AV Issue 30

DUbAI & SYDNEY: STAGING THE bIG SHOW

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ISE 2013: OUR WRAP OF THE EURO AV LOVE-IN TEST SCREENING: QUT’S MASSIVE SCIENCE DISPLAY

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06

Editorial Holding on to your vision Some of the projects we do are simply setand-forget. Once you’ve got the DSP settings right in a lecture theatre, so long as nothing blows up badly, at worst you may have to replace a speaker driver and/or an amp channel every now and again; otherwise you can probably just leave the system ticking over for years on end without intervention until the next refurb.

Projectors are another matter altogether: every light source loses output continuously from the time it’s first energised. Whether it’s a tungsten halogen source that’s only good for a few hundred hours, a metal halide discharge that’s good for a few thousand, or a solid state laser or LED that’s good for several tens of thousands of hours. Even if they never fail catastrophically, they will all eventually reach a point where they’re too dim to use. Perhaps in the case of some solid state devices the projector may reach the end of its service life or its technological usefulness before this happens, but there are other elements of projector performance maintenance, such as cleaning the exposed elements of the optics, that require periodic intervention.

Then there are the projects that from the moment of inception we know will require constant intervention. Sometimes it’s because we’ve pushed the technological envelope past its point of stability, requiring regular maintenance and constant recalibration just to keep the system functioning at all. Other times it’s because the project includes content that requires continuous updating to retain its value or relevance. Even mashed-up content built from automated weather and news feeds will fail when some inconsiderate designer at the information provider’s website changes the site’s file structure or the file names of your source data feeds.

When we’re designing, constructing, installing, commissioning and programming systems that require constant nurturing and maintenance, it’s obviously critical that we keep our clients advised of these ongoing needs. We should provide them with thorough briefings and documentation, and ensure a smooth and informed handover to the tenants, owners, building managers, operations and maintenance departments who will be the end users, and hopefully beneficiaries, of our creations.

And then, sadly, there are projects that are deliberately neglected to provide their owners with an excuse to decommission and eventually

scrap them. We’re all familiar with the uncanny frequency with which heritage buildings burn to the ground at just the right time to allow a real estate developer to go ahead with a contested project. This same attitude has been known to appear in a different guise in other development projects.

If you want to develop a big commercial property project on public land, land that formerly had broad public usage or contained a community facility like a library or a playground or a theatre, you are often required to incorporate some vaguely similar replacement facility somewhere in the new development. In some places, to avoid developments becoming soulless concrete boxes completely covering a site, a very small proportion of the development budget is required to be spent on an approved ‘public art’ project. This explains the appearance of so many otherwise-incongruous sculptures and fountains in the foyers and forecourts of new commercial developments.

Sometimes, swept away by a their public relations consultant’s advice that it could be good for the image of the company and the project, a developer will agree to incorporate a higher profile project that involves ongoing maintenance like cleaning fountain pump filters, replacing lamps, updating image libraries, repairing damaged user interfaces or paying for an internet connection. It’s remarkably easy to justify not spending the money on maintenance after the initial publicity value has been mined from the project, despite the development conditions usually including an agreement to maintain the installation for a minimum of 10 years. One of the best tactics though, is to on-sell the building to a subsidiary, or a newly refinanced entity or even to a genuine purchaser.

As the agreement to provide the playground, or maintain the projectors, or top-up the water in the fountain was with the original development company, which by now has longsince capsized and sunk during a thunderstorm in the Cayman Islands, nobody can possibly be held responsible. So the safest thing is tear down those dangerous projectors, fill in the fountain to avoid a public hazard or remove the lighting poles that get in the way of trucks backing up to the loading ramp.

It’s just so disheartening to see all the creative work that’s gone into these cleverly conceived AV projects falling into neglect and eventually being hauled off to the tip.

Andy Ciddor, Editor: andy@av.net.au

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Crew Derek is an audiovisual consultant with AVDEC, specialising in tertiary education projects.

Starting in broadcast TV and radio at the ABC, he bounced between event AV and video production before settling for 12 years at the University of Queensland. He is past president of the Association of Educational Technology Managers and has been a regular judge of the AVIA awards. He now divides his time between consulting, writing and the occasional video production assignment.

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) Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@av.net.au)

Graeme Hague worked for the last 20 years in regional theatre venues as an audio, lighting and AV technician.

Graeme is a regular contributor to AudioTechnology magazine and was the principal writer for the new Guerrilla Guide to Recording and Production (www. guerrillaguide.com.au). He owns a Maglite, a Leatherman and a wardrobe of only black clothing which proves he is overwhelmingly qualified to write on any technical subject.

Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@av.net.au) Art Director: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Graphic Design: Leigh Ericksen (leigh@alchemedia.com.au) Associate Editor: Jen Temm (jen@av.net.au) News Editor: Graeme Hague (news@av.net.au) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (jaedd@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@av.net.au) Front Cover: New year celebrations in downtown Dubai, UAE. Photographer: Ralph@Larmann.com

Starting out in life training as a dentist, Stuart soon saw the error of his ways. Instead he started up an AV company in London in 1984, and has been in AV ever since. His expertise is in vision for live events, from 35mm slide to videowalls, projection, and more recently, blending and multi-projector systems. He has worked as technical director for touring television shows and corporate events of all sizes, and has spent the past 10 years as General Manager at Haycom.

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 Š 2013 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. 21/2/2013

Cat Strom has been a writer for entertainment technology publications for over 25 years and is also vice-president of the Australasian Lighting Industry Association. Currently she supplies marketing material for several Australian lighting and audio distributors and manufacturers as well as writing for a variety of international magazines. She is also Online Editor for Light+Design magazine.

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

Issue 30 REGULARS NEWS AV industry news.

14

ISE SHOW REPORT AV Euro nirvana.

20

INFOCOMM ASSOCIATION NEWS News and important dates for the Oceania region.

48

TERMINATION Lightning hits and myths.

50

FEATURES

24

ALL LIGHT ON THE NIGHT Sydney embraces New Year’s Eve.

24

RESHAPING EDUCATION QUT squares off with The Cube.

30

TOWERING SUCCESS Celebrations for 1.7M in Dubai.

36

TUTORIALS

42

30

36

46

44

WIRELESS SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT Part 2: Surviving your event.

42

CUSTOMERS IN AV Understanding your markets.

49

REVIEWS MITSUBISHI MDT701S Latest 70-inch LCD display panel.

44

SG AUDIO 10EAZY Sound level system management.

46

ALIA

014

NEWS

EXTRON TAKES DANTE ON BOARD

ONE CHRISTIE TO RULE THEM ALL

ARX BALANCING ACT

Extron Electronics has released a major expansion to the DMP128 series digital matrix processors with three new models featuring Audinate’s Dante network. The DMP128 is a 12x8 audio mixer featuring Extron ProDSP, automixing, I/O expansion capabilities and available AEC. The three new DMP128 AT models feature a 56-input by 24-output expansion matrix, providing scalability for creating larger audio matrixes over a local area network using standard internet protocols. A built-in four-port gigabit switch provides direct interconnection of multiple DMP128 AT units.

DMP 128 processors offer a configuration facility using the DSP that simplifies mixing, routing, conferencing, and room optimisation. Quick and intuitive setups using the DSP configurator software allows the DMP 128 to be installed in very little time, with easy-tolearn adjustments that can be heard in real-time.

Dante technology distributes 512x512 audio channels at 24-bit/48kHz over a single gigabit Ethernet link, or 48x48 audio channels at 24-bit/48kHz over a single 100Mbps Ethernet link, plus integrated control data with extremely low latency. Both Dante and the DMP 128 AT processor’s four-port switch are AVB (Audio Video Bridging) ready.

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

The Christie Phoenix enables seamless access and control of audiovisual data, regardless of the user’s location. Whether its being used by multiple parallel participants, in single offices or in the field through mobile technology, the Christie Phoenix is capable of connecting them all. The key is network distribution – the Phoenix uses a standard IP network for AV data exchange and control. Users can simultaneously view, listen to and interact with any source of information included in the Phoenix network. Content can be replicated and shared on any number of display walls and desktops simultaneously across an organisation, whether it’s in the next room or the next country. It has support for HDCP, H.264 encryption throughout with drag and drop simplicity. The system is easy to install and configure – integrators can encode, decode and display simultaneously, all from one Christie hardware node. The entire system can consist of one or many Christie Phoenix hardware nodes as well as webbased management software connected through an Ethernet network.

Christie Australia: (07) 3844 9514 or www.vrs.com.au

ARX Systems, the Australian-based designer and manufacturer of digital and analogue interface and signal processing products, has added the ISO Balancer DI passive direct box to their AudiBox range.

The new ISO Balancer DI converts unbalanced audio signals from sources including computers, tablets and smart phones to balanced, low impedance signals suitable for use with professional equipment and long cable runs. Transformer ground isolation ensures low-noise operation, preventing ground loops and other extraneous noise. The ISO Balancer DI features industry standard 6.25mm jack, RCA and 3.5mm jack inputs to cover all connector types, and transformer balanced left and right XLR outputs. An added feature is a mono switch, converting any stereo signals to mono. If you’re thinking this has all been done before, even by ARX, note the ISO Balancer DI is a totally passive device with no power requirements, making it pretty handy.

The Resource Corporation: (03) 9874 5988 or sales@trc.com.au

NEWS IN BRIEF:

The Melbourne based Lightmoves group of companies has snapped up the stock, assets, and hire inventory of Sydney’s Lots of Watts (LOW), and is now trading as Lots of Watts Australia.

Operating from the existing LOW premises in Rydalmere, many of the existing staff has swapped logo’d tee-shirts and stayed on. Lots of Watts Australia can still provide the same range of products and services that they have always been known for, but can now offer an expanded range thanks to the relationship with the Lightmoves group.

Lots Of Watts: (02) 9638 0302 or www.lotsofwatts.com.au

Matrox Video Products Group has released a unified Mac driver that provides support for the latest Adobe, Apple and Avid editing apps for the Matrox MXO2 and Matrox MXO2 MAX families of I/O devices and the Matrox Mojito Max I/O card. Key features of the release include support for audio punch-in using Avid editing applications, and for recording voiceovers using Adobe Premiere Pro. New Magic Australia: (03) 9722 9700 or www.newmagic.com.au

Blackmagic Design announced a software update to version 1.2 for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera which adds new features including time lapse recording, aperture indicator when using a compatible EF lenses, as well as ExFAT formatting for SSDs. The camera has now been certified

by Intel for capture and playback with Thunderbolt hardware operating under Windows.

The update is available to download now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website: www.blackmagicdesign.com.

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

Chief, a company that specialises in mounts, racks and interactive solutions, has officially announced that Image Design Technology has been chosen as the exclusive master distributor for the Chief product line in Australia.

Image Design Technology: 1300 666 099 or sales@idt.com.au As a result of expanding markets and to help ensure a comprehensive service to its clients and cater for its growing rental business, Riedel is relocating to Morley Avenue, Rosebery NSW. Riedel Communications Australia: (02) 9699 1199 or www.riedel.net

Madison Technologies has some good news. It got the official nod from Vidyo Inc, a worldwide company specialising in personal telepresence and video conferencing solutions – after testing and approving Phoenix Audio Technologies’ Duet PCS personal audio solution, the company is recommending the model for Vidyo users worldwide.

Madison Technologies: 1800 669 999 or www.madisontech.com.au

NEWS

015

FREE WIRELESS VIDEO

BARIX OPENS THE DOOR

IT’S ALL ABOUT ME

Don’t get excited – it’s just the frequency the AB305 works on is unlicensed and ‘free’, not the device itself.

The ABonAir AB305 is a wireless video system enabling camera teams to send video content directly from a camera to a news van or studio without complex and time-consuming cable setups. Using new H.264 Codec technology, the system supports HD and SD in all resolutions and frame rates, with a low delay mode of only 90msec. This translates to longer distance and higher picture quality while consuming only 10W of power. All these features are delivered in a small, lightweight and compact unit that is easily attached to any camera. Built on ABonAir’s video streaming technology with its continuous bit-rate adaptation mechanism, the AB305 contains a set of enhancement algorithms enabling a high level of picture quality and extended range. That unlicensed public frequency allocation used by all ABonAir systems enables camera crews to operate their systems without the need to purchase frequency allocations. Price: $9620 (ex-GST).

