SIA June - July 2016

Vol. 15 Issue 5 ~ June - July 2016

AUDIO • VISUAL • CONTROL • COLLABORATION • UNIFIED COMMS

JW Marriott, Pune- Picture courtesy of Play Technologies

MCI (P) 039/04/2016 PPS 1669/08/2013 (022992)

AV IN HOTELS SPECIAL FEATURE

• FEATURE Audio On The Go

• VOICE BOX Let's Talk About Collaboration

• INSTALLATIONS Re-imagining Collaboration At Bayer

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CONTENTS 72

87

04 FIRST WORDS 06 NEWS 30 SOLUTIONS UPDATE 38 SOLUTIONS HIGHLIGHT TECH TALK 40 Echo, Echo, Echo…The Anatomy of Acoustic Echo Cancelling Technology 42 Laser Technology: Destined To Become Standard!

SPECIAL FEATURE 45 AV In Hotels – Part 1: Principal Challenges In Implementing AV Technologies In Hotels 48 AV In Hotels – Part 2: AV Consultants In India On AV Integration & Challenges In the Hotel Sector 50 Audio On The Go

Vol. 15 Issue 5 ~ June - July 2016

60 INTERVIEW 54 Wizardry Blending With Expertise – I. E. VizExperts EXHIBITION PREVIEW 56 Tourism Technology Asia & Pro AVL Asia 2016 Takes The Stage In July 58 India's AVI Expo Shows Its Strength EXHIBITION REVIEW 60 InfoComm China 2016: Another Record-Breaking Year INSTALLATIONS 64 AUSTRALIA: Telstra Showcases Technology Leadership With Meyer Sound Constellation 66 AUSTRALIA: Sydney Church Echoes Pride With EV Audio 69 TURKEY: Litore Resort Hotel & Spa Outfitted With D.A.S 71 INDONESIA: Indonesian Church Refurbishes With Allen & Heath

72 INDIA: A ‘Digital Panorama’ Of Life and Tech Wizardry 76 HONG KONG: Hong Kong International Airport Takes Off With Nexo 78 INDIA: Re-imagining Collaboration At Bayer 82 S. KOREA: Bosch Lends A Voice To Democracy At Seoul's National Assembly Research Service 83 INDIA: NABARD Boardroom Breathes High-Tech Sophistication VOICE BOX 87 A Conversation With... Harry Lam 88 Let's Talk About Collaboration 90 ON OUR WEB

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FIRST WORDS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Surveillance Video – Big Data

At Oncam's invitation, I recently had the opportunity to attend the first Retail Risk conference in Singapore. Dedicated to executives responsible for protecting their retail businesses against risk and loss, the conference saw various high profile speakers who touched on topics ranging from payment systems, credit card fraud, to technology that provides whistleblowers with anonymous reporting channels.

PUBLISHER/ EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas Richard Prakasam thomas@spinworkz.com

EDITOR, INDIA AND ME Ram Bhavanashi ram@spinworkz.com

But I think what was most interesting and relevant for our industry would be the session delivered by Scott Brothers of Oncam and Nigel Ashman of Analysis Solutions, who presented their thoughts on how surveillance solutions can provide extra value to retailers.

More than just a deterrent to shop-theft, the pair shared how surveillance videos can be used to open streams of data that are relevant to other key business functions besides security, such as Marketing, Visual Merchandising and Retail Operations.

BRAND ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST Dennis Toh dennis@spinworkz.com

ADMIN & CIRCULATION Julie Tan admin@spinworkz.com

Some case studies shared during the session include a wellknown chain in London who used surveillance video to devise strategic product placement by analysing customers' footprints in the shop. Similarly, a high-end shoe retailer was also shown the practicality of its mirror placement where an analysis of its surveillance footage aided them in making changes to their store interior design.

In Malaysia, it was said that a dessert shop retailer had used information gathered by its surveillance camera to negotiate better lease with their landlord based on documented traffic flow.

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jimmy Chin jimmy@spinworkz.com DIGITAL PLATFORM EDITOR (Freelance) Rosalind Tan rosalind@spinworkz.com

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

With “Big Data” being the buzzword these recent years, retailers have explored different ways to obtain as much information as possible about their customers. Online retailers have it easy – as every click on the website meant something – but gathering data for brick-and-mortar stores wasn't always so simple... Until now.

The retail realm is changing. As more and more stores and public spaces are replacing poster light boxes with Digital Signage, we are beginning to see how the technology has evolved from just displaying content to being able to track who is looking at it.

But if the same capabilities are incorporated into surveillance cameras, would that pose a challenge to Digital Signage? Of course, there are also issues like privacy and ethics, but the retail industry has come a long way and I believe businesses will find their way around it.

