platform (DC Media) and design the wayfinding touchscreen at the front desk. Given the library is a six-star energy rated building the wayfinding screen also incorporates energy usage data. The back-toback ceiling-mounted 46-inch NEC black-bezel panels provide in-house marketing messaging – events, and promotions. The screens ship with built-in OPS (open pluggable specification) PCs which keeps the lowprofile displays super-neat.

Just Digital Signage: 1300 339 873 or justdigitalsignage.com.au NEC: 131 632 or displays@nec.com.au

The digital signage (above) uses Just Digital Signage's DC Media platform and NEC panels. The recording studio (right) features an Avid C24 controller, ProTools running on the new MacPro, and KRK monitoring. Not shown is the Allen & Heath Dante-enabled I/O that provides multi-channel digital networking to the adjoining live room, practice space and Performance Venue. The studio is available for hire.

IPTV ACTIVITY A Haivision IPTV back end takes seven cards: five free-to-air and two satellite cards for foreign language channels. One of the end points is in the top level Activity Room (which can be open to the elements). There’s a big 120kg waterproofed Sunbrite display running IPTV.

while a sizeable EAW 2.1 rig forms the basis of the PA, which is entirely flown. The full-range speakers are an active design while the 1000W subs are powered by Powersoft M series amps.”

Lectern: “The lectern is from Blue Gum Joinery in Sydney. It has an integrated 22-inch LCD and a glass top for a preview monitor. It’s built with a 14U rack that packs a Blu-ray player and a City of Melbourne PC. The lectern’s two gooseneck mics are premixed into the floor box via HDBaseT. From there it’s sent to the Crestron DigitalMedia rack via Cat6.

“The client wanted the flexibility of placing a lectern anywhere across the stage, so we have multiple floor boxes. There are as many as eight mic inputs available in the floor boxes to record bands, ensembles or to mic up a rock drum kit.

We have a Dante-enabled Allen&Heath iLive T80 desk in the performance venue, which links

to the recording studio so we can record live performances from the studio.”

AV Booth: “We had an issue with the Acromat retractable seating. The top tier isn’t as deep as it was spec’d. We had to chop the bio box desk space down: there’s just enough room to comfortably get behind the desk and still room to fit the mixing console, lighting desk, two LCD monitors, touchscreen — the whole kit.”

TURNING NEW LEAF

It’s a well-accepted fact that an inspired building design can, in turn, inspire those who inhabit it.

The library at The Dock is just such a building.

Properly designed and integrated AV can also inspire. Or at the very least, well-conceived AV gets out of the way of inspiration; allows it to germinate and prosper without hindrance

or interruption. Architecture may have many decades head start on AV in developing the ‘rules’ by which it inspires, but it’s in a project like this that it’s heartening to observe that AV can successfully assist in bringing people together.  CONTACTS Parity (AV Consultant): www.parity.com.au ProAV (Integration): proavsolutions.com.au

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042

TUTORIAL

Putting the squeeze on pixels Video, codecs and containers.

Text:/ Stephen Dawson

When digital video arrived in 1986 it had one major problem. It was monstrously large.

Way bigger than the pipelines and carriers then available – indeed, that are available today.

How was video to be reduced so much in size that a whole movie could be delivered on a 12cm silver disc? How could that video be streamed over the still-limited bandwidth available to businesses and consumers? How could high definition – even UHD – video be captured on devices which use flash memory for storage.

The answer? Principally, increasingly-effective systems of data compression, along with logical containers to package the compressed video and its associated audio.

THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM

Let’s get a sense of the size of the problem. We’ll keep things easy by starting with the familiar PAL DVD standards. These present 50 fields per second, and each field is 720 pixels wide by 288 pixels tall (DVDs have their video interlaced, so only half the vertical information is contained in each field). That makes for over 207,000 pixels per field, or more than 10.3 megapixels per second.

DVDs replicated the long-standing analogue TV delivery standards in which colour was provided with only one quarter of the resolution of the monochrome component of the video. Each pixel requires eight bits of data for the luminance (monochrome component) and four more bits for the two colour difference components. That’s 12 bits per pixel, or a byte-and-a-half. Do the multiplication and you’ll find that our SD video needs a throughput of more than 124Mbps.

The runtime of Gladiator on a Region 4 DVD is 149 minutes. At that rate it would require the space of more than 16 dual-layer, singlesided DVDs. Instead, the actual video bitrate of Gladiator on DVD is 5.98Mbps (Collector’s Edition) or 6.45Mbps (Superbit version). These

represent very impressive compression ratios of just 4.8% and 5.2% of the original size.

Re-run the figures for Gladiator on Bluray and you get an uncompressed bitrate of nearly 600Mbps. The actual measured bitrate of this movie on the disc is 17.66Mbps, so the compression squeezes it to less than 3% of the original size.

Yet, visually, it still looks glorious. So how do they do it?

