Essential_Install_FRONT_COVER_2021_Kordz_PRINT.pdf
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THE ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE FOR THE AV AND SMART HOME INDUSTRY
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LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
THE HUMAN LEAGUE
TOUCHSCREENS AND PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE SURFING
LINN EXCLUSIVE
THE LAUNCH OF A FLAGSHIP
NEW PRODUCT
HMXL88ARC / HMXL66ARC
New Levels of Advanced Audio Integration We are pleased to announce the launch of two feature rich HDBaseT™ Matrix, the HMXL88ARC and HMXL66ARC. Using CSC technology, these powerful HDBaseT™ matrix support 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 resolutions over distances of 40m over a single CAT 6 cable. The new HMXL66ARC and HMXL88ARC come into their own with advanced audio features specifically designed for maximising the integration of all AV sources in the modern home. Enhanced audio routing is achieved through the integrated 26x8 audio matrix. This enables the audio both from displays (via ARC) and all other sources to be embedded and routed through the system at the users discretion. These ARC and audio routing features enable our installation partners the ability to create a truly AV experience throughout the home.
NEW
HMXL88ARC 8x8 HDBaseT™ CSC ARC Matrix
NEW
HMXL66ARC 6x6 HDBaseT™ CSC ARC Matrix
HDCP 2.2
J Advanced HDBaseT™ technology offering distribution of video and audio over a single CAT cable J Advanced Colour Space Conversion (CSC) supports HDMI 2.0 18Gbps specification including HDR J 26x8 Audio Matrix independently controllable from the video
HDCP 2.2
J Advanced HDBaseT™ technology offering distribution of video and audio over a single CAT cable J Advanced Colour Space Conversion (CSC) supports HDMI 2.0 18Gbps specification including HDR J 20x6 Audio Matrix independently controllable from the video
NEW
HEX70ARC-KIT HDBaseT™ ARC Extender Set - 70m (4K up to 40m), ARC, Bi-directional IR, Bi-directional PoC J Advanced HDBaseT™ technology offering uncompressed video and audio with zero latency J Extends HDMI 1080p up to a distance of 70m over a single CAT cable J Supports 4K UHD video up to 40m (3840 x 2160 @30Hz 4:4:4, 4096 x 2160 @24Hz 4:4:4, and 4K @60Hz 4:2:0)
4K HDR up to 40m
PRO88HBT70CS
Custom Pro 8x8 HDBaseT™ CSC Matrix (4K 60Hz 4:4:4 up to 40m) Supports 4K HDR, IP Control, PoC, 2-Way IR, 4 x Simultaneous HDMI Outputs , Audio Breakout with Volume Control J Advanced Colour Space Conversion (CSC) supports HDMI 2.0 18Gbps specification over HDBaseT™ J Supports 4K resolutions including HDR (4K 60Hz 4:4:4) to a distance of 40m
J Smart Scale technology - automatic 4K to 1080p scaling Available Now - Custom Pro, 16 x HDMI 2.0 inputs, 16 x HDBaseT™ outputs
1080p up to 150m
HEX100CS-KIT
HEX150CS-KIT
100m HDBaseT™ Extender Set Supporting 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 (70m)
HDBaseT™ CSC Extender Set Supporting HDMI 2.0 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 up to 100m (1080p up to 150m)
J Advanced HDBaseT™ technology offering CSC scaling with zero latency J Supports 4K UHD video up to 70m (3840x2160 @60Hz 4:4:4 and @60Hz
J Advanced Colour Space Conversion (CSC) supports HDMI 2.0 18Gbps specification including HDR support
4:2:2 including HDR)
C O N T R A C T O R
S E R I E S
C44-KIT Contractor 4x4 HDBaseT™ Matrix Kit
J Includes 4 x HEX70B-RX HDBaseT™ Receivers
M U L T I C A S T
IP200UHD-RX/TX Multicast 4K UHD Video Receiver / Transmitter J Supports up to 4K HDR UHD video sources (3840 x 2160 @30Hz 4:4:4, 4096 x 2160 @24Hz 4:4:4 and 4K @60Hz 4:2:0) J Advanced signal management for independent routing of IR, RS-232, USB / KVM, audio and video
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Become a Certified Blustream Installation Partner
Interactive Online Tutorials We have re-designed our regular interactive online tutorials, focused on providing convenient, bite sized insights into the latest Blustream solutions and the day to day challenges we all currently face in our rapidly evolving market. During these unprecedented times, we have increased both the content and frequency of the sessions we are hosting to bring you the most comprehensive range of interactive webinar content available in the UK.
Register now: www.blustream.co.uk/advanced-learning-portal J
Our UK Address: The Service Station,
Tel: +44 (0)115 824 7000
J Video over IP vs HDBaseT - which should you back?
Melton Road, Hickling Pastures,
Email: sales@blustream.co.uk
J with 10 more courses to choose from...
Nottinghamshire,
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Current Tutorials Available
J Specifying a Custom Pro Matrix with 18Gbps support
J CAT Cable Certification & Verification J When is 4K, Actually 4K?
Book now at J www.blustream.co.uk
LE14 3QG United Kingdom.
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CONTENTS
May 2021
4 FROM THE EDITOR’S CHAIR
67 ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS
7 ESSENTIAL NEWS
FEATURES 14 KEEP IT KORDZ
EI Live 2021 is ready for registration!
Hardware hoping to impress
The month’s biggest breakers
New support for HDMI 2.1
16 PULSE CINEMAS
Think you know Screen Research?
21 BASEC
Cable Design Considerations for the Digital Building
18 ESSENTIAL HABITECH The magic of light
26 MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC (AND MOVIES) WITH MIKODAM
24 TOGETHER FOR CINEMA
Audio and interior design combined
Sponsors declare their support
42 ABB PLANS
28 ESSENTIAL CEDIA
Smart and ambitious ABB
Getting serious about sustainability
60 CASE STUDY: BUILDING SANDBANKS
46 CONTROL4
The London Home Cinema Company goes coastal
Installers assess OvrC
YOUR DISTRIBUTOR www.avoke.co.uk | av@avoke.co.uk
21 16 42 48 SMART THINKING
41 THE TOMORROW PEOPLE
Linn on birthing a new flagship
Mark Booth, Managing Director, Gira UK, asks if it is possible to future proof today’s lighting schemes
LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL 30 LIGHT WALLS
Hugo Fitzjohn of Light Walls looks at the present and future of intelligent and human centric lighting
32 MOOD LIGHTING
Basalte examines the implications for new ways of living
34 A RAY OF LIGHT
Stay in touch
56 RELIABILITY AND SIMPLICITY
Redline examines opportunities away from dedicated controllers
59 THE POWER OF SOFTWARE
Dr Shelley James explains how light ‘works’
38 RELIABILITY AND SIMPLICITY
TOUCH SCREENS AND PROGRAMMING 54 SAVANT AND RGB COMMUNICATIONS
Is software on a cliff’s edge?
Peter Broome, Director at UK smart lighting controls manufacturer, Rako
FOR Smart Home www.avoke.co.uk | av@avoke.co.uk
Essential_Install_FRONT_COVER_2021_Kordz_PRINT.pdf
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MAY
THE SHOW MUST GO ON! I am delighted this month to be able to say that registrations for EI Live! are now open and in fact have been since the last time we went to press. If you have not registered already, you can do so by visiting the website, eiliveshow.com. Whilst you are there, take a look around - check out the floorplan and the other aspects on offer. More will be added to areas such as the Technical Theatre as we get nearer to the show, so don’t be a stranger. Keep coming back to see what will be taking place in the coming months, as this is the first chance for the EI universe to get together post-COVID. In particular have a look at the floorplan, some familiar names on there and some significant new ones make up a totally sold-out show floor, offering a genuine cross section of what the industry can offer; providing you, the visitor, with plenty to help you plan your next project and spring forward into the rest of 2021 and beyond. It’s been a long journey for the EI Live! team getting the show back this year at each turn we have followed the official guidelines and regulations, making sure that whatever each decision was, the
04 MAY 2021
safety of all attendees was paramount. This will continue to be the case as the team is working closely with the venue and other relevant agencies to ensure the show provides a safe environment for all those involved.
PEOPLE POWER
As someone who works from a home office, and has done for well over a decade, the value of human interaction when it occurs is never lost on EI. Don’t get me wrong, the Psychedelic Shed of Word Wizardry as it is known, is a fantastic place to create EI each month, but lockdown has robbed that vital ingredient of human interaction, visits and interviews which can be such a great inspiration and drive the development of the magazine forward. EI is sure that this is true of every single business associated with this industry, yes there are times when you just want to get your head down and get through a particular task, but teams collaborating, interacting and learning from each other the corner stone of this sector and the EI Live! experience is a natural extension of that. We look forward to welcoming you back to the show this September 29-30, 2021! Daniel J Sait Editor
TOUCHSCREENS AND PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE SURFING
LINN EXCLUSIVE
THE LAUNCH OF A FLAGSHIP
GETTING IN TOUCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Daniel Sait, dan@allthingsmedialtd.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Beatrice Lee, beatrice@allthingsmedialtd.com
SALES DIRECTOR
Ian Kitchener, ian@allthingsmedialtd.com
GROUP AD MANAGER
Claire Talty, claire@allthingsmedialtd.com
PUBLISHER
David Kitchener, david@allthingsmedialtd.com
STUDIO MANAGER
Mark Weller, mark@allthingsmedialtd.com
ACCOUNTS
susan@allthingsmedialtd.com
Essential Install magazine, Suite 14, 6-8 Revenge Road, Lordswood, Chatham, Kent ME5 8UD T: +44 (0)1634 673163 F: +44 (0)1634 673173 www.essentialinstall.com
SOCIALS /INSTALL_MAG /ESSENTIALINSTALL Whilst we make every effort that everything printed in Essential Install magazine is factually correct, we cannot be held responsible if factual errors occur. All articles are copyright and remain the property of Essential Install magazine.
BRING THE NIGHTCLUB HOME For 30 years, L-Acoustics has been the choice of the world’s top clubs, music venues, and festivals. This powerful pedigree and unrivaled sonic signature are now available for specification in residential, marine, and other architectural environments. As summer draws near and party planning becomes a priority, L-Acoustics Creations offers a range of best-in-class solutions to bring the nightclub experience home. Our team of experts can design systems tailored to your requirements for any space. Visit l-acoustics-creations.com to book an appointment. Let’s get the conversation—and the party—started.
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NEWS
NEWS SNAPAV LAUNCHES ‘PARTNER PLEDGE’ SnapAV has introduced its ‘Partner Pledge’, described as a comprehensive and ongoing commitment to continue to raise the bar for quality in all areas of the company’s growing and expanding business. “We call our dealers ‘Partners’ – and for good reason,” said SnapAV CEO John Heyman in introducing the pledge. “Our goal is to deliver an amazing end-to-end experience for both our Partners and end-customers. And our Partner Pledge is the cornerstone of this effort.” The enterprise-wide initiative amplifies the company’s ongoing efforts and investments across the business, including product quality, Partner support and purchasing experience. “At SnapAV, product and business support services are tightly integrated to ensure that the Partner experience is exceptional in every way, and in every area,” John emphasizes. “You simply can’t have excellence in one area and not the other. We are committed to excelling in both.” Over the last three years, SnapAV and Control4 have invested millions of dollars in new product quality initiatives, including upgrades to labs with significant additions to test equipment and personnel. “Quality is a journey, not a destination,” says Jeff Dungan, EVP Operations. “We bring to market thousands of individual products that enable our Partners to exceed the highest expectations of their customers and I am proud of our teams’ passionate pursuit of excellence.” In Q3 2020 the company retained an unbiased industry quality expert to audit the company’s entire
quality system. “The independent consulting firm gave us high marks,” Jeff said. “Nonetheless, we jointly identified some areas for further improvement and the company is investing more than $1 million in new quality initiatives, both domestically and internationally just this year.” In 2021, SnapAV is also investing heavily in its eCommerce sites and loyalty programs. “We are taking the industry’s best websites and most rewarding programs to new heights,” said John. “Our pledge is to be not only our Partners’ most preferred vendor, but their most beloved and trusted vendor as well.” According to John, “This is just the beginning of our Partner Pledge. Over the coming weeks and months, we will share progress as we continue to raise the bar in our pursuit of excellence.” SnapAV snapav.com SnapAV has launched a new Partner Pledge
Enjoy personalised and flexible smart lighting and shade control for any home and budget, with RA2 Select.
DIZZYFISH INSTALLATIONS LAUNCHES DISTRIBUTION ARM ‘DIZZTRIBUTION’ Promising to put the fun back into AV, Dizztribution is the bran child of installers Dizzyfish
Establishing a successful installation business from a base in the west of Scotland, this new venture sees Dave Wilson and the team take a fresh look at how distribution works and bring some installer-centric approaches and attitudes into the mix. Dave explained, “Dizztribution was setup up to put fun back into the AV industry, no hidden agenda, purely distribution by installers for installers by giving the best relationship with suppliers and integrators. Anyone who buys from us is an honorary ‘fish’ and every product we sell gets a professional photo shoot which our customers can use with no credit required. Our products are all either used by us or excite us so we know we can stand behind them.”
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Whole home lighting control made simple with RA2 Select
Dave added, “Anyone who buys from Dizztribution also gets us on their team for advice and support from our 25 years’ experience in the trade. We are also keeping going with installation so we keep our feet on the ground and can test bed everything as we get it because our prime focus is equipment which works, and which makes integrators’ installs better and easier.” Included in the line-up are some interesting audio options. Zero-Ohm is a multi-speaker delivery system with the ability to supply any type of speaker into large multi-zone projects. Also included is the Beale Street speaker brand. Dave said, “We always knew about Beale Street but always thought it was unattainable price wise, but it’s not, what can I say, the history, the design, the sound quality, the sonic vortex, everything just works!!! If you need persuading check out training on our website for a ten-minute overview.” Other options include Simply45 connectors, billed as an industry-leading brand for RJ45 modular plug innovation and performance solutions. Also included in the line-up are Hideit Mounts, Vanco cables, Super Rod, Tover projectors and Audi Maxim, a collection of portable audio products. Dizztribution shop.dizzyfish.net
Adjust your lighting to suit your mood with Lutron’s range of control interfaces, including easy to use plug-in dimmers that add smart dimming to any table or floor lamp.
For further information on Lutron, contact the industry professionals at RGB Communications.
rgbcomms.co.uk or call us today on
01488 73366 RGB Head Office, 2 Lambourn Business Park, Lambourn Woodlands, Hungerford, RG17 7RY
Distributor of the Year Finalist
/Essentialinstall
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NEWS
AWE IN FEATHERS MOTOR SPORT PARTNERSHIP GT Cup multiple class race-winning team, Feathers Motor Sport (FMS), returns to the UK-based championship for 2021, but this time, it’s bringing its newly acquired Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 to the party and a new sponsorship partner, AWE. Buoyed by a successful first full season in the series’ GTH class – FMS recorded four victories, nine podiums, three fastest laps and a pole position with team regular, James Guess, who finished runner-up in the championship – the team has switched to the ultra-successful Vantage GT4 as it makes a concerted assault on the 2021 title. To that end, the Northamptonshire-based team has also secured the services of three-times 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and works Aston Martin Racing driver Darren Turner, who also happens to be James’ business partner at Base Performance Simulators. MD of AWE, Stuart Tickle comments, “Darren and James are business partners at Base Performance Simulators, which AWE distributes to the residential integration market, so it makes sense to extend our relationship by partnering with Feathers Motorsport. It will be exciting to see them working together as mates in real-world racing, which is what sets BPS apart in terms of the feel and accuracy of their simulators.” FMS Team Manager, Simon Rose, says, “We are very excited to have Darren’s support in what will be, for the 2021 GT Cup Championship, a very competitive grid. We are a small team with big
ambitions. Racing is our passion, winning is our focus. Having AWE on board as experts in their own field and who also have big ambitions makes them a perfect fit for us to partner with.” The GT Motor Sport Cup visits all of England’s key racing venues, including Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Silverstone and Oulton Park. AWE will be providing pre- and post-race weekend updates across its marketing channels and hopes to be able to get a number of lucky VIP customers trackside later in the year.
Next generation of HomeWorks
AWE awe-europe.com
A new fast-moving partnership for AWE
The next generation of HomeWorks with the QSX Process is available now. HomeWorks QX brings heightened connectivity, a huge increase in processing power and memory to easily handle complex and vast project requirements.