Shireen Ho Assistant Editor shireen@spinworkz.com

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

WHITEPAPER: Challenges & Opportunities In Wireless AV & Content Sharing This InfoComm International white paper dissects the pros and cons of using wireless communications. You can download the full whitepaper here:

Pexip Expands and Opens New Office in Beijing CHINA: Pexip has announced the opening of its new office in Beijing, China. The newly opened office holds several demonstration rooms, offices and work desks, and is designed to welcome customers and partners for both product demonstrations, and training and education sessions. The new Beijing office and operations is run by long-time industry veteran Alex Lee, formerly of Tandberg, SGI, and Compaq.

Lee celebrated the opening of the office in March.

“We are very pleased to open the Beijing office, and strengthening the organization here. We have already built a strong user base in China, and see continued strong demand for our Infinity platform,” commented Alex.

“We are very excited to announce the opening of our new office in China,

central to Pexip’s growing presence in the Greater China market,” said Åsmund O. Fodstad, Pexip CEO. “We have experienced tremendous growth in the region, seeing some very large customers come on board with Pexip over the past two years, and with continued strong demand for our Pexip Infinity platform.”

He continued, “We are looking to expand both in team size and locations throughout the year in order to support our customers in the best possible way locally, and in local languages.” www.pexip.com

DigiBird Expands Into Southeast Asia & Middle East ASIA / MIDDLE EAST: DigiBird has recently appointed two new distributors.

They are: Israk in Malaysia; and Optimum Technology in Pakistan. Both companies are appointed as authorized distributors for DigiBird Videowall Solutions in their respective countries.

“We are delighted to have been appointed as the Malaysian distributor for DigiBird. Having established ourselves in the Malaysian digital signage and videowall market, we have found an increased awareness and interest in videowalls, and are genuinely impressed by the modularity, performance and scalability of the DigiBird videowall products,” said Najib Habeb, Managing Director of Israk Technology Sdn. Bhd. "Adding DigiBird's videowall controller to our selective list of products was a strategic and logical move for Israk.

Malaysia's market will look to Israk for

the best products on the market, and this addition will not disappoint them,” he continued.

Khawer Mahmood, Managing director of Optimum Technology, Pakistan, also shares his delight, “We are glad to be appointed as the Pakistani distributor for DigiBird products. DigiBird continues to provide reliable products with superb quality at great cost. It is my pleasure to work with them. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with DigiBird.”

“We are also highly impressed by the timely technical support from the DigiBird team. With its FPGA and crossbar technology, DigiBird video wall controllers are able to produce large scale videowalls of up t0 144 displays with the use of a single unit. We are especially attracted to the product’s pure hardware-based architecture that does not rely on an operating system, which we find is a general weakness of competing brands. Perhaps most importantly, the DigiBird products meet our market’s demand for 24x 7, mission critical situations,” said Engr. Asif Junaid, R &D Engineer at Optimum Technology, Pakistan.

Digibird will also be exhibiting at InfoComm Las Vegas in June at booth N2947. www.digibirdtech.com

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Welcome, Dante.

The new DS10 Audio network bridge is not just an ordinary Dante interface: it is the next step in the d&b system approach. In combination with the d&b amplifiers, the new DS10 streamlines the complete d&b sound reinforcement system. One piece of remote control software, one audio network bridge, one consistent amplifier DSP platform: an entirety where each fits all. www.dbaudio.com

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

RGB Spectrum Hosts Exclusive Event in Singapore SINGAPORE: RGB Spectrum, a leading designer and manufacturer of video and decision support solutions for industrial, medical, government, and military applications, hosted an exclusive event in Singapore on May 5 & 6 at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre. The event was a part of RGB Spectrum’s 2016 road show series.

The exclusive event included oneon-one meetings with key executives and demonstrations of the MediaWall V® display processor, MultiPoint® control room management solution, and QuadView Ultra HD multiviewer.

RGB Spectrum partnered with Winsted Control Room Consoles, Samsung, and Canon.

Spectrum’s products first hand,” said Bob Marcus, CEO. “People don’t realize the visual impact that the MediaWall V processor delivers, or the capabilities of MultiPoint – and how easy it is to use – until they’ve tried it for themselves.”

“Our road show provides an opportunity for customers to fully experience RGB

Attendees also enjoyed a discussion about RGB Spectrum’s highly anticipated

Zio AV/IT product line, hosted by Jason Tirado, Vice President of International Sales. Zio will be formally introduced and demonstrated in June at InfoComm 2016 in Las Vegas. www.rgb.com

H3 Dynamics Unveils DRONEBOX, Ushers In Internet of Drones can be deployed anywhere, including in remote areas where industrial assets, borders, or sensitive installations require constant monitoring.

INTERNATIONAL: Headquartered in Singapore, H3 Dynamics has introduced a revolutionary system that converges professional drone-enabled service activities with the Industrial Internet of Things. Called the DRONEBOX, it is an all-inclusive, self-powered system that

Designed as an evolution over today’s many unattended sensors and CCTV cameras installed in cities, borders, or large industrial estates, DRONEBOX innovates by giving sensors freedom of movement by using drones as their vehicles. End-users can now deploy flying sensor systems at different locations, and measure just about anything, anywhere, anytime. They offer 24/7 reactivity, providing critical information to operators - even to those located thousands of miles away.

