Installation September 2016 Digital Edition by Future PLC

Issue 194 / September 2016

AV INTEGRATION IN A NETWORKED WORLD

www.installation-international.com

BEAMING DOWN Why the future of projectors lies in software p30 new focus p16 PLASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s How Peter Heath is ringing the changes and watch p22 Work AV meets broadcast in the corporate world gets personal p36 Retail Physical stores learn new tech tricks

Master Station serves up to 24 remote stations

Connection of User Stations via LAN with PoE switches or via powered daisy chain lines Full color high-resolution displays 48 kHz / 16 bit uncompressed audio 4 Master Stations may be linked Remote Speaker Station

Please visit us Stand No. 10.F30

DIGITAL INTERCOM - CUE LIGHT CONTROL - GPO TRIGGER

Channels for Cue Light Control, GPO Trigger or Listen Only Full duplex intercom channels Program audio feeds over network

4-ch Master Speaker Station

2-ch Beltpack

FLEXUS is designed & manufactured by: ASL Intercom BV, Utrecht, The Netherlands www.asl-inter.com

MAGDALENA | BERLIN

GS-WAVE SERIES Bringing energy back to a former power plant in Berlin, the phenomenal sound system at techno club Magdalena comprises eight 3-metre GS-WAVE stacks plus extra subs and lenses, and eight tweeter pods above the dance ďŹ&#x201A;oor. This huge installation, driven by Powersoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s K Series amps with built-in DSP, provides total coverage of a modestly sized 800-capacity room. Keeping most of its power in reserve, the system can run effortlessly when the club is open for days at a time.

Pioneerproaudio | pioneerproaudio.com | #madeintheuk

WELCOME 03

www.installation-international.com

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 by NewBay, The Emerson Building, 4-8 Emerson Street, London SE1 9DU, 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 +44 (0)20 7354 6034

Head of design: Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com Designer: Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com

Managing editor: Joanne Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 3829 2618

Content director: James McKeown

Staff writer: Duncan Proctor dproctor@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6037

Production manager: Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 3829 2617

Sales manager: Gurpreet Purewal gpurewal@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6029

Digital director: Diane Oliver doliver@nbmedia.com

Senior sales executive: Nicola Pett npett@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6026

Contributors: David Davies, Jim Evans, Rob Lane, Ian McMurray, Steve Montgomery, Chuck Van Dusen

US sales – Executive vice president: Adam Goldstein agoldstein@nbmedia.com

ome sad news that broke recently: high-end residential movie server manufacturer Kaleidescape has shut up shop. It ran out of cash after suffering various setbacks developing its latest product, a UHD player. Its products have graced many a custom install, but the company was known to me before I joined this title: when I edited a (nowdefunct) magazine for the CD and DVD manufacturing industry, Kaleidescape had attracted the attention of the DVD CCA (DVD Copy Control Association) – the Hollywood-backed body responsible for developing and enforcing the standards around copy protection for DVDs. Most companies sued by the DVD CCA tried to ignore the rules Paddy Baker, Editor about copy protection: not Kaleidescape, which applied for, and pbaker@nbmedia.com was granted, a licence for its DVD server. It then fell into a long@install8ion running lawsuit with the association over whether or not the product (which ripped discs onto its hard drive) broke the terms of that agreement. Started in 2005, the case rumbled on until 2014, when the company agreed to withdraw the product. Of course, Kaleidescape had by then moved on to other things – including a Blu-ray server which, although playing ripped content, required the disc to be present during playback; and a high-quality download store, which was offering bit-for-bit Blu-ray – and latterly, 4K – content licensed directly from the studios. Launched in 2013 with just Warner Brothers titles, the store had six of the seven majors on board when Kaleidescape closed its doors. A common complaint about Hollywood’s attempts to protect its intellectual property is that they generally inconvenience legitimate consumers far more than they discourage the dodgy ones. (How often are those unskippable anti-piracy messages viewed on pirated Blu-rays and DVDs, I wonder?)

Special thanks: Anna Schaverien, Abhirup Chakraborty, Julie Holman, Amanda Roe

Print ISSN: 2050-6104

Protect and serve?

Online ISSN: 2052-2401

Cover image: Main image courtesy of Optoma; photomontage by Tom Carpenter

A sister title to SCN

‘A disproportionate amount of effort has been taken to ensure systems are watertight’ And this has been echoed loudly with the demise of Kaleidescape – a company that tried to work with the system, was never in the business of facilitating knock-off content (the price point was way too high for that), and whose products, ironically enough, have proved very popular with a number of big-shot Tinseltown stars, directors and executives. In a curious bit of synchronicity, on page 14 we have an piece from Chuck Van Dusen of Biamp about the HDCP 2.2 Pro standard – another kind of content protection technology with its origins in preventing movie theft. There are similarities to the Kaleidescape story – mainly in that a disproportionate amount of effort has been taken to ensure that systems are watertight when they clearly haven’t been set up to steal content. Fortunately the parallels aren’t exact – and, if the standard provides more billable work for integrators, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.

Installation is part of NewBay’s extensive portfolio of professional AV brands: TECH&LEARNING UK Technology for engaging minds To enquire about marketing opportunities in any of these brands, please contact Gurpreet Purewal – gpurewal@nbmedia.com, +44 20 7354 6029

04 CONTENTS

September 2016

News & Data 06 Analysis Global sales spike for solid-state projectors Sustained growth predicted for European outdoor LED display market 08 Regional Voices: Belgium

People 10 Industry Moves 12 Opinion Rob Lane on the AV tech that’s lighting up both events and fixed installs Biamp’s Chuck Van Dusen on why you can’t ignore HDCP 2.2 Pro 16 Interview PLASA’s new MD, Peter Heath, discusses the challenges facing the organisation

Features 22 AV and broadcast The level of convergence between the two sectors has resulted in an increase in quality and flexibility, particularly for corporate customers 30 Projectors Software has overtaken hardware at the forefront of developments in projector technology, adding greater functionality and keeping solutions up to date 36 Retail Retailers are deploying cutting-edge technologies that borrow from both online and entertainment sectors to create tailored customer experiences

Solutions 40 Savoy Place, London Snelling has made top-level AV available to a cross-section of users in this high-profile install 44 King’s Theatre Glasgow/Bristol Hippodrome Discreet installed K-array audio systems have brought improved quality without impeding larger shows at these two theatres 46 Solutions in Brief Featuring Sarner in Rio for Olympic VR volleyball experience and new immersive adventure walks in Quebec from Moment Factory

Technology 49 New Products Including Crestron, eyevis, beyerdynamic and Matrox

54 Showcase Audio consoles

Also inside 18 Show and Event Previews We look ahead to IBC2016, PLASA 2016 and the Pro Sound Awards

06 ANALYSIS

September 2016

Global sales of solid state projectors soar By Steve Montgomery

he worldwide projector market declined 4.6% in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, to 1.76 million units, with value falling 5.6% to $2 billion. However the disparity is far weaker than previously seen, a sign that average selling prices (ASPs) are in recovery. The market decline was largely driven by macro-economic or political factors in key emerging regions, rather than the impact of competing display technologies. Total value was propelled by sales of solid-state solutions, which increased 17% during the quarter, and now account for 8% of sales. As solid-state adoption continues to mount, it will drive an increase in ASPs and overall market value will rise, despite a decrease in volume. Senior market analyst at Futuresource Claire Kerrison commented: “1080p and WUXGA enjoyed considerable growth, as too did 5-7K lumen products. It should not be forgotten that there are opportunities for projector brands out there.”

Worldwide projector market volume (millions) and value 3.0 2.5 2.0

Market value ($bn)

1.5

Solid-state

1.0

Lamp-based 0.5 0 Q1

2014

2015

2016

www.futuresource.com Source: Futuresource Consulting

European outdoor LED display market to reach $3 billion By Steve Montgomery

he European outdoor LED display market was valued at over $350 million in 2014. Environmentally friendly products, durability, impact resistance and energy efficiency, combined with an expansion in the construction of major sports facilities and increasing promotional activities of corporate brands, are expected to fuel continued growth in this sector. Grand View Research forecasts that this market will be worth $3 billion in 2022. Increasing demand for better resolution and affordable solutions is expected to drive the industry over the forecast period, allowing endusers to present uninterrupted advertising, adding to LED’s popularity in real estate offices, car showrooms, retail outlets and shopping malls. Leading companies involved in this sector, including Sony, LG, Barco, Daktronics and Lighthouse Technologies, are striving to provide differentiation through improved product life and increasing the range of products to meet speciﬁc applications. Vendors are offering end-to-end solutions to their customers from manufacturing to installation at the site, along with after-sales services.

Europe outdoor LED display market value ($m) 3500 3000 2500

Matrix boards Videowalls

2000

Mobile panel 1500

Perimeter boards

1000

Billboards

500 0 2014

2016*

2018*

www.grandviewresearch.com

2020*

2022*

Source: Grand View Research

* = forecast

ANALYSIS

www.installation-international.com

Strong China growth masks stagnant ﬂat panel market By Duncan Proctor Worldwide quarterly market volumes (000s units) 900 800 700 600 500 400

729

897

893

819

855

2015 Q2

2015 Q3

2015 Q4

2016 Q1

2016 Q2

300 200 100 0

www.futuresource-consulting.com

Kling & Freitag balances passion with precision for uncompromising audio quality and „German engineering“. We are driven by a desire to provide and technically guarantee music and sound as a genuine sound experience. This is what each product by Kling & Freitag stands for - or, as we say, „Passion built in“.

Kling & Freitag GmbH | www.kling-freitag.com

Source: Futuresource Consulting

Hans Otto Theatre, Potsdam | Foto: Prof. Dieter Leistner

he global commercial flat panel display market recorded shipments of 855,000 units in Q2 2016, which constitutes a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 17%. However, the growth can be attributed mainly to the LCD videowall market as a result of rising demand from the security industry in China. In China, Q2 LCD videowall volumes grew 86% YoY, climbing to shipments of over 140,000 units. Beyond China, the market has remained stagnant with screen volumes falling 10% YoY. The replacement of tiled LCD solutions by large screen 4K panels and narrow pixel pitch (NPP) LED products is one of the primary factors holding back the LCD videowall segment. Graham Cooke, displays analyst at Futuresource Consulting, commented: “As volume growth slows, manufacturers are focusing on high-value segments, expanding product lines in areas like high brightness, stretched display and 4K product lines.”

08 REGIONAL VOICES

September 2016

BELGIUM Our latest country survey takes the temperature of the installation market in the EU’s ninth-largest economy

elgium’s GDP per capita exceeds the average for the EU as a whole – and a couple of years ago was running ahead of that of the UK and even Germany. When it comes to the state of its installed AV market, however, nearly two-thirds of respondents to our latest country survey saw conﬁdence levels as ﬂat compared with six months ago; of the remainder, more saw them rising than falling.

1.4%

GDP annual growth rate, Q2 2016 Source: Trading Economics

A similar majority, again nearly two-thirds, felt that their company’s revenues would rise, with the bulk of these putting a figure of more than 5% on the increase. A very small minority of respondents forecast a small decline in revenue. Predicted trends in various vertical markets are shown in the table. We were surprised to see bars, clubs and restaurants at the bottom of the list. As usual, we next asked respondents to choose, from a list of six, the one issue causing their business the greatest concern. Around two-fifths of the sample chose ‘clients going for lowest price rather than best value’. “By always going for the lowest price, quality of service is not achievable,” commented a consultant. Knowledge gaps on the part of clients was cited as an underlying cause of this by one manufacturer: “We see more and more that people look at price only and are no longer able to compare the specifications due

to complexity and lack of knowledge.” The other signiﬁcant business concern, chosen by around a quarter of respondents, was falling margins. We also asked our survey if they felt the total number of players in the Belgian market was increasing or decreasing. The most popular answer was ‘no change’, chosen by around half the sample, with about a quarter feeling that the number was decreasing. “It seems the market isn’t hugely expansive, and purchases are increasingly cost-driven, leaving more service-oriented companies stranded,” remarked a consultant. We closed the survey by asking what people would change, if they could, about the way the Belgian installation market works. One common theme among these answers was acting to prevent price erosion: manufacturers

2.6%

Budget deﬁcit 2015 Source: Trading Economics

and distributors somehow imposing minimum sales prices, or not allowing end-users access to wholesale prices online. Another set of comments centred around educating end users to appreciate more than simply price: raising their levels of technical knowledge, or making them more aware of the value of brand loyalty. And one respondent felt that the tender market did not always work in favour of the ﬁnal client – with some importers and distributors participating directly in tender bids.

What will be the business trend in the following vertical markets?

GREATEST INCREASE Corporate Digital signage Sports venues Education Retail Performing arts venues Museums/visitor attractions Worship Bars, clubs, restaurants SLIGHT DECREASE

Now it’s possible to sell Ultra HD content direct to customers at live events with the new Blackmagic Duplicator 4K! The Blackmagic Duplicator 4K solves the problem of distributing Ultra HD content to consumers! You get an advanced SD card duplicator with 25 recorders, built in realtime H.265 encoding and multi rate 12G-SDI connections for recording all SD, HD and Ultra HD formats up to 2160p60. You can instantly shoot, record, merchandise and deliver content to customers that they can actually view on their 4K televisions and Windows 10 computers today!

Instantly Sell Content The best time to sell content is right after an event, before people leave and while they are still excited about it! Now you can sell videos to fans at rock concerts, performance videos to parents after their kid’s latest show or recital, wedding videos to guests, sporting videos, conference seminars, training events and much more. The Blackmagic Duplicator 4K lets you capture the enthusiasm and sell content at the event before your customers leave!

Records on SD Cartds There’s no better way to deliver content than on super small, high speed SD cards! SD cards are readily available, affordable and are compatible with computers and TVs! You can ﬁt 1 hour of Ultra HD onto an inexpensive 8GB SD card. Plus, they’re easy to label and package quickly so they look great at point of sale. Unlike optical discs, any cards that are unsold can easily be formatted and re-used at your next event!

www.blackmagicdesign.com/nl *SRP is Exclusive of VAT.

Deliver Ultra HD Today With 4x the resolution of regular HD, Ultra HD is the future of television! You get stunning, crystal clear images that have much better color and far more detail than regular HD. The Blackmagic Duplicator 4K records onto 25 SD cards at once, plus you can connect multiple units together to create an unlimited number of copies at larger events! Now you can deliver content directly to your customers that they can play on their Ultra HD televisions and computers today!

Next Generation H.265 The Blackmagic Duplicator 4K encodes using H.265, the new standard for Ultra HD delivery! You get a built in realtime H.265 hardware encoder that works in SD, HD and Ultra HD, and gives you incredible looking video, even at high frame rates up to 2160p60. The video looks great, the ﬁles are small, and the data rates are low so now you can deliver video to your customers that they can play from standard SD cards!