EXERTIS ANNOUNCES NEW CUSTOM INSTALL HUB TO DRIVE CI BUSINESS Exertis has announced a new sales team and dedicated online hub to provide specialised support to the custom installation and smart technology markets. The new team brings together dedicated experts to help new and existing customers expand their proficiency and offering in the rapidly developing custom installation market, and to provide a marketleading one-stop shop for companies providing installed CI/AV and home automation solutions. Known informally as Exertis One, the new team will provide professional support to installers, specifiers, consultants, contractors, CEDIA members, independents and smart home specialists. The Exertis One portfolio will feature major brands from consumer and domestic networking, smart home, audio visual and smart energy. Caroline Hope, Commercial Director – Consumer, Exertis, says, “We are extremely excited to be launching this support for the smart tech and custom install community. We are bringing together the best brands and solutions to present to this vibrant channel, and our knowledgeable and dedicated team stands ready to assist on all brand and technical enquiries. The reality is that our custom install and smart tech customers will now only need one account manager to be able to access a broad array of experience, and complementary iconic brands.”
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The new team says they will bring the smartest brands in emerging market opportunities to the market, including outdoor technology, CCTV, smart security and smart doorbells; and an extensive and growing portfolio of manufacturers including Sonos, Swann, Hive, Devolo and Google Nest, with more brand additions imminent. “The focus of our dedicated team will be to expand the portfolio and revenue potential of each customer, and to add opportunity and value to each of their businesses in this sector,” said Jon Sutherland, Director of Sales, Retail, Exertis. “Exertis’s position at the forefront of the custom install and smart technology market means we can bring emerging opportunities to custom installers in a swift manner, helping our customers to thrive.”
It is now easier than ever to design, install, activate, program and service the latest HomeWorks.
For further information on Lutron, contact the industry professionals at RGB Communications.
rgbcomms.co.uk or call us today on
Exertis One exertis.co.uk
01488 73366
Exertis is making a major move into CI with its new Exertis One initiative
RGB Head Office, 2 Lambourn Business Park, Lambourn Woodlands, Hungerford, RG17 7RY
Distributor of the Year Finalist
/Essentialinstall
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IDEAL NETWORKS BECOMES TREND NETWORKS Distributed in the AV channel by Avoke, IDEAL
support their products, troubleshoot problems fast
Networks, manufacturer of data cable, network
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Us’ philosophy means that with TREND Networks
The name change consolidates the company’s identity following the acquisition from IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. more than two years ago. For the name TREND Networks, the firm looks to its rich history in the field of test and measurement. Trend Communications was a telecoms test equipment manufacturer founded in 1965. Over almost four decades, the company launched numerous innovations, from telegraph testers, to telex machines, data transmission analysers and ISDN testers. Trend Communications was acquired by IDEAL Industries in 2004. “Trend Communications was a leading business with a strong reputation and a dedication to delivering
customers can always rely on the team to deliver. Avoke has been working with TREND Networks for the past two years as a dedicated partner for the AV and smart building Sector. Avoke’s team is focused on cable infrastructure and testing and with its own in-house expertise has provided support and advice to many installers. The company will also be launching some training webinars shortly that will complement those provided by TREND. Trend Networks trend-networks.com
We have been working with Lutron, the world’s leading lighting company, for over 21 years, and we class ourselves as experts.
Trend Networks is the new name for IDEAL Networks
industry-firsts. Under the name TREND Networks, we share this same goal,” explained Paul Walsh, CEO for IDEAL Networks. “Our dedicated team remains unchanged and our products are unaffected by the name change – you will still have access to our full range of industry-leading solutions.” TREND has developed the ‘Depend On Us’ philosophy – a commitment to ensure that, even in the most challenging circumstances, they will
ESSENTIAL PEOPLE AV technology company Peerless-AV has announced that Jeroen Helms has joined the EMEA Sales Team as Regional Sales Director, responsible for the Benelux, France and Iberia. Having held senior business development positions in these key territories for the past nine years, Jeroen already has well established connections, is perfectly placed to help build the brand as a well as drive new business opportunities and will play a vital role in implementing Peerless-AV’s EMEA growth strategy. “Jeroen’s track record of setting up channels for new product lines and growing sales year on year is highly impressive, and we knew immediately that he was right for the business. Not only will he integrate well into to the team, but he will be instrumental in building on established OEM, distributor and reseller relationships in each region as well as introducing and accelerating our brand in new and existing markets,” said Keith Dutch, Managing Director – EMEA, Peerless-AV. Kaleidescape, manufacturer of home movie servers and players has announced that Priscilla Morgan has joined its board of directors. Priscilla brings strategic and tactical leadership across finance, sales and field operations as well as success in elevating customer experiences across early-stage, mid-size and global enterprise companies.
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RGB, the lighting experts
“Priscilla’s experience in finance, operations, and go-to-market strategies for leading companies like Dolby and Oracle, will help Kaleidescape take a customer-first approach in scaling the organization,” said Tayloe Stansbury, CEO, Kaleidescape. “In addition, her customer-centric focus will continue to strengthen our client relationships to meet their objectives.” “My home cinema is powered by Kaleidescape and it is the best playback system I have ever experienced,” explained Priscilla. “With great products, a strong leadership team, and my personal love for movies, I am excited to join Kaleidescape’s board and look forward to contributing to its success.” Priscilla currently serves as Chief Revenue Officer at Alliance Consumer Group, a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of innovative, high-quality branded consumer products. Alliance Consumer Group’s core brands include: NEBO, TRUE, Skeeter Hawk, Lumore and iPROTEC. The KNX UK Association has named Ivory Egg director Mark Warburton as its 2021 Champion. The KNX UK Champion is chosen from individuals nominated by their peers among the KNX UK membership, and is recognition of a commitment to promoting the open, global, secure KNX standard throughout the industry and among potential new
Not only do we have vast experience of working with Lutron, we also have unparalleled knowledge of working across both commercial and residential lighting, working on both entry-level home cinema systems right up to corporate offices and hospitality locations. Contact us today to find out how we can support you and why lighting should be the first upgrade in any home.
rgbcomms.co.uk or call us today on
01488 73366 RGB Head Office, 2 Lambourn Business Park, Lambourn Woodlands, Hungerford, RG17 7RY
Distributor of the Year Finalist
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MAY 2021 11 EI Strip Ads Apr 21.indd 3
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users. This year’s winner’s career to date combines experience of working as an integrator with leading one of the UK’s go-to wholesalers: Mark Warburton has seen KNX from all sides. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the KNX ecosystem, Mark is able to guide and support integrators as they deliver projects. Working closely with manufacturers, he also helps to develop best of breed products and solutions that match evolving customer demand and expectations. A qualified KNX tutor, Mark still manages to find time to maintain a steady flow of technical articles, which share his insights freely. Add to that his service as a member on the KNX UK board since 2019, and it is clear to see how Mark really is all over KNX in the UK. His commitment to KNX is clear to anyone who meets him. It dates back to 2005 when he was working at the forefront of the custom install industry with one of the early adopters of KNX. Under his project direction, the firm began to build its proven track record in smart home installation, including a 61-unit apartment block in central London. Acclaimed work like this honed Mark’s skill in developing the cross-disciplinary collaboration we see on so many projects today. During the past six years he has evolved into the role of Technical Director at Ivory Egg, the longest running KNX wholesaler in the UK. LEDVANCE UK has announced that Nelo Neves will be taking the reins as Head of Trade Sales in the UK and Ireland. He takes over from Steve Stark who is commencing his retirement following an impressive 36 years at OSRAM and LEDVANCE (since 2016). Nelo said, “Steve leaves us a brilliant legacy at LEDVANCE, building an exceptional team in the UK. His service to LEDVANCE and the lighting industry has been outstanding. I am looking forward to taking our dedicated team in Warrington forward, building on our strong relationships with our partners and customers in the UK and Ireland, and to addressing the new challenges and opportunities that the lighting market presents.” Nelo has been Managing Director for LEDVANCE South Africa since 2018 at the company’s Johannesburg office. Following a technical education in the UK he started his lighting career in an export role, progressing to Head of Sales. Across his career he has worked in Spain, Holland, Sweden, and across the
African continent. He will be based at the LEDVANCE UK offices in Warrington. HARMAN Professional Solutions, the global player in audio, video, lighting and control systems, has announced Erçin Ural has been appointed EMEA Sales Manager, Cinema and Installed Audio. “We are delighted to welcome Erçin Ural to the audio team as part of our ongoing investment in the installed audio market,” said Mark Bailey, Director of Audio EMEA, HARMAN Professional Solutions. “As we move past these challenging times, the cinema and installed audio segments are growing, and we are seeing more and more possibilities as we build closer relationships with our market partners. Erçin’s arrival brings another layer of knowledge and experience that will be of great value to our customers. I am really excited to see what the coming months will bring.” Erçin Ural is a veteran in the AV industry for more than 25 years, with experience in theatre and all aspects of installed AV, including cinema, corporate AV, hospitality, DSP and audio networking. “I am thrilled to join HARMAN Professional and the amazing audio team,” said Ural. “This is a great time of opportunity in both the cinema and installed audio markets. I am looking forward to working in collaboration with our partners and leveraging my past knowledge and experience to develop these markets from within HARMAN.” Exertis Pro AV has announced three new appointments in its Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) team. Andy Pollard, Pre-sales Architect, Haifa Jinadu, Pre-Sales Architect and Jon Grundy, UC&C Business Development Manager, will all report into Greg Bennett, Head of AV Solutions. The new recruits have almost 40 years’ experience between them. The new appointments elevate Exertis Pro AV’s technical competency and relevance in the Poly video market for the UK. The team offers expert engagement and project design on Poly opportunities, not just with video end points and room design, but also by delivering design on complex infrastructure and integration projects. Matched with Exertis Pro AV’s existing sales and solutions team, adding the pre-sales and professional services capability enables a complete end-to-end offering for customers.
Jeroen Helms
Mark Warburton
12 MAY 2021
Priscilla Morgan
Nelo Neves
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Erçin Ural
@Install_mag
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2020
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201 9
ESSENTIAL KORDZ
BRAVO FOR THE POWER OF KORDZ AND HDMI 2.1 We at Kordz are delighted to announce the new Bravo HDMI 2.1 Certified cable, delivering to installers and the whole AV world the power of next generation connectivity and content delivery. Kordz is a long-standing innovator and manufacturer of HDMI and other audiovisual cables. Our extensive experience in design, engineering and manufacturing is the foundation to building products with our longestablished principles that deliver the reliability and peace of mind that our customers need and deserve. These principles of design and engineering are to create products that are robust, offer high quality sound and picture, high-bandwidth, tight bend radius, shallow mounting depth and reliability, in fact all the vital aspects that installers need from a cable to match today’s multi-use scenarios and consumer expectations. Our Kordz RnD programme utilises research and development facilities in both Australia and Taiwan, plus the dedication and experience of our experienced people, to engineer and build tough, highperformance connectivity solutions. Kordz was founded in Australia in 2003 when HDMI cables were emerging to be the key connectivity medium for audio visual products, and since then we have evolved into a well-respected, multi award-winning brand committed to superior manufacturing, delivering the finest AV connectivity solutions around the world.
14 MAY 2021
ULTRA HIGH SPEED – NEW 2.1 CERTIFIED CABLE Making good on that promise, our latest release offers compliance with the HDMI 2.1 specification with a new connectivity solution - the Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable. Accept no imitations, this is the only cable that complies with highly stringent and demanding specifications created to ensure support for all the features offered by the HDMI 2.1 standard which include uncompressed 8K@60Hz and 4K@120Hz. This cable’s increased bandwidth capability also supports up to 48Gbps. In short, the Bravo Ultra High Speed HDMI is a fully certified HDMI cable supporting all HDMI 2.1 features and is also built for a lifetime of consistent quality. Constructed with strong cutting edge materials and next-gen technology, Bravo effortlessly carries Ultra High Speed Data signals with no interruptions and withstands the physical demands of any AV environment. The new product is also fully certified and backed by Kordz’ industry leading Lifetime Warranty. Simply put, the Bravo HDMI cable is
guaranteed to seamlessly deliver a 8K signal, so why compromise, choose Kordz and never have to worry about connectivity again.
ENHANCED AUDIO RETURN FOR AV INSTALLERS A key feature of the HDMI 2.1 standard is the Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) which offers an advancement over the previous Audio Return Channel (ARC). eARC simplifies connectivity and provides greater ease of use for multiple component discovery and audio optimisation, it’s a genuine upgrade, especially for the CI market where of course our speciality is making multiple systems and products work
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ESSENTIAL KORDZ
in harmony. eARC also supports the latest highbitrate audio formats up to192kHz, 24-bit, and uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1, and 32-channel uncompressed audio. It also supports DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos. Now it is easier than ever to experience movie theater quality sound in a home cinema room for a fully immersive multi-dimensional experience and enhanced audio detail and depth. If you are in the business of home cinema delivery, this is the cable for you. eARC also enables the audio to a TV that originates from cable, satellite, streaming or source devices to be sent to an AVR or sound bar through a single HDMI cable. This ensures the simplicity of connectivity and ensures that the original audio can be fully experienced.
CONNECTIVITY. ASSURED
easy flow of cable from the box, whilst also keeping the cable from twisting and curling, minimising snags during installation and saving time. No more frustrating cable experiences, just smooth delivery to get the job done with minimum fuss.
For more information, contact any one of Kordz’s value-add CI distributors in the UK. www.kordz.com Kordz kordz.com
CAT 6 / 6A CABLE
The Kordz ONE series CAT6 cable has been designed and engineered to exceed the bandwidth requirements of 4K video installations. Tested and approved to exceed 550Mhz, the ONE series CAT6 cable is a HDBaseT recommended product. Like its speaker cable cousin, the Kordz ONE is supplied in a 305m professional pull box, with the same Rapid-EZ reel that allows the easy flow of cable from the box, whilst also keeping the cable from twisting and curling, reducing snags during installation and cutting project time.
While HDMI forms the backbone of the Kordz technology story, our brand has a number of other emerging connectivity categories. In 2019 Kordz introduced a comprehensive range of CAT and Speaker cable products. Utilising the same expert design and production philosophies that have built our reputation over the last 18 years, Kordz is truly now a one-call proposition for all your AV cabling infrastructure.
CAT6 / 6A PATCH LEADS
SPEAKER CABLE
The Kordz ONE series speaker cable has been designed and engineered to meet the highest industry standards for AV installation. The Rapid-EZ Reel pro box packaging allows the
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The Kordz PRO series CAT6 Network Patch Cord is a highly flexible, slim-profile, stranded 28AWG copper patch cord ideal for professional AV installations. Available in lengths from 0.15m to 30m the PRO patch cord features our custom designed compact RJ45 connector providing an almost unbreakable locking latch. Strength, reliability and peace of mind all in one product.
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MAY 2021 15
ESSENTIAL PULSE CINEMAS
SCREEN RESEARCH:
HIGH-TECH DOES NOT MEAN HIGH-TICKET
As an engineering company, Screen Research is always creating new technologies to make its offering more appealing to consumers, more agile and comprehensive to installers. The range is perhaps best known for its high-performance products, but this is (far from the whole story) argues Brand Manager Simon Schino. People might just associate Screen Research
offering a wider range of viewing types and
competitive price points? This is where the
with the higher end and features like the
opportunities. Screen Research has kept pace
Classic Line comes in, created specifically for
fantastic Décor Mask which covers and protects
with all of this and can offer solutions no matter
this class. The family offers fixed screens for
the screen with artwork of the customer’s
what the need, just ask us and we can guide you
dedicated home cinema projects, as well as
choice during down time, but it’s really
through the many different options including
on-wall/ in-ceiling motorised screens for multi-
important to note that the maker has one of the
the more ‘affordable’ part of the range.
use spaces, all created with no compromise on
most versatile and wide-ranging collections of screens on the market.
the high-standards Screen Research sets for
THE CLASSIC LINE
itself. With the Classic Line, if budgets need to
The nature of what a screen needs to be
Now, as stated earlier, we all know that Screen
be kept in check, it is great to know you will not
able to do and the price point it needs to be
Research can deliver at the high-end of the
be dropping down to a less accomplished
able do it at, has evolved. The trend for cinemas
market, its track record there is undeniable.
maker, still getting all the fantastic advantages
based in existing living spaces continues and
However, did you also know that the company
of working with a brand at the top of the food
the dedicated room sector is changing too,
delivers some fantastic products at more
chain.