Besides innovating in the world of unattended sensors, DRONEBOX eases the scalability challenges for drone service operators. Such service providers use professional drones to provide their customers with detailed aerial land surveys in mining or agriculture, perform infrastructure inspections, or monitor the progress of construction sites.

Strategic partnerships, OEM relationships and distributorship discussions have already started and the first versions of DRONEBOX are expected to reach the market by Q3 of 2016. www.h3dynamics.com

DISCUSS: Why Reverberation Formulas Don't Work While the Sabine formula established Wallace Clement Sabine as the “father of architectural acoustics,” the formula was quickly found to be quite conditional. The accuracy varies wildly with rooms of different volumes, shapes, and Sabin content.

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

AV User Group Hosts Its First Meeting In Asia HONG KONG: AV User Group has achieved a major milestone in its history by holding its inaugural Asia meeting in Hong Kong in April. The next planned Asia meeting will be in October 2016.

The meeting was hosted by Morgan Stanley at their offices in the International Commerce Centre Tower, Kowloon, and presided over by Owen Ellis, the group’s chairman. The meeting was attended by a variety of end users from various verticals such as Finance, Leisure, as well as representatives from local Authority and InfoComm International.

Kicking off the meeting with an introduction of the AV User Group, the meeting continued with a series of presentations from Biamp, Lumi and Logitech, plus, an industry roundtable discussion. Attendees also benefited from networking opportunities during the registration buffet and coffee breaks.

“It was always our ambition to get the group established in a location for all three regions and we were delighted with both the turnout and positive feedback from everyone who attended the meeting today,” commented Owen Ellis on the group's inaugural meeting.

Established in London, the AV User Group is a thriving community of over 500 members, created to encourage the convergence of AV technology

managers and sector suppliers to benefit from knowledge exchange. Meetings take place via quarterly forums to bring the membership community together to promote the effective use of AV communications technology to maintain the skills and knowledge needed to implement AV projects and manage service provision. www.avusergroup.com

Smart Cities India 2016 Raises The ‘Smart’ Ante Up the special attention for management of natural resources to ensure that the ecological balance was not tampered with. Referring the ministerial portfolio of Railways that he holds, Prabhu said “transport plays the role of lifeline in a Smart City; India thus will see new railway stations made with impeccable design and friendly human interface.”

Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Railways, Government of India

INDIA: The second edition of Smart Cities India organized by Exhibitions India Group from 11-13 May at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, attracted 325 exhibitors from 40 countries. One of the notable aspects of the event was the involvement of a wide spectrum of institutions that are either directly or indirectly related with smarter ways of living.

The first day of the expo witnessed highpowered conference sessions including

‘best practices in procurement of ICT services from a Smart City standpoint’; ‘case studies for financing Smart Cities’; ‘financing models for Smart Cities’; ‘Green buildings for smart cities’; ‘safe, secure and resilient cities’; ‘Smart Cities: preparing for disasters’; and ‘the role of architecture in smart cities’ etc.

Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, who inaugurated the international knowledge platform for Smart Cities, underscored need for

Union Minister of State (with Independent Charge) for Power Coal, New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goel, who was Guest of Honour at the event maintained that India has challenges; but in those challenges come unparalleled opportunities. “A land that has enormous amount of manpower, and youth seeking better lifestyle provides the urging need of Smart Cities,” he said, adding “smarter solutions need to be scalable, affordable and fast in their implementation so that the country drives benefit from them.” www.smartcitiesindia.com

Finally, an AV rack that looks like your IT rack

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Insist on a Crestron Certified Design.

crestron.com/certifieddesign All brand names, product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Crestron disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Crestron is not responsible for errors in typography or photography. Š2015 Crestron Electronics, Inc.

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Formation of Hewshott International (Singapore) Pte Ltd

SINGAPORE: Having just celebrated 10 years of operations in Singapore, Hewshott has also announced the advancement of the business through the formation of Hewshott International (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a separate entity owned by Ambran Abu Bakar, operating under Hewshott’s stringent licence conditions.

Peter Hunt, Hewshott’s owner and Group CEO says, "After many months of

searching, I’m delighted that Ambran has come forward to lead the business as he is a solid and dependable leader with many years of experience. Having a Singaporean lead this office was a really important prerequisite to me, and Ambran’s credentials, both local and international, and his strong ‘can do’ attitude are key attributes of any Hewshott leader."

Ambran Abu Bakar, Hewshott Singapore’s MD adds, "I’m really excited to be a part of a class leading organisation, not just building on the

excellent reputation Hewshott has here in Singapore and throughout the region, but making an active contribution to the international business, looking after our global clients in this region and further enhancing Hewshott’s excellent reputation."

