Pro AVL MEA November-December 2021 by Blank Canvas Publishing Ltd

ProAVLMEA November–December 2021 MICA (P) 010/05/2021

LIVE SOUND LIGHTING RECORDING INSTALLATION AV BROADCAST POSTPRODUCTION November–December 2021

THE BEATING HEART

The Expo’s crowning achievement awakes from hibernation

A FRESH START FOR SONOVISION

LECTROSONICS TURNS 50 GRAVITY MEDIA IN QATAR

Singapore: MICA (P) 010/05/2021

www.proavl-mea.com

SENNHEISER EDUCATION SOLUTIONS

Make learning a sound experience Talk

Listen

Control

sennheiser.com/education

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Contents Volume 18 Issue Six November–December 2021

Editor’s note

NEWS NEWS Audiotonix acquires Sound Devices, D3 LED joins the Ross Video family

SPECIAL REPORT GITEX 2021 – Pro AVL MEA walks the aisles at the DWTC

APPOINTMENTS 3DB sets up for the new season, CTME grows its ranks

FEATURES INTERVIEW QSC’s Chant Utukian outlines the brand’s plans for MEA

COVER: BEATING HEART As Dubai Expo 2020 opens, Al Wasl Plaza begins to beat

FRESH START Sonovision Studios constructs a new home under lockdown

GRAND AMBITION Love of Christ Generation Church replicates UK success

Email: sluckhurst@proavl-mea.com With the pandemic throwing a major spanner in the works, we all finally got to witness the opening of the Dubai Expo 2020 at the beginning of October. It’s certainly been a long time coming and quite a sight it was. I’m writing this introduction while looking out over the Dubai Skyline, another thing that has been a very long time coming. The Expo is now in full force, and truly something that must be witnessed in person for the sheer scale to be appreciated. I’d encourage everyone to try and make the journey out if possible before it closes in March. There are tonnes of interesting audiovisual elements hidden away inside the more than 190 pavilions, and we’ll be uncovering them in bite size pieces over the next several issues of Pro AVL MEA. But where better to start than the heart of everything, Al Wasl Plaza, which you can find out more about on pp28–29. GITEX Technology Week was also a roaring success, and you’ll find a report on p22 covering our brief stop at the show. At the time of writing, CABSAT has yet to commence but I question whether it’ll enjoy the same enthusiasm and passion found at GITEX. Time will tell. One thing is for certain, October has been the busiest month in the region for a long, long time.

MAKING SOUND MATTER The first pro rehearsal/recording venue opens in Al Quoz 36

BUSINESS LETTER FROM AMERICA Dan Daley asks, is it time for pro audio to embrace big data?

LETTER FROM EUROPE Phil Ward ponders Moscow’s Kremlin Palace upgrade

COMPANY PROFILE US wireless audio pioneer Lectrosonics reaches 50 years

COMPANY PROFILE Gravity Media on its expanding Qatari aspirations

SHOW REVIEW Caroline Moss reports on PLASA’s return to London

TECHNOLOGY Diversified has reinvigorated its approach to UCC solutions

NEW PRODUCTS The industry’s most comprehensive product news

ANALYSIS ISE’s Mike Blackman discusses the show’s move to Barcelona

inside 8

Contacts GENERAL MANAGER Richard Lawn T: +44 1892 676280 rlawn@proavl-mea.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER Adrian Baker T: +44 1892 676280 abaker@proavl-mea.com

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sue Gould T: +44 1892 676280 sgould@proavl-mea.com

DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER Nick Smith T: +44 1892 676280 nsmith@proavl-mea.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Caroline Moss T: +44 1892 676280

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Karen Wallace T: +44 1892 676280

cmoss@proavl-mea.com

kwallace@proavl-mea.com

VIDEO EDITOR Chris Yardley T: +44 1892 676280

SALES ASSOCIATE Carolyn Valliere T: +1 562 746 1790

cyardley@proavl-mea.com

COVER: Al Wasl Plaza PRINTER: Times Printers Singapore LICENCES: Singapore: MCI (P) 010/05/2021 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owners.

www.proavl-mea.com

@ProAVLCentral

cvalliere@proavl-mea.com

DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR Libby Stonell T: +44 1892 676280 lstonell@proavl-mea.com

CIRCULATION Marne Mittelmann F: +65 6491 6588 circulation@proavl-mea.com

PUBLISHED BY: 17 Upper Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2DU, UK

@ProAVLMEAMagazine November–December 2021 PRO AVL MEA 3

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NEWS

Audiotonix acquires Sound Devices WORLD

Sound Devices has become the latest member of the Audiotonix group, a collection of audio brands that includes Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiCo, DiGiGrid, KLANG:technologies, Solid State Logic and US-based audio and lighting distributor, Group One Limited. The acquisition coincides with the retirement of Sound Devices co-founder, Jon Tatooles, who has driven the company forward for the last 23 years. Co-founder Matt Anderson, who has been chief engineer since inception and CEO since 2013, will continue to serve in both roles. “It has been incredible to build Sound Devices over the last 23 years into the organisation it is today,” the outgoing co-founder commented. “I am very excited about the next chapter for the company, and I leave it in great hands. Audiotonix is a great organisation who will build on the success we have achieved. I don’t believe there is a better partner.”

L–R: Jon Tatooles, James Gordon and Matt Anderson “I’ve enjoyed getting to know James and the team during the past few months,” added Anderson. “In terms of values and culture, Sound Devices fits perfectly within the Audiotonix group of companies.

In a way, it will be business as usual at Sound Devices, as we will carry on doing the same thing we’ve been doing for the past 23 years: focusing intensely on making the best sound products we

can. However, the Audiotonix group brings us more strength in terms of access to capital, depth in manufacturing, knowledge in engineering, sourcing of parts and expanding our sales and marketing expertise. I am extremely excited about this new opportunity.” James Gordon, CEO of Audiotonix, stated: “The addition of Sound Devices and their fantastic team to our portfolio of premium audio brands is a proud moment for all involved. Their expertise and technical pedigree in film production, broadcasting and professional recording is a great fit. As with previous acquisitions, we always look to increase the knowledge share groupwide and with FPGA-based solutions and RF wireless technology at their core, we have an enviable opportunity.” www.audiotonix.com www.sounddevices.com

Ross acquires D3 LED WORLD

Sennheiser and Xilica announce strategic alliance WORLD

Xilica has partnered with Sennheiser to develop an integrated room solution that is said to minimise installation time, improve audio quality and enhance collaboration for end users. The partnership pairs the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) beamforming microphone array with Xilica’s ecosystem of DSP, user interfaces and network endpoints to ensure speech intelligibility for physical and remote participants in hybrid spaces. Integrators and end users will benefit from the TCC2’s seamless integration with Xilica Solaro processors and Xilica Gio network endpoints, providing a simpler, no-code setup with pre-validated compatibility. As part of the alliance, Xilica has enabled support for the TruVoicelift functionality of the TCC2 across its Solaro Series of DSPs, which simplifies the installation of multiple TCC2 microphones through automatic testing and calibration of audio. Additionally, TruVoicelift offers noise reduction, speaker amplification and creates targeted zones to home in on participants speaking in busy spaces. When paired with Xilica’s proprietary noise

reduction and HearClear echo cancellation algorithms, the combined solution offers “a robust defence against meeting distractions”. Additionally, TCC2 and Solaro processors offer end-to-end mute status sync for Microsoft Teams. This enables a softwarebased mute action, such as clicking a button in the Microsoft Teams application, to be reflected throughout the chain and back to the TCC2’s status indicator LED. Similarly, when using Xilica user interfaces, a mute action can be reflected both to the TCC2 and back into the Microsoft Teams application, giving room users better visibility. Additionally, general availability of the Xilica follow-me camera tracking module for the TCC2 is expected in Q4 2021, enabling automated pan-tilt-zoom by using the beam position information from the TCC2. This will give room users greater freedom to present throughout their space without consideration of the AV infrastructure.

Ross Video has announced the acquisition of D3 LED (Dynamic Digital Displays) from Southpaw Live. Based in California, D3 was founded in 2006 and has matured to become a leader in highquality indoor and outdoor LED displays. The company also develops LED processing, content management and playback systems which can generate, process and distribute video on massive scales. Major broadcasters including ABC and ESPN in addition to international corporations such as Gap, Capital One and Victoria’s Secret rely on D3’s interfacing and control solutions. Following the recent acquisition of Primestream, D3 is Ross Video’s 18th since 2009. “We’re excited to welcome the amazing D3 team to Ross,” said Ross Video CEO, David Ross. “D3 is in a class of its own for LED processing technology and the services that make customers succeed. They are innovators who were first to market with many technologies including IP data/video distribution between LED controllers and receivers using their True Element technology to deliver the highest quality imagery. I can’t wait to have our R&D

teams collaborate and help our customers overcome their creative, business and technical challenges.” Ross intends to further expand D3’s focus on broadcast, retail and hospitality, while also pursuing other live production applications such as Virtual LED and Extended Reality, as well as IMAG in venues. D3’s solutions will enable the Canadian manufacturer to offer an even more comprehensive range of content rendering platforms, including XPression motion graphics, Voyager (based on the Unreal Engine from Epic Games) and the D3 IMS playback system. “We are very excited about the future and the benefits that our combined technical expertise will deliver to our customers,” said VP of Ross D3 LED, Meric Adriansen. “Our focus will be on creating products that enable our customers to communicate better with their customers. Whether that is to capture more eyeballs, tell a more compelling story or entertain and educate them better, Ross D3 LED will be there every step of the way.” www.rossvideo.com

www.sennheiser.com www.xilica.com

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NEWS

disguise and ROE commit to deeper collaboration WORLD

disguise and ROE Visual have strengthened their existing strategic partnership into what is now being described as a “multi-faced alliance”. Being involved with virtual production techniques since 2017, ROE Visual’s LED technology and disguise’s Extended Reality (xR) workflow have both become a well-recognised part of many virtual production setups globally. Furthermore, the two companies both share a similar customer philosophy and way of working that is rooted in high-end products and a solution-based and service-orientated customer approach. Following the opening of xR showrooms in Los Angeles in the US and London in the UK last year, disguise plans to open more stages with ROE Visual products. The companies create accessible state-of-the-art facilities for the global XR community while giving users the opportunity to explore the possibilities of real-

time visual experiences in virtual production. In addition to powering hundreds of xR stages globally, the partnership is funded by teams sharing knowledge and expertise, translating this into product features that will benefit users. Part of this will be a training programme for both technical teams to better understand each other’s products and techniques and translate them into improved workflows and resulting visual effects for their partners and users. “disguise and ROE Visual’s shared history and commitment to producing cutting-edge technology that empowers users to bring unforgettable experiences to life means that this partnership will further expand the global reach of extended reality,” stated Fernando Kufer, CEO of disguise. “ROE Visual’s dedication to providing the best LED display platforms and outstanding LED solutions drives mutual

innovation in virtual production. The teams’ professional attitude and enthusiasm are very motivational to serve our shared clientele with even better solutions and techniques.” “We’re pleased to be working in close cooperation with the disguise team. disguise and ROE Visual engaging in this partnership is beneficial to both companies and, more

importantly, for our global user community,” added Grace Kuo, sales director for ROE Visual. “We believe the partnership will help to develop virtual production technology and bring it to a higher level.” www.disguise.one www.roevisual.com

All Systems Go for QSC in MEA region New investment to spur APEX growth WORLD

With an aim to strengthen market presence and enable closer customer proximity and support, QSC has announced the opening of a dedicated MEA regional office. Located in the heart of Dubai, the location will serve as the business development and training hub for the Middle East and Africa and will manage the distribution of the QSC product portfolio to support various verticals including corporate, higher education, live entertainment and cinema. Working closely with regional distribution partners in addition to maintaining close relationships with key direct accounts, Chant Utukian, director MEA, will lead the Dubai office. Supported by applications manager Angelo Arbilo, the team will also provide Q-SYS training in a dedicated space. “QSC is always looking toward the future and grounding its roots in the most important regions for our business,” commented QSC

WORLD

EMEA managing director, Markus Winkler. “MEA is a crucial piece of this strategy, and our new office in Dubai allows us to accelerate our growth trajectory, proliferate the QSC brand even more, and help our customers

in the region deliver on the QSC promise to enable exceptional experiences with softwarebased audio, video and control technologies.”

Giva Audiovisual Technologies BV has agreed an investment package with prominent Belgian investor LRM to aid the expansion of its APEX pro AV brand. The injection of additional capital will allow Giva to scale up manufacturing operations in order to meet demand for APEX’s CloudPower installation amplifiers.

www.qsc.com

Danley and Dynacord join forces

Dynacord’s flagship IPX amplifiers for fixed install applications WORLD

Danley and Dynacord have formed a strategic alignment to bring complementary product combinations to the global marketplace. US-based loudspeaker manufacturer Danley Sound Labs and Dynacord, a German company with a 70-year history, will be using each other’s strengths to offer sound system solutions, with Danley loudspeakers powered and optimised by Dynacord

amplifiers, DSP and software. Danley loudspeaker settings will be available for all Dynacord amplifiers. “This is a big step forward for us, and we’re very excited about this development,” said Mike Hedden, Danley’s chief steward in charge. “Working with Dynacord will change people’s perspective when they think about Danley, as it allows us to go wider and deeper with our product offerings.”

Dynacord, part of the Bosch Group, is equally positive about the move. “Danley has a particularly strong following in the United States, and they are also known around the world, so we’re excited to link together,” added Dynacord marketing manager, Robert Ferguson. “They are an engineering-driven company, as is Dynacord, and that approach is what makes us a great fit. Danley loudspeakers have a reputation for sound quality, while also providing the coverage and output required to fill entire stadiums and arenas with fewer individual loudspeakers. Now, when they are powered by Dynacord amps and mixers, it will be the best of both worlds. This alignment brings these advanced technologies to an expanding international customer base with an exceptional value proposition.”

“This new backing from LRM is an important part of our ambitious growth strategy,” commented APEX managing director, Paul Van Hees. “CloudPower has been a tremendous success for us and this investment helps us to keep up with the order book without compromising our agility and commitment to outstanding quality and support. In parallel, we are actively strengthening our distribution networks to increase access to the range and to pave the way for the product innovations coming through the R&D pipeline.”

www.danleysoundlabs.com

www.apex-audio.be

L–R: APEX MD Paul Van Hees and technical director Hendrik-Jan Gielis

www.dynacord.com

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NEWS

SAW integrates Audac throughout Midgard Estate NAMIBIA

Located amid the African bush not far from Namibia’s capital, The Midgard Country Estate is one of O&L Leisure’s most iconic retreats. The estate has been designed to appeal to a variety of potential customers, possessing 46 newly decorated bedrooms, a bar, two swimming pools and a host of other leisure facilities. It is an ideal setting for a family retreat, as well as a perfect venue for a meeting, conference, team-building event or wedding. But as beautiful as the premises and surroundings are, Midgard’s AV technology was in need of an update to stay in line with cutting-edge standards. Stage Audio Works’ (SAW) Namibian office first became involved with the Midgard Estate in 2020 when it was called in to update the AV systems in Midgard’s conference venues. Most recently, the company has returned to provide a turnkey Audac-based distributed audio system for the restaurant and bar area. “We focused on upgrading the estate’s four conference venues, providing audiovisual equipment that ensures a seamless conferencing experience for guests,” explained Joppie Maritz, MD of SAW Namibia. “We implemented projectors, motorised screens, discreet ceiling speakers and offered the ability to adapt the environment with advanced audio processing combined with lighting and room control plus videoconferencing capacity.” The second phase dealt with installing the distributed audio system, while the third will include the integration of a smaller Audac system for the wellness centre. The brief for the second phase was to design and install a multizone, distributed audio system with volume control and independent source selection for each zone. The installation had to be discreet to match the aesthetic of the venue. It was also important that the solution was scalable for future upgrades. SAW Namibia specified and provided an Audac-based solution to meet all of these requirements, which at its

Unite emba wirele enhan expan was s Comm statevans i “We tested

All images courtesy of SonjaKilianPhotography StageAudioWorks

centre features an Audac MTX88 matrix to distribute audio to up to eight zones. This can be controlled by an accessible webbased interface, mobile app or via external control panels.

For ease of use, SAW installed Audac’s MWX45 and MWX65 wall panel controllers across the restaurant, lounge and bar areas, enabling remote source selection and volume control and, in the case of

the MWX65, local audio input as well. A modular Audac XMP44 audio interface aids flexibility by offering four SourceCon slots for different audio source modules. In this case, the client can simultaneously select inputs from either USB audio, internet audio stream, an FM tuner or DStv (African direct broadcast satellite service) audio input. A Radial Engineering wall DI box handles the DStv audio input from the bar area. When asked what prompted the choice of an Audac system, Maritz explained: “From previous experience using Audac products during other projects, we knew their range is reliable, as well as affordable. We were confident we could design an end-to-end Audac solution which delivers at a very competitive price point. For a company like O&L, who treasure the user experience, going with a versatile, easily operable Audac solution was a no brainer.”

For audio playback, SAW bolstered the estate’s sound system by providing multiple Alti 6 pendant loudspeakers, which proved ideal for the high ceilings and open space in the public areas. CIRA8 ceiling loudspeakers were utilised in areas with lower ceilings where a more discreet approach was required. To power the system, SAW integrated a number of Audac quad-channel 100V amplifiers combined with COM108 where lower output capacity was needed. “It’s been a great experience working with O&L Leisure on the Midgard project,” concluded Maritz. “They have a clear idea of what they want the customer experience to be – creating a venue that caters to all kinds of use cases and events. We were pleased to provide the technical expertise required to materialise their vision.” www.audac.eu www.stageaudioworks.com

PGL eSports teams up with Earthworks WORLD

Microphone manufacturer Earthworks Audio has announced a new partnership with PGL eSports. The esports specialist will now use Earthworks’ line of USB and XLR streaming microphones, including the ICON and ICON Pro, for all its game commentators. “Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve hosted several online tournaments and finding the best audio capture solution for a remote broadcast was always challenging,” explained PGL sound engineer, Alexandru “ON” Călin. “Right now, I believe we are in the best place; I am enthusiastic about our partnership with Earthworks Audio. Being familiar with their equipment and how they strive to reach audio quality excellence, we will definitely

increase the value of our future remote broadcasts. Their products are the best option on the market when it comes to superior sound capture.” Earthworks microphones will be heard and seen on PGL event broadcasts for world-renowned competitive games such as DOTA 2, Apex Legends, FIFA and CS:GO, among others. These events regularly bring in over 250,000 peak viewers, with some reaching more than 950,000. Not to mention, the microphones will be seen by some of the most well-known Twitch personalities, adding a higher level of sonic clarity to their streams. “Livestreaming is the future of our industry,” said Earthworks’ VP of sales and marketing, Mike Dias. “Thanks to the ultra-fast transient response of our

microphones, we are able to provide viewers with an experience that puts them right in the middle of the action. We could not be more excited to work with PGL to provide stellar audio quality

to their personnel, and to provide more value to their broadcasts and viewers.” www.earthworksaudio.com www.pglesports.com

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NEWS

Bolero extends coverage across production facility ISRAEL

United Studio of Israel (USI) recently embarked on the deployment of a Riedel Bolero wireless intercom system in a bid to significantly enhance the communications capabilities at its expansive Hertzliya Studios. The Bolero solution was specified by Riedel’s local partner Arrowmid Communications and will be used across eight state-of-the-art television studios, as well as OB vans in the field. “We went through a due diligence phase and tested some wireless intercom systems, but we

realised that the landscape in terms of reliable wireless communications technology is really tight,” said United Studio’s technical manager, Haim Sivilia. “Riedel quickly stood out from the crowd in terms of RF performance, coverage and audio quality, as well as ease of use.” USI is home to some of the highest-rated prime-time entertainment shows on Israeli television, and its Hertzliya Studios is the country’s largest, most advanced content production facility. The use of Bolero increases

www.riedel.net

MIDDLE EAST

NMK Electronics has announced Huddly as the latest brand to join its distribution portfolio, which has grown significantly since its acquisition by Midwich at the end of 2020. The new announcement comes as no surprise given that the AI-powered video manufacturer already enjoys a global partnership with Midwich. NMK will represent Huddly throughout the entire ME market, focusing on the corporate, education, government and hospitality sectors. “Huddly is one of the few brands in the world offering AI-powered cameras suitable for everything from huddle spaces to boardrooms, and its solutions are a perfect fit for our Unified

uired.

re .”

www.arrowmid.com

NMK to distribute Huddly in the Middle East

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the range of communications across these production facilities, in addition to providing configuration options that simplify the creation of user groups as required by various productions. Bolero also supports comms in USI OB vans operated across Israel. With the Bolero system requiring less than half the number of antennas needed by other solutions to guarantee complete coverage at Hertzliya, the broadcaster was also able to reduce antenna costs while enhancing both audio quality and communications flexibility. Misha Ayzenberg, Arrowmid Communications CTO, supported USI in optimising the wireless intercom system across all its facilities.

Communication and Collaboration (UC&C) category business,” explained Subhash Gedda, Huddly brand manager at NMK. “We are pleased to cooperate with NMK Electronics in bringing superior video experiences to ME businesses,” commented Stein Ove Eriksen, co-founder and CEO of Huddly. “Huddly’s AI cameras are designed to enable remote collaboration in any type of space, making teams work efficiently regardless of where its members are located.” www.huddly.com www.nmkelectronics.com

Add a strong voice to your system

Expand your Video Management System (VMS) or SIP-based communication system Based on open standards, the IP horn speaker IP-A1SC15 plugs right into standard IP networks and is easily integrated. The IP horn speaker broadcasts crystal clear pre-recorded and live speech announcements manually or automatically triggered by VoIP/ SIP phone systems, IP camera systems, image sensing or motion detection video systems. A PoE+ connection enables the integrated 15 W amplifier to broadcast excellent sound with up to 124dB. Good sound contributes to security. www.toa.eu

TOAEurope

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TOA Electronics Europe

We supply sound, not equipment.

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NEWS

Peripheral Vision fills the Nureva gap in South Africa SOUTH AFRICA

Peripheral Vision has been named as the new South Africa distributor for Nureva. The manufacturer’s range of audio conferencing solutions is popular in the corporate, education and government sectors, and the appointment of Peripheral Vision sees the brand introduce its solutions to the South African market for the first time, citing the need to facilitate reliable audio to support the country’s growing hybrid working and learning environments. The Nureva product line includes the HDL200 for small rooms, HDL300 for mid-size rooms and Dual HDL300 for large rooms. The systems are said to be easy to install, set up and scale, and feature continuous autocalibration

that automatically adapts to any room configuration. “We see a huge need in South Africa for an audio conferencing solution like

WORLD

“We are incredibly excited for this new chapter in our mission to democratise production workflows with the addition of cloud-based collaboration to the disguise platform,” said disguise CEO, Fernando Kufer. “We have been working closely with the teams at Mapping Matter and Previz over the years and our shared vision for remote collaboration has enabled us to join forces to deliver a more comprehensive and streamlined solution for all our users to create their best story. We are thrilled to welcome customers of both Mapping Matter and Previz to disguise and look forward to a bright future together.” A web-based tool for technical design, Mapping Matter plays an important part in

conferencing industry with its reliable fullroom audio coverage at a lower cost than ceiling microphone technology. Unlike most traditional high-end audio products, Nureva systems are also much easier to deploy and maintain.” “We are delighted to have Peripheral Vision introduce Nureva audio to the South African market,” added Nancy Knowlton, Nureva CEO. “We look forward to working with them to address the critical need for audio conferencing solutions that support the long-term trend of hybrid working and learning.” www.nureva.com

disguise makes two acquisitions

Paving the way for remote collaboration and cloud-based 3D content previsualisation tools to join the disguise platform, the British visual solutions manufacturer has announced its acquisition of Mapping Matter and Previz. The development marks the next step in the company’s expansion plans and follows investments from the Carlyle Group as well as a minority stake from Epic Games earlier in the year.

this and we are excited to add Nureva audio to our portfolio,” said Wynand Langenhoven, Peripheral Vision CEO. “Nureva fills a significant gap in the

www.peripheralvision.co.za

Chris Allen launches Room Sonics WORLD

the simulation and photometric analysis of AV installation projects, while Previz offers a seamless workflow to design assets, plan projects and communicate directly from the browser. Both platforms enjoy an established reputation for delivering interactive cloud-based solutions. By integrating both platforms with disguise, users across all three platforms will be able to develop and manage their projects in one unified and comprehensive

workflow, and will be able to collaborate by importing, previewing and making creative decisions on the final output together, while sharing their work with clients and peers. In the coming months, the trio will work closely together to develop a joint solution that gives value to each of their respective customers. Ongoing development will provide access to comprehensive workflows with content engines such as Unreal Engine, which will collectively enable design, sequencing, calibrations and validation. www.disguise.one www.mappingmatter.com

Following a 15-year career with two major UK audio manufacturers, familiar industry face Chris Allen has established a new company focused on providing room optimisation and speaker lineup services. Named Room Sonics, the company’s aim is to help audio professionals improve the listening experience both in their studios and homes. With the pandemic forcing more and more artists and producers to work independently, and often in acoustically challenging spaces, Allen recognised a burgeoning need for an independent room optimisation service that would help customers achieve the best possible results. “My career within market-leading brands Prism Sound and PMC Speakers has given me a great deal of experience and thorough insight into modern-day professional workflows and domestic hi-fi setups,” he explained. “As an independent consultant, I provide genuinely impartial advice to help resolve many of the issues people face, especially when they are working and listening in spaces where the acoustics and speaker setups are less than ideal.” With technical and commercial responsibilities at both Prism Sound and PMC, Allen has worked with numerous world-class recording, mixing and postproduction studios to specify, supply and commission highend audio equipment. He intends to use his experience to help people find solutions that meet their needs, without necessarily incurring huge costs. “Audio professionals are investing a great deal of money in instruments and equipment that has been beautifully designed to deliver musicality, a clean signal path and remarkable audio quality,” he said. “However, the true

Chris Allen performance of that equipment is often limited by the room it is being used in. Many of these issues can be easily overcome with the right advice and mitigation. Often all that is required is a better setup in a given space for the loudspeakers and the listening position. However, if a problem is particularly severe, Room Sonics can advise on additional solutions, such as acoustic treatment, and recommend the best products to achieve the desired result.” As well as room optimisation, Room Sonics also offers a loudspeaker lineup service suitable for postproduction and music mixing, including voicing, gain-matching, time-alignment and subwoofer integration for stereo, surround and immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos. www.roomsonics.com

www.previz.co

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THEY ARE BACK! CRESTRON EUROPE INTEGRATION AWARDS The Crestron Europe Integration Awards 2021 are a celebration of the finest projects featuring Crestron technology in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The prestigious awards return to recognise projects of excellence completed since January 2020. Submit your best projects before December 3rd. Winners will be announced on February 2nd at ISE. Visit crestron.com/Europe-Integration-Awards to learn more. 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.

crestron.com/europe-integration-awards

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NEWS

CTME gears up for Middle East events resurgence MIDDLE EAST

Following a drawn-out period of littleto-no action for the live events industry in the Middle East, Creative Technologies has begun to see the sector come back to life in recent months. The event technology specialist has recently delivered audiovisual solutions to many of the spectacular returning events in 2021, both live and virtual, including the UAE Presidents Cup Final, Dubai World Cup, Saudi Arabia’s Noor Riyadh Festival, multiple golfing events across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the media launch activation for the UAE’s Mission to Mars, alongside a variety of virtual conferences and graduations. In addition to these, the company’s live events division has also recently partnered with the Sharjah Performing

offering, from two-way radios and event networks to signal distribution. In addition to new technology, the company has also brought onboard several new members in recent months to meet the growing demand in the Middle East events market. The recent expansion in equipment and labour has led the company to redesign its ME headquarters to provide a full-scale AV facility. Its 2,100m2 facility has recently been renovated to house the ever-growing team, with all Live Events, System Integration and Venue Services teams housed within the newly refurbished open-plan office. The meeting rooms have been redesigned to be more comfortable and efficient for client presentations and demonstrations, while the fully air-

CATS calls on Clear-Com for The Great Migration KENYA

Clear-Com’s DX210 digital wireless intercom system has been used by renowned wildlife photographer Jeffrey Wu to assist with a first-of-its-kind livestream production of The Great Migration in Africa. Ayaz Rajput, founder of the distributor, integrator, technical support crew and rental partner CATS, was enlisted by Wu to assist with the production, and CATS’ existing DX210 system was considered to be the perfect standalone solution.

each outfitted with three cameras, a vision mixer, audio mixer and streaming equipment, powered by onboard inverters and solar generators during the many hours of operation in the field. The DX210 main station was in one vehicle, with the antennas oriented outside the vehicle and a BP210 twochannel 2.4GHz wireless beltpack deployed in the second. With Rajput in one vehicle and Kassam in the other, this configuration provided the channel to coordinate vehicle

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The DX210 digital wireless intercom system

Arts Academy (SPAA) to deliver technical information and guidance to students to further their knowledge and passion for entering the production world. The CTME Systems Integration (SI) division has been busy delivering permanent install projects across the region, including the recent L-Acoustics installation at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, as well as multiple pavilions at Expo 2020. Alongside these, the SI team had also been busy delivering onsite system training sessions of the specialised audio, projection, LED and lighting installations ahead of the Expo 2020 opening as the pavilions transfer from installs to fully operational spaces. Although predominantly a video specialist company, CTME has expanded its lighting and audio capability recently due to client requests for a full-service delivery. Its latest investments allow it to offer more in regards to lighting and sound, with brands such as Robe, Clay Paky, MA Lighting, Arri, L-Acoustics and DiGiCo adding to its existing stock of Martin, ETC, SGM and Avolites. There have also been further investments in video technology from brands such as Barco, disguise and InfiLED, as well as an increase in its communications

conditioned warehouse offers dedicated prepping areas, spaces for large product facility demonstrations, advanced equipment rental tracking system, in/out loading bays and service areas. Additionally this year, CTME has achieved ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 9001:2015 certifications as part of its commitment to provide a safe working environment for employees, delegates and clients. ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) ensures the company adheres to local and international health and safety requirements, while ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems (QMS) enables it to identify areas where processes can be advanced. “The first half of the year has been great, and the second half of the season is looking even better,” concluded Andy Reardon, CTME managing director. “We have made several investments so far this year, and we have a lot more coming up across audio, video and lighting technology, investments in people and new divisions.”

