ETA Jan-Feb 2016

2016 Jan - Feb

ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA

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L-Acoustics & Clay Paky End 2015 With A Bang

SPECIAL FEATURE: Battle Of The Bulbs LIVE!: Concept Audio Makes Waves @ ACVMF PROJECTS: Hard Rock Cafe KK Becomes Full Fledged

Photography By ASHOK KUMAR

ETA MCI [P] 007/09/2015 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2013 [022991]

Barco Laser Projector Integrated laser light source

Single projector design

dz Brightestprojector (up to 56klm) dz 2,500:1contrast ratio with HC lens; perfect

dz Sharpestimage in 2D and 3D dz Noalignment hassle

uniformity dz Simplicity:no more lamps, no pre-installedlight source

dz Singlepedestal footprint

EASY SERVICE

dz TCOchampion

De-speckling technology dz Nocompromise onimage quality dz Forevery screen typeincluding silverscreens dz Compatiblewith major3D systems

Active cooling dz 30,000hrs to 80%light output dz Morelight for less Watts dz Activelaser and DMDcooling

6P architecture

Modular design

dz 6primaries for superior 3D dz 40%higher than lamp-based

dz Aperfect match for every screen dz Lowestservice and maintenance costs

projectors dz Readyfor extended color gamut

dz OnboardBarco Alchemy for 4K 3D and 4K HFR

LEFT RIGHT

Barco Singapore +65 65899893 No. 10 Changi South Lane #04-01, Singapore 486162 www.barco.com

Advanced Line Array System (ALASTM)

KING OF THE ROAD The new Aero 20A provides the live sound market with a high-performance, cuttingedge product that delivers top quality MLH[\YLZ SPRL LɉJPLU[ *SHZZ + WV^LYPUN the latest in Digital Signal Processing and DASnetTM remote monitoring and control.

If you want to know more about one of the most competitive products around, contact us and we´ll be happy to show you how investing in the new Aero 20A, is the right road to take.

www.dasaudio.com D.A.S Audio, S.A. C/ Islas Baleares, 24 46988 Fuente del Jarro Valencia - Spain Tel. +34 961 340 860

D.A.S Audio of America, Inc. 6900 NW 52nd Street Miami, FL 33166 - U.S.A. Toll Free: 1 888 DAS 4 USA

D.A.S Audio Asia PTE. LTD. 3 Temasek Avenue, Centennial Tower #34-36 Singapore 039190 Tel. +65 6549 7760

IN THIS ISSUE: VOL 17 ISSUE 1 January - February 2016

ETA EXCLUSIVE

86

06 FIRST WORDS 08 TOP OF THE NEWS 18 NEWS 26 ENNOVATIONS SPECIAL FEATURE

36 BATTLE OF THE BULBS: LED vs TUNGSTEN

41 USER PERSPECTIVE PROJECTS

42 Hard Rock Cafe KK Becomes Full Fledged 44 Powersoft & EAW Provide Best EVER Club 46 Bosch Rides On Sonic Waves With Electro-Voice 50 Monash University Gets Upgraded With ETC 52 d&b Offers Listening À La Carte

PRODUCT FOCUS 54 Shure MOTIV

PERSPECTIVE

56 EK Lights: Growing From Strength To Strength

COVER STORY

60 D8 Reaches Hypersonic Levels In Ho Chi Minh

PROFILE

66 AV Stumpfl Celebrates 40 Years

EXHIBITION REVIEW 70 PL+S Shanghai

LIVE!

74 National Gallery Inspires Art Beyond Walls 75 Christie Transports Audiences With “Beauty And The Beast”

66

AV Stumpfl Celebrates 40 Years

Clockenflap Is Perfect For NEXO

76 Concept Audio Makes Waves @ ACVMF 80 Kumar’s Living Together 82 WebTVAsia Monitored By SSL 85 Clay Paky Adds Drama To War Horse 86 Clockenflap Is Perfect For NEXO 90 Robe Pointes To Jody Chiang 92 Martin Audio Reinforces Jolin Tsai 94 Han Show Dazzles With Meyer Sound 96 Laos Celebrates 40th National Day With 300 DTS Moving Heads

97 HAVE U MET...?

56

EK Lights: Growing From Strength To Strength

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06

FIRST WORDS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

The team at Spinworkz Pte Ltd, would like to take the opportunity to wish all our readers a Happy New Year. We wish all of you success as well as immense gratification in whatever you plan to endeavour for the year.

Unfortunately by all accounts it does not seem to indicate that it is going to be a smooth year. So here is where business acumen, re-looking at strategies and even venturing out beyond comfort zones will come in handy.

ASSISTANT EDITOR Elissa Nadine elissa@spinworkz.com

EDITOR, INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST Ram Bhavanashi ram@spinworkz.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR Shireen Ho shireen@spinworkz.com

BRAND ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST Dennis Toh dennis@spinworkz.com

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jimmy Chin jimmy@spinworkz.com

ADMIN & CIRCULATION Julie Tan admin@spinworkz.com

We at Spinworkz are also looking into different strategies to help our clients and readers hopefully achieve their objectives.

We started with co-organising and organising programmes with specific objectives late last year, such as knowledge upgrading programmes and targeted seminars for clients and will continue to do so this year. So keep your ears peeled for more from us.

This year also sees The Asean Economic Community coming into play with all 10 Asean countries promising freer movement of capital, investment, services and skilled labour. The region is considered as one of the world’s fastest -growing emerging economies, with a population of 600 million and a growing middle class. We are certain it will take some time before all of us can see real benefits and there will be lots of starts and stops. There are however already companies in the region who have started to put their mark onto developing nations within the region – especially impressive are the Thai rental&staging/ production companies who have made good head-starts in Myanmar. Singapore companies by nature have always looked regional but now they are being joined by companies from the other more developed South-East Asian countries as well. The competition is only going to get tougher but for those who have the staying power it will be well worth the fight.

I leave you with a quote from Steve Jobs, “THE ONLY WAY TO DO GREAT WORK IS TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO” and I believe despite all the challenges we face, what keeps us going is simply we love what we do.

Thomas Richard Prakasam Publisher / Editorial Director thomas@spinworkz.com

EDITOR, DIGITAL PLATFORM (FREELANCE) Rosalind Tan rosalind@spinworkz.com

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PUBLISHED BY Spinworkz Pte Ltd, 51 Bukit Batok Crescent, #06-10 Unity Centre, Singapore 658077 Tel: (65) 6316 2716 Fax: (65) 63162715 www.spinworkz.com PRINTED BY Stamford Press Pte Ltd

Disclaimer Entertainment Technology Asia is published 6 times a year. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine is to be reproduced, whether mechanical or electronic without the prior written consent of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but the editor reserves the discretion to use them. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies.

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TOP OF THE NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

HEINEKEN ENCOURAGES ZOUKOUT TO PARTY AS ONE SINGAPORE: The famed ZoukOut 2015 event was held on the 11th and 12th of December at Siloso Beach, Sentosa, once again with great success. Heineken’s rally cry #PartyAsOne for partygoers was aimed at encouraging moderate drinking. The objective was for partygoers to form their own “party crew” to look out for one another and make the most of their night together as one.

The Approach

A 3-metre-high 3D face projection structure was put in place in front of the Heineken party space within the beach.

The tall, white and single face weighed approximately 150kg, with over 70 facets and no curves. Partygoers were invited to take photos with their crew where their individual faces are projected onto the 3D structure. That definitely caught the attention of many partygoers! But this is not just another marketing gimmick - Motivational Messages interspersed with random effects looping through to the next batch of crew offered sublime messages of Heineken’s rally call.

The Technical Aspect

Partygoers got their picture taken via a DSLR camera one at a time. To get the animations out to users in as short a time frame as possible, iris worked in conjunction with Untitled Project to develop a novel rendering method by utilizing Maya’s inbuilt playblast system and caching animations on machines with 32Gb of RAM to render the complete sequence within 1 minute. The finished animations are then sent across via a Resolume5 hardware to the two 20,000 lumen Panasonic projectors provided by Circus Maximus Singapore, that were placed on the left and right of the 3D face sculpture to project the full face structure with minimal distortion.

Looks Simple...But Much Work Had Gone Into It The idea, concept and execution for the project was

headed by iris worldwide, a leading creative agency. Dean Reinhard, Creative Technology Director from the iris office in Singapore spearheaded the team that took two months to get it right.

The challenge was in getting the face structure right so that the software used is able to create the effects seamlessly.

Also the team had to ensure that rendering of the faces was fast or the whole experience would have been altered. After much working around what was possible the team decided to pre-create the animation sequences so that the rendering process would be quicker.

The 3D face structure had over 70 panels which were similar to the 3D software. This enabled the team to ensure that the look projected would look smooth. This also meant that the model presented to the company creating the face mould had to be done to exaction or a misalignment would be possible. The iris team had to re-look at the completed face with Google’s Project Tango that features Depth Cameras to ensure that it aligned with the 3D model that was given to the manufacturing company. This extra steps were necessary to keep the process seamless.

The iris team had to also ensure that the projectors that were fitted with short throw lenses were properly aligned.

With the projections happening on the beach and heavy rain being a norm during this period, the possibility of the projectors shifting were real - these required constant minor mapping changes over the course of the 2 days to ensure the panels all remained mapped correctly.

All the hard work paid off handsomely as partygoers thronged the Heineken booth throughout the event. www.circusmax.com untitledproject.sg

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TOP OF THE NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

MARTIN PROFESSIONAL OPEN OFFICE SINGAPORE: HARMAN Martin Professional held its Open Office on 8th December at its Singapore office premises.

The casual get together which also offered guests the opportunity to view some of its latest offering was a great success. Held from 4pm to 9pm it saw about 160 guests including system integrators, designers, end-users and rental&staging personnel revolving through its doors throughout. Accompanied with drinks and food, guests also got the opportunity to mingle and network.

It was also heartening to see the whole HARMAN team comprising the audio and visual (AMX) members based in Singapore coming together for the event and inviting their clients as well – keeping to the key HARMAN idea of offering a complete turnkey solution from audio, visual to lighting.

Jonas Stenvinkel, Head of Martin Professional Asia Pacific, who has been in the position for about 2.5 years now told ETA, “I am pleased with the turnout and reception in Asia.

When I first came in there were changes in personnel and we had just been bought out by HARMAN. The industry was curious as to how we will proceed. Now we have 13 staff and will add one more in January showing that we are growing form strength to strength.”

“We see great potential especially in South-East Asia to help our partners grow the market. Currently for Martin Professional, our business is 70% rental so we have a huge opportunity to grow our install business,” added Jonas.

On showcase at the Open Office, were the new generation Atomic LED Strobes and the RUSH MH 6 Wash. Also showing its flexibility on how different looks can be created were the SceptronTubes. The IP rated tubes are flexible and can be fitted with different lenses to create a unique look each time. A full range of new Architectural fixtures were also showcased. www.harman.com

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TOP OF THE NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

DATATON CONDUCTS FIRST WATCHOUT CERTIFIED PROGRAM FOR ASIA SINGAPORE: 25th November 2015, saw about 20 participants taking the Dataton WATCHOUT Certification Program in Singapore at Suntec City. This course provides a deeper understanding of WATCHOUT programming and implementation in the following areas: - Setup - Production - Dynamic media and live feeds - Command and control - WATCHNET - 3D and mapping - Multichannel audio - WATCHPAX and WATCHMAX Participants came from across the countries in the region including endusers.

The participants are the first batch to receive the WATCHOUT Academy Certification in Asia. Congratulations to all. www.dataton.com

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TOP OF THE NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

SENNHEISER CONDUCTS BASIC RF SEMINAR IN MANILA PHILIPPINES: Organised by Spinworkz Pte Ltd, publishers of Systems Integration Asia and Entertainment Technology Asia magazines and supported by SoniceSensePH and AudioGuys from the Philippines, the one day event held on 17 November 2015, drew in 38 delegates.

Comprising of Rental&Staging companies, Houses of Worship personnel, System Integrators, Distributors, Education Facilities and End-users, attendees got to better understand the basics of RF technology for wireless microphones.

Presented by Faz Salleh, Senior Consultant for Sennheiser Electronic Asia Pte Ltd, who is a veteran in the installed and live sound industry with more than 20 years of experience, the active interaction between him and the delegates proved that many of them wanted to better understand how they could use their RF systems more effectively. Faz was also able to highlight to them common mistakes made in set-ups and showed how the SWM Sennheiser software can help ease their work and worries.

“It was gratifying to see attendees from all walks of life attending the seminar and these attendees require different types of contents. I’m happy to be able to share my experience and knowledge of Radio Frequency (RF) with the audiences. An engineer is the key when it comes to setting up the wireless systems, and our aim is to develop these RF engineers in the live sound industry. From the feedback gathered, I am pleased to learn that the attendees appreciate the seminar, and our aim is to tailor something to suit the market requirements,” said Faz Salleh.

Attendees were pleased that Sennheiser had conducted the seminar with most finding the seminar useful and the topics covered well-presented.

Marc Sang-Olan, a Soundman from the Church of God had this to say, “This is a good entry level seminar that gives attendees the basic foundation of how RF works. For those who already know about it, it is a good refresher for them.”

Michael Santos and Aldrin Valenzuela of Iontech Inc., who distribute some Sennheiser solutions reiterated Marc's point that it was a good refresher course for to those who are already familiar with RF and a good basic course for those who want to learn more about RF for microphones.

“As a user of the Sennheiser wireless system, it is easy for me to relate. This has been an extremely beneficial seminar.

From this presentation, I have already prepared a list of things that we need to fix in our venue to optimise our RF systems,” said John Henson Chiu, an Audio volunteer at CCF Church.

Marc Paraiso, a consultant who is familiar with RF found the seminar interesting as the presentation got more in-depth.

“The first part of the presentation was really very basic but then it got interesting for me in the second half of the day, when Faz covered intermodulation, typical set up of a multichannel wireless microphone system, the live demo and so on.”

Kimberly Luo, Senior Marketing Executive, Sennheiser Electronic Asia commented, “We are heartened to hear from the attendees that they benefited from this seminar for their daily work. In recent years, the use of RF technology is on the rise but many are still unfamiliar with the technology.

Our intention is to start off with a basic RF seminar and then move on to more advanced topics, based on the attendees’ needs and feedback.” www.sennheiser.com

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TOP OF THE NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

CSP PRODUCTIONS ADDS L-ACOUSTIC K1, K2 & KARA SYSTEM TO INVENTORY SINGAPORE: Increasing industry demand for larger format and network capable systems led Singapore-based CSP Productions Pte Ltd to search for the next generation audio system to add to its inventory. They settled on a combination of L-Acoustics K1, K2 and Kara as their perfect combination.

“The final decision to purchase the L-Acoustics K1 System was made after much evaluation of current market offerings,” said CSP owner, Kenny Heng. “A combination of key factors such as rider demand, manufacturer relations, technology, sonic characteristics, usability and inventory integration were strongly considered. Our selection of the L-Acoustics K1 system was logical because of our longterm relationship with L-Acoustics and our familiarity with their products, having been the exclusive V-DOSC country partner for Singapore and Malaysia for the past 15 years.

were comfortable, as they’ve used the K1 system for previous shows in their tours. Concert attendees were blown away by the fidelity and coverage of the system throughout the venue.”

CSP used the new system for the first time at the 2015 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX’s live music events.

One of only two night races in the annual Formula 1 calendar, the Grand Prix naturally attracts huge attention in the Asian country, with a number of associated events providing entertainment for the thousands attending the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

“The integration of the new system into our current inventory was rapid, due to the existing amplification and support platforms currently employed,” concluded Heng.

“Our CSP Productions audio team were already familiar with the L-Acoustics workflow and system configuration philosophies and we are confident that the K1 system will allow us to handle the increasing demand for large format events and arena scale concert tours.”

“The system received favourable reviews from touring engineers and concert attendees alike. Touring engineers

www.l-acoustics.com www.csp.sg

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18

NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Eighteen Sound Acquires CIARE brand INTERNATIONAL: Eighteen Sound Srl has acquired CIARE – both brands are of Italian origin. The purchase broadens the scope of the 18 Sound product line as well as helps the company expand its access to new global markets.

“This is a direct response to our assessment of our product line offerings and will allow us to offer a broader pallet of products,” noted Giacomo Previ, Director of Global Sales. “Eighteen Sound will revitalise and strengthen the brand, while maintaining its focus on the professional audio marketplace.

The CIARE brand will be maintained autonomously and continue its storied

70 year history while catering to its loyal client following and maintaining its solid performance standards.”

“The brand acquisition is strategically aimed at repositioning the CIARE name,” said Pierpaolo Marziali, Eighteen Sound CEO. “It is a fundamental step of a broader Eighteen Sound initiative to widen our product offering and client base. With the CIARE brand we will be able to utilize our engineering expertise as we expand into the mid-level segment of the sound reinforcement marketplace, as well as providing to the hi-fi and automobile markets.” www.eighteensound.com

Analog Way Names Convex Dynamics As Official Distributor For Malaysia MALAYSIA: Analog Way Pte Ltd, the branch office in charge of the Asia Pacific region, is thrilled to name Convex Dynamics as official distributor for Malaysia. Convex Dynamics distributes premium AV brands to provide their clients a combination of ground-breaking technologies with outstanding quality. Several Analog Way models will be added to Convex Dynamics’ offer, including Premium Presentation Mixers of the LiveCoreTM series and Mid-range Seamless Switchers from the MidraTM series. Convex Dynamics headquarters also provides meeting rooms with complete AV setups for demos and trainings.

Convex Dynamics’ Sales Director Kevin Kee commented: "I’m delighted at the opportunity to become part of the Analog Way network and play a key role in extending the brand’s presence in our territory. Our team has a strong ethos towards providing a fuss-free,

top quality service and exceeding our customers’ expectations; and I’m looking forward to sharing the cutting edge of AV technology of this exceptional French brand.”

William Roddes, VP of Analog Way Pte Ltd, added: “We are pleased to be represented by Convex Dynamics in Malaysia. The company enjoys a great reputation over the region thanks to a deep knowledge of the Pro AV market.

With this new partnership, Malaysian customers will benefit from Analog Way’s innovative systems together with the experience and support of a local team of talented professionals.

Having a local distributor in Malaysia will also enable customers to avoid parallel importations with additional import duties, and benefit from a greater technical support.” www.analogway.com

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NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

KBS Arena Center Relies On Prolyte

SOUTH KOREA: Prolyte's Korean distributor Tongsuh was tasked to supply the trussing and hoists for a multi-purpose grid at the KBS Arena in Seoul. The former sports venue, located in Gangseo-Gu Gonghang Dae-ro had a complete update and installing the grid on hoists was part of the brief to turn the location into a multi-functional venue to enable broader utilisation possibilities.

The truss grid, supported by Aetos hoists can be flown with precise positioning and accuracy; reducing the maintenance costs for the lighting fixtures by being able to do maintenance from normal working height - rather than in mid-air.

Furthermore, the built-in limit switchers secure the position of the hoists, thereby greatly adding to safe operation of the grid. For Korea, an installation on this scale is unique.

As specifically requested by the venue's consultant, all prescribed materials had to be on a world

recognized standard, deliberately choosing for an installation that can rival any installation in the world, offering the guarantee of flawless performance. With these requirements in hand, KBS Sports World Technologies found in Prolyte distributor Tongsuh the right partner to offer the equipment, as well as the support, locally.

The grid installation features Prolyte H40V truss which is 3m in length made up of 32 standard pieces with 21 corner type pieces, 12 units of Prolyft Aetos 1000kg hoists complemented with 2 units of Aetos Pro controller and 1 unit of Aetos pro remote controller. www.prolytepap.com

NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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Yamaha Inspires Installers With ASEAN Seminar Programme The seminar in Thailand

The seminar in Indonesia

ASEAN: Early November saw Yamaha’s ASEAN Pro Audio Business Division and company subsidiaries in the ASEAN region deliver a series of seminars in Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, focusing on audio networking and the launch of the new MRX7-D open architecture signal processor. Closely following Yamaha¹s Milan Symposium in October, the ASEAN seminars continue an expanding programme of global events to support the company’s evergrowing installation product range.