Hewshott International (Singapore) Pte Ltd joins with the other independently owned Hewshott operations in Hong Kong, Australia, India and the UK where a strong, owner-operator model brings dual accountability and the highest level of integrity to both the group and clients. www.hewshott.com

Mitel Announces Definitive Agreement To Acquire Polycom INTERNATIONAL: Mitel and Polycom has announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Mitel will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Polycom common stock in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.96 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Polycom stockholders will be entitled to $3.12 in cash and 1.31 Mitel common shares for each share of Polycom common stock, or $13.68 based on the closing price of a Mitel common share on April 13, 2016. The transaction represented a 22% premium to Polycom shareholders based on Mitel’s and Polycom’s “unaffected” share prices as of April 5, 2016 and it is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016,

subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The combination of Mitel and Polycom will create a new industry leader leveraging Mitel’s recognised leadership as a pioneer in global communications with Polycom’s well-known premium brand and industry-leading portfolio in the conference and video collaboration market.

The newly combined company will be headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and will operate under the Mitel name

while maintaining Polycom’s strong global brand. Richard McBee, Mitel’s Chief Executive Officer will lead the combined organisation. Steve Spooner, Mitel’s Chief Financial Officer, will also continue in that role. On the closing of the proposed transaction, it is expected that Polycom will assume two seats on the Mitel board. Once merged, the combined company will have a global workforce of approximately 7,700 employees. www.mitel.com www.polycom.com.sg

Kumu Networks Nabs $25M From Cisco And Big Carriers For ‘Breakthrough’ Wireless Tech The company has claimed that it has built a tech that will double the capacity of existing wireless spectrum with something called “Full Duplex technology.”

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Media-Go Equips China Merchants Holdings with Seamless AV Solution CHINA: To cope with China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited's internal expansion, a newly furnished multi-function room is opened for staff and client meetings, as well as events. To cater for the need in largescale events and meetings, Media-Go Engineering Ltd. has installed a Samsung 110” UHD 4K TV in the multi-function room. With the unique features of Samsung curved UHD TV entertainment, China Merchants Holdings enriches client meeting experience significantly.

The entire project was deployed in June 2015.

Kelvin Leung, Media-Go's Director of Sales, is confident that the audio visual transmission can be maximized with the use of ClearOne Converge Pro880 and Crestron 8x8 DigitalMedia™ Switcher.

“With the unqiue feature of echo cancellation for ClearOne equipment, clients are able to conduct training and

meeting without any interference,” said Kelvin. www.mediago.com.hk

Active Audio & APG Announce Strategic Alliance Commenting on the agreement, Régis Cazin enthused: “All stakeholders at APG and Active Audio feel elated to have this new alliance in place. This immensely reinforces the potential of both companies, and will prove a tremendous development accelerator for us all.”

INTERNATIONAL: Announced at PL+S Frankfurt, the strategic partnership between the two French loudspeaker manufacturers gives birth to a new group that is capable of offering one of the industry’s largest pro audio ranges.

While both brands will remain independent in their respective activities – and through distribution channels – Active Audio will continue to focus on the Public Address market while APG will cater for live events and large venue

installations. The decision to join forces will foster critical synergies between both companies in R&D, production, financing and ultimately global reach.

As a result, Régis Cazin, steps up as CEO of both Active Audio and APG with immediate effect. Active Audio will now hold 60% of APG shares while APG’s historical shareholders, Jean-Luc Moncel, Philippe Frarier and Grégory Dapsanse, will hold the majority of the remaining shares.

“Although Active Audio becomes a major shareholder in APG, we recognise APG’s strong reputation in the market, backed by many dealers and end users who have invested a lot of trust in the company. We wanted APG’s historical shareholders to remain significant shareholders in order to be actively involved in both strategic and operational decisions,” he explains. “We are adamant to preserve both brands and their respective strengths.” www.activeaudio.fr www.apg.audio

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Biamp Systems’ Growth Drives Key Promotions and Facility Expansion

INTERNATIONAL: Biamp Systems has announced new promotions to the company’s executive team and senior management following the opening of its new manufacturing facility.

Matt Czyzewski becomes Biamp’s new chief operating officer, Dayna Lyons moves into the role of vice president of corporate services, and Stephen Patterson will fill the role of sales development director for EMEA. As the company’s new chief operating officer, Czyzewski will continue to

strengthen Biamp’s operations.

Previously as a vice president, and later as an executive vice president at Biamp, he has over 15 years of executive leadership with the company. With this new promotion, Czyzewski will oversee all departments within the operation, with the exception of finance and corporate services, and he will report to the president and CEO Steve Metzger.

position, Patterson will focus on building the Biamp brand and expanding its presence across Europe and the Middle East.

Executive Vice President of Marketing Graeme Harrison will continue to manage the sales, marketing, and product management teams, and will now report to Czyzewski.

