Pro Systems May/June 2013

SOUTHERN AFRICA

May / June 2013

R35.00

AV System Integration | Installations | Live Events | Studio & Broadcast Audio

Viva Afrika – Hybrid

Cover Russian Jewish Story Museum Installation Mediatech Africa 2013 Preview Greening Digital Signage World’s Largest Outdoor LED Screen Prolight + Sound 2013 SAMAs 2013 Review Bon Jovi Lighting Director Interview

Performance beyond it’s price

Great sound with brains

LA212

EXS218

Line source speaker system

LF Subwoofer

For audiences up to 50 000

Suitable for indoor and outdoor live performances

Frequency Response (+/- 6dB):

Frequency Response (+/- 6dB):

50~18 000Hz

30~1 100Hz

Maximum SPL /1m (Calculated):

Maximum SPL /1m (Calculated):

134dB Continuous

136dB Continuous

137dB Program

139dB Program

LF Driver: 2 x 12” CELTO ACOUSTIQUE

LF Driver: 18” CELTO ACOUSTIQUE

Ferrite magnet, 3” In/Out voice coil

Ferrite magnet, 4.5” In/Out voice coil

Power Rating: 900W RMS LF + 200W HF

Power Rating: 3 000W RMS

Weight: 63Kg gross

Weight: 96Kg gross

Dimensions mm:

Dimensions mm:

960mm(W) x 377mm(H) x 488mm(D)

1 080mm(W) x 580mm(H) x 780mm(D)

All you need from one system

to match!!

Hybrid+ 2.1

Hybrid+ 2.2

Hybrid+ 4.1

High power class D amplifier

High power class D amplifier

High power class D amplifier

Frequency Response:

Frequency Response:

Frequency Response:

20~24 000Hz (1W +/- 0.5dB)

20~24 000Hz (1W +/- 0.5dB)

20~24 000Hz (1W +/- 0.5dB)

Maximum Rate Power (RMS):

Maximum Rate Power (RMS):

Maximum Rate Power (RMS):

at 4 ohm: 2 200W/channel x 2 channels

at 4 ohm: 3 200W/channel x 2 channels

at 4 ohm: 2 200W/channel x 4 channels

at 8 ohm: 1 200W/channel x 2 channels

at 8 ohm: 1 600W/channel x 2 channels

at 8 ohm: 1 200W/channel x 4 channels

Signal to noise ratio: 103dB (A-weighted)

Signal to noise ratio: 103dB (A-weighted)

Signal to noise ratio: 103dB (A-weighted)

Weight: 7.7Kg

Weight: 11.7Kg

Weight: 12.5Kg

Dimensions mm:

Dimensions mm:

Dimensions mm:

489mm(W) x 88mm(H) x352mm(D)

489mm(W) x 88mm(H) x 480mm(D)

489mm(W) x 88mm(H) x 502mm(D)

With built-in digital signal processor controlled using Windows 7 or 8. Android 4 & iPad IOS 6. Wi-Fi control software for laptop or tablet included.

Digital Signal Processor Features: • Input delay up to 100m • 31 Band graphic EQ with flat top response • 8 Band parametric EQ with band-pass • High-pass, low-pass, notch and shelving • User configurable look ahead limiter • Crossover with selectable slope of 6, 12, 24 or 48dB/octave and L-R, Butterworth or Bessel slopes • Input matrix configurable • Output delay up to 15m • 30 User presets

viva afrika

G CASIN AT TECH MEDIA A AFRIC

SHOW

Viva Afrika Sound and Light (Pty) Ltd Unit 2, 2 Drakensburg Road Longmeadow Business Park West, Westfield PO Box 4709, Rivonia, 2128, South Africa Tel: 011 250-3280, Fax: 011 608-4109 orders@hybrid.co.za, www.hybrid.co.za

digiLED screens are distributed in Africa by:

www.digiled.com

digiLED Ti6S – 6mm and MC10 – 10mm Curved LED Screens / PSL Awards, May 2013

digiLED Screens are available for hire and supported by:

Visit us at Mediatech Stand D15 +27 11 805 6353

news Publisher & Editor

CONTENTS

It’s amazing how quickly the year has passed – Pro-Systems News is over a year old and another Mediatech Africa advanced technology trade show is upon us.

The positive feedback Pro-Systems has received from advertisers and readers alike has truly made this adventure worth the hard work and the late nights. I take this opportunity to thank my team, our advertisers and you, the readers, and welcome feedback in making Pro-Systems the best possible read!

Our cover story in this issue, The Russian Jewish Museum, is testimony to the skills and expertise we have in our country. Austrian firm, Kraftwerk Living Technologies, turned to South African partners Digital Fabric to provide both project management and on-site installation services, led by the internationally acclaimed museum designers Ralph Appelbaum and Associates.

Once again the local industry stands out with Questek’s configuration and integration of the Absa Lumen screen. This is the world’s largest LED solution to date, bigger than those at Piccadilly Circus in London and New York’s Times Square.

With South Africa positioned as the “Gateway to Africa” we are certainly setting the standard for the use of audio visual technology. This year’s Mediatech Africa will not only showcase state-of-the-art equipment but will also deliver SABA’s Digital Broadcasting Infrastructure Seminars, The Africa Loudness Summit, as well as a host of interactive demonstrations and workshops.

Join us in welcoming the international manufacturers and guests to Mediatech Africa and come and meet the Pro-Systems team on Stand Number F51.

Regards Simon Robinson

NEWS

Live Events

Audiosure sign distribution deal......................5

Signing off for Shure........................................52

Crestron House opens......................................5

Avidly digital....................................................54

Skilling Vari-Lite users.........................................5

SAMAs 2013......................................................56

Calibre sign up Prosound.................................6

Bon Jovi’s lighting director Interview............58

Panovision Telepresence in SA........................6

Beyonce: London’s O2 Arena.......................60

GearShack acquires Global Truss...................6

Justin Bieber: Beliebe it!..................................62

CTICC appoints IVTM........................................8 Audiosure celebrates dealers.........................8

PROLIGHT + SOUND REPORT

Sound Harmonics brings Ayrton to SA............8

Prolight + Sound 2013 Review.......................68

AVU handles Galaxy S4 World Tour...............10

South Africans at Prolight + Sound ..............72

PVision arms 2RM Security.............................10

Prolight + Sound Director Interview..............74

WATCHOUT for Afrikaans music awards.......12

Greg Bester’s Best of the Best.......................76

SuperSport OB van gets DiGiCo...................12 WiTP trains follow spotters..............................12

FACTORY TOUR Touring Robe....................................................78

MEDIATECH PREVIEW Mediatech 2013..............................................14

Studio & Broadcast

On show at Mediatech..................................16

Miktek C5 Review ..........................................82

International guests at Mediatech...............22

Drum Recording Tutorial: Part 1.....................84 Neil Snyman Interview....................................86

System Integration Social

Digital signage – the greener alternative: Part 1...................25

Audiosure Dealer Evening.............................87

Lumen illuminates Jo’burg skyline.................30

Crestron House Opening...............................87

Streamlining education..................................32

Neets Product Launch...................................87

Russian Jewish Museum installation..............34

Robe Factory Tour...........................................87

InfoComm educates AV sector....................38

Sennheiser RF Seminar....................................88

Handy apps for AV integrators......................40

Sony Conference for Africa...........................88 Women In Technical production

Installations

Follow Spotter Training....................................88

Kearsney College............................................42

Philips Vari-lite Training....................................88

KONG: the king of all clubs...........................46 CRC Church Bloemfontein............................48 A quest for the best........................................50

Contributors Greg Bester | Musician and audio engineer – proficient in both the analogue and digital domains and has extensive experience mixing live music, setting up and configuring loudspeaker systems, monitoring and general stage management. He has mixed hundreds of events and is comfortable on large and small-format mixing consoles.

Louise Stickland | Professional journalist and photographer with huge passion and enthusiasm for technology and the production industry.

Louise initially worked and toured as a lighting designer after graduating from university. She has many years experience in the music and live event sector, and works closely with leading international designers, production companies and technology manufacturers.

Claire Badenhorst | Industry expert with eight years experience in event management, PR, marketing and advertising within the professional audio, video, lighting and staging sector. Claire has played an integral role in the development of the concept and content creation of Pro Systems and works closely with our advertisers and readers.

Eddie Hatitye | Professional journalist and former editor of Music Industry Online, Eddie has been actively involved in the South African recording and music industry for the past 5 years. He has a strong passion for music production and has leveraged this knowledge and his contacts to further his career as a journalist.

Simba Nyamukachi | A graduate in journalism and has an honours degree in Media & Culture Studies. He grabbed the opportunity to join Sun Circle Publishers in his first position as a journalist for Pro-Systems News.

He has an immense passion for the AV and live entertainment industry and is furthering his AV integration knowledge by completing an online accredited AV training program.

Paul Watson | After touring professionally with several bands in the UK and then the US, Paul went on to open his own commercial recording and rehearsal facility, where he was resident producer/engineer for six years.

For the last five years, he has been a regular contributor for a number of UK titles, covering live sound, studio sound, lighting, video, broadcast and post-production. He is also European Editor for one of the major US trade music publications.

Publisher & Editor | Simon Robinson | simon@sun-circle.co.za JournalistS | Greg Bester | greg@pro-systems.co.za and Simba Nyamukachi | news@pro-systems.co.za Sub-Editor | Tina Heron Advertising Sales | Claire Badenhorst | claire@sun-circle.co.za Design | Trevor Ou Tim | design@sun-circle.co.za Subscriptions | Albertina Tserere | data@sun-circle.co.za Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd | Tel: +27 11 025-3180 | Epsom Downs Office Park, 13 Sloane Street, Bryanston, Johannesburg | PO Box 559 Fourways North 2086, South Africa

www. pro-systems.co.za 4

news

Audiosure sign distribution deal with Neets

Audiosure’s Quintin Venter shows off Neets

Audiosure, a top professional audio visual and consumer brand distributer, added new AV control systems company, Neets, to its commercial AV inventory. The company unveiled the Neets brand to the South African market at a product launch held at their Johannesburg offices on 21 May. Neets released a statement on their website expressing their excitement about

their venture stating: “We are proud to present Audiosure as our distributor in South Africa. Audiosure have been active on the South African market in the past 12 years and has a great team with focus on local training and education.”

Neets brings more than just a new control system to the South African market; the company brings experience from more than 14 years of making AV control systems in more than 50 000 class and meeting rooms worldwide.

Speaking about the Neets product range, Camilla Brengosz, from Audiosure’s Commercial AV and Technical Division said: “Neets provides much smarter solutions especially in configuration of control systems which saves system integrators time, efforts and headaches.

The company, in accordance with Danish design traditions, has also developed control systems and electronics which are not only easy to configure, but also easy to install when you are standing on the ladder and easy to use for teachers, professors and presenters.”

Crestron House opens its doors On 15 May Electrosonic SA celebrated the official opening of Crestron House in Blackheath, Johannesburg. The guest speaker at the event was Robin van Meeuwen, Vice President of Crestron International. Also present were Steven Dullaert, Director of Distributor Sales at Crestron International, Rupert Denoon, Crestron Regional Manager for South Africa.

From Electrosonic SA; Bruce Genricks, Managing Member and Eugene Coetzee, AV Systems Manager attended.

Crestron House, which is in Weltevreden Road just opposite Cresta Shopping Centre, will house a dedicated team devoted to distributing and supporting Crestron products. The move away from Electrosonic SA offices to a dedicated venue will facilitate better service for customers, increased stock, and better repair return time.

Crestron House boasts four demonstration rooms, one of which doubles up as a training room. Besides kitchens and bathrooms there are a further six rooms, to be used as offices – or converted for other purposes should the need arise. There is also a warehouse and ample parking for customers.

Rupert Denoon and Robin van Meeuwen (VP of Crestron International)

In his speech Robin van Meeuwen pointed out that South Africa is the most far-flung country of the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region and explained that it was important for logistics and support that South Africa has its own hub. He went on to speak in glowing terms about the growth of Crestron in South Africa (around 30% growth this year alone), and congratulated the South African team on their “commitment, passion and drive for the business.”

Van Meeuwen commented on the amount of stock carried at Crestron House, and promised to increase it. He also promised to up the training in Crestron’s products, and to supply the necessary tools

Skilling Vari-Lite users hands-on

Todd Kessler imparting tech skills

Philips Vari-Lite’s technical trainer, Todd Kessler, recently returned to South Africa to present Warranty and Service Training course to DWR Distribution customers and in-house staff at their Johannesburg offices.

The training course, which was aimed at equipping users with skills to technically support their gear, was held in May. The visit marked Kessler’s second sojourn to South Africa. He visited the country In June 2010 at the height of FIFA World Cup soccer fever. Speaking about his most recent visit the trainer expressed delight at being warmly welcomed back into South Africa.

“The best part of the job is the people I get to meet and train and the opportunity to pass on my years of experience. The people I met here were fantastic,” commented Kessler.

“I could tell from the first time I was here that there was an increased knowledge and enthusiasm, they all did very well and their gear has been kept in excellent shape. I particularly admire their ‘anything to make it happen’ mentality.”

Kessler, who has been with Philips Entertainment since 1996, also stated that the objective of Philips Vari-Lite is to provide tools for lighting designers to help them to bring their inner artistic world into reality. “We truly give them all the tools they need and have the tendency to think about how the product will be used. The quality of the fixtures is very important and that’s why so many professional’s shows tend to rely on our products around the world,” he concluded.

to ensure the success of the South African outfit stating: “We’re going to give you more tools so that you can be successful, because without you being successful we can’t be successful. We have to act like one big family.”

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news

Calibre sign up Prosound as distributor

Calibre UK has extended its global reach further with the appointment of Prosound as its new distribution partner for sub-Saharan Africa.

Based in South Africa, Prosound is a hugely experienced distributor and rental company with several decades of expertise under its belt for supplying professional sound and lighting equipment.

With more of its customers also requiring hardware solutions for multi-screen shows and installations, the link with Calibre UK was a natural progression, according to Prosound’s Technical Director, Mark Malherbe.

“Our reputation has been built on using only market-leading products in both our sales and hire departments, so when the opportunity arose to add Calibre to our roster, we jumped at the chance, he says.

“We supply a number of high-end production companies not just in South Africa but in East and West African countries as well. Whether they are putting on a small conference or a 10-screen, multi-input show we believe we will have a Calibre UK image-processing solution that meets their needs, and which they can trust to be seamless and stable.”

Pauline Brooksbank, Managing Director, Calibre UK, adds: “The market for highquality image processing in sub-Saharan Africa is growing very fast, and we believe Prosound is perfectly positioned to offer our entire range to this market including the HQView and FoveaHD ranges.

“The synergy between video production, sound and light is growing not just in the rental arena but in fixed installations as well, and we look forward to seeing more of our products being sold into all these sectors through the good auspices of the team at Prosound.”

Launching Panovision Telepresence in SA Huawei Enterprise South Africa, a business group of Huawei Technologies and the world’s largest telecommunications and ICT equipment manufacturer, has officially announced the local release of its Panovision Telepresence offering.

The Huawei TP3206 is the first panoramic Telepresence solution in the world, consisting of one co-optical centre camera and three impressive 55” ultra-narrow bezel displays to provide users with an immersive and internationally competitive conferencing

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experience.

In addition the TP3206 supports local conference, front mount installation and maintenance and saves space, power consumption and bandwidth – lowering TCO by up to 30%.

GearShack acquires Global Truss agency GearShack, a company offering premium power distribution and a variety of aftermarket products for the rental industry, was recently officially appointed distributer of Global Truss products for sub-Saharan Africa. The company released a statement officially announcing this partnership in late May. Global Truss is one of the leading manufacturers of truss systems in the world and has established a worldwide distributor network that is currently spread in more than 25 countries.

Speaking about the deal Pedro Savic, Managing Member of GearShack, stated: “GearShack has used the Global Truss products in various applications in the rental market over the past two years and we are very satisfied with the durability and quality of the product.”

Savic also added that the Global Truss brand has many benefits including that it is compatible with other popular brands as well as having TÜV certification. In addition, the product is manufactured under ISO 9001 specifications.

In a corporate environment where telepresence systems are growing, a degree of interoperability and reliability is essential in realising the benefit of investment in this technology. As such, the Huawei TP3206 also adopts standard-based H.235 and AES encryption techniques to ensure cross platform integration as well as security.

Finally, the TP3206 features a touch based Graphical User Interface and employs Huawei’s popular MediaPad for conference control. The offering also includes Huawei Super Error Concealment (SEC) and Intelligent Rate Control to ensure a consistent user experience, even in low bandwidth environments.

SA Dealers: Jasco +27 11 266 1500 | Visual Impact +27 11 788 9879 | SBSS +27 21 425 6337 | Protea +27 11 719 5700 Sony Broadcast & Professional +27 11 690 3200 | www.pro.sony.eu/mea

news

CTICC appoints IVTM as AV supplier

The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) recently announced that it has appointed INHOUSE Venue Technical Management (IVTM) as its new audio visual supplier.

According to CTICC general manager for operations, Aage Hansen, the centre has entered into a business partnership with IVTM, which will now be responsible for overseeing all the audio-visual requirements and solutions for the centre and its clients.

The new appointment supersedes the existing partnership between the CTICC and its former in house audio visual supplier AV Alliance; its contract concluded on

30 April 2013.

“As a convention centre committed to continually raising the benchmark in terms of creating memorable experiences, the CTICC places key emphasis on partnering with suppliers who share this vision,” says Hansen.

“Partnering with IVTM, which boast an array of innovative leading audio visual technology and services, means that the centre now offers its clients unparalleled meeting experiences in terms of audio visual services.”

“As a provider of three complementary services, IVTM is able to offer an unprecedented level of technical service in the fields of lighting, audio, audio visual, rigging, power, structures, IT equipment and services,” says Managing Director, Ashraf Omar. “We are excited to join forces with the CTICC to further raise the global competitiveness of the local meetings and events industry,” he adds.

Audiosure celebrates dealers Audiosure, home to some of the world’s top professional audio visual and consumer brands, held a Dealer Evening at their head offices in Johannesburg on 10 May. The event recognised and rewarded distinction within the Audiosure local and regional dealer networks.

During the evening the company also conducted the inaugural Audiosure Dealer Awards to some of their outstanding traders.

Greg Payne, Audiosure’s Sales Manager, states: “We introduced our Dealer Awards to reward our customers for their outstanding achievements across various categories, in 2012. Our Dealer Awards will be an annual event and will take place at our first Dealer

John Silver hands the Dealer of The Year Award to A1 Stores

Evening of the year which happens in the first half of the year. We thank all our customers for their ongoing support and look forward to rewarding them again at our 2014 Customer Awards.”

Audiosure has a diverse product offering across its divisions and operates on a strictly wholesale basis and supplies their products to end-users through a network of specialist dealers around the country. The company is passionate about the industry as well as committed to growing their business, and that of their valued partners.

Free registration at www.mediatech.co.za before 7 July 2013 and avoid paying R50 at the door use your unique code:

17 - 19 July 2013 Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate Johannesburg, South Africa 8

AD01000

Sound Harmonics brings Ayrton to SA Sound Harmonics, a professional audio company dedicated to providing high quality solutions to the entertainment industry, recently announced a distribution partnership with Ayrton. The two companies sealed the deal in April this year during the Pro Light + Sound exhibition.

“Ayrton are well known as innovators and have registered numerous patents – their new products are testament to this and Sound Harmonics is excited to be showcasing these brands at Mediatech Africa in July. The South African market is looking for some fresh new lighting ideas and we’re confident that Ayrton will not disappoint,” said Joseph Mandy, co-director of Sound Harmonics.

The AYRTON brand was born in 2001 when Aestetique-designs, lighting and technology amateurs and virtuosi got together. AYRTON is specialised in developing intelligent LED light products for entertainment and architectural applications. Sound Harmonics will parade many products at Mediatech Africa including the Ayrton Rollapix 100 and the Ayrton Nandobeam 302.

The ROLLAPIX 100 is the first linear LED luminaire fitted with a 4:1 double zoom system. The distinctive characteristic of the ROLLAPIX 100 is the eight independent 10-Watt RGBW LEDs teamed with two zoom systems, which can be controlled separately to create a multitude of diverse effects.

The Nandobeam 302 is a powerful and ultra-fast moving head in a compact housing. It boasts 19 x state-of-the-art 15 Watt LEDs with 8º narrow beam to 40º wide coverage. Thanks to its 5 000 lumen output at 40º angle the NANDOBEAM 302 is the perfect lighting tool for use as a BEAM moving head.

Visual TECHNOlOGY lCD / Plasma Displays Projectors

Contact: Johan Oosthuizen: (011) 313 1615 • joosthuizen@pansolutions.co.za • www.pansolutions.co.za

news

AVU handles Galaxy S4 World Tour

Forming part of the Samsung Galaxy S4 World Tour, the Galaxy S4 was launched to the South African market at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg recently and was attended by 2 000 guests.

The elaborate event consisted of two parts; a formal conference followed by a spectacular surprise party where the entertainment included everything, from aerial acts to ballerinas in LED tutus, popular DJs to lighting that was breath-taking. This was the largest event Victor Vermaak, from AV Unlimited (AVU), had worked on as production manager. It was also the

proudest moment of his career so far. AVU were commissioned to supply full technical support.

The greatest challenge for Vermaak and Garrith Castelyn (AVU’s in house creative and designer) was designing a concept that would fit into the budget without losing the essence of the concept pitched. Top prize would be incorporating the extras that would change the look of the event completely, one of them being a cleverly designed LED ’chandelier‘ that made up a part of the elaborate DJ booth and stage centre to the after party room.

A mere two weeks prior to the event, AVU received the green light from their client, Mela Events, to go ahead with the full concept. “I actually knew from the beginning when I sent out the hopeful budgets that the show would be amazing,” said Vermaak. “When they signed it off and the lighting designer, AVU’s very own Renaldo van de Berg, had all the fixtures on his dream list, I knew it could only go well.”

JBL and Shure gold sponsors at Mediatech Mediatech has welcomed Wild and Marr’s JBL Professional and Shure brands as Gold Sponsors for this year’s technology exhibition.

As forerunners in the distribution and installation of professional audio and video equipment in Southern Africa, Wild and Marr are committed to showcasing quality brands, top service capabilities and innovative technologies.

“Mediatech is a great platform to network with professionals from all over Africa and provides an opportunity to impart knowledge and market trends of our brands to visitors and industry professionals,” says Wild and Marr’s systems engineer, Gustav Tietge. This will be Wild and Marr’s first year as

sponsors, having exhibited at Mediatech in previous years. Visitors can again look forward to top cutting-edge technology products and services at their stands (G34, G35 and G36) on the exhibition floor.

JBL Professional, an innovative developer and manufacturer of line array loudspeaker technology will show its M2 Master Reference Monitor – a free-standing, 2-way system that can be placed in any environment to provide an exceptionally accurate monitoring experience. While, Shure will present its capabilities as a forward-thinking technology innovator with the ULXD Digital Wireless System for professional installed sound reinforcement.

Free registration at www.mediatech.co.za before 7 July 2013 and avoid paying R50 at the door use your unique code:

17 - 19 July 2013 Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate Johannesburg, South Africa 10

AD01000

PVision arms 2RM Security with video solution

Local display technology provider, PVision, has concluded an agreement with one of South Africa’s foremost security and risk management groups, RM Security, to furnish a new Johannesburg command centre with advanced video technology and applications.

The partnership, which saw PVision implement 24 ultra-narrow bezel 46” LCD displays in a 12X2 configuration supported by a Galaxy video wall processor for multiple video layering, is the first of its kind in South Africa and aims to equip both private and government organisations with an internationally competitive security solution.

Significantly, 2RM Security’s ‘Zero Centre’ is Africa’s only known forensic command and control centre which incorporates recently demilitarised risk management technology to provide a comprehensive suite of controls.

Also, ‘Zero Centre’ stands alone as the only SABS approved security solution of this nature in South Africa, earning ISO 9001 certification upon it’s launch in April 2013.

As the beating heart of the command and control centre, PVision’s 12X2 video configuration enables 2RM Security’s Project Manager team access to a variety of information as incidents develop. An interactive touchscreen display also allows users to swiftly cycle through information while the Galaxy processor layers information behind it.

news

WATCHOUT for Afrikaans music awards

WATCHOUT Premium Partner, PENMAC Audio Visual, supplied Dataton WATCHOUT multi-image display and presentation software to manage visual and audio content for the creative layout of the stage, set décor and LED screen information at the second Ghoema Afrikaans Music Awards.

The awards ceremony was held at Carnival City Big Top Arena on 14 April.

“For this project, the client required a complex video server solution to map the video content onto the required spaces. We ensured that multiple video and audio files

were played back in sync and on cue during production,” explains Malcolm Finlay, Managing Director at PENMAC Audio Visual.

Sound designer Murray Lubbe required the flexibility of having 16 high quality audio playback tracks available to support the visuals during the two-hour broadcast production and that could be used for live band performances at the show. PENMAC Audio Visual integrated Dataton WATCHOUT with the Ovation media server and sequencer from Merging Technologies to ensure that multiple tracks played back in frame-accurate sync to the visual content.

“By integrating Ovation with the Dataton WATCHOUT timeline, it’s possible to achieve a high specification multi-track audio server solution that has perfect frame accuracy.

“Once the server IP addressing in Merging Technologies’ Ovation is set, it really is as simple as naming your audio track grouped file with the same name as your auxiliary timeline in WATCHOUT. Just play the visuals and the audio follows – job done!”

Fredrik Svahnberg, Marketing Director at Dataton says: “We’re delighted that WATCHOUT was used throughout the awards ceremony by PENMAC Audio Visual. Its open platform and ability to work well with software such as Ovation is testament to its integration flexibility and suitability for large-scale events.”

SuperSport OB van gets DiGiCo SD10 Kevin Glover the owner of Sound Stylists, a provider of sound, AV, lighting and staging rental solutions and production services throughout South Africa, recently installed a DiGiCo SD10 with fitted broadcast module into one of SuperSports’ OB vans.

Supersport offers in-depth coverage of local and international sports and was the first broadcast facility to embrace a DiGiCo SD8 three years ago.

Speaking about the installation Glover states: “The fact that we could move SuperSport towards a more broadcast orientated OB digital mixing console while maintaining a common operational format, which is the case with DiGiCo SD consoles, is a no brainer.”

Glover added that Tadco, local distributors of DiGiCo, as always, were on hand to provide support and training.

Free registration at www.mediatech.co.za before 7 July 2013 and avoid paying R50 at the door use your unique code:

17 - 19 July 2013 Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate Johannesburg, South Africa 12

AD01000

WiTP and Gerda Kruger train follow spotters

Gerda Kruger enlightens a willing trainee

Lighting experts, Gerda and Philip Kruger, recently presented a Follow Spotter Training Course on 9 and 10 April for Women in Technical Production (WiTP) at the Johannesburg Promusica Theatre.

The course, which was presented as a community development initiative, trained eight women who have not worked in theatre before in an effort to give them a marketable skill.

The Follow Spotter Training course is normally presented as a one-day course, but Gerda and Philip decided to do the WiTP over two days, with day one dedicated to the theoretical aspects and day two to be totally practical Follow Spotting. It is a joint initiative between WiTP, Johannesburg Promusica Theatre and Philip Kruger Consulting that saw all parties donating their time and resources free of charge. Melony Eksteen of WiTP made all the arrangements and negotiated the use of the Johannesburg Promusica Theatre with Loran Robertson, the general manager.

As an extension to the Follow Spotter Training course, Philip Kruger Consulting and Gerda Kruger will be hosting ‘The Art of Follow Spotting – An Introduction’ at Mediatech Africa to be held from 17 to 19 July 2013.

visit

stand

us at

C15

Introducing the LR24 pro-ribbon line-array: HiFi sound at concert Sound Pressure Levels has now become reality

For more information, visit www.alconsaudio.com or www.wymiwyg.info

MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW

Mediatech 2013 – BIGGER and better than before

Well, it’s a Mediatech time once again and this years’ show looks to be the biggest one yet.

Following on the success of previous years, Mediatech maintains its spot as the continent’s premiere technology trade show; conceived as a nucleus of interface and networking for the advanced technology, broadcasting, pro-AV and entertainment industries.

With over 6 395 attending Mediatech in 2011 including 270 from 40 foreign countries, 2013 aims to break all previous records with over 7 000 expected visitors from the continent and around the globe. Over 120 exhibitors and thousands of products across multiple verticals will be the central focus of the expo, as well as peripheral happenings where the industry is encouraged to participate.