Run in conjunction with Audinate, the ASEAN events featured Andy Cooper and Karl Christmas of Yamaha's Pro Audio Global Technical Marketing Group, alongside Audinate VicePresident of Sales and Marketing John Rechsteiner, Ben Wong, Sales Director at Audinate Asia Pacific and Senior Technical Solutions Engineer Alvin Cheung.

Over 100 installation integrators, live sound and broadcast engineers were present at each session, ranging from

seasoned network engineers to those working with audio networks for the first time. A morning presentation of Audinate’s product portfolio, including Dante, was followed by Andy’s presentation on networked systems using Dante and Karl demonstrating Yamaha’s Commercial Installations Solutions (CIS) products. These included the latest processors and the ProVisionaire Touch wireless control app for iPad.

support throughout the ASEAN region,” said Motome Tanaka, assistant general manager of Yamaha’s ASEAN Pro Audio Business Division.

“Yamaha and Audinate specialists can also assist with one-to-one system design, post-sales support and training throughout the world, a level of service that few companies can provide. One of the purposes of these seminars - the first of many ASEAN region training events that we have planned over the next year - is to highlight that support, as well as demonstrating that Yamaha CIS is a reliable, flexible and cost effective solution.”

“As the popularity of the CIS products and associated requests for training grow, we are committed to inspiring users with new ideas and possibilities via an additional programme of system design workshops,” added Karl. www.yamahaproaudio.com

The seamless integration of Dante in CIS products was a key element, demonstrating the many advantages of how even basic networking can have a major beneficial impact on installed audio systems.

“Yamaha is leading the global market in networked audio and we organised these four seminars to satisfy the increasing demand for education and

The seminar in Singapore

The participants from Malaysia

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NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Excelsis & Bosch Team Up For Singapore Summit 2015

SINGAPORE: Excelsis Conceptz, a regional Audio-Visual rental, staging and production company, prides itself on being a one-stop solution that houses in-house inventory capable of delivering almost any type of event, such as Ministerial Meetings, Corporate Conferences and Gala Dinners. Working with the Singapore Summit** organisers since 2013, the Excelsis team was involved again this year to provide technical consultation and management for Singapore Summit 2015, which was held at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Ballroom, S.E.A.'s biggest ballroom.

In order to enhance the networking experience for delegates at this year’s event, the Singapore Summit organizers wanted to feature short videos as well as live photos at the MBS ballroom foyer. Excelsis Account Director, Bernard Heng was highly involved in the specification of the different systems and explained the technical set-up required. “We placed 3 x LCD screens within the reception area that were interactive and showcased the “Welcome Reception Experience” videos and animation,” said Bernard. “The main highlight of the foyer was the large LED wall that featured the Tweets and photos uploaded by various delegates. It was a nice way to get everyone involved while allowing them to remain up-to-date on the latest information.”

To support the Singapore Summit proceedings, Excelsis also supplied a wide screen projection system, multi-camera live-feed production, automated LED wash, moving spot and profile lighting fixtures, truss structures as well as audio systems from Yamaha. For the panel sessions, Excelsis used Bosch's DCN Conference Solutions, namely the DCN Interpretation units along with Discussion units. “This was our 3rd year using the digital systems which have much better clarity when compared with analogue. They have proven to be very good in getting the messages across clearly and with little delay,” said Bernard.

NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

To deliver the high visual quality required for projected images, Excelsis deployed 4 x large projection screens to provide guests with a comprehensive view of the activities on stage. The screens were made semi-transparent for better image brightness, according to Bernard. The images were projected via Panasonic Full-HD DLP Projectors, which were placed behind the screens, an unusual arrangement for events such as the Singapore Summit. “We placed the projectors behind the screens, instead of in front, as this allowed the projection to optimize the sharpness of each image and achieve a higher colour resolution. We wanted the colours to be more 'real' so the images looked more natural, giving a life-like image of the people on stage,” explained Bernard.

Besides the Bosch DCN systems, the Excelsis team was most excited to use their new CCS1000 units from Bosch for the Summit Roundtable Discussions. This was the very first live event that they would employ the systems, which took the team just one day to learn. “[The CCS1000] has

23

an easy learning curve, mobile device control and great audio response,” shared Bernard. “On top of that, it is a voice activating system with a futuristic look and feel, and is an update to the current DCN Next Generation Conference series. It also comes with recording capabilities and control via a built-in web browser.”

“We [Excelsis and Bosch] have been working together for a while now. Gordon Lee has been very helpful ever since my very first enquiry about conference systems available at Bosch.”

Gordon Lee, Sales and Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems added, “The feedback from Excelsis is not surprising as the CCS has built a reputation for itself as a user-friendly system that allows control and playback, simultaneously. It has become a very attractive system to users everywhere.” www.excelsisconceptz.com.sg www.boschsecurity.asia ** The Singapore Summit, co-led by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and supported by GIC, Temasek, the Ministry of Trade & Industry and Ministry of Finance, is organised to bring together business and thought leaders from around the world to engage in frank discussions on ideas, partnerships, and opportunities arising from the confluence of Asia and the world. The inaugural Summit was held in September 2012.

Attendance is by invitation only. More information on the Singapore Summit can be found at www.singaporesummit.sg

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NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

FINE Introduces FINE 600L LED Spot CHINA: FINE 600L Spot is a LED spot moving head light using 600W LED module as its light source. It combines the latest technology of intelligent fan control, encoder positioning, Gamma correction dimming, unique optical design and the wide optical lens diameter of 180mm to output uniform spot light, which reaches the light efficiency of 1500W halide lamp with luminous flux exceeding 26,000lm.

Owning the great advantages of long life span and low power, it saves the power consumption cost greatly and reduces the loss for replacing the lamp when compared with the halide computer light.

It is suitable for the TV stations, theatres, stages and large-scale performance places. www.fineart-light.com

Allen & Heath Appoints ATL As Professional Distributor In Japan

JAPAN: Allen & Heath has appointed ATL as the new distributor of its professional digital products in Japan.

Part of the SC Alliance Group, ATL offers many years’ experience in sound reinforcement distribution, rental, installation, design, broadcast and integration, and will be managing Allen & Heath’s GLD and dLive digital product ranges.

“We were seeking the right distribution company to handle Allen & Heath’s professional digital products following the introduction of dLive,

our new flagship digital system. ATL checks all the boxes - it has great technical abilities, close relationships with partners, and a great reputation of supporting end users alike. We are certain ATL will create significant opportunities across Allen & Heath’s core vertical markets, and ensure that the best support for users will be provided at a crucial time in Allen & Heath’s technological evolution,” said Allen & Heath’s Sales & Marketing Director, Christian Luecke.

"ATL is pleased to be involved with the Allen & Heath brand. A&H’s digital ranges offer fully professional, great value products suited to a wide variety of applications. We are very excited to offer their ground breaking technology to the Japanese market," added Takahiro Tan-O, Director of ATL Co. LTD. www.allen-heath.com

NEWS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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Clay Paky’s The Projectors Triumph In The Far East

MALAYSIA: Acoustic & Lighting System (A&L) successfully held an openhouse event on 17 November 2015 to introduce Clay Paky's The Projectors series: the Scenius, Mythos, Supersharpy and Stormy. A&L held a similar show in Singapore earlier this year, and chose to repeat their success in Kuala Lumpur to welcome the Scenius, the latest member of the series. The open-house event was held in conjunction with Clay Paky at Bentley's Auditorium, located in the heart of Mutiara Damansara.

A&L put special effort into carefully selecting the venue. "It took us quite a while to find the right place. We had to consider some special factors when choosing the venue," explained Eric Loo, who was in charge of finding the site for this event. "We knew the capabilities of these lights. In order to show off their full potential, the height and length of the venue were crucial. Access to a power supply and the convenience of the site for our invited guests were other important factors”.

“We did not want there to be other light, since we only wanted to see the light from the Clay Paky fixtures. After checking out the venue, we decided to go with Bentley's auditorium in Mutiara Damansara. It had the right height and length for the powerful Scenius, Mythos and Supersharpy units to launch their beams. Moreover the venue was situated in a strategic location, which was easy for our invited guests to reach. As for light, Bentley's auditorium is not highly exposed to natural light. It is very easy

to black out the venue with very little equipment," Eric told us.

The event lasted from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and saw over fifty attendees, including rental firms, broadcasters, system integrators and consultants.

There were a total of twenty-seven Clay Paky lighting fixtures, nineteen of which were from The Projectors series. The demo was accompanied by an official promotional video by Clay Paky. Alfonso Zarate Takano, Clay Paky Asia-Pacific Area Sales Manager, and Giulia Sabeva, a Clay Paky Sales Support Engineer, were also present. Giulia Sabeva, who has been involved in various lighting events, brought the lights to life.

The first light to take the stage in the video was the Supersharpy, the successor of the Sharpy. It is an ACL beam type moving head with a 470 W - 7800 K lamp. Four units were used in the event to show off its power: it is three times brighter than the Sharpy. Its ability to throw its beam long distances with precision left the guests in awe. The next light to make an appearance was the Mythos. With eighteen fixed gobos and six rotating gobos, the Mythos was build for versatility. A total of four units were used in the demo. Next up was the Stormy with its strong and punchy light, which took the guests by surprise. Attendees saw its superiority as an advanced strobe light. Four white and four RGB Stormy units were used.

The Stormy innovates tradition since it uses LED technology, while retaining all the charm of a classic strobe. Its ability

to turn off so much more smoothly than traditional strobes is extraordinary. Last but not least, the latest addition to the Projectors family, the Scenius, stole the show.

The Scenius is a new moving head spotlight, which caught the guests' attention, since it generates an easily visible cone-shaped beam. Its advanced optical unit and new 1400 W OSRAM discharge lamp produce a much higher light output than previous generation 1500 W lamps. The Scenius provided the audience with a spectacular colour show with fluid colour changes produced by its CMY system, seven-colour wheel and linear CTO filter. With its 8°-50° zoom, the Scenius is suitable for every occasion, whether it be in a theatre or at live events.

Thanks to the lighting crew, stage crew and support from the Clay Paky staff, the audience was able to witness the power of Clay Paky's The Projectors series triumph over darkness. As a bonus, the audience was also able to see the A.leda B-Eye K20 in use. Giulia Sabeva used a grandMA lighting console to bring the B-Eye to life with various effects, which accompany everything from RnB to country music. "Simply amazing", "a spectacular light show" and "I could see the difference in terms of quality" were some of the positive comments we received as the event ended. "Clay Paky is a strong brand with great products and quality. It is always worth considering,” one of the guests added. www.acousticlighting.com

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ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Martin Audio: MA5.0Q Amplifier Benefiting from core technologies found in Martin Audioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship amplifiers, the MA5.0Q sets a class standard in efficiency, leading to low power consumption, and consequently to substantial cost savings on electricity.â&#x20AC;?

- Martin Audio

www.martin-audio.com

%*9 ' %*9 ' %*9 &

Â&#x2021; Capacity 250 kg - 12000 kg Â&#x2021;Â&#x2021; Climbing- Or Standard Hoist Â&#x2021; Overload Protection with Patented Friction Clutch Â&#x2021;Â&#x2021; Direct Control Or Contactor Control Â&#x2021; Light And Compact Design Â&#x2021;Â&#x2021; Precise Chain Guide Â&#x2021; Textil Chain Bag Â&#x2021; Several Models On Stock

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No. 2, Kallang Way 5, 349022 Singapore Phone: +65 - 6287 98 78 Fax: +65 - 6287 93 88 E-Mail: sales@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

www.chainmaster.de

â&#x20AC;˘ 4 channels in 1 RU @ 14.1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (35.8cm) depth â&#x20AC;˘ Up to 5,000 W in 1 RU @ 16 lbs (7.3kg) â&#x20AC;˘ Designed for portable/installed systems â&#x20AC;˘ Eco-friendly + operational cost of electricity â&#x20AC;˘ Minimal heat dissipation = suitable for hot or otherwise challenging environments â&#x20AC;˘ Switch mode power supply, internally switchable 230/115V nominal â&#x20AC;˘ Fixed frequency switch mode amplifier output stages â&#x20AC;˘ Patented amplifier output filters with ripple cancellation network â&#x20AC;˘ Able to drive 100 V distributed lines directly without the need for transformers â&#x20AC;˘ AC protection: Shuts down power supply when AC mains voltage is outside operating range

â&#x20AC;˘ Clip limiter: Prevents severely clipped waveforms from reaching loudspeakers, while still maintaining full peak power output â&#x20AC;˘ DC protection: Protects against infrasonic signal at the outputs â&#x20AC;˘ VHF protections: Protects the loudspeakers against destructive non-audible, non-musical high frequency signals â&#x20AC;˘ Short circuit protection: Protects the amplifier from short circuit or similar events on the outputs; with automatic protection reset â&#x20AC;˘ Thermal protection: Mutes outputs once output devices reach 75 ÂşC / 167 ÂşF; automatic unmute once temperature is down to 65 ÂşC / 149 ÂşF

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

27

GLP: X4 Atom • Source: 1 x Osram 15W RGBW LED • Avg LED Life: 50,000 hrs • Motorized Zoom: 3.5 to 34-degree • Same Quad colour LED source as X4 range • Continuous dimmer 0-100% • Variable strobe effect from 1 – 10 Hz.

• IP 65 Rated • Zoom Ratio: 9:1 • Motorized Zoom Angle: 3.5 to 34-degree beam Interlock system allows for various unit configurations • Dimensions (LxWxH): 5’’ x 5’’ x 6.3’’ (12.7 x 12.7 x 16.9cm) • Weight: 1.4 kg (3 lbs)

TOTAL VISUAL CONTROL

Sapphire Touch

Quartz

Tiger Touch II

You can quickly create all kinds of configurations — in seconds and without tools. If you want to mimic molefays, you can, if you want to create groundrows, you can, if you want to make a little 2-Lite or a stadium style light fitting, then you can — and you still have full control over each head individually.”

- Mark Ravenhill, GLP Inc President www.germanlightproducts.com

Avolites: +44 (0) 2089 658 522 avosales@avolites.com www.avolites.com

Total Solution: (+65) 6287 9878 enquiry@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

28

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Allen & Heath: ZED Mini Mixers These three new ZED mixers combine high-end pro audio design with a compact styled case to give ultimate performance with just the right features you need. The exceptional preamp design, handy guitar DIs, the ZED-6FX’s simply astounding FX algorithms, the ZEDi-8’s powerful USB interface, and the internal PSU, are stand out features which offer so much more than the average mixer in this area.”

- Mike Griffin, Allen & Heath R&D designer www.allen-heath.com

YOU´ VE GOT THE SKILLS. SKILLS WE´ VE GOT THE TOOLS.

www.tsm-int.com Phone: +65-62879878 sales@tsm-int.com

www.coolux.com

ZED-6 / ZED-6FX / ZEDi-8 • 2 x Mic / Line Inputs with separate XLR and TRS jack sockets • 2 x Stereo Inputs with TRS jack sockets • Lo-cut filter for cleaning up unwanted low frequency noise • 2 x band EQ for easy creative and corrective tonal shaping • 60mm smooth travel fader on main mix • XLR main outputs • Flexible signal monitoring • 8 LED signal metering • 48V Phantom Power for condenser mics

ZED-6FX • Internal FX engine encompasses multi-FX models, combines reverbs, delays, doublers, chorusing, and other modulators to create a dynamic and varied suite of studio quality sound effects.

ZEDi-8 • 2 in, 2 out USB Audio Interface (24-bit/96kHz) • Cubase LE Music Production Software included • Cubasis LE Mobile Music App included

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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Elation Professional: Satura Profile

• Source: 440W Cool White LED Engine • Avg LED Life: 50,000 hrs • 20,000 Total Lumens • Full CMY Colour Mixing and CTO • 7 Dichroic Colours • 3-Facet Rotating Prism + Frost Filter

• 4-Blade Framing Shutter + Strobe • Motorized Zoom: 11 to 38-degree • Dimensions (LxWxH): 15.1’’ x 13.2’’ x 23.7’’ (45.1 x 52.5 x 74.5cm) • Weight: 33.5 kg (73.9 lbs)

Satura Profile includes a host of standard features like professional-grade Neutrik 5-pin DMX In/ Out and PowerCON In connection along with Art-Net and KlingNET support via RJ45 Ethernet In/ Out connections. It also houses a universal switch-mode power supply for use anywhere in the world.”

- Elation Professional

www.elationlighting.com

30

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

ADJ: Mega TRIPAR Profile • Type: Compact Sleek Par for uplifting + stage lighting • Source: 5 x 4-Watt, 4-IN-1 Quad LEDs • RGB + UV Color Mixing (fast or slow color change operation) • 64 built-in Color Macros • Avg Lamp Life: 50,000 hrs • Power Draw: 21W Max • Beam Angle: 40-degree

• 5 Operational modes (including DMX, Sound Active Mode, RGB + UV Dimmer Mode, Auto Run Mode, & Static Color Mode) • 5 DMX Channel Modes • Compatible with ADJ LED RC2 wireless infrared remote control up to 30 ft./ 10M (sold separately) • Dimensions (LxWxH): 8.75’’ x 8.75’’ x 3.25’’ (22.5 x 22 x 8.5 cm) • Weight: 1.23kg (2.7 lbs)

While our Mega TRIPAR Profile was incredibly popular for its smooth RGB colour mixing and intelligent design, we wanted to give users more flexibility with their colour creation. The new Mega TRIPAR Profile Plus does just that, with its 4W RGB+UV Quad LEDs with the added UV element enables users to create powerful effects in a range of unique colours that were previously hard to reach.”

- Alfred Gonzales, National Sales Manager for ADJ USA www.adj.com

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

31

Martin Professional: Exterior Linear Cove + Graze (300 / 1200 Series) • Colour Mixing: RGBW (Choice of single colour LEDs or variable white) • Colour Temperature Control: 2700K – 6500K (320 + 1220 Graze + Cove Models) • Control resolution: 8-bit DMX control of each colour • Source: 3W CREE XP-E2 LEDs • Beam Angle: - 120-degree (Cove Models) - 10, 60, 10 x 60- degree (Graze Models) • Min. LED Lifespan: 50,000 hrs • Connects directly to line voltage and DMX • 0 – 100% Intensity control • Min. distance to illuminated surface: 0.6ft (0.2m) • Total Lumens Output: - 700 lumens (300 Cove Models) - 600 lumens (300 Graze Models) - 2800 lumens (1200 Cove + Graze Models)

• 300 Series (1ft) fixture dimensions (LxWxH): - Cove: 12’’ x 2.8’’ x 3.8’’ (35.0 x 7.2 x 9.5 cm) - Graze: 12’’ x 2.8’’ x 3.9’’ (35.0 x 7.2 x 9.9 cm) • 1200 Series (4ft) dimensions (LxWxH): - Cove: 48’’ x 2.8’’ x 3.8’’ (121.9 x 7.2 x 9.5 cm) - Graze: 48’’ x 2.8’’ x 3.9’’ (121.9 x 7.2 x 9.9 cm) • Weight: - Cove 300: 1.6 kg (3.6 lbs) - Cove 1200: 6.4 kg (14.2 lbs) - Graze 300: 1.5 kg (3.4 lbs) - Graze 1200: 6 kg (13.3 lbs)

Exterior Linear Graze

These versatile Linear lights, along with the new Exterior Wash and Exterior Inground families, will take Martin Professional into new markets in a variety of innovative applications... designers and specifiers now have a wide range of options to choose [from] and ensure the right product is used for the task at hand.”

- Robert Svensson, Product Manager for Large Venue www.martin.com

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ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

EK Lights: EPAR Q1 IP

Experience creative freedom.

