MONDO-DR 33.2

LA7.16 i

AMPLIFY DIFFERENTLY

Think differently about how amplifiers should work: Explicitly designed for installation environments, LA7.16i is a multitasker with 16 output channels, each able to produce 1300w at 8 ohms.

Multi-Channel, Multi-Type, Multi-Time, Multi-Signal.

DIVE IN

ADAMSON FLETCHER MACHINE

The Adamson Fletcher Machine is an audio rendering processor offering incredibly simple operation with highly efficient spatialization tools, with hardware models offering 32, 64, or 128 inputs and outputs. To learn more about the Adamson Fletcher Machine visit our website at www.adamsonsystems.com

Assume nothing.

It takes very little time for the A-Series to reveal its true colors: Coverage options to spare. Extra clever acoustic control. More flexibility. Fewer compromises.

Approach sound reinforcement from a different angle: dbaudio.com/a-series

More art. Less noise.

SYSTEMS THE BIGGEST NEW

Powerful, scalable digital audio processing and Dante networking combine with a new streamlined configuration and control app to bring a full suite of Yamaha hardware under a single interface. Everything you need to design and run the bi est systems.

Feel the power at europe.yamaha.com

MONDO-DR 33.2

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023

ON THE COVER Outernet London

Image courtesy of Outernet London

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Todd Staszko t.staszko@mondiale.co.uk

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

Laura Iles l.iles@mondiale.co.uk

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Cameron Crawford c.crawford@mondiale.co.uk

MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER

Alice Clarke a.clarke@mondiale.co.uk

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Mel Capper, Dan Seaton

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER

James Robertson j.robertson@mondiale.co.uk

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Peter Iantorno p.iantorno@mondiale.co.uk

CEO Justin Gawne j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

FINANCE DIRECTOR Amanda Giles a.giles@mondiale.co.uk

CREDIT CONTROL ar@mondiale.co.uk

GROUP CHAIRMAN

Damian Walsh

MONDIALE

Last year ended in typically whirlwind fashion as I attended InfoComm SEA in Bangkok, followed by a few days visiting companies and meeting industry figures in Singapore. The overriding feeling I got while chatting to many people across the industry was one of optimism, with most proclaiming 2022 to be a bumper year, and hoping for more of the same this year. You can read our Singapore Diary at the start of the Business section on page 100.

This issue’s cover story is Outernet London, the wildly impressive new digital entertainment district, which is littered with cutting-edge immersive AV technology and features the largest permanent digital exhibition space in Europe. Not only that, but Outernet is also home to two fantastic new music venues, one of which is the first purpose-built music room in central London since the 1940s.

In addition, we shine a light on a wide variety of venues around the world, including Vietnam’s largest public fountain display, an experiential media environment for travellers making their way through the new terminal at Orlando International Airport and a restaurant built in the vaults of London’s famous Royal Exchange.

As this is the first issue of the year, I’d like to wish all our readers a happy and prosperous 2023. The MONDO-DR team will be attending the first major trade show of the year – ISE – and hopefully we’ll see you there. As always, feedback on the magazine is welcome, so please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

TODD STASZKO ASSISTANT EDITOR

IN THIS ISSUE...

INFOCOMM SEA 2022

APAC

BANGKOK, THAILAND / 2 – 4 NOVEMBER 2022

The three-day InfoComm Southeast Asia tradeshow returned after a two-year absence to the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre and saw exhibitors, visitors and delegates from 22 different countries congregate for the show.

With Summit sessions held daily and exhibitors from around the region, it was a busy show in a region which had opened up earlier than most around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic eased and restrictions were relaxed.

“The enthusiasm we saw among our exhibitors and visitors was striking,” said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoComm Asia. “Amid the impressive array of technological developments were intensive personal conversations and exciting forward-looking collaborations. The Pro-AV industry continues to undergo a vast transformation and

rapid development, and InfoComm Southeast Asia is one of the key marketplaces to make new connections.”

A total of 130 exhibitors laid out stands for visitors to explore, 41 of which were showcasing their services and products for the first time at the event, including Bose, Christie, Riedel, Vega Global and more.

6,593 visitors attended, with most arriving from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The show also welcomed visitors from the rest of Asia, including China, India, Japan and South Korea, making it clear that the whole of Asia is ready to seize the unprecedented opportunities of the post-pandemic era. The 2023 edition is to be re-branded as InfoComm Asia and will run from 24 – 26 May at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), Bangkok. www.infocomm-sea.com

1 Members of the Total Solution Marketing team on their stand showcasing Ayrton fixtures.

2 The Lightware team.

3 Monsi Cottrell and Jason Yeo of Christie.

4 Members of the Riedel team on their stand – exhibiting for the first time at InfoComm SEA.

5 Joe White of Nexo and Tony Oates of Fuzion Far East.

6 Sebastian Chong and Tom Van de Sande of Audac.

7 The Asavasopon team (black shirts), distributors for Bose in Thailand, pictured with Tan Hui Ming of Bose.

LDI 2022

LAS VEGAS / 14 – 20 NOVEMBER 2022 AMERICAS

The 2022 edition of Live Design International (LDI) brought together the entertainment, design and technology community in Las Vegas for the final major international trade exhibition of the year. Over 10,000 people registered to attend and 43% of the training courses in the ‘LDInstitute’ sold out, with event organisers deeming the week a huge success.

CHAUVET Professional gave world debuts to the Maverick Storm 4 Profile and Storm 2 Profile fixtures, while Claypaky also premiered its new LED bar Volero Wave.

Elation Professional had several new fixtures on display, including the Proteus Rayzor Blade. Eric Loader, Director of Sales & Marketing, was delighted by the number of visitors to their stand. “We had a fantastic show and our team was excited to be back at the show after a threeyear hiatus,” Loader commented. “We expected a lot of contact and interest from customers leading up to the show, so the crowded booth

didn’t surprise us in the least. It was great to see so many faces again, both our faithful partners and customers but also the many new faces and contacts we made.”

ADJ debuted three new products while the four new models in the Hydro series that were introduced throughout 2022 took centre stage on their booth. “It was great to be back at LDI in full force,” said ADJ USA National Sales Manager Alfred Gonzales. “It’s been three years in the making, so expectations were high, and the show didn’t disappoint. Myself and the rest of the ADJ team enjoyed showcasing our new products, but more importantly connecting in person with our customers, users and industry friends.”

Vari-Lite showcased the VL3600 Profile IP for the first time at a US show and also introduced the Neo X15 console.

Spanish manufacturer Equipson launched new visualisation software LightShark RAY, while Martin debuted the ELP PAR IP static LED wash fixture. Robe also presented an invigorating live show on its booth, showcasing the capabilities of the new iSeries luminaires, including the iFORTE, iSpiider, and iBeam250.

The new zactrack mini, the latest addition to the zactrack portfolio, was also unveiled.

The 2023 edition will take place in the West Hall of Las Vegas Convention Centre from 30 November to 5 December. www.ldishow.com

1 The Robe team celebrates a successful LDI.

2 John Lopez of Elation Professional.

3 Eddie Short and Brian Dowdle of ADJ.

4 Estefani Carrasquedo of MEGA-Lite.

5 The Martin team on their stand.

6 Neha Sharma of Brompton Technology.

7 Members of the Claypaky team.

the WIRELESS SOLUTION

for LIVE EVENTS, SPORTS and MORE

REAL-TIME NETWORKS FOR VIDEO, AUDIO AND COMMUNICATIONS

BOLERO WIRELESS INTERCOM

Operates standalone or integrated in digital matrix intercom systems

Up to 250 Beltpacks and 100 Antennas in a network

•10 beltpacks per antenna

• Patented ADR (Advanced DECT receiver) technology for an unrivaled radio performance

•Exceptional audio performance

• Fast and Secure NFC (Near Field Communication) and OTA (Over The Air) beltpack registration

• Bluetooth support for bluetooth headset or smartphone connectivity

• Standard AES67 IP network, CAT5 daisy chain or redundant ring antenna network

•Redundant antenna power

Immersive

ISE is the world’s leading show for professional audiovisual integration. Discover the latest AV solutions that deliver unforgettable experiences.

JTSE 2022

EMEA

PARIS, FRANCE / 22 – 23 NOVEMBER, 2022

Located at Les Dock de Paris, JTSE 2022 once again brought together manufacturers and distributors within the French and international markets, with over 130 exhibitors taking stands across three halls.

The 26th edition of the event also included an audio and lighting demo room as 6,245 visitors walked through the doors, bringing the show back to its pre-COVID levels of success.

MONDO-DR was pleased to attend and were met with positivity by all exhibitors, with many noting the high volume of people in attendance.

Jean Dominique Malgoire, Area Manager South Europe, Adam Hall Group, was delighted with this year’s event. “This edition was a real success,” Malgoire commented. “On the one hand, we could see real interest

for the new LD Systems MAILA line array, and on the other hand, the Cameo light demos in our Black Box strengthened the impression of the professionalism and quality of the products among our customers and all users of the brand.

“Another positive fact is that this year was a very good one for our customers and our supplier colleagues – and that the market is currently very dynamic. It is up to all of us to keep this momentum going and I am already looking forward to the next exhibitions and appointments to exchange information about our products and the values we follow.”

The show’s organisers also noted a higher turnout of overseas visitors from previous years.

www.jtse.fr

1 Fabio Kaiser and Ineke Hellingman of Amadeus Acoustics.

2 Nathan Van De Hel and Olivier Le Doeuff of Naostage.

3 Karima Djellal of Starway with Matilda Matthews of TPi Magazine.

4 Gareth Collyer of NEXO.

5 The Adam Hall team on their stand.

6 Philippe Pelmelle, David Webster and Yves Guégan of CODA Audio.

7 Members of the ALGAM Enterprises team on their stand.

8 Hugues Coffy of S2CEB.

9 Dave Haydon of TiMax.

10 Patrice Mathiot and colleague on the Tambè CEMS stand.

11 Thomas Garin and Pierre Malet of Lotronic International.

12 Members of the Adamson Systems Engineering team on their stand.

JANUARY ISE BARCELONA, SPAIN iseurope.org

JAN 31-3

FEBRUARY

FEB 27

TPI AWARDS

LONDON, UK www.tpiawards.com

APRIL

APR 13-14

EXPO SCÈNE MONTREAL, CANADA www.citt.org

APR 13-15

NAMM ANAHEIM, USA www.namm.org

APR 16-19

NAB LAS VEGAS, USA www.nabshow.com

APR 23-25

SOUND CHECK EXPO MEXICO CITY, MEXICO www.soundcheckexpo.com.mx

MAR 27-29

MUSIC INSIDE RIMINI RIMINI, ITALY www.musicinsiderimini.it

APR 25-28

PROLIGHT + SOUND FRANKFURT, GERMANY www.pls.messefrankfurt.com

MAY

MAY 4

TPMEA AWARDS DUBAI, UAE www.tpmeaawards.com

MAY 8-11

THE GET SHOW GUANGZHOU, CHINA www.getshow.com.cn

MAY 10-11

PLASA LEEDS, UK www.plasaleeds.com

MAY 16-19

KOBA SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA www.kobashow.com/eng

MAY 16-18

CABSAT DUBAI, UAE www.cabsat.com

EXPO DIARY

MAY 22-25

PROLIGHT + SOUND GUANGZHOU, CHINA www.prolight-sound-guangzhou.hk.messefrankfurt.com

MAY 24-26

INFOCOMM ASIA BANGKOK, THAILAND www.infocomm-sea.com

MAY 25-27

PALM EXPO MUMBAI, INDIA www.palmexpo.in

MAY 28-30

SLS EXPO RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA www.saudilightandsoundexpo.com

IN BRIEF

Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts installs the largest Electro-Voice X2 system in North America

Located in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, the Mansfield Independent School District (ISD) facilities include the Dr. Jim Vaszauskas Center for the Performing Arts, a freestanding 142,000 sq ft facility used for live music and theatre events. During the pandemic, the facility began experiencing endof-life issues with some of the high-end technology installed there, necessitating a full refurbishment. Following an in-depth assessment by CRUX Technology & Security Solutions on how best to bring the venue back to state-of-the-art standards, a system based around Electro-Voice X2 line-array loudspeakers in combination with Dynacord’s IPX series amplifiers was recommended. The install was completed by Electro Acoustics, and the ability to deliver a large system in a timely manner was critical, as the CRUX design created the largest permanent installation of EV X-Line Advance in North America, with a total of 67 full-range cabinets plus 10 subwoofers, making the 5,500-seat auditorium’s PA system worthy of hosting major touring concert events. The entire PA system is powered by 16 Dynacord IPX20:4 amplifiers. The system represents a strong success story during the pandemic, with Bosch’s global resources serving to enable a fast-tracked project from concept to completion in under six months. www.electrovoice.com

IN BRIEF

Anthem Productions deploys 1 SOUND loudspeakers at Japaneseinspired restaurant and lounge

The brainchild of rapper Bad Bunny and club-mogul-turnedrestaurateur David Grutman and his hospitality group, Groot Hospitality, Gekkō, is Miami’s hottest new dining hotspot. Like most Groot Hospitality venues, this space was designed by Rockwell Group and features jewel-toned decor, graphic wall coverings, velvet drapery and backlit cut-outs and bars to enhance the after-dark atmosphere.

Groot Hospitality engaged Anthem Productions to come up with an audio design befitting the space, with a focus on the need for consistent distribution of sound throughout the venue. To that end, Anthem specified a 1 SOUND system featuring Cannon C6i loudspeakers and SUB310 subwoofers distributed and hidden throughout the venue.

Anthem also installed Contour CT28s hanging from the wall, utilising the Contour Rigging System space where there are matte-black cathedral ceilings, vaulted above, as well as Ram Audio Pi4-6k and Linea Research 44C10 amplifiers – both brands that are partnered with 1 SOUND and approved to operate seamlessly with the company’s speakers. www.1-sound.com

The Tower System

HIGH SPL | CARDIOID COLUMN | CLARITY TECHNOLOGY | STEERABLE SUB

Tower Columns (LCC44 & LCC84) have 20 dB of rear-cancellation

SUB310 & CSUB610 are only 300 mm (11.7”) wide

Audio Hall 7 Stand 7H600

made

IN BRIEF

China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts receives a Dream Lighting upgrade

As the largest theatre complex in Asia, the China National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) not only hosts operas, ballets, musicals, dramas and various large-scale performances, but also delivers live TV broadcasts and video productions.

As a professional stage lighting manufacturer with a longterm relationship in supplying equipment for the China NCPA, Dream Lighting has provided suitable lighting for hundreds of productions.

Ahead of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 13th China Arts Festival in September 2022, the newest LED flagship product, DREAM L1600P FLAG, was installed for the side light and front stage light, while DREAM L1400P PLUS and DREAM L1400R WP were installed for the above lighting. Dream Lighting also provided the DLW 1700R FOLLOW and DREAM 400C7 BRIGHT fixtures for the event. www.dlwlighting.com

IN BRIEF

LEGOLAND Windsor installs Christie RGB projector

A Christie D4K40-RGB projector has been installed at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort as part of its newest attraction, The Flight of the Sky Lion. Standing at 25m tall, the ride sees visitors transported to the magical land of Mythica, where Lego creatures are brought to life, with the adventure projected onto a 20m-high concave screen. The ride is encased in a 20m by 20m spherical dome, which has a cut-out at the top through which content is projected onto the screen.

Merlin Entertainments, LEGOLAND’s parent company, commissioned Brogent Technologies to create the ride, incorporating interactive AR elements with a combined creative and educational philosophy.

“It was clear from the design of the dome that we needed a single projector solution,” explained Stefan Rothaug, Marketing & Sales, Brogent Technologies. “We needed the best possible unit we could find, and that turned out to be the Christie D4K40-RGB.

“We were blown away by the vibrant colour reproduction, and the advantages of laser over lamp projection have come into their own in a theme park setting,” he added. “With rides operating 10-plus hours a day, and almost 365 days a year, maintenance costs can be considerable, but with laser there are no costly lamp changes every two to three months. It was our first time using laser projection and it won’t be our last.”

During the design and specification phase of the project, Brogent drew on the help of Christie Professional Services, which helped with modelling lifetime costs for various projection solutions as well as calculating total number of lumens required for the dome space. “We were delighted with the help we received from Christie Professional Services,” commented Rothaug. “We will definitely be drawing on their help in the future.”

www.christiedigital.com

Photo by LEGOLAND Windsor Resort

IN BRIEF

Progressive theatre marries technical and creative needs with a d&b Soundscape system set for all

Home to contemporary interpretations of classic works, as well as world premieres and pioneering artforms, Schauspielhaus Bochum has become one of Germany’s most renowned theatres. After 20 years of consistent use, the facility’s performance space has been given an upgrade of its in-house d&b audiotechnik system to incorporate the latest technologies. The theatre’s Technical Director, Will-Jan Pielage and Ralf Zuleeg, Head of Education and Application Support at d&b, worked together to develop a concept for the new audio system. With equipment supplied by NIES electronic GmbH, the theatre’s larger hall, and all 811 seats, are now all set with d&b Soundscape technology, opening up a wide range of sound design options, from mono playback to immersive and more.

Above the stage in the theatre’s Great Hall is the main PA, featuring ArrayProcessing optimised A-Series configured in five speaker positions. Bass support is provided by two V-SUBs housed in the existing stage cutouts, which for some productions are supplemented by two SL-GSUBs, setup in the lower stage for special effects.

Amplification comes courtesy of a combination of one D80 and three D20. These four-channel amplifiers receive AES / EBU input signals from d&b DS10 Audio Network Bridges, which in turn receive Dante signals; the Audinate protocol also provides the input for Soundscape’s matrix, the DS100 Signal Engine.

“In my opinion, the possibilities with Soundscape are a blessing, especially in spoken theatre when it comes to the positioning of voices,” said Pielage. “My aim is for theatre-goers to immediately see who is talking to each other during every dialogue that takes place on the stage.”

With this in mind, Pielage is delighted with the possibilities presented by Soundscape’s object positioning tool En-Scene, which enables him to precisely locate the protagonists within the performance space. The carefully conceived audio upgrade has brought with it a level of technical and creative possibility befitting such a venue.

“In the house we often play repertoire and simply don’t have the time to do a great deal of work on the loudspeakers during the day,” concluded Pielage. “The system must always be completely ready to play and usable in any desired context. The sound system is designed in such a way that a director or guest technician only has to tell us which configuration they would like to use. Stereo is no problem, L / C / R works anyway, 180° is also possible, and 360° is of course also possible. We are prepared for all situations.”

www.dbaudio.com

Photos: Production Partner

OUR RELIABILI

IN ALL WEATHERS

IN BRIEF

With a diverse list of artists performing at Carroponte throughout the summer, the venue called upon Sonique Audio, Lighting and Video to kit out the open-air venue with DTS Lighting moving heads and a dBTechnologies PA system. Carroponte is housed under a metal ‘cage’ 20m high by 60m wide and 200m long, which was built in the 1930s to accommodate seven overhead cranes for handling over 40 tonnes of material.

The ex-Breda industrial archaeological park has been a major urban redevelopment project, in which Carroponte inserts itself by also including the MIL Space (Museum of Industry and Work) and the adjacent green area, once used as a scrap yard from the Breda steel plants.

Today, Carroponte provides a space for open-air shows and live entertainment, with the likes of Biffy Clyro, The Offspring, Yungblud and Gojira all passing through the 9,000-capacity venue in 2022.

“The stage consists of a ring with three trusses (front, middle and rear), a minimal structure designed with the aim of guaranteeing ease of use for lighting designers,” said Brian Anfossi Bonaccorsi, Sonique’s lighting operator, who designed the lighting plot. “Therefore, the lighting setup is also optimised for the different needs during the summer evenings. So, I chose standard fixtures such as spots, washes, strobes and blinders, and avoided any fixtures positioned directly on stage.”

With functionality at the forefront when it came to choosing the fixtures, Bonaccorsi was impressed by the Synergy 7 Profile.

“This was the first time I had used these moving heads,” he said. “I had previously used other DTS products, but I was amazed by these – especially by their impressive luminous output. Carroponte is not an easy venue to manage due to the excessive light pollution, but despite this, the Synergy 7s performed very well.

“While the selection of lights provided a standard structure, which is easy to use, I wanted to be more creative with the positioning of the Synergy 7 – I wanted them in two rows of five luminaires each, so as to have a central headlight.”