CATS’ small Clear-Com DX210 digital wireless intercom has been a staple throughout its range of productions for the last nine years, from music performances to TV shows, talk shows, baking contests, esports and, most recently, livestreams. Wu was commissioned by video sharing social networking platforms TikTok and Douyin to curate the content of the livestream, bringing together a global community of viewers into this spectacular display of wildlife. The Great Migration occurs with a change in the season, prompting millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles and more to migrate from Tanzania’s Serengeti to the more fertile grasslands in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Rajput and Wu’s longstanding local production partner, Irfan Kassam, joined together to provide the technical expertise for the five-day event, where app users could tune in to watch the action unfold. The project required seamless communications between two tour vehicles,

movements, technical troubleshooting and any other intervehicle communication. In the open plains, the production team was able to achieve 100–150m of wireless intercom range which allowed enough distance between vehicles for the two hosts who were narrating the content – one speaking Mandarin and the other speaking English – to not interfere with one another, while still allowing Rajput and Kassam to communicate over the comms. “I am honoured to be a part of such a noble cause,” said Rajput. “It’s crazy to think that such a small team, with the help of a single DX210 system, could bring this message onto a global platform. After nine years of service in the industry here in Nairobi, clients and crew have become accustomed to our ClearCom system, which is synonymous with the high quality of service that CATS is known to provide.” www.clearcom.com

www.ctme.co

Capturing The Great Migration

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NEWS

Venuetech kits out Al Arabiya studio with Elation KL Fresnels UAE

n ent,

supporting the latest high-tech cameras, which capture sweeping views of the newsroom and production areas. Ziad Shames Eddine, an LD in Venuetech’s design and application department, specified the Elation models for the space, with the lighting design itself handled by Safwan Harcouss, head of the lighting department at the MBC group. “The Al Arabiya channel has undertaken several renovations over the past few years in order to get the best light quality and therefore the best image quality possible,” stated Harcouss, who lists a small product size, brightness and high CRI as three key factors in the lighting specification. “We needed a CRI of high quality to be able to

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One hundred KL Fresnel 4 CW LED fixtures have been supplied by Dubai-based distributor Venuetech for Al Arabiya’s stateof-the-art broadcast studio in Dubai. The MBC-owned broadcaster recently completed an extensive modernisation of its 2,400m2 multi-venue facility to include newly designed newsroom and studio spaces, production areas and more. In addition to the supply, Venuetech also provided technical support throughout the process.

The facility houses several active broadcast areas including the Command Center, the main broadcast area for the Al Arabiya news anchors, a less formal discussion set, a stand-up area, other anchor areas and a social media centre. The KL Fresnel series fixtures work alongside curved swaths of LED video – much of it configurable and some used for augmented reality – to emphasise the free flowing design of the space while

get perfect skin tones for the camera. We did tests on-camera using different skin tones, and based on these we decided to order the KL Fresnel. “The lights are visible on-camera and for that reason we did not want big, bulky fixtures in the ceiling,” he added. “But not only did we want lights that visually suit our studio, we needed something with power as well as a long life expectancy, as the studio is used 24 hours a day.” Elation’s KL Fresnel CW series is a line of 5,600K cold white LED fixtures, available in 50W, 150W and 350W models. At Al Arabiya, 50W models are installed throughout the ceiling to provide illumination for the studio and high-quality key lighting for the news presenters. Furthermore, the cooler-running LED lights help to keep the overall temperature of the studio lower, meaning less strain on the air conditioning system and less noise. “The lighting system is not only energy efficient it is also a low maintenance solution, as Al Arabiya personnel do not have to deal with bulb changes,” Eddine concluded. www.elationlighting.eu www.venuetech.ae

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WX502 The WX502/O is a powerful 2-way performance speaker which is specially designed for outdoor use, ensuring true-to-nature, high fidelity reproduction of music and speech. Special treatment with powder coating provides the necessary protection for all weather conditions.

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NEWS

TSL products take control at 7 Production UAE

Dubai-based live technical support provider, 7 Production, has acquired a new complete TSL broadcast control system for its 4K OB truck. The company placed an order via BBS Dubai, one of TSL’s trusted systems integrators in the region, as it required a unified solution to control all devices, including the vision mixer, routers and multiviewers. 7 Production deploys TSL Control as its main control and tally management system for the truck, incorporating all signals and signal chains within one system. The company also deploys Virtual Panels, which provide operators with visual, unified control of signal flows and device status within a complete system. The broadcaster required reliable solutions that are flexible and simple to operate during fast-paced, high-pressure

live events. “The TSL system is robust and allows for unlimited connections to thirdparty equipment,” explained Tony Jabbour,

head of engineering and operations at 7 Production. “Even more, it’s not overly complex compared to other control systems

and we have great support from the TSL team. Plus, all of our engineers are familiar with the system as we use it in all of our other OB trucks, making our lives much easier.” In addition to ease of use, TSL Control is reportedly a cost-effective solution for 7 Production, providing both capital and operational savings. By placing the appropriate amount of control in the hands of its operators, the interfaces that work alongside the TallyMan controller help to minimise human error, improve system reliability, support system expansion and simplify system maintenance, all the while minimising both short- and long-term investments for 7 Production. www.tslproducts.com

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Autograph announces new company structure WORLD

Formed in 1972, Autograph Sound Recording has established itself as a world leader in theatre sound, both in the UK and across the globe, with notable productions including the Mamma Mia! tour and Secret Cinema presents Casino Royale. In 1982, the company was joined by Autograph Sales, bringing its theatre experience into the sales and installations markets. At September’s PLASA show, it was announced that both companies are now operating under the one banner from the same London address, and that Autograph has extended its services to clients, both at home and overseas. While theatre

Scott Arnold

remains a core discipline, the company’s activities now encompass sound design, equipment rental and sales, event solutions, technical support, consultancy, infrastructure design and installation, training and product development. Autograph’s portfolio now also extends beyond outside audio to encompass advanced digital networking, data management and visual media. Recent projects in which the company has delivered fully integrated AV solutions include several independent schools, RADA, the British Museum and a soon-tobe-completed major car launch. To reflect the new structure and the company’s

range of services, a new website is now online. “The enforced lockdown periods, though not welcomed, did give us the opportunity to concentrate on completing the changes we are now pleased to announce,” explained MD Scott Arnold. “We are able to deliver all of the qualities and expertise that are uniquely Autograph to a much wider range of customers and applications – whatever the project, the experience our customers receive will very clearly have the Autograph stamp on it.” www.autograph.co.uk

14 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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Televisão de Moçambique goes live with Shotoku MOZAMBIQUE

Televisão de Moçambique (Television of Mozambique) has gone on-air with a robotically controlled camera configuration comprised of Shotoku VR-enabled SmartPed robotic pedestals and an expandable eightchannel TR-XT control system. “Televisão de Moçambique is a perfect example of Shotoku’s worldwide reach and capabilities,” said James Eddershaw, managing director of Shotoku. “The equipment was manufactured in the UK, but the project was managed and installed remotely through Shotoku China with the help of the engineering staff at the station in Mozambique. It was a complicated, multinational, trans-continental effort that was accomplished flawlessly.”

Televisão de Moçambique is the national public broadcaster of Mozambique. The 40-year-old network’s upgrade to robotics marked a milestone that garnered the attention of the country’s president, Filipe Nyusi, who attended the launch at studio headquarters in the capital city of Maputo. Televisão de Moçambique installed two of Shotoku’s fully robotic SmartPedVR XY pedestals. Based on the company’s SmartPed, SmartPedVR incorporates the manufacturer’s built-in VR tracking capabilities allowing it to be used in VR/AR environments that address creative and commercial demands with a costefficient solution. The addition of VR tracking allows the broadcaster to take advantage

President Filipe Nyusi attended the launch at studio headquarters of fully 3D position information, including orientation, and is provided in remote or local operations with seamless switching between modes and with no need to rereference. The pedestals are controlled by a Shotoku TR-XT-8 control system designed to match

the needs of any size production and can scale easily to accommodate future expansion. The TR-XT was reportedly so simple to configure that the entire process was managed remotely from China. www.shotoku.tv

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Classic105 goes modern with virtual mixing from Lawo KENYA

Part of the Radio Africa Group, Classic105 is a streaming radio station based in Nairobi that recently made the decision to embrace Virtual Radio technology. In order to achieve this, the broadcaster has begun using Lawo touch-based crystalCLEAR mixing setups provided by Lawo distributor and systems integrator BYCE Broadcast, who worked closely with Classic105 and the German manufacturer to meet the customer’s specific requirements. This latest installation follows another recent deployment of Lawo virtual mixing solutions at a Radio Africa sister station, underscoring the group’s plan for transitioning to a modern IP production infrastructure. It was the previous installation at sister station Kiss100 FM proving to be so successful that led the broadcaster to outfit

Classic105 as well. Classic105 chose Lawo’s crystalCLEAR mixing solution, which employs VisTool Virtual Radio Studio Builder software for fingertip touchscreen mixing. The graphical “virtual mixer” interface controls Lawo’s Compact Engine, a 1U mixing engine with AoIP audio interfaces and DSP audio processing. The project is said to the first installation of its kind in East Africa. “We are happy with Lawo virtual consoles,” stated Philip Keter, Radio Africa Group’s technical manager. “We have had Kiss100 FM using Lawo RƎLAY mixing for more than one year now, and we have not experienced any downtime. We are even more excited about crystalCLEAR.” www.lawo.com radioafricagroup.co.ke

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NEWS

19 weeks later – NAMM Show paused WORLD

Previously scheduled for 20–23 January, The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) has announced that The NAMM Show will reconvene for a three-day event at the Anaheim Convention Center from 3–5 June, 2022. “The industry has not stopped evolving and innovating during the pandemic, and The NAMM Show is evolving as well,” commented NAMM president and CEO, Joe Lamond. “As the health and safety of our members remains top of mind, and after carefully listening to companies here in the US and around the world, the new dates will help members maximise their opportunities and accelerate what has arguably been a transformative time both in new products and in how they come to market. I imagine this gathering will have the kind of impact of a Beatles moment or the introduction of MIDI – definitely one you will not want to miss.”

According to NAMM, the change in dates addresses ongoing concerns about pandemic activity, new product development and launches, available in-store inventory and current travel restrictions. The

announcement was met with support and enthusiasm from business leaders across the industry. “I, for one, am glad they moved the show to June,” commented president of Sam Ash Music, Sammy Ash. “With a

little luck, Covid will be better contained worldwide, so we can have all the exhibitors present. Personally, I like LA in the winter – I’m from New York – but the pandemic has created opportunities for change in everything we do. I think this is a prudent move, and we’ll be there in force.” However, with InfoComm scheduled to take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 8–10 June immediately afterwards, many mutual exhibitors are facing a logistic headache. With the postponement of The 2022 NAMM Show to June, the organisers have opted to combine the Summer NAMM in Nashville, Tennessee. The largest NAMM Show in the history of the organisation took place in January 2020, when the Show welcomed 115,888 members and industry professionals and more than 7,000 brands. www.namm.org

Newzroom Afrika moves to new studio SOUTH AFRICA

Newzroom Afrika has recently relocated to a new premises in Oak Avenue Randburg. The broadcaster called once again on the services of its original set design team, headed by Michael Gill Designs, to create a polished newsroom set that shoots well for television. Now in its second year live on-air, Newzroom Afrika is a 24-hour television news channel on Multi-Choice’s DStv satellite pay-TV service and has become an authoritative source for delivering local and international live reports and breaking news.

Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier, assisted by Paul Modise, were the appointed lighting designers, while DWR Distribution supplied and installed the lighting equipment assisted by The Install Crew. “It was a big challenge to light the newsroom set because of the ceiling height and the architectural design. We had to come up with clever angles to use light as both an architectural fitting and studio light,” explained Cutts. “I opted to go completely soft because it’s news. We chose an architectural lighting fitting that we adapted to make useable in Ryan Toerien For Kevin Stannett from DWR Distribution, the project was all about overcoming challenges, tight time frames and budgets, but he enjoyed the flexibility of working with Toerien, Gill and Cutts. “This was not our first rodeo together,” Stannett recalled. “On this project, we probably spoke three times a day. Schedules changed, contractors changed, but constant communication ensured that we made it happen. Unlike in a theatre environment where the audience is 15m away from the stage and the sets are not

lit up, we had to hide everything from the bolts, which we had to paint black, to hiding the connectors and cabling. It really was something so out of the ordinary for both my colleagues, Keith Pugin and Andi Rodgers, and I. Tracks were bolted into concrete slabs. We had predetermined rigging points and they were installed before the set. I take my hat off to Josh for those measurements. Even with 20 years of experience in this industry, I couldn’t initially visualise what he was trying to create. I hadn’t yet seen the 3D model of the set but, once the set started coming in, those lighting channels all made sense and why they were there, the backlight, the sidelight. “I know this sounds like a plug, but if DWR is meant to do something, you know it will happen and it will happen properly,” added Stannett. “In the same way, Michael knows that he can rely on certain suppliers, and if SDS needs to do something they’ll do it. On these big projects that’s the important thing – stick with the suppliers you know so that there aren’t any surprises.” www.dwrdistribution.co.za www.newzroomafrika.tv

Newzroom Afrika The new set includes three distinctive zones including the main news area, a couch setup that can double as a standing area and a round table setup, enabling the presenters to comfortably move from one space to the next. To create depth of feel, the team can now shoot from one area to the next along the length of the studio or from the front moving side to side. The broadcaster’s management appointed Ryan Toerien as project manager for the move, who handled every aspect from air conditioning and construction, to the professional installation of equipment.

a studio environment. I think it worked well in the end and the lights match some of Michael’s design. It was a great project.” Toerien added: “The key to the entire project was meticulous planning and working closely with the set team, the broadcast team and the contractors, and eventually it all came together.” The set’s new monochromatic colour scheme testifies to Newzroom Afrika’s growth. The studio’s former iconic red desk was brought over from the old Linden Studios location and is still the focal point of the central news area of the set.

16 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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NEWS

Oman TV enhances its outside production capabilities

A up

OMAN

Oman TV has taken receipt of six Ikegami HDK-73 3-CMOS HDR cameras for use in its newly enhanced OB truck. Operating from Oman TV’s headquarters in the capital, Muscat, the OB will be deployed for live coverage of sports, cultural and news-related events throughout the sultanate. The equipment was supplied by Ikegami Electronics Europe via local integrator Al Nemer Al Aswad. “This investment forms part of a technology upgrade designed to maximise production quality and operational versatility,” explained the senior engineer of the OB vehicle department at Oman TV. “We have had very good experience with Ikegami equipment over the years, both in terms of product specification and proven reliability, backed by a high level of support from the Ikegami Middle East team. The HDK-73’s ability to capture high dynamic range video has particularly strong potential for OB production where camera operators have to handle a very high difference in brightness between sunlit sky and shaded areas of locations such as sports arenas.” Ikegami provided six HDK-73 cameras which can be pedestal mounted for use with long-range telescopic lenses, tripod mounted in specific locations or shoulder mounted for informal close-ups, such as interviews with players. The cameras dockable structure allows for studio configuration with fibre base stations as well as self-contained operation with a camera

Extron provides technical elegance at Nvidia HQ ISRAEL

adapter for wireless or onsite recording applications. A fibre adapter can be attached directly to the camera head without the need for external cables. In addition to the HDK-73 cameras, BS-98 optical-fibre transmission links have also been integrated into OCP-300 operator control panels inside the vehicle. “Supplementing the HDK-73 cameras, the Hi-Motion II allows us to capture images at up to 1,000fps for slow-motion replay,” added the senior engineer. “We are pleased that Oman TV has chosen Ikegami cameras again for its live production,” commented Ikegami business development manager Asim Saeed. “As a company, we are committed to ensuring that any investment in our cameras helps broadcasters adapt to shifting broadcast market dynamics with the flawless addition of new products.” www.ikegami.com part.gov.om/en/web/omantv

Located in Yokneam, Nvidia’s network business headquarters needed a redesign to enhance functionality and increase energy efficiency throughout, whilst remaining aesthetically sound. The nine-storey building hosts several meeting and conference areas and the client was keen to present technical sophistication and elegance in equal measure. Nvidia decided on Extron AV Solutions to provide seamless AV switching across multiple formats, videoconferencing and superior sound reinforcement. Bynet Data Communication was brought onboard to integrate the meeting rooms throughout the headquarters. Each room included professional 55- to 65-inch displays, except the boardroom which has two 98-inch displays mounted side-by-side on the front wall. All rooms include Extron AV switching and control systems, room automation and sound reinforcement products. The Extron DTP CrossPoint 84 4K IPCP SA 8x4 presentation matrix switcher with built-in audio processing and an integrated control processor provides content switching and scaling. The Poly videoconferencing system is tied to the DTP Crosspoint switcher, and the systems are installed on wooden shelves mounted to the

bottom surface of the conference table. Users can annotate on an electronic whiteboard using a separate 55-inch flip display. An Extron XPA U 1002-70V power amplifier receives processed audio signals from the matrix switcher and drives a distributed sound system consisting of four SF 26PT SoundField pendant speakers. Presenters can control the system using the TLP Pro 725C TouchLink Pro touchpanel installed at the head of the conference table. Also integrated is the black Cable Cubby, with its 7-inch touchscreen lid. The interface was customed designed for Nvidia, minimising requests for AV system support. Extron retractor cable systems mounted beneath the table facilitate easy extension, retraction and storage of multiple HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C and network cables. These systems can also be controlled remotely using Extron’s GlobalViewer Enterprise (GVE). Zeevi Grisario, senior engineer for Nvidia, said of the installation: “The quality, reliability and sophistication of Extron’s AV products allowed us to deploy a solid and efficient yet stylish installation in record time.” www.extron.com

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AEQ powers RTS upgrade in Senegal SENEGAL

Senegal’s public broadcasting company, known in French as Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS), is the state-owned company that controls the country’s national radio and television channels. The technical management of RTS recently decided to renovate the company’s central radio studios in Dakar, and AEQ technology was chosen to equip the heart of the new installation. RTS was founded in 1932. After many political changes, the radio section was established in 1950 and the television service in 1965. RTS currently produces two television channels and several national and regional radio channels, all available via RF, satellite and online. Belgian integrator Studiotech was called on for the latest upgrade and has installed AEQ FORUMIP digital audio consoles in the central radio studios and the AEQ BC2000D router in the station’s central control room. The GRAND FORUM-IP is a mixing console designed specifically for on-air broadcast control, and incorporates all the basic features necessary in this type of environment: automatic monitor cut, cough cut, faderstart, signalling control, control signals for the automation of external equipment, external communications management and intercommunication. Its modular design and small size make it suitable for self-monitoring, control-locutory, TV production controls, sound production, mixed configurations and integration into large installations. In the RTS central control room, the AEQ BC-2000D matrix manages all the signals available in the installation. The basis of the BC-2000D router digital audio system is the dual TDM bus, hosted in the BC-2000 DF chassis, which is capable of routing, mixing or distributing more than 1,000 channels simultaneously. The TDM bus is divided into an input bus and an output bus with the possibility of inserting DSP cards, achieving a high throughput of DSP processing capability. The system can be decentralised by using MADI or AoIP Dante links as interconnection between multiple sub-racks. Moreover, equipment with Dante or AES67 connectivity can be connected directly to the Dante/AES67 cards located in the main frame or any sub-rack. Analogue and digital inputs and outputs can be combined

according to current and future needs. All digital inputs and outputs are transformerisolated and an option is provided for when transformer isolation is required on the analogue inputs and outputs. Options for microphone, AoIP, SDI, headphone and GPI/O inputs are also available. www.aeq.eu www.rts.sn www.studiotech.be

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NEWS: SPECIAL REPORT

GITEX Global 2021

GITEX Technology Week sets the pace for post-pandemic tradeshows. Simon Luckhurst reports from the show floor

L–R: Arthur Arthur Holm CEO Henrick Holm and Montse Romero, international sales and marketing

The Shure MEA team

Jabra MD for Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Nicolas Bliaux INCREDIBLY, THE ORGANISERS OF GITEX Technology Week committed to a five-day programme for 2021, filling every hall of the Dubai World Trade Center when other major exhibitions were still playing a game of cat and mouse. It certainly paid off. As the doors closed at the end of day three, visitors were still flooding the aisles. The real proof will be in the official numbers released by the organiser in due course; however, Pro AVL MEA’s feeling is that visitor levels exceeded 2019’s – potentially by a wide margin. Clearly, there is no loss of appetite for tradeshows when such a broad tech offering is topping the bill. GITEX is certainly not an AV show. A fair description would probably be a more business-oriented sibling of CES (the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas). Areas of interest stretch from the latest in smart car tech through to robotics, IT networks and blockchain. Those AV companies exhibiting are largely hangovers from InfoComm MEA, a more AV-specific show once co-located with GITEX. But as the worlds of AV and IT continue to collide, the show takes on increasing importance for our industry each year, so it’s paradoxical that remaining AV exhibitors continue to shrink year-on-year –

perhaps compounded this year by pandemic uncertainty. The absence of regular tradeshows was cited by several exhibitors as the main impetus behind exhibiting at GITEX 2021. Spanish manufacturer Arthur Holm opted for a booth in the peaceful Sheikh Rashid Halls in addition to its regular spot on the Venuetech booth in Hall 3. “It’s so nice to be back out and about,” said CEO, Henrick Holm. “We didn’t go to InfoComm because of the numbers there, but since Dubai is so far ahead in terms of vaccinating people and ensuring that all the necessary restrictions are in place, we feel completely safe here. Getting out and seeing people is a big part of what we do, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the show.” Like many, microphone manufacturer Shure took a hiatus in 2020. The company was highlighting the Stem Audio ecosystem and the Motiv range of mics. “We’ve been at GITEX for the last seven years and I think we’ve done a great job in educating IT departments about our solutions and how they can benefit them,” commented Shure Middle East and India director of sales South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Chicco Hiranandani. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised about how many people are here at the show – it almost feels like there is no pandemic. They’re not just coming from the UAE; we’ve had people from Saudi, Egypt, Morocco and more.” In fact, GITEX was almost business as usual apart from the constant reminder to wear facemasks. The technology being most championed was all about bridging the gap

between old and new ways of working. “The beginning of the pandemic was a major test, where people were forced to work with whatever they could get their hands on,” said Poly product and solutions marketing manager, EMEA, Jonathan Clark. “Research is showing that people can be productive provided they have access to the right tools. The Studio X70 videoconferencing solution is going to be a good tool as we move further into the world of hybrid work. We launched our P5 and P15 devices earlier in the year for improving the home experience – as people return to the office, the X70 will give them that immersive video meeting experience no matter the room size.” Jabra was a newcomer to GITEX. “We’ve been seeing really great things in terms of how well organised everything is,” commented MD for Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Nicolas Bliaux. “We’ve met a

lot of vendors and partners, and it has been a great opportunity to engage with people faceto-face, as well as for them to actually see and touch our products.” The company showcased its Evolve 275 headset and the Panacast 50 and 25 video bars in Hall 8, highlighting the company’s focus on videoconferencing. The last word goes to Venuetech, which was planning to exhibit at CABSAT at the same location the following week. “It’s been super busy and everyone is enjoying reliving what we’ve missed out on for the last couple of years,” said AV and acoustics specialist, Ismat Assafiri, who was introducing CEDAR Electronics and LEA amplifiers to the local market. “We’re very happy to have been here, but also looking forward to CABSAT where we’ll be back with a whole different selection of technology.” www.gitex.com

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NEWS: APPOINTMENTS

Jo V D R

3DB sets up for the new season UAE

Dubai-based rental and production company 3DB has hired several senior and noted professionals as the team gears up for the impending season. Ex Gearhouse South Africa veteran Stuart Andrews joins the company in charge of senior project and operations management, Damian Calderbank has joined the team involved with production and existing senior project manager Matt Dale has now assumed the role of 3DB general manager. Rapidly approaching its 20th anniversary, 3DB was established by managing director Eddie Mulrainey together with his then business partner, Mike Snape. Mulrainey has over 25 years’ experience in event production, delivering shows in UK, Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Australia. His focus is on providing a “family” approach for 3DB clients. This has led to the creation of long-standing client relationships, many of whom have returned to work with the company since its inception. In addition to managing and delivering specific projects, Andrews is tasked with improving the company’s organisational flow. Born in South Africa, Andrews started off in Dubai as a project manager for Protec, before heading back to SA and beginning a lengthy career with Gearhouse Group that saw him running operations at the group’s Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg branches at various periods in time.

L–R: Stuart Andrews, Matt Dale and Damian Calderbank “It’s been 18 years since I was last in Dubai,” Andrews recalled. “The place has changed a lot, but there are a whole host of opportunities present in the market here that don’t currently exist in South Africa, largely because of the pandemic. Gearhouse was a very big company, and it had its strengths and weaknesses because of its size. I’m really looking forward to being involved with an expanding company that can also be much more agile in responding to the changing market, and where I can help to grow and bring some structure.” Also a well-known face in the local industry, Calderbank has extensive venue services and production experience and will be facilitating 3DB’s in-house activities for the production

Raf Willems joins Optimal Audio EMEA

department. With both Andrews and Calderbank having previously worked together at Jumeriah Properties, there’s a feeling of getting the band back together. “After 20 years, Stuart and myself are back working together again,” Calderbank commented. “I also know Matt well from past endeavours, but this is the first time that the three of us are all working together in the same building and on the same team. I’m really excited for what’s in store at 3DB.” Lastly, Matt Dale has taken on the role of general manager after serving as senior project manager since joining in 2015. Having started off in the industry focused on specialist lighting installations, he transitioned into live events in 2012. Since then, he has delivered many high-profile

Crestron expands Middle East sales team Victor Bitar has joined TIG as regional sales manager for Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Based in Doha, he will represent Crestron’s portfolio of commercial solutions, with responsibilities including assisting

Al McKinna

through a variety of roles to become sales and marketing director. Following Biamp’s acquisition of Apart, Willems became head of business development for Europe with additional responsibility for managing Biamp’s retail and hospitality team. “It’s so rare in our industry to get the chance to be involved in developing a new brand from its inception,” Willems commented. “I’m passionate about commercial audio so I honestly consider this to be something of

www.3db-dxb.com

MIDDLE EAST

UK manufacturer Optimal Audio has announced the appointment of Raf Willems as head of sales and channel marketing for EMEA. Willems’ 20-year career in the industry began in residential audio sales in his native Belgium, before moving into the commercial audio sector with Apart Audio, where he progressed

Raf Willems

events in the UAE, including the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens. “It’s obviously been an extremely difficult time for everybody in the industry over the last 18 months, but it is fantastic to see all departments back working to full capacity once again,” commented Dale. “With our anticipated growth in the local and regional markets, it is vital to have the right team in place. We are really excited about these new appointments, who each bring their own area of expertise to 3DB and continue to deliver the excellence of service for which we are renowned.”

a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everything I’ve seen and understood about the launch of Optimal Audio indicates that the company has got its approach to commercial audio right from day one by addressing exactly what the market needs. I’m looking forward to forging close relationships with our distributor network across the region, and I’m excited about helping to build Optimal Audio into a strong and progressive brand.” Outside of the region, the manufacturer has named Al McKinna as head of product. He joins the company following a 15-year stint with Avid, 12 of which were focused on product management.

integrators, specifiers and end users in deploying fully integrated, futureproof smart spaces using Crestron technology. “TIG and Crestron are very pleased to welcome Victor, who has been working in the AV industry for over 15 years and brings with him incredible experience and knowledge about the market, the channel and Crestron’s solutions,” stated Renaat De Wilde, regional sales director Middle East, TIG. “Victor will be based in Doha, Qatar, where he will help us improve our support and relations with local customers. We are confident that he will be a great fit here, and will add value for Crestron’s business in the Middle East.” “I’ve worked with Crestron products for many years, and now I have the privilege of being a part of the brand,” added Bitar. “It is a great opportunity to work with one of the market leaders in technological innovation and I am excited to join TIG and the Crestron Middle East team to bring enhanced support to customers and, personally, to gain a new and enriched experience.”

www.tig.eu

www.optimal-audio.co.uk

24 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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Jose

www.crestron.com

Victor Bitar

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22/10/2021 16:50

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NEWS: APPOINTMENTS

Josef Penker named Audac hires Frederic VP of EMEA sales for Cresson as EMEA Dynacord, Electro-Voice, sales manager RTS and Telex EMEA

EMEA

The Bosch Building Technologies division has announced the appointment of Josef Penker as vice president of sales EMEA, Business Unit Communications. Penker will lead the regional sales force for the manufacturer’s professional audio brands: Dynacord, Electro-Voice, RTS and Telex. He takes over the position from

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Jens Gaessner, who will move into the manufacturer’s video division. “I am very excited to be appointed as VP of sales, and I can already count on an exceptional sales team and channel partners to help us achieve our goals, in step with the constantly changing needs of our customers and today’s rapidly transforming markets,” commented Penker. “One of the key strengths of Bosch is having the scale and resources to best serve the market with our services and solutions. That puts us in a unique position to lead the way towards what’s next in pro audio and communications.” Penker joined Bosch in 2011 as manager for the After Sales Service department. During his time at the company, he also served as sales director for RTS and Telex from 2014–2019 and, most recently, as director of sales Europe for Dynacord, Electro-Voice, RTS and Telex. He will continue to be based in Straubing, Germany. www.dynacord.com www.electrovoice.com www.rtsintercoms.com

Josef Penker

Belgium audio manufacturer Audac has appointed Frederic Cresson as its EMEA sales manager. By working with Audac partners at all levels, Cresson will be responsible for expanding the manufacturer’s market share and increasing the company’s sales network throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are excited to welcome Frederic to the Audac team,” commented international sales director Mark Asselberghs. “His experience and diverse technical knowledge will be a huge asset to the team, giving us the ability to better service our customers. We welcome him to his new role and wish him every success.” Prior to joining Audac, Cresson held the role of EMEA sales and marketing manager at British console manufacturer Allen & Heath, where he is said to have built a wealth of knowledge in pro audio. “I am very excited to start my new role as sales manager in the EMEA region with a view to helping our customers meet their ever-demanding goals and objectives, whilst sharing the details of Audac’s latest technology and innovations,”

Frederic Cresson stated Cresson. “I am looking forward to continuing to develop my current relationships and building new ones with all the customers in my region.” www.audac.eu

www.telex.com

Creative Technology Middle East grows its ranks MIDDLE EAST

Creative Technology Middle East has welcomed three new additions to its evergrowing team. They include Chad Smith as project manager for the live events division, Nick Fenton as an AV project manager and Sam Connolly as head of lighting for the Middle East region. Smith joins the company with over 11 years of experience gained working throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. He has extensive knowledge in technical design and production and will be responsible for providing AV technical management across various events. Smith has worked on some of the most technically complex projects, such as Diriyah Season, World Air Games, Amway ALS & NPF Business Forum in Singapore, UAE National Day and many of the first globally broadcast sporting events to take place in Saudi Arabia. He prides himself on delivering the right solution for his clients while ensuring exceptional events are delivered. “It’s an honour to be joining CT Middle East, and I am looking forward to working on the incredible projects we have lined up over the coming season,” Smith commented on the new role. Fenton joins CTME with more than seven years’ experience in the live events industry across the Middle East and South Africa. He is a qualified professional with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, a diploma in Audio Technology and has a strong technical

With more than eight years of experience in the live events and systems integration industry, Connolly also brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to his role as head of lighting. In the past, he has planned and engineered many high-profile events and special projects, including the Special Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies, AD Diriyah Inauguration, Burj Khalifa New Year’s Eve celebrations, Commemoration Day and multiple concerts and live event spectaculars, to name a few.

Chad Smith

Sam Connolly

and audio background. Over the years, he has worked on various large-scale projects, such as Jazz Fest, Red Fest, Arab Hope Makers, World Economic Summit, Dubai Rugby Sevens and Atlantis New Year’s Eve events, to name a few. He has extensive technical design and production knowledge across all event disciplines and will lead a team of engineers in planning and executing projects to the highest standard. “Creative Technology are renowned for their attention to detail and high quality of work across all their projects, and I am excited to be part of the team,” Fenton stated.

He will be responsible for the creative vision, strategy and delivery of all technical lighting elements, providing technical guidance and practical solutions across a wide variety of projects. “It is an honour to be part of this new and exciting growth at CTME as they expand and move into a full-service delivery,” Connolly said. “I am very much looking forward to seeing this new division of CT flourish. I think we can bring something new and exciting to the lighting market in the region.” Nick Fenton

www.ctme.co

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Q& BUSINESS: INTERVIEW

Chant Utukian, QSC director of MEA

Chant Utukian

HAVING TAKEN ON THE ROLE OF DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE East and Africa for QSC recently, Chant Utukian already has a plan in place for developing the brand across what promises to be a very busy period.