Quinto Communications: (03) 9558 9377 or www.quinto.com.au

IP audio and control specialist Barix now supports Crestron Rava SIP intercom and phone technology. The Barix SIP firmware will simplify integration of Ravaenabled touchscreens with analogue devices such as intercom panels, to enable peer-to-peer communication between devices without a central server. This simplifies Voice over IP (VoIP) integration in residential and commercial deployments. Crestron Rava touchscreens use SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) to permit voice intercom, telephone and paging (point-to-point and group) among other applications across the home, office or small business. The inclusion of Barix firmware uniquely establishes compatibility between Ravaenabled touchscreens and analogue door stations. This allows customers to continue to use existing analogue installed devices when upgrading to Rava touchscreens, providing seamless IP-to-analogue integration. The Barix solution can be deployed by connecting a Barix Annuncicom IP two-way audio hardware device directly to a door station. Crestron is also working with companies that manufacture intercom entry panels for door stations. Barix will soon add the same functionality to these and other third-party panels equipped with Barix IPAM Series modules. This enables peer-to-peer SIP and Rava compatibility without additional hardware.

Lan 1: (02) 9318 4200 or www.lan1.com.au

Designed for use with iLive, GLD and other professional digital mixers, Allen & Heath’s new ME Personal Mixing System puts musicians in control of their own monitor mix – always a good way to avoid grumpiness. Each performer’s ME-1 personal mixer can be set up to work exactly how they need, whether they’re control freaks or just want to press a few keys to get the best mix. ME-1 is easy to use with straightforward controls and a clear display, and has a custom naming function. In total the ME-1 can provide a mix of up to 40 different sources via MADI, Dante or Ethersound, and they can be daisychained or networked by PoE Ethernet hubs. There are 16 backlit assignable keys and a group function let users organise all 40 inputs across these. You also get 16 preset slots to save your configurations – handy in a studio environment for saving regular clients’ setups, or in a live situation users can dial in song-by-song mixes. The result should be faster soundchecks, quicker setups, lower levels on stage and more engineer time devoted to main mix.

Sounds good to us.

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

Loudspeaker manufacturer dB Technologies has moved house in Australia, shifting its distributorship from CMI Music and Audio across to National Audio Systems (NAS). NAS distributes d&b audiotechnik – a completely different company – and has been fielding so many errant queries about dB Technologies for so long that the company figures it must be onto a good thing. The arrangement sees the end of a six-year partnership between CMI and dB Technologies.

National Audio Systems: 1800 441 440 or sales@nationalaudio.com.au

Barco demonstrated three new features for its ClickShare meeting room presentation system during the ISE tradeshow.

Launched in September 2012, ClickShare offers dual-display functionality, iPad compatibility and integrates audio. The new features, available from late March, tie in with the ClickShare concept to improve the system’s user-friendliness and help boost meeting room productivity.

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

His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth has prepared for the Digital Dividend by installing a Riedel Digital Intercom system. ‘The Maj’ now has all-digital comms, centrallycontrolled by an Artist Digital Intercom matrix. Analogue party lines have been replaced with a Performer Digital Party Line, and the old wireless system has been replaced with an Acrobat system, running at 1.9GHz, well clear of other wireless audio.

The single CC-8 basestation is able to control up to 18 wireless full-duplex belt packs.

Riedel Communications Australia: (02) 9699 1199 or www.riedel.net

Kramer Electronics has announced that its new line of HDBaseT range extenders is now compatible with the Panasonic Digital Link line of projectors. The new line of projectors supports delivery of uncompressed HD, audio and control commands up to 100m via a single cat5e/6 LAN cable.

Kramer Electronics Australia: (07) 3806 4290 or www.krameraustralia.com.au

Camera Corps has been showing off the latest developments in its Q-Ball range of compact robotic pan/tilt/zoom heads. RF Q-Ball is designed for use in situations where a normal cable or fibre link would be intrusive or impractical, and can operate via a wireless link up to 2km from the control unit. Up to 96 cameras can be operated through a single data transmitter attached to a standard Camera Corps remote control or Joystick panel. Q-Ball delivers 1080i/720p high definition or 625/525 standard definition at 50 or 59.94Hz refresh rates.

Camera Corps: www.cameracorps.co.uk

Dataton has launched its first Watchpax media server, a small performance-optimised, solidstate media server with built-in Watchout software for plug and play presentations. Watchpax comes in a discreet and stylish matte black aluminium finish and takes up a minimum of rack space or mounts on the back of a flat-panel display. The unit weighs only 470g, consumes very little power and runs over any standard network.

Interactive Controls: (02) 9436 3022 or www.interactivecontrols.com.au

016

NEWS

MARSHALL SEES THE BACKLIGHT

MAKING IT LOOK EASY

CABLE OR NOT, SIR?

The new series of Marshall LED backlit camera top/field monitors will be available in three sizes: the 5.6-inch (140mm) V-LCD56MD-3G, the 7-inch (178mm) V-LCD70MD-3G and the 9-inch (228mm) V-LCD90MD-3G. The monitors have an HDCPcompliant HDMI input with loop-through output, with an optional modular function giving a choice of additional in/out configurations of 3G HD-SDI. The monitors are high brightness (600-nit), high resolution, lightweight, practical, and designed to be easy to use. Features include an icon-driven menu system, a video waveform display with stereo audio level bar, and front panel headphone output.

A pixel-to-pixel facility enables the user to preset a section of the picture from the camera to fill the screen on demand via one of the function buttons (as an aid to critical focus). Numerous other features include multiple DLSR aspect ratio presets, a wide variety of markers, four user configurable front panel buttons, RGB check field/field detect, RGB gain and bias control, adjustable IRE clipping guide, backlight control, and a false-colour function which can be used as an effective exposure indicator.

Quinto Communications: (03) 9558 9377 or www.quinto.com.au

Projectiondesign’s extended ProNet.precision version of automatic projector alignment software adds a quick and easy set up and greater precision to multichannel projection systems such as collaboration and visualisation rooms. The system uses sophisticated computing processing and digital camera capture to instantly calibrate and align projectors according to surrounding architecture. If an integrator is setting up a complex high-resolution multi-channel visualisation wall, the ProNet.precision enables digital camera capture and automatic computing to align multi-channel images with a click of a button – within minutes, according to Projectiondesign. The main benefit, of course, is less time and effort setting up what might otherwise be a complex and difficult display. The ProNet.precision application is part of Projectiondesign’s ProNet software ecosystem that integrates easily with the projectiondesign series of projectors and image processors, with building blocks for planning and design, installation and execution, as well as use and monitoring. The system offers both local control and remote control over the internet.

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

DPA Microphones is introducing its new d:facto II vocal microphone. Ideally suited to live music broadcasting, this latest addition to the d:facto line offers natural sound, high separation and extreme SPL handling. In addition to use with the new wired DPA handle, the d:facto II also provides an inventive adapter system that will integrate seamlessly with many professional wireless systems with no loss in sound quality, providing greater flexibility to users. Simple plugand-play features allow the model to reproduce that natural sound with sound level handling up to 160dB. As with all DPA mics, the d:facto II promises superior gain before feedback and a robust three-stage built-in pop protection grid to remove unwanted noise. It also has exceptional isolation from handling noise. The cabled version of the d:facto II as well as the adapters for Shure, Sony, Lectrosonics and Wisycom will be available very soon. The adapters for the Sennheiser systems will be available in March.

Amber Technology: 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au

Gefen’s new DisplayPort Extender over cat7 sends audio/video up to 30m from computer to display.

Resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 can use the same extender with only one cat7 cable. Wall mountable sender and receiver units deliver audio and video from the DisplayPort source over the cabling to the display. Power is required at the sender unit only; the receiver unit receives its power via the cat7 cable. The receiver includes 16 different EQ adjustments, while the hot plug detect auto calibration switch allows a full calibration of the connected display.

Amber Technology: 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au

Chief has released interface solutions to mount the Cisco Telepresence EX90, providing greater flexibility in location choice for video conferencing.

Thinstall wall mounts are engineered to deliver ultra lowprofile installations for the EX90.

The Kontour articulating mount is a flexible, ergonomic desk mount solution. Both Thinstall and Kontour provide extension capability, the Centris low-profile tilt for up to 15° of tilt, integrated cable management through enclosed, tool-less cable covers and dedicated shelf space for the Cisco TelePresence Touch 8.

Image Design Technology: 1300 666 099 sales@idt.com.au

The Lawo V__pro 8 (yep, that’s a double underscore) is designed to connect signals of different video formats as well as between audio and video. High quality cross-format conversion, colour correction as well as embedding and de-embedding make this a compact and powerful video processor, building bridges between video formats. Modern, high-density audio connections such as Ravenna and MADI provide video-to-audio bridges within the studio infrastructure.

The user interface is HTML5 based.

Professional Audio Technology: (02) 9476 1272 or sales@proaudiotechnology.com.au

TiMax SoundHub-M is the latest addition to the suite of TiMax2 SoundHub matrix processors and audio show control products.

Targeted at museums, visitor attractions, rides, hospitality, retail and other AV installations, it provides a multi-channel playback server and multi-zone processor and controller linked with directional audio localisation and spatialisation for a higher level of message impact. The TiMax2 Soundhub-M is already installed in museums across Belgium.

ATT Audio Controls: (03) 9379 1511 or www.attaudiocontrols.com

In April Just Lamps Australia will launch a new division – ‘Just Lampless’. As the name suggests, the new division will focus exclusively on the distribution of lamp-less projectors. Encompassing LED, laser and hybrid technologies, Just Lampless will provide expertise on the new projectors along with all the specialist support services. Just Lamps was founded as a specialist projector lamp distributor in the UK 10 years ago. The business rapidly expanded to cover the globe. Just Lamps Australia was established in 2004.

Just Lamps: (07) 5449 9483 or www.justlamps.net

Electro-Voice and Dynacord have come up with the LML-1 (Loudspeaker Measuring Load), which allows real-time monitoring of its loudspeaker lines in Hi-Z sound reinforcement systems.

The LML-1 is connected to the end of the loudspeaker line and powered using an inaudible pilot tone to provide a stable load condition that can be reliably measured using the existing load supervision functions of ElectroVoice CPS and Dynacord DSA series amps. If the load changes, something’s broken. Clever.

Bosch Communication Systems: (02) 9683 4572 or www. boschcommunications.com.au

Aurora Multimedia uses state-of-the-art technologies to define the cutting edge.

Since the introduction of its IP-based control systems and touch panels, Aurora Multimedia has become a dominant force in the control system market, providing solutions for a variety of global markets including government, education, security, hospitality, corporate and residential.

LEADER MONITOR Leader’s LV5307 is a compact 7-inch (178mm) monitor/ rasteriser with internal cross-conversion from 3G-SDI-, HD-SDI- and SD-SDI-to-HDMI and vice versa. The HDMI output can be used as a rasteriser, delivering screen content to an external monitor. Selectable waveform, vector and false-colour test screens can be inset over SDI and HDMI sources. Picture modes include markers, monochrome, blue-only, red–only and green-only, plus cross-pulse. A peaking function enables precise adjustment of camera focus. Easy-to-use controls with preset quick-function buttons are an alternative to using the more comprehensive menus. A high-quality LEDbacklit LCD screen delivers bright images over wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles. With its 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 16.7million colour depth and 800:1 contrast ratio, the LV5307 allows detailed viewing of video images and waveforms. All screen contents including waveform, vector, false colour and markers, can be fed directly to the HDMI input of a larger monitor.

The LV5307 rasterising test monitor can be used freestanding or attached to a supplied tilting stand. An optional rackmount is available.

Leader Instruments: www.leader.co.jp

Vision has announced the new Techconnect TC2 HDMIIP, a transmitter and receiver set which sends HDMI signal over a network.

The signal can pass through up to three network switches and there is no cable length restriction as the HDMI data is broken up into TCP/IP packets. Fully HDCP compliant, it supports all resolutions up to 1080p plus full digital audio. JPEG compression is used to squeeze the signal through a 100MB network with negligible impact on image quality and no latency. The TC2 HDMIIP should quickly find a home in digital signage applications.

Integration Supplies: 0408 570 950 or ian@isupplies.com.au

Quinto Communications has announced the appointment of Andrew Ball as a technical sales executive in the corporate video market sector. With many years sales experience in the broadcast and AV markets, Ball joins Quinto from Hills Industries, and was previously employed by Miller and Rexel Video Systems.

Quinto Communications: (03) 9558 9377 or www.quinto.com National Audio Systems has appointed Richard Hulston to the role of commercial audio sales specialist. Hulston has been working in the audio industry for more than 30 years. He is an InfoComm CTS-D and is experienced with EASE and control products such as AMX and Crestron.