Speaking of happenings, Mediatech 2013 is chock full of events and things to do and see. The first-of-its-kind Africa Loudness Summit is set to make an impact on the broadcast industry in a profound way, addressing the problem of fluctuating loudness between programmes, ads and channels. This has proven to be a huge problem not only for viewers but for content producers, production houses and broadcasters due to a lack of standards being followed in the industry as a whole. Presented by EBU PLOUD Chairman and leading loudness expert, Florian Camerer and hosted by sector training leaders Asikhule, the EBU R128 loudness standard will be the central issue of discussion. So if you want to know what R128 is all about, come along to the seminar.

As usual, the outdoor sound demos look to be as big a hit as they have been in past years. Eight major distributors will be showcasing their latest, biggest and baddest loudspeaker systems in a barrage of A/B madness. The demos will be running throughout each day of the expo so expect BIG sound.

SABA, the Southern African Broadcasting Association, will be presenting the Digital Broadcasting Infrastructure and Platforms Seminar aimed to arm broadcasters across a wide range of media with the industry knowledge on how to successfully build and

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manage an effective digital broadcasting infrastructure. Points of interest in the seminar include DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television), IPTV, DTH satellite broadcasting and a host of other topics related to digital broadcasting.

Of course, it doesn’t end there as there are many other events to attend such as the Tadco Technology seminars; the Designing AV Systems for the Digital System seminar by Extron; the Internet Protocol & Network Essentials for Broadcast Engineers conference

by Sacia; the Art of Followspotting by Philip Kruger Consulting; and the Mediatech Exhibitor Networking party, which is always a big hit when it comes to meeting and greeting because, after all, Mediatech is about making connections and getting in touch with the right people in your field.

The African Loudness Summit This industry-wide overview of ‘all things loudness’ offers a unique opportunity to benefit from global experience in solving the loudness problem and in dealing with loudness regulation.

Florian Camerer will share Africa-relevant know-how and what R128 means in practice – the real implications, the real costs, gearing up (and down) and practically developing and implementing necessary new procedures associated with compliance.

Whether you’re in broadcast, production, live or post – whether you’re a financial decision maker, an engineer or an operator – this one-stop, learn-it-all conference is for you!

SHOW PREVIEW MEDIATECH AFRICA Day 1: An Introduction to Loudness: what is the problem? What is loudness? The international standard ITU-R BS. 1770-3; EBU R128 in detail; loudness in television, radio, film and music.

Practical Guidelines – The African regulatory framework; what we need to do to stop the loudness wars in Africa; EBU mode metering and its practical application.

Day 2: A Broadcaster Perspective – Challenges, opportunities and best practice; EBU R128 in a broadcast workflow; live and packaged content; ingest, normalisation and asset management; the time and money implications of EBU R128.

A Production Perspective – Challenges, opportunities and best practice; EBU R128 in a production workflow; production guidelines for live and post production; the time and money implications of EBU R128 Day 3: Vendor Offerings – Commercial overview and demonstrations of metering; normalisation, media management, loudness workflow and related technologies; training and consulting opportunities Open Forum Discussion – Regulators, broadcasters, production and post-production professionals, vendors talking loudness; next step?

Live outdoor sound demos The outdoor sound demos have to comply with noise and environmental bylaws. Therefore all structures may not exceed six metres in height nor 85dBSPL long term in sound pressure level.

Outdoor Sound Demo Schedule COMPANY SYSTEM

ALL DAYS

Intro session Alcons Audio L-Acoustics DAS DB Technologies Hybrid/Audio Centre Martin JBL Professional Adam Audio Coda Nexo Rigging session

Morning session All Matrix Sound Sound Harmonics CES Live Viva Afrika Viva Afrika Audiosure Wild and Marr Segma Tadco Tadco DWR

10:25am – 10:30am 10:30am – 10:45am 10:45am – 11:00am 11:00am – 11:15am 11:15am – 11:30am 11:30am – 11:45am 11:45am – 12:00pm 12:00pm – 12:15pm 12:15pm – 12:30pm 12:30pm – 12:45pm 12:45pm – 1:00pm 1:00pm – 1:15pm

Intro session Alcons Audio L-Acoustics DAS DB Technologies Hybrid/Audio Centre Martin JBL Professional Adam Audio Coda Nexo Rigging session

Afternoon session All Matrix Sound Sound Harmonics CES Live Viva Afrika Viva Afrika Audiosure Wild and Marr Segma Tadco Tadco DWR

2:25pm – 2:30pm 2:30pm – 2:45pm 2:45pm – 3:00pm 3:00pm – 3:15pm 3:15pm – 3:30pm 3:30pm – 3:45pm 3:30pm – 3:45pm 3:45pm – 4:00pm 4:00pm – 4:15pm 4:15pm – 4:30pm 4:30pm – 4:45pm 4:45pm – 5:00pm

Note: This schedule is subject to change

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MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW SABA Digital Broadcasting Infrastructure and Platforms Seminar The SABA seminar will disseminate their course in the following schedule: Day 1: Platforms for sustainable digital broadcasting infrastructure • Session 1 – This workshop session will highlight some of the key issues that broadcasters may encounter as they engage in the process of implementing and rolling out their digital broadcasting services. Real-life case study scenarios will be employed to highlight the issues and challenges as well as the practical solutions that can be implemented by broadcasters and other industry stakeholders.

• Session 2 – As satellite broadcasting technology is to be considered by many industry experts as playing a major role in the push to the DTT platform in Africa, many broadcasters and regulators are reviewing and scrutinising the role of this technology and associated services. This workshop session will turn the spotlight on satellite-enabled broadcasting. It will showcase the benefits of this platform and examine what, if any, synergies there might be with the DTT platform. Issues and solutions—on the technical and commercial sides—will be addressed to give a comprehensive and informed understanding of what can be accomplished with the technology.

Day 2: Delivering DTT: Innovative Solutions and Platforms • Session 3 – The consumer-side equipment, ie. the digital set-top box (STB) and integrated digital TV (IDTV) devices, will ultimately determine the success, or otherwise, of migration to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Africa. This workshop session examines the crucial issues and factors that broadcasters, regulators and other members of the industry need to be aware of and act upon to offer effective consumer equipment and support to their viewers.

Technologies, platforms and solutions will be examined from the technical and commercial perspective providing a 360-degree view to attendees.

•

Session 4 – One of the key benefits of digital broadcasting is that it allows for the creation and provisioning of services in a way not previously possible with analogue infrastructure. This workshop session will assess the new and innovative platform that broadcasters and service providers can take advantage of to bring additional services and applications to their markets. It will fully examine how platforms such as IPTV and VoD as well as triple-play services can be effectively and profitably deployed.

The session will examine how the various stakeholder relationships are structured and how these can be fully leveraged.

Day 3: Digital Radio and DTT Implementation Checklist • Session 5 – Radio has been determined as the killer application of broadcasting. The access and reach of radio put the platform in a crucial position, especially as jurisdictions aim for the universality of digital broadcasting services. This workshop examines the various technologies, platforms and evolving solutions available for digital broadcasting and how broadcasters and regulators can rapidly implement the applicable platform that suits their respective needs.

• Session 6 – The session will produce a broadcaster-based ‘checklist’ for the digital switchover. Under guidance from session leaders, participants will break off into focus groups to discuss the issues under the following headings: – Technology – Content – Spectrum and licensing – Regulatory issues – Business case for broadcasters – Transition management – Funding and financing Relevant feedback from the group discussions will be compiled and condensed to create a practical checklist that will serve as a resource for African broadcasters as they navigate their way through the process of DTT deployment and implementation.

On show at Mediatech Africa

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Allen & Heath Qu-16

AVID VENUE S3L System

Qu-16 takes compact digital mixing to a new level with innovative design and exceptional functionality combining to create a superb professional mixing experience. Bristling with all the features you’d expect from a top of the range digital console and incorporating technologies pioneered on our GLD and iLive digital mixing systems, Qu-16 has the power and pedigree to deliver class-leading audio performance. Whether you’re switching from analogue or updating your digital desk, it’s time to experience the new digital with Qu-16.

Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za view at stand C5 C9 C6 D5

Get the performance, sound quality, and features that countless live sound professionals have come to rely on in a system architecture that’s built for the future. The modular Avid S3L System is comprised of a high-performance HDX-powered processing engine running AAX plug-ins, scalable remote I/O that can live on stage or in a rack, and a head-turning, compact control surface that’s built for the road, but equally at home in the studio.

Distributed by www.segma.co.za view at stand E6

Ayrton Nandobeam 302 NANDOBEAM 302 is a powerful and ultra-fast moving-head in a compact housing. It boasts 19 x state-of-the-art 15 Watt LED’s with 8º narrow beam to 40º wide coverage. Thanks to its 5000 lumen output at 40º angle the NANDOBEAM 302 is the perfect lighting tool to be used as a BEAM movinghead. Thanks to its individualal control of 3 semi-ring and centre LED, it makes the NANDOBEAM 302 very versatile: Beam, Wash or Matrix.

Distributed by www.soundharmonics.net view at stand E15

with a complete CMY color system, special colors, 6.5°-48° zoom, mechanical dimmer, beam shaping filter and motorised top-hat. It is an eco-friendly light, allowing considerable running and consumption cost savings.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1 CODA AUDIO ViRay

Barco OverView MVL-615 The OverView MVL-615 is an easy to operate 4:3 LED-lit projection module that has been designed to offer the typical detail and brightness needs in SXGA+ resolution for demanding small to medium-sized control rooms.

Distributed by www.questek.co.za view at stand F23

ViRay is Coda Audio’s new compact 3-way symmetrical line array with DDP (Dual Diaphram Planar-wave-driver) technology. It was designed for mid-size touring and installation applications. The ViRay’s dedicated hardware allows it to be ground stacked, flown or used as downfills for the LA12 System. For a size of 674x242x36 mm (WxHxD) and a net weight of 25.5kg, ViRay’s performance is outstanding, delivering high powered, quality audio.

Distributed by www.tadco.co.za view at stand K9

Barco RLMW8

Crestron DMPS-300-C

Barco’s RLMW8 brings the saturated colours of 3chip DLPTM projection to events and fixed installations, at the price of singlechip DLPTM technology. With an enhanced contrast, quick and creative stacking options as well as builtin warping capabilities for curved surfaces, Barco’s RLMW8 is a versatile choice for mid to large sized venues.

Distributed by www.questek.co.za view at stand F23

The DMPS-300-C from Crestron is a complete, high-definition presentation control and signal routing solution for boardrooms, lecture halls, and videoconference rooms. Integrating the control system, multimedia matrix switcher, mic mixer, audio DSP, and amplifier all into one 3-space rack mount package, the DMPS-300-C affords extensive signal routing flexibility and high-performance signal processing without the need for separate components. Auto-configuring inputs enable plug-and-play compatibility with a wide range of digital and analog sources. Built-in DigitalMedia™ and HDBaseT™ connectivity affords a streamlined wiring solution for interfacing with remote AV sources, computers, and display devices.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand F12

CLAY PAKY Sharpy Wash 330 Sharpy Wash 330 is an extraordinarily compact, lightweight 330 W washlight, with the luminous efficiency, graphic and optical performance of a 1000W fixture. It is extremely silent and quick, and fitted

MEET US AT MEDIATECH BOOTH:H17

WATC H O U T P R E M I U M PA R T N E R S O U T H A FR I C A P E N M AC P h o n e: +2 7 11 47620 6 6 a v @ p e n m a c .c o. z a p e n m a c .c o. z a

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MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW Crestron DVPHD The world’s only multi-window video processor that displays high-res computer and high-definition video signals with HDCP, provides a fully-customisable HD graphical environment, and enables real-time annotation and touch screen control — all in a modular, scalable hardware platform. The DVPHD is configurable to handle up to eight different inputs of virtually any type, including HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort (Multimode), HD-SDI, and analog signals.[1,2] Industry-leading support for HDCP ensures seamless compatibility with content-protected DVD, Blu-ray Disc, digital HDTV, and multimedia computer sources. Advanced high-definition image processing achieves astounding realism and detail for every input signal, with the ability to display up to eight separate video images at once, or seamlessly switch between them using alluring digital transition effects and customisable graphics.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand F12 Dataton WATCHPAX WATCHPAX, a solid-state media player tailored for maximum performance with Dataton WATCHOUT multi-display production software.

WATCHPAX™ is a dedicated media player for your WATCHOUT show, an alternative to PCs in your rig. Behind its elegant exterior, there’s built-in WATCHOUT software and optimised hardware. Robust and reliable, WATCHPAX is backed by 40 years of AV engineering.

Distributed by www.penmac.co.za view at stand H17 dB Technologies DVAT12 DVA T12 is a step up the evolutionary ladder from the successful DVA T4 line array system.

Although it provides more power and has greater range, its active three-way design makes it just as easy to set up and install as its predecessor.

Distributed by www.vivaafrika.co.za view at stand A15 + B19

GALAXY-X4 The GALAXY-X4 is a stand-alone display wall controller that accepts a standard single or dual-link DVI input and can flexibly display this across four output monitors. Each output can be driven as DVI or analogue RGB, and can represent an arbitrary crop region of the original input image. The output resolution and frame rate does not need to be related to that of the input as the GALAXY-X4 will optionally upscale and frame-rate converts each cropped region independently.

Additionally, each output can be independently mirrored or rotated through 90°, 180° or 270° to support creative mixes of landscape and portrait monitors.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand E11 + F11

Gearshack Powerbox Gearshack Design and Distribution has spent the last two years researching and developing a completely new range of premium power distribution products for the sound,stage,lighting and a/v industry. The range will be presented to industry at Mediatech Africa. The makers of the range decided to develop the products based on his personal 25-year hands-on experience as a sound, stage, lighting and a/v technician. The range is in the process getting SABS certification.

Distributed by www.gearshack.co.za view at stand F9 GREEN GO Comms Green-GO is an all-new communications system which simply plugs into an existing PoE Ethernet network. It incorporates digital communication, with optional cue Lights and text messaging. Dual circuit beltpack and wall panel outstations are available. The system can be connected to the same Ethernet network that is running the lighting and display systems in real time.

Distributed by www.soundharmonics.net view at stand E15 Hybrid + LA 212

Extron DSC 301 The Extron DSC 301 HD is a three input, HDCP-compliant video scaler that includes an HDMI input, configurable high resolution analogue and composite video inputs, and an HDMI output. The DSC 301 HD accepts a wide variety of video formats including HDMI, HDTV, RGB, component, and standard definition video. It features advanced Extron video signal processing with 1080i deinterlacing, EDID Minder, and automatic input switching.

Analog audio from any of three stereo inputs may be embedded onto the HDMI output.

Distributed by www.extron.co.za view at stand G26 FresneLED 250 The FresneLED 250 Tunable White is one of the most interesting products of the new Green Line Range, The most complete LED product line of the highest quality and efficiency, specifically designed for the performing arts and TV studios, available on the market today.

FresneLED 250 White Tuneable is a 250W high efficiency LED, longlasting, tunable CCT (3000-6500K), high CRI (>92), zoom 13°-79°.

Distributed by www.movievision.co.za view at stand A23

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The LA212 is a large format, scalable passive line array which boasts 1 100W RMS per box (900W+200W) and engineered to address audiences of up to 50 000.

Up to 12 speakers may be rigged per array at ten times the currently prescribed safety standard. The 12” CELTO Acoustique, ferrite magnet drivers boast a three inch voice coil and are European-made to premium specifications. The 2.8’ neodymium magnet, TC4 high frequency diaphragm is Aquaplasted, which means it is covered with a flexible coating that increases longevity and at the same time smoothes the top end response.

Distributed by www.vivaafrika.co.za view at A15 + B19 JBL M2 Master Reference Monitor Addressing the growing need for high dynamic range and reference-monitor accuracy in a broad range of studios, JBL has developed the M2 Master Reference Monitor: A Free-Standing, 2-Way System that can be placed in any environment to provide an exceptionally accurate monitoring experience.

Leveraging a new generation of JBL high-output, ultra-low distortion transducers, the M2 provides in-room frequency response of 20 Hz to 40 kHz, and an extraordinary 123 dB maximum SPL to meet the demanding music, cinema and broadcast production requirements for impactful dynamic range.

Distributed by www.wildandmarr.co.za view at stand G35

LE MAITRE Haze Master HazeMaster is Le Maitre’s most advanced and powerful hazer yet. With a massive output capacity and rugged construction, it has been designed every step of the way for the road. Combined with award winning haze technology, producing pure, fine, consistent and long-lasting haze, it really is a class act.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1 MAC Viper Profile The MAC Viper Profile is a new breed of highoutput profile luminaire with an exceptional feature set, superior light quality and a highly efficient optical system. It outperforms all marketleading profiles in the 1200-watt range and is even an alternative to 1500-watt fixtures. The Viper Profile is not only brighter, it is also a faster and more compact solution. With its 1000-watt HID source, the Viper consumes less power, making it over 50% more efficient than its 1200-watt rivals.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand E11 + F11 Martin Audio MLA Compact MLA cellular technology combines groundbreaking cellular array design with fast, automated intelligent software to deliver a dramatically increased level of performance and coverage consistency compared to conventional line array technology.

In the short time since its introduction, the full-size MLA has received multiple awards for innovation. Now, MLA Compact™ brings the revolutionary cellular technology behind MLA to a wider range of touring and installed sound applications.

Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za view at stand C5 C9 C6 D5 Martin M6 Martin Professional’s new M6 is a state-ofthe-art lighting console that functions as a highly advanced visual control surface.

Designed to control everything from conventional and moving lights to the most advanced media server, the M6 has been designed for today’s demanding multimedia shows and tomorrow’s challenges.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand E11 + F11 Martin RUSH Martin Professional is targeting the installation market in a big way with the launch of an all-new, cost-effective line of effect lights – RUSH™ by Martin. RUSH will comprise a comprehensive range of affordable effect products with the first RUSH lights. Martin Rush consists of RUSH MH 1 Profile, RUSH MH 2 Wash RUSH MH 3 Beam, RUSH PAR 1 RGBW, RUSH Pin 1 CW and RUSH Strobe 1 5x5.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand E11 + F11 Midi Dome The Midi Dome is a new innovation that Gearhouse SA will be installing in one of the car park areas at Mediatech. This brand new structure appeals to a variety of customers looking for temporary space with exceptional safety ratings and generous rigging capabilities.

Distributed by www.gearhouse.co.za view at Outdoor Demo Area

MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW NEC X463UN

ProLyfte Aetos

The 46” NEC X463UN takes your LCD video walls to new levels of impact.

This professional-grade large-screen display is designed for the rigors of 24/7 operation while introducing new levels of impact to your facility.

Advanced technologies of this model include direct LED backlighting for improved uniformity, full high-definition resolution (1920 x 1080) and a 5.7mm distance bezel width. Additionally, this display can be deployed in video walls up to 10x10 (100 displays). The X463UN also offers Intel’s Open Pluggable Specification (OPS), which is the first industry-wide standardisation in option slots that allows easier installation, use and maintenance of digital signage.

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za view at stand E11 + F11

ProLyft AETOS is the brand new ProLyft hoist range.

The AETOS range is fully equipped to meet future demands in lifting equipment and offers clever features and carefully engineered product attributes. The AETOS range comprises of a standard 500kg and 1000kg hoist and will be expanded in the near future.

There is a 500kg hoist, a 1000kg hoist and two manual Aetos hoists available.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1

NEXO STM STM is NEXO’s latest System that allows contractors the flexibility to design a wide range of systems, from a simple ground stack to a massive stadium system.

STM stands for Scale through modularity, which is a design philosophy aimed at saving costs. No longer will a contractor need one system for corporate jobs and another for the touring market and so on.

Distributed by www.tadco.co.za view at stand K9 Philips SL Nitro 510 The SL NITRO 510 is a cutting-edge new LED based strobe luminaire that provides intense bursts of light and dynamic effects.

The tightly packed array of over 1300 high power LEDsensures maximum output and full-field, even distribution across 1200. The rugged construction, Showline standard LCD menu system, continuous-on operation and lower power consumption guarantee the SL NITRO 510 is the perfect strobe luminaire for any application.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1 Philips Strand 250ML Console This is the perfect desk to introduce you to the world of intelligent fixture control. Built for entry level operation and small to medium sized theatres, the Strand Lighting 250ML console gives you a simple interface, great features and an even better price.

It merges the world of conventional dimmer/channel control using traditional Command Line operation with an easy to use interface for attributed fixtures using a color LCD screen that has soft keys and attribute encoders.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1 Powersoft K Series The K Series offers various power ratings in 6 models ranging from 2 x 2400 watts/ch. 4 Ohm to 2 x 9000 watts/ch. 2 Ohm, still maintaining the 1 unit size. The K Series has become the flagship of Powersoft’s technologies, ranking in the “Top Class” amplification of the global pro audio market.

Distributed by www.iled.co.za view at stand J2

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ROBE Pointe It’s very bright and super-fast with a sharp parallel beam that cuts through the air and across video with ease. It can project a static or rotating glass gobo to produce precision in-air and surface images with an even focal plane. Tight or at full 20 degree zoom, the output is crystal clear and brilliant. Add in either rotating, 6 way linear or 8 way circular, prisms to create wide reaching effects across any set.

Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za view at stand J1 Shure ULXD Digital Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless offers uncompromising 24-bit audio clarity and extremely efficient RF performance with single, dual, and quad channel receivers for any size professional sound reinforcement application.

Distributed by www.wildandmarr.co.za view at stand G35 Sony VPL-SW535C The VPL-SW535C offers simultaneous dual-touch annotation capability on the projection screen with the use of supplied pen devices and drawing software. Combined with its ultra short throw projection, it is a great fit for launching interactive lessons in a classroom or establishing instant communication space in a corporate environment. The VPL-SW535C delivers a large image from an extremely short distance (i.e.; an 80-inch image can be achieved from 19 inches distance from the screen), which helps presenter to avoid glare from the projector when standing in front of the screen.

Distributed by www.pro.sony.eu view at stand E23 Soundcraft Si Expression Drawing on more than a decade of experience in the field of digital audio mixing, the Soundcraft Si Expression exploits some of the newest DSP, component technology and manufacturing techniques to deliver our most powerful cost effective digital console ever! Each console in the range is identical in its feature set so your only choice is how many faders and local mic amps you want. With a range covering the super portable 19” rack mount Expression 1 to the mighty Si Expression 3 with its 30+2 faders and 32 mic/line inputs there is a model to meet all needs.

Distributed by www.wildandmarr.co.za view at stand G35

SHOW PREVIEW MEDIATECH AFRICA

Vivitek D55x Series TouchIT Technologies TouchIT Technologies’ new range of 4 point multi-touch LEDs specifically designed to capitalise on the increasing numbers of Apple Macintosh users in both the education and corporate market.

The new range of LEDs supports many of the Apple Mac trackpad gestures allowing the Mac user to benefit from multi-touch gesture input in OS X directly from the LED screen.

Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za view at stand C5 C9 C6 D5 VidiGo Visual Radio VidiGo Visual Radio turns radio broadcasting into an entertaining and compelling visual show. Visual Radio is an add-on to your radio production without the need for extra staff. It enables you to take radio broadcasting to the next level, by giving your audience the change to experience unique radio moments. Visual Radio turns your listeners into viewers.

Distributed by www.questek.co.za view at stand F23

The Vivitek D55x Series offers premium performance at attractive pricing, with resolutions and connectivity for every requirement. The series consists of five different models, of which two feature a native XGA resolution (D551 and D555), while the Vivitek D557W comes with a WXGA and the Vivitek D552 and D556 with SVGA resolution.

Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za view at stand C5 C9 C6 D5 Wharfedale Pro Delta The Delta Series has been designed from the ground up to provide outstanding performance and reliability. The Delta Series utilises robust technology and durable components to ensure that it can meet the demands of touring, rental and fixed installation applications.

High output, low distortion cast frame woofers with 3” voice coils are used throughout the range for unparalled low frequency reproduction. 2” titanium compression drivers are coupled to 90°x45° elliptical waveguides for impressive output level and smooth HF dispersion.

Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za view at stand C5 C9 C6 D5

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MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW

International guests at Mediatech Africa Marco Cantalu

Harry Gladow

Company Name: AEB Industriale – dB Technologies Job Title: Product Specialist Meet Marco at Viva Afrika Sound & Light, Mediatech Africa, stands A15 + B19.

Company Name: Coolux Job Title: Business Development Manager Meet Harry at Questek, Mediatech Africa, stand F23.

Helmut Protte Mark Hosking Company Name: Harman Studer Job Title: Sales Director Middle East & Africa Meet Mark at Wild and Marr, Mediatech Africa, stand G35

Freddy Sicko Company Name: Shure Europe GmbH Job Title: Market Manager Middle East & Africa Meet Freddy at Wild and Marr, Mediatech Africa, stand G35

Reiner Sassman Company Name: Camco Job Title: MD Meet Reiner at Tadco, Mediatech Africa, stand K9.

He will be holding Seminars on Camco amplifiers.

Mick Anderson Company Name: Coda Audio Job Title: Export Sales Manager of Meet Mick at Tadco, Mediatech Africa, stand K9.

He will be holding seminars on Installation specific and rental adaptive solutions from Coda Audio.

Frank Andrewartha Company Name: Quest Job Title: Product specialist Meet Frank at Tadco, Mediatech Africa, stand K9.

He will be holding seminars on Realistic Solutions for the real world from Quest.

Denis Baudier Company Name: NEXO Job Title: Sales Manager Meet Denis at Tadco, Mediatech Africa, stand K9.

He will be holding Seminars on The latest High end Technology from NEXO.

Company Name: Coolux Job Title: Director of Global Sales and Projects Meet Helmut at Questek, Mediatech Africa, stand F23.

Stuart Gibbons Company Name: Le Mark Group Job Title: Managing Director Meet Stuart at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23.

Donny Chan Company Name: Filmgear Job Title: Managing Director Meet Donny at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23.

Eric Lai Company Name: Kupo Job Title: Sales Manager Meet Eric at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23

Franco Zaghini Company Name: D.T.S Job Title: Vice President of Sales Meet Franco at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23.

Ron Knell Company Name: Rosco Job Title: Business Development Manager, Eastern Europe & South Africa Meet Ron at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23.

Nicolo Fabio Oliva Company Name: Spotlight Job Title: General Manager Meet Nicolo at Movievision, Mediatech Africa, stand A23

Ian Staddon

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Company Name: DiGiCo Job Title: Vice President of Sales Meet Ian at Tadco, Mediatech Africa, stand K9.

He will be holding seminars on everything you ever wanted to know about the royalty of mix.

Arjen Hofland

Tim McCall

Lawrence Iviani

Company Name: L-Acoustics Job Title: Sales Manager Meet Tim at Sound Harmonics, Mediatech Africa, stand E15.

Company Name: Powersoft Job Title: System Engineers Meet Lawrence at iLed, Mediatech Africa, stands J2

Company Name: RTW GmbH & Co. KG Job Titles: Sales Manager: International Sales Manager Meet Arjen at Wild and Marr, Mediatech Africa, stand G35

MEDIATECH AFRICA SHOW PREVIEW Raul Novick

Koy Neminathan

Company Name: Kramer Electronics Job Title: Sales Director for Meet Raul at Electrosonic SA, Mediatech Africa, stands E11 + F11.

Company Name: Avolites Job Title: Sales Director Meet Koy at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Andre Bragard-De Naeyer

Julian Chiverton

Company Name: ADB Lighting Technologies Job Titles: Sales Manager: Area Sales Manager Meet Andre at Electrosonic, Mediatech Africa, stands E11 + F11.

Company Name: Doughty Job Title: Sales Director Meet Julian at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

David Budge

Harald von den Stemmen

Company Name: Harman Group Job Titles: Sales Manager: Director of International Sales – Middle East & Africa Meet David at Wild and Marr, Mediatech Africa, stand G35.

Company Name: Robe Lighting s.r.o.

Job Title: Sales Director Meet Harald at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Grant Bales-Smith Elaine Peake Company Name: Le Maitre Ltd Job Title: Head of Sales Meet Elaine at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Company Name: Philips Entertainment Job Title: Sales Manager Europe Meet Grant at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Jack Palacio Richard Sillitto Company Name: RS Sound Ltd Job Titles: Sales Manager: Sound Supervisor Meet Richard at Wild and Marr, Mediatech Africa, stand G35.

Company Name: D.A.S. Audio Job Title: International Sales Manager Meet Jack at CES Live / Design Audio System, Mediatech Africa, stand H18.

Stephane Gressier Peter Kirkup Company Name: LumenRadio Job Title: VP Entertainment Meet Peter at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Company Name: Chauvet Job Title: International Sales Director Meet Stéphane at Audiosure, Mediatech Africa, stands C9 + C5 + C6 + D5.

