Installation March 2017 Digital Edition

Issue 199 / March 2017

AV INTEGRATION IN A NETWORKED WORLD

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3D FOR THE EARS Immersive audio – about to go mainstream? p20 ISE 2017 review p22

A curtain-raiser to our digital supplement

Digital signage players p26 We take a look behind the display Cybersecurity p36

is the AV industry doing enough to keep safe?

Now open – turn to page 20 for details

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WELCOME 03

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Editor: Paddy Baker pbaker@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6034

Designer: Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com Content director: James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com

Senior 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

Account manager: Ollie Smith osmith@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6026 US sales – Executive vice president: Adam Goldstein agoldstein@nbmedia.com

Contributors: Graham Cooke, Tim Frost, Ian McMurray, Rob Lane, Steve Montgomery Special thanks: Katinka Allender Cover image: Vue Kerkrade, courtesy of Alcons Audio

Head of design: Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com

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Stronger together

I

wrote in this column last issue about the SDVoE Alliance, which had its formal launch at ISE last month. One of its compelling attributes, in its drive to promote standards for lossless, zerolatency video over 10Gbps Ethernet networks, is its broad composition. Its founder members are manufacturers of chips, switches and displays, and this broad representation adds weight, relevance and authority.

There does seem to be an increasing number of technology alliances in the industry these days. Just to look at ISE: as well as the SDVoE Alliance, there was activity from the Media Networking Alliance, which promotes the AES67 audio-over-IP interoperability protocol; the Open Control Alliance, which flies the flag for open Paddy Baker, Editor control architecture and AES70; as well as longer-established pbaker@nbmedia.com bodies the AVnu Alliance, the HDBaseT Alliance and the Z-Wave @install8ion Alliance. It’s not easy to keep track...

This is no bad thing, of course. It makes perfect sense for companies to band together to pursue common aims, particularly when it comes to spurring the adoption of new technologies. And as their memberships grow, it indicates burgeoning popularity and increasing mainstream acceptance. There’s just one caveat: membership of an industry alliance doesn’t always mean unilateral support. It’s perfectly possible for companies, particularly the larger ones, to want to cover their options by supporting different alliances that back competitive, or at least alternative, technologies. Or they may just want the inside track on developments, in terms of either pure technology or market intelligence.

‘It makes perfect sense for companies to band together to pursue common aims’ There’s a different kind of alliance that I think is also on the rise, and that’s technical co-operation between companies in the same space. We report on two examples in this issue: Onelan’s digital signage CMS supporting Brightsign players (page 12); and d&b with its amplifier plug-in for Peavey MediaMatrix (page 52). Like the larger industry alliances, these kinds of partners see the co-operation as mutually beneficial: they believe that by working together to offer a more joined-up solution, they will make more sales than by proceeding alone. This kind of approach can also be a way for smaller companies to pool their intellectual property to compete more effectively with larger rivals.

It strikes me that both of these developments – industry-wide alliances and company partnerships – come about because the industry is generally disposed to be open and welcoming.

At ISE and other trade shows, companies are proud to show off their latest products to everyone, including their competitors – who may well have ex-colleagues working for them. The fact that its default setting is one of openness and sharing rather than secrecy and mistrust is one of the many things I like about this industry.

04 CONTENTS

March 2017

News & Data 06 Analysis Smart homes spending breakdown Corporate use of conferencing tools rises 10 Regional Voices: Denmark

People 12 Industry Moves 14 Opinion Rob Lane on what the future holds for ISE Graham Cooke on why SoC is becoming key for many display vendors 18 Interview David Margolin of Kramer discusses the demands and challenges of the converged AV-IT world

18

Features 26 Digital signage Ian McMurray looks behind the displays at the players, with manufacturers revealing the various selling points of the different solutions on offer 32 3D audio Following years of development from a number of companies, we look at the new markets 3D (or immersive) audio is set to break into 36 Cybersecurity With a growing number of AV installations now having a networked element, the industry has to come to terms with a number of security issues

26

Solutions 40 Holmestrand station, Norway A new railway station has fitted an IP-based PA-VA system networked to other stations 42 Elisabeth Centre Antwerp, Belgium This venue has undergone a full refurb with a new acoustically-driven design 46 Australia Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland This large, entirely outdoor space required a PA system to provide clear audio across the viewing area 48 Solutions in Brief Including Barco and Televic university ’living labs’ and 360° displays for a company’s history pavilion

40

Technology 51 New Products Including SiliconCore, d&b audiotechnik, Arthur Holm and Extron 54 Showcase Motorised mounts and furniture 56 Demo of the Month Nureva’s Span collaboration system

Also inside 22 Show review: ISE 2017

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06 ANALYSIS

March 2017

Smart homes getting smarter in 2017

By Steve Montgomery Total smart home annual spend (services and hardware) – geographical breakdown

S

mart homes deliver or distribute a number of digital services inside and outside the home through a range of networked devices, including entertainment, automation and monitoring, metering and connected devices.

The entertainment segment commands around 50% of smart service revenues and has the potential to provide a springboard for the delivery of other smart home services.

Initially, services were provided through hardware sales. However, this model provides a low value proposition to service providers and there is a tendency to move to a subscription model with the consumer paying a monthly fee.

In a heavily fragmented market, innovation will play a key role in the success of future entrants. The ‘Big 4’ platform providers – Apple, Amazon, Google and Samsung – will continue to dominate, and successful new entrants will be those who integrate themselves into a wider offering from the bigger players.

1%

Indian Subcontinent

5%

Rest of Asia Pacific

1%

Africa & Middle East

25%

Far East & China

39%

North America

3%

Central & East Europe

3% 23%

Latin America

West Europe

www.juniperresearch.com Source: Juniper Research

Strong growth in UHD home usage

By Duncan Proctor

I

n its latest tracking report into the 4K UHD landscape, Futuresource Consulting has revealed that UHD as a home entertainment format has experienced encouraging rates of adoption.

UHD Blu-ray built a leading position in the software market in 2016, with sales elevated by the disjointed approach of digital service providers, including limited availability and marketing of content, as well as poorer quality of playback compared to UHD Blu-ray.

Over the past 12 months there has also been strong progression across the UHD hardware markets, particularly 4K UHD TVs. However, many of the sets on offer had either no HDR or a poor-quality/early development of it. Nevertheless, the focus from the industry is now firmly on HDR. Tristan Veale, market analyst, Futuresource

Consulting explained: “Unlike the upgrade to UHD resolution, which was a quantifiable improvement, HDR is subjective feature and the Consumer Electronics Show highlighted this is the key industry focus as manufacturers are continuing to push the boundaries in terms of peak brightness, peak black levels and a wider colour spectrum represented.”

Futuresource expects to see the 4K UHD home video market building on the strong momentum of the last 12 months. The firm predicts 8.4 million UHD Blu-ray discs to be sold in 2017, equating to 4% of global Bluray sales, with a greater choice of titles from both independents and major studios.

Global home video market in 2017

8.4 million UHD Blu-ray discs to be sold

www.futuresource-consulting.com Source: Futuresource Consulting

08 ANALYSIS

March 2017

Corporates increasingly utilising conferencing tools

By Steve Montgomery

I

n the corporate environment, an increasing number of meetings are now held with the aid of conferencing tools. In 2016, over 40% of office-based workers noted that their use of conferencing tools had increased in the last two years.

Around 20% of meetings included a participant located remotely; working at home, at another site or while travelling.

Remote attendees are able to easily connect to these meetings and participate via phone, video or web conferencing, affirming a strong requirement to be able to access conferencing technologies in the meeting room.

Use of remote access technology is greatest in the US and UK and in medium and large companies where the penetration of web conferencing solutions is most prevalent.

It is also slightly more apparent in medium and larger organisations and for the remote participants to be middle, rather than junior or senior managers.

Percentage of meetings with at least one remote participant 30 25 20 15

10 5 0 France

Germany

UK

USA

www.futuresource-consulting.com Source: Futuresource Consulting

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10 REGIONAL VOICES

March 2017

DENMARK There’s much to admire in the Danish economy, including a high credit rating and low levels of income inequality. How does its installed AV business stack up? Our latest survey finds out

T

here’s a strong sense of optimism coming from our latest survey of national installed AV markets. A strong majority of respondents to our survey from Denmark felt that market confidence was stronger there than six months ago. There was also a similar sentiment when it came to predicting their own companies’ financial performance: the most popular response selected from those offered

1.2%

Annual GDP growth, Q4 2016 Source: Trading Economics

was a growth figure of more than 5%, with a smaller amount of growth being the next most popular answer.

That’s not to say that our survey revealed no concerns in the market. The issue causing concern to the greatest number of respondents was ‘falling margins’, with ‘poorly qualified newcomers distorting the market’ and ‘clients going for lowest price rather than best value’ also being mentioned. On the last point, Peter Maier, product and solution manager at distributor DTK Audio and Visual, commented: “Even if there are a few companies going for quality, it is the lowest price that counts.”

Anders Jørgensen, a projects executive at integrator Stouenborg, mentioned another issue that causes worry, centred around skills shortages. “We are in a success period where we

need to say no to jobs in order for us to maintain quality. There are not enough skilled technical persons to hire in Denmark,” he said.

When we asked our respondents to predict business trends across various sectors, the pattern that emerged was broadly similar to that in other recent country surveys: education and digital signage led the field (although, unusually, sports venues edged corporate into fourth place); at the other end of the scale, installation business in worship and in bars, clubs and restaurants was felt to be flat.

Turning now to the size of the market, our survey was roughly equally divided between those who felt the number of active companies was falling and those who thought it was growing.

2.1%

Budget deficit as share of GDP, 2015 Source: Trading Economics

Electrical contractors broadening their offering was one reason cited by some in the latter camp.

We also asked our respondents about what they would change about their country’s install market, if they could. Government spending is often mentioned, and so it was here, with some wishing for increased budgets. Another comment was the desire for education programmes targeted specifically at the AV sector.

What do you think the business trend will be in the following vertical markets for installed AV in your country this year?

INCREASE Education Digital signage Sports venues Corporate Performing arts venues Retail Museums/visitor attractions Bars, clubs, restaurants Worship NO CHANGE

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12

INDUSTRY MOVES

March 2017

ASL Intercom welcomes new managing director Manufacturer names new MD to drive growth

Adlib

Tony Griffiths has been appointed as head of special projects at Adlib, bringing extensive knowledge in the field of theatrical mechanical engineering. Griffiths also brings a diverse knowledge in acoustic treatments and solutions and additional experience in fabrics for performance, production and installations to the Liverpoolbased company.

www.adlib.co.uk Dataton

David Aleksandersen has been named marketing manager for Dataton, as the company aligns marketing activities to strengthen its position in the visitor experience market. Aleksandersen has experience at projectiondesign and Barco, and most recently was CEO of Smart Simulation.

www.dataton.com Digital Projection

Rob Atkins

A

SL Intercom, now owned by Riedel Communications, has appointed Wil Stam as its new managing director to strengthen the brand worldwide, build market share and capitalise on the R&D and marketing resources available under Reidel.

Stam began as an audio engineer for theatre production in the Netherlands, notably serving as head of the AV department at Muziektheater Amsterdam. Before that, she worked for Klotz Digital as a project manager in Asia and Australia, as well as holding various executive roles in sales and operations management with Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup Australia.

During that time she managed the start-up and incorporation of Stagetec’s Australian office and successfully established an international partner business in Asia and Australia.

ASL offers intercom and partyline solutions available in both portable and installed systems, suited to the demands of live entertainment and broadcast productions. The company aims to produce products with leading voice intelligibility, dependable operation, and user interfaces suited to fast-paced productions.

www.asl-inter.com

is Digital Projection’s new southeast market development manager in the US, replacing Richard Hill who has been promoted to national LED display solutions manager. Atkins has 20 years’ AV industry experience, having been a manufacturer’s rep for DP at the HWP Company for the past three years.

www.digitalprojection.com FACE

Sam De Pauw has joined FACE in the newly created role of chief commercial officer to oversee the professional and project divisions. He will be responsible for commercial strategy and developing the organisation to support continuous business growth.

www.face.be RTI

New Partners Alcons Audio has appointed Aplauz Sp, located in Łomianki, near Warsaw, as its new Polish distributor.

Established in 2003, Aplauz has grown to a renowned supplier of pro audio solutions. The deal follows a collaboration between the two companies which included a shoot-out of various speaker brands and a presentation on Alcons’ pro-ribbon technology. www.alconsaudio.com www.aplauzaudio.pl Avonic, a Dutch manufacturer of PTZ cameras and accessories, has named Polar as its UK distributor. The former Polar Audio is looking to extend its reach into whole AV solutions and grow its video and UC portfolio, while Avonic is aiming to expand its UK presence. www.avonic.eu www.polaraudio.co.uk

Ed McConaghay Audio Biz has signed to become Community’s sales representative in the Midwest US region, comprising northern and central Illinois, the eastern half of Wisconsin, and the state of Michigan. Located in Ingleside, Illinois, Audio Biz has a team of 11 employees and represents a number of leading professional audio, video and lighting manufacturers. www.communitypro.com www.audiobiz.com As part of a commitment by Onelan and BrightSign to provide scalable enterprise-level solutions across multiple platforms, Onelan’s CMS 3.0 digital signage content management system has now added support for BrightSign Series 3 and 2 media players. www.brightsign.biz www.onelan.com

has been named CEO at RTI, looking to build on the company’s work with the IoT and smart home/office space.

Prior to joining RTI, McConaghay was an interim CEO and strategic advisor for technology companies for more than 22 years, supporting businesses from start-ups to middle-market companies.

www.rticorp.com Wisdom Audio

Steve Rutherford has been named international sales manager for Wisdom Audio.

His background includes extensive experience in sales, two-channel and multichannel audio, room equalisation/ design and acoustics. He has previously worked for the Harman Luxury Audio Group as well as Rayleigh Hi-Fi.

www.wisdomaudio.com

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14 OPINION: ON THE AGENDA

March 2017

Rob Lane Essential integration Can ISE keep growing in the face of change?

A

s time’s relentless arrow moves further away from 2016 and its gamechanging, ‘new normal’ events (the Brexit referendum, Trump) and surprise celebrity deaths (Davie Bowie and Alan Rickman, to name but two), the reassuring, annual arrival of Integrated Systems Europe went some way to resetting our collective realities. Business as usual indeed!