Blackmagic Duplicator 4K €2 045*

10 INDUSTRY MOVES

September 2016

d&b creates advisory board to develop strategic growth Professionals from inside and outside the industry appointed

Audix

Chris Doss will oversee the sales and marketing department in his new role as vice president of sales and marketing. A 25-year veteran of the industry, Doss’ prior roles include MD of the Monterey Jazz Festival and founding marketing executive of the AT&T Performing Arts Centre in Dallas.

www.audixusa.com DPA

René Mørch has returned to DPA as a product manager; he previously worked as research & development manager from 2006 to 2009. As product manager, Mørch will act as the bridge between the sales, marketing and research & development teams, and will take an active role on the management team.

www.dpamicrophones.com

&b audiotechnik has announced the formation of a new advisory board which has been appointed to support the strategy implementation process at the company. A number of high-calibre professionals from both inside and outside the industry have been appointed. Occupying the role of chairman is Dr Rolf Hagemann, ex-CFO and deputy CEO of MediaSaturn, a leading consumer electronics retailer. Prior to this, Hagemann spent 12 years with BMW in a number of top management positions, including his ﬁnal role as CFO and executive vice president of BMW North America. Joining Hagemann on the board are Paul Whiting, former president of global sales at

Sennheiser and a member of the Sennheiser Executive Committee, and David Claringbold, former director of the Sydney Opera House. Whiting, with his background in global sales, will support d&b with its go-to-market and globalisation strategy as part of d&b’s continuing internationalisation, while Claringbold will draw on his experience at the Sydney Opera House where he implemented sweeping changes and major technical upgrades to drive signiﬁcant revenue growth. Claringbold will support d&b in further developing its segment strategy, with a particular focus on the installation market.

www.dbaudio.com

New Partners Powersoft has appointed Audiobrains as its new Japanese distributor. The Italian manufacturer’s products join a distribution portfolio that already includes brands such as Martin Audio, Symetrix and beyerdynamic. www.audiobrains.com www.powersoft-audio.com

QSC has named Equipos y Cintas as its distribution partner in Mexico, representing the QSC Professional division and providing the company’s portfolio of products and solutions to customers throughout the region. www.eyc.mx www.qsc.com

Renkus-Heinz

Alberto Mantovani is now engineering manager at Renkus-Heinz. Mantovani, a senior engineer with more than 30 years of expertise in the technology sector, held high-level sales and technical marketing positions with Rockwell Semiconductors Systems in Europe before moving to California in 1997, where he co-founded two high-tech enterprises.

www.renkus-heinz.com SiliconCore

Eric Penot has joined the executive team as chief operating officer. He brings more than 20 years of strategic, operational and digital innovation experience to the company, and will be instrumental in driving strategic development in this newly created role. He joins from JCDecaux where he held a number of postions, most recently group vice president for digital media.

www.silicon-core.com Smart Monkeys

Atempo is now the distributor of Community Professional Loudspeakers in Turkey. According to Community, Atempo was chosen for the synergy it offers in key vertical market sectors and its strong network in Turkey, including three offices across the country. www.atempo.com.tr www.communitypro.com

Martin Professional Middle East is now distributing the full Harman portfolio in Saudi Arabia. The company was already a strategic partner in the Gulf and Middle East region and has enjoyed success in bringing Harman’s Martin lighting and AMX brands to the area. www.harman.com www.martinpro-me.com

Jason Pontius has joined the show control specialist as senior manager, special projects. His appointment marks continued expansion at the company, which has been growing its technical team. In his new role, Pontius will be involved in the design, deployment and servicing of large-scale projects.

www.smart-monkeys.com

35 Years

d&b is 35. Henning is d&b. Henning Kaltheuner is Head of Market Intelligence and Business Development at d&b. He’s been on board since 2013. “d&b is a place where crazy perfectionism and the need for fun and personal satisfaction are truly merged into something really meaningful.” In 35 years d&b has evolved from a small garage venture to a worldwide standard in professional sound systems. It’s people like Henning who make this story possible, and just WKDW ELW GLˁHUHQW IURP WKH UHVW

Welcome to System reality.

OPINION: ON THE AGENDA

September 2016

Rob Lane Pulling it out of the hat Magical results from today’s live events and ﬁxed installations

ive events are hot for AV. An increasing number of live performers and broadcasters are looking to AV to give their shows that something special, and some of the most innovative – and not necessarily expensive – solutions are giving more permanent installations a run for their money. But installers of ﬁxed projects aren’t resting on their laurels either. Installers on both sides of the fence are utilising state-of-the-art, disruptive tech; ﬁnding ways of leveraging proven technology to create new and exciting twists on previous solutions; and producing eye-boggling, low-cost effects that are so good as to appear to have been added in post-production.

‘Events-based AV continues to break boundaries with innovative answers to some of the same old questions’

Coldplay’s live shows are renowned for their high production values. For the band’s latest tour, a team of 16 took charge of a multitude of cameras, visuals, animation and LED displays – proven tech – enhancing results with a new video system speciﬁcally designed to fulﬁl an unsurprisingly ambitious brief. Eight powerful Ai R6 media servers from Avolites formed the basis of this new system. These servers allowed the production crew to capture live while using incredible psychedelic graphic effects on almost all of the footage, apparently

inspired by ’90s rave culture – unsurprisingly given that many of the team started out as VJs at raves!

Mapping on to cello Projection mapping might not be considered ‘disruptive’ – at least not these days – but it still has the power to wow and to innovate. In a world first, 59 Productions mapped Sol Gabetta’s cello during her debut performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. This was a challenging project: not only is this the smallest area the company has ever mapped, the cello’s surface is complicated to map out, not least since the artist wanted full movement of the instrument. To ensure that the projected image moved as the cello moved, small, discreet BlackTrax Beacons were subtly placed on the instrument, allowing its position to be calibrated and surface-mapped, and its movements tracked, with all data being sent to a media server. More utilitarian and a lot less expensive, HoloGauze (from my client Holotronica) continues to feature as part of increasingly high-profile events and performances. A recent success was during the latest series of America’s Got Talent, where Hara, a Japanese magician, performed behind a 10m x 5m screen, with holographic visual effects projected to augment his performance. A case of AV magic helping to embellish traditional magic! Another example of projection mapping pushing the envelope, the Farnborough airshow featured a 5m scale model of a plane flying through constantly changing weather environments on the GKN Aerospace pavilion. Mounted against a 6m x 3m wall as a backdrop, both the wall and the model were projection-

mapped to create the illusion of the plane flying through multiple weather conditions. Created using complex multi-layered projectionmapping techniques, the 3D graphics were overlaid on to the contours of the plane. Nine projectors and high pixel resolution covered the model with five separate content layers, allowing the audience to experience the mapped projections from all angles at very close quarters – the first time mapping has been used on a scale 3D model in such a way, for a live audience.

Throwing cubes Finally, this year’s Adobe Summit EMEA, held at ExCeL, featured a meandering 136m interactive sculpture comprising 609 custom-made, individually controlled and pixel-mapped 400mm square LED cubes. Super-thin cables gave the impression that the cubes were floating in midair (‘magic’ again!), although they were actually secured on 78 metal frames. The cubes created an airborne ‘path’ to an interactive LED display, which used a camera to recognise audience body movements, allowing participants to throw virtual cubes ‘into the air’ as if they were joining the physical sculpture. An LED floor in front of the display created the impression of immersion with the sculpture. Whether live or televised, permanent, semipermanent or transient, events-based AV continues to break boundaries with innovative answers to some of the same old questions. Magical solutions from AV magicians. Rob Lane is also founder/owner tech/business PR outfit Bigger Boat PR, and is also a long-time journo. Now that’s magic!

ClickShare Plug into simplicity.

Tap into

amazing

Share your big ideas, and watch them grow Creativity is one of the core assets of an organization. With ClickShare, you make sure big ideas receive the attention they deserve, by simply sharing whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on your laptop or mobile device, on a presentation screen. With a single click, you transform a meeting into a complete sharing experience, bringing ideas, people and content together. No cables, no set-up, no waiting to join in. Meetings keep their ďŹ&#x201A;ow, and you keep your cool!

www.barco.com/clickshare

14 OPINION: ON SITE

September 2016

Chuck Van Dusen Protecting the content ecosystem HDCP 2.2 Professional enables wider distribution of protected content – with some obligations for integrators

DCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) was created to prevent valuable content, such as 4K theatrical titles, from being copied as it travels between connections in a local network or a point-to-point system. Within the pro-AV world, the need to distribute high-level content only arises occasionally; however, some laptops and tablets, and nearly all Blu-ray Disc players, output HDCP-protected content by default. An overarching challenge for AV integrators and consultants are design requirements that exceed the HDCP 2.2 specifications. DCP – the Intel-owned body that develops and administers HDCP – has recognised some of the hurdles facing our industry and has produced a version that is better suited for professional AV distribution. For background, HDCP 1.4 supports a total of 128 devices and seven levels of connection (but does not support transmission of protected content over networks), while HDCP 2.2 supports a limit of 32 devices and four levels. Previewed earlier this year, HDCP 2.2 Professional joins HDCP 1.4 and HDCP 2.2 as another licensed standard. HDCP 2.2 Pro builds on ‘regular’ 2.2 and removes the topology limits on levels and maximum devices, but with some additional constraints.

Whitelisted locations First, the installer must be licensed with DCP. Second, the system must be installed in an authorised location: DCP maintains a ‘whitelist’ of facility types approved for 2.2 Pro systems, including shopping malls, airports, educational facilities, cruise ships, and 20 other categories.

Licensed installers, ‘Adopters’ (such as manufacturers) and resellers may petition DCP to extend this list. Each item of HDCP-protected media contains an SRM (system renewability message) – a data ﬁle containing a ‘revocation list’ of device IDs that DCP does not allow protected content to be sent to (in most cases because the devices have been compromised). A media player sending content to a repeater or directly to an end display will update its own stored SRM if it receives a newer one, and check all the device IDs in the connected topology against the SRM before content will play. To comply with HDCP 2.2 Pro, an installed system must use an ‘HDCP Professional Repeater’. This repeater contains its own internal SRM engine that can verify the authorisation status of every device connected below it, so it will report up to the media source as a device count of 1 and a level count of 1. This is how HDCP 2.2 Professional removes the topology limits of prior speciﬁcations, and relaxes the constraint on the number of supported HDCP keys in the media player itself. DCP updates the SRM four times a year, and it is a condition of the HDCP 2.2 Pro licence that the SRMs in professional repeaters must be updated at least once a quarter. If the update does not take place and the system detects an SRM that is more than three months old, the repeater’s functionality changes to ‘regular’ HDCP 2.2 – reinstating the topology limits (four levels, 32 devices) until an up-to-date SRM is provided. If a Professional Repeater has internet access, the SRM can be updated by accessing a URL maintained by the

DCP and downloading the latest version. The HDCP 2.2 Pro speciﬁcation also allows for ‘Exempt HDCP Professional Repeaters’, which are not bound by this quarterly obligation but may download at a different, DCP-approved schedule. Additional work on this facet of the speciﬁcation is ongoing.

No workarounds In the recent past, some manufacturers have ‘worked around’ the limitations of HDCP 1.4 and 2.2; for instance, by producing equipment that generates additional device keys. It’s quite possible that DCP will become less lenient about systems that circumvent its standards now that it has catered to the professional user base with 2.2 Pro. It has already shown it is prepared to take legal action, having sued several manufacturers, one such suit resulting in a $5 million-plus settlement. In summary, HDCP 2.2 Pro requires a little more work from installers – both in terms of paperwork and managing SRM updates – in exchange for the benefits of unlimited fan-out, but that’s better than being denied access to content in large deployments. It’s not something you should ignore, especially considering that HDCP specifications will continue to evolve. Audiovisual professionals can find some more information about HDCP 2.2 Pro on DCP’s website: http://bit.ly/2bhjhGP. Chuck Van Dusen is a video systems architect with Biamp Systems.

www.biamp.com

Audipack video wall trolley Start your presentation in style.

Standard and custom build videowall trolleys featuring S Height adjustable, easy to move S Available for any screen size S High power line array audio S 3HUIHFW ÂżQLVK WR PDWFK \RXU LQWHULRU

More information: www.audipack.com Industriestraat 2 - 2751 GT Moerkapelle - The Netherlands - Tel. +31 (079) 593 1671

16 INTERVIEW: PETER HEATH, PLASA

September 2016

Playing a new tune

After nearly two decades at Roland, Peter Heath has taken up the post of managing director at PLASA. He talks to Paddy Baker about how he is addressing the challenges facing the association

eter Heath is one of a number of executives in the pro audio world with a previous career as a professional musician. A self-taught guitarist and keyboard player, he counts the highlight of that part of his life as touring with disco/soul group Shalamar. He then joined Roland, and spent nearly 20 years there, rising to the role of head of Europe pro A/V – but this came to an end towards the end of last year. He still ﬂies the ﬂag for his old employers’ wares: he expresses mock (I hope) exasperation when he sees I’m using another brand’s recorder for this interview (“Didn’t Roland create these products?”), and also mentions that he has just bought himself a Jupiter-80 synth. He wasn’t keen to move to another manufacturer, he says, as that might put him in a situation where he had to give credibility to the products of a former competitor. Last November, his pat answer to his wife about his next move was that he would work

for PLASA – but it wasn’t until mid-January that he saw the MD’s job advertised and, bolstered by supportive comments from industry friends, he applied. His appointment was announced in early April. Of course, he knew that “PLASA has been through a really difficult time recently, with the merger and now de-merger with ESTA [the US-based Entertainment Services and Technology Association], and the London show has been a real challenge for PLASA for eight years”. A couple of weeks before we meet in early August was PLASA’s AGM and lunch; he made a point of inviting a number of people to the latter who had not previously been asked (myself included): “It makes a statement that we’re trying to be open – we’ve got nothing to hide, we just want to be positive and add value.” The AGM itself was only open to members; after the constitutional part of the meeting, he spent about 12 minutes presenting “four or ﬁve slides” about what members can expect

from the organisation. Then there was a Q&A, which covered subjects including plans for the London show; recovering the six-ﬁgure sum owed to PLASA by ESTA; and Brexit. “I said: ‘The government don’t know what to do about Brexit at the moment; we’ll keep abreast of it, and when things happen, we’ll talk to you.’ The comment to that was: ‘Shouldn’t PLASA be more proactive than that – shouldn’t you be sitting alongside government, getting involved?’ It’s a very valid comment, and they’re not wrong – but I don’t have that kind of resource and capacity to do that at the moment. “But no-one cornered me afterwards to say, ‘You didn’t talk about this…’ All the post-event comments we had were really positive.” He characterises it as the best PLASA AGM he has ever been to. “All we have to do now is deliver on all the things we’ve said. Internally we’ve already started that process, so it’s a question of how soon we can get people externally feeling it.”

www.installation-international.com

A brief biography Originally a professional musician, Peter Heath joined Roland in 1996 In the UK, he rose to the role of sales and marketing director for Roland Systems Group in the UK, before becoming head of Europe pro A/V He originally joined PLASA to help to establish Roland in the pro-audio space, alongside its high profile in the MI world In 2012 he was one of three directors of Roland UK to take part in a 10-day, 926-mile sponsored cycle ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End, raising over £40,000 for Children in Need and Music for All One PLASA Within the PLASA organisation he has made two signiﬁcant changes. The ﬁrst has been to break down silos within the corporate structure: the organisation was run vertically, with events, media and membership the responsibility of different PLASA-owned companies. “When I got there I found some really skilful people, just not really hooking up with each other, not reaching out, not looking out for each other,” he explains. He has restructured some of the staffing to create what he calls “one PLASA”. For instance, the media sales and events sales teams are being combined under a single commercial manager responsible for all product sales, including memberships; similarly, promoting the complete PLASA offering across the board is the remit of a single head of marketing. He has also made changes “to bring people together across all disciplines on a regular basis to talk about the business as a whole”. Effecting this change has proved “much tougher than I thought”, he says – adding that instilling the one-PLASA mindset will take time. The separation of functions within PLASA was exacerbated, he says, by the organisation being split between Eastbourne, on the Sussex coast, and New King’s Road in south-west London. So Heath’s second major change was to close the London office, which previously housed senior management as well as the events, skills and some of the media teams. Discussions about downsizing this office were underway before his arrival, but “I decided not to downsize it, I decided to shut it”, he says. This will happen at the end of September, after the London show; the staff will switch to a combination of homeworking and coming into Eastbourne once or twice a week.

London show challenges As far as the organisation’s ‘products’ are concerned, he highlights the London show – along with membership – as “areas where the focus is

INTERVIEW: PETER HEATH, PLASA really needed”. PLASA London moved to ExCeL in 2013 as plans for redevelopment were looming over its previous home at Earls Court; this month sees the show back in west London, at Olympia. For that show, he says, regardless of venue, “the cost base is still that much higher than Leeds and Glasgow, so the energy you’ve got to put in for the return is almost ridiculous, and the pressure that puts on the company is almost unfair. We’ve got all these great things happening, but London remains the challenge and can make the difference between us being in a position to reinvest or not.” His joining PLASA in the spring has left him little time to put his stamp on this year’s event. However, he believes that relocating to Olympia will result in a show that is “friendlier to visit”. “In the evenings there’ll be more of that community that you used to find at Earls Court that we never found at ExCeL.” So what else will be different about this year’s show? “There’s definitely more content, and more audio content” – including a day of Dante training seminars presented by Audinate – “and we have brought back the after-show party, and the Innovation Awards, which we didn’t do last year.” One question he is specifically looking to address is, “Why did the audio community

‘PLASA London can make the difference between us being in a position to reinvest or not’

go ‘bye-bye PLASA London’ and yet Leeds is predominantly an audio show?” To this end, he has set up an audio steering group, with representatives from well-known manufacturers and rental houses, to ﬁnd out “what type of behaviours do the audio companies expect from us in order for them to come back and exhibit?” He accepts that this may not be a straightforward issue, as even just within audio, exhibitors have different requirements: the larger, more corporate companies generally want to talk to their customers on their stand, while the more aspiring ones are keen to show off how their systems sound. One criticism I have often heard levelled against PLASA London is that it attracts broadly the same visitors every year, who are already known to potential exhibitors, so why should they exhibit? Does he recognise that argument? “It’s an argument I put to PLASA myself when I was an exhibitor,” he concedes. “I didn’t go to last year’s PLASA London, but the exhibitors I’ve spoken to haven’t said it quite in the same way – they say they’re still seeing new people. What percentage?

