Issue 170 / August 2014
AV INTEGRATION IN A NETWORKED WORLD
Who’s responsible?
www.installation-international.com
Our survey reveals EN54 confusion p32
Grand designs How architects keep up with new tech p36
Brand touch points How GSK uses AV to study shopper behaviour p50
EXPLORING NEW WORLDS Opportunities for integrators in visitor attractions p26
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Editor’s comment hat’s this? Yes, Installation has a new look – but more than that, we’ve revisited just about every part of the magazine to make it more relevant to you. First, the pages are slightly smaller: this makes the magazine more portable, and also requires less zooming in and out by digital edition readers. We’ve also gone for a livelier, more modern design – more, we hope, like the magazines you see on a newsstand. And with our news coverage having migrated to our website, we now begin the magazine with Update – a more visual, less wordy take on recent events. Incidentally, speaking of news, we are launching a daily newsletter this month – watch your inbox for more information.
W
Paddy Baker, Editor paddy.baker@intentmedia.co.uk
‘We’ve revisited just about every part of the magazine to make it more relevant to you’ There’s an expanded opinion section, which gives a mixture of installation guidance, a peek into future technologies and viewpoints from industry personalities. (If you would like to contribute a piece under any of these headings, please let me know.) We’ve also grown the data section, and moved our country surveys here. These are now slanted more to the challenges that integrators face in each country, and the changes they are making to how they run their businesses. We’ve changed the approach in our features section too: from here on in we’ll be running more features with a focus on the business opportunities for integrators in a given market sector or technology area. Also, this month I’m excited about our voice alarm feature, based around an Installation survey; this highlights the very real confusion over EN54 parts 16 and 24 and calls into question whether these are even fit for purpose – which, remember, is to save lives in the event of a fire. Finally, our solutions articles continue to cover major installation projects in depth. This month we cover GlaxoSmithKline’s Shopper Science Lab, an InstallAward-winning facility that uses AV technology to understand shopper behaviour to a mind-boggling level of detail – and a project to which I was given access from a very early stage. We’ve put a lot of work into our new look. Please let me know what you think – what you like, what you don’t like, and any other areas you’d like us to explore.
Subscriptions to Installation are free to qualified readers. Register online at www.installation-international.com/subscribe
Installation is published 12 times a year by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LR, England Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Circulation & subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 Email: installation.subscriptions@c-cms.com
Editor: Paddy Baker paddy.baker@intentmedia.co.uk
US sales – Executive vice president: Adam Goldstein agoldstein@nbmedia.com
Managing editor: Joanne Ruddock jo.ruddock@intentmedia.co.uk
Production manager: Evan Graham evan.graham@intentmedia.co.uk
Deputy editor: James McGrath james.mcgrath@intentmedia.co.uk
Digital content manager: Tim Frost tim.frost@intentmedia.co.uk
Designer: Jat Garcha jat.garcha@intentmedia.co.uk
Publisher: Steve Connolly
Designer: Tom Carpenter tom.carpenter@intentmedia.co.uk
Contributors: David Davies, Chris Fulton, Rob Lane, Ian McMurray, Steve Montgomery, Robert Simpson
Account manager: Peter McCarthy peter.mccarthy@intentmedia.co.uk
Special thanks: Serkan Güner, Roland Hemming, Duncan Howie, Blair Parkin
© Intent Media 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners. Printed by Pensord Press, Wales
Print ISSN: 2050-6104
Online ISSN: 2052-2401
Cover image: Holovis’ MotionDome
Intent Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association
A sister title to SCN
04 CONTENTS August 2014
26
News & Data 6 10 20
24
Update Appointments Industry Data Cloud-based home management market set for rapid growth Regional Voices: Ireland
People 12
18
Features
Opinion On the Agenda: Bob Simpson On the Horizon: Rob Lane Life Lessons: Chris Fulton Interview Dirk Hendrickx, Barco
26
36
32
36
Visitor attractions: How do integrators succeed in this challenging market? Voice alarm systems: Our major new survey reveals much confusion around the EN54 standard Technology for architects: How are architects keeping abreast of new AV technologies?
Show Preview 40
Technology 42 46 48
Solutions
New Products Demo of the Month DisplayMapper and MirrorBox Showcase Projection screens
42
50
54
56
GSK Shopper Science Lab AV technology assists in understanding consumer behaviour Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge Experiencing a technology refresh Renault CAVE, Paris Virtual reality moves up a gear
InstallMarket
50
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06 UPDATE August 2014
Games run on Riedel Riedel Communications has supplied all radio communications equipment and services for the XX Commonwealth Games, which run from 23 July to 3 August in Glasgow. As Official Radio Communications Partner, the company has provided all radio handsets and radio communication accessories – including around 7,500 radios – used in the lead-up to and during the Games, along with a terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) digital network and a Motorola MOTOTRBO digital radio repeater system. The system extends not only across Glasgow but also to other cities, including Dundee and Edinburgh – a total of 14 venues, including Hampden Park (pictured) are hosting 17 different sporting events. In addition, it has supported the Queen’s Baton Relay around Scotland, and is being used for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as wideranging outdoor events including the marathon and road cycle races. Describing the set-up at Hampden Park, Olaf Friedrich, technical manager for Riedel, said: “We have 20 logical channels at the base station: one channel is always dedicated as the ‘control channel’, so 19 conversations can be held at the same time. All the base stations are connected together over the Games Data Network to a Motorola Dimetra IP Compact master site – a highly redundant server system that controls all the data from and to the base stations.” Friedrich explained how the radios work in practice: “Each user’s radio is switched to a dedicated channel for their user group. When a user presses the push-to-talk button, this sends out at GSSI ID for the talk group: when other radios in the group detect this ID, they switch to the group’s dedicated channel – so every radio that has this group selected will replay the digitally transmitted audio.” www.riedel.net
UPDATE 07
August 2014
New Partners ACT Lighting is now the exclusive distributor for all Robert Juliat products in the US. The RJ USA Wallingford office will remain operational until the end of the year, but ACT will manage all sales and customer service issues going forward. www.actlighting.com www.robertjuliat.com
Arlandastad-based Standard Audio will now serve as the exclusive distribution partner of Symetrix in Sweden and will spearhead sales for products including Jupiter and SymNet. www.standardaudio.se www.symetrix.co
Video Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Imago Group, has announced that Exactive, the Dunfermlineheadquartered unified communications integrator, is the latest company to be awarded Crestron RL Authorised Partner status in the UK. www.crestron.com/rl www.exactive.co.uk www.imagogroupplc.com
Pro Audio Technology has appointed ByDesign Vision and Sound Marketing as a regional rep partner in California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. ByDesign is the creation of former vice president global sales for Stewart Filmscreen, Joaquin Rivera. www.proaudio technology.com
Talking with dinosaurs Designed by Waveguide Consulting and installed by Sound Image, the audio system inside the new Pavilion at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) features a host of Tannoy kit. Built as a venue for events and presentations, the Pavilion includes a pair of Tannoy QFlex 32 digitally steerable, multichannel arrays, two VLS 30 passive column arrays and five CMS 601DC Dual Concentric in-ceiling loudspeakers for reinforcement of speech and programme audio. Constructed almost entirely of 9ft x 11ft glass panes, the Pavilion is an extremely challenging acoustic space. The arrays were chosen to www.tannoy.com enable the sound to be controlled easily and effectively.
08 UPDATE August 2014
Olympic legacy Electrosonic has designed the AV system for the recently reopened Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The museum is now a greatly expanded, four-level venue spanning more than 32,000sqft and featuring over 1,000 objects and 150 screens. Highlights for visitors include The Olympic Torch exhibit and the Historical Timeline. The torch display includes an array of torches interpreted by six 22in Iiyama touchscreens, a Panasonic projection of the lighting of the Olympic flame www.electrosonic.com
on a screen that can be viewed from front or back, and a stylised projection of flames dancing on the floor, which is part of the exhibit lighting. The timeline uses five Panasonic projectors to produce one very long image of a ‘library’ the volumes of which relate to specific Olympic Games. Five small interactive podiums enable visitors to open up a volume of their choice and see a compilation of images from that year’s Games play out across parts of the timeline.
The new Blackmagic Studio Camera has optical fiber, talkback, tally and massive 10” viewfinder! The Blackmagic Studio Camera is the world’s most advanced broadcast camera for live, multi camera production! It features an incredibly tough, lightweight machined magnesium design with a massive 10” viewfinder, 4 hour battery, talkback, tally indicators, phantom powered microphone ports and built in optical fiber and SDI connections. That’s a fully self contained, broadcast grade, live camera solution! Full Size HD Viewfinder The Blackmagic Studio Camera includes the world’s largest viewfinder built in! The massive 10” high resolution screen has a super wide viewing angle and extremely high brightness so you can see your images with amazing detail even in bright daylight! This professional grade viewfinder makes it easy to frame, focus, change iris settings and make subtle adjustments with full confidence even when you’re live on air! Optical Fiber and 6G-SDI Connections Connect Blackmagic Studio Camera to your live production switcher with optical fiber cables connected to the built in fiber port or use regular 6G-SDI BNC video cables! The video connections are bi-directional and carry HD or Ultra HD video with talkback, tally, embedded audio and even camera remote control. With standard, low cost fiber optic cable, you can connect to your cameras over massive distances!
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Talkback and Tally The Blackmagic Studio Camera features built in talkback using general aviation headsets, so you get better noise cancelling and comfort at a much lower cost! You also get built-in tally lights that illuminate automatically when your camera is live so your cast and crew can easily see which cameras are on air! Talkback and tally signals are embedded in the return video connection to the camera, so you don’t have to run separate cables! Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount The active Micro Four Thirds lens mount is compatible with an incredibly wide range of lenses and adapters. You can use your existing photo lenses for smaller setups and fixed camera use, or connect incredible broadcast ENG lenses via a B4 lens adapter. You can even use third party adapters for high end feature film PL mount lenses, so it’s easy to customize your camera to suit any sized production!
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10 APPOINTMENTS August 2014
Yamaha Commercial Audio
Adlib Mike Docksey
New UK team announced
is the new general manager at Adlib. He has been charged with overseeing the company’s lighting and AV divisions. Prior to this he spent nine years at HSL. www.adlib.co.uk
Following a period of reorganisation at Yamaha Commercial Audio’s UK operation, the company has announced its new sales and technical support team
M
ixing long-term experience with new blood, the team at Yamaha Commercial Audio UK is now headed by Robert Webster, the company’s new divisional director, who has been with Yamaha for 30 years. He will work closely with Karl Christmas, who now occupies the position of sales & marketing manager for the UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, Northern and Southern regional sales will be handled by two new additions to the team. Covering the north of the UK, Stuart McKay (pictured) joins from Audio-Technica Distribution, where he has been a specialist in Allen & Heath for a number of years. He takes over from Steve
d&b audiotechnik
Williamson, who is moving to a new position in Yamaha’s Pro Music division. Having been with Yamaha for five years, Terry Murphy has been appointed to the position of Southern UK and Republic of Ireland Sales Representative. Elsewhere, Commercial Audio specialist Wayne Powell continues to provide technical pre-sales support, enduser training and system commissioning, while Dave Dine moves into a new role of post-sales technical support. Finally, Stephanie Halstead is joined by Max Parish in providing administrative and logistical support to the sales and technical team.
www.yamahaproaudio.com
Midwich
New CEO for d&b
Management team strengthened
The newly created position is taken by Amnon Harman
Jon Dew-Stanley joins as director of solutions sales
Loudspeaker system manufacturer d&b audiotechnik has appointed Amnon Harman to the position of CEO. In this new position, Harman will drive the success of the company, taking responsibility for the further development and implementation of the company strategy. Prior to joining d&b, Harman was an independent consultant. From 2006 to 2012 he served as chairman of the management board of AUGUSTA Technologie, an international technology company focused on niche markets for optical sensor technology and digital image processing. Previously, he was a member of the management board and COO at SUSE Linux.
Midwich has announced the appointment of Jon Dew-Stanley as director of solution sales. He brings a wealth of AV management experience to Midwich, having been director of Polar Audio for the past 13 years. During that spell, he was both technical director and sales director, bringing commercial and technical design experience to the Midwich group. On the appointment, Iain Campbell, sales director at Midwich, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jon to Midwich in what is an important new role to the business. Jon brings many years of experience and an unrivalled expertise in his field. Coming from a background in commercial audio, he is well known throughout the industry – having strong contacts at all levels.”