The new facility houses Biamp’s manufacturing and customer service departments. With a long history of making its own products in Oregon, the new facility increases Biamp’s manufacturing capacity and continues its tradition of providing customers with highly reliable products.

As Biamp’s sales development director for EMEA, Patterson leaves his position as regional manager of Western Europe where he had served for a number of years in a sales capacity. In his new

Positioning Biamp for continued success well into the future, the company has added a new facility to its Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters to accommodate growing product demand.

www.biamp.com

IHSE Partners With DNF Controls for New KVM Control INTERNATIONAL: IHSE USA LLC has announced a partnership with DNF Controls to develop the world's first programmable push-button panel exclusively designed for IHSE KVM matrix switching.

The new USP3 is a 16-button remotecontrol panel that can be used to quickly recall IHSE KVM presets. It is designed specifically to operate via IHSE's API network interface for the Draco tera compact and Draco tera enterprise matrix switch products. The product interface module will be available only through IHSE USA and IHSE GmbH. Ideal as a cost-effective user interface for any IHSE matrix system, the USP3 is perfect for everyday use in typical classroom, meeting room, training facilities, or command and control environments. Programmable buttons can be configured for any function, such as view source, view workstation, define

mode, and select switch port macros.

Customers no longer have to memorize keyboard sequence commands in situations where there are many source and destination feeds to manage.

Even though the USP3 is a basic busstyle control panel, it is smart enough to allow multiple video previews to follow the primary KVM CPU display. No other matrix control panel is as easy to

install, with setup consisting of simply connecting the network interface and opening the Web-based configuration program. For training rooms, users just select the CPU source and then assign a video-only preview to all other buttons.

Furthermore, users can customize the buttons to fit any work environment. www.ihseusa.com www.DNFControls.com

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

NanoLumens to Integrate Screenfeed Real-Time Content into its Core Technology Platform

content that extends the length of time viewers remain engaged with their networked displays.

INTERNATIONAL: Strengthening the eco-system of its next-generation interactive display platform, NanoLumens has announced a nonexclusive licensing partnership with Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Screenfeed, a leading content production and syndication company.

According to NanoLumens Vice President of Corporate Development

Lumus Showcases Wide Field-Of-View Smart Glasses Prototype The new prototype lens has a 60-degree field of view and according to Lumus, the wider the field of view, the more realistic the augmented content and experience can be.

Nathan Remmes, NanoLumens will now integrate Screenfeed’s real-time content natively within its core technology platform to provide customers with immediate access to Screenfeed’s most popular dynamic media feeds, including weather, news, and sports information.

In addition to the bundled feeds, the integration effectively provides NanoLumens customers with access to a complete menu of fresh ready-made

“We are committed to a content strategy that provides our growing customer base with a full range of compelling content that keeps audiences fully engaged with displays that are constantly being updated,” Remmes explained. “This new partnership allows us to deliver around-the-clock news, sports, and weather feeds to viewers, adding further momentum to our strategic goal to transform static displays into dynamic interactive communications platforms.” www.NanoLumens.com www.screenfeed.com

Milestone AV Technologies Acquires Vaddio INTERNATIONAL: Milestone AV Technologies has announced that it has acquired Vaddio, a leading global manufacturer of PTZ cameras, professional AV solutions and a full suite of Unified Communication and Collaboration products for the audiovisual, videoconference and broadcast markets.

Vaddio, based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, was purchased by Milestone for an undisclosed amount, and will now join the Milestone family of brands including Chief, Da-lite, SANUS and Projecta. Milestone is majority owned by the Pritzker Group, alongside management company Duchossois Capital Management.

“Adding Vaddio to our leading portfolio of commercial and consumer AV brands gives us the opportunity to deliver even greater value to our combined dealer base,” said Scott Gill, CEO of Milestone AV Technologies.

“We are very excited to have the Vaddio team join Milestone and continue delivering innovative products to the market,” added Gill. Vaddio will continue to be based in its current Minnetonka, Minnesota location.

J.B. Pritzker, Pritzker Group managing partner, added, “Pritzker Group acquired Milestone because of its great team, industry leading brands and exceptional focus on customers and innovation.

The acquisition of Vaddio represents a continued commitment to investing for the long-term behind the innovation and service that have made both companies a key partner to their customers.” www.milestone.com www.vaddio.com

Announcing the Inaugural Systems Integration India Awards GET RECOGNIZED. YOU DESERVE IT.

Inviting all System Integrators and Consultants in India to participate in the first ever Systems Integration India Awards

5 Categories – 4 Budget Range for you to submit your entry within:

CLOSING DATE OF SUBMISSION: 30 June 2016.