16 MAY 2021
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ESSENTIAL PULSE CINEMAS As projectors with decent performance levels have come down in price and more content suitable to playback over a home cinema system has proliferated via streaming and more established broadcasters, the demand for true home cinema has expanded to a wider audience. This trend looks set to continue as it is not just movies and big named streaming series’ driving demand. Sport and other appointment viewing such as festivals and sporting events are contributing too. There is a big summer of sport coming with the Olympics and UEFA Euro football championships finally getting underway and the Glastonbury Festival will sell tickets to a live stream of specially invited acts. This trend for musicians and festivals selling these types of experiences is only going to get bigger, some of the biggest acts on the planet have already done it. From pop acts like Justin Bieber to veteran rockers like Kiss, and it will continue to grow in popularity. Once big shows with an audience return, how many acts are going to want to turn down the extra revenue of also selling the show to those who could not get a ticket. Simply put, there has never been a better time to make sure the entry level side of the business is covered in your portfolio as more and more people want to enjoy big screen entertainment for a whole host of reasons. Being part of the Screen Research family really pays dividends with the Classic Line benefiting from many of the technologies developed for its cousins further up the range. The Classic Line delivers easy-to-configure and fast-to-install options as well as an automatic adjustable tab-tensioning system, high precision
black borders applied with high frequency welding, vibration proof and silent stop motors, crease-proof, fold-free rolling mechanism and fast-mount constant elastic tensioning system for fixed frames. The Classic Line keeps the high-quality coming as the screens only use ISF certified SolidPix screen surface for high-performance imaging. The screens of course also benefit from all the advanced manufacturing techniques Screen Research has access to ensuring each product ordered reaches the site in perfect condition.
GENUINE SUPPORT Screen Research does not just offer a wide range of options and performance curves, but well thought out support too. Not tried the dedicated Screen Configurator yet? If not, why not, it literally takes seconds to register and you immediately gain access to the whole range of screens and fabric options. Using the configurator, no matter where you are, a smart phone, tablet or PC gets you to the right choice for any type of project quickly and accurately. The configurator gives you access to all the standard Screen Research products which come in aspect ratios of 16:9, 4:3 or 2.35:1 and in sizes from 60in to 159.5in wide in 10in increments. As well as a huge choice of designs and fabrics from the standard ranges, because Screen Research is a genuine innovator, any special customised options that you require can be created and accommodated.
This type of service has become especially useful as home cinema has expanded and evolved, there really are very few places now that cannot be furnished with a high-performance screen. All of the company’s screens, (standard and customised), are produced in the company’s own factory in Poland, which is packed with the very latest equipment and production techniques that enable the company to be agile and stay at the cutting edge. The company does not just churn out product, there is a constant programme of development ensuring Screen Research keeps its edge and enables it to maintain close relationships and certifications from globally recognised bodies such as ISF and THX. Some notable developments that have been birthed by the company include the ClearPix acoustically transparent screen material, the unique in-house created Décor Mask technology mentioned by Simon and the TFX floating tab-tensioning system. Technologies like these do not merely reflect what is occurring in the market but have helped shape the sector by leading from the front. If you think you know all about Screen Research, think again, high-performance or more affordable, you really only need one name in your head when thinking about your next home cinema project. Think Screen Research. The clue is in the name, nobody knows more about developing the best screens around no matter what the use or price point. Pulse Cinemas pulsecinemas.com
Screen Research can deliver high-performance at a range of price points
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MAY 2021 17
ESSENTIAL HABITECH
THE MAGIC OF LIGHT
...we’ll help you to benefit from the boundless design potential of HomeWorks Wireless
Promising greater mastery over light and shade for the largest residential projects, Lutron’s HomeWorks Wireless will empower your design versatility says Habitech’s Jorge Pereira. Plug in the smart speaker, download the app, instant smart home, right? Wrong! obviously, but try telling that to the people who map this stuff. According to Statista, 7 in every 10 UK homes will be ‘smart’ by 2025, and although this prediction is a travesty of justice for the CEDIA tradition, it’s by no means a disaster. Because whilst the IoT tide may fail to whet your whistle, it does carry the popularity of wire-free control to the higher end of the housing market – and that’s definitely worth developing.
THE EVOLUTION OF RELIABLE WIRELESS It’s here where hybrid automation systems combining the traditional reliability of wired connections, with the convenience of smart wireless control are finding traction. Here, on CI’s traditional turf, post-COVID social gravity is sucking in bigger bucks to reconfigure the home as the centre of work and play, supporting a greener social conscience and easier control accessibility for the older, property-owning population. Here, amid predictions of a boom for automated lighting atmospherics within executive properties (40% v 5% overall), all roads lead to one brand. More than ever, Lutron, and its HomeWorks Wireless system, are ticking every box.
18 MAY 2021
ILLUMINATING TIMES
I’m new to Habitech, but not to lighting control. For the last 15 years I’ve been immersed in lighting design and development from planning to commissioning, as both senior engineer and product manager, having oversight of all aspects of quality control involving a range of lighting systems, including Lutron. I’ve had the chance to integrate peerlessly innovative and reliable engineering for the most prestigious clients, including Amazon, Facebook, Four Seasons Hotels, British Airways, the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, and the Southbank Centre. I’ve managed the smallest projects and the largest, always with the principal goals of absolute customer satisfaction and winning repeat business. So it’s a joy to be working once again with Lutron and a Habitech team that shares my belief in product quality and support.
HOMEWORKS, WIRE-FREE
As Habitech’s new lighting specialist I’ll be leading the training and backup for the HomeWorks Wireless platform, which offers the ability to deploy over six decades of proven design sophistication, while retaining the convenience of RF installation and smart App-based control. Enshrining a trinity of virtues straight from the CEDIA bible, HomeWorks Wireless unites high performance and reliability with easy accessibility. Above all, its mature and highly productive technologies promote time efficiency while boosting rewards. In other words, HomeWorks Wireless is tailor-made for CI businesses like yours.
UP TO 600 WIRELESS DEVICES ON A SINGLE NETWORK
Akin in principle to Lutron’s entry-level RA2 Select system, HomeWorks Wireless uses a system of main processor and RF repeaters, which deploy the company’s bulletproof ‘Clear Connect’ RF technology to extend the operational range of wireless dimmers, keypads, shades and sensors. Like RA2 Select, it uses a ‘Connect Bridge’, which is wired via ethernet to the home’s network, enabling the App control of lighting, window treatments and designed ‘scene’ combinations of artificial and natural light. However, unlike its entry-level progeny, which has a capacity of 100 devices, HomeWorks Wireless offers integrators the full creative endowment of up to 600 wireless devices on a single system. The ‘RF seeTouch’ keypad joins famliar ‘Scene’ and ‘Remote’ Picos (right) in a plethora of in-room control options
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ESSENTIAL HABITECH
The ability to work at scale opens the door to a huge range of opportunities in larger properties. When it’s possible to exhaust RA2 Select’s capacity with light control alone - even in a modest 5-bed home - you’ll understand why the greater reach of HomeWorks Wireless is central to the perfect ambience of lights, shades and music around the homes you’ll want to transform.
PROGRAMMING VERSATILITY
It’s not just the scale of control available, but the quality as well. Replacing basic single-press programming on a smart device, HomeWorks Wireless offers you the freedom to apply ‘If this, then that’ Conditional Logic (variables and conditionals) as well as Time-Of-Day (TOD) logic via PC software, and more effective Control Logic for sensor inputs. It also endows your virtuosity with a greater choice of single action, toggle, double tap, long press control outcomes. For instance, it’s possible to assign a single action to recall a level for a zone or a scene for an area, or toggle between two states such as scene 1/scene 2, lock/unlock device. Associate further commands with double tap and long press actions to exploit the system’s rich control repertoire.
CHOOSE THE CHARACTER OF LIGHT
Then there’s the ability to handle greater loads, control DALI or DMX fixtures and introduce Lutron Grafik Eye QS controls, allowing greater flexibility in the selection of luminaires while avoiding the
Lutron’s wireless window treatment range covers Roller, Honeycomb, Roman, Venetian and Tensioned designs, supported by over 1,500 fabric styles
danger of breaching protocol limitations. When rival systems often force you to follow rules, HomeWorks Wireless places virtually limitless creativity at your fingertips.
TAP IN YOUR STYLE
Alongside Grafik Eye QS controls, HomeWorks Wireless includes the ‘RF seeTouch’ Tabletop Keypad (with a wall mounting option), allowing total home control through large, easy-to-use, Illuminated buttons. Keypads are available in snow and midnight; with faceplates in a wide choice of metallic finishes. Augment these options with the versatility from the familiar Pico keypads (as per RA 2 Select), boosted through HomeWorks Wireless by toggle control. There are Scene Picos designed for managing room atmospheres of shades, light levels and audio; Pico remote controls dedicated to these elements individually, and Pico table pedestals in single, double, triple configs. And because this is Lutron, there’s a broad range of wall plate colours/finishes available for the black or white Picos, along with a custom engraving service for every keypad in the range.
decision process, we’ll help you to benefit from the boundless design potential of HomeWorks Wireless. Ultimately, we want your customers to be so comfortable with the technology that they forget the system altogether. When this happens we will have achieved the most harmonious outcome of all, for the genuine smart home experience. Habitech habitech.co.uk
WINDOW TREATMENTS TO MATCH
Similarly, because this is Lutron, your choice in keypads is matched by the shades. Triathlon battery-powered models in Roller and Honeycomb designs join the huge Sivoia QS wireless portfolio incorporating Roller, Honeycomb, Roman, Venetian and Tensioned shades, and the Palladiom Wireless designs, supported by over 1,500 fabric styles from lutronfabrics.com, available to order with your HomeWorks Wireless systems through Habitech.
Lights, shades, scenes, schedules and user features can be controlled from anywhere using the Lutron App for iOS and Android
POWER UP
Backed by Lutron’s eight-year limited warranty and with the assurance of Habitech’s customary support and expertise at every stage of the
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MAY 2021 19
INTRODUCING CI-FI… With over 70 years of world class engineering history and expertise, McIntosh delivers the finest audio and cinema systems for your residential projects. Invest more focus into the very best music and movie playback and your customer will thank you for it.
Distributors of the finest high-fidelity audio components
mcintoshlabs.com
Fine Sounds UK is a McIntosh Group Company.
t. 01592 744 710 www.finesounds.uk info@finesounds.uk
HTTPS://WWW.BASEC.ORG.UK/ADVERTORIAL
CABLE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE DIGITAL BUILDING Here we explore the concept of the automated smart building and learn about the complex Building Automation Systems (BAS) being developed. The migration towards an automated future has created many opportunities for most industries, such as easy remote working and stock control. However, this comes the added increase in the demand for data and a reliable infrastructure. Regulatory bodies are constantly identifying the need for this and in turn developing the standards to align with this growth. Automated devices are being adopted in nearly all industries, for example, smart machinery in factories or smart sorting equipment in warehouses such as Amazon, all with the capability to operate remotely. Cabling infrastructures are being exposed to many different environments highlighting the importance of both mechanical, ingress, chemical and electrical mechanical, ingress, chemical, electromagnetic (MICE) testing and fire performance testing to simulate environmental surroundings and ensure systems can still perform to the regulatory standard. The Internet of Things (IoT) is already having an impact upon the BAS market with solutions providers increasingly developing Internet Protocol (IP) enabled devices, running over Ethernet, to replace the traditional equipment and fieldbus cabling. The push to realise the digital building concept and the potential benefits revolve around user comfort and simplifying processes. Smart technologies help to automate many building functions that humans many normally perform. Many devices handle the operations themselves, using sensors and artificial intelligence autonomy to make decisions
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on their own. Nearly every building function can benefit from this, for example security and surveillance systems can lock and unlock doors, energy management systems can turn lights on or off, and raise or lower building temperatures. Some of these innovations are already in use today, then can result in lower staff and payroll numbers, reduce human error, and most importantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The various automation systems that form the BAS systems are at the core of the digital building concept and are what allow this innovation to prosper.
STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT Regulatory bodies, such as the IEEE, has identified the need to optimise, develop communication platforms and enhance existing standards to support the migration to BAS systems. At the cabling level ISO/IEC have implemented changes to the following standards in a bid to tackle the challenges within the BAS environment: ISO/IEC 11801-1: is the standard for information technology, generic cabling for customer premises, covering link and channel applications. It also specifies a new series of single pair components to support the delivery of the single pair application. ISO/IEC 11801-6: recommends a minimum Category 6 A cable within the service distribution segment for both existing and emerging applications. In doing so it aims to provide the longest cable lifecycle potential and ensures
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structures can support ongoing Wi-Fi data rates, which are also set to increase within BAS systems as automated device usage grows. IEC 61156: supports new channel infrastructure and within it four new standards have been introduced. It includes both horizontal and work area cable ranging from 20 MHz to 600 MHz. The standard mainly accommodates single pair ethernet (SPE).
THE NEED FOR THIRD PARTY TESTING AND CERTIFICATION BAS systems have created more flexibility and opportunity for many businesses. Especially in current COVID times where concepts like remote working are a necessity, automated systems need to be reliable and dependable. Many BAS systems cables will be attached to sensors, actuators, small motors or could run close to power lines, therefore careful consideration should be made regarding the MICE capabilities of the cables being used. Neighbouring machinery may cause vibration or electrical noise interference which could also affect the performance of the cable. Using approved cable within automated building or BAS systems helps to give building service engineers and owners confidence, as well as assurance, that the products used have been rigorously tested by an independent body. BASEC basec.org.uk
MAY 2021 21
XTND 4K (40) with TPC
For point-to-point 4K, point to HDANYWHERE XTND supports 4K HDR* over 40 or 100 metres Cat6 (with or without ARC) in a slender, compact and lightweight design. Select a HDMI extender kit with the right feature-set for the install that’s easy to mount and easy to hide.
HDANYWHERE.com
*18G sources supported using TPC
XTND 4K (40) with ARC + TPC
XTND 4K (100) with TPC
Actual size
TOGETHER FOR CINEMA
TOGETHER FOREVER In a new monthly column EI is providing readers with an update on everything that is happening at the Together For Cinema initiative. The first thing to announce is that as part of our support for ‘Together For Cinema’, the EI group has provided a stand for Together For Cinema (TFC) at the EI Live! show on September 2930 at the Farnborough Exhibition Centre. Catch up with Ian Morrish, who is spearheading this ambitious phase of the initiative, to find out how you can get involved. TFC will be on stand 114 throughout the show, explaining the new targets and working practices that the initiative has set itself for the mid and longer term. You can register for the show at eiliveshow. com. One of these new initiatives is offering differing levels of sponsorship to companies for showing their support and allowing TFC to develop. The different levels of sponsorship are; Bronze: £500+ per year, Silver: £1,000+ per year, Gold: £2,500+ per year and Platinum: £5,000+ per year. The money will be used to secure a more committed approach to manage TFC and ensure its progression (as well as cover operational costs). The sponsorship money will also be used to manage cinema room installations, before, during and after - looking at more initiatives to further the delivery of dated or unwanted stock. TFC will also explore securing media exposure both in the UK and globally to help realise the true potential of TFC and help as many people as possible. As well as knowing they are supporting this worthy cause, Sponsors receive placement of
their logo and a website link on the Together For Cinema website, a Together For Cinema Sponsors Plaque and a Together For Cinema Sponsors Pin Badge.