Bluman Associates Simon Hudson has joined Bluman Associates as project manager. His role will see him providing dedicated support to Bluman’s clients, from initial quotes to creative design and onsite technical implementation. Hudson joins following 10 years as a freelancer, during which time he worked for many of the established event agencies as well as on some of Bluman’s largest and most prestigious projects. www.blumanassociates.com
Lawo Ralf Schimmel has been named director of global sales at Lawo. In his new post, he is responsible for the strategic orientation and co-ordination of worldwide sales activities for all products, systems and solutions from the Lawo Group of companies. Prior to joining Lawo, Schimmel was chairman of the board at a system integration and a service company. He has also previously worked as a sales director for many years. www.lawo.com
Reflex
www.dbaudio.com
www.midwich.com
Helen Flynn and Graham Kirkpatrick are the latest additions to the Reflex team. Flynn has joined as business development manager while Kirkpatrick takes the technical team to six strong. Flynn brings a wealth of experience in AV having run the videoconferencing team at Rocom Telecommunications and previously spent six years at Computacenter in the AV division. Kirkpatrick rejoins the company as a technical sales manager, after a period of six years. He has 13 years’ experience in the AV industry, in sales and technical roles. www.reflex.co.uk
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12 OPINION: ON THE AGENDA
August 2014
Bob Simpson How to avoid visible pixels A simple formula dictates minimum viewing distance for a given pixel pitch if individual pixels aren’t to be seen
S
alesmen always like a metric: for example in the case of projectors the lumen has been the favourite competition unit. Recently, however, a new front has opened for displays in general – that of pixel pitch. Apple was the first company to promote this with its Retina displays for its handheld devices, touted as having ‘329 pixels per inch (ppi)’. What is the significance of this figure? Apart from the obvious point that a display with more pixels can convey better image detail, its significance is actually related to visual acuity. This is the ability of the ‘average’ human eye to resolve detail, found to be the ability to resolve features subtending an angle of one minute of arc (one sixtieth of a degree). Ideally a viewer should not be able to see the individual pixels in a display, so, as a starting rule of thumb, individual pixels should not subtend more than a minute of arc at the intended viewing distance. The diagram below shows the principle. If it is applied to 329ppi, a viewing distance of 26cm is the minimum. In the handheld market, vendors
LG promoted big UHD LCD displays at ISE 2014 – as did other companies, including arch rival Samsung
are now offering products with nearly 500ppi. Is there any point in doing this? There are people with higher than ‘normal’ acuity and everyone has a ‘vernier acuity’ which in practice means that higher resolution displays appear subjectively better. Recently a team at Sharp Laboratories
This figure relates pixel width to viewing distance. If angle Į is one minute of arc (=0.000291 radians), then D is the distance at which a pixel of width w can be resolved
in Oxford concluded that, for a viewing distance of 30cm, a majority of viewers could tell the difference between displays of 339 and 508ppi, and many saw an improvement at 1016ppi. The formula in the diagram also applies to large displays, whether flat panel or projected image. A 50in HDTV set has pixels of 0.57mm width, implying a minimum viewing distance of 1.96m. A ‘2K’ projected image of 10m width in the cinema has pixels as large as 5mm, which implies a minimum viewing distance of 17m; however for many applications the theoretical minima can be halved, especially when moving images are involved. The advent of big LCDs is encouraging higher resolutions, for example a 95in LCD with an image size of 2096mm × 1179mm showing an ‘HD’ image 1920 pixels wide has a theoretical minimum viewing distance of 3.75m. However
OPINION: ON THE AGENDA 13
August 2014
Type of display 17in computer 30in medical display 50inch HDTV 2.5m computer SXGA+ projected image 10m cinema 1:85:1 projected image 2K 10m cinema 1.85:1 projected image 4K
Display width 335mm 654mm 1106mm
Horizontal pixels 1400 3280 1920
Approx pixel size 0.24mm 0.2mm 0.57mm
Minimum viewing* 0.8m 0.68m 1.96m
2.5m
1400
1.8mm
6.1m
10m
1998
5mm
17m
10m
3996
2.5mm
8.6m
The table shows minimum viewing distances, based on the ‘one minute’ rule for various kinds of displays *In practice these distances may be halved
Pixel pitch 1.9mm 2.5mm 4.0mm 6.0mm
Theoretical minimum viewing distance 6.5m 8.6m 13.7m 20.6m
Practical minimum viewing distance 2-3m 3-4m 4-6m 6-10m
A guide to viewing distances for LED displays
there are many applications involving close viewing and/or high information content where users require a shorter viewing distance. Here ‘4K’ (or in practice UHD, 3840 pixels wide) comes in to play, with both greater information content
and half the viewing distance (1.8m) without visible pixels. While 4K LCDs are more expensive than 2K displays of the same size, the price differential will quickly narrow, for two reasons. Not only
are manufacturers turning out 4K panels at a fantastic rate, but they have perfected their processes to the extent that changing from 2K to 4K can be likened to changing a font size in printing. High-brightness LED displays have primarily been associated with sports grounds and similar venues. However the emergence of highresolution displays with pixel pitches down to 1.5mm (with lower coming) is opening up a lot of new applications. The most exciting applications are in architectural schemes where the displays become part of the environment instead of being ‘tacked on’. A good example here is the Tom Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) – the spaces are big enough that 6mm pitch LED is fine. However the fine-pitch products are likely to find application in traditional markets – it is significant that at InfoComm 2014 both eyevis and Leyard were showing LED videowalls in control room applications. In conclusion, users can have images of any size they want, but quite apart from the demands of the image content, the pixel size rule must be followed to avoid visible pixels. Robert Simpson is founder director of Electrosonic.
14 OPINION: ON THE HORIZON August 2014
Rob Lane Virtually funded realities Crowdfunding is behind two interesting new tech start-ups
I
n today’s virtual-obsessed society, meeting someone for the first time is much more likely to be via email, LinkedIn or whatever social media is de rigueur this month. So it makes sense that the VR and AR tech that’s set to wow us over the next few months and years is funding itself virtually. One of the most recent virtual tech startups to kickstart into action is Control VR. Successfully funded on 5 July, after setting a goal of $250,000 on 5 June, the LA-based Control VR team raised $442,227 thanks to 1,161 backers, with notable investors including the LA Times, International Business Times, Forbes and engadget. With an optimistic delivery date of December of this year for the first 500 backers, Control VR hopes to take Oculus Rift to the next level by adding motion capture of hand and finger movement with an open source wearable gesture controller ‘to inspire creativity, learning and invention with virtual reality’ – a noble goal, you might say. Indeed, this LA-style generosity apparently extends to ‘building a brighter tomorrow’ by ‘changing the world’… No pressure then!
‘Let’s hope that the team’s 20 years of development ultimately gives us the “truly immersive” experience they’re promising’
But while this might be too utopian for the majority of us, Control VR certainly looks the part – if the reviews and videos available online are anything to go by. A $350 pledge bagged
backers a one-arm Control VR system with a seven-sensor glove, plus a one-sensor chest piece and an arm sensor – as well as 20 app demos and the Control VR open-source SDK; a $600 pledge guaranteed a two-arm system. While gaming – as a control interface for Oculus Rift – is the most obvious practical use (microsensors detect small changes in inertial track arms, hands and fingers), some have pointed out the potential benefits for virtual offices, with the system’s gloves operating a virtual keyboard, doing away with the need for hardware. Let’s hope that the 20 years of development the Control VR team invested ultimately gives us the ‘truly immersive’ experience they’re promising. And if it changes the world for the better, you won’t see me complaining. More AR than VR, another tech seeking virtual funding to ensure its success is Voxiebox, touted as the ‘world’s first holographic gaming system’ and widely reported as a Star Wars-esque, ‘let the Wookie win’, gaming solution. The brains behind the system, NYC-based Sean Kean, co-founder of VOXON, also seems keen on changing the world, if his LinkedIn page is to be believed (“I aim to make the world a better place”). Under development for more than five years, Voxiebox uses ‘custom voxel-based display hardware’ and a ‘volumetric graphics processor’ to generate points of light within a volume of space to create a ‘holographic experience in 360º without the need for goggles or 3D glasses’. Again, you can get a feel for the technology by checking out the videos online, although it doesn’t translate to vid as well as Control VR. Claimed to be the first volumetric entertainment system, Voxiebox
Control VR combines motion capture of hand and finger movement with an open source wearable gesture controller
uses a projector to shine a 2D image up to the viewing screen, creating a 3D effect by vibrating the screen up and down at a rate of 20Hz. Interestingly the shimmering effect is not unlike that visualised in the Dejarik chess game played by R2, Threepio and Chewie – although resolution is low, apparently due to the fact that Voxiebox is still in its development stages. While gaming is, again, the most obvious final destination for Voxiebox, some have suggested that motion sensors could widen its uses, as well as adding to its gaming skillsets, of course. (Indeed Sean Kean told me: “There is a strong interest in applying the technology for education.”) With Kickstarter-backed Oculus Riftfriendly devices setting out to bridge physical and virtual worlds (another, CastAR, hit $1million from a $400,000 goal last November) the VOXON team could do worse than add VR to their AR – and maybe look to change the world at the same time! Rob Lane is owner/director of PR/marketing agency Bigger Boat PR. www.controlvr.com www.hello.vxbx.net
www.dbaudio.com
The challenges remain consistent, but seldom appear independently. The d&b columns, however, are new and corrective; a unique combination of waveguides and damped ports create a cardioid pattern with a constant horizontal directivity of 90°, whilst the tight vertical dispersion tilts downwards in the low to mid range and is adjustable in the high frequencies. Handy for those who like to comprehend word for word in long, large, high, reverberant spaces with impediments to intelligibility. The d&b xC-Series: positions text clearly.
Parallel wall mounting
Extremely reverberant spaces Visual unobtrusiveness Large and high ceilings
+LJKO\ UHĂ HFWLYH VXUIDFHV Huge room volumes
16 OPINION: LIFE LESSONS August 2014
Chris Fulton Are they talking sense? Understanding people and working with integrity will serve you well
I
’ve spent my working life doing it for myself according to my own rules, abilities and foibles. However, even after 30 years doing this I’ve found that there are still things to learn and changes to make to the rules. In my early years a short career gigging as a guitarist, closely followed by one as a roadie, taught me that live music was a young man’s game. The late nights, long journeys, interesting food and other excesses required a particular ability; while it wasn’t for me, I understood what the roadies had to go through. Influenced, among other things, by my aching back and by my father, who understood business, I made up my mind to move career. The key here was to listen and take advice from lots of sources and fortunately I found something I was good at: computer programming. My experiences early on shaped how I look at people – not just on the surface, but to understand their world, the problems they live with and how they express themselves. Today I look past people’s origins, dress style, tattoos or money; when I talk to them, I ask myself: “Are they talking sense? Can I work with them with the least amount of hassle?” As Albert Einstein said: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” I’ve made mistakes, some of them serious, but thankfully I have learned from them. Once I met a project manager who I was about to start working with. He said: “This is the first project we have worked on, I’ve never had a project go wrong.” My better judgement failed and I said nothing to him, even though my inner self was in complete turmoil as I already knew that, given its size and scope, the project was going to have challenges.
‘One thing that continues to surprise me is the ‘shopping basket’ approach to buying AV products and services’
Working for myself gave me the freedom to choose what jobs I did and didn’t take on. For each of these I always took away some extra bit of information – not only how to solve problems technically, but how to deal with people during the process. Integrity was a key ingredient: be truthful with facts and figures, as either they will come back to bite you or you can use them to bite back! You don’t know what other people’s agendas are; they may be very good at hiding their dark side. I was always clear on the technical background when products, pricing and configurations were put forward. Time and time again, I would have people start by saying something was too expensive without being able to tell me what product or configuration they were comparing it against. So how did they know the price was too high? If they said there was no budget that meant no one would get paid, so why were they wasting time? What did this say about their credibility?
However, if they could name a budget then we had a common ground to continue talking, and in most cases the experience moved from supplier and client, to a more open partnership, to building lasting solutions and business relationships that extended beyond the initial project. One thing that continues to surprise me is the ‘shopping basket’ approach to buying AV products and services. Many projects and tenders require a breakdown of the components used; these are then compared using a quick Google search or a call to an alternate supplier. Who then takes the responsibility to make the solution work? In my circus, I’m the ringmaster and I control my monkeys. If you give me someone else’s monkeys, I have no idea what will happen to the show. Chris Fulton is CEO & founder of FUTURE Software. If you would like to share your life lessons, please email paddy.baker@intentmedia.co.uk
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18 INTERVIEW: DIRK HENDRICKX, BARCO August 2014
Network centric Barco’s vice president of strategic marketing talks to Paddy Baker about migrating AV equipment onto IT networks – and the associated advantages, implications and challenges What are the advantages of putting AV onto IT networks? The ultimate dream of large end users is to have a visual system that enables them to communicate faster and collaborate better. They want to get something from an IT channel, plug it into a network and power it up, and have their IT staff configure it. But today many AV infrastructures have different ‘flavours’ – even within the same corporation. Those flavours have been designed and redesigned, and they run on a very particular network – call it an AV network – which is not standardised. As a consequence if you want to combine visualisation over different sites you run into hurdles. On a panel at one of the first ISEs, I think it was in 2007, I was asked, will HD videoconferencing break the rules and be used everywhere? I said yes,
but only if the interface is as easy to use as a mobile phone. It’s to do with having the same look and feel everywhere. The only way you can do this is by making use of an existing IT infrastructure. This offers you several benefits. First, it’s already there, and second, if there is one infrastructure in a company that is heavily maintained, made secure and kept up to date, it’s the IT infrastructure.
Presumably this thinking goes wider than the corporate example you mention? Far wider. For instance in healthcare, inside a surgery room, some conditions dominate your choice of equipment. Previously there would be zillions of cables, matrix switchers and touchpanels. But they need to be able to clean this by spraying water everywhere. In our
Dirk Hendrickx – a brief biography Dirk Hendrickx joined Barco in 1997, as vice president/general manager, control rooms. He became vice president EMEA and vice president EMEAILA of Barco NV, rising to his current role of vice president strategic marketing industrial & government in 2013 Previous employers include Uniden, a wireless communication equipment manufacturer, and Philips Professional Systems He has a Masters degree in industrial engineering from KAHO in Ghent, and also studied strategic management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
healthcare division we’ve created a network-centric solution where the only thing you have is a network cable, and this could be wireless, where you can see everything under glass without touching it. All the applications, videos or analysis that you need are in front of you before you start the surgery.
‘The big opportunity for the AV world is to convince the whole user community that it makes a lot of sense to make proper use of AV’
Another example is inside control rooms. Traditionally people have worked with a big overview. But we see a migration towards the operators – they want to access any data anywhere, and they don’t want their workstations sitting under their desks. So we see a migration of those workstations into a server room – and they need to be able to access these in a network-centric way. Again, they will make use of standardised networks to assess, control and manage that data.
One point you made when we last spoke was that endpoints are becoming more commoditised and so AV expertise is
migrating towards networks, connections and communications. Where will that trend end? Ultimately it will end in software running, perhaps, on FPGAs that are decoding those specific AV signals. If you have zillions of AV cables or signals today, you could package them over an IT network – and then it’s about how you deploy
them, manage them and make them available. So ultimately you will have standardised hardware using hardware or software decoders (depending on the quality and latency that you want) to regenerate and recomposite images for whatever display there is.