Sam Bowden Paul Erik Haseloop Company Name: Prolyte Group Job Title: Sales – Major accounts Meet Paul at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Company Name: Chauvet Job Title: Product Specialist Meet Sam at Audiosure, Mediatech Africa, stands C9 + C5 + C6 + D5.

Kevin Bromberger Michael Qincy Strathmann Company Name: MA Lighting International Job Title: Technical Sales Meet Michael at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Company Name: SurgeX International Job Title: Managing Director of Sales Meet Kevin at Audiosure, Mediatech Africa, stands C9 + C5 + C6 + D5.

Dirk Jan Vermeulen Massimo Bolandrina Company Name: Clay Paky SpA Job Title: Sales Manager Meet Massimo at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

Company Name: Delta Electronics Job Title: Business Development Manager Meet Dirk at Audiosure, Mediatech Africa, stands C9 + C5 + C6 + D5.

Brian Grogan Martin Michaud Company Name: MDG Job Title: Owner / CEO Meet Martin at DWR Distribution, Mediatech Africa, stand J1.

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Company Name: Vivitek Corporation Job Title: Sales Manager EMEA Meet Brian at Audiosure, Mediatech Africa, stands C9 + C5 + C6 + D5.

DIGITAL SIGNAGE System Integration

Digital signage – the greener alternative: Part 1

Digital signage offers an environmentally friendly way to communicate that’s effective, efficient and good for the bottom line.

Since November 2009 when emails emerged from the University of East Anglia in the UK throwing into question the veracity of data supporting the theory of man-made global warming, public discourse about the idea that greenhouse gasses generated from human activity trap the sun’s warmth and thus ultimately will raise global temperatures to threatening levels has become highly contentious. As a consequence, where the concept of being ‘green’ once was looked upon as admirable, the disputed science of global warming has, in the minds of many, cast a pall of suspicion over anything labelled as ‘green’. However, regardless of the charges and counter-charges over the science behind the theory of global warming, few could dispute the broader notion that protecting the environment is essential to the health, well-being and survival of this planet’s inhabitants.

This article examines the topic of being “green” in the context of digital signage. It does not seek to address whether or not manmade global warming exists, if there were ulterior motives behind the proponents of that theory, or how – or even if – politicians should respond. Rather, this paper explores how digital signage can minimise

the environmental impact of communicating with the public, specific steps to take with digital signs to ensure the environmental impact of their use is minimal, and most importantly the concept that employing ‘green’ strategies with digital signage is a wise business decision.

With this knowledge, it will be possible to reap the numerous benefits communicating via digital signs offers while simultaneously taking steps to conserve precious natural resources and protect the environment.

Greening basics Often when the environmental impact of digital signage is mentioned, some valid, but rather well-worn assertions are made.

First, when compared to printed signs, digital signage appears far greener. Digital signage messaging, which can be updated easily, eliminates the need to print new signs over and over as messaging necessities change. The fewer the signs that get printed, the fewer the trees that need to be cut, transported to mills, processed and made

With digital signs, updating ads and promotions is a matter of a few keystrokes.

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System Integration DIGITAL SIGNAGE into paper. Additionally, with digital signage there is no need for inks and chemical coatings as with printed signs. Waste disposal is also a common environmental concern with printed signs.

Cutting out the need to replace printed signs eliminates the energy needed to dispose of or recycle the signs and —to the degree printed signs aren’t recycled— the impact of adding tons more paper, plastic, ink, chemical coatings and paints to landfills. Another benefit to the environment is the ease with which digital signs can be updated. Sending new messages out via a digital signage computer network eliminates travel required to physically visit the location of each sign, which is necessary to replace old printed signs with new versions. Eliminating the transportation component reduces pollution and thus the impact of signage on the environment.

But these considerations are only one element of the green equation. There’s also the impact going green can have by reducing or entirely eliminating certain expenses.

Going green – a sound business strategy Going green with digital signage isn’t simply a matter of reducing the environmental impact of communicating with the public; it makes good business sense. While that may seem a bit surprising, upon closer examination it becomes clear that communicating with digital signage can be less expensive than doing so with the print alternative. Interestingly, what makes it cheaper also makes digital signs more environmentally friendly. What ties economy and being green together is the ability of a digital sign to display countless messages, which is something that would require innumerable, printed signs.

Consider a casino that relies on backlit transparent signs to promote specials, entertainment acts and other features. In this instance, the sheer quantity of signs needed to tell patrons about frequently changing entertainment acts and special offers along with the expense of the backlit signage medium make using digital signs a cost-effective alternative. With digital signs, updating ads and promotions is a matter of a few keystrokes. Equally important is eliminating the need to manufacture the transparent plastic film and specialised inks required to print backlit signs.

Digital signs also answer the question of proper disposal before it’s even raised. Obviously, the specific type and expense of printed signs in use will impact when the financial break-even point is reached by choosing the digital alternative, but in the example of a high-volume signage use like a casino it can be two years or less. Closely related to

A simple way to evaluate energy efficiency is to get familiar with the government’s ENERGY STAR programme as relates to monitors.

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the cost benefit of digital signage vs. printed signs is something that could best be described as “message per metre.”

Digital signage networks have an innate ability to playback multiple pages —one after another— in an endless sequence just as a TV channel plays back a ceaseless lineup of entertainment, commercials, news and other content. That ability means a theoretically unending sequence of desired messages can be played back on a digital signage network in a finite space. It’s almost silly to conjure up how printed signs would do something similar —wallpaper the entire planet? Clearly, when it comes to the number of messages communicated per metre (or whatever unit of measurement desired) of space, digital signage is the clear winner.

From the perspective of being green, winning the “messages per metre” crown makes digital signage a far more environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing alternative. From a business perspective, the ability to playback the sequence means more goods and services can be promoted per unit of wall space, which should positively affect sales.

When it comes to actually producing the message to be communicated, digital signage is a better business and environmental approach. Whether it’s printed or digital signage, there is a pretty well established workflow to creating a message. The former requires transport of people and actual end product at several points in the process. From the moment paper stock arrives at a printer till the time someone in an organisation —or an outside contractor— actually hangs the finished printed sign, transportation never ceases, nor does the environmental impact of that transportation.

On the other hand, the digital signage workflow is far more efficient. There literally is zero transport of physical media and people required between the point of origination of a digital signage page and where it’s displayed. Cutting out all of “the middlemen” needed from concept to delivery in the print workflow makes digital signs an attractive alternative from a productivity point of view, and reducing the transport of people and materials makes digital signs the greener choice.

Add to the efficiency equation the ability of some digital signage software applications to extract specific information from existing databases and facilities management software packages to automatically create digital signage page , and the positive impact digital signage can have on the productivity of an organisation becomes even clearer.

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5/23/13 9:39 AM

System Integration DIGITAL SIGNAGE Hazardous substances

Minimising environmental impact of digital signage While digital signage offers certain advantages over printed signsfrom the standpoint of environmental protection, that’s not to say the digital medium isn’t without its own set of environmental concerns.

Among the most serious are power consumption and the associated environmental impact of producing the electricity needed to drive the displays and computers that feed them; the use of hazardous materials in the production of digital signage displays and computers; and the impact of display and computer disposal as well as that of the packing materials needed to ship the devices to their locations safely.

Display power consumption On the display side of the equation, the growth of LED technology for backlights presents an alternative to fluorescents and has made it possible for display manufacturers to employ new power savings strategies, unavailable with fluorescent backlights, in an increasing number of panels.

One such strategy is the use of Pulse Width Modulation, which can be used to vary LED power consumption and brightness. A simple way to evaluate energy efficiency is to get familiar with the government’s ENERGY STAR programme as relates to monitors. It’s also wise in many applications to turn off individual digital signs or all the signs on a network after hours to save energy.

Digital signage player power consumption The other power draw in a digital signage system is the player — typically a computer running dedicated software. Here, a few alternatives are possible to minimise power consumption, depending upon the application. Embedding the computer in the actual digital signage display can produce power savings —simply by eliminating an entire computer monitor and other redundant pieces of hardware, such as a second video card. Even if using an embedded computer is not possible, certain things can be done to minimise power consumption of a standalone system, such as replacing spinning disks with solid-state disks. SSDs also require less cooling, which can translate into power savings.

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In July 2008, an article in New Scientist magazine based on research by a University of California-Irvine professor set off alarm bells in the press about NF3, a gas used in the production of LCD panels, solar panels and integrated circuits. According to the article, the gas has thousands of times the affect on the atmosphere as a comparable amount of carbon dioxide.

But as a Columbia Journalism Review article said in August 2008, the media hyped the findings and distorted the impact of NF3 on the environment —mostly because of the small quantity of the gas being released into the atmosphere. The article quoted Michael Prather, the professor responsible for the study, as saying: “It’s not a big deal by itself,” Prather said in an interview. “We’re looking at less than half a percent [the impact] of CO2. Is it the most important thing? No. But it should be in the market basket. And it should be monitored.”

Regardless, hazardous substances used in digital signage players (computers) and fluorescent backlights are legitimate concerns with the former using components with lead and cadmium content and the latter containing mercury. On the positive side, however, the European Union has established its RoHS (Restrictions of Hazardous Substances) directive restricting the use of six hazardous materials, including lead and cadmium. Further, California has enacted its own restrictions on the use of certain hazardous materials in electronics manufacturing. Such efforts have and will continue to make digital signage greener.

Disposal and waste One way to minimise the impact of disposing digital signage components is to extend their lives. Doing things like choosing longer-life backlighting options, such as LED technology, and limiting monitor use to the time of day when, for example, a store is open or an air terminal is actually in use, can lengthen life. Additionally, donating old displays to charity not only can benefit worthy organisations but also keep panels in use and out of landfills. In fact, many communities will not accept monitors and computers as waste.

Finally, the fragility of monitors and computers makes proper packing material essential for safe transport. Asking about the use of recycled packing material and recycling that material after delivery of panels and players is also important for those wishing to make their digital signage installation as environmentally friendly as possible. unrelated goal of communicating to the public about environmental concerns recognises that there’s more to communicating successfully than a well-defined message. It’s almost as if the Screen Forum transplanted the concept of public service announcements from the television medium to the arena of digital signage, except digital signage networks have no government mandated public service obligation to fulfill.

The above white paper was reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org.

Setting standards

Larger than life

Image is everything

Inspiration is everywhere

LED systems LEDdisplay display systems Product catalog

Telephone: +27 11 706 0405 Email: George@questek.co.za Website: www.questekadvanced.co.za

System Integration LARGE-SCALE LED DISPLAY

Lumen illuminates Jo’burg skyline in a big way

Johannesburg is home to some of Africa’s tallest buildings and the city’s skyline with its many impressive skyscrapers has become universally identifiable. One of these noteworthy buildings, the Absa Towers, recently installed the largest Light Emitting Diode (LED) display of its kind in the world above its 29-storey building, writes Simba Nyamukachi.

This colossal LED installation, which covers all four sides of the office block, is not only Absa Tower’s new crowning glory but it is also a beacon in Jozi’s cityscape similar to that of London’s Piccadilly Circus or Times Square in New York.

Absa’s humdinger of an LED display, collectively known as Lumen, was switched on and unveiled in Johannesburg during a spectacular event at Carlton Centre on 19 March. As the tallest building in Africa, Carlton Centre provided an unmatched viewing angle for the gargantuan display, which is an integral part of Absa’s wider 10-year inner city rejuvenation project.

Size counts Designed by US-based Herring Media Group, Absa Lumen has been billed by Barco LiveDots as its largest LED solution to date, featuring a 2 650 square metre LED display composed of 2 880 TF-20 tiles. It contains almost 20 million LEDs, this amazing display is used for branding and marketing purposes. It was chosen on account of its reliability and impressive image quality, achieved through the combination of Barco LiveDots’ TF-20 LED display system and unique image processing technology.

To put the sheer magnitude and scale of Lumen display into perspective one has to understand that each of the four giant LED screens is almost twice the size of a basketball court at 38 metres long and 17 metres high. The LED display can be seen from 1.5 kilometres away on the ground and 2.5 kilometres in the air. The Lumen screens are bigger than those at Piccadilly Circus in London and New York’s

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Times Square.

The installation, which commenced in October 2012 and completed in a record four-month period, embraced the skills and talent from local Barco distributor – Questek Advanced Technologies.

The company is responsible for many ground-breaking displays and visual solutions in South Africa including those at Green Point, Royal Bafokeng and Orlando Stadia.

Speaking about the Lumen project CEO of Questek, George van Gils, says that the installation had been one of his company’s most challenging and exciting projects to date. “The sheer magnitude of the Absa Lumen screen required some groundbreaking technology and IT integration never before attempted in the world. Questek is very pleased with the screen’s performance and quality of image, which has far surpassed our client’s expectations.”

Questek Advanced Technologies handled the configuration and integration of the 2 880 TF-20 tiles that make up the screen, ensuring that the unit is run, controlled and monitored as one single image by one single operator. Van Gils points out that his company’s responsibilities started with the testing of all the tiles as they arrived in the country and then to prepare them to be installed onto the steel structure.

“In addition to the entire cabling configuration and set-up undertakings, Questek also installed all the control room equipment and will be responsible for the on-going local maintenance and upgrades of Absa Lumen,” says Van Gils.

The complete Lumen system can be monitored and controlled from anywhere in the world where there is internet access due to the

intelligence of the Barco controller. The four sides of the LED display that wrap around the building form a live canvas that allows video and images to move seamlessly from side to side. The media displayed on the large screens is generated from four Coolux media servers which provide seamless video content on a timeline that is remotely uploaded and controlled.

Eco friendly, energy efficient Apart from being the largest display installation in the world, the Johannesburg set-up is also one of the most eco-friendly displays in the world.

The TF-20 technology ensures exceptionally low power consumption due to the use of extremely efficient components and the smart driving of individual LEDs. On top of that, the ingeniously tilted LED configuration aims the light bundle of the LEDs downwards to increase the viewing experience for the audience. This significantly reduces power consumption and light pollution while, at the same time, enhancing the perceived brightness and image quality.

What’s more, thanks to the active system ‘agent’, the brightness of all four façades can be controlled separately and automatically, therefore ensuring the best contrast/brightness ratio at any time of day, at any viewing location. This system also allows the operator to optimise energy efficiency with a few simple steps to limit cost and impact on the environment. To offset some of the carbon emissions on Lumen, Absa is building one of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic farms in South Africa on top of Absa Towers North.

Questek and Barco’s SA legacy If one looks at Barco Installations at Green Point, Royal Bafokeng and Orlando Stadia and now the recently completed Lumen installation, it is easy to see why Questek is at the forefront of state-of-the-art display installations in South Africa. According to Van Gils this is because Questek supplies solutions that are high profile and mission critical.

“In any of these cases a failure could be seen by thousands of people and be an embarrassment for the operator or branding company. Imagine if the Absa project was only working half the time or there were blank spots on the screen – this would reflect on the company’s professionalism and could do more harm than good. The consumer would comment that if the company cannot even keep their sign going how good is their IT infrastructure?” Van Gils says.

He went on to say that digital signage has now reached a breakpoint as it has become more affordable than it was in the past, putting Questek in a good place to continue to break new ground.

“We will therefore see more and more companies using this LED technology for advertising their companies, but I would like to emphasise that quality and reliability will be a key factor in this regard.

Having an iconic screen such as Lumen installed demonstrates Questek’s competence and will lead to more major installations,” he concludes.

Tech box: • • • • • • • •

2880 X Barco TF 20 tiles 5 X Barco DX 700 processors one for each wall plus one hot standby 5 X Coolux servers 2 X Coolux managers 1 X Barco 8X8 DVI Matrix 1 X Barco 8X* HD/SDI Martrix 2 X Barco ImagePro II 2 X Dual Screen Marshall 10.4” displays

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System Integration AV UPGRADE

Streamlining education

I often muse how things that are now trivial and taken for granted were absolute science fiction back when I was growing up. Think about it. We can now speak to someone on the other side of the planet with crystal clear video and audio on a flat panel display, installed in a wall if you like.

It may as well be Star Trek. Now if they’d only invent time travel and teleportation, we’d be really impressed.

Coming from the days of overhead projectors and chalk boards, technology seems to be slowly replacing the old ways we used to do things and that includes education. No more messy transparency pens. No more asthma-inducing chalk dusters. You can almost get away with never having to write anything down thanks to the proliferation of iPads and laptops, which are now common in all sorts of places. Goodbye, 2B pencil. It was real.

But it’s not only the learner that benefits from the efficiency and ergonomics of technology. The lecturer too has access to new, exciting tools which help streamline the broadcasting of knowledge to the learner and keep things focussed on what everyone is there to do: learn.

The Tshwane University of Technology (formerly Technikon Northern Gauteng) as one would assume, is an institution that owes it to itself to stay abreast of current trends. They are, after all, a technology-driven institution. If learners want to go out there and tackle the tech world, there is no use only knowing how to use DOS if everyone’s using Windows 8, if you know what I mean?

For that reason a comprehensive upgrade of their campus facilities were commissioned in order to bolster the way lecturers are able to disseminate information.

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By Greg Bester

Specialist AV installation and integration companies FROG AV and Audio Visual Center were selected for the installation, which was originally tendered for three companies. The workload, which was globally spec’d, was therefore handled by both companies albeit in separate, designated parts of the campus.

Warren Tree from Audio Visual Center comments. “The project has been going on for about a year now. It’s basically a major upgrade for the entire TUT organisation and was split between the two companies because of the sheer size of it.”

According to Kevin Gelman, Regional Sales Manager of Audio Visual Center, the original idea was to bring in another company to manufacture the podiums but since Audio Visual Center manufactures their own, they picked up the work load in that regard.

In terms of the comprehensive upgrade, there are around three hundred TUT venues across the country where both FROG AV and Audio Visual Center have been commissioned for work. So, the while companies are both installing similar equipment, they work mutually

AV UPGRADE System Integration exclusive from one another based on the division of work load among the venues. In terms of the challenges faced during the installation, Warren Tree comments once again.

“It’s also a case of their time lines being so tight. A lot of these venues you can only get into when they are in recess so that’s the reason they’re needing as many people as possible to work on them.

For instance, the installation Kevin is starting now, we’ve only got the April/March recess to finish those auditoriums because after that they’re fully booked.”

The upgrades in general included a comprehensive upgrade of projectors and cabling centred on an Extron MLC226 IP push-button control system with the Extron MLC226 IP intercom system. Along with the control system, they have also integrated Extron’s GlobalViewer Enterprise software system whereby all control systems on the network can be monitored. This enables the user to get reports on usage of all networked components in the room and helps immensely in gathering data to indicate future plans of action. Routing and switching is handled by Extron MLS 406SA six input Medialink switchers.

Replacing the overhead projectors of old, Sony EVID70 ceilingmountable document cameras, Dell 4220 XGA data/video projectors and a Grandview motorised screens were installed to disseminate documents to the learners. In the past, TUT lecturers have been accustomed to physically carrying all their presentation equipment to class. This including setup would take up to 30 minutes and and then a further 30 minutes for break-down. Of course, this time could have been better spent lecturing.

With the new upgraded systems, lecturers simply need a memory stick to present a class.

Full audio capabilities were installed throughout the upgrade.

Beyerdynamic Revoluto microphones were integrated where necessary along with Behringer FBQ-100 feedback destroyers. For the presentation loudspeaker systems white Extron SM 3 flush mount speakers were installed, powered by the integrated stereo amplifiers of the MLS switchers.

In a few of the lecture halls where interactive white boards were not installed, smart podiums were spec’d. SMART Interactive Pen Displays were the go to choice. This enables the lecturer to give presentations and lessons while directly annotating with the magnetic pen or finger.

The presentation and annotations are then reflected on the projector screen.

Of course, all the equipment had to be theft and vandalism proof so custom racks were manufactured and comprehensively installed.

The podiums were also heavily secured to ensure nobody can tamper with the equipment inside.

The Wrap Today learning does not just entail books and other archaic methods of distributing information. The internet, projection, in-classroom document cameras and networked control systems are making the accessibility of knowledge more streamlined and intuitive. I, for one, am impressed at what companies like FROG AV and Audio Visual Center are doing for our learning institutions and we can only hope that in the future more of them follow suit.

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Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate Johannesburg, South Africa 33

System Integration INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS

Photo courtesy Digital Fabric

Technology meets history in Moscow

The Russian Museum of Jewish History and Tolerance Centre in Moscow became the largest of its kind when Israeli President, Shimon Peres, and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, officially opened its doors on November 8 last year.

Whilst the international trend in museums is to adopt higher levels of interactivity and unusual display technologies, it’s not everyday that a single museum is able to commit to cutting edge interactivity within traditional museum craftsmanship of the highest order. This fine act of balance requires vast experience and large budgets, something that museum design leaders Ralph Appelbaum and Associates (RAA) are quite familiar with. The New York based practice have been responsible for some of the largest and most prestigious museums globally including the American Museum of Natural History and several major Holocaust Museums. The Moscow project was therefore well suited to their vast experience in combining high levels of design and build detail with extraordinary digital content.

The Moscow project was complicated in that decision-making and implementation involved many key role players; from client to RAA, to

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Spanish Museum fit out contractor General de Producciones y Diseño (GPD) and on to the various specialist contractors. The technical end of this was awarded to Austrian firm Kraftwerk Living Technologies, well known for their large installations in the visitor attraction arena.

Kraftwerk turned to South African partners Digital Fabric to provide both project management and on site implementation services. The relationship between Kraftwerk and Digital Fabric extends back to 2006 when Kraftwerk’s 4D motion base seats were used in a Digital Fabric project at Gold Reef City. “We have maintained a close working relationship ever since and the Moscow opportunity was a natural extension of that relationship”, says Digital Fabric’s Gavin Olivier. “Kraftwerk was aware of our extensive museum experience, not just in the black boxes, but in our sensitivity to detailed exhibition build and content”. Digital Fabric’s technical director, Alex Sanfilippo,

INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS System Integration

A view from the function platform above the beginnings theatre

then engaged with a team of designers from RAA, GPD, Kraftwerk and various content producers over several weeks at the mock-up facility that GPD had established in Seville, Spain for proof of concept trials. With final designs in hand, the SA based team of seven set out for 6 long and challenging months in Moscow.

The museum Constructed within a former Moscow bus depot; the museum is practically a building within a building. Covering almost 5000m2, the exhibition is a lesson in detailed visitor flow and creative use of space.

The building infrastructure is minimal with most of the spaces defined by large-scale exhibition elements. The narrative is one of Jewish History within Russia and as such dedicates much of its resources to

describing the Jewish way of life, beliefs and philosophies.

The visitor journey starts in the Beginnings Theatre, a sixty-seat 4D theatre in the round that uses three curved projection screens around the perimeter to tell the story of Creation from a Jewish perspective.

Each screen is served by a three-projector-wide blend, but twin stacked to create passive 3D playback, making for a total rig of eighteen projectors. An advanced auto-alignment system is used for automatic warping and blending of all 18 projectors and was developed by Brainsalt Media. The projection is augmented by multichannel audio, motion bases, heavy fog, wind effects and, on cue, light rain from above and in the hand rails compliments of a high pressure water purification plant. This theatre required a dedicated plant room to house the compressed air, water and fog systems; all of which formed part of the audiovisual team’s responsibilities.

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System Integration INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS “It’s a testimony to the organisation and experience of the Kraftwerk team and the tenacity of the SA boys, that we completed on time, against many odds.” – Alex Sanfilippo

projection surface, served by seven 3-Chip WUXGA projectors. Once again the warping and blending is handled by a Brainsalt system, also fitted with auto alignment. The highly customised, perforated screen surface conceals multi-channel audio and four films are delivered in looped succession. The content is testimony to what budget and experienced filmmaking can deliver, with astounding panoramic imagery, derived from both moving and still archival footage, mostly all rescanned dozens of times to increase resolution and then masterfully stitched together to create the super-wide format of the 12000 pixel-wide content. “This is a complete contradiction between fascination at the sheer scale and quality of the production and the absolute horror of the content and reality of war”, says Olivier, “its one of those pieces that you can watch a hundred times during setup and then cry your eyes out when you finally sit down and allow yourself to focus”.

The technology Needless to say, the quantities of equipment required to deliver a system of this nature are huge. Of bigger concern are the logistics involved in getting such a diverse range of equipment into Russia. The same applied to much of the museum furniture and exhibition

Photos courtesy Digital Fabric

Further aspects of Jewish life are manifested in highly detailed and themed spaces such as the Shetl, which explains, amongst others, the Synagogue, Marketplace, Shabbat, Making a Living, and Lessons at Cheddar, typical of the time. There is no shortage of technology in this area including an interactive Torah, clever screens behind mirror glass, virtual books and displays of everyday objects that are touch sensitive, triggering dramatic interactive re-enactments and lighting crossfades on four metre high theatrical gauzes. Perhaps the cleverest part of this area is the complete invisibility of the technology, not a single screen, speaker or sensor is visible to the visitor.

At the perimeter of the main exhibition floor there are a series of six studios, each dealing with a more specific time based event in history, such as the development of cities, the Bolshevik Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union. These studios are crammed with interactivity, from speaking, interactive coffee shop tables to numerous iPads and larger touchscreens and culminating in a projection touch-table in the shape of a five-pointed star. This exhibit deserves special mention in that it is covered by five projectors, all of which overlap in the centre of the star creating a complex geometry that is seamlessly blended and warped in the centre where all five projectors converge. Touch input is via five custom capacitive foils fitted below the projection surface. As per the Beginnings Theatre an auto-alignment system is used to reset the crops, blends and warps each morning to compensate for movement that occurs over time in the building structure. “ It sounds quite simple, and while the auto alignment is very powerful, the mechanical alignment and accuracy of installation was paramount,” says Sanfilippo,” some of the graphical elements in the interactive content are only a pixel wide; with most of it being displayed in the common central blend region, meaning that the setup has to be 100% perfect at all times”.

The key moment in the exhibition journey is the area entitled “The Great Patriotic War and the Holocaust”. For obvious reasons it is also the most difficult area to engage with. It contains various exhibition elements that include, photographic, audio, original artifacts and archival materials, set in front of a massive 26m x 4m curved

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The interactive star table in the Soviet area, where content is synchronised to the monitors in the peripheral displays

INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS System Integration equipment which could get stuck for weeks at a time at the border crossings, causing knock-on effects for for AV installation, given the high level of integration of equipment into set-works. “What didn’t change, however, was the opening date, which constantly loomed on the horizon as the days passed waiting for critical items,” recalls Sanfilippo. “It’s a testimony to the organisation and experience of the Kraftwerk team and the tenacity of the SA boys, that we completed on time, against many odds. Moscow is not the easiest place to work, and without support structures such as the translators, we would have been pretty stuck in some instances”.

So how does a system of this size and complexity fit together? At the heart of it all is the content delivery, all based on multichannel Brainsalt Media linear video servers and interactive servers, 73 in all.

Delivery of signal to the 150 odd displays was over structured cabling, using mostly Atlona HD Base-T transceivers. The displays are a combination of LCD, Touch LCD and Projectors. Projectors consist largely of Panasonic units with a few Projection Design units for specific tasks. LCD’s are primarily Samsung with ELO for the touch derivatives.

All audio is processed by QSC Audio DSPs, with QSC amplification feeding a wide range of loudspeaker products across more than 160 channels. These are mostly QSC, but also include speaker products from Solid Drive, K-Array, Brown Innovations, JBL and Renkus-Heinz.

Once again the emphasis is on balancing invisibility and performance.

Controlling all of the above is a Crestron backbone with a master AV2 processor coupled to seven slave processors throughout equipment clusters. The system covers all aspects of daily scheduling and maintenance reporting as well as the control core linking all interactive elements, tactile inputs and linear playback. The museum’s technical staff interface via a 46” X-Panel display providing high resolution site layouts for ease of access.

The visit ends with a dedicated space called the Tolerance Centre.

This sit-down experience employs 60 iPads in custom housings to capture visitor responses to a series of film-based scenarios that

challenge the audience on issues around tolerance and acceptance. The films are played out on a 4x4 seamless videowall that also displays the outcomes of the activity.

Alex Sanfilippo sums it up, “Digital Fabric are proud to have worked on a project of this nature, its scale and complexity make it without doubt one of the most rewarding for many reasons. To work with a world-class team that can design and construct something as significant as this does not happen often, this is not just about a cool job to feature in our portfolio, what we take away from a project like this influences the way that we look at all aspects of our business.