INDUSTRY RESPONSE
The industry has responded enthusiastically, with the first sponsors signing up already. Those already signed up to the initiative include; Stuart Tickle from AWE Europe and Caroline Britt from RGB Communications, both confirming their Gold Level Sponsorship. The first to sign up was Simon Gregory from Cinema Rooms Limited, who confirmed his Bronze Level Sponsorship recently. Also supporting is Alex Emson from Monitor Audio Limited, with a Platinum Level Sponsorship from the company. Also signed up are Greg Howarth (and Mark Davis) at Glo AV, committing to a Silver Level Sponsorship. Alex from Monitor Audio, had this to say about the commitment ; “The Monitor Audio Group have been involved with the Together For Cinema project for many years. The partnership had already been set before I took on my role as Sales Director. There was no question that the team at The Monitor audio Group would continue to support this amazing work. “Giving these children the opportunity to take ‘time out’ from their daily battle, and enabling them, just for an hour or two to be somewhere else through film is so important. Ensuring that the most engaging performance is delivered through high quality equipment and
immersive experience is key to this project. The team at TFC have delivered this time and time again. For me, seeing some of the children near Bagshot experiencing their Cinema for the first time, showed just how much of a difference all this made, and did leave a tear in my eye.” Simon Gregory, adds, “We were first aware of TFC via social media. We thought it was a great thing that Ian Morrish was doing. It was not until we saw the EI article published on-line that we realised we could get involved and help. We are honoured to be one of the first to take up sponsorship and what TFC are doing really resonated with us. “After the last year we have ALL had you realise some people have nothing and to see what TFC do to make a difference really helps. Every week we go to affluent customers’ houses and put smiles on their faces so time to put a smile on Children’s faces who are less fortunate!” Greg Howarth also comments, “We first heard about TFC from Ian Morrish. He had used the CEDIA locator to reach out to us about a hospice that required an installation in our area. The best part by far is bringing high end cinema design, product and install to these families. We have found this to be a really fulfilling experience. “The other great part to this is how generous the suppliers have been on our installs. On the face of it you would think that you would be limited in scope due to equipment. This isn’t the case at all and everyone in the industry chips in which results in some serious cinema rooms for these facilities! “We would highly encourage everyone to get involved both in sponsorship and delivery. It is such an amazing experience when you deliver one of these projects and we think it is one of the best things we have done as a company.” For more details about any of the above, get in touch with Ian Morrish on ian@ad-con.uk or by visiting the website togetherforcinema.co.uk. Together For Cinema togetherforcinema.co.uk
Sponsor packs have been flying out as the industry signs up
24 MAY 2021
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3 3 Year Year Warranty Warranty 3 3 Year Year Warranty Warranty 33Year YearWarranty Warranty 35-37 35-37 Whitton Whitton Dene, Dene, Hounslow, Hounslow, Middlesex, Middlesex, TW3 TW3 2JN, 2JN, United United Kingdom Kingdom 35-37 35-37 Whitton Whitton Dene, Dene, Hounslow, Hounslow, Middlesex, Middlesex, TW3 TW3 2JN, 2JN, United United Kingdom P:P: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9500 9500 | F: | F: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9501 9501 Kingdom 35-37 35-37 Whitton Whitton Dene, Dene, Hounslow, Hounslow, Middlesex, Middlesex, TW3 TW3 2JN, 2JN, United United Kingdom Kingdom P: P: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9500 9500 | F: | F: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9501 9501 E:E: sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk| www.gtecsecurity.co.uk | www.gtecsecurity.co.uk P: P: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9500 9500 | F: | F: +44 +44 (0)20 (0)20 8898 8898 9501 9501 E:E: sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk| www.gtecsecurity.co.uk | www.gtecsecurity.co.uk E:E: sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk sales@gtecsecurity.co.uk| www.gtecsecurity.co.uk | www.gtecsecurity.co.uk
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ESSENTIAL MIKODAM AND CAVD
The Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects prominently features Mikodam’s HAZA cladding
READY FOR THE NEW WAVE? THIS IS MULTIROOM ACOUSTICS Custom AV Distribution have joined forces with Mikodam in the UK for the residential custom installation channel. Mikodam manufacturer acoustic architectural products and furniture. Their elegant and effective solutions are seen worldwide in luxury residential and commercial properties. LEDA and VATA combined for sound diffusion in a media room
panels lend themselves extremely well to
Acoustic design assistance
either forming a single decorative piece, spot
Mikodam is not just a pretty face! The acoustic engineering hidden in the panel system is extensive and therefore many panels are available in various ‘T’ versions. This means perforations, combined with other technologies to achieve low, mid or high effective absorption coefficients. CAVD and Mikodam will assist you in your design to meet your acoustic targets in a given space.
treatment around a media room or a showstopping design that embraces all surfaces of a cinema room.
How do I specify Mikodam? Currently there are 15 uber cool styles of panel from Mikodam which feature on www.mikodam.co.uk and its PDF catalogue. Plus, CAVD can supply free renders to help your customer visualise the space. The latest additions are PIRA,
What’s unique about Mikodam acoustic panels? Mikodam panels are what our industry has been waiting for! Extremely effective acoustic surfaces that look like art, but with flexibility and options to satisfy even the most demanding interior designer or client. An easy sell, that adds enormous value to any project. Mikodam
26 MAY 2021
DETA, VATA, TORA and LEDA, which are each
DETA as wood veneer, lacquer or fabric-wrapped finish
1200mm x 600mm. They can be mounted horizontally or vertically, mixed up and/or combined with other panels. All easily mounted on a simple rail system. Dealers are welcome to bring clients to the CAVD showroom in Marlow too; Mikodam panels are on display along with fabric and material sample packs to browse.
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ESSENTIAL MIKODAM AND CAVD
What options are there to customise?
Will Mikodam fit the panels for me?
Firstly, available in Q2 there’s a new panel, SPKR to hide in-wall speakers. Many of the panels are available in a wood veneer, lacquer or covered in felt or fabric. Mixing the finishes of panel sections can be done (as can adding LEDs). End pieces conceal open sections or neatly intersect panels at corners. And the rail mount system can be used on the walls or the ceiling. It’s a snap-in system, so panels can be swappedout for other, newer models in the future!
CAVD and Mikodam provide a service in the UK to fit your Mikodam creation. The fitting team will also visit site to check all measurements, to avoid any nasty surprises during commissioning.
Where do I start? Contact CAVD via info@cavd.co.uk or 01628 563344
Complete cinema with LEDA walls and DETA ceiling
Verstile PIRA comes as a 1200 x 600mm or 600 x 600mm sized panel
Order the version of the panel required for optimal acoustic treatment
Mikodam panels mount on a neat, discreet rail system
The GETA panel, perforated and felt-wrapped to absorb mid-range and HF
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MAY 2021 27
ESSENTIAL CEDIA
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY Tas Kyriacou from CEDIA Member IDS, takes a look at the challenges facing the industry in order to tackle climate change. Buildings and construction play a major part in climate change, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions - whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats. The whole premise of home automation products are to help conserve energy. The smart home solutions that we install can integrate renewable energy sources and pave the way for; more energy efficient equipment operation, faster and more accurate appliance repairs, and a reduction in product waste. Just by looking at lighting and heating controls alone, there are significant savings to be made. The Energy Savings Trust states that homeowners can save 320Kg of carbon dioxide a year by installing and correctly using home temperature controls1. Additionally, switching or dimming lights in response to presence detection and daylight levels, for instance, can save between 20% and 60% of lighting energy. – Lutron. But what about the products themselves, including materials and packaging? From April 2022, the UK Government will be introducing a new tax that will affect UK producers of plastic packaging, importers of plastic packaging, business customers of producers and importers of plastic packaging, and consumers who buy goods in plastic packaging in the UK2.
28 MAY 2021
This tax will provide a clear economic incentive for businesses in our industry to use recycled material in the production of plastic packaging. This will create greater demand for this material and in turn stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste, diverting it away from landfill or incineration. But what happens once the products themselves reach end of life? The UN predicts that in 2021 we will create 52.2 million metric tons of E-waste (one of the fastest-growing streams of waste). Many smart devices contain precious resources that could be recycled, if designs allow. We would like to see more home automation manufacturers follow the examples set by lighting manufacturers, where several ‘take back’ and recycling schemes have been initiated, such as ‘Recolight’ and ‘the Green Light Alliance’. There are no white papers, statistics, or a clear path on tackling this issue at the moment. However, we at IDS are keen to push this agenda and demonstrate the importance of working together to create a cleaner environment for our industry, partners, and clients.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
In response to the industry’s situation, IDS has devised a process for 2021 to move from linear thinking to a more circular approach.
For refurbishment projects, where we cannot update hardware via software upgrades, we will aim to wipe, reset, and remove old equipment. Where we can, we will upcycle to ensure these products can be utilised, wherever possible, donating proceeds to organisations that help create awareness for a circular economy. If equipment is no longer serviceable, then we have partnered with an innovative recycling company LITTA. They recycle 93% of the goods they collect. Our on-site engineers can snap a picture of the old equipment and packaging that needs disposing of and upload it to the LITTA app to arrange collections within the day, who will professionally recycle. We’re joining forces with Seven Integration and CEDIA to drive this agenda forwards. We’d welcome like-minded integrators, distributors and manufacturers to join us and help our industry change its practices and behaviours for the better – email info@idsgroup.uk.com to find out how you can get involved. 1. Based on typical savings for a three-bedroom semi-detached home heated by gas. Figures are based on fuel prices as of May 2020. 2. More information on the Plastic Packaging Tax can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introductionof-plastic-packaging-tax
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THIS MONTH’S ESSENTIAL SUPPLEMENT
LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
EXPERIENCE LIGHTING AS NEVER BEFORE Dynamic Lighting Fixtures / Dynamic Lighting Control / Direct View LED www.lightwalls.co.uk
ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
WELLNESS WONDERS
Hugo Fitzjohn, Chief Solutions Architect at innovative lighting manufacturer Light Walls, looks at the present and future of intelligent and human centric lighting. Electric lighting has been around for well over a
was convenient, instant and negated the need
century now, but in that all that time development
to set fire to things indoors to create light.
of the technology has been relatively slow.
Those major selling points haven’t ever really
The main benefits from the outset were clear, it
gone away. For all these years the de facto standard for control has been the perhaps not so humble light switch, which from a user experience point of view is almost perfect. You can find a light switch in the dark and everyone understands how it works, this (ironically) has probably hindered the development of the technology over the decades. The main focus of lighting development has on the whole been to strive for greater efficiency, early light bulbs were great at being heaters with light merely as a by-product. As the years have progressed, our ability to turn electricity into electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum has improved with leaps and bounds, yet still mostly turn on and off with a light switch.
Then along came diming which a lot of people said was ‘pretty cool’, as for the first time it was easy to create an ambience. Initially this was rheostat merrily turning more electricity into heat than light. Diming technology has moved on a great deal in modern times, trailing edge diming chops the back off the sinusoidal waves of electricity and energy is actually saved by dimming. The story of dimming gets murky again with the introduction of LED lighting. The best way to dim LED is using pulse width modulation (PWM) where we flash the LED off and on incredibly quickly, faster than the human can perceive. But to transform AC electricity which has been ‘chopped’ by a modern dimmer to PWM control of an LED is nothing short of miraculous and a convoluted step to allow two technologies to be shoe-horned together. There is a better way and with it follows a whole explosion of possibilities.
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30 MAY 2021
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ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
EXPERIENCES
Rather than controlling the electrical power
hot topic of the day and biophilic design intent
to effect control of lamps and fixtures we
is coming to the fore front, but why? It turns out
can send control signals alongside constant power. This is not a new concept, DALI - which works this way has been around since the 90s, however it’s inception was before the LED revolution so the design isn’t optimised to
humans were hard wired to be outside and our man-made caves may keep out the rain, the cold and predators but they create a disconnect from the natural environment. Mimicking elements of
control them. More modern electronics now
the natural world in our homes definitely makes
allow us to have control drivers so tiny that they
us feel better, however claiming health benefits
can be embedded in LED chips, this is where a
and healing properties of light is something that
new chapter of an exciting story begins. A 5mm x 5mm RGBW LED with embedded driver may not sound like a big deal, but the ability to mix Red, Green, Blue and White light with on - board control is a tiny building block of
we should probably steer clear of. The main thing is that it’s a really nice experience. I use biorhythmic/human centric/circadian coded lighting (as with much early technology no one
something massive. Suddenly dynamic lighting
seems to have really settled on a name for it) at
is eminently possible. We now have thousands
home so I can personally attest to the fact that it
of lighting circuits at our fingertips to control in a
cheers me up in the depths of winter and makes
room or space without masses of cumbersome control gear. Light itself isn’t just a set colour temperature of white at a fixed brightness, step outside and light is alive constantly but subtly changing in both colour and brightness. We can
the house feel bright an airy in the day and cosy in the evenings. It’s something that only a small percentage of people are able to experience right now because it’s only starting to enter our
bring that very sense of living light into our homes
psyche that it’s either A: possible and B: people
and workspaces. In our industry, wellness is the
would pay for the experience.
As an industry we should never lose sight of the fact that what we actually sell to clients is experiences and when it comes to selling lighting experiences things are shifting up a gear with the new possibilities. With control of thousands of RGBW lighting circuits we can create a giant canvas to paint onto with light. In a home cinema we can really up the ante and create exciting viewing experiences, bringing the colours of the video to life in the room, the effect of which is a more immersive viewing experience. The same LED pixels can be set as the static lighting for the space or perhaps with some subtle movement. As the film is about to start a dynamic lighting scene can be triggered adding to the theatre of the movie experience, after all let’s be honest - most home cinemas are more than a little bit about showing off! There are so many other spaces in the home that can befit from dynamic lighting too. Take a gym, traditionally; a box with a subtle infusion of sweat, doubtless devoid of windows. With dynamic lighting we can make that space a chameleon, you want high energy to compete in an online cycling race, easy dynamic lighting can take you there. After a long day of conference calls when you need to unwind and relax, the same gym space can transform into your wellness space by triggering a scene. Dynamic lighting can mimic being outside with dappled moving light or conjure up calming patterns. If being locked up in our homes for the last year has taught us anything its that we need to look of out mental fitness too. Wellness and circadian coded lighting (which is achieved by changing the colour temperature and brightness throughout the day) is undoubtedly a great evolution of existing technologies. However, being able to create subtle texture and movement - which creates living light to further mimic the natural world is next logical step, dynamic lighting technologies can deliver this right now, it’s time to get on board and join the new lighting revolution and start delivering exceptional experience for clients. Light Walls lightwalls.co.uk
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MAY 2021 31
ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
MOOD LIGHTING Smart home manufacturer Basalte offers its opinion on how the lighting landscape has changed and how it will continue to, as part of fully smart home.
Homes are changing and lighting needs to as well
Lighting has long evolved from being a functional requirement of a home to a true interior design feature. Just like finishes and fabrics, the lighting chosen for a property reflects a unique aesthetic and personality. The ability to control ambient and artificial light is one of the best and most effective ways to create a comfortable and efficient home environment. Smart home technology has had a huge impact on this of course effecting both development within the lighting sector as well as heating systems and music. When lights are integrated into a smart home system using for example KNX, DALI or even Philips Hue; almost everything is
possible. The intensity of the lights can easily be adjusted, or they can of course be integrated into different scenes, one of the most impactful ways to show how lighting can change a home to the uninitiated. But don’t forget how lighting can also be part of a larger mood setting macro, mixing it with music for instance can make the impact doubly felt by the homeowner. App control of lighting for a wide range of systems also offers more options these days, so if the user is not near a wall controller, they can turn those lights of downstairs they forgot to via their smartphone whilst in bed or even when they are not home at all. Access to the lighting systems no matter where the person is a real key advancement. For our part Basalte has enabled remote access and programming for KNX projects over the secured and encrypted Basalte cloud. Integration into a fully smart home via a system like KNX also of course opens up the availability of partnering with motion sensors so occupancy-based activation not only promotes ease of use, but also efficiency too. With environmental concerns increasing amongst consumers and better efficiency increasing seen in building regulations of all types, getting to grips with making everything in a smart home work ‘smarter’ will continue to be a major selling point. The innovative use of light keeps evolving. It is now common knowledge that the light of the sun is crucial for our health and well-being. Therefore, every artificial light source should match the qualities of sunlight as closely as possible. Our physiological response to light depends on things like colour spectrum, intensity and timing. The quality of light in our environment is therefore of great importance, particularly when we spend a long time in closed rooms with few or even no windows. Especially
in times when so many people are working from home, this aspect becomes more relevant than ever before. Light can effect our ability to do all sorts of tasks well, relaxing, concentrating and everything in between is enhanced by lighting that promotes those activities. The colour temperature can be controlled using our Basalte Home system. As well as helping people in a given task, colour temperature has a direct impact on a person’s bio-rhythm, so by controlling it as part of an intelligent lighting system, it is possible to influence the mood and behaviour of those in the room. So again we are back to create scenes for customers and their specific use case scenarios for different times of the day and different tasks. Activate ‘Home Office’, the lights dim up with a cold colour temperature (using bluer frequencies), this kind of light will increase awareness, productivity and well-being during the day. When ‘Relax’ is activated, the lights will change to a warmer colour temperature (using amber and red frequencies). This kind of light is used to relax people at night to ensure the body is refreshed, revitalised and reset properly. One option here is to partner Philips Hue with Basalte Home which work natively with each other another option would be Dali which offers various dimmable options. Clearly, the demand for smart home technology will continue to rise and evolve, especially as the office and the home converge. Both employees and employers will need to focus on optimising the home office in order to support productivity and employee wellbeing. The integration of smart home systems together with smart lights can play a major role in achieving this.
EXPERIENCE LIGHTING AS NEVER BEFORE Dynamic Lighting Fixtures / Dynamic Lighting Control / Direct View LED
32 MAY 2021
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Picture cour tesy of Matt Livey and dpa lighting consultants
RAKO LIGHTING CONTROLS MAKING THE SMART HOME DREAM A REALITY. Designers and installers can specify projects with confidence knowing that Rako can control all light sources including smooth dimming of LEDs. System integration is easily achievable, linking lighting to audio-visual, security systems and curtain and blind control. Rako’s scope of projects is far reaching, from hotels and spas to churches, residential and luxury MDU developments.
rakocontrols.com
With users enjoying the ability to recall a scene, or mood of lighting at the touch of a button, a swipe of a smartphone or by voice command. Designed and manufactured in the UK, Rako offers an unparalleled range of products backed by a project planning and support service that is second to none.
ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
Every single living thing under the sun, from plants to plankton, is, quite literally powered by light.
A RAY OF LIGHT! Dr Shelley James is a consultant and international expert on light and well-being, a passionate advocate for public engagement with science. She is also Founder and Managing Director of the Age of Light Innovations, an initiative with a vision to build communities and ignite an enthusiasm for light and wellbeing in the new digital age. EI was keen to draw on Dr Shelley’s knowledge and experience of humans and light to examine some key issues affecting our sector. What is happening in the body that makes exposure to positive light sources important? Every single living thing under the sun, from plants to plankton, are, quite literally powered by light. Photosynthesis, (the use of light energy, to release sugars from carbon dioxide and water), was the spark that gave rise to the first life forms around 3.4 billion years ago. Cyanobacteria descendants of those ancient green shoots are still the most successful life form on earth today. In humans, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye is called the retina. It is actually an outcrop of the brain. Early astronauts were
able to track how their brains were coping with space travel and the zero-gravity environment by looking at the health of their retina’s. The light we ‘see’ is processed through two related, but parallel pathways. The first is known as the ‘visual’ pathway. That allows us to see what things are and where. There are four different kinds of cell - three types of ‘cone’ and one type of ‘rod’. Each is sensitive to a slightly different wavelength, or colour of light. The brain adds up the signals from these cells to create our perception of colour. Around 20 years ago, scientists trying to work out how people who were blind could ‘tell’
what time to go to sleep and when to wake up, discovered a special set of cells in the retina. These cells were nestled in the layer of nerve cells that gather up signals from the rods and cones and send them back to the brain. But these cells not only worked as a relay station, they also responded to light all by themselves - particularly blue wavelengths of the kind that you get in bright morning light (around 480nanometers). The scientists called these retinal ganglion cells intrinsically photosensitive - because these cells were photosensitive, all by themselves. They called them IPRGC’s for short.
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34 MAY 2021
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w Ellie is an elegant touch-sensitive panel for the intelligent home. The go-to point to control lights, climate, music and scenes at the slightest touch. This smart home wonder even functions as an in-house doorphone! Thanks to its slim design and premium finishes, Ellie blends in beautifully with any interior.
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ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL to 97% of young men are short sighted have shown that just 80 minutes outside per day can cut a child’s likelihood of needing glasses by up to 40%. You should be able to see that exposure to the right kind of light at the right time of day is vital to our ability to be productive, healthy and happy. Vulnerable groups such as children and older people are especially sensitive to the quality and quantity of light and yet, we invest less in our schools homes and hospitals than we do on greenhouses for cash crops.
We initially thought these cells were only involved in setting the amount of melatonin in your body (the hormone that makes you feel sleepy). But it turns out that not only is this daynight cycle vital for the smooth running of 88% of the cells in your body and brain. They also do a whole lot more, including triggering a cascade of hormones that make you feel happy or sad and help you to concentrate. When scientists first saw the powerful effect of the IPRGC’s, they thought that you could control those reactions simply by changing the amount of the 480nm ‘blue’ wavelength in the light source (lots more blue = lots more effect, no blue = no effect). But it turns out that it’s a whole lot more interesting and complicated than that. For a start, those IPRGC cells are relay stations for the other rods and cones. So when the rods and cones are responding to bright light, the IPRGC’s get to work too. That means that the bright light of any wavelength is likely to affect this ‘non-visual’ response too. That may be one reason that what is known as ‘full spectrum’ light sources that closely mirror the even distribution curve of wavelengths in natural sunlight - seems to help the body and brain to run smoothly. Interestingly, these full spectrum technologies come from the horticulture industry: growers discovered that, while you can get plants to grow bigger and faster with blasts of specific wavelengths, the crops taste better and are more resistant to disease if you give them a diet of light that is as
close to natural sunlight as possible. And there is growing evidence that plants need times in complete darkness to be healthy too. Unlike plants, the human brain is exquisitely sensitive to very fast movement - it makes sense when you think of how vital it is to be able to spot a lurking predator. New imaging technologies allow us to see just how fast that is (up to 12,000 cycles per second for some people) particularly those with learning difficulties and autism. That’s hundreds of times faster than the ‘conscious’ brain can process. But that alertness response causes eye strain and headaches in one in ten people. And for some, flicker triggers epilepsy and photosensitive migraine. All lights flicker to some extent, simply because of the flow of electrical current. But some flicker more than others. Glare and reflections are related problems in artificial lights, especially when reflective surfaces like screens are involved. It makes sense if you think that the eye, like the camera on your smart phone, is trying to focus on a task to gather information to send to the brain. When light shines directly into the lens - especially if it’s a bit cloudy as older peoples’ eyes are - think of taking a picture after you’ve touched the lens with greasy fingers. The signals bounce around and get confused. It’s tiring and stressful. Finally, we used to think that eye conditions like myopia were simply genetic - if your mum and dad wore glasses, you will too. But it turns out that light has a crucial effect on the healthy growth of the eye. Studies in Korea where up
Tell us more about what in your view the real keys are in terms of human-centric design when it comes to lighting, intelligent lighting and the control of ambient light. What should designers of lighting systems actually be trying to do? The clue really is in the name. It is all about putting the human at the centre of the design. This is an incredibly exciting time to be working with light. Not only are we discovering how our brains and bodies respond to light in real time, but a new generation of innovative and affordable solutions are coming to market with the potential to support those vital visual and non-visual pathways. Low-energy light sources mean that it’s possible to install controls that run on low-energy networks - saving materials and money. In the past there was a trade-off between energy, efficiency or qualities such as the range of colours or wavelengths and the brightness. But new optics make it possible to direct light where it’s needed most. And the sensing and controls that your readers are so brilliant at designing make it possible to adjust artificial light levels in response to natural light and to the presence of different users in the space. So intelligent fittings and controls make it possible to make the most of every single photon - to use smaller quantities of higher quality light - reducing energy consumption overall and cutting light pollution in the process. In terms of what designers should actually be doing? Designing for people means creating an environment that matches the subtle shifts in brightness and colour temperature that we see in the natural world, as closely as current artificial
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36 MAY 2021
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ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL lighting systems allow. Essentially, we evolved to be active in bright, cool light from the sky. And to wind down with gentle, dim, warm light in the evening (below eye level) think camp fire. It also means being aware of the special needs of more vulnerable user groups such as the elderly: their eyes don’t adjust as young people’s do when moving from light to dark areas. So ensuring an even distribution of light in corridors and on stairs is especially important. And those suffering from conditions such as dementia are more sensitive to high-contrast edges and glare. So careful control of direct sunlight to manage shadows is especially important for this group. Amid all the technical talks it is worth remembering that we all thrive on variety and delight, and that light has a unique power to transform a space - from professional workspace, to family time, to romantic dinner with the flip of a switch. This is more important than ever as we work from home.
What insights, or tips can you offer lighting designers and installers to help them create genuinely human centric lighting? In practical terms, I believe that the most important aspect of any intelligent system is to consider the user. Not only their lighting needs, but also their technical expertise and interest. I have spent some time on site with electrical installers and testing teams in schools. We were often called in by frustrated staff members wrestling with elaborate and expensive digital systems that were installed by enthusiastic and well-meaning technical teams. There was little or no hand-over, training or ongoing support
with staff changes beyond a ring binder with laminated sheets of diagrams and codes. Sympathetic lighting systems should feel perfectly natural, both in terms of the lighting they deliver, and the way they are used. They should encourage a relaxed awareness of the subtle shifts in light and shade from day into evening - with the changing patterns of the seasons. Lighting systems should also be sympathetic to the types of activity in different areas of the space at different times of the day - from listening to interaction, engaging to relaxing. And finally, they should celebrate the forms and materials in the space: bringing the play of light through stairwells and doorways, washes and focused beams on matt and smooth materials for example.
What are some of the most exciting nextgeneration lighting innovations that we will see coming through in the next few years? I hope we will see a shift from technology (for its own sake) to solutions that truly go back to what it means to be human. It is easy to get lost in a heated argument about numbers— and miss the point in the process. Human-centred lighting simply means respecting our universal and fundamental need for bright days with spaces that offer as much natural light as possible, supplemented by flicker-free, full-spectrum light sources that shift from cool to warm and from bright to dim over the course of the day. And for truly dark nights without the physical and environmental harm inflicted by light pollution.
Human-centred lighting also means designing systems that offer each of us simple, intuitive and reliable control over the light sources in our world. This will become more important as we learn more about the vital role of working patterns, age, health and chronotype (‘morningness’ or ‘eveningness’) in our response to light. For example, a 45 year old’s eyes will only receive around 50% of the light received by a ten year old’s because of the yellowing of our lenses. We’ve known for some time that shift workers suffer disproportionately from a range of health conditions - prolonged shift work has been described as ‘probably carcinogenic’ by the WHO - and recent studies in the States have demonstrated the potential to transform adolescent students’ academic performance and reduce road accidents - by shifting school start times to reflect their delayed body clock. Wearable light tracking devices similar to the ‘fit bit’ - such as Lys technology - will bring the concept of a personalised ‘light diet’ within reach of all. Another exciting area is in the sustainable design of the light fittings themselves - both in terms of the materials they use but the potential to upgrade and retrofit specific elements such as the chip or the driver. I hope I have given you some reasons to be as excited as I am by the immense potential of human-centred lighting to transform not only human health and happiness, but to respect the planet and the animals we share it with. Age of Light Innovations ageoflightinnovations.com
The retina is actually an extension of the human brain
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MAY 2021 37
ESSENTIAL LIGHT AND LIGHTING CONTROL
RELIABILITY AND SIMPLICITY Peter Broome, Director at UK smart lighting controls manufacturer, Rako, argues that keeping things simple and delivering strong reliability are the vital factors in modern lighting as the sector looks to mimic what happens in nature. For any integrated home, there are three critical sub-systems that absolutely have to work for your client. Heating, security and lighting. It may be annoying if the projector fails or if your client is unable to play the music they want at any particular time, but it’s not a potential risk to their health and safety. That’s why getting these three areas right is so important for integrators. And it’s why rock-solid system reliability matters. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that, whilst they may be integrated and accessed on a single control platform, each of these three sub-systems is still capable of functioning independently, irrespective of any broader system issues or control platform failures. For lighting control, a system that is built on distributed intelligence that’s independent of the network wins out over those that are IP-based or one that uses a centralised processor as its brains. Even if the router locks up or a circuit breaker trips, the lighting system still needs to be able to function without any problems. Our next advice would be to keep it simple. Despite the complex technology behind a control system, the user controls have to be simple to access, straightforward to integrate
and easy to use. Every client now expects to be able to use their phone to control everything, and the recently enhanced Rako HUB interface is a key, feature-rich enabler of that benefit. For the integrator, this kind of interface also offers simplified programming and integration. You can take any Rako NFC (Near Field Communication) wireless device and place it on the HUB’s pad for simple programming and connection to the system. A simple software upgrade via the web interface will enable this feature in all Rako HUBs. New drivers for Elan and Crestron Home makes connection to third party devices and control more efficient and powerful. Native control of Silent Gliss and QMotion automated blinds and curtain tracks is embedded within the Rako HUB and SONOS audio systems can be seamlessly added into a system now. This integration, flexibility and openness saves considerable time and hassle for integrators. As it connects with cloud services, the device also supports all major branded smart home speakers, including Alexa, Apple Home kit and Google Home. This voice command integration helps to democratise the appeal of lighting control, making it easier
to implement in projects where budgets are tighter and creating new business and upgrade opportunities for installers. Speaking of new market opportunities, we see the increasing awareness around human health and well-being likely to drive growth in human-centric lighting for the home. The capability for a control system to adjust colour temperature without dimming is, of course, dependent on the availability of high quality, colour-changing RGBCW fittings. In workspace settings, we are seeing more of these fittings and carrying out more of these HCL applications, which we believe will carry over into the residential space in the future. So, make it reliable, keep it simple and recognise those opportunities for growth that lighting control provides. It’s a bright future ahead.
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38 MAY 2021
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ESSENTIAL LIGHTING AND AMBIENT LIGHT CONTROL
THE TOMORROW PEOPLE Mark Booth, Managing Director, Gira UK, asks if it is possible to future-proof today’s lighting schemes so they can cope with tomorrow’s demands. Given that lighting design is an essential area, which at times can be taken for granted, as a premium manufacturer of building technology, we are delighted to see end users are taking a more considered approach here and urge them to maintain this momentum, especially as ‘future-proof’ lighting technology is a huge growth area next year. Integration is the key word for 2021 as consumers come to understand that welldesigned lighting systems can enhance their quality of life as well as helping to save energy and contribute to a more sustainable future. The remarkable ability of lighting to change and elevate the ambience of the home will become even more important for those who are spending more time working from home and want to designate different zones of an openplan space for business and for leisure. A significant consumer of electricity in your own home is the lights. Automated systems that switch off the light automatically after a set period of time are far more efficient - ideal for new builds and retrofitting. This level of saving is extremely advantageous in rooms which are less used, like utility rooms, hallways and bedrooms, which is why we recommend presence and motion detectors as a great solution. In fact,
there are many variants of intelligent lighting systems used for energy management, however it is important to be conscious of energy use and so being able to view the level of energy being consumed is a massive benefit. As home owners and building managers discover the benefits of automating lighting and linking it to different devices, as the Internet of Things takes off, end users will become accustomed to a uniquely tailored environment. Multiple options to control lighting such as voice control or via app is set to be very important – especially as more and more people are investing in smart home technology. Smart lighting will be a core staple of the interiors market in 2021 and will accelerate throughout the decade so that controlling the home remotely will become an everyday norm. We have seen considerable interest in lighting, entertaining and security solutions which support whole house living. There are also more opportunities at the top of the market for combining the best of traditional push button control with the latest sensor technology indoors so that lighting and other functions can be easily managed from a control panel, which is ideal for a busy family kitchen. For example, it is now possible
to operate lighting and blinds, moderate the temperature and humidity via sensor technology and, thanks to an external temperature sensor, underfloor heating will automatically begin to function on a chilly evening or frosty morning. When up to eight functions can be effortlessly controlled from one clever combination switch and sensor, this demonstrates the rising demand for premium design with intuitive control and operation – giving end users more time to focus on relaxing or working in comfort and empowering designers to create practical and aesthetical schemes. Gira is well-prepared for the increasing sophistication in electrical accessories and control systems and is set to launch an exciting new range of colours and metallic finishes in 2021. These options will elevate the desirability of its award-winning and iconic Design Lines, which have the ability to accommodate up to more than 300 functions in today’s smart homes. A great example of this is the Gira Pushbutton sensor 4 that allows greater control at the touch of a button, so the end user can operate various functions from one clever switch like lighting and blinds, moderating the temperature and humidity all via sensor technology.
EXPERIENCE LIGHTING AS NEVER BEFORE Dynamic Lighting Fixtures / Dynamic Lighting Control / Direct View LED
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MAY 2021 41
ESSENTIAL ABB
SMART AND AMBITIOUS ABB
EI spoke with Dr Thorsten Müller, Head of Global Product Group Building and Home Automation Solutions at ABB, to discover what the company’s plans are in the smart building/ smart home sector. At the 2019 IFA show, ABB announced a major push into the smart home/building sector. So EI was keen to speak with the principals and find out what the company has planned next. We began by looking at the home, a sector that has had its relationship to the commercial world changed by COVID-19 and the rise of working from home. Thorsten argues that, “Working from home will vary a lot around the world, but it is obvious that many more companies will be supporting their workers at home. Perhaps the ‘office’ will become a place for meetings and creativity and people’s homes the space to work on other tasks that don’t require interaction.” Regardless of the degree of this change happens to, ABB believes that workers will spend more time at home. This could trigger increased spending from users themselves and from companies looking to provide the equipment their workers need.
42 MAY 2021
This is not the only consequence of people being at home more, Thorsten explains, “Being at home has definitely increased people’s interest in the smart home. People want to make their homes more efficient and pleasant to be in at all times of the day. It is a definite growing trend. With a KNX backbone and our Free@Home as well as Free@Home Flex, we can offer a broad range of options to cater to these people. The current focus for ABB is delivering control of blinds, lights, heating, air conditioning, door communication and security. “We have worked hard to simplify our offering, reducing the number of wall controls needed – in some cases to just one. Our whole approach is based on offering easy to install, easy to use, plug and play systems.” Other improvements in the company’s offering include compatibility with DALI lighting and the launch of ABB-secure@home.
