Installation August 2015 Digital Edition

Issue 182 / August 2015

AV INTEGRATION IN A NETWORKED WORLD

www.installation-international.com

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES

Networking on the rise p6 Results of our comprehensive survey AV-IT integration p24

The implications for your business

A touching tale p36

Display interactivity becomes the norm

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Can technology make a great concert hall? p32

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THE PURE ESSENCE FOR YOUR NETWORK 24

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WELCOME 03

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Subscriptions to Installation are free to qualified readers. Register online at www.installation-international.com/subscribe Circulation & subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 Email: installation.subscriptions@c-cms.com Installation is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media Europe, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LR, England Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Please send press material to ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com Editor: Paddy Baker pbaker@nbmedia.com

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Contributors: Tim Carrigan, Mike Clark, David Davies, Simon Duff, Roland Hemming, Rob Lane, Ian McMurray, Steve Montgomery, Florian Rotberg, Phil Ward Special thanks: Ilona Adamson, Edgar Andraa Lien, Joshua Rush, Anna Webb

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Savings in the air L

Online ISSN: 2052-2401

Cover image: Fosnavåg Konserthus, courtesy of d&b audiotechnik

A sister title to SCN

03 Install182 Welcome_Final.indd 1

Paddy Baker, Editor pbaker@nbmedia.com @install8ion

ast month, UK chancellor George Osborne gave an earlierthan-usual budget statement that set out the main planks of the recently elected government’s austerity agenda.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the announced measures reduced government spending – on top of a trend of falling departmental budgets dating from the coalition era.

Budget cuts in public services are nothing new, and are often demanded on the basis of ‘efficiency savings’. This sounds more than a little euphemistic to me: after a while, surely all the possible efficiencies have already been found? The point, I suppose, is that simply trying to do things in the same way, but more efficiently, offers diminishing returns; by contrast, finding completely new ways to do things can release significant potential.

An example of this, from within the National Health Service, came across my desk the other day. Using Polycom’s video-as-

‘I do wonder if we will see a dramatic fall in overall levels of business travel, once the unified communications ideal becomes truly pervasive’ a-service offering, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is holding consultations with elderly people in nursing homes via iPad rather than coming out to visit them in person. This means that consultations can be done in half an hour rather than an hour and a half – a tripling of productivity.

Let’s hope that similar projects like this are rolled out not just in the UK but across the world – it’s hard to think of a better demonstration of the benefits of remote communications via video.

In the early days of videoconferencing, the key benefit cited by vendors was reducing the need to travel – mainly because the savings thus generated were relatively easy to quantify. Today, more emphasis is placed on the speed and quality of decision-making that the technology affords.

However, I do wonder if we will see a dramatic fall in overall levels of business travel, once the unified communications ideal becomes truly pervasive: seamless connectivity from anywhere, on any device, to any number of endpoints, making video communication with international colleagues as unremarkable as picking up the phone, and just as ubiquitous. How soon do you reckon this will happen: in ten years? Fifteen?

I mention this because, also in the news last month, the UK government-appointed Davies commission recommended the building of a third runway at Heathrow to expand London airport capacity. If the government greenlights this proposal – and it is subject to stipulations in areas such as noise and environmental control – then Heathrow says it can deliver the additional capacity between 2025 and 2029. I wonder if the commission’s demand planning considered the impact on flyer numbers from a massive increase in video calling?

21/07/2015 15:59

04 CONTENTS

August 2015

News & Data 06 Analysis

Worldwide survey predicts major audio networking growth UHD shaping the display market 10 Industry Moves 38 Regional Voices: Germany

People 12 Opinion Rob Lane on the business of on-stage holograms Tim Carrigan offers his tips for a successful videowall installation Florian Rotberg looks at what’s driving the digital signage market 18 Interview Powersoft co-founder Claudio Lastrucci talks about the company’s growing installation portfolio

18

Features 24 AV/IT Integration Convergence is undoubtedly happening, and for those willing to embrace it a huge opportunity awaits 32 Concert Halls Can acoustical treatments help to create truly multipurpose venues and what does the future hold for these techniques?

36 Interactive Displays Intuitive and responsive displays are increasingly in demand across a wide range of market sectors

Solutions

36

40 Pavilion Zero, Milan Expo

A wide range of AV equipment is used to explore man’s relationship with nature and food as part of Expo 2015 42 All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon The world-famous club has upgraded its audio network to enable an increased channel count 44 Solutions in Brief Including Avid in Canada, boosting sales with BrightSign, and a new audio system for the world’s largest religious complex

Technology 47 New Products

Including Kramer, Panasonic, Crestron and Smart

VUE Audiotechnik

Education Technology

42 20

50 Demo of the Month 52 Showcase

Also inside 20 InstallFutures

Explore the latest technologies and find out how to futureproof your business at this new one-day event

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06 ANALYSIS

August 2015

Worldwide survey predicts major audio networking growth

By Roland Hemming

D

uring May and June, Installation, our US sister title SCN, and publications in the Middle East and Asia, asked their readers to complete an online survey on audio networking. The results of this comprehensive and truly worldwide survey are now in.

The survey was open to all. In particular we wanted to hear from people who don’t use audio networking technology, and there was a good response from this section of the Installation readership. Inevitably, though, the majority of responses came from people who already use this technology, so that needs to be taken into consideration when reading some of the answers.

The purpose of the survey was to try to find out how much audio networking is going on and what choices people are making.

In general we were looking at the ‘big five’ industry protocols, as well as seeing how much use there was of proprietary ones.

When asking which protocol they thought was the most popular there was a clear leader in Dante (59% of respondents), with CobraNet in a distant second place (16%). Anecdotally it’s still probably likely that there are more CobraNet installations out there, simply because it is the oldest, but you will read that newer protocols are now used more often.

What percentage of projects will use audio networking?

70%

Less than 50%

60% 50%

More than 50%

40% None

30% 20% 10% 0%

Past 12 months

Asking why We wanted to know what thought process people went through when choosing what protocol to use, and also what would make them switch from one protocol to another. The top three reasons for choosing a specific protocol are wanting a wide selection of products (cited by 38%, if one looks at just the top three answers), the confidence that the chosen protocol will be around for a good few years

Next 12 months

(35%) and interoperability (27%). When it came to reasons for switching protocols, the same three answers came top, with a very similar distribution.

We asked people for comments and only one person mentioned that they would not use a proprietary protocol.

User satisfaction From their use of different protocols, we asked

Trends in networking We asked how much of people’s work involved networking in the past 12 months and how much would use it in the next 12. Our survey shows a significant rise in its use. Notably 23% had not used networking in the past year but that drops to less than 2% in the next 12 months. What’s more, nearly 40% think that networking will be used in more than half of their work.

In order to find out what protocols people have used and will use, we asked about previous and future use of protocols.

Our respondents had completed over 6,000 networked projects in the last year but expect to do over 9,000 in the next – a significant leap and increase. All protocols benefit from this growth but of the 2,900 additional projects, about 2,000 expect to use Dante.

06-07 Install182 Analysis_Final.indd 1

How many times have/will you use audio networking?

AVB

CobraNet

Dante

EtherSound

Ravenna

Other

5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Past 12 months

Next 12 months

23/07/2015 10:27

how satisfied they were with their experience. Dante was the clear leader (72% declared themselves satisfied or very satisfied); proprietary protocols and AVB were neck and neck in second place (51%).

Where is networking being used?

It seems that audio networking is used everywhere, but over onethird of all networked projects in Europe are in conferencing or corporate applications (both 18% of respondents’ projects).

Other sectors making use of the technology are houses of worship (13%), transport infrastructure (air, rail etc – 13%), education (9%), government (8%) and broadcast, TV and film (also 8%).

And those non-networkers?

We stated in the beginning that we wanted to hear from people who were not currently using this technology. If they were to use networking on a project, what protocol would they most likely use? More would choose Dante (38%), followed by CobraNet (20%) then AVB (14%).

We also wanted to know what would make them switch from analogue to networked audio.

Client request would be the primary driver (21%) but there seems to be a slight fear of networking from potential users, with requests for education on benefits (from 17%), for it to be easier or quicker (16%), and for training (from 12%).

Looking to the future Finally we asked people to peer into their crystal balls and to

Apple Watch winner Survey sponsor Audinate generously offered the prize of an Apple Watch to a randomly selected Installation reader who completed the survey. We’re happy to announce that the winner is Tony Edwards of SECC. Your watch is wending its way to you.

06-07 Install182 Analysis_Final.indd 2

predict the future for each protocol. There were only two protocols where the number of respondents expecting an increase outweighed those who thought the opposite: AVB (a majority of 12%) and Dante (36%).

The use of proprietary protocols was expected to be about the same.

Summary We were impressed with the number of responses – over 600.

What was also clear from reading the comments was that almost all the responses were from normal working professionals. Few people appeared to have an axe to grind on the subject, or unwavering loyalty to a particular way of doing things; most were simply trying to get the job done with the equipment the industry provides.

The data bodes well for the future of audio networking, with a massive predicted increase in use.

AVB had a mixed response and from the comments it appeared that the majority of AVB users were Biamp users. This raises the question as to whether people are using AVB because they want to use Biamp, or whether Biamp’s use of AVB helps make their product work better.

Dante leads by every metric.

This is borne out by users wanting variety of product and the fact that there are many more Dante products available than anything else. Their user satisfaction is higher and also the data shows that users of Dante use networking technology more often than other protocol users.

Roland Hemming is a consultant with RH Consulting.

Our thanks to Audinate for sponsoring this survey.

A longer version of this article – including more graphs, and data on project values – is available on the Installation website: go to http://bit.ly/1K7c23N

www.rhconsulting.eu

23/07/2015 10:27

08 ANALYSIS

August 2015

UHD shaping the display market

By Steve Montgomery

M

oving consumers to 4K or ultrahigh definition (UHD) is shaping up to be a classic push-marketing effort, aligning panel and device manufacturers, studios and content providers to overcome a long line of hurdles before consumer demand crosses from niche to mainstream. UHD display resolution is only the first step.

Technological improvements must be seen to provide an enhanced viewer experience at acceptable cost: through increased resolution, higher frame rates and greater colour space.

Suitable content creation and delivery mechanisms are key to the future success of the technology; to date there is relatively little native UHD content available.

Tom Morrod, senior director at IHS Technology, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It all comes down to the requirement to create an ecosystem to drive demand, from consumers and content through devices to manufacturing and displays. Creating any part of this ecosystem is beneficial but the only way to ensure long-standing success is to provide consumers with an ongoing need to demand UHD.â&#x20AC;?

Global display shipments by resolution (billions) 3 2.5 2 FHD

1.5

Sub HD 1

HD

0.5

4K

0 2013

2014

2015*

2016*

2017*

2018*

Source: IHS Technology

2019*

* = forecast

technology.ihs.com

Asia-Pacific drives global digital TV growth

By Steve Montgomery

B

ased on forecasts for 138 countries, the number of digital TV homes will increase by more than 1 billion between 2010 and 2020 to reach 1.65 billion. This is a rise of 180% from a penetration of just 40% in 2010 to 98% in 2020.

At the end of that period, 124 countries will have more than 90% digital penetration with 93 countries completely digital.

The Asia-Pacific region will supply two-thirds of the 608 million digital TV household additions between 2014 and 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America will both double their numbers.

China will boast 454 million digital TV households, 28% of the global total and India will double its number of digital households, overtaking the US to take second place in 2015.

Indonesia will leap from 23rd to sixth place by adding 43 million digital TV households.

In total, 134 million TV households around the world will become digital in 2015.

08 Install182 Analysis_Final.indd 1

Proporation of world digital TV households in 2020 (forecast)

28%

11%

China

7%

India

4% or less Brazil Russia Indonesia Japan Germany Mexico France

www.digitaltvresearch.com

USA

35% Others combined

Source: Digital TV Research

21/07/2015 16:07

Enjoy the sound of silence Barco laser phosphor projectors

Noise in working environments can reduce productivity by more than 30%. That’s why Barco created the quietest laser phosphor projectors on the planet. The laser-sharp images and sensational colors they display will do justice to all your content. And their 6,000 lumens of light output empower you to share information on a really big screen for higher productivity.

Their filter-free and lampless design frees you from tedious maintenance. And thanks to the laser diodes’ 20,000-hour lifetime, you will sooner need to refurbish your workspace than replace your projector.

Available with WXGA or WUXGA resolution, the Barco laser phosphor projectors are not only compact and light, they can be rotated 360° and support portrait mode too. What’s more, they also come with five different lenses – featuring throw ratios from 0.75 to 5.5 – to fit any project.

For more info, go to: www.barco.com/businessprojectors

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4/15/2015 3:33:52 PM

10 INDUSTRY MOVES

August 2015

ISE announces two new board members

n d&b audiotechnik

Ollie French and Tobias Lang join the nine-strong team

Hans-Peter Nüdling

is the new chief sales officer at d&b, responsible for global sales and services. He brings over 25 years of sales, business development, electronics and technology experience to the team and has spent the past eight years as a CEO of two technology businesses in electronics and medical applications.

www.dbaudio.com

n NEC Display Solutions Europe

Simon Jackson

has been appointed to lead NEC’s newly created Strategic and Global Sales Division, reinforcing the manufacturer’s global sales infrastructure and focus on customer solutions.

As senior director, strategic and global sales division, he will lead the team from NEC’s European HQ in Munich.

www.nec-display-solutions.com n Riedel

Peter Robberechts

I

ntegrated Systems Events, the organisers of the Integrated Systems Europe tradeshow, have appointed two new members to its board. Ollie French (pictured, right) from Future Automation and Tobias Lang (pictured, left) from Lang have joined the nineperson board of directors.

French is commercial director at Future Automation, a manufacturer of motorised and non-motorised mounting and concealing solutions for televisions and projectors with its primary market in the residential sector.

Lang joins the board as CEO of Lang, the

Germany-based AV sales, rental and solution provider of visual presentation technology.

As manufacturers, both French and Lang will join the board on a fixed term basis. “It’s extremely important that we get a fresh point of view and input into our strategic development,” stated ISE managing director Mike Blackman (pictured, centre). “This is why board members that are also manufacturers work with us for a two-year period.”

www.iseurope.org

has been named sales manager for Belgium. In this position, Robberechts is responsible for managing and developing both new and existing sales channels; contributing to product, marketing and project management strategy; and contributing to the ongoing optimisation of the company’s sales organisation. He joins from Outside Broadcast NV Mediasense division.

www.riedel.net n Sharp

Christopher Parker

has taken up the role of senior product manager, visual solutions at Sharp. Parker brings with him 15 years of senior product management experience gained at NEC and will be responsible for developing marketing programmes and strategies for all upcoming products.