DATA COMPRESSION THE ANALOGUE WAY

Unfortunately there is simply no way yet discovered for video data to be highly compressed without losses. The first losses occurred long before digital video. Video cameras typically work in RGB. That is, they separately capture the red, green and the blue elements of each picture.

The colour detection systems in our eyes, as it happens, also work in RGB. But colour analogue TV transmissions used a different standard: YUV. RGB was converted to YUV, encoded onto the transmission signal, received by your TV, then turned back to RGB to recreate the image in your TV’s tube.

Y is the luminance (monochrome) part of the signal, while U and V are colour (chrominance) components. RGB can be converted to YUV without significant loss, and likewise the other way around.

However, the human eye as it turns out, is far less capable of resolving colour detail than it is monochrome detail: the cells in our retinas for the latter are far more numerous. To take advantage of this, the U and V information was only transmitted for each group of four pixels, while the Y information is for every pixel (a process known as chroma sub-sampling). Were RGB or YUV with full-colour resolution transmitted, it would involve twice as much data.

This scheme has continued for digital distribution channels such as DVD, Blu-ray and

Killer Detail: Efficient compression systems preserve all the details of the CGI crowds in Gladiator.

digital TV. In the digital domain, the numbers are clearer. The Y luminance channel gets eight bits of resolution – which works out to 256 levels of grey scale, while the U and V chrominance channels also get 256 levels, but at one quarter of the resolution. This certainly saves space when distributing video.

Professional video cameras generally capture (if not always output) full resolution for all colour components and may offer 12, or even more, bits per component for smoother graduations of colour.

COMPRESSION ACROSS SPACE, THEN TIME

When you get to the digital video world there are essentially two kinds of compression systems. The first simply compresses each frame individually, without reference to the preceding and following frames, using a JPEG-style compression. Some examples of this are Motion JPEG, that still exists to this day, DV – the standard used for many years in consumer camcorders, and JPEG2000 which is used in the DCI format for cinematic exhibition. The DV system had some advantages compared to the formats now most in use. Principally it was relatively easy to edit because of the discrete frame structure. But at around 25Mbps for SD video, the compression is only to 20% of the original.

In the late 1980s the basis of the current systems was developed in the form of H.261, which is the ancestor, or at least an influential uncle, to not only the H.26x line of video codecs, but also Microsoft’s VC1.

To fully understand these involves mastering such arcane concepts as motion vectors, and discrete cosine transforms, well beyond the scope

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TUTORIAL

Video Frame Type Counts

Video Frame Type Sizes Average

P Frames 600

76,755 (31.21%)

11,467 (4.66%)

B Frames 157,698 (64.13%)

Average / Peak Size (KB)

500

I Frames

Peak

454

432 391

400 300 200

201 110

100

72

0 I

P

B

Frame Type

of this article. The important thing to understand is that with these compression systems the frames are no longer independent.

In addition to compressing individual frames, frames are compared to each other for further savings. It isn’t just a matter of looking for redundancies to eliminate, since it’s a rare piece of video programming that has a perfectly unchanging background. Instead the vector of the movement of objects (well, parts of objects as captured in macroblocks) is predicted for large space savings, with the inevitable errors corrected from an overlay of additional information. A small proportion of the frames are individually encoded (these are called Intra-Frames or I-Frames) while others show only adjustments from the preceding frame (Predicted-Frames or P-Frames) and others work in both directions (Bidirectional-Frames or B-Frames).

This has remained the essence of compressed video delivery through various iterations of the H.26x standards. MPEG2 (derived from H.262) was for many years the most widely used on DVD and DVB broadcast TV. For 1080p consumer formats, H.264 (sometimes called AVC for Advanced Video Coding) has become the de-facto standard. This lies at the core of most internet video as well as most Blu-ray discs (which also accommodate MPEG2 and VC1) and even some forms of digital TV (the 3D experiments of a few years ago in some Australian capital cities used H.264).

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Poised to take over is H.265 which was specifically developed to double compression rates without reducing picture quality, a virtuous ambition given it’s designed to support not just 4K, but also 8K (8192 by 4320 pixels) resolutions. H.265 takes advantage of today’s more powerful processing compared to the year of H.264’s release (2003). Encoding has often

been a trade-off between what’s mathematically optimal, and what’s computationally feasible, given the need to decode in real time. H.265 tilts the balance towards the mathematically optimal.

To give a sense of the data savings from these schemes let’s return briefly to Rusty’s sword and sandal epic, Gladiator. A single uncompressed Blu-ray-quality frame (ie. 12 bits per pixel) would come to 3037.5kB in size. Of the nearly quarter of a million frames on this movie’s Blu-ray disc, fewer than 5% are I-Frames, and these average only 201kB in size. Some 31% are P-Frames, and these save more space, averaging 110kB. B-Frames are the most common at 64%, and most space-saving at an average of 72kB each.