National Audio Systems: 1800 441 440 or sales@nationalaudio.com.au

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NEWS

Game, Set and Map As mapped projection continues its mission to cover the entire surface of the planet, Tennis Australia invited it along to make its mark on Centre Court at the 2013 Australian Open tennis championship.

In 2012 Tennis Australia engaged analogue projection specialists Projection Teknik to provide some pre-match audience interest on the centre court with a pair of its 6kW (80K ANSI lumen) Pani HMI projectors, fitted with 180mm x 180mm slide changers. Organisers were so pleased with the response they decided to take the mapped projection concept much further for the 2013 Open.

This year Projection Teknik brought in its digital projection technology supplier Technical Direction Company (TDC) to deliver full-motion video content onto the playing area before matches and during presentation ceremonies. The installation consisted of six of TDC’s latest 26K ANSI lumen Barco HD projectors rigged on the main catwalk surrounding the Rod Laver arena. Covering the court accurately and evenly from such a high angle required some serious warping and blending from the Coolux Pandoras Box LT players driving the projectors.

Tennis Australia Media created unique video content for each game, featuring graphics and footage of the players combined with footage from previous matches, all mapped onto the lines of the court. The Pandoras Box ability to be rapidly updated proved invaluable as each day’s presentations were delivered just an hour and a half before show time.

What’s next? Live image mapping onto the tennis ball in flight once it’s gone out of play? Don’t snigger too loudly, the technology to achieve it is only a moment away.

Projection Teknik: 0411 726 546 or www.projectionteknik.com Technical Direction Company: (02) 8332 2100 or www.tdc.com.au Pani Projection and Lighting: www.pani.com

The analogue way: this image was taken for the 2012 Australian Open using a Pani projector as a camera obscura to map the distortion of the court geometry to enable the 180mm x 180mm optical slides to be compensated.

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NEWS

ISE 2013 Euro AV Nirvana

Integrated Systems Europe just turned 10. Which is to say, in 10 short years it’s grown from a compact gathering in Geneva to a gargantuan annual pro AV jamboree in Amsterdam (where it will officially stay for the foreseeable future).

Such has been the ballistic growth of the show that it’s kinda snuck up on the likes of us in Australia. But having experienced ISE first hand this year it’s fair to say the secret is out.

It wasn’t unusual to run into an Australian, and my guess is this trend will only continue, perhaps with many electing to alternate between the US InfoComm show in June and ISE in January.

ISE has an exciting pace about it. Although it can’t quite match the floor space of InfoComm in the US, there are around 10,000 more show-goers so the ‘crush’ is noticeable. The raw stats are eyeopening: nearly 900 exhibitors, 32,000sqm of floor space over 12 halls, about 44,000 visitors over three days, and 1000 new product releases.

It was also the first show for the new InfoComm International CEO, David Labuskes.

He appears to have all the right credentials to shepherd InfoComm through the next phase of its existence, a period where it must remain relevant in a market where ‘convergence’ is in danger of absorbing pro AV into the IT Borg.

Labuskes spent more than 13 years as vice president of RTKL, a leading architectural and engineering firm. He founded the company’s Technology Design Practice, overseeing

the delivery of AV, voice, data, wireless, environmental media, electronic security and acoustic services. He’s also an industry association veteran, serving on a number of committees and boards. In his press conference, Labuskes reaffirmed InfoComm’s commitment to delivering standards and providing quality industry education programs. When AV asked how the pro AV sector could better attract the respect and attention of architectural firms and consultants such as RTKL, he pointed out the obvious – that it’s a numbers game. As professional AV becomes a bigger line item, so it will attract a commensurately bigger slice of respect and attention. Nonetheless, one gets the feeling that Labuskes’s deep insight into the AV world from a participant’s perspective will be very valuable, and help pro AV shake off its ‘bang and hang’ throwback reputation.

BARCO & PD JOIN FORCES

There were two key industry shakedowns that were newsworthy. Just prior to Christmas we heard about the formation of The ProAV Group.

The 800lb technology gorilla, Nortek, made the move, combining the product and marketing resources of Gefen, Magenta and TV One within the Nortek Technology Solutions segment.

Nortek has identified some unique strengths in each company – the high-end video technology of TVOne, large-scale system integration

capabilities at Magenta Research, and Gefen’s innovative digital connectivity smarts – but clearly we will see some R&D and marketing rationalisation as Magenta and Gefen, especially, dance the two-step without treading on each other’s toes. There was no doubting who was the senior partner of the group when AV spoke with Gefen CEO Florian L. Goebel at ISE! But one wonders if his perspective is shared by the Magenta folk over the pond in Connecticut.

Fresher off the press is Barco’s acquisition of 61 per cent of Norwegian projection specialists, projectiondesign. The words ‘joining forces’ were writ large at the official press conference and Barco – by far the more senior partner in the partnership – was magnanimous in its pronouncements. And there are clear synergies at work here. projectiondesign will be given enough rope to continue its innovative work and may actually afford Barco the benefit of its marketing skills – PD has always punched above its weight both here and internationally thanks to its adroit treatment of the media… like AV, which spoke to Barco’s entertainment division VP, Buyens Wim, and projectiondesign president, Jorn Erickse.

Buyens Wim: We want to preserve both identities, the strengths of both companies – that’s key for ‘joining forces’. It’s not about one taking over the other – financially that’s another conversation. From Barco perspective, we bought 61 per cent because we like what we’ve seen, and

NEWS

we want to keep those values and competencies.

Jorn Ericksen: We share competencies – commercial, technical, logistical, etc – and we will explore the best practical exchange from that back office perspective. From a front office perspective, our combined product range will encompass more than before.

BW: We want to keep the product lines of both.

We want to keep the customers of both and we want to strengthen the value of both. We’ll keep the development teams. We want single-chip development and three-chip development, so it’s not about one taking over the other. We’ll expand the single-chip portfolio, and we see a great opportunity to expand the three-chip portfolio.

AV: We’ll see three-chip PD projectors?

JE: We as a team will, yes.

AV: What about Australia, in particular?

BW: We have two setups in Australia. How those setups combine to capture a broader market with a broader portfolio – that’s the question and the goal. We want to keep both teams there, but there will be one office. To be honest, in Australia it’s a relatively easy blend, given both are based in Sydney and the existing synergies. For example, PD is strong in simulation and virtual reality while Barco is big in cinema and control roomrelated products. They’re very complementary in that regard. It’s not a case of one or the other, but complementary.

SIGNAGE TIPPING POINT TIPOFF

Digital signage pundits have been talking about the market’s ‘tipping point’ for years – that moment when digital signage goes mainstream.

There have been plenty of false dawns but more evidence appears to be gathering. One thing’s for sure, we have the undivided attention of the big display manufacturers. Samsung, LG, NEC, Sharp and Philips in particular went very heavy on digital signage at this year’s ISE. Samsung set the agenda by acknowledging what was obvious to all: its (or any of its competitors’) digital signage software wasn’t very good.

Rather, strategic relationships needed to be forged with the specialists. Samsung did this by announcing partnerships with Scala and SignageLive – a provider of cloud-based signage solutions. For its part, Samsung has a new range of displays with integrated processors and networking. Furthermore, it recognises that its market-leading penetration into the handheld/smartphone market provides those putting together signage solutions with new and innovative ways to reach consumers.

SCREEN FASHION

So will the digital signage tipping point be reached thanks to technological advancements and integration rather than consumer demand?

Well, perhaps. Only currently, it’s hard to see who’s making any money out it.

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Video walls were also aplenty, and narrow bezels have really cleaned up the profiles of large multiscreen displays that have become the mainstay of just every tech-heavy exhibition floor.

LASER GUIDED

Powersoft's multitalented DEVA

As one seen-it-all NEC exec confided to AV on the show floor, there’s certainly no money to be made manufacturing screens – such are the anorexic margins. But here’s the rub, either you’re in or you’re out; you either go hard with commercial displays, or you go home. All the while, the struggle is to be first to market with the next big thing.

4k, or at least quad HD, is now no longer a sideshow oddity, as at least five manufacturers are in full production, mostly in the 60- to 84-inch range. What will we do with this abundance of pixels? Of course, in pro AV world we can have full HD picture-in-picture, etc; while in consumer land, Sony and JVC are offering affordable 4k video cameras. If 4k is simply not doing it for you, then Sharp’s 8k 85-inch LCD might be more your cup of tea.

3D: It was goggles at 20 paces at the LG stand, as it demonstrated its 3D credentials.

An enormous 7 x 7 array of thin-bezel 55inch screens was used to display some of its own content. Philips had another take on 3D, demonstrating its glasses-free (lenticular) 55-inch 3D LED display. There’s a quoted 150° {{degree}} viewing angle which makes it particularly well suited to digital signage applications.

OLED: And there’s the soon to be big, organic LED. Curiously, there was precious little to write home about on the OLED front. Perhaps we need to wait until InfoComm in June for more.

And what about size – the traditional means by which you can buy yourself a few months of greater market share? Well of course size still matters, but it just doesn’t draw the same oohs and aahs as it once did. Saying that, a manufacturer such as Sharp is pinning plenty of its hopes on ‘living large’. Its 70-inch LED display (literally) fills living rooms for only around $US3500, while its commercial grade 80inch model can easily accommodate 1:1 life size renditions of the human form (in portrait mode, obviously) and has plenty of signage appeal.

Speaking of the next big thing, laser projection continued to lift its profile at ISE. Everyone loves the idea of laser although it means different things from different manufacturers. With figures of some 20,000 hours of lamp-free performance – and with considerable power savings – large multi-room institutions such as universities and conference centres are waiting, tongues lolling, chequebooks in hand. One serious hurdle thus far has been lack of brightness, however in recent months several manufacturers have announced products at the 4000 ANSI lumen mark. The laser/LED technology has a couple of desirable spinoffs: the aforementioned 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation, the hot start functionality (go from ‘mute’ to full brightness immediately) and its ‘tilt free’ installation – which will make it a favourite with installers.

Casio stole a march on the opposition a couple of years ago with its first range of laser-LED DLP projectors and several others have followed, including BenQ and Mitsubishi (who both released short-throw models at ISE) and now Sony. Sony’s new WUXGA projector with what it labels as Laser Source Technology (although there’s no explanation yet as to exactly what this is) caused a bit of a PR stir at ISE. When it becomes available in the middle of the year, it will be the first lamp-free projector to combine a laser light source and a 3LCD engine.

AUDIO MOUSETRAP

Nothing jumped out as being especially ground breaking in the world of installed sound. Dante’s star continues to rise with speakers in a large install moving to become yet another ‘end point’ on a network. SoundTube went one step further by using PoE (power over Ethernet) to run its 40W speakers, albeit over the ageing Cobranet audio standard.

But a final nod must go to Powersoft, which must take the prize for the Heath Robinson product of the show. The DEVA is a standalone, solar-powered… um, not entirely sure what you’d call it. It’s a wi-fi PA speaker. It’s a surveillance station with built-in mic and camera. It packs a high-powered LED light, can be easily remotely programmed, the battery will run for 64 hours, it will take an SD memory card, a GSM SIM card, and it can respond to a bunch of sensors… No, I’m not just making this stuff up. In fact, if I could add my contribution to the back-of-the-Peronibeermat feature list I’d include a smartphone charging station and trouser press. Powersoft?

– Christopher Holder

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Top Row: Behringer NEKKST K5 and K8 studio monitors.

Behringer X32 range.

Middle Row: JBL M2 Master Reference Monitors. PreSonus StudioLIve 32.4.2.AI. Turbosound Milan range. Behringer iQ range of active PA. Bottom Row:Soundcraft Si Expression range. DigiGrid: a joint effort between Waves and Digico, and branded Soundtracs.

AUDIO: BEST IN SHOW ‘Tis the season for expos – in the northern hemisphere at least. Since the start of the new year we’ve had NAMM and ISE (Integrated Systems Europe), and most recently BVE (Broadcast Video Expo). It’s the time for releasing new products and here’s where things can get a little… vague. Sometimes it’s difficult to decipher if a new product is announced, pending, imminent, released, shipping or actually exists at all. NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) is often referred to as “Not Available Maybe Messe”, meaning the Musikmesse expo in Frankfurt during April. So we’re not going to be too picky about the exact status of things, but here’s what caught our eye lately.