This alarm system protects against burglary and theft, as well as damage from other sources of danger such as fire or water. This product is, of course, fully compatible with the company’s whole-home automation platform, ABB-free@home. Free@Home Flex is a simplified system designed to deliver smart home control of a single room. However, users will be able to build upon this, room-by-room, to encompass their full whole house when the system is updated in the near future. This system will come fully online later this year. Thorsten also underlined the company’s improvements to the ABB-free@home Next app, which gives homeowners control of their smart home solutions from a mobile device. The latest version provides greater speed and a more intuitive interface. The app also enables users to configure the system with options such as daily routines, timers, scenes and filters for each room, all with just one click.
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ESSENTIAL ABB
The company has also launched a weather station solution for MDU projects and a home appliance connection that interfaces with products from Bosch, Gaggenau, Neff and Miele. For added convenience, ABB-free@ home now works with ‘Hey Google’ so users can voice control their connected devices.
THE COMMERCIAL WORLD
Estimates suggest that up to 60% of CO2 emissions come from buildings, so ABB is keen to make buildings more efficient via intelligent and automatic lighting, security systems, airconditioning, heating and movement detection. ABB is looking to achieve ambitious efficiency goals by leveraging the HVAC control expertise brought in last year with the purchase of Ireland-based global operator Cylon. The company also seeks to offer increasing amounts of remote control and system assessment to off-site managers to make it simple to manage multiple buildings. When taking on his new role, one of the first things that Thorsten insisted on was that ABB opened up its APIs. This initiative has also seen the company use its open API approach to introduce compatibility with third-party players such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Apple. A further benefit of the Cylon acquisition has been the ability to offer cloud-based energy analytic tools so companies can gain real insight into the areas where they can achieve improvements and save money. Thorsten underlines that by integrating the company’s systems HVAC, lighting, room and shading control, the building can intelligently adjust to factors such as weather conditions and occupancy levels. To underline its commitment in this area, the company underwent a dramatic reduction in its own emissions. As Thorsten explains, “Our ‘Mission to Zero’ initiative at our production
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plant in Luedenscheid was the proving ground for much of what we are now offering the market. We proved you could make a significant commercial site net carbon neutral. This mission is rolling out across many of our sites and the aim is to have completely carbon neutral operations by 2030.” As Thorsten sees it, beside energy efficiency there are three more key areas the company wants to deliver in for the commercial built environment: safety and security, health and well-being and process efficiency. One recent development in these areas is the company’s increased focus on emergency lighting. Thorsten says, “Because of their location, emergency exit fittings are perfectly placed to increase what they offer. For example, one potential use is to count people, not just for safety reasons, but also to know how many people are in the building for efficiency reasons. Our current portfolio of smart exit fittings also have abilities such as self-testing and reporting, cutting the number of people required to keep everything working.” As for health and well-being, particularly after the global experience with Covid-19, better, more efficient air filtering and circulation are a priority for many businesses. This again keys into ABB’s offering to significantly improve HVAC and air circulation efficiency. As for process efficiency, Thorsten underlines that the people inside a building are always the most valuable and expensive factor that any company must deal with. Making them more efficient in what they are doing can deliver some real low hanging fruit in terms of cutting costs and driving efficiency.
OPPORTUNITIES
Thorsten has some thoughts on what areas might offer some opportunities in the next phase of the market. “We see EV charging at
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home and at work as a big opportunity. This practice is only going to grow in popularity, so creating smart ways to integrate this need into homes and buildings presents an opportunity. Legislation to make rental properties more efficient and hit given targets will also have an impact, and systems that can deliver there will be in demand. As we mentioned earlier, the home office has big potential and if people are spending longer periods at home, this expands opportunity out to the whole home as well.” Opportunities to work with the ABB portfolio begin with gaining an understanding of KNX. Thorsten recommends getting in touch with KNX UK to begin that process. However, the company has also worked hard on its own training platforms, including increasing its webinar provision. ABB is also moving lots of its product documentation away from PDFs and webpages to short, instructive how-to videos. Thorsten points to the importance and usefulness of the Virtual Innovation Shows as an example. These were introduced partly because of Covid-19, but they have been a big success and the company will continue them beyond the pandemic. Ease of install is something that comes up time and time again when speaking with ABB. Thorsten explains, “We see a big opportunity to make our systems as easy to fit as another type of electrical infrastructure going into a building. This has obvious benefits for everyone involved, but it will also help us target the retrofit market, which has huge potential. The percentage of existing homes and commercial buildings compared to new build is obviously a huge gap, and the industry should see this as a major goal for both sales and meeting environmental targets.” ABB global.abb
MAY 2021 43
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CONTROL4 AND RMM
HOW DOES RMM BENEFIT THE BOTTOM LINE FOR INTEGRATORS?
Smart Synergy can now partner smart lighting with RMM
A major change in system programming and control in recent years, has been the ability to interact with systems ‘off-site’. Control4 draws on experiences from three of its integrators, to explore how RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) can potentially transform business profitability. A growing number of integrators are incorporating RMM into their day-to-day business. RMM is one, key industry evolution in recent times, increasingly, becoming a necessity for today’s smart home installation business. The ability to access the right tools (control, notifications and monitoring) and having these fundamental resources available (in the convenience of one location) only enhances the pre and post-installation experience. Moreover, the value RMM brings to the customer relationship makes it even more of a win. If you can be resolving technology issues remotely, often without even the need to visit the site, then, you’re immediately in a good place with your client. Should any issue arise that requires an on-site fix, with an RMM platform, you’ll also be better equipped to resolve that problem quickly and efficiently on-site to the complete satisfaction of your customer. In essence, RMM is going to help you deliver better service and support, provide faster answers and find solutions more quickly. The end-result will be a positive, long-term relationship with a happier customer. Still not convinced? Then, look beyond the customer relationship opportunity and consider how RMM can be operationalised to gain efficiency and drive revenues for your business.
46 MAY 2021
Three Control4 integrators on this particular journey are, Glo AV, Smart Synergy and Seven Integration. Here’s what they have to say about their experience with RMM and how it’s changed their businesses for the better. “The real value for any integrator – and for most businesses today - is the recurring revenue model,” says Alex Josling from Control4 Gold dealer, Seven Integration. “That’s why we pay subscriptions for so many services today. It’s business basics and why we’ve invested significant time, energy and resources not only on introducing RMM but on making sure we get it right for us and our clients.”
which were not at all intuitive to use, or we’d have to screen share into a PC installed on-site to access our system. Basically, we were forcing the remote access rather than integrating it naturally into our projects. Now, the technology and the business model has caught up with our ambition. We’re in a totally different, much better, place”
Greg Howarth
Alex Josling
“Coming from an IT background, I’ve always recognised the value that RMM could bring to our business,” explains Greg Howarth from Control4 Authorised Dealer, Glo AV. “Eight years ago, we started introducing RMM into our systems - but the timing wasn’t ideal. We were having to create vastly complex VPNs,
Shaun Hawkins from Control4 Platinum Dealer, Smart Synergy agrees. “The transition to IP-based technologies in the home, alongside the development of more robust and affordable RMM platforms has meant that the promise of efficient remote monitoring and management is now something we can actually deliver. Moving away from an annual subscription-based RMM platform to OvrC has also been a great help. We don’t need to think about how to bill that recurring annual subscription fee to the client anymore. OvrC and RMM is now part and parcel of every installation.
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CONTROL4 AND RMM
Shaun Hawkins
“A key feature of OvrC is that there is no recurring software cost or sign-up fee. Integrators purchase and install an OvrC Pro Hub or an OvrC enabled network, such as Araknis or Pakedge, and that is the only outlay. The cost of the hub for the dealer (which is less than £200) can be easily incorporated into customer service packages, resulting in no disruptions or extra costs to the client.”
“We run a democracy in terms of our service response,” adds Greg. “OvrC is set up on everyone’s phone, so that we all receive notifications. My team understand that we’re in a premium service business and so one of us will always takes ownership and be pro-active in the client response, if, for example, a Wi-Fi point goes down. That problem will then get fixed either remotely or through an on-site visit,
So, how do these integrators charge for service and sell that offering to clients?
before the client is aware of it.”
“At the end of the installation warranty period, we now offer our clients a final system check, spelling out the choice of tiers, or the option of pro-rata maintenance - that they can select for on-going service and support,” explains Greg. “With OvrC, it’s a credible package, including software roll-outs, pro-active fixing, health-checks and remote monitoring. In a pandemic, the IT within the house has moved from important to mission critical. If you lead with IT and Wi-Fi front and centre of your conversation, then, clearly, a service contract built on RMM has significant value for the client.” This type of tiered contract model is similar to the one now provided by Smart Synergy. “Service is now a self-sustaining and profitable part of our business” says Shaun. “Thanks to OvrC, we now offer it on every project, small and large, because we have the flexibility to offer different packages, with different response times at different price points to suit their budget. It’s an affordable option for the client at every level.”
and frequently preventing problems or solving
For Greg and Glo AV, there’s another valuable benefit to this type of service model. “Because we’re running service agreements issues more efficiently, we have much more positive contact with the client. We’re dealing with them in a more professional and organised way, the quality of our relationship is better, the contact is relaxed and free of stress and that creates a positive context for conversations about new works and upgrades. Since deploying OvrC more widely, we’ve noticed a real pick up in this new business that we can trace directly to RMM.” Meanwhile, Seven Integration takes a different approach. “We’ve created our own RMM business model with different variables and tiers for clients,” comments Alex. “However, one of the biggest pain points has been the distraction of service calls to the business and the impact that it has on our efficiency. For a small team like ours, we need the engineers focused on installation work, not on dealing with service calls from the client. That’s why we’ve outsourced our initial service contact to a company called Parasol.”
Parasol is one of a number of emerging providers of 24/7/365 remote support for the custom installation industry. OvrC Pro is all that is required for integrators to take advantage of Parasol, who can act as the service desk pro-actively monitoring and fixing systems remotely, whenever possible. Alex continues, “A service call from our office is now picked up by Parasol’s team of trained engineers. By accessing OvrC, they can see the system and go through a basic check list of issues which will result in a fix on that first call 95% of times. If the call is escalated to one of our engineers, and we know that an on-site visit is needed, then we can book that appointment in, knowing what the problem is and fix it quicker. “For new build projects, this OvrC / Parasol model is easy to set up as we always document our systems thoroughly. If we’re revisiting an older project or taking on an upgrade, then, we factor in that extra documentation time, so that we have an accurate system on OvrC that we and the Parasol team can access. But, in both cases, we’re much more efficient, clients are happier, engineers are more productive, our income stream from service is more predictable and our business is both more profitable and professional. It’s the ultimate no-brainer.” “The real operational value comes in how you manage the customer relationship,” sums up Shaun. “A customer is for life and RMM is a huge part of embedding that mentality, and the cash flow benefits it brings on a recurring basis, into your business.” Control4 control4.com ovrc.com
Seven Integration has invested lots of effort in getting RMM right
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MAY 2021 47
SMART THINKING
STREAMADELICA! EI caught up with Gilad Tiefenbrun, Managing Director at Linn, after the launch of the company’s flagship Klimax DSM streamer, to find out how the company has not only coped with the challenges of the last 12 months, but has produced what Gilad believes is, “the best product the company has ever had.” Like many other manufacturers, during March 2020- the Linn factory was forced to close due to concerns around COVID-19, with suppliers shutting down, the company got to the point where it simply could not make anything. During April, Linn was able to continue selling from stock, but by this point staff had been reduced to a skeleton crew, with the rest furloughed. By May-June things started to ease up and so the company began increasing capacity during September. But of course, things were not so simple as just shutting down and starting up again. Gilad explains, “Just before lockdown we had launched the Karousel bearing upgrade for the LP 12 (Linn’s famous turntable product) so we received loads of orders for everything to do with the LP12 and in truth we have still not fully caught up due to the disruption of the supply chain.” Linn has not just had to cope with the virus, Gilad explains, “The last year has been characterised by a series of random events. There was COVID of course, but then we also
48 MAY 2021
got hit by the AKM fire in November. We use AKM chips for a few of our products, but their semi-conductor factory burned to the ground. The fire was raging for three or four days before we heard about it. So, by then most of the stock in the world had been eaten up. In any other year, this would have been the biggest challenge we faced, but in this year, I just shrugged my shoulders and went ‘ok here’s another thing we need to cope with’.” Gilad explains that Linn still had some AKM chip stock, so the company had to pause availability on some product and had to pick and choose which ones to prioritise. AKM did source the company more chips, so in the end there were only a very small number of re-designs needed, and ultimately due to some nifty footwork, Linn did not lose any sales due to the fire. Gilad adds that other problems were caused by the global supply chain shutting down. Many producers overestimated how much of a downturn there would be, so when demand for at least some areas of AV and CE remained
strong, it took a lot of time to reignite these manufacturing processes to meet demand. All of these challenges combined have hit the company’s supply process, Gilad says, “Our normal average supply of a product from order to arrival is five days around the world, but currently some stuff is at 12 weeks, it’s un-heard of. Then there is the small matter of Brexit to throw into the mix. Initially, it was chaos. It took us three weeks to get our first order to the first dealer in the EU, that was in January, but since then it is easing off. We have been spot-on with the paperwork, but I think smaller companies are finding it hard. But we remain positive, it is doable, and it is getting better. We are making products and people are getting those products, there is a new kind of understanding and tolerance that goes with the situation. We were chipping away out our backlog and making good progress, but of course we have launched our new product, so could well create backlog again, but I cannot complain, there are worse problems to have. “
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SMART THINKING
CREATING THE KLIMAX DSM
The launch of the new product has been pushed a couple of times, but when the company returned from shutdown, the Klimax became a key part of getting up and running again. Gilad says, “You have to approach a pandemic at a human level. Everyone has been going through an emotional roller coaster, so I think it’s wrong to assume people are going to produce the same and act the same under that kind of pressure. My mantra has been ‘the world is stressful enough now without us introducing stress of our own’, so on July 1 when we had our first management meeting, we started from, ’let’s not generate extra stress, we must be thinking about people’s health’. It’s been a total nightmare for a lot of people, so we said if we had 20 things we were planning over 2020/2021, lets pick two things to focus on. Majik DSM was one of them and the only other thing we planned to launch the Klimax DSM. “We picked the Klimax DSM because of what it represented, it is such an outrageously ambitious project to try and do during these times, but as a motivator, I knew it would galvanise people. For lots of people at the moment, having something to focus on at work can be a sanctuary, so let’s do something really positive and ground-breaking, something everyone can get behind and feel really proud of.” Gilad enthuses, “The impact so far has borne out what we expected. It has given everyone a spring in their step, staff and retailers too. In fact, it is the perfect time to come out with a product like this.”
THE ROADMAP
The current Linn streamer family is designed to present a very clear differential between the different models and performance levels. Majik DSM, Selekt DSM, Akurate DSM with the new Klimax DSM sitting on top of the tree as the ‘ultimate streamer’. One of the key parts of the product is a new in-house created Organik DAC. Gilad explains the reasons behind switching to a Linn design. “About two years ago, we started talking about the DAC. We are always auditioning new DACs to make sure we are using the best ones, however increasingly, they were not significantly better than what we have achieved already, so we thought ‘how are we going to get a
performance break-through?’ We decided to go from first principles and design our own DAC and see if we could do better. “We had the first prototypes about a year ago, it was apparent even then, that what we had done would yield a much better result than going third party. We backed our own engineers, and it has been phenomenal, a great move, it’s the most natural sound we have ever had.” Gilad goes further in his praise for the new streamer, “In my mind it’s the best product we have ever had. I am sure that my dad (Ivor Tiefenbrun, founder, and chairman of Linn) would say the LP 12, but I think its this because every part of the company has had the chance to expresses themselves with this product. “So, whether it’s the physical design, that beautiful enclosure, or the software, everyone has had the chance to put their very best into this product and that is true of the manufacturing side as well. Right across the company, everyone has made this huge step up to even make it possible to produce this product, and that it why I think it is the best thing we have ever done. And you can say that about the marketing as well. The quality of our launch, the film, the 3D organic DAC animation, these are smart helpful resources for customers and retailers. So, every part of the company has done better than they have done before on this project.” Linn was also keen to involve the trade with the launch and filmed special QnA sessions with retailers from around the globe that were also part of the launch. Gilad adds, “We took what we had done with the Majik DSM launch and built on it. Magjik DSM was basic, but for Klimax DSM we had a full TV production company. We included the
‘making of’ part of the release, some cool animation and we went onto the factory floor. We had a lot more fun with it, making it more like a TV documentary, rather than trying to re-create a live launch. So, once you achieve something like that, its obvious that you will never go back and that is true about so many things across the company as COVID has forced us to rethink and do things differently, that are just better.” So, what does it take to be the company’s flagship product, can Gilad sum up what is special about the new streamer? “To me, a great Linn product is a product that only Linn would make. Klimax DSM is a Linn product because nobody else would try to do this, because nobody has enough of what is needed in one place to make a product like this work.” Naturally with a product retailing for £30K, Linn’s top tier of retailers will be taking the product on, but Gilad is quick to point out that Linn has sold quite a lot of Klimax products through installers already and the company hopes to pick up more with this most recent upgrade. The same is true of the company’s Linn Whole Home proposition, launched in December of 2019 which is an ideal fit for installers. This concept will also be re-introduced and installers that want to know more should get in touch direct with the company. A really refreshing tale here of triumph through adversity and a true testament to Linn’s technical and manufacturing expertise, but also its insistence on putting its people first. Linn linn.co.uk/uk
Linn backed its own engineers to create audio excellence
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MAY 2021 51
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TOUCHSCREENS AND PROGRAMMING
THE RIGHT USER INTERFACE WILL GROW YOUR BUSINESS When practically all the major phones and tablets already support Wi-Fi 6, why would you design for anything less?