If H.265 implementations deliver what’s promised, then rather than the amount of data in content like Gladiator being reduced to less than 3% of the original, they’ll be below 1.5%.

For example, a wrapper very familiar to those who like to obtain movies and TV shows from the internet in a less than formal manner is Matroska [Aarrrr – He’s so polite – Ed]. The MKV file can contain video and multiple audio streams, all employing just about any codecs, along with subtitles. Your player may support MKV in general, but it may not necessarily support the weird video compression format contained therein.

Meanwhile MPEG-4, the reasonably popular video codec which was first specified in 1999, might appear in, amongst others, an MKV wrapper, or equally in an AVI one. Yet AVI was launched way back in 1992. Up until a couple of years ago some devices would play MPEG-4 when delivered in an AVI wrapper, but not in an MKV one, even though the MPEG-4 stream was effectively identical in both.

CONTAINERS & THEIR CONTENTS

ASSUME NOTHING

So far we’ve been talking about how video is encoded. But for most purposes video alone is of little use. In general, it needs to be accompanied at the very least by audio. Commonly it also needs sync data to keep the sound and video lined up, subtitles, possibly multiple other audio streams, metadata instructing the decoder or playing device to take particular actions, and sometimes other data only loosely-related to the actual video content (eg. the EPG and program information data in digital TV ‘transport streams’). This collection of content is generally delivered within a ‘container’ or ‘wrapper’.

Indeed, that’s also the case with digital audio, but things tend to be simpler there, with most codecs firmly associated with one standard wrapper.

With video, though, a particular wrapper may contain content in one of several different codecs, while any given codec may be found in several different wrappers.

Modern professional and consumer playback equipment is incredibly versatile, as it must be to even to begin to cope with the proliferation of video codecs, their containers, the other contents of those containers, and of course the various resolutions of the provided video (including, now 4K).

But it’s far from certain that any particular combination will work in any particular device, making it critical to test the entire system well before your deadline. 

044

REVIEW

Dynacord PM502 Powered Mixer The humble Besser block of yore may be long gone, but the powered mixer still has plenty of appeal.

Text:/ Christopher Holder

My, how the humble powered ‘brick’ has grown up! Prior to lightweight Class D amplification coming of age, the portable powered mixer adhered to a very familiar form factor: 19-inch wide, normally about 4U high, a humble array of basic EQ, knobbage and metering, and heavy enough to suck passing comets into its orbit.

These unglamorous workhorses would be in every PA rental inventory (let’s not forget that powered PA boxes were until this millennium something only Meyer Sound really considered worth the hassle and Meyer never did anything portable), and in most pubs and clubs. When not in use they would prop doors open, and keep corrugated iron roofs from blowing away in the cyclone season.

Powered PAs have eroded the ‘brick’s’ market, making way for more highly featured small format (‘unpowered’) consoles with better EQ, more auxiliaries, and even some

basic effects. The brick had its day.

Or had it?

Dynacord has identified a market for a small-format powered mixer that is largely unmet by the current crop of products. The new PM502 is that product and it’s really rather good.

BUILT FOR PURPOSE

Dynacord has identified a market first, then spec’ed a powered mixer after. This isn’t a natty product in search of a customer, it’s the other way around. So who needs an amp strapped to a mixer?

Pubs, churches, fitness clubs, hotel lobbies, restaurants… The fact is, most venues now — even your single-origin café with its wooden crates on the street; or the singleparishioner church with its creche; or the spit ’n’ sawdust pub in that single-horse town with its corner stage and beer garden; or the singleminded suburban gym with its hot yoga room and smoothie bar – have

more than one zone of audio, and very often a combination of active and passive speakers. In other words, there are many, many more loudspeakers in the world than there once was, and something has to be powering and controlling them.

And here’s where the PM502 is well pitched. It represents a competent mix package with the right combination of features and I/O. LIGHTS ON

When I first pulled the PM502 I involuntarily threw the unit up over my head like a Armenian weightlifter. I couldn’t believe how light (4.9kg) and compact it was.

The layout is easy and uncluttered – you don’t need the dainty fingers of a Shenzhen smartphone sweatshop assembly line worker to operate the channel EQ. Plug in a mic and turn up the gain. There are three stereo inputs (including two pairs of RCA), which is more than customary on a compact mixer but is right for the

market (think iPods, DJs, the AM/ FM receiver). What’s more you can plug in a USB stick and the PM502 will read and play back music via the LCD. For the purposes of this review I plugged the Speakon connectors to a couple of passive Bose foldback monitors. Talking into an AKG D880 dynamic mic there was plenty of clean level — whisper quiet even when cranking the 65dB of gain (there’s a global phantom power switch for condenser mics).

The amp is rated at 2 x 450W (max. @ 1kHz) into 4Ω, which is perfectly adequate for a 12+horn box in most general purpose applications. No one is contending the PM502’s amplification will fill set the dancefloor alight or shake the windows, but there’s more than enough grunt for any portable application.