New Partners Aimline has formed a strategic partnership with Trius in Germany, as a supplement to the current Aimline distributor Pan-Direct. The intention is to create a strategic distribution partnership to fulfil the demand for complete solutions in the pro-audio installation markets. www.trius-audio.de www.aimline-audio.com Adder Technology has partnered with Evosite to deliver integrated control room solutions. Through this partnership, Evosite will deliver customised end-to-end control room systems to meet the evolving needs of the process control, pipeline and air traffic control markets throughout North America. www.adder.com www.evosite.com

10 Install182 Industry Moves_Final.indd 1

Italy’s Eighteen Sound has appointed Rat Sound as a Pro Provider in the US. As a Pro Provider, Rat Sound will offer greater access to, and direct support of, Eighteen Sound products to North American customers. As a registered service agent, Rat will also provide re-coning and other services to Eighteen Sound’s professional customer base. www.eighteensound.it www.ratsound.com Polar Audio has been appointed as a UK distributor for US-based Revolabs. The company’s complete range of products will dovetail with Polar Audio’s existing range of networked audio propositions over AVB, such as those offered by Biamp Systems. www.polaraudio.co.uk www.revolabs.com

www.sharp.eu/visualsolutions n Tripleplay

Paul Christy

has joined Tripleplay as managing director for APAC. He comes with over 18 years of experience spanning digital, marketing and sales leadership in both enterprise digital teams and venture-backed start-ups. He will be based at Tripleplay’s Asia-Pacific HQ in Sydney, Australia.

www.tripleplay-services.com

21/07/2015 16:09

IT meet A-T

Introducing network Microphones with direct Dante™ Protocol Operating over a simple Ethernet connection, Audio-Technica’s new Network Microphones put you in control. The programmable user switch lets you trigger a video camera’s pan/tilt, a room’s lighting preset or any other function of a compatible Danteenabled device. Each mic comes equipped with a Red/Green LED to keep you informed of local mute status and other processes. And, of course, you still get the clear, articulate sound you expect from A-T. So plug it in, and introduce your network to its new best friend.

www.audio-technica.com

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7/13/2015 11:08:58 AM

12

OPINION: ON THE AGENDA

August 2015

Rob Lane Bigger than life

On-stage holograms are becoming big business

T

he news that Holo-Gauze was recently used as part of wonder.land, Damon Albarn’s musical reworking of Alice in Wonderland at the Manchester International Festival (the musical transfers to the National in London from 27 November), illustrates how holographic technologies and solutions continue to fascinate and entertain the general public.

A highly transparent, lightweight metallic gauze, Holo-Gauze is designed to be used with 3D polarised projection systems (using 3D anaglyph glasses) but can also be used to create lifelike 2D holograms – so ideal for on-stage effects or holographic versions of people. It has often been likened to Pepper’s Ghost, but it’s actually quite different, and has been showcased as a new technology on both Channel 4’s Gadget Man and Channel 5’s Gadget Show this year.

Other holographic systems for the stage are evolutions of the 400-year-old conjuring trick that had its heyday in Victorian times, utilising mirrors, false rooms’ and manipulated viewing angles and lighting to create the illusion that something is appearing in a different space.

Pepper’s Ghost systems include London-based Musion’s MDH (Musion Das Hologram) technology, which – working with Hologram USA, which bought the rights to MDH in North America – brought Tupac Shakur back to life for the 2012 Coachella Music & Arts Festival; and Digital Domain Group, which did a similar thing in the same year with a hologram of Elvis Presley. And at the Billboard Music Awards in 2014, Optimum Productions, Pulse Evolution and Tricycle Logic brought Michael Jackson to the stage.

It might be old tech then, but Pepper’s Ghost-

12 Install182 Opinion 1_FinalV2.indd 1

style technology is very much alive and kicking. Indeed, Musion is more than happy to promote the relationship, stating that it “pioneered the evolution of the Pepper’s Ghost illusion… transforming it by utilising the latest HD technology”.

Disruptive technology Recent acrimony in the US underlines just how much life there yet is in this Victorian favourite.

Following attempts by Hologram USA owner Alki David to put a stop to the Michael Jackson Billboard appearance, claiming it infringed the patented tech he’d licensed from Musion, Pulse Evolution filed a $10 million lawsuit against him for “falsely claimed credit” with regard to the visual effects used during the event.

Things are complicated further by the claims of both companies with regard to their relationships with Musion – a “defunct” (according to Pulse) company called Musion Das Hologram Ltd (or MDH Ltd) and another called Musion Systems Ltd that Pulse has supposedly been doing business with.

Google both companies and they appear to lead to musion.com. However, a quick company check reveals that MDH Ltd has filed accounts up until 2015 and Musion Systems Ltd last filed accounts in 2011. Draw your own conclusions.

Want more complication? Alki David claims he outbid Digital Domain – owned by Pulse chairman John Textor – to acquire the rights to Musion’s MDH tech in 2014 and that he rejected proposals for a joint marketing agreement.

David is currently making the news with his invite-only showroom – a converted TV studio in Beverly Hills – which showcases holograms of Hollywood greats and where many of Hollywood’s

biggest production studios are said to have been visiting to scope out the potential for projects.

Hologram USA is also set to bring back famous comedians from the dead at the soon-to-open National Comedy Center in Jamestown.

Other Pepper’s Ghost-style solutions, as yet unaffected by lawsuits, include Artistry In Motion (AIM) Holographics Inc and VNTANA’s V-3 Hologram System.

Like Musion, AIM is happy to mention its Pepper’s Ghost lineage, calling its technology a ‘modern commercial version’ of Pepper’s Ghost.

A ‘thin metalised film’ is placed across the front of the stage at a 45º angle to the audience.

Recessed below the screen is a bright image supplied by an LED screen or powerful projector.

But, Holo-Gauze aside, are there other stagefriendly solutions that don’t rely on Pepper’s Ghost? It certainly appears so. ARHT Media recently ‘Holo-Ported’ life coach Tony Robbins live on stage to Oz from Miami as a HumaGram for his latest Business Mastery event. Video footage of the event appears to show Robbins being projected (or ‘Holo-Ported’!) on to a transparent display that appears to function in a similar way to Holo-Gauze.

So, in terms of stage-event-based holograms it appears that if it’s not Pepper’s Ghost, it’s got to be some sort of projection system combined with a highly transparent display, such as Holo-Gauze.

It remains to be seen how many of the more traditional Pepper’s Ghost-style solutions will be left operational if litigation steals the limelight…

Rob Lane is founder/director of comms agency Bigger Boat PR Ltd and looks forward to attending a holographic John Lennon concert.

29/07/2015 10:05

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24/07/2015 11:17

14 OPINION: ON THE AGENDA

August 2015

Tim Carrigan

Get the most from your videowall Ten tips for a successful set-up

H

igh-quality videowall systems display a range of visuals and deliver eye-catching impact. They are being deployed in a range of applications: corporate boardrooms, digital signage, control rooms for critical infrastructure, security and surveillance monitoring, to name just a few.

Working with a design team that offers knowledge and expertise can help maximise the long-term returns of a videowall investment.

Here are 10 simple but effective tips to ensure a successful videowall system set-up.

1) Differentiate between what a customer wants and needs What a customer wants, and what they actually need, can be very different things, so you should start the process by understanding both of these elements. Adding in some ‘bells and whistles’ may help you close a deal, but delivering a system with the functionality required will ensure a happy customer.

2) Understand customer expectations Before designing a solution, you need to understand why a customer wants to install a videowall system. What do they plan to do with it, and how will it fit into their existing AV or control room infrastructure? There are always multiple ways to get to the same end result. Asking the right questions at the start of the process will help you determine the best way to get there.

3) What are the right questions?

In many cases, customers either don’t know what they want, or don’t know how to explain it to an integrator. A detailed list of basic questions can help you properly qualify customers and clarify their requirements.

14 Install182 Opinion 2_Final.indd 1

At the end of this survey, you should have obtained information about: the customer’s business model, system requirements, intended use, budget, priorities, timeframe and expected functionality.

4) Understand the nature of the sources How many sources will feed into the videowall processor? What are their resolutions? What kind of content will be displayed? Will IP streaming sources or applications need to be displayed?

How far away from the wall will the sources be located? These questions will help you decide what kind of processor, cabling, extenders, signal support and connectors are needed.

5) Clarify number of inputs, outputs and displays Videowall processors configure multiple sources from disparate systems for display on an array of monitors or projector screens. Determine the size of the wall, the type of content (graphics, text, motion video, or a combination), the number of sources that need to be displayed simultaneously, and whether real-time processing is required.

6) How important is system security?

Videowalls can be used for a variety of applications, some mission-critical and some less so. For example, security is very important in control room, surveillance or monitoring environments, so a hardware-based videowall processor might be the best choice. However, for a less critical application where security is not a priority (such as digital signage), a PC-based system may provide more flexibility.

7) Document, document, document Using the first six tips, you will obtain a lot of information from the customer. Make sure you document the process at every step, so that you have support for the decisions you make.

8) On to the design With a clear idea of what the customer expects, you can now design your system. When possible, work with a manufacturer’s design services team, since they are expert in the use of their products.

Provide customers with a system diagram, bill of materials and a functionality statement that clearly outlines what the system was designed to do, what will be delivered to the customer and the timeline for completing the project.

9) Present the customer with options The technological landscape is constantly changing. With this in mind, it is important to educate your customer about trends and present options that can help future-proof their installations. For example, you could build in room for system expansion, or enable the system to accommodate higher resolutions (such as 4K).

Offer the most functionality and flexibility that the customer’s budget allows, and then let them decide which elements to incorporate.

10) Test the system before delivering Before you deliver the final product, test and troubleshoot the system in-house. This will increase customer satisfaction with the system and reduce or eliminate the time required for tech services personnel to be at the customer site.

Leverage the expertise of a knowledgeable design team, gather information, manage expectations, and document every step before designing, testing and delivering your system.

Tim Carrigan is manager of technical & design services, RGB Spectrum.

www.rgb.com

21/07/2015 16:15

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16 OPINION: ON THE HORIZON

August 2015

Florian Rotberg

Digital signage trends and drivers Some observations on the European market in the second half of 2015

T

he digital signage year 2015 will once again see double-digit growth. If the economy remains as strong as in the first half of 2015, most European markets will grow faster than in 2014.

Uncertainties are obviously in Russia and Greece – but their impact on digital signage should remain geographically limited.

A more prominent influence on the development of digital signage is the continuous weakness of the euro versus the US dollar.

In particular, the unfavourable exchange rate has forced display vendors to raise prices by up to 10% – the first time in more than seven years that display prices have risen. The fierce competition in the display segment has put additional pressure on margins, especially as most long-running project contracts guarantee fixed pricing conditions that don’t include exchange-rate changes. Also costs of media players as well as other AV/IT components will rise moderately due to the strong dollar.

Other currency exchange-related challenges are being faced by Swiss integrators and service providers due to the strong Swiss franc. As a result they have strengthened their focus on the small but lucrative domestic market and scaled down their exposure in the eurozone.

Consolidation As the industry grows and matures, consolidation becomes a pressing issue. Digital signage projects that are more global require systems integrators with large international operations and access to competitive project financing. End-users expect innovative financing options.

International IT systems integrators and

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service providers unrelated to digital signage are increasingly entering the market; these are typically global enterprises with a technology and digital transaction background. In the past they seemed reluctant to invest in digital signage as demand was too low and lacked opportunities to scale. The international bluechips are also bringing ERP, CRM and e-payment/ transaction competence to the market, offering digital signage corporate end-users the chance to leverage Big Data, analytics or other highly database-driven communication.

More and more, digital signage is becoming a fully integrated information, communication, retail, building automation or digital media solution.

Hardware is becoming a commodity and is less in focus – current concepts are dominantly hardware agnostic. Social media content components are a must-have in most digital signage concepts: displays make an efficient public touch point for social media. Near-live Twitter feeds or Facebook postings are an excellent content addition and animate customers to interact.

Retail changes A driver for fully integrated digital signage is shopfitting. Retail design, furniture as well as light and communication designs are incorporating digital media from scratch. That means sufficient space for service access, cables and future-proof design are being considered much more often in the design and planning phase.

In addition, projects tend to be much more dynamic than in the past. Most projects will see considerable add-ons during the typical five- to eight-year lifespan. Customer expectations, global trends and emerging technologies are more likely

to be integrated or attached to existing concepts; usually the network operator cannot wait until a new digital signage generation is rolled out.

Integration of on- and offline activities, like click-and-collect or the opposite concept, extended shelf, are very common. Unfortunately most of the concepts fail as the user experience, including the user interface, is not adapted to the new environment. A webshop design just doesn’t work on a large-format display on the retail floor.

Virtual shelves need to be positioned as close as possible to the point of decision (for instance, in changing rooms).

RFPs and tenders tend to be set up with more global reach, split in separate working packages.

Primarily customers are striving for group-wide and global standardisation of digital signage as well as conference/facility management. The time is over where most projects are launched locally without connecting to essential databases.

Some tenders are being separated into plan, build and run blocks. We don’t believe splitting up and awarding digital signage projects in these three separate lots will offer additional advantages to the customer. Technology advances very fast during a typical five-year lifecycle. Customer demands are continuously changing so the systems integrator should be in the driver’s seat across all three phases to ensure a holistic solution.

Florian Rotberg is the managing director of invidis consulting, which is organising the OVAB Digital Signage Summit (Munich, 10-11 September).

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18 INTERVIEW: CLAUDIO LASTRUCCI, POWERSOFT

August 2015

Power base

Phil Ward talks to the co-founder and R&D tour-de-force behind the Italian power amplification and control pioneer about the company’s growing installation portfolio and the future of DIGAM in an integrated world Where did you learn your technical chops?

It was the University of Electronic Engineering in Florence; I actually did a PhD in Power Electronics.

Those were my official studies, but I also play piano, drums and saxophone – a little – so I was always fascinated by good sound reproduction and hi-fi. Before we set up Powersoft, my brother Luca, my university fellow Antonio Peruch and I were involved in engineering for several third-party designers of linear amplifier power supplies, power converters, signal processing, RF transmitters, automotive and navigation systems, hi-fi, Formula One onboard power management as well as other industrial applications. We also did some acoustical design in the early years.

I’ve always considered power amplification, signal processing and transducer design in loudspeakers to be one single entity in the pursuit of performance. There’s no division between one domain and another. Otherwise it limits the evolution of the products to small changes that don’t add up.

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Was this a founding principle of the company?

There was a natural bias towards power electronics, amplification efficiency and power conversion: these were the primary concerns, even if we didn’t have products dedicated to pro audio at the beginning.

We did some hi-fi, but to be honest our technology was far ahead of existing market requirements back then. Nowadays there are switched mode amplifiers and Class D amplifiers in the hi-fi domain, but 20-plus years ago a digital amplifier was 10 times more powerful than necessary. Not even the professional market was ready, in fact.

There was a growing awareness of the benefits of more lightweight chassis, better efficiency and better power-performance ratios, but for us to concentrate solely on audio was a challenge because it was a really new technology that we were trying to establish on the market. You can imagine how difficult that could be!

Is that why you pursued pro audio over hi-fi, at least?

Yes, because it’s more about power efficiency, weight, wattage and portability – things that make a lot of difference to the user. It doesn’t matter if a hi-fi amplifier is the same power but 10 times smaller – sometimes it can make it worse. Those users expect big, heavy boxes that reassure them!