Technical suppliers Digital Fabric is a South African market leader in the design and integration of systems for the museum and visitor attraction markets.

With more than 30 years of combined AV experience, Gavin Olivier and Alex Sanfilippo have managed to stay at the cutting edge of technology, specializing in bespoke development and award winning interactive experiences. The ability to deal with high levels of detail allows Digital Fabric to deliver on projects large and small, both locally and abroad.

KRAFTWERK Living Technologies is one of the leading companies in the field of professional audio-visual system integration. The Austrian based specialists combine and synchronise high-quality systems to provide tailor-made overall solutions for the global market. For more than 20 years KRAFTWERK has been engaged in the technical conception and development of AV solutions that find application in many different areas – from the entertainment industry to the automotive industry. Focused on providing highest quality and innovation, KRAFTWERK has become a trusted partner for turnkey AV projects. The service range includes technical design, engineering, implementation and maintenance. KRAFTWERK has executed numerous projects all over the world and has defined the standards for state-of-the-art system integration since its founding in 1992.

The Pillar Shards area with large format projection and integrated touch monitors

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System Integration TRADE SHOW REPORT

InfoComm educates AV sector In the über technological commercial AV systems integration industry innovation and constant product launches are the order of the day and without an event such as InfoComm Trade Show, AV professionals would be hard pressed to keep abreast of all the new products on the market.

Since its inception in 2004, the trade show has been an indomitable force that persistently showcases a wide array of technologies and business opportunities for the AV sector.

This year’s InfoComm, which took place in Orlando, Florida from 8 to 14 June at the Orange County Convention Center, has grown to attract more than 35 000 attendees from wide-ranging market sectors, including business, government, military, education, worship, healthcare, hospitality, retail and entertainment. Along with a trade show floor that exhibits the latest from all of the industry leaders in audiovisual, staging and signage, the educational programming provides attendees with opportunities to develop skills and update certifications during the conference.

The leading trade show for the commercial audiovisual industry also provided educational opportunities to thousands of professionals that attended this year’s week-long event. Through the InfoComm University, attendees were afforded career-advancing training and certifications as well as an opportunity to learn from InfoComm partner organisations and manufacturers who provided additional training sessions to round out the educational offerings.

Although education programs were abound at the trade show, the InfoComm International Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) programme stood above the rest. The certification programme had the exhibition abuzz with talk of the new discoveries. InfoComm has been administering this CTS certification for more than 30 years, and it is the most trusted and recognised programme worldwide for commercial audiovisual professionals.

“Earning CTS credentials are a way to easily represent knowledge and experience in the workplace and to potential customers,” said David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, Executive Director and CEO, InfoComm International.

“Offering the testing at the InfoComm show has proven invaluable to many AV professionals, providing a tangible ROI that extends well beyond the event.”

Other prominent educational sessions during InfoComm 2013 were the Women in Technology Symposium, Digital Image Content in Live Event Production, CTS-I Prep, Business Leadership Workshop and Integrating AV Services in an IT Dominated World. These sessions addressed pertinent issues within the industry and featured industry experts who provided insight and solutions to many students.

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Analog Way Ascender 32 After the successful introduction of the NeXtage 16 and SmartMatriX Ultra, Analog Way completes its LiveCore series with the introduction of the Ascender 32, a powerful AV processor equipped with 32 scalers.

Ascender 32 is a powerful multi-screen Seamless Switcher with 32 scalers. The system offers versatile connectivity through 12 seamless inputs with 42 input plugs: 6 x HDMI; 9 x DVI I; 3 x DisplayPort, 12 x 3G/ HD/SD SDI; and 12 x Universal Analog. It can handle any source from composite video (up to 2560x1600) and outputs a variety of formats, including HD TV and computer format up to 2560x1600 and 4K. Revoluto mic units for Quinta Beyerdynamic presented the new Revoluto microphone units for Quinta. The new microphone units with Revoluto technology complement the range of microphone units for the wireless conference system Quinta.

Using intelligently connected microphone capsules, the patented Revoluto technology provides a corridor characteristic. This gives the speaker maximum freedom of movement whether sitting, leaning back, standing or speaking to one side volume and tone quality are unaffected. The gooseneck microphone is no longer needed, therefore giving participants an unrestricted view.

Elite Screens Kestrel Stage Series Elite Screens exhibited the Kestrel Stage free standing portable electric projection screen.

The Kestrel Stage Series is a portable, free standing floor rising motorised front projection screen.

The MaxWhite FG 1.1 gain material that has wide diffusion uniformity for added performance versatility. It is also GREENGUARD certified for indoor air quality emissions as well as for children and schools (GREENGUARD #90390). The initial screen sizes are 100 or 120 diagonal inches in a 16:9 (HDTV) aspect ratio. The screen’s mechanised cross rising apparatus is driven by a 17rpm, 130w tubular motor. Its 10nm torque provides superior weight tolerance in addition to a longer operational lifespan. Elite’s Kestrel Stage provides a simple in line three-way switch.

Crestron Green Light Power Pack The Crestron Green Light Power Pack is a room controller designed to communicate with photocells, occupancy sensors and control stations to automatically control lighting in any room.

The entire Power Pack family provides cost-effective and powerful lighting control for classrooms, small offices, and open-plan offices.

Ideal for new construction as well as retrofitting existing buildings, power packs are designed to install and commission quickly and easily. The Green Light Power Pack connects to a central control system, making it an integral part of the building energy management system.

Sony BVM A series Sony showed off the BVM A series. It is the third generation OLED model line-up and is a replacement for the recently discontinued BVM series monitors. This new design uses all of the features from the current series but offers a major optical improvement.

These new models almost completely eliminate any shading or off axis colour shift. The BVM A series model design is mirrored from our successful BVM E/F Trimaster EL OLED models. All of the features offered from the older BVM series are available now with the new BVM XXXX A series. This new master monitor delivers the same outstanding black performance, quick response with virtually no motion blur and a wide colour gamut like the BVM series.

Earthworks IM12 W Earthworks exhibited the IM12 W. The company has expanded its Installation Series to include the IM12 W, a 12-inch gooseneck cardioid condenser microphone designed for fixed installations.

The series previously offered a three-inch and six-inch model.

The primary applications for the IM Series include ceilingmounted teleconferencing, distance learning, surveillance, boardrooms, government facilities and ambient room micing.

NTi M2230 Mic NTi Audio Unveils New High Performance Measurement Microphone.

The new M2230 measurement microphone extends NTi Audio’s range of measurement microphones at the top end.

Its specifications comply fully with IEC 61672 and fulfill all class 1 requirements, including environmental requirements. The microphone features an extremely low residual noise floor of 16dB(A) and supports precise and linear measurements up to a maximum of 139dBSPL. Christie Twist The Christie Twist – Image Warping and Edge Blending Module made an appearance at InfoComm Show.

The Twist is a powerful and easy-to-use tool to manage complex arrayed projectors that allows users to expertly create seamless images on flat, curved or cylindrical surfaces.

Christie Twist is a dedicated, purpose-built hardware and software solution that enables full image warping and advanced edgeblending through the control of a powerful and easy-to-use graphic user interface. By manipulating geometry and blending, this powerful tool allows pixels to be mapped to virtually any projection surface with proper geometry and perfect pixel-to-pixel alignment.

Barco Encore Presentation Switcher The Encore Presentation Switcher is the most advanced video processing and presentation control system on the market today.

The system provides source selection, automatic source acquisition and configuration, advanced windowing features, seamless switching, video effects and integrated control for professional video presentations. Encore’s modular, scalable architecture allows the system to support a wide variety of show configurations. The system can efficiently support from 1-32 screens with any combination of independent display or seamless wide-screen display elements.

LifeSize UVC ClearSea LifeSize UVC ClearSea provides a simple and flexible solution for instantly connecting any desktop or mobile device to one another and to the meeting room. And now, with unlimited user accounts, you can extend video calling throughout your organisation.

Powerful collaboration tools, such as presence and text chat, content sharing, live call transfer and a ring-all feature, ensure that workers can connect faster and easier than ever before.

When you need to connect via video with people outside your organisation, you can use the convenient and easy invite-aguest feature. Connect with multiple people at the same time through LifeSize UVC ClearSea configured with LifeSize® UVC Multipoint™.

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System Integration APPS ROUND-UP

Handy apps for AV integrators Crestron-Mobile-Pro Take full control of your home, office or boardroom from any Apple iOS or Android™ mobile device.

The popular Crestron Mobile Pro® app[1] turns an iPhone®, iPod touch®, iPad®, Samsung™ Galaxy Tab, HTC EVO 4G™, HTC™ Droid™ Incredible, Motorola Droid X, or other mobile device[2] into a virtual Crestron touch screen. Using a wide variety of smartphone and tablet devices, Crestron Mobile Pro lets you control your home theater or wholehouse AV systems, lighting, climate control, shades, security and other functions from virtually anywhere.

Crestron Mobile Pro is available for purchase and download through the iTunes® Store and Google Play™. The app is engineered for scalability and open-platform compatibility. A system configured to work with an Apple device also works with Android, so all your devices work the same and every member of the family enjoys the same quality user experience.

AV Buddy The AV Buddy Audio Visual Application is designed for the professionals or beginners in the Audio Visual industry. The app is an essential information and calculation tool, which will assist your Audio Visual needs including pinouts, charts, cut lengths, diagrams, clear AV connector photos, descriptions, AV calculations. Each connector has a description with useful information.

Visual connections: BNC – With cable diagram and cut lengths, COMPOSITE – includes colour coding for various equipment, DVI – with Various DVI type diagrams and pinouts, HDMI – Includes a version comparison chart, SVIDEO – 4,7 and 9 pins, VGA – Pinouts and diagram, F-CONNECTOR – includes common coax cable diameters.

Audio connections: 3.5 + 6.5 JACK – with stereo and mono diagrams, XLR – includes 3 & 4 pin pinouts, SPEAKON – connections and diagram, RCA – Different audio colour connection.

SignalScope Pro SignalScope Pro for iOS devices is a real-time analysis toolset, suitable for use in areas such as acoustics, audio, electronics, and vibration.

SignalScope Pro includes 4 tools for dynamic signal analysis, as well as a signal generator for producing test signals. SignalScope Pro also turns your iOS device into a platform for data acquisition, storing acquired data in ascii text files, MAT-files, or PDF or JPEG images for later retrieval from your device.

Input signals can be acquired from the built-in accelerometer, or from the current audio input path (iOS automatically selects the audio input path according to which external audio devices, if any, are connected to your device). Different engineering units, including volts, amps, pascals, gs, and ips (inches per second) can be assigned to input channels of the dock connector audio input or the headset

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input (not available on 1st generation iPod touch devices). Sensitivity calibration can also be performed for any audio input device or input channel.

SpeakerTest Whether you want to buy new speakers or just want to test the ones you have already, the SpeakerTest app is an indispensable programme for testing the speakers. It’s is a simple sound generator that generates simple sine wave (20Hz-20kHz) or noise (white, pink and brown) that enables you to test the quality of the speakers (given that you know how a sine/noise should sound). Just connect your phone’s headphone output with the amplifier input and press the play button.

The generator makes mono sound with support for various sample rates (8 000-44 100Hz) and sound buffer sizes.

Vivitek application Vivitek Corporation’s new app for end users and its dedicated channel partners has been designed to provide a convenient, simple, interactive tool that simplifies the specification and installation of Vivitek projectors.

With over 300 pages of content, the new app provides an easy tool to review product specifications, lens options, select products and make distance mounting calculations. 42 products are available to view, across six product segments, with products categorised into; Pocket, Portable, Multimedia, Education, Large Venue and Home Cinema. The app allows the user to view information about each projector with a detailed specification page, available accessories and a distance calculator plus a reseller only section which contains further sales information and training materials.

NoviSign digital signage player app Install this player once on any Android-based device tablet, phone or Android TV. Use www. novisign.com software as a service solution to create, manage and broadcast your campaign in real time. Digital signage offers countless ways to promote your business with easy-to-use, off-the-shelf components.

NoviSign offers digital signage software as a service – Your digital sign will be up and running in minutes with NoviSign web-based service to load and broadcast your Android-based sign screens running on this Android digital signage application. Update your advertising campaign by locale, event and time to attract potential buyers to your store, service, Website and more. The NoviSign Android player is free and designed to play low-cost software as service; no special hardware needed and setup is easy and quick!

Installations Venue Solution

Private school invests in high end audio

By Greg Bester

FOH position showing both the Midas Pro2c audio console and the Martin M1 lighting console

Kearsney College, a prestigious 92-year-old Christian values-based school in Valley of a Thousand Hills, KZN, recently upgraded their 600-seater performance venue’s audio and lighting systems.

Commissioning Niklas Fairclough through his company Northwind, it was he who handled the acoustic, electro-acoustic design, lighting and installation to their existing performance space. Kearsney College is hailed for its art, culture and sports programs and in particular its celebrated choir so a high quality, precise and great sounding system was of paramount importance. The Kearsney College choir is a twelve-time gold medal winner at the World Choir Games, starting in 2000.

Fairclough, a recording studio owner, audio engineer and consultant, has an impressive track record of designing and contracting performance venues all over the globe – including a recent installation at the CTMI Church in Trianon, Mauritius – so his expertise were exactly the ticket the college needed to bring their upgrade to fruition. The client brief at Kearsney College was to create a multi-purpose venue to handle rock gigs, drama and musicals.

Audio EAW was Northwind’s go-to choice for the performance halls audio system installation and Surgesound, due to their superb hands on approach, technical knowledge and great systems support, were naturally the preferred supplier.

For starters, sixteen EAW NTL720s – eight per side – were selected for the main hangs. These are self-powered, tri-amplified, three-way sealed line source boxes with dual six-inch low frequency drivers, dual six-inch mid frequency drivers, and six one-inch HF domes. They offer 110 degrees of horizontal dispersion and 12 degrees vertical.

Frequency response comes in at 17Hz – 20kHz with a maximum calculated output of 128dB SPL peak and 122dB SPL long term. The

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NTL720s were chosen for their notable high-fidelity and solid sound pressure level performance.

Of course there are a fair amount of challenges that come with any installation.

Fairclough comments: “The system was to be installed whilst the hall was still being used for scheduled events. Extensive steelwork had to be installed to support the hangs and steelwork up in closed off ceiling voids made orientation a challenge.”

Low end duties are handled by two EAW SB1001s per side; dual-18 inch vented sub bass enclosures in ‘clam-shell’ configuration. Their frequency response is 20Hz – 160Hz (-10dB) and their maximum calculated output is 135dB SPL peak and 129dB SPL long term.

The amplification and processing for the NTL720s are all housed on-board. Each enclosure totals 1 500 watts broken down into 3 x 500w for the low, mid and high frequency drivers.

‘NT’ in an EAW product model name alludes to the fact that the loudspeaker carries on-board amplification and UX processing. The NT design overcomes the problems of transient smearing and honk due to internal reflections within the horn and phase plug. EAW implemented their Focusing technology, which is specialised DSP that employs exact, complex filter responses required to eliminate smear and honk, resulting in a smooth frequency response, true transient performance, and a lack of colouration. Using the EAW Pilot software, Greybox and Focusing settings can be sent directly to the NTL720s, which are all networked via RT45 connections.

In terms of the Kearsney installation, the UX DSP along with EAW’s Focusing technology allowed for accurate control of the venue coverage pattern and level control for all 16 NTL720s. The result is a consistent coverage from the front seating area, extending to the rear and balcony areas.

For the subwoofers, a single Lab.Gruppen PLM14000 amplifier with on-board Lake processing was employed. The PLM14000 is a

Venue Solution Installations

Lighting

Rear view of the EAW NTL720 line-array

Midas DL251 I/O unit and Lab.Gruppen PLM14000 amplifier

two-input, two-output amplifier that offers 7000w per channel at 2Ohms or 4350w per channel at 4Ohms. The on-board Lake processing offers parameters for gain, delay, cross-over slope, EQ and limiting, utilising exclusive lake processing algorithms.

Of course, Van Damme cabling, another of Surgesound’s products was used extensively throughout the installation. Tourcat CAT 5E flexible stranded conductor cabling was used for the active NTL720 DSP system and the Lab.Gruppen PLM14000 and Tour Grade 4 x 2.5mm speaker cable was utilised for the Subwoofers.

For microphone and instrument cables, Tour Grade Classic XKE and Pro Grade XKE cable was used, respectively. Finally, for the active on-stage monitors Ambicore Power and Signal Multicore 10A cable was installed.

When asked about how the particular brands he installed made the job easier, Fairclough had this to say: “There is a great, articulate ‘studio-esque’-type sound from the EAW NTL720s. It’s like sitting in front of large Genelecs! Secondly, the Lab.Gruppens are industry standards. They provide superb sound and awesome reliability. I am proud of the fact that the school has a far reaching vision that encompasses a no-compromise approach to its projects. This allowed us to spec and design this particular phase with the right equipment to handle a brief that was multipurpose.”

For on-stage monitoring, six active Mackie/EAW HD1221 wedges were selected. These monitors are installed with transducers designed by EAW and are custom tuned by them.

They are 1200W a piece, powered by on-board class-D power amplifiers, and include a 12” neodymium woofer and a 1.75” compression driver.

Finally, a Midas Pro2c was installed as the FOH console.

A hybrid lighting system was installed with an aim to provide a good backbone for expansion in the future. A Martin M1 control desk was the hub of the lighting rig combined with a Martin DMX 5.5 RDM Splitter and an Electon dimmer were the go-to choices. The M1 features a high resolution folding touchscreen, digital LCD buttons, multiple wing attachment options, and support for four DMX universes with up to 8 192 parameters and 1000 cuelists. With the DMX 5.5 RDM Splitter, data integrity is maintained over long DMX runs while boosting the weak DMX signals to their original output level.

Comprehensively, the following lighting products were installed and supplied by Johannesburg-based company, Electrosonic: • Martin M1 control desk.

• Martin DMX 5.5 RDM splitter • Electron dimmer • 9 of Martin Mac Aura • 4 of Martin Mac 350 • Robert Juliat Cricket 1000W • follow spot • 8 of Versalight LED RGB • 12 of Par 64 • 4 of Versalight LED Amber/White H/ Power Par 64.

• Jem Compact Hazer Pro A part of the quad of EAW SB1001s

The wrap When working with the right gear installed by the right team, an effective client-pleasing system can be achieved. Kearsney College is an institution with a noble air about it and given its 92-year history, it clearly has had a long-term vision for the future.

Part of that long-term vision is the need for a quality audio and lighting system to service its performance hall and it’s world-class choir, which, from the looks of it, has been meritoriously achieved

by Northwind and I’m sure given the flexibility and high quality of both the audio and lighting systems, they will be enjoying their future events immensely for years to come.

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INSTALLATIONS VENUE SOLUTION

KONG is the king of all clubs...

There’s a hip new club in town and it’s called KONG. ‘Suffering’ for his art, Greg Bester went to check it out of course.

The dance floor

Aside from its name conjuring up images of a very large gorilla perched at the top of the Empire State Building clutching a distressed damsel, KONG is indeed as imposing as it sounds, including but not limited to the bizarre urban Goth décor and the gargantuan, earth-shattering, chest-imploding, arrhythmia-inducing Hybrid+ sound system that was installed there.

The sound, of course, is one thing, and we’ll get to in a moment, but as you enter the club through its black velvet drapes, the mood is set immediately. Life-size ancient Greek statues with wire muzzles, mysterious dark thrones topped with skulls of desert beasts, a samurai mummy encased in glass in the main bar, orchids in glass cubes and a wall of faux-greenery are just some of the strange ornamentation the club is laden with.

There’s a lot of high tech stuff, too. The main dance area is spanned on the entire far side by a large full-colour LED wall; as is the six-metre long DJ booth. And then, of course, is the sound system.

Hybrid+, the premium loudspeaker systems brand of South African audio equipment manufacturing giant, Viva Afrika, was the go-to choice for the installation, installed by Mayen Pather of Johannesburg’s Maysat Audio Visual. He comments on the challenges faced when performing the installation.

“The main challenge was that we were contacted late in the project when all the ceilings were complete. I had issues with installing the cabling. It was difficult and time consuming but we got it done. The other problem was to get the speakers on the dance floor to be mounted from the concrete via chains, because the ceiling boards have been fitted and painted. I had to cut the ceiling open days before the club opened and have it ready on time. Luckily

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everything worked out.”

In a club such as this, aesthetics are as important as the sound.

Hybrid+ has got a range of new products aimed at filling specific niches within the market whether it is a full-size line array system for large scale outdoor gigs, to clubs requiring pumping sound to get hips and feet moving. In particular the PRIME series of loudspeakers were selected for their unique look and dance-floor aesthetics. Let’s take a full foray into what was installed at KONG.

Components The main dance floor is where it all happens but that doesn’t mean the rest of the club should suffer. As I was given an initial tour of the installation in the empty club by Bernard Pienaar, director at Viva Afrika, it was completely evident that the goal here was to give all club-goers a quality aural experience. This was met by the fact that no matter where you are in the club there is a speaker pointing in your direction, with subwoofers strategically placed throughout to make sure the sound is full and high fidelity at all times.

Focusing our attention once again at the dance floor, PRIME212 passive enclosures were selected and placed on each quadrant, totalling four. These 1 100W 2 x 12 mid/high loudspeakers are an intriguing combination of dual honeycomb-shaped speaker cavities and an externally mounted high-frequency waveguide that resembles a gramophone horn. Like the entire Hybrid+ line, the drivers are all custom European-made CELTO Acoustique.

The 12” woofers are ferrite magnet-based with three-inch voice coils and the high frequency driver is a 1.4” exit, neodymium

magnet-based Aquaplasted 2.8” TC4 diaphragm. Aquaplast is a substance used to coat loudspeakers in order to smooth high frequency response. Frequency response comes in at 50 to 19 000Hz with a maximum output of 131dB continuous and 134dB peak.

The subwoofers of choice, which flank either side of the DJ booth stacked vertically end-to-end, are four EXS218 dual 18” passive enclosures. Granted, these aren’t the companion subs to the PRIME range, which would normally be the PRIME218s. Pienaar comments: “The EXS218s were chosen because of the logistics of having to vertically stack the enclosures. The PRIME218s have bevelled edges and would be too unstable and therefore dangerous to stack this way.”

The result is a sturdy vertical stack of four 18” subwoofers on either side of the DJ booth. The EXS218s handle a whopping 3 000W RMS / 6 000W peak, have a frequency response of 30 to 1 100Hz and boast a maximum output SPL of 136dB continuous and 139dB peak.

Additionally, a single EXS218 was placed on the far side of the main bar to keep the bass pumping in that locale where the bar might block the low end coming from the dance floor subs.

The rest of the peripheral sound in the club is handled by Hybrid+ PRIME10CXs, placed strategically throughout. What makes these 300W 1 x 10” speakers so special is that they are a co-axial design which means that the HF driver is contained under the dust cap of the woofer. They too contain CELTO Acoustique drivers and offer a frequency response of 60 to 20 000Hz and a maximum SPL of 123dB continuous and 126dB peak.

All in all, 16 PRIME10CXs were placed throughout the club periphery from the main bar to the smoking bar. Speaking of the smoking bar, four B212 800W RMS 2 x12” subwoofers were placed throughout that zone to keep the bass full. The B212 enclosures are made from 18mm birch plywood which allows for a high degree of cabinet flex and therefore an extended low end from a compact design. They have a frequency response of 35 to 1 500Hz and a maximum output SPL of 126dB continuous and 139dB peak at 1m.

The amplifiers installed, of course, were all stereo Hybrid A-series models. Three varieties were implemented, namely A2 400s supplying 820W per side at 4Ohms; A3 000s supplying 1 100W per side at 4Ohms; and A5 000 supplying 2 000W per side at 4Ohms. In terms of what amplifier powered what speaker, here’s the list: • • • • • •

1 X HYBRID A-2 400: Main dance floor PRIME212 HF 2 X HYBRID A-3 000: Main dance floor PRIME212 Mid 2 X HYBRID A-5 000: Main dance floor EXS218 Subs 4 X HYBRID A-2 400: Both bars and VIP areas PRIME10CXs 2 X HYBRID A-3 000: Smoking bar B212s 1 X HYBRID A-5 000: Non-smoking bar sub

System processing came courtesy of three DBX Drive Racks. For the main dance floor a DBX260 Drive Rack was employed along with two Drive Rack PA/+ processors for the surround PRIME10CXs in the two bars and VIP areas.

Of course, the DJ booth would not be complete without DJ equipment. Two industry-standard Pioneer CDJ-2 000s were installed along with a companion DJM-900NXS mixer. For booth monitoring a db Technologies Opera 605D active 600W DJ monitor with integrated DSP was installed and, finally, two Hybrid HH1200 Fazer machines for hazing the dance floor.

When asked about his affinity for the Hybrid brand and why it made the job easier, Mr Pather said: “The Hybrid brand made the installation easy because the new range is compact and easier to work with, not forgetting compact with a big bang. I have been dealing with VIVA AFRIKA for many years and over which will have built a strong relationship regarding trust and service that we provide for each other.”

VENUE SOLUTION INSTALLATIONS

The smoking bar

The sound On Saturday 1 June I attended the Playboy Playmate of the Year party at KONG to get a view of, er, the club in action and to experience the sound system for myself. Donning my black jacket and shiny leather shoes I must admit that I felt a little VIP as I was ushered into the club, bypassing the crowds at the behest of Ari, the club manager and my contact there. The place was already pumping and the dance floor was starting to buzz. Of course, at this point the DJ wasn’t pushing it much so my friend who I brought with me and I decided to head to the bar to grab a very expensive Heineken.

The first thing I noticed was that no matter where I stood in the club, whether in the main bar area or in the smoking bar, the sound was clear and full. It wasn’t overbearing by any means, but instead was clean and comfortable. This was due, I assume, to the PRIME10CXs – which are compact and loaded with co-axial drivers – could stay nicely out of site while supplying full range sound. The fact that there were subwoofers placed throughout the club kept the low end nice and full as well.

As the night went on the music got louder and louder and, despite being forewarned by Bernard Pienaar that even he found it difficult to stand on the dance floor during peak hour, I took my chance and stepped in there. Sure enough, it was one of the most fantastic onslaughts of club sound I have ever heard. Quite simply put, without finding gratuitous superlatives to describe the situation, it was ear-shatteringly loud. Personally, I have never felt bass quite like it and even when going to the restroom you could hear the bass rattling the stall doors. Saying that, the sound was not ear-piercing; the high-end remained smooth. I’m sure this has something to do with the Aquaplast layer on the HF drivers.

The wrap The sound system at KONG is immense, powerful and actually sounds rather great, particularly for dance music. The fact that the boxes are 100% Proudly South African, to me, just increases its appeal. Futhermore the unique design of PRIME series fits in perfectly with the unconventional décor of the club and the vertically stacked dual 18” subwoofers command thoughts of impending bass for those who attempt to take on the dance floor.

For those who ever had doubts that South Africa was capable of producing a loudspeaker system of international calibre; think again.

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Installations HOUSES OF WORSHIP

A sound ministry in Bloemfontein

The houses of worship market is obviously in a steady state of rising returns given how many massive churches we constantly see upgrading their sound reinforcement systems to the state-of-the-art. Indeed, some of the largest and most sophisticated permanent indoor installations will be found among them and it’s clear to see that fervent church-goers really enjoy the excitement and sheer power of a chest-pounding service. Conceivably, these systems could routinely accommodate the largest bands and services at extreme sound pressure levels with ease.

One network of churches that is on the rise is the International Federation of Christian Churches, formerly known as the International Fellowship of Christian Churches founded in Durban on 18 August, 1985. They are an umbrella organisation for hundreds of formerly independent churches across the country and the globe, including the Christian Revival Church (CRC) in Bloemfontein, led by Pastor At Boshoff. They recently upgraded their own system, supplied by Johannesburg-based L-Acoutics supplier Sound Harmonics directed by owner Joseph Mandy.

The previous system CRC, had a previous L-Acoustics dV-DOSC system that was in itself quite substantial to service their 5 300 seat sanctuary, including a balcony. The room is large but very wide coming in at around 35m x

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By Greg Bester

The L-Acoustics SOUNDVISION 3D coverage simulation of the Christian Revival Church

100m, which obviously presents certain acoustic problems and coverage challenges.