If ISE is a shining bastion of European integration, then it is also a successful advertisement for globalisation – both of which are potentially under threat from Trump’s protectionism talk and UK prime minister Theresa May’s pursuit of a ‘hard Brexit’. What will ISE look like at the end of Trump’s first (and hopefully last!) term of office, when Brexit and America First have had time to percolate? Will it be the hugely successful event we know it to be today (growing year on year), or will the pulling up of drawbridges and the rise of nationalism have done irreparable damage?

Only time will tell.

For now, and all things remaining equal (which, unfortunately, they are not), ISE remains an unqualified success, both for European business and globally too. If ever an event was chosen to celebrate both the EU and global business as a whole, ISE would surely be on the shortlist of options.

Sustained growth Since the first, modest and mainly residentialfacing ISE in 2004 (I was there; have rarely missed one since), the event has grown year-on-year and is, seemingly, unstoppable.

Attendee numbers for the 14th event in 2017

hit 73,413, which represents an 11.7% increase on the 65,686 delegates from 2016. There were more exhibitors than 2016’s high-water mark, with two new halls and over 3,000sqm of exhibition space helping to push the number of stand holders to 1,192 from last year’s 1,103.

ISE is a truly European event, but it’s also a global one. Visitors to ISE 2017 heralded from 150 different countries. Last year the top three represented countries were the Netherlands, the UK and Germany – and I’d be surprised if detailed analysis of 2017’s figures turns out to be any different. It’ll be fascinating to see whether Brexit affects UK numbers in a few years’ time.

‘If ever an event was chosen to celebrate both the EU and global business as a whole, ISE would surely be on the shortlist of options’

The US boasted a respectable 1,949 attendees in 2016 – just under 3% – and I’d anticipate that a similar number made the trip this year. Again, it remains to be seen if Trump’s inward-looking policies will dent numbers a few years down the line.

What is perhaps most remarkable about ISE, going a long way to explaining why it continues to grow year on year, is that – in 2016 at least – 39% of attendees were new to the event. This is, of course, a stat that is hugely popular with

exhibitors and presents an ongoing problem for the organisers: how to continue to grow to accommodate these ‘virgin attendees’ and the additional exhibitors that are likely to be attracted by the burgeoning numbers.

What next?

The 2017 event filled 14 halls at the Rai, and ISE has announced that a 15th hall presumably a temporary structure at the front of the exhibition centre, IBC-style – will be deployed at next year’s show to accommodate further exhibitor growth. Additional attendees are less of a problem – at least for the next few years – as the extra day (now four rather than three) has helped to spread the numbers.

Presumably a five-day event would be the next logical step.

Whatever happens, we can only hope that any organisational challenges are good ones – how to make room for more attendees and exhibitors, rather than shrinkage as a result of changes to the so-called world order. One would probably have to be an eternal optimist to really believe this, but perhaps Trumpism and Brexit will have a positive effect on ISE, culminating in 2022’s event having to take place in two venues – with residential moving to a new Rai as commercial fills the whole of the existing exhibition centre. We can only hope so. For now at least, we can look forward with reasonable confidence to yet another barnstorming ISE in 2018.

Rob Lane is a tech/business journalist and founder/director of Bigger Boat PR. He is considering hiring a Segway for next year’s ISE.

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16 OPINION: ON THE AGENDA

March 2017

Graham Cooke When the chips are up Why is system-on-chip becoming a key feature for many smart display vendors?

T

he smart displays market has evolved and changed in the last year, with further developments expected this year. Of course, smart displays incorporating system-on-chip (SoC) are not new, with Samsung having had ‘Smart Signage’ screens for almost five years. However, now is the time when there is the most availability and choice to the user, with ever more vendors offering this solution.

Why is SoC becoming a key feature for many vendors? End-users are in some cases demanding a simplified solution for basic signage, and do not require dedicated external media players and networks when a basic system fulfils the signage needs they have. This is especially true when the content being shown is often not much more than a rotation of images, basic graphics, video and free broadcast channels.

Highlighting the importance of this category, roughly a third of all displays (excluding videowall and interactive) have SoC integrated into them.

Vendors have taken different approaches to this segment, with various choices around SoC, OS, range inclusion, integration level and so on all driving complicated development decisions.

processors used have also developed significantly, providing more power with which to run increasingly complex signage platforms.

LG has the next largest offering of SoC, with the WebOS platform. It has been far more selective around range inclusion, opting to focus more keenly on entry-level ranges where the benefits to the end-user are perhaps more obvious.

Last year also saw new SoC market offerings from other vendors. Some of the more interesting developments have been Android-based solutions from Panasonic and Philips, with Viewsonic expected to follow in the near future. This is an interesting direction to take, as Android has a strong base of mobile and tablet users, and a wide network of developers to produce compelling, easy-to-use signage applications. The Google Play Store is a strong selling point for these displays, with a large content bank readily available.

The final announcement of 2016 came from NEC with its Raspberry Pi solution. This solution is not integrated into the display; Raspberry Pi signage computers are offered via an optional slot into the new Open Modular Interface (OMI).

This provides flexibility in pre-sales along with the ability for fast swap-out should the player fail.

Major players Samsung is by far the largest proponent of SoC, with well over two-thirds of its display range (excluding videowall and interactive products) coming with on-board intelligence. Samsung has been less discerning than some other vendors about which model ranges should carry SoC, integrating it into virtually all of its mid-range and some high-end SKUs. 2016 saw the introduction of the Tizen-based solution, utilising the successful platform cultivated in the smart TV sector. The

Utilisation rates But what of the actual usage of SoC solutions beyond the hard sales numbers outlined above?

Discussions across the industry suggest utilisation rates are as low as 10%. One reason for this is that the technology is perceived as being very lightweight and only suitable for small networks showing basic content, for example in a small retail environment. Integrators and distributors have told us that if an SoC display is selected (the

System on Chip Global Adoption, Excluding Interactive and Videowall 40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

06 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

20

only option for some brands), they will always encourage the use of a dedicated media player.

Of course, an integrator will make more margin on an additional player, but there are also concerns that if the SoC fails it is a very costly and timeconsuming process to have the display replaced, whereas a new dedicated media player could be sent out very quickly and instantly swapped out.

With the evolution of the smart displays from new and existing vendors, Futuresource expects to see the segment continue to grow and utilisation rates increase, helping to drive the signage market forward.

Graham Cooke is a market analyst in the professional displays team at Futuresource.

www.futuresource-consulting.com

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18 INTERVIEW: DAVID MARGOLIN, KRAMER

March 2017

Going beyond the box

Kramer Electronics has been an innovator in the field of video for 35 years. We talk to its marketing director, David Margolin, about the demands and challenges of the converged AV-IT world How did you get into the world of AV technology?

I come from the videoconferencing and unified communications world. In 2012, as part of an Avaya acquisition, I moved from Israel to the US and supported the videoconferencing division’s worldwide marketing. Prior to this, I was the director of marketing at Radvision until it was acquired by Avaya.

As AV and VC reside in the same space and integrate with each other, I was familiar with AV technology. During my time with Radvision, we were already cooperating with Kramer on different levels so I knew the company pretty well.

In my experience, videoconferencing in many senses is moving away from fixed spaces towards a more personalised VC – it’s all about bringing the meetings to the participants, and not the participants to the meeting spaces. In

AV, the room or meeting space is where the AV components are physically installed and live, which is one of the key differences between the two industries.

Videoconferencing technologies are mainly software/cloud-based and have been so for several years. Virtualisation and hosted services represent the way for major VC/UC vendors to introduce their solutions. The AV industry is just starting to realise the inherent potential and advantages and we can see the beginnings of a shift towards that. It’s time for the AV industry to rapidly adopt these platforms and introduce the next generation of AV/IP solutions, which will become the new standard.

Tell us about your career at Kramer.

For the past two years, I’ve been managing global marketing at Kramer and reporting directly to the CEO of the company, Dr Kramer.

I manage a team of 17 highly talented people, including local marketing staff, who execute our marketing plans and strategies with all our worldwide offices. On a global scale I oversee the marketing activities that are carried out on a local level.

What have been the biggest changes in the AV landscape during that time?

These are exciting times and there’s been a huge change over the past two years.

I feel that we are just at the beginning of an enormous change that will facilitate and accelerate Kramer to achieving new technological breakthroughs and providing the market with many new and exciting solutions and products. Such new products will definitely be impactful in terms of AV over IT and the convergence that our market is going through.

Kramer is definitely on the path to taking

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a leading role in this change. You’ve probably seen our new and exciting solutions which were designed for the new shift towards AV/IP – such as Kramer Control, a cloud control platform, Kramer Network, an enterprise management platform, and of course our line of streaming technologies for AV over IP. Furthermore, we have a new product roadmap which will introduce some new and exciting technologies and will accelerate our growth.

Kramer’s stand designs at InfoComm 16 and ISE 2017 positioned the company very strongly as a provider of solutions, potentially with a large software element, rather than black boxes.

How has the market responded?

Last year, the company launched a new brand strategy and it all comes together to tell a compelling story about our new AV Beyond the Box strategy. This is our new path towards software, cloud and smart hardware. This story challenges the traditional big-box AV market with their proprietary products in which they are so heavily invested. Kramer has adopted a different approach with smarter solutions that provide a better answer to any challenge – with better customer value.

Since the market is moving to new owners, who are IT people, there is a tangible market need for solutions that are much more flexible and that can be easily installed and maintained.

On top of the move from proprietary hardware (big boxes) to software and cloud, even the hardware should be managed in the same way that it is in typical IT installations.

IT professionals who own AV expect to understand, manage and support their AV installation the same way as they do any IT installation they deal with.

IT professionals dealing with critical systems are always on alert and looking for solutions that enable them to get back to service and minimise downtime. The same approach and work methodology should be applied when dealing with AV installations. So when a meeting room goes down, it’s very similar to when a telephony system stops working. They should be treated as equally critical pieces that must be handled and supported in a simple and a quick way. For an IT person, not being able to get a meeting room working, and waiting for a control-brain programmer to replace a broken box, is a big frustration.

At Kramer we understand these pain points and are introducing AV solutions designed for the IT professional. We’ll see more of that in the coming months.

Kramer’s presence at InfoComm 16 and ISE 2017 was an introduction to where the company is going. The response we received was phenomenal, especially with regard to Kramer

INTERVIEW: DAVID MARGOLIN, KRAMER Control and Kramer Network. Both traditional AV and IT industries are very excited and eager to start using these tools with their approach to software, flexibility, and conformity to typical IT installation methodology.

As a part of our move towards software, we introduced a virtual matrix-based solution using new high-performance encoders/ decoders. We also launched VIA wireless collaboration as a software-only solution which ties in nicely with this strategy and demonstrates our move from proprietary hardware to software-based services.

‘IT professionals expect to understand, manage and support their AV installation the same way as they do any IT installation’

Which have been the fastest market sectors to move to IP-based solutions, and which the slowest? And are there any applications for which point-to-point solutions will always be preferable to networked ones?

The move from big to small boxes and from standard AV to IP-driven technology is inevitable.

This is where the market is going and we’ll first see these technologies being adopted in smaller-scale applications.

We know that the market needs simple solutions. Moving towards IT technology will become the new AV standard eventually. Aside from the big and complex AV installations, the new AV owners are still looking for simple solutions for smaller meeting spaces that don’t require a high level of technology but do require remote management. Being able to identify, before the end user, that there’s an issue with the meeting space is a key requirement. On top of that, being able to minimise downtime and provide a reliable user experience is equally important.

The Kramer Maestro software feature, which is a planned addition to many standard Kramer products, is a good example of how we can take a simple unit that can accomplish a sophisticated set of actions and deliver a complete automated meeting room experience.

This is a standard AV installation that can generate complex actions but with minimal human intervention. Connecting a cable or just entering a room is all it takes to get your room/ space ready for a meeting. On the AV or IT professional side, there’s the ability for remote management and control adjustments – all done without any coding/programming.

19

Do you have a favourite current Kramer product or one that you think encapsulates the best of what Kramer does in 2017?

It’s hard to choose one product. I can definitely say that three of my favourite products are Kramer Network, our enterprise management platform with its virtual matrix; Kramer Control, our cloud-driven control technology; and our VIA wireless collaboration and presentation product line which can now also be delivered as a software-only solution.

Take VIA for example. In many ways, this is the story of where this industry is going. You can connect wirelessly from any device, making it a perfect wireless presentation solution.

But the more exciting part is the collaboration features it offers for the user. The connected world and how people are using technology these days is basically setting new standards and the ability to experience and use any device, for example, is just one important element. The move towards IT sectors also dictates the delivery of highly secured solutions which aren’t susceptible to hacking.

Is the industry doing enough to recruit the next generation of AV engineers and technicians?

There’s a shortage of people in the industry.

The AV industry is mistakenly considered as a less attractive industry to work in. It is considered an older industry, but if you look at what AV brings today, it’s as sophisticated and exciting as the rest.

Kramer has started its own recruitment initiative and at ISE 2017 we were looking for talented people to globally support our growth.

As we grow and evolve technologically we are looking for the right people who will develop the next generation of products and have an impact on what the AV market will look like in the upcoming years.

Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?

After catching my breath from ISE, my personal aspiration going forward is to harness marketing to reinforce and contribute to Kramer growth on a larger scale – we see a large impact coming from effective and measurable marketing efforts. My ambition is to deliver the right message and provide effective sales and marketing tools to our staff.

On a more practical level, we will invest more into online technologies and platforms to promote sales and generate demand.

Increasing the online footprint and awareness of the company and going after new vertical markets are key activities that we’ll manage.

www.kramerav.com

20 INSTALLAWARDS 2017

March 2017

Get your entries in now!

www.installawards.com

Don’t miss out – the InstallAwards are now accepting entries. Here’s what you need to know to be a part of the fastest-growing awards event in the industry

W

e’re pleased to announce that entries for the InstallAwards 2017 are now open!

The InstallAwards have been growing consistently since their launch in 2014. This year’s event, which takes place in central London on Thursday 29 June, promises to be bigger and better than ever.

As always, at the heart of the awards are the outstanding installation projects from the past 12 months, and the people and products that enabled them to shine. With the exception of the Hall of Fame Awards, all awards will be judged by an independent panel of experts drawn from across the industry.

Project Awards In the Project Awards, we once again have six broad categories that you can enter. The first three fall under the broad heading ‘Business’, the second three ‘Entertainment’: • Education • Corporate and Industrial • Retail and DOOH • Hospitality • Visitor Attractions • Venues The winners of the Project Awards in each of these categories will face each other to compete to be the winner of the new Project of the Year Award.