I then connected the Master B outputs into a pair of 15+horn active FBT loudspeakers. It was a

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REVIEW

neat combination. There’s some routing flexibility that means I could send the Aux foldback output to the Speakons rather than the default Master A output. It demonstrated to me how the PM502 can happily jump into any passive/active loudspeaker combo.

After plugging in my iPod into a pair of RCA sockets I was able to test some of the bingo call/DJ/aerobic instructor features. The PM502 features a very capable ducker called Talk Over. There are four presets that provide various levels of music attenuation and shape of the ducker’s ADSR envelope.

The compressor is also quite well spec’ed and easy to use. I guess you’d call it ‘master bus’ compression – you can’t switch it in on a perchannel basis. You can select from a handful of presets, everything from brickwall limiting to the more gentle Uplift Soft setting, and then, if you so desire, dig in and make changes to the threshold, attack, release, and ratio via the LCD panel.

Rounding out the master section features is an effects engine. As you’d expect, every channel (mono and stereo) has a post-fade FX pot, while the master section has FX send and FX return master pots. There’s a handy smorgasbord of reverbs, delays and modulation effects to

choose from. What’s more, you can use the footswitch input to turn the effect on/off.

DISPLAY

The PM502’s LCD takes care of all housekeeping duties. It’s a familiar ‘one pushbutton pot’ affair. Anyone who’s used an iPod won’t have any trouble getting around the UI. There are plenty of rewards for those who take the time to jump in. For example, at first glance you might assume the seven-band graphic EQ is set to work across the main stereo output, but you’ll discover you can have a different, independent GEQ set up for all three.

You’ll also discover a somewhat arcane LPN page. The so-called lowpass notch filters are a proprietary Dynacord feature designed to squeeze some more low-end impact out of a smaller system. It’s a little like the ‘bass boost’ button on your ghetto blaster, although it’s more dynamic than a simple EQ contour.

THE DIRECT APPROACH

There’s plenty to like about the PM502 package.

Combining a traditional rackmount mixer interface with a very serviceable array of digital processing, it will slot into plenty of installs which

require more mixing features than a basic zone mixer.

That said, this isn’t a FOH mixer’s first-choice board – the tone controls are broadbrush and the metering is quite rudimentary.

Rather, the PM502 is built for ease of use on the front end.

In fact, it’d go as far to say that the PM502 is the installer’s friend.

And here’s where the PM502 secret weapon comes out to play: the 100V Direct Drive mode. Yes! No need for separate output transformers, you can simply make the switch via the onscreen menu and plug in your constant voltage speakers via the Euroblock connectors on the back panel. (As an aside, if your PA/wedges don’t have Speakon connector you can use the Euroblock as stand-in binding posts for your speaker cables.) This is a fantastic, out-of-the-box boon for venues with multi-speaker, distributed systems or where distance is a factor. Naturally, switching to direct drive doesn’t preclude you from feeding your active PA or amps from the Master 2 and Aux outputs.

Other reasons for calling the PM502 the installer’s friend is a three-stage, four-digit, passwordprotected lockout mode. Once configured, there’s no need to worry about the DJ clipping the amps or

the assistant manager inadvertently switching it to Direct Drive mode.

And then there’s the amplifier routing flexibility I alluded to. You can switch the two amp channels to handle six variations/permutations of the three outputs: anything from a conventional Master A left/right through to a summed Master B bus on one side with the aux send on the other. This is all likely to be a ‘set once, then lock it off’ affair, but also very handy for the savvy venue operator.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

The brick is dead, long live the brick… albeit a featherweight, DSPturbo-charged ‘brick’ with some very 21st century features.

If your jobs don’t require you to mix so much as ‘set levels’, then the PM502 is a sophisticated and powerful solution with some installfriendly features.

My final observation, and something that instills considerable confidence, is the fact that Dynacord didn’t contrive a way of expressing the Class D amp power as 2 x 500W (rather than 450W) thus pushing it over the combined magical ‘1000W’ marketing threshold. Thank you Dynacord. Thank you for being scrupulously German. 

MORE INFO Price: AU$1695 Bosch: (02) 9683 4752 boschcomms@au.bosch.com Pros: Three independent outputs Routing flexibility with the amp channels 100V line ‘Direct Drive’ mode Cons: No per-channel on/off button Limited metering Summary The best compact powered mixer on the market? Thanks to the PM502’s DSP, routing flexibility, Direct Drive 100V line mode and portability… the answer is yes.

046

REVIEW

Opening up Pandoras Box Coolux Widget Designer software.

Text:/ Paul Collison

Normally associated with media playback and control systems, Coolux is forever seeking new and exciting technologies to interact with, and control its flagship Pandoras Box media server. The communications hub for Pandoras Box is a little piece of processing software named Widget Designer (WD) which is essentially just an input and output program. Signals or messages arriving at the input of WD are interpreted and processed, resulting in the output of a trigger for an action. It is a plain piece of software, boring even, but when you begin to grasp the possibilities WD affords, the Pandoras Box world becomes a much more communicable place, with seemingly endless possibilities.