For starters, the previous system included 18 dV-DOSC boxes; three clusters of six, four dV-Subs; two per side. The dV-DOSC is a dual-8” line source enclosure where the drivers are mounted in a V-shaped configuration and a 1.4” exit titanium diaphragm, neodymium compression HF driver. It has a full range frequency response of 160Hz to 18kHz within a +/3dB tolerance. The dV-Subs are the companion subwoofers for the dV-DOSC line source system and are triple-15” enclosures with a power handling of 1200W RMS and a frequency response of 40 – 200Hz. They have a usable low frequency response of 35Hz (-10dB). Handling front fills, four MTD108As controlled by a MTD108LLCa controller were selected and four MTD115bs controlled by a LLC115b-st controller were positioned for pulpit monitoring.

As far as amplification goes, six LA48a, five LA24a and one LA17a were spec’d and system processing was handled by a DolbyLake processor.

So as you can see, the previous system is nothing to sniff at. Nine dV-DOSC boxes a side with four dB-Subs would command almost any large gig, whether indoors or outdoors. The problem faced in the CRC sanctuary, because of its dimensions, is optimal coverage.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Installations The upgrade To supplement the pre-existing system, an L-Acoustics KARA supplementary system was spec’d. A further 14 KARA boxes; seven per side, were hung alongside two dV-DOSC arrays (nine per array) as in-hangs and a further eight newer model SB118 subwoofers were placed to supplement the existing dV-Subs. Of course, being that the KARA system is newer there were slight tonal differences in the boxes and this was yet another challenge faced by Mandy and his team.

He comments: “Because the two PAs overlap quite a bit, to get the delay right between the in-hangs and out-hangs was critical. There is also a clear distinction between the dV-DOSC and the KARA. The client, already a fan of the dV-DOSC, immediately noticed the difference in HF between the systems, because the KARA is a bit smoother. So getting them to match up was a bit tricky.”

A further challenge presented was the fact that because Pastor Boshoff likes his foldback monitoring very loud, the interaction between the MTD115Bs and the original placement of a centre hang was causing some tonality and feedback issues, caused by the proximatey effect of the dV-DOSC centre cluster, located 1.5m from the pulpit. This is why Mandy decided to go with separate, spaced in-and-out hangs.

“The original idea for the PA was a left, centre right configuration but due to the high levels the system was being driven, power coming from behind the centre-hang was causing audible stage issues. That is why we decided to go with the four spaced clusters.

The end result was remarkably better.”

Putting the larger dV-DOSC arrays on the outsides and the smaller KARA arrays on the insides was also a strategic move, based on the dimensions of the room and therefore the amount of throw required.

“The throw from the stage to the back is quite a short throw and on the sides it’s a very long throw. So it made sense having the system

An array of seven KARA boxes

configured that way. So now the sound pressure and tonal balance, when you walk around is the same,” says Mandy.

Looking at the L-Acoustics SOUNDVISION 3D model of the coverage pattern in the venue, it is plain to see that from front to back there is only a margin of around three to four dB of difference in SPL. The front seats experience about 103.6dB while the rear seats on the balcony about 99.6dB. The system still has an additional 6dB in headroom (RMS).

For powering the KARA system, four L-Acoustics LA8 amplified controllers were installed. These amplifiers have on-board DSP and are networkable which negates the need for a dedicated, outboard controller such as the Dolby Lake.

Front of house also received an upgrade with the installation of an Innovason SY80 digital console fitted with eight-engine FX and 31-band graphic EQ cards. The console can handle 104 channels but only 48 (on stage) were spec’d to cover the needs of the church.

Combined with physical inputs, FX and graphic EQ, a total of 72 inputs and 32 outputs are afforded. Lastly, the console is connected to the stage box on the Ethersound protocol on CAT5 cable.

The wrap

The stage-monitoring speaker system

Often a supplementary upgrade to an existing system can prove trickier than a ground-up installation. Fitting the new components in with the old presents challenges of tonality while the venue dimensions call for a rethink of the positioning of the arrays. Sound Harmonics clearly had the knowledge and experience to tackle each problem effectively and in conjunction with L-Acoustics SOUNDVISION software, the job was executed successfully and with as much precision as possible. Church-goers at the Christian Revival Church in Bloemfontein will, no doubt, enjoy high-quality sound reproduction for years to come.

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49

Installations PRODUCT REVIEW

A quest for the best

Australian loudspeaker, amplifier and accessories manufacturer Quest Engineering, while being a relative newcomer to the South African audio market, has been designing and manufacturing professional and commercial products in Australia for the better part of two decades. I, for one, was unfamiliar with Quest prior to Prolight and Sound in Frankfurt but the more I learn about them and the more I get to hear their products, the more it becomes evident that they are a quality company that has untapped potential not just in South Africa, but worldwide.

Just taking a look at current Quest Engineering news it’s plain to see that their products are catching on. This isn’t just another company looking to sell their latest knock-off line array – they don’t even manufacture one – but rather they seem to focus on what they are good at which are quality products aimed at specific applications.

The overwhelming majority of Quests products have the designation ‘compact’. But don’t let this give you the impression that their performance is small in any way. This is their forte’: big sound in a small footprint. Accordingly, research and development is a huge part of what they do. In fact, Quest has been manufacturing products for other industry brands for many years including one-off prototypes to custom bracketing to full production runs. The fact that they are the only company of their kind in Australia with a purpose built, anechoic chamber and Klippel test machine instils huge confidence in

50

By Greg Bester

me that they know what they are doing.

The HPI110 is part of their latest HPI line of compact passive loudspeakers aimed at small footprint installations that pack a punch.

It also has a few tricks up its sleeve. Let’s take a look.

Features The HPI-110 is a compact passive loudspeaker aimed at greater voice clarity thanks to, in no small part, the HPI system which we will cover shortly. At first glance the speaker gives off a modern, sophisticated vibe because of its well-engineered lines and sleek, futuristic look. It is definitely a unique looking speaker. The enclosure is loaded with a 10” high power neodymium woofer and a 1.4” exit neodymium compression driver. Power handling comes in at impressive 600w RMS at 8 Ohms and can pump out a max SPL of 130dB at 1m. The HPI-110 has a typical sensitivity of 98dB at 1kHz and finally, two parallel Neutrik Speakon connectors are found on the rear panel.

The sturdy steel wrap around handle acts as structural reinforcement for the speaker, while also serving as an extremely robust rigging point and also assisting in vibration reduction.

Probably the most interesting aspect of this speaker is the engineering that went into its high frequency waveguide to increase voice intelligibility. Quest has identified that that one of the biggest challenges facing the reproduction of clear voice in most venues is the interfering effects of primary wall reflections back to the listening area.

The theory goes that if the listener’s ears receive equal or more reverberated than direct sound from the source (the loudspeaker system), intelligibility suffers. This is due to the delay in time between the direct, non-reflected sound from the loudspeakers and the sound reflected off of wall boundaries. Residual reverberant decay due to further reflections compounds the issue.

To combat this, Quest has come up with a specialised, asymmetrical

PRODUCT REVIEW Installations waveguide that provides 30 degrees of horizontal dispersion at the top of the flare and 60 degrees at the base. This focuses the higher frequencies towards the floor at a wider angle while keeping wall reflections to a minimum. It also keeps high frequency throw focussed to the rear of the venue due to the 30 degree portion of the waveguide. The result is greater overall clarity, extended throw and a speaker that sounds great at any point in the venue. Furthermore, with the HPI-111 variant, the waveguide can be rotated 90 degrees for horizontal installation and there are multiple rigging systems available to meet almost any installation need.

Note: The HPI-111 is the 10” model that can rotate. The driver in the 110 is too big to rotate to horizontal. The 111 has a smaller driver and a little less power and the flare is a wider dispersion. The HPI-110 is configured to operate in an array of up to three boxes or hung as a two box vertical combination. The HPI-111 also features a full face grill making it more subtle for architectural aesthetics.

How does it sound?

I was able to check out a HPI-110 in action at the offices of South African Quest distributors Tadco in Johannesburg at the courtesy of their Strategic Marketing head Josh Oates. The system set up for this review was a single HPI-110, two HPI-212S – both powered by a Camco amplifier – and fed by a Digico SD11 by microphone and music played from an iPod. My first impression when hearing the HPI-110, despite listening in an untreated smallish warehouse, was that the top-end was very smooth and unobtrusive. It was as if we were listening solely to the point source without much interference. The midrange was present and up-front albeit without becoming strident. In particular, the vocals were very clear and controlled and the breathy nuances came through. Of course paired with the HPI-212S subwoofers, the sound was quite simply huge. Playing around with the crossover, we settled on 120Hz which gave the system a nice bump in the punchy zone where the kick drum resides.

Turning our attention to the throw and vocal clarity of the system, we opened the rear loading door to the warehouse and pointed the HPI-110 outdoors. Josh assured me that the throw of the speaker was incredible and after walking around 75 metres out, ending up on the other side of the road across from their parking lot, the results were impressive. There was very little drop-off in terms of vocal clarity and level and I was left pretty amazed at how no matter where we stood, the vocal clarity didn’t suffer at all. Quest’s promises were clearly delivered.

The rigging is also quite elaborate for the HPI series, called the

Quest HPI-110 compact passive loudspeaker

‘Quick Rig Series’. Check this pdf out to get an idea of the versatility here: http://www.questaudio.com.au/downloads/HPI-Quick-RigReference-Sheet.pdf A full manual here: http://www.questaudio.com.au/downloads/ hpi-rigging-manual.pdf

The wrap Quest may just be getting going here in South Africa but after hearing the HPI-110, it is clear they are on the right track to establishing themselves as a strong contender in the market of high power, compact loudspeaker systems. The HPI-110 delivered, as far as I’m concerned, in all fronts and despite the waveguide trickery they employ to control dispersion, it is not at the expense of fidelity.

They simply sound great and that’s the bottom line.

Note: Just as some background info... each Quest product is designed around solving a particular audio problem or situation.

Consequently each product will have a particular niche where the performance will be particularly good for the price.

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30/05/2013 09:06

51

LIVE EVENTs PRODUCT REVIEW

Signing off for Shure

Shure is a company who have had an inspiring history. Indeed, it’s not too far of a stretch of the imagination to suppose that they have touched almost every major live event and recording project to date. Their microphones, from the industry standard SM58 and SM57, to the SM7 Bruce Swedien used for Michael Jackson’s vocals on the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, are quite simply ubiquitous.

One wonders if the audio world would have fared the same without them.

Founded by Sidney M. Shure in Chicago, Illinois in 1925, they were originally in the business of supplying radio part kits and traded under ‘The Shure Radio Company’ brand name. By 1928, they had grown considerably to 75 employees and upon Sidney’s brother, Samuel J. Shure, joining the company it was renamed to Shure Brothers Company. Their first microphone was produced in 1931 – the Model 33N Two-Button Carbon Microphone – and in 1939 they produced the Model 55 Unidyne Microphone, arguably the most recognisable microphone in the world known as the Elvis mic.

Nowadays Shure boasts large consumer and professional catalogues of such audio-electronics as microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers and digital signal processing units. Particularly in the realm of microphones and wireless microphone systems, they are one of the world leaders.

On 24 April 2013 at the Killarney Country Club in conjunction with SA distributors Wild and Marr, Shure Europe GmbH unveiled their new Axient wireless microphone system to the South African market, presented by Ron Hautzinger, Freddy Sicko and Harald Metzler.

Axient: the idea The motivation behind Axient is to provide a more intuitive wireless microphone system that negates the need for external RF management. Additionally, the fact that it is a networkable product opens up a whole new world of control and in fact provides remote control possibilities that were not until recently possible. In short, Axient provides the following advantages over traditional systems: • Electronic frequency spectrum management. The Axient system will isolate the most interference-free frequencies for each transmitter on the system and block out those that are already occupied. Backup frequencies will be assigned to each transmitter and will intuitively change based on the interference.

• Dual transmitter redundancy. The Axient receivers can accommodate two transmitters and will switch to the redundant

52

•

one in the case of failure or interference.

A wireless 2,4GHz backbone. Remote management and control of transmitters on the Axient network is now a reality using the ZigBee protocol. A fully modular, networked system that connects via regular CAT5 Ethernet.

Component overview The Axient system is termed the ‘Axient Wireless Management Network’ by Shure. In this day and age it seems that almost every peripheral is becoming network enabled whether it is to stream, transfer raw data, impose control remotely, or for monitoring purposes. Of course, this move is quite understandable considering the new world of capability that is afforded to us through such a system.

The Axient system is a modular, networked wireless microphone system with which you can assemble a simple microphone/ transmitter/receiver system or expand by adding on additional components depending on your needs.

Basically, the complete core system consists of either the AXT100 or AXT200 transmitters; the former being a belt pack and the latter a dual-transmitter handheld, the AXT400 Dual Channel Receiver, the AXT600 Spectrum Manager and the AXT610 Showlink Access Point.

Other options include the AXT900 rack mount charging station, which can be custom configured by loading battery charging modules based upon which transmitters you are using. There two different battery types for each of the transmitters.

Given that this is a network-based product, connectivity options are paramount. Shure offers a purpose-built Roadrack Ethernet Switch, the AXT620, which includes DHCP technology. An antenna distribution system, the AXT630, is also offered.

Shure’s Wireless Workbench 6.0 software can also be integrated and is used to configure the entire system, from frequency management to full control over all parameters that are accessible from the front panel of each component.

PRODUCT REVIEW LIVE EVENTs run. Of course, the AXT900 also links in with the network allowing battery health to be monitored from Wireless Workbench.

How does it all work?

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As mentioned, the smallest Axient system possible is simply an AXT100 or AXT200 transmitter and one AXT400 Dual Channel Receiver. This will operate like a normal wireless system albeit without the data link.

However, for a more sophisticated system and to take advantage of the data link and spectrum management, an AXT 600 Spectrum Manager is required along with the AXT610 Showlink Access Point. The Showlink Access Point can either be powered externally or via power over Ethernet, connected to the system via the Ethernet switch.

All receivers connect to the Spectrum Manager via a data hub and the Showlink Acces Point is basically the universal access point whereby all transmitters send and receive control data. Control data includes remote adjustment of gain – a welcomed feature – to locking and muting of the transmitter, among other features like transmitter identification through blinking. Each dual receiver can be cascaded enabling antenna feed to up to 40 or so from a single set of antennae.

At this point it may be pertinent to note that the data link is independent of the RF transmission, which is kept in the analogue domain to keep latency at a minimum. The Showlink control data runs on a digital back-end link on the 2.4GHz band. This may worry some people do to the fact that everything from WIFI, wireless keyboards and mice, and even microwaves transmit on this band which makes it pretty crowded. To overcome this obstacle Shure opted to go for a completely different, uncluttered 2.4GHz control protocol called ZigBee that is completely different from WIFI and is therefore no threat in terms of band interference.

The Spectrum Manager is essentially the unit that scans the RF environment and configures optimum and backup frequencies for each transmitter. Using Wireless Workbench 6.0 on your PC provides a more in-depth graphical representation of the entire spectrum and can be used to automatically block out frequencies occupied by, for example, terrestrial television stations. There are even preprogrammed regional profiles of fixed-use frequency bands, depending on the country and region you are working in.

Given the fact that each transmitter is powered by differing Li-Ion batteries depending on whether you’re using the belt pack or handheld, the AXT900 can be loaded with charging modules to suit your needs. Additionally, these batteries are smart. Using the AXT900 charging hub, you can monitor battery health, charge count, and discharge voltage from the batteries to be put into storage mode.

This helps prolong battery life and is a cost saving exercise in the long

Wireless Workbench Shure’s Wireless Workbench integrates fully with the Axient system and provides full control. You can virtually configure your racks from within the software and it even accommodates third party systems from other manufacturers. However, frequency management, once you have run your scans, has to be inputted manually to non-Axient systems because, of course, they do not have an Axient data link.

Simply put, the procedure is to link all of your receivers, run the software, perform an RF scan, assign channels to the receivers and then sync the transmitters. Primary and backup frequencies will be assigned; causing your RF worries to disappear. If in the event there is frequency interference, the Spectrum Manager will automatically send control signals via the Showlink to the transmitter and it will switch over to the backup frequency. There will be about a 500ms dropout but for most people that is unnoticeable and far better than consistent dropouts and RF distortion. Another option is to run two transmitters on two different frequencies, received by the dualchannel receivers in Frequency Diversity Mode.

As mentioned, using the AXT100 belt packs you’ll need two; however the AXT200 handheld (compatible with most Shure handheld capsules) has two built-in transmitters. In the event of interference on one frequency, the redundant transmitter will take over instantly with far less dropout time that is for all intents and purposes, unnoticeable.

The wrap In a nutshell, Axient addresses all the current problems with spectrum management and running a complex setup of a host of wireless mics. It will help rental companies cut costs in the long term because it will negate the need to hire an RF technician, delivering more head-ache free shows and allowing the performers and engineers to get on with what they are there to do without any distractions.

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31/05/13 14:09

53

LIVE EVENTs PRODUCT REVIEW

Avidly digital

The march of technological progress amazes me. The power of the microchip has never seen such staggering heights and now with IP-based systems coming to the fore, we start to see audio mixing systems appearing with increasing power in progressively smaller footprints, writes Greg Bester.

As the analogue snake slowly becomes a thing of the past, which I’m sure many live audio techs are very happy about, so are outboard racks; saving the backs of loaders worldwide.

Now we have complete mixing systems that consist of simply a control surface and a stage box with remote-controlled preamps connected via CAT5 or fibre. These systems can literally transmit hundreds of channels bi-directionally, accommodate redundant systems, and route audio practically anywhere; this, and not to mention the processing power that was previously unavailable.

Avid is a company that has been on the cutting edge of digital audio for the past 20 years. Their Pro Tools HD systems are the de facto industry standard and their Media Composer / Nitris systems are steadily coming to the forefront in the digital video editing world. Of course, a digital audio recording system encompasses all of the vital components required to put together a live mixing system, namely AD/DA converters, processing, and a powerful audio routing and mixing engine.

It makes sense, then, that Avid stepped into the live sound arena with the introduction of their VENUE live mixing consoles. First produced by their former and now dissolved subsidiary, Digidesign in 2005, what made the VENUE systems great was that they integrated seamlessly with Pro Tools for multi-track recording and used the same TDM, DSP-powered plugins employed therein. This has the obvious advantage of bringing the processing power of the studio to the hands of the live sound engineer. Now if one could only overcome that silly obstacle of attaining experience and skills!

Since then there have been three versions of the VENUE system: the D-Show, the D-Show Profile, and the SC48, in descending order of size. But recently Avid announced a new addition to their live console line: the S3L System, an affordable, compact mixing system that uses the same VENUE software found on their other live mixing systems.

Overview The S3L system is basically a compact, modular, AVB (Audio Video Bridging) networked live mixing system with the power of Avid’s new proprietary AAX plugins and HDX-powered processing engine. Of course, any system of this nature invariably includes remote and scalable remote I/O which connects to the network, and the S3L is no

54

different. Up to 64 microphone inputs can be accommodated over the AVB protocol which is used to connect the modules throughout the system.

In addition you can record directly to Pro Tools by merely plugging into the console via your Ethernet port, a welcomed and simple to set up feature. What’s more is that your VENUE show files are crosscompatible on any Avid live system.

One of the most interesting features of this system, which will only become available in future revisions, is that the user will be able to use the control surface as a EUCON controller for Pro Tools and other DAWs. This feature reflects the wonderful cross-platform flexibility afforded to us currently in products of this nature.

A further advantage of this system is that it is hyper-compact due to its modularity, but we’ll cover that further as we proceed through the modules. There are three main components to the system, namely the S3 Control Surface, the E3 Engine and the Stage 16 remote I/O box.

S3 Control Surface The S3 Control Surface optimises the term ‘compact’, coming in at 71cm x 36,3cm. It is between 3.2cm and 7.2cm thick. Basically you get a bank of 16 faders with six bankable layers and 32 OLED-illuminated, touch-sensitive rotary encoders and each channel control parameter is colour coded for quick access and adjustment.

There are 16 ten-segment LED meters with pre– and post-fader metering options. On-board I/O includes four analogue inputs; two XLR mic/line inputs and two TRS line inputs, which can be used to connect a talkback microphone, audience mics or playback devices. There are also four analogue outputs; two XLR line outputs and two TRS line outputs for connecting recording devices and near-field monitors. There is one ¼-inch headphone output as well.

To connect to the AVB network there are two Gigabit Ethernet AVB ports featuring latching etherCON connectors on the rear of the surface. There are also two USB 2.0 ports exclusively for connecting a keyboard and mouse, one ¼-inch TRS footswitch port, two console light ports and a Kensington lock slot.

There is no display built into the surface but why that is will be covered shortly.

PRODUCT REVIEW LIVE EVENTs E3 Engine

Stage 16 remote I/O

The E3 Engine is the core of the S3L mixing system. This 2U rack unit runs the VENUE software and acts as the mission control centre for the entire system and the 32-bit floating point HDX-powered system that powers the AAX plugins is also housed there.

The E3 can accommodate 24 aux busses, LCR, eight mono matrixes and eight VCA groups. Channel processing includes a four-band parametric EQ on every input and output, 16 graphic EQs and full dynamics processing on all channels.

Two-track recording is offered via standard USB flash drives connected to the on-board USB 2.0 ports however for multi-track recording, the E3 is connected directly to the Ethernet port of your computer to record/playback up to 64 audio tracks over the AVB network. No audio interface is required.

Additional I/O includes four XLR mic/line inputs, four XLR line outputs, four channels of AES3 input and output (XLR), GPIO (two in/ two out), and word clock input and output. There are three Gigabit AVB ports, one ECx Ethernet port for wired/wireless remote control and one DVI video port. This is where your monitor will connect for full graphic representation of all console parameters. Finally, there are four USB 2.0 ports; two on the rear, one on the front, and one internally.

One thing to note about AVB is that all devices on the network are auto-discoverable and auto configurable. That means that when you plug any of the modules into each other, the system recognises them all and sets up the network automatically. AVB is designed to be future-proof and expandable which means that the S3L is likely to see much expansion and upgrade in the future.

The Stage 16 remote I/O is exactly what it sounds like; the stage box I/O module of the S3L system. All in all you get 16 XLR mic inputs/ preamps, eight XLR line outputs and four channels of AES3 output. It is 4U in size and includes two Gigabit Ethernet AVB etherCON ports for connection to the E3 Engine and for daisy chaining up to four Stage 16 boxes, totalling 64 inputs. Regular off-the-shelf, shielded 350MHz Cat5e cable is the network transport medium of choice, achieving a maximum snake cable length of 100 metres.

The wrap Starting at around $17 999 (+ – R177 000) for the base system and coming in at around $30 000 (+ – R296 500) for the 64 channel system, the S3L is fantastic value for money given the features that it offers. The fact that the entire system is modular and compact enough to fit into your boot makes it very appealing and I’m sure it will suit both rental companies and installations alike.

Plus you get the power of HDX-powered AAX plugins, multi-track recording with no further hardware but your laptop or PC, the robustness of the AVB network, and comprehensive connectivity and I/O in a variety of options. Avid have a habit of changing the game and the S3L looks to be a game changer.

For a full demonstration of the S3L visit Mediatech 2013 to see Robb Allen from Avid performing demos with it at the Segma stand (Avid SA distributor).

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55

12/03/2013 11:52

LIVE EVENTs CONCERT REPORT

Fresh look and feel for SAMAs

Preceded by last year’s internationally acclaimed 18th edition, the 2013 MTN South African Music Awards (SAMAs) had to live up to expectations, and they did – writes Eddie Hatitye.

Technical producers of South Africa’s grandest musical awards pushed the envelope again this year to present a remarkable installment of the 19th MTN SAMA awards. Staged in the Sun City Superbowl on May 11, the event was beautifully crafted from start to finish.

The majority of the companies that supplied the previous SAMAs were on the bill again this year. These included Vertical Limit Productions (VLP), Nevermachine, Dream Sets, MGG Productions, AV Unlimited, Audio Logic and Visual Frontier. As overall production company VLP provided a 360° production solution and was also responsible for organising the other SAMA events that took place before and after the big night. The VLP team, led by Delmarie Seaward, comprised 65 crew members. Part of their brief from the organisers was to relook the entire production and introduce something fresh and better than last year’s show.

VLP contracted Dream Sets to supply all technical and staging elements. This also involved designing and building the set. AV Unlimited was contracted to supply all video elements while MGG Productions supplied additional lighting gear. The lighting and sound departments were handled by Joshua Cutts and Marius Marais from Visual Frontier and Audio Logic respectively. LaserX supplied the lasers and Nevermachine, headed by Gavin Wratten, directed the show for live broadcast on SABC1.

56

Joshua Cutts lights up the stage at the SAMAs

The set The set was designed by Wayne Pettit Sproule from Dream Sets and built under the directorship of Robert Hoey. It was certainly one of the highlights of the production, thanks partly to a giant ‘gazebo’ structure that was erected in the centre of the stage. This structure

CONCERT REPORT LIVE EVENTs

...a live interactive stage

A computer-generated 3D video mapping render becomes...

could turn into a light box and also serve as a perfect projection surface for 3D mapping. The stage offered three main sections; the first being for performances, the second for the house band and the third for awards and speeches. A mobile hi-res LCD screen mounted behind the awards area provided a great backdrop to most of the stage activities.

The gazebo was made of steel covered in Lycra and a special seamless screen material. It was hung off five 1-ton motors and its legs were braced to the ground. On either sides there were two large shapes supporting it on one-ton motors. “It (the gazebo) was really a big risk but it paid off tremendously,” says Seaward. The remainder of the stage was mostly built with stock rostra and 22-milimetre plywood filler pieces covered with square (1.2 x 1.2 metre) MDF tiles.

It took Dream Sets about a month to build the set offsite and three days to assemble it in the Super Bowl. The set’s various elements and other technical equipment were transported to the venue with two 12-metre flatbed trucks, two 12-metre containers, two eight-ton trucks and one six-ton truck. A total of 52 Dream Sets personnel worked on the project off and onsite.

Video mapping 3D video mapping played a crucial role in the overall look and feel of the production. This process mostly involved AV Unlimited projecting fascinating graphics onto the set’s various objects. The mapping was powered by Coolux’s Pandora’s Box media servers and Barco FLM HD14 projectors. “We piggybacked the large surfaces either side of the centre structure and used a single projector for the side screens,” explains AV Unlimited’s Dave Thompson. “We then used the Warper in Pandora’s Box to map the set (capture the parameters) and create the warp file of the surfaces.”

Thompson worked closely with Guillaume Ducray, Clive Maake and Sazi Mgaga, all from AV Unlimited.

Lighting A unique element on this year’s production was the use of time codes built into the audio tracks to help sync the lighting with the audio and video. This allowed lighting designer Joshua Cutts to trigger lighting cues with precision and musical accuracy.

This was Cutts’ second consecutive SAMAs. He decided to light the main gazebo internally. His rig incorporated 48 Clay Paky Sharpys – possibly the highest quantity of Clay Paky Sharpys ever employed on

one show in South Africa. He also incorporated a great deal of Robe’s moving lights, Robert Juliat Aramis Followspots, Marin LC Panels and Philips Selecon SPX 36deg profiles. Programming was done onsite using a grandMA 2 full size console and this process took about a week to complete as Cutts had to precisely sync his design with all the audio and video offerings.

In addition to musical director James Bassingthwaighte (from Thatch Music) and creative director Wessel Albertse, Cutts worked closely with Raymond Endermann from LaserX. Endermann was tasked to provide laser effects to the live acts as well as to map parts of the sets. He did this with two 36w Nano Rainbow lasers, one Nano 22w laser and four sets of laser fingers. To control the lasers he used Pangolin Beyond software over a fibre network and the results were truly impressive.

Audio The sound design was done by Marius Marais of Audio Logic. Marais used the in-house d&b audiotechnik system, which comprised eight J8s loudspeakers, two J12 cabinets and 10 J subs. A total of 12 Q1 out fill cabinets were used to cover the sides of the venue together with four Infra subs, which were stacked on the ground around the venue.

The house mix was done on a Studer Vista 5SR digital mixing console and the mix for the monitors came from a Studer Vista 1. A Soundcraft Vi6 console was reserved for the live broadcast audio mix and in total there were 130 input channels to work with. “This was easily achieved with the Studer consoles,” explains Marais. “The broadcast mix on the Vi6 was well planned with the snapshot feature, filtering down the input channels to only the needed inputs for each performance.”

The television director did not want any monitors cluttering the stage so the performers had to use in-ear monitoring systems. This also meant that Marais had to spend a great deal of time training them.

The in-ears used were a combination of Shure PSM900 and PSM1000 monitors. For the house band Marais used a myMIX monitoring system with 15 stations. A total of 30 handheld radio microphones were used, including Shure, AKG, Audio Technica and Beyer Dynamic. Vocals were done with Shure UR4 and ULX-D radio systems.