Is the industry catching up with you now?

Powersoft is much more an engineering company than a marketing and branding-led company, so we’ve always had ideas that are way ahead of the industry as a whole. We’ve improved that imbalance in recent years by working more on the marketing side, making sure we are in sync with user requirements – creating a better exposure of what we do to the outside world. But we were born a technology-first company. Maybe, at the same time, more of the industry is looking for what we do nowadays…

27/07/2015 10:04

www.installation-international.com

A brief biography n Claudio Lastrucci co-founded Powersoft in 1995, creating one of the industry’s most effective pioneers of ‘green’ audio power n His official role is as head of research & development, which has seen the company establish switched mode technology and Class D amplification as an industry standard n He graduated from Florence University with a PhD in Power Electronics, but remains a keen musician and still harbours a dream to play concert piano at La Scala

You’ve been expanding into the installation markets. What was new at InfoComm this summer?

We presented the upgraded Ottocanali Series, specifically designed for installation, now featuring the full DSP engine from the flagship X Series for touring. We’ve ported all the processing structure and hardware across, and added audio distribution via Dante. It means very low power consumption, very high efficiency, double redundant power supply and an Ethernet backbone – the first time that we’ve put onto the market a series totally optimised for installation. It has all the matrix-based, multiple channel processing you’d expect from a very high-end solution, placed into an install-friendly package. Dante comes as standard.

We participated in Audinate’s presentations and provided products for demonstration at their events. It’s maturing well, but for practical reasons there may be other protocols that are suited to different purposes – the process of defining networking continues. As an example, on some products we employ AES182 (AESOP), a protocol we developed specifically years ago for live sound, and still has his own pluses for certain applications.

What else is in the portfolio that will attract system integrators?

The software has evolved into packages that can handle really large-scale installations, with control and monitoring of multiple connections and locations. We’ve added features that have been specifically designed for installation, as well as adjustable power consumption settings so that, in certain locations, you can really trim down to the minimum amount of power dissipation under ideal conditions. It makes for systems that are extremely favourable in terms of power consumption.

Are there any particular installation sectors that Powersoft appeals to?

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INTERVIEW: CLAUDIO LASTRUCCI, POWERSOFT The Ottocanali Series is intended for medium to large-scale installations, because in most smaller projects having eight channels in one package is too many. There are simply not enough zones to justify eight different signal feeds. The other great advantage for large installations is that the power consumption is so reduced, saving a lot of energy, cooling and space. One amplifier is a negligible draw on resources: if you need 200 that’s a different matter. If they carry half the weight, and take up half the space of a typical amp room – while requiring only one third of the power used by the alternatives to function – that makes a big difference.

We provide a very interesting software tool to calculate the consumption costs of our products, and the increased return on your investment that you get from the energy savings we achieve. It’s a real eye-opener: the results are staggering. Some of our very large installations demonstrate extraordinary savings, which we are happy to provide detailed proof of to any potential customers. One of our key verticals is the theme park market, where we have some great examples of what can be done with this in mind.

‘[System integration is] a growing market, that’s for sure. Generally speaking, it’s growing faster than the live sector’

What trends do you see in system integration?

It’s a growing market, that’s for sure. Generally speaking, it’s growing faster than the live sector. Although today, within the definition of ‘installation’ you have to include live sound systems that are permanently installed inside a venue or at some other location: it’s really a ‘two in one’ solution. The growth is seen in government investment in cultural infrastructure, but also in private sector concert venues that wish to establish a fixed sound system. There’s a big change in the appreciation of what goes into a fixed system, but it also depends on which region of the world you’re looking at. It’s very different here in Europe to the East, the West and the South, so it’s hard to say there is one common trend.

Some territories are more focused on the demands of installation than on live sound. For example, the renewal of a sound system in the cause of energy restraints is much more of an installation issue – a live sound system doesn’t matter so much. You can live without absolute

19

state-of-the-art efficiency. For installation, the regulations are getting strict on power consumption and noise thresholds, especially for brand new venues.

This is especially noticeable in Europe, and to a slightly lesser extent in the US. On the whole, though, all long-term projects are learning how to examine carefully the issues of long-term power consumption, so the biggest investments have to take this into account.

Is there more collaboration today, more OEMs, more development partners…?

To some extent. There is increasing knowledge of the benefits of integration and, from my point of view, that’s one of the best things happening in the industry. We may not always be the most cost-effective answer, but we’re working on products that, one day, will bring a new priceperformance threshold to the market. It takes time for new ideas to become successful, and you don’t always get the benefits of your own ideas! Collaboration is one way to keep some of the benefits, by planting the seeds of improvement that will grow across the industry and one day make things better for everyone.

We don’t force anyone to put a ‘Powered

by Powersoft’ logo on their products; if our technology is contained within, it’s there to see for anyone who wants to look. If another customer wants to use that slogan, that’s fine. We’re not hiding! But, as I said, we’re an organisation that is led by engineering, not marketing.

Do you have an abiding design philosophy?

Everything is connected. Electronics, physics, perception: perception makes a huge difference to the overall performance of the product. You can’t skip any dimension to get the best results.

Even the temperature, the smell affects the reaction to the performance, and therefore the product. Audiences need to be physically comfortable to embrace the experience.

How far can you, the designer, control that?

Today you can control maybe 40% of the ‘boundary’ conditions of the system. Not so much… which is why I think there is still a lot to be done from this point of view. You can make some details very accurate, even ‘picky’, but sometimes at the expense of other things that, globally, are influencing the experience of the audience. There are still lots of parameters that aren’t in the game yet. Of course, you always concentrate on what you do best – but that’s not the key to the best results as a whole.

www.powersoft-audio.com

27/07/2015 10:04

20 INSTALLFUTURES

August 2015

SESSIONS AT INSTALLFUTURES 9.55-10.35 Opening Keynote The Shape of Things to Come: Emerging Technologies and Their Likely Impact on Install Markets

Futureproof your business Join your industry peers at Bafta on 29 September to discover what the future holds for the AV integration market and how you can plan for it

T

he audio, video and lighting installation industry is going through a period of accelerating technological development.

Development is progressing on a bewildering number of fronts.

First, there’s the simple fact that we can do more with less than we ever could before.

Display pixel pitches are getting smaller; signal can reach greater distances; systems of all kinds are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Computing power continues to rise, and most kit is cheaper and/or more powerful than the equivalent last year.

Additionally, there is a growing raft of technologies aimed at consumers that provide a foundation for canny integrators to build upon.

Doing so, they can deliver solutions that would have been orders of magnitude more expensive to create using only ‘professional’ gear.

Also, the Internet of Things is opening up more and more possibilities. Giving almost anything you can think of its own presence on the internet not only allows systems to be created with a much greater level of granularity – it also allows them to deliver a much more intelligent, more personalised user experience.

But it’s not simply a question of rubbing our hands together and enjoying the benefits of all this new stuff. There’s perhaps no phrase more over-used in this industry by vendors of new kit than ‘game-changing’; but if a new technology genuinely is going to change the game, you need to know what the new rules will be – or risk losing your business.

What’s more, the agenda isn’t purely being

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driven by manufacturers. Success of new products in the market isn’t just about which manufacturer does the best job of educating the market about its new capabilities; the market has to perceive the incremental benefit as being worth the effort, and the risk, of striking out with something new.

Whether a market is ready for a new technology may depend on factors outside the manufacturer’s control: for instance, changing expectations of the end-user of the technology; a different business environment; regulatory, environmental or security issues; or even societal factors.

This rapidly shifting landscape makes it increasingly difficult for companies – anywhere in the AV supply chain – to formulate a roadmap for the future. They constantly need to reassess and re-evaluate their direction, not only to ensure that they are serving the parts of the market with the strongest appetite for solutions, but also that the solutions are the right ones.

New technology That’s why, in our inaugural InstallFutures conference, we’re taking a multi-faceted approach. Some of the newest and most exciting technologies – such as drones and the Internet of Things – will be presented, but we will also dig a little deeper: to find out which sectors show

10.35-11.25 Transformational Technologies… or Short-Term Solutions?

Industry debate is awash with dialogue about emerging technologies. In this scene-setting panel discussion, leading industry voices will examine a cross-section of emerging technologies and consider which ones have the potential to be truly transformative.

11.45-13.00 Technology Showcase: Drones and AR/VR Leading vendors of AR/VR and drone technology will outline their latest solutions – before facing questions from a diverse panel of industry experts. Virtual reality/ augmented reality has a plethora of already explored uses, from medical applications to experience-enhancing installations in museums and galleries – but does it have greater potential? Military applications of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have stolen most of the headlines, but a number of other applications of the technology have been trialled. What potential do drones have in the AV sector, and how important will regulatory and safety issues be?

14.00-14.50 Integrator Insight: How Best to Achieve 2020 Vision?

Although assessing emerging technologies effectively is no mean feat, sensing wider changes in user requirements and then modifying your integration firm to suit is arguably even more challenging. In this forwardlooking panel, leading integrators and consultants will project forward to 2020 and consider how business models will need to change, and whether it will be necessary to target new customer bases and/or verticals.

14.50-15.35 Technology Showcase: Internet of Things The IoT offers the capability for an unprecedented degree of connectivity, automation and control of previously ‘dumb’ devices. Leading consumer electronics manufacturers have declared that it is the future – but where does it offer the greatest potential benefit to the installed AV community?

16.00-16.50 End-User Panel: The Way Forward How do end-users expect their business will be different in 2020? What are they doing to prepare for these changes? Questions from the audience of industry professionals from across the supply chain will provide insight into how the market will evolve.

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22 INSTALLFUTURES the greatest potential, and how precisely these new technologies can be applied, the presenters will be quizzed by a panel of experienced integrators and consultants.

Sometimes, though, it’s one of the established technologies that win the day. When an industry is in a period of transition, it can be hard to get a clear picture of where all the different trends are leading. Which are the protocols, networking standards and transport mediums that have real longevity, and which will eventually be superseded? This is a particularly pertinent question as AV and IT professionals become increasingly interdependent. A panel of industry experts will debate this thorny question, and

August 2015

give their views about what the industry will look like in a few years’ time.

We will also present feature panels where end-users and integrators will discuss what the next few years will be like for them. What will be the issues that will have a bearing on the way they work? What will their customers be demanding of them? What implications will that have, not only for the technologies that they supply, but the way in which they supply them?

No one knows all the answers, of course, but by exhorting opinions from the widest range of experts from across the industry, we stand a better chance of finding out. Why not add your voice to the debate? Come along

to InstallFutures on 29 September. Early bird tickets, at just £75, are available until 25 August. For the latest information on speakers and the schedule for the day visit www.installfutures.com

is proud to participate in this first-ever event of its kind for the UK and European pro-AV community. In many respects, because of the different regulatory environment, the European and UK dealer communities can more immediately and completely profit from the integration of UAVs into their product portfolio and I look forward to providing attendees with a practical straightforward way to make UAVs a major part of their current business plans.”

head of the high-level Object Oriented Software team, he worked on numerous projects such as video archiving with Swiss TV. He was then attracted back to Studer. As CTO, he was challenged to build up the team during a landmark year in which Studer featured prominently at the 2012 London Olympics. He was also given the mandate to lead development into the next generation. Peter led the groundbreaking Infinity Core programme with an integrated development team spanning Switzerland, UK, China and India, which moved processing technology away from being FPGA based to becoming the first x86based high-capacity AoIP system.

Sponsorship A number of sponsorship opportunities are available at, and in the run up to, InstallFutures. n For more details contact Gurpreet Purewal on gpurewal@nbmedia.com or Pete McCarthy on pmccarthy@nbmedia.com.

APPEARING AT INSTALLFUTURES Colin Messenger Senior analyst, Futuresource Consulting Colin has been with Futuresource Consulting for over 20 years, he has been involved with the interactive and schools markets on a day-to-day basis for over 12 years and runs the worldwide interactivity displays research programmes.

Much of Colin’s work has involved providing strategic input for companies planning their future direction within the education sector, drawing on his in-depth understanding of the industry.

Prior to Futuresource he held senior positions at Orange for 10 years, and was general manager of Euronet Cellular Communications.

He was a member of the UK Government’s DfES, Classroom of the Future Project (Ingenium).

At InstallFutures. Colin will give the Opening Keynote. He will draw on a range of Futuresource research services, providing context to the major technology and market trends driving change in the AV industry.

Kevin Kelly President and COO, Stampede Kelly introduced the pro-AV industry to the business building potential of unmanned aerial vehicles and drone-based video systems in 2014, with the market introduction of a UAV product line that is now the largest and broadest in the pro-AV industry. Kelly forged a strategic alliance with Unmanned Vehicle University in 2015 that sets the stage for offering proAV dealers a complete way to profit from the drone revolution by combining product with comprehensive educational programmes that can lead to the full fledged pilot certification required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Under Kelly’s leadership, and in partnership with InfoComm and Unmanned Vehicle University, Stampede staged the industry’s first Drone Pavilion at InfoComm 2015 in Orlando, Florida.

“As the provider of the pro-AV industry’s most complete line of unmanned aerial vehicles that are backed by both technical support and pilot certification programmes, combined with the right professional services, Stampede

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Justin O’Connor Product manager, Biamp Justin O’Connor has been a product manager at Biamp since 2011. He joined from QSC Audio Products where he served as a senior program manager for the company’s digital mixer products. He also worked on several successful powered loudspeaker systems for QSC that have had tremendous impact in the professional audio industry. Justin also played a role in improving work processes for his multi-functional team in new product design and development. His extensive experience also includes product management roles at Niles Audio, JBL Professional and Shure.

Roland Dreesden Managing director, Reflex AV Roland Dreesden is managing director at integrator Reflex AV. He has been with the company for 12 years and has seen first hand the huge leaps forward in technology in that time, be it for personal use, in education, corporate environments and more.

Peter Glaettli CTO, Studer Peter graduated from the ETH University, Zurich with a M.A. in electronic engineering, having completed his master thesis on MADI. His early professional career was spent at Supercomputing Systems, also in Zurich, where he collaborated closely with Studer on development projects, including the landmark D950 digital console.

After two years with Euphonix in Silicon Valley he returned to Super Computing for the next 12 years. As

Roland Hemming RH Consulting Roland Hemming is an audio consultant and project manager. He has managed two of the largest audio projects in the world; the Millennium Dome and the 2012 Olympic Games. His 25-year career in the industry has taken him to live events, construction sites, installations, hotels, rail, cruise ships, theatre, corporate AV, broadcast, education and stadiums. He is also a consultant to manufacturers on the development of forthcoming audio products and, as a digital audio networking expert, is helping to develop and introduce the next generation of audio networking systems.

Matthew Thompson Head of AV, The Royal College of Surgeons Matt began his professional career with Conference Craft in 2000, providing conference AV in the UK and Europe.

Following a contract placement at The Royal College of Surgeons, he was offered a permanent job in 2001.

In 2004 Matt took on all Multimedia responsibilities as senior engineer, and then was promoted in 2008 to head of AV. The RCS AV Team has progressed to embrace the requirements of the modern end-user; deploying tapeless media, videoconferencing, unified communications, webcasting, distance-learning, lecture capture and bespoke live-event multimedia both internally and B2B.