Why is now the right time for a dedicated MEA director position for QSC? QSC always had a dedicated sales director for MEA; however, we are adding a physical presence in the region. As the market continues to mature, and as companies continue to recognise the value of an integrated audio, video and control system like Q-SYS, we feel like now is the right time to continue our focus on this region by adding new resources and a dedicated office, which is opening shortly, and that will include full-time sales and support staff. For us, it’s all about being closer to our customers and providing manufacturer support when necessary.

QSC’s Q-SYS ecosystem of products a large adoption of Q-SYS Control, which offers a simple drag-and-drop configuration plus a growing library of third-party plugins for easy integration of the most popular meeting room endpoints.

What are QSC’s short-term and long-term goals for the region? In recent years, QSC has transitioned from an audio solutions manufacturer to an audio, video and control solutions provider to solve AV needs with a flexible and scalable software-based approach. We are hoping to reinforce this shift in the eyes of our customers. In addition, we want to increase awareness and demand for the entire Q-SYS platform, and our ecosystem partners throughout the channel as well as with end users. In the long term, we will continue to build our resources in this region while looking at penetrating specific vertical markets that can benefit most from a software-based approach, including higher education and corporate.

Which markets and territories present the biggest future opportunities? The Middle East has always been an important market for QSC. Expanding our presence wasn’t a question of “if” but rather “when”. Our biggest opportunities lie in the more emerging markets including the UAE, Qatar, KSA and Egypt.

Has the pandemic altered the types of QSC audio solutions being specified? Market trends have shifted throughout the pandemic; however, the need for collaboration tools has increased as they’ve helped us connect virtually with colleagues, family and friends throughout the world. While trends will continue to change, we have noticed a shift towards upgrading audio, video and control

What are the biggest obstacles to remote collaboration/hybrid learning?

The Q-SYS control system was central to the recent outfit of Dubai’s Dhow & Anchor restaurant infrastructure – especially in corporate and higher education – with solutions that provide customers with flexibility to meet several different room types and sizes, and the option to scale up as needed. This will continue to be a big opportunity for QSC as our Q-SYS ecosystem lends itself to the needs of highvalue spaces.

Did the pandemic create unexpected opportunities for the brand? Yes. With no-travel policies in place for some of our customers, we have seen significant growth in corporate and expansion of hybrid/remote learning in higher education. With that, we have seen a rapidly increasing adoption of Q-SYS solutions, including PTZ-IP conference cameras. It’s ideal for hybrid environments as it offers the unique ability to add multiple conference cameras for a more natural and inclusive engagement for remote participants. In addition, we’ve seen

The biggest challenge was the sudden change and need to adapt to an entirely new way of doing business and teaching. While most adapted well, it was apparent how important having the right infrastructure was, and is, in order to make such drastic changes, quickly. As companies look to adopt new technologies and/or upgrade to meet future requirements, it’s important to consider a softwarebased approach, like Q-SYS, that can offer the flexibility and scalability needed to ensure a futureproof system.

How can inexperienced users get better acquainted with the brand and its technology? QSC has one of the best training departments in our industry. Our talented presenters offer a unique high level of expertise and personality that I think is rare to find in an often dull and complicated world of technical, software and audio training. We offer a number of training courses that are free, modular and allow you to learn at your own pace. Whether you’re just getting started with Q-SYS, or ready to dive into more specific topics like Q-SYS Control, we have you covered. In addition, we just launched new training, specific for vertical markets learning including higher education and cinema. www.qsc.com

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The XSL System.

More SL.

Nothing less.

The newest addition to the SL family. All the unparalleled features only SL-Series provides: Full broadband directivity control, extended low frequency response, innovative rigging. More SL. Nothing less. Let’s talk about X: sl-series.com

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05/10/2021 08:19

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FEATURES: INSTALLATION

The beating heart Christie projectors power the visuals inside the plaza

The Al Wasl Plaza dome is the focal point of Expo 2020 Dubai which opened its doors on 1 October

The dome under construction

A WORLD EXPO IS NO SMALL UNDERTAKING. AND let’s be honest, the UAE doesn’t do things by halves. So, it should come as no great surprise that Expo 2020 Dubai is knocking down records left, right and centre. It’s the Middle East and Africa’s very first Expo, the first time at an Expo for every country – all 192 of them – to have their own pavilion, and the first one to still have had its doors closed nearly a year after the original scheduled opening date. Of course, this last point was a circumstance out of the organiser’s control. But it did mean that the entire complex had to be completed under vastly different conditions than what was originally envisioned. And we can add one additional, albeit unofficial, accolade to the pile. Pro AVL MEA fully expects Expo 2020 Dubai to be the most interesting place to visit and experience cutting-edge audiovisual technology currently. Over the course of the upcoming issues, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into some of the individual projects within the various pavilions, but where better to start than at the “beating heart” of the huge Expo site. Practically everything on the ground revolves around the uniquely designed Al Wasl Plaza. And given the great lengths that each individual pavilion has gone to in a bid to impress visitors, Al Wasl Plaza must go one further. The focal point of the almost city-sized complex deserved something that had never been done before. Furthermore, the dome construction would be tasked with hosting both the opening and closing Expo ceremonies, in addition to important cultural special events such as the upcoming 50th anniversary of the UAE’s formation. Al Wasl means “connection” in Arabic – aptly illustrating the plaza’s focus. On the ground, three petal-shaped areas representing the main show themes of Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility, interlink where the dome emerges from beneath the surface. The unique design of the structure was the brainchild of US-based architect Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. Key considerations included the need to accommodate large crowds of people walking through the dome as well as project a powerful image, while at the same time not being too expansive. Ultimately, the chosen design

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Evolution Wireless Digital

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FEATURES: INSTALLATION pays homage to the Expo’s ring-themed logo. When viewed from directly overhead, the iconic logo is there for all to see. Rising 67.5m into the air with a diameter of 135m (almost as wide as two Airbus A380 aircrafts wing-to-wing), it’s the dome’s use of a semi-transparent canvas covering designed by Obscura Digital where things start to get interesting. The covering ensures there is ample shade during the hottest part of the day while still retaining suitable natural light, but its deployment also heavily encouraged the use of projection mapping technology to create a truly unique immersive display. Images beamed onto the interior structure of the dome not only envelop those within, but can also be seen by visitors outside the plaza. The key, naturally, to the success of such an experience would lie with the projection technology deployed. As the official projection and display partner for Expo 2020 Dubai, Christie projectors power the visuals inside the plaza. Christie’s EMEA director of sales, Entertainment, Joe Graziano takes up the story having been involved from early on. “Although it wasn’t known as Al Wasl at the time, our first involvement in the project dates back to GITEX 2017 where some local integrators were scoping out on behalf of the designers. But the project itself was conceptualised by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill architects in Chicago, working closely with USbased design company Obscura. Obscura put the overall projection design together and liaised with our guys in North America. It was only after a bit of back and forth that we realised we were all talking about the same project.” Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) was awarded the AV integrator contract to provide the immersive projection and audio installation for the dome and worked closely with Christie to devise a solution capable of protecting the projectors against the UAE’s brutal summer sun and daytime temperatures. A total of 252 Christie D4K40-RGB projectors are housed inside 42 bespoke, fully environmentally controlled projector pods arranged around the inside perimeter of the domed plaza. Each pod is two video channels, with each channel displayed via a triple-stack of projectors that results in 84 channels of video (each running at 2048x1080 resolution). Attached to the trellis structure 23m above the ground, the pods have an automated racking system that enables the projectors to be “ejected” for ease of service throughout their lifetime.

Having originally been designed to utilise 40 projectors, as the project matured from the initial design stages, the projector count rapidly rose. “The original design was based on a certain lux value that needed to be achieved,” explains Graziano. “When the project was then reviewed by some of the broadcast design companies, they quickly realised there wasn’t enough lux for them to be able to carry out an acceptable level of broadcasting within that environment. So, we went back to the drawing board and started to tweak the design. Ultimately, the projector count went up through the 200 barrier, and that all came about as part of a need to facilitate the projection to be bright enough and clear enough when in situ, but also for anybody watching any of the commentary on TV.” Controlling the projectors is Christie Conductor, an advanced control software solution for Christie 3DLP projectors. It can automatically power-up or -down projectors, as well as access interrogator logs, update firmware and perform health checks. The vast scale and pixel density of the projection saw CTME deploy 16 disguise gx2 media servers for the generative content playout. The system has inbuilt redundancy in the disguise media servers with video transport via a Thinklogical 160x160 crosspoint fibre matrix. Andrew Nu, CTME’s business development manager, explains: “One of the goals of Expo 2020 is ‘sustainability’ and

The area will become District 2020 after the expo

The dome uses a semi-transparent canvas of course to deliver creativity and innovation. We achieved this by minimising cable requirements with both the video and audio systems connected via a fibre network. Additionally, the airconditioned projection pods are monitored by the site-wide BMS system 24/7 to ensure that the cooling systems are operating efficiently.” But even the most impressive visual spectacle would be lacking without a well-thought-out audio accompaniment, and in this regard the Expo organisers called on the best. A fully immersive audio experience to pair with the visuals on the 360° projection canvas was designed by Scott Willsallen’s Auditoria. To provide the required immersive audio capabilities under the dome, CTME installed 27 loudspeaker arrays each comprising 16 L-Acoustics Kiva II cabinets. The arrays are installed at a high level, equally spaced around the dome and secured with a bespoke rigging system. In addition, there are six pods, similar in look to the projection pods, that each contain four L-Acoustic KS28 subwoofers in a cardioid array. All components have been colour matched to the dome to blend in with the architecture. L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Processor delivers the required spatial processing, enabling the Auditoria team to create incredibly detailed spatial resolution over such a large audience area. Audio content playback is handled by a dual-redundant Merging Technologies Ovation solution, which also generates timecode for triggering video playback on the disguise servers. Signal distribution is taken care of via a redundant fibre ring to drive signals from the DiGiCo SD12 audio, Area4 and SD-MiNi Racks to the L-Acoustic LA4X and LA12X controllers. This equipment is distributed across the main control room and three remote amplifier rooms which have been strategically placed to reduce cabling to the speaker arrays. The system has multiple levels of signal path with an AVB system using Luminex, AED on DiGiCo, with RME M32 DA Pro and M32 AD Pro as an analogue backup to the amplifiers. While some of Expo 2020’s site will only be used for the six month-long “event period”, Al Wasl Plaza has been designed and built to remain as a legacy experience post-Expo, when the area transitions to become District 2020. With an initial project life of at least three functional years, the technology needed to be futureproof and the materials used resilient. With the internal temperature of the trellis expecting to reach over 75°C

at times, careful consideration of materials proved to be just as important in ensuring the longevity of the installation. The technology needed to meld with the aesthetics of the architecture to go unnoticed when not in use. Careful coordination with all contractors allowed colour-matching key items to assist with this “invisibility” consideration. An initial taste of what visitors could expect to greet them when the Expo properly opened was first showcased to stakeholders back in January 2020 during the dome’s inauguration, long before the word coronavirus entered the everyday lexicon. The real test came on 30 September. With more than 5,000 attendees onsite and over a million online viewers, the Al Wasl Plaza lit up to signify the official opening of the Expo. Christie’s president and CTO, Zoran Veselic, attended the opening ceremonies and said: “The opening truly confirmed Christie’s mission ‘We innovate, illuminate and inspire exceptional experiences’. Seeing our pure laser projectors in action was absolutely extraordinary.” After more than two years of constant on-the-ground presence, the success of the opening ceremony means all the team involved can finally take a step back and appreciate the creation of Al Wasl. “The successful completion of Al Wasl Plaza’s immersive experience has been achieved with the support from Expo, the designers/architects and the other contractors all working in unison with a ‘can do’ approach which has resulted in an amazing project,” comments Andy Reardon, CTME’s managing director. “We are proud to have also won the 2020 AV Award for Events and Entertainment Project of the Year for the inauguration event and the 2020 AVard award for best public integration on this project.” Expo 2020 Dubai opened its doors to the world on 1 October, and the event is well underway having welcomed visitors from across the globe. The operational hub for the event is the Expo Operations Centre (EOC) which coordinates activities for the key operational team and is home to three videowalls powered by Christie products, including 12 4K 30,000-lumen projectors and Christie Terra transport, processing and control solutions all supported by Christie Professional Services. www.christiedigital.com www.ctme.co

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FEATURES: RECORDING

A fresh start

Stud by a solut

With Stud for g

An unfortunate situation in the midst of the pandemic may have unintentionally secured Sonovision’s future for many years to come

Stud used

The largest of the four spaces, Studio One, allows the team to accommodate a greater number of clients than previously COVID HAS AFFECTED BUSINESSES IN A VARIETY OF different ways. With everyone confined to their living rooms throughout most of 2020, a lot of TV production companies went into overdrive to fill bursting production schedules. Such was the case for South Africa’s Sonovision Studios, an audio postproduction facility located in Bryanston, Johannesburg. But in the midst of this new world, the studio was thrown the unexpected curveball of being forced to move premises, and left searching for a new long-term location. Ironically, it was the push needed to begin exploring the creation of its own tailor-made site, one that would be bespoke designed to suit future ambitions. Benjamin Pro Audio’s Jacob van der Westhuizen, whose role would soon become integral to the move, takes up the story. “The original building was home to several different companies all related to postproduction, and Sonovision was also there. The spaces kept getting recycled, and this was great in that a newcomer could walk into a space that was already mostly there. It might not have been perfect, but it was soundproofed, and they didn’t have to provide the huge initial outlay.” In mid-2020, amid a backdrop of uncertainty during the first lockdown, the owner of the building began talks with a new tenant interested in acquiring the entire block, including the studios within. “Obviously they didn’t want to lose any of these studios as tenants, so a compromise was offered where the existing tenants that would be displaced would be assisted with moving,” recalls van der Westhuizen. “After initial discussions with the property company, Sonovision Studios recommended Benjamin Pro Audio as its preferred partner to rebuild the studios. The property company got hold of me, and I also contacted the other tenants.” Ultimately, two of them opted to go it alone. Sonovision saw the move as an opportunity to create an entirely new space that would be professionally built and that it could grow and expand

Working largely in the box, gear inside each studio is kept to a minimum with over time. Given the situation, it was a brave move. Many businesses faced uncertain futures and a large investment in both building materials and new equipment was risky. “We were tasked with designing all the studios from the ground up, according to a specific budget,” explains van der Westhuizen. “It was important to have three similar-sized rooms that could accommodate a greater number of clients and guests than before. The sound treatment in the old space was also far from suitable and one area where we could really excel in the new build.” Even starting off with a blank slate, this process wasn’t without challenges. “They needed to build and be out of the original space within three-and-a-half months from my first meeting, and there were several elements of the new space that had to be worked around before completing the acoustic isolation. In one of

the studios, there was floor-to-ceiling, office-type glass. It wasn’t possible to put in soundproof glass as it was way beyond the available budget. Instead, we had to engineer a sort of double strip – a window that sits inside the existing frame, that still looks good from the outside but, crucially, is isolated from within.” Housed within the new construction are three full-sized postproduction studios, and a smaller link/voiceover studio. With a preference to work “inside-the-box”, the studios aren’t cluttered with endless racks of analogue gear. Avid Pro Tools is the production tool of choice throughout, with all four studio setups based on Avid Ultimate packages that afford access to the entire Pro Tools collection. The resulting aesthetic is minimal, clean and highly functional as a cooperative environment where engineers and clients can jointly while away the hours. Studio One is a stereo final mix room with a single accompanying vocal booth. An Apple Mac Pro with Avid Pro Tools Ultimate 2021 takes commands from a Digidesign DCommand console and is joined by KRK VXT8 studio monitors and Avantone Active Mix Cubes, a Focusrite OctoPre MKII Dynamic, Avid HD I/O, Avid Sync HD and Avid PRE. Studio Three has two adjoining vocal booths but features a similar equipment setup as Studio One. The 5.1 surround Studio Two also features a large vocal booth and pairs the Apple Mac Pro and Avid Pro Tools Ultimate base with a 5.1 configuration of JBL 3 Series MkII monitors as well as KRK VXT8s for stereo monitoring. A JBL Intonato 24 handles source selection. Control of the Pro Tools setup in Studio Three is via an Avid Artist Series Mix/Control surface with two Avid HD I/O serving as the audio interface. The smallest studio, Studio Four, pairs an Avid Artist Series Mix/ Control surface and Avid HD OMNI audio interface with a Focusrite OctoPre MKII Dynamic and KRK VXT8 studio monitors. An Apple Mac Pro with Avid Pro Tools Ultimate 2021 runs the system.

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Studio Two is a 5.1 mix studio powered by a JBL 3 Series surround monitoring solution

With a similar setup to Studio One, Studio Three adds an extra vocal booth for greater flexibility

Studio Four is the smallest space and used as a link or voiceover studio Key to creating the right environment inside the rooms was van der Westhuizen’s expertise in acoustic design. Benjamin Pro Audio worked in tandem with contractor TMB acoustics, which handled the acoustic treatment installation. “We used a combination of material chosen for its respective absorptive properties and layered in specific sequences to achieve the maximum absorption across the range of the audible spectrum. In the modal region we used a combination of membrane absorbers to tackle the bass regions,” explained the Benjamin Pro Audio owner. “Diffusion was introduced in all the rooms in the form of finless quadratic residue diffusers, which help to create an even natural and diffuse soundfield within the room without compromising the decay times and response we were aiming to achieve at the listening positions.” While the four studios currently operate independently of each other, future requirements are catered for with a Dantecapable studio network for audio transport. Sonovision technical director Hamish McArthur has first-hand experience with network infrastructure and systems integration and so took charge of this aspect of the build. “All the studios are connected to an isolated network for security and performance purposes with access to a central storage system,” he notes. “We’ve got some workflows in place so that if a client uploads a project’s assets, it

automatically gets loaded onto all the studios and engineers don’t need to spend time copying things on and off the server. The server is also augmented by shared storage and a secure file transfer system. We’ve got a fair amount of I/O, certainly more than enough for what a postproduction studio would typically run, and more than enough capacity for what we expect to need over the next 10–15 years. In the future, when we do the next upgrade with Avid, we will be looking at Dante-capable equipment and, at that point, all of the cabling work and network infrastructure behind the scenes is in place to make that transition.” During the first lockdown in South Africa, Sonovision was designated an essential business because its radio and TV clients were deemed critical to keeping the public informed. Overnight, parts of the studios were transported to the engineers’ homes so that they could continue to service clients remotely in a limited capacity. This enabled Sonovision to remain in operation throughout the pandemic and change of address, eventually moving operations back in-house as restrictions were gradually lifted, under full compliance with new Covid-19 regulations. Remote working capabilities were key to the transition. “We’ve always been very progressive in terms of trying things and exploring new technologies, as well as different ways of collaborating and exchanging work,” says Paul Geddes, senior engineer and owner. “So, we pivoted pretty quickly to set up makeshift studios at our engineers’ homes and even assisted artists and clients to help them get up and running. Where a lot of companies really struggled was having the necessary IT infrastructure in place to suddenly facilitate team members working remotely – this was pretty straightforward for us. The challenge came with people that don’t have recording studios and control rooms at home. When it came to recording talent and broadcast quality audio was required, we made heavy use of audio-over-IP technologies. “This ability to conduct remote sessions with clients has been essential to our business and allowed us to stay functional during the pandemic,” explains Geddes. “Even as the restrictions have lifted, some of our clients are not coming in as often, and a lot of the talent have decided that it can work really well for them to have studios at home with a decent setup.” It’s clear the postproduction landscape has changed vastly since Sonovision first embarked on the move. “For some people that is just the future now,” says Geddes. “It’s simpler, more efficient to travel, and something that had already been coming for a long time now.” The same could be said for Sonovision’s relocation. But Geddes and McArthur both attest that the move wouldn’t have been possible under such circumstances without the direction of Benjamin Pro Audio. “They just did a phenomenal job in terms of how professionally they handled the project. We are very happy with how well the studios turned out. Things don’t always go as planned, but the team collectively pivoted really quickly to decide how to handle obstacles and what needed to change, etc. Everything was completed on time, and we were able to move out of our old studio at the very last minute and straight into working at the new location.” www.benjaminproaudio.co.za www.sonovisionstudios.com

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FEATURES: WORSHIP

Grand ambition

Love of Christ Generation has opened a new worship facility in Lagos filled with a vibrant mix of AVL brands

The Screen International screen combines with a Barco UDM 4K22 projector

L-R hangs of nine Kara per side WITH A RICH HISTORY AND MULTIPLE LOCATIONS throughout the UK and Africa, Love of Christ Generation’s most recent addition is a newly built cathedral on Landmark Beach in Lagos. The modernist construction can accommodate 5,500 worshippers across its two main spaces and hosts church services, choir practice and bible classes. However, construction of the cathedral was already well underway when Reverend Esther Ajayi, founder of Love of Christ Generation, asked Ghanabased Amsons Audio to come onboard. “We studied the drawings that had already been produced and the design was for speech only,” says Amsons Audio’s owner, Eben Awuah. “The system would also be used for music, so we knew this would be a disaster and asked to design something completely new. The green light was given and we arrived onsite in December as the last contractors to start work.” The installation began in early March 2020, with a rigging crew flown from London to Nigeria. Then the pandemic struck and, in less than a week, they were on a plane home, leaving Awuah, business partner Charles Amoah and an engineer colleague from Trinidad in Lagos as the only people onsite. “The three of us that stayed behind were given permission to continue working onsite – we had a police escort from the apartment to the cathedral in the morning and back again in the evening,” explains Awuah. “Working through the pandemic was actually a blessing as we were able get everything done the way we wanted it done, without anyone else in the way.” Such challenging circumstances and limited personnel meant the project took a year to complete, with the system finally commissioned in April 2021. “Everything had to be flown into Nigeria from the UK,” continues Awuah. “If we were missing equipment, we had to wait a few days before it arrived.” Awuah centred his audio design around L-Acoustics K Series loudspeakers to ensure the church would have the highest quality. “As well as L-Acoustics being tried and tested in the

An all-Chauvet rig lights the stage

The main auditorium

The DiGiCo Quantum 338 at FOH Reverend’s London church, we absolutely knew it would be right for this amazing building,” describes Awuah. L-R hangs of nine Kara per side form the main PA in the 3,000-capacity main auditorium, with three Kiva II per side for out-fill and hangs of four KS28 positioned behind the Kara. Four hangs of two Kiva II are used as under-balcony delays, and Syva cabinets paired with Syva Low provide front-fill. For the 2,500-capacity multipurpose hall, the main PA comprises two hangs of three Kiva II, positioned left and right of the stage, with two further hangs of three Kiva II for delay. Four X12, two on either side of the room hung from columns along its periphery, were proposed for out-fill. A stack of four SB18 subs have been placed in front of the stage with an X12 for onstage monitoring, while an X8 delivers audio in the lobbies. The system is controlled by 10 LA4X, five LA8 and two LA12X amplified controllers, with a spare of each also provided. “We did absolutely everything on the project: sound, which also included a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and SD9 mixing consoles and

Sennheiser microphones; lighting and video; and the rigging, including doing some intelligent things in the roof to be able to spread the load in the ceiling to hang the Kara and the subs,” explains Awuah. Amsons Audio also provided a system handover for the church’s team, including a workshop on LA Network Manager. On the video side, Awuah again replicated the design of the London branch but on a larger scale. The setup includes eight Panasonic PTZ cameras plus a mobile Blackmagic Design camera on a wireless signal for moving around the whole site. Blackmagic switchers and controllers are combined with a Datavideo NVS33 H.264 video streaming encoder for livestreaming to YouTube and Facebook. A Barco UDM 4K22 projector has been installed as the main IMAG screen. Chauvet Professional Ovation E-910FC, Maverick MK3 Profile and MK1 Hybrid and Rogue R2X Washes combine with Prolights’ StudioCob FC to illuminate the stage, while Prolights’ LumiPix 16H are used for uplighting the walls around the stage area. These provide a general white light wash for the cameras as well as colour washes to give the services more atmosphere for livestream viewers, an integral part of both London and Lagos’ services. Awuah believes the way the whole system is linked together is quite unique for Nigeria. “Everything is running on a Dante network around the whole building. We’re also using QSC Q-SYS to turn the system on and off, which I’ve not used before in my many years of carrying out church installations. I don’t think anyone else in Nigeria has a system like this.” While the latest portion is now finally completed, it doesn’t look to be the end of the road for Amsons Audio in Lagos. “The client wants a television studio and a recording studio and has already purchased land for new facilities. The systems in London and Lagos have proved very popular – it’s a formula that works for them – and so it’s likely the new facilities will follow the same pattern.” www.amsonsaudio.com www.l-acoustics.com

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HEART OF GOLD

THE NEW STUDIO CONDENSER MICROPHONES Large 33 mm capsule with gold-sputtered diaphragm • Proprietary internal shock mount • Precision-machined aircraft-grade aluminum body Designed, machined, assembled and tested in USA.

Learn more at audixusa.com

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FEATURES: RECORDING

Reco

The

Making sound matter The first truly professional combined rehearsal and recording venue in the Middle East has just opened its doors in Al Quoz, Dubai

The reception area “THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDING AND REHEARSAL space of its kind in the UAE,” proudly describes owner and managing director Miltiadis “Milton” Kyvernitis as Pro AVL MEA sits down to discuss the latest studio venture to open in Dubai since the pandemic began to recede. It’s a bold claim, but Kyvernitis is confident in his assurances. MNK Studios is one of the only places in the region where artists or musicians can regularly hone their talents in a professional environment without breaking the bank. It essentially offers the modern equivalent of a 1980’s rock band being able to camp out in the studio for six months at a time while developing their latest album. What’s more, its creation has been somewhat of a passion project for Kyvernitis for quite some time. “I’d always wanted to open a recording studio, but it is a pretty saturated market,” he explains. “At the same time, there aren’t enough rehearsal rooms that are up to standard in terms of service and value. So, we went ahead with the idea of opening this facility, building proper rehearsal rooms that are all acoustically isolated and acoustically treated, and packing them out with brand-new and modern equipment.”

Allen & Heath Qu-16s allow for the quick recording of sessions Located in Dubai’s Al Quoz district, MNK Studios is one of the more positive stories to emerge from the pandemic. The complex can cater to practically any audio- or video-based needs via its three spacious rehearsal rooms – one of which spans almost 65m2 – and two fully equipped recording studios, the larger of which is suitable for either sound design, mixing, mastering or composition purposes. The smaller caters to simpler projects, such as adverts and radio spots. Both have their own vocal booths. MNK also houses a dedicated space upstairs called The Lightroom, which can host photography and videography sessions, and The Loft, an area where customers can relax after a busy day. While the development of such a space had been a long-time ambition of Kyvernitis, his day-to-day work as a sound engineer for Dubai TV left little spare time to commit to a brand-new venture. “I’m a sound designer and audio engineer by profession and had worked with Dubai TV for the last 14 years,” he recalls. “I was basically the last step before mixes went to broadcast. We’d handle everything related to the audio. But throughout that time,

Upstairs at MNK is a chill-out area and The Lightroom, where bands can create video content over the past 20 years really, I’ve been working with a variety of bands and companies on mixing and mastering music projects, compositions, jingles and things such as this.” This extensive background gave Kyvernitis the wares to approach the construction of MNK with the proper, professional mindset. “All of the spaces are rooms within rooms, and everything was built from the ground up,” he details. “Another feature that we have is that all the rooms, and all the rehearsal rooms, are fully record-enabled.” Allen & Heath Qu-16s in the two smaller rehearsal rooms, Studios S and M, which average 30m2, come preconfigured to record rehearsal sessions in stereo (multitrack recording is also an option) and are paired with a Mackie Thump12A and Thump18S PA sound reinforcement system. All the instruments are pre-miked to eliminate messy and unsafe cabling and are fed into a stage box that connects with the Qu-16 via Ethernet. Shure SM58 and SM57 mics are available for instruments and the drum kit is catered to via Shure DMK57-52 drum kit mics or an optional Sennheiser e 600 series setup. Each of these two rooms are

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FEATURES: RECORDING

Recording Studio 1

The smaller Recording Studio 2 provisioned with Blackstar and Orange amplifiers for guitarists, Ampeg amplifiers for bassists and Pearl Decade Fusion kits for drummers. “All musicians need to do is bring a hard drive and they’re ready to go,” says the owner. Studio B, the largest of the three rehearsal rooms, upgrades this setup to a 64-channel Allen & Heath Avantis audio console and a Mackie SRM650 and SRM1850 monitoring system for inroom playback. “It’s a bit overkill,” admits Kyvernitis, “but it works well because this room was built with international acts in mind – all of the gear in here is high-end.” The microphone selection in Studio B is also more extensive, with a menu of Shure SM58, SM57, Beta 52, Beta 98AD and KSM137 and Sennheiser e 600 series models to choose from. A 16-channel Allen & Heath ME-500 personal mixing system is also on-hand should bands request it, while Mackie HM8 headphone amplifiers, as well as MDB1P, MDB1A, MDB2P and MDB-USB DI boxes, complete the setups in each rehearsal room. Like the smaller rehearsal rooms, Blackstar, Orange and Ampeg head and cab amps and a Pearl Masters Maple Complete kit caters to backline requirements. “In the large rehearsal room, bands can either record in stereo straight into the console, multitrack format into a laptop we’ve set up via Ethernet, or if they want an engineer or they want to do an actual instrument-by-instrument recording, we can record into Pro Tools directly via the patch bay,” explains the owner. “Each room has been designed to be used by anybody and everybody in the arts. So, if you’re an engineer and you need to record a band, you can come down and use the facility.” Flexibility has been the overriding factor in MNK’s design. Both Studios 1 and 2 can be paired with Studio B, and the recordings and projects moved around freely. Everything from working professionals that require a temporary dedicated space, to small-scale podcasters – a rapidly expanding sector who simply require clean and clear audio capture along with a smart onscreen appearance – have a place at MNK Studios. “Just last week we were hosting a major shoot for a dance music video upstairs in The Lightroom with a PA system setup, while at the same time had a rock band performing downstairs in Studio B. Thankfully, because of the 64dB of sound attenuation, they couldn’t hear anything that was going on outside.” The rooms were designed and constructed by 21dB Acoustic & Audio Consultants, based on a box-in-box solution that achieves, on average, 65dB of sound attenuation. The setup includes a raised floor, suspended ceiling, double wall and double acoustic doors throughout in order to shield the spaces from each other in terms of noise and vibration transmission. “The internal acoustic treatment of the spaces was then designed to match Dolby standards in the studios, and high-quality live recording rooms in the rehearsal spaces,” notes Kyvernitis.

Studio B is the largest of the three rehersal spaces A variety of acoustic panels are used, including Primacoustic for the broadband absorbers and bass traps, Vicoustic for the diffusers and hybrid absorbers, Spigoacustic for the wooden wall panelling and closed-cell polyethylene absorbers covering all the ceiling surfaces. “This was a combination of panels carefully selected to achieve a great sound propagation balance inside the spaces during music performance,” the owner continues.