Diego De Ferrari, Founder of Sonique, shed some light on the background of the venue.

“The structure is a symbol of the Milanese working class and was recovered around 10 years ago to give something back to the city,” he said. “The main intention was to highlight what this venue represented in a past life, and the redevelopment works were carried out without upsetting the structure.

“The arena can host about 9,000 people arranged in a very wide area, so I needed power,” he continued. “The amount of light [from the Synergy 7] is huge and the projection is clean and optimal, which is not to be taken for granted when it comes to powerful projectors.

“The Synergies were also chosen for their ability to respond to various design needs. To create a lighting plot in such an eclectic stage, it is necessary to give a basic design that can be adapted to the different needs of the various shows.”

To provide full audio coverage, a dBTechnologies system with 16 VIO L212 loudspeakers in a L-R line array and 12 VIO S218 subs was chosen. Eight VIO L208 loudspeakers provided front fill while 16 VIOL2210 were utilsed for delay and two each of VIO S118R and VIO C12 per side were placed for the sidefill.

“We decided upon the VIO L212 because we needed at least double 12in speakers to fully cover the area, while the relay lines were designed using the smaller VIO L210,” De Ferrari commented. “The resident consoles are two DiGiCo SD12-96. We have been working for some time with these systems and they are very reliable.”

www.dts-lighting.it

www.dbtechnologies.com

DTS Lighting and dBTechnologies provide the platform for a summer of live music at reclaimed industrial structure from Milan’s past

Evolve into a new point of view

Made in Italy # dts-lighting.it

IN BRIEF

Helsinki Music Centre gets Optocore audio upgrade

Major Finnish concert venue, TV and recording studio, Musiikkitalo (Helsinki Music Centre) has upgraded its existing Optocore infrastructure with the addition of an AutoRouter intelligent patchbay. This has provided the venue with greater flexibility by freeing up its DiGiCo SD8 at FOH to take on a more portable role within the large complex.

Although the venue originally opened in 2011 as a 1,700-capacity concert space, it undertook a system upgrade in 2017, when an Optocore network was introduced for the first time. “The original design became overloaded, and it was too awkward to add anything – so, we added a couple of [Optocore] DD32FRs for signal distribution to the amps and SD racks, and added Optocore to the DiGiCo FOH mixer,” stated Head of Studio, Jori Tossavainen.

The Optocore equipment was supplied by distributor, Intersonic. “We have supplied the bulk of the audio equipment for Helsinki Music Centre from day one, so we’re very familiar with them,” stated Intersonic Sales Manager, Pauli Molnar. “Optocore is a very popular high-end professional networking solution in Finland, so we had some experience with the brand even before taking over the distribution.”

In summary, Tossavainen stated: “We have now reached the point with this system that we should have been at from the opening day. We have a good signal distribution between consoles, and a digital split, and a multipurpose use for the old SD8 is something we have always missed.” www.optocore.com

Photo by Aki Rask

IN BRIEF

Schnick-Schnack-Systems and Void breathe new life into busy Oslo lobby

With the use of 4,700 acrylic rods and LED lights supplied by Schnick-Schnack-Systems, Oslo-based computational design studio Void has delivered a new lighting installation in the lobby of the recently renovated Queen Eufemias Gate 8 building.

“Everything in the project was custom built, right down to the LED strips which were customised by Schnick-Schnack-Systems,” said Torstein Bakke, Industrial Design Engineer, Void.

“We have had a close collaboration with them for a number of years and on this job we had a really tight connection. We would design a part, send them the dimensions and they would come up with something – and that worked both ways too.”

The 85 sq m installation is a perfectly projected quadratic mesh of rods, which are different lengths, screwed into specially designed acoustic panels, supplied by Gustafs.

“Each panel is parametrically designed, so the team at SchnickSchnack-Systems had the correct information on how many LED strips – which had three LEDs per strip – to supply,” said Bakke. “We then distributed them on the panels to align with the placement of the rods. Each pixel is mapped in customised software and are individually addressable, but the main pre-set is for the lights to react to the people moving inside the room.”

3D motion-capture cameras are set up to sensor the movement on the floor, and the effect on the lights above is akin to the ripples created in water.

Bakke and his team fixed the LEDs to the panels at their studio before installing them on site.

“We have a big space here, and the LED mounting took around three or four weeks,” he said. “Once we were at the building site and had acquired the rods from our supplier, it then took around a month to set the panels up.

“There were some complications with the cabling, because at the same time that we were there the fire safety equipment was also being completed. Once everything was connected the last thing for us to do was to screw the rods, which are spaced 100mm apart, into the panels.”

www.schnick.schnack.systems.com

NIGHTCLUBS

Top-tier installations from leading nightlife venues around the world

Amnesia

COMPANY: KV2 Audio LOCATION: Ibiza, Spain

Amnesia is the home of music lovers all over the world and perhaps Ibiza’s most iconic club with a global reputation to match. First opened in 1974, Amnesia has become a leading light in one of the club scene’s key locations and is home to some of the best-known electronic music artists from around the world. After lying dormant for two years, the venue opened to a packed-out night in late May 2022, which ran for an impressive 18 hours. The night was made even more special as it was also the inauguration of the brand new KV2 sound system in the Main Room. According to Amnesia’s Artistic Director and long-term resident, Martin Vega, aka Mar-T, there was never any doubt that the main room would eventually upgrade to KV2. “Like the Terrace, the system in the Main Room had been custom-built for us and served us well for over a decade. However, when we moved the Terrace to a KV2 system in 2019, we were blown away by the difference,” he said. “Technology has changed, and it was time for us to change, too. We’d have renewed the system in the Main Room earlier, but the pandemic got in the way. However, it gave us the time to do things properly and now we’re back with a vengeance and loving it!”

The brief was simple – to deliver the same audio experience in the Main Room as for the Terrace – in short, the best club sound on the island. The system was designed by Stefano Trevisan from PLUSMUSIC INTERNATIONAL. With headquarters in Switzerland and operations in Ibiza and the United States, PLUSMUSIC has a portfolio of world-

renowned nightclubs, event venues and production partners to its name that made them a natural partner for the project.

The system is based around nine of KV2’s ultra-slim, wide dispersion, three-way active SL412s coupled with four VHD8.10 low mid modules and no fewer than 19 VHD2.18J subs from the company’s flagship VHD range for the main dancefloor area. A variety of EX15s, ESD10s and ESD12s act as fills for the balcony and VIP areas.

“Our aim was to deliver the best possible sound throughout the venue, and especially on the dancefloor, projecting a strong bass presence where it is needed most,” explained Trevisan. “For the rest, the watchwords were unrestrained clarity, flexibility, and power. I think we have achieved that.”

Amnesia’s regular and resident DJs have noticed the difference. Marco Farone has played the club more than most this summer, and he commented: “One of the most important updates Amnesia did this year is the sound system. Both rooms are now sounding incredible – warm and dynamic. I was really surprised by the sound in the Main Room; it’s one the best sound systems I’ve played on so far.”

CAAL is also a regular at the club. “This is the perfect sound system for our Main Room,” he added. “I love to be able to listen to music in its purest state, from low to high frequencies, without any processes altering the sound. That is exactly what KV2 delivers.”

www.kv2audio.com

Decades

COMPANY: DAS Audio

LOCATION: Washington DC, USA

Located in the heart of Washington DC, Decades is a 15,000 sq ft retrothemed nightclub with four floors of entertainment, each influenced by a different era of music. As part of an extensive facility remodel, Decades recently upgraded its sound reinforcement capabilities with a newly installed audio system supplied by Randy White of Washington Music Center, the preferred partner for E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio. Guillermo “Willy” Rodriguez, owner/operator of Miami-based WillyTech Services, worked in close coordination with DAS Audio’s John Fiorito, who designed, managed, and commissioned the new Decades’ installation. Additionally, Geovanni Ortiz, DAS Audio’s Applications Engineer and certified Rational Acoustic SMAART engineer, was also actively involved in the project, handling loudspeaker optimisation for each of the four floors of the venue.

“The Rooftop is one of the most unique areas at Decades,” Fiorito explained. “With a rooftop that can be fully retracted or closed, the space can be configured for exclusive private events ranging from 50 to as many as 1,000 people. Here, we deployed new E11EVEN Sound loudspeakers that are specifically weatherised for use in outdoor environments. This includes 12 ES-26DX-W (weather resistant) E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio loudspeakers. These enclosures are configured as two-way systems that incorporate twin 6B woofers to reproduce low frequencies, along with a 1in diaphragm driver. Low frequency support is provided by three E11EVEN Sound ES-218SDX-W weather resistant subwoofers, each outfitted with two 18LX low frequency transducers.” Fiorito added: “Power amplification for these speakers is provided by one E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio EP-10K4 amplifier and one EP-14K2 amp. Signal processing for the system includes a BSS Audio BLU-100 signal processor and a BLU-BOB1 Break-Out Box output expander. This was coordinated by Santiago Ruiz, a third-party contractor we work with, which is certified for BSS and Creston installations for all E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio projects that require programming.”

The Hip-Hop floor also underwent a significant upgrade. In this area, Fiorito deployed four DAS Audio Artec-308 two-way passive loudspeakers utilising an 8in transducer and an M-26 driver. These are augmented by six E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio ES-10 two-way point source enclosures, each employing a single woofer with a 3in Voice coil for low-mid frequency. Low frequency support is provided by four DAS Audio Action-S218 passive subwoofers and one Action-S18 passive subwoofer. Power amplification for these enclosures comes from two E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio EP-14K2 and two EP-6K4 amplifiers. “The 90s area and 2000s floor is another space that benefits from a new E11EVEN Sound by DAS Audio system,” Fiorito reported. “Here, we deployed four DAS Artec-308 loudspeakers along with six E11EVEN Sound ES-10 enclosures in each floor. As with the Hip-Hop area, low frequency support is provided by four DAS Action-S218 and one Action-S18 sub. Power amplification for these come from two EP-14K2 and two EP-6K4 amps.”

Owner, Antonis Karagounis is impressed with the results. “I can’t emphasise enough how important clear and natural sound is to nightclub and fine-dining environments,” he explained. “John Fiorito, Randy White, and Willy Rodriguez were all very ‘hands on’ throughout the entire process and the results speak for themselves.”

www.dasaudio.com

An all new and innovative control

Benefit from Pharos expertise in dynamic architectural lighting with an all-new, practical, and straightforward control solution centred around a single, reliable, set-and-forget controller with simple configuration and guided programming, complemented by an elegant wall station interface. Expert makes light of it.

Our House

COMPANY: Powersoft LOCATION: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Powersoft’s compact transducer, Mover, is at the heart of a new fourdimensional nightlife experience in Amsterdam, which allows visitors to take a deep dive into the rich culture and educational history of electronic dance music from its roots to the present day. Based in Amsterdam’s Rembrandt district, Our House has been a thriving nightclub and the heart of the electronic music scene since the 1980s. The iconic venue has upheld its musical legacy by recently becoming a digital storytelling museum, promising a 75-minute journey into the music genre via interactive exhibits, shows and performances, telling the story of how electronic music – once a rebellious and secretive underground scene – has evolved to become a global cultural phenomenon.

“When we came here, about two years ago, the place was very analogue – there was a sound system, strobes, smoke machine and some LEDS, and that was about it,” recalled Our House General Manager, Jeroen Jansen. “We wanted to rebuild the club with installations that could tell the story of over 40 years of dance music by using mixed technology. To revamp the venue and bring it to a completely new level, we received a lot of support from within the industry, including Powersoft.” The venue’s overhaul had to be carefully considered, as it’s home to a popular nightclub, Club Air, in the evening while sharing the same space with museumgoers by day. The power of the amps and Mover are harnessed for effect in the daytime and more aimed at visually connecting to the video content, whereas at nighttime the lower frequencies are ramped up on the dancefloor to accentuate the music and bassline.Jansen sought advice from Powersoft engineers to assess the number of required Mover to support the dancefloor structure they had in mind; the double layered flooring needed to support 100 people and 12 tonnes of weight.

They opted for 64 Mover, Powersoft’s compact linear transducer, all powered by four Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D amplifiers. The versatile transducer can be attached to numerous objects and structures including gaming chairs, entertainment venue seats, wall panels and, in this case, underneath the double layered dance floor. “We came up with the idea of actively involving all technical elements that are associated with electronic music, like light, video, laser and special effects. We wanted movement from underneath people’s feet to form a completely immersive experience, created by a timecode content

system,” stated Jansen, who referred to the specifically designed content as “the connector of all the dots, bringing all the tech together at musical pinpoints, like when the beat drops or the musical crescendo”. The “double floor” construction consists of one hydraulic surface, which can slide up and down 20cm, and the secondary flooring on top. The latter has the 64 Mover attached, one to each floor panel, so it can be felt wherever the person is standing.

Jansen attributes his passion for electronic music as the driving force in creating this experiential museum. “It was very important that we created a full VR experience, without glasses, at the climactic end of the visitors’ journey. That’s where the idea of a haptic experience came up: to tie in all the technology with movement,” he reflected.

System integrator Lagotronics worked in collaboration with Our House to develop the “free fall” hydraulic floor system, which not only vibrates but drops downwards. “We add a special element that nobody expects, so it’s quite a shock to people when they are here; it creates a unique experience,” added Jansen.

The creative designer of the audio system, Joshua Dutrieux (JDX Music), was approached by Jansen and Fourmation, his entertainment company, with the brief to create something that had never been done before and what would make the dance museum truly memorable. “I know Jansen from back in the days when we organised dance music events together,” Dutrieux revealed. “I come from a background of house music and hardcore, so I was very keen to be a part of this project.”

Dutrieux experimented with two Movers at his home, exploring the capabilities of its low-end frequencies. “I wanted to pinpoint frequencies to get the floor rumbling. I had all these audio samples and started tweaking the volumes up and down. Eventually the rumble made my jaw shake, and I thought, ‘OK, let’s do this full scale on a dance floor.’”

Local DJs, promoters and event organisers invited to enjoy the ‘Our House’ exhibit have fed back to the team behind the project that it has broadened their sense of how music can be played, and how lower end frequencies can be introduced with Mover.

“We’re hearing from people within the industry that they are now experimenting more because of our system,” Jansen concluded. “The haptic system that Powersoft’s Mover has delivered to this install is something people have never experienced before.”

www.powersoft.com

Crybaby

COMPANY: d&b audiotechnik

LOCATION: Oakland, USA

Recent opened Crybaby is equipped with a state-of-the-art d&b audiotechnik xS-Series loudspeaker system that is specifically designed to elevate the audience experience both on the dance floor and in other areas of the venue. The new system effectively handles both electronic/ DJ acts and live bands, bringing the performance area as well as cosy mezzanine and patio spaces to life.

“The club hosts a wide variety of musical genres each week, and we needed a rider-friendly PA solution that could accommodate them all,” stated Don Lynch, Owner of San Francisco-based d&b partner and Crybaby integrator, Commercial Audio Video Solutions. “It was clear from the start that the d&b xS-Series ticked all the boxes.”

For the stage monitor system, four M4 wedges and two B6-SUBs can be utilised in multiple configurations including stereo DJ monitors, four monitor mixes, and a drum sub. The M4 wedges are powered by a 40D amplifier while the B6-SUBs are powered by a 30D amplifier.

For the main dancefloor, two 24S-D were chosen as stereo mains and four Bi6-SUB subwoofers on custom isolation mounts are installed under the stage, driven by a single 40D installation amplifier.

“Sonic quality of the d&b systems was first and foremost… specifically the need to physically compel our audiences both on the electronic/DJ side, but also host a wide variety of live shows and bands,” stated Jesse Tittsworth, owner/operating partner, Crybaby. “Not a lot of systems can properly cater to both sides, while also being so rider and tech friendly.” www.dbaudio.com

Breeze Summer Club

COMPANY: ADJ

LOCATION: Limassol, Cyprus

Operating seasonally, Breeze is an open-air nightclub located on the coast in the Cypriot city of Limassol. The venue, which is one of the island’s premiere clubbing destinations, has an extensive lighting system comprised almost exclusively of ADJ fixtures. At the start of each season this is renovated and upgraded, which last year involved the installation of eight Vizi Beam 12RX moving head luminaires and 14 Jolt 300 LEDpowered wash / strobe / eye candy fixtures.

The club is owned and operated by the Breeze Group, which is an award-winning entertainment and dining company that also operates several other restaurants, bars, and clubs across the island. For its sound and lighting needs, the company has a longstanding relationship with audio-visual equipment suppliers and integrators SP Megasound, based in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. Established in Cyprus for over 20 years, SP Megasound supplies many clubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, and other leisure venues across the island, and is a leading distributor of ADJ lighting equipment.

As part of the club’s annual upgrade ahead of last summer’s season, a new circular structure was installed in the centre of the open-air space, above a central stage and dance platform located next to the DJ booth. This was designed specifically to provide rigging for eight of ADJ’s new Vizi Beam 12RX moving head beam fixtures, which serve as the new focal point for the whole club’s lighting system. At Breeze, it is used to create aerial effects shooting out across the crowd and up into the night sky as well as to illuminate performers on stage utilising its frost filter to function as a wash luminaire.

“Beam moving heads are crucial for this venue,” explained SP Megasound’s Antonis Skotinos. “It is primarily an outdoor space, which means that the whole sky above can be filled with beams. By upgrading

the club to the Vizi Beam 12RX, we have been able to deliver that extra power which takes the aerial effects to the next level. Both our own team and the club’s management have been very impressed by these fixtures, they are very versatile and powerful.”

The club’s pre-summer upgrade also saw the installation of ADJ’s Jolt 300 LED fixtures. “When we first saw the Jolt 300, we immediately thought of Breeze, and the new circular structure provided the perfect opportunity to install them,” stated Antonis. “In total, we supplied six fixtures for the circle, positioned in between the Vizi Beam 12RXs, and an additional six units for the VIP balcony. The central fixtures are used to create both strobe and chase effects, while the lights on the balcony are primarily used for colour washes. We have been very impressed by these fixtures; they are compact but also powerful and flexible.”

The new equipment has been integrated into the club’s lighting system alongside a variety of other ADJ fixtures. A total of 26 Vizi Beam 5RX moving heads, which are now discontinued but still serve the club reliably, are positioned around the edges of the canopy structures, pointing in towards the central dance area. Other ADJ fixtures utilised in smaller quantities include Focus Spot 4Z moving heads, Encore Burst 200 LED-powered audience blinders, and Sweeper Beam Quad LED panning linear LED battens.

ADJ atmospheric equipment is also employed. Two Fog Fury Jett and one Fog Fury Jett Pro LED-lit fog machines are mounted along the side of the VIP balcony, positioned to shoot out horizontal columns of fog onto the dancefloor area. Meanwhile, a pair of Entourage touring grade haze machines are used for creating a beam-enhancing atmosphere throughout the club.

www.adj.com

Pure White

COMPANY: Adamson

LOCATION: Dubai, UAE

Pure White is the brand-new, high-end club, made famous by the legendary White club in Meydan, that has opened in Dubai Harbour.

It offers visitors a high-end clubbing experience as well as a line-up of A-list artists. With a 1,500 capacity, Pure White is as an outdoor super club where high-end parties meet hi-tech elements – and the first super club in the region to deploy Adamson intelligent loudspeakers.

The venue opened with an A-List selection of artists including Usher and French Montana, who used both the main system and M-Series monitors for their performances. Various product lines from Adamson Systems were integrated to achieve the perfect immersive sound experience, with the main system comprising primarily of the CS10 two-way, full-range intelligent loudspeakers from the CS-series, which have been installed throughout the venue, together with the CS119 subs, the CS10P for DJ monitors, and the CS gateway and CS bridge for communication. Along with the CS-series, additional subs and point sources from the IS-series have been deployed as reinforcement in the venue.

The IS10Ps provide equal tonal balance when moving outside of the intended coverage pattern, while the IS119 is the larger subwoofer in the IS-Series. It is mounted in an ultra-efficient, front-loaded enclosure, designed to reproduce clean, musical low-frequency information. All artist monitoring was achieved by deploying the M15A/P for stage monitors of the M-series. www.adamsonsystems.com

FLEX

COMPANY: Alcons Audio LOCATION: Vienna, Austria

Uniquely located in a closed Vienna metro tunnel, FLEX has been delivering danceable beats and live concerts by newcomers and international acts of various styles since 1990. FLEX is not only one of the most famous clubs in Europe, but also known for the finest audio in the Austrian capital – thanks in large part to its Alcons sound system. The sound system evolved with the club, and over the years various installations have been made – since 2007, all planned and installed by Pro Performance, Alcons distributor in Austria.