Open up the software and you’re confronted with a blank screen. There is nothing except a title bar. The GUI is plain, clunky even. However, very quickly you begin to realise that WD is really just a software framework that lets you create the GUI, and allows you to build the machine that supports your desires. Rightclicking on the screen quickly unfolds all the possibilities of your options. The user can create input and output nodes for communication with external devices, write scripts that interact directly with Pandoras Box and other WD instances, or simply create the odd clock or readout. You are in control of the functions and the GUI. It’s a refreshing change from other software that dictates the look, feel and functionality. However it is the possibilities of communication between pieces of equipment running on differing protocols that really makes WD a stunning piece of software.

DOING STUFF WITH WD

To write about the capabilities of WD can get quite boring. It’s probably better to talk about how it gets used. Let’s first look how we implement WD on some television shows. On The X Factor for example, we run three instances of WD, all in very different ways. Firstly and probably the

most simply, we use it on a touchscreen as an interface for our Pandoras Box replay system with many short cuts for content replay. We run scripts that can shutdown or restart all of our machines simultaneously. When you have a dozen or so computers to take care of, this can save precious time. One can also take the client machines in and out of fullscreen mode and jump to various parts of the timeline interface at the click of a soft button. Essentially we’re creating programming shortcut – standard scripting – that save us time. It’s basically how WD started out life, as a shortcut device for Pandoras Box. On The X Factor we also use this instance to

Some of the UI elements available in Widget Designer.

switch back and forth between the SDI and DVI inputs on the Barco ImagePro video processors that feed the LED surfaces on the set. The ImagePros act as both scalers and switchers on the various LED surfaces that populate the set.

The DVI inputs are allocated to the Pandoras Box machines, and the SDI inputs for program output of the show. Switching to the SDI input allows the studio audience to see video packages as the audience at home would, as well as

inserting the judges faces for comments and the occasional vocalist.

We do of course have the option of routing this program in to the input cards of the media servers and feeding the screens that way, however, the extra few frames of latency this introduces, pushes us past the point of acceptability. So the fastest way to get the program signal to screens is to bypass the computers and go directly in to the ImagePro. REMOTE SWITCHING

The next task is to remotely switch these devices.

Enter WD. By sending a simple TCP message, we can switch the inputs of the ImagePro. To do this, we create a toggle button on the user interface of WD that sends the appropriate TCP message depending on the state of the on-screen button. To help with user feedback, we can change the appearance of the button as it toggles back and forth between states. The image on the button is user definable so we build custom buttons that suit our needs as we go.

This ultimately means we control the inputs to the LED surfaces from lighting control. I have an attention span that would embarrass a selfrespecting gnat, which means changing those inputs back and forth can prove troublesome, so I prefer the production vision switcher in the broadcast truck to have this responsibility. On the other hand, being a OCD power-freak I want to know when it’s been switched and have the ability to override that. The solution with WD is quite simple. We place a Windows tablet PC running another instance of WD next to the vision switcher, and this instance exchanges messages with the WD instance in lighting control about the state of the button.

When I toggle a button on my instance, I not only send a TCP message to the ImagePro to switch, I simultaneously send a message to the other WD instance to toggle the corresponding button. So both instances of WD are in sync, but my instance is the only one actually communicating with the ImagePro. Very simple, but ever so effective.

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REVIEW

Above: Template for setting up IR tracking responses.

Right: Templates for input calibration and network linking.

THE XYZ OF X FACTOR

The third instance of WD runs our infra-red tracking system. Eight Optitrax infra-red cameras cover a defined area of the stage, tracking infrared LEDs attached to various performers. These cameras are carefully calibrated to understand the 3D space they survey. An LED tracker, or tag, can then be tracked within that space. The X,Y and Z coordinates of each LED tag are input into WD and used for two functions.

Firstly, WD can convert these coordinates into PosiStageNet (PSN) data and send it to the lighting controller. PosiStageNet is a real-time 3D position-locating protocol developed by MA Lighting and VYV of Canada. Using the 3D positional data for the lighting fixtures and stage area that will already exist in an MA3D file, grandMA2 control system can then use the stream of PSN data to follow the tag with a selected fixture. So on The X Factor, we can now assign any appropriately-located fixture as a backlight to follow a performer wearing an LED tag. Secondly, we can use WD to forward the tracker location to an assigned video layer in a Pandoras Box to drive live interactive masks and effects.

WD can interface with a plethora of devices, communicating directly with Barco projectors and other Barco devices, just about any TCPenabled devices, TVOne devices and more.