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24 BUSINESS FEATURE: AV/IT INTEGRATION

August 2015

Kramer’s new UK training room uses its own products to enable both presentations and collaboration

Key Points

The tide is not for turning

n Views differ on whether AV has already become integrated with IT – but it is generally agreed that, even if it hasn’t, integration is inevitable n Leading resellers and manufacturers have already equipped themselves to talk knowledgeably to the customer IT team n IT organisations continue to rely on the expertise of AV professionals in deploying video and audio on existing networks n AV/IT integration is an opportunity for, rather than a threat to, AV integrators

AV technology looks set to enter – some would say has already entered - a new world, a world that brings significant opportunity to those prepared to embrace it, argues Ian McMurray

T

here was a time when every English schoolchild knew the legend of the arrogance of King Canute (or Cnut).

Ruling England, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden in the 11th century, he was famously carried on his throne by his courtiers to the ocean’s edge where he commanded the waves to recede.

That legend is now widely used as a metaphor for the futility of attempting to deny inexorable change and inescapable events – and has been used to describe those who see an AV future that has not been wholly subsumed by the world of IT. The question is no longer whether that will

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happen – but rather, has it already happened?

Three key changes in recent times are, perhaps, noteworthy. The first is the growing presence of traditionally IT-focused companies like Microsoft and Cisco in the AV space. A recent high-profile example was the announcement in January by Microsoft of its Surface Hub, in which the company is making a determined play for the collaboration market. Crestron took the opportunity presented by InfoComm to show how its product offering could be integrated with Microsoft’s.

The second is the increasing prevalence of IP-based networks as a way of connecting

devices together – whether locally or remotely.

The third, and possibly most significant change, however, seems to be at the customer end, where integrators are as likely to be talking to IT professionals as to AV specialists.

It’s happened – or has it…?

Brian Davies, European technical director at AMX, is clear. “Our slogan used to be ‘It’s your World.

Take Control’,” he says. Now, it’s ‘AV for an IT world’. That tells you everything about how we see the market. AMX has long shipped products that the IT department feels comfortable with.

They’re Linux-based, for example, and support

23/07/2015 11:19

FEATURE: AV/IT INTEGRATION 25

www.installation-international.com

A little bit of history The term ‘information technology’ (IT) in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review and written by Harold J Leavitt and Thomas L Whisler.

The 1980s saw the invention of the somewhat redundant term ‘information and communication technology’ (ICT). In 2012, the UK’s Royal Society recommended that the term ICT should no longer be used in British schools “as it has attracted too many negative connotations” – it was seen as a ‘soft option’ examination subject. having AV integrated as standard into the IT world.”

He isn’t alone either. “While integration is becoming increasingly popular, there are certain settings, such as education and healthcare, where this is not the case,” claims Andy Nolan, VP UK, Ireland and Northern Europe, Lifesize.

“Many organisations still have separate AV and IT teams. AV teams usually handle events and high-profile meeting management and set-up – and that won’t change anytime soon.”

The two worldviews couldn’t be more divergent.

‘IT professionals are often still nervous about integrating AV’ Roland Dreesden, Reflex IPv6. They’re fundamentally acceptable to an IT buyer, not least because those products allow their policies – such as security – to be observed.”

He has an ally in Kevin Porter, who is manager, control and collaboration at Kramer. “Today, many people are lecturing on AV/IT integration – giving the same lectures with the same content as they were three or four, perhaps even five – years ago,” he smiles. “As far as I’m concerned, AV/IT integration is not happening – it has already happened. I see this first hand. We don’t have AV managers really any more. AV is managed by IT, who want it scripted, automated, secure and with easy management processes.

“In fact,” he remarks, “I’ve even seen the AV Department renamed ‘The Department of Rich Media Content’.”

David Jones, international sales manager at Lightware, is no less clear than Davies or Porter – but with the opposite message. “Almost any serious company will demand a separate system for AV outside the sphere of IT,” he claims. “In fact, most IT managers will simply not allow any AV system on their network. Security fears and the potential to cause bandwidth constraints are the two main reasons we come across – but suffice it to say that we are a very long way from

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On the ground That’s how manufacturers see it – but what about the ‘on the ground’ reality?

“Integration of AV with IT is not quite yet a ‘done deal’, nor is it the norm in the majority of today’s AV installations,” says Roland Dreesden, managing director of integrator Reflex. “I’m certain that it will end up being the case, but I don’t think it’s true to say that it is correct at the moment.”

“There are numerous dedicated AV teams within organisations, and highly skilled AV people within the industry supporting these teams,” he continues. “Most IT professionals are still not fully skilled up in all aspects of AV. That’s particularly true with audio, which is where the challenges are. It’s an area demanding a very specific skill set.

“I’m confident that external specialist AV experience will be required for some time yet,” Dreesden concludes.

“We have certainly seen a change, and it’s

one we’ve responded to by creating a dedicated team for our VC and UC installations who are fully trained and widely experienced in networking infrastructures,” notes David Willie, head of communication and collaboration technologies at integrator Saville Audio Visual.

“This means they are able to talk the same language as the client IT teams and advise them of any demands and impacts that the new deployment may make on existing structures.

For one client, our input enabled them to reduce the bandwidth overload and to incorporate vital redundancy into the network.”

“There is also,” he adds, “a definite and perceptible rise in end-users who want to be able to control the whole of their AV real estate centrally – and that can mean serious IT integration, especially across a geographically dispersed enterprise.”

Lifesize’s Nolan noted that the degree to which AV has become integrated as part of the IT world is somewhat dependent on the market sector involved – and Stijn Ooms, who is director of technology at Crestron, sees important distinctions between applications.

“There are some important considerations for distributing AV signals over the IT infrastructure,” he says, “mainly based around latency and bandwidth. Streaming is great – but not always the right choice. The advantages of streaming are cheap infrastructure, BYOD distribution, limitless distance and broad access to rooms – while point-to-point AV distribution can make sure there is no latency, no network configuration issues to take care of, no compression to worry about – meaning the delivery of video at best quality.”

Video resists It does seem that video remains an application that is resistant to the apparently inexorable encroachment of IT into the AV domain.

“There are a variety of reasons why some organisations are reticent about integration,” believes Rick Seegull, senior VP of sales & marketing at Aurora Multimedia. “It might be an overall lack of knowledge, or perhaps wanting proof of concept and reliability from current product offerings – or it could simply be the

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26 FEATURE: AV/IT INTEGRATION challenge of compression. Most AV over IP – especially video – comes with some form of compression which, if being used in a live event, will create a slight, yet noticeable delay.

That’s why Aurora is developing a noncompressed zero latency AV over IP system called the IPX w/IPBaseT.” “Yes, there is still concern about the ability of AV to swamp available network bandwidth,” adds AMX’s Davies, “and perhaps not always enough knowledge about how best to deal with it. It’s in the balance at present – but the time isn’t far off when we’ll have the technologies that will mean AV applications over the network have minimal impact.” Davies notes the recent acquisition by Harman’s AMX of AV over IP company SVSi as evidence of the direction in which things are going.

Video over the IT network isn’t, though, necessarily a problem – if the integrator has the skills to make it work, as Dreesden points out.

“IT professionals are often still nervous about integrating AV,” he says. “In some government applications, for example, there are concerns about transporting sensitive video and audio data over the network. Then, there is the issue that, historically, IPTV and other streaming solutions generate heavy bandwidth use on networks when not configured properly. Some Ethernet and IP networks have been built up in an unplanned manner, and may have pinch points or bottlenecks that are sensitive to increases in network traffic. The risks associated with these products/solutions across a client’s network can be eliminated through communication and planning with IT departments.”

‘As far as I’m concerned, AV/IT integration is not happening – it has already happened. I see this first hand’ Kevin Porter, Kramer

Complementary skills The point is well made. The relationship between AV professionals and IT professionals is often portrayed as an adversarial one – whereas, in fact, it can easily be one in which the two sides bring highly complementary skills that are mutually valued.

And if integrators are responding to the changing dynamic, so too are manufacturers.

“Our experience is that most IT managers still want a separate network to be established

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August 2015

Case Study

Crestron positive about AV/IT Outlook Anyone who has ever worked for a large company will know the frustration of an inadequate room booking system.

That was a frustration felt by Microsoft employees, even in a building with over 30 meeting rooms – and resulted in a significant loss of productivity. The situation was often exacerbated by finally finding a room, but one in which the AV equipment wasn’t operational.

Microsoft turned to Crestron for a solution – which would have Microsoft Outlook and Exchange at its heart – and standardised on Crestron hardware and software products across the enterprise, including iLux for lighting and shade control, MPCs (wall mount media presentation controllers) for in-room device control, TPMC-8L touchpanels for Hallway Display (allowing booking of rooms from outside the room itself) and Crestron Fusion RV to fulfil the RDM (Remote Device Management) requirement to enable remote detection of failed AV devices.

Crestron DigitalMedia was implemented to manage and distribute HDMI with HDCP, with legacy analogue support, all in a single-cable solution.

Crestron describes its relationship with Microsoft as “the true convergence of IT and AV, destined to create new opportunities and deliver the next generation of enterprise management and communications solutions to the global marketplace”. for the AV infrastructure at this point,” notes Lightware’s Jones, “but that’s not to say we don’t see the benefit of supporting video over IP – we certainly do. That’s why this will be a big focus for us moving into the next year or two, although we’re not yet seeing the overwhelming market demand that many claim to be seeing. The gap between the two industries is certainly closing, but not at a rate that many seem to think.”

Ooms points out that provision of an Ethernet port and WiFi support are now becoming commonplace, while Seegull refers to his company’s commitment to web-based control for more than a decade.

“Go back seven years: I had a network port on a scaler,” remembers Porter. “Now, the scalers have integrated web browsers, alerting capabilities and so on. Why have IP control sitting alongside RS-232? How long before the RS-232 port disappears?”

In fact, he believes the change is even more fundamental.

“Today, products are becoming software, not hardware,” he says. “That means that it’s a business that’s starting to depend on programmers, rather than engineers.”

AMX’s Davies is philosophical. “When you see customers and technology moving in the same direction,” he smiles, “you need to be sure you’re going in that direction too.”

That statement raises the question: why are customers moving in the direction of integration of the two disciplines? The industry is clear that

there are numerous advantages – and very few disadvantages.

“End users gain cheap infrastructure, easy BYOD integration and limitless access,” says Ooms. “On the downside, depending on the codec, they may lose some video quality and add latency.”

“It’s all about ease of use,” adds Porter.

“Hunting for VGA, HDMI and DisplayPort plugs doesn’t compare well with connecting via WiFi. It’s a technology everyone’s familiar with. Yes, mDNS technologies like casting which broadcast to the network are fine for the home, but are challenging on large, multipleconnected networks.”

“Organisations can reduce the need for oneoff, silo projects that carry extra resourcing costs if the overall solution is fully integrated into business processes and is repeatable and saleable across further locations and geographies,” offers Nolan.

“Decisions on solutions can be made faster,” believes Dreesden, “and that’s helped by having a single point of contact on both the customer and the integrator side.”

“Lower cost of installation, fewer products to install and simpler cabling infrastructure are some of the advantages of integration,” chimes in Seegull.

Victim of success The single most significant reason for integration can, however, be attributed to the

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28 FEATURE: AV/IT INTEGRATION fact that, in effect, AV technology has become a victim of its own success. Once, the state of the art was acetate foils on an overhead projector; now, AV is of fundamental importance to many businesses. It has, to all intents and purposes, become mission-critical, and is an asset that the large majority of companies cannot afford to be without for any length of time – much like they cannot do business without their IT infrastructure.

August 2015

In June, Crestron announced that it had integrated Microsoft’s Surface Hub with its own control technology to create a turnkey meeting room package

Mission critical Ooms takes up the story. “Businesses today revolve around speed, clarity and completeness of communication and collaboration,” he believes, “and to achieve that takes more than just AV technology. IT and telephony are an integral part of the mix. AV is now just as important as voicemail, email and printers – which means it needs to be easy to use, easy to manage and reliable.”

“It is wholly unacceptable for an executive to show up to host a meeting to find out that some key component of the meeting room isn’t working,” he goes on. “It’s not just about frustration – it’s about lost time and productivity. That can all be avoided with AV systems that are integrated and centrally

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managed just like other critical systems.

“How do we get there?” he asks. “We take a page from the IT book. It’s not uncommon for infrastructure that supports critical business functions to comprise intelligent devices that were designed to work together, designed to be attached to the network and designed to be managed. That’s the way forward.”

There is, though, an argument that the discussion of whether the AV world is being taken over by the IT world is a futile one. It

is arguable that what defines the AV market isn’t who the players are, or the products and technologies that are involved – or even who, in the customer organisation, makes the decision.

The market has always been defined by the solutions it brings – and solutions like digital signage, training rooms, videoconferencing, boardrooms, visitor attractions and so on haven’t gone away. And they won’t go away.

The challenge for integrators is to embrace new ways of doing what they’ve always done.

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30 FEATURE: AV/IT INTEGRATION Understandable fear There is, of course, an understandable fear that AV integrators will somehow be progressively muscled out of the market by integrators who have traditionally operated in the IT space.

That can, though, only happen if AV integrators allow two things to happen. The first is that they fail to acquire the necessary knowledge of IT technologies, processes and, perhaps most importantly, ‘careabouts’ of customer IT professionals.

And the second? The second is to undersell the enormous value they bring in terms of knowledge, understanding and experience in the solution/application. Many in the industry note the inevitability of AV becoming integrated with IT – while simultaneously pointing out that IT professionals continue to be challenged by how best to work with both video and audio. That’s a point made emphatically by Lifesize’s Nolan.

“AV will unquestionably merge into IT,” he says, “but organisations must not underestimate the value and expertise of AV integrators who play a critical role in ensuring projects are expertly deployed and can deliver high levels of customer satisfaction.”

And, as Seegull notes, it may not only be AV integrators who are nervous.

“Yes,” he says, “there is still the apprehension from integrators and some manufacturers.

There is also apprehension from IT departments as they will always assume it will be part of their data network and may fear they will now need to manage the AV side as well, and its possible effects on data communication.”

Unsurprisingly, there’s no real agreement as to where we might be in the transition towards an IT-centric AV world. Where there is agreement, though, is that change is both ongoing and inevitable. But, perhaps it was ever thus? One thing that is very apparent is that leading integrators like Reflex and Saville have invested in learning about, and equipping themselves for, the new world with considerable success.

“Integration needs to become cleverer, with AV professionals requiring a greater understanding of how IT networks operate,” believes Dreesden. “An understanding of switches, firewalls, ports, UDP traffic and segmented networks – VLANs – are just a few of the areas of knowledge to be developed.

These are challenges that a conventional AV network would not have encountered.”

And, as AMX’s Davies explains, acquiring and developing the necessary skills will only become easier for AV integrators.

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August 2015

“One of the big benefits of the way the AV world is moving is the pool of talent that’s becoming available to integrators,” he believes. “School leavers and graduates have an understanding of IT and networks.