Initially, in 2007, six Alcons QR36 modular pro-ribbon line source array column loudspeakers were installed on the main floor and two additional QR36s were installed in the café, which is located in a porch adjacent to the club entrance. Three Sentinel 10 Amplified Loudspeaker Controllers were available at this time to drive the Alcons systems. In addition, the main floor horn subwoofer system received an update, with five bass speakers being added to the café’s sound system. Last year, FLEX was due for its next evolutionary step, which involved a comprehensive update of all sound systems. The eight QR36 loudspeakers have since been moved to the club’s large outdoor area, where they are being powered and controlled by an Alcons ALC amplified loudspeaker controller. Sound reinforcement duties on the main floor are now being shared by eight Alcons QR24 full-range modular pro-ribbon line source loudspeakers, with two Alcons QM24 modular line source LMF array extensions. These modular elements form two left and right arrays of 3.3m tall.

Four BC543 cardioid bass systems are placed on the stage, two stacked on both sides, with wideband FRPA absorbers. The specially constructed horn subwoofer system is a concrete bass system with four 15in chassis on either side, which delivers a deep, belly-felt low-end. The BC543s are cardioid subs, keeping the bass off the stage (rearward) and working together with the horn (forward) to produce the powerful bass feeling that FLEX has always been known for.

“The customer needed an extremely flexible solution, as FLEX hosts both live events and concerts as well as club nights,” said Pro

Performance’s Wolfgang Sauter. “The main floor has a great geometry and offers a magnificent sound in combination with the horn subwoofer system. The great length of the room is perfect for Alcons’ innovative QR24 system. As in any club, at FLEX it’s about consuming as little space as possible.”

On the main floor, the generous QR24 and QM24 update now offers significantly more headroom as well as better processing. The line source speakers also blend well into the design of the room and combine perfectly with the horn subwoofer system, which has also been upgraded with new high-performance speakers.

In the popular FLEX Café however, completely different requirements had to be met. The room previously had sound emission problems. For this reason, the Pro Performance team chose an end-fire configuration for the bass speakers to maximise bass cancellation at the rear. At the same time, bass traps were installed (at 20, 25 and 35 Hz) to guarantee the desired volume in the café. This in turn required additional power in the form of an Alcons LR18 double 8in pro-ribbon line array system.

“The FLEX Cafe has a low ceiling. We chose the LR18s here because they provide exceptional sound that is evenly distributed across the horizontal plane,” added Sauter. “They combine very well with the bass systems to provide a clear, punchy sound. In total, seven bass traps are used in the café, which significantly improves bass absorption and allows the music to be cranked up even more.

“FLEX was the first club in the world to use Alcons loudspeakers,” Sauter added. “The reliability and overall manufacturing quality were a major reason for the customer to choose Alcons. In recent years, we at Pro Performance have installed Alcons Audio solutions in a whole range of venues in both Vienna and across Europe, with the installation at FLEX being something very special. Back in 2007, a loudspeaker shootout was held at the club, which Alcons won not only because of the excellent sound quality, but also because there were no other vertical column loudspeakers available on the market at the time. And in 2022, Alcons is still ahead with its QR24 series.” www.alconsaudio.com

Booth: 3B850

“I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE POTENTIAL, AS WELL AS BY THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING A RADICALLY NEW TECHNOLOGY, WHICH I’M CONVINCED WILL CHANGE THE WORLD.”

ROMAN SICK CEO, HOLOPLOT

When Roman Sick took over as CEO of Berlin-based pro-audio company HOLOPLOT in 2016, the team was based out of a garage and working on a product for the Hi-Fi market.

Fast-forward six years and HOLOPLOT’s innovative X1 loudspeaker series has been included in Time Magazine’s top 200 inventions of 2022 as well as winning several coveted pro-audio awards. Since its launch in 2021, the technology has been rolled out into a variety of different settings, including the immersive Illuminarium Experiences in Las Vegas and Atlanta, and the famous Beacon Theatre in New York City. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” said Sick. “I founded my first company while studying for my bachelor’s degree, opening several design concept stores and coffee shops on campus.

“I met HOLOPLOT by coincidence; at that time, they only had a very small-scale prototype with basic functionality, but I very quickly realised the game-changing potential of what they were trying to do. When the opportunity to lead the company presented itself, I decided to give it a shot with the original engineers on board.

“Growing the team, setting up our headquarters in Berlin and commercialising the product was an intense but extremely exciting time. I was intrigued by the potential, as well as by the challenge of developing a radically new technology, which I’m convinced will change the world.” When Sick took over, he spent a lot of time getting to know the technology and was impressed by its potential. “Although I’ve always been passionate about music, I’m not from the pro-audio industry,” he commented. “It’s been a steep learning curve in that respect, but one I very much enjoyed.

“In my role as the owner and CEO, I am naturally still very product focused as it’s the core of our existence, but in comparison to only a couple of years ago, I’m much less involved in the daily operations. We have an incredibly talented and capable team that I trust in driving our mission forward.”

During Sick’s early years with HOLOPLOT, he realised something needed to change for them to make real progress and turn the company from an R&D operation into a viable business venture.

“When I first met HOLOPLOT, the company was working on a product for the Hi-Fi market,” he said. “After applying our own proprietary form of Wave Field Synthesis (WFS), the goal then was to create an audio system that could accurately replicate any audio source by physically reconstructing the original wave field, as well as synthesising different room acoustics inside a given space.

“Although this wasn’t a bad idea, it quickly became clear to me that we weren’t utilising our full potential and that the developed technology had capabilities that would be extremely useful to larger markets and more standardised uses.”

With this in mind, Sick shifted the focus to pro audio applications.

“The WFS capabilities we developed then, now set us apart in the spatial audio market,” he continued. “Unlike any other loudspeaker manufacturer, we can create virtual sound sources – a unique creative tool that unshackles audio from its source, effectively creating something that I often describe as a ‘hologram of sound’.

“To create a successful and viable product, I knew we had to also deliver on the more functional, broadly applicable and simple technology benefits such as even coverage and quality, intelligible audio. This is where we focused more on our 3D Audio-Beamforming capabilities, to allow users to control sound propagation with the highest precision on both the horizontal and vertical axes. This not only solves many fundamental acoustics challenges, but also significantly improves audio quality and performance, in literally any application.”

The combination of both WFS and 3D Audio-Beamforming generate, in Sick’s words, ‘extraordinary results’ and he is committed to making HOLOPLOT the next standard in audio technology – that was the goal early on in their journey, and it hasn’t changed.

“When I joined the company, the team consisted of four engineers and myself,” he commented. “Since then, we have experienced steady growth as we started building the business, with various different technologies, products, operations and projects. We continue to be a totally engineering and product focused company, because we all

Above: Muse perform at New York’s Beacon Theatre through the new HOLOPLOT PA system.

Photo by Simon Fournier.

Below: HOLOPLOT X1 Matrix Array.

What’s

believe that success starts with a great product that can solve real-world problems.”

As the staff levels grew and projects started rolling in, so too did the need for bigger facilities. The addition of an off-site production facility close to the headquarters was finalised in 2019 to facilitate the rapidly increasing production numbers for the company’s flagship product, the X1 Matrix Array.

“It was a massive undertaking and I’m immensely proud of the team,” Sick commented. “When we started to scale up, we recruited a small operations and manufacturing team and gave them a workshop floor in our office building to set up an initial production line. This very quickly outgrew the space, leading to us opening our off-site production facility. It was a mammoth effort and I’m still astounded at what the team who led and executed on this have managed to achieve here,” he added. “It’s amazing to see the incredibly fast progression which, from the get-go, focussed heavily on digitalisation, traceability and quality and saw us grow from a one-room operation to 4,000 sq m facility in just three years.”

According to Sick, the production facility was designed based on three guiding principles (scalability, digitalisation and a relentless attention to quality assurance) which are all necessary to execute the build of the technically complex X1 modules – the creation of which started when Sick first steered HOLOPLOT towards pro-audio.

“Back in 2018, we made the decision to build a best-in-class product to serve the high-performance entertainment market,” he recalled. “After many years of R&D experience,

we could have simply continued with the technology platforms and stacks we had developed by then, but to execute on the new directive of addressing the pro-audio market, we decided to make a cut and start fresh. This was a tough, but necessary decision by our engineering team.” Sick recalled how the company “started completely from scratch”, using all the know-how it had acquired along the way up to that point. “However, we didn’t transfer a single existing component or line of code,” he revealed. “It allowed us to build a future-proof platform and product without legacy. From that point onwards, including scaling the team, it took us three years to complete X1 and launch the product to the market in 2021.”

What was important for Sick was developing the products by taking a software-first approach, which allowed for constant upgrading when it came to adding new features and capabilities.

“When they’re ready, the new features are released to existing and new customers, which allows us to continuously improve our products, even after purchase,” he explained. “A HOLOPLOT product does not degrade – it gets better over time. This is one of our important and unique value propositions to the market.

“All our products are made in Berlin, and this allows true ownership of every production step – including quality control – and enables the engineering and manufacturing teams to work very closely together,” he continued.

“I recently completed the full production line and built an X1 module myself, and I can absolutely vouch for the care and attention taken by our assembly workers.” Sick says

Above: Roman Sick completing the last steps on his hand-built MD96 module.

“ALL OUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE IN BERLIN, AND THIS ALLOWS TRUE OWNERSHIP OF EVERY PRODUCTION STEP. I RECENTLY COMPLETED THE FULL PRODUCTION LINE AND BUILT AN X1 MODULE MYSELF, AND I CAN ABSOLUTELY VOUCH FOR THE CARE AND ATTENTION TAKEN BY OUR ASSEMBLY WORKERS.”

that the X1 is fundamentally different to any conventional loudspeaker; it’s a new category of sound system – the Matrix Array.

“It is an incredible toolkit that allows the user to achieve multiple things when paired with our software applications and algorithms,” he commented. “It’s possible to create precisely tailored sound fields of any shape and size. X1 allows the user to generate a consistent audio experience, in level and in quality, independent of the listener’s position, even over large distances.”

He added: “I can’t stress enough how profoundly different this capability is to conventional loudspeaker solutions. You can walk right up to the speaker and put your ear against it, or be over 50m away and have no difference in level or quality, plus the directivity control eliminates the room acoustics and provides a clean signal, which is incredibly precise and distortion free. This is all based on the unique design.”

In addition to this, Sick explained that HOLOPLOT’s technology includes “unique immersive capabilities”. He noted: “An example is the ability to control sound on the Z-axis, using proximity to bring audio objects into the room, close to the listener. With this, the origin of the source can no longer be identified – only the location of the virtual object, which might be a whisper in your ear, but emitted from a module dozens of metres away. These capabilities are unique, extremely powerful and a game changer to the world of audio. It’s only the beginning of an exciting journey of innovation for us.”

During summer 2022, the first installation of X1 modules in a theatre took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York, and Sick is quick to highlight the technology’s suitability for such a setting.

“Thanks to X1, every seat is now the best seat,” he stated. “The consistent sound coverage means that every seat receives a correct audio image –even the outermost left or right seats still receive sufficient energy from the other side’s array, which eliminates the typical narrow sweet spot

Cobra 3.1

 New, extremely silent nozzle

Noise at max. output: 82.5 dBA

 Constant fog output at any pump level due to the use of two pumps

 Control via Ethernet, DMX512, analogue (0-10V) or directly at the machine

 RDM-capable

 Touchscreen with simple navigation

 Finest adjustments of the output

 Adjustable pump characteristic: Impulse, Extended, Flood, Continuous

 Adjustable performance curve to balance different fog amounts

 Internal Timer

 Internal working hour meter

 3100 W, 230V/50Hz

zone of traditional systems. The system also actively steers away sound from reverberant surfaces, therefore providing a much clearer signal to the audience, and significantly reduces the time required by FOH to tune the system.” For Sick, X1 stands apart from the rest of the pack. “You can’t compare X1 to any conventional system. It delivers impressive audio quality, infinite software-based flexibility and includes immersive capabilities without the need to manually configure the system.”

The use of HOLOPLOT’s Matrix Array at the two Illuminarium venues in the US brought the company wider attention, and Sick believes these types of immersive experiences are only going to grow in popularity over time. “I strongly believe that this is not a trend, but a significant market that’s here to stay,” he stated. “It makes sense that in our increasingly digitised world, live experiences need to up their game to compete with consumers’ digital alternatives. Immersive entertainment spaces such as Illuminarium and others address this need perfectly and will continue to excite both the generation of today and the future. In addition to the rise of immersive experiences built for entertainment, I believe we will see a more general adoption of immersive technologies across other environments, such as education.”

Next on the horizon for HOLOPLOT will be the unveiling of the MSG Sphere, a super-sized spherical immersive entertainment complex set to open in Las Vegas in 2023. Until then, Sick says developments to improve and diversify HOLOPLOT technology are ongoing.

“We see a lot of opportunities because we think that HOLOPLOT technology and our Matrix Arrays will become a standard in audio technology, providing fundamental advantages to almost all use cases requiring an audio system,” he concluded.

“WE SEE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE WE THINK THAT HOLOPLOT TECHNOLOGY AND OUR MATRIX ARRAYS WILL BECOME A STANDARD IN AUDIO TECHNOLOGY, PROVIDING FUNDAMENTAL ADVANTAGES TO ALMOST ALL USE CASES REQUIRING AN AUDIO SYSTEM.”

For more than 35 years LaserAnimation Sollinger has been your partner for outstanding laser projectors and controls. Our laser projectors with a RGB output power of more than 600 W can be used for the most challenging projects - even for yours.

MEET THE JUDGES

TODD STASZKO Editor Mondo-DR

LAUREN ROGERS Senior Producer Bild Studios

ROSANI GOMES Architect and Lighting Designer CEO Illumine e Decore

SIMON FRASER Managing Director Ptarmigan

BRAD MAIDEN CEO Sentiate

BROCK MCGINNIS Principal Avitaas

ADAM BASSETT Founding Partner/ Principal Director Woodroffe Bassett Design

BECKY DALEY Stagelighting Consultant Charcoalblue

AKARI-LISA ISHII Lighting Designer and Principal I.C.O.N

CRISTINA MARTINEZ Senior Lighting Designer and Architect ACTLD

OUTERNET LONDON

Outernet London is one of London’s most impressive new entertainment destinations – a district that is loaded, literally from top to bottom, with the latest innovative technology.

Opened in October 2022, Outernet’s main entertainment offerings are separated across three venues – underground performance and music venues HERE and The Lower Third, and the main Outernet buildings, which includes the immersive spaces Now Building, Now Trending and the Now Arcade.

The centrepiece of the district is the Now Building, which is four storeys high and features one of the largest permanently installed LED screens in the world, with a wraparound video display on all four internal walls and the ceiling.

Standing proudly in prime position next to an entrance to Tottenham Court Road underground station, the exterior of the Now Building features two kinetic LED screens, which can be opened and closed at the touch of a button.

In the Now Building there are 154 million pixels, and within the district there is a total of 234 million pixels. The total LED surface area of Outernet London is just shy of 2,300 sq m. Outernet’s management team searched far and wide for a technology partner to provide and install the screens, and eventually landed on AOTO. “The process of choosing AOTO took a few years and involved colleagues travelling out to the Far East and visiting manufacturers and looking at reference sites,” explained Mike Whittaker, Chief Technology Officer, Outernet London. “Where AOTO particularly impressed us was the quality of their physical product and their vision for the whole solution.”

Screens line both the trapezium-shaped Now Trending space, which is directly adjacent to the Now Building, and the Now Arcade, a walkthrough which links the district with London’s historic Denmark Street. “The AOTO product is very strong, but one of our challenges is that the screens come right down to the floor, and so they can get damaged,” said Whittaker. “Also, it is in Central London, so lots of dust particles will come into contact with the screens. However, we have been open since October, with the two exterior screens running since summer, and we’ve not had any big issues to deal with.”

AOTO and Northern Ireland-based construction service provider EDS handled the installation of most of the LED screens, while the kinetic elements on the exterior north and west walls of the Now Building were delivered by TAIT, using its Navigator hardware and software.

“The gold fins on the exterior of the building are the louvers, which open and close like curtains,” said Whittaker. “Most of the time, the screens sit in a normal state with the louvers retracted and the kinetics closed (deployed) so the screens are visible.”

There are 42 kinetic columns, which are 9.6m tall and have a total weight of around 100 tonnes. They move at speeds of up to 0.5mph. “Every column needs to know where the next column is, so that they’re not colliding,” said Whittaker. “They have to realign perfectly every time so that the graphics can be displayed accurately. The whole space has been laser mapped and these maps are provided to designers, agencies and clients to use as their canvas for content.”

The columns were developed at TAIT’s Production Park facility in Wakefield before being installed on site, with TAIT Navigator Platform deployed to provide pinpoint motion control and ensure that the screen columns accurately align with pixel-perfect precision.

Each of the spaces – Now Building, Now Trending and Now Arcade – feature an L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal sound system to accompany the visual elements, and Whittaker believes the audio element is just as important as the visual when it comes to creating immersive environments.

“There are 96 channels of audio in the Now Building, so sound can be designed for it to be a truly immersive experience, and this lifts the experience when it’s coupled with the content on the screens,” he said. Working alongside L-Acoustics, SSE Audio, part of the Solotech Group,

Stunning new immersive entertainment district opens in the heart of London, with two state-of-the-art music venues and the largest digital exhibition space in Europe.

Below: The huge LED screens inside Outernet’s Now Building were used for the premiere of Alice Bloomfield’s Immersive TSHA music video.

L-Acoustics also fast-tracked the development of its SB10i compact subwoofer specifically for this project, and all spaces are centrally managed via a QSC Q-SYS network, with audio distributed via Dante and Milan-AVB across redundant networks.

According to Whittaker, the whole district was designed so that all the screen and audio elements in the Now spaces could be interconnected with both music venues, HERE and The Lower Third.

“Everything has been carefully set up so we can take signal from HERE to the Now Building, and vice versa, because there’s a huge 13.5m by 5m OATO screen behind the stage in HERE,” he said.

The concept is backed by Karrie Goldberg, founder of HERE and The Lower Third. “This interconnectivity was always in mind when we built the music venues because so much was being invested in the base build of the district – we wanted the ability to plug into those screens,” she said.

The live venues HERE and The Lower Third are contrasting spaces. HERE is a 2,000-capacity room featuring cutting-edge audio and video technology, which plays host to some of the biggest names in the business. Spanning 577 sq m across its main floor space and the 350-capacity mezzanine, HERE also features 4k multi camera content capture, district

installed around 200 L-Acoustics cabinets across the performance spaces, with an array of X4is, 5XT’s A10s, Syvas and Syvas Low utilised at groundlevel and transom-level.

Above: The exterior of the Now Building with two LED screens and 42 kinetic columns, which open and close at the touch of a button.

“INTERCONNECTIVITY WAS ALWAYS IN MIND WHEN WE BUILT THE MUSIC VENUES BECAUSE SO MUCH WAS BEING INVESTED IN THE BASE BUILD OF THE DISTRICT – WE WANTED THE ABILITY TO PLUG INTO THOSE SCREENS”

Installers around the world are embracing the exceptional sound quality and single-cable convenience of Genelec Smart IP networked installation loudspeakers.

With PoE, AES67 and Dante compatibility, plus sophisticated loudspeaker management all supported via a standard CAT cable, Smart IP delivers simplicity and cost effectiveness – even in the most complex installations.

Find out more at www.genelec.com/smart-ip

Cecil Co-working Offices, Stockholm

“Smart IP is an absolute lifesaver for projects like this”

Magnus Westin, Scan AV Kommunikation AB

wide networking and live broadband connectivity, which supports fully comprehensive live streaming capabilities.

The Lower Third takes its occupancy from the former 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street, and is a 250-capacity grassroots performance venue showcasing the best emerging talent. When it came to developing HERE, Goldberg acknowledges that having a blank canvas meant they could be creative in achieving exactly what was required.