Marais’ team comprised seven members, namely Johan Griesel (broadcast engineer), Nathan Thiart (stage tech-house band), Kenson Makeke (stage tech – house band), Christo Visser (radio tech-vocals) and Andre Schoeman (radio tech – in ear monitors).

They worked closely with four technicians in the SABC OB van.

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LIVE EVENTs INDUSTRY EXPERT

Bon Jovi’s lighting director Sooner Routhier Interview

Bon Jovi recently visited our shores and brought along with him lighting director Sooner Routhier.

Sooner is a veteran of the industry and has worked with top US acts such as Rage Against the Machine, Daughtry, Linkin Park and Rihanna. Pro-Systems journalist Greg Bester caught up with her to talk shop and find out more.

Let’s see what she had to say.

Sooner Routhier

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a lighting designer?

Sooner: I took dance in high school. I was a complete nerd and took advantage of extra credit whenever possible. We were told if we joined the tech crew we could get extra credit in dance. That’s when I fell in love with lighting. I saw my first rock concert in 1997 – The Smashing Pumpkins with Lars Upton as lighting designer – and realised that I actually loved rock n’ roll lighting more than dance.

You got a BFA in Technical Theatre with a concentration in lighting design from Emerson College. How has this helped develop your skills? Do you think you would have fared the same without it?

Sooner: I feel like I could have gotten by without the degree, but it helped shape and mould skills that I otherwise would not have gained working for a production company.

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What was one thing you learned as a stage hand at the Majestic Theatre in Boston that has stayed with you your whole career? Please elaborate.

Sooner: Unfortunately I don’t remember much of these years. I worked for a lighting company in New Hampshire for a majority of my college career. I learned via ’trial by fire’. I learned the importance of speed and improvisation when building various types of lighting rigs. I also learned a lot about sound and rigging. I think that working for a company that does both sound and lighting helped me realise the importance of working as a team on a gig. It’s not always ALL about the lights!

Coming from a theatre background, do you apply that approach to a rock n’ roll stage show?

Sooner: Not at all. They are two completely different monsters.

Can you describe your first big break that pushed you into the ’big time’?

Sooner: I met my current business partner, Robert Long. He hired me on my first arena tour in 2005. We’ve been working together ever since.

You’ve subsequently worked for such top acts as Chevelle, Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, Rhianna and, of course, Bon Jovi. What do you think is the most difficult part of the job at this level? Does it get easier because you’re working with professionals, or does the pressure get heavier and the job more intricate?

Sooner: Every job has its challenges. It’s really just figuring out what those challenges are in the beginning. With Chevelle – we were working in clubs. We had to make an amazing light show happen with the different tools provided to us. With Bon Jovi, it’s watching Jon at all times. He constantly changes the show. I have to constantly watch where he’s going next. I wouldn’t say it ever gets easier or harder. It’s just different.

What is your favourite show you have ever done and why?

Sooner: Rage Against the Machine – every show. The energy at every show was intense.

Being a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry, what advice do you have for young girls aspiring to become lighting designers?

Sooner: Don’t make it an issue. Most men love working with women on the job. Besides, we smell better.

Do you think having a so-called ’woman’s touch‘ is beneficial to the art of lighting design? Do you see any differences in how you approach the craft as opposed to your male counterparts?

Sooner: If I do, it’s gone! HAHA! I’ve been working for some pretty heavy rock bands for years. I had to learn how to be badass instead of how to paint a ballerina’s body!

Where is your favourite destination that you have travelled to?

Sooner: Thailand.

What do you do with your free time?

Sooner: I always try to explore on days off when I’m on the road. I also try to run every other day. Relaxation always involves reading.

Bon Jovi

59

LIVE EVENTs CONCERT REPORT

Mrs Carter lights up London’s O2 Arena On May 1 the unmistakeable vocal talent that is Beyonce descended on London’s O2 Arena and put on a show that was so spectacular sonically and aesthetically that it will surely last long in the memory of all who witnessed it, writes Paul Watson.

Whether you’re a lifelong fan or just someone who appreciates a good vocal performance, there’s no debating it: Beyonce is bloody amazing.

However, for her it’s not just about being on stage; she reviews her show tape every night, and she’s heavily involved when it comes to the audio and lighting elements.

“Beyonce is definitely not shy about her opinions on things, and it’s good to hear those specifics, although it’s not always easy making them happen,” smiles Eighth Day Sound’s Stephen Curtin, who is also FOH engineer for The Mrs Carter World Tour. “She always wants a nice clean vocal, but she gets far more particular than that: she likes to be very well heard over the music out front, which can be challenging for me as I have to build in some headroom, first to accommodate the music and then her vocal, and that’s before you start hitting any kind of system conversion.”

Vocal chain Due to Beyonce’s seriously wide dynamic range, her vocal chain is somewhat longer than most: signal from her Sennheiser SKM 5200-II handheld (with MD 5235 dynamic capsule) hits the pre-amp on the DiGiCo SD7 at FOH, gets crushed a little by an inserted Avalon 737 compressor, then gets sent to a group where it receives a light squeeze from a Waves compressor plugin; before finally settling at the master fader.

“The vocal’s going through a few different stages, but it’s not limiting her dynamic range; it’s just harder live than in the studio to be able to go with the music,” Curtin insists. “She’s got to be limited beforehand, to find out how low she can go before she’s lost, so it’s a case of balancing compression to get it to sit in a pocket of 8dB as opposed to 20dB.” Beyonce and the ‘Big Mamas’ (her three backing singers) also have their own dedicated monitor engineer, Daniel Gonzales, who also works from an SD7, while Demetrius Moore works monitors for her band from an Avid Profile.

“It’s pretty crazy during a Beyonce performance at monitor position as there is a lot of talkback going on and it tends to get very vocal,” Curtin admits. “For one guy to concentrate on Beyonce, the girls and the band would be very taxing!”

There are 12 channels of Sennheiser EM 3732-II wireless receivers on the tour, to cater for the eight Sennheiser SKM 5200-II handheld mics and four Sennheiser SK 5212-II belt pack transmitters (for the horn section). IEMs are Shure PSM10000s.

“The flexibility of the RF when working with Sennheiser is great, because unlike many manufacturers, if you buy something in a certain range in the US then come over to Europe, you can re-tune it,” he says.

“On the flip-side, Shure took hold of the in-ear world when they brought out the Diversity receiver belt packs with the PSM1000s, which made our RF and monitor guys way happy in terms of stability.”

At FOH, Curtin is running 80 channels on his SD7 at 96kHz, so that it ties

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Beyonce live at London’s O2 Arena

in with the whole system.

“I’ve always been a DiGiCo man and it’s fantastic that we can run at 96kHz. This means we’re straight out of the desk into the Dolby processors and amplifiers at the front end of the PA without any sample rate converting going on whatsoever,” he explains. “We’re using a mix of AES and analogue because Demetrius (Moore) needs analogue signal as there’d be a lot of sample reconverting involved if we went AES into the Avid (Profile) console.”

Curtin is utilising one DiGiCo SD-Rack at FOH and there are a further four on stage. Flexibility is key on this show, he says, and much of that stems from his DiGiCo setup.

“I have one local SD-Rack and there are three on stage which we’re using as inputs; then there’s a fourth SD-Rack which is mainly used for the support stuff and a few extra bits and pieces,” he explains. “The flexibility of DiGiCo is what drew me to the consoles in the first place; everything is simpler and more intuitive, and compared to other manufacturers, there are less steps to go through to get to where you want to be when mixing.”

Eighth Day is providing crew and PA for the entire tour, and the sizeable rig is by d&b: two hangs of 20 J-Series enclosures with eight cardioid-configured flown J-Subs per hang constitutes the main L/R; a further 16 J-Series make up the side hangs; and 12 Q-Series boxes make up the centre clusters. There are an additional nine J-Subs per side on the floor and a scattering of d&b M4 wedges on stage, should the in-ears go down; and the bassist and drummer are using Pearl Throne Thumpers.

System tuning System tech, Eighth Day Sound’s Arno Voortman, uses Smaart and WinMLS to make his calculations, though he admits this venue didn’t need much tweaking.

“The tuning process at the O2 Arena doesn’t take long as it’s very similar to an American arena, which I’m obviously used to,” Voortman explains. “I use Smaart for the low-end timeline and WinMLS for everything else.”

Voortman is a big fan of d&b for its ease-of-use and versatility; and as far as processing goes, he lets the speaker do all the talking: “I find DSP is often being abused these days, as in over-processed, which can actually make it a detrimental thing; suddenly systems sound worse instead of better! If a system is a good system, why should you tweak the hell out of it?”

US-based company, Upstaging, provided the lighting rig – and it’s like no other I’ve ever seen, the focal point of which is undoubtedly LeRoy Bennett’s ‘Wall of Inferno’, which utilises a massive 446 of SGM’s new low-profile, lightweight X-5 strobes, and 208 Clay-Paky Sharpys. As a result, this show (we think) is the brightest ever to be recorded on a concert stage.

“I was very impressed by the X-5’s combination of power

consumption, brightness and rugged design,” Bennett explains “In addition, the fact that each strobe breaks down to three individual cells is great, as it enables me to project very low res graphics as well as bright blasts of light and strobing.”

Bennett was responsible for the entire lighting design which incorporates more than 1 000-fixtures and has also allowed him to experiment with some ideas he’s had up his sleeve for some time, according to lighting director and operator, Whitney Hoversten.

“When someone finally came out and said ‘let’s just do a big lighting show’, LeRoy was all, ‘oh yes, let’s try a lot of tricks on this one’,” Hoversten recalls, tweaking his grandMA2 at FOH position after sound check. “In terms of the ‘Wall of Inferno’, what the X5s are capable of is absolutely fantastic, especially given their compact size and low power draw; every 4 x 4 pod is just one circuit which is a huge advantage with power distribution, so it’s bright as hell.”

Reflecting light “Then at the ‘Bey Stage’ we’ve got some very cool things going on.

LeRoy came up with the concept of having all the light coming from the ground and reflecting back down and we’ve done that using mirrors. We beam light from the Sharpys onto customised MAC 700 fixtures that have had the head taken out and a mirror put in its place, and it works really well: on one side you get this flat surface so if you go in a tight cone or tight iris it looks like just another Sharpy, but if you do it wide you get these cool pink square beams; and on the other side you’ve got these amazing mirror ball effects.

“By the end of the experiment, we realised the concept isn’t just a one trick pony too: because of how the light hits the two sides, when you spin it, it does some really amazing things; we discovered some cool stuff by accident, which is always a bonus, and Beyonce loves it!”

It’s not only the mirrors Mrs Carter has taken a fancy to, however: at her personal request, a further 15 X-5s are to be added to fill in across the centre section of the stage!

There are 198 mirrors used in total, and additional fixtures include 71 Martin Vipers; 94 Martin MAC Auras; 28 Vari-Lite VL3500 washes; seven Syncrolites; and two Martin MAC 3s.

In terms of control, Hoversten says nothing on the market comes close to the grandMA2.

“The grandMA2 is completely customisable, so I can put anything anywhere; and unlike other consoles, you the user tell it how you want to receive the information,” he says. “The software’s Layout View is also fantastic; it allows you to assign icons to fixtures, which means I know instinctively where everything is, and that’s really great for the operator, especially with a rig of this size. It’s a great step forward in terms of lighting control.

“Then from a programming standpoint, because I’m always doing things on the fly, this console is also great because of its quick access; on the hardware side, its parameters, universes and general control capabilities are also very impressive.”

I was sat at FOH position (ridiculously, next to Jay-Z!) throughout the show, which looked and sounded absolutely out of this world. The system was being driven very hard, but any slight distortion just enhanced the experience, to be honest; the band were phenomenal, and the intelligibility and energy that came from Beyonce’s voice – well, I don’t know where to begin...

After opening with Who Run The World (Girls), a two-hour set left the crowd mesmerised, and Beyonce was right on the money – she didn’t seem to break a sweat, despite dancing her backside off throughout!

There were two highlights for me: her being zip-wired to FOH to perform the latter part of the show from her ‘Bey Stage’, which was right on top of us; and the unbelievable finale: as Beyonce came to the end of her mega-hit, Halo, Bennett’s unbelievable ‘Wall of Inferno’ provided the ultimate ‘wow’ moment as more than 1 000 fixtures illuminated the entire arena.

A fitting end to an amazing night.

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LIVE EVENTs CONCERT REPORT

Beliebe it! in Sweden

By Louise Stickland

I joined the hordes of loyal Beliebers flocking to Stockholm’s Globe Arena to experience the Justin Bieber phenomenon live – sating the appetite of 45 000 happy hormonally-charged followers over three nights – and enjoyed a fabulously warm welcome from Production Director Tom E Marzullo and his large and friendly crew.

Tom E Marzullo – Tour Director/Production Designer

Marzullo is a seasoned road warrior who’s been there, seen it, done it, worked with some of the brightest stars on the planet and received multiple T-shirts... and he’s still smiling!

His unflappable calm, charm and great sense of humour permeates from the top down right through the Bieber 100 plus production crew who were approaching the end of the European leg of the ‘Believe’ tour.

The show is nothing short of

stunning!

A high-energy molten mix of theatre, dance, rap, rock and pop, starting with Bieber’s unapologetically rock ‘n’ roll and God-like entrance on a giant set of angel’s wings flying through the upstage video screen to the final explosive chords of ‘Believe’. Full of visual trickery, highly entertaining, dynamically paced to match the attention spans of the Twitter generation … and I loved it!

Whatever people say and think about Bieber – I discovered to my surprise that an awful lot do have an opinion about him – when onstage he’s 200% there for his Beliebers.

The ‘Believe’ tour started in September 2012, three months after the release of the album – his fourth studio work and the fourth to hit number one internationally.

The epically – and appropriately – proportioned production and

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set design for the tour was the result of some intense collaborative imagineering between movie director Jon M Chu, the show’s Creative Director (he also directed concert biopic Justin Bieber : Never say Never) and Marzullo, complete with the scenic pieces and various props which were all conceived by visual designer Christobel Valecillos.

The set and stage is big, bold and stark with three layers, lots of deck space and LED screens, most of which move in some way, reflecting both the more urban and mature direction of Bieber’s music and Chu’s penchant for dance action – with plenty of space to showcase the visually striking choreography.

It’s around 110ft wide and 58ft deep including a sizable thrust so Bieber can get right among his audience. Reaching out and touching is one of the essentials underpinning the show. There are several hydraulic lifts dotted around the space that drops down below or elevates above the stage, plus a crane arm that rises up and does a 270 degree rotation with him standing at the end of it.

The stage was built by All Access in Torrence, California, the thrust

by SGPS Inc. Las Vegas and the LED screens are all WinVision – a combination of 9mm and 18mm from Chaos Visual Productions.

Overhead are three long tracking trusses extending right out over the audience. The centre one is used for the ‘Whirligig’, a large metal set piece that looks like something from Area 51 with two contrarotating rings built – together with most of the rest of the ‘in air’ set – by SGPS. Moved by six winch lines, this carries various lighting fixtures and the wings for Bieber’s entrance are also attached to it.

The two outer tracks are used to accommodate four large custom

LIVE EVENTs CONCERT REPORT lighting pods per side – also made by SGPS – that glide up and down, driven by a copper track ‘brush’ system similar to that utilised to power underground metro networks. This avoids the need for complex and unwieldy cable management and also supplies mains power to the lights on the pods.

There were about 110 rigging points for the full show co-ordinated

by Lead Production Rigger Billy Daves, who worked for the European leg with UK-based Steve Armstrong. Together with Lead Carpenter Jesus Arroyo, they figured out how best to fit the infrastructure and 22 trucks of kit into each venue.

The tour’s Navigator automation and screen tracking control system was developed by Fisher Technologies (recently acquired by Tait Technologies) and is run by Kyle Wolfson. This deals with everything except the hydraulic lift elements, which are all operated from local positions under the stage.

programmer Andrew Giffin pre-visualised it in MA3D ahead of six weeks’ technical rehearsals in Long Beach. “We needed every minute of it,” he confirms.

All the kit is supplied by Christie Lights of Toronto

Sound

Lighting Lighting Designer Chris Kuroda is based in Fort Lauderdale Florida, and ‘Believe’ is his first ‘adventure’ with Marzullo!

The basic stage and set pieces and the onstage LED screens were in place by the time he joined the team, so this was his starting point for the lighting design which needed to fit in around these structural elements and the presence of the Whirligig.

Chris Kuroda – Lighting Designer Other than that, his task was to bring some elegance and carefully crafted lighting magic to the bigger picture. Known for his subtle and perceptive style, while there are many big rock-tastic moments in the set, the objective was that lighting should give it edge, mood and some distinct urbanisation, all the time following the music with theatrical precision.

No traditional cross stage trussing positions were feasible due to the Whirligig tracking down the centre of the room, so he came up with a six angled mid-stage truss immediately above that area onstage and – together with Marzullo – the two outer tracking trusses containing the four sleds that move up and down.

Between the ‘dance tower’ side video screens in the wings are another six vertical trusses which are filled with MAC 101 LED washes.

The total number of lighting fixtures is around 450 of which Martin MAC 101s are the most prominent with a total of 148, used to produce several special effects and visual tricks as well as for washing large areas of the stage and thrust.

The mid stage trusses contain 22 x MAC 2K Washes, some with the Beam conversion kit and 22 x Mac 3 Performances.

On the tracking sleds at the sides are a total of eight Syncrolite 7Ks plus more MAC 101s and Clay Paky Sharpies, and there are further 101s and Sharpies on the Whirligig.

Having the tracking pods and the lights on the Whirligig is really flexible for hitting all areas of the stage and the ego ramp as well as lighting the audience and ensuring they remain part of the show.

He uses a grandMA2 full size for control, with another running in fill tracking backup which has been his console of choice for some time.

“It’s incredibly user friendly, you can set up and lay it out exactly as you want and there are multiple ways to do everything – it’s just so flexible,” he comments.

The 85-minute show contains nearly 2 800 cues. He and

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Gordon Mack – FOH Engineer (left) and Arnie Hernandez – Systems Engineer

FOH sound engineer Gordon Mack and Clair Global’s Systems Engineer Arnie Hernandez had their work cut out to deal with the maelstrom of pubescent screams and get Bieber’s voice out above this challenging frequency … but that’s the nature of the performance – and one of the skills involved in mixing this type of artist.

Justin Bieber in an angel outfit

Having been with Bieber for four years, it’s also something that Mack has honed into as much of a fine art as is possible!

The European touring PA was specified by Hernandez and based on the Clair i-5 system plus his extensive knowledge of the European arena circuit, all supplied through Aesch, Switzerland-based Audio Rent.

The main hangs are 14 deep i-5s with a row of i-5bs on the outside, with side hangs of 10 deep i-3s and then eight BT-218 subs per side on the ground, which are massively efficient and deliver the nice, bold bassy groove that Mack likes for the mix.

All are powered by Labgruppen PLM 200 000Q amps, utilising the on-board Lake processing for EQ ad time alignment, with the whole system run via AES3 to keep the signal as digital as possible.

Hernandez works with this system all the time. “It’s versatile and great for large arenas,” he comments. They added extra delays for the three largest venues on the itinerary.

Mack mixes the show on an Avid Profile console. He likes its small

CONCERT REPORT LIVE EVENTs

Justin Bieber in Stockholm

footprint, speed and lots of ‘bells and whistles’.

In terms of style of sound reproduction, he tries to get it as close to a stupendously loud replication of the CD as possible “That’s what the kids want to hear – like they are in a huge car,” Mack comments.

Bieber’s voice is good to work with. “He’s a strong vocalist with a good tone,” he confirms. His trademark headset mic is a Crown 311 – also one of Mack’s favourites – and the hand-helds all have Heil RC22 capsules. He also uses a vintage style Heil Fin during Die in Your Arms set which sounds “incredible”. Mack likes the Heils for their good value and in-the-face high gain-to-feedback ratio.

As for the big, screaming, hyper-charged crowds, having been dealing with them for some time, both with Bieber and other artists that he engineers like Chris Brown, Mack is fabulously unfazed … he simply listens ‘past’ it!

There’s an optimum level at which he will run the PA for a good, solid sound and it does not get pushed beyond that. Dispelling the

myth that hysteria is beyond control, he says confidently: “They soon calm down if they can’t hear the music!”

Over onstage monitor engineer Alex MacLeod joined the Bieber rollercoaster in May 2012 and keeps everyone in order.

The five core band are all on Shure PSM 1000 IEMs for their main feeds and some also have wedges – standard Clair SRMs – ensconced below grills on the downstage edge of the second stage level which is where the band is positioned.

The Clair R4 side fills are primarily for the dancers and there’s also a drum fill comprising an SRM with a BT-218 on top He’s touring with a DiGiCo SD10 console, utilising all the on-board effects and features, which is full with around 90 input channels and 40 outs.

The main challenge is keeping it consistent each night and ensuring Bieber’s vocal stays right up in the mix with a loud crowd. Like all the rest of the crew I spoke to, for him, Believe is: “A lot of fun working with some great people!”

Video

Joel Merrill – Monitor Systems Tech and Alex Macleod – Monitor Engineer

Ken Delvo – Spyder Operator / Screen Management

Ken Delvo from Chaos Visual Productions showed off the vast collection of cuddly toys given refuge in video world during the course of the tour – in fact, there was a bit of a competition between the stage based departments on this front!

He also explained the basics of the LED screens which comprise a large 9mm WinVision surface

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LIVE EVENTS CONCERT REPORT upstage, which split apart for the entrance, then below these on the deck are more 9mm rigged on eight carts which move into different positions during the show.

The two front-facing ‘side’ walls slightly offstage each side are WinVision 18, and further reverse screens of 9mm face the rear side seats for those sitting behind the stage in 270 degree scenarios.

Outside of these in the full rig set up are left and right IMAG projection screens.

Playback content was storied on two Hippotizer HD 3.1 media servers, with two more running as hot backup, and output to screen via a Lightware MX 16x16 DVI-Plus matrix switcher into a Christie Spyder X20 operated by Delvo using a Montage II M2C-50 console. In total for the show he had 169 Spyder cues and nine manual ones.

The Hippotizer content was monitored and previewed using an Avitech multi-viewer, and the servers were timecode triggered from a feed supplied by Pro Tools engineer, James ‘Scrappy’ Stassen.

Custom footage was produced by a number of sources, including Imag8nineteen mainly commissioned by Jon Chu, who also directed some of the sequences himself, along with film maker Mat Hale.

Live cameras were directed and cut by Mark Stutsman using a Panasonic AV HS450 switcher. It wasn’t the multi camera extravaganza you might have expected, tastefully and intelligently used, it was great to see that less really can be more!

At FOH there were two Sony HXC-100s with long lenses, one concentrated on Bieber and Mart Stutsman, Video Director the other was used for all the cut-aways.

A third hand-held camera was used by Bieber during Out of Town Girl to film the audience and himself.

The video system was all sourced and set up by Chaos in LA and shipped to Europe, together with six crew.

The visual equation is completed with lasers, pyro and special FX from Strictly FX, Illinois.

With over 100 in the crew party, Marzullo has done an amazing job of amassing a seriously talented team of individuals with flair, imagination and plenty of synergies to take this show around the world.

It’s evident that people are confident and relaxed, the huge operation has flowed relatively seamlessly and he’s the first to admit that impressive though the engineering and technicals are: “It’s the human element of this show that is really inspirational,” a fact obvious to anyone entering their world.

Believe is a tour of many paradoxes. While Bieber takes some hard knocks in the press for basically nothing more profound or sinister than ‘typical…whatever’ teenage behaviour, he regularly uses his strategic mastery of tactical Tweeting to his staggering 37 million followers to defend himself.

It gives him an accessibility that’s endearing and believable to his core fan base – he’s there, only a Tweet away – illustrating concisely how the power and global reach of cyber-sonic communications has helped mould his career so far.

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Tech Box Lighting gear list: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

48 x Clay Paky Sharpy 8 x Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500 12 x Robin 1200 LED Wash 6 x Robin 600 LED Wash 12 x Robe Colorbeam 700 16 x Robe 2500 Colorwash 16 x Robe 700 Colorspot 6 x Robe 700 Colorwash 8 x Philips Vari-Lite VLX Wash 22 x Martin 101s 6 x Atomic Strobes 36 x Led4ce 18s RGBW 4 x Robe Cityscape Extremes 24 x Longman LED par 48 x Longman Colorme 011A Battten 60 x Philips Selecon SPX 36deg Profiles 12 x ADB 2k Fresnels 72 x Par64 Parcans 1 x GrandMA 2 Full Size 1 x GrandMA 2 Lite 1 x GrandMA 2 OnPC 1 x GrandMA 2 NPU 2 x GrandMA NSPs 2 x Coolux Pandora’s Box Media Servers 2 x SuperTrouper II Followspot 2 x Robert Juliat Aramis 2500w Followspot

Sound • • • • • • •

d&b audiotechnik system Studer Vista 5SR Soundcraft Vi6 Shure PSM900 and PSM1000 in ear monitors myMix monitoring system Shure UR4 ULX-D radio systems

Video • • •

2 Coolux – Pandora’s Quad Output servers 1 Coolux – Pandora’s BoxMedia Manager 6 Barco FLM HD 14s.

K-LA Series Core Technology The K-LA series is primarily used for fixed installation and touring systems. The result of in-depth research, the Audiocenter R&D team has developed the unique PTVTM technology which combines phase and waveguide engineering together seamlessly.

K-LA28 Dual 8” 2 Way

Passive Line Array

Frequency Response (+/- 6dB): 60 – 20 000Hz Average Sensitivity: 96dB/1W/1m Driver: Customised Beyma and Faital driver Connectors: 2 x NEUTRIK Speakon NI4MP Power Rating (AES): LF 200 + MF 200 + HF 50W Passive X-over Frequency: 450Hz / 2.2kHz Passive

SW Series

Weight: 19Kg Dimensions mm: 590(W) x 236(H) x 436(D)

A perfect match for all Audiocenter full range speakers.

SW218 Dual 18” Subwoofer Frequency Response (+/- 6dB): 30 – 100Hz Average Sensitivity: 101dB/1W/1m Driver: Customised Beyma 18” LF driver, Neodymium magnet 4” voice coil Connectors: Heavy duty NEUTRIK Speakon NLT4M Power Rating (AES): 2 400W RMS / 8 000W Program / 9 600W Peak Weight: 80Kg Dimensions mm: 580(W) x 1 150(H) x 750(D)

viva afrika

G CASIN AT TECH MEDIA A AFRIC

SHOW

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PROLIGHT + SOUND EXPO REPORT

Spotlight on Prolight + Sound 2013

Those who have never attended Prolight and Sound in Frankfurt before could easily be forgiven for underestimating the sheer magnitude of the event. Quite simply put, it’s massive. Walking around the Bockenheim and Westend-Süd districts of Frankfurt one would struggle to miss the massive Messe complex that Prolight and Sound and its sister event, Musikmesse, calls home for four days in the spring. For that matter, walking around the Messe itself, one would struggle to keep one’s feet blister free!

This year Prolight and Sound/Musikmesse was a record breaking event. 113 000-plus visitors from 142 countries attended, surpassing the previous attendance record set in 2009.

This included 42 300 international visitors; 71 200 from Germany alone. Figures for 2012 came in at 109 481 from 120 countries with 68 267 German visitors.

Of course, the focus of the event is the products of which there were more than 30 000 on display. It would feasibly take many more than four days to make a comprehensive sweep of all of the immense and spaced out halls so we have compiled a list of notable mentions in terms of new products. Let’s take a look.

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By Greg Bester

Audio Allen & Heath announced their new Qu-16 digital rack mount mixer which incorporates technologies found in the GLD and iLive range of digital consoles.

Notable features include 19 motorised faders, 16 recallable AnaLOGIQ preamps, Qu-Drive multitrack recording/playback on USB drives, a 800x400 touchscreen, a dSNAKE remote stage box audio port, USB audio streaming, DAW MIDI control, and on-board RTA with Peak Band indication.

New from Behringer, the iSTUDIO iS202 iPad docking station was showcased at the Music Group stand in Hall 8.0 of Prolight and Sound. The iSTUDIO iS202, an iPad-based audio interface aimed at live and studio recording, offers two mic/line inputs on XLR combo jacks, a stereo line/phono input on RCA connectors, left and right TRS main outputs, jacks for a footswitch and an expression pedal, MIDI I/O, USB MIDI output and an RCA video output for connecting to a TV or projector.

Powersoft unveiled their latest range of K Series amplifiers. The K Series offers various power ratings in 6 models ranging from 2 x 1 000W/ch at 8 ohms to 2 x 9 000W/ch at 2Ohms, still maintaining the one unit size.