Star Product Awards

Hall of Fame

There will once again be Star Product Awards in the Business and Entertainment category groups, but with a slight change for 2017. We’ve decoupled the Star Product Awards from the Project Awards, so products can be entered in their own right. However, we’re still looking for evidence of how products have contributed to the success of one or more installation projects, rather than judging them purely on their technical specs.

There will be three new inductees to the Installation Hall of Fame this year: • Grand Prix: this award will be given to a company that has made a major contribution to the industry over a number of years • Outstanding Contribution Award: This award will be presented to an individual who has had a highly beneficial impact on the industry in recent years • Lifetime Achievement Award: This award will be presented to an individual who has made a valuable contribution to the industry throughout the course of their career.

As in previous years, these will be chosen by the team at Installation.

People and Team Awards We’re repeating the successful line-up of people and team awards, introduced for last year’s InstallAwards: • Installer’s Choice: In-House Team of the Year: enabling integrators to recognise the contribution of in-house AV teams in delivering successful installation projects • Marketing Team of the Year: recognising the contribution of marketing teams, either in-house or external, in building business in the installed AV world • Distribution Team of the Year: rewarding innovation and business success in the channel • Rising Star: recognising the potential of promising newcomers to the industry – either under 30 or with less than three years’ experience.

New portal We have a new improved portal for the InstallAwards this year. Rather than having to complete your entries in one go, you can return to an entry any time up to the closing date and amend it – improving the text (or getting someone else to!), or adding pictures or other supplementary information. Entries are password-protected so you can be confident that they won’t be seen by anyone unauthorised.

Don’t delay – entries close at midnight on Tuesday 28 March!

22 SHOW REVIEW: ISE 2017

March 2017

Bigger and busier There was so much going on at ISE 2017 that it’s hard to know where to begin. Later this month we’ll bring you a dedicated digital supplement, but for now here’s a brief overview of some key trends and product launches

H

ow do you begin to sum up a show like ISE 2017? Not content with delivering 10% growth in attendee numbers last year, when it added a fourth exhibition day for the first time, the show repeated the numerical feat this year, bringing more than 73,000 people through its doors.

ISE is about much more than big numbers, of course – but it’s hard to ignore this narrative when it is repeated year after year. And with a 15th hall due to be added in 2018, it seems likely to continue.

There was certainly plenty to see this year, with just shy of 1,200 exhibitors, and 14 halls of exhibits – plus a busier than ever programme of conferences, seminar and Show Floor Theatre Sessions as well as the Opening Address and Closing Keynote. Anecdotally, ISE is also drawing exhibitors away from other shows – most notably Prolight + Sound, which takes place just a few weeks later.

What follows here is by necessity a fairly short summary of a few key areas of the show. We will be publishing a digital supplement later this month, with added video content, enabling us to go into much more detail about every aspect of ISE 2017 – the showfloor, the conferences and the other events.

Displays If there is one type of product that dominates the ISE showfloor, it is displays – big displays.

This year didn’t disappoint.

Among the biggest hitters in this area was LG, whose enormous stand at the entrance to Hall 12 was on a par with that of Samsung, which had the new Hall 4 (formerly the Amtrium) all to itself. LG was majoring on its OLED displays, some transparent, some double-sided, some flexible, all thin. A visual highlight of the stand was the OLED Twister, in which a set of mechanically driven screens cycled between curved and angled, and convex and concave, configurations, while showing bold, colourful geometrical patterns.

Samsung, by contrast, was focusing on its quantum dot LED displays, which go by the name QLED. These smart UHD displays offer vivid colours, wide viewing angles and support for HDR technology.

Elsewhere Sony was showing its CLEDIS LED technology, which wowed the crowds at InfoComm last summer. This was showing 8K images at 1,000-nit brightness with more than 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It can handle frame rates of 120fps.

Sharp was exhibiting at ISE for the first time since its capital alliance with Foxconn was announced last April, enabling it to invest more substantially in the B2B market. “We’re quickly making that return journey back to mainstream, and I think that’s big news for the market,” said Sid Stanley, Sharp Visual Solutions Europe general manager. Among its launches was the Sharp Open Architecture Platform for digital signage – a system-on-chip solution that enables

users to download, store and play content directly from a Sharp display.

AV over IP The trend to AV over IP continued to gather momentum at ISE 2017. Perhaps the most symbolic event was the launch of the SDVoE Alliance, which exists to promote softwaredefined video over Ethernet. Founder members Aptovision, Aquantia, Christie, Netgear, Sony and ZeeVee held a joint press conference at which they outlined their vision for zero-compression, zero-latency video over 10Gb networks. “SDVoE is a key component for us as a total solution package – we try to provide a very high quality, very stable and very flexible solution to endusers,” said Toru Suzuki of Sony.

Atlona launched the new scalable Velocity AV system control platform, designed to work with both Atlona’s and other manufacturers’ products. It comprises Velocity Control Suite – a cloud-based resource accessed through a standard web browser; Velocity Control Gateway – a software-based control processor that resides on site with the client’s AV systems; and 5.5in and 8in Velocity Touch Panels. BYOD integration with portable devices as well as PC desktops and touch displays, is supported.

Crestron announced its DigitalMedia NVX Series architecture, which builds on intoPIX’s ultra-low latency JPEG 2000 technology. The NVX Series is said to deliver ‘visually lossless’ 4K60 4:4:4 HDR video within a standard 1Gbps

SHOW REVIEW: ISE 2017 X 23

www.installation-international.com

Ethernet network.

In the world of audio networking, Audinate announced the latest set of milestone figures for its Dante technology: 350 licensees (compared with 275 a year earlier) and over 1,000 products released (versus just over 675).

Collaboration There was plenty of activity in the area of collaboration at ISE – and not just in the area of the showfloor dedicated to Unified Communications.

Barco had two new screen-sharing offerings, building on its ClickShare heritage. The ClickShare CSE-800 is designed for boardrooms, can display eight sources on the screen at the same time and supports 64 users. It also has two 4K outputs.

The new weConnect is also designed for BYOD screen sharing in collaboration spaces and education; it doesn’t use buttons, but supports up to eight devices, and can display outputs from four of them at once.

Harman presented the AMX Acendo Core presentation system for huddle rooms and small meeting spaces. This features direct integration with Microsoft Exchange and Skype for Business, and “enables teams to get to the heart of their meeting as quickly as possible, and make optimal

use of smaller spaces,” said Paul Krizan, product manager for networked AV Solutions.

Logitech launched the world’s first 4K webcam, called BRIO. As well as supporting HDR and infrared-based facial recognition systems, BRIO uses Logitech’s RightLight 3 technology to improve picture quality in poorly lit environments or in bright sunlight.

Sony presented Vision Exchange, a BYOD collaboration solution for workgroups in

education and corporate settings. It consists of a central unit, with either two or four HDMI inputs, running the core software; additional software options cover active learning, remote communication and streaming output.

Vivitek was showing two new additions to its popular NovoConnect wireless presenting solution. NovoEnterprise provides guests with an ad-hoc wireless connection without accessing the corporate network. It uses high-

NEW SHURE INTELLIMIX P300 AUDIO CONFERENCING PROCESSOR ®

BECAUSE SMALL TEAMS MAKE BIG DECISIONS Smaller meeting spaces need A/V conferencing technology that fosters productive meetings and easy collaboration, without compromising on sound quality.

The Shure P300 offers IntelliMix DSP algorithms optimized for small to medium-sized meeting rooms, featuring Acoustic Echo Cancellation, intelligent noise reduction and auto mixing that eliminate poor meeting sound. Easy to install and configure, the P300 provides Dante, Analog, USB and Mobile connectivity options that makes connecting to room systems and collaborating with laptops and mobile devices easier than ever. Seamless integration with Shure Microflex® Advance and Microflex® Wireless microphones allows the P300 to deliver a complete audio experience from Shure, providing the most intelligible conferencing sound.

TM

www.shure.eu

24 SHOW REVIEW: ISE 2017 Best of Show winners

will be clear to any organisation that requires pixel-perfect DisplayPort video.

Installation ran its Best of Show competition once again at ISE 2017. Companies showing products new to the show submitted their entries beforehand, and were visited at their stands by a member of our judging team. Here, with our congratulations, are the winners. All competition entries will be featured in a special digital publication, available later this month.

Harman – Connected PA Solution An impressive use of integrated technology that is seamless to the end user, but will save so much time in set-up and soundchecks. The possibilities for personalisation and customised functionality make this a worthy winner.

Absen – HDV 1.6 Breathtaking images meet installation flexibility. Made for fixed installations, the HDV can be used flush against the wall with power located underneath.

AUDAC – AUDAC Touch Free to use, Audac’s Touch app offers complete control of the company’s audio range and room automation. Users can create customisable dashboards that perfectly match specific control needs, and the app allows the creation of a new widget for every external device requiring control.

Audinate – Dante Domain Manager Available in three variants, Dante Domain Manager administers security, device domains and reporting in a manner that IT administrators are familiar with – making it a valuable tool in the converged AV-IT world.

Chief – Fusion Modular Flexible and adaptable mounting solution linked to usermanaged configuration tool. Enables rapid product delivery, to specific customer requirements, easing the integrator’s workload.

Cleerline – SSF-FKIT02E and SSF-FKIT03P An impressive demo. Options include the benefits of cost and high-standard fibre termination tools. An essential when delivering 4K2K 60 4:4:4 HDR on projects.

Control4 – Control4 Alexa Integration UK By adding Alexa to an existing Control4 set-up, users can operate everything in their homes without having to use touchpanels. It encourages the addition of further interfaces and hardware – perfect for re-engaging with clients and increasing profitability.

Crestron – DM NVX Series A natural extension to the successful DigitalMedia range to facilitate delivery of 4K60 4:4:4 HDR video with HDCP2.2 capability using 1Gbps networks. Takes AV distribution to the next level.

DiGiCo – SD12 This sonic powerhouse is of the most impressive products we saw at ISE, and is perfect for expandability.

DVIGear – DisplayNet DN-200 Series Boasting USB 2.0 for fast connection, HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2, the DN-200 series is super-scalable, with real-time resolutions up to 4K. This scalability allows for very robust videowall applications and also multi-viewer applications.

Guntermann & Drunck – DP1.2-VisionXG-MC4 The concept of the KVM extender has really evolved.

Uncompressed, latency-free 8K video transmission at 60Hz over great distances is now within reach and the benefits

March 2017

PRESENTED AT ISE 2017

Holovis – Near Miss Simulator A terrifyingly realistic immersive simulation involving a ‘moving’ platform, realistic 360º visuals, audio, wind and more. The perfect way to get people to take notice of health and safety presentations!

JVC – DLA-Z1 The first 4K THX-approved projector, with a wide range of features and high image quality that delivers image depth and high contrast. An affordable projector that raises the bar in 4K picture-price performance.

Kramer – AOCH/60 Fibre Optic HDMI Cables Billed as the easiest way to pass HDMI for 4K over distance, Kramer’s AOCH cables feature a unique detachable head that enables easy installation in tight spaces.

Leyard and Planar – Leyard DirectLight LED Video Wall System Supremely flexible and virtually limitless in its scalability, this next-gen videowall is also a breeze to install and maintain. Nothing else available achieves the same ultra-fine pixel pitch arrays, and the provided front-install mounting solution is genius in its simplicity.

Loxit – Magic Carpet The Magic Carpet can be set-up within minutes. A simple but effective concept for indoor use, with loads of apps.

NewTek – MediaDS A complete content encoding and publishing solution-in-abox that simplifies and delivers a highly efficient solution.

With the scope to deliver to any platform, it is the only publishing solution required in most applications.

Peerless-AV – SmartMount Supreme Full Service Video Wall Mount Available in two versions, pull-lever and push/quick-release for easy access, the Supreme is very easy to service with tool-less lateral micro-adjustment. Lightweight and easy-fix design plus cable management complete the no-nonsense approach.

QSC – Q-SYS software on standard Dell server By demonstrating how an existing Q-SYS software rack can run on a standard Dell server, QSC has offered a glimpse of what could become a typical audio-video-control processing set-up for many corporate and larger-scale enterprises.

RTI – CX10 This countertop version of the KX10 features a customisable 10in LCD touchscreen. The multifunctional device has intercom capabilities, composite video inputs for security devices, direct control capabilities for projectors and other devices along with built-in stereo speakers, making it a neat and versatile solution for commercial and residential applications.

Sennheiser – TeamConnect Wireless Set Tray M The new Tray M represents an attractive option for small meeting rooms or conferences of up to 12 people where ease of use and high sound quality are key requirements.

The elegant design of the satellites and the charging/ docking tray add to the appeal.

Sharp – PN-V701 70in Video Wall Display 70in LCD specifically designed for videowall installations.

A tiny gap width of 4.4mm enables installers to create large displays with minimal bezel interruptions for the luxury signage market.

Shure – IntelliMix P300 This compact box could have a big impact on your conferencing experience. Get Shure-quality audio through your laptop or mobile quickly and easily in a simple to install and cost-efficient solution that enables collaborative, effective meetings.

SiliconCore – LISA technology platform A new concept for displays featuring a smooth laminated, LED surface with diodes bonded to the PCB. It offers significant advantages over previous technologies and look set to open up new applications.

Stewart Filmscreen – Phantom HALR Twelve years in the making, the Phantom High Ambient Light Rejecting screen is the largest in its category at up to 40ft x 90ft seamless. Image quality is as you’d expect from Stewart, and with 16K-plus resolution it’s futureproofed too.

Stream TV Networks – 65in Digital Signage Display with Glasses Free Ultra-D An innovative solution for glasses–free 3D that ties into an established cloud-based content distribution route for digital signage. With the partnership with SignageLive and IAdea in place, Stream TV looks set to make a big impact in the visual display market.

TSL Products – InSite Great for outsourced systems, this DCIM software uses an impressive 3D GUI with systems monitoring. wePresent – WiCS-2100 A step ahead in collaboration technology with advanced and unique features including preview, thumbnails and onboard GoogleCast and AirPlay handling sets a new level in collaboration tools. Advanced management tools make multi-system control simple.

SHOW REVIEW: ISE 2017 X 25

www.installation-international.com

bandwidth 2T2R dual-band 802.11ac to deliver optimal standalone WiFi performance. And the new plug-and-play LauncherPlus USB device with embedded WiFi ensures that laptops connect wirelessly to the NovoEnterprise main unit within seconds.