We’ll do some work this year to make sure we have deﬁnition on who’s a newcomer and who isn’t. But we do have data that says that 41% of visitors to PLASA London don’t go to any other show. We need to do more research about that – in itself it’s a great stat, but actually it’s incomplete.” Another criticism levelled at PLASA London is that it is no longer an international show. Heath believes that overlapping the schedule with IBC was a beneﬁt here: “There used to be a crossover – everybody hated it and moaned about [going to two shows], but everybody went.” A lot of international visitors, he says, found it easier going to Amsterdam for IBC and “making the hop” to London than making two separate visits. “With more international visitors, it was easier to get international exhibitors, and to get people to launch new products and technologies at the show.” But surely the overlap between the IBC and PLASA constituencies is small? “In our industry, years ago you had one discipline, which you could earn a living from. That’s very difficult now – you’ve got to have lots of disciplines to make a living and grow your business. So there’s a need for people to cross-reference between an installation show in February and a broadcast show in September and a live events show in September – they need to be part of all three and understand what’s going on. And that disruption of our industry hasn’t really begun in earnest.”

PLASA and integrators According to its website, PLASA is “the lead international membership body for those who supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries”. So what is his vision for the installation industry within the PLASA world? “One of the jobs we have to do is to get to the consultants and the systems integrators. When I was an exhibitor, we used to get a number of integrators coming to the stand, then we might see a burst in sales over the next six months. Systems integrators do come to PLASA London. We have to get through to consultants and architects and get them to understand who we are and what we’re trying to do. That will help us to reach the installation market.” Overall, he says he’s “feeling OK” about the decision to take his new role. “Though, of course, there are always moments when you think, ‘Really? Did I do that?’ – especially at halfpast four on a Monday morning when you get up to drive to Eastbourne [he lives in Wiltshire – “172 miles door to door”]. But I’m enjoying it – and hopefully we’ll make some positive changes as well.”

www.plasa.org

18 SHOW PREVIEW: IBC2016

September 2016

What? IBC 2016 Where? Amsterdam RAI When? Conference: 8-12 September Exhibition: 9-13 September

See AV at IBC IBC2016’s conference programme features high-profile keynote speakers including director Ang Lee, film producer Lord Puttnam and Sir Martin Sorrell, founder of communications services group WPP. Meanwhile, on the showfloor, there’s no shortage of technology illustrating the convergence between AV and broadcast KVM Among the KVM solutions on display from Adder will be the AdderLink XDIP extender, an AV extender that offers USB and audio over a single CatX cable and enables remote access. Another featured will be the Adder C-USB LAN network extender, which can be integrated into the AdderLink Infinity Manager or used standalone; it delivers high-speed USB2.0 extension at 480Mbps. The recently developed DP1.2-VisionXG KVM extender system from Guntermann & Drunck supports 4K resolution at 60Hz frame rate, enables the remote operation of systems and offers uncompressed pixel-by-pixel transmission of DisplayPort 1.2 signals. Fibre optics connect the KVM transmitter at the computer to the KVM receiver placed at the workstation. Users can operate their systems in a 1:1 connection without any latency over distances of up to 10,000m. IHSE’s new Draco vario USB 3.0 KVM extender features Icron’s ExtremeUSB technology. The extender was developed to enable lossless extension of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed devices, including high-speed memory cards and cameras, over distances up to hundreds of metres over a single multi-mode fibre optic cable. Also on show will be the Draco ultra DisplayPort Extender, which provides video quality at 4K/UHD resolution at 60Hz frame rate with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling. A new version of this extender increases the colour depth from 24-bit video to 30-bit (10 bits per colour).

ENTERPRISE VIDEO Among the new product lines on the ATX stand will be its end-to-end IPTV solution, which includes VidiPlay middleware. The system can include IP set-back boxes and smart TV clients to deliver IP video to large-format displays as well as clients for PCs, tablets and mobile devices. VidiPlay also manages client authentication and

access control, provides client UI customisation and supports advanced features such as an interactive programme guide, VOD, nPVR, digital signage and more. AV Stumpﬂ will debut a new GPU-based video decoding algorithm for its Wings Vioso RX media server line-up. The algorithm uses specialised GPU instructions instead of regular CPU processes; rather than compressed video content being decoded in the CPU and sent over the PCI bus to playout, the new algorithm sends compressed data over the PCI bus for unpacking and decoding in the GPU. This makes available much greater bandwidth and more decoding power, resulting in higher image quality, more concurrent video layers and higher resolutions on the same physical hardware platform. Enterprise IP video technology specialist Exterity will demonstrate the latest additions to its enterprise IP video product portfolio. Mobile video compatibility supports the growing BYOD culture by extending the reach of IP video to mobile phones and tablets. ArtioPortal, the latest version of the AvediaServer middleware platform, extends the ability to create a tailored viewing interface for TV, VOD and interactive services across a broader range of devices, including smart TVs, smartphones and tablets. Matrox Monarch LCS, a powerful stand-alone lecture capture device, makes its European debut at IBC2016. It accepts video from any SDI or HDMI camera, and presentation content from computers over HDMI. Inputs can be encoded independently and in sync, with the resulting encoded streams usable with the latest multistream video players. Alternatively, before encoding, inputs can be combined in a variety of layouts for use with standard video players, including picture-in-picture and side-by-side. It is said to be simple to set up and integrate into video management systems such as Opencast

and Kaltura, and learning management systems such as Moodle. Teracue will show the ENC-500-HDMI HEVC Streaming Encoder. Designed for IPTV and live streaming, it is suited to applications where single computer-based HDMI signals are distributed or published on a network or the internet. This encoder targets medical, military, control room and training applications where high-resolution HDMI signals need to be shared, published, distributed and recorded. Video Devices (a brand of video products developed by Sound Devices) will demonstrate the new recording capabilities of its PIX-E Series of 4K-compatible recording monitors. PIX-E5, PIX5H, and PIX-E7 monitors will be on display, along with two new features: the addition of the H.264 codec and the capability of simultaneously recording a high-quality, edit-ready Apple ProRes ﬁle and a more compact H.264 MP4 ﬁle. Vitec is to demonstrate the latest updates to its IPTV Sports Venue Solution, designed to allow users at stadiums or arenas to stream highquality live, on-demand, or recorded video over existing IP infrastructure. By turning every display into a digital asset, this potentially creates a sponsorship inventory, claims the company.

The ENC-500-HDMI HEVC Streaming Encoder from Teracue

SHOW PREVIEW: IBC2016

www.installation-international.com

TRP micro-mirror technology into its DMD unit, and is offering TRP rear-projection cubes for the ﬁrst time at an “extraordinary favourable” entry-level price. They are also highly energy efficient. As well as the TRP series, eyevis will show the super-thin SLIM ecCUBE series. Vitec’s IPTV Sports Venue system has been updated

AUDIO Based on Vitec’s EZ TV platform, the IPTV Sports Venue system offers low latency across displays, synchronised playback, scalability and web-based administrative capabilities. EZ TV provides a system for managing live feeds and on-demand content and an ‘unlimited’ number of digital signage layouts, as well as distributing to thousands of IPTV and signage end-points.

DISPLAYS BenQ will showcase two products from its range of cinematic and video post-production monitors. The PV270 is a 27in monitor that features hardware calibration, 99% Adobe RGB, 100% Rec. 709 and a 96% DCI-P3 colour gamut. It is also Technicolor Color certified, meeting strict standards for colour accuracy. BenQ’s first monitor designed specifically for video postproduction, the PV3200PT is a 32in 4K UHD offers precise colour accuracy and a crisp and clear viewing quality. It has 100% Rec.709 and sRGB for optimal colour precision, hardware calibration, brightness uniformity and Palette Master Element colour calibration software. eyevis says it is the first manufacturer to incorporate Texas Instruments’ new DLP

Canford will launch its fibre termination service, located at its Washington (UK) headquarters and intended to offer a short lead time for various fibre connectors where speed is of the essence. Also on show will be its Fibre Field Termination Rackmount Case, designed to facilitate the swift installation of hybrid fibre connectors on site, eliminating the need for preterminated cable assemblies. Clear-Com will be showing two components to the FreeSpeak II intercom range. The FreeSpeak II-Base II is a base station for digital signal transmission over 1.9GHz and 2.4GHz frequency bands. It supports up to 25 full-duplex wireless beltpacks and covers a large area with up to 10 distributed-antenna transceivers and two transceiver splitters spanning up to 20,000m from the base station over fibre connection. Meanwhile, the FreeSpeak II Splitter (FSII-SPL) connects up to five FreeSpeak II transceiver modules from one of two antenna ports on the FreeSpeak II-Base II via the SFP fibre connectors; it offers five RJ-45 Ethercon connectors, LED status indicators for each connection, and a DIP switch for setting Cat5 or fibre operation. Pliant Technologies, the professional

Clear-Com has added to its FreeSpeak II range

products division of CoachComm, was given its new identity earlier this year. The company is showcasing its first new product, CrewCom, a professional wireless intercom. CrewCom is said to offer the industry’s highest user density, unparalleled range and scalability. The product also features the industry’s smallest fully featured professional full-duplex wireless radio packs, multiple simultaneous frequency bandsand a host of user features. Sonifex will show its new range of AVN (audio/video/network) talkback, listening and paging intercoms, which aid communication between studios, stages, theatres, offices and different areas in a facility or building complex. The AVN range use the AES67-compatible Ravenna protocol, and allow simple Cat5 cabling and expansion. The AVN-TB products are IP-audio based talkback intercom units with an advanced feature set, allowing them to be used in multiple applications. The first intercom to be released is the AVN-TB10AR, a 10-button intercom: 10 other ‘stations’ can be defined for communication. Comms can be made as a Talk action, a Listen action or a duplex Talk/Listen action to and from each station.

www.ibc.org

20 SHOW PREVIEW: PLASA 2016

Going up west This year the PLASA show returns to west London in its new home, Olympia. There’s set to be a stronger turnout from audio manufacturers as the organisation has shifted the emphasis of the show to include more live demo opportunities as well as training sessions and seminars The free-to-attend seminar programme at PLASA 2016 will see two showﬂoor theatres hosting designers, production teams and consultants from some of the world’s best known venues, tours, and entertainment and sporting events. This year’s show features a varied programme, divided into three main categories: audio and AV; lighting and staging; and training and tuition. Here’s our pick of the highlights.

Sunday 18 September 11:00 - 11:45 Good Sound – What is it, and how can we get it right? Simon Bishop, chairman, Institute of Professional Sound, will present the first seminar of the exhibition, discussing what is good, and bad sound. Bishop will also look at measures to ensure sound is good, and why we sometimes still produce poor sound. 11:45 - 13:00 MA Lighting dot2 Lighting Console Training The first of three 75-minute training sessions, presented by Sam Parsons and Thor Saether of Ambersphere Solutions, will provide delegates with an overview of all the features of the new MA Lighting dot2 compact lighting console. It will include hands-on instruction covering all the basic operational features of the dot2 console including how to control fixtures and create presets and cue lists. Parts 2 and 3 follow at 14:15 and 16:45.

Monday 19 September 12:00 - 12:50 Beyond Surround – immersive sound techniques Presented by Johan Wadsten, Ovation and Pyramix consultant at Merging Technologies, and freelance writer Phil Ward, this discussion looks at the ways theatre applications are refreshing the parts traditional audio cannot reach, using talent tracking and DSP to create 360° mixes.

13:00 - 14:00 The New Front of House – using tablets for mixing Phil Ward asks when and where is it favourable to take advantage of iOS and Android technology as a mixing interface. 13:00 - 13:45 Visualisation at The Royal Opera House James Simpson, lighting visualiser, The Royal Opera House, talks about the latest projects there – and how visualisation can provide a virtual venue where all technical elements, especially lighting, can be prepared in advance of getting on stage. 14:15 - 15:00 Wireless Mastered – RF and digital 2016 Shure UK’s pro audio group manager, Tuomo Tolonen, presents a discussion on the radio frequency spectrum for use by wireless

September 2016

What? PLASA 2016 Where? Olympia, London When? 18-20 September microphone operators and how much it has changed in recent years. He will also look at the role of sound engineers as consumer demand increases and the airwaves become increasingly crowded. The session will also reveal why digital wireless systems should be part of the RF landscape in 2016.

Tuesday 20 September 10.00 - 15.30 Dante Training Programme This session will be hosted by Kieran Walsh, regional manager of global support services at Audinate. Sponsors include Audinate, Focusrite, Solid State Logic, Roland, Yamaha and XTA. PLASA’s new MD Peter Heath will introduce the seminar, which will include Dante Level 1 and 2 training from Walsh, live table-top displays and a session on deploying Dante networks in live events from Liam Halpin. The programme is aimed at sound engineers, commissioning engineers, installed and live sound systems designers and consultants. 13:00 - 14:00: Noisy Neighbours – managing perimeter sound Also presented by Phil Ward, this panel discussion will consider the issues around ambient noise and reveal the latest solutions to tackle it.

www.plasashow.com

On the showfloor... Adamson Systems will be exhibiting with UK sales partner Warehouse Sound Services. The booth will feature E Series, S10, Point and Point Concentric speaker systems. Dataton is showcasing the projection mapping capabilities of the latest version of its WATCHOUT multi-display software, alongside UK premium partner Mirage Associates. Visitors can also see WATCHNET manager software, plus the WATCHMAX and WATCHPAX media servers. Elation Professional is bringing a strong line-up of products, including the new ZCL Series of high-output ACL-type LED effect lights with zoom, the DTW Series of variable white LED lights; and the Fuze Series of dynamic LED wash luminaires. Also on show is the Satura Profile, a powerful LED-based colour-changing moving head with 440W LED engine, framing system and zoom. L-Acoustics is exhibiting its Kiva II ultra-compact modular line source, as well as the LA12X amplified controller, which is claimed to deliver the highest power, regardless of the quality of the local AC mains. Yamaha Commercial Audio and its subsidiary Nexo will be exhibiting together, with Yamaha solutions on show including the flagship Rivage PM10 and CL/QL series digital mixers, and the CIS series of processors, mixers, amplifiers and loudspeakers. Key Nexo products on show include the ID Series (ID24 and S110 sub), GEO M6 compact line array and DTD amplifiers and controller.

EVENT PREVIEW

www.installation-international.com

Join us!

Installations in focus With the 2016 Pro Sound Awards just a few weeks away, we can reveal the shortlist for the hotly contested Installation categories

he Pro Sound Awards returns to the Ministry of Sound in London for its fourth outing on 22 September, and will once again be recognising excellence from across the installation industry. Vying for the Best Permanent Installation Project accolade are SSE for the multi-zone, multi-layered audio at Shrek’s Adventure! in County Hall, London; Funktion-One for an audio upgrade to the Lux Fragil nightspot in Lisbon;

Meyer Sound for the Sala Energia auditorium in Milan; and Powersoft for its work at the new Parc Olympique Lyonnaise stadium in Lyon. When it comes to the Best Temporary Installation Project, SSE is once again represented – this time for its rider-friendly set-up at the London Palladium – and Meyer Sound is recognised for a concealed, multi-zone system in the UK Pavilion at Expo Milano. Also on the shortlist is Merging/Delta for Gatwick’s

Tickets for the Pro Sound Awards are available now for just £55. This includes a drinks reception, dinner, entry to the awards and an exclusive after party. Contact James Reay on jreay@nbmedia.com or visit www.prosoundawards.com/buy-tickets for more information. Skybridge and Audio-Technica for Jungle-ized, a sonic visual art installation in Times Square, New York. Finally, Team of the Year will be contested by Martin Audio, Meyer Sound, Shure Projects and IPE/Veale. The winners will be decided by an extensive panel of independent judges. The full list of ﬁnalists in all categories is available online at http://bit.ly/2aHgma0.

www.prosoundawards.com

22 BUSINESS FEATURE: AV AND BROADCAST

September 2016

Corporates benefit from convergence The influx of manufacturers with a broadcast heritage into the AV market over the last half-decade underlines the level of convergence now taking place between the two sectors. And for corporate customers in particular, the result has been an increase in quality and flexibility, writes David Davies

Key Points

he gradual awakening of the corporate market to the possibilities of high-end AV has been one of the sector’s greatest success stories over the past ten years. Speak to nearly any vendor that you can think of and they will almost invariably point to at least some level of growth in the corporate sector – while for many it has become very big business indeed. Although corporate customers have certainly beneﬁted from the greater availability of prolevel audio – most obviously for conferencing and intercom applications – it would be fair to say that the most notable shift has surrounded the use of video. The expectation that it will be possible to take video from multiple familiar sources has been one primary driver – and so, increasingly, has been the accommodation of higher-resolution options such as 1080p and 4K. With the quality expectations of videoconferencing continuing to grow, and the desire to make greater use of streamed contributions, the pace of change continues to accelerate. While integrators and consultants are enjoying a boom-time for new projects, vendors who are able to provide suitably ﬂexible video solutions have been able to reap tremendous rewards.