This tour grade RGBA LED PAR sports innovative optics that deliver perfectly blended soft-edged colour in a politely quiet IP54-rated design suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.”

- EK Lights

www.eklights.com

• • • •

www.vari-lite.com

+65 62879878 enquiry@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

Source: 62W RGBA LED cluster Beam Angle: 25-degree Field Angle: 46-degree Lens options for choice of beam angles • Output: 221 lux @ 5m • Strobe: 0-30 Hz • Colour Temp: 2800K - 10,000K

• • • •

Dimming: 4 curve modes Consumption: 65W Weight: 3.9kg (8.59 lbs) IP54 rated for all-weather outdoor deployment • Password-protected touchscreen user interface

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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Le Maitre: G300-SMART Smoke Machine • • • • • • • •

IoT capability via Wi-Fi Easy to read backlit LCD display High output dense white smoke User-friendly LCD display DMX in + out 0-10V control Fluid out + fluid low reporting.

Once connected via Wi-Fi, can be monitored and controlled through Le Maitre’s Machine Interface Portal

Having Wi-Fi on board gives the user a whole new level of flexibility, being able to set and change the configuration of the unit via their mobile device, such as a phone or tablet. The user is able to set the interval, duration, flow level, pre-delay times, as well as turn the unit on or off. The user can also diagnose and debug any errors with the device wirelessly.”

- Le Maitre

www.lemaitreltd.com

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ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Christie: Boxer 30 • Up to 2K resolution with 30,000 lumens • Omnidirectional deployment • Near Field Communications for lamp information tracking • Color LCD preview panel • Display: 3DLP image quality combined with Christie TruLife image processing • Source: 6 x Mercury lamps 450W NSH

• Lamp Life: 1,500 hrs to 70% initial brightness • Built-in warp and blend functionality • Contrast: 2000:1 • Resolutions: - HD (1920 x 1080) - 2K (2048 x 1080) • Dimensions (L x W x H): 37.75 x 23.5 x 12” (95.9 x 59.7 x 30.5 cm) • Weight: 72.5kg (160 lbs) • Now Shipping

Christie Boxer 30 delivers excellent image processing for HD and 2K images with all the capabilities that make Boxer an award-winning platform. There is also an upgrade license allowing users to future proof their fleet by upgrading to full 4K resolution and 120Hz operation when needed. The Christie Boxer series is an engineering milestone and Christie is confident the high definition version of Boxer continues to extend that leadership.”

- Mike Garrido, Senior Product Manager www.christiedigital.com

ETC: ColorSource Relay • Wireless Power Control Solution • PowerCon connections and universal power support • Zero-cross relay minimizes inrush at turn-on to connected fixtures • Automated power sequencing • Automated system turn-off • Receives wireless DMX signals and automatically enables power switching and DMX for up to 16 amps of power.

• Reporting of relay state and connected load • Can be mounted to the yoke of any ETC LED fixture • LEDs on the body of the relay indicate status, such as power, relay state, DMX presence and signal strength • Connects to hard-wired DMX and automatically sends wireless DMX/RDM to any ColorSource Relay within a 328 ft (100m) range

This is a game changer in the world of lighting. The ColorSource Relay solves issues that haven’t really been tackled in the professional lighting industry before, and we are pleased to be a small part of the movement that starts that journey forward.”

- Matt Armendariz-Kerr, ETC Entertainment Market Manager www.etcconnect.com

ENNOVATIONS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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SAE Audio: TXQ Amp Series • 4 channel version of TX set (3 models) • Per channel output: - 750W/2Ω (TX300Q) - 1250W/2Ω (TX500Q) - 1600W/2Ω (TX650Q) • Class D power modules

• • • • • • •

Universal AC Mains R-SMPS power supply (90-260V) XLR signal input & link connectors Input sensitivity selector (0.775v / 1v / 32dB) Routing mode selector (1-in4-out / 2-in 4-out) Freq Response: 20Hz – 20kHz (all models) Weight: 10.7 kg – 11.3 kg (23.5 – 24.9 lbs) Now available for delivery

Offering the same features as the TX, the new TXQ is the best solution for those sound reinforcement applications requiring a multichannel amplifier with a mid output power density and a very good sounding characteristic but on an affordable budget..”

- SAE Audio

www.saeaudio.com

36

SPECIAL FEATURE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Battle of the Bulbs:

By Rob Gerlach Rob Gerlach loves colour. He loves it so much that he started a whole LED lighting company just to make more of it.

He co-founded Selador in 2002 and introduced the x7 Color System to the world in 2004. Since then, he has guest-lectured around Europe and North America on the various aspects of LED lighting in theatre environments – covering topics from human colour perception to fixture efficacy and the need for new colour and lighting metrics. In 2009, he accompanied Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) acquisition of the Selador product line to work with ETC in bringing brighter, better, and more colourful LED fixtures to life. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with a very pale wife and six colourful children.

When I started building prototype lighting instruments with LEDs 15 years ago, the technology had just made its first, tentative leap from direct-view indicator lights to bona fide illumination devices. All solid-state emitters at the time were tiny and dim, but they succeeded in places where tungsten had always struggled, primarily where deeply coloured or colourchanging light was needed.

Fixtures with a mix of red, green, and blue LEDs were marketed under the flag of “full-spectrum colour”, and early adopters eagerly snapped them up. Before long, every hotel lounge and shopping mall was blinking in little digital rainbows. The real workhorse applications were still far out of reach, though, and many designers remained stubbornly unimpressed. It was during this early phase that my company made its market début.

We began with a grant from a non-profit organization to study the technology as a supplement or replacement for existing tungsten lighting in the theatre. As the grant committee commented, the typically cited advantages and savings were attractive, but only if LEDs could perform a legitimate job in a professional setting. This was a real question at the time, and, indeed, it is worth asking even today.

Salt Lake Tabernacle, with LED-based cyc lights (blue)

SPECIAL FEATURE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

37

LED vs. Tungsten Can We Really Call LEDs “disruptive”?

The term “disruptive technology” is dreadfully overused in our world of smart devices and pervasive connectedness, but every once in a while it sticks, and solid-state lighting is so deserving as to have garnered some of its creators the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Why? For one, LEDs won’t run off simple AC power. By definition, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) only allow electrons to flow in one direction. They need DC power. With a worldwide infrastructure built upon AC distribution, we’re faced with a choice between continually adding peripheral components like rectifiers into every LED bulb and luminaire or redoing substantial groundwork that may or may not survive the next disruption.

LEDs are truly digital light sources. Nothing about the way they power on, power off, or dim looks the same as a superheated wire in a glass tube. Thermal inertia is what makes a tungsten lamp noticeably ramp up to full brightness over a fraction of a second and slowly decay back down over as many as several seconds when power is removed. We are used to this behavior, and we expect it – it looks “natural”. The role of thermal inertia in LEDs is negligible, because it is not heat that creates the light within them.

LEDs in most contemporary luminaires are capable of turning on and off within a few billionths of a second. Hiding this instantaneous response requires complex electronics that create an artificial lag. Thermal inertia also allows tungsten to smoothly increase or decrease brightness, even when power is changed by steps. Without very complicated processing, LEDs expose these steps, and dimming looks jittery. This all means that for now and the foreseeable future, solid-state fixtures require elaborate internal systems in order to operate pleasingly alongside tungsten.

Will The Disruption Last?

Most lighting professionals know that in the world of coloured light, as well as most white-light applications, LEDs can outperform any other mainstream technology in terms of basic efficacy. This disruptive characteristic, however, is often too quickly assessed.

Where LED fixtures take the place of large numbers of tungsten units, not only can power distribution and external

LED cyc light system in the Salt Lake Tabernacle

dimming systems be cut down in size, often many other systems can be minimized as well. Air chillers might be reduced in a studio, for example, since the heat load from solid-state lighting can be as little as 10% of a comparable tungsten rig.

With reduced chiller sizes, HVAC blowers, ductwork, and even supporting architecture might also be cut down in size, and the savings related to solid-state lighting can cascade through many, different systems.

On the other hand, it is easy to overestimate the impact of LED efficacy. It is not unusual to see anticipated power savings fall short in real application, because brightness levels and/ or operating cycles end up being increased well beyond what they would be with tungsten-based lighting. I regularly see rebates and incentives offered to sites where LED fixtures replace outdated tungsten stage lighting. In some cases, these combined offers entirely cover the cost of the LED installations.

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SPECIAL FEATURE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

The power savings may be real, but in the context of an entire performing arts venue, stage lighting might represent only 3-5% of the overall power consumption. I don’t think it will take long for power companies and local administrations to begin drawing back their enthusiasm and their incentives.

My company’s first huge project was to provide colourchanging cyc lights to a historic performance hall in the Western U.S. This large wooden structure was famously built “without nails” by settlers in the late 19th century, and it contains one of the world’s largest and most famous pipe organs. During a daily organ recital in 2002, the 1KW quartzhalogen ground-cyc fixtures used for shining coloured light onto the walls nearly caught a nearby drapery on fire. It wasn’t power savings; it wasn’t longevity; it wasn’t even colourchanging capabilities that sold the preservation team on LED lighting for this space. It was safety that sealed the deal.

Once the technology was chosen, the preservation team began comparing different kinds of LED fixtures. The hall is used for a weekly video broadcast that is distributed worldwide. Colour on camera became a critical distinguishing feature between competing colour-changing luminaires. Many red-green-blue products were tested. In the end, my company’s fixtures were selected because of their very unusual approach to colour mixing, and this brings up an important point about LED products.

All Led Colour Mixing Is Not Alike, And NONE Of It Is Like Tungsten.

Marketing hype aside, red-green-blue colour mixing is most emphatically not “full-spectrum” colour. Neither is RGB plus amber. Neither are any of the myriad other approaches to additive colour mixing on the market.

Seven-colour LED spectrum

Additive colour mixing is an entirely different way of thinking than the subtractive method used with filters on tungsten, and it can be rather non-intuitive, especially when dealing with more than three primary colours. It takes a very good control system – one that knows the specific colour capabilities of a given LED fixture – to make the job of additive mixing quick and simple. Thankfully, ETC and other console manufacturers are wise to this requirement and are continually improving their colour-management options in their desks.

LEDs are unique in that they only produce narrow spectral bands of light. Technically speaking, there is no such thing as a white LED. White emitters are always combinations of blue or violet LED “pumps” along with down-conversion media like phosphors that change some of the pump to longer wavelengths that then mix to make white. White emitters generally produce a narrow spike of colour from their pump source, accompanied by a sloping hump of output in the green/yellow/orange range. In fixtures that use multiple colours of LEDs, the combined spectral output is generally a series of peaks and valleys across the spectrum.

Typical white LED spectrum Typical red-green-blue (RGB) spectrum

RGB is more than sufficient for many applications; however, some uses require far more spectral components. Many of ETC’s products happen to use seven colours of LEDs, because this approach gives the fixtures a much broader gamut of saturated colour as well as white light and soft pastels that much more closely mimic the spectral content of tungsten, with and without gels. This seven-colour system also combines the various emitters in very specific ratios, because not all colours of LEDs are of comparable brightness. Very few LED luminaires take this approach to colour mixing.

In all LED fixtures, the final output rarely reaches into the extreme red and violet ends of the visible spectrum. This has an important impact, especially in the deep-red region that so strongly affects the appearance of human skin tones, wood tones, and other organic materials. It is difficult and very costly in terms of efficacy to include large amounts of the long-wavelength red light that flows so richly from all tungsten sources. This hit to efficacy will always be there; it is a fundamental component of the way we quantify visible light. LED luminaire manufacturers will therefore always face a tough tradeoff between high efficacy and high-quality spectral fullness.

SPECIAL FEATURE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

39

Multi-colour LED spectrum showing lack of deep red output

Is It Necessarily Either-Or?

BE IN THE KNOW WHILE YOU'RE ON THE GO

The conflict of efficacy and rich spectral content is one reason that many designers have preferred a hybrid tactic with solidstate lighting, combining both tungsten and LEDs in a stage rig. LED luminaires provide a strong punch of colour, while conventional tungsten units boost brightness in white and fill in the critical long-wavelength parts of the spectrum.

Having said this, though, solid-state luminaires continue to get brighter and more spectrally complete. With new developments like the incorporation of high-efficacy limegreen emitters in colour-mixing fixtures, there are more and more installations in which LEDs are used exclusively, sometimes to great effect. The 2015 Tony-winning musical, Fun Home, is lit primarily by ETC Source Four Series 2 LED fixtures.

Even though the palette is filled with rich, organic tones and warm white light, these solid-state instruments fit beautifully and seamlessly within the production.

It may not be long before the reasons for clutching onto our beloved tungsten lose their justification altogether. Though it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet saturate every application, solid-state lighting is now fully mainstream. The disruption has happened, and the world is most certainly embracing the LED revolution.

ETA thanks Rob Gerlach for his opinion piece. If you would like to know more about the Selador by ETC brand of LED fixtures, head to: www.etcconnect.com

DOWNLOAD THE ETA APP ON YOUR MOBILE

O r visit : w w w. e -tec hasia.co m

USER PERSPECTIVE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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How Do You Achieve No Latency Broadcast Over A 400m LED Screen?

The Show Company on Lightware Visual Engineering - “...they do not know what latency is”

L

ast year Singapore celebrated its 50th year of independence in style with various activities across the island. The main event was of course, the National Day celebrations that were held on 9th August 2015 at the Padang – an open field that faces City Hall – a national monument which has significant political reverence for Singapore.

One element that stood out in relation to the celebration was the 405.76m LED wall that stretched from end-to-end in the seating gallery. This was the greatest amount of LEDs ever used for a National Day celebration, in terms of square metres.

2,618m2 in total area, high-definition LED panels with pixel pitch of 1mm were organised to form three main screens, each measuring 11.52m in height and 28.16m in width as well as connecting screens of 5.12m in height.

The Show Company, a Singapore-based production house which specialises in large-scale event productions was responsible not only for the LED panels, but to ensure that it worked seamlessly in displaying the images – they had to contend with fiber lines running distances of up to 600m and a total of 16 outputs to the LED screens. Faced with a challenge to find the right equipment to pull off the nation’s biggest celebration of the year, they sought the professional help of Lightware Visual Engineering.

The Show Company’s Visual Systems Specialist, Rick Goh, mentioned: “We used 3 sets of MX-FR17 Lightware matrix switchers. We needed an advanced matrix system to take in 18 main and 18 backup media server inputs, and it also had to have an instantaneous switch between the main and backup

inputs. We coupled the 3 sets of Matrices with Lightware's TX-110 and RX-110 DVI Fiber Extenders which channelled signals through 16 lines of fiber spanning 600m to the LED screens. The experience was more than amazing. During one of the tech runs we tried the switch over between the main and backup systems and it was instantaneous. At one point we were even wondering if there was even a switch at all, we had to put up a different graphic on screen to just double check if it switched at all and there was no latency at all. Lightware were true to their word, they do not know what latency is.”

Lighware Visual Engineering also provides other solutions to visual specialists’ needs. The MX series which has a hybrid modular and cross platform technology is compatible with all the MX- and, MXD- and I/O boards. From production houses to MICE applications, Lightwave Visual Engineering offers numerous solutions to transmit video signals of fiber optical cables for medium and long distance, HDBaseT over Cat5, 6 and 7 cables. www.show-company.com www.lightware.eu

TX-110 and RX-110 DVI Fiber Extenders

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PROJECTS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

MALA YSIA

Hard Rock Cafe KK Systems Electronics & Engineering helms the sound and light integration

K

ota Kinabalu (KK) is located on the tropical island of Borneo and is the capital of the East Malaysian state of Sabah. Kota Kinabalu is known for its sandy beaches, tropical rainforests, virgin coral reefs and of course the iconic Mount Kinabalu.

April this year saw another iconic space open...Hard Rock Cafe and Restaurant, along the waterfront area of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens.

Hard Rock actually established itself in Kota Kinabalu in November 2012, when it opened its Rock Shop. The Rock Shop was a stand alone space, which was awaiting for the intended shopping centre behind it to open so that it can offer its full services. It took 3 years but the shopping centre was eventually completed and Hard Rock Cafe could finally open its restaurant in April this year.

The stand alone Rock Shop is now integrated within the Shopping Centre occupying the first floor, with the second floor featuring the restaurant that comes with an outdoor patio.

Sound reinforcement duties have been promptly handed over to EAW speakers.

Their clarity, power and coverage are key reasons why Systems Electronics & Engineering went with them.

Locals and tourists are excited that the Hard Rock Cafe has finally opened its full fledged service with great food and music, which is embedded in the Hard Rock Cafe DNA, not forgetting the Rock Shop, which completes the experience for any guest. The location which faces the South China sea is also fast becoming the “in-place” to hang out at.

The band performance stage located on the second floor features 4 units of EAW MK2394i, 12” 2-way 600Watts Trapezoidal loudspeakers hung as Front Of House systems. These are complemented with 2 units of EAW SB180, 18” high power subwoofer systems. 4 units of Mackie SRM550 powered speakers handle the monitor duties. Speaker management for the FOH systems is handled by a EAW UX8800 unit.

Helping to ensure that continued sensation of a fun-filled atmosphere are the sound and lighting systems that have been integrated into the venue by Kuala Lumpur based integrator, Systems Electronics & Engineering Sdn Bhd.

Mixing duties are assigned to a a 48 channel Allen & Heath GLD112 digital mixing console which is complemented

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By Thomas Richard Prakasam

Becomes Full Fledged

with a A&H AR2412 AudioRack and a A&H GLD-AR0804 expander AudioRack.

To the left of the stage is the DJ console facing the stage. The DJ works with 2 units of Pioneer CDJ-2000 CD turntables together with an Allen & Heath DB2 4 channel DJ Mixer and a Rane Serato SL4 DJ software for additional effects. 2 units of Mackie SRM350 active speakers act as monitor systems.

The rest of the venue feature a total of 57 units of EAW SMS 5 compact satellite speakers that are installed within the restaurant, the outdoor patio as well as the Rock Shop offering foreground music reinforcement (FGM). Six units of EAW SB150ZP subwoofers complement the FGM system within the restaurant.

All the passive speakers are powered by a range of Powersoft amplifiers. These include 1 unit of Powersoft Duecanali 3904 amplifier for Front of House, 6 units of Powersoft M50Q amplifiers for FGM, an additional Powersoft M30D for both FOH and FGM and a Powersoft M28Q for further FGM amplification.

DSP duties, other than for the Main FOH, are handed over to a Symetrix Radius 12x8 EX that incorporates a xOut 12 expander. Being Dante enabled, it allows for digital audio to be transmitted over the Ethernet making the overall system easy to install and configure.

One final aspect with regards to audio, is the iconic microphone seen in all the Hard Rock Cafes for staff to make announcements. You can't miss them, as they are visually so cool. At HRC KK, the

Shure 55SH Unidyne vocal microphone that comes with a customised base plate takes centre-stage.

Lighting mainly for the stage is provided by 6 units of ACME CW 150 LED ParCans, 4 units of ACME LED-MS 700PE Moving Head Spots ans 4 units of ACME CM200Z Wash. All fixtures are controlled via a Martin M-PC dongle Duo working with a laptop.

The Hard Rock Cafe and Restaurant somehow feels that it truly belongs in Kota Kinabalu, complimenting the beaches and tropical rainforests. www.enepl.com.sg

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PROJECTS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

CHINA

Powersoft & EAW Provide Best EVER Club

To bring the values of art, quality and relaxation to life, EZPro International turned to Powersoft K3s and EAW Club.two cabinets to boost the audio at Ningbo's EVER Club

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ocated in the prominent business district of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, EVER Club is fast becoming the city’s ultimate party destination. In order to set itself apart from the surrounding diverse throng of crowded lounge bars and night clubs, EVER Club prides itself as a unique fusion of both – serving a broader demographic than just the affluent urban crowd.