54 MAY 2021
Peter Baker, President of The BIG Corp, the global sales and marketing agency that works closely with smart home platform Savant, examines the role of the interface. Let’s start with a statement that I think will ring true with many readers here: ‘The customer user interface is the single most important aspect of any home automation system!’. It seems simple but after the consultation, design, build etc, the single most important element of any home automation system is the interaction between the customer and the system. Get this right and you will have a very happy customer that is willing to tell their friends that you are a hero company and are heartily recommended. Get this wrong and your unhappy customer will not just tell their nearest and dearest. The goal with every system should be to delight your customer and create a new ambassador for your brand. Otherwise, they might make it their life’s work to muddy your name. So, what can be done to ensure that your customer has the best User Experience? Starting with the basics - custom UI have two purposes: To create macros that operate multiple devices at the same time and to be a nice experience for the customer. When home automation first started, the systems were of such a calibre that to make them work, they demanded the professional skills of experienced programmers to both engineer the automation (and control aspects) of the system and create a custom interface that the user would interact with to operate the system. To simply turn on a light and close some window shades required an element of voodoo magic that we would leave in the hands of the programming wizard, tucked away in the basement. Significant time was invested to deploy each system – especially to create the bespoke user interface screens and navigation. Many of the UI designs were exceptional, but also consumed vast amounts of valuable programming resources, whilst others seemed logical to the programmer, but overly complicated and in some cases ugly to the end user customer. In reality, each UI would be different. In many cases the graphics were poor quality, inconsistent, and didn’t necessarily coincide with anything obvious; often with icons that
only the programmer could understand. Yes, an integrator could say that they were offering a bespoke UI per project, but in reality, there was very little consistency across the industry, meaning it was nearly impossible to work on a competitor’s project. Experience suggests that some customers are impatient and would then start pressing all manner of buttons to make the system work, unsettling the system to the point that it has no idea what it is doing and would then, inevitably, shut down, requiring an expensive site visit and re-set or worse. One quote I often heard from integrators was ‘If only the customer had some patience…’. Due to the not insignificant cost of most of these systems, patience was not a word that the customers understood. A non-to unusual practice was for the customer to fire the integrator and go to someone new. However, were you to be asked to take over a job, the thought of un-picking someone else’s programming filled most integrators with dread, as the time required to do so would make the job uneconomical.
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TOUCHSCREENS AND PROGRAMMING
But we are not blaming the programmers here; they are hugely intelligent people that have a technical knowhow that us lesser mortals can only wonder at. But they are NOT creative designers and their understanding of what a customer wants as opposed to what a customer needs can vary, greatly. So, the moral of the story is this: Why would we leave the single most important element of the customer experience, the key component that the customer actually sees, plays with and shows off to their friends to the programmer? In the past, it was because we had no other options.
THE PRESENT
Wind on 20 years and things are so much easier. All of the main home automation suppliers now have consistent UI platforms that they have spent thousands of hours developing to make your jobs easier. Through focus groups, customer satisfaction surveys and talking with hundreds of the leading integrators around the world, companies such as Crestron, RTI, Control4 and, of course, Savant, have developed platforms that remove huge slices of the programming required. In the case of Savant, a drag-and-drop configuration back-end that just works. Set up time is dramatically reduced and the ability to slot in new devices and get them talking is so simple that anyone who knows their way around a little networking is capable of doing it. Most importantly, the user interface is created for you, and it will be a beautifully crafted experience that every customer will find intuitive and a joy to use. Don’t get me wrong; you do need to know your way around the platform, and I would always suggest that were you looking to get involved in home automation, you have to attend the relevant company online courses and gain accreditation, as you will learn the smart way to be even more efficient and capable of fixing any snags as they come up. Once completed, you will be able to set up a full home automation system with relative ease, whilst also showcase a beautiful user interface that any user can navigate.
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If you choose not to go down this route and create your own system, then great. If you have the skills, the time and the experience, then good for you. However, are you doing this because you can create a better customer experience than the best minds in home automation? Or are you doing it so that your customer has to stay with you were there to be an issue later down the line and, therefore, you are protecting your business? If the former, then good for you. That will be great until your customer moves out and the new owner has their own preferred integrator to work with, or, God-forbid, your programmer leaves the business and then charges you a premium consultation charge for any additional work! If the latter, I have always found that using blackmail as a form of business retention isn’t a long-term solution! Essentially, why go to the laborious task of extensive UI design when exceptional and intuitive designs that are tried, tested and working long-term in the field are available. As a comparison, I often refer to is the building of websites. Website development (HTML programming) used to be considered magical. Your ‘design’ would be handed over to a group of programmers who would beaver away in some unknown language and then present you with a facsimile of what you asked for. Nowadays, a website can be created in seconds, thanks to the adoption of off-the-shelf platforms such as WordPress. Yes, you can still personalise how the site looks but the hard stuff, such as the programming in the language that the web understands, is taken care of behind the scenes. The same can now be said for the programming of user interfaces for multi room activities. Also, don’t forget that the humble remote control is still a very pleasing device to hand to a customer when the system is commissioned. Not only, in the case of the Savant X2 Pro Remote, is it a very well designed and ergonomic device. It also presents a physical attachment to the system that many customers enjoy, as it is easy to operate and immediate. So why does using an off the shelf platform make so much sense for today’s integrator? Namely efficiency, consistency and design. Efficiency, because the platform has been created with the integrator in mind, making it relatively simple to set up, manage and deploy. Consistency, allowing for any trained professional (including the platform’s own team) to be able to go into the system and fix/ service/support any issues, regardless of which company or programmer originally deployed the system. And, perhaps the most important factor (especially for the customer!), the UI design, which delivers an intuitive user interface that any customer will find easy to operate and a delight to look at. Ultimately, all of the above leads to happy customers, a happy team and a happy accountant! What is the best way to advertise your skills? It is through customer referral. Creating the best experience for your customers will only lead to an increase in business. What’s not to like?
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ESSENTIAL TOUCH-SCREENS AND PROGRAMMING
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56 MAY 2021
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With the hospitality and retail sectors opening up, domestic installation projects are coming back. Installers need to be looking at ways of enhancing ease of use and functionality. Information and automation services provided by the power of the iPad can ‘play a big part’, argues Martin Morecroft MD of UK distributor Redline. For automation and information delivery services, the dedicated controller created by the automation platforms was the dominant force for a long time. This was only challenged in 2010, when the iPad launched, offering end users and customers alike, a different way to access information and a different way to present the automation interfaces that would link to whatever system was in play. Some at the time predicted the end of the dedicated touchscreen controller and for a time its true to say the iPad was a ‘disruptor product’. In truth what happened was that the power of the iPad and eventually other tablet products, challenged the dedicated controller to be better and manufacturers responded, taking their products to new levels of functionality as well as offering dedicated availability that the general tablet struggled with. Fast forward to today’s market and a more mature relationship exists between dedicated control points and the generalist iPad and tablet products. Dedicated controllers have come back strongly, offering a compelling and focused way of controlling a space and offering information. Their strengths include the extra technology that makers have packed into them. Offering a more comprehensive and personalised control point. Not to mention the fact that they are fitted into the fabric of the home or business. They are also less likely to be caught on the hop because they are being used for something else or have been moved. This is one of the most common complaints with the iPad. However, the iPad has maintained a presence in our sector for several reasons. It is popular, amassing over 8.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for Apple in 2021 so far. Bringing with it control via a product clients are already familiar with, will most likely already own and will already feel comfortable with. Since its introduction, there have been ten versions of the iPad and the company shipped a little under 10 million units worldwide in the first quarter of 2020 alone. To Ignore this type of market penetration would be to miss a golden opportunity. Another area where the iPad has refined its offering is where other companies have got involved to provide solutions to some of the product’s weaker areas. This transformation has been delivered by products such as the Viveroo One (Redline has the exclusive UK rights for distribution of the whole Viveroo range) which fixes the iPad in place with an attractive mount. Making sure it is always where the customer wants it, always powered and always has a secured wired internet connection. Looking at the iPad from this point of view, you now have
a very different proposition. It has all the power of the iPad to run whatever interface or software you require, combined with the multi-use power of the iPad operating system that people still may want to access, all combined with the always on, always there abilities of a dedicated controller. Seen in this context the iPad has a big part to play in the domestic and commercial sector too. Take hospitality and retail for example, many of these businesses are trying to get back on their feet, stay in compliance with track and trace and offer unique merchandise or services to customers. A product such the Viveroo One or Viveroo One Kiosk is ideal for many types of businesses. Constructed from aluminium, the mount delivers a secure iPad holder for use in public areas and is available as a wall mount, floor stand or desk stand version. The One Frame fully encloses the iPad and can only be opened with an Allen key or with an optional security key for maximum protection. The product delivers a secure central iPad location, constant power and a wired internet connection with the optional PoE + D adapter. The attractive design hides all cables and connectors inside, delivering a professional clean look. The Kiosk is compatible with all iPads, in all current size formats. The product is available in three colour options of SuperSilver, DarkSteel and DeepBlack. Likewise, you can order bespoke models with special colour finishes or logos. The Viveroo One Kiosk also comes with an accessory that allows the iPad’s camera to be used to scan documents or codes, a necessary and ideal option for businesses requiring track and trace as well as membership access and other services. No doubt that with improved performance and aesthetics the dedicated touch-screen has secured its future in the market, but don’t forget the iPad, for the right customer, the offering can be just what is required.
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Visit crestron.com/resiaudio All brand names, product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Crestron disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Crestron is not responsible for errors in typography or photography. ©2021 Crestron Electronics, Inc.
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ESSENTIAL TOUCH-SCREENS AND PROGRAMMING
SOFTWARE – THE SIMPLE TRUTH Experienced Crestron programmer, founder of Clever Rooms and EI contributor Cliff Stammers examines why software will always rule.
I recently wrote an article for EI that attempted to determine whether or not programming still maintains a degree of relevance in today’s custom install industry. I also spoke about this on the second excellent EI podcast at the start of the year. The conclusion of both of these items was that, yes, software and the generation of that software, are indeed still important considerations when it comes to correctly planning your projects. Well, I would say that wouldn’t I! But the facts speak for themselves. How important is software these days? Well, consider this. In the world today some of the biggest and most influential companies are software companies. They may dress themselves up as something different like Uber, for example or AirBnb, but essentially, these are software companies, are they not? Their product is not the physical taxi cabs or the properties that they rent. They don’t own any of these things. They didn’t invent them. No more than Costa, or Starbucks invented coffee. What they have achieved is an innovation. They have basically put a software interface with a sophisticated back end that crunches data, accrued through analytical software. And there’s that word. Software. It can be firmly argued, in my opinion, that these operations are fundamentally programming companies. It’s the same with Just Eat, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, Google etc. etc. On it goes. What’s the one thing that links them? Their usability. Their customer friendliness. Essentially: their software. I’m not suggesting there’s not been a paradigm shift in recent years, because there most definitely has. The way we view and, indeed, consume software applications has altered dramatically. The way these applications are generated and developed has unavoidably changed too.
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Traditionally, software was sold to us on a CD Rom. And most often it was paid for, and you owned it. You could use it - without reservation, for as long as that product remained useful to you. It would, 99% of the time, be loaded on to your computer and that would be where it remained. Nowadays, of course, software can turn up on any number of devices. Often simultaneously on several products. I’m thinking here of Netflix, and Amazon Prime, which cross all platforms with effortless ease. Impressive stuff. None of which happens by accident. It’s planned, designed, programmed and developed. All of which is undertaken by software engineers. So, what’s the relevance that all this has on our industry? Well, I’m sitting here writing this on the eve of yet another annual Crestron Master Programmers conference. The second one in the virtual world that we’ve all come to inhabit over this past year. This year sees some six, or seven hundred invited participants, on a global scale, ‘attend’ specialist classes in which we are brought up to date with the very latest thinking in terms of software creation. Techniques, best-practices, pitfalls, tips and tricks and all good stuff like that is up for discussion over a four-day period. So, when you consider the effort that companies like Crestron go to, in order to ensure that their global programming task force is bang up to speed, then you immediately understand that programming is a fundamental core to the industry in general. I get that ‘alternatives’ to programming control systems are more widely prevalent these days. And I also get that the proliferation of what I would describe as, configurable software systems, is now well established. But it is important to remember that these configurable applications themselves have been generated with, guess what: software. And try as they might to cover all bases, there are still products and disciplines that have to yet been brought into the illustrious panoply of devices and dreams that control systems can successfully interface with. And so, when that situation arises, as it so often does, then it falls to a programmer to make those dreams a reality. It begins, and often ends with software, my friends, and there’s no uninventing it. No matter how capricious this code might be, and no matter how much it will shift, alter and change, like some mercurial creature from mythology, there’s one thing you can always be sure of: software, and programming, is here to stay. Amen to that.
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ESSENTIAL CASE STUDY
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SANDBANKS CINEMA OFFERS AN OCEAN OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE
Martin Redwood, Managing Director at The London Home Cinema Company, explains the detail on this luxurious and relaxed home cinema, featuring MK speakers and Lyngdorf processing.
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Established in 1947, The London Home Cinema Company is a family business, which began a new journey into home cinema in 1994. Martin explains, “I did a THX course at Skywalker Studios that same year. We now specialise in home automation as well as home cinema, we have a small, but very dedicated and experienced team.” This particular customer already had a good relationship with the company and bought the team in when moving to this new property in the much sought-after Sandbanks area on the south coast of the UK. Martin explains, “We had worked for the client in his other homes but where possible we always try and arrange demonstrations of a number of systems for them to assess. The MK/Lyngdorf system was our recommendation, but we also arranged demonstrations of two other systems for the client to hear. When he heard the MK/Lyngdorf system his first word was ‘sold’. The original brief called for the very best picture and sound quality, but it was also critical that the appearance of the room had to be preserved and not compromised by too much bulky equipment or drastic changes to its appearance.
Martin says, “Where possible we recommend MK Loudspeaker systems for our home cinemas as we are looking to recreate the directors’ vision as faithfully as possible. Using the same speakers in the home that were used in the creation of a movie soundtrack makes them an obvious choice. One of the other benefits of MK is that they are all satellite speakers designed for use with subwoofers. “The power handling and output of these compact speakers is exceptional which makes it possible to install a discrete system that meets the speaker industry’s most stringent quality control, THX Ultra.”
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T: 01359 270280 E: sales@invisionuk.com www.invisionuk.com
ESSENTIAL CASE STUDY
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So, what about the processing? “When choosing the electronics for the system, Lyngdorf Processors selected themselves because of RoomPerfect, says Martin. “It’s the only correction system that preserves the sound of the speakers used. We love MK and we don’t want their performance changed, we just want them to be heard without the rooms’ acoustic compromising their design. Another unique feature of RoomPerfect is that it is designed to give optimal results in normal rooms. Lyngdorf don’t recommend room treatment which means we can deliver the best sound without changing the look of a room and in every room in the house.” Wayne Crawley, Lyngdorf Audio Brand Manager for the UK, is keen to underline the value of RoomPerfect in this type of scenario. “I think it’s a key point here the lack of room treatment needed in this project. This is where
Lyngdorf (and Steinway) stand apart from the crowd. RoomPerfect really does eliminate the need to excessively ‘treat’ a room to within an inch of its life and ultimately kill the acoustics. “It also preserves the sound of the speakers and does not work to a predetermined target curve, which of course is an impossible one curve fits all rooms approach. It also does not calculate the room from a single frequency sweep based around the seating area, it has sustained tones measured separately for the bass notes and mid-high across the whole of the room. “I’ve worked in both pro and consumer audio for a combined period of nearly 30 years, now I feel old, and since joining Gecko (distributor for both brands in the UK) and hearing the Lyngdorf and Steinway systems in various settings I can confidently say it’s the best room correction I’ve ever heard (I’d still say that without the salary).”