But presumably there will still be real-world AV knowledge that
INTERVIEW: DIRK HENDRICKX, BARCO 19
August 2014
integrators need: How big should the videowall be? Where should we put it? You surprise me with these questions because most AV specialists haven’t asked them. But you’re right: it’s about ergonomics, what are you going to do with this, what kind of data do you want to see, how are you going to work with this, how is it going to affect your workflow? These questions are seldom asked by AV specialists and sometimes even consultants. It’s all about providing a display on which people can really work. In some cases you see people running displays that are too large, where they don’t really know what to do with all that resolution. In some ways it’s like building a house. A good architect shouldn’t ask you how many bedrooms you want – they should ask, how do you want to live? So that they can configure an environment in which you’ll feel good. We see similar mistakes in the AV world. When we ask those ‘challenging’ questions to end users, like ‘What are you going to do with it?’, some of them say, ‘What do you mean’? But that’s what it’s all about. It’s a secondary transition that the AV world had better try to make – seeing the purpose, seeing what kind of application the equipment will be used for. So are you saying that AV integrators should be thinking more like consultants? They at least should understand what the customer is trying to achieve with building an expensive infrastructure. For instance in control
rooms, there is the debate between super-narrow bezel LCDs or rearprojection cubes. Many people say they could live with the seams, but many of those control rooms are being used for 15 or 20 years, so you really need to consider what the best solution is. Once you’ve built an AV infrastructure, the cost of the AV part is often negligible versus the surrounding costs. The cost of maintaining the AV infrastructure is often not considered.
Is migration to the network a positive or negative change? The change is positive – there are so many opportunities for AV people, because many IT people don’t understand anything about AV. In some corporations IT is taking over the infrastructure responsibilities as well. In many cases, for small AV integration, you can see the IT department hesitating: should we take this on or leave it to the food and beverage department? I say food and beverage department because AV is seen as a consumable. The big opportunity for the AV world is to convince the whole user community that it makes a lot of sense to make proper use of AV. If I want to convince someone, I put together some PowerPoint slides and I lead the meeting, I lead the way of thinking. That’s what we have as an advantage in this industry, but we have to be careful that we don’t throw it away. That’s the threat, but the opportunity is there: make sure you combine visuals with multi-site collaboration, and you run
it over the IP infrastructure which is out there and under-used as of today. That’s also the big strategy of Barco: we have visualisation components; we are working heavily on collaboration – Clickshare is a nice example; and the next big pillar is network infrastructure components.
What do you see as the barriers to this change? This thing with networking is so logical that the only thing that could be hindering us is resilience
and resistance from integrators and fear from consultants. We are working with probably the largest AV consultant worldwide, and he said, “If I design something for a large corporation, it has to work for certain. With IT, I’m not too sure.” So what is happening right now is we need a proof of concept for the end-user. It’s per se less expensive – there’s no need to build a second infrastructure. But the capabilities… You build your network and expand it, in
terms of size and capability, as technology the evolves (and it evolves faster than any AV market, as the market is much larger). When I need to decode more show more, combine more, all I need do is add more standard hardware. As a consequence I’m buying something that is futureproof. If I need to change anything, I simply add applications. I grow with an ever growing and changing market.
www.barco.com
20 INDUSTRY DATA August 2014
Remote control The Cloud-based home management market is set for rapid growth, writes Steve Montgomery Cloud-based home management systems that allow users to remotely control household features such as energy management, HVAC control, home monitoring and lighting control are set to continue growing rapidly, with the installed base rising eightfold from 2013 to 2018. Research from IHS’ Smart Home Subscribers & Services Intelligence Service predicts there will be a global installed base of 45 million Cloud-based home management services by 2018. Smart home specialists including home automation providers, such
as Control4 or Savant Systems, and connected home specialists, such as Nest, Revolv or SmartThing, will account for the highest proportion of the market. However, other companies, including security providers, telecommunications and utilities are gaining market share, impacting the pricing models for provision of equipment and services. Device suppliers are expected to include the service within the upfront device cost. Service providers will generally require ongoing monthly fees, some charging up to $60 per month.
45 million Number of Cloud-based home management services in operation by 2018
www.ihs.com
Global smart home service installed base by fee band (%)
Global forecast: Cloud-based smart home installed base (000s)
100% 50,000 90%
45,000 40,000
80%
35,000 70%
30,000 25,000
60%
20,000 50% 15,000 40%
>$60
10,000 5,000
$46-$60
30%
$31-$45
20%
$16-$30 10%
>$15
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
One-off fee
0%
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Source: IHS
TECHNOLOGY. EXPERTISE. INFLUENCE.
PLASA London returns to ExCeL London from 5-8 October 2014. The show will welcome the biggest names in lighting, audio, video and stage technology - and thousands of visitors from around the globe - to the most vibrant city in the world. It’s an iconic setting for an exhibition that, over its 37 years, has been at the heart of the entertainment technology industry - its birth, growth and constant evolution. Register now and be part of it too!
See website for details: b
plasashow.com facebook.com/PlasaShow @plasashow
22 INDUSTRY DATA August 2014
Connecting the car The connected car opportunity is set to grow massively in the next few years, yielding major opportunities for in-car display equipment suppliers, app developers and service providers, reports Steve Montgomery Revenues from connected car telematics are expected to reach $20 billion by 2018, with additional ‘soft revenues’ generated from areas such as car servicing, ‘Big Data’ enabled by telematics, and enhanced customer service throughout the lifetime of the vehicle. That’s according to forecasts by Juniper Global Research. Meanwhile regulation in key markets, especially those in Europe and Latin America, will mandate the inclusion of SIMs in all new vehicles, allowing OEMs to develop revenue streams and resulting in split billing, creating major impact on the telematics industry. Services such as Apple’s in-vehicle offering CarPlay will stimulate smartphone integration into the vehicle, which will serve as a hub. In-car apps will become widespread in the next five years, even though most will be available free of charge. “Commercial and personal services will reach even further into the lives of professionals and consumers as data and applications are made available through in-car displays and smartphones,” says Anthony Cox, analyst at Juniper Research.
Revenues from consumer and commercial telemetrics (%) (total $20 billion by 2018) $0.2bn $0.2bn $0.4bn
www.juniperresearch.com
$8bn $2.6bn
$1.6bn $1.6bn
$5.4bn
North America
Far East & China
Latin America
Indian Subcontinent
Western Europe
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Central & Eastern Europe
Africa & Middle East
Telemetric stakeholders
Hardware
Vehicle Manufacturer
Chipset Supplier
Ford, General Motors, Audi, Volkswagon, Toyota, Scania, Mann Qualcomm, Intel, NXP, Telit
AT&T, Telefonica, Verizon, Vodafone Octo Telematics, Masternault, Telogis etc
Service and content
Network Operator
App Developer
Telematics Service Provider
Content Provider
Connectivity and service
E.g. Pandora, Aha, Here, Tom Tom, bespoke content/apps
Source: Juniper Research
270 million In-car apps in use by 2018
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24 DATA: REGIONAL VOICES
August 2014
IRELAND
4.1%
14 h, Q1 s20 t w o r g onomic al GDP
Annu
Source:
In our revamped country surveys, we’re additionally asking integrators about business challenges and practices. First under the spotlight is the Emerald Isle
Ec Trading
7.2%
it, 2013 c fi e d t omics Budge ing Econ Source:
Trad
If you could change one thing about the way the installation market works in your country, what would it be? ‘All companies deliver the same standard of product (not cheap kit which you buy off the internet) and service.’
Do you agree with these statements about your company?
‘Credit terms need to be tightened by every company due to businesses going into receivership on a daily basis.’
My company is increasing the proportion of its revenue that comes from recurring services (rather than one-off projects)
‘Expose the fly-by-night operations for the poor value they deliver.’ ‘That consultants would specify correctly so it’s not the cheapest solution that ends up being installed.’
My company is employing more software and/or network specialists than previously
We invoice our clients by labour by the hour, rather than adding a margin onto the price of products 20%
0% REVENUE GROWTH - How do you think your company’s revenue will change over the next 12 months?
40%
60%
80%
100%
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree To what extent do these challenges apply to your business? Recruiting/retaining with the right level of skills
/ sure Not swer n no a
e mor Grow n 5% tha
Ensuring existing staff keep up-to-date with new technologies Cost pressures Maintaining a good project pipeline without under- or over-committing people
by Grow 5% o up t
The need to expand into new vertical market sectors Managing complex projects Getting paid on time
0% Not at all
Slightly
Significantly
20% Greatly
40%
60%
80%
100%
26 BUSINESS FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
August 2014
Bring displays to life The visitor attractions market is one that often showcases AV technologies and skills at their very best – but what does it take for an integrator to succeed in what is a distinct and challenging market? Ian McMurray goes behind the scenes with some industry insiders
Key Points
Dataton’s WATCHOUT multi-display software was at the heart of a recent multimedia exhibition celebrating Russian avant-garde art (Picture: Ivan Erofeev)
A
generation is growing up that has never known, and will likely never know, the dubious pleasures of being bundled into the back of the car on a wet Sunday afternoon to be taken to some so-called visitor attraction, to be shown dry collections of dusty relics in glass cases presided over by an unquestionably knowledgeable, but less than engaging, guide. The children of today expect entertainment, interactivity, involvement – and that’s being brought to them by AV integrators.
“There has been an increased focus on wanting to use the latest technology to bring displays to life in a more compelling way,” notes Stuart Hetherington, CEO of Holovis, “especially using virtual solutions to immerse and engage audiences.” “Companies, institutions and museums are more and more ready to invest in sophisticated multimedia,” adds Tobias Stumpfl, commercial director at AV Stumpfl, “and sophisticated multimedia these days is not sophisticated in terms of rocket science. It is more available and more powerful than it was 10 years ago.”
Growth in the visitor attractions market varies by geography and attraction type; theme parks and the Middle and Far East are hot Trend setting “There is increasing pressure to produce more interactive and immersive experiences,” points out Scott Harkless, director of sales at Alcorn McBride. “Typically the latest – and most expensive – technology rolls out in the top-tier themed attractions, so we look to the largest theme parks and museums worldwide to set the trends. As technology advances at increasing speeds, the ‘latest and greatest’ gets pushed out faster than ever. This drives costs down and opens up applications for a broader audience.”
The current attractiveness of the market for integrators, however, is somewhat dependent on geography. “At the moment, the museum market in Benelux is suffering a lot from the budget cuts from the government, especially in the Netherlands,” says John Sormani, managing director of Dutch AV distributor New Media Concepts. “Museums are trying to find ways to attract extra funds to finance their operations.” “Many of the larger projects are EU- or government-funded, and the number of projects
There is no substitute for integrator experience in a market where an attraction’s profitability depends on the quality of the installation Having the broad product knowledge to appropriately interpret and implement a customer’s vision is a key integrator skill and a large part of the value added An appropriate balance needs to be struck between AV technologies that are proven and reliable, and those that are less so but can potentially bring more to the visitor experience
FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS 27
August 2014
Case Study Sarner helps celebrate Amundsen achievement The Fram Museum is located at Bygdøy, a short distance from the centre of Oslo, and recently added an exhibition featuring the Gjøa, which is housed in a newly completed building adjacent to the museum, and linked by a tunnel. The Gjøa was the first vessel to transit the fabled Northwest Passage with explorer Roald Amundsen. Creative design and AV systems integrator Sarner was responsible for the install, which comprises a three-projector, 10m-wide screen. Images are delivered by Panasonic HD PT-DZ680ELK projectors, and Sarner deployed an AV Stumpfl media engine with Wings Vioso for show control. The overall image resolution is over 4,000 pixels. For audio, Sarner installed Bowers & Wilkins CT range speakers for surround sound, together with Rotel RMB1506 amplifiers. The theatre also serves as a presentation facility, so includes an AMX control system that handles the lighting, source selection and audio. As the Gjøa exhibition forms part of the Fram Museum, Sarner linked all the equipment to the main building so that both parts of the museum can be controlled from a single point.
‘Companies, institutions and museums are more and more ready to invest in sophisticated multimedia’ Tobias Stumpfl, AV Stumpfl
announced via the tender process has not changed much,” says Ross Magri, MD of Sarner. “On the other hand, privately funded projects have had a difficult time although we are seeing an increase in enquiries.” “The UK market is currently a bit flat, but there is much renewed growth in the Middle East with some mega projects happening in most of the Gulf States,” says David Willrich, managing director of DJ Willrich and president of the Europe and Middle East Board for the Themed Entertainment Association. “The Asian market is also
growing fast, particularly in China.” It is also apparent that, in business opportunity terms, not all types of attraction are created equal. Industry commentators note that those driven by tourism and theme parks are currently the most vibrant, along with temporary exhibitions, while smaller, more localised venues are seeing less growth. “Tourism has historically been the main driving force,” believes Magri. “Visitor attractions, by their nature, are designed for one-off visits, which can easily exhaust the local
market. However, this is not the case with tourism where there is a continuous feed of new visitors.” “Looking at the global attractions industry, theme parks are having a major renaissance at the moment in terms of the type of attraction that is being installed, with our interactive dark rides and immersive domecentric attractions taking precedence over traditional outdoor coasters,” notes Hetherington. “The markets where we are seeing the most uptake for this at the moment are Asia and the Middle East.”