Studio M mirrors the setup in Studio S – Mackie Thumps provide the required reinforcement The studio’s underlying flexibility is afforded by its extensive Dante network. “As far as I know, it’s the first of its kind running fully on a Dante network; we have very minimal analogue cable running underground,” shares the MNK owner. “The large rehearsal room also functions as a live room and can be connected directly to either Studio 1 or Studio 2. If one of the control rooms is busy, we can still record in the other.” “Audio is distributed via Dante, which means the 24 analogue microphone inputs in Studio B, once converted into digital audio by the Avid MTRX Pristine preamp cards, can be fed into any of the control rooms,” says Varun Asokan, tech support engineer at NMK Electronics. “The main challenge we faced here was ensuring we could effectively distribute audio in sync between all the rooms, and overcoming this challenge was achieved by installing a Black Lion master word-clock generator, to which the Avid Sync HDs and MTRX units in all the three studios are slaved.” Studio 1 is the master control room, set up with an Avid S1 mixing console. Pro Tools is the main DAW of choice here, but with the growing demand for alternative DAWs and considering that these rooms are also for hire to engineers who need a space to work, alternative options are in the pipeline – as are plans to eventually expand to Dolby Atmos mixing capabilities. Monitoring requirements are covered by a pair of high-end Mackie HR824 MK2 monitors. Inside the vocal booth, one Mackie

HM-4 headphone preamp provides the headphone feed and the industry-standard DAD-MOM monitor operating module is used as monitor control is directly connected to work seamlessly with the MTRX. Studio 2 is a slightly scaled down space, equipped to cater to all requirements for audio postproduction requirements: recording voiceovers, sound design, editing and mixing, as well as music composition and sonic branding work. This room utilises an Avid S1 desk as well, with monitoring control also provided via a DAD-MOM unit from Digital Audio Denmark through a pair of Mackie HR6 MK2 monitors. Of all the new equipment to make its way into MNK Studios, it’s sometimes the typically underappreciated gear that makes the biggest difference. “One of the things I’m most excited about having here are these Mackie monitors,” says Kyvernitis, gesturing to the Mackie HR824 MK2 studio monitors in Studio 1. “Coming from the original Mackie HR824 days, the first generation of those monitors truly blew my mind. They were the standard in a lot of studios for a long period of time, especially for surround sound mixing. When they announced the MK2s, I took the opportunity to try them out at my home studio and was really blown away by how solid they sounded and how transparent they are.” It becomes obvious given the attention to detail paid to MNK’s creation that the venture has been a long time in the making. “I first had the idea back in 2015/2016. The delay had a lot to do with what I wanted out of the studio but, from the time we started construction around August 2020, everything has moved very smoothly. We opened our doors on 1 August 2021, and word is now beginning to get out. So far, people who’ve come to rehearse have left very happy. The rehearsal rooms were completely booked out in September and we’re constantly getting sound design work and more inquiries from podcasters.” It may seem some distance from the hustle and bustle of city life – although some would argue that’s not a bad thing for a studio like this – but the venue’s location was also a point of careful consideration. Miltiadis is the son of NMK Electronics founder, Nicolas Kyvernitis and Melody House owner, Christina Kyvernitis. “By building MNK Studios in this location, we want to create a kind of music cultural hub here,” says Marina Kyvernitis, marketing manager at Melody House, MEI, CableTech and MNK Studios. “What we initially wanted was to open all our stores together,” furthers the owner. “If you want to buy a musical instrument, you can come to Melody House, or you can rent one from MEI. Then for recording and rehearsing, head straight over to MNK. We’ve made it a little music hub for everyone to enjoy.” www.mnk-studios.com

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BUSINESS: COMMENT

A letter from America Better to embrace AI and data in pro audio sooner than later Dan Daley reflects NASHVILLE HAS BEEN CALLED MUSIC CITY FOR THE last half-century. However, while the music and audio industry in that town remains relatively robust, with an estimated 8,300 music industry jobs in the Nashville area, according to the RIAA’s Nashville Music Industry: Impact, Contribution and Cluster Analysis, it also found that less than 750 of those are in music and audio production. And that same report, released this year, avoided similar estimates for live sound and touring, which until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 had become the single-biggest revenue generator for the industry. That sector has since become virtually moribund, as the US entered its fourth Covid surge in the autumn, and as more tours cancel or reschedule as the Delta virus variant expands. So, lots of jobs but pro audio represents a single-digit fraction of them, and even those are under pressure. Now, though, a more sanguine sobriquet for Nashville – which many look to as a bellwether for the larger music and audio business – may be Data City. Another 2021 analysis, the DICE Tech Job Report, puts Nashville at number three in the entire country for technology-sector employment growth, posting a rather astounding 32% increase in jobs. In August, Nashville’s Belmont University, which has one of the oldest music business and audio production education programmes in the world (it’s nearly 50 years

old), announced the launch of the Belmont Data Collaborative, funded with US$60 million and intended to “prepare students and professionals to fill the need for data skills in nearly every workforce environment,” including music and audio. That’s not surprising. Look at any business overview of music and audio sectors, from Spotify to Facebook, and data crunching is at the top of virtually every hierarchical list. Data-based music creation is already a thing; AI-based creation engines like Amper, which allows non-musicians to create music by indicating parameters like genre, mood and tempo, is now widely used to score podcasts, commercials and videos. And the data-based engine has already “passed” a Turing-like test, meaning that listeners couldn’t differentiate between music generated by its algorithms or by actual brains and hands. AI is also already playing a role in pro audio, including in data-assisted mixing (Izotope’s Neutron 3) and mastering (LANDR). Another way to look at this is as the follow-on inflection point after audio’s historic, tectonic shifts from analogue to digital, and from physical to virtual formats. More than merely Digital 2.0, the new prominence of data could precipitate its own era, with everything that implies. Most audio production education programmes no longer include things like tape machine alignment courses, but have been encompassing skills such as

programming. Airline pilots today are systems managers; music and audio producers of coming generations will see the same kind of shift in their skillsets and knowledge bases (though in both cases knowing the fundamentals will be important in an emergency). Not all of this prophesises some dystopic future of man vs machine. Rather, AI and data-based analyses will be helpful as workflows become more time-crunched. For instance, Amahook’s Sound Assistant helps producers search for the right sample in a sea of them. Algonaut’s Atlas will then help you map your own vast trove of samples using AI. There’s a brave-and-scary new world of pro audio products on the frontiers of sound and, as “productivity” replaces “creativity” as the core watchword of the business, our future selves (and perhaps more than a few of our current ones) are going to need that boost in their workflows. Does that mean that creativity goes out the window? That the machines finally take over? No. But creativity itself is undergoing its own revolution, as tools such as sampling create entirely new forms of music and sound. Thus, all the more reason that data-based approaches to the arts need to be embraced sooner than later. We’ll still be here, at least for a while, to imbue the machines with souls.

A letter from Europe Stealth processing? Phil Ward contemplates the DiGiCo upgrade at Moscow’s State Kremlin Palace THE EXACT BORDER BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA IS marked by a very Soviet-looking obelisk and war memorial near the city of Pervouralsk, in the Ural Federal District of Russia. As with all borders not defined by a shoreline, it’s an imaginary line drawn in the conceptual sand. On the nearby motorway, the P242, the line is a little more real: a row of curved, red tiles crosses the road, leading to a blunt monument topped with a frieze sculpture that looks like a Pokémon owl. Perhaps it’s called Twitwoo. It does mean that everything to the west of this line is officially European, including Moscow, although there have been times when, to a European, Moscow could not have seemed more alien. The ideological divide between Eastern and Western Europe that survived for most of the 20th century created a fear and suspicion that no dystopian computer game could ever match, and everyone over the age of 40 can still feel it. You might, in Pervouralsk, reach the end of Europe but, as things were, we might on more than one occasion have reached the end of the world. It still surprises me how much of Moscow is deliberately Western, and not just the Renaissance remains of Peter

the Great. Even the Soviets attempted to recreate the New York skyline with their seven spiky skyscrapers – less glasnost, more Ghostbusters – forgetting that imitation turns to flattery if you don’t do it better. And, of course, the Metro looks like Marie Antionette’s boudoir with rats. Then there’s the State Kremlin Palace, which is not nearly as old as it sounds. Built 10 years after London’s modernist Royal Festival Hall, it could easily be mistaken for it by a drugged tourist. Unfortunately, the acoustics were lost in translation. Instead of the Festival Hall’s tightly controlled reflections, helped by neat innovations like absorption tiles on the underside of empty seats, Moscow’s equivalent is a pinball machine for soundwaves. This isn’t helped by the frankly intimidating overhead embankment of original lighting, aimed more at the audience than the stage, such that the whole auditorium suggests a dentist’s chair for the masses. This may or may not have anything to do with the propaganda speeches delivered by successive Soviet leaders over the decades, but it didn’t help the orchestra of the State Kremlin Ballet back then and it doesn’t help DiGiCo now. Fortunately, local exclusive distributor Aris

knows the venue intimately and has been able to continue its steady upgrade through the years into a production hall of international standing. The habit of looking west for inspiration, validation and plain job satisfaction has not left Muscovites in all this time, and finally has direct access to the tools and skills that can close the age-old gap between Russian ambition and Russian achievement. The arrival of DiGiCo’s Quantum7 and Quantum338 consoles is the latest flow from this cultural and technological pipeline, and as if to provide the perfect metaphor in any discussion of borderlines, these desks are now able to exploit new custom software, as well as OSC, and integrate with the venue’s existing Stage Tec Nexus routing system. UK… Germany… Russia: a straight line. Nearly 20 years ago, I witnessed Meyer Sound’s engineer tame this hall with a Jimi Hendrix CD, both of us relishing the symbolic use of guitar feedback to erase the last words of Nikita Khrushchev from these echoing walls. With an even greater sense of audio dispersion, he tuned the entire system to the seat earmarked not for Vladimir Putin but, right next to him, his wife. Some border crossings will always require stealth.

38 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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Unleash your creativity Introducing GLM 4.1 loudspeaker manager software For 15 years, GLM software has worked with our Smart Active Monitors to minimise the unwanted acoustic influences of your room and help your mixes sound great, everywhere. Now, GLM 4.1 includes the next generation AutoCal 2 calibration algorithm and a host of new features – delivering a much faster calibration time and an even more precise frequency response. So, wherever you choose to work, GLM 4.1 will unleash your creativity, and help you produce mixes that translate consistently to other rooms and playback systems. And with GLM 4.1, both your monitoring system and your listening skills have room to develop and grow naturally too. Find out more at www.genelec.com/glm

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BUSINESS: COMPANY PROFILE

Radio activity

Aerial view of Lectrosonics’ two-building facility, either side of the car park

Phil Ward profiles US wireless audio pioneer Lectrosonics, 50 years and counting

The Mouse range of portable guitar amps were the force behind legions of musicians

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE AN ATOM BOMB TO GET your point of view across. They know about this in New Mexico. Fortunately, alternative means are available. The State of New Mexico happens to be where Lectrosonics has been helping people to address all kinds of public for five decades, with a commitment to local manufacturing and a consistency of innovation that blows away all but the finest competition. It all started with voice projection. Elegantly improving upon the time-honoured bullhorn, early Lectrosonics models were like a cross between a guitar practice amp and a vacuum cleaner. The Albuquerque Police Department was especially grateful, receiving the first production unit in September 1971. Within just four years, and remarkably early in the technology curve, the idea of going wireless took root as part of a dedicated mission to provide the highest possible degree of mobility and portability. Wherever anyone needed to raise a message above the general hubbub, it seemed Lectrosonics had solutions that literally placed sound reinforcement in the palm of your hand. Seventies’ buskers got a helping hand, too. The now-legendary Mouse range of portable guitar amps were the battery-powered force behind legions of street musicians, especially in San Francisco and New York, where the music stores stocked them in their thousands. And if you can make it there, to coin a phrase… With scores of audio manufacturers tempted to move at least some production offshore, Lectrosonics has prospered for 50 years by making everything in-house. Starting life in a former metal reclamation centre in Albuquerque with 17 staff, in 1988 Lectrosonics purchased some land 12 miles away in Rio Rancho where it opened a new factory. Two expansions later, the company now employs 140 people across its 3,700m2 facility, where all manufacturing including machine shop, surface mount electronic fabrication, assembly and testing is done; the premises also houses engineering, accounting, marketing, sales and management offices. Inevitably, the last 18 months has largely been dominated by Covid-19. “Everything fell off the cliff,” admits VP of sales marketing, Karl Winkler. “But we’re a very practical company, and we worked out a game plan: to make this a safe place to work; to keep staff on the payroll; and to communicate with them – that was really important. We’re lucky in that one of our core markets is news, which never stops. By the fall of 2020, production for live events was slowly coming back – even if sometimes it was a parking lot church service – and apart from

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VP of sales marketing, Karl Winkler

Lectrosonics’ original premises, a former metal reclamation centre, in the 1970s a few retirements and career changes we haven’t had to lay off anybody. I believe matching capacity to demand via production scheduling was the key to that.” This has always been the case. While auctioneers, lecturers, marching band directors and many other disparate users provided a solid base of raised voices during the first 10 years, more sophisticated markets lay in wait for expertly crafted audio capture on the move. By the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, the US had nearly 500 VHF television stations, each going through their own Groundhog Day of ENG with Lectrosonics’ transmitters and receivers connecting presenter to camera. This was a nimble technique quickly picked up by the movie industry on location, dramatically expanding the manufacturer’s footprint into media and entertainment. As the market evolved with highquality small, portable mixers and digital recorders, it made the perfect marriage with wireless flexibility and the stage was set for a new name in global production. As that recovers today, Lectrosonics has been through the Covid learning curve along with everyone else. “Fortunately,” says Winkler, “we have some extremely high-level customers who tackled the distancing problems head on, figuring out how to select different combinations of technology to create safe working environments over fibre links – which is complex, if you consider remote IFB, AoIP and control links. Having products that were already Dante-enabled was a help, like the Duet IEM/IFB and D Squared DSQD digital receiver system. Those have found a new life in the distance-networked world we now occupy.”

40 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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BUSINESS: COMPANY PROFILE Lectrosonics has spent over two decades weighing up the pros and cons of migrating wireless performance from analogue to digital: analogue, with negligible latency, good battery life, easily patchable but some artefacts; digital, with cleaner signals, spectrum efficiency but inevitable latency. It was a brainstorm that resulted in 2002’s Digital Hybrid Wireless system – such a good combination for film production that it won an Academy Award 15 years later. The audio is processed digitally, minimising distortion, but the modulation is analogue FM – robust but less channel-rich. The latency is in the digital midrange, from 2.9–3.2ms. However, as Winkler readily acknowledges, the onward march of digital components is more or less unstoppable, whatever the trade-offs. Their advantages came home to roost in 2009’s Audio Signal Processing Expansion Network (ASPEN), which introduced both a digital matrix and IP. Then in 2015, Lemo connectors were adopted for the smallest-yet transmitter, aimed exactly at the theatre market: a classic example of Lectrosonics factoring its forms and standardising for a specific niche. And then there’s spectrum. 5G does not, as some believe, offer any mitigation to the squeeze on highest-quality, zero-latency audio capture, even if it does increase the bandwidth available for real-time transmission. Winkler is sanguine: “5G is a tool, a reality, and we simply have to find the technical solutions to work alongside it. It does impinge on the space we have to do what we do, but it won’t help to view it as the enemy.” The core issue of interference in the signal even applies to the myriad users who don’t, after all, need that many channels for their local productions. “At the Church Facilities Conference and Expo in Dallas recently,” Winkler reveals, “users were telling us how their wireless is suffering with the loss of spectrum. I’m afraid the lower-cost systems weren’t designed for this reality, and even the licence-free 2.4GHz band is not a great solution if you need more than one or two channels. Every gathering of people has a gathering of devices! But we’re happy to help and advise about band-planning and network monitoring – the basics of how to navigate this.”

Lectrosonics’ D Squared Dante digital wireless system The future may see growth in another staple: live sound and touring. “Our niche is content capture,” Winkler confirms. “How it’s mixed and delivered after that is open to anyone. So I do see us gaining momentum in live production because of the increasing quality of sound and reliability of equipment in that sector. As the techniques become more studio-like, there’ll be a demand for better sound quality at the point of capture – better mics, better radio, better wireless IEM. And, even as audiences return, the priority for good capture-for-camera will remain, because streaming will be part of the live industry. That puts us in a good position.”

What hasn’t changed is the annual 1 April spoof press release. In 2016, the full range of transmitters was given an upgrade that saw each model “powered completely by political discourse during debates, campaign speeches, by news pundits and any other political speech-related verbal blather” accompanied by very topical pictures of both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. Wow. Less than 100 miles from where the world’s first atomic bomb exploded; acute sense of political satire; some of the best audio capture technology ever seen. At Lectrosonics, they’re really listening to what’s going on. www.lectrosonics.com

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BUSINESS: COMPANY PROFILE

Kicking off in Qatar

Gravity Media outlines its commitment to the region as activities heat up in Qatar in advance of next year’s World Cup GRAVITY MEDIA IS A FAIRLY UNKNOWN NAME IN THE world of broadcast AV, yet it stands to reason that many readers of this publication will be well aware of the company under other guises. Privately owned and headquartered in the UK, the Gravity Media Group was formed in 2000 by major shareholder and CEO, John Newton, upon the purchase of broadcast solutions provider Gearhouse Broadcast. In 2015, the group acquired HyperActive Broadcast, an international provider of postproduction and live workflow solutions for both film and TV. Input Media quickly followed in 2017 and then, most recently, Australian-based production company Chief Entertainment completed the package in 2019 following its purchase from Telstra. Input Media, Gearhouse Broadcast, HyperActive Broadcast and Chief Entertainment are names that have collectively been in the industry for more than 30 years. Through its acquisitions, the group has grown to employ around 500 people and serve clients across the sports, media, news and entertainment industries from its bases in the UK, Australia, USA, France, Germany and Qatar. It’s one of the biggest of its kind in the world. While the four entities continued to operate under their own distinct identities for some time after being absorbed by Gravity Media, in 2019 the decision was made to rebrand everything under a unified brand identity.

Al Rayyan Stadium

Al Bayt Stadium

“Following the acquisition of three established broadcast and production houses as Gearhouse Broadcast, we naturally wanted one, clear brand message and identity to showcase all of our world-class services under one umbrella,” explains Gravity Media business development manager, Edward Dowdall. “Our global clients value a complete end-to-end solution to achieve an optimum level of control, service and spend for their budget, in addition to our broadcast technology facilities, our sports production arm and postproduction services.” The combined group, explains the BD manager, is able to offer the market greater value than the sum of its parts, hence the change of face. “We are at the forefront of cutting-edge, new broadcast and production technology and are able to deliver a turnkey solution anywhere in the world for a wide range of budgets. We’re driving the trends toward IP delivery, centralised remote production and the advanced use of AR/VR in a broadcast environment, and we work closely with the most innovative manufacturers and engineers in the industry to deliver best-in-class live and recorded shows in the world.” This technical prowess and extensive geographical reach have afforded Gravity Media the opportunity of being involved with some of the world’s biggest event productions. With the conclusion of Euro 2020 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which Gravity Media was involved in extensively,

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Edward Dowdall attention is now turning to Doha for the next best-in-class live show on the calendar, the Qatar World Cup 2022. As a result, Dowdall has taken up permanent residence in Doha and joined Gravity Media’s local operations. “I’ll be driving the World Cup agenda,” he explains of the new role, “as well as new business development in the wider region across news, sports, cultural institutions, entertainment and more.” In MENA, the majority of the group’s operations prior to the rebrand were conducted under the Gearhouse Broadcast banner, for which it enjoyed a regional stronghold for many years via the Gulf subsidiary. “2007 saw us begin our journey in Qatar having successfully delivered services at the Asian Games a year earlier,” Dowdall recalls. “As new stadiums have been built in the region, we have designed, supplied, maintained and commissioned broadcast systems across cabling, big-screen production and broadcast control rooms. One key project was supporting Al Jazeera with a temporary newsroom system solution as they upgraded their news facilities to HD. Additionally, four of the local Qatar Stars League’s stadiums have had their technical infrastructure upgraded to HD – Al Gharafa, Al Rayyan, Al Sadd and Qatar Sports Club. “Other flagship projects have included the delivery of specialised broadcast solutions at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre, plus one-off projects for the Qatar National Day, Qatar Equestrian Federation, The Aspire Zone, Qatar Olympic Committee plus prominent broadcasters such as beIN Sports, Al Jazeera, Qatar Television and Al Rayyan Satellite Channel. We also installed a broadcast system at the ABHA Arena, an indoor arena which hosted the 2015 World Men’s Handball Championship.” In Qatar, however, this work has gone beyond just stadium and studio projects to also include cultural and media institutions, such as an HD upgrade project for Doha Mosque. The company can provide a range of services including equipment rental and stadium broadcast infrastructure, in addition to operating a compact OB van with DSNG capabilities, cheerily named Suhail. “Our

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BUSINESS: COMPANY PROFILE

The Suhail OB truck Doha facility has six HD cameras and two RF Outside Broadcast vehicles packed with audio, video, replay, comms and slow-motion equipment, plus access to our specialised, lightweight 4K and HD fly-way facilities,” Dowdall explains. “The vehicles are suitable for conference, cultural and live sport events on a budget, with seating for up to seven crew in a comfortable AC-equipped space with Covid-19 safety protocols in place. We also have access to innovations across the group, such as our Net-Cam which has been used on the Tennis Grand Slams, as well as HelmetCam and KeeperCam that were used on the inaugural The Hundred Cricket in the UK. Our Qatar team is able to listen in on trends and client feedback from top-tier brands such as UEFA, The FA, Supercars, ATP Media, Chelsea FC, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC.” Gravity Media’s extensive list of sports-based achievements globally has unsurprisingly seen it tasked with outfitting four of the new World Cup stadiums with broadcast equipment. “Gravity Media has won and successfully delivered high-tech broadcast infrastructure into four of the eight World Cup stadiums,” says Dowdall. “Meeting strict FIFA parameters and thresholds with the local broadcasters, we have used our global experience of World Cup and European Championship Football to hit a high spec. These

are stunning stadiums that will blow away all fans that attend, including the cooling systems and their unique architectural designs. We are also offering stand-up positions and temporary studio builds for rights and non-rights holders in prominent locations in partnership with connectivity powerhouse, Globecast.” With its extensive past experience in the region, and a host of high-profile projects on the horizon in Qatar, the company feels the time is right for the Gulf office to enjoy more comprehensive support from the wider group. “Our technology and engineering teams are always running feasibility and proof-of-concept ideas with suppliers and clients alike,” confirms Dowdall. “Back in May we welcomed Abdelkader Zitouni, former director of media rights for beIN Media Group, as an expert advisor to support our growth. “Saudi certainly excites us as the country modernises with delivering high-tech projects such as the NEOM Smart City and their media zone hub, as well their sporting ambitions across horseracing, motorsport and cycling,” he furthers. “esports is also a sector of media entertainment that we expect to grow, particularly given the youthful demographic in the wider region, a market we have worked in for over five years.”

Thankfully, the events of the last two years have put no dampers on Gravity Media’s long-term ambitions. “Thanks to the various acquisitions prior to the rebranding, we’ve been fortunate to soften the impact of the pandemic simply through the diversification of services and geographic reach,” Dowdall concludes. “Sports productions were one of the first live forms of content to return, which enabled us to quickly react and listen to our clients’ varying needs. From a people perspective, we’ve developed an internal team of Wellbeing Champions to support our teams with the challenging nature of working from home and mental healthcare. Many close federations and football clubs utilised our archive systems to generate content to appease fans and sponsors by keeping programming schedules full. We have also certainly seen an acceleration towards remote production which results in less crew onsite minimising costs and environmental impact, as well as a cutting of budgets. All this just means that we must be more innovative and creative to meet these challenges whereby we could have a commentator, producer, replay operator and cameramen all based in separate locations.” www.gravitymedia.com

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BUSINESS: SHOW REVIEW

PLASA 2021

How did the first European tradeshow for 18 months fare when it unfolded across three days during a London heatwave? PLASA RETURNED TO LONDON OLYMPIA AFTER A TWOyear absence, and the positivity and sense of renewed connections it provided surpassed expectations of even the most optimistic. Upon arrival, all visitors and exhibitors were obliged to provide proof of double-jabbed status or negative test result, while the show’s “mask-friendly” approach saw most visitors ditch optional face coverings once inside the majestic old hall. Accordingly, PLASA harked back to an age before live entertainment was put on pause. Business as usual, perhaps? When the bulldozers moved in to demolish Earls Court, PLASA traded in its West London roots for a three-year slot at the Excel Centre east of the city from 2014. While audiences declined, PLASA has retained its advantageous early September slot. The timing, coming after the Northern Hemisphere summer holidays, has always been crucial in maintaining the identity and lure of the exhibition. The stage was set under late summer blue skies as PLASA got underway, co-located this year with the ABTT Theatre Show. England commenced day four at the Oval trying to minimise the runs that India were scoring in their second innings, while the national football team prepared for a home FIFA 2022 qualifier fixture against Andorra. Meanwhile, those who play in the arena of entertainment technology descended upon Kensington, where a revitalised PLASA was attempting to make up for lost time. Over the past 18 months, home recording, conferencing and podcasting technologies have boomed, while digital console manufacturers, production companies and freelance engineers have had to batten down the hatches against the pandemic storm. Today, they could be excused from not having to observe social distancing rules, elbow bumps and restrained dialogue. Like PLASA of old, participants were here to celebrate a new chapter with old-fashioned handshakes and hugs. Manufacturers who’ve missed the opportunity to promote new products since international platforms stalled after NAMM 2020 were aware that a global audience would take note of PLASA 2021 launches. Notable debuts on day one included the Avolites New Diamond 9 lighting console, while L-Acoustics stuck to its road map, presenting the K3 long-throw line source speaker and super-compact SB10i installation subwoofer while also introducing the Creations residential speakers and Contour XO earphones. Allen & Heath showed the latest addition to the dLive range – the CTi1500 – while d&b audiotechnik chose

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The L-Acoustics K3 line source is no longer in the virtual world DiGiCo’s Tim Shaxson was busy promoting the Quantum digital consoles and KLANG’s konductor immersive software to focus on its Soundscape immersive technology and the fixed installation sector, removing the wraps off the 44S dual 4.5-inch system and D40 amplifier. Microphone manufacturers will admit that some products in their catalogues gathered warehouse dust at the height of the pandemic, while others could not be produced fast enough. “It feels great to be exhibiting and seeing customers in person again,” remarked Sennheiser’s Lee Shuttlewood against a floral backdrop. “We recently launched the EW-D wireless system, a cost-effective wireless whose transmitters and receivers can be controlled with an app.” Reflecting on the past 18 months, Shuttlewood continued: “We have sold remarkable volumes of Neumann microphones and monitors for home recordists and podcasters in addition to the mini shotgun MKE200 and 400 models for videographers. At the show, we are daring to promote our e-series percussion, ew G4 and Digital 6000 wireless mics.” Shure has also continued to release new mics beyond the meeting and boardrooms during the same time period. Its distinctive booth displayed a similarly floral theme to host the ADX5D Axient Digital and SLX-D wireless platforms. “In addition to a UK roadshow that we are currently committed to, we’re hosting educational Wireless Workbench workshops here at the show,” commented Shure UK’s Dave Phillips.

The d&b Soundscape theatre presented a number of demonstrations

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BUSINESS: SHOW REVIEW The SSE/Wigwam/Solotech booth hosted several big-hitting brands including Riedel, which was demonstrating its Artist, Bolero and MediorNet technologies. DiGiCo unveiled the SD12T for the theatre featuring the new “T” software, alongside KLANG:technologies’ new KLANG:konductor immersive 3D software and its S21 and Quantum 338 and 225 control surfaces. Glensound, a regular at broadcast exhibitions, was debuting the GTM dedicated esports gaming interface as chairman Gavin Davis explained the rationale behind participating at PLASA for the first time: “Our audio solutions are increasingly sitting on IT networks such as Dante in live sound applications in addition to broadcast. There have been no other trade events to sign up for, so it made sense to come to Olympia in a bid to meet new customers.” Under Olympia’s glass canopy, sunlight mitigated the dazzling effects of lighting manufacturers, which for Robe included its TE Transferable Engine technology as well as T2, T11, SpotSystem, iPointe, iBar, iSpiider and the latest Forte and Esprite moving heads. Chauvet highlighted the Maverick Silens 2 Profile and Ovation Rêve E-3 fixtures in addition to the ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M console. Among an impressive selection of Source Four and Color Source fixtures, ETC presented the newly released Lonestar, while Astera debuted the PixelBrick, AX2 PixelBar and the AX9 PowerPAR.

The #WeMakeEvents panel

Sennheiser UK’s Lee Shuttlewood highlighted the app-controllable EW-D wireless platform

Glensound’s Gavin Davis presenting the latest GTM esports gaming interface Located near the entrance with the Horizon line array system taking centre stage, FBT UK’s Mike Roissetter summed up the mood perfectly: “I can’t stop smiling – it feels so good to be talking to our friends in the industry once again. We have managed to do good business in the fixed installation business, but now we can hopefully promote our live sound systems as before.” Fellow Italian manufacturer RCF showed the latest ninth generation of its ART series and TT515A speakers. “Marketing our new products during the pandemic has been limited to social media and talking to dealers,” explained RCF MD, Dean Davoile.

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BUSINESS: SHOW REVIEW “The time has now arrived to promote these latest releases by participating at an in-person tradeshow. The pandemic taught us to communicate regularly with our customers – perhaps we have all been complacent in previous times when the economy was favourable. Now that we’ve all been double-jabbed and are taking precautions, it feels right to be back at PLASA.” RCF also took one of the demo rooms on offer, together with d&b audiotechnik and KV2 Audio, which showcased Soundscape and Super Analog point source systems, respectively. Demonstrating the latest Rivage PM3 and PM5 consoles, Yamaha shared its booth with Nexo, which was showcasing the iD14 4-inch and iD84 column together with the P+ series of loudspeakers. On day two, Nexo hosted the official launch of its ePS series of cost-effective installation speakers, with sales and marketing director Gareth Collyer reporting a spate of messages from European distributors requesting photos and feedback from the first tradeshow in 18 months. “Being back at a tradeshow is absolutely brilliant,” he said. “It’s not only positive for the UK market, it also sends a message globally.” Day two got off to a quiet start, building throughout the day to a packed show floor and segueing into evening drinks at the PLASA Show Bar, where Martin Audio managing director Dom Harter treated the crowd to an eclectic DJ set. We caught up with PLASA MD Peter Heath earlier in the day, who was dashing between a #WeMakeEvents panel onstage and preparing for the PLASA Awards for Innovation. “It’s been really difficult because we haven’t been able to have any tradeshows or events for 18 months, and up until the beginning of July it was still ‘are we aren’t we’, depending on government advice,” he said. “So we’ve managed to put on a show in eight weeks that normally we’d be planning and prepping for about 10 months. Like any other company we’ve got staff on furlough and reduced working time, so everyone piled in to make

Czech mates – Robe showcased its latest Forte and Esprite moving heads

The latest ADX5D wireless planted on the Shure exhibit

sure we put on a good show. But what we have to acknowledge is the exhibitors who’ve been incredible, because they’ve been challenged when it comes to finances and resources as much as we have. But they’ve put it on and made it look like this. It’s given everyone hope in the sense that it looks like a normal show. They want to support PLASA and they want to support the show.” And that was exactly what Out Board Electronics had in mind. “We came to the show with no real preconceptions; we just wanted to show that we’re still around, and celebrate the fact that things are waking up, and it’s already better than we anticipated,” said director, Dave Haydon.

get the feeling that those people who aren’t here are too busy, because there are so many shows happening. We are at full tilt, there is no more room for anything else, and it’s definitely not what we anticipated at this point.” Hosting a busy seminar and training programme, the Innovation Awards, the ABTT Theatre Show Hub, the #WeMakeEvents Hub and numerous product launches, it really did feel like the tradeshow is back. A respite from the misery and frustration of the past 18 months filled London Olympia with positivity, and a sense that change is finally underway.