The Music Group has been bringing truckloads of new gear – not surprising, considering the portfolio of companies TMG can boast such as Midas, Klark Teknik, Turbosound and, of course, Behringer. The Behringer X32 digital console, released late last year, now comes in four new flavours: the Compact, Producer, Rack and Core models. Three different new Behringer mixers follow in the steps of Mackie’s DL1608 console where the heart of the device is an iPad. The iStudio and iStudio Thunder are relatively basic, but the iX16 Digital Mixer for iPad features 16 digitally-programmable, high-resolution Midas-designed microphone preamps. Getting a helping hand from Keith R Klawitter (of KRK

fame) for Behringer’s new active nearfield monitors has produced the NEKKST K5 and K8 speakers. There is also the iQ range of active PA speakers, connected via cat5, while Behringer’s iNuke amplifiers now has the iNuke12000 and iNuke12000 DSP models, which deliver a whopping 12,000 total Watts.

Turbosound announced the Milan series has been completely re-engineered from the ground up – which isn’t to say there was anything wrong with Milan in the first place, but you sometimes wonder if marketing departments ever realise they’re putting that thought in mind when they say such things. Midas was able to showcase its entire range of Pro consoles for the first time at NAMM. Klark Teknik seems to have been content collaborating with everyone else.

PreSonus is plainly working towards world domination with not just a bunch of new releases, but new product lines altogether including studio monitors, a new license for Audinate Dante technology and a range of active, live PA loudspeakers. There’s also the new 32.4.2AI digital mixer added to Presonus’ StudioLive console range at a very competitive price-point.

JBL isn’t interested in saving you money. JBL Professional is introducing the M2 Master Reference Monitor, a large-format studio

monitor speaker. These will be the largest in JBL’s studio monitor line and will be priced accordingly.

JBL is also promising a new level of excellence and if that’s correct, the price tag won’t matter for most people.

Soundcraft’s new Si Expression range of compact, digital consoles come in three frame sizes: Si Expression 1, 2 and 3 offer 16-, 24- and 32-fader and microphone inputs respectively.

All three are capable of up to 66 inputs to mix by connecting any Soundcraft stagebox including the two new Mini Stagebox 16 and 32 models just released, too.

Almost every manufacturer has jumped aboard the 'Lunchbox' wagon, creating 500 Series versions of standard rack outboard gear.

Focusrite, Earthworks and Crane Song are all notable culprits.

Finally, a combined effort by Waves, Digico and Soundtracs has developed the DigiGrid system of networked studio equipment. It’s an innovative idea – and rather confusing, not to mention controversial with Waves/ProTools HDX users crying foul over the back-handed, hardware approach to making Waves plug-ins compatible.

No doubt all will be explained in good time…

Maybe at Musikmesse.

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FEATURE

All Light on the Night Sydney Embraces New Year’s Eve – and seals it with a kiss.

Text:/ Cat Strom

The City of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display is the world’s largest and most technologically advanced, drawing larger crowds than Paris, London and even New York. An estimated one billion people around the world see the result of 15 months of hard work by the production team.

This year Kylie Minogue took on the job of creative director, working with the theme Embrace, which was all about acceptance, tolerance, fun and above all, love.

The night began when the words ‘Welcome to Sydney’ were projected on the pylons of the Harbour Bridge in 16 languages, representing Sydney’s top migrant populations and tourist nationalities. These projections, provided by the Technical Direction Company, were later replaced by New Year’s wishes from around the world through a Telstra-supplied (and moderated) feed of the City of Sydney’s Twitter stream.

PUCKER UP

The 2012 bridge effect was the most complex and sophisticated ever created, using 365 individual circuits and approximately 16km of rope light to create the vibrant Embrace icon and the highly anticipated part of the night – the secret bridge effect that is only revealed after the midnight display. This year it was a pair of red lips that read out a countdown to 2013 before puckering up for a kiss; the effect

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has been a highlight since the mid1990s when a smiley face appeared.

Lighting designer for the event (which included the bridge, the Lord Mayor’s Party on the Opera House forecourt and the Dawes Point VIP party) was Mark Hammer using a rig supplied by the Production Resource Group (PRG).

This year Hammer had to contend with an interactive light show as the City of Sydney developed a special smartphone app with Telstra that lit up people’s phone screens in tandem with the colour lighting of the bridge and Opera House.

Four Embrace-theme coloured light shows took place on Sydney Harbour Bridge – in magenta, yellow, purple and blue – as thousands of mobile phone screens lit up in synchronised colours.

PHONE ZONE

Photographer: David Clare/First Light Photography

“At the appointed times people’s phones would flash certain colours and that triggered a lighting sequence on the bridge, at Dawes Point and at the Lord Mayor’s Party,” Hammer explained. “This year’s design was more specific than in the past, so timing and sequences were very important as we had extra fixtures lighting the bridge. Matthew Tunchon and I spent a week and a half programming offline at PRG and synchronised our show with time-code so the looks would trigger with the various pyrotechnics and projection settings.”

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FEATURE

Above left: PASEF 7kW xenon searchlights going up.

Above: Searchlights washing the base of the bridge.

Far left: Stage rig bumping in.

Left: Ten 7kW PASEF searchlights washing the harbour bridge.

Photographer: Mark Hammer

Bridge lighting fixtures comprised 20 PASEF CM7001 7kW Searchlights (sub-hired from Chameleon Touring Systems), 12 PRG Bad Boys, 16 Vari-lite VL3500 profiles and of course, all that rope light.

“As in the past, the main bridge light effect is made up of a rope light design that sits centre of the bridge and is controlled through dimmers located on the bridge itself,” Hammer said. “It’s amazing what you can do with simple rope light, in fact a lot of people can’t believe the main effect is just rope light.”

The bridge lighting was operated on the night

by Matthew Tunchon using a MA Lighting grandMA console. Luken Smyth also used a grandMA for the Lord Mayor’s Party, as did Scott Rogers at Dawes Point.

PARTY TRICKS

The Lord Mayor’s Party takes place on the northern Sydney Opera House forecourt area and Hammer described it as fairly tricky: “It’s half-indoors as they have an existing tent which isn’t very lighting-friendly at all. It has a very low roof, which is sloped in some areas and peaked in others. Fortunately the Opera House had some clamps which we could use this year

and that helped. You need an array of lighting equipment to make it look good. There’s quite a bit to light as there are set elements, drapes, bars and sponsor lighting”.

Hammer relied on a lot of LED fixtures for this area including Philips Color Kinetics Colorblast12 and Colorblaze48 LED washes, LED PARs, and Martin MAC101 LED moving head fixtures. Added to that were Clay Paky Sharpys, Martin MAC2000 profiles, MAC TW1s, Sunstrips and a large quantity of profiles and fresnels.

The party had live-to-air elements as well as themes and scheduled entertainment including formalities, hosting positions, and party and back of house lighting considerations, making for a very busy few hours. The event required a three-day setup for lighting, including rehearsals.

The VIP Party takes place at Dawes Point at the base of the southern pylon. From there the selected few had a ringside view of the bridge and the pyro shooting from it. This party also had its own live-to-air elements as well as themes and scheduled entertainment. Equipment used included Martin MAC700 profiles, Philips Color Kinetics Colorblast12 LED washes, Sunstrips, profiles and fresnels.

ON FIRE

For the 13th consecutive year the fireworks display was designed by Foti International Fireworks, led by director Fortunato Foti, and required a pyrotechnical crew of 45. Foti is a carbonneutral company that uses carbon credits, lowenvironmental-impact fireworks and recycling.

As well as ascending from seven barges and the bridge, fireworks were also launched from the rooftops of seven city buildings and, for the first time, fireworks were launched from 10 jet skis as moving fireworks platforms. Approximately 11,000 shells, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects were used in the display, which was made up of seven tonnes of fireworks. Sixteen shipping containers of equipment, weighing 120 tonnes, were needed for both displays.

Fourteen computers running FireOne fireworks firing and choreography systems digitally launched the fireworks from the bridge, barges and buildings, shooting 10,000 cues.

More than 60km of wire and cables linked the launch computers and there were 130 firing points on the bridge itself.

“Each location had its own computer and

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FEATURE

Photographer: David Clare/First Light Photography

when it receives the time-code, it triggers the fireworks so everything is in sync,” Fortunato Foti explained. “FireOne gives us an integrated firing system design that combines all the previously separate functions, involved in creating a fireworks display into one system.”

This system of hardware and software simplifies the process; from choreography, to product selection, to time-code synchronisation, to field setup and finally to firing the display.

NEW COMMS CONTRACT

With more than 1000 accredited personnel working on the night, reliable communications is a priority and for the first time The PA People were contracted after Chris Dodds, managing director, proposed a different design strategy from previous years. Investigations were made into using existing fibre infrastructure around the city to have a solid network backbone.

Based on a network-centric approach, The PA People provided data and communications including Clear-Com Eclipse Matrix, V-Station Panels, and Tempest full-duplex for communications, network time-code, audio transport via Dante utilising Yamaha’s new CL Series consoles, MAnet for lighting and much more. This was managed via an extensive layer two network incorporating multiple transport

methods. Single- and multi-mode fibre, Free Space Optics laser links, and 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless provided connectivity between more than 20 HP switches.

Clear-Com’s Eclipse Matrix systems were deployed throughout the key sites including one Omega, two Medians and a PiCo. Paul Barrett, communications manager for The PA People for the event, used Clear-Com Eclipse Matrix units in a distributed fashion to allow easy deployment of more than 25 Clear-Com V-Series key stations. These were deployed and connected either directly or via the V-Stations native IP interface. More than 40 duplex repeaters were used for the event, with all units interfaced to the Eclipse Matrix systems. These repeaters provided coverage to over 200 Motorola handheld radios.

RF CHALLENGE

In addition to the Eclipse Matrix, Clear-Com’s full-duplex Tempest system was used at the Sydney Opera House, notorious as one of the most challenging RF venues in Australia.

Tempest is based on a robust frequencyagile 2.4GHz system. The PA People used Tempest’s new roaming feature, which allows belt packs to move between bases without any user intervention, and according to the client, Tempest performed flawlessly.

Continuing on the network-centric design, broadcast audio transport was delivered via the native IP protocol Dante. The PA People used Yamaha’s new CL Series consoles which have onboard Dante support, and the Yamaha RIO stage boxes to deliver audio between the control room and the Sydney Opera House, the location for the Lord Mayor’s Party and the host broadcaster.

Over this same infrastructure, The PA People provided PRG with Ethernet-based MAnet lighting connectivity to locations including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the control room.

Sydney New Year’s Eve producer Aneurin Coffey said the organisation of the event was a dream run: “It was great to see everyone pitch in and work hard to achieve such a successful night and make our big dream a reality for the 1.6 million people around the harbour”. 

MORE INFORMATION Production Resource Group (Australia): www.prg.com The PA People: www.papeople.com.au Technical Direction Company: www.tdc.com.au Foti International: www.foti.com

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FEATURE

Reshaping Education Queensland University of Technology squares off with a unique feat of audiovisual engineering.

Text:/ Derek Powell As I walked up to the two-storey-high screen, a life-sized whale appeared to eye me curiously. With a lazy flip of his enormous fluke, he disappeared into the distance, leaving the sonorous notes of his mysterious song resonating throughout the atrium.

The Cube hits you right in the face when you first walk into the brand new Science and Engineering Centre at Queensland University of Technology. It’s meant to, of course. But what exactly is it? I asked Gavin Winter, QUT’s Cube project manager.

“The best explanation is that it is a multi-node interactive display wall…” he began enthusiastically, sounding like a typical Windows error message – totally accurate but also completely incomprehensible.

Sensing my confusion, he switched down a gear or two: “…but perhaps the best way of thinking about it is as a giant, $3.5m multiplayer video game that’s capable of absorbing busloads of school students at a time and switching them on to science and engineering”.

“So how did it evolve?” I asked, feeling just a little more enlightened.

“Ah, that’s a long story,” he mused. It is long, but the story also puts audiovisual technology front and centre in the role of community engagement, and that makes it worth the telling.

First, let’s get some facts and figures out of the way. The Cube is actually six separate display zones totalling 145 megapixels, the largest of which is a spectacular 14m long by 9m high. Several of these zones are split between edge blended projected images on top, and dozens of interactive multi-touch monitors lower down which allow visitors to interact with and control the single giant image that spreads seamlessly across the monitors and projectors. The images are realtime animations, created by a metric tonne of custom-built servers housed two floors above. Despite The Cube consuming a staggering 45kW of power when operating, the whole building is eco-friendly, powered by rooftop solar cells and recovered heat using state-of-theart ‘trigeneration’ power systems.

Image courtesy ProAV Solutions

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COMPUTING SYSTEMS There are 30 Silicon Graphics workstations serving content to the Cube walls.

Each serves video to two panels or projectors.