We can teach them about the AV parts of the job – but they bring with them the base knowledge and experience that are invaluable.”

Of course, true students of English history know that the reality of the Canute legend is that he knew he could not make the waves turn back. The story is now interpreted as an example of Canute’s piety, and his understanding that even a supposedly all-powerful king did not have power over the inevitability of natural forces.

It seems entirely likely that IT, in the world of AV, is just such a natural force.

www.amx.com www.auroramultimedia.com www.crestron.eu www.kramerelectronics.com www.lightware.eu www.lifesize.com www.reflex.co.uk www.saville-av.com

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32 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: CONCERT HALLS

August 2015

A Meyer Sound Constellation system was chosen for Estonia’s Nokia Concert Hall

Key Points n Longer reverberation times are more preferable for classical/orchestral music than other styles n Active acoustical systems are helping to render new and existing venues suitable for multiple musical styles

Striking wrong notes?

n Rotating diffuser/absorber panels and modular drapes, among other long-established techniques, continue to play a vital role

Sir Simon Rattle’s recent call for a new concert hall to be built in London have prompted a wider debate about the standards and suitability of modern musical performance spaces. But to what extent can new technology and sophisticated acoustical treatments make a difference, and are truly effective multipurpose concert halls now achievable? David Davies finds out

A

s one of the most influential figures in classical music today, with four decades of senior roles at some of the world’s leading orchestras to his credit, Sir Simon Rattle’s opinions are never likely to be under-reported. But even so, it would be fair to say that the principal Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra chief conductor and forthcoming (from late 2017) London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) music director’s recent comments about concert halls in London and Munich have ruffled their fair share of feathers.

Speaking to the BBC in early 2015, shortly before his appointment at the LSO was made public, Rattle said that both cities lacked concert halls able to achieve optimum results for classical music. “The music-lovers of London and the country would deserve to have something where also the orchestras can flourish. You have no idea how wonderful an orchestra like the LSO can sound in a great concert hall,” he remarked.

Close observers will be aware that the LSO’s home is none other than London’s Barbican. This venue alone remains the subject of contrasting opinions, while there has also been plenty of debate elsewhere about other major European

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concert halls – particularly those built after what we might term the ‘high peak’ of the classical tradition.

In the UK more generally, The Sage Gateshead, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham are arguably the only major additions to the landscape for orchestral performance during the last 25 years – and all of these are far from single-purpose, hosting many types of music as well as other live entertainment.

Built in an era with vastly improved acoustic prediction and modelling capabilities, as well as highly directive loudspeaker technologies, these venues have won widespread acclaim. But to what extent is it really possible to create a hall suitable for many different kinds of music, and what further techniques might be coming down the line to allay the clearly enduring concerns of Sir Simon and his peers?

RT challenges There is a general consensus that the greatest obstacle to creating a venue suitable for multiple musical styles is the need to deliver variable reverberation times (RTs). Jay Fullmer, applications expert at JBL Professional, neatly summarises the

Ten of the best A roll call of venues (listed in no particular order) in the UK and mainland Europe nominated by featured vendors, as well as concertgoers and consultants, for their sound quality across different genres: 1) Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK 2) Berlin Philharmonie, Germany 3) Barbican, London, UK 4) Royal Festival Hall, London, UK 5) Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finland 6) The Sage Gateshead, UK 7) Philharmonie de Paris, France 8) Culture and Congress Centre Concert Hall, Lucerne, Switzerland 9) Nordea Concert Hall, Tallinn, Estonia 10) Grand Theatre of the National Opera, Warsaw primary differences in play.

“It is well-known that the optimum reverberation time for a classical music venue is

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34 FEATURE: CONCERT HALLS longer. The Boston Symphony Hall, for example, has a reverberation time of approximately 1.9 seconds, which is considered to be near-ideal for large symphony reproduction,” says Fullmer. “As the reverberation times shorten, the ideal use for the hall changes. A room with a 1.5-second reverb time is typically better for choral music, whereas a 1.2-second room works better for chamber music and most solo instruments. For pop and rock music acceptable reverb times should fall somewhere between 0.5 and 1.2 seconds, with high absorption coefficients extending well down below 100Hz.” It stands to reason that the best possible result for a specific style will be a venue built entirely to service its requirements. But while there are some issues that are always tricky to address – for example, “venues with focused reflection like a dome ceiling”, says Meyer Sound director of system optimisation Bob McCarthy – there are now many techniques that can be employed to deliver significant improvements to existing venues, and to allow new-builds to be properly multifunctional.

Over the past 10 years, active acoustical systems such as Meyer Sound’s Constellation – which utilises a patented algorithm, advanced digital processing and miniature transducer technology to allow the acoustical properties of a room to be altered to suit the nature of the event taking place – have inevitably assumed greater prominence in this regard.

‘Physical acoustics have a fixed character. It’s like one jacket that fits only a few types of outfits. Active acoustics is like a jacket that changes colour and can match whatever you throw its way’ Bob McCarthy, Meyer Sound

“Physical acoustics have a fixed character; it’s like one jacket that fits only a few types of outfits,” says McCarthy. “Active acoustics is like a jacket that changes colour and can match whatever you throw its way. It gives venues the flexibility to make changes instantly to provide the optimal sonic qualities for a programme.”

Among the benefits of Constellation, he adds, are its ability to “provide early reflections and reverberation to add sonic immersion to a space so the audience can feel closer to the stage.

The flexibility to adjust a room’s sonic properties instantly is immensely crucial to many venues.

Constellations can also provide spectral balance in spaces that have too much high or low.”

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August 2015

Case Study

d&b solution delivers flexibility for Denmark’s Koncerthuset The need to accommodate an increasingly diverse roll-call of musical styles informed the recent audio installation at Copenhagen’s iconic Koncerthuset, which specifically revolved around the venue’s largest space – the 1,800-capacity Concert Hall.

Spoken word and jazz were the priorities for the original system design, but in more recent times the requirements have expanded considerably to include rhythmic concerts, conferences, TV productions, fashion shows, meetings and presentations, family and children’s shows.

An updated PA installation was among the top priorities on the investment list “There were different challenges the new PA system needed to handle,” according to venue owner Danmarks Radio’s (DR) head of planning and production Flemming Bo Nielsen. “Apart from an even coverage of the entire auditorium, adequate Speech Transmission Index (intelligibility), sufficient SPL, etc, the hall’s audience is seated 360º around the stage. Furthermore, all balconies and seating sections are asymmetrical, horizontally and vertically.”

After a detailed test, the decision was made to install a d&b system based on the V-Series, specifically Vi loudspeakers. Ultimately, the new system was installed and commissioned in just two days, in time for the annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

Scalable systems Another major player, Yamaha, has just released the third version of its AFC3 (Active Field Control) system, which uses microphones, FIR filters and sophisticated DSP to adjust and enhance the architectural acoustic characteristics of a venue.

Ron Bakker, who is systems marketing manager for commercial audio/pro audio at Yamaha Music Europe, is in no doubt about the latterday ability to create a truly multipurpose concert hall.

“This is now very well possible without a doubt,” he says. “We have installed systems in auditoriums with reverberation times of less than half a second – even on the dry side for rock ’n’ roll concerts and drama. Enhancing this to a natural response for acoustic performances is no problem, and enhancing this to a beyond belief response is also easy (although we normally don’t do that – our goal is to keep the enhancement natural).”

Explaining the principles behind AFC3, Bakker notes that the technique applies a simple four-bus structure to support systems of all sizes. “Large or small, in all cases only four microphones are used to generate the diffuse reverberation field,” he says. “The smallest system we installed has only eight speakers, the largest system has over 100

speakers for reverberation – and in both cases the result is a perfect and absolutely natural acoustic response. Apart from a broad scalability of the reverberation system, subsystems are often added to provide support for dedicated issues such as a lack of lateral reflections, poor ensemble conditions on stage, and poor acoustic conditions for the under-balcony seats.”

Loudspeaker directivity For those venues whose budgets may not stretch to such fully integrated approaches, more conventional physically variable acoustical treatments – for example, rotating diffuser/ absorber panels and modular drapes – may be utilised to enhance existing infrastructures. But improvements in directivity control also mean there is much that can be done with newer generations of loudspeaker systems alone.

“Correct loudspeaker selection may overcome some aspects of the room by directing sound energy away from reflective surfaces, such as in the use of taller arrays which exhibit great vertical pattern control, and also by the use of advanced electro-acoustical modelling programs that optimise the ‘shape’ of the sound to the audience seating areas,” says Fullmer.

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FEATURE: CONCERT HALLS 35

www.installation-international.com

Martin Audio’s Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) system – which enables computer control of each individual acoustic cell in the array for optimum directivity control – is among those to have been applied to multi-style concert halls.

“Because we have such good directional control with MLA, it is possible to get exceptionally good quality audio even in more reverberant environments,” says Martin Audio product support engineer Robin Dibble. “For example, with MLA it is possible to get good results for other types of music even when a venue has been optimised for acoustic

reproduction, which typically has longer RT than those optimised for amplified.”

World-class facilities Although treatments for any venue whose primary purpose is classical music remain controversial for the more puritanically inclined, many more would argue that they have played an integral role in delivering a generation of superior venues. Moreover, ongoing developments in DSP and directive audio mean that venues are destined to become more – not less – flexible.

The benefits of these developments are

likely to be particularly noticeable when applied to older venues in need of an overhaul. JBL Professional senior market manager Paul Bauman points to the results achieved at one major venue: “Personally I’ve heard fantastic results at the Royal Albert Hall with an LCR sound design implementation, so it is possible to get a good result in an existing venue with additional acoustic treatment, judicious sound design, detailed system installation/EQ and appropriate system operation. It’s important to ‘work with the room’ and not try to overpower it with SPL.” As for London as a whole… Well, there is no shortage of people who would claim that London already boasts several world-class facilities for classical and other music forms. But in terms of Sir Simon Rattle’s recent call, the greatest obstacle to a major new venue surely won’t be theoretical or political reservations – it will be the availability of sufficient funding in a period when conditions for more elevated artistic pursuits are becoming evermore adverse.

The Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University opted for a Martin Audio MLA system during a recent upgrade

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36 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS

August 2015

NEC is seeing demand for interactive touchscreens in education

Key Points n Touch interactivity is increasingly expected and often the preferred method n The education and commercial markets are growing rapidly

Keep in touch

n Infrared technology is most common, but still suffers from operational issues on very large screens n New interactive techniques: gesture, facial detection and mood recognition are being incorporated into interactive displays

Responding directly to users’ commands through a touch interface allows displays to be more intuitive and responsive. It is fast becoming the preferred method across most large-screen market sectors.

Steve Montgomery investigates recent advances

T

he ability to control an application by touching a display screen has evolved significantly over the past few years.

Familiarity with touch-sensitive operation on phones and tablets has brought about ubiquity of interaction that is making touch the preferred, and frequently the expected, method.

“As younger people brought up on Smartboards enter the workplace, there is evidence of a new wave of expectation that screens should be interactive and intuitive,” believes Jeremy Stewart, director, U-Touch Group. “Children regularly touch TVs and screens and are often disappointed when they are not interactive.”

Beyond single, dual and multi-touch response, other interactive sensing devices, such as cameras and motion sensors, detect and respond to users’ gestures, faces and even their moods.

Any location that employs a large screen display to communicate with viewers is a contender: huge volumes of interactive displays have been deployed in self-service kiosks, museums, transport hubs and retail markets.

Expanding growth areas include the education and corporate sectors where collaboration and group working are becoming more prevalent.

Jon Sidwick, vice president of distributor Maverick, notes: “A significant area in which interactivity is changing usage is in the transition from whiteboards to flatpanels in the education sector. In the UK and the Netherlands, flatpanels

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are already taking the majority of sales. The expansion of interactivity is continuing in all sectors, particularly corporate meeting areas, huddle rooms, workflow and brainstorming areas.”

Daniela Dexheimer, product manager solutions, marketing and business development for NEC Display Solutions Europe, agrees: “Interactive displays in classrooms and corporate meeting rooms enable teachers and executives to present in a much more creative way. With dedicated software packages, people are able to not just present and annotate but share and collaborate with multiple participants across multiple devices. This level of interaction offers a compelling medium and encourages participation and engagement. In the educational environment it provides an effective learning tool and within business, a means to increase productivity and efficiency.”

LCD screens with integrated touch sensors offer advantages over projectors. Consequently they are displacing projection systems across the board. “Large integrated flatpanels are winning over projection systems in education and business applications,” notes Peter MyttonBayley, technical sales engineer at LG. One-piece, integrated devices are easier to install and configure; projectors still have issues with lamp life and maintenance. Larger interactive displays of 50in and above are becoming much more economic and competing

successfully in these sectors, when total cost of ownership is considered.”

This has led manufacturers, such as LG and NEC, to develop their own range of touch displays rather than rely on third-party add-on solutions.

Integrated design brings advantages. Overlays, although seemingly a lesser investment, actually introduce more cost and the need for an additional bezel affects the aesthetic design.

The major disadvantage of touch overlays is the heightened space between the glass and the LCD panel, which creates misalignment between the image and perceived touch point. The air gap between the overlay and the display surface can also trap moisture, causing condensation to collect in the viewing area.

Touch technologies Several different technologies are used to achieve touch capability, each developed and used in different areas of application with specific usage criteria. By far the most common system in use for large flatpanel displays is infrared ‘beam-break’ technology. Using a series of infrared transmitters and receivers, the presence and location of users’ fingers can be detected and located. “IR is a tried-and-tested technique for large-format displays and with judicious placement of transmitters and receivers, problems associated with ambient light and operation in direct sunlight can be overcome,

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www.installation-international.com

as can false detection from stray objects and palms,” points out Mytton-Bayley.

One of the limiting factors is the ability to apply them to larger screen sizes of 40-46in and above. Stewart adds: “Users want bigger and better all the time. The main challenge we see is scaling performance and integrity over larger sizes. For example, optical is fundamentally flawed for screens over 65in; projected capacitance attracts major cost issues over 55in.

But these aspects will be addressed in time.”

Simon Perry, director, DisplayLite, points out another: “We are experiencing greater demand for touchscreens of 70in and larger. Units of this size can be very heavy. In some cases specialist lifting equipment may be required to move and lift the touchscreen into position. Many thirdparty stand manufacturers are now offering motorised stands and platforms with fully adjustable height and tilt capability.”

On the table Demand for interactivity has led to the development of new display formats. Touch tables for collaborative working and retail product promotion are growing in popularity.

Touch sensitivity is often supplemented by barcode readers and RFID sensors so that the display can be associated with actual product samples. Recently introduced transparent displays also benefit from touch capability and are finding application in new market areas; from in-store retail displays to interactive and intelligent fridges that are capable of providing product information and advertising to customers at the point of sale.

Wolfgang Herfurtner, CEO of Evoluce, predicts

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FEATURE: INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS that demand for this type of interactive display will “explode, when the transparency of the display allows it to be used without a brightly lit backbox. New applications for conference rooms, retail, museums and in the home will emerge for which touch interaction will be a big feature.”