• BEST APPLICATION OF AV IN CORPORATE • BEST APPLICATION OF AV IN A GOVERNMENT • BEST APPLICATION OF AV IN EDUCATION • BEST APPLICATION OF AV IN A HOSPITALITY • BEST APPLICATION OF AV IN TRANSPORT / HEALTHCARE / MUSEUM

Awards will be held on 12 September 2016 at Hall 2 of the Bombay Exhibition Centre, in conjunction with InfoComm India 2016.

Let your projects Shine. Submit NOW!!!

Award Platinum Partners:

Organised by:

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

QUICK TECH UPDATE

Gefen Offers Latest HDBaseT 2.0 Colligo™ Technology On New Extenders monitoring and management using Gefen's Synergy-G software.

INTERNATIONAL: With HDBaseT 2.0, Gefen extenders now offer new levels of compatibility and reliability including support up to 150m distance on a single cat5, resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz fps, HDCP 1.4 & 2.2, advanced

Available now, the new models are GTB-UHD-HBT2 and EXT-UHDAHBT2. Using Gefen's latest HDBaseT™ 2.0 technology, the GTB-UHD-HBT2 extends HDMI, 2 way IR and RS232 up to 150 meters on a single cat5 or cat6.

Its HDBaseT™ 2.0 Colligo™ platform ensures an robustness and reliability for 4K DCI-Cinema (4096 x 2160 4:4:4) 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz) plus 7.1 channels of LPCM, HBR (High Bit Rate) lossless digital audio including Dolby Atmos®, Dolby® TrueHD, DTS:X™ & DTS-HD Master Audio™.

On the other hand, the EXT-UHDAHBT2 provides additional connectivity including HDMI, 2 way IR and RS232, Ethernet, Analogue and Optical audio over a single Cat5 or Cat6 cable up to 150 meters. The EXT-UHDA-HBT2 also provides the perfect extension solution for Smart TVs by providing network connection, return optical audio, analogue audio to the remote location as well as IR and RS232 control and management of the remote and local devices. www.gefen.com

Logitech Transforms the Way Teams Use Video Conferencing INTERNATIONAL: Logitech has announced a transformation in team collaboration. Introducing Logitech GROUP, the VC solution provides crystalclear audio and high-quality HD video conferencing for groups of up to 14 people, or up to 20 with the optional expansion microphones.

Reasonably-priced, the Logitech GROUP enables organizations to use the same room system configuration for whichever unified communications, web conferencing or video conferencing application that is already in use. The solution deploys in minutes and is simple to use, transforming any meeting space into a flexible multi-use video collaboration space.

“Until now, people looking to collaborate over video were faced with a choice between installing high priced purpose-built systems or crowding around a laptop that’s placed at the end of a table. This resulted in a poor experience with coworkers packed

together like sardines or falling out of the frame,” said Moninder Jain, Managing Director of Logitech Southeast Asia and India at Logitech.

“Logitech GROUP provides the best of both worlds, an affordable solution optimized for large rooms with a wide

field of view and crystal clear audio quality. Plus, it works with virtually any UC or video collaboration software and is so easy to use that you don’t need IT support to help get your meeting started.” www.logitech.com

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Staging Connections Showcases Elite AV for World's Largest Gas Conference team excelled in delivering a stand out event. Our team’s talents, combined with the world-class technology that we have, combine to create the ultimate offering for major events like this,” said Mr Chamberlain.

Audio, vision, set design, staging, lighting and multimedia content for all events over the 4 days of the conference were delivered by the Staging Connections team, including the main Opening and Closing Plenary Sessions, daily plenary sessions in accompanying breakout rooms, plus several ancillary keynote events.

AUSTRALIA: Staging Connections delivered end-to-end audio visual services for the world’s largest liquefied national gas conference, LNG18, for 6,000 delegates, over four days at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 12 – 15 April 2016.

Debuted at the conference was Staging Connections’ latest offering, Inteli-Touch, an interactive touch screen presentation software, touted as the next generation of PowerPoint and Keynote.

Paul Douglass, Event Manager at Exhibition and Trade Fairs who built the exhibition as part of LNG18 and used Inteli-Touch to book stands for the next gas exhibition, commented on the seamless experience it provided.

“It was really beneficial to be able to show prospective exhibitors display floor plans for the next LNG conference, the 27th World Gas Conference in Washington, on the Inteli-Touch.

“The interactive technology enabled visitors to filter floor plans based on their needs, for example stand size, and view the available positions in detail. They could then either send an enquiry, or book directly with our team on the stand.

We loved the interactivity of the system and exhibitors were very impressed by

the state of the art touch screen,” said Mr Douglas.

Another hero feature, a contemporary, industrial-styled hexagonal shaped stage set, spanned the entire length of the main theatre stage, standing 7.5m high by 20m wide. Images of Australia’s landscape and current LNG projects were projected on the hexagonal shapes, using 18K Christies, Watchout software and Spyder controls. All on screen content, opening and closing ceremony videos and sponsor loops were designed

by Staging Connections’ in house multimedia team.