Features: Dual quad-core Intel Xeon E5-2643 3.33GHz CPUs 32GB quad-channel DDR3, 1.6GHz RAM 160GB SSD (operating system) 1TB SATA HD (data) EVGA 2690 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 dual-GPU graphics adapter Creative X-Fi Xtreme PCIe sound adapter

JEWEL IN THE CROWN

The Cube sparkles in the foyer of the Science and Engineering Centre, incongruously located metres from one of Brisbane’s earliest historic buildings – Old Government House, on the Garden’s Point QUT campus. Ironically, it was this location that spawned the Cube in the first place.

A visit to Old Government House and Parliament House is on the agenda for every school student in Brisbane, so QUT saw the opportunity to entice hundreds of weekly visitors to extend their stay in the Science and Engineering Centre – and to hopefully raise the profile of science, technology, engineering and maths that have suffered downturns in enrolments across the country.

The Centre’s project director Anthony Perrau explained that the vice chancellor’s vision for the new structure was “to be a building that could reach out and showcase science and technology to the broader Brisbane and perhaps the world community”. The question was how to create a feature exciting enough to draw in the students – and their teachers. Perrau knew the answer lay in some form of high impact audiovisual so he called in Professors Ian McKinnon (QUT Institute for Future Environments) and Jeff Jones (Interaction Design); together they sketched out a daring brief for an interactive attraction that would fit the

Projection and touch panels blending in the Wedge section of the cube. Inset: The Cube marks the first deployment of the Panasonic DZ21K 20,000 lumen projectors.

Photographer: Bryce Christensen

bill. Time was of the essence as the building was already underway, so Jones set about organising a team to convert the dream to reality.

Gavin Winter was one of the first recruits and he recalled those early days: “We really began with a picture on a napkin. The Cube actually started out as a cylinder because the void that we’re in today was simply a hole through the building. We went through a lot of concept forming exercises with sketch artists and consultants to form basically the structure we’re standing in front of today.”

TAKING SHAPE

That structure is now more like a boomerang in shape with images on both sides of its elongated vertical surfaces. The outside faces have four separate projector and monitor display walls, two on the ground level and two on the floor above.

The inside face, called ‘The Wedge’, spreads across two walls that push up two storeys high into the atrium. Four Panasonic PT DZ-21K 20,000 lumen projectors form a seamless edge blended image that can be viewed from floor level or from the second level balconies and walkways.

But along the bottom, the picture continues onto an array of 20 interactive touchscreen monitors – and this is where the magic really happens.

The 55-inch touchscreens are made by

Multitouch from Finland and they really are unlike anything seen before. “Their product is unique in the world in that it is a ‘computer vision through screen’ touchscreen, which is essentially cameras seeing through the panel not only your hand, but yourself. So the touchpanel knows you are there,” Winter explained.

“The unique characteristic of this technology is that it can be strung together in lengths.

Typically a touchpanel will have very large edges and you can’t do that.” Later he showed me a panel undergoing maintenance and I could see the arrangement of 32 infrared cameras that sit behind the screen amongst the LED illumination array, looking out through the LCD panel.

Each touchscreen, with its internal PC, becomes a ‘game controller’ that several people can manipulate at once, all linked back to the servers.

There are currently five different programs, all developed in-house by a team of programmers and visual artists. Though the computer and display systems are all integrated, different programs can run at once using different faces of The Cube.

‘The Virtual Reef’ is a majestic, life-size animation of a real part of the Great Barrier Reef that allows viewers to manipulate and interact with a scientifically accurate cross section of passing underwater inhabitants. As students explore, they learn about specific marine animal behaviours and

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FEATURE

Top: Visitors interacting with the Physics Playroom environment. Above: The outer Boomerang walls of the Cube.

Photographer: Bryce Christensen

relationships. Other programs include the ‘Physics Playroom’, filled with virtual building blocks where people can come together to construct (and destroy) each other’s creations in engaging physics simulations. You can toss a block into the air on one touchscreen and see it come down again to interact with what’s happening several screens away. New projects will be rolled out every six months or so to keep the content fresh and QUT students will have the opportunity to work on content creation.

To make it all work, QUT contracted integrator ProAV Solutions Queensland (formerly AVI) for the supply and installation of equipment and more than 8km of mostly cat6a wiring. There are no less than four separate cat6 networks connecting the custom built SGI servers to the displays. Video and multi-channel audio comes via AMX DXLink cat6 transmitter/ receiver pairs; there is a separate network to handle only the touch commands between panel and server. A third network allows the servers to communicate with each other to synchronise the animation elements as they pass between screens

and a fourth network, the QUT LAN, provides overall communication and control.

ProAV’s technology solutions specialist Shannan Brooksby has lived and breathed the project for two years. He explained that because the whole Cube system has to remain as flexible as possible, there are five AMX Enova routers handling trunking and the interconnection between the graphics outputs from the servers, and the projectors and monitors. Extra transmitters allow ad hoc sources from virtually anywhere in the foyer to be routed to any part or all of the display. For the edge blended projectors, the router outputs feed TV One CORIOmaster videowall processors which provide ultimate flexibility to send any image to any combination of screens. An AMX network provides behind the scenes control over the complex routing schemes while RMS software monitors and reports on the system and provides asset management for all the hardware.

SOUNDS ALIVE

Audio has certainly not been forgotten. A 96 x 80 Biamp Tesira DSP system provides mixing and

processing with outputs transported and routed via the AMX DGX down to the main displays.

To tame the difficult acoustics of the space, a 10-driver line array sits beneath each monitor to provide clicks and localised audio feedback as users move things on screen. Other speakers, also specially created by Brisbane manufacturer Acoustic Technologies, include multi-element dipole enclosures to provide ambient sound and a truly massive custom subwoofer that sits inside the screen enclosure to help give life to the whale song.

So does it all work? Can a bunch of projectors and monitors actually get people in and inspire them? If the visitors I saw are anything to judge, then the answer is a resounding yes. The most common comment heard from visitors was simply, “Wow!” Winter is well pleased with the response from his visitors. “Kids know exactly what to do when they get here,” he noted. “It’s just that gravitational pull that the walls have, and straight away they go – ‘well I understand what this is; now how can I play with it?’” 

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FEATURE

Image courtesy ProAV Solutions.

Above: The cat5 receivers, amplifiers, speakers and ancillaries are located in the narrow space between the inner and outer display walls.

Left: Touch panels are removed for service via the front of the wall structure.

EQUIPMENT LIST

Photographer: Derek Powell

MORE INFORMATION QUT – The Cube: www.thecube.qut.edu.au ProAV Solutions Queensland: (07) 3367 3300 or www.proavsolutions.com.au MultiTouch: www.multitaction.com Panasonic Projection: panasonic.net/avc/projector/products BiAmp: www.biamp.com Acoustic Technologies: www.atprofessional.com.au

AMX MATRIX SWITCHERS 4 x EnovaDGX 32x32 enclosure 1 x EnovaDGX 16x16 29 x EnovaDGX 4 DVI input card with HDCP 4 x EnovaDGX 4 DXLINK input with HDCP 6 x EnovaDGX 16 stereo audio insert/extract 16 x EnovaDGX 4 DXLINK output with SmartScale 15 x EnovaDGX 4 DVI output with SmartScale 15 x DXLINK multi-format UTP wall plate transmitter 1 x DXLINK multi-format UTP transmitter 62 x DXLINK HDMI UTP receiver with SmartScale AMX CONTROL 1 x TPI-PRO4-DVI total presentation interface - 4 multi-format DVI inputs 1 x ELO 19-inch 16:10 touch screen 1 x iPad2 1 x Crestron Prodigy in-wall dock for iPad 2 PROJECTION 4 x Panasonic PT-DZ21KE 3-chip DLP WUXGA; 20k ANSI lumens 8 x Panasonic PT-DZ6710EL 1-chip DLP WUXGA 6k ANSI lumens 2 x Panasonic PT-EZ570 3LCD WUXGA 5k ANSI lumens IMAGE PROCESSING 3 x TVOne Corioscan C3-540-1001 master chassis 15 x TVOne Corioscan CM-DVIU-2IN CORIOmax DVI-U input module 9 x TVOne Corioscan CM-DVIU-SC-2OUT CORIO DVI-U output module with scaling MULTITOUCH LCD DISPLAYS 52 x MultiTouch MultiTaction Cell 55-inch, full HD LCD ultra-thin bezel AUDIO Biamp Tesira audio DSP system 4 x ServerAVB Tesira DSP processor 24 x SIC4 4-ch balanced line level input 20 x SOC4 4-ch balanced line level output 1 x Netgear GS724TAVB 24-port AVB enabled Ethernet switch Speakers and Amplification 48 x Acoustic Technologies AT TLA1102 2-inch 10-element line array speaker 2 x Acoustic Technologies AT DS2255 5-inch 25-element dipole speaker 4 x Acoustic Technologies AT DS226 6.5-inch 2-element dipole speaker 1 x Acoustic Technologies AT SB115 15-inch sub bass speaker 56 x Acoustic Technologies MK AMP PACK monolith amplifier pack 1 x Acoustic Technologies AT 5K multi-channel power amplifier 4 x Bose DS16FW FreeSpace flush mount loudspeaker

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FEATURE

Towering Success Lighting the world’s tallest building for New Year’s Eve. Text:/ Andy Ciddor

Okay, so Sydney may claim to be the world’s prettiest harbour and it may play host to one of the world’s most popular New Year’s Eve parties, with more than a billion television and internet viewers worldwide and 1.5 million punters braving the traffic mayhem and public transport congestion to see it live. But it’s not the only show on the telly that night and it’s certainly not the only one with Australian creative talent striving to amaze.

Across the world, seven hours after Sydney lit the blue touchpaper and retired to watch the Harbour Bridge cascade with its by-now-traditional pyrotechnic waterfall, the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates had its own visually impressive celebration for the arrival of the year 2013.

Although Dubai doesn’t have a spectacular harbour it does have the Burj Khalifa Lake, a 12ha (30-acre) man-made lake complete with the Dubai Fountain, a 275m-long array of around 10,000 robotic illuminated water, flame and fog jets from WET, the people who brought us the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. And while it may lack the majestic grandeur of the Harbour Bridge to light and rig with pyrotechnics, it makes up for it with the Burj Khalifa (aka the Khalifa Tower), on the edge of the lake. At 829.8m, the Burj Khalifa has been the world’s tallest man-made structure since late 2009.

Since the onset of the most recent world economy slowdown, the developers of the huge shopping and hotel precincts clustered in Dubai have been anxious to draw the attention of

travellers to the wonders of their city, investing in raising its profile by staging progressively more spectacular events, most particularly their signature New Year’s celebrations.

The production team for the 2013 Downtown Dubai New Year’s Eve event included a small contingent from Sydneybased lighting and design house Mandylights, led by LD Richard Neville. “We heard about the Dubai project from our colleague Ryan Marginson who works with production company JK58 in the UAE,” explains Neville. “He was already working as the production manager for the bid being put together by the Dubai office of German creative agency Avantgarde. We came on board with that team in May 2012 to develop a skeleton lighting design and some rendered visualisations, so we were involved from day one in developing the lighting design concepts for what ultimately became the successful bid. We began the design development for the actual show in July.”

FEATURE

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It might not be Sydney and it may not have had Kylie advising the producers, but despite that the Downtown Dubai New Year's Eve party was quite a success, and these days rates right up there in the rankings of the world's most-watched NYE celebrations. While the Emirate of Dubai has a population of only 2.2million, there were 1.7million people at their party.

Photographer: Ralph@larmann.com

VISUALISING A CUBIC KM

For Neville, the great thing about the creative development process was that show director Andree Verleger of ABC Event Production was very open to taking creative input from all of the design team: “The whole concept of the show was that it featured pyrotechnics, lighting, video, fountains, audio and live performance, and that there would be moments when each area got to shine while at other times they blended back into the background.”

The most significant design challenge facing Neville was the decision that for this show, unlike previous events, no luminaires were to be located on the actual Burj Khalifa, so the full height of the tower had to be lit entirely from below.

Despite that (serious) constraint, Neville was thrilled to be working on a project where he was given a completely free hand and a significant budget to design the lighting his own way, within the broad concept they sold to the client. As he

put it: “It’s pretty unusual to be given the level of trust to be allowed to go off and do whatever you like to make it look cool. It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had the privilege of working on.”

With the challenge of lighting the world’s tallest structure from ground-based luminaires, the Mandylights team started by building the best possible representation of the site in their modelling software. The roughly kilometre-square ground plan in combination with nearly a vertical kilometre of Burj Khalifa left their original computer system gasping for breath as it rendered a cubic kilometre.