Catch-22 Any market showing any kind of growth is, of course, potentially attractive to an integrator – but how easy is the visitor attractions market to break into? Inevitably, there are challenges – and the first of those is a classic ‘Catch-22’ challenge which has much to do with the risk aversion associated with highly visible, often mission-critical and often 24/7 installations. “This part of the industry runs on reputation and word of mouth,” avers Willrich, “so experience is probably top of the list of
barriers to entry.” “A track record and experience in the field are both vital,” echoes Magri, adding that being a sizeable company can be important when dealing with prospects with large budgets. “Relevant experience is paramount,” concurs Yag Depala, head of public sector at UK integrator Reflex. “Beyond that, an integrator needs strong technical design and build teams with access to the right product portfolio. The potential for building restrictions and live builds can create installation challenges which need professional project management skills and flexible installation teams.” “New companies that want to enter this market need to not only have a broad technical understanding of a huge range of AV solutions,” adds Sormani, “but also have to be able to communicate with the designers of these projects on a creative level, thus being able to translate the ideas of the designers to the best possible technical solution within budget. Also, depending where you are coming from as a company, the culture is often not so ‘B2B’ as with a government or a bank, so improvisation skills and flexibility are a plus.” “After reputation, the second most important challenge would be being ready to deal with inappropriate contracts for AV companies,” continues Willrich. “Large projects employ project management companies, and sadly, not all properly understand the market; they use building contracts and principles to run museum projects and don’t allow enough time with a
28 FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS August 2014
RideView An example of the type of advanced AV technology becoming available for visitor attractions is RideView from Holovis. “This is a development tool that takes place within the Holovis VR CAVE system, a structure where all four sides feature 3D volumetric content to create a virtual world,” says the company’s managing director, Stuart Hetherington. “The users are immersed into that by wearing 3D headtracked glasses, letting them walk through their entire master plan or actual ride experience just as the audience would once it is open. By switching between the view of the audience and a wider view to look critically at the whole space, this speeds up the design process, eliminates the potential for major conflicts in the design and layout and ensures all stakeholders through to suppliers have a full understanding of what is being created.” clean, quiet site – that is, construction-free – for final programming and setting of lighting scenes, sound mixes and levels. It can be very frustrating trying to get the best out of a system when you are working on what is basically a building site.”
Adding value What makes this a particularly appealing – and potentially profitable – market for integrators are the opportunities to add value. “The integrator is the key person in all projects, because it’s the integrator who delivers the solution for the customer,” believes Stumpfl. “They can be the best products that money can buy – but if the
integrator doesn’t put the right products together, the whole project fails.” The integrator value chain starts early in the process, as Willrich points out. “A good integrator knows his kit and should get a good understanding of the story to be told to ensure he is matching the correct equipment for the story,” he says. “There is no point in having a large projection screen if the media that will give the desired impact to visitors does not exist. Integrators need to be honest and provide the right equipment within given budgets. If they are allowed to properly engage with the client – and not all contracts allow this – then they can explore ideas
Billed as ‘the next generation of dark ride and interactive gaming solutions’, Holovis’ Motion Dome surrounds the audience in a full dome theatre
‘This part of the industry runs on reputation and word of mouth’ David Willrich, DJ Willrich
in workshops and meetings, and even do some basic mock-ups to determine the best treatments, which is essential for large, immersive shows. Everyone on the team has to buy into the project and work together to deliver the best show they can and maximise the value of all the equipment purchased.” Making that connection between the customer’s vision for the attraction on the one hand, and what AV technology can do on the other, is an important skill. “Many visitor attractions are led by a design/creative team who frequently have limited knowledge of the audiovisual equipment available on the market,” points out
Magri. “Consequently, any impartial advice that can be provided by the integrator to the designer can make a huge difference to the success of the project. Depala too recognises the value an integrator brings in translating what the customer wants to achieve, echoing Stumpfl’s assertion that an integrator needs to “deliver what the customer really wants – which might not be what he says”. “The fundamental consideration is understanding what the attraction is trying to achieve and then understanding what the audience wants to experience and the type of audience that is going to attend,” says Depala. “Once
this has been achieved, the technology that is going to be used will follow. However, the integrator will need to decide upon what technology is going to be used to enhance the experience. If it’s proven and current – a safe bet – it may not give the ‘wow!’ to the visitor. If it’s leading edge, the integrator needs to consider reliability risk. If it’s unproven, bleeding edge technology, it could blow everybody’s minds – or fail catastrophically. The likelihood is the decision will be based on budget and risk.” Harkless is on the side of preferring the proven. “In the themed attraction market, it is important to design systems that
FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS 29
August 2014
Case Study
operate with consistent reliability so operators can focus on the guest experience,” he says.
What it takes
Alcorn McBride V16 Pro controls 1.2 million volts The mission of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, USA is to “delight, educate, and inspire through interactive experiences in science and technology”. When the centre’s Works Theater multimedia space needed an equipment upgrade for its aging, proprietary automation system it chose Alcorn McBride’s V16 Pro show controller. The theatre paired the hardware of the V16 Pro with software from QLab as the multimedia cueing platform – which will, among other things, control a 100-year old 10ft tall, 1.2 million volt Tesla coil and a liquid nitrogen fog machine, together with two pan-tilt-zoom cameras and eight video projectors for the screens that ring the theatre. The system was designed such that the V16 Pro acts as the back end for QLab and allows it to work dynamically with commercial equipment as well as AV equipment, interfacing with the original controls, which are based on MIDI commands. For example, if the fire alarm goes off, it tells the V16, which will shut everything down.
Lars Sandlund, chief operating officer of Dataton, warms to the theme. “A good integrator in this market brings a solid technical base and an awareness of what works best,” he believes. “It may sound simple, but there are so many new technologies out there that it is easy to get swamped. The integrator has a responsibility to the client to ensure that everything actually does work as planned, and knows the products inside and out.” “The best integrators to this market have experience in softwarebased technologies, the AV/IT knowledge, creativity in system/solution designs, project management teams that work closely with all third parties and have the products and services to match requirements,” continues Depala. “There are many ways
to create a successful, profitable business in this market – and even more ways to do just the opposite,” laughs Sormani. “Service is increasingly the key word in many AV markets – and that’s especially true for the visitor attraction market. Operators are making money with the AV installation and downtime will need to be minimal. There has to be a service gene embedded within the integrator – but that doesn’t mean that they should provide service for free. It’s like with everything: you get what you pay for and there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Willrich has three key pieces of advice for a prospective integrator in the visitor attractions market. “First,” he says, “you have to be patient. Many projects don’t run to the original timeline and this frequently impacts on the integrator’s time at the end of the project, which is arguably one of the most important aspects in terms of final programming and
30 FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS August 2014
creating an attraction that is going to be running – in most cases – for 10 years or more. This can impact on income too, particularly man-hours when projects overrun with no spare money in the budget. “Second,” he goes on, “allow time to get to know
and install it, and then they can pay at least 30 days later. Credit in the electronics industry is fairly non-existent, so careful contract negotiation is necessary. “Third,” he adds, “is keep up with evolving technology.”
‘A good integrator brings a solid technical base and an awareness of what works best’ Lars Sandlund, Dataton
the industry and its foibles – and believe me, there are a fair few. Cash flow is a big issue, as clients tend to believe that you will just procure all the equipment
Long-term success Harkless also has some words of wisdom. “Sell on value, not price,” he says. “It’s easy to get pulled into low initial cost but
when things fail shortly after install it is often the integrator who takes the blame and therefore needs to reinvest to maintain a good reputation. Having the right design for the right application sets the stage for long-term success and repeat business.” The last word goes to Sormani, with a timely reminder. “It’s clear that the classic art/artifacts type of visitor attraction have their place in the market and will always draw a constant stream of visitors,” he says. “But with more ‘themed’ destinations, the future is not so clear – because in the last decade, everybody jumped on to the AV and interactivity bandwagon without thinking too long about the visitor experience. I’ve observed many times
that even the most technically sophisticated AV presentation nowadays doesn’t impress visitors that much any more if the content isn’t good enough, since virtually every visitor nowadays is used to a big screen HD TV at home, possibly with surround audio and 3D. That means that, for the future, the most successful visitor attractions will be those that bring an experience into play, which consists of good and dramatic content – not only video, but also audio, light and even smell.” Integrators and manufacturers already in the visitor attractions market are, inevitably, fully apprised of both the opportunities and the potential pitfalls. Entering the market seems likely, however, to challenge
any integrator given that existing participants believe that experience is the primary requirement for customer acceptance and subsequent success. Success is, however, what many integrators – and manufacturers – are achieving in the visitor attraction market. If that success continues, it looks probable that those well intentioned but often miserable childhood outings may have been well and truly consigned to the dustbin of history.
www.alcorn.com www.avstumpfl.com www.dataton.com www.djwillrich.com www.holovis.com www.newmediaconcepts.nl www.reflex.co.uk www.sarner.com
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32 SURVEY FEATURE: VOICE ALARM SYSTEMS August 2014
EN54: where did it all go wrong? A major new survey from Installation reveals the extent of the confusion about the much-discussed fire detection and fire alarm systems standard – particularly those sections relating to voice alarm. David Davies sifts through the results with the assistance of leading audio consultant Roland Hemming
O
ne would need to have been living in a cave – or in a very profound state of denial – to have avoided the debate surrounding EN54. But what might have remained unclear until now is the sheer extent of confusion around the fire detection/ fire alarm systems standard and its legal ramifications. In the smallest of nutshells, EN54 specifies requirements and laboratory testing for every component of these systems, and allows for the free movement of construction products between countries of the European Union
market. It is, however, the Construction Products Directive and, latterly, the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) that gives the standard its legal weight. Under the terms of the CPR, the CE conformity mark became mandatory, with manufacturers and importers given until July 2013 to ensure their construction products satisfied the CE requirements of the new regulation. So far, so clear. But what appears to be anything but transparent is quite how these changes should be implemented out there in the ‘real world’ of systems
Company activity in the field of voice alarm equipment Other 7%
Manufacturer 45% Consultant 24%
Integrator/ installer 20%
Distributor (sole importer) 4%
integration. In particular, the issue of where responsibility lies for various aspects of voice alarm systems appears to be clouded in confusion. Several consultants and industry observers have highlighted their concerns to Installation over the past 12 months, but it was Roland Hemming – founder of independent audio consultancy RH Consulting, which offers advice on EN54 compliance to manufacturers, installers and venues – who suggested that we undertake a comprehensive survey into the whys and wherefores of EN54 implementation. “In truth, it is only over the last 12 months that I have realised quite how much uncertainty there is out there about the legal implications of EN54, and in particular parts 16 [regarding components for fire alarm voice alarm systems] and 24 [voice alarms – loudspeakers],” says Hemming, who sits as UK expert audio alarms on the BSI committee and contributes to the TC72 Working Group 3, which is focused on the
aforementioned parts 16 and 24. Hemming took it upon himself to unravel the legal maze around the standard, but even he may have underestimated the time that it would take. “I have had to be very pedantic to find out the answers,” he laughs. “It’s a process that has required me to talk to manufacturers, other consultants, trade associations, the [UK] Department for Communities and Local Government, the European Commission, a Brusselsbased legal firm…” If after all this effort even a globally renowned consultant who has worked on two of the largest audio projects in the world (the Millennium Dome and the 2012 Olympic Games) can admit that he still isn’t “100% sure” on every aspect, then it is clear that there is a problem – the severity of which is firmly underlined by the results of our survey. Notes Hemming, who helped formulate the questions and read the collected responses with a
growing sense of alarm (no pun intended): “The sheer variety of different answers is testament enough to see that there are major problems in the world of voice alarm.”
Legal confusion Among our survey respondents, manufacturers were by far the largest single share (45%), followed by consultants, integrator/ installers and distributors. Geographically, the UK was responsible for the greatest share of responses (47%), followed by Sweden (29%). The results revealed more clarity in some areas than others when it comes to legal responsibility for individual aspects of voice alarm systems. Benchmarking the results against what Hemming deems to be the ‘correct’ answer in each case, we find that the largest single share of votes were cast in favour of the ‘right’ answers of local authorities/councils (compliance with building regulations) and venue owners/operators (building safety). On the other hand, only a minority of respondents selected the right answer
FEATURE: VOICE ALARM SYSTEMS 33
August 2014
to a question about legal responsibility for EN5416-compliant systems – the answer to this being manufacturers. Given the strong representation of manufacturers in the survey, then, it is rather concerning to discover that only a quarter of votes were cast correctly; instead, installers received the largest single share of answers (28%). The issue of obligation for adherence to the voice alarm code of practice also attracted a multiplicity of responses. According to Hemming, the responsibility resides with three groups: consultants, installers and venue owners/ operators. Excluding several respondents who gave no answer, the majority of respondents selected at least one of the responsible groups – but not one selected the correct trio. Analysing a geographical comparison involving the countries that provided the two largest share of responses (the UK and Sweden) we discover that both countries gave a roughly equal number of correct answers – but to
different questions. So while Swedes had a firmer idea of where responsibility falls for compliance with building regulations, verification of the voice alarm and legal responsibility for EN54-16 compliant systems, UK respondents were clearer on the obligation for building safety, performance of EN54-16/24 compliant product and design of the voice alarm.
could theoretically be applied to any number of projects, although that was not the intention behind it. A relatively small proportion of voice alarm projects undertaken by our respondents since 2011 have been EN54-16/24 compliant, but it is unlikely that all the others invoked Article 5.