Audio Bose Professional entered the audio conferencing market with its new ControlSpace EX audio conferencing solution, which offers

direct Dante microphone connectivity, analogue-to-Dante mic conversion, all common audio conferencing interfaces, and time-saving algorithms. Bose’s wide portfolio of amplifiers and loudspeakers can be seamlessly integrated using convenient presets and amp connections.

K-array presented Domino, its new full-range line of compact stainless steel speakers. There are three models: KF26, with a 6in and a 2in neodymium magnet woofer coaxially mounted, plus a 6in passive radiator; KF210, with a 10in and a 3in neodymium magnet woofer and a 10in passive radiator; and KF212, with a 12in coaxial transducer with titanium dome and a 12in passive radiator. The range is suited to applications from intimate restaurants to live concert settings.

Renkus-Heinz introduced the new C and T Series of speakers. A reinvention of the CF/CFX Series, the C Series is designed for permanent installed applications including theatres and performing arts spaces, multi-use venues and public spaces. C Series models will be available in amplified and passive versions. T Series speakers will be built to order with a variety of horn patterns for optimal coverage control, and will be fully customisable.

RTS introduced ROAMEO, a wireless intercom

solution based on the licence-free DECT standard with a protected frequency band. It provides highquality audio over a seamlessly integrated digital wireless beltpack and associated access points.

New from Shure was the IntelliMix P300, a digital signal processor specifically for conferencing applications. Robert Pletz, marketing manager EMEA for the Shure systems group, described the P300 as “the missing link for Shure products…. We haven’t had any echo cancellation or noise reduction [in our conferencing portfolio] before, but now we have with the P300. This is specifically designed for small to medium sized rooms, and is perfectly paired with Microflex Advance.”

Keep an eye on the Installation website or daily newsletter for news of our special ISE 2017 digital supplement.

Catch up with the ISE Daily Once again, the ISE Daily 2017, the official newspaper of Integrated Systems Europe, was produced by Installation from an office just off the showfloor.

You can read every edition online on the Installation website – just click ‘ISE’ in the top navigation and the editions are listed in the right-hand column. http://bit.ly/2kZ8lm9

D X- RS UL TO W AC NE M F R FO

NEW SHURE ULX-D GOOSENECK AND BOUNDARY MICROPHONES ®

WIRELESS MICS THAT MEAN BUSINESS Live business events demand pristine sound and professional style. The new Shure ULXD8 gooseneck and ULXD6 boundary microphones combine with ULX-D® or QLX-DTM receivers to deliver uncompromising digital audio clarity and solid RF performance in form factors that fit perfectly in business settings. Large rental events and meeting spaces will benefit from low latency audio, large channel counts, a choice of AA or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, flexible DanteTM networking* and secure AES-256 encryption.

www.shure.eu

*ULX-D dual and quad channel receiver only

26 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: DIGITAL SIGNAGE

March 2017

Key Points

The view from the rear

Choosing the right player depends on the importance attached to performance, flexibility, stability and ease of installation

Inexpensive players built into displays are helping to drive market growth

Increasingly powerful hardware is required for the increasingly sophisticated functionality that drives engagement

The future may lie in high-performance, purpose-designed players that can be integrated within a display, but are separately upgradable

In digital signage it’s the display that gets the glory – for obvious reasons. Less visible, but arguably at least as important, is the player that delivers the content. Ian McMurray finds out what’s going on behind the screen

B

ack in the 1980s, AI came – albeit briefly – to the technology frontline, powered by a programming language called Lisp.

Two companies, Texas Instruments and Symbolics, developed hardware platforms optimised for the Lisp environment.

They enjoyed a couple of years of success before PC hardware had become so capable, it could execute Lisp faster than a purpose-built machine – at substantially less cost.

In many ways, that’s reflective of a recurring scenario in hardware technology. Take graphics, for example. Applications that once required a discrete graphics processor now perform at least as well on a general-purpose processor. It’s a scenario that’s being re-enacted today in the world of digital signage players, with purposebuilt platforms vying with solutions built on industry-standard – commodity, even – hardware.

Four choices A prospective digital signage customer has four primary choices (although the lines can be blurred): application-specific, PC-based, add-on module and screen-integrated. Brice McPheeters,

business development manager at NanoLumens, attempts to characterise some of the options.

“Perhaps the most ‘knocked’ media player is the player integrated into the display, with its minimal provision for peripherals, marginal computing capability and lack of upgradability,”

‘I expect the trend to continue and the market share of PCs and non-dedicated solutions to diminish’ Jeff Hastings, BrightSign

he says. “On the other hand, it’s everything you need in one unit. There are users for whom that will perform to their limited specification. Then, you have PC-based platforms that are inherently open, allowing for multiple content options and are easily upgradeable – but that often comes

at the price of potential stability issues and security flaws. Beyond those two options, you have the purpose-built solutions, which are often a bit pricier and not as open – but you get superior stability.

“Of course, we’re speaking in generalities here,” he smiles, “as there are some players that cross these boundaries. However, the point is: I don’t think there is any player type that is necessarily disadvantaged. It all comes down to what the client needs.”

Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign, is somewhat less equivocal. “If you want to toast bread, you use a toaster, not an oven or a blowtorch, right?” he laughs. “If you want digital signage, use a player built for the job. PCs were created to run Windows and weren’t created for digital signage.

An issue cited by many integrators is the need to keep installing patches and updates – often for functions that the signage doesn’t even use.

“Digital signage players now support technology advances that enable all the features and functionality of a high-end PC, without the PC hassles and Windows software crashes – and without the high price tag,” he goes on. “I expect

FEATURE: DIGITAL SIGNAGE

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the trend to continue and the market share of PCs and non-dedicated solutions to diminish.”

Optimum price/performance He has an ally in Francesco Ziliani, CEO of SpinetiX, who acknowledges the advantages of display-integrated and PC-based solutions – but is positive that their minuses far outweigh their pluses. For him, there is clearly an ideal solution.

“Hardware designed specifically for digital signage will always deliver the optimum price/ performance for a professional solution,” he says.

“It delivers low maintenance, low operational costs because it is more durable, more stable and is designed for commercial installation.”

There is, of course, another side to the story.

“There’s a home for every product in the market, but there are clearly some defining differences between these products,” believes Caroline Injoyan, business development manager at Matrox Graphics, which offers a range of digital signage solutions. She notes the ease and simplicity of built-in players, and the advantages of purpose-built players.

“However,” she continues, “dependant on the potential uses, focused functionality is a double-edged sword, as these are cookie-cutter solutions that don’t leave room to be upgraded with enhanced feature sets. PC-based systems are where true flexibility comes in. PCs have a huge degree of scalability, allowing multiple cards with varying features to be installed, upgraded or swapped for the needed feature set. Because of the raw horsepower a PC can devote to processing, high resolution, large-format content is dealt with more easily and with fewer issues.”

Case Study

Wallin goes social for cancer research The PittaRosso Pink Parade is an event organised by the Italian shoe and accessory brand to raise funds for the Umberto Veronesi foundation’s research into breast cancer.

Looking to engage participants during a marathon event, the company chose Wallin ONE for its social remarketing capability.

Every guest posting or writing on Pittarosso’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account saw their photo or post on an LED videowall installed in the park where the marathon took place.

Guests also received an automatic re-tweet of, or comment on, their post by Pittarosso, thanking them and inviting them to pick up some gadgets at a nearby event stand. decoding licences.

“Since the Raspberry Pi started as a computing toy four years ago, it has developed into a serious and reliable computing machine with strong Quad Core 1.2GHz processing performance and graphic capabilities for crisp playback of full HD videos,” he claims. “The Raspberry Pi also perfectly serves the huge trend towards IoT. With all interfaces integrated into the screen, it can easily be made part of a network environment and even control network signage systems.”

Avoiding hassle Thomas Walter, section manager, strategic product marketing at NEC Display Solutions Europe, believes in the advantages of in-built players – but with a caveat. “Displays today have a much longer lifecycle than the player source,” he says. “With this in mind, buying a built-in solution simply does not make sense in the mid to long term: if player requirements change, the user has to replace everything, including the display.”

“Solutions that are completely embedded but remain interchangeable provide the best performance for advertisers over the years,” he goes on. “Avoiding the hassle with external cabling, storage and mounting of the player solution, the embedded digital signage player can be easily interchanged and upgraded when a new performance level or servicing is required.”

His colleague Ulf Greiner, who is senior product manager, solutions, notes how NEC has introduced a display capable of hosting a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 that includes features specifically designed for digital signage, such as extended memory and preloaded video

27

‘Displays today have a much longer lifecycle than the player source’ Thomas Walter, NEC

Considerable shift Certainly, the simplicity and affordable pricing of an inbuilt player is proving attractive, with some commentators seeing it as driving growth in the digital signage market. Jason Cremins, founder and CEO of cloud-based digital signage company Signagelive, has certainly seen it grow in popularity.

“Since 2012 and the introduction of SoC [system-on-chip] displays to the commercial digital signage market by Samsung, we have seen a considerable shift in the players that are

used with Signagelive,” he says. “Historically, over 50% of the digital signage players being used with Signagelive were PC-based – but since 2012, this has shifted to over 75% of new digital signage players being non-PC, with 70% of this total being SoC displays from Samsung and LG. The remaining 30% of new player connections has been Android (IAdea devices) and Chrome OS (Chromebox and Chromebits).

“The major factor, in addition to cost savings and reliability, is that non-PC technology delivers 100% of the required functionality for 75% of the market,” he explains. “The remaining 25% are new PC-based players being used with Signagelive for move interactive and processintensive applications or for legacy projects where PCs are designed in.”

Cremins makes the point that Signagelive is player-agnostic – and Alessandro Messineo, CEO at Italian cloud-based digital signage company Wallin, has taken a similarly pragmatic approach.

“To make it easier to manage large networks of purpose-built players, we created our digital signage CMS product WallSign, which is integrated with powerful purpose-built players such as those from BrightSign and PADS,” he says. “On the other hand, PC-based solutions remain the most affordable choice, so our Wallin ONE solution is integrated with PCs running Android, Windows and Linux.”

“Then, there are customers for whom the display-integrated player solution is the most comfortable,” he adds. “There’s no comparison between the performance of a displayintegrated solution and any PC-based or purpose-built players, but they are very popular – so Wallin ONE can be used with HTML-based displays like those from Philips.”

28 FEATURE: DIGITAL SIGNAGE Received wisdom Of course, the received wisdom throughout the technology industry has always been that no-one in their right mind chooses the hardware first: it is, of course, the software that provides the solution, and the choice of a hardware platform should be secondary. Does that mean that discussion of players is in some way redundant?

Well, no… “The player hardware absolutely matters,” asserts Hastings. “Software delivers the experience, but the hardware enables that experience. Without enough processing power, without a hardware-accelerated HTML5 engine, without hardware features that enable seamless touch, beacon, Bluetooth, NFC, geo-fencing, audience recognition, motion sensing, buttonpress experiences, and more… the software is rather useless.”

He is not alone. “If the hardware fails, your amazing piece of content doesn’t do anything.

If your hardware is limited in access, processing power, or functionality, your creative opportunity is limited as well. So, in a way, it is all about the software. However, you can’t deliver that software without the proper piece of hardware,” agrees McPheeters, who has his own version of the toaster analogy. “It’s like motor racing: you wouldn’t put the $80 four-tyre special on a Formula One car and expect it to perform, would you?”

Matrox’s Injoyan takes a balanced view.

“Both pieces play a critical role,” she observes.

“However, software is what we interact with most often. Hardware should provide an easily installable, stable, reliable set of features and a framework on which the software can run. We think hardware and software interoperability is incredibly important and don’t offer a great product without both. That’s why we work so hard with software partners to make sure our components work well with their solution.”

Flexibility Colin Farquhar, CEO at Exterity, has a different perspective on what will be important in choosing

a platform. “We believe that the market has moved from considering which type of player is best for digital signage alone, to assessing media player flexibility to provide solutions that cater for the largest number of use cases”, he says.

“As more organisations turn to IP networks for all their communications and entertainment needs, the requirement for more flexible media players that support a broader range of AV content has become clear. The increasing demand for digital signage effectively integrated with IPTV systems establishes a specific set of requirements on the player, and here these can drive the digital signage technology decision.

“The integration of digital signage and IP video in a single, centrally managed system can deliver a more cost-effective solution than a bespoke, stand-alone digital signage system,” he continues, citing as an example the combination of Exterity’s ArtioSign with an AvediaPlayer media player. “It enables administrators to manage their entire IPTV and digital signage system in one place and quickly ensure the correct signage and video content is being displayed on the right screens.”

The growing significance of digital signage – well beyond advertising and wayfinding, into areas that are sometimes mission critical – together with the growing prevalence of IP-based networks, certainly support Farquhar’s view. But what else might the future hold for digital signage players?

Blurring lines The lines are, inevitably, blurring. BrightSign, for example, has built its business on purposebuilt players external to the screen – but that’s changing.

“Currently, most display-integrated players are low-cost Android or Raspberry Pi, and don’t have the flexibility and software support,” says Hastings. “Increasing integration in the design of purpose-built players, however, opens the prospect of integrating a high-performance dedicated player into a screen. BrightSign is a pioneer here, launching a built-in version of its HD

March 2017

OPS Intel’s OPS – Open Pluggable Specification – is designed to enable easier development, installation, use and maintenance of digital signage systems. It is aimed at digital signage manufacturers to enable them to deploy interchangeable systems faster and in higher volumes, while lowering costs for development and implementation. Intel’s stated aim is that OPS modules will ‘futureproof’ deployments.

The specification defines the electrical, mechanical and thermal aspects of a plug-in media player module for flat panel displays, and is built on technologies including DisplayPort, HDMI, USB and UART. It also defines the physical dimensions of the module: the ‘box’ must not exceed 200mm x 118mm x 30mm (7.9in x 4.6in x 1.2in). player at ISE 2017. The player has already been integrated by display manufacturers AVNU Digital and Industrial Image.”

“The market for OPS [see sidebar] media players and display-integrated solutions will open up in 2017,” he forecasts. “More than two million displays with an OPS slot have been sold thus far worldwide, almost half by NEC. We have now extended our Series 3 player family with the addition of our first player to support OPS.” Cremins is largely in agreement that integrated players are the future.

“I think the trend towards SoC and non-PC digital signage players will continue to evolve and disrupt the market,” he says. “The latest generation of Samsung Tizen and LG webOS displays are powerful and capable devices that further remove the need for a PC or external media player.”

Wallin’s Messineo sees a similar future. “The digital signage player of the future will be the most display-integrated possible and, at the same time, the most powerful imaginable,” he pronounces. “It would be a purpose-built player so small that it can be installed inside a display. The key drivers will be size, performance, ease of use, manageability and power consumption.”