Not surprisingly, these opportunities have also attracted manufacturers whose heritage lies not primarily in traditional AV, but in broadcast – where the requirement to deliver and process a variety of video sources is, quite literally, mission-critical. With an increasing number of businesses also looking to invest in powerful IP backbones, the already-evident convergence between the two worlds is on course to intensify greatly.

Vendor versatility While the extent to which broadcast-centric manufacturers have ventured into traditional AV inevitably varies considerably, all concur that the opportunities present in the latter have increased as the divide between the two markets has closed. Accordingly, this is leading many manufacturers to develop products that can accommodate the requirements of both markets, or even separate ranges that chime with the convenience and easy-use expectations of AV users. “The convergence taking place is pretty extensive,” says Bryce Button, product marketing manager at interface and conversion technology specialist AJA Video Systems. “We have

The demand for high-quality and multi-source video systems has prompted a swathe of broadcast-oriented manufacturers to expand their foothold in traditional AV Due to their nature and requirements, corporate clients have provided some of the most rewarding opportunities HDBaseT and SDI are still very much in evidence, while enquiries regarding overall deployment of unified IT networks continue to increase Enquiries about 4K are rising sharply, and away from ‘pure’ corporate applications are also growing in the energy production and automotive markets, among others aggressively positioned ourselves for that kind of thing for around the last ﬁve years” – a period in which the development of solutions to appeal to multiple markets has been a priority: “Yes, absolutely. We hired a product market manager to go after such markets [with the result that we now have interests in] live events and ﬁxed structures as well as the professional broadcasting end.”

www.installation-international.com

Australian broadcast and production equipment manufacturer Blackmagic Design, meanwhile, is seeing an increasing variety of its solutions resonate with corporate customers. “Our converters and other ‘glue’ products have been used widely in the corporate market for years, but we’re now starting to see more and more companies looking at our production equipment, such as our switchers and cameras. At a time when budgets are being squeezed, corporate AV teams want solutions that can deliver great quality at great value, and that’s exactly what they’ve seen from our kit,” says Luke MahlerHausen, AV and live business development, EMEA, Blackmagic Design. Conversion technology specialist tvONE has “always bridged the two worlds”, says vice president sales and marketing Andy Fliss, who pinpoints the influence that broadcast is exerting on traditional AV. “To the broadcast industry the stability of the technology is mission-critical, and manufacturers serving that industry design to that standard. Commercial AV tends to be a more pricecompetitive market, and the industry tends to design to a budget. Personally, I hope that as broadcast manufacturers grow in the commercial market they will reset expectations in terms of what the quality and reliability of technology ought to be.” James Keen, marketing manager at IPTV and VOD streaming company Tripleplay Services, also thinks there may be an overall increase in standards – although a certain degree of adaptation will also be necessary. “The emergence of broadcast tech into AV will drive up quality, potentially,” he suggests. “The AV market will have to start getting to grips with answering broadcast queries and integration requests. Although that said, the broadcast industry will have to adapt as well – understanding that not all businesses have a need for broadcast-quality video, technology or services, and that the AV industry has been very nicely running along for a number of decades without it.” He adds, invoking a pleasing metaphor, that “there is a natural marriage between the two industries, but as with any marriage it will take a bit of give-and-take on both sides to deliver a happy ever after”.

Flexibility focus Asked whether the primary driver behind video solution development for the corporate market is the ability to offer users the greatest possible ﬂexibility of inputs, Crestron technology director Stijn Ooms responds emphatically: “Spot on. In the corporate sector you might have businesses that are using VGA

FEATURE: AV AND BROADCAST 23 Riedel: “Interest from traditional AV is growing” Dr Lars Höhmann, product manager MediorNet at Riedel Communications, offers his perspective on the current opportunities for broadcastoriented manufacturers in traditional AV: “We are still very broadcast-driven as a company, but we also observe that an increasing number of clients in the traditional AV industry are willing to include more broadcast-type gear in their set-ups. “At present we have two main methods of reaching corporate clients. One is direct sale to the customers, and the other is through our rental houses for corporate events and installations. In terms of specific Riedel products, we recognise a growing demand for classic products like the Artist digital matrix intercom system. But there is also increasing interest in the corporate sector for our MediorNet integrated media signal distribution and processing technology, and RockNet realtime, low-latency audio distribution network equipment. “In terms of general awareness of professional AV and media technology in the corporate sector, that is definitely improving. If you go back three to five years I would say that a lot of education was required, but personnel there are catching up now. Part of this is due to us having made a real effort to explain the features and benefits of our equipment. We also have a continuing focus on making sure that the systems are easy to use. “In terms of adoption of IP by corporate users, I think that some very good progress is being made and things are developing fast, but at the moment there are some missing pieces. Interest in 4K is also growing and we are beginning to see some major deployments of that as well.” or HDMI, and there are still some using DVI. Then there are some who are now primarily using IP. So ideally you want the ability to mix and match all the signals on the same platform that you have coming into the facility.”

‘There is a natural marriage between AV and broadcast, but it will take give-and-take on both sides to deliver a happy ever after’ James Keen, Tripleplay Services

For Crestron, its presence in the corporate market continues to be focused around its DigitalMedia product family. Designed to enable the management and distribution of digital AV and control signals, DigitalMedia delivers besides fully uncompressed video over copper and ﬁbre, and also low-bandwidth network AV with or without a matrix switcher, using standard 1Gb Ethernet infrastructure and devices. The range includes extenders, switchers, transmitters, receivers, distribution ampliﬁers and various accessories.

Classy connectivity

In the corporate market, in particular, Ooms stresses the continued popularity of HDBaseT – the uncompressed AV connectivity standard whose 2.0 speciﬁcation, issued in mid-2013, heralded a number of enhancements that further increased its appeal to pro-AV users. “Pretty much any boardroom, presentation room, videoconferencing [installation you might identify] over the last ﬁve years makes use of HDBaseT technology,” he says.

The ability for multiple sources both inside and beyond a workplace to be managed and brought together has been a particular boom area for manufacturers active in this space. This is something to which KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) specialist Adder Technology can attest, with recent product launches including the AdderLink XDIP – which can extend video, USB2.0 and audio along a single minimum spec of Cat5e cable for 100m, and further by routing through existing infrastructure. Adder’s technology strategic sales manager EMEA, Jamie Adkin, says that in “the broadcast market we have been looking at the challenges

24 FEATURE: AV AND BROADCAST for customers wishing to manage multiple servers, or who have disparate users positioned around a business and require KVM to access those machines at critical points in the process. On the other hand, in the corporate AV market, we find customers who are maybe looking more at distributing video and maybe touching signage, and therefore wish to extend signals like VGA or HDMI into a permanent installation.” More generally, it is to be expected that – as in so many other sectors – discussion around technology for the corporate market now revolves around the transition towards IP-based operation. But there is no doubt that we are in a period of transition as organisations determine how exactly they should bring multiple systems onto a single unified IT network – and, critically, ensure that all the necessary security precautions are put in place. Mahler-Hausen observes that “we are in a period of uncertainty; everyone knows a move to an IP video backbone has to happen, because it will greatly increase flexibility within installations and allow organisations to use their IT networks for AV. As yet, no one is entirely clear about the best way to proceed. For now, that means users are putting in place temporary infrastructure with the expectation that things

September 2016

will change within the next two years. What we know right now is that customers want a lowcost HD solution that is easy to use and allows them to retain full control over their systems. It will be a very interesting area of development, particularly in corporate installs.”

Keen agrees that convergence is coming, but with very speciﬁc expectations: “Any kind of technology has to be secure in order to be adopted by any enterprise, not just secure in that the streams can’t be viewed, but secure in that the systems that manage them can’t be hacked.

FOCUSSED DISPERSION

PRECISION

SOUND RIGHT WHERE IT’S NEEDED

System designers love the focussed dispersion of NEXO speakers. It gives them the tools they need to achieve perfect coverage in any space. The new ID24 achieves smooth, full-frequency sound and high output from a cabinet measuring just 309mm wide, with a unique, user-rotatable horn providing unprecedented control over HF directivity. With an ‘a la carte’ selection of colours, grilles, directivity and connectivity, and compatibility with a wide range of mobile and ﬁxed-installation hardware, ID Series delivers precision sound, right where it’s needed.

www.nexo.fr

Thinking. Inside the box.

VP-734

Always Smooth. Always Glitch Free. 4K-UHD Scaler/Switcher for Digital and Analog Signals In life, change is often for the best. But the transitions can be rough. With Kramer's 4K-UHD Scaler/ Switcher, transitions are always smooth and glitch free. The VP-734 features auto-switching and autoscanning and comes with a user-friendly downloadable app for text overlay.

Learn more at: KramerAV.com/product/VP-734

AV BEYOND THE BOX

)RU \RXU ORFDO .UDPHU RÉ?FH 7HO info@kramerelectronics.co.uk I www.kramerelectronics.co.uk ÂŠ .UDPHU (OHFWURQLFV /WG $OO 5LJKWV UHVHUYHG

26 FEATURE: AV AND BROADCAST Enterprises don’t want to operate a network for their IT systems and then a completely separate network for their video streaming and broadcast technologies; they appreciate the value of convergence and expect their suppliers to understand that. From this perspective, the technologies we deliver tend to have to be integrated with [secure authentication protocols] SAML, LDAP and Active Directory, as well as delivering video encryption security. Enterprises also see their streaming and broadcast technology as a mission-critical system and so failover and redundancy is expected too; something Tripleplay offers, which many others cannot. There is also a growing demand for these solutions to be delivered over virtualised networks, to thin clients – a very difficult thing to achieve.”

September 2016

reduces any potential risk of image degradation. And while SDI remains the backbone of these AV systems, many rely on optical ﬁbre to link the various positions around a business; converting digital HD from copper to ﬁbre to push the signals over hundreds of metres.”

‘Pull ﬁbre today and you will be ready for any conceivable video standard and application tomorrow and the day after’ Andy Fliss, tvONE

Planning and purpose

4K for display On the display front, Blackmagic Design’s MahlerHausen recognises that “there’s a lot of movement in the market towards advanced displays, whether that’s 4K laser projectors or LED screens for IMAG [image magniﬁcation]. The ability to deliver 4K over a single SDI cable is a deﬁnite advantage here, not least because of its simplicity. Not only does it remove unnecessary weight and cost, it also

simultaneously. The latest release of the CORIOgrapher control software offers creative source and transition effects that can be applied to individual windows or multiple windows at the same time. These features are impressive in the lobby for image building, but equally valuable in the boardroom. Images of a presenter, a PowerPoint presentation and an Excel spreadsheet can be delivered with absolute clarity on a single screen to support an international meeting.” For Adder, Adkin says that there is a shift towards “more content that is 4K-produced and edited, but not necessarily viewed on 4K displays at this stage. But I expect that will change over time.”

Fliss also acknowledges the popularity of the UHD displays with reference to tvONE’s own CORIOgrapher control software. “The new generation of large-format 4K displays can be treated as a digital canvas, presenting multiple high-quality images or videos simultaneously,” he says. “One large 4K screen, for example, can be split to present four 1080p images

With the timetable for the mass transition towards IP still uncertain, and the likelihood that corporate customers will need to accommodate a wide variety of inputs for the foreseeable future, ﬂexible and future-proofed systems will be much in demand. But expert guidance from consultants, integrators and vendors will also be a prerequisite – not least because, inevitably, the level of knowledge and preparedness on the part of clients will continue to vary signiﬁcantly. The

1/5

of audience is international from 70 countries

LONDON, OLYMPIA | 18-20 SEPTEMBER

PLASA 2016 Re-focused After substantial market research PLASA 2016 is moving back to the heart of the city to London Olympia on 18-20 September. See the very latest live entertainment technology, live product demos, technical workshops and the free to attend seminar sessions. Register free today plasashow.com/2016 /PLASAShow

Book a stand plasashow.com/enquiry @PLASAShow

GLASGOW | 18-19 JANUARY, 2017

#PLASAShow

LEEDS | 9-10 MAY, 2017

41%

of PLASA visitors haven’t visited any other show in the past year

£3billion combined purchasing power of visitors registered for 2015

74%

of visitors are more likely to visit the new West London location

28 FEATURE: AV AND BROADCAST same can be said of the question of whether new video systems are implemented in phases or as part of a single large-scale installation. It is Fliss’ observation that “most consultantdriven installations still proceed a few rooms at a time, which is fine provided the backbone network is sufficiently high bandwidth to support the increasing traffic. The format, compression and resolution of the content can easily be changed for a relatively limited investment simply by swapping out the source and the screen, but recabling a site is expensive. Truthfully, we don’t know what technologies will come down the pipe. Will 8K take off or not? AVB is attracting a lot of positive interest...” It is through the adoption of fibre now, says Fliss, that the greatest long-term capability can be attained. “While a dedicated 10Gb network configured for video can be enough for now, only fibre optic networks really reach into the future. Pull fibre today and you will be ready for any conceivable video standard and application tomorrow and the day after.” For Keen, adequate planning should allow for a phased approach to be taken – but the basic groundwork has to be correct. “Proper planning will allow any large corporate to expand its technology solution as and when

demand changes, grows or shrinks,” he says. “Understanding the limitations of the solutions you’re looking at helps to decide which technology to implement initially. Some technologies are very ‘black box’ based and require sizeable hardware investments to add features when they are released, whereas we offer a software platform, so new features are easily applied to existing solutions. If you make the correct decision on day one you should have no problems expanding the system on day 1,000; it’s making sure you make the right call initially that matters.” But while Keen feels that in the main corporate IT and AV teams are “very astute [and] on the button with new release technologies and trends”, not everyone agrees that corporate knowledge of pro-AV is now pitched at a high level. “Sadly, the level of awareness and training is ﬂagging and can really have detrimental effects,” says Mahler-Hausen. “I’ve seen a very deﬁnite split in those installations that have been built with consideration and understanding of what a customer needs, and those which have the right products but have been poorly installed through a lack of thorough knowledge about how the equipment will be used long term.”