For example, the largest single share of participants (33%) stated that less than 25% of their projects had satisfied this part of the standard. Meanwhile, nearly half the respondents stated that they had been involved with no compliant projects since 2011, but elsewhere the responses were, frankly, all over the place – ranging from four to 400. Hemming identifies multiple basic issues concerning EN54-16 that have given rise to “overinterpretation… although you could argue that it could have been better written in the first place. For example, [this section of the standard] does not actually say you have to have an amplifier; it implies it, but does not specifically say it. And that, of course, could open up other products to be tested that do not incorporate amplifiers.” No wonder, then, that 61% (the largest single share) of respondents agreed with the statement that EN54-16 is ambiguous
in many areas. There was a little more clarity among respondents over EN54-24, with 46% agreeing that it is ambiguous, while 55% of participants agreed that EN54 had suffered from a lack of pro-audio expertise in the committee that drew it up. Moreover, there was a suspicion that the ambiguity may well be open-ended; to wit, 56% of respondents said that because EN54 conflicts with some codes of practice, they were unclear how to proceed in certain areas. “Education is needed so all concerned understand the difference between product standards and system standards,” remarked one participant – and few would argue with that. There was also general agreement with the expressed view that EN54 is working “pretty well” in retail, corporate and smaller venues, but that for larger facilities it is simply not fit for purpose. In venues like arenas,
Responsibility for voice alarm aspects Who has final responsibility for…
Exemptions and ambiguity The issue of exemptions is vital to an understanding of EN54, CPR and their drawbacks. Under the terms of Article 5, a manufacturer may refrain from drawing up a declaration of performance when placing a construction product covered by a harmonised standard on the market where “the construction product is individually manufactured or custommade in a non-series process in response to a specific order, and installed in a single identified construction work…” As Hemming observes, this is an exemption that,
Compliance with building regulations? Most popular answer: Local authority/council (32%) Is this correct? Yes Building safety? Most popular answer: Venue owner/operator (54%) Is this correct? Yes Verification of the voice alarm? Most popular answer: Consultant/system designer + installer (23% each) Is this correct? Yes EN54-16 compliant system? Most popular answer: Installer (28%) Is this correct? No – it’s the manufacturer Performance of EN54-16/24 compliant product? Manufacturer (41%) Is this correct? Yes Design of voice alarm? Most popular answer: Consultant/system designer (59%) Is this correct: Yes (installer in case of design and build) Adherence to voice alarm code of practice? Most popular answer: Consultant/system designer + installer (24%) Is this correct? Almost – it's consultant, installer and venue owner/operator
34 FEATURE: VOICE ALARM SYSTEMS August 2014
noted one respondent, “an addition will be needed so that the installer and consultants can come to agreement [more easily].” Given the above results and the confusion over implementation and responsibility, it is to be expected that the vast majority of respondents (71%) rejected the notion that the EN54 standard covers the totality of what is permissible. Underlining the sense that the whole area is a legal minefield, half of respondents also felt that if a way of working is not covered by the EN54 standard, it is permissible by law if it is allowed under other codes of practice. Close to half (46%) of respondents also believed that the Construction Products Regulation permits other legal ways of providing compliant systems other than via the EN54 route. The final indictment of the regulatory set-up came with a question about participants’ confidence that, should there be a fire in a building with a voice alarm system that their company has designed, supplied or installed, and as a result there was some loss of live, they or their company would not be found at least partly culpable. More than 70% said they were either entirely or fairly confident that they would not be found responsible. “What was amusing is in the instances where respondents said that they were 100% confident in the case of their system going to court, they all made errors in knowing who is legally responsible for each element of the voice alarm process,” says Hemming. To the obvious concerns raised by our survey,
Hemming also adds a few observations that could only be made after the kind of extensive research that he has lately undertaken. “There are issues about the validity of some of the test houses; some may not be valid and there are inconsistencies as to how the tests are performed,” he says. “For example, I know there are cases where a system went to one house and failed, but went to another and passed. There were also occasions where stages [of the process] were being skipped.”
Unforeseen consequences Hemming does not place the blame at the door of any one particular group, and believes the standard has had consequences that no one could have easily predicted. But he does believe that having more people from a pro-audio background included in the formative stages could have prevented a lot of headaches: “There were people involved who knew little about voice alarm per se, let alone professional audio. It was so far away from what they knew that it was a big challenge for them to understand [the ramifications].” Surveying the results of our research, Hemming is hopeful that at least it will open up the debate about EN54 to a wider audience. “My biggest concern is that some people think that by having an EN54 certificate they are legally protected.” The industry needs some definitive guidance, and that is what a number of us are now seeking to achieve.
www.rhconsulting.eu
Proportion of voice alarm projects EN54-16 and EN54-24 compliant (since 2011)
EN54-24
EN54-16
0% All
20%
More than 75%
40%
60%
50-75%
25-50%
80%
100%
Less than 25%
None
How strongly do you agree with the following statements about EN54?
EN54 has suffered strongly from a lack of pro-audio input
EN54 part 16 is ambiguous in many areas
EN54 part 24 is ambiguous in many areas
Conflicts between EN54 and other codes of practice mean I am uncertain about how to proceed in some areas
0% Agree strongly
Agree
20%
40%
Neither agree nor disagree
60%
80%
Disagree
100% None
More statements about EN54 – true or false
EN54 covers the totality of what is permissible
If a way of working is not covered by EN54, it is permissible by law if covered by other codes of practice
CPR permits other legal ways of providing compliant systems apart from EN54
0%
20% 40% 60% True False
80% 100% I’m not sure
36 BUSINESS FEATURE: TECHNOLOGY FOR ARCHITECTS August 2014
The design of high-tech buildings leads architects to call for an extensive range of equipment across a wide range of technical solutions (Picture: DHA Designs)
Key Points Architects do not have the time or facilities to become experts in audiovisual technology Independent AV consultants provide unbiased advice tailored to architects’ and their clients’ needs Long-term relationships and high levels of trust are essential in generating business
Archi-techs? With the growth in the use of AV systems, lighting control and building management systems in today’s buildings, how well are architects, the key specifiers of the fabric of a building, being kept up to date with emerging technology? Steve Montgomery investigates
A
rchitects face an demanding task in keeping abreast of building techniques, new design concepts and government legislation; so it is entirely understandable for them to concentrate on those aspects of their jobs, rather than investigate the intricacies of the wide range of audiovisual technology and building and lighting control systems that are increasingly requested by their clients. As a consequence, the majority of architects will turn to third-party specialists and manufacturers for the necessary detailed and lowlevel support. “The design of a complex lighting control system is not something that
an architectural practice is likely to be able to undertake in-house,” points out Guy Simmonds, sales director at Lutron. “Their focus is on the fabric of the building, its usability and look-and-feel, ensuring compliance with local regulations and energy management targets. While they will have a very good understanding of how they want the building to work and appear visually, the complexities of actually making it work are outside their immediate sphere of interest. They must however, be aware of what is achievable and be able to calculate the cost of including the system components. Our role is to ensure that they have the necessary tools to win
business and then to design the full system.”
Architects’ professional bodies provide training sessions. Manufacturers and integrators can support sessions to build brand awareness and interest in their offerings
‘Our role is to ensure that architects have the necessary tools to win business’ Guy Simmonds, Lutron
Help and guidance While the trend is for manufacturers to develop more integrated systems as a one-stop-shop solution, their ability to meet a client’s particular requirements is invariably compromised. As an alternative, architects can turn to independent consultants for help and guidance on major projects. One such consultancy is Visual Acuity. “We are designers, advisors, planners, engineers and project managers who specialise in delivering solutions based on extensive experience of what works and what does not for each specific
AV product and service providers benefit by having architectural technologists in their organisations to liaise with architects on their terms
application,” explains lead consultant Duncan Howie. “We usually become involved at the initial phase of a project, drawing up functional specifications and tender documents that capture the identified operational needs of the end client and, from which, competitive responses are evaluated for best value. This process brings benefits in terms of time and quality as well as cost to the
overall project, mitigating risks associated with an architect going it alone; offsetting our consultancy fees and ensuring that the systems are applicable and current when implemented, often three to five years later. We then go on to assist in the selection of integrators and contractors, and project manage those elements of the build in co-ordination with the overall construction project
All Images courtesy of the Business Design Centre
4th September 2014
Business Design Centre - London
Register
NOW at
www.install-market.com Only dedicated UK event for systems integrators/ pro-AV installer /AV consultants and end users
Only UK pro-AV conference to be supported by a technical exhibition and training breakout sessions
Only pro-AV event to be led by the main stakeholders within the key verticals
A new one-day conference and expo brought to you by
Education
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Transportation
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For further information and sponsorship opportunities contact: Peter McCarthy - Account Manager - peter.mccarthy@intentmedia.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)207 354 6000
38 FEATURE: TECHNOLOGY FOR ARCHITECTS August 2014
to maintain the original design intent.” The design of energyefficient, high-tech buildings leads architects to call for an extensive range of state-of-theart equipment across a wide range of technical solutions, none more so than in the areas of AV and lighting systems. The interiors and exteriors of modern buildings are highly stylised, with changing lighting, signage and comprehensive AV systems often linked to integral building management systems. It is the role of the consultant or integrator to advise on what can and cannot feasibly be done, risking unpopularity and resistance from architects who are generally keen to try any and every technique that will make their building stand out. “Working across a wide portfolio of architectural, museum and hospitality projects, our role is to ensure that we offer independent advice, visionary design and practical solutions that are right for the end client,” says Jonathan Howard, director of DHA Designs, an independent consultancy. “Technology changes rapidly, and often the architect will have seen or heard about something that they have latched onto which is clearly not suited to their project. We have to delicately dissuade them from pursuing it, without appearing to be too negative.” Communication between manufacturers or specialist advisors and architects can be greatly aided by familiarisation of architectural concepts and techniques. Howie explains: “We have an architectural technologist
within the consultancy to communicate in architectural language, rather than using our familiar system-oriented technical terms. It allows us to understand architectural concepts, configure responses in the correct manner and deliver drawings and workflow diagrams that are compatible with clients’ BIM and CAD systems. Architecture is a highly visual profession which relies on being able to comprehend and make
Architects understand how they want a building to work and appear visually, but the complexities of making it work lie outside their sphere of interest
‘We deliver solutions based on experience of what works and what does not for each specific application’ Duncan Howie, Visual Acuity
sense of three-dimensional spatial images depicting the way that a space is laid out and used, so it is essential that this is communicated clearly.” The ability to communicate in architectural language and to explain the nuances of a complex system is gained from experience, while trust is built through relationships; both take time. Consultants and integrators will, as a result, often concentrate on specific market sectors, enabling them to become conversant in that field and to develop the appropriate contacts. Customers – whether a large public body such as for a museum, a main contractor for a oneoff project like an airport or a general architectural practice – may have a set of pre-approved or preferred suppliers on an ‘framework’ list. In all cases the depth
of relationships and trust between participants is a crucial factor in the selection process. For service providers it is very often a case of word-ofmouth recommendation and general proof of expertise through previous work. For manufacturers, brand building and loyalty are extremely important.
Ongoing training Professional bodies throughout the world serve to extend the skills and professional competence of architects through ongoing training programmes. In the UK, the CPD (continuing professional development) programme of RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) lists technical innovations as one of its mandatory core curriculum subjects. Seminars and roadshows hosted at RIBA offices or architectural practices
provide an opportunity for manufacturers, integrators and trade bodies to present technical material and meet architects face-to-face. “The CPD programme develops architects’ knowledge to enable them to understand the broad concepts of available technology and to develop their confidence in dealing with suppliers and system integrators and in drawing up safe specifications at an early stage,” explains Joni Tyler, head of CPD at RIBA. “Bringing together suppliers, integrators and trade associations with specifiers means that everyone in the industry benefits.” Lutron is a strong supporter of the CPD programme. Says Simmonds: “Architects are not control system specialists, but need to have a working knowledge of the technology available to them. We regularly present at CPD seminars worldwide to provide an update on recent product introductions and create the network relationships that are essential in this business to create business opportunities and gather feedback.” Once developed, working relationships with architects can vary
in their intensity during the lifetime of projects. Also, some architects will maintain a hands-off approach, while others will attend to every detail. In building design, the normal procedure is to hide away as much of the functional componentry as possible; however it may not always be feasible to do this, and so requests for customised designs or paint finishes on visible items such as light fittings and switches are not uncommon. Also to be expected are demands for the aesthetic but impractical location of audiovisual equipment – another reason for early and close contact on projects. The opportunity to work and collaborate with architects is a critical element in the business process for participants in AV projects. It is one that should be fostered and developed through a number of approaches and at different levels. As ever, mutual trust and respect between the parties plays a large role.
www.lutron.com www.visual-acuity.com www.dhadesigns.com www.riba.org
40 SHOW PREVIEW: INSTALLMARKET August 2014
AVI-SPL’s Paul Brooks will discuss developments in Transport
Steve Blyth of Engage Production will speak on the Retail panel
Triple boost for conference session panels
Plan your day – 4 September 9.30
Registration and coffee
10:00
Forces That Drive Retail Tech Chaired by Nick Gale, Realisation
11:00
Keynote: Ross Ashton, The Projection Studio
12:00
AV & Broadcast Convergence: A Marriage in IP Chaired by James Raby, venture capitalist and Sainsbury Management Fellow
14:00
Not Your Father’s Classroom; Not Your Mother’s Campus Chaired by Colin Messenger, Futuresource
15:00
What Hospitality and Entertainment Venues Really Want Chaired by John Grew, Spartan Comms
16:00
What Moves Transport Technology Chaired by Charlie Henderson, PA Consulting
17:00
Whose Network is IT, Anyway? Chaired by Keith Humphreys, euroLAN Research
Mike Brooman of Vanti will be on the AV/IT networking panel
InstallMarket’s impressive conference segment has been given a boost after confirmation of three new panel speakers
I
n June’s issue of Installation we announced a full roster of panel session moderators for the InstallMarket conference – which runs alongside the InstallMarket exhibition on 4 September at London’s Business Design Centre. This month we’re pleased to name three more industry figureheads who have come onboard as panel speakers for the free-to-attend event, bolstering an already impressive line-up. Making his presence felt on the Retail panel will be Steve Blyth – managing director at InstallAwardwining technology and communication architects, Engage Production. Blyth has over 20 years’ experience in the arena and is now considered a leading expert in his field. He and his team
have developed and managed a vast range of interactive and high-tech communication projects globally for leading brands such as Accenture, Adidas, BT, Disney, Kew Gardens, Nike, P&G, Land Rover, Ferrari and Vodafone. Paul Brooks, business development manager at AVI-SPL, is the latest addition to the Transport panel. With over 20 years’ experience selling products in the control market, Brooks can name highprofile organisations such as the Ministry of Defence, Metropolitan Police and BT as past clients. From this diverse and interesting experience, Brooks gained his understanding of client control room operations, as projects often include ergonomic design, collaborative solutions and integration to other
operational systems such as building management, security and network/IT operations. AVI-SPL recently expanded its Control Room Group (CRG) capabilities into Europe with the creation of a UK-based team, headquartered in the AVI-SPL office in Farnborough. Brooks leads the Control Room Group initiatives in EMEA. Contributing to the discussion on AV/IT networking will be Mike Brooman – a director at Vanti. Previously known as RTS Technology, Vanti has been involved in AV and IT integration since the company’s foundation in 2003. Recently it was involved in a major project at The Library of Birmingham. Brooman has consulted on, implemented and supported IT and
www.install-market.com
audiovisual projects for multinational, government, education and SME clients. He counts Accenture and Capgemini among his previous employers. In addition to the panel sessions – on education, hospitality, broadcast and streaming, retail, and transportation – there will also be a keynote presentation from
internationally renowned projection artist Ross Ashton. The InstallMarket conference is free to attend – as is the expo running alongside. The event takes place at the Business Design Centre in London, on Thursday 4 September. For more info and to register, go to www.install-market.com
Don’t miss your chance to join the AV community at our free-to-attend event – register at www.install-market.com/registration Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are still available. For details contact Peter McCarthy: peter.mccarthy@intentmedia.co.uk, +44 20 7354 6000
Celebrating 80 years of sound solutions Since 1934, TOA have built a reputation of being the total audio solutions provider, and it is not by chance that TOA have been speciďŹ ed in the most prestigious buildings around the world. 80 years of development & investment has enabled TOA to provide an extensive range of high quality and long lasting audio products, from microphones all the way through to large scale voice evacuation systems. TOA will celebrate this milestone by continuing to change people’s lives through audio, making sure that our customers have peace of mind and proven quality.