Therein lies the key: different prospective users will prioritise different feature sets – which will almost certainly mean that the market will continue to accommodate the different approaches, from low cost/low functionality to highly capable systems, purpose-built or PC-based, inbuilt or external.

Market evolution “I think the market will evolve in two specific ways – highly customised solutions that require robust, well-thought out media players on the one hand,

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30 FEATURE: DIGITAL SIGNAGE and IoT-leaning, quick, cheap, easy platforms on the other,” says McPheeters. “We see it every day. There are users who want to utilise the bare functionality of the system – and users who have a heavy digital presence who need custom solutions

‘Hardware designed specifically for digital signage will always deliver the optimum price/performance’ Francesco Ziliani, SpinetiX

software-focused solutions such as wayfinding or in projects driven by IT,” he believes. “But as the industry matures, customer requirements will be better defined, and standards will emerge and be adopted. That’s something we very much believe in, which is why our players have always been designed around open standards and open APIs. “Beyond that,” he continues, “new levels of complexity will tend to favour professional, specialised appliances, while display-integrated players will continue to focus on delivering an optimised response to the mass market – but will not be able to diversify and offer the flexibility needed by many customers.”

Disparate requirements

to push the boundaries and drive innovation in customer interaction, analytics and so on.”

Considering that digital signage seems to have been around forever, it’s intriguing that Ziliani sees the market as one that is still in its early stages of development – and this, he claims, makes it impossible to know what type of digital signage player might prevail in the future.

“PC-based solutions are today by far the main choice, and they will always play a role in

NEC’s Walter also has thoughts on what the future will bring. “As growth quickens in the digital signage market, we’ll see increasing demand for digital signage solutions that address different requirements,” he says. “Some applications focus on sharing information, some offer a bidirectional communication through touchscreens or sensor integration – the demand varies widely. The technologies needed to serve those disparate requirements will vary accordingly – whether that’s Intel or ARM processors; or Raspberry Pi computing; or operating systems such

March 2017

as Windows, Android, or Linux; or network connectivity. That will inevitably lead to a modular concept that doesn’t force the usage of one particular system on the customer.”

The world will probably never see another Lisp machine. However, what’s going on in the digital signage industry very closely maps what we’ve seen in the world of graphics processors. What was once the domain of purpose-built technology is now achievable with more commoditised technologies, and that continuum will – well, continue. But, just as the Nvidias of the world have continually raised the bar – in performance, in size and in power consumption – so too, lowerend players will occupy ground that was once the preserve of specialist platforms, while those specialist platforms continue to stay ahead of the curve, serving the needs of increasingly demanding customers.

www.brightsign.biz www.exterity.com www.matrox.com www.nanolumens.com www.nec-display-solutions.com www.signagelive.com www.spinetix.com www.wallin.tv

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32 TECHNOLOGY FEATURE: 3D AUDIO

March 2017

Surrounded by sound A number of companies have been working on 3D or immersive audio for some time – and now the technology is on the verge of breaking through to the mainstream, says Tim Frost

Key Points

T

here is something of a buzz around immersive or 3D audio. The term can be used for a wide range of concepts and technologies from cinema ‘surround’ to variations on architectural audio; it’s not something that can be pinned down to any one specific approach.

We are at an early stage in immersive’s introduction into non-cinema sound installations, but those involved already say that it will eventually become the norm for sound installations in entertainment venues: theatres, rides, clubs, exhibitions and attractions.

With immersive, spatial sound design moves a step forward as a creative tool. This is not about the traditional sound installation’s concerns of delivering good-quality sound consistently to as many of the audience as possible (although a spin-off effect of an immersive install would be improvements in coverage). Instead it is about offering new creative tools to sound designers.

For some, immersive audio seems to be inextricably linked to the concept of objectoriented sound, but this is not necessarily the case. To put it as simply as possible, the traditional channel-based sound chain has the source material recorded in five, seven, nine or more separate channels (the standards introduced by cinema). The mix is delivered on a multi-channel carrier and fed to the auditorium speaker system to drive front of house or screen and surround effects.

In contrast, object-oriented audio stores each of the sound objects – a singer’s or actor’s voice, an instrument or a specific effect – and adds metadata to it that describes where it should be in the auditorium. In playback, the processor takes the metadata and in real time places the sound object to the speakers at those positions.

In reality, live immersive will be using a hybrid of channel-based and object-based sound designs. Being able to work with channel- or object- based sources should not a huge issue for installers, as long as everyone can be sure that the immersive sound processors can translate, convert or map the sound sources into the right places in the auditorium.

There seems to be no worry about the ability of today’s processors to handle immersive’s heavy-duty DSP work across multiple channels.

“There is absolutely the power available,” says Steve Ellison, applications director of digital products at Meyer Sound.

Ron Bakker, systems marketing manager at Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems Europe, agrees: “The hardware is more secure and the processing is so powerful and so cheap that we don’t need to worry about that any more.”

Gregor Zielinsky, senior manager research & innovation at Sennheiser, also agrees, but notes that latency caused by the processing is one aspect that needs consideration. “Nowadays, the majority of modern mixers meet the needs of minimum latency; however, it is still an important

Immersive audio can use object-based or channelbased sound design, or a combination of both

The technology has its roots in cinema, but has great potential in other kinds of entertainment, including musicals, theme parks, rock shows, theatre, clubs and evencorporate launches

Immersive audio can be combined with electroacoustics, which modifies the perceived acoustic response of a space

consideration if you are doing live music where low latency is imperative,” he says.

Bjorn Van Munster, director of Astro Spatial Audio, says that latency should not be an issue.

“The hardware is very robust and at present in our standard configuration we are at a latency of 5ms; we can configure that down to 3ms.”

Film heritage To understand the importance of the creative drive for immersive, think in terms of the film industry.

This took to immersive (aka surround) sound decades ago as a creative tool for positioning effects all around the auditorium to increase audience enjoyment. Live events – from musicals to park attractions, rock shows, theatre, clubs and corporate launches – could make even more creative use of controlling sound around the audience, provided the installations are in place to play them out.

FEATURE: 3D AUDIO 33

www.installation-international.com

IOSONO, now part of Barco, has the complete chain, from playout processors to production tools to ensure designers can create imaginative soundscapes in the first place.

“My experience is that a project is only successful where there is a strong creative idea behind it,” says IOSONO pro audio strategic marketing manager Stephan Mauer. “The object-based content required to drive these to their full potential is created in our Spatial Audio Workstation that lives in Steinberg’s Nuendo and can be linked to ProTools.”

The cinema market gives a clue to the way that the live market may well develop. Dolby’s flagship Atmos started at the top end of the market, but this is already changing, says Dolby technical marketing manager Nick Watson.

“At the start Atmos went to the high-profile early adopters, but over time we are seeing multiplexes’ Screens 2 and 3 being installed. It is these screens that have helped drive the local content as they know it will get played in Atmos. So as more regular venues get installed, then more productions will be designed in immersive,” says Watson.

Uwe Cremering, director of AMBEO immersive audio at Sennheiser, says: “We believe in 3D audio, and having 3D for live will make sense as a business case. There are investments in this, and we have met smart club owners, for example, who want to bring in 3D audio as soon as possible.

Making it a mainstream is a challenge but it is already moving that way.”

At Meyer Sound, Ellison is already seeing immersive move away from being exclusively for first adopters: “It started off with sound design pioneers, now there are lot more shows trying it. We are seeing this in corporate work, with corporate theatres that have adjustable acoustics and multichannel playback and moving the sound in space.”

Van Munster agrees: “We are on the edge of mainstream adoption – it’s now a matter of time.”

Complete chain Sennheiser sees immersive as being so important that it has set up the Ambeo division to deliver the complete immersive chain, from its ambisonics microphone through to processors and speakers.

“Over five years ago we started thinking about solutions for the market,” says Zielinsky. “If we wanted to be a driver for this, we knew we would need to look at it holistically, from recording to the mixing and to the listening.”

Without a doubt, installing immersive audio systems is a costly business, with additional speakers at higher quality, the infrastructure wiring to each individual speaker and of course the immersive processors. But costs are going down, with the take-up in the cinemas having a knock-on effect for the wider market.

Dolby’s Watson explains: “We have seen the costs going down partially because installers have more experience in installing them and partially

Case Study

Ministry of Sound goes immersive London’s Ministry of Sound worked with Dolby Atmos to add immersive sound to the club, in a project that proved to be an early foray for Dolby into the live sound business.

The system, installed last year, features 60 Martin Audio speakers and 22 output channels and uses tracks specifically created for the installation as Atmos sources. An aspect of this is controlled live by the DJ, who uses a controller to move sound objects around the club with simple use of a joystick.

“This allows them a more immersive experience,” says Dolby’s technical marketing manager, Nick Watson. “It is operated and controlled live like any other set, with some elements created in advance and some done live.” The processing is done through a Dolby cinema processor, with a dedicated Atmos DJ interface to control the available sound objects from the mix.

“The challenge has been to come up with tools that would be easy to use and need a very short learning curve,” comments Watson. because speaker manufacturers have developed new higher-power speakers with more overhead mounting flexibility and the availability of new multi-channel amplifiers.”

Even so, the big installs will remain at the top end for a while, says Van Munster: “I don’t expect the costs to change dramatically in the near future; the market is not that big.”

‘We are on the edge of mainstream adoption – it’s now a matter of time’ Bjorn Van Munster, Astro Spatial Audio

The upside of that is a higher value for the installer and manufacturers, notes Bakker. “Of course it will sell more speakers and amplifier channels,” he says. Yamaha’s mixers, amps, desks and processors would most likely appear somewhere in an immersive system and these should be able to interface properly already, he notes. “Our network infrastructure of speaker processors are all based on Dante control and our mixers can accept multi-channel audio from almost all of the systems in existence.”

However many multi-purpose venues, such as regional theatres, are already one step towards

the immersive concept with their electronic architectural acoustic systems. Coping one day with a talk or a play which needs low reverb times and the next day with a concert where a dry sound would kill the performance, some have installed electroacoustic systems such as Meyer Sound’s Constellation or Yamaha’s AFC3, which use an array of microphones and dedicated speakers throughout the auditorium to tailor the acoustics at the touch of a button.

Signal processing and multiple speakers are a common feature for both immersive and architectural acoustic processing. So a venue looking at a fresh install that would be going down the architectural audio route anyway, could consider going to a full immersive installation.

Using upgraded speakers and the additional processor module may be considered worth the incremental investment.

Meyer Sound’s Constellation is a strong product in this area, so Ellison sees adding immersive as a serious option. “Constellation allows you to change the acoustics, transforming the space acoustically.

But then you can use the same speakers and system for a multi-channel audio playback that is really exciting. That is the cutting edge where a venue uses the system for both acoustics and as a multi-channel system.”

Van Munster has the same approach: “We have a room acoustic module based on object audio as well, and as the system is modular, you can have the installation with your choice of modules: 3D audio, live room acoustics and a tracking system in one package.”

34 FEATURE: 3D AUDIO

Alcons Audio’s managing director, Tom Back, comments: “With Alcons’ Astra there have been many electroacoustic processing developments both in improving placement and enhancement. So if you create a toolbox that offers object-oriented sound and immersive with enhanced acoustics tools, it makes life easier as an integrated product.”

Tracking Van Munster mentioned tracking, which is one of the new creative options that immersive provides. Motion capture has spawned sensor systems that can dynamically track an actor and their movements. Although more frequently encountered in the worlds of film, TV and games, tracker systems – such as Timax from Out Board – are in use in live performances. A small tracker in the actor’s pocket sends positioning information back to the sound system, which dynamically moves the sound to match their position. It is these sorts of effects that excite the sound designers who will hopefully demand playback systems that can deliver them.

This is what most see as the driving force behind immersive installations: the creative community and sound engineers who see (and hear) it in action and then want to use immersive for their own shows and installations.

Back comments: “For the live sound we are looking to the theatre sound designers for musicals and things like that. For live, it’s the sound engineers who are using touring systems – the more forward-thinking engineers. “ Sennheiser is encouraging this with an education programme, says Zielinsky. “We are doing demonstrations and training for 3D to show

March 2017

people how to handle it. There are a lot of people out there who are deeply interested in 3D but need to find out how it works.”

High-end audiophile and home theatre installations are also a niche market for some.

Mathias Johansson, founder/CEO of Dirac, which is doing major development work on immersive processing for VR, headphones and tablets, offers its Live Room Correction Suite for these markets.

‘Immersive audio started off with sound design pioneers, now there are lot more shows trying it’ Steve Ellison, Meyer Sound

He notes that getting any system fully optimised is a must for immersive performance: “Positioning is about level and time difference and more complicated factors, so we deal not only with the EQ but also the early reflections.”

Dirac’s focus on the consumer end does show the directions that the cost and flexibility of all this immersive processing are taking. “The [DSP] engine interfaces with various types of sound sources. So it is just there in the middle and makes any [immersive] source usable for us.”

Dirac’s processes are implemented on DSP and ARM processors, which aim at lower costs: “We

will be able to implement it on really inexpensive chips, even on Bluetooth headphones.”

Markets The big question is: which markets will immersive move into? Unsurprisingly, our interviewees generally see developments in the markets they are most experienced in.

Van Munster comments: “We see a lot of different opportunities in theatre and live markets, such as exhibitions and events such as car launches and it can be fixed or temporary installations.”

Cremering at Sennheiser says: “We see huge potential for exhibitions, so we see a lot of future in live events – that is the logical next step.”

Back sees take-up for multi-purpose installs.

Alcons has recently installed a system in the Potsdamer Platz Theatre in Berlin, initially for its two-week film festival. “The rest of the year it can be used for music theatre. So they are looking at the creative process where content people can discover the possibilities of immersive experience for theatre.”

Finally, Yamaha’s Bakker sums up the real potential in eight words: “Any entertainment event can benefit from 3D audio!”

www.alconsaudio.com www.astroaudio.eu www.dolby.com www.iosono-sound.com www.martinaudio.com www.meyersound.com www.outboard.co.uk www.sennheiser.com www.yamahaproaudio.com

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36 BUSINESS FEATURE: CYBERSECURITY

March 2017

Defence against the dark arts AV installations increasingly have a networked element; but while the IT world has long experience of dealing with security issues, it’s relatively new ground for our industry. Steve Montgomery reports on the issues – and the opportunities

I

n an age of heightened security controls and awareness, and with cyberattacks occurring on a daily basis, the need to maintain security of all data and communications networks is stronger than it has ever been. More equipment and devices are now connected to a network than ever before, providing an enormous level of opportunity for unauthorised access.