Tony Chamberlain, Managing Director, Staging Connections was proud to have overseen the team delivering the elite AV solutions for the enormous event.

“From the hexagonal stage set to the impressive multimedia and inaugural use of our new Inteli-Touch system, out

VIP attendees included Prime Minister The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Foreign Minister The Hon. Julie Bishop MP, multiple other heads of state and LNG industry professionals from across the globe including CEOs from Chevron, Shell and Woodside.

Staging Connections is owned and operated by Staging Connections Group Limited (SCGL) which was acquired by the world’s largest brand experience company, The Freeman Company, in October 2015. www.stagingconnections.com

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Barco Appoints Rajiv Bhalla as Managing Director for India an industry veteran, with more than 22 years of senior leadership experience in technology organizations like Thomson Consumer Electronics, Microsoft, NEC and Intel and has a deep understanding of the B2B and B2C aspects of the business.

Rajive Bhalla

INDIA: Barco has announced the appointment of Rajiv Bhalla as Managing Director for India. Armed with a BEElectronics degree and an MBA, Rajiv is

Rajiv will help formulate and execute business strategy with the goal of tapping into India’s enormous potential and expand Barco’s local business presence. He will also be the legal representative of Barco India, fulfilling all legal, regulatory and statutory obligations ensuring compliance with

local legal, safety, environmental regulations as well as company directives and guidelines.

“India is at an exciting inflection point for accelerated growth led by the government’s focus on Smart Cities, Digital India and Make in India,” said Rajiv Bhalla, on the new assignment.

“I am excited at the opportunity to leverage Barco’s heritage of technical and operational excellence to accelerate a new era of growth and innovation.” www.barco.com

NMK Signs On Bose Professional For Middle East Markets MIDDLE EAST: Nicolaos M Kyvernitis Electronics Ent. (NMK), distributor of professional audio, video and communication products in the Middle East signed a distribution agreement with Bose Professional that designs and manufactures audio components for AV system integrators and consultants.

“Working with Bose again feels like coming full circle”, states Nicolas Kyvernitis, Managing Director at NMK who started his career in the AV industry as an Advisor and Pro Manager for the first distributor of Bose in the region. During that period, he had the opportunity to follow the teachings of the late Dr. Bose. “30 years ago when we were selling Bose products in the Gulf region, the Pro Division of Bose consisted only of the 802 series one, and two and the 1800 amplifier,” recalled Kyvernitis.

“As the years went by, the 302 was launched onto the market, and with the limited resources on hand at the time, we used the Pro Series to market and promote Home sound system at a few concerts happening within the UAE. Today NMK and Bose have come back together again. Both companies have the know-how, expertise and will to make this relationship fruitful.”

“Bose UAE sales team will be key to making this successful by working closely with our existing premium dealers, integrators and new partner to ensure that our customers are serviced exceptionally while maintaining Bose as the premium solution it is today,” commented Kaushal Garg, Division Manager of Bose MEA. “The value added benefits of the partnership between Bose and NMK

will ensure improved customer service with enhanced market penetration by leveraging the synergies offered by our two organisations,” commented Christian Liebenberg, Sales Manager at Bose MEA. www.bose.com

Quotable Quotes “My observation is that they (the architects) don’t really fully understand the complexity of AV and that has created some challenges for us at first to get them to understand the importance of routing things and other complexities to help us to achieve the absolutes – which are essential.”

- John Bartlett, Executive Director, AMERA Education & Professional Services, Essilor AMERA Pte Ltd, shares his experience on working with a major architect firm on a comprehensive AV project.

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Renkus-Heinz Announces Reorganization INTERNATIONAL: Renkus-Heinz, Southern California based professional loudspeaker manufacturer, has announced a restructuring of key management positions. Effective June 1, 2016, and under the continuing leadership of company founder and CEO Harro Heinz, Sr. Vice President Ralph Heinz will assume the position of Chief Technical Officer, with Monika Heinz Smetona being appointed Chief Operating Officer.

Margie Kirby steps up to the newly formed position Director of Marketing, leading the charge on company branding and communications with Jim Bailey

filling the role of Product Marketing Manager.

The restructuring is timed to coincide with the exceptional growth the company has been experiencing. Current Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Rik Kirby, will be leaving Renkus-Heinz to start his own venture, an international sales, marketing and distribution firm, Allied SMD. "This new management structure is a reflection of the growth of the company and the evolution of our positions within that structure," explains COO Monika Heinz Smetona. "The expansion of

our presence internationally calls for increased attention to those markets, as well as a fresh look at best practices for providing sales and technical support here in the US. We wish Rik Kirby well in his new venture, and look ahead to continued growth and development for Renkus-Heinz." www.renkus-heinz.com

Infocomm Promotes Rod Brown To Regional Director – Oceania.