BURJ’ING ON THE INCREDIBLE

For previous events the tower had been covered with Space Canon searchlights mounted at intervals up the building.

These swept their beams around to light the building and create beam effects in the air. The Mandylights team chose an entirely different approach, using Alpha One Falcon Beam searchlights to lay in a wash of colour, then a constellation of Clay Paky’s amazingly bright 189W Sharpy beam lights to cover the top of the tower and overlay the building with patterns and textures. Despite what his visualiser software had been telling him, Neville was pleasantly surprised on the first night of camera tests to find the Sharpys’ coverage of the top of tower was reading so brightly that he had to pull them back to avoid it blowing out.

038

Neville was impressed that Eclipse Lighting, who won the tender to supply the lighting, already carried a substantial inventory of Clay Paky fixtures and was willing to augment that supply and even to acquire the two MA Lighting consoles that he wanted to run the show. The plan was to run two control surfaces in a single GrandMA session, allowing a pair of operators to split the programming duties.

The majority of the show was painstakingly pre-plotted in the visualiser over a three-week period running up to rehearsals, as there were only four nights of tech before the dress rehearsals.

During those four days, Neville and fellow console operator and associate lighting designer Alex Grierson were ensconced in an apartment overlooking the lake, programming live on the rig from midnight to 6am each day. They’d grab a few hours of sleep and were back in the visualisation suite by midday, plotting until midnight when the public had gone to bed and they had access to the live rig again. Right up until New Year’s Eve, Neville and Grierson were refining the show in the visualisation suite. The final count was around 1200

FEATURE

cues per operator, all of it triggered from the timecode clock responsible for synching the whole show.

MERRY SHOPPING FESTIVAL TO ONE ’N’ ALL

With the rigging requirements for a monthlong run, a very tall structure to light, and 15 similar but not-quite-identical stages in the water distributed around the perimeter of the lake, the lighting bump-in began in the first week of December. The only access to the water stages was via inflatable dinghy, which could only carry a couple of fixtures at a time. The simple act of changing out a lighting fixture entailed getting clearance to enter the lake, building a scaffold on the stage to access the fixture, then striking the scaffold and getting off the lake, a process that could take up to a couple of hours.

As an estimated 1.7 million visitors flocked to downtown Dubai and the shores of Burj Khalifa Lake for the show, the precinct was straining at the seams with metro passengers temporarily diverted from disembarking at the main downtown station because the surrounding area was already too packed. Neville describes it

The live performance elements of the show include 15 identical stages spread around the edge of the lake. Each stage had scrim backcloth which doubled as a projection screen, it's own lighting rig and a live dancer.

Photographer: Daniel Mercer

LIGHTING EQUIPMENT 96 x Clay Paky Sharpy 60 x Martin Aura wash 48 x Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1500 HPE 48 x Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1500 30 x Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500 66 x Martin Atomic strobe 24 x Martin Mac301 washlight 24 x Alpha One Falcon Beam 7kW CMY 48 x Chauvet colour battens 36 x Chauvet outdoor LED Pars 1 x GrandMA2 Full Size console 2 x GrandMA2 Light console 2 x GrandMA2 NPU 1 x GrandMA1 NSP

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as the equivalent of cramming the entire Sydney audience for New Year’s Eve into an area barely three times the size of Darling Harbour. Press reports revealed that at Atmosphere restaurant on the 122nd floor (altitude 422m) of the Burj Khalifa, window tables cost in the vicinity of $4200 per seat (one would hope that included a bread roll and a choice of postmix soft drinks at the very least).

The event began at 11:20pm with a 20-minute ‘live’ introduction by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied by lighting, video and fountains. This was followed by the performance spectacular, which ran right up until the stroke of midnight at which point the attention was on a lighting, fireworks and fountains tour de force.

Internet streaming through YouTube ran for about 40 minutes and included both the live show and the fireworks, receiving some 2.2 billion media impressions (views).

The satellite broadcast stream was fed to more than 1000 international channels, with an estimated television audience of more than two billion.

Because New Year was the start of the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival (an intriguing concept), the New Year’s Eve show, minus the pyrotechnics and some small elements of the stage show, and with only a recording of the Prague Philharmonic, ran twice each night for the whole of January: a further 62 performances.

Given the thoroughness of the entire production process it should come as no surprise that by mid-February, discussions were already underway for welcoming in 2014. 

A 210m video screen at the base of the Burj Khalifa formed an integral part of the live performance spectacular..

Photographer: Ralph@larmann.com

FEATURE

LIGHTING CREDITS Lighting Designer/Programmer: Richard Neville Associate Lighting Designer/Programmer: Alex Grierson Equipment Provider: Eclipse Lighting Eclipse Project Manager: Tom Ralston

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FEATURE

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ile 475.3 MHz 0 MHz Dplx sp1 Hz 475.5 MHz

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564.5 MHz Telex BTR-800 C TX 564.95 MHz Telex BTR-800 C TX 565.55 MHz TV 33 From: 566 MHz To: 574 MHz

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EW300G1 A Lvl2 4 537.95 MHz

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TUTORIAL UR4S J5E Safety 1 578.125 MHz

TV 36 From: 590 MHz To: 598 MHz

UR4S J5E Safety 2 579.875 MHz

WCATV From: 566 MHz To: 567.5 MHz

Telex BTR-800 C TX 559.175 MHz

EW300G1 A Lvl2 sp2 540.725 MHz

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WCATV AQC From: 624 MHz To: 631 MHz

UR4S J5E Lect 3 597.9 MHz

UR4S J5E RX 1 631.85 MHz

UR4S J5E RX 3 633.225 MHz

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UR4S J5E RX sp1 638 MHz TV 42 From: 638 MHz To: 646 MHz

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TV 35 From: 582 MHz To: 590 MHz

WCATV IBC1 From: 568 MHz To: 575 MHz

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Part 2: Keeping your wireless system running.

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Text:/ Andy Ciddor

In part one of Wireless Spectrum Management, we were guided through the process of setting up and implementing a spectrum management plan

by Steve Caldwell, technical manager and radio frequency (RF) engineer at international highflyers Norwest Productions since shortly after the discovery of sound.

In recognition of the certainty that no spectrum plan will survive a production unscathed, this second instalment is about making it through the event with your system (and hopefully also your sanity) intact.

WEAPONS OF CHOICE

Once all your radio devices are up and running with no interactions, it’s time to start monitoring your entire environment for those unexpected signals that can ruin your day. Steve’s weapons of choice for broadband scanning are Winradio’s G33WSM a software-defined receiver designed specifically as a spectrum monitor for sound engineering (see the sidebar), and its newer sibling the G39DDC Excelsior which has more sophisticated demodulating capabilities and an impressive sweep rate of 1GHz per second.

“I’ve had a G33WSM for almost 10 years now and actually started out with one of the prototypes.

It’s been absolutely fantastic,” enthuses Steve. “I use a normal spectrum analyser and VNA (vector network analyser) for more generic tasks but this is great. It’s a fairly small box that you attach to your computer. It’s a broadband scanner that’ll scan the entire broadcast span and display a standard graph of what the spectrum looks like.

More importantly, it’s capable of placing software screen markers on each of your known transmitter frequencies or entire frequency ranges, such as known TV channels to avoid.

“It’s got a maximum and minimum hold system so you can actually dial in your particular band of frequencies to scan and the maximum

hold will show you all peaks that have occurred since the scan commenced, while the minimum hold will eliminate any short-duration signals.

You can let the scanner run continuously, go about doing your other duties, then come back and look over the log and see straight away if there’s anything there that shouldn’t be. It’s all graphical so you can grab the mouse and scan up and down the chart very quickly.

“One of the beautiful things about this piece of equipment is that it’s a software-defined receiver, so not only will it give you an RSSI (received signal strength indication) map of the band, it will actually let you tune in and listen to any of the RF peaks that you see using your computer’s audio system. So you can listen to your radio mics and your IEMs and what have you, which is helpful, but if a rogue frequency comes up you can actually listen to it. This is one of the most effective ways to trace a rogue frequency.

“Be very sure that what you’re hearing is the fundamental of the rogue frequency and not an intermod product [see part one for more about intermods – Ed] from either your own radio mics or that of another authorised user.

It’s very easy to confuse the audio from an intermod of an authorised radio mic with that from the fundamental of an unauthorised one.

If you feel there is a possibility of the rogue signal being a product of two or more of your own transmitters, find an opportune time and switch off your transmitters one by one to see if the rogue signal disappears. Start with IEM transmitters as they usually have the highest power output and also often mix in their own combiner systems to produce intermods.

Although it’s often not possible to account for all intermod products, most of the lower order ones should be accounted for in the initial solution calculation and will be avoided.

SEARCH FOR STRAYS

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

“You can spend hours trying to locate a transmitter by direction finding but in most venues, the somewhat vague nature of directional antennas along with multi-path reflections will defeat you every time. You’re much better off putting a set of headphones on and listening to what’s being transmitted on that rogue frequency. It’s easy to hear if it’s comms or an ENG crew but the great thing about it is that if it’s nearby, you are most likely to hear your own PA system in that signal, and using the speed of sound through air, you can determine how far away the transmitter is from your PA. If you’re hearing comms it’s likely to be coming from somewhere backstage or back of house, while an ENG crew will usually be found front of house or just outside the venue. The audio you hear over that transmitter will give you the most information about its location, without a doubt.

“Another very useful feature of the scanner when tracking rogue frequencies is its ability to show you the sidetones present. If, for example, you’ve got a 19kHz and/or a 38kHz sidetone, you know straight away it’s a standard F3E stereo transmission, and it’s going to be an IEM because that’s the transmission mode they use in stereo. If there’s just a single sidetone between 28kHz and 32kHz, you can bet that it’s going to be a radio microphone. If you’ve got a 100kHz spreadspectrum type transmission, you know it’s going to be a digital carrier of some sort, such as one of the new digital wireless mics.

“Most brands of radio mics have spectrum signatures and getting to know them doesn’t take that long. An obvious one is that the majority of Lectrosonics mics and IFB (interruptible foldback) systems only tune in 100kHz increments. If you find your rogue transmitter’s frequency is

640 MHz

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SR 2000Bw IEM Send 10 670.17 MHz

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SR 2000Bw IEM Send 9 653.3 MHz TV 44 From: 654 MHz To: 662 MHz

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UR4SL3E Vocal 3 677.42 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 13 664.875 MHz

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UR4S L3E RX 12 663.925 MHz

TV 47 From: 678 MHz To: 686 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 14 665.575 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 704.275 MHz

692.025 MHz UR4S L3E RX 19 692.4 MHz

TUTORIAL

SR2000G3 Cw Send 1 737.325 MHz

00 G3*GB Bass 2 5 MHz

WCATV From: 801.5 MHz To: 802.5 MHz

043

SR2000G3 Cw Send 16 771.575 MHz EW300G2 C Saf IEM 1 774.8 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 11 761.075 MHz

EW300G2 C Saf IEM 2 775.375 MHz

TV 51 From: 710 MHz To: 718 MHz

3E RX 6 MHz

WCATV IBC3 From: 792 MHz To: 799 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 15 770.55 MHz

TV 57 From: 758 MHz To: 766 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 6 746.15 MHz

TV 60 From: 782 MHz To: 790 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 14 769.425 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 10 756.15 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 5 745.725 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 709.725 MHz

From: 774 MHz To: 782 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 13 768.1 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send sp1 753.3 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 4 743.4 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 708.325 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 22 696.575 MHz

From: 766 MHz To: 774 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 8 751.85 MHz

TV 55 From: 742 MHz To: 750 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 707.875 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 21 695.725 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 7 750.25 MHz

SR2000G3 Cw Send 3 739.7 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 706.2 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 20 694.675 MHz

3*GB Bass 1 Hz

TV 53 From: 726 MHz To: 734 MHz DTV Relay From: 726 MHz To: 734 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 705.8 MHz

TV 49 From: 694 MHz To: 702 MHz

UR4S L3E RX 16 682.525 MHz

TV 52 From: 718 MHz To: 726 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 705.125 MHz

UR4SL3E Vocal sp1 688.37 MHz

DTV Relay From: 778 MHz To: 782 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 710.2 MHz

EW 300 G3*GB Bass 3 643.17 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 711.325 MHz

TV 43 From: 646 MHz To: 654 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 711.8 MHz Telex BTR-800 6 RX 712.175 MHz

SR 2000Bw IEM Send 7 647.17 MHz

Telex BTR-800 6 RX 714.025 MHz

SR 2000Bw IEM Send 8 648.02 MHz UR4S L3E RX 7 648.85 MHz

An excerpt from the spectrum map for the London 2012 Olympic games.