This affects the AV industry. AV content distribution is rapidly moving to a networkcentric model, with IP-based networking now the predominant method of audio distribution

and video over IP becoming far more common.

Nearly every piece of modern technology has an internet or wireless connection capability, whether it needs it to function or simply as an aid to control and installation.

“AV integrators need to be wary of any equipment that is connected to the internet and be aware of security protocols within the equipment provided by the manufacturer,” points out Chuck Espinoza, staff instructor for InfoComm International. “Equipment that requires internet access for essential operation like RSS feeds or to

Key Points Nearly all AV devices have an internet connection and are at risk of cyberattack

AV devices can be used to access wider IT networks

Physical and logical separation of IT and AV networks is ideal, but not always possible

The industry has chosen convenience over security

Wireless and network transmission of audio is a potential weak point in voice and PA systems

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38 FEATURE: CYBERSECURITY enhance its operation such as service updates, automation or other functions, is a risk to any system and knowing how to mitigate cyber-risks now has to be part of AV integrators’ expertise.”

‘Knowing how to mitigate cyber risks now has to be part of AV integrators’ expertise’ Chuck Espinoza, InfoComm International

Areas of concern There are three primary areas of concern of which AV integrators need to be aware of in networkconnected AV installations: cyberattacks on an IT network through connected AV devices, attacks on AV system components originating from the wider network, and general hacking of wireless or internet signals.

Despite the ubiquity of AV-IT convergence, in practice these are still two individual technologies linked together in a basic fashion.

“The IT community has tackled and largely countered the risk of cyberattacks on IT networks through firewalls, access procedures and limitations and other security measures,” explains Roland Hemming, founder of RH Consulting. “But when it comes to the AV system connected to their IT network, they do not place such stringent restraints on deployed devices.

Networked AV appliances are regularly connected to the in-house IT network for convenience in setting them up and managing their operation, but security has to extend beyond basic firewall procedures. Many IT professionals don’t even know that a lot of AV equipment has additional network connectivity such as local WiFi, or can be configured with mobile devices that have their own external data connection.”

Separation of an AV network from the IT network is one solution, as Ronald Prague, Biamp Systems’ senior network architect, explains: “When planning an AV network, best practices are to separate your AV and control traffic from other networks, logically or physically, and make sure only those users and services that need access, actually have it. This separation is usually for performance reasons, keeping AV traffic unimpacted by other network traffic, but it does offer an added layer of security by virtue of being unreachable from non-AV networks and users.”

The banking and financial sector is, of necessity, acutely aware of the need for security across all systems. “Visitors and staff expect

March 2017

to be able to connect to the network to share information and make presentations at meetings using their own devices and the corporate AV facilities, but this leads to security issues,” points out David Ravenhill, media engineering manager at Credit Suisse. “We can set up wireless networks fairly easily but must ensure that users cannot access other people’s devices in other areas through it. The use of locked-down wireless networks is essential and one that we are pushing service providers to deliver.”

Accessing content A major target of attacks on networks is to access content, rather than simply to gain control of equipment and create denial-ofservice situations. Many systems, particularly those using network-based audio transmission technology, packetise and pass audio content around in unencrypted form. Simply connecting a device of a similar type onto an exposed data port allows intruders to gain full access to content and confidential voice recordings.

“It is not so much transmission between locations, such as international videoconferencing links that are at risk, as the in-house transmission of voice over private PA systems,” says Hemming. “In boardrooms, courts and meeting rooms, highly confidential information is discussed, whilst concert systems transport valuable content. That would be of interest to many outsiders, who could gain financially or steal intellectual property. With so many internet and wireless transmission portable and guest devices connected directly to a network, it is becoming very difficult to physically manage the hardware, its location, or who has access or use of it at any moment. We haven’t yet come to terms with the human side of portable and BYOD devices. Audio networks are in their infancy, and are highly exposed. They should have token exchange security built in, but don’t. This would prevent access by unauthorised devices and go some way in securing the

‘AV system security is immensely important, but is not taken seriously’ Roland Hemming, RH Consulting

transmissions. But this would require effort across the industry to implement and change.”

Measures can be taken to limit security risks and ensure the integrity of data and equipment.

“Basic and standard security procedures should be followed,” says Prague. “Change the default

password on all devices and switches on the AV network. Make sure that only the specific AV traffic and endpoints are allowed through the firewall. It’s also very important to make sure all equipment on the network is kept up to date. It should be checked regularly to ensure software and firmware patches are regularly updated. The network should be continuously monitored and activity logs collected regularly.”

Opportunities Delivering secure systems provides opportunity to installers and consultants. Prague adds: “Advising clients on cybersecurity and ensuring the security of proposed systems provides considerable commercial potential. An in-depth knowledge of the field is required, so it is a separate industry with serious training requirements for technicians, policy writers and auditors.”

Espinoza agrees: “Having the knowledge and ability to use already-established protocols that IT has been using for years and apply them to networked AV systems is a major opportunity. AV integrators like to make the network as easy to access and navigate as possible so that the AV equipment that lives on the network will function easily and won’t run into as many system errors or malfunctions as they would on a locked-down network. As convenient and user-friendly as this might seem, it leaves the AV system vulnerable to many types of intrusion. This opens up an entire new career path to the AV industry, something that has been standard in the IT field: network security specialists. These AV professionals would apply their security knowledge and skills to a host of AV system functions.

“Many AV companies are just starting to embrace networked AV security, and how to incorporate it into their needs analysis, project cost assessments, project workflow and system commissioning activities. If a position like network security specialist is implemented correctly at AV integration companies, it will lead to a more collaborative environment between AV and IT staff and some of the security needs that are typically discovered during or after the project is finished will be foreseen, resulting in fewer change orders and project delays.”

Security is an essential consideration. As Hemming believes: “AV system security is immensely important, but is not taken seriously.

As an industry we have chosen convenience over security. Change is unlikely to happen until a global organisation suffers an attack through the AV system, or a political event is hacked or valuable content is stolen. Only then will the industry sit up and take note, and do something about it.”

www.biamp.com www.infocomm.org www.rhconsulting.eu

Install awards 2017 29th June 2017, Central London The InstallAwards offers a mix of networking, celebrating and most importantly recognising the achievements of the AV market across the globe.

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40 SOLUTIONS: HOLMESTRAND STATION

March 2017

NORWAY

PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Network signals A new railway station, located in a mountain tunnel, has an IP-based PA-VA system that is networked to other stations on the line. Tom Bradbury reports

H

olmestrand is known as “the city under the mountain”. Almost 90% of its inhabitants live up on the mountain plateau, while the old part of the town, with its idyllic houses and marina, lies at the foot of a steep rockface looking out over a fjord.

The municipality has a new railway station, engineered into the mountainside along a tunnel 12km in length. The project to build the tunnel and the train station began in summer 2010. Blasting of the rock cavern, to 35m wide and 18m high, commenced in December 2011 and concluded in 2014. The station was officially opened in December 2016 by the Norwegian Prime Minister.

The majority of residents use lifts to access the spectacular new station hall, which measures 870m long, 30m wide and 12m high. It houses a platform on each side for northbound and southbound traffic, and a new double-track line that runs from Holm to Nykirke, with ‘through-tracks’ for high-speed trains travelling at up to 250km/h.

Engaged by Jernbaneverket (Bane NOR – the Norwegian government railways services agency), Application Solutions (Safety and Security) Ltd (ASL) partnered with Innotronic of Scandinavia and SAC Sweden to deliver a comprehensive EN54 certified public address and voice alarm (PA-VA) system at Holmestrand station.

First for VIPEDIA While ASL has delivered long-line PA-VA systems to more than 300 stations for Bane NOR, Holmestrand station was the first to utilise ASL’s new VIPEDIA range of products. The VIPEDIA range – which includes audio routers, amplifiers and microphones – is certified to EN54-16 and internationally recognised by the Loss Prevention Certification Board.

The solution at Holmestrand is designed around ASL’s VIPEDIA-12 range of hardware.

It provides audio routing between 12 analogue inputs and 12 analogue outputs.

The VIPEDIA-12 also includes provision for 64 internally stored digital voice announcement

Installed Audio ASL VIPEDIA-12 audio routers ASL EMS10 Emergency Microphone Stations ASL MPS10 paging microphones ASL V2000 amplifiers ASL LSZDC amplifier cards

About the project partners ASL manufactures and supplies public address, voice alarm, commercial audio and 3D control systems. Its projects across five continents have covered rail, airports, nuclear, commercial, oil and gas, retail, stadiums, and roads and tunnels Innotronic of Scandinavia specialises in audio and visual public information systems using both new and established technologies SAC Nordic is a provider of security solutions voice alarm, sound systems, PA, emergency lighting, fire resistant cable and CCTV Bane NOR is responsible for planning, construction, management, operations and maintenance of the Norway’s rail network, plus traffic management and the management and development of railway property

SOLUTIONS: HOLMESTRAND STATION

www.installation-international.com

41

messages and hosts ASL’s VIPA long-line public address software.

At Holmestrand, four VIPEDIA-12 audio routers were locally linked to provide routing from any or all of their inputs to a total of 48 zone outputs, all configured via an Ethernet network.

Two ASL EMS10 Emergency Microphone Stations, housed in lockable wall mounting boxes, provide live and pre-recorded message broadcast. Each feature graphic LCD displays together with ‘Power’, ‘Voice Alarm’, ‘System Fault’, ‘Fault’ and ‘Speak Now’ indicators.

The EMS10 Emergency Microphone Stations implement router hardware bypass to ensure continued all-call microphone operation in the event of matrix digital signal processor or central processing unit failure.

Two additional ASL MPS10 paging microphones can broadcast live, store-forward and recorded messages into user-selected zones in addition to providing EN54-compliant emergency functions and mandatory indicators and controls.

Amplifiers ASL’s V2000 amplifiers provide high-quality transformer-less audio output, configurable in software from 25W to 500W output per module. Seven were installed per V2000 chassis at Holmestrand station, to provide a total of almost 19,000W of 100V output.

Integrated EN54-4 certified battery chargers in the V2000’s charger battery packs – each with enough capacity for a fully loaded V2000 amplifier as well as one VIPEDIA-12 and peripherals – avoid the need for external chargers. Installed ASL LSZDC amplifier cards provide amplifier health monitoring, standby switchover, loudspeaker line earth leakage monitoring and loudspeaker line ‘end of line’ monitoring.

Configured using a user-friendly graphic software interface, the V2000’s standby modes and low quiescent power requirements provide improved environmental performance, ensuring the Holmestrand PA-VA system minimises its carbon footprint too.

Integral to the operation of the PA-VA system at Holmestrand station and across Bane NOR’s network of train stations is ASL’s VIPA software suite. Running on ASL hardware at every station where ASL’s iPAM one-box PA solution is installed, and now also on VIPEDIA installed hardware, VIPA provides audio over IP, routing control and fault reporting capability between Bane NOR’s Control Centre and all of the remote railway stations, including Holmestrand.

VIPA, one of the first audio-over-IP systems developed specifically to meet the requirements of long-line public address systems, delivers live broadcasts using UDP multicast over IP.

Multicast broadcasts offer the benefit over unicast broadcasts of requiring just single audio streams to deliver audio to however many stations Bane NOR’s Control Centre chooses, reducing the required bandwidth.

Remote locations VIPA also has the ability to stream digital voice announcement messages from the Control Centre or to trigger them at remote locations on the station network, subject to bandwidth availability. Additionally, live audio broadcasts can be transmitted in high or low bandwidth modes. This can be particularly useful where network bandwidth is more restricted, which has been the case in some legacy and brownfield installations on Bane NOR’s network.

The software also provides detailed fault monitoring of remote trains stations via IP, as well as providing a software API for interfacing with third-party train timetabling/ messaging systems.

VIPA has also been interfaced with a custom software module, which allows Bane NOR to trigger messages on legacy PA systems at other stations on the network – thanks to a module that uses DTMF tones to control remote stations. Developed by in-house software teams

at ASL, VIPA’s modular architecture and software development kit allows integration with other third-party PA systems, should it be required.

The successful introduction of ASL’s new VIPEDIA range of products at Holmestrand is already being replicated in other stations across Bane NOR’s network; installations are taking place at Oslo Airport’s Gardemoen station.

Roy Strand, department manager for Bane NOR, comments: “ASL has been a key supplier to Bane NOR for around 10 years, delivering over 300 stations using the Vipedia and iPAM ranges of PA-VA equipment.

Their customer-focused approach to design, manufacture and maintenance ensures we continue to work together”.

Sousan Azimrayat, commercial director at ASL, comments: “It was a fantastic experience to be told by the Bane NOR project manager that the ASL voice alarm system was the first of all the telecommunication systems to be fully commissioned and working and the system sounds good.”

www.asl-control.co.uk www.banenor.no www.innotronic.dk www.sacnordic.com

42 SOLUTIONS: ELISABETH CENTRE ANTWERP

March 2017

BELGIUM

FACE-lift The Elisabeth Centre Antwerp opened its doors at the end of 2016 after three years and a full refurbishment, with planning and installation undertaken by FACE. Christopher James reports

A

t the end of 2013, rebuilding commenced on the Queen Elisabeth Hall, with the aim of turning the venue into a modern theatre and concert venue and congress facility, which will continue under the name Elisabeth Centre Antwerp. The building consists of the Queen Elisabeth Hall; accommodation for the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra with offices and rehearsal rooms; the congress centre; and the existing halls – Marmer Room, Darwin Room, Verlat Room and Wintertuin. The Royal Flemish Philharmonic orchestra will be ‘artist in residence’ with 45 concert days and 100 rehearsal days.

As subcontractor of THV Elisabeth and main technical contractor Putman Theatec, FACE was assigned to integrate all audio and lighting equipment next to an array of AV wiring infrastructure. As general AV consultant, the design was specified by Charcoalblue, under the direction of Paul Franklin. As well as assisting the architects on the design of the principal room, Charcoalblue advised on the general planning of the building and designing the theatrical technical systems – stage lighting, AV and stage engineering.

The Queen Elisabeth Hall is a floating performance space above the Atrium and has more than 2,000 seats. To improve the acoustics, the hall was fully rebuilt to a design

by British architect Ian Simpson. The hall now has a shoebox design, and there’s no fixed front stage so sound loss is eliminated.