September 2016

More markets While it is arguably the corporate market above all others that has driven the expansion of broadcast-led manufacturers into traditional AV, the next few years will surely herald more opportunities in other markets. In particular, the obvious appeal of 4K to critical applications in the healthcare sector, as well as oil and gas production, should open up lucrative avenues for vendors leading the way in the new format. “The use of more professional tools as well as the broader acceptance of Ethernet and IP-type technology has really underpinned the whole convergence taking place – one that is affecting broadcast as much as the broadcast industry affects it,” says Button. “The opportunities that arise from that convergence will continue to grow in the years ahead.”

www.adder.com www.aja.com www.blackmagicdesign.com www.crestron.eu www.riedel.net www.tripleplay-services.com www.tvone.com

THE UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LEADING SHOW DEDICATED TO INTEGRATED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

18-20 OCTOBER | NEC

GET TO THE HEART OF THE CUSTOM INSTALL MARKET REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR FREE TICKET

smartbuildingslive.co.uk

SHOWS

HOME CINEMA | AUDIO SYSTEMS | CORPORATE AV | LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Includes:

FREE access to 9 shows during UKCW

PART OF

30 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: PROJECTORS

September 2016

Key Points With all projectors delivering more-thanacceptable image quality, the focus is on the functionality that software brings Embedded projector software is far more than scaling, edge blending and warping

The new way

Projectors are becoming complete, selfcontained solutions – thanks to software Going forward, software will be the biggest influencer of customer purchasing decisions

The nature of developments in the projector industry is undergoing a fundamental shift, in which hardware is now merely an enabler. Ian McMurray sheds light on what’s happening

here are probably more engineer jokes in the world than there are about any other subject. For example: ‘Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t ﬁx it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet’. But not all engineers are created equal – and there are plenty of jokes about the mutual distrust between hardware engineers and software engineers. Another example: ‘The only thing more dangerous than a hardware engineer with a code patch is a software engineer with a soldering iron’. The AV industry has, perhaps, tended to see itself as a hardware industry. Increasingly, however, it’s a software industry in which hardware is merely an enabler. Simplistically: hardware is what something is; software is what it does. That’s certainly the case for projectors. “Many of the features that make the difference between a simple projector and an intelligent projection solution are a function of the embedded software,” believes Gerd Kaiser, product line manager, large venue projectors at NEC Display Solutions Europe. “Software provides that link between the hardware and the user,” adds Lucy Meredith, field marketing specialist at Panasonic UK. “It gets greater flexibility and capability out of the hardware.” It’s important, of course, not to understate the importance of hardware. It’s the combination of

hardware and software that, ultimately, deﬁnes the solution – a point made by Dave Close, products and applications manager EMEA at Digital Projection.

‘Many of the features that make the difference between a simple projector and an intelligent projection solution are a function of the embedded software’ Gerd Kaiser, NEC Display Solutions Europe

Smart features “Budget and lower-end projectors are almost a commodity product, with image quality now at a good level of performance,” says Close. “In order to differentiate, smart features and benefits are essential to bring success. These can indeed be software – but there are also leading-edge developments in illumination such as laser phosphor, which offers benefits in longevity and low maintenance as well as greater flexibility in mounting.” Close also notes the power of FPGAs – powerful processors that are programmable

with the desired functionality, and provide an optimum platform for a projector’s embedded software functionality. He has an ally in Paul Wilson, business manager for projection at Epson UK. “The core function of a projector is to display large bright images, and we believe this is largely achieved through innovations to hardware such as the light source and imaging device,” he explains. “Embedded software deﬁnitely helps customers to use our projectors with ease and integrate them within wider solutions.” Alexis Skatchkoff, product manager projection at Barco, makes a telling point in respect of what software can bring. “What makes a projector great is the combination of the hardware and what you do software-wise with it,” he smiles. “The nice thing with software, of course, is that you can improve it over the lifetime of the projector and so keep the product up-to-date or improve it.” But what is it, precisely, that software delivers to today’s projectors? First and foremost, perhaps, is the functionality we’ve come to expect – and, increasingly, it’s becoming available at lower price points.

Opening opportunities “Built-in software offering geometry correction – even in the lower end of the range – enables systems to be offered to clients where only high-end projectors could previously be

pop-in, Pop-out video wall

Mounting Solutions POP-OUT interface arms now available for the system x range of mounting solutions for video walls, menu boards and digital signage Designed with the integrator in mind, new System X pop-out arms allow quick and easy service access for easy set up and maintenance of video wall screens. Universally compatible with all video wall screen models, each pair of arms feature 8-point micro-adjustment for seamless display alignment and a pop-out prevention mechanism that can be enabled as desired to avoid unauthorised release of the screens. Available to order as part of a complete video wall mounting solution; see BT8341 below or as a component part for use in custom configurations; see BT8390-VESA400MAP.

BT8340 BT8340 Universal Pop-in, Pop-Out Video Wall Mounting System

8-PO M INT ADJUSICROTMEN T

bt8390-vesa400map Universal POP-OUT interface arms WITH MICRO-ADJUSTMENT

Create your mounting system online Specify your Video Wall & menu board requirements online and our System X configuration tool will create a mounting kit to suit your exact needs There are thousands of System X configurations available! Visit our online configuration tool to specify setups, with different options such as screen size, number of screens, number of rows and orientation.

Try now at www.btechavmounts.com/systemx-configurator

Designed & Engineered in the UK

B-TECH AUDIO VIDEO MOUNTS HEAD OFFICE UNITED KINGDOM +44 (0)1327 300787 info@btechavmounts.com

BELGIUM +32 (0)2 720 9271 info@btechproav.com

GERMANY +49 (0)3322 4291712 info@btechdeutschland.de

SPAIN +34 93 640 24 79 info@btechiberia.com

MIDDLE EAST (+971) 4 3574855 sales@btechavmounts.ae

www.btechavmounts.com

32 FEATURE: PROJECTORS used,” notes Close. “While at ﬁrst sight this may appear to erode the sales of higher-end projectors, in fact, the opposite is true. It opens more opportunities for applications where budget sensitivity is a key issue. It gets you into tenders and opportunities where otherwise additional external hardware would be required, adding system complexity and cost.” Scaling and de-interlacing are other examples of software-driven functionality – as is warping. “Christie recently announced our TruLife electronics platform which forms the basis for the latest generation of projectors,” enthuses Jeevan Vivegananthan, senior director of product management at Christie. “It leverages the latest in FPGA technology to deliver a host of features, among which is pixel-perfect warping and blending at any frame rate.” We now tend to take for granted that such capabilities will be included within a projector. “Most of our installation projectors come with the edge blending and geometric adjustment software as standard,” notes Meredith. Similarly, we take for granted ease of use – but this too is a function of software. “One of the key elements of software is to make the user experience complete,” believes Skatchkoff. “It needs to be intuitive and easy to understand. It also needs to give the user the feeling that he is fully in control.”

What customers want “Customers want an easy-to-use projector – one that gives them the ﬂexibility and freedom to quickly and efficiently achieve what they want,” agrees Vivegananthan. “TruLife provides that in both simple and detailed formats that are consistent in offering – regardless of the human interface used, whether PC program, on-screen interface, web app or on-projector keypad/display.” Their embedded software drives the user interface, and the user interface drives ease of use. But wait: there’s more. “Embedded wireless presentation systems offer a very easy connection, meaning no additional software installation is needed,” says Kaiser. “The application is managed by memory thumb drive and all platforms – Windows, iOS, Android and Mac – are supported. It couldn’t be easier for instant wireless presentations.” “And,” he adds, “our Image Express Utility sends Windows content wirelessly to the projector and our Wireless Image Utility sends presentations from your iPhone and enables your iPhone camera to act as a document camera.” “Panasonic projectors feature the Wireless Projector App for iOS and Android, allowing projection of images over LAN, alongside a marker function to highlight and draw on the image,” adds Meredith, “and a Multi-Live mode

September 2016

that enables images from multiple devices to be relayed to a single projector.” So: wireless connectivity also derives from the projector’s software – the latter adding valuable functionality for collaboration. In fact, connectivity in general is a signiﬁcant feature in today’s projectors – and it too originates from software. Few high-end projector manufacturers today do not provide sophisticated facilities for remote maintenance, remote diagnostics and even remote control – and they provide ‘external’ software that enables users to manage their installations. “Panasonic CARES is our cloud-based remote monitoring system which offers an additional level of service to our customers,” says Meredith. “Devices are monitored remotely for temperature, ﬁlter and lamp life and any potential issues can be pre-emptively tackled before a fault occurs or a lamp expires. This is hugely useful for larger projector deployments, common among our business customers.”

Network assets It is also becoming increasingly commonplace to, in effect, classify projectors as no more than network assets. NEC, for example, provides NaviSet to manage not only projectors but also screens – and Panasonic offers something similar. “Our Multi Monitoring and Control Software allows management and control of up to 2,048 projectors and professional displays over an intranet network,” Meredith continues. That external software can make a signiﬁcant contribution to usability. Epson’s Wilson points out that his company provides utilities to enable projector control from a smart device; to allow any computer on the network to send content to a projector; to support network monitoring; to facilitate interactivity; and to load PowerPoint presentations onto a USB stick

FPGAs Sophisticated embedded software needs a powerful hardware processing platform – and, in many projectors, that’s provided by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) – which, as its name suggests, is programmable by the manufacturer, using its own IP. The alternative is, generally speaking, an ASIC (applicationspecific integrated circuit). FPGAs are typically preferred for low-volume products because of their lower set-up cost and simpler design cycle. Being programmable, they are also inherently upgradable. to enable computer-less presentations. All are downloadable from Epson’s website. Embedding software within a projector has, to some extent, obviated the need for external boxes to provide the requisite functionality, as Close noted earlier. And, unsurprisingly, projector manufacturers continue to enhance their products’ capabilities. These enhancements are often provided as free, in-field upgrades – yet another benefit that software brings. “The most recent function we added to the Barco HDX series software package is GSM communication,” reveals Skatchkoff. “That means that any remote installed projector can share information about its status and, in the case of Barco FLEX projectors, the user can even text the projector to increase/ decrease brightness.” “Dual-pipe for 4K sources is one of our latest additions,” says Close. “That can be used for 3D – or for 2D, where legacy cabling or older graphics cards don’t have the bandwidth to carry to full signal down one cable.”

Increasing automation “You can expect to see increasing levels of

Case Study

Panasonic brings Vikings back to life At Moesgaard Museum in Denmark, the traditional exhibition concept is challenged by going beyond the objects normally exhibited in large numbers at historical museums, by presenting an animated picture of the people who handled these objects day in and day out. Visitors are invited to follow in the footsteps of Vikings along the narrow smoke-ﬁlled alleys of Aros, Viking Age Aarhus. The museum installed ﬁve Panasonic PT-DZ680 projectors with short-throw lenses. Using reverse projection and the projectors’ inbuilt edge blending software, the integration team was able to recreate two opposing animated ‘Viking Armies’ on opposite curved walls.

VIDEO WALLS & LARGE FORMAT DISPLAYS COMPLETE SOLUTIONS FOR VISUAL DISPLAY SYSTEMS

ecCUBE Rear-Projection Cube Series

ƒ New slim cubes with the smallest footprint on the market ƒ Widest range of resolutions and sizes available ƒ Long-life LED projection technology ƒ 120Hz technology for smooth dynamic content or Active Stereo 3D

eyeLCD Modular LCD Screens

ƒ Smallest gaps for video wall displays ƒ Outstanding features for stable long-term operation ƒ OPS versions for IP-based video wall installations ƒ Robust, industrial design for professional use

Professional Flat Panel Display Solutions

ƒ Full-HD and Ultra-HD monitors for large format display ƒ Sizes up to 98-inch with Ultra-HD resolution ƒ Various options: touch surface, OPS slot, ... ƒ Transparent O-LED displays for eye-catching installations

UHD LED Modules for Seamless Video Walls

ƒ Ultra-fine pixel pitch from 0.9 to 2.5 mm ƒ eyeLED Series for high-end customized installations designed & manufactured in Germany

ƒ ePANEL Series powered by Unilumin LED technology

34 FEATURE: PROJECTORS automation,” he goes on, “that will reduce or even eliminate the skills required for, say, warping, blending and mapping. Look out too for smart, intuitive user interfaces such as we have become familiar with on our phones.” “TruLife now includes remote video live thumbnails, which remotely ‘see’, via a web interface, what the signal looks like as received

‘What makes a projector great is the combination of the hardware and what you do software-wise with it’ Alexis Skatchkoff, Barco

September 2016

incorporating image manipulation and improvement technology to add a broad array of functionality that enhances usability and connectivity. It doesn’t stop there, however. Software is increasingly making projectors standalone solutions. An example in point comes from Epson. “When Epson partnered with SMART Technologies to include SMART Notebook Advantage interactive learning software with all of our interactive ultrashort throw projectors,” says Wilson, “this gave schools the opportunity to enhance the learning experience and get the best of both worlds; market-leading projection technology and the world’s leading educational teaching and learning interactive software.”

Simple integration

at the projector,” adds Vivegananthan. “It also includes live video thumbnail visual selection, so rather than just picking which signal to display via an input’s name, you can see a live video thumbnail of all inputs so you can visually select with conﬁdence.” The world has moved on from ‘merely’

NEC’s Kaiser points out that his company too has integrated whiteboard functionality and interactivity. “The complete interactive solution is very quick to install as each element including the whiteboard, the projector and the touch module are aligned along the same axis for simple integration,” he discloses. In all this talk of what software brings, it’s important not to underestimate the importance

of hardware, and especially electronics – as anyone who has (foolishly) ever tried to run Windows 10 on an 80386 with 64kB of memory will testify. Today, though, processing power and memory are virtually unlimited – and relatively inexpensive. The sophistication of software is no longer limited by hardware: it’s limited by the designer’s imagination. In an era when every projector offers ‘decent’ image quality and enough brightness, the nature of the game is unquestionably changing. Yes, hardware – laser technology, with all its beneﬁts, is an example – has a role. But in the not-too-distant future, that’s how all projectors will be illuminated. Competitive differentiation and advantage in the projection industry – and thus customer buying decisions – will be software based. And speaking of illumination… How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb? None: it’s a hardware problem.

www.barco.com www.christiedigital.com/emea www.digitalprojection.co.uk www.epson.eu www.nec-display-systems.com http://business.panasonic.eu

VX-3000 Voice Alarm System Today, the issue of safety is more important than ever. At TOA, we have developed a reliable and energy efficient voice alarm system that combines all functions in a single device. In so doing, this decentralised and space-saving system prevents all-out failure even in emergency situations while also providing first-class sound quality thanks to its modular Class D amplifiers. Whether in airports, hotels, offices, hospitals or schools, the flexible system architecture makes it scalable and expandable for all size requirements.

... and yet you are still led out of the terminal quickly and safely in an emergency. We supply sound, not equipment. www.toa.eu www.toa.co.uk

I I

TOAeurope TOAuk

LEADERS IN LAMP FREE PROJECTION NO LAMPS, NO MAINTENANCE, NO WORRIES 1-CHIP & 3-CHIP DLP PROJECTORS - 20,000 - 60,000 hours of illumination - Laser or LED light source - WUXGA or 4K - No lamp changes - No projector down time - No recalibration in multi-channel environments

The Visionaries Choice www.digitalprojection.com

36 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: RETAIL

Getting personal There is an abundance of innovative technologies at the disposal of retailers looking to improve customer engagement. However, knowing which solutions are suitable for deployment and will bring tangible results is no easy task, writes Duncan Proctor

he challenge laid down by the online sector has hit ‘bricks and mortar’ retail, but the multitude of personalised and contextual solutions on offer provides it with the opportunity to adapt. “Online companies have impacted the industry and changed the way consumers shop, but this doesn’t mean the in-store experience is no longer,” notes Scott Brothers, VP, business development at analytics and intelligence solutions provider Oncam. “Embracing change is important and retail is being positively affected by the development of smarter technology right now,” he adds. “Mass adoption of new technologies has dramatically inﬂuenced the way consumers shop and created new ways to browse and purchase.” As retailers have shifted towards making shopping more entertaining for the customer and less transactional, a number of technologies have emerged to provide a more dynamic experience and generate more accurate data to streamline the customer’s search.