sound without compromise www.toa.eu
TM
TECHNOLOGY Kit you need to know about
This Month New Products
Christie Christie Velvet It’s… A new line of high-brightness LED tiled display panels. What’s different? A number of things: colour performance and brightness have improved, pixel pitch has been reduced to as low as 1.875mm, and the displays can be configured to suit the application. Details: Available in four different pixel pitches, the highoutput Velvet tiles are designed for indoor applications such as retail, casinos, museums, corporate lobbies and control-room environments, where 24/7/365 reliability is required. They can be integrated seamlessly to create large digital canvasses, and solutions can be configured according to customer requirements. Christie Velvet panels feature a 1,200Hz refresh rate and 1,000 nits brightness. They have a wide viewing angle (1600) and are said to show darker blacks and exceptional high colour fidelity. The two largest pixel-pitch models (3mm and 4mm) have a front-serviceable design. (The other pitches are 1.875mm and 2.5mm.) The displays can be mounted in a variety of orientations, including curved, suspended from ceilings and structures or connected to each other to create a seamless array. As part of the pre-sales process, Christie offers a quick budgetary design and quote. The Velvet tiles can form part of a turnkey solution with the company’s image processing and content management software. “LED videowalls have become a viable technology for many indoor applications,” said Richard Heslett, senior product manager, Christie. “With their reliable 24/7 operation, fine pixels, and long life, many businesses are turning to LEDs; however, obtaining them to customer specifications has been a challenge for integrators and end users. Christie Velvet LED displays are manufactured to the highest quality standards, and are backed by the excellent pre- and post-service and support that Christie is known for around the world.” Available: Now
www.christieemea.com
pp42-45
of t c u d Pro nth o the m
Demo of the Month: DisplayMapper and MirrorBox p46
Showcase: Projection Screens pp48-49
TECHNOLOGY: NEW PRODUCTS 43
August 2014
AMX NetLinx NX Series Controllers
It’s… A new series of next-generation NetLinx controllers. What’s different? NX Controllers include IPv6 and 802.1x security support for connection to the enterprise network as well as dual NIC functionality to completely isolate IP-controlled AV devices. These features not only enhance security but drastically reduce the number of IP addresses required for AV technology implementations. Details: The NX Controller Series builds on the reliability of its predecessor, the NI Controller Series, which has been installed in hundreds of thousands of classrooms, conference rooms and network operating centres around the world. NX Controllers use half of the power of the previous generation and all models have been designed to fit into a 1 RU equipment rack space for increased efficiency and implementation flexibility. The NX Series has been designed for full backwards compatibility and adds diagnostic capabilities to ensure proper cabling implementation and to simplify integration. Available: Now www.amx.com
Axxent CLP 2300 It’s… A new amplifier offering 300W of power at four ohms. What’s different? The two-channel, low-impedance, high-power amplifier operates without any fan noise thanks to a convection cooling system that consists of large metal fins inside the amplifier case. Details: The axxent CLP 2300 amplifier has a height of 1 RU only. It features balanced Neutrik XLR input connectors with slave output, Neutrik Speakon output connectors, adjustable input gain reduction up to 30dB, built-in limiters, rumble filters, a multitude of operating state LED indicators, switch-mode power supply and high-fidelity analogue Class H output stage with low distortion. Large rubber feet mean it can be used as a desktop amplifier. The no noise feature makes the amplifier ideal for such applications as churches, sound recording studios, conference rooms, etc. Available: Now www.axxent.de
CIE HDMIGrip The new cable range features friction lock connectors to ensure it holds securely in place, but it will detach simply by pulling the connector out (without the need for pressing/releasing any locking switches or buttons). HDMiGrip connectors provide an un-mating force of almost double that of standard HDMI connectors (requiring 3kg of force to un-mate, compared with 1.96kg for standard HDMI). The HDMiGrip Cable is available now in 0.5m, 1m, 3m and 5m lengths. www.cie-group.com
Sharp PNL802B Sharp’s 80in LED interactive display is officially qualified by Microsoft for use with Crestron RL and the Polycom CX8000 system. The Sharp PN-L802B offers a high-definition (1920 x 1080), high-impact LED display, making it ideal for use as a digital whiteboard, a key component of these group collaboration solutions. Available now. www.sharp.co.uk
Navitar HMR113 The 11.27mm focal length fisheye lens was designed for high-power 1.38in DLP 4K three-chip projectors such as the Christie D4K3560 and Barco Galaxy 4K-32. The HMR113 projects 170.6° X 84.4° for a very wide horizontal image making it ideal for use in amusement rides, immersive applications, or giant screen installations. The lens also includes a masking slot properly positioned for applications that require blending (mask not included). The new unit can be ordered now with a delivery date of October. www.navitar.com
Panasonic PT-TW341R Series The latest addition to Panasonic’s short-throw projector line up, the PTTW341R is designed with built-in interactivity, allowing up to two users to write or draw on the projected image with an interactive pen/pointer. The unit is also equipped with vertical and horizontal, corner keystone and Curved Screen Correction allowing users to adjust an image and project on a curved screen. Available now. business.panasonic.co.uk
Roland Systems Group XS Series It’s… A new range of multi-format matrix switchers. What’s different? With a multiformat design, the Roland XS Series features eight HDMI, RGB/Component/S-video/ Composite inputs and up to four HDMI or HDBaseT outputs with built in scalers to enable picture-in-picture, resizing, rotating and flipping. Audio can be embedded into outputs via eight stereo audio inputs (two mic) and/or HDMI audio as well as de-embedded on output. Details: The Roland XS Series is available in three models: XS-84H (8 in x 4 out), XS-83H (8 in x 3 out) and XS-82H (8 in x 2 out) and is designed for a variety of commercial AV applications including boardrooms, lecture theatres, 4K switching to 1080p, digital signage, stadiums and teleconferencing. Using the Roland XS Remote iPad app, the switchers can be controlled remotely with an iPad, via RS-232C interface or over a network with a LAN connection. For teleconferencing applications, the Roland XS series features four internal busses each for video and audio. The switcher can be used to create minus-one audio to feed directly into existing teleconferencing systems and to switch up to eight computer and video devices in both analogue and digital formats. A built in audio ducking function lowers other audio levels when microphone audio is detected making it ideal for conference or boardroom environments. Available: Now www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk
QSC AD-S6T, AD-S112sw, AC-C4T The AD-S6T and AD-S112sw surface-mount loudspeakers are new additions to the AcousticDesign Series, while the AC-C4T is part of the upcoming AcousticCoverage line. The AD-S6T is a 6in, two-way speaker, while the AD-S112sw sub employs a long-throw 12in driver, with yoke-mount hardware to optimise boundarycoupling. The AC-C4T in-ceiling speaker features a 4in full-range transducer housed in a ported enclosure for added low frequency extension. All three units are available now. www.qsc.com
Optoma EH200ST Designed for the education market, the full 3D 1080p projector is said to produce vivid colours due to its 2,800-lumen brightness. It has two HDMI inputs making switching between sources simple. It can even be turned into a smart display by connecting a smartphone or tablet with a single cable using MHL to play games, stream videos and share images on the big screen. It comes complete with a built-in speaker that delivers 10W audio. Available now. www.optoma.co.uk
46 TECHNOLOGY: DEMO OF THE MONTH August 2014
DisplayMapper and MirrorBox Projection Artworks is looking to incorporate 3D projection mapping into in-store displays at a highly affordable cost. Paddy Baker reports
P
rojection Artworks is mainly known for its large-scale event-based projection mapping projects. However, through its DisplayMapper division, the company is moving into smaller-scale 3D mapping applications with a longer shelf-life. “Four or five years ago, LCD was the only choice for retail, but these days projectors are more affordable, more reliable and have longer lifecycles. We’ve got the education market to thank for this,” said Tom Burch, Projection Artworks’ founder and director. Additionally, displays have become such a widespread part of the retail landscape that shoppers don’t always look at them; so the retail industry needs to raise its game and offer something more experiential DisplayMapper offers self-contained, daylight visible projection mapping technology for use in in-store displays. There are four basic elements to the technology: a “low-end” projector (there are 200 to 300 suitable models on the market, according to Burch); a wireless router; a small form-factor PC; and the DisplayMapper app. “There’s nothing you would normally associate with a projector install – no keyboard, no monitors, no cable runs,” he pointed out. Content can be downloaded from the Cloud and stored locally on the PC, meaning that the same campaign can easily be rolled out to any number
of locations. The mapping app is designed to be used by non-technical staff: it’s simply a matter of tapping the screen of an iPad to drag key points in the content onto the corresponding corners of the projection surface. This also means, said Burch,
This DisplayMapper concept uses rear-projection and mirrors
and reflected up again by an ingenious selection of mirrors – so that the item is fully immersed in projected content. At the same time, an HD display in the back of the unit plays out additional video. Because the projection is concentrated onto a relatively small area, the
MirrorBox combines projection, an ingenious mirror system and a background display to immerse products in video content
with the technology. For instance, in a display of mobile phones, the content being run on the display could be streamed to one of the phones when a customer picks it up. A final point from Burch: “This isn’t just for point of sale applications. It could just as easily work for window displays, alcoves,
that companies can often use their regular designers and create content in 2D, which the software converts into 3D. He added that, over a threeyear period, the cost of a DisplayMapper installation could be as low as £5-£10 per day. “So this is not just the domain of the flagship store.” When I visited Projection Artworks’ studio in London, Burch showed me a number of applications of the technology, including the off-the-shelf MirrorBox offering. This features content that is both projected down onto the product being displayed
resolution is extremely high: in a demo with a Nike trainer, the content exactly matched the design of that shoe model, with separate parts of the shoe precisely highlighted in different colours as the video imagery swept across its surface. There were other DisplayMapper concepts on show alongside MirrorBox. One featured three Nike trainers on a wall display: as well as the colours of the shoes appearing to change, there was a line of text scrolling underneath each one. Burch explained that the wording could be replaced with live text from
DisplayMapper software enables non-technical staff to align content exactly onto the projection surface
an RSS feed at appropriate moments – for instance, when a Nike-sponsored football player scored a goal. There are other ways in which people can interact
mannequins and other display systems.” Maybe this could be the start of projection mapping becoming as commonplace in shops as LCD displays are now?
www.projectionartworks.com
48 TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE
August 2014
Projection screens Regardless of how good the projector is, a quality projection surface can make all the difference, writes James McGrath
Draper gains ground with TechVision Draper describes the projection screen market as becoming inundated with low-cost, low-tech products that are causing further commoditisation. InfoComm has tried to help people to distinguish the quality products from the lower-performing alternatives by introducing the Projected Image System Contrast Ratios (PISCR) standard. As the awareness of the standard grows, so does the desire for more sophisticated projection screens, says the company. Draper’s own answer to this comes in the form of the TechVision, a projection screen that is said to surpass the industry standard of +/-10% tolerances. For example, the TechVision offers a 1.8 gain ‘white’ that has no half-gain angle. In other words, as the viewer moves off-axis, there is no point where the gain drops to 0.9 or lower. TecVision, which is available in six varieties, features white surfaces with gains ranging from 1.0 to 1.9 over wide viewing cones, and grey surfaces helping the screens to perform under higher room light levels. The screen is also 4K ready. The Imaging Science Foundation has certified five of the new surfaces for excellent colour reproduction and fidelity. Draper prides itself on the way the screens aren’t mass produced, but rather individually calculated, programmed, produced, and individually tested and re-tested. Every screen is customised through the use of the Pro Calculator – a tool which the customer can input their requirements to select the best TecVision formulation. www.draperinc.com
dnp offers screen depth dnp puts the success of its Supernova range of projection screens down to technologies that facilitate the production of crisp, front projection images – so that, according to the company, it is no longer necessary to dim the lights even in brightly lit rooms. Available in a wide variety of finishes, formats and sizes, the Supernova range can offer up to seven times the contrast and double the image brightness of standard front projection screens. The Supernova screen material comprises an optical lens film to reduce the impact of ambient light and thereby ensure better image contrast. Other technologies, such as a reflection layer, black colour layer and hard surface coating – which means the screen can provide half-gain angles up to +/- 85º, – enhance colour reproduction as well as making the surface scratch resistant with a no-shimmer image. The range offers multiple dimensions and sizes, with the largest screen, the Supernova Infinity, providing a projection area of any height and width – customised as per the customer’s requirements. www.dnp-screens.com
AV Stumpfl floats the image The Fullwhite projection screen from AV Stumpfl is the only surface, according to the company, which shows purely the picture. In other words, borders and unused screen depth aren’t visible when the screen is in operation. The secret to the Fullwhite’s ability to ‘float’ lies in the frame of the screen, which is designed to remain hidden from sight while offering the appropriate degree of support. The material is fixed over the sloping 45º profile of the frame so that it seems to disappear behind the screen. Vinyl surfaces can be stretched easily and attached to the frame with especially developed hooks on the rear. The screen gives the illusion that the projected image is floating in mid-air when installed in flying applications. This makes it an attractive option to architects and for environments that rely on aesthetics as much as, if not more than, AV. Adding further feathers to its cap is the screen’s ability to be connected together to make complete walls or even cubes, offering multiple display options in a given environment. The Fullwhite can also be made to measure since its modular system consists of a basic frame that can be sized to any format by adding or removing plug elements – a principle that has been successfully used on the company’s Vario mobile projection screens for many decades. www.avstumpflscreens.com
TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE 49
August 2014
Elite screens reject ambient light Elite’s flagship screen material, the DarkStar ALR, comes from the company’s Elite Prime Vision line of projection screens for custom installers. The light-rejecting screen features material that filters out ambient light, thus attaining flatpanel brightness whether the room lighting is on or off. The screen has a 1.4 gain material that has been engineered to incorporate optical filters that actively reflect a projected image while preventing ambient light from washing out the picture. The 0.4mm thick retro-reflective material has been designed specifically for the home theatre environment. The screen also offers a 16% vertical half-gain and 35% horizontal half-gain. A micro-serrated filtration design ensures a retro-reflective return while reflected ambient light is reduced by 95%, according to the company. This technology enables the material to provide six times the contrast performance of a matt white screen in test rooms with brightness levels in excess of 50 foot-lamberts. The combination of retro-reflective filters and neutral black contrast layers creates an image where black-level details are easily seen without compromising the colour balance. In addition to this, a durable surface coating diffuses the light to eliminate hot-spotting, glare or other visual artifacts commonly encountered with higher-gain screens.