RCF demonstrated the ninth generation ART series and latest Theatre and Touring (TT) systems

PLASA MD Peter Heath: “The exhibitors have been incredible”

Nexo’s Gareth Collyer takes the wraps off the new ePS series

Avolites was launching the Diamond 9 lighting console. “It’s hard to find the words to say how good it feels to be back at a tradeshow because I’ve been at every one of these since 1988. I’ve really missed seeing all our friends,” said director, Steve Warren. “It’s been a long break away from them, and here they all are, coming through the door; it’s really joyous. There was never any doubt that we wouldn’t be here. The industry is back and we’ve been waiting for this. Zoom has been great, but we’ve had enough of Zoom, and we want to see people face-to-face, and we’ve had the chance to show a new product that nobody’s seen before. And there’s definitely been a lot of focus on keeping everyone safe.” L-Acoustics’ head of communications, Mary Beth Henson, was relishing the opportunity to catch up with people for the first time since ISE 2020. “There are lots of people here and it’s good to be back,” she said. “I remember hoping last year that PLASA would be the first one back and realising that it wasn’t going to happen, so it feels fitting that PLASA now is the first one back. Most visitors have been from the UK, though we just hosted some people from English-speaking Africa. And having to show proof of Covid status on the way in gives you a measure of comfort.” For almost all participants on the show floor, PLASA 2021 seemed to exceed expectations, as did the sudden upswing in UK events and productions. “I anticipated it to be a bit slower, with less people, but we haven’t stopped from the minute the doors opened,” said GLP’s Simon Barrett. “And I

L–R: Out Board’s Robin Whittaker, Dave Haydon and Glen Ward

2021 Dates:

5–7 September

2022 Dates:

4–6 September

Venue:

London Olympia

Total exhibitors:

608

Attendance:

3,800

Contact:

www.plasashow.com

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25/10/2021 12:08

Q& BUSINESS: TECHNOLOGY

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Diversified’s Derek Paquin

UCC in the new workplace GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Diversified has been reinvigorating its approach to Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) solutions, providing a stronger partnership as its clients around the world navigate user expectations in the new workplace environment. Derek Paquin, vice president of Diversified’s Advanced Visual Environments speciality, discusses the move to hybrid and remote working as clients return to the office and demand for huddle and collaboration rooms rises.

What services did Diversified need to offer its clients once Covid began closing down workplaces? How did you meet the challenges of doing this? Diversified not only designs and integrates technology solutions into specific applications but also has a very robust global services and support structure. Immediately upon shutdown, our onsite ADOPT dedicated technology specialists pivoted from providing onsite support services to providing remote support services for virtual webinars, event management, town halls, meeting support, briefing centre guidance and various UC platform meeting support. The need for easy-to-use production recording and

The demand for huddle and collaboration rooms has risen streaming systems for enterprise, higher education and healthcare was also required to give clients the ability to create remote instruction, town halls, training seminars and corporate communications. We also took a serious look at how we could help our healthcare clients who had many workers on the frontline in need of advanced technology solutions for hybrid work

and communications. For a particular hospital in Sydney, Australia, Diversified deployed the latest in communication and collaboration technologies for 125 rooms across 12 floors, including conference rooms, training centres and waiting areas. Additionally, for the hospital’s connected university system, we implemented 70 rooms consisting of large cabaret-style training theatres, large teaching spaces and numerous Zoom-enabled collaboration rooms. Possibly the most extraordinary part of this project was the design and implementation of a first-of-its-kind National Infectious Disease Unit (NIDU) command centre enabled with cameras, a talkback system and videoconferencing capabilities. The space was designed with the future in mind, planning for the possibility of another outbreak like Covid. If this were to occur, hospital staff now have the ability to communicate effectively with patients while they are isolated in a safe space.

Can you outline how your UCC solutions business had developed up to that point, and how it progressed once lockdowns started to affect different regions around the world? UCC offerings have always been a key focus for Diversified as businesses need to be more connected across the globe, but I would say it has changed rather than progressed due to the pandemic. The change that has occurred is one of taking a holistic, all-encompassing ecosystem approach rather than looking at individual components within an organisation. Prepandemic, we would consult with clients on enhancing their UC platform, meeting room strategy or corporate communications rollout. Today, these components are all viewed as working together and therefore should be consulted on as a whole, not as individual parts.

Do you think the transition to hybrid working would have happened if the pandemic had not occurred?

Diversified deployed the latest UCC technologies for a Sydney hospital

There are two definitions of this phenomenon: remote work – pre-pandemic working, and hybrid work – pandemic and post-pandemic working. I estimate that pre-pandemic remote work accounted for approximately 5% of the workforce. As a collaboration solution provider, we have been building remote work solutions for years. We found that organisations felt the benefits were not relevant enough to expedite or invest in, and therefore the adoption was extremely slow and limited. Overnight, the arrival of the pandemic, giving no choice but to adopt a new way of working, accounted for approximately 40% of remote work. By experiencing this

48 PRO AVL MEA November–December 2021

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BUSINESS: TECHNOLOGY change I think organisations now understand the benefits and know the demand from the workforce will require it. Hybrid work will continue to become more effective as solutions evolve and on-the-job experiences make it more viable moving forward. Even though platform providers, device manufacturers and solution providers have continued to innovate and make hybrid work more effective, adoption would not have occurred like it has without being forced to adapt.

on platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Cisco and Google. We work well with all platform companies and in some cases have created partnering initiatives to help organisations understand all aspects of hybrid work. Diversified and Microsoft have created a Hybrid Meetings Workshop which allows the client a deep dive into assessing current meeting structures, educating on the platform’s capabilities and delivering a roadmap of recommendations on how to successfully implement them. The physical operation within the room is then performed by the devices. Selecting devices that have proven operability with the platform is also important for client success. We work with numerous device manufacturers such as Crestron, Logitech, Lenovo, HP, Poly and Yealink. The third component is the deployment and support of the system solution. Installation, deployment and configuration, along with change management, adoption training, onsite and remote support, are vital to the success of the entire ecosystem. We partner with the client to create a custom deployment and support system to minimise their total cost of ownership.

What are the advantages of working in this way? Anytime you read about the advantages of hybrid work, you will of course see the obvious benefits of increased productivity due to flexibility, increased employee job satisfaction from an improved work–life balance and decreased operational costs from increased facility utilisation and improved staffing efficiencies. While these are tremendous advantages to all organisations, there are two others that are transformative for organisations. People are vital to an organisation’s success, so increased technical experience to improve communication and the ability to access a more diverse and talented workforce are two components sometimes overlooked. Better employee collaboration and communication by using digital workplace tools enables employees to work securely from any location, improving workflows, reducing redundant tasks and improving collaboration. This not only greatly improves overall efficiency but spurs innovation from all areas of the organisation. Once employees feel comfortable and empowered by workplace technology tools, the ability to become proficient with communication magnifies. Secondly, it offers access to wider talent pools. Hiring locally demonstrates an investment within the local community; however, this can prevent organisations from accessing the wider pool of talent that is available. Combining local talent with unrestricted access to global talent creates improvements for team building, culture and scale.

Diversified works with all common platforms and device manufacturers

Can you describe some typical setups you’ve installed for clients, namechecking the key brands you work with as well as your UCC partners, and how you work together with them? We have found there are three facets to technically migrating to hybrid work: the platform, the room devices and the deployment support structure. Understanding how the client currently works and how they envision working in the future helps define a primary platform. While multiple platforms may be used at the same time during migration, the intent is typically to migrate to a single platform to achieve the benefits and efficiency of standardisation. We are seeing organisations standardising

How do you see this way of working developing once Covid infections are low enough for most people to return to more traditional workplaces: is remote and hybrid working here to stay? I feel the overall philosophy of hybrid working is here to stay. The benefits have been realised and organisations will continue to leverage them. However, I feel for most positions within an organisation, 100% remote working is not sustainable. We have learned from clients that a certain amount of in-office participation is required for ad-hoc communication, retention, cultural consistency and accountability.

JOSHUA BLAIR TRUSTS ATLAS www.onediversified.com

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Nexo unveils cost-effective installation series Three two-way passive cabinets and two partner subbass units are the first models in a new “utility” range THE ePS series comprises three two-way passive cabinets and two accompanying subbass units, and takes a no-frills approach with slimmed-down connection and mounting options. The French manufacturer explains that by taking advantage of new manufacturing techniques and driver designs, it has been able to reach “unprecedented price points” for its point source products, and that ePS models provide a way for many public and private installation projects to access a Nexo-badged system without breaking the bank. The ePS range features three lightweight point source models, in 6-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch iterations. Each cabinet includes a 1.4-inch HF driver and lightweight LF driver, with Nexo’s trademark rotatable-horn design offering dispersion options to the user. Presented in Baltic birch plywood with steel grilles for IP54 (and IP55) certified weather resistance, the ePS6, ePS8 and ePS10 offer peak SPL stats of 125dB, 128dB and 130dB respectively. The ePS6 weighs 7.1kg, with a footprint of 367mm x 200mm x 182mm and a frequency response of 90Hz–20kHz. The ePS8 weighs 8.1kg, has a profile of 425mm x

252mm x 227mm and a frequency response of 80Hz–20kHz. The most powerful of the three models, the ePS10, weighs 14.8kg, occupies a 533mm x 318mm x 283mm footprint and has a frequency response of 70Hz–20kHz. All three cabinets are minimally fitted with a hard-wired strip for connection, offering two generic 7mm pitch in/out screw connectors. The IP cover protects the connectors from moisture in outdoor applications. On each side of the cabinet, two M6 with 80mm pitch and one M10 fitting allow connection to U Bracket, bumper or eye bolts. The back of each speaker is fitted with three M6 with 70mm pitch for wall mounting in both horizontal and vertical positions. All units are finished in black structural paint – white and all other RAL colours are available to order – with a UV-resistant acoustic fabric stretched over the front grille. All three of the main ePS models are intended to be paired with a dedicated subbass option, although they are phase-compatible with any Nexo model. In the case of ePS, two compact subs have joined the series – the single 12-inch eLS400 and single 15-inch eLS600 – which

match the aesthetic of the full-range cabinets. The eLS400 is a compact installation sub that can be stacked or flown, weighing 14.5kg and measuring 365mm x 425mm x 447mm. The single 12-inch sub has been conceived as the partner for both the ePS6 and ePS8 cabinets. The eLS600 is 425mm x 533mm x 562mm and weighs 26.3kg, using a high-excursion 15-inch driver in a bass-reflex enclosure design capable of 136dB peak output. It is designed to partner the ePS8 and ePS10. The dimensions of the rectangular subs match their main partner cabinets: a dedicated accessory allows the ePS to be flown beneath the subwoofer, creating small-footprint wideband systems. Two M10 fittings connect the eLS600 to U Bracket, eye bolts or dedicated accessories. Unused M10 fittings can be used for extra rigging points in areas where legislation requires it. Rear connection is via two (in/ out) pairs of screw terminal blocks, while the included IP cover protects the connectors from moisture in outdoor applications. www.nexo-sa.com

Absen Jade Dragon (JD) Series 70 ADJ Focus Wash 400 72 AJA OG-FiDO-R-12G-ST/OG-FiDO-2R-12G 69 AMX Precis PR-Series 70 Apantac AP-1080P-PTZ-20x 67 API Audio API Select 62 65 Ashly Audio AquaControl v1.2.4 Astera AX9 PowerPAR/PixelBrick 72 ATEN UC9040 StreamLIVE PRO update 70 Atlona AT-OME-EX-WP-KIT-LT 58 Audac Audac Touch v2.6 66 66 Audinate Dante Domain Manager version 1.2 Audio-Technica AT2040/ATH-M50xBT2 61 Austrian Audio OC707/OD505 61 B-Tech AV Mounts BT8312 70 Barco XDM/XDX 66 68 Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Studio Cameras CEDAR Audio Isolate 61 Christie CP4415-RGB/CP4420-RGB 67 Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station 63 58 ClearOne Versa Mediabar/UNITE 180 ePTZ CODA Audio System Optimiser Beta v0.5.2 66 Crestron AirMedia update 58 d&b XSL System 53 DiGiCo SD12T 65 disguise r19 with Unreal Engine 4.27 64 DTS Lighting Alchemy 7 73 Dynacord SONICUE Control app for iOS 65 Elation Pixel Tape 16IP and 40IP 72 Electro-Voice MTS series 53 Equipson LightShark FX engine 73 71 Extron MGP 641/TLI Pro 201 Fane Pro Audio Carol Series/Argus Series 52 56 Focusrite Clarett+ 2Pre, 4Pre and 8Pre Fohhn Audio Hybrid-1/Scale-1 and Scale-2 56 Fulcrum Acoustic Rotated versions of GX Series 56 65 Genelec GLM 4.1 GLP Fusion Stick FS16 Z 73 HH Electronics Tensor-GO 54 High End Systems Lonestar 72 IFBlue IFB receiver 63 54 JBL Professional PRX ONE Just Add Power MaxColor 4K60 Series 69 JVC Professional Video 4K KY-PZ400NW/NB 68 KLANG:technologies KLANG:konductor 63 Kramer VIA Connect2/VP-550X 59 L-Acoustics SB10i 54 LEA Professional 802.1X security protocol 63 Neumann.Berlin KH 750 AES67 56 NewTek NC2 Studio I/O Module 70 51 Nexo ePS series Outline Architectural Series 52 Panasonic AW-HE145/AT-KC1000 68 PMC PMC6/PMC6-2/PMC8-2 52 PreSonus Revelator io24 57 QSC Microsoft Teams Rooms expansion 57 RCF ART 9/RDNet 4.1 54 Renkus-Heinz ICC 12/3-RD1 53 Robe CUETE 73 61 Røde Thread Adaptor/Tripod 2 Sennheiser CHG 2N/Sennheiser Control Cockpit v5.0 62 Sharp NEC Display Solutions NC2443ML/dvLED E Series 66 Shure Stem Ecosystem 60 Solid State Logic System T V3.1/TE1 and TE2 Tempest 64 Sommer Cable LIGHT 1 60 Studio Technologies DPL-KIT-01/KIT-02 63 Symetrix Radius NX compatible with Barco 59 Tascam CA-XLR2d/Mixcast 4 Podcast Station 62 Tasker Twisted pair cables 60 Telestream Inspect 2110 update/IQ update 69 TVU Networks TVU Cloud Production Service 64 UNiKA PRO-BT5/PRO-USB 64 Waves CLA Nx 65 Wharfedale Pro Tourus-AX8/Tourus-AX8-MBT 56 57 Xilica Xilica Gio/Barco partnership Yamaha DHR Series/CHR Series 52

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PRODUCTS

Yamaha releases DHR and CHR Series speakers BOTH THE DHR and CHR Series have been designed to meet the demands of a variety of sound reinforcement applications. The 10-inch models are equipped with rotating horns and compatible with an optional UB-DXRDHR10 U Bracket for use in fixed installations and utility, while the 12-inch models are the first Yamaha speakers to feature a coaxial compression driver for improved clarity and smoother frequency response for floor monitoring. The largest in the lineup are the 15-inch models, which feature dual-angle pole sockets and rigging points for use in fixed

installations or as temporary main speakers for sound reinforcement. The DHR Series transducers are driven by DSP-equipped Class-D power amplifiers to deliver enhanced sound quality and clarity. Following in the footsteps of the high-end DZR/ CZR and DXRmkII Series as well the DBR/ CBR Series, the new speakers are housed in a premium plywood cabinet finished in a tough polyurea coating. www.yamaha.com/2/proaudio

Fane starts a new chapter FOLLOWING ON from the success of the SV, ST and Storm series, UK-based component loudspeaker manufacturer, Fane International, has introduced the company’s first range of line array systems. The Carol Series comprises the dual 12-inch C22 and dual 10-inch C10 line arrays for augmentation with the flyable 18-inch cardioid C58S and double 18-inch ground-stack C28 subwoofers. The Argus Series line arrays currently group the Argus 1 dual 12-inch and Argus 2 dual 10-inch models with the Argus 2S 18-inch flyable subwoofer. The new Fane Pro Audio models feature optimised, bespoke drive units from Fane and transducers from UK sister company, Precision Devices. Optimised to deliver high vocal intelligibility and audio reproduction, Fane Pro Audio has also announced the launch of the UK Series with the UK-810 (10-inch) and UK-812 (12-inch) KTV systems. The GK Series consists of the GK-410, GK-412, GK-610 and GK-612 10-inch and 12-inch professional KTV systems. www.faneproaudio.com

PMC takes a fresh approach PMC HAS announced a replacement for its twotwo Series with new near- and midfield monitors. In development for five years, the PMC6, PMC6-2 and PMC8-2 – along with their associated subwoofers, the PMC8 SUB and PMC8-2 SUB – have the same sound signature as PMC’s main monitor products but have been designed to provide “the highest possible resolution with the lowest possible colouration”. Features include new drivers, DSP and Class-D amplifiers, as well as improvements to the manufacturer’s proprietary ATL bass-loading and Laminair air flow technologies. The active subs can be combined with the monitors to create one of PMC’s twin-cabinet XBD systems that reportedly deliver extended bass and dynamics.

Alternatively, they can be used as standalone LF monitors for sub channels. Futureproofing has also been engineered into every model with advancements such as an expansion card slot for planned future signal interfacing options. Configuration is via simple menu-driven controls on the rear panel, or through the company’s SOUNDALIGN network interface. Accessed through wired connections to any standard network via any web browser on a PC, Mac or tablet, SOUNDALIGN’s digital connectivity allows users to individually control each monitor or set them up in defined groups ideal for large-scale immersive systems. www.pmc-speakers.com

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Outline scores an “A” with Architectural Series

WITH THE launch of the Architectural “A” Series, Outline has specifically designed a range of loudspeakers to meet the discreet aesthetic and high-performance audio demands of architects, interior designers and SIs. Comprising the Ai41 and Ai81 ultra-compact columns together with the Charlie 4 cube, the mid-high modules can deliver balanced playback or live audio with the addition of a dedicated AS6 micro-subwoofer. According to the Italian brand, the inclusion of an MTM configuration of midrange and HF elements in the mid-high Ai41 and Ai81 modules delivers “extraordinary imaging and precision coverage” for the compact units. By symmetrically arranging multiple transducers within the enclosure, the MTM design greatly reduces unwanted lobing effects in the radiating sphere of a loudspeaker. Weighing 0.6kg and measuring 350mm x 46mm x 25mm (HxWxD), the Ai41 is a column loudspeaker featuring four 1-inch neodymium magnet drivers and a single 0.7-inch treated silk dome tweeter. Capable of producing a wide nominal dispersion (160° x 60° (HxV)) and a maximum SPL peak of 107.5dB within a 280Hz–20kHz (–10dB) frequency range, four Ai41 enclosures can be deployed from one single amplification channel over a nominal impedance of 8Ω. Comprising eight 1-inch drivers with a single 0.7-inch tweeter, the Ai81 570mm-long column can produce a nominal

dispersion of 160° x 40° (HxV) and a maximum SPL peak of 112dB within a 300Hz–20kHz range. Contained within a 120mm x 120mm x 126mm (HxWxD) enclosure and weighing 1.55kg, Charlie 4 features a single 4-inch cone transducer. Rated at 70W (continuous), Charlie 4 exerts an axisymmetric 60° dispersion and operates across a 110Hz– 17kHz frequency range. Installation options are enhanced with dual M6 bolts and a multi-adaptable mounting bracket, while two O-rings assist with vibration damping. Featuring a 6-inch woofer and a passive radiator, the AS6 subwoofer system extends the LF of the Architectural Series’ mid-highs. Capable of producing 114dB max SPL output down to 42Hz (–10dB), the 6.5kg cabinet can be deployed as floor standing or suspended with a dedicated bracket. Housed in HCDF (Hydrophobic Compact Density Fibre), the four cabinets are finished in standard black or white polyurethane paint, with a range of RAL colour options available to match customised architectural requests. All four modules are fully passive to minimise the number of amplifier channels required to effectively operate them.

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The next standard in stadium sound WITH THE introduction of the MTS series of full-range, long-throw, point source loudspeaker systems, Electro-Voice is expanding its portfolio of sound solutions for stadiums and sports venues. Reportedly capable of generating more than 151dB peak SPL with exact directivity for very long-throw applications, each high output model is equipped with four 15-inch woofers and dual coaxial mid/high-frequency compression drivers. Four slot-loaded, LF drivers are symmetrically coupled to the same full-range waveguide as the compression drivers to create a true point source with substantial bass response. Consisting of 16 unique models, the MTS series is based on two standard three-way configurations (MTS-4153) with 60° x 40° or 40° x 30° coverage and two cardioid configurations (MTS-6154) that provide the

same coverage patterns with enhanced LF directional control. The 60° x 40° models are capable of delivering SPLs of 151dB peak (music) and 154dB peak (speech) down to 55Hz at –10dB. The 40° x 30° models can attain 152dB peak (music) and 155dB peak (speech) down to 50Hz at –10dB. Finished in either black or white, each IP55rated enclosure is available as partially weatherised (PW) or fully weatherised (FW) versions. Ensuring pattern control to below 350Hz, a dual lossless Hydra waveform converter has been integrated into the MTS design to drive a large constant directivity waveguide with a coherent arc

d&b rounds off SL-Series d&b AUDIOTECHNIK has completed the lineup of the SL-Series with the addition of the XSL System, a smaller and more lightweight solution than its SL siblings, but still encompassing the primary feature set of broadband directivity control and extended low-frequency performance, as well as comprehensive rigging, cabling and transportation.

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MTS products initially devised for acoustically combining the output of multiple transducers. Developed for HF compression drivers, EV has extended the technology to both the coaxial compression drivers and the low-frequency drivers for the MTS Series. MTS is engineered for use with Dynacord amplification and processing as part of a SONICUE-driven hardware/software ecosystem, for energy-efficient system design with performance optimisation and system protection features. Proprietary speaker settings and limiter functions reportedly ensure exceptional performance at extremely high output levels. A complete package of design files is provided for advanced acoustical and mechanical system simulation in venues utilising Electro-Voice Preview software. source. In addition, EV has also pioneered manifold loudspeaker and horn technology for

www.electrovoice.com

Renkus-Heinz IC series adds Dante interoperability

spoken word, together with the need for high power, full-spectrum performance. In contrast, the XSL mobile version addresses the needs of a range of touring applications. Both the XSL and XSLi can be deployed as a standalone, self-contained package, or as a delay or fill system to accompany its GSL and KSL cabinets. The cabinet itself houses a pair of 8-inch front LF drivers, two 6.5-inch side-facing LF drivers, a 6.5-inch mid-frequency driver/ horn unit and a pair of 1-inch exit compression drivers with a 2-inch voice coil on a waveguide. Weighing 39kg, the enclosure occupies a 700mm x 283mm x 507mm (WxHxD) footprint. The system can be powered by the manufacturer’s amplifier family, including the 40D installation and D40 mobile amplifiers. With directivity first in mind, the XSL delivers cardioid performance across the full frequency spectrum, which is said to result in reduced audio spill onto open mics onstage, improved clarity and impact of individual instruments and less colouration of midrange buildup in venues and on broadcast and recording feeds.

COMPLETING THE Iconyx Compact Series portfolio, Renkus-Heinz has unveiled the -RD1 lineup. Initially launched in 2020, the ICC 12/3-RD1, 24/3-RD1, 36/3-RD1 and 48/3-RD1 loudspeakers have been created to deliver accurate, coherent and steerable sound solutions in problematic acoustic spaces. According to the manufacturer, the series brings performance and directivity to spaces where even the classic Iconyx arrays might be too large. In addition to adding improved interoperability and flexibility through Dante audio-over-IP functionality, the narrow profile -RD1 models now offer new control options by integrating into Crestron’s remote-control solutions. “The -RD1 versions allow for quick, cost-effective and easy integration using Audinate’s highly integrated Dante Ultimo chip,” commented Renkus-Heinz VP of strategic development, Graham Hendry. “The Ultimo platform is perfect for the smaller footprint Iconyx Compact Series where the diminutive dimensions also mean there is a need for more spaceconstrained network devices featuring a lower channel count. The -RD1 ICC family supports all the features that have driven widespread adoption of Dante technology: auto-discovery of devices, label-based routing of signals, true plugand-play operation and superb audio performance over standard networks.” The new models include RHAON II beam-steering with the latest URGO beam algorithms, a movable acoustic centre, multiple beam opening angles and high-pass filtering of individual beams. Wall-mount brackets come as standard together with analogue and AES inputs.

www.dbaudio.com

www.renkus-heinz.com

ICC 12/3-RD1

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L-Acoustics scales down DELIVERING THE same sonic signature of the company’s much larger subs, but from a vastly scaled-down enclosure design, L-Acoustics has unveiled the SB10i as the newest member of its SB subwoofer range. Equipped with a single 10-inch driver, the SB10i measures a 27Hz bandwidth limit and 124dB maximum SPL output yet measures 540mm x 540mm x 170mm (LxWxH) for discreet installation. Sonically corresponding with the

manuacturer’s X4i and 5XT ultra-compact coaxial speakers, the 15kg sub is available in RAL colours, making it suitable for high-end residential and commercial applications. An integrated “tech face” contains all connectors and mounting points in one unobtrusive panel, ensuring that mounting hardware, cables and connectors can be hidden. www.l-acoustics.com

To the power of 9 with ART All systems GO for HH’s Tensor family HH ELECTRONICS has expanded the Tensor loudspeaker range with the addition of the portable Tensor-GO array system. Integrating a lithium-ion battery for promoting cable-free installation in applications without a dedicated mains supply, a built-in 12V DC charge point promotes charging from a 12V output such as a vehicle battery. Housed in a polypropylene enclosure, the 8-inch HH subwoofer incorporates a 200W (RMS) Class-D amplifier. Comprising six arrayed 2.75 -inch mid/high woofers providing wide horizontal dispersion, the accompanying 562mm x 107mm x 107mm satellite attaches to the base of the 9.9kg subwoofer with a simple Click and Connect design, bypassing the need for external Sub-Sat cabling. Equipped with fourchannel integrated mic/ line mixing functionality, mic inputs include two balanced ¼-inch/ XLR combos, 3.5mm stereo aux in and a mic/line preset switch together with two RCAs. Four voiced audio modes – music, live, natural, speech – optimise Tensor-GO’s characteristics to desired applications. Bluetooth v5.0 expands wireless connectivity by pairing with mobile devices for wireless audio streaming and transmitting audio to a second Tensor-GO system via the integrated Wireless Stereo Pairing technology. www.hhelectronics.com

CONSTITUTING THE ninth generation of newly designed ART speakers, RCF has enhanced the industry standard ART audio solution as a main loudspeaker PA, fill speaker or stage monitor. The six new active 550W (RMS)-rated models are 50% more powerful than their predecessors, sharing two-channel, Class-D amplification with DSP processing. The energy-efficient amplifier bypasses the need for a cooling fan with a circuit attached to a solid aluminium heat exchanger in the unit’s rear. Comprising Kapton, titanium and neodymium, the newly designed 10- to 15-inch transducers gain more stability over high currents with less distortion. The 1.75-inch compression driver integrates a polyimide-Kapton dome with new bonding technology and reinforced ribs for enhanced durability. Capable of delivering a maximum 135dB SPL down to 45Hz, ART 945-A is the largest model of the series with a 4-inch titanium compression driver and a neodymium woofer. Sharing the same 3-inch titanium compression driver, the ART 935-A and ART 932-A models can produce 134dB and 133dB SPL respectively. A new Kapton driver features in the ART 915-A, ART 912-A and ART 910-A designs. Electroacoustic innovations include True Resistive Waveguide (TRW), which mimics a resonance-free pure resistive load for reducing the HF distortion of a classic horn. With its asymmetric acoustic radiation, the coverage angle of the waveguide provides constant directivity to the entire listening area with a

balanced stereo panorama. Exclusive DSP algorithms have been incorporated for both phase linearisation and crossover design,

ART 9 together with woofer excursion management. System latencies are minimised and a coherent distribution of sound without phase distortions is ensured by adopting proprietary

digital FiRPHASE FiR technology. With FiRPHASE technology applied, the ART 9 acts as a single source for a true sound image. The Bass Motion Control woofer excursion management feature creates a complete map of the dynamic behaviour of the transducer, to generate a custom algorithm that only limits over-excursions. By granting freedom of signal reproduction, both high-pass filters and largeband limiters are avoided and the speaker is allowed to reproduce the input signal at all volume levels for the entire audible spectrum. In brief, RDNet 4.1 has been designed to unlink future software and firmware updates, so the user will no longer be required to perform an RDNet installation when new firmware upgrades are available. In addition, RDNet 4.1 is able to auto-update when a new version is released. This is made possible through the introduction of the RDNet Launcher. For the user, this is a completely transparent operation, keeping the system up to date with the latest release for maximum compatibility with all RDNetcompatible products. It is recommended to uninstall the old versions of RDNet when installing RDNet 4.1. www.rcf.it

JBL launches PRX ONE portable PA

DESIGNED TO fulfil the requirements of a wide range of portable and installed applications, JBL Professional has extended the PRX column portable PA series with the addition of the PRX ONE. Weighing in at 25.45kg, the system is capable of delivering a maximum SPL of 130dB courtesy of the 12-tweeter column array and a 12-inch bass-reflex woofer that integrates a 500W Class-D amplifier. The incorporation of AIM (Array Inumbration Mechanics) acoustic design enhances consistent front-to-back throw properties and even response of the high-frequency transducers. High-frequency performance is optimised down to 500Hz, allowing the woofer to deliver a more natural bass sound, while the 12-inch woofer itself is capable of lowfrequency extension down to 35Hz (±10dB). An optional bracket and adapter allow the array to be wall- or truss-mounted independently of the subwoofer for permanent installations. PRX ONE’s I/O set features four Neutrik XLR Combo jacks, two channels of phantom power, a Hi-Z input and two USB 2.0 ports.