“Not having to retro-fit a space or having to deal with restrictions of not being able to touch a listed building meant that we could do a lot more of what we wanted with this venue,” she commented. “I have spent 20 years working with a lot of raw spaces, but I started in hospitality, doing talent buying and booking, and my business partner Robert Butters comes with a background in theatres, major touring exhibitions and merchandise. We are two people who come from a background of hospitality and entertainment, and we knew that we could not build a space that had just one look and feel,” she added. “We’ve been able to build a space that can be as turnkey as possible, and is made affordable because production teams don’t have to bring all their kit with them.”

A lot of thought went into selecting the AV equipment for HERE and The Lower Third. Both rooms feature d&b audiotechnik sound systems and an array of lighting fixtures from a variety of lighting manufacturers.

Leigh Porter, Head of Production, explained the decisions behind these choices. “On the lighting rigs in HERE, we have Martin MAC Aura, Ayrton Diablo and GLP JDC1 strobes; they have been picked because there hasn’t been one single

Above: The immersive Now Trending space at Outernet London.

Below: The Now Arcade, which connects the district with Denmark Street.

Photos by Maria Zhytnikova.

range that could do everything we wanted,” he admitted. “We need to be able to produce a whole variety of looks for different applications – for example, when we have a performance that requires something theatrical with shutters, you don’t get that with a rock and roll lamp.”

Downstairs in The Lower Third, a smaller lighting set up is required, with a variety of ADJ Electro Swarm, Aggressor HEX LED and Mega Flash Strobe fixtures and 10 Robe Robin LEDBeam 150s providing ample levels of coverage.

Controlling the lights in HERE is an MA Lighting GrandMA3, while in The Lower Third an Avolites Titan Mobile is set up for designers to create an atmosphere.

“In The Lower Third, we plan on having a lot of younger and inexperienced people coming in to operate – both from the artists’ own crew, and from ours – so we went for a specific desk that we can educate people on,” said Porter. “Once they have progressed, they can move on to HERE and use the bigger equipment. A lot of our ethos is on training and educating people.”

This principal is also seen in the choices of audio mixing desks, with a DiGiCo Quantum 225 situated at FOH in HERE, and a Yamaha QL1 in The Lower Third.

The d&b PA in HERE features five XSL8 loudspeakers and two XSL12 per hang in L-R arrays. There are delays both on and under the mezzanine level, with four E8 boxes set up per level. Five SL-SUB units provide bottom end, while 10 M4 monitors are included for on-stage monitoring.

Above: The 2,000-capacity HERE is the first purpose-built music venue in Central London since the 1940s.

Photos by Jake Davis.

The house PA was designed by Pro Media Audio Video Europe, which opted for a powerful, high-quality sound system comprising d&b speakers. Perfectly executed for a flexible sound design, the system is able to achieve outstanding results across the varied events that take place within the venue. The Lower Third sees left and right arrays made up of d&b V10P loudspeakers with four V-GSUB and six M6 monitors. A selection of Neumann and Sennheiser instrument mics are shared across both venues and so, too, are an assortment of 51 Konig & Meyer instrument and vocal mic stands.

“Most of the installation was done by Pro Media Audio Video Europe, which supplied the audio equipment, and Zeal, which supplied the lighting,” said Porter. “We have finessed a few things as we’re still quite new and are finding things out – for example, we recently acquired new haze machines because we’ve seen a big demand for that.”

Acousticians spent four months treating the space in HERE, with treatment hidden behind mesh panelling on the walls. “We went through a variety of options for the audio solution in both venues,” said Goldberg. “We ended up with d&b, and it’s been a great choice. The time spent on the acoustics was worthwhile because we had an exclusive show in a theatre-style setup from Ricky Gervais, and there was concern around this not being a theatre environment, risking it being really ‘live’. However, they came down to see the room before his performance and were very happy with how the room could be set up for that type of production.”

The audio system is not limited to the performance spaces in HERE and The Lower Third; a Bose system is set up throughout the back of house, and audio from any venue – including the Now Building – can be played

Below: The Lower Third, the former 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street, is a 200-capacity space.

in any part of the building. “This is controlled by a QSC Q-Sys system with touch panel screens, with one master controller in the rack room, another in The Lower Third, and another in the cocktail bar,” said Goldberg. Capturing the performances in HERE is achieved using three Panasonic AWRP150 PTZ Cameras, six Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio 4K Pro decks, one Tascam Trilevel Sync Masterclock and a 7thSense media server. Pro Media Audio Video Europe installed and programmed this equipment, along with the Q-SYS network, with Tom Williams providing the engineering lead and Jake Miller handing the project delivery for across the venues.

The live events calendars at HERE and The Lower Third are growing with each passing month, and the Outernet district is open every day for passers by to walk in and out as they please, to sample the immersive environment, which has been painstakingly put together.

With millions of LED dots lit up almost constantly throughout the day, Outernet’s team are committed to being as green as possible, making it a priority. The screens are some of the most energy efficient available to the market, and they are only operated at a fraction of their brightness capability.

The electricity for the district is supplied by Good Energy, which boasts green energy credentials and commitment to a more sustainable future, with 100% of electricity coming from independent, certified renewable sources across the UK including: solar, wind, hydro and biofuel.

The future for Outernet looks bright, with plans in place for more to be introduced in other major cities across the globe. “The idea is to have a network of Outernet districts, which will enable clients to do things globally and in synchronisation,” concluded Whittaker.

“This London venue is the blueprint as the first Outernet district to be completed, and more locations are being looked at around the world, with announcements to be made in due course.”

“THE IDEA IS TO HAVE A NETWORK OF OUTERNET DISTRICTS, WHICH WILL ENABLE CLIENTS TO DO THINGS GLOBALLY AND IN SYNCHRONISATION.”

ZONDA 3

ready to create

Some luminaires have the power to transform the ordinary into AYRTON’s latest creation is a luminaire with so many advantages... able to transition from beam to wash light with the greatest of ease. A versatile fixture with amazing, creative effects that makes you want to go even further, to dare, to experiment, to explore... The combinations are endless!

This newcomer to the ZONDA family line comes in an incredibly compact format. Its speed of movement and reduced dimensions increase its dynamic potential. And because of its size, it can be easily used in compositions with light curtains or matrices.

THE LIBERTINE

LONDON / UK EMEA

KV2 Audio and Powersoft deliver sumptuous acoustics in The Libertine, a new bar and restaurant beneath London’s Royal Exchange.

Below:

The vaults underneath London’s Royal Exchange have been beautifully transformed into a new drinking and dining destination, The Libertine. In charge of designing, installing and integrating a high-spec audio system into the venue was Middlesex Sound & Lighting (MSL).

Faced with challenging architecture and a Grade 1-listed space, MSL Director Darrel Olivier believes the result – which features a wide selection of KV2 Audio loudspeakers – speaks for itself.

“The brief we received from Incipio Group was to provide a high-end, well distributed audio system, which would tackle the acoustic issues presented by the shape of the building and its finish,” Olivier explained, adding that the project took around five months to complete.

“We had to work in conjunction with the designer, because the client wanted a sound system that could handle loud music on Thursday and Friday nights – with the added difficulty of ensuring the speakers do not compromise the aesthetics created by the designers.”

Olivier and his team overcame the acoustic challenges with the careful placement of 25 KV2 Audio ESD25 loudspeakers and four KV2 Audio ESD5 loudspeakers throughout the venue, accompanied by four KV2 ESD1.12 subwoofers in the large bar space and two smaller KV2 ESD1.10 subs in the main dining area, all powered by four Powersoft Quattrocanali 8804 amplifiers.

Providing audio in the restrooms and restroom lobby are five Martin Audio Adorn flush mount ceiling speakers and a single Martin Audio 55t wall-mounted speaker.

“We have a good relationship with KV2 Audio; we’ve used their products before on numerous installations and the result has always been really good,” said Olivier. “Their speaker boxes are also very aesthetically pleasing, and every speaker in this venue has been finished to match the interior – except the sub woofers, which are integrated into the wood panelling or hidden behind seating. This makes for a nice finish, but also means there is consistent coverage and energy throughout the spaces.”

The speakers came from KV2 Audio’s UK office and Olivier is more than familiar with their equipment.

“I’ve been out to visit their factory in Czech Republic and it is a really nice family-led business,” he said. “That mirrors us in many ways as my father started Middlesex Sound & Lighting in 1983. What is nice about KV2 Audio is that they haven’t suffered from a lot of the issues that have plagued manufacturers recently with lead times due to supply issues.”

Every speaker in the venue is custom-finished to match the interior.

Images by Steven Joyce

The sound design was plotted digitally with 3D renders to check that the sound levels and frequency levels could be achieved.

“When you consider the number of hard, shiny surfaces, and the brick arched ceilings, the sound system does very well. It sounds even better when the restaurant and bar is full of people, because more sound is soaked up as there are fewer reflections and reverberation,” Olivier noted, adding that the performance of the amplifiers is another area he’s particularly pleased with. “When you look at the size of the venue, those four Powersoft amplifiers work very efficiently.”

To match the interior décor, the speakers were all sprayed with a custom colour, blending them almost seamlessly into the space – both inside the main dining and drinking area and the entrance ‘apothecary’ area, where the walls are a deep forest green.

“It was a tricky install because we couldn’t drill into the bricks to mount the speakers,” Olivier

revealed. “We were not allowed to touch a lot of the building, and everything had to be approved by the landlord. This meant we were only allowed to drill into the mortar.”

One issue that faced all contractors while constructing the venue was the placement of cables and how to connect and link all the electrical, data and AV cables to the rack room.

“From a cabling perspective, it was hard to get the infrastructure for everything, but the solution came via a shallow trench, which was dug around the perimeter of the venue,” Olivier explained. “All the cables – data, electrical, communications and our AV cables – are down there, and they are neatly covered and hidden from view. This allowed us to place the speakers discreetly where we wanted them, especially in the brick arches along the walls.”

To control the system’s settings throughout the seven audio zones is a BSS BLU100 processor and BSS BLU10 and BSS BLU6

Above: A shallow trench around the perimeter of the venue accommodates all cabling, allowing speakers to be placed discreetly in brick arches along the walls.

controllers. “There is a global touchscreen control panel located behind the bar, with presets for all zones for different times of day and also iPad control, so management can move around the venue on the fly and adjust levels in each zone if required,” stated Olivier.

Situated in a room offset from the casual bar area and restaurant seating is a private dining area, which doubles as a meeting room and includes an iiyama ProLite 55in interactive 4k UHD LCD Touchscreen and conferencing solutions from Yamaha and WyreStorm.

“All this technology is integrated within a single piece of customised fixed furniture, which is located on one end of the room and is very userfriendly,” Olivier commented.

The arches underneath London’s Royal Exchange formerly guarded the spices, silks and gold that enriched London in years gone by. Now, it is home to The Libertine – an impressive drinking and dining venue worthy of the modern metropolis.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

AUDIO

25 x KV2 Audio ESD25 loudspeaker

4 x KV2 Audio ESD5 loudspeaker

4 x KV2 Audio ESD1.12 subwoofer

2 x KV2 Audio ESD1.10 subwoofer

5 x Martin Audio Adorn ceiling speakers

1 x Martin Audio 55t speaker

4 x Powersoft Quattrocanali 8804 amplifiers

CONFERENCING

1 x Netvio 4 X 4 compact HDMI Matrix

1 x WyreStrom APO-VX20-UC Apollo Conference

Video Bar

1 x WyreStorm APO-DG1 casting dongle

1 x WyreStorm USB-HUB4 Superspeed Hub

3 x Yamaha RM-TT-BK array microphone

1 x Yamaha SWR2311P-10g network switch

1 x Yamaha RM-CM conference processor

1 x iiyama 55’’ Interactive TE5504MIS-B3AG LCD

www.libertinelondon.co.uk

MOUNT ANYWHERE, LIGHT ANYTHING

Beam shaping with six included light modifiers and a large range of mounting options make HydraPanel more flexible than any other product in its class. The full-spectrum Titan LED Engine generates an impressive 1300 Lumen output while running on battery power for 1:45h. All packed into a solid watertight housing of just 600g weight and 166mm length.

17W LED POWER DRAW

WIRELESS + WIRED DMX

LIGHT MODIFIERS FOR FULL FLEXIBILITY

Foldable foot for setup on flat surfaces

Cold Shoe for thirdparty accessories and to attach on cameras

Babypin included for mounting on stands and via SuperClamp

Combine units to build a bigger panel

FRAMELESS

LONDON / UK EMEA

London’s first permanent digital immersive arts experience utilises best-of-breed Panasonic projectors to deliver 1 million lumens of brightness and vivid colour.

As the immersive experience market continues to grow around the world, three entrepreneurs have come together to deliver Frameless, the first permanent installation of its kind in London.

With over 50 high-brightness Panasonic projectors, including both three-chip DLP and LCD technologies, 158 EM Acoustics loudspeakers and next-generation HIVE media servers, Frameless features four different immersive offerings across four huge galleries, which total 790 sq m.

Opened in October 2022, Frameless offers visitors new ways to engage with art, plunging them into the heart of some of the world’s most recognisable works of art, surrounded by colour, light and sound.

“Most immersive art experiences focus on a single artist, but we had the opportunity to do something different, so we have the work of 40 different artists split into four distinctive styles – surrealism, colour and motion, abstract, and landscape,” said Simon Kentish, CTO, Frameless. “Originally this space had been configured into six large rooms, but we decided to knock some together and create four galleries and a separate space with the same technologies that we can hire out.”

Having been part of the team that brought the touring immersive attraction ‘Van Gogh Alive’

to the UK, Kentish knew that it would take both leading technology and a suitable venue to make Frameless a star attraction in one of the biggest cities in the world.

“We came across this space in Marble Arch that had been dug out to host six cinemas,” said Kentish. “That deal with the cinema company fell through, we stepped in and finished the construction work. It’s 60m underground and 30,000 sq ft in total with up to 8m ceilings – it’s an extraordinary space in the centre of London.”

With the venue secured, Kentish and his team began looking for technology partners, starting with the projectors.

“The biggest decision we had to make was the choice of projector manufacturer,” said Kentish. “We had used Panasonic for ‘Van Gogh Alive’, but that was on a smaller scale with smaller projectors,” he explained.

“We underwent a shootout, hosted by our integration partner, Creative Technology, at one of its warehouses, and tested numerous models from a variety of manufacturers.

When we saw Panasonic’s Quad Pixel Drive in action, which upscales the pixels and takes the workload off the media servers, we knew this gave them an advantage.”

Kentish landed on Panasonic’s original pixelquadrupling technology in the RQ22K and

Above and opening image: Projection mapping and mirrors are combined in the ‘Beyond Reality’ gallery at Frameless.

Photos by Antonio Pagano.

Image credit to Uwe Winter and Frameless

“There is not a single millimetre of space on the walls, floor and ceiling that is not covered by projections, so it is effectively VR without the headsets.”

Right: The ‘Colour in Motion’ gallery allows visitors to interact with the artwork using motion-tracking technology.

Photo by Montana Lowery.

RQ35K projectors, which produce stunning 4K+ visuals at 20,000-30,500 lumens, as well as products from the MZ16 series, which deliver long-lasting brightness and superb colour performance at 10,000lm (MZ10K), 13,000lm (MZ13K), and 16,000lm (MZ16K).

The CTO is delighted by the projectors’ performance in what was a difficult space for them to operate.

“We had a 13-month window from getting the keys to opening, which meant they were being installed while the facility was being built and there was a lot of dust around – and the projectors have stood up really well,” he said. “We’re 60m underground, so cooling is key. Our cooling system wasn’t commissioned fully by the time we turned on the projectors, so there were times when they were running hot, but they were being monitored all the time. Since the installation, we have remote monitoring on all the projectors with diagnostics on how well they are running. They are remarkably maintenance free, and we are yet to need to replace any, which is a testament to their build.”

When it came to the media server solution, Kentish and his team came across HIVE after hearing about a project the company had completed in the Middle East as part of Expo 2020 Dubai.

“For some of our needs, it would have been complete overkill to go with a top-end live events media server,” he recalled.

“I was introduced to HIVE, and I was nervous about them being a very new company, but the Creative Technology team tested the servers they sent, and they do a great job. You would think that they might have some

compromises at their price point, but they are going above and beyond and have turned out to be a very good investment.”

Dave Green, one of the founders of HIVE, was on hand 12 months before the venue’s opening to advise on the best technical solution for the project – 19 HIVE Player_3 servers, which feature low power consumption levels, a small chassis, and recyclable components.

“Over that time, we helped steer the design of the video playback system in close collaboration with Creative Technology,” said Green. “We became the Video Playback system vendor and Creative Technology took on the integration and commissioning. I then advised and assisted where necessary with some of the more challenging technical areas. We assisted on site for a few days during the commissioning phase and advised on a few of the more challenging technical aspects.” For Kentish, the HIVE servers provide a perfect and cost-effective solution and stand out particularly in one specific setting within Frameless. “There are 16 projectors in the largest gallery run by five HIVE servers blended together,” he said. “In that room, there is not a single millimetre of space on the walls, floor and ceiling that is not covered by projections, so it is effectively VR without the headsets; it’s so cool to see what we can do in there with the HIVE servers.”

AUDIO

Responsibility for the galleries’ sound design fell to Dan Higgott. He worked in tandem with Autograph Sound, which handled the audio system integration and data networking used

Above: ‘The World Around Us’ is the largest of the four galleries at Frameless.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

VISUAL 52 x Panasonic Projectors including RQ22K, RQ35K, MZ10K, MZ13K and MZ16K models 19 x HIVE Player_3 media servers

AUDIO

72 x EM Acoustics EMS-41 27 x EM Acoustics EMS-51 30 x EM Acoustics R8 6 x EM Acoustics Di06D amplifiers

6 x EM Acoustics Di20D amplifiers

www.frameless.com eu.connect.panasonic.com

by both audio and video. The brief for Higgott was to design a physical sound system to cover the entire site.

“The focus was the four immersive galleries, and the flexible corporate event space, but we needed audio coverage in every public area of the site, from the entrance doors to the toilets,” Higgott revealed. “An added challenge was that all the technology had to be invisible to the audience. Some of the immersive rooms have black ceilings where we can hide projectors and loudspeakers, but in the two larger rooms, even the ceiling space is part of the experience. So, I knew early on that I would need to conceal loudspeakers within the wall cavities.”

With little space to work within the walls, Higgott landed on the EM Acoustics EMS-41 as a clear winner. “It’s a really impressive sounding box, when you consider just how small it is,” he continued. “Additionally, because it is a passive speaker, there was no need to worry about providing power to technology hidden within a wall.”

Having established that the EMS-41 was the right choice for some of the smaller wall cavities, Higgott arranged a trip to the EM Acoustics factory with Kentish and Autograph’s Dave Prosser to listen to the rest of the EM

range and finalise the specification. “I was extremely impressed with the Reference Series, and the R8 in particular proved to be a great option for us,” he recalled. “Firstly, the level of clarity and detail you get with the R8 is second to none. Secondly, the 110° dispersion suited our application perfectly, as a wider dispersion increased the spatial ‘sweet spot’ we could deliver in the rooms.”

Spatial audio was a key aspect for the project in being able to localise sound effects to match the video content, and the spatial audio processing is handled by Innovate Audio’s panLab software.

Playback in all the rooms comes from Figure 53’s QLab, with system processing handled by Q-SYS Core Nanos, with one for each room, plus one for all the circulation areas. The whole site runs over Dante, from QLab right through to the amplifiers.

A total of 158 loudspeakers are used to cover the whole site, including 72 EMS-41, 30 R8, and 27 EMS-51, plus a variety of subwoofers, all driven by a range of EM Acoustics amplifiers including six Di06D and six Di20D units from the company’s new Di eight-channel range. With leading visual and audio technologies in place, Kentish and his team are in talks about rolling out Frameless around the world.

Above: Projections move across multi-layered, translucent surfaces in the ‘Art of Abstraction’ gallery.

Photo by Jordan Curtis Hughes.

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

FLORIDA / USA AMERICAS

SACO LED screens, Meyer Sound and the latest interactive technologies lie at the heart of new interactive installations at Orlando International Airport.

Above:

In the recently opened South Terminal Complex at Orlando International Airport, travellers are greeted by an Experiential Media Environment (EME) with two – soon to be three – immersive multimedia installations. Standing out as an iconic centre point is The Moment Vault, a structure composed of three separate walls which form a circle, with SACO LED screens adorning the exterior and interior of each wall.

