AV Magazine Issue 25

issue #25 $6.95

AV FOR SYDNEY’S FESTIVAL OF LIGHT, MUSIC & IDEAS

GREAT PIXEL MASSACRE!: ON THE SET OF YOUNG TALENT TIME AV FOR THE LONG RUN: DESIGNING FOR LONGEVITY GIANT’S SCREEN: WESTERN SYDNEY’S LEVIATHAN

TOTAL DISPLAY

SOLUTIONS Bring images to life with the superior quality of Japanese design & engineering

Outdoor LED Screens

Whether it’s a small classroom or a giant sporting stadium, Mitsubishi Electric has the visual display solution to suit your needs.

With the freedom to choose from a large range of home or business projectors, commercial LCD monitors, Video Wall systems or large format Diamond Vision LED screens, the possibilities are only limited by your vision.

Video Wall Products

Installation Projectors

Proud partner of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image

VISUAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Mitsubishi Electric Australia Pty Ltd, 348 Victoria Rd Rydalmere NSW 2116 www.MitsubishiElectric.com.au ph: (02) 9684 7777 fax (02) 9684 7208

SMAARTER THAN EVER Smaart v7 is a completely new code base developed from the ground-up – we’re now Smaarter than ever.

MULTI-CHANNEL, MULTI-PLATFORM, MULTI-MANIA: Smaart v7 is able to access multi-channel input devices to run multiple, simultaneous Spectrum and Transfer Function Measurements.

BUILT TO MAKE USE OF THE POWER: optimised to make use of the all power of modern processor configurations – from one processor to eight.

NEW PROGRAM ARCHITECTURE: Run as many simultaneous single-channel (spectrum) and dual-channel (transfer function) measurement engines as your PC will allow.

ENHANCED, STRENGTHENED, AWESOME-IZED MEASUREMENT ENGINES: All aspects of Smaart’s measurement engines were revisited, considered, reconsidered, and everywhere possible, improved.

Production Audio Services (New Zealand) P. +64 (0) 9272 8041 sales@productionaudio.com.nz www.productionaudio.com.nz

SIMPLER, FRIENDLIER GUI: Many of the dialog box-based controls have been replaced with ‘point ‘n’ grab ‘n’ drag ‘n’ click’ mouse-based controls.

REAL-TIME MODE: SPECTRUM ENGINE: Configure as many single-channel engines as needed, each with the ability to produce its own RTA and Spectrograph data.

RTA: Improved fractional-octave banding for RTA and Spectrograph, including 1/48th Octave; Simultaneous display of multiple individual RTAs; and ‘Line-Over-Bands’ view of RTA displays.

SPECTROGRAPH: Scrollable 1000(+) line history; Real-time adjustable dynamic range.

IMPULSE RESPONSE MODE: Impulse Response mode has been significantly expanded to include functionality from our AcousticTools software package.

Production Audio Services Pty Ltd P. (03) 9264 8000 info@productionaudio.com.au www.productionaudio.com.au

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06

Editorial Getting Your Just Awards

It will probably be considered heresy for an august and responsible industry publication such as AV to say a single word against the notion of quality assurance as codified in ISO 9000, but I’m going to risk it anyway. Besides, after 25 issues, I’m reliably informed that nobody reads my editorial rantings anyway (except you, of course).

What scares me about the ISO 9000 style of Quality Assurance in an organisation is that the process isn’t actually about Quality at all, it’s totally about accurate repeatability. All the handbooks and procedural manuals that we produce when we become a Quality Assured Organisation are there to ensure absolutely nothing changes. So, if your customer support is lousy or your inventory system loses stuff, once you’re fully Quality Assured, you can rest easy knowing that all customers will be treated equally as badly and that every order will be messed up in precisely the same way. Comforting, isn’t it.

Here at AV we prefer the adrenaline rush of living without a set of procedural manuals, instead daringly attempting to do things better every time, not just the same. That’s why we undertook a

major review the AV Industry Awards and changed the way they operate.

During the AVIAs adjudication process in 2011, the (almost obnoxiously-independent) panel of representatives from AETM, InfoComm and ALIA had a bit to say about how they thought that the awards and the judging process could be improved.

A few months after the 2011 AVIAs, we gathered the panel together again for a brainstorming teleconference on how we could make the awards simpler to enter, fairer in the way the entries were compared, and broader in their inclusion of all aspects of the industry. Thus we have AVIAs version 2.0 – which are closing very soon.

While the awards are steadfastly committed to honouring excellence and innovation, this time around there are separate awards for projects in the fields of commercial and government installations, education projects, exhibitions and displays and AV in production. There are more finely-tuned budget categories, to allow the direct comparison of projects on similar scales and to prevent the big-bang one of a kind projects from stealing the limelight from everything else happening

in the industry. At their suggestion, we placed responsibility for the selection of contenders for the innovation award firmly in the hands of the adjudication panel. And finally, as we’ve decided to seek commercial sponsors to cover the costs of the adjudication process, entry fees have been abolished.

What it comes down to, is that there are now more opportunities for your work to be recognised by the whole industry, and that it’s easier and cheaper than before to get involved. So, before you read the rest of this issue of AV, download the entry form from the AVIAs website at www. avias.com.au and get on with winning yourself an award and some free coverage in this magazine for the high quality and innovative work you do.  Andy Ciddor, Editor Contact Andy regarding the AVIAs or any other topic on andy@av.net.au

coming Soon Register online: www.lightdesign.net.au

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Crew With almost 40 years’ experience Bruce is one of the grumpy old men of the AV industry. He’s worked as a tech, AV hire manager, TD’d conferences and events, designed complex technical systems for installation, produced media content, acted as a consultant, and maintains a contemporary knowledge of the latest techniques and technologies.

Now he is co-owner of Mental Media with a focus on design and production for permanent installation.

Advertising Office: (02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086

Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353

Editor: Andy Ciddor (andy@av.net.au) Publication Director: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@av.net.au)

After spending five years desiging and installing sound, communication and network systems in the Big House, Cameron has now been released out into the Real World. Prior to the ‘House, Cameron worked as a freelance theatre technician on commercial shows..

A staunch believer in technology and combined networking, he now wanders the country in search of venues in need of communications assistance.

Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@av.net.au) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@av.net.au) Art Director: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Graphic Design: Leigh Ericksen (leigh@alchemedia.com.au) News Editor: Graeme Hague (news@av.net.au) Accounts: Jen Temm (jen@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@av.net.au) Front Cover: Peter Baumann

Matt is a freelance technical writer with a background in marketing and a focus on lighting and entertainment.

He contributes to publications around the world and provides media and marketing services for the entertainment industry. A strong contributor to Melbourne's independent theatre scene, he has worked as a producer, director, actor, stage manager, and more recently as a lighting designer. Matt is a produced playwright and budding screenwriter (although Hollywood doesn't think so... yet) and freelances his reviewing skills both online and in print.

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright © 2012 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. 14/6/12

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.

GET IN TOUCH The new CDT touchscreen overlays makes it easy to add touch capabilities to your displays.

• Suitable for the Samsung DE and ME range of slimline LED BLU (LED Backlit LCD) commercial displays • High-end matte black surface finish custom-built to a very high standard • Incorporates NextWindow’s new 2S thin borders and low profile technology • Clear tempered glass used to maintain image clarity, longevity and reliability • Supports Microsoft Windows 7, Mac OSX and Linux

Available exclusively through IDT

• Recognises common dual-touch gestures, such as zoom, rotate, tap and press-and-tap • Three sizes: 40-, 46- and 55-inch 1300 666 099 sales@idt.com.au www.idt.com.au

• Installs in minutes

THE WAIT IS OVER The Raven SX3100 link is a high performance signal management system that drives high quality digital video and digital audiovisual signals over a single UTP or STP cable. The SX3100’s feature set and price point can eliminate the need to carry multiple link or ‘extension’ products.

• Drives digital HD video and auxiliary signals up to 150m on UTP cable • HD video formats to 1920 x 1080p@60Hz • VESA video formats to 1900 x 1200 • USB 1.0 & 2.0 full duplex • RS-232, full duplex • Bi-directional audio • IR remote from RX to TX with optional • IR target and IR blaster

1300 666 099 sales@idt.com.au www.idt.com.au

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Issue 25 REGULARS NEWS AV industry news. Includes St Mary’s cathedral PA installation.

14

TERMINATION Life on the Holodeck

50 FEATURES

22

INTENSELY VIVID Sydney’s winter gift to the AV industry.

22

THE GREAT PIXEL MASSACRE Young Talent Time’s LED-heavy set design.

28

PLANE SALINE Perth’s Desalination Discovery Centre.

32

A GIANT'S TALE Skoda Stadium’s ‘bloody big’ scoreboard.

36

TUTORIALS IN FOR THE LONG RUN Designing AV systems that will keep on keeping on.

40

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? (PART 3) Wireless Communications.

46

REVIEW

20 32

HITACHI CP-X8160 High performance large venue LCD projector.

44

28

36

40

44

With dual 8”screens, viewing SD, HD and 2K SDI video on SmartView Duo is twice as beautiful.

SmartView Duo is the perfect compact SDI rack monitoring system for post production, broadcast or live events. It features two beautiful 8” LCD screens which can be remotely adjusted via ethernet. It even includes tally.

What’s more, it easily handles SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI video formats.

SDI monitoring everywhere you need it SmartView Duo lets you build your own master control room to monitor all cameras for live production. Use it in editing desks to display all your video sources.

Incredibly compact, it’s also great for broadcast vans. You can even install SmartView Duo into portable monitor racks to build lightweight flyaway kits.

Intelligent Ethernet control Forget about using little screwdrivers in an attempt to match all your monitors. Now you can conveniently adjust and match every monitor remotely from your laptop or desktop. Simply connect SmartView Duo to your ethernet network and use the included Mac or PC software.

Greater SDI compatibility You can rely on SmartView Duo to support multiple SDI video standards, including SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI formats.

It was designed to meet the needs of both broadcast and post production professionals. On top of this, it supports advanced video formats like 1080p HD and 2K SDI. Mount it anywhere in racks SmartView Duo can be mounted anywhere in equipment racks, even in the extreme top. That’s because SmartView Duo rotates completely upside down for optimum viewing angle.