Embodying the unique Ningbo culture that values “art, quality and relaxation”, EVER Club aimed to become “a club with vitality”. To make this happen, a robust sound system was essential. The team at EZPro International Ltd looked no further than the Powersoft K3s for that solid sounding punch and clarity.

6 x Powersoft K3 amplifiers were used to drive four EAW Avalon CLUB.two loudspeakers.

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1 x EAW UX8800 is further employed to provide the EAW loudspeakers with optimized digital processing, including EAW Focusing settings.

Zhu was impressed with the performance of the Powersoft K3s, “The K3 amplifiers are very versatile and produce great, unchanging sound quality, no matter what type of loudspeaker they are connected to. They feature excellent sonic quality by design, including amp clip limiters and patented ripple cancellation network. The sound produced was much tighter and has a 'punch' which I'm sure performers and the audience can feel.”

“The system must be able to express EVER Club's mysterious flavor and individuality, and to create an atmosphere where clubbers can resonate with the music,” shared Zhu, Technical Manager from EZPro. At the heart of the club is an eccentrically designed annular bar counter. The technical team from EZPro decided to use 4 x EAW CLUB. two cabinets to configure the main PA system. The loudspeakers were flown 3.5 meters high above the floor, all pointing

to the center DJ area from four corners to deliver a vibrant audio experience.

Zhu shared, “CLUB.two is highly efficient with its horn loaded design. It uses four 12-in LF cones arranged in a symmetrical pattern behind the mid/high section to produce maximum, distortion-free output. It not only has seismic lows and crystalline highs, but also features simple, elegant, symmetrical modern design that perfectly matches the interior decoration of EVER Club.”

Also impressive, were the K3s' small rack footprint and high efficiency as Zhu enthused, “To get that much output and quality from such a small footprint was amazing.”

DJs as well as regulars of the club also offered the highest praise for the powerful sound system, “I fell in love with EVER Club for its sound. The difference in quality is remarkable and I think it is what makes the club stand out from the rest of the entertainment scene in Ningbo city,” raved Xu Xiaogang, a regular patron of the club. www.powersoft-audio.com eaw.com

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PROJECTS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

ASIA

Bosch Rides On Sonic Waves With Electro-Voice Boosting auditory experience in theatre halls and restaurant spaces

Case Study 1: Hakodate Arts Hall in Japan

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ocated at Goryokaku, the landmark of Hakodate, lies the Hakodate Citizens Arts Hall. Encompassing the Arts Hall are museums, making the whole area a critical base supporting arts and cultural activities within the region.

Within the distinctive circular exterior wall lies a music and multi-purpose stage, and a movable large hall. The Hall is a choice venue for performances by first-class artists and even citizen groups.

Due to deterioration over the years, Hakodate Arts Hall sought to replace its existing sound system for quality stage production. One of the main requirements is equal sound projection throughout the hall, regardless of where the audience was seated, without compromising on sound quality.

After consulting EION Ltd. and Gakki Onkyo Sapporo on the hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

requirements and recommendation for a professional sound solution to match the sound quality demands, Hakodate Arts Hall decided to adopt Electro-Voice (EV) proposed by Gakki Onkyo Sapporo. That addressed the acoustic and architecture challenge of the hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design and meet our financial plan requirements

Hakodate Arts Hall powered by EV sound has seen significant improvements in sound quality. Performers and civil users are able to deliver crystal-clear sound and performances that pack a punch, while maintaining the elegance of the hall. www.boschsecurity.asia

The EVF-1152D/94 and EVF-1152D/64 two-way full-range loudspeaker systems are chosen for the main hall to ensure an excellent auditory experience for the audience. The loudspeakers are complemented by EVF-2121S subwoofers, which heightened the quality of live performances to its audiences, from the front to the back of the hall. The system is controlled by a DC-One system processor that optimizes the EV loudspeakers.

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PROJECTS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Case Study 2: Yokayouka & Circle Restaurant in Thailand

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lectro-Voice now creates the perfect ambience for diners at Yokayouka and Circle Restaurant.

Located in the heart of Bangkok, Yokayouka and Circle Restaurant are housed in the same building, close to major shopping malls, embassies, office towers and the main BTS Skytrain station.

speakers, the restaurateur decided to install them in Yokayouka to create a relaxing environment while diners tucked into their exquisite Japanese meals.

Having owned a record label himself, the owner is enthusiastic about supporting local performers and to provide a venue for live music within his restaurant.

combination of Electro-Voice portable loudspeakers w ere purchased. Being compact and lightweight, the speakers can be configured to suit different performances.The ZXA1 and ZLX-12P loudspeakers paired with ELX118P and ELX 11P subwoofers are combined to pump up the music and get the patrons in the groove.

After experiencing first-hand the sound quality and performance of Electro-Voice products at an event, the owner of both restaurants, Mr Pichai Chirathivat was very impressed with how they sounded.

This prompted him to install ElectroVoice speakers in both of his restaurants.

With a standing capacity of 100 pax, the restaurant is perfect for mini concerts and live performances. To provide the best sound for its patrons, a full range of EV products w ere installed in the Circle restaurant to support all genres of music performances.

The sound systems in both Yokayouka and Circle restaurant show the flexibility that EV speakers bring. From soothing background music to heart-thumping concert sound, EV is able to perform at every level, impressing both the patrons and performers.

Impressed by the power and clarity of the tour grade, Electro-Voice ZXA1

To create a perfect concert sound experience within the dining area, a

www.boschsecurity.asia

the better! r o f , s s e in s u , for your b u o y r o f , s y a d r SE 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fou IS At ISE 2016 visitors will experience the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest gathering of leading digital signage manufacturers and service companies presenting cutting-edge products, technologies and solutions. Plus, you have the chance to meet and engage with leading DS industry experts in a comprehensive conference programme.

Find out more and register: www.iseurope.org ISE is a joint venture partnership of

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PROJECTS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

AUSTRALIA

Monash University Gets Upgraded With ETC Orchestrated by distributor, Jands, LED advances by ETC provide old university with a new look and gets a thumbs up from University’s Academy of Performing Arts, Manager, Technical Services: Russell Proud.

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ho knew that hitting the right note for an orchestra could be as simple as changing the lights they were sitting under? It was the challenge, and the solution, for the man charged with the efficient running of Blackwood Hall, the performing arts centre at Melbourne’s Monash University.

Russell Proud is Manager, Technical Services, for the University’s Academy of Performing Arts and he knew there was a problem when he started in the job six years ago. He started an upgrade program immediately, culminating in a major overhaul early this year that replaced a lighting system last upgraded around 15 years ago. The results were instantly noticeable.

“Previously our air conditioning system used to struggle to keep the temperature constant once the lighting came on, which is really not great for orchestral instruments. They start to de-tune as the temperature changes,” Russell said. “After the upgrade, in the middle of February when we did our first orchestra in here, we were asked to turn the air conditioning up because it was a bit cold! That was the first time I’ve been asked to do that!”

There was further confirmation the upgrade was a wise move when the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra moved in for several days before Easter, to do a recording. Russell says the process was far simpler than in the past.

“Over the whole period we didn’t make any changes to the air conditioning.

Normally we would reduce the fan speed for the recording, then raise it for the breaks, but we were able to leave it at the lower speed and it held the temperature steady right through.”

Russell started the process by upgrading the infrastructure to cope with intelligent lighting, then considered the next step. It wasn’t just about good quality white light for musicians trying to read their music and keep their instruments in tune. The Hall also hosts theatrical performances, which meant he needed a modern-day solution for both – so he contacted Andrew Maher, a lighting and staging technician with Jands.

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“I had some discussions with Andrew because he had helped us with our ETC Gio lighting console upgrades. Working together, we realised that the LED advances by ETC were finally at a stage where I could use LED in the space.

Andrew gave us some ETC fixtures so we could get a real feel for what it would be like, and that was a huge help in making the decision.”

Andrew says lending the fixtures for the real world testing was the first step. Then Jands did some energy calculations to help Russell work out the cost saving he could make by changing to a mix of high efficiency tungsten and LED. “The energy calculation side of things is important, but it's also vital that venues don't take a step back in quality of light simply for the sake of saving on power,” said Andrew.

“The ETC X7 system meant Russell had the nuanced colour he wanted, proper theatre grade dimming, and excellent colour reproduction on performers, sets and wardrobe while lowering his power costs significantly.”

In the end, Jands’s solution for Robert Blackwood Hall was a hybrid tungsten/ LED system using a mix of ETC Desire D60 LED fixtures and conventional ETC Source Four tungsten luminaires. All the

work was carried out by Jands’s major Melbourne-based supplier, ASL Systems.

The new rig the ASL team supplied allows the space to quickly change from a lecture presentation, to an orchestral performance, and all the way to an opera performance with very short turnaround times.

Russell reported, “We made a white light with the LED and we fill the holes in colour temperature with tungsten to give

it a nice warm light, a really good quality white. The LED also means we can do all sorts of theatrical lighting for other musical and other performance events.

The switch has managed to surpass what we had before and allowed us to do many different things.”

The big test of the new system was a recent performance by the Monash Academy Orchestra of the opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. The lighting team used sconce lights for the musicians, and the LED colour to give dramatic effect to the opera.

“We would not have been able to do the show with the old system,” said Russell.

“The amount of colour changing, the dramatic look of the stage. Everyone was so impressed because it is such a major improvement. We’ve come such a long way, and so many of our other regular clients who use the Hall have commented on the difference. All the issues we had previously, we’ve now overcome – and we had such good service from Jands too. We’re very happy.” www.etcconnect.com www.jands.com.au

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AUSTRALIA

d&b ArrayProcessing Offers Listening À La Carte @ SOH ArrayProcessing enables the unification of frequency response in the vertical plane across the whole defined listening area for d&b line arrays. Jeremy Christian, Head of Sound and AV at the Sydney Opera House, pushed the boundaries once again, for Vivid LIVE but plans for a more permanent radical sound in the future

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ince its inception seven years ago, the Vivid LIVE festival at Sydney Opera House (SOH) has always pushed the boundaries, whether in performance style, musical content, or the support structures that underpin it. So when Jeremy Christian, Head of Sound and AV at the SOH suggested to the festival's curator Ben Marshall that he wanted to implement a new piece of control software from d&b audiotechnik, Marshall said, “I’m all for it.”

“It was good timing for us,” explained Christian. “Pushing the boundaries is about trying something new, and Vivid LIVE offers a really broad spectrum of contemporary musical content against which to

make a judgement on effectiveness and utility. It’s easy to assess something as great, but how easy and useful it is to apply, is what really matters.”

“When we came to implement d&b’s ArrayProcessing we already knew of its potential from our experience at a d&b event in Germany at the start of the year. Downstream of the festival we have realised there are capabilities within ArrayProcessing way outside our original expectations, and that could have significant benefits for SOH and for our audiences in the future.”

Ralf Zuleeg who heads up d&b’s Sales Services and Application Engineering department, went out to Sydney just prior to the festival. “I have had a long

association with SOH; they have been d&b users for many years now, so it was natural that I should be there.

But of course Jeremy’s team is more than proficient technically, as you would expect in such a prestigious venue. In fact, when it came to it, as we started work in the Concert Hall, it was almost a competition between them and me to see what results we could achieve.”

In a nutshell, ArrayProcessing enables the unification of frequency response in the vertical plane across the whole defined listening area for d&b line arrays. “ArrayProcessing does not eliminate the need for a system to be correctly rigged in the first place,” said Zuleeg. “This is not beam

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steering – so you map your room in the ArrayCalc simulation software as normal; and of course as we all know, you cannot correct for the horizontal coverage of any line array beyond the physical aim of the loudspeaker system as rigged; that would defy physics. ArrayProcessing also allows for the reallocation of energy from any part of the listening area, to any other part, within the confines of mechanical pre-given vertical coverage.”

What does that mean in real life? While the Concert Hall is a lively room, the drapes canopy dampens the natural acoustic. That said, the consensus opinion of the SOH audio team was that following the implementation of ArrayProcessing, the improvements in the direct-diffuse ratio were so good, and the reallocation of sound energy to the more distant listening positions so effective, that delay loudspeakers became completely redundant.

That had several implications for Christian, as he explained. “We were originally just going to apply ArrayProcessing in the Concert Hall,” he began, “but we were so impressed with the improvements we decided to do the same in the Joan Sutherland Theatre (JST) as well for the duration of the festival. The JST is home to our opera productions and doesn’t have a permanent large scale sound reinforcement system like the Concert Hall, so we installed a temporary system of d&b V-Series, the smaller cousin to

J-Series, which we rented in from Eighth Day Sound Australia.

“They’re a new player in the Australian market; we don’t favour any specific audio production company – as long as we find d&b equipment to be well maintained and consistent our decision is based simply on price and availability.

That said, implementing ArrayProcessing means using d&b’s new D80 amplifier to drive everything, and that’s predicated on one amplifier channel per cabinet, so although many d&b products are passively crossed and only require one channel per box, the gains with which we are familiar in linking two V-TOPs together on one channel are lost. The fact that ArrayProcessing means we no longer need to deploy delays in either of our main performance venues is highly significant, and the truth is

we can easily see places where we can usefully redeploy our delay loudspeakers elsewhere in the building.

“We have had the J-Series system in the Concert Hall for a few years now and are really happy with it, but this is rather like Formula One racing – once you get to that level of technical expertise the differences are measured in less than a second. So ArrayProcessing has added one of those incremental gains that make the system even more amazing.

Although Vivid LIVE was a temporary installation we already see some great opportunities ahead; in the JST we have experimented for several years now with 3D sound. Based on what we know already it’s easy to see how the addition of ArrayProcessing could impact the listening experience.

“In the Concert Hall we are thinking about something equally radical. It’s important to cater to the varying needs of our patrons; for example some choose seating positions based on sightlines, others on proximity to stage. The point is listeners by nature have differing sensitivity to sound levels; don’t forget it’s not just rock concerts where we use sound reinforcement, a jazz recital averaging 94dBA slow could still be too loud for some. But with ArrayProcessing we have a very realistic prospect of sculpting out a quieter zone within the audience listening area. Patrons could preselect seats in that area; now that really is listening à la carte.” www.dbaudio.com

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PRODUCT FOCUS E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Cool Looks...Quality Recording The MOTIV digital microphones and recording solution by Shure at NAMM 2015, have finally landed on the shores of Singapore. Keeping in line with Y Generation expectations, the new plug-and-play microphones exude a certain charm in how they look and feel. But more importantly they capture high-quality audio for vocal/acoustic recording, podcasts, YouTube videos, field recording and more.

Let's take a closer look at the five products that make up the MOTIV line-up.

MV88 iOS Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone The MOTIV MV88 connects directly to any Apple iPhone, iPod, or iPad equipped with a Lightning connector to capture high-quality recordings on the go. The professional-grade capsules is mounted to a 90-degree hinge with built-in rotation that allows for highly flexible microphone position, even in video applications. Five built-in DSP preset modes, plus 5-band EQ, stereo width control, and other advanced features are easily accessed through the free ShurePlus MOTIV Mobile Recording App. The MV88 comes with several accessories including a hardshell carrying case, a foam windscreen and an optional windjammer which come in handy if you are working in windy conditions.

MV5 Digital Condenser Microphone The MV5 is ideal for recording vocals and acoustic instruments, or for use with Skype, and comes equipped with three DSP modes (instrument, flat and vocals). Engineered for quick and easy portable use, the MOTIV MV5 has a built-in headphone output for real-time monitoring and the custom tuned microphone capsule provides best-inclass audio. The MV5 is available in five different colours for this region, namely black, grey, blue, green and red, and ships complete with a detachable desktop stand and integrated thread mount compatible with any 1/4 inch standard camera tripod. The MV5 can be purchased with Micro-B to Lightning and Micro-B to USB cables.

MV51 Digital Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone The first thing that strikes you about the MV51 is the iconic grille of a vintage Shure microphone. The MV51 offers the thrill of connecting with music history while effortlessly capturing 24-bit digital audio. Featuring two different cables, the iOS cable connects via your lightning connector to any iOS or Mac device whereas the USB cable allows you to connect to your PC. Once connected the MV51 powers up and shows the status of the different settings. There are 5 different DSP modes for recording â&#x20AC;&#x201C; speech, singing, flat, acoustic instrument and loud sources. By selecting the specific DSP mode, the microphone automatically adjusts the audio processing by setting gain, EQ, and compression for the best recording â&#x20AC;&#x201C; every time.

The interface also has a Mute switch and across the bottom you can control the gain by using the strip that goes across the MV51. When you switch to headphone to monitor the recording the strip becomes your volume control.

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“We created MOTIV products to be an easy way for anyone to record highquality sound directly onto many mobile and USB devices. With high-quality microphones and advanced DSP, they are great sounding and flexible products that live up to the quality standards for which Shure is known.”

Matt Engstrom, Category Director for Wired Products at Shure.

MVi Digital Audio Interface The MVi connects any XLR microphone or 1/4 instrument (guitar, bass, or keyboard) to an iOS device, Mac, or PC for seamless, high-quality audio capture. Similar to the MV51 it features the five built-in DSP preset modes and includes Shure’s unique onboard touch panel control for quick access to gain, phantom power, mute, and headphone volume adjustments. The MVi is portable with a low profile footprint and durable construction. The MVi can be purchased with Micro-B to Lightning and Micro-B to USB cables.

One more thing to add is the MVi is solid and has a rubber sticky pad at the bottom – this makes is very stable when you place it on your desk and it stays in place which makes the recording experience more seamless.

ShurePlus MOTIV Mobile Recording App (Free) Designed for use with MOTIV Digital Condenser Microphones, the ShurePlus MOTIV Mobile Recording App for iOS devices allows real-time adjustments for the best performance. The easy-to-use interface includes selectable DSP preset modes, microphone gain adjustment, and an intuitive stereo width control that adjusts the microphone pick-up pattern for optimal results, depending on the sound source and surrounding environment.

MOTIV MVL Lavalier Microphone The MOTIV MVL Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Microphone is a quick and easy solution for clear audio in close-mic digital speech recording applications. With a discreet footprint and a 1/8” (3.5mm) TRRS connector, the MVL works with any mobile phone or tablet equipped with recording capabilities by plugging directly into the headphone jack. Record and share on-the-go using the ShurePlus™ MOTIV iOS app or other digital recording platform to capture clear speech in interview, videography or public speaking environments.

For a demonstration or to view the MOTIV solutions in Singapore, call Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd at 62235873 or email: marketing@enepl.com.sg

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PERSPECTIVE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

General Manager, Jensen Lai, Founder, Chairman, Raymond Chen and Sales Manager (Asia), Jason Echols.

EK Lights: Growing From Strength To Strength Jason Echols is a familiar name for many in the Asia Market. He recently came back to Asia where he is now the Asia Sales Director for EK Lights. In this ETA Exclusive we chat with Jason about his future plans for himself and the company.

How did your journey into the lighting industry begin?

I grew up on a small farm in a very rural part of the US, driving a pickup truck and feeding cows while listening to 80’s New Wave and vaguely scheming to pack my keyboards and see the world as a musician. I did manage to make it to LA after university but somehow found myself working in a patent law office rather than on stage. The process of letting go of some youthful ambitions had begun, but I still had my wanderlust and that took over when some friends who were backpacking through Asia phoned and sold me on the idea of joining them at their Taiwan base camp for a year of travel.

At the end of that year, I’d met my future wife, something called the Internet had been invented, and we opened the first Internet Cafe in her hometown. One of our regular customers

began bringing in a magazine called WDR and chatting about ideas for advertising their fog machines. That set the stage for my first visit to the SIB show in Rimini, Italy with Antari and after the first day at that exhibition, I was hooked on this industry. Twenty years later, it turns out that this farm kid did get to see the world, and I’ve got a lot of people in this industry to thank for that.

How did you come to be aware of EK Lights?

I met and worked with Raymond Chen, the founder of EK, at one of the earliest-established Taiwanese lighting ventures in China. It was a massive operation, mainly focused on decorative lighting, but with an entertainment lighting division that over the years has served as a springboard for an incredible number of entrepreneurial spirits in our industry.