The Moment Vault was designed by Smart Monkeys, a Floridabased consulting firm that specialises in feature-centric technology implementations for location-based entertainment, and uses Realmotion interactive media servers and a new proprietary AI-powered marker-less motion capture system, which allows visitors to interact with the content on the three interior screens.

The second EME element, Windows on Orlando, features three 32fttall SACO screens spanning a total of 114ft, which gives the illusion of three windows that open onto scenes displaying content that celebrates Orlando. The third EME element, The Portal, will present a three-storey

The Moment Vault inside the new terminal at Orlando International Airport, where travellers can interact with the content on three large LED screens.

Photos by Maxime Roux

steel sculpture in the shape of a helix featuring 32 custom curved screens, and is slated to open in Spring 2023.

Electrosonic was hired by SACO as the integrator to disperse the Smart Monkey system design on site. “The Moment Vault is certainly gaining the most attention,” said Kevin Mayfield, Project Manager, Electrosonic. “The system is based around a Grass Valley network switch for main communication and video networking throughout the attractions. At The Moment Vault, we have physical interaction with tracking cameras and content cameras to make an immersive interactive experience for travellers, who can walk in front of the screen – and as they move, the content mirrors their movements.”

According to Realmotion Founder and Project Lead Alexandre Simionescu, the installation in the Airside Hub of the new Terminal C is a destination in itself. “The immersive real-time experience is made possible through Realmotion’s latest G32 real-time media servers and Fusion tracking technology that instantly converts a subject’s motion

into digital wireframes that are integrated into the onscreen content, providing delightful selfie-ready moments,” said Simionescu. Realmotion’s new multi-GPU Fusion server uses six cameras to provide 3D marker-less tracking for up to 25 subjects within the confines of The Moment Vault. The real-time tracking system then transmits the data to three Realmotion G32 servers where it feeds into an Unreal Engine scene. From here, a ‘3D pose estimate’ is created for each individual within the space, which is then used to accurately place real-time virtual avatars in the live digital content. Realmotion has designed a new, proprietary system to realise this, as previously existing pose estimate solutions only worked in 2D and could not differentiate between the size and distance of objects.

Knowing that content designers need more than one tool to bring their visions to life, Realmotion provides support for industry-leading tools including Unreal engine, ISAAC, Unity, Notch, TouchDesigner and Realmotion Flow to enable ultimate flexibility for real-time content

creation. “This project is a crowd pleaser,” said Simionescu. “More and more organisations are looking to create novel technological experiences for customers, and they often require significant research and development, including software design and new combinations of hardware.”

Canadian-based creative studio Gentilhomme was responsible for curating the content for both The Moment Vault and Windows on Orlando, and the company went to great lengths to create hours of original content. The installations feature a multitude of Orlando-centred content, spanning from SpaceX rocket launches to swimming manatees, fireflies and fish, while also exploring the vast ranchlands and the city’s skyline.

“If you travel through Orlando International in Terminal C, you’ll see 70 unique video segments integrated into massive architecturally-scaled media features, where we used advanced CGI techniques, machine learning and immersive underwater filmmaking,” said Thibaut Duverneix, Founder and CEO of Gentilhomme.

“Our work in airports entertains and comforts travellers of all ages and is an amusing gateway into local culture and histories, and this project pushed the boundaries of interactive technology through the use of 3D motion tracking that renders in real-time, using the most powerful 3D game tool, Unreal Engine.”

The audio system to accompany the visual elements

at both The Moment Vault and Windows on Orlando is provided by a Meyer Sound setup, while glass transducers are also used at Windows on Orlando.

“There are Meyer Sound MM-4XP mini loudspeakers and a MM-10XP sub situated within the base on which the LED screens are situated at The Moment Vault,” said Electrosonic’s Mayfield. “These have perforated steel at the bottom and are set up on the three interior facing screens. There is currently not audio playback to accompany the outside facing screens, but the infrastructure is in place should the airport want to add this in the future.

“Glass transducers are utilised at Windows on Orlando, with very small MSE Audio glass transducers fixed 6in above the floor at Windows on Orlando, and they use the glass as a transducer to emanate the audio to the audience, which provides really clear background music for that area without being visually distracting.”

Mayfield was delighted to work alongside SACO on site as the screens were being set up, and admits that the construction site was a happy place despite the challenges that the project’s location posted.

“The LED installation was done by SACO and their team, and they were wonderful to work with,” said Mayfield.

“There were challenges, but everyone was focussed on resolving them, and so we were happy to work with them.

“Most of the on-site challenges came down to construction,

as it is a little more remote than the average construction site, and we required access to the tarmac to bring in our deliveries in that way. We also had weight restrictions on the freight elevators to get around.” Mayfield stated that the content is interchangeable depending on the time of day or the number of passengers passing through the terminal at any one time. “The front end of the entire system is provided by Smart Monkeys and controlled using ISAAC Platform, which provides the control and scheduling,” he said. “That gives them the ability to change and rearrange the show schedule and content pieces as requested by the producers, depending certain factors, such as the time of day and the traffic moving through the space.” For Simionescu, this

The Experiential Technology Company

project represents the growing need for interactive Experiential Media Environments in various markets, from retail to transport.

“There is high demand for creating memorable moments that don’t require physical touch or employee interaction, and their use is certain to grow as travellers and consumers begin to expect these types of installations,” said Simionescu.

With the permanent digital canvases across its three EME installations in the new terminal, Orlando International Airport offers massive visibility to artists and content creators, while enjoying a simple and powerful management system.

www.electrosonic.com

Facing page: Travellers interact with The Moment Vault.

Left: One of the three 32ft screens that make up Windows on Orlando.

MERRYLAND QUY NHON

HAI GIANG / VIETNAM APAC

The MerryLand Quy Nhon resort features Vietnam’s largest permanent display water fountain, which has been hosting entertainment activities and shows since it opened in April 2022. This water feature was created with the use of cutting-edge water assets by Laservision, producers of large shows, multimedia tourist attractions, projection mapping installations, and creative special events.

To deliver the shows, Laservision’s fountain assets are ably assisted by Panasonic projectors fed by Dataton media servers, an Adamson PA system, and is controlled by the latest software and hardware from Syncronorm.

MerryLand Quy Nhon, the newest tourism destination in Southeast Asia, is a massive resort, which will feature villas, hotels, entertainment offerings, three sea fronts and individual neighbourhoods for residents.

Set to be fully completed in 2030, resort developers Hung Thinh Corporation wanted a centrepiece attraction to promote its progress during a soft opening phase – and they turned to Laservision after being impressed by their Guinness-record-setting show ‘IMAGINE’ in Dubai. Commissioned and delivered over a two-year period, the project involved a lot of challenges, but Laservision CEO and owner Shannon Brooks was pleased to be asked early in the project so they could specify the size and shape of the pool – rather than be asked further down the line and be met with potential restrictions on real estate size.

“This is the first development of this size in Vietnam, and it is absolutely huge,” said Brooks. “The owner had a great vision and we were happy to be contacted early on – before construction started – so we had input into what was needed from our perspective.

“A lot of the time we get contacted after a project or construction has started – and sometimes after it has finished – but this one was the opposite. This major fountain attraction has been put in place to drive the development and give them something to promote, ahead of it being completed in 2030.”

After initial talks were held in early 2020, the project was given the green light, but construction was slowed by

the COVID-19 pandemic, and a two-month delay caused by the Ever Given ship blocking the Suez canal caused further setbacks as the control system from German manufacturers Syncronorm was stuck there. While waiting, the Laservision team was busy putting together their plan for the fountain’s design.

“The most important technology for the water show is, of course, the water assets,” said Brooks. “Laservision developed, manufactured and installed the 300 custom fountains used in the main water show to achieve heights of up to 50m, while also being uniquely dynamic for our style of immersive water shows.

“By introducing our custom, DMX-controlled robotic nozzles and lighting at each fountainhead, we were able to create a wide variety of looks and water effects. The movement and elegance we get with multiple types of movements and nozzles allow our creative vision to reach its full potential and provide world-class fountain experiences.

“There are five large geysers that reach 60m, and there are four big parabolic jets which shoot huge arches of water, each one reaching 80m.”

Also included in the fountain design are two of Laservisions water screens, which enhance the immersion and provide a rich tapestry for the viewing audience.

“The added multimedia content uplifts the story-telling capabilities of the show and creates further immersion,” continued Brooks. “Coupled with four Panasonic PT-RZ21KE laser projectors with ET-D75LE20 lenses pointed at each screen, this leads to incredibly crisp and bright highdefinition water screens.”

Laservision had completed successful projects with Panasonic projectors before, utilising 72 for IMAGINE in Dubai, which at the time was the world’s largest projection mapping project.

“Over the years, we have developed a good relationship with Panasonic because a lot of our installations require some level of customisation – of both the project and the product.” said Brooks, “Panasonic are very open with us when we discuss our wants and needs – for example,

Laservision creates the largest public fountain display in Vietnam with the help of leading technology partners.

remote monitoring software – and they are happy to oblige. When it came to selecting the projectors for the water screens on this project, they were the natural choice.”

The projection mapping is controlled by Dataton WATCHOUT media servers; when it came to show design and control of the fountains, Brooks had no doubt that Syncronorm would deliver – and he was excited to see what their latest innovations could bring to the project.

“We were incredibly fortunate to partner with Syncronorm and be one of the first companies in the world to show off the capabilities of their latest iteration of the Syncronorm control system Depence² and the V:Server4 hardware for this fountain show,” he reflected.

“Their system is such an incredible piece of technology that allowed us to control the hundreds of custom fountains and DMX fixtures, five high-power, custom 24W LASERs with FB4 Maxs, 14 custom flame heads, built to achieve over 20m height of spectacular fire effects, and several special effects, like our fogging system that fills the waterbody with lowlying fog effects. All of this is programmed across 16 universes of the Syncronorm V4 U16, and other multiple media protocols travelling over 10km of cable. This robust control solution allowed us to visualise and

implement offsite programming of the show, which was crucial to our delivery of the project during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and when travel wasn’t always possible for our creative and programming teams.” The remote capabilities of the Depence software countered many of the difficulties which the pandemic presented, which proved to be a major advantage.

“We are the first in the world to be using Syncronorm’s latest software in any big installation,” Brooks stated. “To use this software was fantastic because it meant that our team in Australia could come up with programming and visualisations in the software, and it was then directly exported. That meant we could work with the programmers to create real-life simulations, and our creative team could look at them, and edit and adjust it. From there, we could export it with all the dmx values, straight into the system. There was no need to create an artist’s impression and then supply that to a programmer. We did the visualisation in the software, and this meant the pipeline was really quick and clean, and we could do a lot of work remotely.”

Syncronorm provided intensive premium support as a service provider in order to ensure a smooth process during the show design phase.

Left: An Adamson audio system covers the viewing area.

Previous page: Laservision developed, manufactured and installed the 300 custom fountains used in the main water show.

PARKOLOR 200DW & PARKOLOR 200HD

Beautifully crafted die cast aluminum projectors, ParKolor 200HD and 200DW have been designed for maximum heat exchange. Whether in natural convection mode or with the support of their 2 fans, they allow high power operation without derating. An accessory supplied with the projectors provides protection against water to the various connectors, thus allowing its use outdoors for long periods.

Parkolor 200HD is equipped with a 180W RGBW COB LED. Like the 120HD, the ParKolor 200HD has a zoom offering a similar adjustment from 8° to 44.5°. Its maximum flux is 4300 Lumen at 44.5°

Parkolor 200DW is equipped with a COB CW+WW LED totaling 400W for a variation of white from 2700°K to 6500°K with an exceptional CRI of 95 to 97. Its different power management modes provide stable operation regardless of the uses. Its zoom offers a 10° to 47° range and its maximum flux reaches 18000 Lumens.

“A large part of the shows could be created in advance,” said Andre Portmann, Marketing Manager, Syncronorm. “The detailed and realistic fountain simulation of the Depence software was an enormous help, and because of this, even with the setbacks brought on by the pandemic, smooth work was possible. The Depence system is a modulebased software that allows not only to control multimedia shows but also to program them in advance and visualise them in real time at the same time. Furthermore, the V:Server series is our most reliable show server system, which has already been used in a wide variety of fountain installations around the world, and the remote functions of Depence and the V:Server4 were a great help for the technicians on site.”

When it came to the sound system, Brooks and his team enlisted Adamson to come up with a design to cover the fountain’s viewing area. “It was challenging because it’s such a big outdoor space, and some of the parameters set to ensure that sightlines were maintained meant that we couldn’t have large towers set up,” said Brooks. Laservision contacted Adamson’s APAC Managing Director, Ben Millson, to discuss an audio system that would cover the huge audience area while being as discreet as possible. Adamson’s Vietnamese distributors Van Lam Audio then worked with Adamson to design a system featuring a rig of weatherised IS-series loudspeakers.

Shortly after this system was set up, Hung Thinh Group requested more audio equipment from Van Lam Audio so they could host large-scale performances at the venue. Van Lam had an Adamson E15 system in stock, which was then delivered and set up.

“The E15 is a touring rig, so it is almost fully weatherised as standard as it’s designed to withstand the rigors of touring over many years, and it fits alongside the IS7pw.” said Millson. “It was a challenging project because of the changes to the initial design and complications due to the restrictions on travel because of the pandemic, but the project was delivered and everybody is happy with the results.”

The main L-R line source system features three E15 enclosures with six IS7pw point source speakers and two E219 subwoofers per side. The

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

FOUNTAINS

300x LV Robotic Nozzle Fountain Jets; 5x LV Geysers; 4x LV Parabolic Fountains; 2x LV Water Screens; 1x Custom Misting / Fog System for Low-level Fog Effects

PROJECTION / VIDEO

4x Panasonic PT-RZ21KE Laser Projectors; 4x Panasonic ETD75LE20 Lenses; Dataton WATCHOUT Media Servers

LIGHTING / SPECIAL FX

600x Custom 24W RGBW Fountain Lights; 7x Custom 400 IP65 Dyanamic Beam Lights; 5x Custom 24W RGB FB4 LASER Systems; 4x 20m Custom Flame Jet System

AUDIO

6x Adamson E15 (Mains L/R); 12x Adamson IS7pw (Mains L/R); 4x Adamson E219 Subwoofers (Mains L/R); 24x Adamson IS10nw (Infill); 6x IS119w Subwoofer (Infill); 1x Lab Gruppen PLM 20K44 - 20,000W Amplifier and DSP; 2x Lab Gruppen D 200:4L Amplifiers; 2x Lab Gruppen D 120:4L Amplifiers; 1x Lab Gruppen D 80:4L Amplifier; 1x Allen & Heath SQ-5 Mixing Console with Dante Stagebox; Dante

Audio Environment

CONTROL

Syncronorm Depence2 Production Software; Syncronorm V:Server4 Hardware

www.merrylandquynhon.com.vn

Above: The projection mapping is controlled by Dataton WATCHOUT media servers.

outfill system consists of three-per-side arrays of four IS10nw speakers combined with one IS119w subwoofer.

The system is powered by Lab Gruppen PLM 20K44, D 200:4L, D 120:4L and D 80:4L amplifiers and an Allen & Heath SQ-5 mixing console was also supplied by Van Lam. One of the final pieces of the installation was the flame heads, which were supplied by Swedish-based company sfx controllers. “It is hard to get products of this kind that are suitable for an outdoor fountain installation,” Brooks noted. “We are throwing tonnes of water up in the air, and it is challenging to find a flame head that can withstand harsh conditions like these. We worked with sfx controllers in Sweden to install 14 of their extremely impressive flame heads – they are inspiring to watch in action.” This project

is Laservision’s largest fountain creation to date and encompasses a massive area of more than 44,283 sq m, with the main entertainment area featuring a stunning 200m-wide lagoon.

The installation was done by Laservision’s team, with members of their Hong Kong and Dubai offices converging on site to complete the project.

Since the fountain’s soft-opening in April, several significant events have been held, notably the prestigious Miss World Vietnam beauty pageant, which saw over 15,000 spectators attend the final night’s celebration. Laservision also premiered its own show entitled ‘Mystic of the Wonderland’, a story told with sound, light, fire, water and special effects, putting all the technology they installed at the venue to good use.

Above: Laservision’s largest fountain creation to date encompasses a massive area of more than 44,283 sq m.

dream hotel 2021

beach restaurant 2022 school building plan

User-friendly technology for any environment

Whether a hotel lobby, conference hall, place of worship, restaurant or dance club – Adam Hall Group, based in Neu-Anspach, Germany, offers smart technology in an attractive design that can be elegantly integrated into any environment.

At Integrated System Europe, Adam Hall Integrated Systems will present its steadily growing install portfolio of its LD Systems and Cameo brands. Among the highlights in 2023 is the new QUESTRA software for streamlined configuration of networked LD Systems commercial audio devices and the design of custom user panels.

MEET US AT ISE ’23

EN VOYAGE WITH CLAUDE MONET

XIQU CENTRE / HONG KONG APAC

A radical new gallery concept in Hong Kong’s Xiqu Centre showcases the work of famed impressionist artist Claude Monet displayed in a way never seen before. The 36-minute show takes elements from 200 of Monet’s paintings and digitally blends and projects them onto one large 360 degree canvas.

The gallery is a result of impressive teamwork between international video mapping, immersive experience and digital art creative studio, Dirty Monitor, and ChillHoYeah Hong Kong, a new company with a passion for art, technology, and experimentalism.

This is the first full scale project by D-Mines, Dirty Monitor’s brandnew creative content production management division headed up by Benjamin Bauwens, who previously worked at ArKaos and as a video specialist for rental giants PRG.

“This is a hugely exciting idea set to revolutionise the way art can be appreciated – not just by traditional art lovers, but by new, different and diverse audiences who may not necessarily ever think of visiting a traditional art gallery,” said Bauwens.

The screen measures 5.7m tall and is 94m in length, arranged in a large rectangular format, and its material is a special SB Blackout PVC sourced after much research and trialling from fabric specialist Showtex. The fabric, which is white on both sides, is stretched taught across custom frames, also supplied by Showtex.

The projections are achieved using 14 centrally rigged Panasonic PTRCQ10 projectors which support uncompressed 4K signal input via HDMI or DIGITAL LINK terminals, which streamlines the 4K playback eliminating the need for any re-encoding.

The projectors were chosen for their brightness and the special Smooth Pixel Drive – ‘pixel wobbling’ technology that, combined with the Ultra HD signal playback, creates highly detailed images which are beyond the projector’s panel resolution.

Fourteen BrightSign XT4 media servers host the content while 14 Aten VE814 HDMI extenders are used to route the signal to the projectors. Supporting the projections across the entire gallery floor are six

The work of Claude Monet is brought to life in Hong Kong and delivered to audiences via Panasonic, Robe, Meyer Sound, BrightSign and ATEN.

Robe ProMotion digital moving head effects and video projectors, which is a first for these products in an immersive installation like this.

The internal media server in each ProMotion unit is used to store and play back the bespoke material, resulting in a neat and streamlined and self-contained solution.

The visuals are accompanied by a specially composed soundtrack commissioned by Dirty Monitor and composed, produced and performed by the renowned Echo Collective.

The audio setup was designed and delivered by local integrators Shalom AV, with eight Meyer Sound UPA1P loudspeakers accompanied by a single 700HP subwoofer. The system playback through Reaper goes via a Midas DL16 Stage Box to a Midas M32R console. Concerned about the weight and sound coverage, Shalom AV General

Above and right: En Voyage with Claude Monet is the first immersive experience in Hong Kong featuring the work of the Impressionist artist.

Manager Roland Chan used Meyer Sound Mapp Online for audio prediction.

Before entering the main projection area, visitors pass through an information room, where they can read printed scene-setting facts about Monet and his extensive travels, and at the end, there is another area where guests can take an intense 10-minute VR trip with the artist, which uses separate but related content also created by Dirty Monitor.

Around six months of intense evolution involved the work of 15 highly talented visual artists all co-ordinated to enable impressive results to thrill and amaze the crowds. Hong Kong is the world premiere of this ground-breaking idea, after which En Voyage with Claude Monet will move on to other destinations in Southeast Asia, the United States and around the world.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

VISUAL

14 x Panasonic RCQ10 projectors

14 x BrightSign XT4 media servers

6 x Robe ProMotion

14 x ATEN VE814

1 x MA Lighting 2Port

AUDIO

8 x Meyer Sound UPA1P loudspeakers

1 x Meyer Sound 700HP subwoofer

1 x Midas M32R console

1 x Midas DL16 Stage Box

www.envoyage-monet.hk

Left: The Dirty Monitor team behind the creation of the visual content for En Voyage with Claude Monet.