PRX ONE’s suite of Lexicon and dbx processors, including eight customisable presets, enhance ease-of-use features. Built-in effects include reverb, eight-band EQ, delay, compression, limiting, ducking, echo, sub synth and dbx DriveRack Inside technology, featuring AFS Pro (Automatic Feedback Suppression). The Triple Tier DSP control offers multi-level user experiences based on varying knowledge levels. Manageable via the new JBL Pro Connect universal app or a full-colour LCD that provides complete access to all functions, the Soundcraft-designed, seven-channel, dual-mode digital mixer can be set to control either general mix functions or channel-strip functions. A Setup Saver recalls snapshots, while Simple Success dynamic LED metering verifies levels and channel functions, including mute and clipping. The latest JBL Pro Connect app promotes simplified management of the PRX ONE system. Available for Android and iOS phones and tablets, the universal app provides user control over a full suite of PRX ONE mixer,

DSP and Bluetooth features. From the streamlined interface, adjustments and control across every feature can be made on multiple speakers from anywhere in the room, including adjusting volume levels and EQ. Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity allows remote control of up to 10 units using the JBL Pro Connect app, and an XLR Thru output offers true analogue expansion with the ability to time-align multiple speakers with up to 100ms of delay per speaker. pro.harman.com

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PRODUCTS

Fohhn faces the Media

WITH THE development of the Hybrid-1 active loudspeaker system, Fohhn is attempting to penetrate the growing AV corporate sector of meeting, seminar, conferencing and board rooms. Comprising a customised coaxial HF diffraction waveguide and Fohhn DSP, the integrated bass-reflex system promotes natural speech intelligibility and even dispersion across a 100° vertical and horizontal listening plain. Capable of extending bass reproduction down to 46Hz, the active soundbar can be integrated with other media components to create a standardised system. The Scale-Bar is optimised for use in videoconference and meeting rooms with the addition of a camera and microphone, but equally appeals within retail, hospitality and educational applications

QSC Micro room new Q certifi

without this additional functionality. Housed within a metal enclosure, the Hybrid-1 can be attached to walls, ceilings and displays either horizontally or vertically via fixed or swivel mounting brackets. Scale-1 from the Media Series is a compact, passive loudspeaker with a 4-inch woofer, 0.75-inch dome tweeter and Fohhn Sub Extension. Capable of producing 104dB maximum SPL, the 50W-rated model is a point source design within a line source enclosure offering a nominal dispersion of 140° x 90° (HxV). The enclosure length can be customised to fit the height of a screen or recessed space. The speakers are driven and configured by an MA-4.100 amplifier by integrated speaker presets. Scale-1 Cam is equipped with a

Fulcrum adds GLL files for rotated GX12 products FULCRUM ACOUSTIC has released rotated versions of its GX12 products to use in EASE Focus 3. This addition builds on Fulcrum’s library of more than 50 loudspeaker models available to use in the EASE modelling software. The manufacturer’s coaxial transducers and horns can be rotated, allowing coverage to be tailored to an application’s requirements. Now the rotated versions of the GX1226, GX1265 and GX1295 are available for download in bundled ZIP files on the support page of Fulcrum Acoustic’s website. www.fulcrum-acoustic.com

Hybrid-1 conference camera in the middle of the enclosure. The more powerful 100W-rated Scale-2 differentiates itself from Scale-1 by incorporating dual 4-inch drivers and two Fohhn sub extensions. Available in RAL classic, NCS,

Pantone and Fohhn Texture Design finishes, the enclosure can be mounted from rear continuous T-slots. www.fohhn.com

No bull with Tourus WITH THE launch of the AX8, Wharfedale Pro has extended the Tourus series of polypropylene active loudspeakers. Adopting the same design philosophy as the larger Tourus 12- and 15-inch models, the smaller 8-inch version is equipped with handles, M8 rigging points and steel grilles to protect the internal drivers and electronics. The USB/Bluetooth-enabled Tourus-AX8-MBT features USB MP3 playback and Bluetooth connectivity with a TWS stereo link mode. Providing 250W of continuous output power, the internal electronics includes both Class-D and Class-AB amplification for powering the 8-inch woofer and 1.75-inch HF compression driver respectively. Designed to partner with the Sub-AX15B active subwoofer, rear panel connectivity includes RCA, XLR and 6.3mm jack inputs.

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GX1226 Tourus-AX8

www.wharfedalepro.com

Neumann.Berlin caters for AES67 THE KH 750 AES67 subwoofer from Neumann.Berlin is a product variant of the KH 750 DSP for AES67-based environments. It has been designed for all areas in which audioover-IP in an existing AES67 infrastructure is to be routed all the way to the loudspeakers in a redundant and lossless manner. The AES67 interface allows users to address not only the subwoofer but the entire stereo system, including the speakers connected to the KH 750 AES67. The dual AES67 audio network connections are fully compliant with broadcast standards, such as ST 2110 and ST 2022-7 redundancy. The KH 750 AES67 is also compatible with Dante-generated AES67 network streams.

The acoustic properties of the KH 750 DSP have been retained, as well as all other features, such as the unique Bass Manager with four routing modes, flexible acoustical controls for a wide range of configurations and setup conditions, as well as analogue and digital inputs and outputs. In combination with the Automatic Monitor Alignment (MA 1), which is available for Mac and PC, the entire monitoring system can be calibrated to suit the specific room character. This also includes the monitors connected to it, whose amplitude and phase frequency responses are corrected and adapted to the monitoring environment. The KH 750 AES67 is an ideal complement to all KH-Line analogue

monitors, such as the KH 120, KH 310 and KH 420, as well as to Neumann’s DSP-based monitors, such as the KH 80 DSP. The 10-inch ultra-long excursion woofer features a linear magnet system with ELFF technology (Extremely Linear Force Factor). Despite its compact dimensions, the KH 750 AES67 provides bass extension down to 18Hz. Because the subwoofer relieves the connected monitors of much of the low-frequency reproduction, intermodulation distortion is said to be drastically reduced, and the maximum sound pressure level is increased. By adding another KH 750 AES67, even larger systems can be created. www.neumann.com

Clarity redefined FOCUSRITE HAS introduced the Clarett+ range of USB audio interfaces for PC and Mac. Building on the strengths of the previous Clarett ranges, the Clarett+ 2Pre, 4Pre and 8Pre interfaces feature mic preamps with very high headroom, low distortion and ultralow noise. All-analogue Air with impedance switching and relay control enhances the vocals by emulating the ISA 110 mic preamp from the Focusrite Studio Console. Other benefits include improved high-dynamic-

Clarett+ 2Pre range AD/DA conversion with ultra-low distortion and improved headphone outputs and DAC performance. A collection of

software, including mixing plugins and virtual instruments, are included. The Clarett+ 2Pre is a 10-in/four-out bus-powered USB-C interface.

It comes with two Clarett+ mic preamps and two JFET instrument inputs. The Clarett+ 4Pre is a 18-in/eight-out interface with four preamps, two analogue headphone outputs and two JFET instrument inputs. The Clarett+ 8Pre is an 18-in/20-out interface with eight preamps and two analogue headphone outputs. All three interfaces are expandable using ADAT optical output. www.focusrite.com

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PRODUCTS

QSC expands Microsoft Teams Rooms certified solutions QSC HAS expanded its portfolio of Microsoft Teams Rooms certified meeting room accessories with the addition of new Q-SYS products. This completes the certification of its existing portfolio of collaboration devices for high-value spaces,

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including classrooms, executive boardrooms, divisible rooms, flexible spaces, immersive videoconferencing rooms and training spaces. The certified solutions include additional Q-SYS Core processing options – the Core 8 Flex, Core Nano and NV-32-H (Core Capable) – providing more options to size the processing requirements for a particular room and I/O requirements. For video camera streams, the certified Q-SYS PTZ-IP conference cameras integrate with the Q-SYS Cores or

I/O-USB bridge to deliver professionalquality conference feeds and allow the addition of multiple conference cameras

for remote webconferencing participants. Users can incorporate the newly certified CX-Q Series for additional amplification options. Like the other QSC Teams Rooms certified solutions, the QSC software innovations are designed to simplify the integration process onto a single device by enabling full room and Teams Rooms control over online meetings. QSC has also announced that Google has certified the Q-SYS Platform for use with Google Meet hardware kits. This certification allows integrators and IT end users to select from any Q-SYS Core processor or USB audio bridging endpoint, regardless of processing or I/O requirements, to ensure seamless integration with Google Meet hardware. www.qsc.com

Audio interface for recording and streaming PRESONUS HAS developed its Revelator io24 for both recording and streaming. The loopback mixer allows users to add backing tracks to a livestream performance or bring in a Zoom caller to a podcast. With two dedicated stereo channels just for loopback audio on both macOS and Windows, the audio can be mixed and recorded from two different applications, along with both channels of the Revelator io24, all at the same time. Users can also stream and record to Studio One and other applications simultaneously.

The audio interface comes with onboard DSP. When ready to stream, users can engage Stream Mix mode and analogue inputs, loopback channels, reverb and effects are routed directly to USB and then sent to the streaming software. Two XMAX-L mic preamps can reportedly capture complex musical harmonics smoothly and naturally, with no audible distortion. Wireless remote control via UC Surface for iPadOS, Windows and Android devices provides users with touchscreen control over all of Revelator io24’s features.

headphones. MIDI In and Out ports can be used to connect MIDI controllers and external hardware synthesisers and drum machines.

Revelator io24’s mixer can be used to create a custom zero-latency monitor mix. Independent levels for the headphone and main outputs (plus a mute option for the latter) allow switching between mixing on studio speakers and monitoring on

www.presonus.com

Xilica interfaces with Barco and Gio BRIDGING PERSONAL devices to installed AV systems, the Xilica Gio series features three Dante interface products for collaborative and reconfigurable AV environments. Offering USB, Bluetooth and XLR connectivity, the Gio networked endpoints have been designed to enhance the adoption of BYOM strategies and to extend the use of installed AV systems. By bridging the gap between communications peripherals such as laptops and the networked AV system, the Gio USB and Gio Bluetooth devices are focused specifically towards corporate and education environments. Bypassing the need to integrate personal devices with AV and UC applications, both products offer a single cable installation for both power and data, while extending Dante audio signals across installed IT networks. Extending USB audio from in-room PCs, laptops or UC peripherals within a meeting space, the Gio USB can be installed under a table or behind the display to transport two-way USB Dante audio over Ethernet. A presenter can build entire BYOM experiences around a laptop, while providing clear, intelligible audio. In addition, the Gio USB supports centralised processing applications by enabling USB transport over a network infrastructure from meeting rooms and classrooms to the Xilica Solaro FR1-D processor located in a comms or ELV room.

Xilica Gio interfaces Xilica Gio Bluetooth provides similar wireless, networked AV experiences, but adds greater flexibility to streaming media applications by supporting BGM and media playback through installed AV systems. Using Bluetooth 5.0 Class 2 technology, the device enables flexible options for both business and entertainment in communal spaces, such as ballrooms and auditoriums. The Gio Bluetooth

module fits into standard US single-gang Decora wall plates to match existing décor, with a separate variant available for UK and EU wall boxes. Advanced security features to address Bluetooth security concerns include configurable PIN codes, automatic and selectable pairing modes, custom device naming and protection against accidental connections.

Designed for larger spaces and special events, Xilica Gio XLR offers the same flexible Dante-enabled connectivity across multiple rooms and event spaces by extending installed AV systems over IP. Featuring two-in/two-out Neutrik XLR connections, the Gio XLR interface bridges microphones, loudspeakers and other installed components with the facility’s networked audio system, while centralising Xilica Solaro DSP processing for all networked spaces. The Canadian brand has further optimised the BYOD meeting spaces by integrating the Solaro DSP Series with Barco’s ClickShare Conference wireless conferencing system. The partnership creates a fully compatible wireless ecosystem within meeting spaces and conference rooms that will also support hybrid meetings. The workflow streamlines the process of launching a presentation and connecting to meeting room AV peripherals. The Solaro Series DSPs boost voice intelligibility, eliminate noise and echo, and deliver seamless room control in alignment with ClickShare Conference via USB connectivity. Options include the Solaro FR1 together with the compact, 1⁄4 -rack-width Solaro QR1. www.xilica.com

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PRODUCTS

Atlona extends to the classroom Crestron reveals Next Generation AirMedia portfolio

THE LATEST extender from Atlona has been Power for the transmitter is supplied remotely designed to make inconspicuous AV and USB over HDBaseT from the receiver, simplifying signal extension more affordable for classrooms wiring while maximising installation flexibility. and small meeting rooms. The AT-OME-EXAn LED indicator on the transmitter enables WP-KIT-LT wall quick visual plate extender confirmation of transmitter/ the HDBaseT receiver kit link between the extends 4K/ transmitter and UHD HDMI video, receiver, while embedded audio, a free software power, control utility provides signals and real-time link USB data over status plus HDBaseT for detailed HDBaseT videoconferencing, and HDMI signal distance learning information. and other In brief, the applications. The manufacturer has new extender also released offers the the AT-WAVE-101 AT-OME-EX-TX-WP-LT same core wireless functionality as the manufacturer’s AT-OMEpresentation and collaboration platform EX-WP-KI, but at a lower price point and designed for easy content sharing from iOS, optimised for shorter extension requirements. Android, Mac, Chromebook and Windows The OME-EX-WP-KIT-LT extends 1080p60 HDMI and USB data signals up to 70m over HDBaseT, while 4K/UHD HDMI video at 60Hz with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling, or 30Hz with 4:4:4, can be extended up to 40m. HDCP 2.2 compliance enables the transport of protected content. The kit’s USB 2.0 extension capabilities make it suitable for soft codec and webbased conferencing applications. Supporting AT-WAVE-101 a host PC and one peripheral device at the transmitter plus two ports for peripherals at devices; and the AT-VTPG-1000VL which the receiver, the extender can integrate a PC combines a 10-inch touchpanel with an and speakerphone or microphone near the integrated Velocity gateway to simplify presenter with a camera or soundbar at a installations that require control of only a single wall-mounted display elsewhere in the room. room or AV system. The kit can also provide AV and USB extension for a touch-enabled display, enabling remote www.atlona.com PC control at a lectern or other location.

PURPOSE-BUILT TO support more efficient meetings in the modern workplace with one-touch presentation and meeting control from any collaboration device, Crestron has delivered the next generation of AirMedia presentations systems. Designed to seamlessly connect presentation, collaboration, and

The AirMedia AM-TX3-100 Connect adaptor brings detethered wireless presentation to the AirMedia lineup without the need for additional wiring or infrastructure. Two receivers are available as part of the package. An entry-level option in the AM-3100 has been created for smaller setups where simple

display capabilities together for the enterprise workspace on the Crestron Flex digital workplace platform, the portfolio of wireless presentation devices come with new features. Supporting wireless content sharing and conferencing from any device, whether BYOD or on in-room displays, AirMedia now comes with Advanced Presentation. Eliminating the need to constantly change between presenters, Advanced Presentation can share up to nine screens, allowing multiple documents to be viewed and worked on simultaneously. Enhanced 4K video support provides streaming for meetings, while a customisable user interface promotes logo customisation and backgrounds for a fully branded environment in addition to important room information.

wireless presentation is needed. Incorporating additional features including an audio output for interfacing with room audio, Dual LAN network, an HDMI input and RS-232 and IR ports for built-in display control, the AM-3200 is an updated version of the legacy AirMedia device. Native support for Microsoft Teams or Zoom videoconferencing is made possible via a wireless connection on the AirMedia network or by connecting any USB-C device into the AirMedia Connect. The Crestron XiO Cloud Service promotes management and software updates for AirMedia, including configuration, deployment and analytics for end-devices in the enterprise. www.crestron.com

Virtual communication

Versa Mediabar VERSA MEDIABAR is ClearOne’s first all-in-one audio and video capture device that combines the simplicity of a soundbar with the manufacturer’s audio capture and 4K camera technologies. It features a built-in 4K Ultra HD

camera with a 110° ultra-wide-angle field of view and a four-element microphone array with 360° voice pickup and intelligent DSP that provides acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) and automatic noise reduction. The camera combines

electronic pan, tilt and zoom functions (ePTZ) with artificial intelligence to enable auto-framing and people tracking that keeps the speaker in view even if they move around the room. The Versa Mediabar also features a built-in speaker with Bluetooth connectivity that allows it to also serve as a fully featured conferencing solution or a Bluetooth speaker for impromptu calls using any Bluetooth device. These attributes are said to make the soundbar suitable for cloud-based collaboration applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The microphone manufacturer has also launched the UNITE 180 ePTZ professional camera. Designed for professional-quality visual collaboration, conferencing, UC applications and distance learning, the camera provides six viewing mode options as well as panoramic view. Compose Mode presents a panoramic view along with optional close-ups of up to eight people using people tracking. Manual Mode is for focusing on a specific area of the meeting room. Auto Framing Mode automatically frames participants in the room.

Grid Mode uses people tracking to track each participant in a separate window showing up to four participants. Speaker Mode detects the presenter and, finally, Presentation Mode features a content-sharing window on the main screen with a picture-in-picture floating window of the presenter. Users can easily switch between modes using their PC, Mac or the UNITE 180 manual control. Finally, ClearOne has developed a new camera control module for Crestron control systems that is designed to work with the ClearOne BMA 360 beamforming microphone array ceiling tile, UNITE 200 systems or any other PTZ camera complying with the VISCA control protocol. The Crestron Controller Module for the BMA 360 provides precision camera tracking of up to 12 beams per ceiling tile. The device also simplifies configuration of the BMA 360’s camera control feature via an “easy-to-use” graphical interface that associates PTZ presets in the camera with BMA 360 Beam Reports. www.clearone.com

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PRODUCTS

New route to collaboration with VIA Connect2 DESIGNED TO facilitate hybrid meetings and learning in the Hybrid Generation (Generation H), Kramer has extended the VIA family of collaboration solutions. Described as simple, flexible and secure, VIA Connect2 enables any Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android or iOS device to join a meeting or class instantly and

over twisted pair CAT copper infrastructures The VP-550X is a 10-input HDR presentation scaler/switcher for 4K@60 (4:4:4) HDMI, USB-C, VGA and composite video signals. The unit scales the video and provides options to use the embedded digital or analogue audio input signals.

Radius NX and ClickShare combine for improved conferencing

SYMETRIX HAS entered a compatibility partnership with Barco by pairing its Radius NX DSP with Barco ClickShare Conference technology, resulting in enhanced audio quality with ease of use for presentation and conferencing applications of all sizes. Compatible with devices running Windows, Android or iOS operating systems, the wireless ClickShare Conference solution turns any meeting room into a meeting and conference facility. The addition of a Symetrix Radius NX DSP unit adds functionality to environments needing a more powerful audio solution. The Radius NX allows the creation of custom audio processing for the specific needs of the room, including support for multiple microphones and speakers. When

connected to the ClickShare Conference via USB, audio from conferencing software on the wirelessly connected computer is heard throughout the room with reportedly enhanced clarity and intelligibility. “Radius NX is the perfect conferencing DSP solution for delivering best-in-class sound quality, powerful custom processing and flexible control,” commented Symetrix director of product development, Ben Olswang. “And when combined with ClickShare Conference, users can connect their devices wirelessly while still utilising the room’s speakers, mics and processing.” www.barco.com www.symetrix.co

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wirelessly with enterprise-grade security. VIA Connect 2 creates one Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) experience, with flexibility for wirelessly sharing and collaborating anywhere, from any device, with any videoconference platform. A wired HDMI input offers automatic switching to an in-room 4K or HD display. Participants can Bring their Own Meeting (BYOM) using built-in VIA apps for mobile and desktop or over local networks via AirPlay and Miracast. Once paired, VIA Connect 2 adds professional in-room AV equipment via USB, including displays, cameras, microphones and speakers. Alternatively, the Teams or Zoom client can be launched directly through VIA Connect 2. The VIA Connect 2 platform can be centrally deployed, managed and configured using the VIA Site Management (VSM) software that maintains hardware remotely via the cloud or through on-premises networks. HDBaseT 2.0 4K60Hz (4:2:0) HDMI, USB, RS-232 and IR signals can be extended with the inclusion of TP-590R receivers and TP-590T transmitters over twisted pair, before being converted back to original input signals. The HDBaseT extender provides 40m longer reach signals for up to 4K@60Hz (4:2:0) 24bpp video resolution

After processing and scaling, the embedded AV signal is sent to the two mirrored HDMI outputs simultaneously, and the audio is also sent to a balanced stereo audio output. A further new addition comes in the form of an active optical armoured 4K HDMI cable. Designed for touring applications, the CRSPLUGNVIEW-H is a durable, highspeed HDMI active optical cable (AOC) capable of supporting resolutions up to 4K@60 (4:4:4) at 18Gbps over 100m distance without the need for additional extenders. Features include a stainless steel and corrugated tube, while Kevlar reinforcement protects the internal optical fibres. A TPU jacket, heavy-duty connectors and a waterproof, impact-resistant connector cover reportedly ensure high pulling strength and compression load.

Re-deﬁning durability in professional audio products, the IS-Series Weatherized delivers pristine audio in every extreme environmental condition. With full corrosion resistance and an IP55 rating, a long lifespan is ensured. LEARN MORE AT: WWW.ADAMSONSYSTEMS.COM

www.kramerav.com

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PRODUCTS

Shure reveals full Stem Ecosystem CREATED AS a set of intuitive tools for all types of all collaboration spaces and budgets, Shure has announced the worldwide availability of its full Stem Ecosystem. Having conscientiously removed technical hurdles, the mix-and-match audio pickup devices within the Stem Ecosystem are backed by a platform of tools, designed to ease the adoption of new audio technology. The audio package within the Stem Ecosystem includes wall and table speakerphones, a ceiling microphone that syncs with networked loudspeakers and dedicated control systems. Equipped with 15 microphones that perform beamforming, plus full-range speakers and subwoofers, Stem Wall can capture everybody’s voice in the room. Optimised for tabletops and flat surfaces, the Stem Table product is equipped with nine microphones that perform beamforming and a downward-facing speaker. A 100-microphone Stem Ceiling array comes with low-profile or chandelier mode mounting options together with three-beam options. For applications when more than one Stem Ecosystem device is used in a room, the Stem Hub enables multiple units to communicate with each other in the room and function more effectively as a solution. The solution is equipped with USB Type B, Ethernet, Dante, VoIP connectivity and pluggable terminal blocks for external speakers. The dedicated touch controller, Stem Control, allows access to the Stem Ecosystem platform and remote management functionality. With the development of the Microflex A400MB, Shure has introduced a touchsensitive Mute Button accessory that adds audio mute functionality to several Microflex

output to separate preamps in the creation of multi-feed audio. Each audio signal path is completely isolated with its own ground to ensure that electrical interference is not transferred between mics. Noise pickup from nearby mobile phones and tablets is minimised and RF interference is rejected with the integrated CommShield technology. The dual cardioid Microflex cartridges are interchangeable with other Microflex polar patterns. A foam windscreen and mesh ball grille together with a shock mount for pop protection and full accessory kit are included.

Stem Ecosystem

MX415

Connecting to the digital world SOMMER CABLE has developed a number of desk connection sets, both as desktop or add-on versions and also for integrated installation. The mechanically robust and modular construction is said to allow retrofitting or modifications for all sets at any time. For a quick and easy installation with no alteration to the piece of furniture, the compact, budget-priced beginner set LIGHT 1 comes with a convenient screw or adhesive fixation. Universal brackets allow different alignments – a slant desktop solution, inclined towards the user, is equally possible as the invisible “hanging” installation under the tabletop. Users can choose from three

standard colours, with custom colours available on request. On the front side, the HDMI input allows users to connect a computer or notebook, plus there are two GHMT-certified Cat6A 10Gbit network sockets for home networking and three power outlets for power supply. On the back, there is a ready-to-connect HI-HDRL active HDMI connection cable for a screen/ beamer as well as ready-to-connect network and power lines in the desired length. For clean cable management on the table leg, a 2m braided hose in silver-grey is included. www.sommercable.com

microphones. Hiding the circuitry underneath the surface, the A400MB installs like a washer between the body of the MX395LED boundary and the table or the MX405, MX410 and MX415 modular goosenecks and the lectern surface. The mute function is programmed with onboard switches and can be configured as push-to-talk/ push-to-mute or push-on/push-off. The A400MB Mute Button includes local mode in addition to remote mode and can be customised to address various room types and configurations. With a streamlined appearance, the Microflex MX415 dual cartridge gooseneck microphone has been designed for broadcast events and corporate presentations. Mounted to a single gooseneck, the low-profile, dualcartridge housing ensures speech is captured simultaneously by two cardioid cartridges for

(Unshielded Twisted Pair) and may or may not have a shielding on the grouping; in this case, they become

In brief, Shure’s AI Denoiser for IntelliMix Room is included in the latest IntelliMix Room DSP software version 3.1. The denoiser is a machine-learned program trained to separate speech from noises such as typing and keyboard noise, pen clicking and pencil tapping, shuffling papers and slamming doors. www.shure.com

S/UTP (Shielded Unshielded Twisted Pair). There are also shielded cables with aluminium foil – the FTP (Foiled Twisted Pair) – and cables with double shielding, which add a tinned copper braid on the grouping – these cables are classified as S/FTP (Shielded Foiled Twisted Pair). Tasker has released a new range of cables for mobile installation: the C725 (Cat5e, S/UTP), C728 (Cat6A S/FTP) and C726 (Cat7, S/FTP). These cables are described as extra flexible thanks to their elementary stranded formation. They are available with PVC jackets, LSZH or PUR, depending on their applications. For fixed installations, monofilar conductors such as the C727 (Cat7, S/FTP) are preferable and also available with different types of outer sheaths to suit various applications. Finally, the C722 B2ca is a LAN Cat6 S/F/UTP, 4x2x0.25mm² section designed for multiple applications and approved for the maximum risk class according to CPR legislation. www.tasker.it

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Digital AV over LAN cables TWISTED PAIR cables are increasingly being used in areas beyond simple data transfer, such as digital audio applications, where users can create a network, and control it remotely, between professional devices. Using only one type of cable will lower budgets compared to regular analogue audio networks. Tasker’s range of Ethernet cables is divided into different categories – 5e, 6A and 7 – according to the transmission speeds and types of shielding applied to the single cables. Depending on the type of shield, the unshielded pair cables are indicated as UTP

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PRODUCTS

Broadcast-quality audio for content creators WITH THE continued rise in podcasting, Audio-Technica has created a new hypercardioid dynamic microphone specifically for this growing sector of audio users. The new model seeks to blend the performance of A-T’s BP40 Large-Diaphragm Dynamic Broadcast Microphone at a more affordable price point for typical content creators. The new AT2040 microphone is said to excel at isolated/up-close vocal reproduction and the rejection of unwanted room noise as a result of its tight, hypercardioid polar pattern. The manufacturer states that the mic produces a “smooth, warm and natural sound”, while its multistage windscreen combines a non-woven filter with foam mesh to provide internal pop filtering. ATH-M50xBT2

AT2040 Featuring a rugged allmetal construction, the model also includes a specially designed integrated shockmount to prevent unwanted noise by attenuating vibration from a boom arm or mic stand. The AT2040’s XLR output connects to a conventional analogue microphone input and comes standard with a pivoting stand mount, threaded adapter and a soft protective pouch. Meanwhile, the manufacturer has added to its popular ATH-M50x professional monitor

headphones. The ATH-M50xBT2 offers updated features such as improved vocal pickup, dual-microphone beamforming technology for clearer phone calls and communication with the built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant; the addition of multipoint pairing to let users connect wirelessly to two Bluetooth devices at once; an updated USB-C connection; a low-latency mode, improving synchronicity between audio and video for streaming and gaming; and compatibility with multiple audio codecs (SBC, AAC and LDAC). Users can adjust the headphone’s EQ settings by making the changes in the A-T Connect app and saving the settings on the headphones themselves.

Isolating unwanted noise the right way CEDAR AUDIO is claiming a world-first with the development of Isolate, a new CEDAR Trinity 5 module that the company says will transform the way in which it’s possible to record in noisy environments. Typically, isolating individual sound sources in noisy environments is achieved through the deployment of large arrays of matched microphones. CEDAR’s alternative mic array is not only smaller than a beer mat already, but even smaller devices from other manufacturers can also be used with the solution. Isolate can identify and output multiple speakers simultaneously, allowing users to hear and record whole conversations taking place in noisy environments. “The human auditory system has a remarkable ability to focus its attention on one or more sound sources in a noisy environment, which is why it’s possible for us to have a conversation in a space such as a club or a restaurant. Unfortunately, some of the information that enables the brain to perform this task is lost when audio is picked up and recorded using microphones,

www.austrian.audio

OD505

www.cedaraudio.com

durable stainless steel and brass with a hardwearing finish, the Thread Adaptor has been designed for sound engineers, filmmakers and photographers. The Tripod 2 is a tripod for mounting cameras, microphones and other accessories. Previously released as part of the Røde Vlogger Kit range, the Tripod 2 is now available as a standalone product. In the closed position, the Tripod 2 is suitable for handheld use. The tripod legs can also be opened out to a mid or wide setting for optimal positioning and stability on a tabletop. The Tripod 2 has a 1⁄4 -inch thread for attaching cameras and camera accessories, and also includes a 1⁄4 - to 3⁄8 -inch thread adaptor for use with microphones. There are also six 1⁄4 -inch female thread connectors – two on each tripod leg – for mounting accessories onto the side.

www.audio-technica.com

stage rumble are effectively eliminated. Open Acoustics Technology allows sound to enter the capsule almost entirely unimpeded from all sides. Contact points between the mounted capsule and the enclosure are reduced to a minimum, allowing for an open and natural sound without any colouration. The reduction of sound-reflecting surfaces in the vicinity of the capsule ensures that the signal source is reproduced as resonance free as possible. Super cardioid polar patterns promote off-axis rejection and maximum suppression of feedback.

so recording in noisy environments is often unsuccessful,” explained managing director, Gordon Reid. “Unlike existing beamforming systems, we can identify and isolate multiple speakers simultaneously, outputting a clean signal containing all of the people in a conversation. Isolate overcomes the practical limitations of beamformers and significantly outperforms what they can achieve over short and medium distances.”

Røde accessorises

Austrian Audio take studiograde quality to the stage DEVELOPED AND built in Vienna, Austrian Audio has added two new handheld vocal microphones to its growing catalogue. Featuring true condenser technology, the OC707 contains a small-diaphragm condenser capsule with a frequency response optimised for the human voice. A combination of low 19dB SPL self-noise (19dB SPL) and a high 150dB SPL results in a wide dynamic range to create a vocal microphone that promotes studio mic characteristics in live sound applications. The OD505 is an active dynamic that combines the advantages of a dynamic stage mic with the sonic refinements of a condenser. With its dual capsule design, where the bottom capsule is phase-inverted and passively switched, the OD505 produces a similar sensitivity to a condenser mic. Combined with a switchable 2nd order high-pass filter and Open Acoustics Technology, noise from handling, bumps and

CEDAR Isolate and CMA-8 array

www.rode.com

Thread Adaptor MICROPHONE MANUFACTURER Røde has added the Thread Adaptor and Tripod 2 to its range of accessories. The Thread Adaptor is a universal adaptor kit for mounting a range of devices onto any mic stand, boompole, tripod or studio arm. It features 1⁄4-, 3⁄8- and 5 ⁄8-inch adaptors in an integrated set that can be configured to connect any standard thread to any standard mount. The Thread Adaptor also features a driver for tightening and loosening adaptors or camera plates and a carabiner for clipping it onto keys, clothing or a camera or audio bag for safekeeping. Made from

Tripod 2

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Sennheiser charges its Lines AS PART of its ongoing commitment to simplify and enhance digital workflows on campus, Sennheiser has developed the CHG 2N charger within the SpeechLine Digital Wireless microphone system. Scaled down from the four-bay version for smaller applications, the two-bay networkable charger features individual bays for recharging SpeechLine bodypack and handheld microphones. Each bay has four LEDs to indicate the battery charging status and the network interface offers IPv4 and IPv6 compatibility. All settings and battery status information can be monitored and remotely controlled using the latest version of Sennheiser Control Cockpit (v5.0.1). Making remote management of Sennheiser audio devices easier, a major update of the Control Cockpit software is available for download. Version 5.0 allows AV and IT staff to control the new charger in addition to allowing them to monitor the status of the MobileConnect Manager, by linking this assistive listening system with the microphone

HM 200

CHG 2N charger systems in Sennheiser’s education portfolio. By monitoring both microphone and assistive listening systems from one software, the operators can receive status notifications via text or email. Version 5.0 promotes the

powering down of transmitters remotely. The transmitters can also be switched off automatically after a set amount of time when there is no link going to the receiver. To avoid accidental operation during use, the Power and Pairing buttons on the portable SpeechLine transmitters can now be locked remotely. Sennheiser has also launched a “sturdy yet lightweight” head mic, that brings the sound of its MKE 1 lavalier microphone into a headset configuration. The HM 200 uses the same capsule as the German manufacturer’s smallest lavalier mic, the MKE 1, which is known for its omnidirectional design that offers lower susceptibility to wind noise while still putting an audible focus on the speaker’s

voice. The HM 200 head mic is said to be virtually invisible from a distance while offering powerful sound – making it an ideal choice for musical productions. The metal frame of the HM 200 microphone is lightweight and flexible with a fixed cable fitted with a professional three-pin connector. The boom arm is shorter than other similar models, which the manufacturer says adds to the inconspicuous nature of the design. The headset is silver-coloured with transparent ear-bows and a beige cable. It comes with a beige foam windshield, one large and one small protection cap for the makeup artist, six attachment clips and a transport case. www.sennheiser.com

API goes Select DESIGNED, BUILT and tested at the Automated Processes Inc (API) factory in Maryland, the API Select line has been specifically engineered to complement API’s classic mix of mic preamps, equalisers and compressors. “Over the years, we’ve acquired the technology and experience to engineer and produce audio products that don’t necessarily conform to API’s classic component structure or topography,” explained API president, Larry Droppa. “API Select gives us the opportunity to offer gear that’s very high quality, but that’s different from API’s legendary line of classic products. A great example of this is API Select’s new T12 Tube Mic Preamp, which is a two-channel, all-tube, Class-A microphone preamplifier. Its tube technology is combined with API’s proprietary

AP2516 transformer in the input stage and a custom API transformer on the output stage, so it produces that incredibly rich API sound – but in a distinctly different way.” API has introduced several API Select vintagestyle products to mark the new line’s debut. Rackmount gear includes the T12 Tube Mic Preamplifier, the T25 Tube Compressor, the SR22 Dual Channel Compressor and the SR24 Dual Channel Equaliser. Designed to fit into a standard pedal board using standard 9V power supplies, two new guitar pedals complete the line’s introduction in the form of the TranZformer GTR for guitar equalisation and the TranZformer CMP for compression effects.