It will instantly sense the screen rotation and automatically flip the images without any need for adjustment.

SmartView Duo

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014

NEWS

NEW PHOSPHOR LED

DENON AUDIO PLAYER

NEW LCD KVM NO, IT’S NOT CODE

Gekko has begun manufacturing the latest addition to its Karesslite range of fixtures, called the 2006.

Measuring 300mm x 100mm, the Karess 2006 is designed as a highly portable location fixture or a versatile studio fixture. Drawing just 65 Watts, the 2006 can be supplied fitted with a more traditional single phosphor LED or utilising a recent development in the technology, remote phosphor. Remote phosphor provides an even and soft source of light. Available as either Tungsten (3200K) or Daylight (5600K) fixture, it has a range of mounting accessories giving it extra versatility. The single phosphor LED version is also available as a Tungsten or Daylight fixture and has slightly more output. Both are colour-stable when dimmed and are designed to work in ambient temperatures of up to 50°C. In addition, both can be powered via a mains transformer or industry standard batteries. The Karess 2006 joins the existing product range which includes the 6012 broad soft source and the 6006DD – which delivers the same volume of light as found in the 6012, but in a 1 x 1 format.

PRG (Production Resources Group) (02) 8568 4400 or info.au@prg.com

The DN-700H is the first in a new line of Denon Professional Commercial Installation products.

Designed for both commercial and residential applications, the DN-700H in its most basic form is a rackmount AM/FM tuner with serial or Ethernet control. You can also play music from USB, whether that be a thumb drive, hard disk drive or an iPod/ iPhone. Connect the DN-700H to a network and you can access over 20,000 internet radio stations or any music wirelessly via DLNA streaming devices such as a PC, or NAS Drive. AirPlay functionality means streaming directly from local Apple iDevices and iTunes libraries is easy. In other words, you can select a tune from your iPad and the DN-700H will play it. With a bright OLED display and LED button navigation the unit is easy to use from the front panel even in dark or low-light conditions. The audio monitor speaker on the front panel lets you confirm the audio source XLR outputs are on the rear for connection to a mixer or DSP. Full remote control is available via IP, RS232 and the included IR controller.

Hills SVL (02) 96471411 or nsw@hillssvl.com.au

ATEN International, a manufacturer of advanced connectivity solutions, has released its new dual rail LCD KVM-over-IP switches. The KL1508Ai and KL1516Ai switches are control units that enable secure access for up to 16 computers from a single KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) console. The units consist of an integrated 430mm or 480mm LCD monitor, keyboard and a touchpad in a 1U rackmountable retractable sliding housing. Both units feature IP-based connectivity to monitor and access computers on an installation. Using TCP/IP for its communications protocol, the KL1508Ai and KL1516Ai can be accessed from any computer on the LAN, WAN or Internet. The LCD and keyboard/touchpad modules slide independently of each other and to maximise space in a server room or data centre, the keyboard/ touchpad module can slide back to hide away when not in use, while the LCD monitor rotates back. Enhanced features include a Panel Array Mode, which displays the video output of up to 16 computers at the same time, and a message board that allows logged-in users to conveniently communicate with one another remotely. RJ-45 connectors and CAT5e/6 cables provide a compact and efficient wiring configuration.

Anyware Corporation (03) 9212 8400 or www.anyware.com.au

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING… It’s the incredible shrinking OB van – or tricycle, to be exact.

Blackmagic Design are keen to tell us about KiBAN International, a global e-learning company, that used Blackmagic Design’s ATEM Television Studio, HyperDeck Studio Pro and SmartView Duo to form the video backbone of one of the world’s smallest HD broadcasting vehicles, named the Panda Bird. The vehicle carries a full array of switching, monitoring and SSD recording, and was shown to the public for the first time at the recent Educational IT Solution Expo in Tokyo.

KiBAN International provides custom built e-learning technology to connect organisations around the world. As part of its work to connect different communities, the company uses video and Internet streaming from often hard-to-reach locations. KiBAN saw the need for a mobile carbased broadcasting system built around a tricycle design that could go anywhere, especially to places inaccessible to conventional OB trucks.

The Panda Bird, built around a Honda Gyro Canopy tricycle, provides HD production and internet streaming through Blackmagic Design’s ATEM

Television Studio Production Switcher, HyperDeck Studio SSD recorder and broadcast deck, and a SmartView Duo dual monitor.

Through the ATEM Television Studio’s built-in H.264 encoder and broadcast quality switching capabilities, the Panda Bird can offer multi-camera production and broadcast encoding for internet streaming in a single rack unit.

Cameras are connected wirelessly to the ATEM Television Studio using Ustream.

KiBAN added HyperDeck Studio to the Panda Bird for a rackmount, SSD-based deck with dual slots for infinite recording of uncompressed, DNxHD or

ProRes. With the SmartView Duo, the tricycle can include two large independent eight inch (200mm) LCD screens to view SD, HD and 3Gb/s SDI video, allowing operators to use any signals available to them in the field.

The system is removable from the trike for inside use, and works with a 12V power supply so that it can also run using external batteries.

But given the compact size and mobility of the Panda Bird, you might as well pinch the entire trike.

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

DMS700 V2 The first professional true digital wireless system

TAKING NOTE OF TAKING NOTES DisplayNote Technologies has announced the upcoming release of its new presentation/teaching app which allows users to present, capture, share and collaborate on ideas across any device and any platform. DisplayNote allows an audience to capture the presenter’s content using their own portable devices like an iPad, laptop, Android tablet or smartphone/iPod touch. Then users can add notes, capture slides, follow along, save and store, and finally email that session for later review. The app works alongside any software application, which means connected devices can capture all of the presenter’s content like PowerPoint presentations, Excel files, Word docs, images, web content and video, keynotes and more. In collaboration mode, annotations and images on devices can be displayed back on the main screen or viewed by other users. Multiple devices can all work on the same or different presentations.

In presenter mode, teachers and presenters can use their tablet, phone or computer to control their desktop, pass control to any other connected device, send/receive private messages to audience members, build collaborative groups and view the screen of any connected device. The application will launch officially at Infocomm and is designed to work on all iOS and Android devices across all major platforms.

DisplayNote Technologies www.displaynote.com

The latest step in projectiondesign’s global growth strategy is the appointment of Hills Sound, Vision & Lighting Group as a new distribution partner for Australia and New Zealand. The appointment means that projectiondesign products and technical support will be available in every major Australian and New Zealand city which will greatly benefit integration customers and partners. Stuart Craig, Group General Manager at Hills SVL Group: “The addition of projectiondesign to our product portfolio will enable us to gain increased traction in the advanced imaging markets which projectiondesign has an already strong presence.”

Hills SVL: (02) 9647 1411 or www.hillssvl.com.au

Professional Audio Technology has been appointed the exclusive sales and support partner for DirectOut Technologies products in Australia. Patrick Salloch, Managing Director of PAT, welcomed the announcement and explained, “The PAT team is very excited about this new partnership and we are looking forward to providing DirectOut Technologies to our customers in Australia.” We wish a bright future to all concerned.

Professional Audio Technology: (02) 94761272 or sales@proaudiotechnology.com.au

The DMS700 V2 is a revolutionary digital wireless solution designed for the future • Up to 150MHz tuning range – widest in class, gives maximum flexibility to accommodate Digital Dividend changes • 24bit/44.1kHz audio sampling • 512 bit signal encryption for secure audio transmission • 2-channel digital true-diversity receiver • High performance external antenna distribution systems available • On-board DSP per channel (Compressor, EQ, Limiter) • Quick setup via infrared data link to the transmitter • Graphical spectrum analyser helps find clear channels • No Compander (used in analogue systems): higher sound quality

For more information Call 1300 13 44 00 or visit www.audioproducts.com.au

016

NEWS

HIGH CALIBRE SCALER

CATCH SOME ZEDS AT EPSON

LEAF TURNS OVER A NEW LEAF

It was party time for Calibre UK at InfoComm 2012, which celebrated its recent success in winning the The Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade and, by the way, brought a host of new innovations to show off in the booth. These included the brand new HQView530 and LEDView530 scaler, switcher and scan converters. The new HQView530 warp and blend scaler addresses the latest trends in AV systems design and is a flexible scaler, routing switcher and interface for connecting LED screens to almost any HD and SD video source to intuitively process images for display. Advanced features include removing picture noise from poor quality SD video sources, picture re-sizing to fit LED screens with a simple edge drag-and-drop function, Genlock and I/O Lock for incamera use, Multiple-Unit Mode with Autozoom to support stacked LED walls and Projection Mode with HQView520 projection mapping warp and edge blend.

Both units have front panel controls with display panels.

AVglue (07) 3376 4745 or www.avglue.com.au

Epson has added four new models to its Z Series large venue projector range including the Epson EB-Z10000/EB-Z10005 with 10,000 lumens of both light and colour light output. All the new models deliver advanced image quality, connectivity and installation tools, as well as an expanded feature set with edge blending, split screen capability and DICOM Simulation mode. They all use Epson’s C2Fine Technology and the Faroudja DCDi Cinema chipset for advanced video and built-in edge blending. The dual lamp system eliminates the risk of interruption and is designed for tool-free replacements. The four new Z Series large venue projectors are the Epson EB-Z10000/EB-Z10005 with 10000 lumens and XGA resolution, (RRP $14,999): the EB-Z8450WU/EBZ8455WU with 7000 lumens and WUXGA resolution, (RRP $13,999): the EB-Z8350W/EB-Z8355W with 8500 lumens and WXGA resolution, (RRP $12,499) and last the EB-Z8150 with 8000 lumens and XGA resolution (RRP $10,999). All models offer that split screen functionality and Multi-PC Projection that allows users to display four individual PC screens simultaneously over the network. You get a choice of black or white casing.