The aim for retailers is to turn casual shoppers into brand advocates and build up loyalty through experiences that promote personalisation and connectivity. The technologies at the forefront of the drive to create more dynamic customer experiences and encourage shoppers in-store include Bluetooth beacon technology, facial recognition and physical cookies. Florian Rotberg, MD at invidis consulting, highlights the challenges of personal communication in retail spaces: “For years the industry has tried out various personal solutions, but hasn’t found the holy grail yet. But many new solutions like beacons, facial recognition or other sensors have entered the retail space. Most of them enable the network owner to identify shoppers, connect and address them with a personal message – on the public screen or, in the best case, on a mobile phone.” Beacon technology utilises Bluetooth Low Energy to send offers and personalised deals through mobile apps, based on the in-store location of the customer. Retailers can use beacons to navigate shoppers through a

September 2016

Key Points Targeted marketing and online cookies have changed the way people shop and altered customers’ expectations as well as their patience for perusing store shelves Brands are starting to offer something online companies cannot compete with to justify customers making the journey The solutions on offer are not ‘one size fits all’ and the results largely depend on the retail environment and the understanding of the retailer store to ﬁnd what they want, while building a relationship with them by delivering personalised offers and rewards. However, a potential issue with the technology is that as more retailers use it, shoppers could get bombarded with offers from different brands. Rotberg elaborates: “Technically speaking, beacons are a fantastic solution. They are very cheap, run independently on batteries for up to two years, and they are very small and therefore easy to hide. But a beacon is worthless without an app and the permission of the user to push messages on his phone. And that exactly is the bottleneck: most consumers fear getting spammed and therefore reject the permission.” Mark Childerhouse, senior account manager at retail integrator Pioneer Digital, counters: “Google’s Eddystone beacon is paving the way

See us at IBC booth 10.A31

CONTROL COMMUNICATE

INTERCOMANDMEDIORNETCONTROL

TOGETHER IN ONE DEVICE

SMARTPANEL RSP-2318

RIEDEL widens its SMARTPANEL app portfolio with the new MEDIORNET CONTROL app. Switch video, audio or combine in macrosâ&#x20AC;¦ all while using your intercom.

www.riedel.net

38 FEATURE: RETAIL for future developments, as it doesn’t require a Bluetooth connection or for consumers to download a brand’s mobile app to be used.” Another area of retail tech that provides many of the same benefits of Bluetooth beacons is ‘physical cookies’; these do not harvest people’s personal data, as there is no need to download apps or sign-up for services. These devices enable the retail space to react to a customer’s behaviour with data analysed in real time and linked to digital signage, which will show deals tailored to the user’s interests. Currently embedded in keyrings to make them easy to carry, the technology can be adapted to other objects. Perhaps the most contentious technology in retail is facial recognition. Its roots lie in sectors such as airport security, law enforcement and casinos, so it is unsurprising that customers may have reservations about whether they are sacrificing anonymity without knowing it, and how secure the information is from hackers. It also brings with it questions over exactly which uses retailers can put it to. Retailers find facial recognition useful, as it provides detailed analytics on traffic flows and customers’ responses to product displays. It can also be used to identify shoplifters, for targeted marketing and to recognise VIP customers, a use mainly in high-end fashion retailers and hotels. It offers significant upsides for brands; however, accomplishing the desired results requires considerable investment, with a large number of cameras needed as well as separate servers.

‘In the past, some retailers have used technology for the sake of using it, and not necessarily to improve the customer and product relationship’ Steve Blyth, Engage Works

Getting it right The technology itself is only one part of the equation, however; proper deployment is just as crucial. Steve Blyth, CEO of interactive solutions agency Engage Works, comments: “Successful deployment of these technologies is interconnected and seamless, bringing together both the online and offline shopping experience. It is also successfully employed to enhance personalisation, a key factor in engaging customers. When deployed in a smart and strategic way, new technologies can build and create emotional experiences between the brand and customer, which leads to brand

September 2016

loyalty and in turn, improved sales.“ However, Oncam’s Brothers suggests integrators and vendors should strike a balance between ‘selling’ retailers technologies that aren’t always proven, and waiting too long and risking being left behind by the competition. “Vendors and installers have at times been their own worst enemies by throwing out buzzwords like facial recognition, smart ﬁtting rooms and big data,” he says. “They are all very real technologies, but not all are applicable to every retailer and certainly not all are realistically available as an off-the-shelf integrated solution which can be quickly deployed. “It’s crucial with these advanced technology solutions to consider how the retailer will use them. If you are only providing data then the retailers may not have the resource in-house to best exploit it, and end up not seeing a great return on investment.” Obstacles to the successful implementation of these technologies often result from retailers not understanding the best way to use them, as well as shoppers’ reservations about privacy. Blyth explains: “Existing barriers tend to stem from bad use of technology. In the past, some retailers have used technology for the sake of using it, and not necessarily to improve the customer and product relationship. When technology isn’t deployed in a way that beneﬁts the consumer, this can actually hinder the formation of such relationships. Using tech for the sake of it is often more harmful than not using it at all.”

What’s next? While the current class of technology has the ability to upgrade in-store shopping experiences, there are a number of solutions around the corner that could further enhance the level of personalisation retailers can offer. “We will certainly see more cases for artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) and robotics being used in a

retail environment,” says Blyth. “We will also see interaction based upon voice recognition and touch recognition, as well as more interactive kiosks popping up in new locations, making shopping on the go easier.” Jason Cremins, founder and CEO, Signagelive, says: “Mobile and wearable technology, sentiment and proximity measurement and RFID are all inputs that we can work with to deliver personalised experiences for retail customers. In addition, external factors including weather, stock availability, loyalty schemes and online profiling all ensure that the content displayed to the customer is personalised to their needs.” “There are currently advanced developments being made in biometric technologies to supply statistical information for analyses of behaviour and engagement and its combination with digital signage to give more relevant insight to businesses on who’s shopping there,” offers Childerhouse. “This could look like more intelligent software running anonymous facial analysis, which is able to then use this information to trigger predetermined content for specific demographics.” While, as we’ve seen, there are hurdles to successful deployment, the considered use of appropriate cutting-edge tech could prove decisive as traditional retailers continue to fight the dominance of online competitors. As solutions are honed and adapted to suit different environments, there is the possibility that retailers can not only claw back some lost business, but also attract new customers and develop a new form of brand loyalty – based not only on the quality and price point of the products but on the entire in-store experience.

www.engageldn.engageworks.com www.invidis.de www.oncamgrandeye.com www.pioneergroup.co.uk www.signagelive.com

Tic

ket sn

ow ava i

lab

Celebrating the success stories in the production, management, and delivery of media content

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Peter McCarthy, Sales Manager +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Email: pmccarthy@nbmedia.com

Richard Carr, Account Manager +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Email: rcarr@nbmedia.com

www.tvb-awards.com

TICKET SALES James Reay, Delegate Sales +44 (0)207 354 6010 Email: jreay@nbmedia.com

40 SOLUTIONS: SAVOY PLACE, LONDON

September 2016

UNITED KINGDOM

PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Engineering a high-level solution Installed Paddy Baker reports on the £1.6 million installation at the HQ of the Institute of Engineering and Technology – which makes top-level AV available to members, visitors, events and even broadcasters

t’s hard to think of a more high-proﬁle installation project than the one carried out by Snelling Business Systems at Savoy Place, the headquarters of the Institute of Engineering and Technology in central London. This is one of the capital’s landmark, listed buildings – whose roof terrace, commanding a view of the river Thames, is frequently used by broadcasters, including for BBC weather reports. The building itself is the headquarters of a global learned society, created over the years by the merger of around 40 different professional engineering bodies – so the client base is very well informed about technology matters. In addition to the 167,000-strong membership, the Institute also serves external customers; the building is a leading events venue, having been voted ‘Best UK Venue Brand’ for corporate events three years running. And ﬁnally, the £30 million refurbishment project – £1.6 million of which was assigned to AV – got the go-ahead in 2013 when the approval letter was signed by no less a personage than Her Majesty The Queen. Snelling installed equipment into a large number of different kinds of room, including two lecture theatres, two large boardrooms, two large function rooms, various other conference, VC and meeting rooms, and members’ seating areas. Given the size of the budget and the many kinds of user that the building has, it’s no surprise that there is a wide range of technology installed, including building-wide IPTV, digital signage, video and audio conferencing, video streaming and outdoor broadcast points.

“In terms of building infrastructure, the AV runs over Cat6a, HD-SDI, analogue audio and ﬁbre,” explains Kevin Madeja, technical director at Snelling. “The IT runs over a separate Cat6a infrastructure; we only used it for the AMX control systems and for the IET’s own ‘IET TV’” – in-house broadcasting, usually of events held in the lecture theatres. Tielines for broadcast signals run from the height of the building, with outside broadcast points at street level and also on the roof. When OB trucks arrive on site, “they plug in their ﬁbre, send their guys to the roof, plug in the other end, and they’re ready to go”, says Madeja.

Digital audio A Dante network is used to send digital audio signals throughout the building, which works very well, he says, with one proviso: “If you want to use Dante in a live performance situation it is not the technology. It’s more of a fixed architecture thing. You shouldn’t think of it as an electronic patchbay – there’s a danger you might lose one of the other signals if you try to reconfigure it while someone is using it.” So for making new connections on the fly, the building is fitted with Canford ¼in tip-ringsleeve patchbays. “Also, guys in live production like tactile things,” he observes. IPTV runs through the building. In the basement, a Cabletime IPTV headend brings in broadcast TV signals – as well as those from IET TV’s own channels – and converts them to streams that are decoded by set-top boxes behind displays around the building. Control and channel selection are managed via AMX.

Video dnp Supernova Infinity projection screen Panasonic PT-DZ16KEJ 16,000 lumen full HD projectors Samsung LH75DMDPLGC 75in displays Samsung LH95MECPLGC 95in display Analog Way NeXtage 16 AV processor Analog Way Saphyr SPX450 switcher Panasonic PT-DZ16KEJ cameras Blackmagic Smart Videohub 12x12 router NewTek TalkShow Skype bridge Blackmagic HyperDeck 4K SSD recorders NewTek Tricaster TCXD8000 AdderView CatX KVM switches AMX NetLinx NX Integrated Controllers AMX 4.3in, 7in, 10in Modero X Series G4 touchpanels Polycom HDX 7000-720 videoconferencing kits Vaddio AV Bridges Extron FOXBOX HDMI fibre transmitters and receivers Extron DTP DVI 4K 330 Rx/Tx long-distance receivers/transmitters Extron Cable Cubbies and Retractors Cabletime MediaStar IPTV headend

Audio L-Acoustics KIVA line array modules L-Acoustics LA4 amplifiers L-Acoustics SB18i subwoofers Yamaha LS9/32 console Polycom SoundStructure voice conferencing modules Shure U-LXD wireless microphone system Shure WL185 lavalier mics Shure MX412/C gooseneck mics Clockaudio ARMF 102-RF motorised table mics Canford ¼in tip-ring-sleeve patchbays

VISIT THE ULTIMATE PRO AUDIO GEAR EXHIBITION AND TECHNICAL SUMMIT

AES

Los Angeles 2016 Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall EXHIBITION: SEPT. 29 – OCT. 1, 2016 PROGRAM: SEPT. 29 – OCT. 2, 2016

The Latest Hardware & Software Network with Audio's Best Workshops - Panels - Tutorials Live Sound Expo Project Studio Expo

#AESLA

For FREE Exhibits-Plus Access Visit aesshow.com Click REGISTER Use Promo Code: AES141PSNE

If It’s About AUDIO, It’s At AES! www.aesshow.com

Facebook.com/AESorg

42 SOLUTIONS: SAVOY PLACE, LONDON

September 2016

About the installer Founded in 1954, Snelling Business Systems is run today by a charitable trust Its head office is in Wymondham, Norfolk; it has a southern office in Uxbridge, greater London The company won Best Education Project at the InstallAwards 2016 for its project at the Blavatnik School of Government project Managing director Toby Wise was interviewed in our June issue – http://bit.ly/2b3iXBn Flagship theatre Savoy Place’s flagship conference space – used by members and external clients – is the 451-seat Kelvin lecture theatre on the ground floor. It’s equipped with a 6.9m wide dnp Supernova Infinity projection screen – the largest in Europe. This is the projection surface for two Panasonic 16,000-lumen projectors, edge-blended to produce an image 3,200 pixels across; the visuals come from an Analog Way image processor, which can handle multiple inputs (including HDMI and HD-SDI) and windows. A Samsung 75in display on either side of the room can repeat or augment the main screen content (selectable via an AMX touchscreen). The room is also equipped with two Panasonic PTZ HD-SDI cameras near the front and a third at the rear, which are capable of IP streaming. A 32-channel Yamaha LS9 console with Dante card looks after the audio in the theatre, outputting to an L-Acoustics 5.1 system featuring KIVA line arrays via LA4 amplifiers; two 18in subwoofers are built into the stage. Twelve channels of Shure wireless microphones are installed, along with fixed wired table mics. A Sennheiser IR-based system provides assistive listening for those who are hard of hearing. The theatre also has connectivity for remote conferencing. “A Vaddio AV Bridge allows us to take signals from professional-grade cameras and audio systems, take a microphone mix from the Polycom system and present it as a USB source for the soft codec.” Among the broadcast equipment used by the IET TV team in the Kelvin’s control room are a Blackmagic 12-channel video router, a NewTek Tricaster 8-channel multi-camera production system, a NewTek TalkShow hardware bridge for bringing Skype calls into broadcast feeds, and Blackmagic 4K SSD recorders. The IET TV and live event staff have multiple PCs and other visual sources to work with, so an Adder KVM system helps to reduce monitor clutter. On the first floor, the 175-seat Turing lecture theatre has a similar but cut-down specification compared to the Kelvin: Panasonic projection and cameras, Samsung side screens, a smaller Analog Way unit, Sennheiser IR and a 4-channel

Tricaster. The Turing can act as a spillover for the Kelvin (and vice versa): video and audio can be sent between the two locations either using Extron FOXBOX ﬁ bre transmitters and receivers, or via HDBaseT on Cat6a using with Extron digital twisted pair boxes.

Breaking news Just outside the Turing theatre is the Faraday Wall – a videowall that shows up-to-the minute content from IET and the world of engineering, including news, tweets, event updates and famous engineering quotes. It can also take a live feed from IET TV. Content is pulled together on a Dataton Watchout server and displayed via two edge-blended Panasonic HD projectors. Another Dataton Watchout server feeds a 2x2 Samsung videowall in the main lobby downstairs. The Wedmore is one of two boardrooms in the building. This long room contains a 95in Samsung LCD display on the end wall, supplemented by three 55in Samsungs down each side, which can show different content if required. Signals are routed by an Extron matrix, and sources are selected and controlled via an AMX touchscreen – which can also be mimicked by an iPad. Inputs for laptops are provided at the front, middle and rear of the room. Both hard and soft videoconferencing codes are available: Polycom hardware is in place, along with a Vaddio AV Bridge. One cool feature is 14 Clockaudio motorised microphones which retract into the table when not in use. Madeja highlights two parts of the project where a little Snelling ingenuity was needed. One was in the four members’ areas: these are soft seating booths, each with a wall-mounted 42in display, with an Extron cable cubby – with laptop VGA, audio and HDMI connections – just below it. These cables retract on a reel; however, the integrator had to re-engineer the cubbies, which require a depth of 234mm, so they ﬁtted into a space of just 160mm. Also, there wasn’t enough room in the Kelvin theatre projection booth to house one of the Panasonic projectors – and moving the wall wasn’t an option because on the other side was the main lobby and a marble facade. “So we

rotated the projector 90º and we put in a mirror to allow us to deal with the restricted space,” explains Madeja. “The engineering on it had to be quite tight because we were dealing with a very short throw on the mirror, and also it needed to be a precision build because of the edge blending.” On a project of this scale, communication with other project stakeholders – architect, consultant, other trades working on site – is essential, he says: “We have a high degree of detail on our drawings. We do everything in AutoCAD so we can pull metadata out of our drawings to give us ideas about connections, the electrical usage of the equipment, heat output and so on. Our layout drawings specify the layout of equipment in the rooms; architects can allow for the co-ordination of these drawings and make sure that, for instance, the heating and ventilation people don’t put a duct right through the speaker arrays.” Despite this, he reckons that Savoy Place was “probably one of the most difficult installations I’ve worked on”, partly because of its sheer size, and partly because “delays in the construction programme required almost everybody to ﬂip around their programme and do things in a non-optimal way.” Gratifyingly, the project has been very well received – even by the Institute’s well-informed members. He concludes: “To overcome those challenges and come out at the other end with something that everybody’s pretty happy with – that’s some accomplishment, really.”

www.adder.com www.amx.com www.analogway.com www.blackmagicdesign.com www.canford.co.uk www.clockaudio.com www.dnp-screens.com www.extron.com www.l-acoustics.com www.newtek.com http://business.panasonic.eu www.polycom.com http:/displaysolutions.samsung.com www.shure.eu www.snellingbiz.com www.yamahaproaudio.com

Designed for Perfection

KK52

Half meter long producing 124 dB (peak) Wide horizontal coverage Weather resistant :[HPUSLZZ Z[LLS PU H WVSPZOLK ÄUPZO

www.k-array.com

44 SOLUTIONS: KING’S THEATRE GLASGOW/ BRISTOL HIPPODROME

September 2016

UNITED KINGDOM

Best of both worlds Two UK theatres have installed discreet audio systems that bring improved quality to smaller visiting productions without getting in the way of the larger shows that bring their own kit. Tom Bradbury reports

any regional theatres that host touring productions face a dilemma when it comes to an in-house audio system. If the majority of shows bring their own systems with them, is it worth having an installed system that could get in the way? But not having a permanent system can make the venue less attractive to other productions, as well as making it harder to exploit commercial opportunities, such as advertising. This issue was addressed recently by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) in two of its UK theatres, the King’s Theatre Glasgow and the Bristol Hippodrome. ATG describes itself as the world’s leading live-theatre company, with a total of 45 venues in the UK, US and Australia. The King’s and the Hippodrome are both housed in historic buildings, making the visual aesthetics of their speaker systems a key requirement as well as audio quality. Stuart Graham, ATG’s head of technical operations, is a driving force behind this move. “There’s a big gap in the quality of how toured shows ﬁll our auditoriums with sound, especially the shows that come for one day only and don’t have time to put delay systems in across our balconies,” he explains. “This means that we are potentially losing that sound if the house is full, or if people want to sit in seats that aren’t in the main part of the auditorium. As host venues, we want to aid that, but with a solution that works for every part of our business; we also needed to think about what happens when we want to include advertising before the show or during the interval. Without a house system, we have to rely on the visiting show’s PA system. If we want

to generate revenue as a company, we need to have independent audio and not be reliant on visiting shows. “We then looked at the usability of the system. Would it be the right thing to put a big line array system in? Probably not. So we looked at other systems. In our regional venues, 80% of the time a toured system will go in no matter what you have in there. That meant we needed to make a decision on what our investment should be and what is useful to us.”