TOTAL SOLUTION MARKETING

Following on from attending InfoComm SEA in Bangkok, MONDO-DR travelled to Singapore to assess how the AV industry is performing in Asia and the APAC region as the world moves on from the COVID-19 pandemic at different rates. As distributors for pro lighting, rigging, media servers and special effects in Asia, Total Solution Marketing (TSM) was founded in 1998 and has been growing and evolving ever since, making tough business decisions – such as stopping LED screen rentals in 2008 – along the way.

www.tsm-int.com

MONDO-DR had met with the TSM team at their stand at InfoComm SEA, and when we visited their Singapore facility, which includes an 18,000 sq ft warehouse and service floor, we were greeted warmly by Managing Director, Glenn Wong.

This year, with Asia gradually opening up again, Wong saw an increase in business and he is hopeful that will continue into 2023.

“Looking back at 2022, after the major restrictions across most of Asia were relaxed in April, business was very good,” he commented. “It was one of our best years of the last decade – certainly our best since 2015, which was the year Singapore celebrated 50 years of independence and lots of celebratory events took place.

“In many ways, it feels like 2022 was a case of picking up from where we left off in 2019, and hopefully this momentum will carry on into and through 2023.”

Wong and his staff equipped themselves well to take advantage of the uptake in business, and noticed some trends begin to emerge as the year progressed.

“Over the past couple of years, a lot of time and effort went into building virtual or hybrid solutions, using VR, XR or green screen solutions, and those kinds of set-ups are still

being used, but they will drop off eventually as only a handful of companies will still want to use this kind of set-up,” he stated. “We are still doing a lot of face-to-face meetings and supporting companies that create concert productions with the products that we have.

“People are looking for more solution-based products, such as tracking – lighting, video or audio tracking – and we are definitely seeing an increase in enquiries about these types of products in the region.

“Shortly before we exhibited at InfoComm SEA, we sold a Zactrack system to a company in Thailand for use in a large-scale production, and it proved to be a very successful investment for them.

“We are happy to be back attending seminars, trade shows and having face-toface meetings, and we are glad that Asia has mostly opened up as we are getting a lot of traction from meeting with customers again, which is something we missed a lot over the past two years.”

One stumbling block Wong is keen to overcome is the need to employ more staff.

“We are constantly looking for staff, especially in product support and technician roles,” he admitted. “We have to get the right people to fill these roles – it is important that they

are right for us and we are right for them.” As TMS enters 2023, it does so with a new product to bring to the territory, having recently become a distributor of AV Stumpfl projection screens in the APAC region.

“The team recently completed an online training course with AV Stumpfl to add their projection screens to our inventory,” said Wong. “They gave us all the information we need to better equip ourselves to market and sell these products.”

Another first for the Managing Director will be sending some other members of his team to international trade shows, starting with ISE 2023 in Barcelona.

“We will be in attendance at ISE with a few members of staff travelling to Spain,” he said. “Usually, it is myself who makes these trips to the larger international trade shows, but this year we are sending other experienced members of the team so they can represent the company and gain valuable experience.”

Above: The Total Solution Marketing management team of (left to right) Glenn Wong, Managing Director, Terence Yee, Deputy Sales Director, and Tevin Heng, Executive Director.

GENERATION AV

With a new Experience Centre set to open to showcase the capability of the brands the company represents in the APAC region, Generation AV is well placed to kick on from a ‘whirlwind’ 2022, and is increasing its reach into the Indian market. Managing Director, David McKinney gave us the lowdown on the company’s recent progress as it looks to further enhance its reputation in the region.

www.generationav.net

Generation AV began three-and-a-half years ago as a company offering bespoke services for the Pro AV brands it represents in the APAC region.

Acting as an extension of those brands, the company uses its collective expertise to offer sales, marketing, technical support, system design support and demonstrations for the likes of Martin Audio, LEA Professional, Optimal Audio, HH Electronics, Sonance, iPORT and iMAG Systems.

“In our first nine months of operation, we built relationships with the distributors and dealers of the brands we partner with across the region,” said McKinney. “We travelled the region extensively making those contacts before the pandemic forced us to communicate over video conferences.

“Being able to get back out again in the past nine months has been amazing. We’ve visited every distributer across the region, and we have seen a lot of excitement in that time. We attended many of the trade shows in the region in 2022. They’ve all been about bringing the industry back together.”

McKinney admits that it’s been a topsy-turvy couple of years with growth and decline in unexpected areas.

“As a business, 2022 was a whirlwind year,” he said. “Back in 2021, throughout the pandemic, we saw the Chinese market growing positively for all our brands. But 2022 has been almost the opposite as China slowed down quite rapidly due to the COVID challenges and restrictions they faced. However, the rest of the region has grown, rebounding extremely

well and at a phenomenal rate, which has been very encouraging.

“I think with China gradually re-opening its doors in January, we will see business there rebound quickly,” he preffered. “I believe that 2023 could really be an exciting year with the rest of Asia continuing to grow, and China coming back online.”

Over the course of 2022, McKinney and his team saw the opportunity to open an Experience Centre in Singapore, where the company could give customers and clients hands-on demonstrations of each of the 10 brands it represents.

“We got the keys to the facility in August and it’s been a gradual process to build it, effectively from scratch,” McKinney recalled.

“A lot of customers and partners across the region haven’t always had the chance to experience our products and systems, so we’ve taken the opportunity to ensure we have all of the products from all of the brands that we represent and offer them the best possible experience that they can have with the products.

“As the markets open up and everyone is looking for ways to re-engage with the brands and technology, the Singapore Experience Centre will become our central hub for the region,” he stated. “We will invite customers from all across Asia to the Experience Centre – whether that is for product launches, training, or just to hear and see the products – that’s going to be a really big thing for us.

“You may have a pre-conceived notion of what a sales representative does, however

we believe we are a little different,” he added. “We focus on elevating the brands through training, project design support and education, and try to ensure our customers and partners have the best possible experience when they design, specify, install, or operate our products. The new Experience Centre will help to reinforce this message and provide a great platform for us to support our customers and partners in the region.” When MONDO-DR visited the premises in early November, the team were at the beginning of unboxing much of their demo stock, and McKinney expects the job to be completed ahead of them attending ISE. “All the products are now installed, the network is working and the products and systems are online,” he said. “All we need to do is tune the system and streamline it to make it a really slick demonstration. We look forward to welcoming customers and partners after the Chinese New Year.” One area where Generation AV has grown is in India, with the recent opening of an office in Mumbai, registered as Generation AV India. “I have previously lived in Bangalore several years ago and I know India is a fantastic market with great potential, and that’s why Prashant Govindan and myself have partnered to create an Indian arm of the company,” McKinney commented. “We are open for business and in February we have a new member of the sales team starting out there – and we will look to continue to expand throughout the year. There will be more news on this very soon.”

Right: Generation AV’s outdoor space and a selection of equipment for demonstration at the new facility.

Left: The Generation AV team ahead of putting together the Experience Centre at the company’s Singapore HQ.

LOUD TECHNOLOGIES ASIA

Specialists in the distribution of professional sound systems, stage lighting, video products and special effects, and recently enhancing the business by facilitating more integration projects with SI partners, Loud Technologies Asia has been in operation in Singapore since 2002.

www.loudtechnologiesasia.com

With almost two decades of experience in the industry, Loud Technologies Managing Director Colin Quek is well placed to give his thoughts on the current situation and is slightly apprehensive about the future, despite seeing solid growth in 2022.

“Our team have been working extremely hard over the past few months and we enjoyed a few days off ahead of Chinese New Year, which promises to be a very busy period for us,” he commented.

“In 2022, everything has come back – and we are making hay while the sun is shining. However, I feel that 2023 might be slightly challenging and a lot will depend on the global situation. In a way, Singapore has been artificially insulated because of how well the government handled the pandemic. “Here we opened up before everyone else in the region, which meant we had a lead on places like Hong Kong. That allowed Singapore to stretch ahead of other major financial centres, so much so that a lot of global headquarters have relocated to Singapore. Hong Kong has lost its crown as Asia’s top business location. And while I think the rest of

the world may languish somewhat with a few quarters of recession, Singapore will continue to grow. That growth won’t be as great, but we will be very busy and Singapore will continue on its growth path, but maybe on a slightly slower path than 2022.”

For Quek and his team, diversification has been the name of the game as they have kept up with demand for solutions in markets that they were previously not heavily involved in. “We were never traditionally that involved in the houses of worship market, but it just so happens to have developed that way,” he revealed. “We don’t do that much corporate business, and our mainstay has been distribution to other systems integrators that cover that market.

“The reason why we got more involved with houses of worship projects is because there is a lot of technology utilised in those spaces, which is often so new that many systems integrators don’t know how to tackle it, so we saw the need to do more handholding with our SI partners.

“There were times when we would spend so much time supporting systems integrators in

rolling out these projects, that we ended up being the ones that drive the project instead of being in the background. And because of that, we made the decision to go after these specific projects directly ourselves, rather than pushing them away to partners, which is what we used to do. However, we make sure to still involve the same partners as before to ensure that we are not seen as cannibalising on their market share.

“One recent project we completed was the upgrade to the audio system in Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. It was a job that wasn’t without its challenges and one that needed to be finished before its next consecration in February 2023. One area of the business where Quek is constantly looking to expand is staffing, to keep up with the current levels of production.

“We are struggling to hire new staff and are currently on a hiring spree,” he stated. “We will take on and train new staff and anyone inexperienced – as long as they are willing to learn. There is a major dearth of hiring and talent at the moment; the staffing power is really hard to find.”

Loud Technologies Asia Managing Director Colin Quek (right) with members of the team outside their headquarters.

o n e r e f e r e n c e r

e g a r d l e s s

of application, source or audience size

QRP20/90fullrangepointsourcecolumn

TheAlconsQRP20isspecificallydesignedforapplicationswhere ultimatefidelityresponseneedstobeprojectedwithwidehorizontal andnarrowverticalcoverage.Speech,musicandeffectarereproduced withfinestdetail,fullestdynamicsandlowestdistortionpossible.

RBNpro-ribbondriver

TheAlconspatentedpro-ribbonsoundsystemsoffertheunique combinationofhigh-definitiondigitalaudioatconcertsoundpressure levels;That’swhytheycanbefoundincriticallisteningenvironments aroundtheworld,fromthesmallesthome-theatrestoeventhelargest stadiumconcerts.onereference.oneexperience.

advancedtechnology>evolutionaryaudiosolutions™

QRseries.info

CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

A RESULT OF CONTINUED SUCCESS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS INTEGRATION DIVISION WILL BE OFFICIALLY UNVEILED AT ISE 2023. THE DIVISION HAS BEEN STEADILY GROWING OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. JOHN ROCHE, MANAGING DIRECTOR CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY IRELAND, EXPLAINS THE STEPS TAKEN TO GET TO THIS POINT, AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN AND EXPAND ITS GROWTH..

In 2019, Irish media technology company, Ion Solutions, of which I was Chief Executive, was acquired by the NEP Group and became Creative Technology Ireland, part of the CT Europe and Middle East group. Our intention had always been for Ion to have a systems integration division, so we discussed the opportunity we saw to develop a dedicated, company-wide systems integration service at length with the team at CT London – and they were very keen.

Both the NEP Group and Creative Technology operate globally, with locations in the Middle East, the Nordic region, United States, Asia and Australia. What became apparent quite quickly was that the majority of those offices were, by default, doing some level of systems integration. We realised that when added together, this represented a sizeable systems integration business.

Given the synergy within the group and the vast expertise and knowledge that we share across multiple disciplines including live events and broadcast, very soon after being acquired, we were entrusted with the responsibility of building out the Systems Integration (SI) team.

With our global reach, it was a case of connecting everyone together to talk and share experiences and resources. The result is that for the past couple of years, we’ve been quietly working on some amazing projects.

Our UK team has a lot of experience in the experiential market, the Irish team has a huge amount of experience in the corporate and broadcast AV market, while the Nordic team is particularly strong in the retail and museum sector. The ability to share skills has allowed us to bid for jobs in areas that we previously could not. We have some large corporate accounts in America and Ireland. Previously, we would have had no way of getting systems integration done in other parts of the world for these clients – but now we can.

Effectively we have built a global Systems Integration platform and, as a result, the growth in the team has been extremely fast. The SI team in London alone has increased from two people to 11 in just a year, while the Dublin team has also increased by 10.

The skill set that existed within the organisation for producing live events is extensive and valuable. We’ve taken that experience into the installation market and adapted it. For example, building a

temporary installation in a conference centre for a one- or two-day event is somewhat different to building a permanent installation – it’s a cultural adaptation that we’ve worked on, which has become an advantage. Overall, the SI division has seen big growth for the organisation as a whole. Every month, the SI teams will swap ideas. This huge sharing of information and leverage of our experience across the globe is key for us to be able to offer customers what they want and need. In many ways, the Live Events division feeds us systems integration work; clients who produce big live events have said to us in the past ‘we want to do a permanent installation’. Now we are very much in that space.

The SI division is well ahead of where we thought we would be at this point. The high-end corporate market has been really busy, rolling out multiple meeting rooms for large corporations, rooms that integrate into their existing building’s management systems. We’re also seeing the corporates dedicating a lot of resource into their broadcast infrastructure, for which we can have the advantage of being able to tap into NEP’s experience. That whole area has grown and so, too, has the sports market, with both refits and installations into new sporting venues.

If you’d asked me in the middle of the pandemic if we would maintain the growth in corporate projects, I would have said ‘no’, and that it would tail off as we headed out of the COVID era. Instead, we had corporate clients asking our Live Events team to build them a virtual studio during the pandemic. They have come back to us and asked for a permanent one to be built. Their use of rental equipment had ended, but they had seen the value of these high-end, LED screen studios and wanted the same quality again, rather than reverting to a low-cost, green screen facility. Looking ahead, we know that having a presence at trade shows to increase our visibility will be important to CT SI. The division will be officially unveiled at ISE this year. Our stand will have the presence of both technical and sales staff from our global teams, and we are looking at taking a CT SI stand to other trade shows around the world. It’s important that we are at these shows because it allows us to meet and develop relationships face-toface and tell the world exactly what we can do. www.ct-group.com

1. Creative Technology Systems Integration Middle East was awarded the contract to supply systems integration of the audio, video, lighting, and control systems for the DP World Pavilion, a five-floor brand experience at Expo 2020 Dubai.

2. Creative Technology Ireland Managing Director, John Roche.

3. CT SI supplied and installed a large quantity of AV technology throughout Space in Stockholm, a digital culture centre created especially for the digital generation.

4. From projection concept design and installation to wider venue LED, LCD screens and digital signage, Creative Technology delivered a cohesive video eco-system at Frameless, London’s spectacular new permanent venue for immersive art. Picture by Antonio Pagano.

ATLASIED

IN SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR, ATLASIED ANNOUNCED THE HIRING OF THREE NEW MEMBERS OF STAFF TO BOLSTER THEIR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGY, DESIGN AND POSITIONING OF NEW PRODUCTS FOR THE PREMIUM LOUDSPEAKER MARKETPLACE ACROSS A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES AND MARKETS. ONE OF THOSE HIRES IS GRAHAM HENDY, WHO TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE AS VP OF LOUDSPEAKER STRATEGY.

You recently joined AtlasIED in a newly created role of VP of Loudspeaker Strategy. What are your main responsibilities?

I’m responsible for developing the loudspeaker strategy for AtlasIED while working with product management, sales, engineering, and marketing to develop and execute market, technical and sales plans for the products. I’ll be focusing on what we are good at, and leveraging new opportunities, whether internal or external, where our brand equity can take us into areas where we may not currently reside. We’ll concentrate more on defining customer needs, and their interactions with AtlasIED. It’s important to understand the customer’s experience at each stage of the AtlasIED journey as this is crucial for turning business insights into long-term improvement strategies.

What was the first thing you did when you took up this role?

The first thing I did was visit our headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. There was a summit involving product management and engineering from all our various locations. It was a great opportunity to hit the ground running, learn about the facility and its capabilities, as well as connect with new colleagues. From there I travelled to our facility in Ennis, Texas, near Dallas, which is close to my home. The Ennis facility is 300,000 sq ft and boasts what would be regarded as diverse and traditional manufacturing, including SMT assembly, robotics, injection moulding, metal stamping, powder coating, and laser etching to name a few. It was really refreshing to see all of this under one roof.

With such a large variety of speakers produced for different applications and installation requirements, how do you go about assessing the strengths of the current products you offer?

As well as strengths, we need to also assess weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Product should be built around two concepts: satisfying the need or demand of a specific target audience or vertical and doing so with unique selling benefits. The fundamental requirement for success in our target markets is that we have the ‘total product’ – not just a great product, but a complete range, with no incomplete features, or missing data. If we have a compelling proposition, we have a market that is self-referencing and therefore communicates with itself. The voice of the customer is an extremely important part of the development process. If we want to assess strengths of current and new products, we should ask them. I firmly believe in using customer input extensively in the product development process.

AtlasIED offers wide and varied loudspeaker solutions, with particular strengths in commercial, life safety, transportation, sound masking, and education – most of which are unique and extremely successful. Strengths can be assessed in several ways, not least in performance, market share, uniqueness, value, quality, brand awareness and longevity to name but a few. Assessing our competitors’ strengths and weaknesses is just as important. Most of my experience is in premium engineered solutions and technology. Given the available existing and new resources and expertise available at AtlasIED, it’s a given that we plan to expand more into these areas.

Concert? Theatre? One console gets it done.

You were announced at the same time as two other key hires within the Loudspeaker department – do you feel that this is a good time to be joining AtlasIED?

I think the timing is perfect. Not only has the company invested in key people for the loudspeaker segment, but also in the necessary, cutting-edge research and development tools to deliver predictable results. For example, the company owns Klippel analysers, audio precision and uses COMSOL software. Over the past couple of years, looking in from the outside, I was particularly impressed to see heavy investment in other areas of the audio ecosystem, particularly in the field of amplification and DSP, with new facilities in Elkhart, Indiana, and Salt Lake City, Utah, all backed up with extremely talented product managers, design, and development resources. While the ’brain-drain’ continues overseas, it’s very refreshing to be part of an organisation concentrating on homegrown manufacturing and talent.

With facilities and expertise across the US as well as six other international locations, I believe we have all the necessary infrastructure for boundless opportunity and success. Specifically in Europe, we continue

to hire new talent and expand our sales distribution footprint, including the recent addition of Intersonic as a distributor in Scandinavia and a new warehouse in Belgium to serve regional customers.

What trends are you seeing in the marketplace that support AtlasIED’s direction of growth?

Technological advancements make what was groundbreaking yesterday, demanded and expected today. Systems continue to move to the network and cloud-based solutions, and AV becomes smarter. AtlasIED has the homegrown talent and resources to provide complete industry solutions where they have strategically evolved to address technology challenges using standards-based IT technology. We can serve many markets and international regions with interoperable, integrated, and interconnected solutions. In my area, even the loudspeaker needs to be an integral part of the ecosystem in many cases. However, the propagation of sound will still be analogue, so the physics and physical features continue to be paramount considerations.

Serving new and existing market verticals with premium loudspeaker solutions is very much part of the plan.

1 Strategically hidden SHS-6T2 speakers, colour-matched and blended into the architectural celling tiles at Haywood House restaurant, Texas, USA. 2 Various finishes can be applied to AtlasIED speakers to make them blend in with their surroundings.

ELATION PROFESSIONAL

With benefits such as greater reliability, increased energy efficiency and less maintenance for a lower cost of ownership, the transition from discharge lamp-based lighting fixtures to LED source luminaires in the entertainment lighting industry was understandable – if not inevitable. Then, as LED engines began to compete with discharge-based fixtures in terms of brightness, the writing seemed to be on the wall – it was only a matter of time before discharge-based luminaires would disappear completely. But that hasn’t been the case. So why are manufacturers still launching lighting products with discharge sources?