Almost any device that accepts a standard input can become part of your WD network, effectively making those devices controllable from touchscreen inputs or part of a lighting cue

list. On the input side, WD can accept triggers directly from a custom-built touchscreen user interface, or that screen can be shared as a web page for remote control from any device with a web browser. Inputs and outputs include ArtNet, MA-Net, TCP and UDP datagrams, tracking encoders, Airscan devices, GPIO (switch closure) interfaces, SMPTE timecode, MIDI notes, DMX512, email, SMS text messages, ASCII strings, USB, serial data (RS-232/RS-485) and even the Kinect from your XBox. You can even send a command to the host computer, play WAV audio or a video file, or change the appearance of a window on the GUI. This is by no means an exhaustive list of how data can be interfaced through WD. Within the software, command strings, variables and IF/THEN-style conditional logic scripts can be easily written. So consequences and even multiple consequences from a set of variables can produce different outcomes. For example, the buzzer system on Asia’s Got Talent, is run by WD. Each judge has a buzzer button, when they press their button, it triggers a lighting and audio cue. When all the judges have pressed their buzzers it triggers a bigger lighting, video and audio cue. However, the order of the button presses is never predicable. So a variable input node is required that looks at each judge’s button.

When all buttons are triggered in any order, we can generate our output for our big look. Once that has been executed, we reset and wait for the next one!

OUT OF THIN AIR

The Airscan I mentioned earlier is a laser scanner with a 180° scan field which creates a virtual wall that can sense up to 24 touches in an area

around 18m x 12m. It detects breaks (touches) in the scanned field which can be mapped to layers on your Pandoras Box, or used to create triggers in WD. An Airscan means you can turn pretty much any wall or display into a touchscreen, so a projector pointed at a wall, or a wall of LCD panels can easily become a touch surface. Using WD, a person can use gestures to zoom, position, rotate and play a video clip on a layer of Pandoras Box video. In fact, you can even build your own gestures to trigger any feature of your Pandoras Box or send triggers off to another ecosystem.

LIKE A VERSION?

There are three versions of WD: Standard, Pro and Ultimate. Standard is free, and allows for most functions that exist in a Pandoras Box world.

The Pro and Ultimate versions focus on external communication with other systems and more sophisticated web page publishing and interaction.

WD is a piece of glue software that finds a place in almost any show I do. Its ability to plug holes when I need to communicate with a particular device is almost unique. The way in which it can seamlessly interact between technologies makes Widget Designer most likely the one piece of software I cannot live without. 

MORE INFO Price: Widget Designer Pro V4: AU$2759 (inc GST).

Widget Designer Ultimate V4:AU$6779 (inc GST).

Coolux: www.coolux.de/en/products/widgetdesigner/

048

NEWS

InfoComm News

News from the Asia Pacific Region

SHOW US YOUR BEST WORK

InfoComm is closing the year on a busy note, with two new free resources due out in December. A white paper, The Role of the Audiovisual Industry in Unified Communications and Collaboration, was compiled with input from a task group of industry experts, led by Richard Morrison, of Norman Disney & Young. In addition, the association is releasing an ePublication, AV-IT for Higher Education Infrastructure, aimed at educating the building community, technology managers and others of important considerations when planning spaces. The publication’s task group included participation from AV practitioners around the world, including Derek Powell, of AVDEC. Visit infocomm.org to access these publications.

thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, we’ve published a standard a year, all of which are now free to members: • 2009: Audio Coverage Uniformity in Enclosed Listener Areas • 2010: Standard Guide for Audiovisual Systems Design and Coordination Processes • 2011: Projected Image System Contrast Ratio • 2012: Audiovisual Systems Energy Management • 2013: AV Systems Performance Verification • Of course, standards are only as good as the extent to which they’re used. In a recent InfoComm survey, completed by 1361 AV providers: • 52 percent were aware of InfoComm standards • 29 percent were not aware of InfoComm standards • 19 percent didn’t know • Of those who said they were aware of InfoComm standards, 29.6 percent used a standard for a project. In addition, those who were aware of and have used infoComm standards were more likely to agree that their organisation: • Finished projects on time and on budget (87.2 percent) • Said their organisation was constantly looking for better ways to complete projects (87.9 percent) • Said it was important to their organisation to complete a project on time and on budget (92.5 percent) InfoComm is making some changes to its standards program. To learn more, visit infocomm.org/standards

PRE-ORDER THE CTS-I EXAM GUIDE

TRAINING CLASSES NEED ATTENDANCE BOOST?

You asked for it; now it's almost here. It's the CTS-I Exam Guide, from InfoComm International and McGraw-Hill Professional. The CTS-I Exam Guide is a complete study resource for people who excel at learning from books. Aspiring certified AV installers can fit this self-paced prep into their schedules anytime, anywhere.

Although InfoComm does not sell this book, you can pre-order a copy from online booksellers, such as Amazon. The book will be released early 2015. Stay tuned for information about the upcoming CTS-D Exam Guide later in 2015.