Large, high-resolution LED displays are also targets for interactive applications. “Our 1.2mm LED display is used throughout commerce and industry,” explains Laila Hede Jensen, SiliconCore’s vice president of sales for Europe.

“Boardrooms are a huge market for interactivity at the moment, enabling presentations showing

‘Large integrated flatpanels are winning over projection systems in education and business applications’ Peter Mytton-Bayley, LG

multiple windows at one time. Teams of users can simultaneously swipe though content as well as combining BYOD applications. Car manufacturers are installing large interactive visualisation displays that enable them to zoom into the tiniest details in the car. Our technology is completely scalable with interactivity as an external add-on, rather than inbuilt, so touchscreens suit the exact requirement and application.”

Microsoft has identified the corporate

37

interactive screen as a major market opportunity and will be shipping new products later this year to address it. Described by Microsoft as a ‘new kind of productivity experience optimised for groups’, the Microsoft Surface Hub uses a variety of sensing techniques to detect 100 multitouch points and three simultaneous pen inputs. Dual front-facing video cameras and a four-element microphone array detect and follow voices to eliminate background noise during videoconferencing sessions.

“The Microsoft Surface Hub is a perfect example of a major manufacturer designing the ideal solution,” believes Sidwick. “This product will affect the meeting room market in the same way that the iPhone affected the mobile market.

This is a fundamental step change, delivering full communication and collaboration functionality through the highest-quality touch interface in a familiar operating environment platform. It will be a game changer.”

For future developments, we should look towards mobile phone technology and trends.

Direct touch control is almost exclusive, user identification, voice and gesture control are being introduced and are likely to become a standard means of control. These techniques will undoubtedly filter down to large-format interactive displays in the years to come.

www.displaylite.co.uk www.evoluce.com www.lg.com www.nec-display-solutions.com www.silicon-core.com www.tdmaverick.eu www.u-touch.co.uk

21/07/2015 16:28

38 REGIONAL VOICES

August 2015

GERMANY

Our latest national market survey suggests that the health of the German installation sector broadly matches the country’s economic prosperity; but some of the concerns of our readers in that country will be familiar to AV professionals anywhere

G

ermany has long been the economic powerhouse of Europe. It has the world’s fourth-largest economy (if local spending power is not factored in), is the thirdlargest exporter and has the highest trade surplus of any country.

Its influence on the world stage is not purely economic: its chancellor Angela Merkel – the EU’s longest-serving head of goverment – came fifth

1.6%

GDP annual growth, 2014 Source: European Commission

in Forbes’ 2014 list of the World’s Most Powerful People (behind the leaders of Russia, the USA and China, and the Pope); perhaps not surprisingly, she has made the top slot of that publication’s list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women no fewer than eight times.

When the global economic crisis hit, Merkel introduced shorter working hours, with her government topping up the shortfall in workers’ pay packets. This helped to avert a recession in Germany, unlike most other countries in Europe.

Currently, Germany is being seen by some as the villain in the Greek crisis, forcing that country to adopt austerity measures as a condition of further loans, against the wishes of the Greek people. More than 100 members of the ruling Syriza party called the agreement “a coup that goes directly against any kind of notion of

38 Install182 Regional Voices_Final.indd 1

democracy and popular sovereignty”.

Turning to our survey of the installation market, our findings tend to confirm the picture of a prosperous sector. The vast majority of our respondents believe that their business will grow over the next few months, and while some thought there would be no change, none was expecting a fall in their revenues.

Financial matters are also fairly low on the list of concerns of our German readers. Tabulated below is our regular set of business challenges, which the survey respondents place in order of relevance to their business. Employees’ skills and knowledge, along with project complexity, are the prime concerns; this contrasts starkly with the picture from the UK last month, where these three challenges were at the bottom of the list, with cost pressures at the top.

Finance and skills also figured in our respondents’ advice to integrators looking to

0.7%

Budget surplus, 2014 Source: Trading Economics

enter the German market: “Work with experienced manpower; be sure that your business is well financed”, said Rainer Sprinzl, managing director sales and marketing at distributor COMM-TEC. Finally, some of the advice to manufacturers looking to start trading in Germany will be familiar to regular readers of this feature. Wolfgang Griese of AV sales and rental house AVI-Studio advised manufacturers “not to go over the [heads of] distribution to support the dealers/installers”.

Germany may have a thriving national economy and installation sector, but it seems that some of the issues that it faces know no boundaries.

To what extent do these challenges apply to your business?

GREATLY Ensuring staff keep up to date with the latest technologies Recruiting/retaining employees with the right level of skills Managing complex projects Getting paid on time The need to expand into new vertical markets Cost pressures Maintaining a good project pipeline without over- or under-committing people SLIGHTLY

22/07/2015 11:22

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Kevin Kelly, President & COO, Stampede, will lead the Technology Showcase: Drones session, which will look at the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles in the AV sector.

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24/07/2015 15:36

40 SOLUTIONS: PAVILION ZERO, MILAN EXPO

August 2015

ITALY

The pavilion covers issues such as food prices and over eating Pictures: Mike Clark

Installed Video

OF THE MONTH

n Panasonic PT-DZ13KE projectors n Epson EB-Z1000U projectors n Epson G6550, 6900WU, G6900W projectors n Epson EB-Z10000U, EB-Z10005U projectors n Christie Roadster HD20K projectors n ViVa HD screens n Spinetix HMP200 players n Dataton Watchout/Watchpax

Starting from Zero Sculpture, sets and AV and lighting technology spotlight man’s relationship with nature and its fruits at this Expo 2015 pavilion, writes Mike Clark

T

he first thing the majority of visitors see on their arrival at Expo 2015 in Milan is the towering 10,000sqm hillshaped wooden structure of Pavilion Zero, curated by Davide Rampello and designed by Michele de Lucchi. The pavilion provides an introduction to the Expo site, taking visitors on a captivating journey to explore how much mankind has produced, the transformation of natural landscape, and the culture and rituals of food consumption. Mistakes made and future risks are also highlighted.

Since 1972, eclectic scenographer Giancarlo Basili, responsible for the high-impact design of each of the pavilion’s 12 ‘rooms’, has designed award-winning sets for countless opera and prose works, films by top Italian directors, videos by Italian recording artists and publicity spots. Basili translated Rampello’s visions and suggestions into theatre, and Turin’s Set Up Live won the tender for fitting out the pavilion.

Italvideo was responsible for the impressive amount of high-profile video equipment throughout and its team included senior sales manager Pietro Fuccio, Enrico Sarcinelli, network and digital infrastructure technician and Radoslav Blagoev.

The impressive entrance is inspired by a huge antique Baroque monastery library, where each of the countless drawers soaring up to the ceiling symbolises an animal, food produce and nutritional habit.

Atmospheric music is played back through two clusters, each with six modules of dB Technologies DVA Mini, plus four SB12M subs.

Audio throughout was supplied by Pixie Sound

40-41 Install182 Solutions 1_Final.indd 1

and other hardware included dB Technologies L160D, Ecler Audeo 108, HK Fast, FBT MAXX2, Martin Audio F15 and EAW JF100 enclosures.

Walking through the library doors, visitors find themselves in a room hosting the projection of a short historical film by Mario Martone, based on hunting, fishing, agriculture and sheep farming.

The room also features a 23m tree towering through the roof. The film, shot in 4K, is played out using nine of the 18 Dataton Watchout/ Watchpax systems installed in the pavilion at a resolution Fuccio describes as “non-existent” – 8160 x 3060 pixels, adding: “We decided to try it, and it worked, in spite of the doubts on behalf of the Swedish manufacturers. The original projection mapping system creates a (46m x 17.5m) ‘vidiwall’ with 14 Panasonic PT-DZ13KE projectors.”

Here the high-impact soundtrack is reproduced by five stacked clusters, each with a pair of dB Technologies DVA T8 modules plus two DVA S1518N subs.

Planting the seed In the next room, seeds and vegetables from all over the world form mural designs reminiscent of Dutch painter Mondrian’s ‘grid’ style. The centre hosts 13 ViVa Screen HD opaque panel (VSPO), high-performance screens flown from the ceiling, with an Epson G6550 projector projecting fruit and vegetables on each one.

Fuccio continues: “Here, the difficulty consisted in running the video content in such a way that the same image didn’t appear on two screens simultaneously as the video ’chain’ ran around the screens.

Lighting n Anolis ArcLine Optic 24 SW LED bars n iGuzzini LED Plus recessed luminaires n Coemar LEDKo P White n Coemar LEDKo VariWhite n Coemar Parlite LEDs n Spotlight Domino floodlights n ETC Source Fours n Robert Juliat followspots n iGuzzini Underscore LED strip

Audio n dB Technologies DVA Mini, DVA T8 speakers n dB Technologies SB12M, S1518N subs n dB Technologies L160D speakers n JB Systems K80 speakers n HK Audio Fast speakers n FBT MAXX2 speakers n Martin Audio F15 speakers n EAW JF100 speakers n Ecler Audeo 108 speakers

Control + Power n Ecler Mimo 88 matrices n Crown DSi 2000, DS1 1000 amps n MA Lighting grandMA2 Light “Since we had to use the projectors in portrait mode, we asked Epson to run some trials, and they came up with lamps to which they fitted heat sinks that solved the problem.”

The following rooms host an all-black environment filled with white farm animals, one shows the tools and equipment developed through time to exploit land or capture animals.

A huge antique mill is at its centre, along with a series of large vases, bottles and other containers, some dating back to thousands

22/07/2015 16:05

www.installation-international.com

SOLUTIONS: PAVILION ZERO, MILAN EXPO

About the installer n Founded in 1997, Italvideo is headquartered in Filago (Bergamo, Italy) n The firm specialises in rental and audio-video installations for conventions, conferences, exhibitions and wherever communication must be enhanced with cutting-edge technology n As a partner of leading organisers of exhibitions and conferences in Italy and supplier of the main Italian and international exhibition centres, it has participated in key events worldwide, including the 2005 ad Aichi EXPO (Japan) as the supplier of AV material for the Italian pavilion, a role it also played in 2010 in Shanghai n The company also provides video production, software development, broadcast and system integration facilities of years before Christ. Only the last room has projections of the products stored on them (grain, oil, etc) via two Epson 6900WU, but each has its own FX and background music sound system: 12 JB Systems K80 enclosures, 10 more JB Systems K80 and a pair of dB Technologies L160D respectively.

Audio control and power throughout the pavilion is courtesy of two Ecler Mimo 88 matrices, and 14 Crown DSi amps (eight 2000 and six 1000 models).

The more thought-provoking part of the visitor route begins with a huge videowall made up of over 500 Samsung 40in displays showing the cost of food produce on worldwide markets and how the fruits of nature are reduced to mere figures. There is also a ‘Waste’ room, highlighting a huge hill of food wasted by man with archive cinema footage of scenes showing people overeating, projected by a Christie Roadster HD20K. Then there is a ‘disaster’ theatre using three Epson G6900W projectors and a series of mirrors that give the illusion of a much larger area, showing man-made and natural risks facing humanity (drought, nuclear accidents, tsunamis, etc).

Visitors can watch a projection of a short historical film by Mario Martone about hunting, fishing, agriculture and sheep farming

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Looking to the future The last two rooms illustrate the possibilities of a better future via best practices, with a short film explaining the UN theme for Expo Milano 2015: The Zero Hunger Challenge – United for a sustainable world (with five Epson EB-Z10000U and an Epson EB-Z10005U) and landscapes, with other impressively large projections via 13 Epson EB-Z1000U. Fuccio explains: “Apart from the technical aspects, the main problems involved in this project were the fact that the architect insisted on all hardware being invisible and having to obtain large-scale projections with projectors that couldn’t be installed in line, but had to be staggered to avoid obstacles that were found as construction work proceeded.

“A couple of software programs for projector management and calibration on multi-projection projects were developed by Panasonic, following our input, as was a zoom/adjustable version of a wide-angle lens. Where we had very highresolution videos and long cable runs, we used Cat6 cable and the remainder was Cat5.

Nineteen Spinetix HMP200 players were also deployed in the pavilion.”

41

Interesting features were also to be found in the pavilion’s lighting. The challenging job of illuminating the pavilion was entrusted to Italian director of photography Aldo Solbiati.

He explains: “Following numerous meetings with Basili, the ideal lighting setups for the sculptures and sets was established.

“A prototype LEDKo TM moving head fixture was requested and supplied by Coemar.

The Expo was an ideal testing ground, with months of almost non-stop operation! This unit will soon be on the market, targeting entertainment, in particular television and theatre applications.”

Rightly proud of the project, he concluded: “An astonishing result was achieved, as the huge pavilion was illuminated with an overall consumption of just 75kW, thanks to the fact that approximately 95% of the fixtures were LED powered.”

In fact, apart from 12 Spotlight Domino floodlights, two Robert Juliat followspots and 40 ETC Source Fours, the rest for the lighting provided by Audiolux, the contractor chosen

by Setup Live, was all LED based. It consisted of 80 Anolis ArcLine Optic 24 SW LED bars, 135 Coemar LEDko P White, 22 Coemar LEDko VariWhite, 20 Coemar LEDKo moving head units, five Coemar Parlite LED RGB, 50 iGuzzini LED Plus recessed luminaires and 210m of iGuzzini Underscore LED strip.

Solbiati was assisted by LD Marco Piva, who, among other things, programmed each individual room’s lighting with three consoles, which remained on site: an MA Lighting GrandMA2 Light and two Compulite Spark 4D.

www.anolis.eu www.audiolux.biz en.beglec.com www.christiedigital.com www.coemar.com www.compulite.com www.crownaudio.com www.dataton.com www.dbtechnologies.com www.eaw.com www.ecler.com www.epson.com www.etcconnect.com www.fbt.it www.iguzzini.it www.hkaudio.com www.italvideo.it www.malighting.com www.martin-audio.com www.panasonic.com www.pixiesound.it www.robertjuliat.com www.samsung.com www.setuplive.com www.spinetix.com www.spotlight.it www.vivascreen.it

22/07/2015 16:05

42 SOLUTIONS: ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB, WIMBLEDON UNITED KINGDOM

August 2015

RG Jones has been providing audio facilities for the Wimbledon Championships since 1985

Installed

New BLUs, please The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) has upgraded its extensive audio network, moving to a Dante system to enable an increased channel count. Simon Duff reports

R

G Jones Sound Engineering has been providing audio facilities for the worldfamous All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Championships since 1985.

In 2015 that remit covers a wide spectrum, from the umpire’s microphones through the signal chain to the PAs that surround all 19 grass courts. The integrator is also responsible for a range of intercom systems, radio microphones and a site-wide paging system used for emergency messaging, spectator control and the world-renowned ‘rain stops play’ announcement. RG Jones also provides extensive broadcast feeds, including umpire microphones, commentary box feeds as well as many corporate presentation elements.

The total microphone channel input count is in the hundreds.

RG Jones’ Wimbledon team is led by Jon Berry, installation department head of sales and operation, working with Tim Speight, project manager and Jamie Short, project engineer.