My path from that experience led me to begin taking on GM

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be) to work very selectively with a very small number of US and European brands and manufacturers. Asia is the only region where we intend to develop our own distribution and that’s where our focus will remain as far as EK-branded product is concerned.

Which areas does EK excel at?

When it comes to battery-powered fixtures for entertainment lighting, we are the world leader by all the metrics that matter.

The percentage of worldwide battery-powered rental inventory built by EK would be a higher number than most would guess.

The battery-powered segment has also led us to a good position in terms of developing wireless solutions and apps for phones and tablets.

EK Light's President Keith Chen with Jason Echols (right)

roles for various US companies looking to establish rep offices in China, and eventually back to the US, where I was most recently working for a Chicago company that specializes in supporting Philips Color Kinetics on large projects. Ray set off on the much more daunting path of establishing his own manufacturing operation.

What attracted you to join EK Lights?

I’ve actually wanted to join EK since its inception, but until recently my career choices have been influenced by the need to allow our kids the chance to grow up close to their extended Taiwan and American families. That chapter’s been written at this point, and I feel privileged that I’m now able to join EK and hopefully forgiven for missing out on the incredible amount of work involved in the founding years of the company.

It’s hard for me to imagine who wouldn’t want to work on the ground floor of the professional lighting industry, at the factory level, where the rubber meets the road in terms of what’s possible in the never-ending pursuit of what comes next.

As regards EK specifically, frankly and personally, the most important and attractive feature of the company is the way our management brings a huge social commitment to its approach to our work force. Employee retention is high, staff turnover is low, and the working environment is pleasant, friendly and professional. It’s the foundation for long-term company growth and critical to keeping our increasingly sophisticated skill sets in the family.

Give us a run-down on the operations of EK Lights

We’re currently employing around 40 R&D staff out of 400 total personnel. That reminds me that one of the other aspects I find attractive about EK is that Ray wears a product development hat most days and you’ll usually find him huddled with his crew of 40 engineers. Our company is led by a guy who is personally passionate about building amazing products.

In terms of awards, our clients have won plenty, but we’re of course not at liberty to publicly bask in that reflected glory. By way of explanation, our strategy has been (and will continue to

Another category where we’re out front is that of networkable LED pixel matrices. Where the battery-powered kit really gets us in with rentals and events, it’s because of our LED pixel panels and movers that you’ll find us at major EDM festivals and in large permanent installations.

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PERSPECTIVE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

“Our approach to product development is expensive, we don’t take short cuts, and we’re always looking to achieve higher performance and efficiencies from available components.”

We currently have three main product lines, which we’ve branded as EK PRO, NITEC (our DJ and smaller venue range), and EK ARC (our outdoor architectural series of wash fixtures).

What are some of your “star” solutions?

On the battery-powered side of things, our new APOLLO system is the future. It’s no more and no less than what’s needed, with all kinds of proprietary engineering inside to make it a convenient, rugged, high-performance workhorse for event lighting in any weather conditions. Six units per charging flight case. The culmination of years of experience and over 50,000 units sold in this product category alone.

In our range of LED pixel matrix panels, our GoldPix77 is the star. It’s a serious lighting design tool for large stage work at outdoor festivals. The throw achieved with its extremely tight warm white beams allows for the creation of truly 3D aerial graphic effects. And it’s being used in permanent installations as well, most recently in a project that called for over 600 panels at one of the largest entertainment venues in China.

You are not a stranger to the Asian market from your experience where does EK stack up in comparison to international and even Chinamade brands?

We stack up quite well internationally, considering that we’re already quietly and successfully working with a select few of the best globally-recognized names in the business. In terms of Chinese manufacturers, I think it’s fair to say that it’s been years since we’ve competed on price. We’re a factory that tends to say “No” much more often than we say “Yes”. This is particularly likely to happen if a buyer is looking to shop China for an off-the-shelf, me-too product. We’re unapologetically not in that business. Our approach to product development is

expensive, we don’t take short cuts, and we’re always looking to achieve higher performance and efficiencies from available components.

What does the future hold for EK Lights?

I think our main aspiration is to continue the trend of incredible year-on-year growth while maintaining our company focus and character. In terms of priorities going into 2016, it’s all about Asia. We will be exhibiting in Guangzhou in March, in South Korea in May and in Japan in July. And for those who are not familiar with our approach to trade show booths, these exhibits are major undertakings, particularly as we strive to deliver the best-designed and choreographed light shows wherever we go. On a final note, I’m personally hoping to get back to Singapore soon and get reacquainted with the country where my son was born. www.eklights.com

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Digital Aid (D8) Reaches Hyper L-Acoustics & Clay Paky Come Together For An Thuan Media To End 2015 With A Bang

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s a way to say adieu to 2015, An Thuan Media and Bia Saigon came together to celebrate the year's hottest trend: Electronic Dance Music (EDM). It all started when the Director of Bia Saigon, one of Vietnam's most popular beer brands, shared the idea of an EDM send-off with Vu Anh Tuan (A.T.), the Director/Producer of An Thuan Media.

A.T., has over 13 years of experience in the music industry and has done all the big international shows in Vietnam including B-rain, Simple Plan, The Click Five, My Chemical Romance and the list goes on. As a local celebrity in his own right, A.T realised if they were going to do it, they were going to do it right.

The term Hypersonic refers to the speeds of Mach 5 and above. Exactly like the name suggests, fast and hard beats lashed out during the inaugural Hypersonic Music Festival in Ho Chi Minh City, reaching, or even possibly peaking, above the 128bpm mark for standard EDM.

"First I thought of the name based on what kind of show we wanted. The next step was to decide on the acts which would fit into the vision of our show," said A.T. After initial concerns from the headliners that Vietnam couldn't handle a festival of this magnitude, An Thuan Media stepped in and worked their magic.

“Bia Saigon mentioned bringing in Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike because they were the top 2 DJs in the world,” shared A.T. “I thought, why not we make it really big? Something that would combine the high energy (Hyper) behind the Bia Saigon brand with the loud music that Vietnamese people love (Sonic). That's how we got the name Hypersonic.”

Vu Anh Tuan (A.T.), Director/Producer, An Thuan Media

COVER STORY E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

By Elissa Nadine

Sonic Levels In Ho Chi Minh

Second from right: Ahmad Syafiq with the D8 crew

This was the first time that the Belgian electronic duo, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, would play a show in Vietnam and joining them on stage were Dutch duo, W&W, regular headliners at the Tomorrowland festival and Vietnamese DJ artists, Tuan Kruise and Cao Vinh, known as SlimV. Handling the technical side of the show was A.T.'s right hand man and Freelance Production Manager, Doan Chi Nghia.

Doan is an official L-Acoustics distributor in Vietnam. However, at the time of tender, he had yet to receive their equipment.

“We started looking for a rental house that stocked L-Acoustics and also had the expertise to pull off a show like Hypersonic.” Through a trusted contact, Doan got in touch with Digital Aid Sdn Bhd (D8), a Malaysian-based rental house to set-up the equipment for the show.

“This was D8's first time doing a show in Vietnam. They were quite nervous but their reputation and experience in EDM preceded them and we knew they would be the right crew for the job,” said Doan. Unfortunately, bringing in equipment proved to be a hard sell for an overseas rental house and led to most of the light fixtures and audio boxes being stuck at customs till the night before the show.

Overcoming the logistics hiccup, 15 D8 crew along with 10 local roadies spent less than 72 hours creating a 100m x 60m stage that would put up a total of 4 acts, for up to 6 hours. “Coming in, Doan told us that they wanted this to be the biggest EDM show Vietnam had ever seen,” said Henry Hariram, CEO of D8. “We wanted to make sure there were as few problems as possible once we got everything in from customs. We worked all night to make sure everything was ready for the show.”

According to Henry, the size of the show floor was set from the very beginning as A.T. wanted to go wide rather than deep with full coverage provided by 4 flown clusters.

“I know Clay Paky lights inside out and these lights are amazing in the correct environment. They're really great lights, and for an outdoor festival, the lights did exactly what I needed them to.”

- Freelance Lighting Engineer, Miki Morana

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Photography By ASHOK KUMAR

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COVER STORY E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Dimitri [Vegas] and W&W told me after the show that our production was definitely world stage worthy. We do appreciate them for the compliment and we realize that no money can buy that kind of comment.

- Vu Anh Tuan (A.T.), Director/Producer, An Thuan Media

COVER STORY E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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The Sound From the get-go, Doan knew he wanted to use a full L-Acoustics system. Meeting his strict requirements, D8 supplied left and right Main Clusters consisting of 12 x K2 units and 4 x K1 subs, each. An additional interesting requirement from Doan was that they wanted a very high SPL so that the crowd could really feel each beat of the music.

“We hung the subs on top of the main units because we wanted even the VIP area to vibrate,” said Henry. Also, Doan explained: “In many countries, there is a limit for the amount of SPL that can be produced at a show. Many countries go over that level but never go above a certain hearing level, for safety reasons. Here in Vietnam, people like their music really loud and with a good punch. They really want to dance together with the beat and to do that, they need to feel it in their chest.”

Besides the main cluster, D8 flew a secondary outfill cluster at the 39m mark from centre stage consisting of 12 x K2 units with 4 x K1-SB subs. The rest of the punch was left to the 40 x SB28 sub units laid out directly in front of the audience. To keep from blowing the eardrums of die-hard fans, D8 placed the audience barricades, supplied by Mojo Barriers, at a 5m distance and provided all security with ear plugs.

“L-acoustics, specifically the K1 and K2s, have the purest and cleanest sound in the world,” noted Doan. “Everyone knows this. So it was an easy decision to go with L-Acoustics. First thing is the quality and second is that the DJ and artists know the brand. Having them in your inventory makes it easy to deal with the client, and for them, it's a good system for them to transfer their feelings to the audience.”

The depth of the area from the stage to the VIP was measured to be 60m. The team took this into consideration and used L-Acoustics’ proprietary simulation software, Soundvision to ensure all audio was perfectly pre-planned. Handling the systems was Ahmad Syafiq, a Malaysian-based Freelance Sound Engineer flown in by D8, who successfully performed the role of the Soundman of the night and Sound Designer for the show.

He shared, “Using the Soundvision simulation software, I was able to get [the speaker alignment and distance] quite exact.

How it looked in real-life and what was on the software were almost precise. I find that Soundvision gives me an advantage when designing a sound system, I don't like going in there blind so to see it in 3D then apply it to the real world, really helps me.”

Despite it's good qualities, Syafiq fairly noted that the software still couldn't account for everything in realtime. “I'm quite happy with the software, I would say 80% shown in Soundvision is accurate, another 20% is based on the decisions that we make when we rig up the speakers on site.”

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On the sound pressure levels, Syafiq seemed not to be affected at all. “I was quite confident going in with the amount of SPL they wanted. While I was still careful, I have to admit, I have done shows like this before by pushing the pressure at certain indoor and outdoor shows in Malaysia.”

Powering all units were none other than LA8 Power Amplifier modules, another regularly used unit from L-Acoustics for big shows with many units. A Midas PRO2 board was also used for the show.

“This board has one of the best preamps and because the sample rate runs 96kHz, I can skip one step off ADDA since I'm running the system digitally through AES,” said Syafiq. “It matches the DSP of the LA8 amps and I find that I don't need to do that much EQ-ing once the crowd was in even though sound check was messy because of the hard reflective show floor.”

Doan, the Production Manager for the night, focussed mainly on the sound during the show. “I walked the entire showground before, during and after the show. The entire system provided really good coverage and the tonality is very well balanced. From far left to far right, I couldn't feel anything changing, in terms of tonality. That was the most impressive thing for me about the system.”

DJ decks consisted of more L-Acoustics equipment, this time in the form of 3 x KARA and 1 x SB18 on each side of the artist.

The Lights “Tonight, we wanted to celebrate what Vietnam is becoming so we've got an old scaffolding look with screens titled at obscure angles to make it more contemporary. Essentially, Ho Chi Minh is in transition now from the old century to the new and that was Julian's vision,” said Miki Morana. The Freelance Lighting Engineer was on deck to carry out the lighting set forth by Scottish LD, Julian Hudson. A close friend of A.T. who has worked with An Thuan Media on a variety of shows including Westlife and MTVExit in Vietnam.

While he was not there they night of the show, Julian's signature was in the set-up. Flanking the stage in a criss-cross of beams were Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures complemented by Martin Atomic strobe lights, which created a 3D effect that aimed to surround and encapsulate the audience. Speaking on his experience of the show, Miki noted that the lighting design, while common in today's industry is still a feat for many LDs to design. “Not many people notice it but it does take a very precise and skilled eye to accomplish something like what Julian did tonight.

Unfortunately, despite overcoming the custom clearance and developing a great lighting design, Vietnam had another surprise in store for the D8 team.

All was almost lost when a sudden downpour threatened to shut down the show 2 hours before the first act was set to take the stage.

“We lost everything when it started raining,” said Miki Morana,“Our main lights for tonight were Clay Paky and even though we lost them as first, I was really impressed with how they worked till the end of the show, and that was all thanks to the team we had!” Overall, the top rig on stage was lost to the storm leaving the show with only a total of 70% of the original lighting layout. “[The lighting] should have been staggered and layered behind and in front of the DJ but we lost the top rig of lights due to the storm,” explained Miki.

Thankfully, with a rig consisting of 108 x Clay Paky Sharpys and 24 x Alpha Wash 1500, losing 30% of the rig to rain didn't cause much of a dent to the audience. “D8 are really quite professional and with experience, we all learn how to deal with situations like these better. They really impressed me with how well they got everything up and running in the time that they had,” said Miki on the aftermath of the rain. “I look forward to getting the chance to work with them again and I think it's a positive thing to bring in a company like D8 because, for me, every time I have a chance to work with foreigners or chance to go abroad and work with other teams, I take it as a chance to learn something for myself.”

Completing the rig were 46 x Vari-lite VL3000 fixtures and a total of 78 x Martin Atomic Strobes.

On the benefits of the Martin strobes, Miki seemed nonchalant,“the Atomic Strobes are industry standard, so everybody should have the Atomics. It a classic look of strobe.”

COVER STORY E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Adding, “I know Clay Paky lights inside out and these lights are amazing in the correct environment. They're really great lights, and for an outdoor festival, the lights did exactly what I needed them to.”

Miki seemed the most excited about his desk for the night, a single GrandMA2 board. “The GrandMA2 is the best desk in the world! It's versatility is unparalleled and the stuff you can do in this, it completely knocks the competition out of the park,” he exclaimed.“You can incorporate everything into this desk – the video, lights, everything. I haven't been using the desk long but I have been learning it on the job so it's baptism by fire.”

Despite his relaxed demeanour after the show, Miki was constantly active throughout all the artist performance. “Yes, normally I am always tweaking when I'm operating. There were very little presets for this show, a lot of it was live. With the GrandMA2, I already had groups stored and then it was a case of on the fly bussing. We didn't know what was coming next, so you just have to have as many things as you can think of that you're going to need and just recall them when you can. If you don't keep pushing yourself, you could miss something. This is how I run my shows.”

The Aftermath With no-one bleeding from the ears and a thoroughly entertained crowd, Henry considered the night to be an overall success. “We had a lot of obstacles going in to this show.

Despite losing the lights, my men worked tirelessly to put on a good show and I am proud of them for this. Thankfully, A.T. and Doan worked closely with us to make their vision come

through and helped us achieve the best we could in the time we had.” Adding, “It was interesting working in Vietnam for the first time.Even though we have done over 100 EDM shows in these part 5 years, tonight was really something different.

We look forward to working in Vietnam again in the future.”

Besides Henry, A.T. of An Thuan Media – the man who had the most riding on the night – was slightly overwhelmed after the show. Especially after he received the best compliment one could hope for from the top DJs in the world.

“Dimitri [Vegas] and W&W told me after the show that our production was definitely world stage worthy. We do appreciate them for the compliment and we realize that no money can buy that kind of comment. After one year of planning and crazy work for 6 months, after hearing that, you forget all the things that made you tired. All that hard work pays off when the artists give you a compliment like that.”

“I'm proud to be Vietnamese and I wanted to put my country on the map of performance in Asia. This is something I have been dreaming about since I was young and I've always wanted to do something to make Vietnam proud. I was at the FOH when Dimitri and Like Mike held the Vietnamese flag at the end of their set. I almost cried. This is my country and that's exactly why I like bringing in people into this country, it's to show them what we have here and to make my country proud.”

Hypersonic will return in 2016. www.anthuanmedia.com d8projects.com www.l-acoustics.com www.claypaky.it

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PROFILE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

AV Stumpfl Celebrates

Established in 1975 in Austria, the award-winning company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015. The company also opened the AV Stumpfl Campus in October 2015 in which it had invested more than 7 million Euro. The Campus accommodates growing staff members within the company as well as is ready for future growth in terms of manufacturing expansion and support for the company's growing partner base.

ETA spoke to Tobias Stumpfl the company's CEO, about the company's success and future plans.

Before we get to the nittygritty stuff, tell us about the AV Stumpfl Campus.

We are thrilled to have opened our doors to the AV Stumpfl Campus. It represents our corporate profile and is a great forum for our customers.

Our doors are open for those who want to consult with us on the best approach to take with a project and for those who want to see our cutting edge technologies and research and development. It also provides staff with a location to take on even more operations and to better service our existing clients worldwide.

What is AV Stumpfl renowned for in the eyes of the industry?

AV Stumpfl is renowned to supply high quality products. High quality means very long product lifetimes and very

little service, support and maintenance required over the entire product lifecycle.

We would like to be seen as the ideal partner for supplying project consulting, control systems, media technology and projection screens for integration companies. Our services are there to also help consultants, designers and planners not to be in competition with them but to achieve an overall better project quality, less installation time and reasonable budgets regardless of where they are located in the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our products are backed up by AV Stumpfl and a growing ecosystem of partners.

How much has the past influenced the company to become what it is today?

AV Stumpfl is not a startup company but was established 40 years ago in the worldwide AV market. This experience and strong customer relationships have led to the advanced engineering, high product quality, which can be seen today.

Products are designed and made for customers, not for feature lists.

What prompted the decision to move into Asia?

It is exciting to do business in other countries. This way we can learn a

PROFILE E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

40 Years Of Existence

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AV Stumpfl is an Award winning company...

lot from other cultures and therefore customer requests. It helps us to improve our overall product design and quality.

The Asia market in particular uses technology on a large scale.

attractions and corporate installations as well as multi display high quality media production and presentation servers with interactive control are solutions that we will be paying attention to.

What are the plans specifically for the Asian market?

Several staff have also been appointed to support the growth including dedicated product marketing and product management and marketing teams.

Yes, we are very pleased that our solutions are being recognised. We won our first award in October 2001 in Austria. Then from 2004 we have won awards every year across the globe. Our latest award was for the Best of Show Award 2015 for our Wings Engine Raw at the IBC show.

Any products that you are particularly proud of?

What is the company's forecast for the next 5 years?

Our main aim is to build relationships.

We see business as a matter of relationships. We have good business in areas where we have strong relationships with our partners and poor business where we have limited connections to our partners.

How do you plan to develop those relationships?

Over the next twelve months, AV Stumpfl plans to develop its global partner network to grow its worldwide service network.

“There are several milestones coming up which will help us develop our business in new regions and market sectors. We are moving into Simulation and Training, Event and Trade Show as well as Visitor Attractions. To support this we have also unveiled a brand new website to support our new partners,” added Tobias Stumpfl.

Also in relation to our plans, customized projection screen solutions such as borderless curved screens for 3D structures, 360° projection screens, control systems for themed

One product would be the Monoblox – the original foldable mobile projection screen. Being the standard for all rental & staging companies worldwide this product has been copied numerous times by manufacturers not only from Asia but also from the US and Europe but still remains unbeaten in terms of quality and price / performance ratio.