More than 9500 Certified Technology Specialists (CTS) are seeking renewal units (RUs) in order to maintain their credentials. How many of those CTS holders should be attending your industry training? Here are some of the ways InfoComm's RU Provider Program can help grow both your training efforts and your business: • Reach a new audience: RU Providers are listed on InfoComm's website for CTS holders to browse.

• Marketing support: You'll receive a marketing toolkit with customisable templates to help with your promotions.

• More time to focus on your program: CTS holders will be able to add your courses to their transcript online, without any of your staff time to make it happen.

Plus, with your enrolment in the RU Provider Program, you will receive one-on-one support to help guide you with the process. Visit infocomm.org/ ruprovider for more information.

Do you have a compelling AV case study you'd like people to know about?

InfoComm is looking for a few exceptional AV experiences to share with the AV industry and beyond.

Have you employed InfoComm standards? Did you design or integrate an AV system that exceeded your client's expectations? InfoComm would love to hear what you've been working on, and if we select your project, we'll write it up — you just have to tell us what made it great!

If you'd like InfoComm to profile your exceptional AV experience, send an email to exceptional@infocomm.org. Give us a few details, like what the project was, the AV solutions involved and where it was installed. We'll look over all the submissions and select a variety.

INFOCOMM RELEASES NEW RESOURCES

INFOCOMM STANDARDS PROGRAM EVOLVES

In 2004, InfoComm’s Board started discussing the idea of developing performance standards to support the AV industry. In 2008, InfoComm became an American National Standards Institute-accredited Standards Developer. In 2009, we published our first ANSI standard. Since then,

All The AV Industry Employment News Delivered to your IN box every week any time you want it at www.avapac.net

TUTORIAL

049

Marketing & Sales Part 1 of advertising and promoting your business This is an excerpt from the InfoComm University course ‘CTS Prep Online’, free to InfoComm members, which many people take to help prepare for the CTS exam. Visit infocomm.org for more information.

Marketing and sales are critical aspects of any business because they are the way a company advertises and promotes itself to the AV industry.

The objective of marketing is to present the products or services you offer which make your company stand out in your defined marketplace, which will bring in potential clients and give you an opportunity to make a sale.

Marketing and sales can be time-consuming and expensive. You need to understand how to target your efforts in a manner which optimises the effectiveness of your marketing and sales programs, and your return on investment.

• Whom will you call on to do the work? For example, your company may need installers.

• Can you cover every customer who needs AV? • What is your company's expertise?

ESTABLISHING A VALUE PROPOSITION

What is it your company does better than anyone else? Something in which your company has a high level of expertise is known as a value proposition.

TYPES OF MARKETS

What is the market your company wants to serve? Each company should strategise to capture a specific portion of a well-defined market by adjusting its services, processes and marketing to create a product which attracts those customers.

Defining a market in this manner gives the business a target which allows it to focus its resources in the most efficient and effective manner.

Certainly you’ll get some clients who don’t fit the market you’ve defined (and that’s all right), but you’ll be consistent in concentrating your message to a specific identified area.

Three words you’ll hear in marketing are horizontal, vertical and niche. You should know where you intend to spend your time and money when deciding which market to enter, so understanding these terms is very important.

Horizontal Market: More product and system based. It addresses the needs of a wide range of clients by offering general categories of products or services.

Vertical Market: A group of similar businesses or customers.

Niche Market: A subset of a vertical or horizontal market. Companies that focus on niche markets concentrate on serving clients who have specialised needs which require specialised products or services.

When deciding whether your company wants to enter a particular market, you should keep these points in mind: • Where is your company going to apply its resources? For example, your company could apply its resources to the sales force.

On the ‘Incredible Installations’ van above the marketing intent of the message is that they do installations so well, it’s hard to believe.

This message doesn’t tell you what the company installs, so forget about the products and design for a moment. Maybe the company doesn’t even sell products or do design, but instead does wonderfully clean and attractive installation jobs which work the first time and on time.

Think about taking your car in for service. If its not under warranty and you don’t want to take it to the dealer, where do you go? Often you ask your friends where they take their cars. Why? You’re looking for somebody with a good reputation for good work and honesty which sets them apart from their competitors. The value proposition is the reputation of a company. It’s quite okay that your company can’t do everything for everyone. But you should know what it is that you do very well, and what sets you apart from your competition.

DEVELOPING A MARKETING MESSAGE

How do you make your value proposition known to your prospective clients, so they know to come to you for their next project? You develop a marketing message.

Companies spend money in the hope of winning clients. Sometimes those potential clients are never realised because you don’t know whether you’re reaching the right people. However, if you don’t send out your message no one will hear it.

It is important to create and spread a message so people know what your company is all about.

A message like the one shown in the picture is straight forward: ‘Save Time’. The clock reminds you you’re probably late and there’s an easier way to accomplish what you’re trying to do. Although this is not a real web address, it is a message someone might try to convey.

Companies need to take enough time to create a message which is meaningful and memorable. It should be relatively short and easy to understand, encompassing their defined market and value proposition. Good messages help connect with potential clients. 