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ESSENTIAL CASE STUDY Wayne, goes further arguing, “I think there’s an industry issue based around room treatment and how the consumer is sold thousands of pounds worth of something that’s basically doing the opposite of what it should. It is also taking a huge chunk of the project budget from where it could and should be spent, on the projector and the audio – obviously it’s just my humble opinion, but it’s hard to state different after working with the brands.”
THE SYSTEM
Martin explains that a JVC laser projector with high output was chosen to fill the screen, as the client wanted the biggest possible. To this end a partition wall was added to deal with the pitched roof and allow the screen, which also divided the room, to deliver a better viewing distance and allow the equipment to be situated behind. To ensure the best possible result,
the team used a stretched fabric system to reduce light reflections. Other challenges on the project included the long distance between the client’s home and the company’s base in London, some 130 miles, so timely site visits and good communication were key. The system also links to the Control4 house automation system some way away from the cinema room, so creating a separate hub was part of the design. Favourite part time? The customer is a big sports fan so enjoys watching the big game in his room, in particular Spurs, who Martin is also a fan of, so the client often texts in during the game and they moan about the team’s performance. Martin concludes, “The client likes to be involved on the creative side, so we worked hard on making sure both ours and the client’s vision was realised. The room feels special, even within an already special home.”
Essential Kit List 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos Lyngdorf MP60 processor Lyngdorf SDA2400 power amplifiers JVC DLA-Z1 laser projector Screen Research film screen MK IW300 LCR speakers MK S300T surround and rear surround speakers MK IW300 Dolby Atmos speakers MK X12 subwoofers Sony UBPX1000ES Blu-ray player Control4 control system
64 MAY 2021
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DETAILS MATTER Creating the perfect ambiance, The Director Collection enables consistent and detailed music to follow you from room to room at the optimal volume.
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JBL LAUNCHES 4309 STUDIO MONITOR JBL says it has proved that great things come in small sizes with the launch of its new JBL 4309 Studio Monitor compact bookshelf loudspeakers from HARMAN’s Luxury Audio Group. Modelled on the JBL 4349, the JBL 4309s are equipped with a 2410H-2 1in compression driver mated to a High-Definition Imaging (HDI) horn and feature a 6.5in, cast frame pure-pulp cone woofer. The JBL 4309 is a smaller bookshelf version of the recently released 4349 12in two-way monitor loudspeakers and features many of the same patented JBL acoustic technologies. While compact in size, JBL says the 4309 packs the signature power, dynamics and accuracy that the brand has delivered to listeners for the last 75 years. Designed in the famous acoustic engineering facility in Northridge, California, JBL’s HighDefinition Imaging (HDI) horn and compression driver technology is the culmination of 75 years of ongoing research and innovation, resulting in the JBL 4309 Studio Monitor’s high-quality dynamics and accurate sound reproduction. “The combination of the JBL 4309’s powerful woofer, compression driver, and horn harmoniously combine to render music with authority and accuracy; a performance impossible with traditional loudspeaker design,” says Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, HARMAN Luxury Audio. “While
the acoustic performance of the JBL 4309 is outstanding, the appearance and speaker design is equally compelling. We expect these to be desirable to music lovers who want the performance of the JBL 4349 in a more compact size.” The speaker sports a classic JBL monitor design with the iconic blue baffle and is finished in a choice of walnut or black walnut furniture-grade satin wood veneers. A blue (walnut) or black (black walnut) cloth grille completes the appearance. Dual sets of gold-plated binding posts provide a secure connection and offer a choice of singleended or bi-wire/bi-amplified connections. Harman Luxury Audio Group harmanluxuryaudio.com The JBL 4309 Studio Monitor will be available for purchase in June with retail pricing of GBP £1,799 per pair.
A NEW VIEW FOR TESTING AND CERTIFICATION MSolutions says it has energised the user experience for MS-TestPro customers with a fully refreshed and redesigned GUI. The new GUI offers a more intuitive and responsive experience for AV installers and tech managers, along with more accessible features that simplify and accelerate the testing and certification process. Installers will find less clutter and more legible menus with simpler navigation while working on HDBaseT, HDMI and AVoIP projects. The home screen now prominently displays the main functions and highlighted features, with straightforward visual enhancements that guide users through test, certification and other processes faster. Users have more direct access to all new and improved features whether using the handheld touchscreen or web interface on a laptop. Elsewhere, the MSolutions development team updated previous applications with new feature sets that improve overall job performance. This includes the popular Log Analyzer, which now allows users to choose from eight popular time durations for test functions; or schedule custom time durations (up to 24 hours) using a digital clock. Job certification represents the most improved user enhancement. Installers can now enter specific customer and job site information
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for each project, and immediately get certification results in PDF format. Previously, customers had to save job details and convert documents outside the user interface, which added several steps and lengthened the procedure. “Everything about the user interface is now straightforward, whether using the touchscreen functionality on our handheld device or navigating the web interface on a laptop,” says Eliran Toren, CEO, MSolutions. “Most importantly, we have refreshed the entire user experience based on useful feedback from installers that use the MS-TestPro day in, day out on jobsites around the world.” MSolutions m4sol.com
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It’s official...
Lyngdorf makes the world’s best surround processors “The Lyngdorf MP-50 processor and SDA-2400 amplifiers are now in a class of their own.” Widescreen Review “The Lyngdorf MP-60 delivers the best performance I’ve heard from any processor to date and I’ve heard them all.” AVForum “After living with the MP-60 for quite some time, I’ve come to the conclusion is the best processor money can buy.” Home Cinema Choice “With RoomPerfectTM, the MP-60 produces the best sound quality heard for the lowest cost so far. You get SOTA surround sound performance for much lower cost than with other top tier contenders.” Widescreen Review “I can categorically state that I have never heard such pristine home cinema audio outside the mixing suites at Skywalker Sound.” Home Theatre Forum “In my opinion the MP-60 exists in a class of its own with performance that is best described as perfect.” AVForum
Gecko Home Cinema • 01635 268114 • www.lyngdorf.com
PRODUCTS
4K PROJECTOR DUO FROM SONY Sony has announced two new native 4K (4096 x 2160) home cinema projectors powered by its ‘X1 for projector’, the picture processor based on technology used for Sony’s BRAVIA TV series and optimised for projectors. Sony says this processor combines innovative technologies for high-precision frame analysis, enabling unique features like Dynamic HDR Enhancer and Reality Creation. Sony argues that the VPL-VW890ES 2,200lm laser model with premium All-Range Crisp Focus (ARC-F) lens and VPL-VW290ES 1,500lm lamp model offer immersive viewing experiences that deliver the creator’s true intent with real-world detail and texture in best contrast for the consumer, integrator, and custom installation (CI) channels. “Whether watching a movie or playing a game, customers are increasingly looking to enjoy immersive entertainment experiences from their own homes. Our native 4K SXRD projectors have been market leading in providing these experiences for nearly a decade, and we are pleased to announce these two new powerful additions to our strong line-up of home cinema projectors for our customers,” says Christopher Mullins, Home Cinema Product Manager for Sony. Key VPL-VW890ES and VPL-VW290ES features include Dynamic HDR Enhancer delivering more detailed analysis and HDR enhancement power compared to the previous
models. Also present Sony’s Super Resolution ‘Reality Creation’ Technology, the X1 for projector picture processor analyses each scene to enrich 4K content and real-world detail and texture. Content filmed in 2K or Full HD is upscaled close to 4K. Both models also feature a Native 4K SXRD offering 4096 x 2160 4K resolution images with 8.8 million pixels for a lifelike picture. Functionality to be found only on the VPLVW890ES includes an ARC-F lens which offers enhanced image quality across the entire screen. This large-aperture lens adopts an all-glass design for its 18 elements, including six extra low dispersion (ELD) elements. This ensures optimal convergence of the red, green, and blue primaries even at the extreme edges of the screen. Sony sony.co.uk
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RJ45 MODULAR PLUGS WITH
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Both models are available now, with the VPL-VW890ES available in black and the VPL-VW290ES in both black and white
REDLINE INTRODUCES ARTISON RCC160 INTEGRATED SUB Designed as a quality music or media room sub, the new Artison RCC160 delivers the company’s exclusive Reactance Cancelling Configuration, an innovation that eliminates disruptive vibration and distortion. Sold in pairs by UK distributor Redline the RCC160 offers the equivalent of two eightinch subwoofers. Delivering the RCC160 in two separate enclosures allows system designers to intelligently and precisely place each driver where they can provide the smoothest and most accurate in-room bass response, says the maker. Artison pioneered Reactance Cancelling subs and has been making them since 1998. So, much of this acquired knowledge and knowhow has been poured into the RCC160. The journey to improve doesn’t stop at Reactance Cancelling Configuration tech, Artison has also become effective in reducing the size of the vent needed to produce strong bass performance, a real advantage when wanting to achieve minimal aesthetic impact. Redline is proud that input from the company was key in developing an architectural sub with such a small grille size, thus reducing the impact on a room’s aesthetics. The unit ships as standard with a large array of grilles ranging from metal perforated for inwall, round and square perforated for covert in
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ceiling installation or to match in-ceiling grilles for conventional speakers. There is also a clever slotted grille designed to look like an AC vent and the optional and far more discrete ‘Plaster up to’ grille, manufactured exclusively at Redline. Another performance advantage is that the RCC160 has been created to be scalable to meet the need of the installation. In fact, up to eight can run from one amp (Artison RCC1000-SA DSP-enabled amplifier) to counter any standing wave issues. One Artison RCC160 can get all the way down to 35Hz, however its creator says that using multiple units in one room, the listener will experience the fullest even bass response in all parts of the room making the speaker versatile for many types of uses from movies, to gaming and music only playback.
S45-1750P PRO SERIES
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LAN CABLES C4 APPROVED
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Redline red-line.co.uk
The RCC160 delivers lots of in-house created tech to take it to another level
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Dream big. Think bigger. Here’s an annoying question—where do you see yourself in five years? How about tomorrow? It’s one thing to dream. It’s even better to know. That’s why we’ve launched the CEDIA Academy online learning platform. Carefully curated and masterfully designed courses cover every aspect of the home technology industry. It’s where beginners become experts, and experts become gurus. Don’t just dream. Know.
Plug in at cediaacademy.net
CRESTRON TAKES THE TEMPERATURE Crestron has announced the launch of the Horizon Thermostat, an attractive touch screen smart thermostat that ends the replaceable battery design for a simple two-wire install into any location. Users never need wake up to a dead thermostat again – the Horizon Thermostat provides reliable control of the temperature and humidity throughout an entire home for a more refined, convenient, and alwaysworking home environment. Learning thermostats set the bar for design for homeowners, but then fall short meeting control and functionality better. Unlike other smart thermostats, Crestron says the Horizon is a design-first device that can react to dynamic routines in response to data from onboard temperature, humidity, and proximity sensors. When integrated with the Crestron Home platform, Horizon Thermostats act in concert with other smart devices like lighting and shading to ensure optimal comfort, convenience, and energy savings. With a high-resolution 3.5in LCD touchscreen display and an auto-adjustable backlight that toggles between day and night mode depending on time of day or user preferences, the Horizon Thermostat is a professional grade device with a luxurious and intuitive aesthetic. The product measures a trim 124mm wide by 89mm high and is available in Horizon white, black, or almond finishes to match décor. The RGB-backlit accent and status lightbar complements the display while
the ambient light and proximity sensors ensure the thermostat is always discreet, but visible when you need it. The Horizon Thermostat complements the Crestron Horizon dimmers, switches, keypads, and receptacles. Featuring an ultra-slim, 14mm profile that rests nearly flush against the wall thanks to its battery-free design, the Horizon Thermostat connects with just two wires and pairs with home Wi-Fi networks. While ideal for new builds, the Horizon also supports retrofit applications with no common wire when paired with the Crestron Common Wire Adapter accessory, sold separately. Crestron crestron.com A new attractive and practical solution from Crestron
TIME TO TUNE-UP! No longer do you need to buy an entire JBL Synthesis system to benefit from the enhanced capabilities of the Synthesis SDP-55 Pre/ Processor and SDR-35 AVR. As the UK’s exclusive distributor of the brand in the UK, Karma-AV has announced that is to make these components available individually to the UK’s home cinema system builders through JBL Synthesis dealers. The SDP-55 and SDR-35 platforms are based on the ARCAM AV40 processor and AVR30 (the UK brand being part of the Harman group of companies) but have been upgraded by Harman engineers. While the I/Os are broadly identical, the SDP-55 and SDR-35 use the superior 24-bit /192 kHz ESS Sabre 9028 Pro DAC (replacing the 9026), which offers significantly lower noise (THD+N) at -7db/channel. The reduced levels of distortion aboard the Synthesis designs are exploited by the latest 16-channel audio technologies, including, exclusively, Harman’s Logic 16 processing: a proprietary up-mixer with roots in Lexicon’s famous Logic 7 mode. Logic 16 provides a heightened sense of 3D realism and will enhance any input source from mono up to 15.1, including all Dolby formats. The SDP-55 and SDR-35 also offer the opportunity to upgrade a system’s low frequency performance by onboarding the flagship ‘Multi
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Sub’ DIRAC Live bass control (available to ARCAM owners as a $500 upgrade). It uses machine learning and AI to quickly determine the ideal settings for multiple subwoofers and can apply filters automatically. In addition, the JBL Synthesis models are equipped with Dante IP networking capability, which sends uncompressed AV over Ethernet to compatible system components. The most obvious application for cinema system builders would be the use of inexpensive CAT cable between the SDP-55 and compatible Synthesis SDA-7120 7 channel and SDA-2200 2 channel Class G amplifiers, rather than traditionally more industrial, exotically priced interconnects.
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Karma AV karma-av.co.uk Typical retail prices (inc vat) are JBL Synthesis SDP-55 Pre/ Processor: £5000, JBL Synthesis SDR-35 AVR: £6000
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PRODUCTS
CRESTRON IN THE TRINNOV DRIVING SEAT
This driver adds to the existing line up of Crestron, Control4, RTI, Elan, AMX, Savant (in-house)
Trinnov Audio has announced that it has completed its line-up of home automation drivers with the release of the fully certified Crestron Home driver by Janus Technology. This driver is available free of charge from both the Crestron and Janus Technology Dealer Portals. Trinnov Audio, supplier of Immersive Audio processing for the last 20 years, says Crestron Home is fast being adopted by automation dealers and provides a simplified, but no less powerful, alternative to the full Crestron platform.
Trinnov argues this broadens its appeal to dealers by providing a quicker programming platform that’s easier to modify making it ideally suited to single room solutions, such as home theatres, or as part of a whole home control solution. David Meyerowitz, Technical Sales Manager EU, Trinnov Audio elaborates, “We have been working with Janus Technology for a number of years now. We believe this is the best way to provide the most reliable and fully featured drivers for our dealers. Trinnov Audio are primarily
a software company yes, but we concede that automation is a specialist field. “Therefore we turn to Richard Caton and his team of engineers to provide the development and support for these drivers. They provide many drivers for many manufacturers so are ideally positioned to provide these services for us and allow us to use our precious R&D resources to concentrate on what we know best.” Richard Caton, Owner Janus Technology, adds, “We were pleased to be chosen by Trinnov Audio to develop their latest integration for Crestron Home. The solution we developed provides a simple integration of Trinnov into the standard AVR interface in Crestron Home, and complements this with an extension driver, allowing the end user more bespoke control of the powerful advanced features available in the Altitude platform such as Preset and advanced Sound mode functionality. We look forward to working with Trinnov and supporting their dealers with their integrations and extending the capabilities our drivers as the Altitude platform and Crestron Home evolve.” Trinnov trinnov.com
Janus Technology janustechnology.co.uk
SPEAKER CABLE TO CPR CLASS CCA www.fscables.com sales@fscables.com 01727 840841
LET THERE BE LIGHT A revelation in display technology, Samsung’s ‘The Wall’ blends MicroLED light with AI optimisation for flawless HDR results on an awe-inspiring scale. Habitech introduces the ultimate in custom screen luxury…
The Wall forms part of our new suite of demonstration rooms at Basingstoke. Please contact the team to arrange a visit. www.habitech.co.uk | 01256 638500 | sales@habitech.co.uk
The ONE team for Smart Installers.
To learn more about these brands or speak to our specialist team call 01256 378550 or email exertisone@exertis.co.uk