Our ambition is to stay as flexible as possible in order to be able to react and deliver according to market requirements as quickly as possible. We have goals and one of those goals is to remain one of the leading development and manufacturing firms of the global AV industry.

We are also proud of our highperformance screens and Media Serving equipment.

Beyond that we are looking forward to implement our solutions in new markets and to widen our range of products at a sustainable rate. www.AVStumpfl.com

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AV Stumpl To Double Service Efforts AV Stumpfl is reaffirming its commitment to its partners and their projects with the significant investment into service and project support teams at the company’s new Campus located at its global headquarters in Wallern, Austria.

from 08:00 to 22:00 Central European time with the exception of certain holiday periods. 24-hour response email, telephone and remote support is guaranteed.

AV Stumpfl is already well known for its premium level of service and support for its partners and in addition, AV Stumpfl is offering the following support packages to clients: Data management Customers can back up a whole project safely and securely stored at AV Stumpfl. Prompt retrieval means that should something go wrong on site, a running solution can be restored within the shortest time frame possible.

Remote service package Service is available seven days a week

Did You Know?

Extended warranty Servers and other hardware products from AV Stumpfl are now available with an extended warranty of up to five years.

Software maintenance contract A software maintenance contract can be provided at the client request.

Minor updates to software are provided free of charge.

On-site service contracts Beyond installation planning, design assistance, installation support and training, an AV Stumpfl expert service engineer can be dispatched to travel on-site within 48 hours on a contractual project for complex or larger projects, anywhere in the world.

“These service enhancements are about meeting the needs of our partners and customers. Service is firmly integrated into our partner program because, as all of our products must meet a certain technical standard, so all of our partners should have the same level of dedicated support when those products are released,” adds Oliver Hauser, head of project management and service at AV Stumpfl.

Since the company's establishment in 1975, the company has achieved several world firsts including: revolutionary surface attachments and frames for projection screens; first PC based multi-display software and control systems, set a new standard with Monoblox mobile projection screen; MP3 based show controller; the world's first uncompressed high-data rate media servers; and, roll up electric screens with virtually noiseless motions.

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EXHIBITION REVIEW E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

Prolight + Sound Shanghai Concludes With Increased Number Of Visitors Feedback shows exhibitors and buyers are optimistic about the Asian market. On the floor, fringe activities addressed new technologies and ideas for the entertainment industry

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he latest pro audio and lighting products and technologies from 500 companies and brands were well-received by a record number of international visitors at the Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2015. Impressive fringe activities were among the highlights of the four-day show that attracted a total of 25,455 visitors from 80 countries and regions. The heavy amount of footfall from interested buyers led to a 6% increase compared to last year’s show.

Contented with the result, Fiona Chiew, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd spoke at the closing of the fair: “I am delighted that Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2015 was a success. Judging from the positive comments from exhibitors and visitors, the industry remains optimistic about

the Asian market despite the current economic situation. The visitor quality and their level of satisfaction with the exhibits on display also highlighted that the Asian entertainment sector is gaining momentum.”

EXHIBITORS

Many of the exhibitors were attracted to the strong event and entertainment markets in Asia and joined Prolight +

Sound Shanghai to explore business opportunities, including first-time exhibitor, Adam Hall GmbH from Germany. “We started our business in Asia with a cooperation we found in Singapore earlier this year. I believe the market has good prospects especially the event technology market, and this is why we decided to join the Shanghai show.” said Alexander Pietschmann, CEO of Adam Hall.

EXHIBITION REVIEW E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

show is an effective channel to expand our business here. We have made more professional contacts here than in other trade fairs and this really helps to increase our sales volume. Besides, we want the market to know that a small brand like us is capable of producing innovative products with good quality.”

Henry Wang, President of Nightsun Pro Lighting Equipment Co Ltd believed the show to be a good platform to maintain international business contacts and brand image. “Our powerful light beams are very popular in the market and at the show. The fair has been well promoted and widely recognised in the industry.

Through the show we have fostered our relationship with our existing customers worldwide and found new ones.” Wang also shared his strategy in tackling the challenging economy: “To weather the storm of an uncertain economy, we have adjusted the cost and the price while maintaining the best quality of the product.”

Another important success factor of the show was its ability to bring exhibitors together with their target buyers. AudioTechnica experienced this as Jerry Woo, Manager of the company explained, “The show provided us with the right type of buyers including musicians, recording and mixing engineers. This is very important to us because we want to let our customers know, that our brand is also well-known among musical equipment, and we feel that this is the right platform for our brand and product promotion.”

The maturing Chinese market has created huge demand for high-end products and overseas brands. Josep M Sans, Market Development Manager of Sae Audio Co Ltd recognised that

the show was a great opportunity have a product launch into the market. He shared: “Prolight + Sound Shanghai is one of the most important shows in China. We want to be present in the market so that’s the reason why we are here. We are launching our new double-ended and single-ended line array systems here. We have also demonstrated in the Concert Sound Arena and people enjoyed listening to it!”

The market potential was echoed by many other exhibitors including Eric Yoo, CEO of MU Solvers Co Ltd. “There is still a lot of potential development in the Chinese market and this Shanghai

VISITORS

The positive atmosphere of the fair was also reflected by visitor comments on the product quality and variety. German buyer, Florian Hettiger from Steinigke Showtechnic said: “We look for new products and new suppliers, anything that would be good to sell in Germany.

We also have existing suppliers in the Ningbo area, so we come to meet with them and see new products available.

After the show we will then visit our suppliers’ factories.”

Some of the visitors such as Irfan Yaqub, President & CEO of Musysic from the US, placed orders during the fair. “My company does DJ and audio products and I came here to source

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Riedel Communications GmbH & Co KG. “Throughout the entire course, the audience filled up the room. There were also a lot of interested audience members who stayed afterwards to look at our digital intercom system. I fully support the idea of this training course.

It facilitates information exchange and the cross-pollination of ideas from different mind-sets across continents.” those products. I have found new products including mixers and amplifiers that I really like. Tomorrow I will spend more time with the suppliers and place orders.”

Chinese visitor Liang Wei, Senior Sound Engineer for Wenzhou Xiangliang AV technologies was amazed with the huge product selections. “I am a sound engineer and I work for live performance projects which have different requirements of sound effects. At the fair, there is a comprehensive selection of products in a wide price range. I can also interact with suppliers and acquire the updated market offerings which allows me to provide my clients with the best solutions.”

Another Chinese visitor Nianqing Meng, General Manager for Changzhou Sanjing AV Systems Integration Engineering Co Ltd noticed that the quality of Chinese products are just as good as the quality of international products.

“I am interested in the products made

locally in China. Chinese suppliers are improving their product quality and broadening their product range. There are some exhibitors that I am particularly impressed with, their performance is beyond satisfactory and the cost is competitive. We will work further on the total solution for my project.”

ACTIVITIES

A series of thought-provoking fringe activities were held alongside the fair.

One of the main highlights was the VPLT International Audio Training Course and was well-received by the audience according to one of the speakers, Christian Diehl, Product Manager of

Full Dimension Sound System Showcase was also packed full of people. Angel Pan, Vice President of Full Dimension Multimedia Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd was pleased with the high turnout rate. “We are glad to demonstrate the latest advancement in the 3D sound system at one of the most influential industry events in the world. This occasion allows industry professionals and amateurs in China to learn about the new technologies on offer around the world from our own doorstep.”

Jens Weber, designer of Set Design from Germany had a constructive discussion

EXHIBITION REVIEW E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

with the attendees at the Lighting and Visual Design for TV Production Seminar.

“The lighting design in China is very prosperous. It is very important to hold these seminars at the fair because you’ll have a chance to share your opinions and people can ask questions. It’s nice to share ideas. There are also a lot of good and high-quality products on offer at the show. I met with many people at the fair; I will contact them for future projects.”

Demo Room is one of the new features at the fair to give visitors a unique interactive experience with

the exhibitors’ products. Showcasing at Phoenix Audio’s Demo Room were the first-class disco audio and sound systems from the world-renowned UK audio brand Funktion One. Chris Zhang, Director of Phoenix Audio was happy that the demo room provided a professional and enclosed environment to bring out the best performance of their products. “We had very good feedback on-site. Many experts, buyers, contractors, system integrators and DJs specifically came to see our products. We exchanged contacts for future cooperation. It was a successful showcase to promote our brand.”

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A number of concurrent events were also well-attended by industry peers including Recording Technology Forum, Acoustic Technology Forum, Concert Sound Arena and Vision X Network product presentation.

The next Prolight + Sound Shanghai will be held from 26 – 29 October 2016 in Shanghai. The fair is a brand event of the annual Prolight + Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany. www.prolightsound-shanghai.com

Other shows under the Prolight + Sound brand include: Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 29 February – 3 March 2016, Guangzhou Prolight + Sound 5 – 8 April 2016, Frankfurt Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia 15 – 17 September 2016, Moscow

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Using the Gallery's exterior as their canvas, the team worked seamlessly with the artist and content creator to bring the paintings to life through a video montage projected across the 130-metre wide facade, complete with lights and a riveting score by the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

{ SINGAPORE }

By Rosalind Tan

National Gallery Inspires Art Beyond Walls

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lmost a decade in the making, the National Gallery of Singapore celebrated its grand opening weekend in style with a large-scale projection mapping show and a vibrant arts carnival that breathed new life to the richness and diversity of Southeast Asian arts.

The museum, housed in Singapore's former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, is home to the largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian artworks. At 64,000 square meters, it is also the largest visual arts gallery of its kind in the region.

In line with the museum's mission to make art come alive and foster creativity, visitors were able to channel their “inner artist” beyond the Gallery at the outdoor carnival, set across the spacious Padang field, that featured an exciting line-up of interactive art installations and community art workshops. By nightfall, visitors were treated to the elaborate façade show titled “Share The Hope”, set against the majestic Gallery front.

A highlight of the opening celebrations, the façade show featured iconic works from the museum's collection, including Cheong Soo Pieng's Drying Salted Fish and Chua Mia Tee's Epic Poem Of Malaya, masterfully projected across the front of the City Hall wing. Directed and produced by Milosh Luczynski, the 10-minute projection show took the audience on an immersive journey, which

traced the history of the paintings and its artists.

Setting the wheels in motion for this visual spectacle was the technical team from CTRL FRE@K.

row of projectors in front of the façade.

This would not do as the columns would throw shadows and hence, to eradicate them, we had to position some of the projectors to fire diagonally.”

Using the Gallery's exterior as their canvas, the team worked seamlessly with the artist and content creator to bring the paintings to life through a video montage projected across the 130-metre wide facade, complete with lights and a riveting score by the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

A feast for the eyes and ears, the team took the sensory performance a step further with a robust sound system involving an extensive selection of d&b J-series and L-Acoustics KARAs. The speakers were strategically positioned along the front of the Gallery buildings and rigged on two separate Truss Towers across the Padang field.

The video projection featured 14 x Christie Boxer 4K30s, projected from a throw distance of 38-metres, while content management was handled via Green Hippo V4 Boreal and Karst media servers.

“Due to the height restriction, we couldn't build anything higher than three metres. So, instead of building a single huge tower to fire across to the projection area, we opted for a distributed system,” Jeffrey shared.

CTRL FRE@K Technical Director Jeffrey Yue shared, “The initial plan [for the projection screen] was to include the Supreme Court as well, but due to site restrictions, we could only utilise the City Hall façade. Nevertheless, the technology involved made this project very interesting.”

Likewise, over 80 x Robe BMFL Spots, Clay Paky Sharpys, DTS Wonder and EK Dreampix LED Bars were deployed to enliven the artful occasion.

Notably, the tall pillars on the façade of the Gallery posed as a challenge, “Because of the columns in front of the building facade, the positioning of the projectors required some thinking-outof-the-box,” explained Jeffrey. “Under normal circumstances, you would lay one

Indeed, with this spectacular showcase, the National Gallery of Singapore is taking the right steps to growing and fostering creativity in the visual arts scene. It is truly a first and great sensory feast for the audience to have experience local and Southeast Asian art beyond the walls. ctrlfreak.sg

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{ INDIA }

Christie Transports Audiences With “Beauty And The Beast” Musical

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ased on the Academy Awardwinning animated feature film, the musicals held in Mumbai and Delhi in 2015 told the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, a young prince who is trapped under a spell placed by on him by an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out.. if the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Presented by Disney India, the stage version of the highly popular animated film, Beauty and the Best, featured over 100 of the best musical theatre performers in India thus adding “Indian influences” to the meticulously choreographed performances. The 130-minute production was in English with shows held in Mumbai, at Dome@NSCI, SVP Stadium, and Delhi performances staged at Thyagaraj Sports Complex.

As the official visual technology partner of India’s first ever Disney musical event, Christie technologies played a significant role in transporting audiences to a world of magic and enchantment with fascinating visuals at Disney musical theatre extravaganza.

Christie deployed five Christie Roadster HD20K-J 3DLP projectors for the performance, which captivated each

venue's 2,500 patrons. Audiences were treated to brilliant and realistic images projected on the elaborately decorated stage sets, such as Belle’s House, Tavern, Clock Tower, Beast’s castle area with Belle’s bedroom, and many others.

The show promised to be an immersive Broadway-type show with Christie Roadster Series projectors providing bright images with stunning detail and depth of colour, releasing pure power with purpose-built features. A select few from the audience also had the opportunity to join in the action and experience the fairy tale on swivel chairs with 360-degree rotation.

The Roadsters are designed with built-in handles, an improved airflow system and multiple rigging points, allowing the projectors to stack up against the rigors and stress of rental/staging. It features high-quality optics, 10-bit image processing and a variable contrast ratio of 1600–2000:1.

“We are extremely pleased by the love and appreciation the show has received from the audiences. The Beast Castle is one of the crucial parts of the story and Christie technologies helped us bring it alive through LED screens, which made the experience for the audiences even more magical,” said Vikranth Pawar, Show Director and Creative Head, Live Entertainment, Disney India.

Rajesh Patkar, Deputy General Manager, Christie India, commented, “We are very honoured and proud to be associated with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast musical in India as the official visual technology partner. At Christie, we strongly believe in sharing the world’s best experiences and this musical extravaganza is the perfect platform to bring this timeless classic tale to life.

We are both delighted and excited to provide audiences with mesmerizing visuals on stage using our Roadster HD20K-J projectors that are trusted to deliver superior performance and high quality images in full HD resolution. This is an epic event that will be remembered

by Indian audiences for a long time to come.”

“It is a great pleasure for us to be part of the Disney magic with the first ever Beauty and the Beast musical in India, with the deployment of our Roadster HD20K-J projectors – widely known to provide outstanding and lifelike projections – at this highly anticipated event,” said Lin Yu, vice president, Christie Asia Pacific. “We have a longstanding relationship with Disney and this latest collaboration is a testimony of our strong ties built over the years.

We are fully committed in ensuring the delivery of the best visual experience for the Indian audience with our ‘Best in Class’ visual solutions.” www.christiedigital.com

“..The Beast Castle is one of the crucial parts of the story and Christie technologies helped us bring it alive through LED screens, which made the experience for the audiences even more magical.”

-Vikranth Pawar, Show Director and Creative Head, Disney India.

Five Christie Roadster HD20K-J 3DLP projectors displayed brilliant and realistic images on the elaborately decorated stage sets

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{ MALAYSIA }

Concept Audio Makes Waves @ Inaugural ACVMF F

By Elissa Nadine

or one night only, the inaugural Asian Cultural Village Music Festival (ACVMF) brought together local and international EDM artists for a party like no other. Organized by local rental company, Unipix, the festival featured music from American socialite and TV personality Paris Hilton, 8ky 6lu from LMFAO, Mauritian Australian DJ cum dancer Havana Brown and the DJ Soda from South Korea. Not to be outdoen by the international acts, local artists such as Malaysia’s top rapper Joe Flizzow, girl group De Fam and top TV host Datuk AC Mizal also set the stage on fire in front of 12,000 screaming fans.

Held at Surf Beach @ Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, setting the stage (literally) for the show was no easy task. As a loyal

customer of Concept Audio, Unipix, brought on the official distributors of Shure and NEXO products in Malaysia as the Official Sound Equipment Sponsor for the show. “Unipix was looking for big sound system that capable for this kind of major event, therefore, we took this opportunity to present the NEXO STM system, as it can perform very well, no matter the size of the show or stage,” shared Andrew Lee, Chief Operation Officer at Concept Audio.

Setting up of the 30 x 60ft stage was no small task, especially considering that there were an additional 2 rise-up stages for DJs. Representatives from both Shure and NEXO flew in to help the teams set up and ensure they got the most

out of their systems. The stage design had to accommodate 2 DJ sets, one on the ground for the opening DJ and one elevated for the 'Star' DJ. Therefore, 2 x DJ monitoring systems has to be deployed, while still maintaining enough room on-stage for the dancers and rappers, that needed stage side fill monitoring.

“It was important to maintain the same sound all over the stage and DJ areas, so using the same systems was the best and most efficient approach,” said Andrew.

“We used 6 stacks of 1 x S118 sub and 2 x M46 mid-hi speakers to achieve this uniformity. And, it turned out amazing because the sound was pretty much the same quality and power as the FOH itself.”

“The [NEXO] long throw module M46, the near field module M28, the bass module B112 and the sub module S118 are really like LEGOs – they all come together to build a FOH, outfield, sidefills, DJ monitors, sub stacks or flow – anything you want!”

- Andrew Lee, Chief Operation Officer, Concept Audio

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but the sound that you get is so good that it makes you forget everything else and dance.”

A few days before the show, Mark and the teams gathered together to implement his sound design by following the software model provided by the NS1. Altogether, the FOH system was made up of 6 x speaker line. The 2 flown main clusters on the left and right of stage consisted of 15 x STM M46 + 15 x B112 subs and 1 x M28 downfill.

Providing extra energy were 2 sub lines of 6 x S118 per side and 2 outfills of 3 x B112, 3 x M46 and 6 x M28. The ground subs system was designed as 4 stacks of 6 x S118's, in W cardioid mode.

On-stage there was also the matter of the stage thrust for the special catwalk extension, created for Paris Hilton who was using a wireless Shure mic, which required its own set of monitors. With enough power and throw to reach across the entire stage, Concept arranged 2 arrays of 45N12 wedge speakers in a 3-box configuration which allowed for full stage coverage while keeping the vocal clear and the bass solid.

According to the Nexo Asia Sales Manager, Nicolas Kirsch, the venue is always the main consideration part while designing the sound system, therefore, Nexo System Engineer, Mark Bollenberg fine-tuned the system with the NEXO free software, NS1. A simulation and configuration tool, the NS1 enables a sound engineer to implement the most appropriate sound system for venue, using the amount of systems the rental house already had in-house. This means that the speaker placement, best position angle and heights,and safety regulations can all be without having to bring in extra cabinets.

“On our side, we made sure that everyone received their equal amount of sound energy and even tonal quality, so that every single audience member was getting the music right, warm, solid and clear,” Andrew explained. “That is the way to make people enjoy their time, even at 80m away from the stage, you might not be able to see the stage well,

“This was a precise job and that is why we used the [NEXO] NS1. It really makes the best use out of high-end technology, which is what you need especially since the era of point-and-shoot sound systems is over, and the sound quality standard is now higher than ever.”

- Andrew Lee

In total, there were 10 different elements that needed to work together to produce one sound, all powered by 17 x NUAR amplifiers. “This was a precise job and that is why we used the NS1. It really makes the best use out of highend technology, which is what you need especially since the era of point-andshoot sound systems is over, and the sound quality standard is now higher than ever,” noted Andrew.

The system design from the NS1 ensures that energy is evenly spread out through the audience area, with the right delays implemented to avoid interference and to get the best phase summing out of the distributed clusters and stacks. Once the systems were rigged and set, final

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“With the AXT600 spectrum manager, we managed to find the best coordination frequency as well as back-up frequency for every channel of the wireless system by using the frequency plot from the WWB6 software.”