Discreet solution Having already worked with Stage Electrics on a number of projects, Graham turned to the installer to find the right solution. “I don’t profess to be an engineer, but I have worked in audio and I know what I like and what I don’t like and it’s difficult to find something that fits all the criteria,” Graham continues. “I went to Stage Electrics’ Bristol headquarters where I had a demo of a K-array system. I was blown away by it, mainly by the clarity at distance and the punch you get for such a little box, but also the consistency of top vocal all the way. Add to that the size of K-array cabinets and the fact that we’re in listed buildings with narrow prosceniums and not particularly great rigging positions, we needed something that could bolt to the wall and stay there, but leave the rigging points free for touring productions to bring in their own PA. “In some of the old cantilever theatres with large balconies, some restricted views, more and more automated equipment and more and more equipment in the air, we don’t want to be restricting sight lines any more by putting big

Installed Audio K-array KP102 variable beam line array speakers K-array KU210 ultra-thin passive subwoofers K-array KMT18P 18in subwoofers K-array KMT21P 21in subwoofers K-array KA84 amplifiers with onboard DSP

About the installer Founded in 1979, Stage Electrics has grown to become one of Europe’s leading suppliers of stage lighting and sound equipment to the entertainment industry As well as theatres and opera houses, the company has international experience in schools and universities, houses of worship and commercial venues Headquartered in Bristol, it employs more than 200 people. It also has an international office in Dubai speaker boxes up, and that’s where we get the beneﬁt from K-array. It’s a compact, powerful, well-toned system that doesn’t get in the way of anything. It’s given us what we want, which is full audio across the venue at a reasonable cost.” Both King’s and the Hippodrome now have systems based around the K-array KP102 – a passive speaker array speaker comprising 12 3.15in neodymium transducers housed in a stainless steel chassis. In Bristol these are supplemented by four KU210 subs in the upper circle and two KMT18P in the stalls; in Glasgow there are two KMT21P subs in the upper circle boxes, and a total of four KU201 subs in the proscenium and stalls. K-array KA84 ampliﬁers

IT’S WHAT’S BEHIND THAT KEEPS US AHEAD

are installed in both venues.The systems were designed by Stage Electrics’ James Gosney, with installation and commissioning by the team at Stage Electrics and back-up and support from Dave Wooster at K-array’s UK distributor, 2B Heard.

No need for hire “As long as I can remember Bristol hasn’t had a sound system,” adds Peter Tovey, technical manager at Bristol Hippodrome. “The touring musicals that come in tend to bring their own equipment. They want to use their kit. And because for around 45 weeks of the year, our product is larger-scale musicals it’s always been felt that having a sound system would get in the way; we’d spend more time taking it down and putting it in storage to put in the big shows than we would actually using it. But we do also have around 20 nights a year of one-night concerts, tribute acts, comedians, that kind of thing, that need a smaller-scale system. Perhaps half those tour a system, although they’re happy to leave that on a truck and use the house system, and about half of them don’t. “We used to have to contact local companies to hire in a system for those times. That’s frustrating, because it makes us a slightly less

attractive venue than one where you turn up and there’s a system already in place. “We knew that it would be nice to have a system installed, but it was vitally important that whatever it was wouldn’t get in the way of our main priority, which was the big productions.” Tovey is pleased with how the K-array set-up is working. “It’s a very discreet system,” he continues. “That was important to us. It needs to be permanent and for us to be conﬁdent that it won’t ever get in the way of the big shows that need to have ﬁrst choice of where they position their boxes. The way it’s been installed, not only is it out of the way of the touring systems, but it’s positioned so that even when a line array is hung from the usual rigging points, it’s not obscured by them, so it still works whatever is in front of it. “It shoots out to the back of the balcony and underneath the shelf of the upper circle, which I was a little bit worried about. We’ve done a couple of shows with it and it’s worked very well. I’m very impressed with the coverage of the system from such small boxes.”

www.k-array.com www.stage-electrics.co.uk www.2b-heard.com

LEADING THE WAY IN DIGITAL KVM www.gdsys.de

G&D’s KVM systems have a proven reputation for long lasting usability and reliability. But that’s not all that keeps us ahead. Because G&D don’t just provide systems, we deliver solutions. KVM solutions that are tailor-made to meet your speciﬁc needs. Our broad portfolio allows us to combine products and systems to cover any application. Our expertise in all areas ensures your G&D solution is right for you in every way – from design to planning, from installation to technical support. Versatility also plays its part in keeping us in front. For instance, we offer systems for a wide range of different video standards – digital or analog – with bandwidths up to 4K (incl. Full HD, 2K and Ultra HD).

G&D AT IBC STAND 1.B10

The power to deliver the perfect KVM solution. That’s G&D.

46 SOLUTIONS IN BRIEF

September 2016

CHINA

Sonic immersion at domed theatre Meyer Sound’s 128-channel D-Mitri digital audio platform has been integrated into the Dai Show Theatre in China, built speciﬁcally for producer Franco Dragone’s newest themed spectacle. Alongside CueConsole, the D-Mitri platform control handles mixing, multi-track playback and show control of the nightly aquatic acrobatic displays. Audio is played through an array of 103 Meyer Sound speakers, arranged in overhead rings so that they could be largely hidden. The main inner ring features 10 UPA-1P speakers, supplemented by a delay ring of 23 UP-4XP loudspeakers under the surrounding soffit, and two more rings with a total of 59 smaller speakers for dynamic surround effects. In addition, Meyer Sound’s Space Map software allows panning of sounds around and across the two rings of individually addressable self-powered loudspeakers.

www.meyersound.com

UAE

BrightSign and Mood Media deliver ﬁrst Costa Coffee menu boards Following an extensive pilot, Mood Media is in rolling out the ﬁrst digital menu boards in more than 50 Costa Coffee stores throughout Dubai. The menu boards consist of three 49in horizontal screens driven by BrightSign XD232 players – supplied by distributor Digital Communications – which can decode two 1080p60 videos simultaneously. The central screen features dynamic video content provided by Costa Coffee and/or created by Mood Media GCC locally in Dubai. The screens to either side offer up-to-date menus and pricing, but can now also feature dynamic content such as moving images. Content is managed by Mood GCC and securely hosted using the BrightSign Network Enterprise Edition.

www.brightsign.biz

BRAZIL

Sarner creates virtual-reality Olympic volleyball experience Sarner used virtual reality technology to showcase volleyball and beach volleyball at the Olympic Games in Rio this summer. The integrator created an immersive VR experience within Volleyball House, a specially designed venue near the Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana beach. Ed Cookson, projects director at Sarner, commented: “The brief from the FIVB [(Fédération Internationale De Volleyball] was to bring the energy and beauty of volleyball to life by

connecting the fans to the players, and that’s what we’re doing with the VR technology.” The VR tech enables visitors to move their heads to explore the world around them in 360°. Having worked with a number of different VR display technologies, Sarner chose to use Samsung Gear VR headsets.

www.sarner.com

SOLUTIONS IN BRIEF

www.installation-international.com

CANADA

INDIA

Two more immersive adventure walks

Delta videowall monitors smart city

Following its success with Foresta Lumina, multimedia studio Moment Factory has created two more immersive, illuminated outdoor experiences, also in Quebec. Launched this summer, the new night walks are Anima Lumina, installed at the zoo, in St-Félicien; and Nova Lumina, which takes place by the sea in Chandler, Gaspésie. All three experiences start at nightfall. Visitors walk through an enchanted 1.5-2km nature trail and meet different characters who draw them into an immersive adventure that lasts approximately 60 minutes. The multimedia installations are seamlessly integrated into the surroundings, with a strong respect for the indigenous fauna and ﬂora.

Delta Displays, in collaboration with channel partner Alpha Digital, has delivered a 6m-wide HD videowall solution for India’s first Smart City Centre in Surat, Gujarat, to monitor over 30 different operations for city management. Surat is one of the first 20 cities selected under the Indian government’s smart city programme. The 4 × 4 LED-lit DLP videowall, comprising 16 Delta 70in DLP videowalls and controller, enables operators to monitor data feeds covering transport, city planning, water supply, property tax, disease surveillance, CCTV, health, GIS, traffic signals, illegal constructions and more.

www.momentfactory.com

www.deltadisplays.com

From the publisher of Installation, AV Technology and SCN.

From primary through to higher education, Tech&Learning UK engages with those responsible for AV & IT technology throughout the UK education sector. Tech&Learning UK reaches 16,000 decision makers and inﬂuencers in the UK and provides manufacturers and service providers with the perfect marketing platform for targeting this growing market. • • • • • •

Quarterly print magazine Dedicated website Weekly newsletters Custom email campaigns Roundtables Webinars

New online platforms: • Dedicated website • Weekly digest newsletter • Theme of the Month newsletter Sign up at www.techandlearning.uk

Tech&Learning UK audience includes: • Business managers • ICT managers / technicians • Head teachers / deans • Heads of department / faculty • AV resellers and integrators

www.techandlearning.uk For further information on subscribing, advertising or submitting content for Tech&Learning UK, please contact: Sales:

Editorial:

Gurpreet Purewal +44 (0) 20 7354 6000 gpurewal@nbmedia.com

Heather McLean +44 (0) 7986 473 520 heather@mclean-media.com

TECHNOLOGY

Kit you need to know about

PRODUCT OF NanoLumens THE MONTH NanoLumens AWARE It’s… a cloud-based digital signage platform. What’s new? It’s a fully featured offering, combining real-time diagnostics, media playback and a variety of apps into a single integrated system. Details: AWARE combines hardware, services and software into one integrated solution that can be purchased and embedded in a display or as a standalone add-on to an existing display. NanoLumens says it has designed the AWARE cloud platform to address a number of issues faced by the digital signage industry, including accountability, reliability and simplicity. According to Nate Remmes, VP of corporate development, NanoLumens AWARE is “doing for digital signage what Apple did for the smartphone”, by providing an ecosystem that supports the development of apps by thirdparty companies – and is useful throughout the entire lifecycle of displays. Core applications initially available include a built-in media player, weather, sports, news, HTML5, social media and audience measurement. Some of these have come from NanoLumens’ partnerships with thirdparty developers, while others have been developed in-house. AWARE is built on a proprietary Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 System on Chip, with a Quadcore ARM Cortex-A72 processor, said to be the world’s fastest. It has been designed to work with NanoLumens direct-view LED displays, or any manufacturer’s LCD that supports command protocols via IP or RS232. AWARE can eliminate some hardware, such as external media players, from the installed solution. Alternatively, end-users can choose to run their systems in the way they always have – retaining their existing media players

or external video sources and content management systems – while making use of AWARE’s other features, such as proactive display diagnostics and analytics. The media player offers content scheduling and ‘proof of play’ reporting. The remote view function is a real-time feed of desktop output, which can be used to confirm playback of content items. AWARE also supports the direct ‘watching’ of displays via remote cameras. Sensors for audience tracking are also supported. AWARE’s portal provides access to displays from anywhere in the world. The status of all existing systems can be seen in a single view, and individual devices can be controlled as if

the operator was on site: parameters such as colour, brightness, calibration, gamma and even resolution can be adjusted. System health – including indicators such as power, display status, display temperature, CPU load, signal status and display temperature – is monitored continuously, and AWARE can proactively address issues before they cause downtime. If there is a display or content failure, AWARE can send out preconﬁgured alerts to key contacts via SMS or email.

Available: Now www.nanolumens.com

50 TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS Ecler eSAM603 This rackmount audio mixer for installed applications features one mic input, four mic/ line stereo inputs and one line stereo input. It can be configured to have three independent mono outputs or one stereo and one mono. Each output can get a dedicated mix from the available inputs and has a three-band tone control. The inputs can be routed independently over the three output zones, with talkover (priority) function assignable across the first five inputs over the mix output busses. www.ecler.com Extron HD 4K 101 Plus This HDMI cable equaliser supports signals at resolutions up to 4K/60 with 4:4:4 chroma sampling. Used at the destination end of a long cable run, the HD 4K 101 Plus equalises poor signals, reduces jitter and skew and adds output pre-emphasis to extend the HDMI signal. HDCP 2.2 compliant, it supports data rates up to 18Gbps, HDR, Deep Color up to 12-bit, 3D, HD lossless audio formats and CEC. It can be powered by the connected source or an optional external supply. www.extron.eu

September 2016

Crestron DigitalMedia DM-DGE-200-C It’s… a simple, compact meeting room solution for multiple applications.

What’s new: The DM-DGE-200-C offers powerful room scheduling and data collection through its interfacing with Crestron Fusion Cloud and Microsoft Exchange.

Details: The built-in graphics engine can generate custom welcome screens and messaging, and provide control graphics and web browsing for Crestron or third-party touch displays. Using the motion detector in a USB camera, it can automatically turn on the room display when the ﬁrst person enters the room, greeting attendees and displaying instructions on how to start the meeting. The device’s web-based setup tool can show the room’s availability on the room display, or detailed meeting information. Room calendar information, including a countdown clock to show the time remaining, can be displayed over the presentation video during the meeting. The DM-DGE-200-C also connects directly to

the Crestron Fusion Cloud enterprise management service using the web-based set-up tool. Employees can then use the Crestron PinPoint app to locate and book rooms on their phones. Additionally, managers can collect device and room usage data (using in-room motion detection via USB camera). Adding a control system and touchscreen enables active switching between HDMI, 4K/60 DigitalMedia, and H.264 video sources. The DM-DGE-200-C decodes network AV through its LAN port. Any source signal is transmitted as scaled 4K HDMI to the room display.

Available: This month www.crestron.eu

eyevis EYE-LCD-5000-QHD With the addition of this 50in model, eyevis now offers six professional 4K/ UHD LCD displays from 50in to 98in. All offer high contrast, sufficient brightness for the use in bright environments, wide viewing angles and pin-sharp resolution. Videowall mode enables the display of up to four individual input sources, while for interactive installations, the product can be ordered with a high-quality multi-user touch system with an anti-glare protective screen. Orientation can be landscape or portrait. www.eyevis.de

Mode-AL WFS, WFC It’s… two new mounting solutions for collaboration systems.

What’s new: Both feature drop-down equipment trays and/or vertically mounted cabinets that house AV equipment in a minimum of space.

Details: Designed for boardrooms and Purelink PLH Series PureLink’s PLH Series of TotalWire high-speed HDMI cables feature a built-in locking screw for use with HDTools’ HTX Series 4K HDBaseT matrix switching systems. This secure-locking design prevents strain and loose cable connections. The cables support HDMI 2.0b, UHD/4K resolutions at up to 60Hz, HDR, full 3D, Ethernet data connectivity, as well as audio return channel. www.purelinkav.com

collaboration spaces where space is at a premium, both models are available in singleand dual-screen options. Each model can accommodate displays between 55in and 85in out of the box; options are also available for 46in and above 90in. Both mounts can be serviced from the front. The drop-down trays (single and dual options are available) are 600mm square and can hold up to 12kg of equipment. The single or twin 6U trays – which can be preconﬁgured in the workshop prior to delivery – store AV equipment vertically,

but swing down 90º for access. Mounting options include column or wall mount, with freestanding, boltdown or underﬂoor boltdown bases.