Moveable reflection panels are placed above

the orchestra area to create variable sound projections. Lava isolated walls covered with undulating oak panels provide a balance between reflecting and absorbing surfaces.

270° audio coverage In order to become one of Europe’s top concert halls, the choice of speaker system was crucial. Steven Kemland, FACE project division manager, chose Renkus-Heinz VARIAi as main FOH arrays, flown on either side of the stage.

The left and right arrays further comprise flown VAX15 subs and conventional RHX81 speakers for the side balconies, ensuring a 270° audio coverage for each cluster. The mobile wedges consist of a mix of Martin Audio LE1200 and DD6 wide-angle enclosures.

FACE installed 26 customised RenkusHeinz CFX41 stair step speakers in three rows, because the stage is divided in three moving stage elements, tailor-made for the Philharmonic Orchestra. To complete the venue layout, two additional DRS218 subs and two extra VAX101 array modules were added as mobile infi ll as well as three RHX101 delay speakers for the upper balconies.

In addition to the FOH system, an integrated speech system was fitted consisting of RenkusHeinz Iconyx IC24 on either side and two IC8 loudspeakers for the side balconies and choir wagon. When the speech system is in use, the VARIA arrays are lifted above the reflection panels and are hidden in the stage grid.

For amplification, FACE chose Powersoft’s X8, X4 and Ottocanali series with a Peavey

Installed Audio Renkus-Heinz VARIAi arrays Renkus-Heinz VAX15 subwoofers Renkus-Heinz RH/RHX Series speakers Renkus-Heinz CFX41 speakers Renkus-Heinz DRS218 subwoofers Renkus-Heinz Iconyx loudspeakers Martin Audio LE1200 and DD6 enclosures Martin Audio CDD5 and CDD8 loudspeakers Martin Audio C4.8T and C6.8T ceiling speakers Powersoft X Series and Ottocanali series amplifiers Powersoft Armonía software platform Peavey MediaMatrix NION DSP Ampetronic hearing loop system ASL Flexus digital intercom Clear-Com Freespeak wireless intercom system

Lighting ETC Sensor3 control system ETC Gio console ETC Paradigm network control points and touchscreens ETC Source Four PARs ETC Source Four Frenel ETC Source Four Profile 10° and 14° fixtures GDS BluesSystem lighting control

About the integrator The Foundation for Audiovisual Commerce and Engineering is a full-service provider for the AV industry, undertaking projects for theme parks, corporate environments, museums, theatre and stage With offices in Boom (Belgium), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Duisburg (Germany), FACE supplies a wide range of solutions and services throughout Europe and further afield FACE operates with multiple divisions; besides distribution for the professional AV and MI market, it has a dedicated project and integration division

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44 SOLUTIONS: ELISABETH CENTRE ANTWERP Media Matrix NION, all equipped with Dante networking cards. Processed by the Powersoft ArmonĂ­a software platform, it allowed a complex set-up to be integrated with a userfriendly interface. In the different congress spaces and the general paging system, Martin Audio CDD5 and CDD8 in combination with C4.8T and C6.8T ceiling speakers are used as the main audio system, which are also ampliďŹ ed

by Ottocanali and processed by a MediaMatrix NION set-up.

The hall is equipped with an IEC-approved Ampetronic hearing loop system. Users hear reduced levels of background noise, competing sounds, reverberation and other acoustic distortions that reduce clarity.

All audio equipment is combined in one huge Dante network, which controls and connects all digital audio signals for the main system as well as all other zones in the building.

House lights For the venue lighting, ďŹ xed stage and house lights as well as the work lighting in the building were provided and installed in cooperation with architectural lighting manufacturer ETC. A total of 520 dimmer channels for the production lights were installed, all with ETC Sensor3 racks

and modules and the option to use all channels for dimming or switching.

To operate and control the system, FACE installed an ETC Gio console for show control and a complete Paradigm network with more than 60 control points and touchscreens for building control management.

The hall has 90 ďŹ xed Source Four PARs as house lights, 60 Source Four Fresnel and 30 Source Four ProďŹ le 10° and 14° ďŹ xtures all built in. Additionally, FACE installed the GDS BluesSystem as dimmable working lights for backstage, corridors, stairways, grid area and ying rooms. The technicians of the visiting crew can easily manage the lighting ďŹ xtures due to the presets of the Paradigm.

Connectivity solutions In addition to the sound and lighting infrastructure, a new ASL Flexus digital intercom system was deployed for all communication. With 16 wired beltpacks and a coupled wireless Clear-Com Freespeak, all productions will experience the benefits of the in-house communication system. A custom-designed Stage Manager Console of GDS operates as the master control for all communication.

March 2017

FACE installed over 100km of audio and lighting cable in the main venue alone, for reliable connection between all systems. The network consists of fibre and Cat6 Ethernet cabling for the audio network, cue lights, DMX and intercom to ensure the installation is future-proof.

Kemland concludes: “It was a challenge, pleasure and honour for myself, our project manager Stijn Vermeiren on site for more than 12 months, and our complete project team, to arrange this complete installation, what’s probably one of the most complex infrastructures that we have somewhere in Belgium. More than 1,000 working days and more than 1,500 drawings and plans made the concept to the result that we can see today.

Yes, we are tired but more than proud!�

www.ampetronic.co www.asl-inter.com www.clearcom.com www.etcconnect.com www.face.be www.gds.uk.com www.martin-audio.com www.peaveycommercialaudio.com www.powersoft-audio.com www.renkus-heinz.com

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46 SOLUTIONS: AUSTRALIA ZOO, BEERWAH, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA

March 2017

Installed Audio Ashly nX8002 amplifier Cloud CX261 single-zone mixer Inter-M CD-6208 CD/media player SoundTube SM590i-II-WX speakers SoundTube XT850-SS speakers Maximum SPD250 speaker cable

About the integrator National Audio Systems is a leading Australian audio supplier, with a head office and main warehouse in Melbourne and offices in Sydney, risbane and Perth Its specialist divisions support markets in commercial audio, professional audio and AV Sectors covered include entertainment venues, broadcast, stadiums, retail, corporate, healthcare, hospitality, airports, law courts, banking, government and education

Safari so good Part of the vision of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, the African Savannah is a safari park where animals roam free. Designing and installing a PA system here posed some unusual challenges

L

ocated on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast, Australia Zoo is best known as the home of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.

But you’ll find more than just reptiles on the zoo’s extensive premises.

Irwin had a dream for Australia Zoo, which included the creation of an African safari park where guests could see animals roam together on open plains, just as they would in the wild.

This dream has been realised in the form of the African Savannah, now home to giraffes, rhinos, zebras and cheetahs.

The open-range African Savannah is a key attraction at Australia Zoo, and therefore the team wanted to enhance the visitor experience by adding authentic African background music throughout the guest viewing areas. AV and production manager Kris Berndt contacted Brendon McDonald at NAS for assistance in designing a PA system that would fit the bill.

Being a large space and entirely outdoors, the installation required a creative (and weatherproof) solution that would provide clear audio across the whole viewing area without detriment to aesthetics.

Initially, Berndt suggested IP-rated, outdoorfriendly music horns mounted on poles throughout the fenced area. However once

Brendon inspected the exhibit, he recommended SoundTube’s XT850-SS coaxial outdoor speakers, placed both in front of the fence and in the garden areas. This was for a few reasons: firstly, the 360° dispersion of the XT Series would mean greater coverage over the wide viewing area, and secondly, the weatherproof enclosure of the units would be far more discreet than horns on poles, while offering the superior sound of an 8in driver and 1in tweeter.

Undercover areas The three undercover viewing areas needed their own audio reinforcement. Here, McDonald specified SoundTube’s SM590i-II speakers in the ‘Weather Xtreme’ variant. These feature a duallayer hydrophobic material inside the speaker grille to keep water away from the drivers and internal electronics.

The SoundTube speakers are powered by a 1,600W Ashly nX8002 two-channel amplifier.

One channel supplies power to the XT850s in series, and the other takes care of the SM590iIIs. A Cloud CX261 single-zone mixer receives audio from an Inter-M CD-6208 multi-source media player and sends it to the amp.

Australia Zoo’s own audiovisual team managed the installation in consultation with NAS. As

part of this, they custom-painted the XT850SS speakers to blend inconspicuously with the surroundings, adding to the visual appeal of the finished project.

Installing an audio system at a zoo has a unique set of hurdles, one of which was acclimatising the giraffes to the sound. All told, it took the team one week to install – a commendable effort considering more than 350m of speaker cabling had to traverse fencing, concrete, garden beds, and climb three 6m-high gazebos.

Visitors to Australia Zoo’s African Savannah can now enjoy a fitting audio experience when visiting the African animals. The Australia Zoo crew couldn’t be happier with the final product. The SoundTube XT850s proved an excellent solution both visually and sonically for the area and the consistent coverage provided by the SM590i-II gazebo speakers, even in a crowd 10 rows deep, has impressed the zoo and its patrons.

Looking ahead, the zoo already has plans to utilise the system to run talks via wireless microphone from the centre gazebo. Chiayo’s WXLR product will likely be installed, with the base station situated in the amp rack and a Cat5 cable run to a close-range receiver placed in the gazebo.

A version of this story was first published in AV Asia Pacific magazine.

www.ashly.com www.cloud.co.uk www.inter-m.net www.maximum-inc.com www.nationalaudio.com.au http://soundtube.mseaudio.com

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48 SOLUTIONS IN BRIEF

March 2017

BELGIUM

University sets up ‘living labs’ Barco and Televic have collaborated with Belgium’s largest university, KU Leuven, to launch the TECOL project (Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Learning).

The three organisations have set up ‘living labs’ at the university’s Kortrijk campus to discover the impact of trends like flipped classrooms, peer reviewing, multi-site environments and virtual classrooms. Televic Education brought its digital media and classroom management software, while Barco contributed the weConnect Active Learning room solution. weConnect includes BYOD capability so students and teachers can share video, audio, applications and more on the pod displays or via the classroom projector. They are also able to access content, annotate it and store it locally on their devices. Support for polls, real-time feedback and silent questions stimulate interactive learning.

www.barco.com www.televic-conference.com/en

USA

360° curved LED lobby displays NanoLumens Nixel Series curved LED displays have been installed in the lobby of the newly built Ron Pearson Center in West Des Moines, a conference and event centre for Hy-Vee. Company officials decided to turn the building’s lobby into an 1,000sqm history pavilion, showing highlights from the employeeowned company’s 87-year story. The space includes six columns featuring display cases with historic items presented in 360°. The NanoLumens displays accommodate the tight curve of a 1.2m-diameter column, which were designed specifically to ensure the displays would fit.

As visitors tour the lobby they are taken through Hy-Vee’s history. The on-screen content is a two-hour loop of commercials and videos from the company’s past.

www.NanoLumens.com

AUSTRALIA

Community controls overspill at aerial adventure park Horder Communication Solutions has completed the installation of a Community loudspeaker system for the Mega Adventure Aerial Park in Adelaide, South Australia.

The project required a system to cover the 25m high open structure with maximum control of overspill, and John Horder approached Hills Audio Visual to assist with a design using Community R Series loudspeakers. The brief specified that the system must provide very high-quality music and speech uniformly

throughout all levels of the structure, with no spill to the north and south.

The R Series speakers were chosen to provide strong frequency response and SPL specifications as well as a well-controlled dispersion pattern. Additionally the loudspeakers met the requirement for all-weather capability in what is a marine environment.

www.communitypro.com

SOLUTIONS IN BRIEF 49

www.installation-international.com

UK

UAE

Royal Albert Hall bar gets sound upgrade

Immersive install for Dubai’s City Walk

White Light (WL) has designed and installed a new sound system at the Royal Albert Hall’s North Circle Bar, utilising K-array and Yamaha equipment to turn the area into a live music space.

The K-array KK102 Mark I passive speaker system provides specific vertical coverage to keep bounce and reflection to a minimum, while allowing greater horizontal dispersion. This is then supplemented by a K-array sub to provide a full-range system for spoken word up to full live band amplification.

WL also drew on the Yamaha TF1 mixer to control all live elements within the space, coupled with a WiFi access point to allow for iPad operation.

Multidisciplinary studio Float4 has worked with integrator XYZ Cultural Technology on an installation along Dubai’s City Walk, said to be the world’s largest multimedia experience within a retail setting.

The project utililses 34 projectors, 300 lighting features, four motorised water screens and 30 LED screens – comprising 21 formats on a surface equal to 12 American football fields. All the elements are connected by automated communication systems and operate 24/7 in an arid outdoor environment. A total of 33 video servers sending 100 million pixels of digital content, 7km of fibre optics and 33km of video cable were used to bring the City Walk shows to life.

www.whitelight.ltd.uk

www.xyz-tc.com/en

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Save the Date Conference 14 – 18 September 2017 Exhibition 15 – 19 September 2017 RAI, Amsterdam

IBC2017

Where the entertainment, media and technology industry does business Join over 1,800 exhibitors showcasing the latest technological innovations, 400+ speakers delivering the latest industry insights and 55,000 attendees providing unlimited networking opportunities at IBC’s 50th annual conference and exhibition.

Add dates to your diary IBC.org/savethedate Follow us on social media for the latest news and updates #IBCShow

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TECHNOLOGY

Kit you need to know about

PRODUCT OF SiliconCore THE MONTH LISA

It’s… a new technology platform, which stands for LED In Silicon Array. The first prototype using LISA in a 1.9mm pixel pitch display was on show last month at ISE.

What’s new? SiliconCore claims the launch makes it the first LED display manufacturer to successfully implement Chip On Board (COB) manufacturing, which combines with its Common Cathode technology to create a highly innovative large-format display platform.

Details: LISA represents a significant departure from the usual surface mount diode (SMD) manufacturing process. The individual LEDs are directly bonded to the PCBs, removing the use of traditional SMDs on the board and making the module mechanically more robust and rigid, increasing its durability. SiliconCore’s unique process also brings significant visual benefits including improved colour uniformity and reduced colour shift to maintain performance throughout the product lifetime.

LISA will be the future of SiliconCore’s signature high-resolution applications including command and control, corporate, home theatre, and high-end retail applications.

It will enable the company to create a new wave in immersive LED displays with pixel pitches ranging up to 10mm and 8,000 nits brightness, opening up a variety of forms.

This innovation also opens up new avenues for market implementation, in OOH and outdoor applications, thanks to its robust design. It is suited to high-footfall public spaces without risk of damaging the pixels, and can also be used for touch applications without the need to apply a glass overlay for protection.