Epson Australia (02) 8899 3666 or www.epson.com.au

Leaf Audio has been busy developing its new Leaf Lite range. Based on the new HDBaseT Lite chipsets Leaf designed a 4x4 and 6x6 matrix to cater for a demand for midrange versions of its products. Available late June the Leaf Lite range will have all the same transmission technology as full HDBT, but without the Ethernet pass through. It also has a maximum cable distance of up to 70 metres. The initial release will consist of the LHDMI44 (4x4 Matrix) and LHDMI66 (6x6 Matrix) with other products to follow soon after.

As with all products marketed and sold by Leaf these products are totally designed and manufactured in Leaf’s manufacturing facilities in Victoria, Australia.

Other features include central RS232 control, two-way discrete IR control between source and display and vice versa, 2K resolution (compared to 4k resolution with full HDBaseT) and 6.75Gbps bandwidth capacity/signalling rate (compared to 10.2Gbps with full HDBaseT).

Leaf Audio (03) 9586 1700 or www.leafaudio.com

ART THAT PONGS What’s being claimed as the world’s largest permanent interactive light display, named Luminous at Darling Quarter, has been turned on. The project, which has taken 12 months to complete, is hoped to establish the Darling Harbour precinct as the new face of digital arts in Australia. It has been the collaborative effort of many, resulting in a unique approach to urban space that aligns public art, community engagement and commercial vitality. The display is spread across four

storeys (14 metres high) of the two buildings that are home to Commonwealth Bank’s Sydney headquarters. The facade’s two low-resolution screens span a distance of 150 metres in total, giving it the claim of being the largest permanent, interactive light installation in the world.

The visual content seen in the façade is meant to be gentle and abstract using colour, movement and pace to convey meaning. It’s also meant as an ‘offering to the community’, not an imposition or something that demands viewers should understand what it all means. As the years go by

Luminous at Darling Quarter will increasingly feature content created by community groups as well as some special event programming for the community.

The installation is powered by renewable energy from solar panels fitted to the roof.

This is consistent with Darling Quarter’s Six Star Green Star As Built Rating–the first building in Australia to achieve this status.

The canvas is created from 557 LED fixtures consuming just 10.2kW of power. Due to the placement of the fixtures, workers inside the building won’t even know when the lights

are switched on.

Two touchscreen consoles have been fitted for visitors to play alone or with each other across the two buildings. Popular games such as Big Snake, Pong, Finger Paint, Kangaroo Crossing, Gyro Dance and Plasma have already been programmed in.

Smartphones are another way for the public to interact with the facade.

In case you’re asking – yes, it’s art. So... Pong, anyone? www.darlingquarter.com

Enabling Innovative Professional Visualisation

LOCK & LOAD The iPad is such a personal device it takes a moment to imagine some organisations might hand out a whole bunch of them at the start of the day – and then take them back again. But no doubt plenty of facilities do, and Gilkon has come up with a clever idea, the I’m Safe iPad trolley (maybe they had penal institutions in mind?). The I’m Safe trolley can store, recharge and sync 32 iPads simultaneously with the charger on a timer to reduce unnecessary power consumption.

Each of the storage drawers is felt-lined to protect the iPads and numbered for an easy identification system. The iPads are separated into four baskets of eight which can be lifted out for distribution. Large, pneumatic tyres on the rear and solid castors on the front allow will avoid any wobbly, shopping-trolley kind of behavior and all the drawers have heavy-duty, keyed locks. Finally, the I’m Safe iPad trolley ticks all the eco-friendly green boxes by having a lead-free powder coating on the outside and lead-free soldering for the circuitry… and the whole thing is made right here in Oz. Gilkon (02) 9914 0900 or www.lockanddock.com.au

Kino Hawkhurst: Photo courtesy of Christie Digital

World class venues throughout Australia, recently invested in Christie Digital Technologies “The Christie HD projectors will enable us to achieve outstanding projection through our Spyder edge blending device, and allow us to create very large, incredibly bright and true colour images on the walls at client conferences and events,” Mark Stewart ACC Technical Services Manager

By special invitation, Jands is hosting a free Soundweb London 2-day training course in Launceston from August 1st– 2nd. The session will take place at a venue TBC in the Launceston CBD. Anyone who registers will be updated with the location once this is confirmed. This course is approved by InfoComm for 8 CTS Renewal Units. August 1st and 2nd will be all-day training sessions. There will be plenty of breaks during the sessions, in addition to the included lunches. Class size is limited, so get in quick if you’re interested.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Barco’s Laser Projection Showcase at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas attracted more than 300 movie exhibitors and other industry professionals interested in catching a glimpse of what might be the cinema of the future. Attendees witnessed the first-ever showing of Hollywood movie footage on a 4K laser projector with several clips featuring 4K resolution, High Frame Rates at 48 frames per second (fps), and the industry’s brightest 3D. The demonstration broke all previous records for large-format movie projection, presenting movie content at 55,000 ANSI lumens on a 70- x 30-foot screen, the largest to date.

Barco: (03) 9646 5833 or sales.au@barco.com

VR Solutions is an authorisedChristie Service Centre

+61 07 3844 9514 email: info@vrs.com.au

ARTIST

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FEATURE

St Mary’s Focussed Sound Solution For hundreds of years, cathedrals have been built for maximum atmosphere and minimum vocal intelligibility. Traditionally, cathedrals would dwarf every other building in town and regular folk – peasants like you and me – would tremble in awe at the girth of its flying buttresses.

These days, parishioners want a little more from these glorious churches of the past. They want to hear what the vicar has to say; while chanting, pipe organs and plainsong have made way for guitars, a piano and, gasp… drums.

As a result, a sizeable industry in steerable arrays has grown to meet a demand for vocal intelligibility in acoustically hostile places of worship.

St Mary’s cathedral in North Sydney was the latest to send out an SOS. With a mid-band RT60 of over three seconds, the intelligibility of its ageing distributed column speaker PA was atrocious.

Anthony Russo, from Technical Audio Group, prepared a preliminary design which required high level refinement fully supplied by David Gilfillan of Gilfillan Soundwork and ICE Design Australia.

Martin Audio’s OmniLine got the gig. Martin Audio has developed a very sophisticated optimisation routine, present in its new MLA series of loudspeakers. It has adapted this routine for a number of Australian OmniLine jobs which has provided what some might say is a generational improvement to small system performance. The system addresses each and every element in the array with its own FIR filter, meaning that each element also requires its own amp channel and the array can be optimised in its acoustic environment.

The OmniLine array remains steerable mechanically (ie. with the number of elements arrayed, where they’re pointing and how widely

MORE INFORMATION Gilfillan Soundwork: (02) 9569 5626 or www.gilfillansoundwork.com.au ICE Design Australia: (02) 9568 4684 or www.icedesign.net.au Technical Audio Group (Martin Audio, QSC Audio): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au Sound & Video Contracting: 0408 216781 or pmoss@soundandvideo.com.au

they’re splayed) but the filtering allows the response both on and off the audience area to be very carefully controlled. The result is much higher intelligibility, afforded by the precisely tailored pattern control – keeping sound on the congregation and away from the sandstone walls.

The frequency response across the audience area is amazingly consistent throughout the reproduced range of the speakers.

The system was commissioned by David Gilfillan and Glenn Leembruggen of Acoustic Directions and ICE Design Australia. A 12-element subwoofer array provided low frequency reproduction and was configured to provide a cardioid-like polar pattern, in an attempt to reduce the amount of low frequency reverberant energy.

All up, 64 OmniLine elements (supplied by Technical Audio Group) have been installed into St Mary’s. QSC Audio’s Q-SYS takes care of the DSP, addressing each element with filters and optimised software as well as controlling and monitoring 72 channels of QSC’s CX series amps.

Q-SYS provides a number of simple yet effective control GUI options. In the case of St Mary’s, an old confessional box has been repurposed as an equipment cupboard. As of a Sunday morning, a verger can access the cupboard, spark up the iPad and hit one of the presets, allowing for no-brainer control of input/output levels, mute/unmute… while a large ‘panic’ button will do a system reset if things go irretrievably wrong.

Self-evidently, this isn’t a cut-price solution.

It’s been carefully designed, spec’ed and installed with high-quality equipment. Saying that, for such a sophisticated system to be so easy to operate is a credit to those involved. Little wonder, then that St Mary’s – which represents a vibrant diocese of all ages and backgrounds – could hardly be happier with its investment. Christopher Holder.

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FEATURE

Intensely Vivid Sydney’s winter gift to AV industry.

Text:/ Andy Ciddor Destination NSW (it seems that being a ‘Tourism Department’ isn’t fashionable at the moment) has taken on the task of getting people into the city of Sydney, even when the weather isn’t all that conducive to the usual occupations of sitting on the lawns or dining alfresco.

Like so many other big cities, including that unmentionable only-slightly-smaller city some 950km to the south, it has come up with a winter lights festival as the vehicle to entice people out of their nice cosy homes in the suburbs and into the central city.

Now in its fourth year, the Vivid Sydney festival continues to grow in both depth and breadth, as it moves towards becoming a truly Sydney event, rather than just another winter festival that happens to be staged in Sydney.

Although it encompasses strands focussed around Light, Music and Ideas, the festival’s signature event remains the projection on the ‘sails’ of the Large Building on Bennelong Point. (The licensing restrictions on the use of the title are so stringent that I’m afraid I’ll blow my entire 2013 editorial budget if we print the official name of that performing arts complex.)

Urbanscreen’s work for Lighting The Sails Photo: David Clare

As each of the three strands of the Vivid festival has developed and become more appealing to the general public, some of its original lofty ideals and artistic rhetoric have dwindled away as the realisation has dawned on the organisers that if they want to attract punters for the cafés, pubs, take-aways, clubs, retail stores and street vendors, they really need to go for accessible fare like the proverbial ‘bread and circuses’.

THE LIGHT THAT WALKS

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Vivid Sydney Smart Light Walk where the High Art works of (often really obscure) light sculpture that graced the first three festivals, were this year mostly replaced by what amounts to a luminous fun fair. Now extended to all the way round Circular Quay to include the Walsh Bay precinct and thus drive the foot traffic past even more retail premises, this year’s collection of exciting, cute, obvious and engaging works only required thought to work out how to operate them, rather than what their message was.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the

Vivid Sydney festival is its emphasis on using Smart Light (high-efficiency light sources) everywhere, and in particular its obsession with LEDs. I was however pleased to see a few light sculptures that embraced electroluminescent wire and tape. EL is a great technology, forlornly seeking some real-world problems to solve.