“It’s really about what you want to accomplish optically,” states John Dunn, National Sales Manager at Elation Professional’s headquarter office in Los Angeles. “The physics behind an LED source don’t make sense for all types of fixtures and some effects are still not achievable with LED. A great example is a long throw beam fixture. When you need that pronounced beam of a narrow beam aperture product, you just can’t duplicate the centre intensity that a lamp and reflector gives you with an LED engine.” Which begs the question, why not?

Roger Hamers, R&D head at Elation’s European office in the Netherlands, explains. “It has to do with the construction of the lamp working with an internal reflector. The size of the lamp and reflector is key. With a discharge lamp, because it is relatively small, the focal point is very near the output of the light, which gives you a narrow, very intense beam. You could do the same with LED but because of each LED’s relatively low wattage, to get

the same effect you would need a very large LED chip and quite a large reflector so the size of the fixture would be too big.”

Discharge lamps involve an internal electrical discharge between two electrodes in a gas-filled chamber, and it’s at that point that the level of intensity is extreme. It’s that power that can be harnessed, isolated and thrown out as a collimated beam of light. When producing an ultra-narrow beam with an LED source, that concentrated intensity is missing and consequently the beam lacks density and doesn’t travel as far. “It’s at distances that you really begin to notice differences,” Hamers says. “With an LED engine, you don’t have the pronounced center intensity that you are looking for in a long throw narrow collimator beam fixture.” Hamers explains that in the past, with a discharge lamp, a somewhat large reflector was needed because the electrical arc was relatively big, around 1cm.

“Today though we have tiny discharge lamps with arcs of only millimeters,” he says. “The Platinum lamp for example has a very small arc of only about 2mm. The light is concentrated in an incredibly intense beam which lets you build a powerful light in a much smaller housing.”

It’s that discharge lamp technology that Elation Professional has exploited so successfully, even as it developed and transitioned the majority of its product line to LED. Working with Netherlands-based Philips lighting to develop the Platinum lamp, a cooperation that goes back to 2007, the short-arc design with its brilliant, intense light opened up all new possibilities for Elation

Members of Elation Professional’s development and sales team answer the question – if LED is king, why do we still need discharge lamps?

engineers. The result was a series of Platinum lamp luminaires starting in 2009 and culminating in the breakthrough IP65rated Proteus Hybrid in 2017. Then Platinum lamp technology advanced even further with the introduction of Platinum lamp FLEX technology.

“With the Platinum FLEX lamp, basically we have packed the advantages of LED into a discharge lamp,” states Marc Librecht, Sales & Marketing Director at Elation Europe. “Lamp life improved significantly – five times or more compared to traditional lamps – which has lowered lamp costs over the lifetime of a fixture. The discharge lamp/ballast allows it to be dimmed and set to hibernation mode when not in use. This lowers power consumption and reduces heat, which protects electronic components and reduces overall fixture maintenance. We are now reaping the advantages of both worlds with a new type of discharge lamp.”

The Platinum FLEX lamp opened up a revolution in savings for discharge-lamp luminaires yet its development was always about more than economics. “Again, it’s about what you want to accomplish optically,” Dunn reiterates. “In fixtures like our beam/ spot Smarty series that excel at aerial effects, you want more intense narrow beam optics that can really define a beam or pattern and a short-arc discharge source gives you that. It also gave us the freedom to create smaller and lighter fixtures that have as much punch as much bigger models.” The latest fixture to benefit from the FLEX lamp technology is Elation’s Proteus

Excalibur, a 0.8° beam fixture with MSD Platinum 500 FLEX lamp that launched earlier in the year.

“Our goal was to create a really powerful beam moving head fixture that could replace xenon searchlights,” remarks Roger Hamers. “We just weren’t able to create that high beam intensity at this level with an LED engine, not yet anyway.”

So will LED ever be a feasible replacement for long throw discharge lamp-based fixtures? Haitz Law, the principle that the amount of light generated per LED package increases by a factor of 20 each decade, tells us so. Elation’s R&D team has stayed on the forefront of the technology and has already developed products with LED engines that mimic the center intensity of a discharge source.

“We’re emulating that center peakness of a lamp in some of our LED products already,” says John Dunn. “The Proteus Lucius, Proteus Maximus, Artiste Mondrian, and Artiste Rembrandt all have a first-of-its-kind high-center-intensity white LED engine designed to create that parallel collimated beam with the pronounced center. The ratio is not as pronounced as with a discharge lamp but they are very impressive at distances and a big step in the right direction.”

We all know that LED is the future – and very much the present – but until an LED can pack more punch in a smaller space, discharge-based luminaires still have an important role to play in the entertainment technology industry. www.elationlighting.eu

Above: Space Needle NYE.

Photo by Sigma Sreedharan photography.

Left: Bavaria Sounds. Photo by Manfred H. Vogel. Proteus Excalibur Beam.

ISE PREVIEW

Allen & Heath Ahm Series

Booth 7F300

• A family of powerful Audio Matrix Processors.

• Ideal for multi-room installations in hospitality, corporate and education environments.

• Supported by an ecosystem of scalable I/O and control options.

• Comprehensive processing on all inputs and zone outputs.

• Rapid and simple configuration. www.allen-heath.com/ahm-series

Genelec Smart IP Booth 2H325

1 SOUND

Panorama MS34

Booth 7H600

• A two channel point source loudspeaker system featuring Mono+Stereo Technology.

• Elements: One 4-inch coaxial w/ 1.4-inch HF compression driver, two 4-inch full range, and two 3.5-inch passive radiators in the rear for extended low frequency.

• Mono+Stereo Technology starts with L/R and divides it into a mono (mid) plus each side, the Mono+Stereo is arranged in this compact loudspeaker system preserving the true mono while surrounding the listener with a spacious stereo image.

• As a stand alone mono loudspeaker (switch and preset dependent) it can become a horizontal line source helping to preserve its o axis frequency response while adding 5 more dB of gain.

• IP55 + salt water resistant, custom colors and wood finishes are available. www.1-sound.com/ms-technology

Amadeus

HOLOPHONIX 128 and 64

Booth 7F225

• New HOLOPHONIX 128 spatialisation processor featuring 128 I/O.

• New HOLOPHONIX 64 spatialisation processor featuring 128 In, and 64 Out.

• New parameters and features for legendary IRCAM-based algorithms including Wave Field Synthesis, Higher Order Ambisonics.

• New 2.1 software release available for all HOLOPHONIX processors, and HOLOPHONIX Native software version for macOS.

• New HOLOSCORE automation plugin based on OSC protocol, available in VST3, AU and AXX format for any DAWs including Pro Tools, REAPER, Logic, Ableton Live, and more. www.amadeuslab.com

• Genelec will be launching two new Smart IP networked loudspeakers.

• Power, audio and management via a single CAT cable.

• Powered via PoE, and compatible with Dante and AES67 streams.

• Exceptional audio quality with superb clarity, intelligibility and coverage.

• Extensive range of software management tools.

www.genelec.com/smart-ip

K-array Booth 7F350

• K-Array group will present new AV m market roadmap at ISE 2023.

• Launch new strategic partnerships for increased operability and ease of use.

• Major K-Framework 3 software updates.

• Exciting expansion into new market segment such as marine and transport.

• New innovative product launches for AV installations and live solutions.

www.k-array.com

Magewell Ultra Encode AIO universal live encoder

Booth 5H200

• Flexible, advanced media encoder for live streaming, recording, and AV over IP

• Encode up to 4K at 30fps (HDMI) or 1080p60 (SDI)

• Encode one input or combine both (picture-in-picture or side-by-side) into one output

• H.264/H.265 recording and live streaming in multiple protocols (SRT, RTMPS, HLS and more)

• NDI®|HX 2 and NDI®|HX 3 encoding for AV over IP www.magewell.com/ultra-encode-aio

Navori Labs

StiX 3700

Booth 6H350

• Ultra-compact and high-performance 4K Android digital signage media player dongle.

• Fast and sophisticated rendering of high-resolution content plus automated remote control functions.

• Supports broadcast-quality 4K rendering at 60fps for exceptional 4K experience.

• Flawless media transitions across all screens makes StiX 3700 ideal for multi-screen networks.

• Quick ROI due to 50 percent lower price point than most media players. www.navori.com

VIOSO VIOSO 6

Booth 3K800

(with Digital Projection)

• We will show the latest version of our well known software VIOSO 6 for automatic camerabased alignment of multiple projectors on any surface. (planar, cylindrical, domes, 3D custom shapes and more).

• Automatic warping, blending and colour setup of multi projections.

• We export to more than 30 different tools on the market including media server software, projector heads and simulation software.

• Direct NVIDIA GPU integration blends and warps Windows desktop, making it ready for displaying any application.

• 3D Workflow Integration for complex projection mappings and multi camera environments. www.vioso.com

Wharfedale Pro DRONE Series

Booth 7E575

• Safely delivering your audio payload.

• 4.0-inch satellites and 8.0-inch subwoofer configurations.

• Indoor or outdoor designs.

• Pendant, bracket, spike and flying options.

• A stylish, versatile and expandable solution for installations. www.wharfedalepro.com

PRODUCT GUIDE: LOUDSPEAKERS

Sponsored by HH Electronics

HH Electronics

TNA Active Line Array system

From its beginnings in Cambridge in the late 1960’s, HH has always been a very British company. Renowned for designing and producing pioneering products, HH was ahead of its time from the very start. Today, HH products focus on the future without ignoring their past, and are still designed and engineered in the UK. HH has a portfolio of competitively priced products to suit the widest possible range of live and installed applications.

The most recent additions to the HH portfolio are the flexible TNA Active Line Array system, and the compact, versatile TNi-WPRO Installation Loudspeakers.

The TNA Active Line Array system is designed for small to medium sized applications, including live sound reinforcement, bars, clubs, houses of worship, education settings, conferencing, and corporate events.

At the heart of the system are the TNA-2120SA, a multi-channel active subwoofer with integrated Class D amplifier which features two high power 12-inch low frequency woofers with exceptionally high output, and the TNA1800SA, a powerful single 18-inch active low frequency subwoofer.

As well as three channels of high-performance amplification, the TNA-2120SA unit houses six cutting-edge built-in DSP presets and as part of a modular system, is capable of powering up to six satellite TNA-2051 passive two-way compact line array loudspeakers, offering an ideal installation solution without the extra expense of rack amplifiers and processors.

The TNA-2051 features dual HH-designed 5-inch LF drivers and 1.33-inch Celestion HF compression driver. Its outer enclosure features integrated rigging hardware, enabling the unit to be easily installed by a single engineer. Highly flexible, the TNA-2051 can be used in traditional line array systems for long throw applications, or as a standalone full range point source system.

The optimally voiced DSP presets within the TNA-2120SA allow a complete system to be used in flown or ground-stacked configurations, whilst its integrated rigging hardware and optional suspension bracket and dolly board allow for straightforward installation.

TNi WPRO Installation Loudspeakers are available in two versions - the 12-inch TNi-W12PRO and 8-inch TNi-W8PRO. Suitable for a wide range of small to medium sized applications, both models are available in black or white, and have rotatable waveguides for vertical or horizontal dispersion with 90° x 60° coverage, to enable precise control of sound field.

The TNi-W12PRO features a 12-inch high power HH low frequency driver with 2.5-inch voice coil, and a 1.4-inch Celestion CDX1-1445 high frequency driver, while its smaller counterpart features an 8-inch high power HH low frequency driver with 2-inch voice coil, and a 1-inch Celestion CDX1-1070 high frequency driver.

TNi-WPRO are all-wood enclosures with a hard-wearing finish that offer versatile input connection options via either M4 barrier strip or Euroblock. Mounting options include 7 x M10 Penn-Elcom fly points, and 4 M8 mounting points for optional TNI-BRK30 mounting bracket.

Bars, clubs, houses of worship, ballrooms, conference halls, education settings and live music reinforcement can all benefit from these robust, powerful, flexible and competitively-priced UK designs. www.hhelectronics.com

1 SOUND C8

1 SOUND has launched their brand new Cannon C8, a full-range, high-fidelity coaxial loudspeaker that completes the Cannon Series. The Cannons are unique point sources that boast an impressive extended low-frequency for their size. This model utilises an 8-inch coaxial driver with a 1-inch silk dome high frequency element and has a 7-inch rear-facing passive radiator specifically tuned to extend bass frequencies. Instead of using a compression driver, the Cannons’ silk dome driver is specifically designed to enable high sound pressure, improve sound quality, and cool the driver for consistency and durability over time. These key build features are why the C8 sounds hifi and has a bandwidth of 55 Hz - 18 kHz and a maximum SPL of 120 dB. The C8 is 260mm (10.5-inches) tall and wide. This speaker has two Speakon connectors and a two-circuit switch allowing for a choice of two mixes with a 4-wire cable. The C8 has an elegant finish and design with hi-fi sound at louder levels and is available in an install version as well as custom colors and wood finishes available. The Cannon series along with all 1 SOUND loudspeakers is IP55 indoor/outdoor and can be used in saltwater environments.

www.1-sound.com

Adamson IS5c

The IS5c is an ultra-compact, lightweight, passive 2-way coaxial loudspeaker, with a 100° conical dispersion pattern. Designed to produce linear, high-resolution audio throughout its intended bandwidth, the enclosure contains a 1.4-inch dome compression driver coaxially combined with a 5-inch low frequency transducer. The cabinet construction uses marine grade birch plywood as well as aircraft grade aluminum and steel, and is equipped with two Speakon™ NL4 connectors, as well as a 2-point barrier strip. A plate and screw rigging system is placed on top and bottom of the enclosure, with available accessories allowing the enclosure to be deployed seamlessly in a variety of applications.

The IS5c is suited to supplement larger systems as a fill cabinet, or to handle smaller applications on its own. Target applications include performing arts centers, conference rooms, night clubs, restaurants, and houses of worship.

As with all of Adamson’s IS-Series products, the IS5c is available to order in all possible RAL colours, and fully weatherised for outdoor installations.

www.adamsonsystems.com

Alcons Audio BC272

The BC272 is a self-contained, medium-output cardioid subwoofer system for both permanent and portable ground-stacked applications. It is designed to offer a tight and accurate sub-bass response, for low-frequency extension of any Alcons pro-ribbon system. By means of a front and rear located woofer configuration, in combination with dedicated processing, the system offers selectable cardioid low-frequency pattern control and excellent rear rejection, up to 42dB, without the need for additional cabinets.

On the front side, one 15-inch long-excursion woofer with 4-inch voice-coil is mounted in a front-loaded configuration. On the rear side, a single 12-inch long-excursion woofer with 4-inch voice-coil is also mounted in a “front”-loaded configuration. The large bass reflex ports on the front and the rear side enable excellent breathing capacity, maintaining overall output while minimising port-compression.

www.alconsaudio.com

APG iX series

APG’s iX series feature coaxial technology with integral baffle: the front face of the speaker is specifically designed to eliminate diffraction and provide a consistent, linear acoustic field. The iX series embed NDB technology (No Diffraction Baffle), which enhances the wide directivity of coaxial loudspeaker systems. Developed, designed and made in France, the iX series answers the needs of a variety of venues including theatres, clubs, bars, beaches, etc. that require a high sound level and low distortion.… NDB technology also makes the iX series perfectly suited for spatialised sound systems. The iX range comprises five models: iX5, iX6, iX8, iX12 and iX15, each boasting an integrated coaxial loudspeaker with passive crossover and bass reflex loading for stand-alone operation. The iX loudspeakers can be integrated in various configurations (walls, ceilings, etc.) thanks to a wide range of accessories. The cabinets can also be coupled with APG’s dedicated iS subwoofer series for mobile or fixed installation.

www.apg.audio

AUDIOFOCUS Cyris CX6

Making its debut at ISE 2023, Cyris CX6 is the first in a new compact loudspeaker series from Belgian manufacturer, AUDIOFOCUS. CX6 is a 6-inch coaxial speaker, created to deliver high SPL in a small footprint for short-throw fixed installations or live events and can also serve as a fill cabinet in larger theatre, conference, or worship settings. Its naturally cardioid design permits CX6 to be positioned close to walls or corners without reflection problems, while a flared vent manages low frequency distortion. A mic stand attachment, pole mount socket and multiple rigging options allow CX6 to be deployed according to the needs of the venue. Cyris CX6 can be partnered with the new C210S dual-vented bandpass subwoofer to create a plug ‘n play full-range system. C210S houses a pair of high specification 10-inch neodymium LF transducers and employs Tetracoil technology for high SPL and maximum efficiency. C210S is a low-profile design featuring an integral Class D amplifier with full DSP, allowing it to power multiple CX6 speakers and cutting the need for external hardware. Cyris CX6 and C210S are manufactured in Belgium using high-grade birch plywood, protected with a rugged polyurea coating. www.audiofocus.eu

d&b audiotechnik XSL System

CODA Audio N-RAY

N-RAY is an ultra-compact, 3-way line array that brings CODA’s flagship AiRAY technology into a shallow, lightweight cabinet ideally suited for a variety of small to medium size applications. Incorporating the latest in driver and system design technology, N-RAY boasts twice the power handling of similar systems, significantly increasing low frequency output and long-term SPL capability. N-RAY delivers high quality sound with a large dynamic range and extended low frequency, as well as incredible flexibility thanks to its variable horizontal dispersion. N-RAY contains two 6.5-inch ultra-low distortion neodymium drivers and a 6-inch DDP driver, while the SCN-F 15-inch sensor controlled low frequency extension provides additional headroom with exceptional dynamic range. Offering a phase linearity similar to CODA’s AiRAY, a 60 Hz-22 kHz (-6 dB) frequency range and high-power handling of 1000 W (AES2), N-RAY outputs a power, frequency and transient response that belies its small size. N-RAY has a variable horizontal coverage of 90°, 120° or asymmetric 105°, and features an integrated 3-point rigging system for flown or ground stacked arrays compatible with SCN-F – 15-inch. The line array facilitates system integration with LINUS loudspeaker management amplifiers, while a hybrid wooden/ aluminium enclosure with polyurea coating ensures extreme durability and water protection.

www.codaaudio.com

XSL encompasses, in a conveniently compact format, all the features of the SL Series bloodline, featuring extraordinary full band directivity control with low-frequency cardioid behavior, unmatched electroacoustical efficiency that maximises sustained high SPL delivery with drastically reduced power consumption and the most comprehensively conceived versatile rigging concept, cabling infrastructure and transportation system architecture. XSL line-array systems achieve their unique broadband directivity control by using the patented SL-Series transducer configuration and signal processes techniques, which enable SL Series system operators to accurately direct acoustical energy onto the intended listening areas, while eliminating uncontrolled low-mid and low frequency content that could interact with the acoustical space behind and around the P.A and the stage in a venue or into neighboring areas. The XSL system is suitable for the broadest range of applications, as it comprises installation specific and mobile/touring variants. The XSL mobile version addresses the acoustical performance and real-world logistics necessary in serious rental/touring live-sound productions, in line with the SL family heritage. XSLi versions, on the other hand, are designed to meet the unique requirements of permanent installations, with discreetly aesthetic cabinet design and rigging accessories, as well as Install specific connectors.

www.dbaudio.com

Electro-Voice MTS-6154

The MTS-6154 is equipped with six 15-inch woofers and dual coaxial mid/high frequency compression drivers. The system is capable of generating more than 151 dB peak SPL with exact directivity for very-long-throw applications. The MTS-6154 is based on two cardioid configurations with 60° x 40° or 40° x 30° coverage and enhanced low-frequency directional control. The 60° x 40° models can deliver extremely high SPLs: 151 dB peak (music) and 154 dB peak (speech) down to 55 Hz at -10 dB; the 40 x 30 models are capable of 152 dB peak (music) and 155 dB peak (speech) down to 50 Hz at -10 dB. Each version is available with black or white finish, and each is available in a partially weatherised (PW) version for sheltered use or in a fully weatherised (FW) version for full exposure to the elements. All MTS loudspeakers have an IP55 rating, indicating that they are highly impervious to dust and water ingress.

www.electrovoice.com

dbTechnologies

VIO C

Designed to create horizontal or vertical line-source arrays and featuring a simple yet rapid rigging system, VIO C offers the most flexible coverage options as well as the powerful and pure acoustic performance that distinguishes all VIO cabinets. The series encompasses three enclosures housing premium neodymium components: VIO C12 (1x12-inch, 3.5-inch v.c. LF and 1x1.4-inch exit, 3-inch v.c. HF), VIO C15 (1x15-inch, 3.5-inch v.c. LF and 1x1.4-inch exit, 3-inch v.c. HF) and VIO C212 (2x12-inch, 3-inch v.c. LF and 1x 1.4-inch exit, 3-inch v.c. HF ). The whole series is equipped with latest generation 1600 W RMS Class D Amp module Digipro G4 driving a powerful DSP and allowing each system to deliver impressive SPL (139 dB for VIO C12, 140 dB for VIO C15, and 141 dB for VIO C212).