During the fortnight of the Championships, RG Jones has nine sound engineers working full time on site.

CobraNet was introduced at the AELTC in 2011 and provided RG Jones with site-wide

(L to R) The RG Jones team on Centre Court: Tim Speight, project manager; Jon Berry, head of sales and installation; Jamie Short, project engineer

42 Install182 Solutions 2_Final.indd 1

linking, expanding the Soundweb London Open Arch Network with BSS BLU-800 Soundweb London devices; each BLU-Link ring can manage some 256 channels of digital audio. Since then, the channel demand has grown, so the existing network has now been upgraded to BSS BLU806 Dante-compatible processors, supplied by Harman UK distributor Sound Technology. What was a CobraNet main network linking four BLULink rings (a BLU-Link within each PA rack room) is now a Dante ring linking five BLU-Link rings.

It is a big upgrade, with about 40 new BSS processors. Fifteen BLU-806 are spread across the PA rack locations, each with a BLU-Link ring within each rack room. The BLU-Link ring connects to six to 12 BLU-160s in each rack.

Work to move to a new digital audio network started during discussions with the AELTC IT department before the 2014 Championships.

Berry comments: “When we were looking at the potential expansion of PA rack rooms at the AELTC we needed to increase the channel count, linking them. With the limitation in CobraNet of eight channels in a bundle, the time was right for Dante.”

Latency improvement is another factor in the decision, says Berry: “From our perspective we have always had to maintain real-time audio.

It is a high priority for us. We don’t want the umpire to speak and for there to be a delay to the various listeners. Set up correctly Dante can have a latency of less than 150ms. Looking forward to 2016, Dante will allow a digital signal direct from courtside.”

In additional installation work, the existing amplifiers are being retired and replaced with the 28 new Crown DCi-N (Drive Core Install) amplifiers.

They are networked versions of DCi (DCi-N) using BSS BLU-Link to connect to the Soundweb system.

Audio n BSS BLU-806 signal processors with digital audio bus and Dante n Crown DriveCore Install DCi-2|300 two-channel 300W amplifiers n Crown DriveCore Install DCi-2|600 two-channel 600W amplifiers

About the installer n Based in south-west London, RG Jones Sound Engineering was founded in 1926 and comprises a hire division and a sales and installations division n The company is active in installations in houses of worship, historical buildings, corporate, public sector, education and sports facilities n As well as the AELTC in Wimbledon, RG Jones has a long connection with another iconic London sporting venue, Lord’s Cricket Ground “They are much more efficient digital amps with built-in monitoring and extensive processing facilities,” comments Berry.

Ian Cullen, marketing director, Sound Technology, adds his thoughts: “Thanks to the team at RG Jones one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues now boasts an exemplary implementation of Harman’s latest BSS and Crown integrated audio system. Trusted relationships, co-operation from all parties throughout the process, and a brilliant technical solution have resulted in the very successful delivery of a significant upgrade for the client.”

Berry agrees: “This kind of development and evolution, taking new technologies into such a prestigious venue, will only work if you have got a good relationship with manufacturers and suppliers and with the client to take these bold steps.”

www.bssaudio.co.uk www.crownaudio.com www.rgjones.co.uk www.soundtech.co.uk www.wimbledon.org

22/07/2015 15:09

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44 SOLUTIONS IN BRIEF

August 2015

CANADA

Multipurpose venue invests in Avid The Velma Rogers Graham Theatre, a private theatre located on the campus of media company Rogers Communications in Toronto, has upgraded to an integrated workflow powered by the Avid MediaCentral Platform, with live sound and recording solutions from the Avid Artist Suite.

The venue hosts everything from corporate meetings and music concerts to TV shows and webcasts. The team invested in two Avid Venue S3L-X systems to cater to their unique set up, which splits up whatever comes off stage into four separate mixes: monitors, front of house, a two-mix to radio, and Pro Tools for multi-track recording. According to audio engineer Alan Elliot the new workflow increases efficiency by simplifying the setup and reducing the need to rent extra equipment.

www.avid.com

TURKEY

Shell harnesses digital signage to boost non-fuel sales Shell is using digital media partner Linova in Turkey to improve the financial return on its fuel forecourts by installing an in-store digital signage network powered by BrightSign. The network, which promotes Shellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own offers and carries paid third-party advertising, is currently installed in 400 outlets in Turkey and is being rolled out at over 1,000 Shell petrol stations nationwide.

As Linova wanted to host content on its own servers, it adopted the BrightSign Network Enterprise Edition. Content is shown on 32in-47in LCD screens at over 350 stores nationwide and on LED screens at 40 prestige locations. In total, the first phase of the project has involved connecting over 450 screens to the two networks, using over 400 BrightSign media players.

www.brightsign.biz

UNITED STATES

Giant videowall for University of California, Riverside As part of its new Student Recreation Center, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) opted for a 7 x 7 28.5ft videowall to showcase school events, share news, stream sports and more.

The wall consists of 49 Barco 55in LCD displays aligned and hung using PeerlessAVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DS-VW755S Full Service Thin Video Wall Mount with Quick Release. Due to the various and changing needs of the centre, the wall incorporates a variety of tuners from Contemporary Research to stream 16 channels

44-45 Install182 Solutions In Brief_Final.indd 1

and content from a Panasonic Blu-ray player, as well as displaying large still images to share major campus news.

With the videowall starting at 13ft off the ground, with a peak height of 40ft, the mount was a crucial component of the installation.

The Peerless solution allowed installers to align displays and negated tedious calculations and onsite guesswork through its reusable displaydedicated wall plate spacers. The DS-VW755S also offers simple, tool-less micro adjustments at eight points.

www.peerless-av.com

22/07/2015 16:11

IRAN

World’s largest religious complex chooses K-array A total of 24 K-array KK102 column speakers powered by siz KA10-10 fourchannel amplifiers have been installed throughout the foyers Bast Shayhk Toosi, Bast Hur Ameli and Dar al Hujjah at The Holy Shrine of Imam Reza. The complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shiites, boasts the largest mosque in the world by dimension and the secondlargest by capacity.

Tehran-based pro-audio distributor Moco installed the kit, which was chosen for its slim design and sound performance. Installation was completed within 15 days with a team of 10 people using over 40,000m of cable.

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POLAND

Modular desk and floor tank systems (full metal)

Extensive Dynacord inventory for Arena Lublin Qumak has installed an extensive Dynacord sound system in the new 15,500-seater Arena Lublin in Lublin, Poland – home of the Polish second division football club Motor Lublin. A P64 controller, a Promatrix digital matrix manager and DSA amplifiers are delivering recorded music and announcements, while the system is also fully qualified for voice evacuation.

The system is capable of delivering targeted messages to 11 different zones within the stadium. Five zones are assigned to the playing field and seating areas and six zones to the interior of the building. Two sub-racks equipped with Dynacord components power the loudspeaker enclosures, while a fibre-optic ring assures maximum reliability. The Dynacord amplifiers are equipped with RCM-810 modules that provide remote supervision and control; users also have the entire system in view and at their fingertips thanks to a custom-configured IRIS-Net software interface. The control room is also equipped with a Dynacord CMS 1600 mixer and two PWS wall panels from Electro-Voice.

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07.07.2015 16:03:24 22/07/2015 16:11

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21/05/2015 17:07 5/21/15 12:00 PM

TECHNOLOGY

Kit you need to know about This Month n New Products: Including Panasonic, Crestron, SMART p47

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

Kramer VP-796, VP-798

n Demo of the Month: Vue Audiotechnik speaker range p50 n Showcase: Education technology p52

VP-798

VP-796 It’s… ‘the world’s fastest single-channel 4K presentation scaler-switchers’.

What’s different? Both scaler-switchers incorporate HQUltraFast technology to switch in typically a quarter of a second, which is said to be at least four to six times faster than any competitor in the market.

Details: Based on Calibre’s proprietary HQUltra 4K image processing technology, Kramer’s VP-796 and VP-798 presentation scaler-switchers are said to offer scaling capabilities far superior to conventional scalers.

Both products can produce 4K-UHD images from HD content without scaling artifacts and with very low latency.

“This is crucial for pro-AV applications and not achievable with most 4K scaling solutions,” says

47 Install182 ProdOfTheMonth_Final.indd 1

Calibre CEO Tim Brooksbank. “We achieve 4K60 4:2:0 and had to design and build our own virtual video processor chip to do so. No third-party video chips had this capability.”

The VP-796 is designed for lecture halls, classrooms, corporate and healthcare meeting spaces, houses of worship and hotel conference venues.

“These products offer cutting-edge solutions in spaces where demands and expectations are high,” says Aviv Ron, VP business development and strategy at Kramer. “We are very happy with the market response and with the industry recognition the VP-796 has received.”

The VP-798 is intended for venues such as music concerts and TV studios. It comes equipped with a powerful LED-optimised scaling algorithm (by Calibre) that can scale to arbitrary resolutions with pixel-perfect accuracy and

excellent detail preservation.

Kramer VP-798 also includes advanced HQUltraWarp image warping and blending and real-time warp adjustment for easy warp and blend calibration.

Both presentation scaler-switchers offer a wide range of input connectivity. The VP-796 supports nine video inputs, including HDMI, DisplayPort, HDBaseT, VGA, Composite and DVIU. The product has three identical outputs with 4K support: HDBaseT and two HDMI (one via a DVI connector). It also supports legacy formats, all with exceptional image quality.

The VP-798 supports 11 video inputs, including HDMI, DisplayPort, HDBaseT, VGA, Composite, and DVI-U; plus a dedicated Genlock input. The product has four identical video outputs: two HDMI 4K (one via a DVI connector), HDBaseT 4K and 3G HD-SDI. It also supports legacy formats, all with exceptional image quality.

Available: Now www.kramerav.com

22/07/2015 11:28

48 TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS n Martin Audio DX0.5 Offered to partner the CDD range, the DX0.5 2x6 speaker processor provides complete optimisation for both passive and powered loudspeaker systems. With 24 memory locations, the device enables users to recall CDD preset files via the front panel, or using the free software application and front panel USB they can define and store their own settings. www.martin-audio.com

n Helvar SceneSet 2.30 Helvar has updated its SceneSet lighting control app. Version 2.30 has added support for DALI device Type 8 devices that are being used for colour lighting control. The Orb control makes it easier to control the colour temperature and intensity of tuneable white luminaires and the hue, saturation and intensity of RGB colour luminaires.

Users can now target multiple groups by using the new pages feature, which means it is easy to control an entire lighting control project just by using the SceneSet app. www.helvar.com

n Peerless-AV SR555E/SR555M and SR575E Peerless-AV has expanded its line of trolleys to include the R555E/SR555M Dual Display and SR575E Single Display Video Conference Trolleys.

Accommodating side-byside displays of 40-55in and 32-75in respectively, the trolleys are suited to settings in which aesthetics are key and all cables can be hidden from sight. www.peerless-av.com

n Lab.gruppen Lucia 120/1-70, Lucia 240/1-70 Lab.gruppen has added two dedicated 70V output models to its Lucia power amp range. The Lucia 120/1-70 and Lucia 240/1-70 have power ratings of 120W and 240W respectively into a single output. With the release of the Lucia 70V models, Lab.gruppen is providing a new version of the Application Browser software which will support all six Lucia models. www.labgruppen.com

48-49 Install182 Products_Final.indd 1

August 2015

Panasonic Space Player

It’s… a hybrid lighting solution, which combines the functions of traditional lighting and video projectors, for use in retail, museums and restaurants.

What’s different? The Space Player possesses both lighting and laser projection functions in a single spotlight-shaped design, which attaches to standard lighting rails via a single cable, to make installation and relocation easy.

Details: The Space Player can project in all directions below its horizontal axis and can be used in conjunction with SD cards, PCs and tablets for play back of contents. The use of a laser light source means 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation.

It is able to combine illumination, projection and animation to bring new light to any space.

It’s envisaged that the solution will generate interest in retail where, for instance, it can spotlight merchandise and project product specific text simultaneously.

Available: Now business.panasonic.co.uk

Crestron PP-100

It’s… a proximity detection beacon for use with the PinPoint mobile app.

What’s different? PinPoint enhances the intelligence and personalisation of a Crestron system by enabling a user’s iPhone or iPad to always know what room it’s in. The beacon works with the PinPoint app to ensure that the controls displayed on the device are applicable to a user’s location.

Details: The PinPoint Proximity Detection Beacon (PP-100) is a low-profile hardware device that plugs into a USB wall charger (or any USB host port) in each room of the building.

Bluetooth technology is used to determine the location of a mobile smart device by measuring its signal strength relative to each of the beacons in the system.

Using the PinPoint setup app, up to 100 rooms can be configured with one or more beacons per room. Each beacon is adjustable to provide

a detection range from 1m to 10m, allowing for fine-tuning of the complete system.

Available: Now www.crestron.com

22/07/2015 11:33

TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS 49

www.installation-international.com

SMART Technologies Kapp iQ

It’s… a 4K display with built-in whiteboard that enables multi-way inking between any combination of devices anywhere in the world.

What’s different? Available in either a 55in or 65in diagonal, SMART kapp iQ is an Ultra HD display that enables students to learn naturally – working in groups as they pose questions, share ideas and solve problems in real time – either on the display itself or on any web-enabled device.

Details: SMART kapp iQ requires nothing more than a power supply to work in whiteboarding mode. Educators and students simply walk up to the display and immediately share notes and drawings from the display onto connected devices. Students can contribute to on-screen content directly from their Android, iOS or web-based devices and have those notes appear on other students’ connected devices

and on the large display as well. Throughout the collaborative learning process users can capture, save and share content for later review and re-use within SMART Notebook, SMART amp or other learning management systems.

Featuring SMART’s proprietary Silktouch, unique Pen ID, Object awareness and exclusive SMART ink, SMART kapp iQ provides collaborative features and Ultra HD resolution. Like all SMART interactive displays for education, SMART Notebook software is included and allows educators to easily create engaging interactive learning experiences.

Available: Now

It’s… a range of amplified loudspeaker controllers.

pending Class D amplifier stages and two redundant switch-mode power supplies of the Sentinel all feature a microcontroller, allowing all parameters to be monitored and guided via the internal communication network. This means maximum operating efficiency (even with one power supply shut down) and extensive status/application logging can be maintained at all times.

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n Nanolumens NanoSlim Engage Following its launch at ISE 2015 with a 2.5mm pixel pitch, NanoSlim Engage is now available in a 1.8mm pixel pitch version.

“The introduction of a NanoSlim Engage solution that offers an even tighter pixel pitch than the solution introduced a few short months ago demonstrates our company’s ability to redefine standards we ourselves set,” said NanoLumens’ executive vice president of business development, Burt Smith. www.nanolumens.com n Roland XI-Dante

Sentinel

Details: The four independent, patent-

New from beyerdynamic is Coretis, a flexible digital interface for audio signals. Twelve analogue inputs and eight analogue outputs make Coretis flexible for almost any application in professional installations.