What makes Vivid’s constant pushing of the energy efficiency message so weird is that the festival is all about getting people out of their nice warm houses to consume vast amounts of energy travelling into the city to look at an energy efficient light sculpture, projection or floodlit building, then sit down to eat their dinner or drink their beer under outdoor heaters pouring hundreds of kilowatts of energy into the cold night. Wouldn’t the NSW government’s money be better spent convincing the populace to stay at home and convert their dwellings into well insulated efficiently-heated havens from the cold. Perhaps they could subsidise the installation of insulation instead (or has some previous government tried that already?).

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MORE INFORMATION Vivid Sydney festival: www.vividsydney.com The Electric Canvas: www.theelectriccanvas.com Technical Direction Company: www.tdc.com.au The Spinifex Group: www.spinifexgroup.com

PROJECTION FACTIONS

LIGHTING THE SAILS

There’s no doubt that the headline acts of the Vivid Sydney festival are the striking architectural projections which this year included works on Those Sails, Customs House, the old Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA), the brand new Mordant Wing of the MCA, Cadman’s Cottage and the Billich Gallery.

So much big image projection, packed into just one area of the city wouldn’t be possible if Sydney didn’t already have two world-class projection companies ready to take up the challenges and ‘compete’ with each other to garner the highest accolades for their work.

In the blue corner, the former Commonwealth and Olympic heavyweight champion of the PIGI film projection world – The Electric Canvas (TEC), with its fleet of Christie Roadster projectors, its OnlyView software and an inhouse content design team.

In the other blue corner, a big-hitting slugger in the video production and LED screen world – the Technical Direction Company (TDC), with its fleet of Barco projectors and Dataton software, working as a tag team with world heavyweight content developers, the Spinifex Group.

In 2012, as they have for all previous Vivid festivals, The Electric Canvas provided a complete Onlyview turnkey projection platform for the guest artists work. TEC supplied German video art collective Urbanscreen with high definition 2D images, projection templates and full coordinates from a 1mm-accurate 3D laser scan of the sails.

The sails were covered by 11 Christie Roadster S+20K, and three Roadster S+18K, projectors with 11.2:1 lenses, all very securely attached to the structure of the Overseas Passenger Terminal some 450m away on the other side of Circular Quay. The housings covering the projector rig were mechanically isolated from the projector support system to avoid any transfer of weather vibrations to the projectors inside.

A second rig of three Christie Roadster S+18K projectors was located on the eastern side of The House to cover the front group of sails for visitors approaching from that side.

Because this projection was out of sight of the main projection control point, it was monitored via an IP camera fed back to the control point

The facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Image courtesy Technical Direction Company

via microwave link. TEC’s low power FM radio transmitter at the OPT carried the soundtrack for the main sails projection. A rig of Crownpowered JBL CBT 70 line array units supplied live sound to the precinct, picking up its program feed from the FM transmitter.

CUSTOMS HOUSE

After their well-received Customs House façade projection in 2011, this year the creative team at TEC engaged their audience with a highly-detailed animated work, City Life, depicting a day in the life of ‘worker man’.

The intricately designed city used the fine detail of the architecture to create busy roads, railway tracks, and the minutiae of a city. The projection system was a fully 3D-mapped rig of eight Christie Roadster S+20K DLP projectors mounted on four slender, custom-built towers on the building’s forecourt. To keep the system neat and reduce the risk of unwanted ‘audience participation’, all cabling was overhead.

OLD MCA

The front façade of the old Museum of Contemporary Art featured a 10-minute

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One of the ‘Projection booths’ in front of the Old MCA. The rough ‘lawn’ of turf rolls are proof that this was still a building site until just before opening night.

Image courtesy Technical Direction Company

work inspired by the Russian Constructivist movement.

The work was a collaboration between the Spinifex group and Australian multimedia-artist Justene Williams, whose work is part of the MCA’s collection. Directed by Spinifex’s Richard Lindsay and Caterina Vicaretti, the projection sees a series of bright, colourful and constantly-evolving animations designed and mapped onto the building’s architecture. Building dimensions were checked against CAD construction plans and onsite measurements together with a little assistance from Google Earth.

The projection system, put together by TDC under the guidance of Olin Winton, consisted of 15 x Barco R22+ projectors for an effective area of 9800 x 3000 pixels. The content was created as a single 2D image that was then divided into seven vertically-blended projection zones for smooth playout. Images were fed out by 4 x Watchout 5.2 servers and a Watchout 5.2 production machine.

Projection onto a building that was a construction zone until the night of the launch was fraught with hiccups. “Early designs for the projector layout had us using five towers to shoot around the previous existing trees,” reveals Winton.

“But after receiving new plans from Destination NSW we ended up splitting the projectors into three towers to minimise the shadows caused by the new trees being planted.”

NEW MCA

The very contemporary façade of the new Mordant Wing of the MCA hosted an interactive light and music work developed by the Spinifex team and Black Eyed Peas frontman and Intel’s Director of Creative Innovation, will.i.am. The musical stylings and deep-funk samples of will.i.am form the basis of an app created by DJ Keebz, which the coders at the Spinifex Group transformed into a user-controlled game. The installation allowed the public to use arm and hand gestures to literally ‘play the building’ via an interface that interacts with will.i.am’s music and visuals by Justene Williams from Spinifex.

Audience interactivity was achieved through an Xbox Kinect gesture interface device attached to a Mac Mini at each of the three interaction positions. The content was generated by two Macs producing the graphical elements, while a third generated the audio. As there were five projection surfaces on the building and only the two Macs producing displays, the content was created as five unique pixel areas, shared across the two 1920 x 1080 outputs. TDC supplied the Spyder X20 that cut up the images and rearranged them across the four of its Barco R22+ projectors that were covering the building.

Due to a tree being planted in the late stages of construction, another tower had to be added to create a blended section to shoot around this new obstacle.

New MCA building with interactive control stations in the foreground.

Photo: David Clare

CADMAN’S COTTAGE / BILLICH GALLERY

Cadman’s Cottage on the left and the Billish art gallery featuring the exciting Census promotion show.

Image courtesy of Technical Direction Company

In a move that is as curious as it is bold, the Australian Bureau of Statistics had a projection work created for it by Spinifex on the wall of the Billich Gallery that overlooks the historic Cadman’s Cottage. Designed to promote the upcoming release of the data from the 2011 census, the 18m x 14m animated projection seemed like a very well designed, but ultimately pointless, attempt to engage Vivid festival goers in something that will only hold their attention until they see the next tree wrapped in colour-changing LED ropelight.

Spinifex also produced an interactive attraction for the ABS that enabled punters to select the infographics being projected onto the façade of Cadman’s cottage, using a 52-

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The Electric Canvas rig of 14 x Christie Roadsters heading off on their 450m journey across Circular Quay to the sails. (Photo: Peter Baumann)

inch touch-surface. To complete the engagement with the festival visitor,s the ABS set up five touchscreen web kiosks to access the award-winning ABS website. Each of these buildings was covered by a pair of Barco R20+ projectors.

The Cadman’s Cottage projectors were fed directly from the surface, while the Billich Gallery projectors were fed from a Watchout server.

How anyone from Vivid can justify this as anything other than taking money from the Commonwealth government and giving them not much in return is beyond me. I’m still trying to work out how promoting the census ties into a festival of light, music and ideas.

FUN ON A TRIKE

Rain reveals the projection path to the sails. (Photo: Peter Baumann)

Incredible detail in The Electric Canvas animation on Customs House. (Photo: David Clare)

Perhaps the most outrageous projection project I came across at Vivid was a pair of young men: one an electrical power engineering student, the other a multimedia artist, traipsing around the Rocks area with their electric trike. Mounted on the back of the trike and running from its lead-acid battery bank was an inverter-powered office-class projector, connected to an iPad. The iPad’s camera was used to grab an image of a nearby wall that was then feature-mapped into a projected game of Pong that passers-by could play using the iPad’s touchscreen as a game controller. Sponsored by the festival, this guerrilla projection team were tasked with popping up at random around the Lite Walk and engaging visitors in a bit of fun.

If there’s any take-home message from the Vivid Sydney festival, it’s that there are plenty of creative and commercial opportunities for the AV industry to supply video, comms, design, consulting, content, data, power, staging, security, projection, lighting, sound, production management, logistics and facilities management, to events ranging from small meetings about big ideas, and concerts of all sizes, to projections on both the micro and macro scale. 

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FEATURE

340° panoramic image of the YTT set Photography: MarkBedson.com

The Great Pixel Massacre Of 2012 Young Talent Time becomes a dumping ground for unloved pixels.

Text:/ Paul Collison

It’s been over 20 years since Young Talent Time graced our CRT television screens. In its heyday, YTT was a highlight of the weekend for almost every family in Australia. Spawning stars like Debbie Byrne, Jamie Redfern, Danni Minogue and Tina Arena, as well as guest performances by future stars like Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue, YTT was a springboard to the stellar careers of many Australian artists. The Ten network recently brought back the format in a fresh new modern look.

Granada Media, which had been commissioned by the Ten network to produce the show, wanted a fresh, modern look this time around. Enter Eamon Darcy, the show’s set designer, who drew on his extensive theatrical background to bring elements of the theatre into the modern TV studio. Of course a 2012 version was always going to need to rely on technology to help bring it up to audience expectations, so he began by replacing traditional cycloramas and

FEATURE

legs with LED screen surfaces, recreating the feel of a theatre. To carry that same look and feel in out into the ‘house’, the LED screen cyclorama continued on, encompassing the entire studio. A set of tiered bleachers for the audience embraced a Y shaped stage, and the set, dubbed the Tina Arena Arena, took shape.