645 MHz

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655 MHz

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665 MHz

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675 MHz

680 MHz

685 MHz

690 MHz

695 MHz

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710 MHz

715 MHz

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725 MHz

730 MHz

735 MHz

740 MHz

745 MHz

750 MHz

755 MHz

760 MHz

765 MHz

770 MHz

775 MHz

780 MHz

785 MHz

790 MHz

795 MHz

800 MHz

WiNRADiO G33WSM

685.100MHz, then there is a good chance it’s one of these. If the carrier is on 685.225 then it’s definitely not. Knowing what kind of transmitter you’re looking for makes it so much easier to find.

“On a production that runs for more than one show, if you have access to power in the venue the whole time you can just leave the scanner running overnight and it will show you anything that has occurred as it’s a cumulative log. If you can see something that’s popped up you can then chase it down or choose to ignore it, based on its power and its distance from your frequencies.

“Part of the standard system, especially for Norwest, is to do a line check on the gear before each show, so you’re automatically doing a check of the RF systems as part of the line check procedure. What you should do during pre-show checks is turn off your radio mics and IEMs every now and then, just to see if there’s anything hiding underneath that can make their performance unreliable.

BE KIND TO STRANGERS

“The thing to do once you identify and track down a stray frequency is not to get upset with the users or bring down the hammer.

Not only do you have very little authority in stopping them using that frequency, they’re probably either completely unaware they’re using something they shouldn’t, or that the frequency is already occupied. After all, the spectrum we use in Australia is a resource that isn’t subject to licensing for radio mic users, so anyone can use it.

“It helps to offer them a solution rather than just a directive to stop using what they’re using. I’ve found that most RF users are more than happy for you to manage their spectrum as well as yours. Offering to integrate their

equipment into the RF solution is a great way to not only improve the reliability of everyone’s gear but also to gain some trust with them in the future. I now have broadcasters and news crews contacting me before the more regular events, pretty much expecting that I’ll have a working solution for them too.

“I’ve found that the majority of ENG crews are using the same Lectrosonics radio mics and IFBs. I know there are only about three blocks of frequencies available for Lectrosonics in Australia, so what I do as part of my spectrum allocation solution is resolve a handful of additional Lectrosonic frequencies in each of these blocks and keep a note of them with me.

That way, if I find an issue I can go up to the ENG crew and offer them a new frequency on the spot that’s not going to cause a massive snowballing of new problems.

“And most of the time they’re okay with it. After all, they’re at the event because the event has some particular significance, so they won’t take the risk of bringing down the whole event for the sake of a 10-minute ENG spot. It also helps to get their phone number and send them a text every now and then to make sure everything is going fine, because the last thing you need is for them to find the frequency you’ve resolved for them is no longer working and they then try something else.”

Steve believes that the actual set up of the equipment for a production is just a small part of the process: “It’s more about making contact and getting on-side with people. The last thing you want to do is get into an RF war with someone. It doesn’t work, believe me. I’ve been there so many times”. 

Software-defined receivers are used in a wide range of applications because their DSP-based signal processing allows additional capabilities such as filters, demodulators and decoders to be added as needed or as new ones are developed. WinRadio in Melbourne effectively invented this type of receiver in the early 1990s and has since been at the forefront of developments in this field.

Its WR-G33WSM is a high-performance low-cost VHF/ UHF receiver and spectrum analyser, developed for sound engineers who work with wireless microphones, in-ear monitors and other wireless audio devices. The receiver contains a number of features tailored to spectrum management in audio. Its frequency range covers all standard wireless microphone and other VHF/UHF frequencies used in stage production, including the FM broadcast band and point-to-point communications. All control and output is via a connected computer running the accompanying software.

The user interface displays some standard receiver controls such as a tuning knob, frequency display and signal strength meter, supplemented by a number of facilities designed for radio spectrum management.

Its fast scanning facilities make it possible to map the radio spectrum environment of a location to determine available frequencies. The spectrum analyser shows absolute signal strength values as well as differences from previous sweeps. Each transmitter signal peak is visible in the scanned spectrum and can be marked with a user-defined tag. A real-time audio spectrum scope shows the instantaneous audio spectrum of the selected demodulated channel. The entire spectrum environment of a location including tags can be saved for later use.

SPECIFICATIONS Frequency range 30MHz to 1GHz FM demodulator suited for all types of wireless microphones High sensitivity Wide dynamic range Variable IF (intermediate frequency) filter Real-time spectrum analyser (both linear and logarithmic) Built-in audio recorder Spectrum sweeping, printing and user annotation Directly interfaces with Shure Wireless Workbench 5+ Channel and environment memories USB interface to Windows PCs Optimised to work with short VHF/UHF antennas RRP: $1265 (inc GST)

805 MHz

810 MHz

8

044

REVIEW

Mitsubishi MDT701S LCD Display Panel When size matters.

Text:/ Stuart Gregg

The latest monitor from Mitsubishi Electric is a 70-inch (1765mm) full high definition LCD panel with LED backlight.

From the moment we unpacked it there was no mistaking it has been built to last – you could be forgiven for thinking it was going to be a lot heavier than its actual 45kg. The bezel and case are solid and will stand the life of a rental unit even though installation and digital signage are clearly where it’s aimed. And while solid, the bezel does not spoil the look of the model (it can be removed for certain installations but this will invalidate the unit’s UL compliance).

UP AGAINST THE WALL

The monitor is designed for wall mounting and is thinner than previous models, sitting slim against the wall once the handles are removed. All the input sockets are designed to facilitate mounting close to the wall; the control buttons, however, are rear mounted on the lower right of the panel and tricky to access – you will need very slim fingers if you ever lose the remote. That said, most installed monitors are likely to be managed via the RS232 or LAN using either Mitsubishi’s own protocol or the ever popular Crestron and AMX. A good choice of signal inputs offered as standard include:

D-Sub – computer or YPbPr DVI-D with loop through 2 x HDMI Display port Composite video – via BNC S-Video (mini DIN 4-pin) Analogue audio (stereo mini jack) with loop through As an option an SDI input for SD, HD and 3G SDI signals can be added and there is an OPS (open pluggable specification) expansion slot for installing an onboard PC or media player. Alongside the signal inputs is a built in USB hub that can be used to connect peripherals to an external computer or an optional on board unit using the OPS slot. The monitor has internal speakers that do a respectable job, as well as external speaker terminals.

sensors makes use of front and back light sensors to control the brightness of the image and take into consideration not just the light falling on the front of the panel, but also behind it. We found it worked reasonably well and was unobtrusive in its adjustments. The function can also be turned off if it isn’t required.

The monitor can be tiled for videowall style installations up to a 5x5 configuration, and built in frame compensation allows images to display as the eye and mind want to see them.

PIP, POP and side-by-side display option are available and work on full HD signals, and the ubiquitous zoom function is available for aspect correction and image zoom – not that I have ever had the need to zoom an image, but maybe that’s just me.

A GOOD SIGN

CARE AND FEEDING

Mitsubishi has included a host of features for the digital signage user, some of which are geared for larger and more complex installations. Others such as the built in scheduling function, OPS slot and ambient light sensors, make it a great unit for simple stand-alone use.

The scheduling function gives you the ability to set seven different schedules, with settings by day and hour for power on/ off and input selection. The ambient light

We connected a Mac laptop (non retina model) via DVI, a Blu-ray player via HDMI, a PC via both displayport and VGA, and a DVD player on both component (YPbPr) and composite.

The computer signals all came up looking good, with no need for any timing adjustments, although there is an option to adjust HV size and shifts for all computers and clock and phase on the analogue computer inputs. The monitor

REVIEW

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

Top: Robust removable bezel Middle: Side input panel Bottom: Rear input panel

will accept resolutions from 640x480 up to 1920x1200 (compressed/simplified).

Gamma is selectable from Native, S Gamma, 2.2, 2.4 or programmable. The programmable function is via a computer and enables adjustment of the curve.

All computer pictures were sharp with vibrant colours and great contrast. The only complaint we had was that the images looked great front on and from angles up to 40° off-centre, and from then on the image didn’t lose punch but the apparent gamma shifted markedly. It didn’t look bad off-axis, but was distinctly different from the on-axis image; you could chase your tail adjusting the monitor to compensate.

The Blu-ray images reproduced well – both live studio footage and moody movie scenes were impressive with good detail in the darker scenes. We had a try with the Clear Picture mode, which takes images displayed at 60 frames per second and interpolates them into 120 frames for smoother motion, but were undecided with the results.

The remote is laid out well, and the menu structure is intuitive and easy to follow. Overall, Mitsubishi is offering a well-built, nicely featured unit that would work well in a digital signage install as well as for AV rental stock.

However, the off-axis image variance we experienced might be an issue in some circumstances and it would not be my choice for a videowall array. RRP is $11,790 (inc GST) and you should see it coming to a shopping centre or airport near you soon.

Mitsubishi Electric: www.mitsubishielectric.com.au

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046

PREVIEW

Knowing Your Limits Ultrafonic’s Andrew Steel previews 10EaZy, a system to manage venue noise without limiters or fines.

Above: 10EaZy report screen.

Top centre: All OK. Levels below limit.

Bottom centre: Levels high. Approaching limit Top right: Risk of violation. Reduction required.

Bottom right: Reduction successful. Don't change.

10EaZy is a low-cost hardware/software system that lets venues manage noise control without negatively affecting the quality of the sound. It is designed to work hand in hand with local authorities, DJs [really? DJs?! – Ed.] and sound engineers, managers and neighbours.

Noise complaints are nothing new – but what to do about them is still a contentious issue. Much of the difficulty occurs when a regulator (it depends on your area – it could be a local council, EPA, licensing authority, etc.) uses a standardised metric like LAeq to measure the noise, but the venue or performer has a straightforward sound level meter. The regulator wants to make sure no one is exposed to noise equivalent to a certain dose of noise over a period of time whereas the sound level meter just shows what the level is now.

So until now, venues haven’t had the tools to comply with the regulators’ requirements resulting in the possibility of fines, closure or the need for limiters which either cut power to the PA

– never a good option – or ruin the sound quality.

But SG Audio in Denmark has come up with 10EaZy, a system that gives venues the same metrics as the regulator. It even has a display that predicts how the equivalent noise level will rise based on recent history called MAM (Maximum Average Manager). When the MAM starts going red, the limit will be exceeded if action isn’t taken. This means all that is required is a reduction in level (MAM even tells you by how much) and things will stay within the set limits for equivalent noise.

In the words of the manufacturer: “In a world of increasing demands for staying within sound level limits, 10EaZy provides the guy at the fader with intuitive and unambiguous information.

At the same time, through 10EaZy’s tamperfree and fool-proof design, we ensure that the organisers and authorities receive IEC compliant measurements with the level of detail that they require and with guaranteed accuracy and reliability”.

10EaZy runs on a Windows PC (commonly a netbook) and can be configured to boot directly to 10EaZy so that it can’t be modified.

The hardware consists of a calibrated Type 1 microphone and dedicated interface.

Additional features that make this tool so versatile and useful for managers and regulators include free software upgrades, the ability to watch measurements from a remote computer via web browser (ie., you can check out the results in real time on your mobile device), and a mail server that will ship emails immediately after a measurement session if connected to the internet. In fixed installs, a launch scheduler ensures 10EaZy will start and stop automatically at designated times, ensuring complete handsoff design.  Ultrafonic: www.ultrafonic.com.au or (07) 3103 0591 Price: Complete system including microphone, software and notebook computer $5995 (inc GST)

048

NEWS

InfoComm News

News from the Oceania Region

UPCOMING ROUNDTABLES Please join InfoComm International as we discuss leading issues of the day and come together as an industry. Roundtables will be conducted in Sydney on 12 March and in Brisbane on 14 March.

Email oceania@infocomm.org to register.

REGIONAL WEBINARS Join us for webinars geared for the Oceania region and time zones. Upcoming webinar dates for 2013 are: 20 March 17 April 15 May 19 June 17 July 21 August 18 September 16 October The 20 March webinar topic is HDMI – Plug and Play or Plug and Pray? For more information on InfoComm webinars visit infoComm.org/webinars NEW VERIFICATION CHECKLIST InfoComm is pleased to offer a member-developed resource that will provide owners, consultants and integrators with comprehensive verification criteria to determine if an AV system achieves the client’s objectives and is performing in accordance with the system design. The Audiovisual Systems Performance Verification Checklist, which features 162 criteria, was developed over the last year by a global panel of experts representing the entire industry.