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Mirrorless cameras benefit from Tascam upgrade AS MIRRORLESS cameras typically used for high-quality video shooting do not accommodate an XLR input for a microphone or preamplifier input, a digital audio recorder is required to capture audio separately from the camera leading to extra video synchronisation editing. The Tascam CA-XLR2d microphone adaptor serves as an XLR input expansion adaptor for mirrorless cameras to enable the capture of professional audio directly into cameras. This results in audio being directly recorded into the camera from the XLR input together with the video bypassing the need to synchronise audio and video when editing. A digitised accessory shoe from Canon and hot shoe from Fujifilm are equipped with an AD converter enabling filmmakers to transfer digital audio directly into cameras without audio degradation. Power is supplied by the camera using the data transmission shoe for both these models. The HDDA (High Definition Discrete Architecture) mic preamplifier reportedly ensures low noise and a wide dynamic range (mic/line level

The CA-XLR2d on a Canon EOS R3 switchable, +48V Phantom power supply). The analogue output features camera mode for audio transfer to the microphone input

and headphone mode for direct headphone monitoring. In other news, Tascam has developed the Mixcast 4 Podcast Station for podcast creation, livestreaming, event production or voice over. It can mix and record mic inputs, internal sounds and music via the system’s trigger pads, as well as external audio input from a phone or PC. Mixcast 4 has an internal 14-track recorder that records directly to an SD card. It also includes four TRS/XLR combo jack mic inputs and four individual headphone outputs so that as many as four podcasters can interact with each another. Combined with the included 5-inch colour touchscreen that is said to provide quick and intuitive access to desired menu control settings, the system enables podcasters to focus on their content without being distracted by complex operational tasks.

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Mixcast 4 In brief, the manufacturer has released a version 2.0 upgrade for the VS-R264/VS-R265 video-over-IP streamers/recorders. Features include the upgraded ability to record to internal storage, support for the MP4 recording file format and an expansion in the maximum capacity of files recorded to external storage. www.tascam.com

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PRODUCTS

KLANG conducts the onstage mix GERMAN DEVELOPER KLANG has unveiled KLANG:konductor, an immersive in-ear mixing processor capable of delivering up to 16 immersive mixes and processing 128 input signals at up to 96kHz, with a processing latency of less than 0.25ms. Designed for monitor engineers and fixed installations, KLANG:konductor offers three DMI slots on its rear to provide I/O freedom and integration into any existing setup. Two DMI-MADI cards can

KLANG:quelle on the front of the device, IEMs can be directly connected and routed to the console’s cue output. The device also has a front-mounted 7-inch colour touch display to allow for direct mix control, audio setup, routing and monitoring meters. A network port on the front of the unit provides power over Ethernet to directly connect a KLANG:konductor or KLANG:quelle, and dual redundant power supplies offer maximum reliability.

LEA strengthens network security LEA PROFESSIONAL has added its 802.1X security protocol to the company’s range of Connect Series amplifiers. 802.1X is an IEEE Standard for Port-Based Network Access Control that provides protected authentication for devices on the network and provides secure network access. It is the gold standard of network authentication security and defines authentication controls

for any user or device trying to access a LAN or WLAN. The new feature further protects data and equipment from a cyberattack, while also preventing rogue devices from connecting to the local network and releasing viruses, malware or allowing man-in-the-middle attacks. www.leaprofessional.com

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provide 128 input channels and mixes to be returned to a console; and one DMI-Dante card can connect the mixes to KLANG:konductors. Paired with integral single-channel routing capabilities, it also allows the user to freely route between the immersive mix engine and convert between different DMI formats, such as Optocore, Dante or MADI, with each DMI card offering up to 64 input and output channels at both 48kHz and 96kHz. Integration into DiGiCo’s control interface and the KLANG:app provides direct control for engineers, with KLANG:konductor allowing musicians to control their own mix. By incorporating the same amplifier circuit as

KLANG has also teamed up with DPA to create a system that will enable live event teams to immerse singers and musicians in their onstage performances. The solution integrates DPA’s 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone and KLANG’s Immersive Mixing Processor. In addition to KLANG’s panning capabilities, the use of DPA surround mics replaces the need for large quantities of microphones to capture the entire environment. Dedicated presets can be integrated through the KLANG:app, including KLANG:vokal and KLANG:kontroller. www.klang.com

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THE LATEST solution from Clear-Com integrates all its wired and wireless partyline systems into a single solution. Named Arcadia, the next-generation platform can license up to 96 IP ports in a single RU device, with further licensing add-ons anticipated in the future, making it the manufacturer’s intercom centrepiece for a vast range of applications best served by partyline workflows.

Clear-Com states that Arcadia represents the next evolution in partyline workflows, by combining digital, analogue and AoIP intercom technologies into a single integrated system. General connectivity to a wide range of Clear-Com endpoints is available through a mixture of

two-wire and four-wire audio ports, together with third-party Dante and AES67 AoIP devices, while the solution also supports the full range of FreeSpeak digital wireless

products encompassing the 1.9GHz, 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and HelixNet wired digital partyline systems. The need for quick adjustments to the system is reflected in Arcadia’s dual large front panel touchscreens, which include four rotary encoders to scroll through menus or for use as a four-way key station. System configuration and monitoring is achieved through a new, re-imagined version of the manufacturer’s browser-based CCM software. www.clearcom.com

Studio Technologies joins the party IFB receiver and charging dock IFBLUE, A new value-priced brand of products being distributed worldwide by Lectrosonics, has introduced an IFB (Interruptible Foldback) receiver pack and associated dock charging system. The new IFBlue receivers are fully compatible with Lectrosonics IFBT4 transmitters, or any Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless transmitters operating in IFB compatibility mode, so that users can add these receivers to existing IFB systems. The IFB receiver comes with 10 presets and is said to be easily programmable from the backlit LCD front panel. There are five tuning ranges: the VHF version covers 174–216MHz, the A1 (470–537MHz), B1 (537–614MHz) and C1 (614–692MHz)

versions cover the UHF TV frequencies for most countries, and the 941MHz band version covers the North American licence-only 941–960MHz range. Future firmware updates can be installed in the field via the USB jack located behind the battery door. The IFBlue receivers have an integrated, spring-loaded belt clip for lightweight and easy, secure placement. The IFBlue companion dock charging system, the CHSIFBR1C, is capable of charging up to four receivers when using NiMh rechargeable batteries. The charging dock units can be mechanically linked for easy organisation on the mounting surface. www.ifblue.com

TWO PARTY-LINE (PL) intercom kits that use Dante audio-over-IP networking have been added to Studio Technologies’ catalogue. The Party-Line Intercom Kit 1 (DPL-KIT-01) includes a Model 5421 Dante Intercom Audio Engine and four Model 372A Intercom Beltpacks. Party-Line Intercom Kit 2 (DPLKIT-02) also includes a Model 5421 Dante Intercom Audio Engine but with four Model 373A Intercom Beltpacks. The kits have been designed to enable users to implement a high-performance, Dante-enabled PL intercom system in fixed and mobile broadcast facilities, postproduction studios, commercial and educational theatre environments, industrial and general entertainment applications. The Model 5421 Dante Intercom Audio Engine is a compact 1⁄2-rack unit that supports 16 Dante receiver (input) and transmitter (output) channels, while the Model 372A Intercom Beltpack offers a fivepin female XLR connector to support single-

Kit 1 and dual-channel headsets commonly used in professional broadcast environments. www.studio-tech.com

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Cloud-based livestreaming TVU NETWORKS has released a cloudbased livestreaming package for remote production. TVU Cloud Production Service offers a pay-as-you-go model, reportedly minimising a company’s capital expenditures while realising live production capabilities within its daily operating expenses. The service was recently tested for coverage of a large-scale wedding in Manila to reach guests who couldn’t travel to the event because of Covid-19 restrictions. With the TVU Cloud Production Service, customers can set up a livestreaming business for events such as weddings, online seminars and corporate presentations. The system

is easy to use and requires no extensive hardware or software. Because it’s completely cloud-based, production can be done remotely. Without sending crews to a location, productions are streamed in HD quality and produced with an affordable TVU Networks’ system. TVU Cloud Production Service is powered by the TVU Producer cloud-based live production platform, TVU Partyline for collaboration and broadcast-quality conferencing, TVU Anywhere app and the TVU Nano for Video IP video transmitter.

UNiKA extends PRO series DI boxes DESIGNED TO integrate digital sources into professional audio environments, UNiKA has introduced the PRO-BT5 and PRO-USB DI boxes. The PRO-BT5 employs

www.tvunetworks.com

Bluetooth 5.0 to wirelessly connect smartphones, tablets and computers of distances up to 35m when streaming music playlists during performance intermissions. The digital signal is then translated into analogue audio with a resolution of 44.1kHz at 16-bit. The power supply can be handled through a standard smartphone charger or a power bank, providing 5V of power via USB-C. The PRO-USB provides DA conversion with up to 192kHz at 32-bit for computers via USB-C, supporting all common formats including Direct Stream Digital (DSD). Both the PROBT5 and PRO-USB feature a 3.5mm monitor output for headphones and a stepped volume knob for controlling the headphone level. Balanced XLR stereo outputs transmit over long distances to mixing consoles, preamps or active speakers. Both PRO series DI boxes integrate a custom-designed transformer within the steel housing chassis. www.unikapro.com

No longer a game for Unreal Engine EPIC GAME’S latest 4.27 software release of Unreal Engine targets the virtual production industry by creating pixel-perfect graphics with cinematic quality. With disguise’s r19 software release together with its open-sourced RenderStream plugin, Unreal Engine can be integrated alongside its disguise workflow. Epic Games has collaborated with disguise to deliver 3D graphics within virtual production, broadcast, corporate events and other applications. Unreal Engine continues to develop photorealistic 3D graphics for which disguise has delivered real-time generated content into LED volumes, projection setups and physical display configurations. Integrated directly with Unreal Engine via its RenderStream infrastructure, output streams can be created on Unreal Engine projects and changed in real time directly from disguise’s software

interface Designer. In addition to speeding up the creation of real-time content, r19’s latest functionalities include dynamic control with remote textures, streamlined workflows and 3D

object transforms. Live imagery and video input can be migrated from Designer into Unreal and tracked objects can be synchronised with 3D object transforms for free object rotation.

Epic Game’s latest 4.27 release targets the virtual production industry by reportedly creating pixel-perfect graphics with cinematic quality. Highlights include major updates to its in-camera visual effects toolset for virtual production, adding support for more features such as Multi-User Editing and an extensible core architecture. Live Link Vcam is a new iOS app for driving a Cine Camera in-engine using an iPad. Other benefits include improvements for producing correct motion blur in travelling shots and accounting for the physical camera with a moving background. Existing disguise operators currently running RenderStream can skip the setup and download their updated RenderStream plugin. www.disguise.one

Pay-as-you-go licensing SOLID STATE Logic’s System T V3.1 software release introduces pay-as-you-go licensing that enables operators using the new TE1 and TE2 Tempest Engines to flexibly scale processing capabilities according to broadcast production requirements. Software licences for five different processing packs, defined by the total number of mono All-Paths equivalent channels supported, from 85–800, are now available as perpetual or short-term, time-based rental upgrades. The TE1 Tempest Engine supports Processing Pack 1 (140 paths) or 2 (256 paths) while the TE2 engine supports all five packs, from 140–800 paths at 48kHz or 85–500 paths at 96kHz. The TE1 is equivalent to the original T25 engine for System T, which offered a maximum of 256 paths, while the TE2 matches

the previous 800-path T80 engine. The two new engines and five processing packs expand beyond those configurations to offer a wider variety of channel path capacities that align with a broader range of applications and budgets. SSL’s new licensing reflects a trend within the broadcast industry toward a pay-as-yougo model, which allows users to temporarily scale up equipment capabilities by adding software processing for a limited time for special events, thereby providing better use of capital expenditure. For example, a production rental company or centralised broadcast hub operation might purchase an SSL System T running a processing pack supporting 256 paths, then license a pack supporting 800 paths for a client working on a large-scale

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entertainment or sports event for a couple of weeks. The bus and stem mono path count, processing resources such as path EQ and dynamics, and effects rack are dependent on a system’s hardware configuration. System T’s Compatibility Mode allows a user to allocate processing resources on lower capacity engines or software processing packs, or lower

capacity when working at a higher sample rate. This means that a showfile built on a larger engine or processing pack can be loaded onto any system, even one with a lower capacity. The user chooses which channels, busses and effects modules not to use on the lower capacity engine. www.solidstatelogic.com

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DiGiCo reveals SD12T for theatre DiGiCo HAS released the T theatre extension software for the SD12 console. Featuring refined hardware and Stealth Digital Processing, the SD12T’s functionality and work surface are instantly reconfigured to provide specialist theatre programming tools that deliver theatre sound design, rehearsal and show operation. Hosting 96 inputs as standard, 48 busses and a 12x8 matrix, the SD12T features a flexible, expandable I/O structure including dual DMI card slots promoting expansion with formats such as analogue, Dante and Waves SoundGrid. The SD12’s extensive local I/O section offers eight mic line inputs, eight line outs, eight mono AES/ EBU, dual MADI in/out and optional

Optocore for expanded rack connectivity. “Our T consoles are incredibly popular because they address so many of the specifics of theatre productions,” commented DiGiCo brand ambassador, Dan Page. “In recent months, our theatre customers, particularly those working on regional tours, have been asking for another compact, costeffective desk. The SD12 is extremely popular in other market sectors and fits the bill for them in terms of size. Adding the theatre-specific software tools now gives the SD12 the same feature set as with our other T consoles, making it the ideal addition to the T range.” www.digico.biz

Dynacord cues iOS control management NOW AVAILABLE for iOS devices, Dynacord‘s SONICUE Control panel-viewer app allows the monitoring and control of preassigned sound system parameters. Free to download from the App Store, enabling iPads and iPhones to be supported for the first time, SONICUE was previously restricted to desktop PCs running the TPC-1 touchpanel controller. With the release of V1.2.2, a host of new additions and functionality are added to the audio system software ecosystem, including quicker setup in addition to tuning and audio system operations. The app allows users to operate control panels that have been created using the SONICUE control panel designer, which can be used to create standalone control panel applications for running on the SONICUE Control app. The design of the user interface is customisable with various control functions and access-protected according to user type. When connected to a compatible hardware device, such as the Dynacord MXE5 matrix mix engine, the operator can monitor and control all assigned functions. In addition, the v1.2.2 update improves the functionality

FINNISH MANUFACTURER Genelec is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its GLM loudspeaker manager software with the release of GLM 4.1. GLM integrates with the DSP hardware within each Genelec Smart Active Monitor, allowing each monitor and subwoofer to be networked, configured and individually calibrated for the user’s specific acoustic environment. GLM 4.1 offers improved calibration of spaces that are more acoustically “lively” than was once the norm, and assists those choosing to monitor at ultra nearfield (UNF) distances right down to 50cm – which is now growing in popularity as a bridge between in-room and headphone monitoring. In addition, the new AutoCal 2 feature takes advantage of detailed background information of each monitor in a system, producing a quicker and more accurate discrimination between direct and reflected sound. The fast calibration speed is further enhanced by a new 64-bit architecture and a fresh, lean code.

Other features include an increased number of EQ filters offering more flexibility, weighting refinements when taking advantage of GLM’s unlimited number of microphone measurement points and a Solo-X mode for faster soloing of monitors when working with immersive content. Finally, through the addition of French, Italian and Portuguese language options, international users of GLM 4.1 are now able to choose from 10 user languages. www.genelec.com

Mixing in LA

AFTER MODELLING GRAMMY-winning mixer Chris Lord-Alge’s console and classic hardware gear in previous CLA-designated plugins, Waves and CLA have teamed up to replicate Lord-Alge’s Mix LA room acoustics and monitoring system. The CLA Nx plugin combines Waves Nx spatial audio technology with precise measurements of Mix LA, to replicate the acoustic response of Lord-Alge’s control room inside any set of headphones. CLA Nx is powered by Waves’ Nx technology for immersive spatial audio, using channel crosstalk, inter-aural delays (ITD), filters (ILD), early reflections, head motion tracking and

personalised head anatomy calibration to replicate the immersive experience of hearing audio in the real world. These elements are coupled in CLA Nx with precision acoustic measurements of Lord-Alge’s control room and adjustable levels of the studio’s ambience to deliver a three-dimensional “out-of-head” representation of the Mix LA room. CLA Nx also supports head tracking – via a webcam or the optional Waves Nx Head Tracker Bluetooth device – for enhanced realism of the immersive three-dimensional spatial effect. www.waves.com

SONICUE Control app of the SONCIUE panel designer with further control parameters, design options and faster installation routines. Load-drive supervision for Dynacord IPX and C Series amplifiers and a new service tool for the TPC-1 touchpanel controller further extend the enhanced functionality. www.dynacord.com

Virtual Ashly controller arrives in free AquaControl update A VIRTUAL version of the Ashly Audio WR-5 controller has been introduced with the company’s latest upgrade to the AquaControl software suite (v1.2.4). The WR-5 remote is reportedly one of the most popular accessories added to systems featuring Ashly solutions, and the development of the virtualised version is part of the manufacturer’s commitment to the long-term support of its audio solution platform.

The virtual WR-5 remote operates on commonly used touchscreen devices, allowing end users to quickly and easily control their onsite audio systems. The software also includes additional notifications for preset recall and import, improvements to tips and warnings, and the ability to save and load individual presets to and from files and templates. The company has also announced an overhaul of its ducker within the AquaControl

software, which brings improved flexibility and smoothness of operation, free from incorrect triggering and uncomfortable volume changes. This provides greater customisation of priority signal management to reportedly deliver a better customer experience in schools, hotels, retail stores and restaurants. www.ashly.com

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DDM offers add-on options with v1.2

THE LATEST features present in Dante Domain Manager version 1.2 are intended to improve how AV and IT managers use and maintain their Dante-based networks. All editions of Dante Domain Manager are now expandable to accommodate growing needs

for Dante nodes or Dante domains, while features previously reserved for Platinum customers are now available as add-ons to the Silver and Gold editions. Futhermore, the base versions of the Silver and Gold editions now support twice as many nodes out of the box: Silver supports 20 Dante nodes and Gold supports 100 nodes. Additional nodes can later be purchased in packs of 20, 50 or 100. V1.2 of the software is already available to download, and existing customers can take advantage of new editions if they have a support and maintenance agreement in place. In brief, Audinate has announced full availability of its Dante Application Library software development kit (SDK). www.audinate.com

Audac has the Touch WITH THE availability of the v2.6 software update, Audac Touch 2 has added widgets for dashboards, including a dynamic voice file picker, a mute for multiple outputs and a play voice file. In addition, the Belgian audio manufacturer has added an additional Touchlink configuration, a DAB Dynamic Range Compression within the DMP settings and Frequency Range within TMP settings. Other improvements include message clarification for user authentication when going to device settings for the first time, the renaming of offline mode to direct mode and an information banner about the default address to the peripheral settings page. Additionally, v2.6 also provides support for speaker filters resolution of 0.1dB for the AMP203 and several bug

fixes have been addressed, including some Bluetooth settings. www.audac.eu

Coda improves Optimiser with latest Beta v0.5.2

CREATING AN accurate simulation of Coda Audio loudspeakers in any 3D View, Coda Audio has announced the availability of its proprietary prediction software, System Optimiser Beta v0.5.2. With documentation available online, further details for offline use in addition to full v.0.5.2 release notes can be accessed on

the dedicated website. Offering bespoke tools and detailed SPL pressure mapping, the software promotes the design of audio systems of all sizes, from the smallest gatherings to the largest stadium productions.

SHARP NEC Display Solutions Europe has launched the newest addition to its range of modular laser cinema projectors – the NEC NC2443ML. This projector model uses RB laser technology to reportedly provide crisp, nearly speckle-free images with natural, life-like colours. Part of the new ML Series, the NEC NC2443ML has a customisable light output with interchangeable light modules at 24,500lm, 20,000lm and 18,000lm for different brightness demands. The projector also boasts virtually zero maintenance – according to the manufacturer, there should be no lamp and no filter replacement

(1.2mm), 135 inches (1.5mm) and 162 inches (1.8mm). The dvLED FE-E provides an affordable alternative at 1.2mm, 1.5mm and 1.9mm pixel pitches. The NEC Message Series lineup supports three different performance levels while all incorporating the Intel Smart Display Module (Intel SDM) interface specification. After teaming up with BirdDog to develop an NDI-powered decoder and encoder solution based on the Intel SDM form factor specification, Sharp/ NEC together with BirdDog now offers a full NDI and Dante-powered ecosystem for the higher

www.codaaudio.com

Crisp images from Sharp NEC

Barco expands laser portfolio DESIGNED WITH theme parks in mind, Barco has expanded its laser projection portfolio with the XDM and XDX RGB models featuring Rec. 2020 colours and native 4K resolution. The RGB laser light source enables a wider colour gamut and the projectors make full use of evolving standards around High Frame Rate (HFR) and High Dynamic Range (HDR). Incorporating Barco’s Colorgenic technology, the XDM and XDX projectors maintain their high brightness levels when showing Rec. 2020 content. The incorporation of high-quality components together with optimised cooling combine to achieve a laser lifetime of up to 40,000 hours. Sealed optics and complete

next-level modularity, including individual laser plates within the light source itself, ensure projector uptime. Like the UDM and UDX projectors, the XDM and XDX can be managed through Barco’s cloud-based Projector Management Platform featuring remote health condition monitoring. The XDM and XDX models offer a variety of lens options, including 14 highbrightness and five high-contrast variants with ratios ranging from an ultra-short throw 0.38:1 to a long throw 11:1. www.barco.com

NEC NC2443ML costs, no maintenance personnel costs and no lamp stock due to the innovative Laser Light engine. With low power consumption and up to 50,000 hours life, the laser light source reportedly results in a significantly lower total cost of ownership. The manufacturer has also extended its dvLED lineup, adding the E “Essential” LED prepared bundles and the “Fine pitch Enterprise Eco” solutions for LED customised videowalls. The new dvLED E Series is said to deliver great visual performance for any indoor videowall applications. The solutions are suitable for applications in corporate environments with large-scale presentation and meeting room needs, for signage and infotainment in retail and in the leisure sector as well as for higher education customers with meeting and information display needs. The E Series offers full front service and comes in three different bundle options at 108 inches

education and corporate signage markets where NDI plays a significant role. The M1 is an Intel SDM-L specification-based module that enables simultaneous NDI sending and receiving, while the M2 is based on the Intel SDM-S specification and is an NDI decoding receiver only. Finally, the NEC ME Series of business projectors has been created for small meeting rooms and classrooms. The projectors come with integrated 16W speakers, HDMI compatibility and futureproof 4K@30Hz input processing. They reportedly have up to 20,000 hours of trouble-free projection and remove the effort and cost associated with lamp replacement. The NEC ME403U has WUXGA 1920x1200 resolution, 4,000 AL brightness and 1.6x optical zoom, while the NEC ME383W has a WXGA 1280x800 resolution, 3,800 AL brightness and 1.7x optical zoom. www.sharpnecdisplays.eu

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Christie delivers big cinema performance for the smaller screen PRIMARILY DESIGNED for affordable, DCI-compliant cinema projection, Christie has introduced a duo of RGB pure laser projectors with 4K resolution. The CP4415-RGB and CP4420-RGB deliver 4K resolution. Created for screens up to 18m wide, the CP4415-RGB is capable of delivering up to 15,000 lumens and the 20,000-lumen CP4420-RGB is suitable for screens up to 20m wide. Both models feature a Real|Laser RGB pure laser illumination light source capable of providing over 50,000 hours of optimal performance. Incorporating MultiLaser Pack Devices (MPDs) to produce a wide colour gamut greater than 95% of Rec. 2020 coverage, the projectors are said to deliver a vibrant visual experience. Continuing the legacy of its M Series first launched in 2007, Christie has also released its M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector. RGB

CP4415-RGB pure laser technology reportedly delivers twice the colour of the original M Series for

vibrant, bright images that approach Rec. 2020 colour volume, a colour standard closest to what the human eye can see. The 25,000-lumen 4K UHD resolution projector comes with TruLife+ electronics, which features electronic colour convergence (ECC) so that users can correct colour convergence imperfections and individually adjust red, green and blue via remote. The manufacturer’s intelligent lens system (ILS1) is said to make swapping lenses easy for rental and staging, and offers motorised zoom, focus and offset via remote. Existing Christie owners can use their M, J and

M 4K25 RGB Crimson Series lenses, as well as the M Series rigging frame, with the M 4K25 RGB for added cost savings. www.christiedigital.com

Apantac’s latest PTZ embraces NDI JOINING A growing IP ecosystem of products enabling IP-based workflows, Apantac has designed a PTZ camera for professional video and streaming applications using NDI. The 1080p PTZ camera is recognised as a source by other NDI-enabled applications and devices connected to a standard Ethernet local area network. In addition, it also integrates with

most software applications. Developed by the Vizrt Group to allow bidirectional AV signals to be shared across a network, every source can be immediately turned into a destination. Apantac’s AP-1080P-PTZ-20x (NDI) is designed for capturing video up to 1080p and offers 3G-SDI, HDMI, USB 3.0 and HD video-over-IP decoding. In a typical

application, an SDI or HDMI camera video feed can be converted into an NDI stream for transmission over the network. An NDI video feed can be converted into an SDI to HDMI video output and plugged into a monitor. www.apantac.com

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Dark arts practised with a full deck INTEGRATING FEATURES common with large studio cameras, the Blackmagic Studio Cameras is a family of compact formats for live production applications. Enhancing portability, the chassis is made of a carbon fibre-reinforced polycarbonate. The cameras feature gain from –12dB (100 ISO) up to +36dB (25,600 ISO) to reduce grain and noise in images, while maintaining the full dynamic range of the sensor and overcoming difficult lighting conditions. Designed to easily track and frame shots, the integrated 7-inch resolution viewfinder overlays show status and record parameters, histogram, focus peaking indicators, levels and frame guides. Advanced features include talkback, tally, camera control, built-in colour corrector and Blackmagic RAW recording to USB disks. Together with knobs for brightness, contrast and focus peaking, the touchscreen incorporates camera setting menus. When combined with Blackmagic generation 5 colour science, the 4K sensor provides the same imaging technology used in digital film cameras. The camera caters for colour correction with 13 stops of dynamic range, which can be controlled from the switcher. Designed to record H.264, Apple ProRes and DNx video files to SD cards or SSD media with either PCM or AAC audio, the brand has added a new series of four HyperDeck Studio recorders. Intended for live production

HD and UltraHD in standards up to 2160p60. All four models incorporate dual media slots for non-stop recording and support recording to common SD or UHS-II cards. The DNx and ProRes file formats support H.264 up to full 10-bit 4:2:2 when recording in NTSC, PAL, 720p, 1080p and true 1080i interlaced formats. Featuring an upgraded UltraHD resolution H.264 encoder for livestreaming in native UltraHD, a 4K model has been added to the Blackmagic Web Presenter family. A 12G-SDI input with down converter promotes livestreaming in 1080p HD or 2160p UltraHD resolutions direct to YouTube, Facebook and

or multiscreen digital signage applications, ISO recording, timecode and reference generators are built in for syncing multiple units. The 3G-SDI-based HD Mini records and plays H.264, ProRes or DNxHD files onto SD cards, UHS-II cards or external USB disks in SD and HD formats up to 1080p60. The HD Plus and full-rack HD Pro host added features. The 4K Pro model records H.264, H.265, ProRes or DNx in SD,

the SRT technology adds automatic repeat request (ARQ) and forward error correction (FEC) to prevent packet loss typically found on internet connections, as well as stream encryption for content protection. Additionally, with incorporated Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC) with Network Time Protocol (NTP), the new JVC PTZ cameras also feature multi-camera synchronisation for live event production. This feature is ideal for the mixing and streaming of live productions where image synchronisation is crucial. Remote control capabilities are made possible through JVC’s RMLP100 Remote Camera Controller, KMIP6000/4000 Live IP Production Suites or a variety of other options from vMix, OBS Studio and NewTek.

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Low light solutions from Panasonic DESIGNED FOR capturing content in low light situations, the AW-HE145 Full HD integrated pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera from Panasonic is equipped with a large 1-inch MOS sensor and optical 20x zoom to achieve high-sensitivity (F9/2000) shooting even in dark scenes. The new camera delivers smooth “on-air” moves and

Panasonic has also announced upgrades to its Kairos live video production platform. The new Kairos Core 1000 (AT-KC1000) alongside the current, compact Kairos Core 100 (AT-KC100) have been designed for live video production applications. The Kairos Core 1000 mainframe is said to offer more processing power, thanks to increased CPU and GPU capabilities, and enables the platform to be utilised in a broader and more complex range of

AT-KC1000

pro.jvc.com

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Twitter. For remote location streaming, an Apple or Android phone can be plugged in to connect to the internet via mobile data. The USB connections of the compact unit simulate a webcam when connected to a PC with any streaming software. www.blackmagicdesign.com

AW-HE145 supports HDR for capturing images with a high dynamic range. The camera’s 75.1° horizontal wide angle lens helps production staff capture full shots in large spaces and is described as invaluable for settings with limited space. The camera supports RTMP to allow direct upload of video to livestreaming services such as YouTube and Facebook Live. In addition, Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) is supported to maintain stability while transmitting highquality video, even on unstable networks. Outputs include 3G-SDI, HDMI and IP for the flexibility to integrate with a variety of workflow infrastructures.

productions. It provides an “unlimited video layers” concept and has the capability to manage different scenes simultaneously and broadcast them via a variety of outputs. The GPU’s higher video processing capacity also allows full use of the multilayered video composition and output in high resolution, including 8K video. The Kairos Core 1000 also expands the system’s standard outputs to 20 HD or five 4K outputs. It offers 4K support and the Canvas function as standard, which allows the use of non-standard resolutions and formats. With RTP/SRT/RTMP/RTSP streaming to eight inputs, the Kairos Core 1000’s video streaming capabilities have also increased. www.panasonic.com

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Blackmagic Studio Camera

JVC PTZs focus on remote production capabilities JVC HAS unveiled three new PTZ cameras that aim to provide the optimal image quality and performance for streaming and remote production purposes. The KY-PZ400NW/NB and KY-PZ200NW/NB differ in their output capabilities but are both equipped with NDI|HX and SRT streaming, H.265/H.264/ MJPEG encoding and VITC (Vertical Interval Timecode) multi-camera synchronisation technologies. The third option, the new HD KY-PZ200W/B, provides a more economical solution by removing the NDI|HX functionality. All three new camera models are available in black or white variations to best match a venue. The KY-PZ400NW/NB is a 4K model while the KY-PZ200NW/NB is capable of HD output. All three cameras include SRT, HTTP, RTSP, RTMP/RTMPS and standard protocols. The advanced streaming capabilities of

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AJA opens up with added Gear and firmware CRITICAL TO cable run reductions and the secure transmission of high-bandwidth signals over long distances, facilities demanding fibre solutions are upgrading to 12G-SDI infrastructures. Offering reliable conversion within the rack-mountable OG-FiDO-TR-12G fibre transceiver, AJA Video Systems has released the OG-FiDO 12G openGear receiver cards.

v1.5.3 adds support for embedded audio passthrough of Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus compressed audio, including Dolby Digital Plus JOC for immersive audio. The new OG-12GM v1.1.2 firmware update also introduces PsF support for inputs and outputs.