Once the set design was finalised, we had to source the appropriate LED surfaces. In a perfect world, the one type of LED would have populated the entire panorama. Of course budget and the large surface area (some hundreds of square metres), dictated that a variety of brands and pitches would need to be used for the project. Michael Hassett of TDC came to the rescue with a package of LED surfaces to suit the requirements and restricted space. His solution started with 6mm oneLED on the stage area and branched out to various flavours of 11mm and 14mm pitches. The varying pitches were not the most ideal solution, however it did mean that for the most part, the set design was possible, paving the way for our most complex job, the mapping of the screen area for content creation.

TOO MANY PIXELS

The main purpose behind such an expanse of LED, was to enable the creation of a completely different look and feel for each performance.

This meant our content creation would play a massive part of each performance. Given the sheer size of the screen surface, it was certainly not possible to use stock content simply mapped to the panorama for every song. A very specific map would need to be created to ensure most of the design work could be done back in the content creation phase, rather than in the media playback system. This map (or template more specifically) would form the basis for the all content design. Creating such a map requires an understanding of a combination of not only the replay system, but also the overall design requirements.

The upstage 6mm oneLED screen was the main focus of the show. It was only 800 pixels high, but 2900 pixels wide. In order to maintain the highest resolution, using a single HD (1920 pixel wide) source would not do. Adding to this was the fact the centre 480 pixels formed a doorway that moved forward and back,

effectively creating three different surfaces at times. It made sense to allocate three discrete vision outputs here.

Next there were the ‘legs’ that were also 6mm oneLED – another two outputs. Through the sides and around to the rear of the arena required even more discrete outputs, each additional output providing for finer discrimination of control over the surfaces.

In total, there were 13 discrete outputs that formed the pixel map. Even though there were 21 separate surfaces we managed to squeeze down some of the outputs on to the same template slides, economising on at least some of the bandwidth required for data transfer. The final map was just shy of 11,000 pixels wide, roughly the equivalent of six HD screens lined up side-by-side. By any reckoning, that is a huge amount of information to collate and distribute.

The sad irony of the situation was that many of the pixels rendered never appeared on the screen.

It’s here things get a little complicated.

MUDDYING THE PITCH

Mapping video content to any surface, whether it’s with projection or LED, can be a stretch for any brain. The real issues in this instance come when you mix various pitches of LED product.

In this case we had four different types of LED, at three different pitches. The big challenge comes when placing a 6mm screen next to a 14mm screen. For example, an image that is 100 pixels wide on a 6mm pitch screen occupies a width of 600mm. The same 100 pixels on a 14mm pitch screen is spread over 1400mm. Even though it’s

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Why so many innocent pixels must die.

In this case we had four different types of LED, at three different pitches

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Set design showing location and pitch of each panel.

Image courtesy Eamon Darcy

FEATURE

the same number of pixels, the image on the 14mm screen is physically over twice as big.

To get both images to cover the same amount of physical space, it makes sense to render the whole image as if it would be displayed on 6mm screens then simply (and regretfully) throw away those pixels that don’t exist on the more widely spaced 14mm screen. You are effectively only looking at every eighth pixel, as the middle six pixels have literally fallen through the cracks between the LEDs, never to be seen again. We estimate that close to 30% of the pixels rendered for each performance were never used. They were literally spacers for the content that we wanted to see. It might seem like a convoluted process to achieve the required result, but keeping the images at the same apparent scale across the entire panorama was critical.

Once the map was finalised, the content creation could properly begin. Frantz Kantor, a Melbourne based graphic artist, who caught the attention of the producers for his work on one of the most recent productions of Hair Spray, was employed as an artist on the project. Glenn Wilson from my company, Eleven Design, was engaged to take Frantz’s artwork and format

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it for the screens, adding animation and other treatments when necessary.

PROCESSING THE PIXELS

Generally the artwork began in Adobe Photoshop, and when complete, was taken in to After Effects to be animated. Throughout both stages, the artists would work with the entire panorama unfolded in front of them. Finally, once the content was completed, it was rendered in to 13 separate movie files, each containing only the information required for a single output.

Lining up the content to screens was our next challenge. Some of the LED processors in the system could scale and position each slide on their own, meaning we could keep the slides untouched inside the replay system and leave the fancy positioning and scaling to the processors.

Other screens required the use of a Barco Folsom scaler. The finer parts of the lineup came from the Pandoras Box Media Replay system.

Content was centrally located on a network accessible storage (NAS) device. The Pandoras Box Media Manager would then access the NAS across the network and distribute the content to

each of the 13 machines for output. The content would come in two distinct formats.

Mostly it was built to match the audio tracks because of significant performer interaction with the screens. In these cases, the content would then be placed on the timeline within the Pandoras Box Manager to chase the SMPTE timecode running from the Protools audio replay system.

If the content was less specific to the audio, then traditional ‘loops’ were created and triggered from a grandMA2 lighting console. The ability to bounce between these two approaches, sometimes within the same segment, made the challenging work easier to grapple with.

YTT in 2012 was a far cry from its earlier incarnation. The ability to create unique environments for each performance was an amazing tool to have in the cupboard for the creative department. Each treatment was painstakingly taken from an idea, then storyboarded, drawn, animated and finally formatted and replayed for the screens. The skill of all those involved certainly made the project a success. Let’s see how much fun we can have if YTT makes a return to our screens in 2013. 

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FEATURE

Plane Saline Perth’s Desalination Discovery Centre delivers the good oil on good water.

Text:/ Graeme Hague

The 50-seat Multimedia Room includes 3D capable rear projection, 5.1 channel audio, and multi-camera video conferencing capabilities.

While you’re reading this, look out the window and in most parts of Australia it’s probably raining – or trying to… or going to. For the last six months and more we’ve been hearing about floods and torrential rain, and witnessed countless TV reporters standing soggily in the downpour telling us all about it.

So it’s kind of hard to remember that not so long prior to all this knee-deep mud that things were quite the opposite. Water reservoir levels were at record lows and there were grave doubts about where we’d get our next cold beer – a very serious issue. In Western Australia it was figured that with the projected growth in Perth’s population and a fixed (or declining) rainfall, desalination was the answer and an existing facility under construction was quickly brought on line and a new plant earmarked for further down the coast was fast-tracked, while another plant is planned for the not to distant future.

GET ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE YOUNG

MORE INFORMATION NCEDA: desalination.edu.au Jumbo Vision: www.jumbovision.com.au Last Pixel: www.lastpixel.com.au

But selling desalinated water to the population isn’t easy. It’s just a slightly more palatable idea than drinking processed sewerage–which is dumped into the ocean anyway, so that’s a loselose situation for many folks. Educating the Great Unwashed masses (or their kids really) about the benefits of desalination was seen as the solution and the National Centre for

Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) decided on creating an educational facility, the Desal Discovery Centre (DDC) at the Murdoch University in Rockingham, just south of Perth.

The main target audience is lower-secondary school students and the focus is on attracting school groups to the DDC to dispel all those nasty myths about drinking water that was formerly the abode of fish.

The DDC is based in two main rooms, the Edulab which provides visitors with a hands-on experience in processing, testing and experimenting with the desalination process, and the Multimedia Room, a theatrette, with tiered seating for 50, a 3.5m rear-projection system that’s 3D capable and a full 5.1 surround audio system. For educating visitors, the NCEDA commissioned a 3D movie that follows the journey of a water drop named Crystal, who is ultimately transformed into Crystal Clear drinking water by the desalination process.

3D SELLS

The result of a collaboration process between NCEDA, the Water Corporation and Jumbo Vision, the production was coordinated by Jumbo Vision, after it impressed the CEO of NCEDA, Neil Palmer with the 4m demonstration INIFITEC 3D system in their Adelaide office.

FEATURE

The Desal Discovery Centre is certainly not just about teaching the kids about desalination.

This highly-capable multimedia facility is available for conferences, seminars and meetings, and can offer video conferencing for multiple participants, desktop and screen sharing and teleconferencing. Some of the equipment that was originally designated as a permanent, wall-mounted ‘entry statement’ for the DDC became a mobile information station using a 46 inch multi-touch screen with the capability to display any custom-created content. Any kind of programming can be loaded into the station to suit third-party hirers. However, the standard presentation is an interactive Google Earth display showing the locations of all the world’s desalination plants, plus links to NCEDA Flickr videos and pictures, associated internet pages and partner’s websites.

COMING UP FROM BEHIND

Inside the Multimedia Room a 3500mm x 1970mm Da-Lite rear projection screen – a custom-sized 16:9 ratio screen that needed a bespoke aluminium frame manufactured by Jumbo Vision – takes pride of place. The 3D movie, which uses the INFITEC 3D system, is shown via two projectiondesign F32 1920 x 1080 projectors and the DDC has 60 pairs of the 3D glasses, wisely allowing for a high

attrition rate considering many of its audiences will have the attention span of a… secondary school student. As the INFITEC 3D process is a passive super-anaglyph system, the dichroicfiltered glasses require neither batteries nor a wired connection. Good move.

The room is not set up for 3D exclusively and an AMX controller provides switching between 2D and 3D modes, plus handles source control and the Dynalite lighting in the auditorium.

Hearing assistance is in place with a Williams Sound WIR SYS1 loop system.

You can’t write about an installation like this without telling a tale about something going wrong, but in this case the project was only a small step away from everything going perfectly. The only near-disaster was when a lift well needed to be relocated due to construction exigencies and inadvertently strayed in to the space allocated for the rear projection system that had already been constructed. Whilst the idea of folding the projection path using frontsurface mirrors was considered for a while, the problem was eventually resolved by squeezing every last bit of lens shift from the F32s. Finally, some ambient noise issues were addressed by installing Soundscreen sound insulation.

DESALINATION – THE MOVIE

The 3D animated movie, Crystal, The Story

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Not a millimetre to spare between the projectors against the rear wall and the rear-projection surface.

Images courtesy of Jumbo Vision International

the dichroic filtered glasses require neither batteries nor a wired connection

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of Desalination is a 12-minute epic created

by Jumbo Vision working Last Pixel, a 3D specialist based in Perth. It’s a combination of live footage and animation, telling the story of Crystal, a drop of saline water who undergoes the metamorphosis from sea water to clear, drinkable water through the desalination plant. The voice of Crystal was Kelly Morgan, while the voice of “Bob” was by Dr Rob Bell from Channel Ten’s Scope program.