Available: Now www.mode-al.com

The global resource portal for media technology content

White papers, webinars, opinions, blogs, case studies, tutorials and more. 5L^)H` *VUULJ[ UV^ VɈ LYZ L]LU ^PKLY JVU[LU[ MVY P[Z YLNPZ[LYLK \ZLYZ PZ LHZPLY [V UH]PNH[L HUK WYV]PKLZ \ZLYZ ^P[O KLKPJH[LK ^LLRS` UL^ZSL[[LYZ VɈ LYPUN H KPNLZ[ VM [OL SH[LZ[ JVU[LU[ HUK JHYLM\SS` selected content from its themes of the month. Why join NewBay Connect? Free and easy to use: stay informed with the latest industry white papers, opinion pieces, ^LI ZLTPUHYZ HUK JHZL Z[\KPLZ [OH[ HɈ LJ[ `V\Y business and your career. ࠮ Categorised content All material is organised into clearly referenced, specialist areas. ࠮ Customised search @V\ JHU X\PJRS` SVJH[L [OL PUMVYTH[PVU YLSL]HU[ [V your business or area of interest. ࠮ Tailored email alerts 5V[PÄ JH[PVUZ ZLU[ [V `V\ ^OLUL]LY [OLYL PZ HU update within your chosen areas. ࠮ Dedicated weekly newsletters Visit www.newbayconnect.com to register, browse and download content for free today.

Content Director: James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com +44 (0) 20 7354 6002

Editor Neal Romanek nromanek@nbmedia.com +44 (0) 20 7354 6002

Sales Manager: Peter McCarthy pmccarthy@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6000

Campaign Manager: Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6000

52 TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS RCF SUB 9006-AS This active subwoofer features two RCF Precision back-vented long-excursion high-power 18in cone drivers, and a four-layer 4in inside/outside voice coil to minimise power compression and extend product life. A new generation DSP handles all the processing within the cabinet and allows control of soft clipping limiters, RMS limits, amplitude and phase equalisation. Gain, lowpass and high-pass crossovers, delay, phase and cardioid equalisation can be adjusted with the encoder on the input panel or via the integrated RDNet remote control. www.rcf.it

Atlona AT-UHD-CAT-8 It’s… an eight-output 4K/ UHD distribution ampliﬁer.

What’s new: It contains a number of features to aid installation and improve system reliability.

Details: The AT-UHD-CAT-8 features HDMI Audipack Videowall trolley A videowall trolley allows space to be allocated flexibly, with content delivered to audiences as and when required. The standard Audipack trolley supports 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 configurations of 46in, 55in and other display sizes. Standard options include furniture finishes, electric height adjustment and integrated audio solutions. The inbuilt lift system enables the videowall to be lowered for transport through doorways, then raised to the ideal height for the audience. Wheels are sturdy and lockable. www.audipack.com

September 2016

to-HDBaseT distribution of 4K/UHD 60Hz/4:2:0 video, HDBaseT transmission up to 70m. Also provided are HDCP 2.2 support, Power over Ethernet, and EDID management and advanced display control functions through CEC (consumer electronics control) for use with home TVs. It completes the line of 4K/UHD distribution ampliﬁers introduced by Atlona earlier this year. The 1U rack-mountable ampliﬁer manages long-distance distribution of protected 4K/ UHD content and enables full control of remote displays without a separate control system. Atlona states that these features, along with PoE to power remote HDBaseT receivers,

greatly simplify installation and improve system reliability. Thanks to CEC, the device’s remote control features will work with many of the latest consumer TVs. In addition to HDBaseT outputs, there is an HDMI output for signal pass-through and daisychaining, and one IR and RS232 connection for the amp, as well as one for each output channel. Atlona believes the device will ﬁnd application in home video distribution, multi-screen classrooms or presentation rooms, retail showrooms, sports bars and digital signage.

Available: Now www.atlona.com

beyerdynamic Classis 31 Series The Classis installation microphone series has been extended with five new gooseneck (GM) or vertical Revoluto Array (RM) models with programmable buttons. Selectable options are operating mode on/off, push-to-talk and push-to-mute. The two RC models may also be operated by an external control. Frequency response can be set to be linear, or with bass roll-off to suppress LF noise. Additionally, when operating the mic button, an external device can be controlled via the control output. Pictured is the 500mm Classis GM 315 SP. www.beyerdyanamic.com Sommer Cable EPILOGUE Described as a reference cable for high-end tastes, the EPILOGUE series is recommended for connecting pre and power amplifiers, CD and SACD players, turntables and professional studio technology. It features a quadwire design with crossover capability. A tight copper braid with semiconductor provides 100% interference shielding. Together with the carbon-based conductor smoothing, this results in maximum conductivity and great dynamics. The low capacitance enables almost lossfree transmission over distances of up to 10m. www.sommercable.com

Matrox C900 It’s… a single-slot card that can drive nine displays.

What’s new: Having this capability on a single card is efficient in terms of cost, space and power consumption.

Details: The Matrox C900 is a single-slot PCI Express x16 graphics card that drives nine displays at resolutions of up to 1920 x 1200 at 60Hz per output. Suitable for digital signage, presentation, control room and videowall applications, it delivers one ultra-large desktop across all attached displays (in 3 x 3 or 9 x 1 conﬁguration). Two C900 cards can be combined to create 6 x 3 or 3 x 6 videowalls from one system, with the board-to-board framelock feature ensuring all displays are synchronised. The C900 is compatible with Matrox Mura IPX Series 4K capture and IP encode and decode cards. It is also supported by Matrox MuraControl

Windows and iPad videowall management software, which enables users to create, save and edit wall layouts offline or in real time. The card features nine mini-HDMI connectors, supports digital audio through HDMI, and is DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.4 compliant. Matrox states that it offers high reliability, outstanding performance and low power consumption.

Available: Now www.matrox.com

Conference 8 – 12 September : Exhibition 9 – 13 September RAI, Amsterdam

IBC2016 Conference Speakers Announced Transformation in the Digital Era Keynotes:

Sir Martin Sorrell CEO, WPP

Ang Lee Film Director

Shahrzad Rafati Founder and CEO, BroadbandTV

Other Speakers Include:

David Puttnam CBE President Film Distributors’ Association

Alex Mahon The Foundry Content and Production

Dominique Delport Havas Media Group Keynote

Kevin Baillie Atomic Fiction IBC Big Screen Experience

Spencer Stephens Sony Pictures Entertainment Business Transformations

Hendrick McDermott NBC Universal International Platform Futures

Erik Huggers Vevo Keynote

Upgrade to a conference pass now for access to these sessions!

#IBCShow

e ist

g re / g .or

54 TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE

September 2016

Audio consoles As businesses and audiences expect top-quality audio as a given, the manufacturers of audio consoles are providing integrators with mixing desks geared to ﬁxed installations, reports Jim Evans

Multi-tasking with Allen & Heath dLive Allen & Heath’s dLive bridges the gap between the install and live sound worlds. On one side you have the networkability, ﬂexibility, matrix distribution, control options and user permissions to suit the most complex venue; on the other you have the sound quality, ease of use and processing tools designed to satisfy the most demanding engineer. What is unusual about dLive is the concept of a self-contained mix engine, the MixRack. For many installations where a control surface is not required, the MixRack can be controlled by a laptop or tablet running dLive Director, by third-party systems via standard TCP control, or by the new IP6 and IP8 remote controllers, both fully networkable and PoE compliant. The array of control options makes dLive suitable for a multitude of applications. On top of this, all dLive systems can be conﬁgured with different levels of access and permissions tailored to the intended user. For example the sound engineer can tweak all live mixing

functions, but cannot access critical settings such as ﬁrmware updates or the network address, while the day-to-day operator only has control of a few functions. The price to performance ratio is claimed to be unmatched. dLive can manage over 800 system inputs and 800 outputs, with seamless sample rate and format conversion and no impact on

Super-flexible SD9 powered by Stealth The DiGiCo SD9 is a super-flexible, complete integrated system powered by Stealth Digital Processing and floating-point Super FPGA technology. This lightweight, smallfootprint console was designed with multiple applications in mind, therefore is equally suited to life on the road or as part of a fixed installation, be it a theatre, conference centre, house of worship or school. The SD9 is said to provide outstanding performance at a very competitive price point. The SD9 features 24 touch-sensitive motorised faders, and benefits from quick-access function buttons for faster response times. At the heart of the console’s worksurface is a 15in high-resolution TFT LCD touchscreen with backlit display. In addition, the SD9 features dedicated multi-function control knobs and electronic labelling. Major benefits include upgradeability with firmware and software for Stealth Digital

Processing, hardware with Optocore and multiple racks and I/O options, allowing an install to expand to meet future requirements that may not even be known yet. Stealth Digital Processing allows constant upgradeability on not only feature sets but also physical channels, busses, effects, EQ and processing. This is a feature unique to DiGiCo consoles.

www.digico.biz

its processing and mix capabilities. It acts like a large scale distribution matrix, with ﬁve audio networking slots each providing a 128 x 128 96kHz interface and options to cover most industry standard transport protocols.

www.allen-heath.com

Smaller Vista offers full-size features

The Vista 1 BE from Studer offers many features not available on similar consoles in the same price range – multiple touchscreen surface, fullsize, full-featured meter bridge option. It shares the same features and software as the larger Vista series consoles so engineers can easily transition between the different models. For the install sector, it is an all-inone package that can easily be a drop-in replacement for an analogue console, but with the power and ﬂexible advantages of digital. The console can operate standalone or be integrated into a larger Vista network.

www.studer.ch

f o s d n e Le g supported by

travaganza)

Football Ex (Formerly the

ER 2016

CTOB O H T 5 Y A D S E WEDN

T O H E S U O H R GROSVENO

of football t h ig n t s te a e “The gr calendar.” e th in g in is and fundra nd relive

e, a remier Leagu P e Th f o s e of the n Seaso oals with som g d n a Celebrate 25 ts n e this orable mom rs. Be part of re o sc l a o g the most mem and Football test legends e Legend of th t n se re games’ grea p ill w nt where we rs to amazing eve roup of playe g e lit e e th f o ue goals. Award to one Premier Leag 0 0 1 r e v o d lub’ have score m the ‘100 C o fr t h ig n e th ole, g us on n, Andrew C e w O l Players joinin e a h ic s many Shearer, M ier, as well a ss Ti include Alan Le tt a e. M foe and beautiful gam e th m o Jermaine De fr rs e and manag more players

ok your table

For

s and to bo further detail

all.org.uk

endsoffootb nquiries@leg

K U . O C . L L A B LOFOOT FOOTBALL LEGENDS OF

LOFOOTBALL

56 TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE

September 2016

Cost competitive compact Cadac console The CDC six from Cadac offers the installation market a console of relatively compact form factor and cost competitiveness, with best-inclass audio performance combined with a highly intuitive user interface. Cadac says this enables it to fulﬁl the most performance demanding applications, while at the same time offering operators a minimal learning curve and the greatest possible ease of operation. Cadac CDC six features 64 input channels and 48 assignable busses, and has been designed to provide a truly intuitive ‘highagility’ user interface, with class-leading audio performance, at a very accessible price. Quality audio is assured due to Cadac’s well-known mic preampliﬁer design, combined with a timealigned, phase-coherent mix bus architecture, resulting in an industry-leading total throughsystem latency of 0.4ms. The CDC six will audibly breathe new life into an existing PA, as it is claimed to have the best audio performance of any digital audio console. Audio transport is achieved via Cadac’s

propriety 96kHz/24-bit MegaCOMMS protocol, using inexpensive and robust RG6 coax cables. With the addition of a MegaCOMMS Router, the network can be expanded to 3,072 channels. The CDC MC Optical Bridge further extends the maximum distance between network devices to 2km. CDC six comes with an integrated 64 x 64 Waves interface as standard for multitrack recording directly to a laptop, and connection to a WAVES MultiRack SoundGrid server for access to thousands of plug-ins. Cadac’s innovative approach to its human interface means it is far less menu dependent than traditional digital consoles, making operation much easier to learn.

Big board performance from a small footprint

Since it ﬁrst started designing and manufacturing in the early 1970s, Midas has built an impressive catalogue of consoles, catering for all sectors. The Venice F24 24-channel mixer delivers “big-board performance from a small footprint” and offers the warmth and user-friendliness of analogue, along with the ﬂexibility of FireWire. Midas says the desk is much more than a compact live audio console. The DIGI-LOG VF24 is the platform for “a completely integrated

audio mixing, recording and signal processing” – thanks to its FireWire digital audio interface which is capable of supporting up to 24 x 24 channels of highquality 24-bit audio. The hybrid VF24 bridges the gap between analogue and digital audio consoles, and offers the user the ease of use, warmth, feel and zero latency of analogue, combined with the power, choice and ﬂexibility of outboard digital processing. While originally intended for live sound applications, the audio performance and the addition of the FireWire digital audio interface means that the VF24 is equally at home in ﬁxed install applications. Midas believes that a modest footprint doesn’t have to mean compromised performance and a poor feature set. The VF24 embodies this philosophy, boasting rugged construction and top-of-the-range components – and the noted Midas sound.

www.music-group.com

The CDC six can also be integrated into existing audio network protocols via a choice of optional CDC network bridges.

www.cadac-sound.com

Feature-rich StudioLive hybrid

The PreSonus StudioLive AR16 USB 18-channel hybrid mixer makes it simple to mix and record live events and studio productions. Most of the signal path is analogue; the recording features and effects are digital. Versatile, feature-rich and affordable, they’re easy to use – suited to churches, clubs, meeting rooms, and more, says the company. In addition to mic- and line-level inputs, you get two instrument inputs. You can mix with PreSonus’ noted Class A preamps and threeband EQ, or create multitrack recordings and ﬂy in backing tracks with a 24-bit, 96kHz USB 2.0 audio interface. Recording and playback can be achieved without a computer, using the integrated stereo SD recorder.

www.presonus.com

Connect with the key players from the professional audio industry Over 60% of ISE visitors are responsible for purchasing audio systems

The presence of professional audio at ISE represents a success story within the wider context of the showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s year-on-year growth. ISE is now the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest AV systems integration show, with over 65,000 visitors participating. It is a key destination for those interested in the latest audio technologies, audio training and education opportunities.

Find out more: www.iseurope.org

Organised by

Integ gra ated Systtem ms Ev vents A joint venture partnership of

u need. Al the connections yo

PLANYOUR MONTH AHEAD

Our pick or what to see, do and discover in the weeks ahead, including The Tech Expo in London, networking with InfoComm and Smart Buildings 2016

PICK OF THE MONTH

The Tech Expo

READ

latest technology solutions and innovations. Key technologies being covered include IoT, connectivity, data and analytics and cloud. Tech Expo will be held at 155 Bishopgate, London. www.the-tech-expo.com

VISIT

Immersive Tech (AR/VR) and FinTech. The show will also feature an interactive expo, with a focus on creating real-life experiences of the tech for the audience, alongside the Emerging Tech stage for those looking to explore the

ENJOY

Taking place on 24-25 October, this two-day conference and exhibition will focus on the contextual use of emerging technologies. It will host four conference tracks looking at Contextual Strategies, Contextual Enterprise,

InfoComm Networking Forum

Smart Buildings 2016

Innovation and its Enemies

Catch up with your peers at a series of InfoComm Networking events. The social gatherings will be visiting Manila on 29 September, Doha on 4 October and Dubai on 5 October. The events will feature a short presentation followed by a networking reception.

Part of UK Construction Week, Smart Buildings 2016 is dedicated to integrated building technology. Taking place on 18-20 October at Birmingham’s NEC, the event will feature an extensive seminar programme covering topics such as The IoT Revolution and What’s in Store for LED Lighting, as well as over 1,000sqm of exhibition space.

By Calestous Juma Drawing from nearly 600 years of technology history, Innovation and its Enemies identifies the tension between the need for innovation and the pressure to maintain continuity, social order and stability as one of today’s biggest policy challenges.

www.infocomm.org

www.ukconstructionweek.com

Invincible!

Know the Code!

Outdoor

Distributed

Engineered

See all of Communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outdoor loudspeakers and download our Sports Sound Design Guide at: communitypro.com/products

Tychy Municipal Stadium, Poland