Screenline engineers simple installations The current trend in the education sector is for interactive whiteboards – whether that is using projectors or through flatpanel displays. For the former, the idea behind Screenline’s ScreenApp is to make installation of the projection surface as simple as possible. ScreenApp is a self-adhesive projection and whiteboard surface that can be installed simply and quickly. The cleverly designed material uses the properties of a mouse pad: rigid and flat on the surface and soft at the rear. This helps with installation requirements, as the material will mould itself to bumpy or slightly nonconforming surfaces. It can adhere to surfaces including composites and laminates, plaster, wood, PVC, glass or even old blackboards. What’s more, a self-adhesive back uses technology that prevents air from being trapped underneath, helping to avoid the formation of bubbles. The material is repositionable, allowing the installer to change the position of the screen numerous times without damaging the product. The board’s polypropylene front material is nonglare, with a high marker sliding coefficient to make it suitable for video projection as well as interactive whiteboard uses. It can work as a whiteboard on which a person can write with both dry and permanent markers, and as a projection board for interactive video projectors. www.screenline.it
www.elitescreens.com
Severston Screens motorises 4K Severston Screens recently upgraded its Spirit Series motorised projection screen to make them 4K ready. Designed for commercial and residential applications where the screen is hidden when not in use, the Spirit Series gives the ceiling a clean appearance. The product has a slender profile that makes it easy to install above most ceilings. Features of the Spirit Series include a high-end motor mounted inside the roller on special vibration insulators for ultra-silent operation. What’s more, its white durable allaluminium case meets UL plenum testing standards. The triangle-shaped weight bar of the Spirit Series forms a solid bottom in closed position giving the ceiling a clean appearance with no slot opening. To protect against damage, the screen is flame retardant, mildew resistant, and available in either matt white [1.0 gain] or matt grey [0.8 gain]. In addition, all the mounting hardware is included. Versatility is also key for the Spirit Series. Installation options include wall, ceiling, or cable suspended operation. Twenty-inch black drop for 16:9 models and 14in black for 16:10 models are also available. Standard sizes include 92-120in HDTV format (16:9) and 95-123in wide PC format (16:10). Custom sizes are also available. The Spirit Series also comes with infrared eye, infrared eye extension port and extension cable, as well as wireless handheld IR remote control, 12V trigger connection by 3.5mm jack, trigger cable and RS232 control port. www.severstonscreens.com
50 SOLUTIONS: GSK SHOPPER SCIENCE LAB, BRENTFORD August 2014
The world’s largest seamless touchscreen (5.32m x 2.55m) provides full visualisation of retail environments
of the Month
Installed UNITED KINGDOM
Video
Leading with technology Having reinvigorated its consumer healthcare division, the pharmaceutical giant wanted a facility that would deliver a quantum leap in its brands’ retail performance. Paddy Baker reports on the conception and delivery of a major project that won a Teamwork Award at our recent InstallAwards
R
etailers, and the manufacturers that supply them, are on a neverending quest to understand how shoppers behave in-store. How should products be best organised on shelves? What is it about the packaging that makes shoppers more likely to pick up this product rather than that one? Glaxo SmithKline, as well as being a major player in prescription medicines, also has a number of consumer healthcare brands, such as Sensodyne toothpaste, Panadol painkillers and Nicorette nicotine replacement – all with a strong element of science behind them. To improve the performance of these brands at retail, and to improve its working relationships with retailers, the company decided to create the Consumer Healthcare Shopper
Science Lab – a facility that uses audiovisual technology to facilitate and accelerate the study of shopper behaviour.
Wider experience “Our vision is to be first and best in the FMCH – fast-moving consumer healthcare – category,” explains GSK IT director Russell Barrow. “So we wanted to create a point of difference, not a point of parity with our competitors. The starting point was not to look at the consumer goods industry, but look at what other industries do that we could repurpose. So on the visualisation side, it’s the VR technology that we’ve found in oil and gas, and automotive – taking all that thinking, all the underlying software, the technology, the work processes – and using that to bring to life the shopping environment.”
By using a virtual shop environment in place of a full-size mock-up of a supermarket shelf or a pharmacy counter, GSK can get feedback on shopper reactions to potential new products much more quickly and easily – speeding the product development process and saving on costs – because, for instance, no dummy packaging has to be printed. Similarly, shelf layouts can be modified and tested immediately. “We couldn’t tell you that this shape of bottle will increase sales by 1%, or that people will pay 5p more for this product, but we can tell you – particularly with comparative studies – that this shelf layout works much better than that one,” explains GSK’s Crispin Haywood, director of the Shopper Science Lab. The 10,000sqft Lab has
been designed to be brandneutral, so that visiting shoppers do not know they are visiting a GSK facility. Additionally, the Lab hosts visiting retailers as well as GSK’s own staff, and can be branded with retailers’ logos and colours. In fact, says Barrow, 50% of the benefit of the Lab is related to insight on shopper behaviour, and 50% to improved collaboration with retailers – for instance by having them on site to observe their own customers in action. The centrepiece of the Lab is the world’s largest seamless touchscreen (5.32m wide by 2.55m high), which provides full 3D visualisation of retail environments. The size of the display was determined by the fact that it had to simulate either four bays of supermarket shelving with header boards, or a pharmacy counter with the
Cyviz bespoke projection screen U-Touch Touch Frame Barco (projectiondesign) projectors Sony SCNEP580 IP PTZ cameras Sharp BigPad 80in touchscreens Samsung ME46, ME55 LCD displays Christie DWU-550G WUXGA projectors Milestone video software Barco Clickshare units
Audio QSC Q-Sys Core 500i DSP units QSC CX602V amplifiers QSC AD-C42T ceiling speakers QSC AD-S32-T speakers Shure MX202B/N ceiling mics ClearOne Interact Pro conferencing system Revolabs Executive HD wireless mic systems Bose MA12 array speakers Bose MB4 subwoofer
Control AMX Enova DVX2155HD controllers AMX NetLink NI-3100 and NI-2100 controllers Apple iPads AMX TPI-PRO interface Iiyama 32in touchscreens AMX Modero MVP-9000 touchpanel
SOLUTIONS: GSK SHOPPER SCIENCE LAB, BRENTFORD 51
August 2014
distance from the shopper. When the shopper touches the screen to select a product, the displayed image immediately zooms in on the pack – calling up the product shot from a database on the fly. “There is also a practical limitation [on image resolution] when generating the images in
feeds from fixed cameras in all the research areas can be viewed; additionally, live recordings can be paused, rewound and annotated. Bespoke wall solution A projection solution was chosen for reasons of brightness, but, says Parkin, “We tried to buy what we wanted on the market,
and IT installation – one network, with everything running digitally – audio, video, data visualisations, consumer monitoring over CCTV – all streamed into an IP-based control, editing and storage package, Milestone. There were certainly some challenges around that – audio and video arrive at different times once you
specifications which Insight had to meet. While it’s most apparent in the collaboration room, the entire building was conceived a wire-free environment – using Clickshare, Sharp Big Pad and iPad applications for control and interaction with everything. However, says Cook, a DVI/DisplayPort cable was put in one location at the insistence of Neil Hartstone of GSK, as a safeguard against any audio-video sync issues with the wireless kit. On the audio side, Visual Acuity recommended QSC’s Q-Sys DSP system, and Cook and his team found themselves in agreement with this choice. “There were going to be audio racks
Eye tracking glasses are used to help understand shoppers’ unconscious behaviour in a store environment
The 10,000sqft Lab has been designed to be brand-neutral, so that visiting shoppers do not know they are visiting a GSK facility
products in front of the viewer and a display behind the pharmacist. “To be able to read the barcodes and labels on the products, we did a whole lot of work with the client setting up pack photos and then projecting them, and then came to the conclusion that we needed 42 pixels per inch for the display,” says Blair Parkin, managing director of audiovisual consultancy Visual Acuity, which was responsible for the conceptual design of the Lab. This resolution may sound low, but it is sufficient given that the display is representing a supermarket shelf some
real time on the computer and then displaying them.” It’s important that the screen does respond in real time, explains Parkin. “Some of the participants are wearing an eye tracker so you can see how they interact with the shelf visually – what they look at first, how they approach it and so on. If the graphics are not linked in real time, then all those readings are potentially affected.” The facility also uses bespoke skin and facial biometric tools to detect shoppers’ unconscious reactions – which makes it important to have a good camera system. In the research control room,
but no-one would do it.” Therefore a project management approach was required. Display wall manufacturer Cyviz was responsible for the display element (projectiondesign projectors) and organised the manufacturing of the screen, and Visual Acuity “got everyone to play nicely” to ensure that the touch element, by U-Touch, was integrated. “Then the touchscreen has to behave as an input device for the real-time graphics computer, and this was done by Red Dot Square.” Another noteworthy aspect of the project, says Parkin, is that “it’s a truly networked-based AV
digitise them. It’s easy to manage because everything flies around the building on the network, but it was tough to synchronise.” The majority of the AV design and installation was carried out by integrator Insight Presentation Systems, led by technical director Mathew Cook. It was Insight’s job, he says, to take the conceptual designs created by Visual Acuity and turn them into full project designs. In some areas of the project, the consultant suggested particular products, but more generally it gave performance
and amplifiers in the various different public areas of the Lab, and they needed to be connected by a network. There simply wasn’t the budget to commission a bespoke audio network with specialist switches — we needed to be able to have the audio management platform simply ‘see’ all of the audio infrastructure by connecting it to the existing AV network. Q-Sys allowed us to do that.” Project verdicts Cook reflects: “Overall the project went very, very well.” That’s not to say that
52 SOLUTIONS: GSK SHOPPER SCIENCE LAB, BRENTFORD August 2014
Meetings, meetings This was an unusual project for me because I generally only get to experience installations around or after the time of completion. For the Shopper Science Lab, thanks to Visual Acuity, I was able to attend some of the project meetings and get a much earlier and more detailed insight into the processes involved in major AV installation projects. In November 2012 I attended a meeting between Visual Acuity (represented by Blair Parkin and Duncan Howie) and Pope Wainwright (George Wainwright, Lewis Mitchell and Sarah Lawes) at the latter’s office in north London. PW was responsible for the aesthetic design and Visual Acuity for the functional design. At this point, GSK had delivered a functional brief, from which Visual Acuity had subdivided the available space into different rooms, including the collaboration room, the focus group room, the viewing room and reception. The main purpose of this meeting was to review the proposed layouts of the various spaces. Parkin reflected: “The client’s workflow document now has more than 30 workflow streams on it – this will have to come down, as the space is not large enough. The issue is not the number per se, it’s what some of those things are. This is not a meeting space, it’s a decision space.” Questions raised in this meeting included: Is the floor plan locked down yet? Can we fit everything we want to into the collaboration room? Is it possible to have modular furniture, or otherwise hide furniture somewhere when it’s not needed? Is the client overstating the numbers of people that will typically use certain rooms? A few weeks later, in January 2013, a major meeting at GSK’s facility in North Mymms, Hertfordshire (pictured) brought together most of the project team: as well as Visual Acuity and Pope Wainwright
(from which, respectively, Blair Parkin and Tim Pope led the meeting), there were representatives from GSK (including Russell Barrow, IT director, responsible for the delivery of the lab; Crispin Haywood, who would take over the running of the lab once it opened, and representatives from product development and category management; CDS, the main contractor; and project manager Matt Homewood. This meeting, which lasted a day and a half, was described as a last chance to raise outstanding issues. Questions raised included: Can we have an operational walkthrough of the lab to work out what is stored where, what is mounted where, is there enough turning space for a pallet truck here? Do we need to consider occasionally combining these two spaces? And how can we stop natural light from entering the collaboration room when the touchscreen wall is being used? (This was later solved, says Parkin, with “a good old design team compromise”. The window was retained, and a very high-quality blackout blind has been integrated – so that it doesn’t look like a blind has been pulled over the window when the videowall is being used.) Finally, I attended a third meeting at GSK House in Brentford, west London in March 2013, a short distance from the Lab. Construction had begun on the Lab, and so as well as getting an update on design decisions I was able to tour the site – although at that stage a large amount of imagination was needed to envisage the facility that it was to become. What attending these meetings brought home to me was the sheer degree of planning, and the levels of budgeting and decision-making, that can go into AV projects – particularly when the client starts with only a faint idea of what is wanted. But it’s clear from the success of the Shopper Science Lab that all of this was time well spent.