Outside it’s still raining and even the news feed from the NCEDA’s own website is declaring that desalination plants in Queensland and New South Wales are scaling back on output in the face of record-breaking rainfall. But Perth is growing faster than its available fresh water supply, and we all know the weather cycle will turn and once again people will be faced with the prospect of drinking processed sea water.

Thanks to the efforts of the Desal Discovery Centre not so many Australians will find that an alarming thought.

They can even make cold beer out of it.

That’s comforting. 

The mobile 46-inch multi-touch screen system in place in the foyer, showing visitors the locations of the world’s desalination plants on Google Earth.

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036

FEATURE

A Giant’s Tale Our AFL correspondent writes from the footy war zone that is western Sydney.

Text:/ Matt Caton

Image courtesy AFL Images

Wow! That's a bloody big scoreboard

It’s interesting how some of these AV articles come to be. There are times, when Mr Editor just chucks a story idea at me and says “you’re doing it.” There are other times, when I hear about a project or event in advance and pitch the idea to the editor myself. But every so often, on very rare occasions, you just walk straight into them.

On a recent trip to Sydney, I took some time out to watch my beloved Essendon Bombers battle it out against the AFL’s brand new team; the Greater Western Sydney Giants. The game had some sentimental attachment for Bomber fans, but the added interest was it being the very first game at the newly redeveloped Sydney Showground Stadium, branded as Skoda Stadium for AFL matches. As I quickly hurried to my seat for the first bounce, I looked up and saw something that particularly caught my interest. I saw my story.

As the game started, I still only had one

thought on my mind: “Wow, that’s a bloody big scoreboard.” Clearly, I go a little simple and boganic when engaged in a game of footy, but my initial thought turned out to be pretty accurate.

[A check in the Urban Dictionary defined ‘bogan’ as an offensive term for somebody regarded as unsophisticated and unfashionable, which is right on the mark – Ed].

A few days and a couple of phone calls later, it appeared I did in fact have an interesting story.

Not only is this scoreboard of the noticeably mammoth size, at 270sqm, it just happens to be the largest stadium video scoreboard in the southern hemisphere.

The scoreboard was added as part of the $65m upgrade to the Sydney Showground Stadium, jointly funded by the NSW Government, the Australian Football League (AFL) and the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RASNSW) who operate the venue. Despite appearing to

The video screen was designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned by digital signage and scoreboard specialists, Daktronics, which worked very closely with the builder AW Edwards, particularly during the construction of the galvanized steel structure that supports it. “The early stages consisted of what you’d call ‘value engineering consultation,’ which was required to ensure that the structure was in line with the displays,” explains Blair Robertson, General Manager of Daktronics.

To achieve the desired ‘giant’ effect, the 24.5m x 11m active display area of the video screen is made up of Daktronics DVX-100 20HD LED modules arranged in 36 cabinets, which were then bolted together to form the finished product. The RGB modules with a horizontal and vertical pitch of 20.32mm (0.8in), results in a display with 540 lines and 1206 columns. “The HD pixel configuration, with its 160° viewing angle, allowed the screen to

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sit modestly in the vast shadow of the Olympic Stadium, the Showground Stadium has quite a famous and memorable history of its own. Known primarily for hosting the Sydney Royal Easter Show, it has also served as a popular spot for music festivals. The redevelopment was driven largely by the AFL’s need to find a second boutique stadium in Sydney to play home to its newest franchise. The stadium’s seated capacity has increased from 13,000 to 25,000, its corporate and hospitality facilities have been upgraded and of course, it’s now home to an LED screen that secures the bragging rights with all of the neighbours.

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038

FEATURE

Image courtesy Daktronics

pick up more seats, have wider viewing angles, more lines of resolution, and with 16bitcolour processing, superior image quality,“ said Robertson.

WHAT’S THE SCORE?

The scoreboard is controlled by Daktronics own Show Control System. This software suite provides all the compositing, data integration, playback hardware and live video control required from a live video scoreboard, while using a very simple user interface. Daktronics helped with the training of the scoreboard operators, with the client wanting the solution to be as straightforward as it could. “We got it down to only one operator, sitting in front of a touchscreen, who can control both the scoreboard and video screen fairly simply,” Robertson explains.

As with any sensible audiovisual system, the control system runs on a fully dual-redundent platform, allowing for a simple and seamless changeover in case of some dreaded and dire technical circumstances.

Image courtesy RASNSW

CONVERT THE SOURCE

The Daktronics Show Control System has no video production or switching functions for the video action component of the display, relying on a fibre-optic programme feed from an outside broadcast truck or a local event production team.

However in live sports, and in particular AFL, patrons now expect much more than just the live action and a few replays. It’s the information age and the live sports fan is as savvy as anybody when it comes to team and players stats, score updates from other games and even weather information. The data integration component of the Show Control system, allows it to connect to all major league statistical providers and to incorporate live scores and statistics into any graphical layout using its DakStats statistical software.

On a rather forgettable night of football (my Bombers won, but it was not exactly a great football spectacle), the biggest memory I have from the night was watching a large majority of the spectators at the ground spend more time watching the screen, than they did the live action. No matter how you look at it, or where you look at it from, the Showground Stadium is the owner of one ‘bloody big’ scoreboard screen, and one that is likely the envy of stadium owners right across our southern hemisphere. 

Image courtesy RASNSW

PROJECT CREDITS Clients: New South Wales Government (www.nsw.gov.au) The AFL (afl.com.au) The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (www.rasnsw.com.au) Builder: AW Edwards (www.awedwards.com.au) Signage system: Daktronics (www.daktronics.com) The mighty Bombers: www.essendonfc.com.au

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040

TUTORIAL

In For The Long Run Designing AV systems that will keep on keeping on.

Text:/ Bruce Brown

Back in AV issue 20 there was an article about the ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ show at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat. If you missed it, the essence of the article was that the hardware, although still working after a fashion, was past due for renewal but had survived due to regular maintenance. This is a perfect example of why planning for the long term is an essential skill for the multimedia systems designer (it is also a testament to the hard work and dedication of the technical team at Sovereign Hill). I’m sure it wasn’t part of Brian Shirley’s original hardware design that the equipment should last 19+ years!

Permanent installation for museums, visitor centres, and public exhibitions requires a special set of design parameters and a different mindset. These venues are generally government funded and thus have very limited financial and human resources. They have high visitation (necessitating minimum down-time), are often in remote locations, sometimes in un-airconditioned buildings in harsh environments and are seldom renewed in less than 10 years, and more often in 20+ years.

THE STARTING POINT

There are three major considerations that drive multimedia system design for permanent installation in exhibitions (in no particular order:

Creative Content: the creative concepts for the exhibition design, and the content, will drive the way the content is delivered. If the creative calls for a full dynamic range 7.1 surround sound system there is no point installing ceiling speakers.

Exhibition Design: similarly, if a large, 6:1 ratio, 4m high, curved screen is called for by the exhibition designers, then the screen, projectors and geometry of the installed system will need to meet that design specification.

System Maintenance: The resources available to the client/owner for long term maintenance of the system, human, mechanical and financial, need to be considered. If you go ahead and install a bank of projectors in the ceiling 6m above the floor to project on to the curved screen, they are not going to be accessible from a ladder. The technician will need an elevated work platform to access them safely, it will take several hours to change the lamps a couple of times a year, and the lamps are going to cost over $1,000 each.

REPUTATIONS ON THE LINE

As creative producers and system design consultants, we at Mental Media also have the ultimate motivation. If the hardware installation falls over through lack of maintenance or inadequately specified equipment, then our

productions are no longer shown in their best light – or at all! So it is our aim to design installations that are easily and affordably maintained by local resources.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a major institution in a capital city or a small regional museum in a remote location, design needs to adapt to the local conditions and resources.

Strategies can be developed to cater for a range of circumstances – form follows function. If the designer is aware of the circumstances prevailing at a given location, then strategies can be developed to ensure the best technical solution is provided. The multimedia system designer’s role is to weave a path between the creative concepts, the exhibition design, the environmental circumstances and the budget.

After developing the design so that it meets both the exhibition design and creative content requirements (often harder than it sounds) it remains to design the system for the end user – owner/operator, in-house techs and/or maintenance contractor – with the environmental conditions as major consideration.

DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Installing a Blu-ray player in an un-airconditioned visitor centre in the Flinders Ranges isn’t going to work – well not for long anyway.

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REDUCE THE MAINTENANCE

There are some maintenance tasks that can’t be avoided – yet. Projectors are now the highest maintenance item in the AV designer’s toolkit of technologies. There’s no avoiding it; they contain very bright lamps and suck enormous amounts of air. The lamps have a finite life, and dust inevitably accumulates in the cooling paths. Design so the projectors are easily accessible. Make everyone aware of the lamp life cycle and the associated cost of replacement lamps. Enquire who will change the lamps and make sure they understand how and when. Schedule regular bench-top maintenance and specify projectors that are warranted for 24/7 operations with clearly-defined maintenance cycles.

Multimedia systems design also includes the integration of elements other than just audio and visual devices. Lighting,

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042

TUTORIAL

mechanical and special effects are often included in installations. As multimedia designers and consultants on the recent Newcastle Regional Museum project (see AV Issue 24) we specified that the lighting and mechanical systems be designed to reduce maintenance. As many of the lighting instruments as possible have LED lamps, including Mac350 moving head fixtures.

The smoke machines are modified with long feeder-tubes, extra-large fluid reservoirs to provide both ease of access and a reduced refill frequency, and a special mix of readily available fluids to reduce consumption. The operations manuals also include special instructions on long-term maintenance procedures, such as regularly flushing the smoke systems with deionised water.

KISS

Brave young pilots go into battle over the front at the Australian War Memorial every day of the year.

Image courtesy Mental Media

In regional and remote locations the aim is to make the systems as simple as possible.