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Telestream inspects the workflow OG-FiDO-2R-12G Supporting extended cable runs of up to 10km over standard single-mode optic cable, AJA’s OG-FiDO 12G cards provide fibre to 12G/6G/3G/HD/SD-SDI conversion. The OG-FiDO-R-12G-ST receiver is a singlechannel converter for Single Mode ST Fibre to 12G-SDI conversion. For dual-channel conversion, the OG-FiDO-2R-12G receiver offers two independent channels of LC Fibre to 12G-SDI conversion. Both new models receive 12G-SDI signals from standard fibre video sources and are compatible with OG-X-FR, OG-3-FR and DFR-8321 openGear frames. AJA’s OG-FiDO 12G cards are hot-swappable, support HDR video and feature automatic detection and re-clocking. Support for Ross DashBoard software enables remote status monitoring on a LAN computer. In addition to the new OG-FiDO 12G cards, AJA has also released a collection of new firmware updates for select AJA openGear card models. The v1.5.3 update introduces Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) emulation, for specifying the desired video format to the connected HDMI source. OGHA5-4K v1.5.3 and OG-12GM v1.1.2 add simple frame rate conversion capabilities from p60 to p59.94 and p59.94 to p60. For the latest audio workflows, OG-HA5-4K

Desktop Software v16.1 AJA Video Systems has also added Desktop Software v16.1 for KONA, Io and T-TAP Pro products, together with AJA SDK v16.1 for Developer Partners. Both releases include native support for the Apple M1 chip, and feature enhancements that optimise audio, broadcast, production and post workflows and third-party tools built with AJA Developer Partner solutions. Key release highlights include an improved Telestream Wirecast support, including 4K via 12G-/6G-SDI, digital AES and analogue audio inputs, AJA Control Panel enhancements and 64-channel audio support for NTV2 SDK. www.aja.com

TELESTREAM HAS announced an upgrade to its Inspect 2110 monitoring platform. New to the platform is monitoring of ST 2022-6 data streams which, when added to the existing capability of monitoring ST 2110 video, audio and data essences within facilities and across networks, is said to provide a seamless means of assuring reliability within hybrid SDI-over-IP and ST 2110 deployments. The capability reportedly simplifies operations and operational costs. Also added is enhanced monitoring of primary and secondary streams in applications which employ 2022-7 for stream redundancy and support for NMOS IS-04 and IS-05 APIs, which provide a means to discover and register devices and to handle connection management. The manufacturer has also unveiled enhancements to the IQ family of monitoring products and systems. The update is said to give users increased visibility, reporting and analytics within their VOD networks and provide more granular ways to find and fix faults. The update includes expanded codec

monitoring, including support for HEVC 4:2:2 profile. Enhancements also include additional pre-compression rapid pixel analysis of I-Frames. ScreenFlow 10 is the latest version of the manufacturer’s video editing and screen recording software for Macs. Users can now record multiple cameras, microphones and screens, including iPhone and iPad screens, simultaneously. Version 10 includes a new integrated Title Library, enhanced Color Effect Presets, an automatic Background Remover, support for Apple Silicon hardware, multiple performance enhancements and an Archive Storage feature that stores only what was used in the final finished program. Finally, the latest version of Lightspeed Live Capture sees the introduction of Live Schedule and Live Play functions to support the system’s existing Live Edit functionality. These new functions complement the power of Lightspeed Live Capture, integrated with Vantage, with three applications for sub-clip editing, scheduling and confidence monitoring. Live Schedule is a Unified Schedule Application. Its web-based UI automates the recording of channels on a single standalone Live Capture server or any channel within multiple Live Capture servers joined into a multi-capture server domain. Live Play is an SDI SD/HD playback option which is a confidence monitor that can play back individual files, multi-file playlists or from a growing file created by a Live Capture server.

ScreenFlow 10

www.telestream.net

Just Add Power adds MaxColor 4K60 DESIGNED TO provide a scalable 4K UHD distribution platform, Just Add Power has introduced the MaxColor 4K60 Series. The MaxColor 4K60 transmitter and receiver series natively supports 4K60 in and out for 4K UltraHD video playback from 4K sources and devices over existing network infrastructures. Eliminating the expense of upgrading to fibre with further network switches, 4K 12-bit video can be distributed over existing Cat5/Cat6 cable. The series operates with existing Just Add Power drivers and supported control systems. In addition, it supports MPEG

downstreaming for connected devices, such as a laptop or a mobile device. The series features instant seamless switching, 4K up- and downscaling, all audio formats, seamless HDR management and Dolby Vision. The manufacturer has also announced the availability of a new driver supporting Luxul’s SW-51048P-F, SW-610-24P-R and SW610-48P-F managed L2/L3 Gigabit switches. Providing integration with the company’s JADConfig software, the driver allows integrators to incorporate the units into Just Add Power AV-over-IP distribution systems requiring a single

switch. Luxul’s SW-510-48P-F, SW-610-24P-R and SW-610-48P-F switches feature 48, 24 and 48 PoE+ ports respectively, and offer high performance with fast switching capacities of 104Gbps, 128Gbps and 176Gbps. The SW-510-48P-F and SW-610-48P-F feature front-facing ports and a total power budget of 740W, while the SW-610-24P-R offers rearfacing ports and a power budget of 370W. All three rack-mountable switches combine QoS and VLAN support with a unified management interface. Integrated Luxul ProWatch cloud management supports remote monitoring and management. www.justaddpower.com

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NewTek connects solutions

To the power of ATEN

SUPPORTING 12G-SDI and 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections, the NC2 Studio I/O Module from NewTek unites traditional SDI equipment and infrastructure with the flexibility of IP networks. The turnkey design offers up to eight channels of dynamic I/O including media file playback and

ATEN HAS added new features to its UC9040 StreamLIVE PRO all-in-one, multichannel AV mixer which users can take anywhere without the need for carrying a monitor and a computer. Before the upgrade, the mixer could be controlled either via the hardware console interface or an iPad loaded with an OnAir Pro App. Now, the firmware update supports Android tablets as well as iPads for controlling, preview monitoring, real-time editing and arranging elements into a program mixing. Streaming applications can be expanded for remote UC9040 operation by using the new “On-the-go livestreaming control” feature on the Android tablet. The Android tablet’s network is through Wi-Fi and the UC9040’s is through Ethernet. ATEN is also collaborating with Olympus Corporation to increase the videoscope functionality of products from both parties. Combining the VE8950 4K HDMI-over-IP extender with the IPLEX GAir videoscope allows the latter to be remotely

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recording in a 1U chassis, all underpinned by its connectivity with NDI 5. The new module connects multiple video and audio formats including NDI, SDI and other IP formats. It also provides a unified interface, including selectable multiviewers and professional video scopes. This is said to offer users greater control of their signals through built-in precision colour correction. The module

is ideal for interconnecting video signal types with a complement of audio formats, creating adaptable workflows through Dante, AES67 and ASIO/WDM software audio drivers. Management of each channel can be harnessed locally, through integrated NDI KVM technology or a web-based API.

The module has been optimised to work with all the latest features of NDI 5 to reportedly create new opportunities for producers seeking to expand their productions. The combination of the two products is said to remove the restrictions of productions bound to their physical location by offering efficient, secure and reliable workflows. www.newtek.com

operated and transmit video up to 4K with little delay or degradation up to 100m. The VE8950 provides long-range over-IP video transmission to send images from the industrial videoscope to remote operators. www.aten.com

UC9040

Precis PR switchers bring videoconferencing into the meeting room AMX’S NEW Precis PR-Series of matrix switchers comprises six models intended to facilitate modern meeting and lecture spaces using software-based conferencing platforms like Zoom and Teams, as well as the need for capture, switching and window processing. The series debut includes four new Precis PR-Series models supporting up to eight sources and eight outputs, the Precis PRWP-412 windowing processor to dynamically window up to four sources and the UVC1-4K HDMI to USB 3.0 capture device. The switchers can be used either individually or together to provide a set of collaboration tools at a competitive price point for video routing in small or medium installations. The four matrix switchers are available in four configurations – 4x2, 6x2, 4x4 and

8x8. All models include capabilities such as pixel-for-pixel video reproduction, fast switching, comprehensive EDID management, HDMI audio de-embedding, an open control API and a simpleto-use web interface. The PR0402 also supports auto-switching to provide touch-free video switching in small applications. The AMX PR-WP-412 widowing processor combines a 4x1+1 windowing and a 4x2 seamless matrix switcher in a single, compact unit. Collaboration in meetings

Absen launches new LED display series DISPLAY MANUFACTURER Absen has unveiled its latest LED series in the form of the Jade Dragon (JD) Series. The JD Series is a transparent display solution created to be used in windows or

to divide spaces. The panels boast up to 7,000 nits brightness and up to 86% transparency, while weighing 6.5kg and with a thickness of 10mm. The standard size of the panels in the series is 1,000mm x 500mm, but the three models in the series offer alternative sizing and design customisation to meet more creative demands. The models differ in pixel pitch and transparency and can be frame-less if required. The JD10 and the JD16 are capable of over 80% transparency and can be fully customised in shape, down to the LED strip. In addition, customers can choose to install the transparent PC cover for the JD3.9 model, which further protects the panel and prevents dust buildup. www.absen.com

and distance learning can be enhanced and amplified via included technologies like seamless switching, 4K60 4:4:4 video quality, integrated audio breakaway, an open control API and a simple-to-use web interface. The UVC1-4K capture device solves the immediate issue of PCs that lack HDMI or other video inputs, by seamlessly delivering content from video cameras, document cameras or other HDMI sources into software-based conferencing and streaming applications via the computer’s USB port. Features include 4K60 4:4:4 video input, HDMI and separate analogue audio input, standard UVC interface and control and USB 3.0 output up to 3840x2160p@30fps. www.amx.com

B-Tech unveils soft-opening mount B-TECH AV Mounts has updated its BT8312, a slim-line, soft open videowall mount. The new version is a combination of the best parts of the original product launched in 2017 and the BT8310, which was released in 2012. The “pop-out” function has been developed for closeto-the-wall and recessed applications, where full service access is required for installation and maintenance. In addition to the pop-out function is a patent-pending soft open feature, a design mechanism which, according to the manufacturer, is unlike anything used on other push to release mounts. Following a light push, this feature reportedly ensures a controlled and unassisted outward movement of the mount, which protects display bezels during servicing by staying in alignment throughout the opening and closing process. The BT8312 has been designed with eight points of micro-adjustment for accurate screen alignment, including adjustability at each corner. These adjustments are fully tool-less and can be adjusted comfortably by hand using the ergonomically designed knobs. In

addition, the BT8312 can be mounted in both landscape and portrait orientations. Other features include keyhole mounting and reusable display-specific wall plate spacer kits that allow for easy building out of videowall configurations. www.btechavmounts.com

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Extron signals new additions Bose and Barco click and collaborate DESIGNED TO deliver professional presentations for live events and highend environments, Extron has launched the MGP 641 multi-window processor. Incorporating the exclusive Vector 4K scaling engine, the processor is capable of scaling and presenting up to four 4K/60 4:4:4 source signals on a single screen. In addition to four HDMI inputs supporting data rates up to 18Gbps, the HDCP 2.3-compliant MGP 641 processor includes an HDMI background WITH THE introduction of the TLI Pro 201 input for presenting live, non-scaled content TouchLink Interface, a third-party 4K behind source windows. An HDMI output touchscreen display can be used as a point accommodates a local display, while the DTP2 of control within an Extron IP Link Pro or Pro xi output drives a remote display located up to control system. Supporting video resolutions 100m away with identical content. Features up to 4K/30 at 4:4:4, the PoE interface include customisable window layouts, video Bose combining any Barco ClickShare to HDCP the VB1 includesdevice a scaled 2.2-compliant and logoiskeying, window transition effects, Conference HDMI input for preview. The 1⁄2 -rack, 1-inch, together with source and output rotation. To FOLLOWING ITS launch at ISE 2020, stand or aenclosure wall-mount kit, both which low-profile includes anofembedded simplify integration, embedded audio can Professional is or now shipping include tilt to ensuredisplay a central video universal interactive driver thatimage. beBose passed to the DTP2 HDMI outputthe or all-in-one conferencing Videobar VB1. The Bose Videobar VB1 connects to supports most touchscreens. Operable extracted toUSB the analogue outputs. Proprietary transducers reproduce existing network infrastructures and audio from multimedia presentations in integrates with third-party cloud services, addition to playing Bluetooth, while six including Microsoft Teams, Google beam-steering microphones focus on voices Meet and Zoom. Remote management in the room and reject noise. A 4K HD and configuration capabilities make it camera with auto-framing delivers video simple to deploy and manage remotely that allows remote participants to visualise as a single unit or install up to 1,000 in presenters, whiteboards and other in-room conference rooms. Available as an app objects. With USB connectivity simplifying or via a web browser, the Bose Work setup, mounting options include a table Configuration software is included to TLI Pro 201

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offer ease of setup. The management of devices can be performed remotely with the Bose Work Management app, which displays real-time status and allows for easy single-unit or system-wide changes. Adjustments of parameters, including volume, mute, PTZ, presets and Bluetooth pairing, can be controlled from the Bose Work app via a smartphone or the included IR remote. In addition, conversations or music can be streamed from a smartphone to the VB1and using a standard network infrastructure via Bluetooth connectivity. Ethernet cable, TouchLink Pro products can Bose Professional partnering with be customised usingisExtron GUI Designer Barco to offer a complete AV meeting software. Ideal for applications requiring cable connection between USB host and peripheral devices over distances up to 19.8m, the Californian producer has added the SuperSpeed 5Gbps USB-A 3.2 optical extension cables to its catalogue. The USB-A male-tofemale optical unidirectional cables support a SuperSpeed USB data rate of 5Gbps and deliver 5V and up to 900mA of power to the USB peripheral device. Offering the benefits of fibre optics with the simplicity of traditional copper extension cables, the 6mm diameter

solution by combining anyallows Barcofor ClickShare and narrow bend radius flexible Conference device to the VB1. air Forspaces. rooms installation, including plenum withCapable different requiring an of configurations delivering two 350W channels additional mic pickup, Barco ClickShare into 8Ω or 4Ω, the XPA U 3502 is a 1U, 1 Conference can also be partnered with the ⁄2 -rack, Energy Star-qualified power Bose ES1 EdgeMax in-ceiling and Bose amplifier. The convection-cooled model DS4 DesignMax loudspeaker is UL 2043-rated for plenumsolutions. installation Fully Barco ClickShare andcertified includesfor hardware for rack-mount Conferencing, each combined configurations. Thesolution Class-Disamplifier with the Sennheiser Ceiling 2 incorporates powerTeamConnect factor correction, ultra-low microphone, a Bose ControlSpace EX-440C with inrush current, defeatable auto‑standby processor and aand PowerSpace P2600A fast wake-up patented CDRS – Class-D amplifier. Ripple Suppression. When combined with a 1 ⁄2 -rack DSP unit, such as the DMP 64 Plus, pro.bose.com

XPA U 3502 an integrator can provide audio switching, DSP and amplification within a single rack space. www.extron.com

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PRODUCTS

The Lonestar shines bright beyond Texas IN LONESTAR, High End Systems has released a bright white LED framing fixture that exceeds 15,400 lumens of output in small- and medium-sized venues. Features include a CMY colour mixing system, 3.8–55° zoom, full curtain framing, diffusion and prism effects together with a 13-lens optic system and electronic linear CCT mixing control. Housed within the compact automatic fixture, Lonestar combines a 290W Ultra-Bright engine, 16-blade iris for extremely tight beam effects and dual prisms for compound beam and projection effects. A nine position plus open rotating gobo wheel in addition to a linearly insertable rotating animation wheel and an open colour wheel plus a full-curtain framing system for total control of beam shaping are included. www.etcconnect.com

Astera builds portfolio with Bricks FOLLOWING IN the footsteps of the AX5 TriplePAR LED, Astera has added an all-purpose, larger-format, threein-one LED lighting fixture in the form of the AX9. Offering a wireless PAR light source that can also be run as a wired PAR for longer-term installations and an elegant uplighter, the fixture’s 105W output offers over 3,000 lumens of homogenised light. Incorporating a similar engine to the Titan LED, the AX9 can be used on-set, onstage, in the studio or on location. In situ as a wired PAR, the AX9 can operate for sustained periods of time. The compact, multipurpose fixture can also be deployed as a wall or surface washing uplighter without a flex cover and with the bracket removed to produce a streamlined effect. The LED engine comes with a high CRI, a wide range of tuneable colour temperature whites and diverse colours. Designed for use in live events, the PixelBrick is a flexible luminaire. The 1.1kg, compact

Pixel Tape series gets IP65-rated additions LED TAPE has become increasingly popular as a solution for novel stage illumination in worship applications, and Elation Professional has added two new outdoor-rated variants to its Pixel Tape lineup.

scenic elements, accentuate outdoor architecture or customise lighting on any event. The Pixel Tape 16IP features the same pixel spacing as Elation’s Pixel Bar series. It comes in a 2.7m x 14.5mm (LxW) LED

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AX9 PowerPAR uplighter combines a Titan LED engine with the AX3 LightDrop in new, fully adaptable housing. The IP65-rated model can be suspended outdoors as a universal light for accenting and texturing buildings or façades. Offering 450 lumens and 1,200 Lux at 2m – both at 3,200K – the PixelBrick can also be deployed as a generalpurpose PAR fixture complete with a bracket. In addition to an onboard battery pack offering five hours of full-brightness operation, features include an RGB Mint Amber for creating colours and authentic white tones from 1,750–20,000K and a CRI of 96 or above. Several different beam options are available, while the fixture’s native 13° angle can be customised with the use of a 17° diffuser for a soft-light effect or a 30° flood filter.

PixelBrick

www.astera-led.com

THE FOCUS Wash 400 has been added to ADJ’s Focus Series of LED-powered moving head luminaires. The dedicated wash fixture combines a potent colour-mixing LED light engine with a Fresnel lens and motorised zoom mechanism to create a versatile, soft-edged beam with an even field and high CRI. Providing colour mixing for stage-based applications, a 400W six-in-one LED light source combines red, green, blue, amber, cyan and lime LED chips. With a 50,000-hour average life expectancy, the LED engine configuration allows for a CRI of more than 90, together with white light output across a range of colour temperatures. The light source also offers a high CRI R9 rating of 87.3, making it capable of effectively illuminating problematic saturated red subjects. Independent colour-mixing control over the LED source’s six primary colours creates a wide spectrum of saturates and pastel shades. To aid quick programming, Virtual Colour Wheel control provides easy access to 60 pre-programmed colour macros in addition to

five preset white colour temperature macros. Using the six LED chips to emulate CMY colour mixing, the fixture includes a virtual CMY mode for patching and controlling as a CMY fixture. Fitted with a 6-inch Fresnel lens, the Wash 400 can produce a soft-edged wash output with an even field and no colour shadows. This is paired with a motorised zoom function with a variable beam angle of 10–41°, featuring 16-bit fine control over the zoom motor for smooth effects. The wide zoom range can be used to wash a large area of a stage and to spotlight performers or small scenic elements. Electronic dimming is combined with selectable dimming modes, curves and speeds that can be set remotely via DMX. Fitted with pan and tilt motors, the Wash 400 can achieve quick movement in addition to precise static positioning and smooth movements at slow speed with 16-bit fine control. The fixture also features electronic strobing for the creation of regular, random and pulse effects at various speeds.

ADJ gains more Focus

Pixel Tape 16IP The Pixel Tape 16IP and Pixel Tape 40IP are flexible LED tapes featuring RGB SMD tri-colour LED pixels capable of producing over 1 billion colours. The strips both spread light at a 120° viewing angle and are surface coated with an IP65-rated conformal coating for safe use in any type of weather. Each is constructed using a rugged UV-protected silicone casing, creating a low-profile and flexible design with a bright yet low heat output. Both the Pixel Tape 16IP and Pixel Tape 40IP use industry standard four-pin XLR connectors for power/control input and are ideal low-maintenance, lowenergy solutions to integrate into stage

pixel tape with 170 RGB SMD tri-colour LED pixels spaced on 16mm centres. The tape can be cut and extended every 25mm. It emits 455 lumens of light with a low max power consumption of 35W and is ETL approved. The Pixel Tape 40IP is a 6.8m x 14.5mm (LxW) LED pixel tape featuring 170 RGB SMD tri-colour LED pixels spaced on 40mm centres. The tape can be cut and extended every 62mm. The Pixel Tape 40IP emits 475 lumens of light with a max power consumption of 35W and is also ETL approved. www.elationlighting.com

www.adj.com

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Equipson upgrades LightShark LIGHTING TECHNICIANS can now create and synchronise effects on multiple parameters and apply different types of curves during each step of the effect, thanks to an update to LightShark’s FX engine. It is also now possible to position fixtures on a grid so that the engine can easily find them and apply effects at the right point in relation to these fixtures. The upgrade required a

major re-working of the product’s original renderer. Once completed, this allowed the engine to operate in two very different modes – basic, where effects and shapes are created around a base value, and advanced, where users can define minimum and maximum values and create effects with up to six different steps. They can also stack up to 20 layers of effects and synchronise different layers with each other. Other benefits include the ability to choose up to 24 directions when applying an effect,

TWO YEARS after launching the Alchemy 5, DTS Lighting is expanding its range of Fresnel wash moving heads. The Alchemy 7 features a 250mm Fresnel lens and a six-colour chip LED source that allows users to recreate a wide range of shades, especially when it comes to pastel tones. Its tungsten emulation function will allow the

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FUSION BY GLP has introduced a contemporary LED stick in a weatherproof (IP65) design. The Fusion Stick FS16 Z can not only be connected to produce seamless lines but, thanks to its halo diffuser rings, it can be placed in front of the individual light sources to develop a new optical effect. It is also based on the Fusion Stick FS20 with identical dimensions so that all FS20 accessories are also compatible with the FS16 Z. The Fusion Stick FS16 Z is populated with 16 20W RGBW LEDs and the motorised zoom ranges from 8–40°. The 1m-long sticks are only 23.6cm high, 9cm deep and, despite the weatherproof design in the die-cast aluminium housing, weigh only 13kg. The halo diffuser ring is said to ensure the FS16 Z will create “a real impact in every application”.

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repetitions of each effect. Users can also apply different types of curves to each of the steps, as well as to modify the parameters of the curves. Colour tags can also be associated with a particular group to make it easier to locate. In addition, users can change the behaviour of the CLEAR button (single or double), adjust the speed of the effects with TAP to time and set a physical fader as a master of speed or effect size.

CUETE IS the latest moving head spotlight fixture from Robe designed for small and medium productions. Features include fast pan and tilt movement and quick and simple dynamic effects. The fixture reportedly offers an excellent CMY colour mixing system and a 4,200-lumen output of sharp, crystal clear white light. To achieve this output and to maintain the light quality and consistency across any lighting rig or inventory, Cuete uses Robe’s patented TE 120W White LED Engine which is at the core of the manufacturer’s Transferable Engine technology. The 16° fixed beam lens has remote control focus and can be swapped to the optional 24° lenses for shorter throw and low-ceiling scenarios. The Cuete incorporates a CPulse flicker-free management system for setups using HD and UHD cameras; the L3 Low Light Linearity dimming software for smooth fades to black; and AirLOC (Less Optical Cleaning) technology which reportedly keeps the optical elements in good condition over long time periods. The fixture’s effects package includes a colour wheel with 13 dichroic filters;

a gobo wheel with nine fully indexable, rotating, replaceable gobos; a static gobo wheel with 10 fixed gobos including four beam reducers; an eight-facet bidirectional rotating prism; and a 5° frost filter to assist with producing smooth, even washes. www.robe.cz

www.equipson.es

DTS Lighting launches Alchemy 7

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TLCI values up to 98 and 96 respectively. It comes with a vast array of gel filters and users can benefit from desaturation or gel mixing, even when changing colour temperature or when calibrating the green tint.

LED projector to generate the same effect of halogen lamps on the dimming curve. Features include a two-blade framing system with a 180° full system rotation and a 22,000-lumen output. According to the manufacturer, this output is nearly constant throughout its linear CCT that goes from 1,800–10,000K, with CRI and

www.dts-lighting.it

A fusion of light

According to the manufacturer, thanks to the ring surrounding the front lens, the visibility of the pixels in the camera has been significantly improved. The pixels are

clearly visible even from very acute camera angles, whereas the lens is retracted far back into the housing in a conventional design, due to the zoom mechanism. The fanless

design provides extremely quiet operation, which also makes the new LED stick ideal for noise-sensitive environments. Various installation options are said to offer even greater flexibility and creative experimentation. The individual FS16 Z LED sticks can be connected to one another without difficulty, so that both vertically hanging and groundstanding installations can be implemented with minimal rigging effort. Two different dimmer curves and four control modes up to a maximum of 79 DMX channels are available. The built-in FX engine is said to make it easy to create impressive, dynamic looks. www.glp.de

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BUSINESS: ANALYSIS

ISE 2022 ISE managing director Mike Blackman discusses the show’s long-anticipated move to Fira de Barcelona, scheduled for 1–4 February 2022

At this time last year, you referred to the uncertainty of putting on the 2021 show, comparing it to rolling the dice. Is there more certainty this time around? You are right, there was a lot of uncertainty last year. The past 18 months have been challenging for everyone, but it does feel much more positive now, although we are not totally out of the woods yet. At ISE we’ve remained agile, listening to what our industry wants while responding to an ever-changing landscape caused by the pandemic. The clear message from our research is that AV professionals do want an event and in-person networking. We are proud that we achieved two safe live events in 2021 during such an enormously difficult time as well as curating an engaging online experience through ISE Digital.

What does the Fira offer you that wasn’t possible in Amsterdam? Amsterdam certainly served us very well and over the years ISE grew significantly there but, as I have said before, we had reached the time when a move was needed to be able to continue to develop new ideas and content and offer the industry a great in-person experience. The ISE event in Barcelona in June 2021 was well-supported and a fantastic taster of what is to come. Our partners from the city, from Catalonia and across Spain all welcomed us with open arms, and we made some great connections. It was thrilling to see so many people there from all elements of the industry, enjoying some great sessions on the Main Stage and taking part in the AV Experience Zone, the content of which was in Spanish. The large, modern facility that is the Gran Via, Fira de Barcelona is ideal for the ISE experience. We know it will take time for the ISE team, exhibitors, partners and visitors alike to settle into our new venue, but it will also be fun discovering the new and exciting features and events. Already, the floorplan is looking very good. Once again, we are using Technology Zones to group together exhibitors with similar technologies; this approach makes it easier and quicker for attendees to find and compare the solutions they are looking for. While previously there were space limitations for some of these zones, this is no longer the case, so more companies have been able to take stands in their preferred

location, and we are also welcoming many companies new to ISE this year. We have created five Technology Zones: Audio (Hall 7), Digital Signage & DooH (Hall 6), Lighting & Staging (Hall 7), Residential & Smart Building (Hall 2) and Unified Communications & Education Technology (Hall 2).

Has the announcement that NAMM has postponed its show from January to summer 2022 affected your confidence that ISE will go ahead in Barcelona just 10 days after the original NAMM dates? For any large, in-person event, it is important to take into consideration that each region is experiencing different conditions relating to the spread of Covid as well as vaccination uptake. The US Covid case rate (per 100,000) is currently much higher than the Spanish and the EU average. In fact, many European countries are gradually relaxing their restrictions. However, we will continue to keep a very close eye on all developments. The current outlook is positive for a successful in-person ISE 2022 and we are confident we can deliver the show that the industry tells us it wants, and we will remain vigilant and agile in our planning.

Last year you carried out a thorough WHO risk assessment – what have you needed to do for next year’s show? As attendance at physical events continues to grow, people are getting used to travelling and safely meeting up again. We will continue to work closely with the venue and all appropriate authorities to ensure ISE 2022 will remain a safe and Covid-compliant event. We will be monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates as we get closer to February 2022.

What do you think of the current AV and integration market trends and what will dominate the next edition? Our industry is at the forefront of many trends that have accelerated through the impact of the pandemic across

the world, and technological innovations in several of these areas will be showcased at ISE. Unified communications have become more important than ever, and the technology is moving forward at a super rate. The integrations and partnerships that are facilitating this rapid evolution are a testament to our industry. With the rise in remote working, and with many corporates no longer requiring their employees to attend the office full-time, it’s becoming even more important that offices are well equipped to enable collaboration between colleagues, whatever their location. We will see many exhibitors in the Unified Communications & Education Technology Zone and throughout the ISE show floor, highlighting solutions to improve the meeting and collaboration experience. There is also an increased appreciation of the importance of audio in meeting rooms, leading to greater demand for microphone arrays, beam-steering speakers to direct sound where it’s needed and digital signal processing (DSP) to improve intelligibility. The pandemic has also increased the appetite for nontouch solutions in pro AV and we can expect to see more of these being launched next year. Voice control solutions have not always given a good user experience in the past, but a significant development is that Alexa for Business can now be integrated into many UC solutions for voice control of meetings and other “digital assistant” functions. Another area that is very exciting at the moment is live events. It’s been a very tough year for this sector, but the pivot to online events has seen a surge in the adoption of innovation such as holographic technology. It will be interesting to see how this technology is used to enhance the experience of live/hybrid and digital events over the next 12 months. There has been increased demand in the residential AV sector as well, as homeowners, property developers and architects and designers are creating hybrid spaces to live, work and play, creating connected homes featuring immersive spaces. There has also been a growth in wellness solutions as organisations across the world recognise the importance of wellbeing and mental health. www.iseurope.org

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OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTOR

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Full-Range. Compact. No Compromises.

Introducing K3: a versatile loudspeaker satisfying all your requirements for mid-size events and venues without any compromises. Completing the K series line, K3 boasts an optimal mechanical design for reduced weight, Panflex™ variable directivity, laminar vents for a powerful, linear low-frequency response down to 42Hz, and class-leading SPL. Optimized for audiences of 1,000 to 10,000, K3 reduces the need for amplification and dedicated subwoofer, making it faster, more straightforward, sustainable, and economical to deploy. It’s ready for your next event. l-acoustics.com

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