it was plain sailing, though. “It’s always difficult on these large builds to get an honest picture from the main contractor regarding when they will really be ready for us. We probably got onto site earlier than we should have done – perhaps by a month – but we were told things were ready when they weren’t.” Cook had anticipated this, however. “Rather than having a big team hit the project in a short period of time I had a fairly small team working alongside the other contractors, getting what they could done, and they could give me constant updates on where the site was rather than how it was perceived to be.” Most of the time there were four or five people on site working under Cook, rising to eight at the busiest times. There was a degree of slippage on the project: originally due to open in May 2013, the facility actually began its work in October. Most of this delay, says Parkin, was due to lease issues that deferred the start of construction. He also looks back fondly on the Shopper Science Lab. “It was a terribly goodnatured project. Everyone wanted it to succeed. It was slightly odd – there was an absurdly short timescale, but with very passionate people, and everyone caught the passion and we made it happen across the whole project.” That’s not to say it was entirely free from tension. “In every project with a high degree of esoteric design and functional design, and different consultants representing those things, there’s always tension between form and function. This project was no different in that regard, but what made it easier was that we
were simulating real-world environments.” Lighting decisions took a lot of hard work, he says, but this is par for the course: “On almost every project, lighting is one of the most challenging areas, because you’re crossing disciplines between theatrical and effects lighting, building architectural lighting and safety lighting, and they’re normally represented by three different sets of people. If you don’t work hard, you end up with three separate systems, which no client wants on a project like this.” Overall, Parkin says the project was “ambitious in every possible way. The only way you can achieve something like that is if the project team are equally ambitious, but the key thing was it had executive backing to the hilt because it was looking to be a huge business generator, and that’s proved to be true.” Barrow elaborates: “The real proof of the Lab has been in its adoption. Global marketing teams can make more decisions in an afternoon than they could previously in a couple of months.” I guess if you want to be the leader in fast-moving consumer healthcare, it’s important to be able to move fast.
www.amx.com www.barco.com www.clearone.com www.cyviz.com www.gsk.com www.iiyama.com www.milestone-system.com www.pro.bose.com www.pro.sony.eu www.popewainwright.co.uk www.qsc.com www.reddotsquare.com www.samsung.com/business www.sharp.eu www.shure.eu www.u-touch.co.uk www.visual-acuity.com
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54 SOLUTIONS: MERCEDES-BENZ WORLD, WEYBRIDGE August 2014
This 4 x 4 videowall dominates the view as one enters Mercedes-Benz World
UNITED KINGDOM
Displaying a high-end brand
Installed Video
A technology refresh at a major car marque’s experience centre has seen LG displays introduced throughout the facility. Paddy Baker paid a visit
M
any consumer brands are looking to increase the number of ways in which they can interact with current and prospective customers. In the automotive world, an increasingly popular approach is the brand experience centre – and one of the first of these was Mercedes-Benz World outside Weybridge, 40km south-west of London. Located by the former Brooklands motor racing circuit, the three-storey site is more than just a car showroom: it arranges driving experiences; it is a museum of the brand, featuring numerous road and racing cars from throughout its history; it hosts car-related events
throughout the year; and it is also available for corporate hire. The facility opened in 2006, but recently Mercedes-Benz World refreshed its display technology by entering into a commercial agreement with LG; the manufacturer has become the official supplier of displays for the facility. The agreement runs for a number of years, giving the opportunity for joint planned development until at least 2017. As you enter MercedesBenz World, your eyes are immediately drawn to a large videowall directly in front of you. This is a 4 x 4 array of 47in LED displays: high-brightness models were chosen because there is a lot of ambient light in this airy, glass building.
“There’s a real wow factor from the videowall,” says Harold de Vries, head of B2B and IT solutions marketing at LG. “It’s well aligned, well mounted, perfectly colour calibrated, the cabling is neat, and looks good from all angles, not just from the front.” Solutions Audio Visual was chosen as systems integrator, and the company worked with Peerless AV on the mounting solutions.
A step up De Vries remarks that the new screens are a great improvement on those from the previous supplier and integrator; the previous videowall had not been installed well, and there were colour balance issues across the individual
displays. LG displays are everywhere you look in the facility: there are two more videowalls, this time in a 3 x 3 configuration, on the upper floors; there are displays mounted in a triangular configuration onto poles (this features a Peerless mount on a Unicol pole), and there are numerous single 42in and 55in displays and 29in desktop monitors around the building. The number of different models has been deliberately kept low to create a uniform ambience. One interesting mounting challenge is above the Driving Experience reception. Here, a straight line of five 42in displays has been mounted onto a curved wall. (“The curvature of the wall changed mid-
All LG: 29UB65 29in 21:9 desktop monitors 42WL30MS, 42WS50BS, 42WS50MS, 42WS50MW 42in LED signage screens 42LM610C 42in TV signage screens 47WV30MS , 47WV30BR 47in LED videowall screens 55EA980W 55in curved OLED TV 55WS10-BAA 55in LED signage screen 84WS70MS 84in 4K screens All Peerless: DS-VW765-LQR videowall mounts DS-MB642L digital menu board mounts DS-VW765-LAND videowall mount SR560M trolley SF680P flat wall mount project,” explains de Vries.) “This was achieved using our Linear Menu Board system,” explains Paul Dawes, director of
SOLUTIONS: MERCEDES-BENZ WORLD, WEYBRIDGE 55
August 2014
About the installer Solutions AV was founded in 1995 and has offices in south-west England, London and south-east England The company provides system design and installation services across sectors including education, hospitality & leisure and retail, and has a strong focus on digital signage and large-format displays Clients include BAA, the BBC, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, the Eden Project and the Royal Air Force
This configuration of three displays in a triangular formation is used several times
marketing at Peerless AV. “This is a one-to-one solution (one mount to each display); the mounts fix together to effectively create a continuous wall plate onto which to hang the displays. Postinstallation adjustment enables seamless alignment even when used on an uneven surface. Incremental tilt allows all screens to be positioned at exactly the same angle to quickly and easily provide
consistency across an array of displays.”
Rapid back-up In the event of any displayrelated issues, speed of response is important – not just because MercedesBenz is a premium brand, but because the issues could affect one of the events taking place at the venue. “If a problem were to occur with one of the screens we would come out – probably with
Solutions AudioVisual – to diagnose it. We would generally have some idea from the phone conversation what the problem was, but if it could not be addressed straight away we would swap the display out and look into the issue back at base.” It helps that LG is based just a few miles away in Slough. The facility uses a third party to manage media players and content. A default playlist is updated once a month, but this is typically amended several times a week to reflect the
various events that take place there. Elliott Fletcher, who works in digital marketing and PR for Mercedes-Benz World, comments: “We saw an improvement on the previous supplier straight away – and more so in the more recent second phase of the project. Both companies are at the forefront of creating an expectation of high quality.”
So, what is next? Mercedes-Benz World is working on interactive 4K content for the videowall and for some 84in touchscreens – probably based around the theme of Formula One racing. Further ahead, it is expected that the layout will change as the facility’s functions develop, and LG will supply further displays to meet the requirements.
www.lg.com/commercial www.mercedes-benzworld.co.uk www.peerless-av.com www.solutionsav.com
56 SOLUTIONS: RENAULT CAVE, PARIS August 2014
The facility boasts the highest resolution ever realised in a VR environment
FRANCE
Exploring the CAVE New technology takes virtual reality to the next level at automobile manufacturer’s HQ, writes Tom Bradbury
Installed Video Sony SRX-T105 4K projectors Digital Projection Titan WUXGA 3D projectors Stewart Filmscreen screen ART Tracking system
F
rench automobile manufacturer Renault has recently implemented a new CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) facility at its Paris headquarters. While other auto manufacturers have also implemented CAVE technology, Renault’s facility boasts the highest resolution ever realised in a VR environment, with five sides of Sony-based imaging that can deliver up to 16k resolution. Andras Kemeny is founder and head of Renault’s Virtual Reality and Immersive Simulation Technologies Group, which provides virtual mock-up and simulation tools for various departments within the company, including Vehicle Architecture, Ergonomics and Styling. “At Renault, we were aware of CAVE technology from the beginning, around 1990,” he says. “We had
talks with others in the field, including the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart, where they had an early six-sided CAVE. At the time, the general consensus at Renault was that the image quality and frame rate were not sufficient for our use.”
Moving forward It was a chance meeting that renewed Kemeny’s interest in the CAVE. “I was teaching a class at Paris Tech, and one of the invited professors was Jim Oliver, who was the head of Iowa State University’s VRAC (Virtual Reality Applications Center) facility,” says Kemeny. “They had one of the first 4K CAVE systems. It was really impressive, and we felt it was finally time to move forward with CAVE.” Renault partnered with Mechdyne to design and implement the CAVE facility. “Renault approached us to bid on the project, because we had already
built a six-sided CAVE of that resolution, and we understood the challenges,” explains Mechdyne’s Dr Richard Cashmore. “We found that Mechdyne was not bound to a specific technology,” Kemeny explains. “They were able to look at the entire technological landscape, and consider combinations of different brands and products. Their approach was very focused on our specific goals, rather than on whatever technology they favoured.” “We had a number of meetings with them to talk about their ideas,” Cashmore continues. “We worked to create a solution that fit their budget, and to address their space limitations, including a height restriction.” The system includes five sides of Sony 4K projectors at 5.5K lumens, scalable to 16K – the
first 16K VR environment anywhere in the world. Kemeny adds: “The Sony projector Mechdyne specified was designed for cinema-based solutions. Calibrating multiple projectors was not something Sony had addressed. Sony provided us some data, and then our engineers at Renault and Mechdyne collaborated for
several months to design a calibration protocol. We’ve been quite happy with the results.” The CAVE and supporting PowerWall are also equipped with three Digital Projection Titan WUXGA projectors, screens from Stewart Filmscreen, a computing and rendering cluster comprised of a head node with 18 rendering
SOLUTIONS: RENAULT CAVE, PARIS 57
August 2014
About the installer Mechdyne is a leading provider of innovative visual information technologies The company has offices in the UK, US, Canada and Abu Dhabi It has completed more than 1,000 installations all over the world Customers include government labs, energy companies, universities, manufacturing and design firms and the military
The system includes five sides of Sony 4K projectors
nodes each with a single NVIDIA Q6000 GPU (graphics processing unit), and an ART optical tracking system.
Teamwork The collaboration between Renault and Mechdyne created a powerful synergy. “Originally, the relationship was that of client and provider, but over time it
evolved to where we were all really part of the same team,” says Kemeny. Though Renault’s CAVE was initially created for interior ergonomic design, Kemeny reports that the technology has become popular with other departments in the organisation. “One thing that was
very exciting for us was the fact that the CAVE was being embraced by various departments within Renault,” he says. “Ultimately, this is enabling us to build a better vehicle.” In fact, the Renault CAVE has led to discussions with Daimler (parent company of Mercedes-Benz) on a new collaborative project. “The collaboration with Mechdyne has given us the most state-of-the-art facility in the automotive industry,” Kemeny concludes. “It’s a system we can be very proud of.”
www.ar-tracking.com www.digitalprojection.com www.mechdyne.com www.pro.sony.eu www.stewartfilmscreen.com
PLANYOUR Visit
MONTH AHEAD
Our pick of what to see, do and discover in the weeks ahead
f Pick o th on m e h t
Digital Revolution
Read
Until 14 September, Barbican, London Described as ‘the most comprehensive presentation of digital creativity ever to be staged in the UK’, Digital Revolution is an immersive and interactive exhibition that brings together a look at the creative possibilities offered by augmented reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technologies and 3D printing.
City 2.0: The Habitat of the Future and How to Get There
Pro Sound Awards 2014 Following on from the success of their launch last year, the Pro Sound Awards are back in 2014 and they’ll be bigger and better than ever. Held on 25 September at the Ministry of Sound, the 2014 event features new award categories, including a Best Theatre Sound accolade, and the Pre Roll – an early evening session of insight and discussion, in a panel/Q&A format, with leading figures from the industry. An independent panel of judges is currently poring over the recently announced shortlist. In the Installed
Audio category Funktion-One, Powersoft, EM Acoustics and Stouenborg/Meyer Sound are battling it out to be named Best Permanent Installation Project, while SSE Audio, Sound by Design, DJW Install and TG Baker are all up for Team of the Year. Elsewhere, key figures from across the broadcast, live and studio markets will be recognised. Tickets for the event are just £99, this includes entry to the Pre Roll, drinks reception, food and after party. Get yours at www.prosoundawards.com/buy-tickets.
Learn
Edited by TED Books With the world’s cities on pace to balloon to more than 6 billion inhabitants by mid-century, this book, produced with the Atlantic Cities, asks simpleseeming questions: how can we transform cities to be sustainable, efficient and beautiful, and practically speaking, how do we get from here to there?
ISCE The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers has announced two new training courses to be presented by Tony Stacey, MInstSCE and taking place at Jurys Inn, Watford on 9-10 September. Open to all, the first session, is entitled ‘Introduction to Sound’, followed by ‘Designing for Speech Intelligibility’ on the second day.
IS LIVE PUSH YOUR SOUND AS FAR AS YOU WANT
PA R T O F T H E
The LYON linear sound reinforcement system is designed to faithfully reproduce your sound even when the system is pushed to its limits. Live sound venues, theatres, churches, and arenas rely on LYON for the most consistent sound at all levels.
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