Small, robust controls systems with solid-state memories that can be reset with a power cycle; fanless computers with solid state drives and their BIOS set to restart after power off; solid state media players; lighting instruments using locally-available low voltage lamps, etc. All of these measures help to provide ownership to

the owner/operator and make the job easier for the local electrician or Dick Smith employee to maintain the system.

Regardless of the location, the budget or the resources, a system designer worth their salt should be able to design a system that can be installed and remain in good working order for at least 10 years. It requires creative thinking, product knowledge and selection of the appropriate hardware for the job. It also requires the system designer to provide the best advice to the stakeholders. There is little to be gained from installing a cheap projector if it is not rated for 24/7 operations, as it will soon fail and require replacing, and it is better to spend four times as much on LED lamps that will last 10 times as long.

In the end the budget will be the overriding factor. It’s always more expensive at the outset to specify and install high-quality robust equipment and quality consumables, even though In the longer term it will save the extra expense many times over. Unfortunately the rub is that the initial expenditure comes from a set (or even shrinking) project budget, whereas the maintenance, consumables, spares, etc. are funded from recurring expenditure.

But that’s a topic for another time. 

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044

REVIEW

Hitachi CP-X8160 High Performance Large Venue LCD Projector Text:/ Stuart Gregg

Hitachi describes its CP-X8160 as a high performance projector suited for use in large venue spaces with the need for versatile installation options. Pulling it out of the box, I admit ‘large venue’ was not my first impression.

The project is not a small table top/boardroom size but neither is it a large form factor. At just under 500mm wide by 400mm deep it would look more at home on the ceiling of a classroom or midsize meeting room.

The projector comes in white and the overall build quality is high, with nice design features such as inset connectors on the back and a discreet LCD information panel. A comment made by one of the team was ‘why do all the white projectors still have black lenses sticking out the front?’.

ANGULAR DEXTERITY

One of the flagship features is the projector’s ability to be mounted and installed at any angle, which with an increasing education and digital signage market requiring some ‘clever’ installations, is not a bad offering. To assist with installation flexibility there are five lens options including the standard lens. The lens mounting and change mechanism is one of the nicest I have seen, in fact better than a lot of projectors that get used in rental stock. The only comment is that the decorative collar that fits around the lens did not clip in place all that securely and required a bit of concentration to get it right.

Once the lens was in and the projector

powered up, the first thing I noticed is that for the 6000 lumens output, it was, if not super quiet, certainly unobtrusive. Later on during testing I switched the projector to eco mode and wow what a huge difference; from a noise level perspective, it was as if you had turned the projector off. Another note on the eco mode is that normally I am sceptical about low-power/ long lamp life options, as I have yet to meet anyone that uses them or a projector that’s not disappointing at the reduced levels. In the case of the CP-X8160 I was impressed, as the perceptible drop in image intensity was minimal and it may be the first projector I would consider using in eco mode.

The lens is mounted centrally in the projector and appeals to my eye for symmetry. The projector has lens shift in both the horizontal and vertical planes and has a nice radar style display that comes up during lens shift to let you know where you are on the shift.

Electronic focus, using either the remote or the rear mounted buttons, was simple and has a very fine level of adjustment.

QUICK ON THE UPTAKE

We ran the projector through tests using a variety of computers both PC and Apple as well as DVD and cameras. The projector recognized and auto-acquired all the sources well first time, and produced good stable images. The overall image quality was really nice, with colours reproduced well and good handling of blacks

and greys on all sources.

The menu system does a good job of leading you through the numerous options and functions, making it simple to work. The remote also works well with the buttons and functions natural and intuitive. Obtaining the best colour reproduction is simply done through the use of the preset gamma and colour temperatures, or by going into the advanced menu and user settings.

When adjusting the gamma you have the option to split the screen to display half of your source image and half a selection of grey scales which allows you to judge the effect the settings are having on the both the projector’s direct patterns and the source. I like this as I have seen plenty of technicians adjust projectors to compensate for a poor quality source and then scratch their head when the sources are swapped and the new source is all out.

The same system is used for the colour temperature settings.

JUST WHAT THE RADIOGRAPHER ORDERED

The projector has a DICOM simulation mode for X-rays and other medical images that require an advanced grey scale. Another feature that is popular with medical installations and videoconferencing alike, is the ability to display images from two sources side by side. We used a PC in one side and a live camera in the other and it worked well.

Keystone correction is possible in both vertical and horizontal planes, and the projector did a

pretty decent job of maintaining image integrity when it was applied. Alongside the keystone correction is Hitachi’s Perfect Fit2 system that gives access to multiple points of adjustment such as corner distortion and pincushion control by edge.

Whilst I would still rather mount a projector square and in the right place, it does a good job and would be handy when projecting onto out-of-true surfaces or curved walls.

PROVIDES GOOD INPUT

The inputs available include composite, S-video, component, VGA and two HDMI. With the increasing use of digital signals it’s nice to see two HDMI ports to avoid the need for external switching on simpler installs.

Other ins and outs include a 15-pin monitor out, 2 x USB, Ethernet and RS232. You are able to select on each source if you wish it to pass through to the monitor out or not.

The projector has embedded networking, and what looks to be a reasonable set of reporting and management functions available for those using it either standalone on a network or in a larger multi-projector campus install.

There are several features that lean towards digital signage and education installs, one of which is the PJ messenger that allows you to send and display text messages on any networked projectors. I am not sure about this, but maybe it could be configured as part of an Evac system or similar.

In summary it’s a good, solid performer with some practical features, built well and at a price that won’t break the bank. My only hesitation in a world that increasingly sees high definition as the standard, is whether an XGA projector is the answer, or should you consider the slightly lower brightness of the UXGA version? 

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046

TUTORIAL

Can You Hear Me Now? Part 3 – Wireless Communications Text:/ Cameron O’Neill

So far in this series we’ve been dealing with wired systems. Most partylines use a 3-core cable such as microphone cable to connect people together. Matrices use all kinds of cables; from coaxial to custom-designed multicores. These connections may work well in a control room or at the front of house consoles, but they’re very restrictive for those of us that have to both communicate and move around. Thankfully, the systems that we have looked at previously have at least some form of wireless extension.

ANALOGUE OR DIGITAL?

Over the last decade we have seen the professional sound industry wholeheartedly embrace digital encoding, and we are now even pushing into some cool audio-over-IP solutions. However, when it comes to transmitting audio over the air, we haven’t done all that much to the way things work for quite some time.

When we talk about analogue wireless transmissions, we are referring to the way the data is modulated on the radio waves. The most common form of analogue modulation is Frequency Modulation (FM), where we alter the frequency of the carrier slightly to transmit the data. FM is the basis of the majority of contemporary audio systems; two-way radios, radio microphones and in-ear monitors mostly use FM transmission. You can also transmit digital information over an analogue modulation.

Standards like Apco’s P.25 are examples of digital data being transmitted over analogue carriers.

Conversely, some digital transmission relies on more efficient, but more complex signalling schemes, like phase differentials, to transmit the information. The upside is that you get a lot more information over the same radio frequency bandwidth, but the downside is that you have a slight latency on the transmission. For most systems this delay is less than 100µs. Normally this isn’t an issue, however when you connect a new, digital comms system to an older partyline system, there is one small issue.

THE DIGITAL ECHO

Older analogue partylines treat any connection to the system in the same way. They take all of the audio from all of your connected devices, combine it, and then send it back to all of the

devices, including the original source. This produces an effect called Sidetone (known to most of us as “hearing yourself when the comms mic is on”). However, if you have 100µs delay between your wired and wireless system, this means that your sidetone will arrive with a 200µs delay (there and back again), which is extremely off-putting. The best way around this is to use avoid combining the signals by using a system with a 4-wire interface. These usually employ nulling or echo cancellation circuitry to remove the sidetone from the connected devices TWO-WAY RADIOS

Two-way radios (walkie talkies) offer great transmission range in a small package. Modern two-ways also offer a great range of options, including GPS tracking and automatic ‘mandown’ sensors that can report when a radio user has had an accident (or is simply lying down, sleeping off a big dinner).

The shortcomings of simple two-ways are that they usually require a licensed frequency (unless you want to share a public channel with anyone who wants to drop in), and that they only allow one user at a time to be talking (half-duplex). Digital radio systems like TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) allow for full-duplex communication (more than one person speaking at a time), however they require greater investments in equipment, and it is harder to get a mobile licence due to the different frequency requirements.

ANALOGUE BELTPACKS

In order to get around some of the half-duplex limitation of simple two-way radios, many companies started making radio versions of their partyline devices. By giving each beltpack an individual reply frequency, combined with a common send frequency for the base station, it was possible for everyone to talk at the one time. As these are analogue devices transmitting analogue audio, there is negligible delay within the systems, making them perfect for use on events, stages or in studios. Many installations continue to use analogue beltpacks for these reasons.

Is this your copy of AV?

However, there are a couple of significant drawbacks with analogue beltpacks. Each beltpack requires an individual frequency, which means that the base station needs to have separate receiver circuitry for every connected beltpack.

Consequently, most of these systems are limited to four-to-six beltpacks. If you want just one more beltpack, then you’re going to need to invest in a second base station. Also, in order to keep the beltpack systems licence-free, they have to share the same frequency band as wireless microphone systems.

There are two problems with this. Firstly, the output power of analogue systems has to be kept low to meet with regulations, which limits the range of most systems to a single hall/room/ theatre. Secondly, as the ACMA (the radio spectrum management authority) starts to shut down the 800MHz end of the TV spectrum, there is less airspace for the remaining devices. If you’re running a significant number of radio mics and wireless beltpack comms, then you’re going to have to start rationalising one or the other.

If you’d like to receive your own copy of AV or if you’d like to continue to receive AV

DIGITAL BELTPACKS

Digital wireless beltpacks are becoming increasingly popular.

By leveraging the ability of digital systems to link over long distances, we can expand the range of a system beyond that of a single antenna. Time-division multiplexing (TDM) systems allow multiple users to connect on the same frequency, enabling a single base station to handle many beltpacks (over 100 in a number of cases). By having each beltpack working in its own TDM slot, it’s possible to send individual audio signals to each beltpack, allowing us to treat them as elements of a matrix rather than a partyline.