Lab.Gruppen’s IPD (Intelligent Power Drive) Series of networked, DSP-driven amplifiers were released at this year’s Prolight and Sound at the TC Group stand in hall 4.1.

Available in two power configurations, IPD 1 200 and IPD 2 400 (2 × 600w and 2 × 1 200w, respectively), the IPD series incorporates on-board DSP, networked monitoring and control via PC or iPad, a

E100. More power 2U. 4 x 2.5 kW, 12 kg, Class D Power Amplifier

Sometimes less is more: less space...more power. Delivering high powered, superior sounding amplification in a compact format, E100 guarantees exceptional sound quality and utmost reliability in the most demanding conditions. Our advanced 92% efficient Class D output stage runs cool and draws less power from the mains.Backed by a 5 year warranty, get more, for less.

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PROLIGHT + SOUND EXPO REPORT 4-channel input matrix, graphically displayed front panel controls, analogue and AES3 inputs with redundant fail-over, Lab.Gruppen limiters and sturdy construction.

The CS3 Discussion System by AKG was presented at the Harman Group stand in hall 8.0.

Aimed as a conference system for small-to medium-sized meetings, the CS3 is modular and entirely plug and play which ensures easy setup for untrained people. The base unit connects to all relevant devices such as PA, recording, external audio sources and camera control systems and there are various gooseneck options available.

Electro Voice revealed their new ZLX range of portable loudspeakers available in both powered and passive varieties in 12- and 15-inch models.

Loaded with EV-engineered drivers and one-inch titanium tweeters, they can be used as both mains and monitors. The powered models include a 1 000w Class-D amplifier along with one-knob DSP control, reflected in a small LCD display.

DPA released the d:facto II vocal microphone at this year’s Messe. The microphone features a natural sound, high separation and extreme SPL handling along with a new adapter system that permits the capsule to be connected to popular professional wireless systems such as Lectrosonics, Shure, Sennheiser, Sony and Wisycom. It also features a sturdy three-stage pop filter built into the mic.

L-Acoustics unveiled their new amplified controller, the LA4X, in Hall 8.0. The LA4X is a four input, four output DSP-loaded Class-D amplifier that delivers 4 x 1 000w RMS at 8 or 4Ohms. Analogue or digital models are available. Four cascaded 24-bit A/D converters at the front end provide a dynamic range of an unprecedented 130dB. Audiocenter presented their new PRO Series Amplifiers at Prolight and Sound 2013. The four models within this series offer a range from 800 watts to 1 950 watts per channel at 2Ohms to satisfy all requirements.

Lighting and projection Clay Paky revealed their Sharpy Wash 330 a compact, lightweight 330w washlight with the luminous efficiency, graphic and optical performance of a 1 000w fixture. Features include a CMY colour system, special colours, 6.5 to 48 degree zoom, mechanical dimmer, beam shaping filter and a motorised top hat. It is aimed at being an eco-friendly light.

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Aimed at cost-savers, Martin showcased their new RUSH line of affordable effect lights.

New products in this line include: MH 1 Profile, a super bright LED profile moving head; MH 2 Wash, a fast moving LED wash light moving head featuring RGBW colour mixing; MH 3 Beam, a beam moving head with fixed gobo wheel and 7-step iris and colour wheel; Strobe 15x5, a white strobe/blinder with a 5x5 LED matrix; PAR 1 RGBW, a bright LED PAR can with premixed RGBW colour mixing and a 200 fixed beam angle; and Pin 1 CW, a bright white LED pin spot.

High end projector manufacturer Christie unveiled their Roadster HD20K-J projector aimed at large venues such as classrooms, concerts, conference rooms and live events.

Fitted with high-quality lenses – all with ILS (Intelligent Lens Technology) – it is still compatible with existing stacking hardware, lenses, lamps and input cards. The projector features Xenon illumination, Christie Twist, liquid cooling sand portrait display capabilities.

Robe Lighting revealed their latest effects lighting luminaire with the addition of full video output, the ROBIN MiniMe. This small, neat, fast moving fixture is LED driven with 20 000 hour lifetime source. Colours, Gobos and beam shapes are all digitally generated by the on-board micro media server. Custom artwork, still photographs and video can also be simply uploaded for projection, while live video can be streamed through the HDMI input.

CHAUVET Europe Ltd exposed their new beam light, the Legend 230SR Beam. With a tight 2.250 beam angle and an Osram Sirius 230w lamp, this fixture is strikingly bright at 96 000 lux at 15m.

Leading wireless DMX equipment manufacturer Lumen Radio released their CRMX Nova FX wireless DMX transceiver. It supports one DMX/RDM universe of up to 512 channels with maximum refresh rate performance and has a fixed latency of 5ms.

Barco’s High End Systems launched their new Masterwing 4 expansion unit for the entire range of High End System’s digital lighting console systems. It includes three banks of 10 playback masters and a 15.6” multi touch ready display for Hog 4 OS products.

Connectivity is provided to lighting consoles in the range via USB. MDG introduced their ATMOSPHERE APS Series haze generator. MDG NEUTRAL Fluid is heated to a precise temperature and infused with inert carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. The result is non-stop haze with exponentially reduced particle size (0.5 to 0.7 microns), giving it the longest ’hang time‘ in the industry.

French lighting equipment manufacturer Robert Juliat unveiled their Tungsten 600 and 700 series Profile Spots. They offer a comprehensive zoom range covering all angles from the very wide needed for smaller venues and short throw applications, to very narrow for the long throw of large scale venues. The choice of lamps are from 1kW to 2.5kW.

DISTRIBUTION

H RETAIL H INSTALLATION

Staging and trussing CM Entertainment Technology presented their Lodestar Electric Chain Hoist series. The lightweight, durable cast aluminium housings have a tough, black powder-coated finish for low visibility and reflection, ideal for entertainment applications.

Capacities include 125kg, 250kg, 500kg, 1 000kg, 2 000kg and 3 000kg.

Prolyte showcased their new DOCK Stage. The DOCK Stage is based on a goal post structure; using standard MPT towers in combination with H30V arched trusses. The rotating front span of special S52SV truss not only provides the required strength but the rotating shaft also enables simple and fast build-up. A front cantilever protects the performing act from weather influences.

Litec released four new end-plated trusses, square section twist-resistant products, to ensure even higher performances and sturdiness. The new trusses are QX30SA, QX40SA, QH30SA and QH40SA. Adam hall presented their ah Truss, three- and four-point truss systems, RI 290A and QUADRO 290A. Both constructions are made of high-strength, rigid 6082A T6 aluminium alloy that is 2mm thick. The diameter of the main tubes is 50mm and that of the struts is 20mm; the edge length of 290mm corresponds to the usual standard.

2m released their ERGO|Xtra Stage Frames, versatile and durable staging units. Spans of 2m x 1m up to 6m x 1m can be manufactured as required and by installing an intermediate brace the stage frames have an increased load capacity of 750kg/m2.

Baltic Stages, showcased their Stage Deck ST and Stage Deck PRO, high class stage foundations designed for frequent use either indoors or outdoors with full water resistance. Custom sizes and surfaces are available.

H International Conference Centre, Durban

H Parktown Girls High School, Johannesburg

H NG Kerk, Rynfield, Benoni

H Canal Walk, Century City, Cape Town

Contact your nearest branch for professional products and advice ahead of your next installation – you won’t be disappointed.

MIDRAND (+27 11 312 1001) DURBAN (+27 31 305 2660) BEDFORDVIEW (+27 11 450 2871) CAPE TOWN (+27 21 905 8220) info@soundandlightcity.co.za

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PROLIGHT + SOUND EXPO REPORT

SA contingent at Prolight + Sound Trade shows such as Prolight and Sound are getting increasingly important for our industry here in South Africa as it affords distributors, rental company owners and retailers the opportunity to put a face to the brands that they stand behind. Pro-Systems journalist Greg Bester caught up with some key South African attendees at Frankfurt 2013 to get their perspective and comment on this year’s show. Here’s what they had to say.

Nic Britz – Director, DWR Nic Britz, along with DWR owner Duncan Riley, attended this year’s Prolight and Sound.

DWR is one of South Africa’s largest distributors of lighting and staging products with such brands as Robe, Avolites, Clay Paky, MA Lighting and Prolyte so the expo was a perfect single locale for them to make contact and strengthen ties with their brands.

Nic shares what DWR hoped to accomplish there.

“The main goal was to touch base with all of our suppliers. We knew that there were a lot of South Africans going, including some of our customers, so we needed to make sure we looked after them and introduced them to our suppliers.”

Given the size of the show, the impact it has on the professional audio and lighting industries worldwide is significant and Nic feels that it is a window into the future and an opportunity to keep abreast of current trends. He feels this is a great thing that benefits DWR on the whole.

“It’s good for us to keep in touch with what’s new, what’s up and coming and to have a look at what other companies are doing as well as to have a look at other potential products for us to distribute.

It’s also very nice for us to be able to introduce our clients to the people who run the companies who manufacture the products we distribute. They like to know who they’re dealing with and it puts a face to the company.”

Nic has been to Prolight and Sound three times previously and he says the growth of the show is evident.

“Every year I go to Prolight and Sound more and more people from South Africa are there – which indicates to me that it’s becoming more popular . I haven’t been to PLASA but Prolight definitely seems to be the show where you strike the deals and do a lot of business.”

Mark Gaylard – MGG Productions Mark Gaylard, owner of rental company MGG Productions, attended Prolight and Sound for the second time. This time around was a big eye opener for him, coming from the rental and rigging side.

“It’s always nice to see how the rental companies there work, from their trucking; to their rigging and to how they generally run things. They have a very efficient way of working in Germany. From the expo point of view, one thing I really like to do is go see the PRG stand. They are the largest rental company in the

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world and when you go back stage it’s just amazing to see how many fixtures there are. It’s just a massive rig in there. They’re so big they manufacture their own moving light!”

Meeting with suppliers was a great opportunity afforded to Mark while attending Prolight and Sound. He comments: “I got a chance to talk to a lot of the suppliers. You can make some suggestions, which is great. They let us know what they’re planning to do and keep us informed of updates. For instance, the update to the Yamaha Stagemix for the iPad was launched there so it’s nice to just take a mental picture of these kinds of things and take it back with you.”

The quality of the show also impressed Mark.

“The sheer quality of the show is of a very high standard. All the halls are labelled and all the information is presented well. Also, the exhibitors spend a massive amount of money on really beautiful stands. Every manufacturer has really gone to town.

“One thing I would like is to see more workshops presented in English. Most of the workshops were presented in German. But if you just think about the pro audio hall and just how many products were there a lot of the products you don’t even get here, so that’s nice to see. So, you can go to distributors and let them know, look, I think you should bring this in.”

Dave Livesey – The Case Connection Dave Livesey, owner of the Case Connection, was the single representative of his company that attended Prolight and Sound.

The Case Connection, based in Honeydew, is a manufacturer of a large range of high quality custom casing solutions, including aluminium, wooden and polyethylene flight cases, cordura nylon padded bags and covers, and fitters of bespoke foam interiors to any case. Given his unique but crucial market, Prolight and Sound was the perfect place to scout new materials and fittings, and to make sure his company was up to scratch with the rest of the world.

“My goal in attending Prolight and Sound was to make sure the Case Connection is on track with offering a quality product in South Africa and to see if there are any changes in fittings or materials that they’re using in Europe since they are one of the biggest markets.

We’ve started using the new PVC foil on the wooden cases, as they do in Europe. It’s a lot more water proof, stronger and it just looks a lot more professional.”

Speaking to manufacturers in order to get suggestions on how to case their products was also a valuable aspect of the trip along with

EXPO REPORT PROLIGHT + SOUND being a great opportunity to spend time with his clients.

“Often what happens is that the distributors will go to other shows like that, when I’m not around, and by the time they get back after they’ve made their orders they forget about ordering their cases which puts us under pressure to get the cases manufactered in a very short time. Whereas, if I go with them I get a better idea of what they’re looking at and what they’re planning on buying, which keeps me in the loop.”

On the importance of Prolight and Sound to the South African industry, Dave says: “Prolight and Sound sets the bar. It’s like a wish list.

There are some fantastic products there and you can see how technology is moving. So you can see, are the new products better than your exisiting equipment and are they worth spending the money on it. Also, in the South African market guys seem to be working together in that one guy will buy a certain amount of lights to compliment a competitor’s stock in case there is a big show. Our market is small and we need to work together. It’s about relationships at the end of the day.”

Kevin Glover – Sound Stylists Kevin Glover, owner of Sound Stylists, along with Colin Loock and Clint Fowler were the three company representatives who attended Prolight and Sound this year. Glover is a veteran of the event and has attended it fourteen times so he has a pretty good idea of what to expect.

He says: “We go there to pick up ideas, to see

what trends are out there, who’s doing what and why. In a way, it’s probably one of the shows that offers you the most diversity, you know, everything from the MI side right the way through to lighting, pro audio and AV. Saying that, I found that due to the economic climate that this year there was a little nervousness. The guys on the stands were quite edgey, for want of a better word. So I think there’s definitely a strain on the industry worldwide.”

Kevin’s view on the show, given his long spanning experience with it, is a bit guarded, which is understandable. His opinion is that the industry is effectively treading water due to the fact that budgets are drying up and, to him, this was evident at the show.

“I think the market is just hanging in there. There isn’t a lot of money flying around that you can throw at products. The thing you have to understand about Frankfurt is that it’s aimed at the German market.

All of those stands are put up by the German distributors, which, for one country, is quite amazing.”

However, in terms of products, there were some shining lights for Kevin and according to him, the show was positive on the whole for Sound Stylists. In his words, they “got a lot done”.

“There’s some new Coda stuff that’s coming out such as the Viray and additions to the LA12s. There’s a new bass bin that’s basically a bass extender that you can hang or stack, which is something that we’ve been asking for. The Viray is very stunning sounding for a small eight-inch array. I’ve been really impressed with Coda, full stop.

Lighting wise, the Robe Pointes were nice. We’ll probably get some of those. AV-wise? There wasn’t anything that caught my eye as with staging. Prolyte has a nice smaller stage that we’re probably going to look at.”

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PROLIGHT + SOUND EXPO REPORT

The right direction

– Michael Biwer Interview On 1 November 2010, Michael Biwer took over the position of Director at Prolight and Sound, the world’s largest events technology trade fair, from his predecessor, Jürgen Kupczik.

Biwer, 33, has worked in various positions at Messe Frankfurt since 2004 and has worked with the Prolight + Sound team since 2008. A business economics graduate (BA), he has had extensive experience in the field of events technology and in the world of trade fairs at large. Pro-Systems journalist Greg Bester caught up with Mr Biwer at Frankfurt 2013 to find out a little more about him and Prolight and Sound 2013.

Michael, give a bit of background on yourself.

What is your history?

I started with Sony Music and was with them for a long time. I then went to Messe Frankfurt to do a study programme where you work for three months and study for three months over three years. In this time I did a bit of organising with my colleagues as a student for Musikmesse and Prolight and Sound. Because I’m a musician my heart beats for music. It was a dream for me to work on these exhibitions. However, it did not work well for me initially as all the positions were filled. So I started to work as a team assistant for technical shows worldwide, starting with a sanitary heating show in China.

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Michael Biwer

that deals with decorative lighting, which gave me a view into technical lighting. I did quite well with Light and Building sales and then moved on to the International Meat Fair called IFA. Eventually the previous director of Prolight and Sound, Jürgen Kupczik, called me and said, “We have a job position at Prolight and Sound in pro audio. Are you interested?” So I said, yeah, that would be amazing, I would love to do it! I then started as a sales manager for the audio section in hall eight. After three and a half years, in 2010, Mr Kupczik decided to change his position at Mess Frankfurt and was I fortunate enough to be promoted to show director. I have the background from the Light and Building show and because I am a musician I know the industry quite well. Now my part is quite different to a sales manager. I do the strategy, concept and vision.

Was taking over from Jürgen Kupczik quite a challenge or a natural transition, being involved in the pro audio section previously?

New positions are always a challenge but not just because I took over from Mr Kupczik. It is a challenge because you have to think about how to improve the show, how to keep it fresh, and how to bring your own face to it. Jürgen Kupczik directed the show for nine years and he did a great job so it’s always a challenge to continue that success.

But I have my own visions, thoughts and strategies so it was quite easy for me to look at the show, talk to the clients a about the future and then implement my goals.

So that was your foot in the door?

Can you give me a little bit of background as to how Prolight and Sound started?

Exactly. That was my first step at Messe Frankfurt in a real position.

After that I was promoted as a sales manager for Light and Building

Actually, it started a long time ago at the spring show, a consumer goods show, at Messe Frankfurt. In this spring show there was section

EXPO REPORT Studio & Broadcast for musical instruments and also professional lighting and audio. I don’t know exactly the year but after many years of exhibiting music products there, Musikmesse emerged in 1980. As part of Musikmesse, there were obviously sections for audio, lighting, etc, but the first Prolight and Sound as a self-made show began in 1994. So 2014 will be the 20th anniversary of Prolight and Sound.

What do you see the show doing in the next five years?

Do you expect more growth?

Of course, as an exhibition organiser you always want more growth and you also need to grow because your superiors are looking at your figures! But from my point of view, it is more about improving the quality of the show. At the moment I see many different product groups merging together. If you look at the London Olympics, I got the feeling that it was the first time where cameras, media networks, lighting and audio all spoke to each other over networks. So that’s why we are trying to get every manufacturer in this section in one place in the future.

The other direction is broadcast production where all the camera technology is. So, for the first time we had the Moving Picture Pavilion in hall nine, where you’ll find all the camera manufacturers. So this is the beginning for that. I think there is a big potential for that in the future. Yet another direction is a theatre technology section. We see a potential in that as well as there are companies who cater to this market who are not here. Digital signage and LED technologies is also emerging. You really just need to take care of your target groups and make sure that our exhibitors are satisfied.

A common gripe from exhibitors is that it’s expensive to participate in the show and it’s difficult to see a return from it. Do you hear that from your exhibitors? What do you have to say to that?

We do hear that. Of course, there will be exhibitors who won’t have new visitors to their stand so that’s why we try every single year to look at the market to find new potential customers. That is why we implement new sections. We, at the moment, are a very technical show but we are starting to look at agencies, planners, engineers to participate in the show.

I think a main point for a successful show like Mediatech and ours is to look back on previous years to find out who the visitors were and who the new ones will potentially be. Of course, people come to the show to network, but if you come to the show and see the same people year on year, it will have a negative effect. We really work closely with our exhibitors. If they tell me they couldn’t find any new visitors to their stand, I ask them what we can do to get the right visitors there. We then look where we can find them in the market and invite them. We also set up advertising partnerships, which helps.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Come to our show! (Laughs).

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PROLIGHT + SOUND EXPO REPORT

Audio addict – loud and proud!

Solid State Logic Live Known worldwide for their high-grade analogue and digital studio mixing consoles, SSL announced their first digital live sound mixer – aptly called the SSL Live – at Frankfurt 2013. Based on ‘Tempest’, their newly developed processing platform, the console offers a massive 976 inputs and outputs and 192 full processing channels.

All controls, system configuration and effects are reflected in a 19”, multi-touch gesture controlled screen, and an additional system control screen displays a widespread view at a glance of all signal paths including VCAs, stem groups, auxes.

All processing is built into the control surface with full EQ, dynamics processing and effects with 64-bit, 96kHz internal precision throughout.

Locally there are 14 SuperAnalogue mic/line inputs; two talkback inputs; 12 line outputs; four headphone/monitor outputs; four AES3 input/output pairs; and an expansion slot to for an additional 16 line I/O. Standard MADI I/O includes two redundant pairs of coaxial connectors, which can be configured as independent if redundancy is not required. An additional MADI port is included for creation of an FX loop to a laptop, for instance. SSL Blacklight II cards can be retrofitted to supply additional I/O up to 256 bidirectional channels. The ML 32.32 stage box includes 32 SuperAnalogue remote controlled mic/line inputs and 32 line outputs. Multiple units can be used to create larger systems.

Avid Pro Tools 11 The latest version of Avid’s preeminent digital audio work station, Pro Tools 11, was announced at this year’s Musikmesse / Prolight and Sound in Hall 5.1.

A completely new 64-bit Avid audio engine has been implemented that delivers many times the processing power of Pro Tools 10 on identical hardware. Offline bounce is now a reality which enables users to mix down up to 150 times faster. A low-latency input buffer allows ultra-low latency monitoring while recording without compromising plugin performance and dynamic host processing increases plugin count by dynamically redistributing processing resources.

Metering has also been given an upgrade with extended standards support which features metering standards from simple peak, VU and PPM to broadcast requirements. Gain reduction is also now reflected on any channel containing a compressor plugin. Video facilities also received an upgrade with direct HD video workflows.

Video interface support is now a reality which enables streaming of DNxHD and Quicktime media through Avid Nitris, Mojo DX and other third party interfaces.

Yamaha Nuage The long awaited Yamaha Nuage was showcased at the Yamaha stand in Hall 8.0.

The Nuage is a modular DAW control solution aimed at users of Steinberg’s Nuendo 6, which is included in the Nuage package.

Scalable to meet the needs of the user, there are three core components of the system: the Nuage Fader, a channel strip control

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By Greg Bester Ok folks. I make no apologies. I am unabashedly audio obsessed. So prepare yourself for a gratuitous review of my highlights of Prolight and SOUND, Frankfurt 2013. There shall be no lighting here.

surface with a bank of 16 faders; the Nuage Master, a central control unit for the Nuage system where all crucial functions are located; and the Nuage I/O, three 16-channel I/O models with varying configurations used individually or in combination for up to 128 channels on the Dante protocol.

Other additions to the Nuage family of products includes the Nuage Workspace, a producers desk addition to the range; the Dante Accelerator, an audio interface installed on the working PC for extra low-latency multi-channel audio data transfer to the Nuage I/O units; and the Nuendo Syncstation, a hardware synchroniser for sampleaccurate sync between audio and video systems.

Any aftermarket flat panel display can be used with the Nuage system but is not supplied with the package.

RME MADIface XT RME, the leading audio interface manufacturer from Germany, introduced the world’s first USB3 audio interface in Hall 8.0: the MADIface XT. The MADIface XT is a 196 input / 198 output interface that boasts two MADI optical I/O and one MADI coaxial I/O. On the front face of the unit there are two high-end, digitally controlled mic/line inputs on XLR / 1/4” combo jacks and on the rear there are two analogue XLR line outputs.

A breakout cable accommodates one stereo AES/EBU and one MIDI I/O. Three further virtual MIDI I/O are embedded in the three MADI streams. For utmost compatibility and performance the MADIface XT includes a PCI Express D-Sub connection for connection to external PCI express cards. All connections are fully 192kHz compatible and for desktop operation RME’s optional Advanced Remote Control can be connected.

Rupert Neve Designs 5060 Centerpiece 24 x 2 Desktop Mixer The 5060 Centerpiece 24 x 2 analogue desktop mixer was announced by Rupert Neve Designs at Musikmesse / Prolight and Sound 2013.

Designed to the be a recording studio’s Class A analogue centrepiece, the 5060 is based on the sound and centre section of the company’s flagship 5088 studio console and includes top notch components such as custom transformers and offers flexible monitoring, DAW controls and 24 channels of outboard summing.

Source and multiple speaker selection are also offered along with monitor dimming. All 24 line inputs are fed via three DB25 connectors.

The first eight channels can be either stereo or centre panned mono and the last 16 are stereo.

Inserts are available for the first eight line-ins for external processing – also on DB25 connectors – along with mix inserts on TRS. A continuously variable texture control for Silk Red and Blue modes allows mix bus coloration via harmonic enhancement by reducing the negative feedback on the output transformer.

Full talkback facilities are included in the 5060, along with universally compatible DAW transport controls and a reference grade headphone amplifier. Mix bus metering is reflected in two full-scale VU meters.

FACTORY TOUR ROBE LIGHTING

Touring Robe

By Greg Bester

Robe factory in Valašské Mezirící

Near the Eastern border of the Czech Republic in the highlands of Moravian Wallachia lies the unassuming and almost unpronounceable little town of Valašské Mezirící, a picturesque habitat of mountain valley life and quiet living. Indeed, driving through its calm streets and soaking in the fresh alpine air, you could easily be forgiven for not being aware of its profound contribution to the world at large, particularly to that of events and entertainment. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a major event anywhere on the planet that it’s chief export hasn’t touched. From the smallest club to the largest rock concert, Valašské Mezirící has been there. I am, of course, talking about Robe, the preeminent lighting fixture manufacturer whose factory calls the town home.

History Robe has been at the forefront of special effect lighting for the better part of 20 years, founded in 1990 by co-owner Ladislav Petřek who started it all by importing PAR cans, mirror balls and various other fixtures from Germany. Sound activated lighting effects were his initial focus, marketed through his company ProLux. However, when co-owner Josef Valchář eventually came on board as sales manager in 1993 they joined their efforts to design their first scanners.

In 1994 Robe Show Lighting was established and as a result of their first Prolight and Sound exhibition, they secured an OEM customer, Steinigke Showtechnic GmbH. The first products were scanners and sound activated fixtures, most notably their Dominator 1200 XT, a six-way multi-scanner.

From 1995 to 2000 Robe saw massive growth. New scanners were produced, a new office and manufacturing premises was purchased, the 250 spot and wash moving heads were introduced, and the TAS brand of low-cost lighting commissioned by Coemar were produced.

2000 saw more OEM partnerships with companies like Movietec (Germany), Starway (France) and Sagittar (Italy); moving heads the primary focus. This was a bumper year and Robe tripled their turnover!

In 2001 their current 5 000m2 factory premises in Valašské Mezirící were acquired, which were completely stripped and installed with the latest technology in lighting manufacturing. In November 2001 they moved in and have been there ever since. Later, in 2005, the facility was refurbished and expanded to 14 000m2 which includes 6 000m2 of manufacturing and warehousing facilities.

Of course since 2001 there have been huge leaps and bounds for

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Robe. In 2002 they launched as a bona fide brand (as opposed to an OEM manufacturer) at the SIB exhibition in Rimini and at PLASA 2002 they launched the AT (Advanced Technology) series of moving heads. Thereafter their distributor network expanded to more than 50 countries and in 2003 Robe UK, America and Italy were established.

In 2005 Robe SEA was established in Singapore to service South East Asia.

From 2006 to 2008 many new fixtures were released including the ColorSpot 2500E AT, the StageQube 324, the 700 series of moving heads, and in the 2008, the DT series.

2008 also saw the establishment of their newly added 1 400m2 research and development department at Valašské Mezirící and a name change from ‘Robe Show Lighting’ to simply ‘Robe Lighting’, which prompted a complete company rebranding.

From 2009 onward Robe continued to grow and in that year a 3.5 million Euro Logistics Centre was procured. PCB manufacturing company Dioflex was acquired and a 1 000m2 plastics moulding centre was erected at the Valašské Mezirící site. At Frankfurt 2009 the first plasma lamp products were previewed and five new products were launched at PLASA. In 2010 a new administrative centre in the UAE was established with head offices in Abu Dhabi.

The journey After Prolight and Sound, 12 South Africans, including Duncan Riley and Nick Britz from Robe’s SA distributors DWR, and I travelled to Valašské Mezirící via bus for a tour of the Robe factory, hosted personally by co-owner Josef Valchar and his director of global sales, Harry von den Stemmen.

ROBE LIGHTING FACTORY TOUR We were treated like royalty. The tour buses alone were enough to make you think you were Ozzy Osbourne travelling to your next gig.

These double-storey amenity-packed coaches offered every luxury: a media server packed with movies, flat panel displays all over the place, a Playstation 3, a kitchen and fridge packed full of, er, juice, comfortable bunks in case we wanted to sleep, and on-board WiFi. For all intents and purposes, we were rock stars, albeit without a show, and as the old adage goes, what happens on tour stays on tour so I am obliged not to divulge the mayhem that promptly ensued.

Our first stop was the mystical and historical city of Prague. There we were treated to a night’s stay at the wonderful Hotel Josef and dinner of traditional Bohemia Duck at at the Plzenska Beer Hall Restaurant in the old art nouveau Municipal House building a short walk away from the hotel. We slept well. The next day we were given a walking tour of the old city which ended with a catered boat ride up the frigid waters of the Vltava River. It was then back to the busses to continue our journey.

Six hours later we arrived not in Valašské Mezirící but at the nearby Hotel Solan, a mountain resort lodging owned by Mr Valchar. The building is beautifully crafted inside and out with hand oiled, fragrant pine as the interior construction material of choice. The unmelted snow from the previous fall still littered the ground and we were spellbound by its unfamiliarity, so much so that we proceeded to pelt one another with snowballs. Mark Gaylard from MGG Productions got a particularly healthy walloping!

