All images courtesy of Mad Systems
Systems simplified
The Mad AV Quicksilver™ world expands with new features by Maris Ensing, Mad Systems
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ow that we’re two decades into the 21st Century, it’s time to look at some of the latest advances in AV, control systems, and personalized media delivery options that are likely to have an impact on the next decade or so. Our company, Mad Systems has been attracting interest with its release of a new AV system called QuickSilver™. This new system comprises all the elements that you’d expect an AV and interactive system to have, including compressed and uncompressed video servers, audio replay units and ambient generators, lighting control, show control, a slew of input and output sensors and interfaces, power management and various interactive elements as well as an integrated tour guide capability. One of the big differentiators of our design is that this system can be implemented with near-zero infrastructure requirements: all of the ingredients are based on non-proprietary hardware, micro-miniature, suitable for use around the world, low power and networked either through a physical connection or wirelessly. Mad has announced new software for the system called DrinkMe as part of our “Alice in Wonderland” themed naming convention. DrinkMe is a unique and timely design and auto-configuration
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software that will take users into the world of Mad AV where basic AV design and configuration are mostly automated. The new software allows you to take a PDF showing a plan view of any facility, and to just draw all the equipment onto that PDF. If available, also tell DrinkMe what media needs to be loaded where, as those will be immediately integrated and distributed to the correct peripherals and stored onto the CMS media drive as part of the DrinkMe configuration process. The software then generates all the relevant files for your system, including parts lists, power/heat load, a complete network layout and IP address map and the individual configuration files needed for the QuickSilver™ AV hardware elements. It’ll produce and populate the media distribution drive structure so that it’s easy to just update media on the system by putting files into directories on that drive from where it will be distributed to all the relevant system elements, and that drive is also backed up to the cloud in its entirety as a means for disaster recovery. It’ll prepare all the files for the TeaParty show/system controller, pre-configure power management and system on/off times, and set up all the necessary devices ready for final programming.
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