Eric Penot, COO of SiliconCore explains: “The LISA manufacturing method allows our engineers to work in precise levels of detail by streamlining the manufacturing process and improving the structural integrity of the module, ensuring pixels cannot be damaged during installation and throughout the product lifetime.

“This is the future of LED display creation

and will over time replace the industry norm of SMD. As an integrated silicon-based solution, economies of scale are expected to be reached, opening even larger opportunities for high-resolution LED displays in public spaces and high-quality solutions for corporate, retail and rental clients.”

SiliconCore’s Common Cathode technology further enhances the platform, managing power consumption and efficiency. The company has also continued with advancements in its own patented driver chip, which features a highspeed pixel clock to ensure visual performance without compromise by advancing the data bandwidth. This is said to be the highestperformance driver chip in the industry, with double the scan rate and a four-fold increase in processing speed, reducing the number of chips required per display by up to 75%.

Available: June 2017 www.silicon-core.com

52 TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS Arthur Holm DB2 This retractable monitor range, available in 17.3in and 21.5in, is designed to have minimal impact on tables and desks and be almost invisible when not in operation. DB2 is powered with a lowconsumption video controller and has a new Interactive Set-Up Display (ISD) 2.2in LCD. This allows local and remote configuration, operation and troubleshooting without having to remove the monitor from the furniture. The AHnet (RS-422) communication protocol has been updated and now includes the remote control of the monitor’s brightness, contrast and backlight. www.arthurholm.com

NEC Display Solutions InfinityBoard It’s… a videoconferencing and collaboration display solution.

What’s new? The InfinityBoard is based on UHD 65in and 84in large format displays with InGlass touch technology. It provides a paper-like touch performance using a passive precision pen. This allows users to be creative, with finger and pen differentiation allowing for intuitive touch, interactive writing and palm erasing.

Details: Designed for the modern meeting room

Extron TLP Pro 725T Extron’s TLP Pro 725T TouchLink Pro Touchpanel features a new quad-core processor and eight times more memory feeding the 7in, 1024x600 high-resolution capacitive touchscreen. The enhanced touchscreen is fitted with scratch- and smudge-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass.

The performance enhancements offer an improved user experience, while providing ample memory and processing power to support new features and capabilities in the future via firmware updates. www.extron.com Ecler IW103 The IW103 is an in-wall/ in-ceiling loudspeaker suited to a wide range of applications in corporate environments, meeting and conference rooms, and leisure centres. It features a rectangular and discreet design, and includes a high-impedance transformer unit with 15W and 30W power selections at 100V line level. www.ecler.com

and new collaborative working styles, the UHD solution offers high-quality visual performance even when users are in close proximity.

The InfinityBoard is designed to enhance efficiency and productivity in interactive workspaces and huddle rooms. It is suitable for videoconferencing, creative brainstorming, presenting and reviewing.

The large surface allows users to create, annotate and present on an infinite canvas with

PacketAV Duet brings Dante to video, allowing AV professionals to route video using Dante Controller. The Duet Encoder and Decoder delivers lossless, low-latency 4K UHD video and Dante over Gigabit Ethernet, bypassing the constraints of traditional matrix switch systems by harnessing the flexibility and scalability of converged IP networks.

Installation is straightforward, with no need for proprietary components or 10GbE switches. www.vsicam.com

the ability to import and export content thanks to the supplied whiteboard application. Using NEC’s MultiPresenter function, the solution also supports BYOD initiatives, enabling users to wirelessly stream what’s on their phones, tablets or notebooks.

Available: The initial rollout will start in DACH, the UK and the Nordics from May 2017, with the EMEA-wide rollout continuing from September 2017 onwards. www.nec-display-solutions.com

d&b audiotechnik Peavey MediaMatrix plug-in It’s… a new amplifier plug-in for the Peavey MediaMatrix NION DSP and nControl PC.

What’s new? It makes a complete d&b sound reinforcement system accessible via any MediaMatrix control method, and completely interoperable with the MediaMatrix networking approach.

Details: Integration with MediaMatrix

Visionary Solutions PacketAV Duet

March 2017

allows system designers to achieve d&b sound quality in installation applications that require customised remote control features. The complete system is designed and managed via PC with the MediaMatrix NWare software, and then accessed and controlled wirelessly with any smart device supporting HTML5 via the Kiosk2Go remote control platform. The system can also be controlled using wall panels, touchscreen devices and GPIOs. The new d&b amplifier plug-in for MediaMatrix provides control parameters to adjust the mute status, levels, power on/off, and alter the

AmpPreset. This enables the complete system to be configured as an intelligible system for speech reproduction, and, via a simple button, reconfigured for full program material.

Critical status information can be monitored, ensuring the same is suitable as a PA-VA system in an emergency situation. MediaMatrix logs all audio connections to amplifiers, and the operating state of connected loudspeakers.

Available: Now www.dbaudio.com

54 TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE

March 2017

Motorised mounts and furniture The latest mounts and furniture releases that include a motorised component illustrate how manufacturers are acting to accommodate larger, heavier displays, while ensuring user comfort, writes Duncan Proctor

Loxit extends mount versatility The Electric Hi-Lo Screen Lift 750 LED/LCD Wall Mount provides 750mm height adjustment for screens up to 90in and 130kg.

This electric height adjustment means all users are able to access or view screens, including young people and wheelchair users. The electrically driven height adjustment means there are no heavy counterbalances and its lightweight design ensures it is easy to move.

The mount has a high load capacity that allows large screens to be lifted with ease, and universal screen mount brackets allow all makes and models of screen to be mounted on the lift.

Thanks to the simple design and finish, the product can blend into a wide variety of environments. The Easy Install Kit ensures quick and easy installation and the leg extension option takes the weight to the floor and off the wall. It

Vogel’s supports interactivity The PFTE 7121 touchtable with motorised mount from Vogel’s was launched at ISE 2017 and aims to take advantage of the significant growth seen in the touchscreen

can be located very close to the wall; however, if this is not possible, brackets are available to extend the distance from the wall.

Other features include user-configurable maximum and minimum height limiters and an optional anti-crush bar for added safety. The experience can be enhanced with soundbar, Apple TV/Intel NUC mounts, and a VC camera mount.

www.loxit.com

TeamMate delivers fully mobile solution The VariHite Screen Stand is specially designed to lift and lower heavy screens (up to 135kg), as well as manoeuvre them through doorways at the touch of a button. It can handle VESA-compatible displays ranging from 300 x 200mm up to 1,200 x 600mm – including both 55in and 84in versions of the

market.

Adding a motorised mount and lockable cabinet improves security and flexibility and allows the screen to be positioned in an ergonomic position using the high-quality lift and tilt actuators. The cabinet can store a computer, media player and cables, and there is also space to hide cables and power sockets.

The PFTE 7121 supports interactivity in a variety of applications due to its height and tilt adjustment. The touchscreen can be positioned upright for presentations, or completely flat to provide an immersive surface for users to draw and interact with the content.

Microsoft Surface Hub – and utilises heavyduty castors and a robust base.

Aimed at education and corporate spaces, the VariHite Screen Stand has an 8U 19in x150mm deep rack; this can be extended to 350mm deep with the rack extension module.

There are also upper storage compartments which can house a power bar module for charging a laptop if required; both the lower and upper compartments are connected by a cable management chain. enabling complete cable control.

The height adjustment feature enables users to work ergonomically, and the contemporary white and black finishes ensure it blends in with any space.

Additionally, cables can be discreetly hidden, and all storage compartments can be accessed with a key.

www.teammateworld.com

www.vogels.com

TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE 55

www.installation-international.com

Lightweight automation from Chief

A lightweight automated projector lift, the SL220 SMART-LIFT provides smooth and quiet movement in suspended ceiling applications in homes and corporate offices. Weight capacity is up to 30lb (13.6kg).

Designed to fit 600mm x 600mm suspended ceiling systems, the SL220 is is constructed from lightweight aircraft-grade aluminium. It is said to make installations up to 10 times faster than conventional lifts: just suspend the frame with WireVice cables, snap the housing into the frame and attach the cradle. It requires only one person and a ladder to install, eliminating the need for a floor lift.

The SL220 moves the projector into show or concealed position quickly and quietly and is compatible with Chief RPA, RPMx, RSA and RSMx

custom and universal projector mounts.

There are also a number of control options for the user to choose from, including a single momentary push-button, low-voltage controller and IR options. It also accepts 5-30V AC/DC for triggering commands, and is AMX/ Crestron control compatible.

www.chiefmfg.com

Unicol provides large format lifting The Rhobus PowaLift is a newly launched update of the Rhobus trolley for the boardroom and classroom, available in black, silver or white.

This PowaLift version has a slim form factor, but enables the user to lift and lower large format displays of 70-110in up to 150kg.

Operated by manual cord switch, wireless remote or laptop via USB, the linear actuator lifting unit is controlled by a custom controller.

Particularly suited to education environments, the Rhobus PowaLift can also be used by young children and wheelchair users. The ‘touch of a button’ height control also makes it easy to move from one location to another through doorways.

Accessories such as videoconferencing mounts can turn the unit into a collaborative teaching aid or office communications hub.

Twin 70in screens can also be accommodated, with specialised blade videoconferencing mounts available to place cameras between the screens.

www.unicol.com

ILS prioritises user comfort The Synergy IM Presenter lectern from Intelligent Lectern Systems offers advanced height adjustment to align the lower edge of the lectern with the user’s elbow for natural writing and comfort.

Designed for high-end boardrooms, showrooms and prestigious events, the Synergy IM uses the same 10-point multi-touch technology as the previous ILS22 generation.

The touch surface is a single 70x50cm sheet of 5mm-thick safety glass.

The Synergy IM uses Windows 10 Pro to provide integration between the main screen and the 10in control panel. The keyboard is fully customisable, with the ILS Control Software able to display virtually any keyboard layout.

It also comes with a Blu-ray Disc writer/player, Intel i7-6700T Core i5, solid-state drive and KVM/5x3 HDMI matrix switcher.

www.intelligentlecterns.com

56 TECHNOLOGY: DEMO OF THE MONTH

March 2017

Nureva Span Paddy Baker gets an ISE demo of an unusual projection-based system that looks to improve on the experience of paper-based collaboration – plus a clever array-based microphone that can work with it

A

t ISE 2017, Darren Zwack, VP marketing at Nureva, gave me a demo of the company’s Span visual collaboration system. This was launched last year in a 720p version, but this ISE saw the company bring out a 1080p version, the WM307i.

Span uses between one and four short-throw solid-state projectors, connected to a usersupplied PC, to make a wall interactive. The new WM307i model can produce an image 7ft (2.1m) wide, while the widescreen WM210i can fill a space just over 10ft (3.1m) wide. These can be arranged in a straight line or around one or more corners in a room. With Span, the wall becomes the collaboration surface.

Span is designed specifically to replicate the processes around paper-based collaboration – the world of brainstorming around flipcharts and sticky notes. By bringing up on-screen menus, users can pull in images and photos, sketch or annotate with a pen or a finger, and create and type text boxes (containing up to 2,000 characters, and can be resized and coloured) or sticky notes (10 different colours are available).

Cloud-based You don’t have to be standing at the wall to join the group – because the system is cloud-based, it also allows collaboration via devices. The ISE stand featured a bank of touchscreens, which

represented either input from other people in the room, or from people working remotely. In the latter case, the new ‘quick-share’ feature comes into play: from any web-enabled device, remote participants visit a URL and enter an access code and can add comments via sticky note or pull in photographs from their device. All content is displayed live, so remote participants see exactly the same canvas, updated in real-time.

At the end of the session, the canvas can be exported and saved as a PDF or Excel file.

A mobile version, the MC306i, was also launched at ISE 2017. This consists of a Span system housed in a wheeled cart. This is set up so that when it is pushed against a wall, the on-board projector produces a focused image 1.88m (6ft 2in) wide. Two or three carts can be combined to provide a seamless surface of twice or three times the width.

Be heard from anywhere Also making its European debut at ISE was Nureva’s HDL300 audio system. Although separate from Span it could well prove a useful companion to it. The HDL300 is an array microphone that mounts on a wall and provides even coverage of a room up to 20ft (6m) square.

Units can be combined to cover larger spaces.

The array uses a patent-pending technology

called Microphone Mist to flood the space with over 8,192 virtual microphones. So regardless of where you’re standing, or which direction you’re facing, it will pick up your voice. On the stand, I donned a pair of headphones and listened to a demo from a remote location equipped with an HDL3000. Here a woman walked around the space, raised and lowered her voice and turned around, and was clearly audible the whole time.

As Zwack pointed out, not having to worry about whether you’re close enough to a microphone to be heard makes for a much more natural collaboration experience.

The different Span systems are shipping now, while the HDL300 ships in April.

www.nureva.com

PLANYOUR MONTH AHEAD

Our pick of what to visit, read and learn this month takes in industry events in Frankfurt and London, connected health and wearbles, and wireless networking

PICK OF THE MONTH

Prolight + Sound LEARN

of companies will jointly show technologies that reduce on-stage noise to a minimum – helping to improve both musicians’ performances and the overall mix.

READ

running from the Wednesday). As last year, the show is located in the low-numbered halls at the eastern end of the complex. An innovation for 2017 is the ‘Silent Stage’, where a number

ATTEND

A well-established event on the event and AV media technology calendar, Prolight + Sound returns to Frankfurt Messe on Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 April (with the co-located Musikmessse

Reflex AV Tech Day

Connected Health: Improving Care, Safety, and Efficiency with Wearables and IoT Solution

Wireless Residential Networking

Billed as the UK’s largest AV integrator event, Reflex AV Tech Day, which takes place in north London’s Business Design Centre on Tuesday 14 March, promises more than 45 exhibitors and 200 of the latest AV/IT products for today’s evolving learning and workspace environments, along with interactive seminars and demos. www.reflex.co.uk/td17

Connected Health promises to stir foundational shifts in healthcare quality and delivery. This book explores the scope and trajectory of the Connected Health ecosystem through expert commentary and selected case studies.

This one-day course (Leeds, 22 March), the third in CEDIA’s Networking School, aims to provide insight into the tech behind wireless and RF transmission as a physical layer in the OSI model. The course compares physical layer types and explores the behaviours of RF considering data speed, frequency and coverage. www.cedia.co.uk/cda_trainingcourses.php

AdderLink I N F I N I T Y Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2014 Innovation 2014

Meet us at CCW - Booth Meet 2015 us at ISE 2017 949 Amsterdam - Stand: 10-P122

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Award Winning Award Winning AdderLink I N F I N I T Y