Additionally, there are eight digital input and output channels available via the AVB network. The fixed DSP structure and the simple but extensive user interface enable a fast and sophisticated configuration. www.beyerdynamic.de

www.smarttech.com

Alcons Audio What’s different? The Sentinel features 4-in/4-out input matrix routing, with internal 96kHz sampling rate. Due to the customdesigned sample-rate conversion, Sentinel accepts any signal between 44.1 up to 192kHz digital AES3 format. The future-upgradable powerful DSP engine enables minimal latency during processing of even the most complex (IIR, FIR) algorithms.

n beyerdynamic Coretis

The modular construction not only facilitates future hardware upgrades, but also offers easy ‘in-the-field’ servicing.

The Signal Integrity Sensing (SIS) circuit dynamically compensates impedance effects in long speaker cables and connectors, resulting in a tight sub and bass response, matching the fast-transient response of the pro-ribbon midhigh frequency reproduction. This circuit doesn’t require any manual presetting, but operates dynamically, on SIS pre-wired systems.

The Sentinel is operated by a Linux-based main controller, through a large, intuitive colour 480 x 272 pixel TFT touchscreen and RGD-LED rotary encoder.

Available: Now www.alcons.audio

The XI-Dante XI-Expansion Interface card from Roland extends the audio I/O capabilities of the manufacturer’s M-5000 live sound mixing console. It is one of seven expansion cards offered as part of the open architecture of the O.H.R.C.A. mixing platform found in the M-5000. The XI-Dante card futureproofs the console by enabling it to interoperate with the growing number of manufacturers’ products that are Dante compatible. proav.roland.com

n Extron SM 28 The SM 28 SpeedMount Surface Mount speaker features an 8in woofer with dual tuned ports and a 1.1in tweeter, and provides a frequency range from 59Hz to 22kHz. The Extron-exclusive mounting system is designed to save time and installation costs: a lowvoltage electrical contractor can install the mounting system on the wall and terminate the speaker cable to the integrated wiring contacts; later on, the AV installer completes the installation by sliding the SM 28 onto the mount. www.extron.com

22/07/2015 11:33

50 TECHNOLOGY: DEMO OF THE MONTH VUE demoed existing speaker lines and models launched at InfoComm15 Pictures: Snorre Ronning

The VUE from Norway VUE Audiotechnik has made quite an impression on Norway’s professional audio industry, therefore it was the ideal setting for the latest demo of the company’s loudspeaker portfolio, writes Duncan Proctor

V

UE Europa, VUE Audiotechnik’s support arm for Norway, together with avon, the manufacturer’s exclusive distributor for the country, recently hosted two days of demo sessions at the Rommen Scene in Oslo. Visitors from across Europe enjoyed a comprehensive rundown of the VUE catalogue from compact full-range speakers up to scalable line arrays.

“We showed our existing product lines and introduced new products, which were unveiled in June at InfoComm Orlando in the US,” said Jim Sides, executive VP of VUE Audiotechnik.

“VUE’s new products include Dante compatibility with VUE’s h-Class of active loudspeakers and compatibility through our V Series System Engines for all other product classes, as well as a new full version of our SystemVUE network monitoring and control software (3.8.0).”

The i-Class is a premium commercial loudspeaker series available as active or passive versions – and the smallest line showcased.

Also in the demo were the a-Class, a series of advanced passive systems; the h-Class, VUE’s

The demo crew, seated from left to right: Tor Erik Johansen (avon), Jim Sides (VUE) and Edgar Andraa Lien (avon), standing: Tor Breivik (avon)

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flagship range of powered loudspeakers; and the al-Class range of line arrays, which combines scalable acoustic elements with networked DSP technology.

Edgar Andraa Lien from avon set up the demo space, which was a small cinema room. The speakers were laid out with the i-Class on tables to the right of the stage, there was a stereo pair of each the four speaker models from the i-4.5 up to the i-8. On the floor in front were is-15a, is-18a and is-26 subwoofers. To the left of the stage was the a-Class: this included stereo sets of a-8, a-10, a-12 and a-15 speakers configured on stands pole-mounted to as-115, as-215 and as-418 subs.

Upstage there were two sets of the three h-Class full range speakers on stands flanked by two sets of al-4 line array elements polemounted with hs-28 and as-115 subs. To the far left the VUE V Series System Engines were housed. The line arrays were flown above the h-Class, the first positioned an al-4SB flying subwoofer on top of eight al-4 line arrays in stereo left and right hangs, the second had six al-8s flown above four al-4s. During the demo the line arrays were used with the two flown subs and also with groundstacked hs-25 and hs-28 subs in endfire and cardioid configurations.

Throughout the demo avon’s Tor Erik Johansen and Edgar Andraa Lien were controlling the speakers from Yamaha CL-3 and QL1 consoles via cues from Jim Sides.

The early part of the demo involved Sides going through each speaker class from the smallest to the largest, before repeating the

August 2015

process with the addition of subwoofers.

Following this the speaker ranges were put through their paces with a variety of music including a Boyz II Men vocal harmony cover of Yesterday by The Beatles, an unreleased track by The Beach Boys and some Brazilian samba music. To showcase the higher output levels of the a-Class and h-Class some dance music was selected with all loudspeakers and subs on; everyone present was encouraged to stand closer so they could feel as well as hear it. All the music was played in WAV file formats feeding the consoles via Dante using a Mac with Dante Virtual Soundcard, and after the scheduled tracks were played attendees could request songs or provide music of their own to serve as a point of reference.

As each range of speakers was highlighted, with and without subwoofers, what was immediately noticeable was the uniformity of sound. The speaker models within each class have been designed to sound the same, so while the bigger cabinets have higher SPL output and greater coverage, the sound remains true throughout each class. And as the SPL increases, the music physically resonates with the listener without distortion or compromising intelligibility. The al-Class line arrays create a ‘punchy’ quality, even when listeners sat quite a few rows back in the room, but also have excellent coverage and consistent level and tone throughout the demo space.

The company’s success in the Norwegian market is in part down to the work of avon, which in addition to distributing VUE in Norway is also an Oslo-based installer. avon has systematically installed more than 700 VUE speakers on audio upgrades in bars and restaurants around Oslo and Trondheim as a way of advertising the products through their performance in situ and by word of mouth from clients and customers.

Sides explained: “Just over two years ago, we launched VUE speakers in Norway with an initial sale. Since then, there has been significant progress in the Norwegian pro-audio market, such as a presence in sound stages (specifically on The Voice Norway), in live performance venues, historic theatres, as well as in clubs and municipal installations.

“Norway is proving to be a great showcase for VUE and what we offer to the industry as a whole. There is no doubt, due to the unwavering support of our Norwegian distributor avon, we are rapidly being viewed as the loudspeaker company that is well positioned to support the demands, growth and flexibility required in that marketplace.”

www.vueaudio.com

23/07/2015 10:35

4K 4CHARITY FUN RUN

IBC2015 | Saturday, 12 September | 7:30am Amstel Park, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Register at 4K4Charity.com Join us for the 4K 4Charity Fun Run! Walk, jog or run your way through beautiful Amstel Park in support of major 4K industry achievements and charitable organizations. Amp it up with a challenge to your friends. Feel good about giving to those in need while engaging in a healthy activity yourself.

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52 TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE

August 2015

Education technology Manufacturers from across a broad spectrum of the industry are upgrading their education provision with usability and flexibility key when appealing to the growing number of learning environments, says Duncan Proctor

Casio’s proprietary light source reduces cost of ownership Casio’s Core XJ-V1 projector considerably reduces the total cost of ownership, with a 35% saving compared to lamp-based models over the estimated 20,000-hour lifespan. The Core provides a 30% increase in LED light output offering a greater increase in colour spectrum against traditional mercury lamps.

The hybrid light source that powers the XJ-V1 combines a laser, a fluorescent element and LEDs to generate 2,700 lumens of brightness, with minimal brightness degradation and continuous output. Power consumption on the brightest setting is just 180W; eco modes can reduce consumption by up to 50%. There are no lamps to replace or filters to change, so the maintenance requirement is reduced and the light source will not fail suddenly; also, it

requires no warm up-time so lessons can begin immediately.

The XGA (1024 x 768) resolution makes the Core suitable for displaying content from video and computer sources. It also features a simple user interface and connection points that fit most ceiling mounts.

www.casio-europe.com

Pro Display increases classroom engagement The Pro Display SunScreen projection surface is designed for ultra-short throw front projection. It is said to be ideal for use in classrooms as it rejects sunlight and ambient light, helping students read content clearly.

The SunScreen presents a more affordable option than large LCD monitors with good picture quality even when used with lowerend projectors, which is achieved through the Pro Display light rejecting louvred filter screen.

Pro Display combines a high-contrast projection layer and optical light-deflecting filter technology to deliver a richly coloured, high-contrast image without hot spots.

www.prodisplay.com

Panasonic shares content with wireless mirroring Panasonic’s PT-VW350 projector debuts wireless mirroring of content via Intel Pro WiDi. It is said to be the smallest and lightest projector in the 4,000 lumens class.

It will support wireless mirroring of almost any media including video, websites and documents. Intel Pro WiDi enhances collaboration, offering multi-screen support and connection for up to 10 PCs simultaneously.

Content sharing helps students learn from each other; the VW350 streamlines the collaborative process by instantly mirroring PC or laptop content wirelessly with the projector.

This saves time previously spent connecting PCs through a cable or copying onto a USB.

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It also eliminates issues with incompatible software and with content being altered due to different aspect ratios, as mirroring represents the content as intended.

http://business.panasonic.eu

Sony brings long-lasting reliability Sony’s VPL-FHZ65 projector targets the education market, offering high-quality WUXGA images and 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation. The long-lasting Z-Phosphor laser light source brings down the total cost of ownership and improves overall reliability. Sony’s BrightEra 3LCD laser technology generates brightness of 6,000 lumens.

The combination of quality and reliability is said to make the model ideal for education applications where usage is often intense with minimal downtime, and therefore a reliable, low-maintenance solution is important.

Additionally, the projector can be installed at any angle; its HDBaseT compatibility reduces the cabling required.

http://pro.sony.eu

23/07/2015 10:51

TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE 53

www.installation-international.com

Viewsonicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all-in-one interactivity The Viewsonic CDE7060T is an all-in-one 70in 10-point touch interactive display that aims to make classrooms more collaborative. The display has pre-installed annotation software, an embedded ARM dual-core processor with built in web browser, and Linux OS for smooth touch capabilities. Multiple users can use the responsive screen, and ViewBoard software offers annotation options for presentations, along with file management functions and curriculum tools for maths, physics, chemistry and writing.

The software allows students to write and edit in real time. Teachers can interact with the screen to create lecture notes that can be saved and shared instantly.

A versatile set of connectivity options features three HDMI ports, RGB, five USB ports and a slot for an optional Windows 8 Pro PC. The LCD screen, with LED backlight, has 1920 x 1080 optimum resolution, and the device includes 8GB of storage.

Listen brings infrared tech to the classroom

www.viewsonic.com

Matrox offers connectivity options and low latency The Monarch HDX from Matrox is a standalone streaming appliance that offers wide ranging functionality at a cost-effective price point.

The HDX features 3G-SDI and HDMI inputs to connect to devices such as cameras, switchers and routers; these are selectable either in the web-based Command Center user interface, or on the unit itself. Both video inputs feature frame synchronisation to ensure uninterrupted streaming and recording.

Audio sent to the encoders can be selected from embedded channels or analogue input sources and muted or unmuted without affecting the video encoding operation.

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For SDI workflows, the Monarch has a very low pass-through latency with a built-in power loss relay which, in the event of power loss, routes the SDI input directly to the SDI output, ensuring signal path integrity.

Education facilities can use the HDX to stream lectures via their own web server or media delivery platform directly into the homes of students. The same content that is streamed live can also be recorded at a higher quality to a central media library.

www.matrox.com

Listen Technologiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new infrared products include the LT-84 ListenIR Transmitter/Radiator Combo, LA-141 Expansion Radiator, and iDSP IR receivers. These products provide coverage in a variety of education environments including classrooms and lecture halls. The iDSP IR receivers cover up to 2,800sqm with one channel and offer flexible frequency selection up to 3.8MHz in one unit, eliminating the need to purchase multiple products.

The ListenIR range also provides delay compensation, ensuring there are no drop-outs or gaps in coverage. The receivers are encased in infrared-transparent material and are half the weight and size of other receivers.

ListenIR products are ideally suited to education environments because they are designed with privacy in mind: the audio signal will not travel between classrooms, which means it is received only by the students it is intended for. The quality of sound also eliminates any intelligibility issues and channel names can be customised for ease of use.

www.listentech.com

23/07/2015 10:51

PLANYOUR MONTH AHEAD

Our pick of what to see, do and discover in the weeks ahead, including AV Down Under, digital signage in Munich and InfoComm in India

PICK OF THE MONTH

Integrate Expo LEARN

Convention and Exhibition Centre on 25-27 August. Over 500 brands and 120 exhibitors will fill the showfloor, while an education programme will run alongside the exhibition.

READ

professionals, including technicians, end users and IT professionals.

In 2015, the show will make its first trip to Melbourne, taking place at the Melbourne

ATTEND

Integrate is Australia largest industry event for the AV and systems integration industry.

Partnering with InfoComm International and CEDIA, it brings together over 5,000

InfoComm India

Mind Change

OVAB Digital Signage Summit Europe

Running from 1 to 3 September at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, InfoComm India has grown significantly in the few years it has been running. The 2015 event will welcome more than 5,500 visitors from over 20 countries. The InfoComm India Summit will take place alongside the event, offering analysis on emerging trends and market insights.

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Susan Greenfield Mind Change discusses the all-pervading technologies that now surround us and suggests they are creating a new environment, with vast implications, because our minds are physically adapting. What could this mean, and how can we harness, rather than be harnessed by, our new technological milieu?

Organised by Integrated Systems Europe and invidis consulting, the summit takes place on 10-11 September at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Munich. It consists of OVAB membership meetings, the invidis awards, a three-track conference (Best Practice; Best Concepts; DooH), networking opportunities, workshops and an exhibition area.

23/07/2015 14:58

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X-LINE ADVANCE Forward-thinking line-array design starts here.

The result of rigorous R&D, the introduction of the new X-Line Advance family sees Electro-Voice push the parameters of line-array performance to the next level.

X-Line Advance utilizes state-of-the-art EVengineered components and incorporates a range of innovative new features, all of which work together to surpass the capabilities of other line arrays, and all in a significantly more compact, flexible, and quickerto-set-up package.

KEY FEATURES: • An unprecedented performance-to-size ratio for installed and concert sound applications.

• Advanced audio quality and control via a host of new and exclusive EVengineered technologies, including next-generation Hydra wave-shaping devices, high-output transducers, and proprietary FIR-Drive optimization.

• New-look EV industrial design and new Integrated Rigging System combine streamlined appearance with simplified setup.

The first wave of X-Line Advance products includes two full-range elements (X1-212/90 & X2-212/90) and the X12-128 — the most powerful subwoofer EV has ever developed.

Designed, engineered, and tested for ultimate reliability by Electro-Voice in the USA. Learn more at: www.electrovoice.com/X-LineAdvance

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