BEST PRACTICE: COMMUNICATION After you’ve developed your message, you need to get it out continuously. Communicating often and consistently is important because sometimes you have to advertise when no one is interested, so that when they become interested they’ll come to you.

That’s called ‘top of mind’ – when a need comes up, who will a client think of first? Car dealers are a great example. They advertise all the time, but how often do you buy a car? Not often, but when you’re ready to buy you’re more likely to go to a dealer whose name is familiar.

050

HUMOUR?

Termination Singing the Clean Install Blues Text:/ Graeme Hague

It’s that time of year again where my sleepy little town hosts an annual blues festival and thousands of grey-haired, pony-tailed blokes wearing waistcoats and bandoliers of harmonicas choke the streets, gathering in smelly clusters on the corners and endlessly playing Roadhouse Blues and Bad To The Bone in each other’s faces like some strange mating ritual. There are buskers too, of course, littering the footpaths and playing guitars that haven’t had the strings changed since Kennedy was shot – John, not Bob – and the locals either embrace the brief rush of tourism and charge an extra five bucks for a takeaway coffee or hunker down in their houses as if a horde of Hun invaders was intent on rape and pillage.

I get to run a PA system in one of the outside venues – something I do rarely these days. It’ll be interesting to see what I can blow up this year.

Two years ago we had a torrential downpour one day – no problem. However, the next day in bright sunshine no one noticed the enormous balloon of water lurking in the tarpaulin roof, which finally cascaded onto the amp racks. Bugger. Last year my drum fill cabinet burst into flames – no mean feat. Admittedly, I was over-driving it, but in my defence I’m usually very careful with my levels and when the drummer kept asking for more and more volume, I assumed I’d been seriously overcautious in my setup and things were too quiet to begin with. After we extinguished the smoke, the drummer removed the aural equivalent of a double mattress from each ear and proclaimed he’d never seen anything like it. We seriously considered setting fire to him.

STRESSED FOR SUCCESS

The point I’m getting to (yes, I know – eventually) is that over three days, for the first day I’m doing little more than trying to remember how to operate the console. By Day 3, I’m still really only scratching the surface of what the digital desk can do, but since we’re never dealing with anything more than an E Minor triad over the entire festival, I’m fudging a decent mix.

Which brings me to my Windows computer.

This PC was psychic and knew how to bust a virtual fuse whenever I really, really needed it to work smoothly. In particular, BSODs (Blue Screens of Death to those smug Mac owners reading this) and cryptic crash dump messages

Windows A problem has been detected with the user and Windows has been shut down to protect the computer.

After a clean install this operator is an evangelist for reading the manual and knowing his applications.

Error: 0E : 056AV : P2695WD Press any key to continue _

were regular events, when the pressure was on.

So last week I took a deep breath, bought a carton of calming beer, stacked up on fast food, transferred the computer to the lounge where I could watch the telly, and went for a full reinstall of Win 7 (my software and archived files) onto a new system hard drive. As many of you will relate this is no trivial exercise. You can spend whole days feeding DVDs and CDs into the monster, trying to decipher your scribbled authorisation keys, fingers crossed your favourite programs will re-activate, stressing over whether you backed everything up properly... For folks like me with a PC absolutely chockers with highend applications garnered over a few years of reviewing software for illustrious tomes like this one, it can be a seemingly endless task.

SOFT REFOCUS

It can also be an opportunity to do something about your software addiction. Mine was bad. I had so many plug-ins, utilities and tools guaranteed to make everything I do easier, quicker and better, but I didn’t properly know how any one piece of software worked. Faced with too much choice, I was scratching the virtual surface when it came to what all these supposedly awesome applications could actually do. My PC spring clean was a chance to cut right back and focus on learning my core software thoroughly.

It’s all a bit odd. I can see my desktop

background, because it isn’t totally obscured by a zillion quick-start icons. I no longer have to kill time, putting the kettle on, while my PC laboriously boots up. All those scary percentage figures about CPU load, RAM usage and free HD are in the low teens again. The future is looking bright instead of BSOD-blue. When it comes to software it’s amazing how many GUIs and menus I’m finding hidden away; how many tricks my oft-used applications are capable of performing and I never really knew it.

Like an annoying, reformed smoker extolling the virtue of clean lungs, I can highly recommend it. Really, how well do you really know that expensive software or hardware you use on a daily basis? The next time you’re having a quiet day in the workshop, maybe it’s a good idea to set up your AV gear and start rummaging around in those menus and functions you never use.

Check out the PC GUI or the remote app without the pressure of a show to perform. Figure out how the stuff you’ve already got works, before worrying about installing another magic bullet plug-in.

You might even, heaven forbid, read the igital console’s PDF instruction manual you're using next week at a blues festival as a kind of refresher course.

Now now, let’s not get too silly. It’s not like I’m going to blow anything up – again. 