“By creating and distributing this checklist, InfoComm has met its longstanding goal of establishing verification guidelines to help industry professionals and their clients communicate effectively about mutual expectations for

system performance,” said David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, executive director and CEO of InfoComm International. “I urge the industry to adopt this list as a basis to foster better communication between the AV industry and the people who rely on our systems.”

The new checklist is a featured requirement of InfoComm’s Certified AV Solutions Provider (CAVSP) program. Diamond CAVSPs are required to show a completed Audiovisual Systems Performance Verification Checklist for one AV installation. Emerald CAVSPs need to indicate their commitment to adopt InfoComm International’s Audiovisual Systems Performance Verification Checklist for future AV installations.

InfoComm thanks the AV Systems Performance Verification task group for their involvement. The group will further refine the list in the months ahead and include it as part of an InfoComm standard, currently in development, to be submitted to ANSI for consideration of adoption. As part of this process InfoComm will offer a draft standard that will be open for public review and comment.

Members of the task group include: Matthew Silverman, CTS, PMP, George Mason University, (Moderator); John Bailey, CTS-D, CTS-I, The Whitlock Group; Jason Brameld, BSc (Hons) ARCS, MInstSCE, Mark Johnson Consultants; Greg Bronson, CTS-D, Cornell University; Paul Depperschmidt, CTS, Cisco; Richard Derbyshire, CTS, Shen Milsom & Wilke; Dan Doolen, University of Illinois; Tristan Gfrerer, Google; Mike Izatt, CTS-D, Electronic Interiors, Inc.; Tom Kopin, CTS, ISF-C, Kramer Electronics; Richard Morrison, Prince2, CPENG, CTS, Norman, Disney & Young; and Mike Quinn, BEng, CEng, MIET, CTS-D. The free checklist can be downloaded from infocomm.org/resources.

NEW FREE CTS EXAM PREP Here’s a great start your year: a free way to prep for your Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) exam. CTS Prep Online is a new, self-paced course that includes

practice questions, videos and study tips. Through this course you will review the content areas of the exam and identify the specific areas where you need to focus your study time.

INFOCOMM 2013 – WORTH THE TRIP More than 10,000 of the hottest technology products from more than 925 companies will be featured at InfoComm 2013 in Orlando, Florida, June 8-14, at the Orange County Convention Center. Attendee registration is now available at infocommshow.org.

InfoComm 2013 has more than 2.3 MCG’s worth of show floor exhibition and special events space.

More than 35,000 professionals are expected to attend the show, with a third of attendees coming from technology managers, specifiers and end-user communities. InfoComm caters to a broad spectrum of market sectors including business, government, military, education, worship, healthcare, hospitality, retail and entertainment.

Showcasing the latest AV technology, InfoComm 2013 provides the multi-billion dollar industry and its customers with a thriving show floor along with unsurpassed education and training. Attendees will hear from all the leading audio brands in demo rooms and on the show floor, get connected with collaborative conferencing in the Unified Collaborative Conferencing Pavilion, experience the latest signs of the times at the Digital Signage Pavilion and see the latest in illumination and production in the Lighting and Staging Pavilion. The Technologies for Worship Pavilion will feature the latest AV technology applied for House of Worship staff and volunteers, while new technology zones will highlight emerging trends in the areas of digital content creation, education applications, mobile videoconferencing and security solutions.

We know it’s a long trip but this is the largest exposition of AV technology in the world. We would love to have you with us. 

All The AV Industry Employment News Delivered to your IN box with AV Newswire Any time you want it at www.av.net.au

049

TUTORIAL

Customers In the AV Industry Introducing the huge range of customer types served by the AV industry

This article is an excerpt from InfoComm University’s online course, GEN101 Quickstart to the AV Industry. This class is free to all InfoComm members. Please note that the online class is interactive and contains several videos relating to the material below.

A huge variety of professional AV applications are all around us and are used by many types of organisations – our customers. Successful AV professionals understand how the AV industry serves its customers, and their own customer service responsibilities.

Vertical Markets

Many AV dealers target particular vertical markets. A vertical market is a group of similar businesses or customers. In the AV industry, vertical markets are groups of potential customers with similar communication needs or business requirements.

Museums are one example of a vertical market. One museum may differ greatly from another – a sports hall of fame versus a museum of natural history, for instance – but they will still have similar AV needs. For instance, hundreds of people of all ages visit a museum each day so any touch screens must be tough and easy to use. Most museums showcase some temporary exhibits so they may need digital signage to show visitors what is on display.

Government facilities are another example of a vertical market. They often have specific, rigid requirements for network security and physical access. Whether a facility’s main function is intelligence, defence, or scientific research, it will want to work with AV dealers who have experience in meeting those regulations. AV dealers must also understand the complex paperwork and proper wording needed to get publicly funded jobs.

Targeting a specific vertical market can be very profitable for an AV dealer. When AV professionals work on a complex, long-term project, they invest a lot of time and money in understanding the client’s organisation. As a result, they learn about their client’s business market. The experience and knowledge gained from learning about a specific market helps AV professionals target other potential clients in that industry.

Scenario

For the past year, Acme AV has been installing interactive touchscreen displays in the Capitol City Children’s Museum. In the process, Acme AV’s staff have learned a lot about the

communication priorities of museums such as making sure information is accessible and engaging. They have also learned about common concerns such as making sure the installation of AV systems won’t damage the museum’s famous building or any of the exhibits. They have even learned about business requirements specific to the museum market such as the budget approval process for non-profit organisations.

Now Acme AV can use this project to show other museums that it understands their communication needs, concerns, and business requirements. The Capitol City Children’s Museum will show off its new systems, causing other museums to consider investing in similar technology. Acme AV is in a position to get a lot of new business.

Ask Your Peers

Does your organisation target any vertical markets? Who are your main customers, and what are the similarities between them?

Start learning about the vertical markets your company serves so you can serve your customers better.

Allied Trades

All AV professionals must work with people from outside their organisation in order to serve their customers’ needs. In this lesson you will learn what an allied trade is, and which allied trades you can expect to work with in the AV industry.

Allied trades are the businesses which collaborate with AV professionals to complete a project. Each trade has its own priorities and areas of expertise but they must all work together to satisfy the customer.

This table displays some of the AV industry’s allied trades and the areas where they might collaborate with AV professionals.

This list is not exhaustive. A more complex or unusual AV project might involve even more allied trades. For any project, working well with allied trades is the key to success.

Customer Service

No matter what your role in the AV industry is, you are in a customer service position. This is true whether or not you have direct contact with end users.

Similarly, the term ‘customer’ can apply to more than the people who pay for your organisation’s services. Your allied trades and coworkers are also customers.

Good customer service is always important.

Here are some examples of why this is true: When you provide excellent customer service to clients by learning about their industries, you help create business opportunities for your company.

When you serve allied trades with reliability and professionalism, you help projects run smoothly and generate positive word of mouth.

When you serve your co-workers with respect and attentiveness, you advance your own career.

Steps you can take to help your organisation deliver good customer service include: Making sure you fully understand your organisation’s individual customer service policies. Read any written policies, and talk to you supervisor and co-workers about what is expected of you when interacting with clients.

Familiarising yourself with the services and technologies your company offers. The ability to provide accurate answers to clients’ questions is a big part of customer service. 

Allied Trade

Collaborate with AV Pros on…

Architects

Window placement in display environments; space requirements

Interior designers

Furniture; equipment positioning; wall and window treatments

Electrical professionals

Wiring installation; power requirements

IT professionals

Network connectivity; media storage; equipment control

Telecom professionals

Telephone systems; intercoms; internet lines

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) professionals

Equipment mounting; HVAC noise

Content developers

Digital signage content

Subject matter experts

Topics specific to a particular project or vertical market. For example, a teacher might advise an AV professional on the requirements for a classroom.

050

Termination Lightning Hits & Myths Text:/ Graeme Hague

My mother is terrified of electrical storms – so terrified, in fact, that she also hates cows.

Why? Because cows shelter under trees during storms and trees apparently attract lightning, potentially killing us all and not just the soggy bovines. Best of luck applying any scientific or Freudian analysis to that one – it’s never made any sense to me but I recently found out that when my mother lived in Wales as a child, whenever a thunderstorm approached my grandmother would close the curtains, cover all the mirrors with thick blankets and even wrap the silver cutlery (we had silver cutlery?) in tea-towels – all to avoid somehow sucking a lightning bolt through the windows.

Devious stuff, Welsh lightning. Instead of just seeking out Mother Earth it would much rather connect with your best Sheffield dinner service – and now you know why it’s really called ‘fork’ lightning. Anyway, with my mother’s phobia steeped in such deep-seated mythology, these days we just throw a thick blanket over her instead.

Thunderstruck

There are lots of myths about storms and lightning. I personally wasn’t convinced about the perils of being on the telephone during an electrical storm until a friend in Queensland showed me the large, black hole in their kitchen wall and the smoldering remains of their phone. It was literally blown up by a nearby lightning strike. And a year ago the phone line to our shed was turned into 50 metres of crispy copper by a storm. So okay, now I’m a believer. Attempts to convince my mother I was perfectly safe using a cordless handset fell on deaf ears, however – she’d turned off her hearing aids, just in case. But the risks to telephone lines, and anything attached to them, from

lightning are real. Computers and everything in them can get fried.

Which is why, for people like myself who work from a home office and rely heavily on a hardwire internet connection, hearing the rumble of an approaching storm is a pain in the arse. Suddenly it’s a race to get stuff finished and backed-up before shutting everything down. It isn’t just the threat of being incinerated by a billion volts through your favorite YouTube channel. Any kind of storm can black out the power when you least expect it. In the blink of a circuit breaker everything stops. I know that in the movies a power failure is announced by a huge clunking sound, the lights go off one by one (more clunking) and finally there’s this huge, turbine-engine-winding-down noise.

In the real world you just hear a kind of click and then… nothing. That’s the funny thing about power-cuts. It’s one of the few times we find ourselves in complete domestic silence. Spooky.

Unless you’ve got an uninterruptible power supply. I have finally, finally (like, finally) invested in a UPS that gives me something like 15 minutes of battery power to save my work, email or chat to my online colleagues that I’m going under, then calmly shut down the PC. Except there’s nothing calm about it at all. It feels like I’m trying to defuse a bomb with only seconds to spare, rushing to get everything achieved before that battery fizzles out. It doesn’t help that the UPS is shrieking an alarm like a demented smoke detector. How are you supposed to stay cool and composed with that racket going on?

Of course, some of you are questioning what all the fuss is about. I should have backed-up and safely stored all my data,

right? There’s no harm in a power-cut. In fact, it’s an opportunity to escape the screen, stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

People who have a regular, disciplined regime of backing up their computers are… bloody annoying, really. They are more annoying than people who have perfect teeth and insist on telling you they’ve never been to a dentist in their pathetic, cavity-free lives – and that’s pretty annoying.

Writers on the Storm

Normal people struggle to do regular system back-ups. You’ve got terabytes of information on your computer that needs all night to digitally stash away somewhere safe, plus because most archiving software will keep the last half-dozen back-ups it requires a hard drive the size of a house to store it all – which it doesn’t have, so you have to do some time-consuming, hard-drive housekeeping first. It’s all a bit too hard.

However, getting to the point of this missive, witnessing the tropical storms and floods that just hit Queensland reminds us the seasons are about to change (and by the way, how many trillions of binary 1s and 0s were also irretrievably washed away by the flooding? Unique data lost forever? An interesting thought, if rather inconsequential in the greater scheme of things). Winter and its wild weather, irresponsible cows, lightning bolts and power cuts is, believe it or not, coming. It’s time to think about backing up data more often and maybe buying that UPS you’ve never gotten around to. Coming up with a bad weather, data saving plan.

Right now, I have to check the blanket moving in the corner. Strange – I thought she went home weeks ago. 

ACOUSTIC ECHO CANCELLATION Now STANDARD with

Q-Sys Core 250i

The world’s most powerful digital audio networking solution now offers Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) – up to 48 channels. And unlike competing solutions from other manufacturers, AEC is a standard feature – no extra hardware or costly upgrade required.

And, because Q-Sys operates on Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet over IT-friendly, industry standard network hardware, not only is Q-Sys powerful, it’s also incredibly easy to deploy.

To learn more, scan the code below or visit us online at qscmarketing.com/aec.

qsc.com

In Australia: TAG. Ph. (02) 9519 0900 / E. info@tag.com.au

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