Since digital systems are not as susceptible to external radio frequency noise, the audio quality is generally better than that of an analogue system. Most systems are also in the 1.9GHz or 2.4GHz range, meaning that they are not going to take up valuable spectrum around your radio microphones (although they may have problems with the myriad unlicensed devices crowded into the 2.4GHz region).

Traditionally, digital wireless systems have carried with them a higher price tag. Whilst this still may be the case for less than four beltpacks, once you need to buy additional analogue base stations then a digital system starts to come into its own. Add onto that the extra features of digital systems, such as most having two discrete channels per beltpack; better audio quality; and some having the capability to act as matrix keypanels; and you’re starting to see some real benefits in the investment.

NEXT UP

So far wireless is looking like a pretty good solution, but what happens when you’ve got an AGM with a Melbourne-SydneyBrisbane link-up? That’s the scenario we’re going to delve into next time, when we look at trunking networks via phonelines, ISDN and the Internet. 

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048

TUTORIAL

Ceiling Mounted Loudspeaker Coverage Having a simple equation in your arsenal will save you time in planning an in-ceiling speaker layout.

This is an excerpt from the course DES201 Design Online, an interactive course addressing advanced science and technology concepts for the AV designer. The program is designed to be easy and cost effective for self paced learning. The course outlines design criteria, processes and procedures.

In most cases, designing a sound system will require some sort of computer modelling.

However, in some situations, basic calculations can be performed in order to determine coverage. The examples below describe a ceiling mounted loudspeaker application.

DEFINE THE VARIABLES

Determining ceiling mounted loudspeaker spacing requires defining the following variables: • Coverage pattern of the loudspeaker • Overlap of coverage patterns to achieve acceptable SPL variation • Ear height of the listeners You are probably familiar with loudspeakers that specify coverage patterns of 90° horizontal by 40° vertical or 110° conical. Due to different audio wavelengths, these patterns do not hold true over the entire frequency range of the loudspeaker.

This being the case, you will need to know the coverage pattern at a frequency appropriate for the application. For speech reinforcement, a frequency often used is 2000Hz (2kHz). Determining the coverage angle at a specific frequency will require looking at the loudspeaker’s polar plot.

CALCULATE COVERAGE AREA

Here’s the equation for calculating the coverage area of a ceiling mounted loudspeaker: D = 2 * (H - h) * tan (C / 2) Calculating this formula requires these values: • Diameter of the loudspeaker’s coverage circle at ear height, D • Overall ceiling height, H • Height of the listener’s ears, h • The loudspeaker off-axis coverage angle of

the polar pattern, C EXPLAINING A POLAR PLOT

As mentioned, speaker coverage varies according to the frequency. A typical polar plot is comprised of several concentric circles.

Each concentric circle represents a change of 6dB SPL. A balloon-shaped pattern is overlaid on the plot to show how far off-axis a loudspeaker’s coverage pattern extends at a given frequency. The on-axis or zero degree mark at the top indicates that the listener is directly in front of, or underneath, the loudspeaker.

A polar plot chart indicates two things: • The radiated energy of a loudspeaker at a given frequency in either the vertical or horizontal plane. Energy radiates outward, but not equally, in all directions from the loudspeaker, and polar plots are used to show the pattern of the energy.

• The number of degrees off-axis where the radiated energy decreases by 6dB compared to the on-axis level. These locations are referred to as the, ‘6dB down points’. The coverage pattern in equipment specifications is typically stated at the 6dB down points.

The graphics illustrate the polar plot in the vertical plane for three frequencies (125Hz, 2kHz, 16kHz). You can also see where the 6dB down points are, and the resulting coverage pattern is shown on the left side of each graphic.

At 125Hz, the energy is dispersed far differently than the other two plots. This is

because a physically larger device is required to control the dispersion pattern.

At 2kHz, the loudspeaker’s energy is about 6dB down at about 50° off-axis on one side.

The same point on the other side is at about 310°. Together, the total coverage angle is about 100°.

At 16kHz, this loudspeaker’s energy drops off steeply as you move off-axis.

FORMULA IN ACTION

What is the diameter of coverage using a loudspeaker with a coverage angle of 90°, a ceiling height of 3000mm and an ear height of 1220mm [is that Kylie Minogue’s ears we’re talking about? — Ed.]?

Step one: To calculate the tangent, look for the ‘tan’ button on your scientific calculator.

• Substitute 90 for the angle of coverage, C • Substitute 3000 for the ceiling height of the loudspeaker, H • Substitute 1220 for the height of the listener’s ear, h D = 2 * (H - h) * tan (C / 2) D = 2 * (3000 - 1220) * tan (90 / 2) D = 2 * (3000 - 1220) * tan (45) D = 2 * (3000 - 1220) * 1 Step two: Calculate the difference between ceiling height and ear height.

D = 2 * (3000 - 1220) * 1 D = 2 * (1780) * 1 Step three: Complete the equation.

D = 2 * (1780) * 1 D = 3560 * 1 D = 3560mm 

050

Termination Life on the Holodeck Text:/ Graeme Hague

We’ve got high-definition 3D television and film, something that was unimaginable less than 10 years ago, and you’d think we should be happy. But Star Trek has a lot to answer for with its ‘Holodeck’ and weird, psychotic doctor who is, in fact, just a smarty-pants hologram spat out by the computer whenever someone gets a cosmic-sized headache. Hologram-envy is not a new phenomenon. Who can forget Luke Skywalker’s first experience of downloading soft pornography when R2D2 sputtered a mid-air hologram of Princess Leia pleading her case? (It’s slightly alarming that spell-check has no issue with that sentence.)

The demand for gob-smacking, can’t-tell-thedifference holograms is there and it should never come as a surprise anymore that we’re catching up with science fiction. This time, it’s the near flesh-and-blood holographic performance.

Back in April at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California the Digital Domain Media Group stunned 90,000 punters with a performance by Snoop Dogg and Tupac (or 2Pac… or TwoPac depending on what part of the ‘hood y’all live in) – a neat trick since Mr Pac has been dead since 1994. Yes the CGI footage was great, and the image was a Pepper’s ghost, once again being passed off on the public as a hologram, but the ensuing debate over the show suggests there’s a fine line between clever technology and doing something downright creepy.

If we ignore the slightly uncomfortable feeling, and any of those annoying morality issues, the potential for marketing products and services with holograms is enormous and shouldn’t be ignored. After all, dead famous people are tremendously successful promotional tools, if you measure it by the excellent–if unfortunate–

impact dying had on their careers.

Here’s an example of what could be done: John F Kennedy promoting education, reading and literature by his hologram pointing upwards at the Dallas Book Depository and saying, “Hey, the President of the United States is in town and that guy in the library window is still studying his ass off. I’ll bet he gets his diploma!”.

How about Mama Cass holding an enormous McBurger Burger and saying, “I couldn’t have choked on this! I’d have to chew it. Eat big and you eat safe!”

All right, that’s as tasteless as the sandwich that supposedly killed her (an urban myth apparently) and besides, there is a fatal flaw in the above hologram scenarios. These 3D images of performers who have passed onto the Great Gig in the Sky need existing footage to manipulate. But really, that shouldn’t be a problem since famous, dead people are famously dead because… well, they were famous. Which means that short of going all the way back to Genghis Khan’s performing elephant shows in the 12th century there’s bound to be archival footage you can use somewhere. This stuff pops up on YouTube every day.

DEAD RINGERS

At the moment, to create convincing holographic images you need lots of smoke, mirrors, lights, a large audience with a substance abuse problem and Snoop Dogg running around yelling rap lyrics nobody understands (even his Facebook posts are largely incomprehensible). In other words, you’re always going to know what’s coming.

No, the real problem with using holographic images will be in the near future when the technology is refined, cheap and readily

available. Marketing companies will flock to the concept and iconic ghosts will be popping up everywhere unexpectedly, frightening the behooters out of us. Marilyn Monroe pouting at thin air and selling lipstick, George Best endlessly kicking a soccer ball (yes, yes, I know – a football) at startled shoppers in his new boots, Marilyn Manson snarling at terrified passers-by and flogging skincare products… hang on, he’s not dead. Or is he? Hard to tell – doesn’t matter.

Still terrifying all the same.

And that’s the problem. Until now all our pseudo-3D wizardry has been safely on a screen where everyone knows what’s going on and nobody wets themselves (apart from that Jaws scene where the severed heads drops out of the bottom of the boat… to be fair I’d drunk a very large coke earlier). But holograms aren’t meant to appear on a wall, on a screen or even on a stage. The 3D environment is our space and time, walking among us like the living – it’s the ultimate illusion. Who is going to be responsible for the chaos it might cause? The terror it can induce? What about the elderly? What will happen when the next enraged woman runs over Sam Newman and her defense is, “Sorry, I thought he was a hologram”?

It’s all very tricky, but at least we can tell you the ultimate 3D illusion is already upon us–or soon will be. Yes, the next project for the Digital Domain Media Group will be a holographic performance by Elvis. The King will live again– unless you’re one of those folks who believe he’s still alive anyway. So Elvis fans will get a doublehit. They get to see the King in all his portly glory once more and yet again refuel all those conspiracy theories that Elvis isn’t dead.

Thanks Tupac – thanks a heap. Can’t wait. 

ONE SIZE FITS MOST. CORE 500i

INTRODUCING THE CORE 500i

Starting today, the possibilities made available by the world’s most powerful network audio solution are within reach for your next project. The The Core Core 500i 500i offers offers all all the the audio audio processing, processing, routing and control of Q-Sys™ in a package that scales easily and cost-effectively to meet the needs of even the most demanding system designers. And because a Q-Sys system operates seamlessly over standard Gigabit Ethernet hardware, the Core 500i integrates effortlessly with existing data networks networks and and future future network network upgrades. upgrades.

Want to learn how to put the power and elegance of Q-Sys to work in your next project?

Visit qscaudio.com or contact your system integrator or TAG (02 9519 0900/info@tag.com.au) local QSC sales agent today.

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©2012 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Q-Sys is a trademark of QSC Audio Products, LLC.