- Concept Audio's certified Shure Engineer, Mo system tuning became a quick game of plugging in the artists and fine-tuning the systems to meet their individual 'artistic needs' by EQ or other DSP. Working alongside the NEXO NS1 was the Shure WWB6 which offers comprehensive control for networked Shure wireless systems. The tool provides a rich interface to manage every facet of a performance over the network, from pre-show planning to live performance monitoring.

Concept Audio's certified Shure Engineer, Mo found the RF noise floor was initially too high (-90dBm) and this caused the RF to leak to the receiver channel. A major distraction especially for the artists as the RF indicator from the receiver kept blinking at 1 or 2 bars,

even when the handheld mics were turned off. In order to bring down the RF noise floor from -90 to -100dBm, the gain setting of Antennae were set at 0dB, even though it was running with the length of a 10m RG213 RF cable.

“With the power lock feature of ULXD2 handheld mic, the mic would remain on throughout an entire performance, even if the artist accidentally turned the mic off,” said Mo. “With the AXT600 spectrum manager, we managed to find the best coordination frequency as well as back-up frequency for every channel of the wireless system by using the frequency plot from the WWB6 software.”

With a new successful EDM show under their belt, Andrew only had good

LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

comments for the NEXO system. “The long throw module M46, the near field module M28, the bass module B112 and the sub module S118 are really like LEGOs – they all come together to build a FOH, outfield, sidefills, DJ monitors, sub stacks or flow – anything you want! If you can do the job with smaller gear it's an advantage. Basically, the NEXO STM is able to cover a spectrum of needs and with just 4 modules, we are always able to create the perfect configuration, or find the best acoustic control.”

Adding, “this show was clearly for people who love DJ music and we saw people having a great time which is the best sign that all the technical suppliers and artists have given their best. Ultimately, DJs nowadays have high

expectations for their sound, and I think we blew them away.”

Organizer, Unipix also shared in the elation of a great show, “The mixture of music genres from different artists drove the night. While it was a great party it was also, most importantly, a safe party where the crowd behaved and allowed for a healthy and safe party environment.”

The ACV festival gets its name from a tourist attraction project based in southern Thailand. Unipix are looking forward to hosting the follow-up ACVMF in 2016. www.acvmusicfestival.com www.conceptaudio.com.my nexo-sa.com

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By Thomas Richard Prakasam

{ SINGAPORE }

Kumar’s Living Together

Popular comedian tours the heartlands with KV2 systems

T

o kick off the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2015 (SIFA), the organizers, SIFA, in collaboration with Kumar (Artistic Director) and Hoods Inc. Productions Pte Ltd, decided on a different approach rather than the usual to publicise the festival and its programmes.

Kumar, a popular stand-up comedian was engaged to perform a free tour around the heartlands of Singapore away from the usual performing arts venues in the city. The show titled Living Together engaged the public at Upper Serangoon, Tampines, Marsiling and Jurong in August 2015.

The show itself centred on Singapore's multi-racial and multi-national housing

landscape. It might have been his first time performing outside of his usual venues and he might have held back just a wee bit on the irreverence, but Kumar’s one liners definitely connected with the all-ages crowd who gave him a loud round of applause when he said: “You are the core Singaporeans and you need to laugh!”

But Living Together isn’t simply a standup comedy show about random topics.

It revolved around this whole idea of HDB1 living and of being neighbours.

So Kumar brought in fellow performers to help bring to life four such heartland denizens: Under One Roof’s Koh Chieng Mun as a 55-year-old, cancer-surviving tai-tai2 adjusting to life in Tiong Bahru; Zaliha Hamid as the quintessential

makcik3 from Potong Pasir who can’t understand her daughter’s modern ways; Sharul Channa as an Eastie banker caught up in the rat race; and Shane Mardjuki as the foreigner who simply adores living among the locals.

Each show begins with a video featuring actual HDB dwellers offering their thoughts on being Singaporean, the kampong4 spirit, what has been lost and what’s still there, and even specific comments about how these flats contribute to the decline of social interaction and the alienation felt with a rising population.

Creative Elifestyles Pte Ltd was tasked to put the Audio Visual & Lighting together for the 4 Housing Estates

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that the shows were held in. There were different technical directions that were required to be addressed. Robert Adrian (Show Technical Director) worked the requirements with Chan Xiang Ju (Technical Director). Each housing Estate Amphitheatre/ Multi-Purpose Hall, had its own acoustics challenges.

Each area’s sound had to be acoustically tuned and speakers had to be angled and fired individually to avoid the different acoustics issues such as feedback, excessive directional throw towards a HDB flat/ block, and not cause residents to complain. The team from Creative Elifestyles had to do a walk about around all visible HDB flats to ensure correct firing angles from the speakers. Clarity from all the performers was able to be achieved well with the use of the KV2 Audio ES Series for Clarity and long throw.

The set up featured Barco PJWU1018, 11000 lumens projector for the projection of the video. Lighting was mainly provided by XC Lighting Define19 LED RGBW Moving Heads controlled via an Avolite DMX lighting controller.

The Define19 has a color macro wheel that emulates popular color gels and allows emulation of color tone similar to tungsten fixtures giving a warm and pleasing color temperature it was also used for pre-show ambience colored lighting effect.

The performers used Audio Technica 3000 series Beltpacks and Receivers with Pro92 Single side headset microphones to project their voices. Shure ULX-D Digital Handheld microphones with Beta58 Capsules were used for pre-show announcement and bantering.

Sound reinforcement consisted of 2 units of KV2 Audio ES 1.0 Mid/High Tops, 2 units of KV2 ES2.6 Subwoofers, all driven by 2 units of KV2 EPAK 2500R amplifiers. 2 units of KV2 Audio EX12 active speakers acted as stage monitors with an additional 4 units used for delay and side-fills. Mixing was assigned to an Allen&Heath R72 digital mixing console.

One key challenge with regards to the set-up was in relation to the use of the

wireless microphones. As most of the shows were held outdoors, interference was expected especially in relation to the digital TV transmissions that occupy the UHF bands. “Due to this we split up the handheld mic systems and the beltpack system into two different frequency range (600-700mhz and 700-800mhz region). The Shure ULX-D also had beltpacks on standby, so if need be we could run 1 or 2 channels off a different range which we fortunately did not have to. We also mitigated the issues that may arise by having receivers at the side of the stage instead of the console position to have better reception from the transmitters,” said Robert Adrian. www.creativeelifestyles.com

1 HDB: Housing Development Board – Singapore's public housing.

2 Tai-Tai: A Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work.

3 Makcik: A polite term of address for a middle-aged or elderly Malay woman who may or may not be a relative.

4 Kampong: A small village or community of houses. Generally in the early years of Singapore those living in the same community were more forthcoming in helping each other out.

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{ MALAYSIA }

WebTVAsia Awards 2015 Monitored by SSL L500 I

n 2015, Prodigee Media and WebTVAsia came together to celebrate Asia's finest online content creators with a 'Celebrate Asia'- themed night of glitz and glamour. The inaugural WebTVAsia Awards 2015 was held the Sunway Pyramid Convention Center in Petaling Jaya and presented more than 30 awards to honour 12 participating Asian nations including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

It had already received overwhelming support from online community upon its announcement but Jin Lim, the face

Rahmad Ayob - President of Music Industry Association of Malaysia

of Malaysia's Most Popular Channel JinnyboyTV, went one step further by hosting the night alongside Hong Kong singer Kandy Wong aka "Tong Mui".

Besides Jin Lim and Kandy Wong, other A-listers included in the crowd were artists such as LadyBaby from Japan and SNH48 from China along with Bie the Ska, all of whom performed at the show.

As in all large scale events, there was plenty of audio equipment that needed to be monitored and Solid State Logic had the right console for it. Acoustic & Lighting System (A&L) along with Solid State Logic Asia provided WebTVAsia with the L500 console. The L500 has

(L-R) Dominic Koh, SSL Asia Product & Marketing Manager, Fred Chong, Prodigee Media CEO, Rahmad Ayob and Chu Soon Seng, Prodigee Media Thailand CEO

been â&#x20AC;&#x153;praised by many Live Sound engineers as one of the few consoles which is capable of handling a sum of input and output sources,â&#x20AC;? said an A&L rep.

Equipped with a 19'' touch screen right in the middle of the console, engineers are put at ease for aspects such as system configuration and visual feedback for each input/output levels.

The multi- gesture touch screen makes assigning and editing EQ, Dynamics and Effects much easier and sometimes more creative depending on the engineer.

Other than the 19'' screen, there is also an external monitor and a 7.5'' high

Dominic and Rahmad with Michelle Yeo and Alexander Chua from Acoustic & Lighting System

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“What do I like about the L500? First would definitely be the sound that it is able to control. The L500 is a digital console, yet I am able to feel the analogue side of it. The sound is much warmer, I can feel the musical characteristic of it” - Rahmad Ayob, Live Engineer (Broadcast), WebTVAsia Awards 2015. resolution screen, located on the right side of the console, that displays the configuration and can be adjusted by the 15 rotary controls around it.

During the show's rehearsal, A&L had the opportunity to visit the control room - the heart of every event - where audio, visual and stage instructions were being given out on the fly. This is where they met Rahmad Ayob, the Live engineer for the event under the Live Broadcasting segment. Rahmad, who is also the

President of Music Industry Association of Malaysia (MIM), has been in the music and audio industry for 25 years.

Before using the L500, Rahmad has been a vivid SSL user; using the G and the AWS Series for his recording and studio purposes. “I knew of the SSL Live console way back last year when I saw it at a SSL product launch. At that time I was only able to view the console via SSL's website, I did not have the chance to touch or feel it. Nevertheless, I knew

that the quality would be good after using the G and AWS series.”

When asked how long he has been using SSL Live Series, Rahmad replied, “It was around early this year, when A&L hosted a Solid State Logic product launch event that I finally had the chance to view the product. I remembered that moment till this day” he continued. “I approached A&L Head of Sales to provide me with the L500 in one of the events that I was handling; it was the Johor Bahru

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Classical Music Festival 2015 in May. To be honest, I wasn’t too sure if I would get the chance. Fortunately, he called and we had a little discussion and before I knew it, that was the first time I used the L500. Since then I have been addicted to the quality and the flexibility that the console can offer,” Rahmad offered excitedly.

As Rahmad began to operate on the L500 again for the rehearsal, it was though he had been using the console for years. “What do I like about the L500? First it is definitely the sound that it is able to control. The L500 is a digital console, yet I am able to feel the analogue side of it. The sound is much warmer, I can feel the musical characteristic of it,” said Rahmad.

“The Mic Preamp, the reverb effects they all help in my workflow. The reverb effects brings the studio effect onto live or broadcast events. Normally, the console controls the engineer, but with the L500 I am able to control the console. There is a flexibility and freedom to customize the effects that I want for each and every event or

“Normally, the console controls the engineer, but with the L500 I am able to control the console. There is a flexibility and freedom to customize the effects that I want for each and every event or situation..”

- Rahmad Ayob situation. Additionally, the touch panels are user friendly too.”

Rahmad concluded his description of his experience with SSL by commenting that “In Malaysia, most engineers know about SSL but they have yet to test it out or have not known the full potential SSL has. They need to test it out to feel the difference of SSL. Additionally, they have the perception that SSL is complicated,

expensive and hard to control. But I can tell everyone it is not complicated. Like I mentioned before the L500 does not control the engineer but the engineer controls the L500. You can’t go wrong with SSL.” Full list of winners can be found on WebTVAsia's Facebook page: www. facebook.com/webtvasiaofficial www.acousticlighting.com

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{ CHINA }

Clay Paky Adds Drama To War Horse

T

he 1982 best-selling novel, War Horse, written by Michael Morpurgo, was adapted for stage

by Nick Stafford. With its huge success and acclaim, the production made its Chinese debut last September in Beijing.

The production was part of the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange.

National Theatre Live collaborated with the National Theatre of China to bring more productions to the country with the support of the British Council.

First performed in London in 2007, the play looks at the relationship between a young boy and his horse as they are plunged into the horrors of World War I. Nearing it's tenth year on the British stage, the Chinese production also marked the first time that the play had been staged in Asia.

Olivier Award-winning lighting designer, Paule Constable was the lead lighting designer for the production, alongside

associate Karen Spahn and programmer Blake Garner. Wanting to add more drama to the already dramatic play, Constable selected the Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700 fixtures as his main light. A unique brand of luminaire, the Alpha Beam 700 was conceived as an automated ACL to create parallel light beams, visible even in the brightest scenes.

“They work really well in a show which is all about darkness and light in haze,” said Constable. “The Alpha beams are used as fingers of light - to highlight moments in the harsh environment of the second half. They are used to make moments more dramatic. “ The Alpha Beam 700’s small, lightweight, quick-moving body contains the most advanced technology for generating a bright beam that can be coloured and shaped at pleasure, for amazing dynamic mid-air effects. This beam may

be pointed at the audience or used as a dynamic colour changing ‘sky-tracker’.

“We first tried the Alpha Beams for the US tour version of War Horse and they worked really well, giving us added control,” added Constable. “In China, they are proving to be a great augmentation to the show – I love the narrow, parallel beam which can also be softened effectively.”

With more than 5 million fans worldwide, it is hoped that following the National Theater of China run in Beijing, the Chinese version of War Horse will be staged in other Chinese cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou.

ACE, Clay Paky distributor in China, supplied all of the lighting equipment to the Beijing show, including the Alpha Beam 700s. www.claypaky.it

“The Alpha beams are used as fingers of light - to highlight moments in the harsh environment of the second half...They work really well in a show which is all about darkness and light in haze.”

- Olivier Award-winning lighting designer, Paule Constable

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{ Hong Kong }

Clockenflap Is

H

ong Kong’s Clockenflap music and arts festival received rave reviews for its 8th edition. Definitively the biggest event of its kind in HK, Clockenflap pulled in a fascinating and cleverly curated bill of national and international artists, bringing eclectic new music and popular heroes from every genre to a record audience of 60,000 fans.

On its 7 stages, the line-up included thunderous rock ‘n’ roll from British and American guitar bands like Battles, the Libertines, Mercury Rev, Ride and New Order, melodic singersongwriters like Damien Rice and Rachel Yamagata, electronica from Flying Lotus, hip-hop from A$ap Rocky, death metal from Taiwanese band Flesh Juicer, indie rock from local Canto star Denise Ho, and disco-funk from perennial favourites Earth, Wind and Fire, and the peerless Chic with Nile Rodgers.

In technical terms, the star of the show was French manufacturer NEXO, the audio partner for Clockenflap.

Under the supervision of the Engineering Team of Top Plot International, the HK-based distributor of NEXO products in China, and local PA provider GL Events, nearly 500 NEXO cabinets were on site. This was one of the biggest festival projects ever undertaken that has exclusively used NEXO systems for all main PA and stage monitoring.

NEXO director Denis Baudier explained the logistics. “Our systems have been used at Clockenflap in the past, but this year, we became the exclusive supplier, deploying virtually every product in the NEXO range to match the varying PA locations. This was made possible by a tremendous collaboration between the engineering team of Top Plot

With four primary stages, Clockenflap represented the ideal venue for NEXO to prove its claims for the modular STM Series line array. ‘Scale Through Modularity’ is what it says on the box, suggesting that, like Lego, rearranging the four modules in the STM Series can achieve many different power and coverage options.

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ETA EXCLUSIVE

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Perfect For NEXO

International, NEXO’s own distributor for China, the Hong Kong PA company GL Events, and regional NEXO user Showco from Singapore, together with the Engineering Support group from NEXO itself.”

Led by Chow Shui Wing, the Top Plot engineering team resourced the event with their own systems, bringing in additional inventory of NEXO’s STM Series modular line array from Showco to handle the four principal stages of the festival. Clockenflap’s much-admired location, on West Kowloon’s waterside looking at Victoria Harbour, was huge; the cable requirement alone was 15km! In addition to the seven performance stages, PA was supplied in backstage VIP lounges and band common rooms.

“Magnetic Asia, the festival organiser, has extremely high standards,” commented Denis Baudier. “These were matched by Top Plot International’s own exceptional professionalism, not just the meticulous preparation before the event, but by having a large team on site to sort out last-minute problems. I was very impressed by the teamwork between Top Plot guys and the GL Events staff who coordinated the overall audio systems. They were supported by four engineers sent out from NEXO’s

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newly-formed Engineering Support Division – Val Gilbert, Mark Bollenberg, Leo Manhimho and Theo Said.”

With four primary stages, Clockenflap represented the ideal venue for NEXO to prove its claims for the modular STM Series line array. ‘Scale Through Modularity’ is what it says on the box, suggesting that, like Lego, rearranging the four modules in the STM Series can achieve many different power and coverage options. A quick look at the short-form system specs proves NEXO’s point.

System designer Val Gilbert highlighted the second Atum Stage as his personal favourite. “This was the largest show I’ve done using the new STM M28 main cabinet, and I have to admit to a twinge of concern when the arrays went up and I saw how small it was! The standard of musicianship and engineering on this stage was particularly high, but everyone was stunned by the performance of the system –engineers couldn’t believe the output from the double 8” box!”

The versatility of the M28 cabinet, designated an ‘omnipurpose module’, could be seen on the Harbourflap main stage, where it was deployed as the downfill element underneath main PA arrays using the larger main cabinet the STM M46, coupled with the B112 bass module. “For Harbourflap, where the primary audience field is just over 100 metres, we set up with 15 sets a side plus downfill. There were no side arrays, no delays. The coverage was superb. Engineers arrived with their showfiles and just got started – no extra EQ was needed.”

The YourMum stage was the third largest, and here the system designer Val Gilbert downsized his STM inventory, flying just 6 x sets of M46/B112 per side with a total of 18 x S118 subs.

Single M28 cabinets sat on top of the subs groundstacked in front of the stage to provide a low-profile front fill.

In the Electriq dance tent, Gilbert took a completely different approach, ground-stacking the STM modules to create a fierce club sound system using 4 x sets of M46/B112 cabinets stacked on top of 6 x STM S118 subs per side, and supplemented

Stage

Main

Monitors

Harbourflap Stage with STM

-15 x M46 main/15x B112 bass/1x M28 downfill per side (flown) - 8 x S118 subs per side (flown) - 20 x S118 subs (groundstacked)

- 24 x 45°N-12 stage monitors - GEO S12 stagefill

Atum Stage with STM

- 15 x M28 per side (flown) - 27 x S118 subs

- 16 x PS15 stage monitors - GEO S12 stagefill

YourMum Stage with STM

- 6 x M46 main/6x B112 bass/3x M28 downfill per side (flown) - 18 x S118 subs

- 12 x PS15 stage monitors - GEO S12 stagefill

Electriq Stage with STM

- 4 x M46 main/B112 per side (groundstacked) - 6 x S118 subs per side (groundstacked) - 8x RS18 subs

- M46/B112/S118 stack for DJ monitors - 4 x 45°N-12 stage monitors

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by 8 x NEXO RS18 subs across the front of the DJ stage. All systems were powered by NXAMP4x4s, packaged in NEXO’s Universal Amp Rack (NUAR) format, complete with digital input and output patches and EtherNet network cards.

With NEXO’s 45-degree N-12 line monitors covering the Harbourflap stage and PS15 monitors for other venues, and with GEO S12 and PS Series on general PA duty for the smaller performance stages, this was a definitive event for the newest addition to the NEXO team.

Michel Brouard has joined the French manufacturer as Greater China Business Development Manager, and played a key role

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in pulling the project together. “I’m proud to have initiated this first partnership between Clockenflap and NEXO, and I owe great thanks to Festival Director Mike Hill, production manager Peter Gorton and Head of Partnership Kinny Barlow. This has been a great collaboration between people in Hong Kong, Singapore and France. It also shows the strength of the STM network, and the high level of back-up from the manufacturer, sending 4 support engineers to this event.” www.topplot.com.cn www.gl-events.com.hk www.nexo-sa.com www.clockenflap.com

The standard of musicianship and engineering on [the Atum] stage was particularly high, but everyone was stunned by the performance of the system – engineers couldn’t believe the output from the double 8” box!”