After checking in and freshening up, we met in the dining room for dinner. The gorgeous and decadent food came in unrelenting waves and included a full carvery, salads, breads, roulades, sushi, frog’s legs, goulash and steak tartar – Czech style, not to mention desert crepes.

We were overwhelmed by the warmth and sincere hospitality of Mr Valchar and his team and we left the dining hall fat and beaming with warm fuzziness.

We slept well again.

The tour Dioflex Following a bright and early breakfast we once again boarded our bus and headed off to the first stop of the five-part Robe tour: Dioflex, the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer that supplies Robe and their commercial lighting subsidiary, Anolis. Since we were travelling with a large group of people visiting from other countries such as Australia and Brazil, we were split up into smaller groups to efficiently make use of the protective, anti-static clothing that was in short supply.

Once I had donned my blue anti-static lab coat and matching blue booties, we were lead into the first of several rooms where workers were hand soldering components and wires to small round PCBs in the Dioflex production room. A striking aspect of the Robe ‘machine’ that is evident throughout their facility is the fact that while

Tour attendees at Dioflex

A technician soldering at Dioflex

A Robe production line technician

machines do handle some of the workload, humans are always involved in the process. Almost every component, apart from ICs and SMT components, is manufactured in-house and within a relatively small radius so quality can be assured from start to finish.

While Dioflex has been involved with Robe since 2005, it wasn’t until 2009 that they were fully acquired as part of the Robe family. Jiri Baros, Robe’s marketing manager, was our guide for this portion of the tour and he took us through the various sections of the Dioflex facility, starting in production where LEDs are fixed manually to Anolis architectural fixtures, which are custom made to order. The focus for these products is on static LED lighting and while they look different from Robe products they are the same technology albeit constructed to be vandalism and weather proof.

Next was the testing room where they do a ‘burn in’ for each Anolis product. Harry von den Stemmen comments.

“We do a burn in for every product; at least a couple of hours. The product will be tested at every stage of the production but here is where they get connected to the drivers so we can see that all the LEDs are operating correctly.”

Walking via the packaging portion of the Dioflex facility we were then led into a room that contains a Nordsom Asymtek SELECT COAT SL-940E PCB coating machine and an Ersa Hotflow 3 PCB curing machine. Here the PCBs are coated with a special lacquer by the SL-940E that prepares them for component soldering and are then cured in the Hotflow 3. These machines work together and are uniquely positioned to one another as the PCBs are handed off from the Asymtek to the Ersa at a 90 degree angle – a world’s first.

The production portion of the facility was our next stop. Probably the largest of the rooms we were shown, this room contains many large and complicated looking automated machines that are used for various tasks in PCB surface-mount component placement and soldering. Eighty percent of production here is for Robe.

Starting at the near end of the room, we first see a Nordson X-1010 Axiom SMT (Surface Mount Technology) dispenser which applies surface mount and electrically conductive adhesive and solder paste.

Next are two DEK screen printing machines: a Horizon 03i and a Horizon 03 for automated screen printing and proofing of solder paste. From here the PCBs are handed off to a Juki KE-2080L; a pick and place machine for surface mount components. This machine accomplishes high speed placement of these components by laser sighting from reels that are slotted into receptacles on the front of the machine. The speed and accuracy of this machine was quite impressive and can apply 160 components a minute. After the components have been placed, they are checked for consistency by a human being.

In an adjacent room we find various workbench stations where other non-surface mount components such as capacitors, potentiometers, and so on, are affixed to PCBs by hand. Once this has been accomplished, the PCBs are ready for soldering.

In another adjacent, very warm room there sits a gargantuan wave soldering machine called an Ersa EWS 330 that is responsible for applying solder to the underside of the PCBs. Because of the way that the solder paste has been applied and the way that the PCB has

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FACTORY TOUR ROBE LIGHTING been lacquered and solder masked, the solder only sticks to the terminals of the components that it has to, therefore making the process very efficient and accurate. The PCB moves along a track and eventually over a bubbling ‘wave’ of solder, emerging at the out-feed with all components solidly affixed.

Finally we were led into an anti-static room used for final testing of the PCBs by human beings. If one is found to be faulty it is sent off to the repair department where technicians manually correct the problem. This is the final safety net to catch the straggling defected units in the Dioflex line.

Research and development After all of the tour attendees had finished their rounds at Dioflex, we The testing room at Dioflex once again boarded the bus and headed to the main Robe factory a few kilometres away.

Once we arrived, the first stop was Robe’s research and development department. For obvious reasons, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures or learn any specifics of the goings on here but suffice it to say that this is where all development of new products is conceptualised and prototyped.

The department is mainly made up of a group of designers and programmers who are responsible for all the production processes, manuals, DMX charts, enclosure design, flight case design, PCB design and pretty much everything else that is required when designing new products. They all work together, each with a specific task that compliments the process.

Production and assembly The production and assembly building is the busiest part of the Robe factory. Upon entry we were met with the warehousing portion which is where all components necessary for unit assembly are stored.

Considering how many lights Robe manufactures and how widespread their products are, it was quite amazing to see how it’s all fed from a relatively small warehouse.

We were led through this portion of the warehouse and then upstairs to the first of two production floors. As we landed at the top of the stairs, the first room presented to use was the pre-production laser room. This room holds six laser etching machines that are used to fabricate gobos. They are quite remarkable to see in action. Of course, unlike in the movies, real lasers can’t be seen but as the machine works you can see the lines being etched onto the glass.

Production line technicians at Robe

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The room that houses the gobo room is one of four large assembly line rooms that contain several well lit stations on either side where technicians sit and assemble the various Robe products. Each production line is supplied from the warehouse by a dedicated worker with all of the necessary components to produce their designated products. Lifts take the components upstairs. Šarka Hrachovčova of Robe comments: “With Robe we try to produce as many components as we can in-house. For example all of the metal parts that go into the fixtures we produce ourselves. The same for the plastic housing. We never did the powder coating in the past but this coming summer we will be doing so.”

It is in these production rooms that all Robe products are assembled by hand; the smaller fixtures being produced downstairs and the larger, upstairs. Robe even produces the wires which are used in their products in-house where the correct lengths are cut and the relevant connectors fitted.

The next phase of the production chain is the testing facility. Each light is delivered here without the housing and it is tested continuously for two days where they are set up next to one another in a straight line in order to detect any visible deviation. All features are tested thoroughly throughout the process along with a final calibration in a dark room by light sensor and computer to assure each light performs exactly the same to identical models.

Finally, we were taken to the packaging area where all Robe products are packaged.

Metalwork All metalwork pertaining to any and all Robe fixtures is done in-house.

As you enter the workshop immediately to the right you are presented with a room of four or so workers doing small metal parts assembly and handling such tasks as drilling and minor hole punching. The rest of the workshop consists of heavy machinery: a Bystronic ByLaser 2 200 supplies laser cutting while a Trumpf TruPunch 5 000 handles heavy duty hole punching. Both of these machines are automated and can be automatically switched off via sensors if an intruder traverses the safety lines.

There are various other machines throughout the metal workshop that accomplish certain tasks such as a C-One 900 servo-electric press brake used for precision bending of sheet metal. An Arku Ecomaster 30 offers levelling of sheet metal in preparation for bending or pressing and a Safan Darley H-Brake 120-480T allows for high precision bending of sheet metal with forces up to 480 tons.

Clearly Robe has all bases covered.

Plastic thermoforming workshop As with most of the other components in the Robe line, plastic housing manufacturing is done in-house as well. The thermoforming workshop holds two Geiss U8 thermoforming machines and two Geiss FZ2000-ECO-Plus trimming machines.

Basically, the plastic housing of Robe products start as a flat piece of specialised plastic imported from Germany. The sheets are then placed into a Geiss U8 where it is heated and then vacuum moulded onto one of (numerous) aluminium dies. The resulting housing is then air-cooled and transferred to a Geiss FZ2000-ECO-Plus robotic trimming machine where the rough edges are trimmed and finished for use in production.

Witnessing the thermoforming process was quite fascinating as I had never seen it done before and almost looks like the housing materialises out of nowhere as if in some kind of sci-fi movie.

Technology is truly amazing.

The warehouse The Robe facility also includes a large multi-thousand square metre warehouse where all packaged products are held for distribution.

Get Ready for the Next level

The finale The last stop for the day was the on-site Robe showroom that includes a bar area decorated with past Robe products and a large theatre equipped with all the latest Robe products. Upon arrival we were promptly treated to a very filling lunch buffet and drinks and then ushered into the theatre where we were given demonstration of the new Robe products.

The demo basically consisted of two sections: theatre lighting and stage effect lighting, which are, of course, very different beasts. The façade of the set was very interesting in that on the right hand side was an outdoor scene and on the left hand side was an indoor scene. As the demo progressed in this section lights were progressively added to supply subtle theatre lighting effects focussing on authenticity rather than effect lighting. Only LED lights were used for this part of the demo.

As the theatre portion of the demo came to an end, a surprising thing happened. The set façade broke in two and swung inward, exposing a stage where equipment for a full band was set up including drums, bass, guitar and keyboard. This portion of the show switched to high octane effects with a rock and roll sensibility.

DWR Distribution Unit 38, Graphite Industrial Park, Fabriek Street, Strijdom Park, Randburg Tel: 011 793 5066 Fax: 011 792 5076 E-mail: sales@dwrdistribution.co.za www.dwrdistribution.co.za

The lighting demonstration at the Robe showroom

All in all there were five new products showcased: • ROBIN MiniMe – an LED, moving head effects light with full video output.

• ROBIN Pointe – a new beam, spot and wash fixture that supplies a sharp and intense parallel beam.

• ROBIN MMX Blade – a 1200 series equivalent fixture with MMX optical technology and including a very fast frame shutter system of four ‘blades’.

• ROBIN CycFX – a one metre linear RGBW LED strip that can be tilted 270 degrees that includes a zoom option to open the spread from 8 to 53 degrees.

• ROBIN Cyclone – an effects fixture that has an integrated centre fan surrounded by a ring of 24RGBW high powered LEDs for ‘smoke-through-the-fan’ effects.

The wrap Whether you’re a distributor, journalist or just a lighting enthusiast, the Robe factory tour is a huge eye-opener into one of the most efficiently run companies one could imagine. Probably the most impressive part of the factory, besides all the modern machinery and top-class production, is the fact that almost all the components to their products are manufactured in-house.

Indeed, when one looks over Robe’s company history and their massive growth, their dedication to quality, reliability and consistency is completely evident throughout. In fact, if you were a fan of Robe lights previously, you will most certainly leave their factory a life-long supporter.

Visit Dwr distribution at mediatech, stand J1

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Unit 38 Graphite Industrial Park, Cnr Commercial & Fabriek Street, Strijdom Park, Randburg Tel: +27 11 793 5066 Fax: +27 11 792 5076 sales@dwrdistribution.co.za www.dwrdistribution.co.za

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Studio & Broadcast PRODUCT REVIEW

Plugging into high quality Going out into the big bad world in hopes of buying a quality, versatile and great sounding microphone to add to your collection can be quite a perplexing challenge, given the vast variety available on the market. After all of the snake oil one has to wade through (careful, you’ll slip!) the only real proof ends up being in the hearing.

Miktek microphones are a somewhat new company based in US music hub Nashville, Tennessee that have burst onto the scene here in South Africa in recent months offering seemingly top class microphones that are already standing up to others costing several times the asking price. But what sets them apart from the usual fodder?

Well, first of all they’re hand made in Nashville. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need to sell your firstborn to buy one, either, which brings me to my next point: they’re affordable. And I don’t mean R19 000 as opposed to R20 000, I’m talking truly affordable. Next, their capsules are proprietarily designed from the ground up, featuring ultra-thin Mylar diaphragms sputtered with evaporated gold, manufactured to stringent tolerances and quality controlled by real, passionate people. Now if they can only find a way to evaporate diamonds to go with the jewels in rappers’ teeth they might find themselves dominating the world.

But they’re already somewhat taking over. You’ll find their microphones being compared on popular audio forums all over net against Neumanns, Telefunkens and other microphones with heritages going back a lot further than Miktek. And the pros are giving rave reviews as well as their list of fans includes Michael Wagener, Dweezil Zappa and Keb Mo, among others. Michael Wagener, famed LA engineer who has recorded Ozzy Osbourne, Janet Jackson, Metallica and Extreme, reckons the CV4, their flagship microphone coming in at around R15 000, should cost four or five thousand dollars! I agree with him since I’ve heard it and it rocks!

Seriously!

The C5MP The C5MP is a bundled matched pair of C5 small diaphragm pencil condensers. They feature an MK5a .5” cardioid capsule with a 5-micron Mylar diaphragm sputtered with evaporated gold, an AMI T5 transformer and hand-selected transistors. Every Miktek microphone comes with its own individual serialised frequency response chart, which is a nice touch. It instils the feeling that they give each microphone special attention. In the case of the C5MP, the microphones are supplied with a wooden presentation case, two clips, two shock mounts, windscreens, a stereo bar set for ORTF or X/Y configurations, in a sturdy aluminium carry case.

The C5 is aimed at recording instruments such as violin, acoustic guitar, mandsolin, dobro, brass, woodwind and piano and is claimed to produce “excellent results on drums as overheads or hi-hat mics.”

Well, that was my first thought when I received the C5 pair for review.

Overheads it is then!

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By Greg Bester

Tech box: Type: Small diaphragm condenser Polar pattern: Cardioid Frequency response: 20~20000Hz Sensitivity: 32.4 dBV/Pa Equivalent noise level: 17dB Dynamic range: 109dB S/N ratio: 77dB Max. SPL: 126dB Power supply: 48V phantom Power consumption: 0.5mA

Sound The C5s came into my possession at a fortuitous time. It just so happened that one of my Neumann TLM103s, my regular choice for overhead microphones, was in for repairs. I generally tend towards large diaphragm condensers for overheads because I feel they give a bigger representation of the kit and since the overheads are usually my starting point when getting sounds, this is a complete must. For me, that is where the sound of the recorded drum kit starts.

My expectations of the C5s were, well, to be sharply focussed with a tight polar response, fast and bright, as most SDCs are in my experience. I chose to mount them with the stereo mount supplied with the bundle in the X/Y position. I like to use either the ORTF or X/Y position when using SDCs because stereo cancelation into mono is generally quite good. I paired them to my TL Audio C1 dual-channel valve preamp/compressor.

Listening back to just the C5s while the drummer played left me quite astounded at the sheer size of the capture. Quite frankly they were full and commanding with a smooth midrange response and a shiny top end that wasn’t overly hyped. There were no areas in the spectrum that were biting me in the ear and paired with the valve preamps, they were warm as toast.

The bottom end just punched through and despite just being two microphones, the kit sounded fantastic without any close mics.

Blended in with the rest of the close mics gave me one of the best drums sounds I have ever gotten and I am happy to say that I am very proud of the results.

The wrap Simply put, I am a huge fan of Miktek mics. I really can’t fault them in any way and I sincerely hope that they can start winning over the hearts of our local engineers like they have mine. They are definitely high quality, passionately made microphones and our market would be at a loss if they didn’t embrace them.

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AM PM AM PM

An introduction to loudness What’s the problem? What is loudness? The international standard ITU-R BS.1770-3; EBU R128 in detail; Loudness in television, radio, film and music Practical guidelines The African regulatory framework; What we need to do to stop the loudness wars in Africa; EBU mode metering and its practical application A broadcaster perspective Challenges, opportunities and best practice, EBU R128 in broadcast workflow, live and packaged content, ingest, normalisation, asset management, The time and money implications of EBU R128 A production perspective Challenges, opportunities and best practice; EBU R128 in production workflow; Production guidelines for live and post production; The time and money implications of EBU R128

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Vendor offerings Commercial overviews and demonstrations of metering, normalisation, media management, loudness workflow and related technologies; Training and consulting opportunities

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Open forum discussion Regulators, broadcasters, production and post professionals, vendors - talking loudness; Next steps?

Studio & Broadcast RECORDING TIPS

Recording and mixing drums in the modern DAW: Part 1

Whether you’re Alex Van Halen, Ringo Starr or you have your own home grown garage band, recording and mixing drums in the modern DAW is no easy feat, writes Greg Bester.

I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I say that my recording and mixing techniques when it comes to drums have evolved through many incarnations over the years and pretty much change every few projects or so. This is probably due to the fact that I’m still learning (have no qualms about that) but as time goes on I, just like many others, focus myself to refine and rework my techniques so as to strive for better sounding recordings.

Most of sound engineering/music production is a long journey of trial and error where we turn, push and twiddle our way towards a better way of tackling problems and taking our craft to more creative heights. It becomes quite clear very early on that the frustrating truth is that most of this stuff cannot actually be taught through a book and even if it could, it doesn’t make a difference until our ears catch up and can actually hear it.

No matter how technology progresses and no matter how many people get home studios there will always be the barrier of training your ear through constant hard work and careful objective listening.

These two concepts along with humility coupled with a keen willingness to learn are essential ingredients to achieving excellence in the field.

Of course, knowing the fundamentals and even a knowing them a

“I don’t approach the drums as an instrument per say, more an attitude, viciously attacking something.”

– Alex Van Halen.

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little more is crucial to a better understanding because, at the end of the day, despite audio being a bona fide science that can all be communicated with mathematics, careful execution of the fundamentals is the name of the game. Fortunately, you don’t need a PhD in mathematics to become a competent mix engineer because we were born with our ears to decode these pressure waves and to help us be creative instead of worrying about the minutiae of the little picture. For in audio, it is the big picture that counts.

In the past, being an audio engineer was an esoteric endeavour where a carefully selected aspirant would gather skills under a mentorship in a professional environment and eventually, after making lots and lots of coffee, succeed his master into being a fully-fledged sound professional.

In South Africa mentorship programs are few and far between which results in a lot of us learning this stuff on our own or going to audio college, but as my experience was later to reveal to me, many of the industry secrets that you do learn along the way as a career professional are simply well thought out and carefully executed fundamental concepts that are easily overlooked or sometimes entirely forgotten. One piece of advice? Always jump in the deep end and do the most challenging or intimidating projects you can, and always take opportunities to learn from professionals with more experience than yourself. And remember: Professionalism is an attitude, and a skill set – not a platform – Tim Halligan, www.thewombforums.com

Everything counts The sound of the drums has always drawn my attention more than any other aspect of recording. It is indeed my favourite part of the album production process and nothing quite satisfies me like the sound of well recorded and well mixed drum sound.

I’m sure from your own experiments you’ve discovered that getting that particular drum sound is a lot harder than you’d expect and

RECORDING TIPS Studio & Broadcast requires a huge amount of trial and error to achieve even ‘acceptable’ results. In the case of drums, once you get in there, dealing with multiple microphones and phase issues, controlling the broad dynamic range onto disk/tape at the risk of distortion or clipping, you have the undesirable task of meeting the expectations of yourself and your clients by manipulating them during the mix phase into sounding larger than life, or at least suitably so to serve the material.

Now, not all drums are required to sound larger than life. Some drum sounds are best left natural, or at least mixed to be perceived as such, provided they were recorded sufficiently enough to do so.

Something tells me that an improvisational jazz record would not benefit from extreme EQing and heavy compression. Or will it? And what about those instances when the drums need that larger than life sound and bold, captivating energy? Is there one single idea or secret to it, or is it a combination of things that gives the mixed representation of the drums that certain dynamism and magic? In the most sober of senses, the answer is simple: Everything counts.

Your sound is only as good as your source Most of the substance of a good recorded sound (and this goes for just about anything) begins at the point you place the microphone in front of the source. Finished and klaar.

There is no such thing as an ‘acceptable’ sound that you are willing to commit to tape so it can be manipulated into a ‘better’ sound later. Take my word for it. Set your goals high.

The caveat here is that, unfortunately, the sound you capture at the source is what you are stuck with and should not be viewed as a ‘starting point’ but the first shot at achieving whatever sound you’re going for. This is achieved by having the best microphones possible, placed in a well thought out manner to capture the drum kit in its entirety, coupled to good microphone preamps and finally (in the case of the DAW) the best possible digital audio converters and studio monitors you can afford. This may seem daunting as not all of us have access to the likes of Neumann, DPA, Neve, Lavry or Klein and Hummel, but there is always a way to achieve great results with modest gear. Will it sound better than Steely Dan? We can try, but probably not. Will it get your project across effectively? Yes, with the right considerations.

“Drum machines maybe reliable and all that but they can`t drink as much as me.”

– a (not-so-sober) Phil Taylor of Motorhead

Hands down, the best way to start improving your sound is by buying the finest matched pair of condenser microphones you can afford. The reason for this is that while upgrading your hardware (computer, mic pres, outboard gear, converters, etc) may occur at regular intervals, a good pair of microphones will serve you for a lifetime and supply you with the quickest way to a better sound you can rely on.

Of course, good quality microphone preamps and digital audio converters are essential to achieving excellence as well but the range of their quality is narrower than that of microphones and most decent specimens that are available now in your local pro-audio shop are entirely usable. After all, the top shelf specimens are usually way out of most aspiring engineers’ budget. That being said, it’s probably a good idea to invest in at least one top quality DA converter (like the Benchmark DAC-1; +/– $1 000) and some decent monitors because they are the last stop before your ears and therefore it is critical that these are representing the audio faithfully.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, a well-treated monitoring environment is completely mandatory if you want to know that what you’re listening to is verbatim. Anything less is a lie so careful attention to treatment and interference at the listening position is paramount.

But, alas, that is another article.

Don’t underestimate the room!

Drums benefit immensely from a good sounding room. It is for this reason that recording the drums in the best sounding room you can get access to is a good idea. Generally any obvious ambience considerations in the production are best left for the producer but suffice it to say that the room shouldn’t have many major resonances or dips in the frequency spectrum, particularly in the low end.

Typically drums in modern pop/rock are recorded in a large, bright, wooden floor space, on a carpet, with baffles placed to control the amount of room sound that enters the close microphones. Room mics are then placed in such a way that the drum kit is picked up as a whole and the ambience of the room is captured to separate tracks.

If space and time permits, I generally start with the overheads or room mics when getting sounds because I like to first hear the drum set’s sound as a whole before adding close mics.

Often, finding the right place to put the drummer in the room is a listening exercise and the only way to do this is by the process of elimination unless you are familiar with the room. You might have to move the entire drum kit a few times to different portions of the room before you come to a conclusion that a specific spot sounds the best.

All that’s required is to listen to the drummer play each time and make a call based on what you hear. It’s simple concept, really. You are basically listening for what you envision the mics are going to hear, place them there, and then actually listen to them. It’s the only way to ever know that you are capturing is what you want before you press record.

Join us next issue for the continuance of this column.

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Studio & Broadcast INDUSTRY EXPERT

Neal Snyman Neal Snyman is one of South Africa’s top recording engineers and producers. Getting his experience early on in London’s Butterfly Studio, he has worked with such international artists as Crowded House, Tom Jones, David Bowie and Björk. Locally he has engineered and produced such acts as Mango Groove, Springbok Nude Girls, Brenda Fassie, Prime Circle and the Parlotones and from 2000 to 2005 produced the direct-tobroadcast Live on Five sessions from the SABC. His work has garnered three SAMAs for Best Rock album and one SAMA for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

Greg Bester had a chance to shoot the breeze with Neal to find out a little more about him.

Tell me where in South Africa you grew up before moving to London in 1987 and what influenced you during those years to get involved in music, recording and production?

Neal: I grew up in Johannesburg. My dad was involved in the music industry and I’d always accompany him to gigs and recording studios when I wasn’t at school. I was about 12 when I first went to a studio with him and decided that I wanted to be an engineer... or a pro footballer.

Tell me a little about Butterfly Studio. Who did you mentor under and what important revelations did you have there? How influential was your experience there to your recording ethos now?

Neal: The job came about after meeting someone at a different studio while I was doing some programming for a songwriter. She worked for Youth (Martin Glover) who owned Butterfly and said he was looking for new assistant engineer. They had a senior guy in charge who ran the day to day stuff but engineer Chris Potter did all of the heavy lifting – he came in on big jobs which we’d finish at Olympic or Metropolis.

He played a huge part in my development and always had time to answer questions and explain.

Butterfly was a crazy place. The bands I worked with went from the ridiculous to the sublime. The gear list was quite modest so we’d always be renting gear in, but we were always looking for new ways to use what we had. We’d manipulate stuff, print it and move on. There was a strong ethic of committing to an idea. No undo buttons. If it didn’t work we’d do it again. Being able to hit undo is great but it does drive me up the wall when artists can’t commit to anything! Youth had a profound impact on the way I look at stuff. He’s an amazing character. My time there served to build a solid platform to work from. I’ve evolved quite a bit since then but the fundamentals remain the same.

You have worked with some big name artists like Tom Jones, David Bowie and Bjork. What do you identify in these artists that South African artists could or should apply to their own work?

Neal: In a vacuum, most artists are alike. They tend to share the same

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Neal Snyman

insecurities and/or ego issues. Successful artists, regardless of where they come from, are the ones with a solid work ethic. The essence of what make artists like The Parlotones or David Bowie successful is good management, unrelenting work stamina and letting the people who work for or with them to get on with what they’re good at.

How do you work these days? Do you prefer the sound of analogue, the streamlined workflow of digital or do you implement a hybrid approach? Elaborate on your currently preferred recording and mixing platform.

Neal: Things are changing fast. I don’t think I miss analogue at all these days. A few years ago I would have kicked myself for saying this. I had a hybrid DAW/outboard system for a long time (still do) but work entirely ITB now.

The way people listen to music has pretty much pushed me to favour software over hybrid or analogue setups. MP3, audio streaming via YouTube, soundcloud and heavily limited radio/TV mixes have completely killed any subjective value analogue recording has to offer. People also listen to music differently – iPod head phones, through their phone speakers, in their cars. It’s very rare that punters sit down, put a record on and just listen. Making music has never been easier. Given the tools we now have, recording a band and setting up a good mix it pretty straightforward. The difficult thing is finding a good song.

You have a fantastic drum sound. If you could pick three elements that make a great drum recording, what would they be?

Neal: Care with mic placement, decent drum kit and most of all a good drummer. A fourth element would be a good sounding room.

Your work has won many SAMA awards. What do you think is the secret to a hit album that is hailed by your peers?

Neal: I’ve not personally won any SAMA awards – a few of the bands I’ve worked with have. I’m not sure there is a secret to winning awards.

There are many bands out there that should be selling records and winning awards but aren’t.

You recently produced an album for Newton’s 2nd Law of which I am a great fan. The vocals sound really great. What microphone did you use for the lead vocals and what was your processing chain?

Neal: We recorded at the SABC in M3 and I used the Sony C800 that I think I ran through the Focusrite ISA215. The sonic character of the vocal actually comes from the overdrive plugin in Logic.

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The SA contingent doing what they do best

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3-Way Active 3-Way Active Line Array Model

Line Array Mod Full of Technology

DVA T8

DVA T12

3 Way Active Line Array Module with DSP processing

3 Way Active Line Array Module with DSP processing

Frequency Response (+/- 3dB): 66 – 18 000Hz

Frequency Response (+/- 3dB): 60 – 19 000Hz

Max SPL: 132dB

Max SPL: 136dB

HF Driver: 2 x 1” Neodymium Compression Driver

HF Driver: 3 x 1” Neodymium Compression Driver

MF Driver: 1 x 6.5” Neodymium Compression Driver

MF Driver: 2 x 6.5” Neodymium Compression Driver

LF Driver: 8” Neodymium Compression Driver

LF Driver: 12” Neodymium Compression Driver

Power Rating (RMS): LF 350 + MF 175 + HF 175W

Power Rating (RMS): LF 710 + MF 350 + HF 350W

Weight: 14.2Kg

Weight: 29.9Kg

Dimensions mm: 580(W) x 240(H) x 327(D)

Dimensions mm: 580(W) x 386(H) x 430(D)

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Viva Afrika Sound and Light (Pty) Ltd Unit 2, 2 Drakensburg Road Longmeadow Business Park West, Westfield PO Box 4709, Rivonia, 2128, South Africa Tel: 011 250-3280, Fax: 011 608-4109 orders@hybrid.co.za, www.hybrid.co.za

Unit 38 Graphite Industrial Park, Cnr Commercial & Fabriek Street, Strijdom Park, Randburg Tel: +27 11 793 5066 Fax: +27 11 792 5076 sales@dwrdistribution.co.za www.dwrdistribution.co.za