www.dbtechnologies.com

As the newest addition to EAW’s renowned ADAPTive line, the AC6 2-Way Full Range ADAPTive Column Loudspeaker is ideal for audio professionals who expect exceptional audio performance from a loudspeaker that blends into the aesthetics of the venue. Although slightly smaller than its predecessors, AC6 includes just as many cutting-edge features. Managed via EAW’s Resolution™ 2 software, AC6 can compensate for coverage and directivity with its Adaptive Performance™ technology. By integrating all factors and aspects of the loudspeaker, AC6 can produce three-dimensional coverage at any site, making it perfect for even the most acoustically challenged spaces. Also equipped with EAW’s Focusing™ and DynO™ digital signal processing, AC6 provides clear and dynamic sound with a pristine impulse response at any volume. Utilising six low frequency transducers and 30 high frequency transducers, this column speaker can produce studio quality audio from 20kHz, all the way down to 65Hz. Other features include the integrated Dante™ redundant networking and analog redundancy capabilities, making connecting and communication to each module streamlined and dependable. The AC6 2-Way Full Range ADAPTive column is is available in black or white and is also suitable for outdoor applications when the column’s input/output weather protection covers are used. EAW has made flying multiple AC6s easy. An infinite number of columns can be flown as mains or integrated with the larger Anna or Anya line arrays for endless coverage possibilities. www.eaw.com

Fulcrum Acoustic CCX Series

Fulcrum Acoustic added two new additions to its CCX Series of passive coaxial cardioid speakers: the 8-inch CCX8 and the 15-inch CCX15. Aside from their tight pattern control, the CCX series is known for its trapezoidal-shaped enclosures which allow the cabinets to be mounted very close to ceilings and reduce sightlines. “Unlike conventional loudspeakers that trade low frequency (LF) directional control for compact enclosures, our Passive Cardioid Technology enables CCX loudspeakers to achieve unprecedented LF/HF control for products of their size,” explained Fulcrum Acoustic Co-founder and Vice President of R&D, David Gunness. “Combining the benefits of this technology with Temporal Equalisation (TQ), single-amplified CCX products deliver impressive LF directional control, improved intelligibility and enhanced sonic accuracy in lighter and more compact enclosures than those with offset drivers.” Both the CCX8 and CCX15 provide 7dB of LF attenuation in the rear hemisphere. The CCX8 coaxial system is offered in two horn patterns: CCX896 (90° x 60°) and CCX826 (120° x 60°). The CCX15 coaxial system is offered in a full range of five patterns: CCX1595 (90° x 45°), CCX1565 (60° x 45°), CCX1577 (75° x 75°), CCX1500 (100° x 100°) and CCX1526 (120° x 60°).

www.fulcrum-acoustic.com

EAW AC6

L-Acoustics Soka

Soka combines line source technology with a sleek aesthetic, integrating nine 3.5-inch MF drivers and three 1-inch HF transducers to impart a wide 140-degree horizontal coupled with a highly controlled 26-degree vertical directivity. It’s an ultra-shallow 3.9 inches/99 mm, designed to be easily enclosed in-wall or discreetly mounted on-wall, yet is capable of tremendous power and bandwidth. The enclosure cabinet is constructed of premium-grade Baltic birch plywood with an ultra-shallow form for versatile integration. The enclosure front is protected by a coated steel grill and an acoustically transparent fabric. Dedicated accessories allow for on-wall and in-wall deployments. The inserts and the connectors are all gathered on a single enclosure panel. Exclusively driven and protected by a proprietary amplified controller through a dedicated preset. www.l-acoustics.com

Genelec Smart IP Installation Loudspeakers

At ISE 2023, Genelec will be announcing a further expansion of their Smart IP installation loudspeaker series, which combines exceptional sound quality with single cable convenience. Smart IP provides scalable power, audio and loudspeaker management features via a standard CAT cable, offering installers a powerful and cost-effective solution for guaranteeing crisp, intelligible audio across entire installations. All models are compatible with Dante and AES67 IP audio streams, and derive power via PoE. The single rear panel RJ45 connector also allows access to Genelec’s Smart IP Manager software –enabling installers to configure an almost unlimited number of rooms, zones, loudspeakers and audio channels, and includes device discovery, room equalisation, system organisation and status monitoring. This enables installers to deploy Smart IP loudspeakers even on highly complex, acoustically challenging projects. Integration with house automation systems is achieved via a public API command set – allowing the end user instant access to key functions, or for less complex systems the Smart IP Controller mobile app provides simple control of basic loudspeaker functions including mute, volume and power.

www.genelec.com

LD Systems

DAVE G4X Series

Exactly 10 years after the release of the highly successful and long-running DAVE G3, the DAVE G4X sets new standards in the field of active 2.1 PA systems for DJs, live groups, solo entertainers, or parties. Available in four sizes and performance classes – from the particularly compact DAVE 10 G4X to the DAVE 18 G4X, which features a powerful 18-inch subwoofer – the DAVE G4X Series impresses across the board with its modern range of functions and a professional acoustic design in a variety of applications. The models available are the DAVE 10 G4X (2 x double 4-inch satellites + 10-inch subwoofer, 680 W), the DAVE 12 G4X (2 x 6.5-inch satellites + 12-inch subwoofer, 1,460 W), the DAVE 15 G4X (2 x 8-inch satellites + 15-inch subwoofer, 2,060 W), and the DAVE 18 G4X (2 x 8-inch satellites + 18-inch subwoofer, 4,000 W). All of the DAVE G4X versions feature an integrated 6-channel mixer with all of the important input options for a wide variety of setups, including microphone, instruments, line-level signals and auxiliary players. www.ld-systems.com

Lynx Pro Audio CLS-212

The CLS-212 is a high-output extremely compact and extremely powerful 3-way, self-powered, DSP integrated, symmetrical coaxial line source element designed for medium sized touring & fixed installations. Dual high power 12-inch neodymium transducers for the low frequencies and two unique 6.5inch dual diaphragm coaxial planar wave driver for the mid/high frequencies. With a 6000W 2 channel Class-D amplifier with PFC coupled together with the new generation 64 bit/96KHz DSP offers the most recent advances in digital processing such as FIR filters delivering a linear phase and frequency response. Latest 32 bit/96KHZ AD/DA converters available. A 2.8-inch IPS user interface is located on the enclosure’s back panel and has multifunction joystick control enabling the user to control, select and/or adjust parameters. Two Ethernet ports enable the system to be controlled with the OCS platform and Rainbow 3D prediction software. The enclosure is made from premium grade birch plywood and finished with a polyurea coating for longer durability & weather protection. It also has a number of dedicated accessories available and the three point rigging system which includes two front automatically rising plates and one centre/rear point enables 16 CLS-212 cabinets to be flown in a single array. www.lynxproaudio.com

Martin Audio TORUS 12

Since its launch, TORUS 12 has been a hugely successful addition to the Martin Audio product line. As the first constant curvature array created by the British manufacturer, it combines Martin Audio’s lauded optimised coverage with the SPL profile needed for applications that typically require a throw between 15-30m – making it a popular choice for rental companies and system integrators alike. Each TORUS cabinet is designed for a flexible horizontal dispersion pattern and this can be manually adjusted between 90°, 60° or 75° (asymmetrical) via the unique Dynamic Horn Flare – a rotating mechanism accessible from the front grille. This not only moves and locks the waveguide but also adjusts the horn mouth, including the low diffraction termination into the baffle, to ensure correct geometry and optimal performance in each of those settings. A phase plug mounted in front of the 12-inch woofer increases mid-band sensitivity for greater efficiency and allows a higher crossover frequency into the three 1.4-inch HF polymer dome neodymium compression drivers. The three compression drivers are arrayed via acoustic waveguides while the passive crossover ensures that system deployment is simple and amplifier channel count can be minimised or optimised. www.martin-audio.com

Meyer Sound ULTRA-X20

Meyer Sound’s ULTRA-X20 self-powered full-range loudspeaker brings state-ofthe-art ULTRA X40 point source technology to a smaller, lighter footprint, ideal for installed and portable applications where size and weight are critical factors. Whether used as a compact main system or as fills or surrounds in a larger system, count on the ULTRA-X20 to deliver high power output, low distortion, and consistent polar response in any configuration. The ULTRA-X20 measures just 7.5 inches wide by 19.04 inches high by 8.6 inches deep, but packs a mighty punch. It features two 5-inch cone drivers and a 2-inch compression driver in concentric configuration for more consistent pattern control below the crossover point. The ULTRA-X20 rotatable horn produces precise, even coverage regardless of orientation. It’s available in three Constant-Q horn variants, for optimal coverage in any scenario. The ULTRA-X20 features a 110° x 50° horn, while the ULTRA-X22 provides more controlled 80° x 50° coverage and the ULTRA-X23’s horn provides a wider 110° x 110° coverage. www.meyersound.com

Optimal Audio Cuboid Series

Cuboid is a series of full range, two-way, passive loudspeakers designed for short to medium throw distances, delivering rich and detailed sound with punch and precision, at a cost competitive price point. This range of stylish enclosures comprises 3-inch, 5-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch and 15-inch units. Flexible mounting hardware facilitates clean and simple installation. Each loudspeaker provides an impressive bass and mid-band with clarity of vocal and high note projection. Cuboid 3 and Cuboid 5 feature ABS plastic cabinets and painted aluminium grilles, while the Cuboid 8, 10, 12 and 15 feature wooden cabinets with steel grilles, and also benefit from a user-rotatable horn for consistent coverage in either plane. For enhanced bass performance they can be teamed with the Optimal Audio Sub Series, and a SmartAmp or Zone will provide optimal sound settings as well as limiters to protect the drivers when playing at higher sound levels. When coupled with Zone and WebApp, system set up and end user control is straightforward, and can be further enhanced by ZonePad wall controllers. www.optimal-audio.co.uk

Pioneer PRO AUDIO CM Series

Pioneer PRO AUDIO CM Series comprises a range of celling and surface mount loudspeakers. CM-C54T and CM-C56T ceiling loudspeakers are designed to deliver high quality audio in a variety of commercial spaces. Offering crystal clear audio and a discreet embedded design, they are perfect for installation in hotels, restaurants, offices and other locations where superior sound and aesthetics are key. These affordable and adaptable loudspeakers include a host of features such as transformer taps – ideal for professional and adaptable fixed installation solutions. The versatile two-way CM-S54T, CM-S56T and CM-S58T surface mount loudspeakers, and CM-510ST subwoofer, produce premium-quality audio. Available in black or white, these units are perfect for discreet installation in a variety of spaces where reliability is crucial, and the loudspeakers can even be used for some applications outdoors. CM Series draws on Pioneer PRO AUDIO heritage in the manufacture of club speakers, enabling the brand to provide turnkey systems that save space, complement interior design and deliver outstanding audio in any venue, regardless of layout.port-compression. www.pioneerproaudio.com

Void Acoustics

Venu 208i

The Venu 208i subwoofer is a welcome addition to Void Acoustics’ stylish and versatile Venu V2 Series. The Venu 208i is an ultra-compact, self-powered double 8-inch subwoofer, capable of powering up to four mid-high enclosures, including Void Acoustics’ IP55 rated Cyclone 4 and Cyclone 55 loudspeakers and the passive two-way Indigo 6s loudspeaker (for which it has integrated presets as standard). With its stylish enclosure made entirely from multi-laminate birch plywood and either a black or white finish to match its environs, the Venu 208i also benefits from built-in DSP for loudspeaker control and advanced signal processing capabilities accessible via the rear ethernet port. The Venu 208i is compatible with Armonia Plus and features a Phoenix connector for ease of installation. The speaker is environmentally conscious – with an energy save mode that switches into automatic standby. The Venu 208i is ideal for medium sized commercial venues requiring background music ‘plug and play’ pro-audio systems such as gyms, hotels, bars and restaurants; or foreground audio for smaller spaces including VIP cocktail bars and high-end residential use. By removing the requirement for an amplifier, the speaker is particularly suited to venues with limited space, and is presented at an accessible price point. www.voidacoustics.com

RCF H 1315 WP

The H 1315 WP is a three-way full range loudspeaker system that incorporates a 15-inch woofer, a 10-inch midrange and a 1.4-inch exit titanium compression driver for long throw applications. The system is very compact and provides very high output and accurate voice and sound reproduction. The system is equipped with the latest generation of RCF precision transducers, all of them with powerful neodymium motors. The internal passive filter provides crossover and equalisation between the midrange and the compression driver. The system is driven in bi-amped mode, is capable of producing a Max SPL of 136 dB and handles 900 Watts AES (LF) + 400 Watt AES (MF/HF). The loudspeaker enclosure shape is multi-trapezoidal and offers a double coupling angle each side. Connections to the amplifier are made through a watertight multi-pole connector. The grille is in custom perforated aluminium with open-cell fibres and water repellent woven fabric backing. The cabinet is constructed of multi-ply Baltic birch plywood and finished in a very resistant, textured, polyurea black paint. www.rcf.it

1. Tasker Cables Live event cables

Live events never stop and tasker follow the trends with the expansion their range of speaker cables with the C282, an extra-strong 8x4.00 mm² speaker cable with a crown-shaped grouping around a central PE filler that gives a solid, flexible structure. The C862 is a double DMX light cable, 110 ohms, with aramid fiber fillers and a PUR outer sheath, a special material that is flame retardant, halogen free, UV, water, chemical and oil resistant, making the cable an ideal solution for outdoor and heavy-duty applications. The TSK1038 PUR is the single-pair smaller version, with a 2x0.35 mm² DMX, 110 ohms AES/EBU with high coverage shielding and the same sheath. In the same family, the C128 PUR is a solid microphone cable that can run perfectly on installations up to 100 m in both indoor and outdoor.

www.tasker.it

2. ETC ColorSource V

ETC have launched a new family of multi-venue fixtures, ColourSource V, which builds on the popular ColourSource line, includes ColorSource Spot V, ColorSource Fresnel V, and ColorSource Spot VXT. The V in ColorSource V hints at the five-color array of red, green, blue, indigo, and lime. This combination of emitters makes it possible to produce the softest pastels and bold, punchy colors from the same fixture. In addition to the array, all ColorSource V fixtures include Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM, NFC for remote fixture configuration when used in collaboration with ETC’s free Set Light app, and increased brightness from the past ColorSource line. www.etcconnect.com

3. Dream Lighting DLW J300B IP

The DLW J300B IP moving head is a professional beam fixture powered by long lasting 260W laser source which creates extremely narrow, cold beams, as parallel rays with 0.8° aperture angle. Fitted with an impressive 230 mm frontal lens, the optical system produces stronger and brighter lights with high efficiency, light output at 40 m is 162,000 lux. Equipped with one static gobo wheel with 26 gobos, and seven open circles, a prism wheel with two prisms (one 8-facet prism and one 16-facet prism plus a 6-color disc, which can be overlapped and bi-direction rotated), the fixture also provides an infinite CMY mixing system and a color wheel equipped with 19 colour filters, a frost filter and fast strobe effect, which makes for awe-inspiring aerial effects, capable of illuminating several kilometers far away. In addition, with a fully dust and waterproof design, the DLW J300B IP is an IP66 rated fixture, which can withstand inclement weather, against dust, sand, moisture and liquids, and is ideal for both indoors and outdoors situations for television, theatre, tours, sporting events, and more. www.dlwlighting.com

4. Riedel Bolero 2.4 GHz

The Bolero 2.4 GHz operates on the 2.4 GHz band instead of Bolero’s standard DECT band, allowing customers in regions where DECT carrier frequencies are either limited or unavailable — such as China, India, and South Korea — to profit from Bolero’s versatility, reliability, and unrivalled feature set in navigating difficult RF environments. Bolero 2.4 GHz uses a practically identical feature set and offers the same three network modes as the DECT version: Integrated, Standalone Link, and Standalone 2110 (AES67). The 2.4 GHz band limits use to eight beltpacks per antenna instead of 10, but allows for connectivity anywhere, with just one ‘Global’ region for 2.4 GHz antennas. The 2.4 GHz iteration also comes with Bolero’s high-clarity voice codec and its unrivalled multipath tolerant receiver (ADR) technology adapted to 2.4 GHz, allowing the system to continuously adapt to changing RF reflection environments. With near-field communication (NFC) touch-and-go beltpack registration; an ergonomic, robust beltpack design; and three modes as beltpack, desktop key panel, or walkie-talkie, Bolero 2.4 GHz is just as easy to use, sleek, and versatile. www.riedel.net

ALCONS AUDIO

QRP40 PRO-RIBBON POINT-SOURCE COLUMN

The QRP40/90 is a two-way point-source column system with high-Q directivity for increased projection control. It is to be used as vertical sound system, for both permanent and portable applications. Its slim design packs a 1:1 non-compressed linear sound reproduction, with up to 90% less distortion.

It is specifically designed for applications where ultimate fidelity response needs to be projected with a very precise coverage, ideal in acoustically challenging environments, or applications where musicality and intelligibility-over-distance is required.

Loaded with a RBN1203 12-inch pro-ribbon driver, one of the two from its modular sibling QR24, on a “Morpher” lens, the system offers an exceptional, SPL-independent throw-efficiency and projection control, due to the pro-ribbon’s all-natural cylindrical wavefront.

The patented 90-degrees horizontal dispersion offers a consistent audience coverage, significantly extending the “sweet-spot”, while the 20-degrees isophasic directivity caters for the side-lobe-free projection up to the highest frequencies.

Its fast impulse response, “compression-less” principle and unusual high peak power handling (2.000W @ 200ms) cater for a perfect intelligibility from the lowest to the highest SPL with a 1:15 dynamic range, while offering a maximum “gain-before-feedback”.

The RBN1203 driver is mounted in a co-axial speaker configuration with an array of eight (8) woofers in a sealed cabinet. The customdesign 5-inch woofers feature Active Coil™ technology for extremely low-distortion LF reproduction, a perfect match with the MHF proribbon technology. The acoustical LF array length assists the QRP40 in an extended vertical projection control and increased output in the low-mid frequency range, at the same time enabling a smooth but powerful roll-off to additional subwoofers.

The QRP40 is powered and controlled by the ALC amplified loudspeaker controller; Through the integrated VHIR™ processing, audiophile amplifier stages and Signal Integrity Sensing™ feedback circuit, the ALC offers QRP40-specific drive processing, delivering absolute maximum sound quality with increased headroom and utmost operation reliability and flexibility.

The system brings the unsurpassed clear, dynamic and ultra-low distortion Alcons signature sound in a very slim and unobtrusive package; The different mounting options for wall-, truss-, standand sub-stack mount, together with the optional ACO™ color scheme provides for an inconspicuous, low-profile presence in any application.

The QRP40 is part of the Alcons Q-Series, together with its smaller sibling QRP20 point-source column and its larger, modular sibling QR24 line-source column.

Combining the multiple-patented horizontal and vertical dispersion control to beyond 20kHz, with the throw, gain-before-feedback and crystal clear ultra-low distortion signature sound of Alcons Audio’s pro-ribbon transducers, it’s easy to understand why sound designers around the globe are recognising the Q-series as a unique tool in their toolbox.

More info can be found on www.qrseries.info or visit the ProRibbon Immersive Experience at the ISE show, 7K600.

FOAM MACHINES, CANONS & FLUID

Life is more beautiful WITH FOAM

PowerLightsAugsburg

Hofrat-Röhrer-Straße 16

D-86161 Augsburg

Tel.: +49/821/2 63 94 47

Fax: +49/821/2 63 94 69 info@mbn-eventproducts.com mbn-eventproducts.com

A brand of MBN Eventproducts

MBN F-630

MBN F-300

MBN JUNIORFOAM

MBN FC-500

MBN FC-400 (cannons)

MADE

DYNAMIC MUSIC DISTRIBUTION

High-quality music distribution in multi-zone / source applications

SOURCES ZONES

DYNAMIC ROUTING

DYNAMIC MATRIX

DYNAMIC DANTE PATCHING DSP