– Val Gilbert, NEXO System designer

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{ CHINA }

Robe Pointes To Jody Chiang T he ‘Queen of Taiwanese Music’ Jody Chiang said farewell to fans after a long and stellar 34 year singing career which has produced no less than 60 albums and seen her win eight Golden Melody Awards!

26 epic concerts were staged by the superstar at the Taipei Arena in the Songshan District of Taipei and the Kaohsiung Arena in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Ticket sales for the original 16 dates were so oversubscribed that an additional 9 shows were added, enabling over 250,000 people to see her perform live for the final time.

Jody Chiang’s regular lighting designer since 2013, Tokyo-based Mitsumasa Hayashi, was asked to create high-impact lighting for the occasion. One of Japan’s leading LD’s,

Hayashi worked closely with set designer Fion Cheng and a team of producers from the Young Hope Corporation in Taiwan to make the shows exciting, elegant and memorable – a fitting tribute to a successful superstar.

The biggest challenge was to balance the ambient brightness from the video screen with the lighting. The lighting has to be powerful as the video, but not overwhelming and balancing this dichotomy was the key.

Hayashi’s main effects lights were 46 x Robe Pointes.

The set started as a ‘bare stage’ and had a curved theme that included a long runway snaking out into the audience, staircases and various hydraulic platforms which rose out of the stage throughout the show. The lighting was designed with full adaptability to the fore – able

to transform from full-on Broadway style razzmatazz one moment to the bare elemental shreds of experimental theatre the next. At any time, the show presentation could be stripped back to the base elements, which were the carefully and precisely positioned lighting instruments.

A large arched upstage truss dominated the general stage architecture, complemented by a large arched HD LED screen upstage, which was supported by two side LED screens for IMAG. Alongside all these big, high-impact dramatic ‘gags’ and scenic pieces, the general look and feel of the performance area was clean and uncomplicated, allowing Jody Chiang to be the centre of attention.

Out above the audience, 368 paper lanterns were suspended in the celling

LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

as part of the set dressing.

24 fixtures were rigged on the arch with another 22 on the floor upstage, allowing him to frame Jody Chiang in their powerful beams when stagecentre or when working the catwalk, utilising multiple effects like gobos, colour and prisms to accentuate her presence.

Hayashi chose Pointes as “the best beam fixtures available”, and specifically to make up these framing effects. He especially liked the frost and prism features and the half-colours, all which were used extensively for creating unique effects for this show. Pointes were also ideal because they could look fast, poppy and contemporary for the up-tempo numbers, or slow and moody for the ballads. “They are truly a multipurpose fixture!” he declared.

Hayashi first invested in ROBE in 2014 with the purchase of 40 units by his own rental company, The Mula Corporation. He has compared and contrasted many beam and ‘multi-

purpose’ fixtures lately and Pointes have so far proved to be the best choice for his design style. He first used Robe’s best-selling multi-purpose fixture in 2014 on Japanese singer Mariko Takahashi’s ‘Adultica’ tour and they have appeared regularly on his work ever since.

“They are truly a multipurpose fixture!” Mitsumasa Hayashi, Jody Chiang's LD since 2013, on why he considers Robe Pointes as “the best beam fixtures available”.

Robe’s Pointe has been a big success in Japan, with over 1000 sold since the launch in 2013, resulting in record sales for Robe’s distributor LTG. Other lights on the rig included Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot, a number of other moving lights, 9-lite blinders and Xenon Pin spots from Ushio lighting. All the lighting was

controlled via a Compulite Vector console, supplied by rental company Engineering Impact Taiwan Corp., together with the rest of the lighting equipment.

Working alongside Hayashi in Taiwan were his FOH team from Mula : lighting director Yoshinori Yamamoto, lighting programmer Takeshi Nakanishi, moving light operator Lee Kyungmin, operator Toshiyuki Nakamura and lighting systems engineer Kazuyoshi Kondo.

Mitsumasa Hayashi’s professional lighting industry career started in 1975 when he was involved in the foundation of the Shikoku Stage & Television Lighting Corporation. In 2007, he founded STUFISH Japan (now called Live Art) to work more creatively and closely with the late set designer / stage architect, Mark Fisher. He is now busy lighting a plethora of projects including music shows, tours and live events. www.robe.cz

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{ CHINA }

Martin Audio Reinforces Jolin Tsai World Tour T aiwanese pop queen Jolin Tsai’s new album “Play” was given the highest accolade by the Chinese music industry in 2015, winning Best Mandarin Album at the 26th Annual Pop Music Awards. Soon afterwards, her Play World Tour began and immediately became one of the hottest events of the year. After a highly successful three days in Taipei Arena, the tour visited the Chinese mainland.

The production spared nothing. Concert directors Travis and Stacyz, having worked with Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, were brought in to create an unprecedented audio-visual feast, in turn bringing in the best teams from all over the world to give fans their most impressive production experience to date.

LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

“The unique optimizing software provided with MLA and the multi-cellular array design itself has perfectly solved the problems of consistent sound.

This means our mixing output can be delivered to every corner of the audience area with amazing accuracy and consistency, which was totally unimaginable before.”

- Yukihiko Soka, FOH engineer

MSI Japan was in charge of the sound production and Martin Audio’s awardwinning MLA system was chosen for the Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou leg of the tour. With more than 30 years of live sound mixing experience, renowned FOH engineer Yukihiko Soka, explained his reasons why.

“In my experience, all other array systems encounter problems with sound consistency both within a venue and on every stop of a tour,” he said.

“Given that this tour would visit so many different types of venue in quick succession, the time required to set up, configure and test a traditional array would not have been possible and so would have impacted the quality of the tour.

“The unique optimizing software provided with MLA and the multicellular array design itself has perfectly solved the problems of consistent sound. This means our mixing output can be delivered to every corner of the audience area with amazing accuracy and consistency, which was totally unimaginable before.”

Beijing Capital Gymnasium represented the greatest sound challenge of the tour — well known for its acoustic challenges. This was coupled with a tour production that has a four sided stage facing out to grandstands on all axes, and the necessity for the sound to reach the audience in all sectors with constant SPL and coverage. In addition, the main mixing area was less than 10 metres from the stage, which placed a great challenge on the whole PA system set-up. With so much time spent on the production of the stage itself there was little time for the rigging and testing of the sound system.

The easy, fast set-up and testing of the MLA system quickly came into play, as system engineer, Yasuhiko Watanabe, explains: “Traditional array design would have meant predicting a result first, and then making tweaks in the software, and then having to wait for the software to carry out another design, and so on.

But MLA Display software just reverses the sequence. You start with what you want to achieve and the software works in reverse to automatically calculate the DSP parameters for each individual acoustic cell. As mixing engineers and system engineers, we only need to consider the artistic results, and leave the technical details to the computer — this is a great innovation of workflow.”

The sound design consisted of an array of 11 x MLA and an MLD (Downfill) on each flank of the sides facing the wider grandstand, plus an array of 9 x MLA

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on each flank of the sides facing the narrower grandstand. There were also 3 x MLX subwoofers on each flank on every side of the stage.

Due to the importance of this tour, Shuzo Fujii, chairman and founder of MSI, and Motoshige Nishio, general manager of MSI, accompanied the tour throughout and took the opportunity to develop a new alliance. As the latter explains, “MSI will keep expanding in Asia, especially in China, where the performing market is doing so well. So for this reason, MSI has formed a strategic alliance with Pacific Budee [distributor for Martin Audio in both live sound and commercial projects in China, Hong Kong and Macao] and we will jointly promote the famous system together.”

On the night of the performance, stunning lights, stage animatronics and special effects, constantly changing costumes and makeup, along with five mini films, ensured the fans were enthralled and entertained. Given the wide scope of Jolin Tsai’s concert repertoire — ranging from EDM to Mozart arias — MLA was able to display its true versatility. www.martin-audio.com

“As mixing engineers and system engineers, we only need to consider the artistic results, and leave the technical details to the computer — this is a great innovation of workflow.”

- Yasuhiko Watanabe, System engineer, on the MLA Display software

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LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

{ CHINA }

Han Show Dazzles With Meyer Sound T

he producer of House of Dancing Water in Macau, Celine Dion’s A New Day… in Las Vegas, and Paris Merveilles at the iconic Lido de Paris, Director Franco Dragone created a water-based spectacle to thrill audiences in Wuhan, China. has thrilled audiences of up to 2,000 with water-based spectacles supported by a massive and complex Meyer Sound system.

The Han Show not only plays to crowds of up to 2,000, but it also boasts a massive and complex Meyer sound system within The Han Show Theatre, designed by celebrated architect Mark Fisher of London-based Stufish Entertainment Architects.

Designed by Vikram Kirby of California’s Thinkwell Group, the Meyer system comprises of 359 self-powered loudspeakers that are processed, distributed, and matrixed by the largest D-Mitri digital audio platform assembled to date, comprising 53 frames.

The system is inordinately complex because, in addition to requirements dictated by a world-class entertainment spectacular, the loudspeaker configurations must adapt to a dual-mode auditorium. During the performance, the upper seating area

“The [Meyer] CALs work wonderfully as lateral surrounds. You get a uniformity of coverage across a wide seating area that you can’t get from point source boxes.

The CALs deliver a more complete sound-mapping effect, particularly when moving off-center. What was critically important for this project was to have a single supplier that could help us scale from very small to huge, and I don’t know of any high-quality manufacturer other than Meyer Sound with such product breadth” - Vikram Kirby, System Designer

LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

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drops down and the lower seating area splits and rotates to the sides to reveal a vast pool for the water-based elements of the show. Because the entire seating layout changes, the show requires two completely separate sound systems under one roof.

“What was critically important for this project was to have a single supplier that could help us scale from very small to huge, and I don’t know of any highquality manufacturer other than Meyer Sound with such product breadth,” explained Vikram Kirby. “We scale all the way from line array hangs to tiny MM-4XPs for front fills, with a need for every size in between—plus specialpurpose speakers like the beam-steering CAL column array loudspeaker and the directional SB-2 parabolic wide-range sound beam.”

Used for surrounds and localized upstage sources, The Han Show’s nine CAL loudspeakers are the largest deployment of CAL to date in an entertainment application.

“The CALs work wonderfully as lateral surrounds,” reported Kirby. “You get a uniformity of coverage across a wide seating area that you can’t get from point source boxes. The CALs deliver a more complete sound-mapping effect, particularly when moving off-center.”

Kirby was similarly pleased by the performance of 18 1100-LFC lowfrequency control elements. “They are

just phenomenal in the way they control the low end. We did a lot of work with the directional steering, and it really helped. The bass sound is very tight for such a large room.”

Comprising 16 different Meyer Sound loudspeaker models including MICA, MINA, and M’elodie line array loudspeakers, the massive system is configured as 29 separate subsystems to meet the show’s extraordinary requirements, with each requiring its own dedicated signal matrixing and processing. Managing this complexity is the D-Mitri digital audio platform

controlled by CueConsole user interfaces at two FOH positions and monitors, with the entire system networked across a fiber optic ring.

Layout of the network infrastructure was handled by Colbert Davis, associate sound designer, working in collaboration with Extreme Networks.

Loudspeaker drive and array optimization were supplied by a Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with eight Galileo Callisto 616 array processors and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 408 processors. The Meyer Sound systems were provided

by Shanghai Broad Future Electro Technology Co., Ltd. and installed by Beijing-based AoTeWei. “This is undoubtedly the most challenging project I’ve undertaken,” said Kirby. “It’s not just left, right, subs, and back surrounds—the whole theatre is rigged with loudspeakers. And when you add all the changes that come from a reconfigured auditorium, you have a whole different order of complexity.” www.meyersound.com

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LIVE! E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

{ LAOS }

Laos Celebrates 40th National Day With 300 DTS Moving Heads A spectacular light show made entirely with DTS moving heads, was the peak of the celebrations of the 40th ‘National Day’ of Laos that was held on 2nd December 2015.

The ‘National Day’ is the most important event in the country, in commemoration of the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Laos.

The lighting system, included 200 x RAPTOR moving heads, 40 x XR1200 WASH, and 60 x XR3000 SPOT. The ceremony was held at the ‘Laos National Stadium’ of Vientane.

Karin Chaisompongpan, LD of ‘National Day’, had divided the stage into 4 areas: Back, Front, Right, Left, each with a different setup.

The Back lighting consisted of 3 horizontal truss, 30m long consisting of 10 x XR3000 SPOT and 4 x XR1200 WASH each. 48 x RAPTOR were hung

from the catwalk bridge that overlooked the stands. These were complemented with 42 x RAPTOR on a structure 21m long and 2m high, at ground level and 14 x RAPTOR attached to two flag poles above the stands.

The 3 horizontal truss that were 30m long as well for Front lighting featured 10 x XR3000 SPOT and 4 x XR1200 WASH units each. 4 structures (12m x 2m) on the ground had 8 RAPTOR units and 4 XR1200 WASH units each.

Additionally 14 x RAPTOR were attached to two flag poles above the stands.

The Side lighting consisted of 3 structures (12m x 2m) on each side at

ground level with each featuring 8 x RAPTOR each.

Karin Chaisompongpan, commented, “From my experience using DTS products for this event I was quite impressed by the reliable performance of the Raptors and also by the light quality of it’s beam. It’s really bright enough to light the football field from over 80m, throw distance. It also gave impressive stunning aerial looks when pointed up to the sky. If there are any events like this, I have confidence to use the DTS products for my show again,” added Karin. www.dts-lighting.it

HAVE U MET...?

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Senthil Kumaran, also known as DJ KUMAR, had his first dance performance at the age of 5. As he grew older, he realized his love of dancing came from his love of music. “Whenever I would hear a beat, I would just start dancing,” said the now 27-year-old.

After 12 years in the audio industry, DJ KUMAR still holds his love of dance close to his heart and wears it on his sleeve for every show he does. Here is his story...

How did you first get started in the industry?

KUMAR: I have been in the audio industry for almost 12 years.

From what I can remember, I loved music ever since I was a child. My family like telling stories about how, whenever I would hear a nice beat, I would start dancing. Over time, dancing became one of my favourite things but it was always about the music.

I loved dancing to all types of music, from Indian songs to Michael Jackson. Especially Michael, I know I've always loved Michael Jackson songs. I remember when I entered secondary one [high school] the ”Bhangra” genre caught my attention.

The songs and beat, especially, could just make me happy or change my mood, even until now.

Complete this sentence: if I wasn't a ___, I would be a ___ KUMAR: DJ/Sound Technician, I would be a Music Producer, maybe. But, surely in the Entertainment/Audio industry.

When did you know you wanted to be a DJ/ Sound Technician?

KUMAR: When I first started out listening to Bhangra, I would use my computer to do simple mixes at home on a software called Tractor from Native Instrumental. It was a basic mixing software that I used to remix songs for dance groups and friends.

One of my friends was working in an event company and he actually gave me the idea to become a DJ. I remember him telling me that since I knew the songs well enough to create a good remix, why didn't I just become a DJ? I never thought it would be possible, it seemed too far out of reach. At that time, I didn't even know what the term 'DJ' stood for but I still joined an event company in order to find out what it would take to become one. That was my real initiation into the full-time entertainment life. I went from Bhangra dancing competitions to Tamil and Hip-Hop dancing to remixing and now I was in an actual event company. It was a great time for me at first, being surrounded by music 24 hours a day.

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Have U Met...?

E-TECH ASIA January - February 2016

What changed?

KUMAR: It took me 4-6 months to actually realise that in the big picture, I was just a boy who was working at an event company bringing my small pouch of mix genre songs (5 CDs with 17-20 tracks each) to work everyday, going in at 6am and going home at 3am, just to carry speakers and set-up the events.

After that, I would come back to tear down and carry the speakers back to the warehouse and repeat the routine the next day. I realised then that I wouldn't reach my dream this way. I kept quiet and still stayed because I still wanted to learn about DJ system and mixers and how to patch systems.

When did you get your 'Big Break'?

KUMAR: It was during a birthday event.

After setting up the DJ area, the boss told me to stay until the DJ showed up. The next thing I know, the DJ isn't coming and everything is in complete chaos. My boss asked if I still carried my pouch with me, which of course I did, but that didn't mean I knew how to DJ! He didn't seem bothered by this and still insisted on asking me if I thought I could handle it. Without thinking I said I would do it and I was left there to handle the show.

I had never touched a system before and I was scared â&#x20AC;&#x201C; my hands were trembling and I was sweating profusely. The software I has used before, TRACTOR came to mind as they both looked alike.

Just that, one was hardware, the other was software. The mixer faders got me the worst, there were so many knobs. It was 16 channel Mackie mixer with Denon 2500 CD controller, and for a minute, I just stared at it. I knew from watching other DJs, how to insert the disc and to bring the faders up.. I tried it and to my surprise I could hear the track of my CD! I ended up using my knowledge of the TRACTOR to use the MACKIE and did what I remember how to. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all... it was the same. When I was younger, some of the things I didn't understand about the software made sense with

the hardware and by using it that day, everything just made sense. The event ended up going on without a problem and to my surprise, the organizer was satisfied and happy. After that gig, they booked me 3-months in advance for another DJ event.

Since then, what has been the most memorable aspect of your career?

KUMAR: Hmm...One of the most memorable aspects for me was the 2013 New Year Countdown, approximately 2000-2500 pax. It was the most fun, tiring, enjoyable and mainly challenging work I have ever done.

It was held in a function hall from 6pm10pm, and at 10pm the emcee started a treasure hunt game which would end up in another location, so I had a 5 min track that would play at the beginning and without any delay, I had to run to the last location to set up and play the following track in 4 mins. It felt really good that just the moment I had finished settingup and got the track running, the emcee and the visitors entered the hall.

The games continued until about 11.30pm but at 11.25pm, I had to get another track to run for 5 mins, grab my controller and run to another location for the final countdown. I had no faith that I would be able to make it but at 11.31pm, my track played and I could hear the emcee and the crowd running towards the open field for the countdown.

I was on top of a hill facing the crowd and it was great that everything worked out because if there were any technical issues or the tracks didn't play on time, can you imagine everyone would just look up and stare at me? Luckily, that never happened. So I had to fill in the party for 25 minutes before the countdown and when 2013 came, I was so relieved that everything worked out the way it was supposed to. The client was fully satisfied and happy and when I heard that was I got this happy feeling, that I still don't know how to explain or express today.

What has been the biggest challenge for you, in terms of making it, in this industry?

KUMAR: Being in this industry is already a challenge. The greatest challenge is for anyone to have confidence in their work. And even if you know you can do it well, you don't get chances to prove it.

It's not easy getting opportunities in this industry. You need to be well-recognised and have a good reputation before getting your chance.

What is your weapon of choice?

KUMAR: I would say my weapon of choice, at the moment, is the PIONEER DDJ SX for DJ duties and the YAMAHA LS9 for sound. The DDJ is a controller and console, making it useful for anyone who loves to create music/beats/songs or loves to just try out new things. As for the LS9, it's very useful and helpful.

In fact, I haven't mastered the console and the truth is there are more and more choices nowadays with consoles and controllers, so it's very possible my mind might change.

Education vs Experience. Your thoughts?

KUMAR: *Laughs* To be frank, in a world with a quick rising economy, everything need proof. So, yes, certification is necessary and a formal education would be good. Sadly, I don't have any formal technical education. Everything that I have achieved has been through my mistakes,experience and self learning.

However, even though I already had my career, I am still interested in studying.

A few months back, I graduated from SAE in Singapore with my Diploma in Electronic Music Production.

What does the future hold for you?

KUMAR: I have a lot of things which I would like to achieve. Firstly, build up my name in the industry. I want people to associate my name with being a good and creative sound technician. Next, I also want to extend my knowledge in boards and controllers. After that, I guess we have to wait and see.

To get in touch with Kumar, contact him at: deejay_kumar@hotmail.com