OCEANIA: InfoComm International has announced the promotion of Rod Brown, CTS-D, CTS-I, to Regional Director – Oceania. In his new role, Rod Brown will be responsible for managing InfoComm membership services, the education programme in the region, InfoComm certification and the Australia Advisory Group.

“We are very pleased to see Rod take on the role of Regional Director – Oceania,” said Jonathan Seller, Senior Director Development, Asia-Pacific, InfoComm International. “This position was created with our commitment in mind to further enhance services to InfoComm International members in the region.

Due to his longstanding career in the AV industry and through his service as our regional staff instructor, Rod is highly regarded by our InfoComm members.

He brings extensive experience and connections within the industry to this role.”

Prior to his promotion, Rod served as an InfoComm staff instructor, teaching InfoComm University™ courses, presenting seminars at industry events and delivering AV education webinars. He also worked on the creation of new and updated learning content. He was the first Australian to earn his CTS-D certification.

Rod's expertise, particularly at a practical level, comes from his extensive experience in broadcast television, live theatre, concerts and cinema. He has been involved in education for many years, particularly in sound production techniques and acoustics, and has been a seminar panellist for the Audio Engineering Society.

Prior to joining InfoComm, Rod was a sound and audiovisual communications consultant based in Melbourne, Australia. His company served clients in the corporate, education, entertainment, legislative, transportation and worship markets in Australia and internationally.

During this period, he was awarded Honorary Life Governorship of Vision Australia for his contribution to establishing audio description of theatre performances. www.infocomm.org

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Visiting InfoComm 2016? You Might Want To Know About These

Mackie Co-Sponsors Dante AV Networking World

Join RPV’s Mount Hall of Fame Tour If you missed RPV’s Mount Hall of Fame last year, not to fear, they are resurrecting it in a BIG way again this year.

Combined with a Behind the Mount booth tour, RPV will be offering a look at their Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino Superbook project. This project collaboration with HB Communications and Christie features the highest resolution indoor LED video wall in the world.

RPV will be offering tours alongside HB Communications, and Christie, of the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino Superbook. The tours will be on June 8 at 11:00AM, and on June 9 at 11:00AM and 3:00PM during InfoComm. If you’d like to reserve a space for the tour please contact Brandy Alvarado at brandy@rpvisuals.com.

Mackie is among a list of top-tier industry leaders cosponsoring the sixth annual Dante AV Networking World education event during InfoComm 2016.

The workshop, to be held on June 7th at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas, will feature in-depth training with two separate tracks: one for attendees that are new to Dante, and another for more experienced Dante users.

Audinate will also introduce its new two level Dante certification program at the event. Dante AV Networking World will give design consultants, system integrators, audio engineers and IT managers the tools and information they need to get the most out of Audinate's revolutionary audio networking solution. http://mackie.com

www.rpvisuals.com

Exhibitor Notices...

DPA To Bring New Range of Audio Solutions

AptoVision To Highlight BlueRiver NT+ Chipset

Matrox To Showcase A Variety of 4K Solutions

Vivitek & Delta To Entice with Extensive Lineup

Located at Booth C9947, DPA will display its proven miking solutions for the AV and Installation markets, including models from its d:dicate™, d:vote™, d:screet™, d:fine™ and d:facto™ product lines.

As first 4K HDR sources come to Market, AptoVision highlights its BlueRiver NT+ Chipset as sole solution for switching and long distance distribution of HDR content.

Booth: N235

www.dpamicrophones.com

www.aptovision.com

At booth N2047, Matrox® Graphics Inc. will present a series of interactive demonstrations featuring Mura™ IPX Series 4K capture and IP encoder/decoder cards, C-Series™ multi-display graphics cards etc. Matrox Video will also introduce the Monarch™ LCS lecture capture appliance.

At the show, Vivitek will be displaying its DU8090Z, DU7090Z laser projectors and Qumi Q8 portable LED projectors, while sister company Delta Displays will showcase its 4K UHD 70” DLP Laser Cubes, LED indoor and outdoor digital signage displays and Thin-Bezel LCD video walls. Booth: C7440

www.matrox.com/graphics

www.vivitekcorp.com www.deltaww.com

www.infocommshow.org

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

V2 Indonesia Holds “Discover The Future” Event a critical role in ensuring the displays work perfectly.

Aaron He, PH.D, Vice President of Novastar emphasized on the importance of “Calibration for LEDs” and how this is achieved.

Vivitek's Kevin Y.M.Shih, General Manager of Global Product Management at Vivitek Corporation brought guests through the evolution of light source for projectors highlighting the impact of Laser projectors.

V2 Indonesia's CEO, Rudi Hidayat addressing the crowd.

INDONESIA: The 17th of May, saw about 200 plus guests gather at the Aruba Room in Kota Kasablanka in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discover the future of AV Technologies. The one day event organised by V2 Indonesia was a lively event which was much more than just a seminar on AV technologies.

Guests who were mainly end-users and re-sellers of V2 Indonesia, hailed not only from Jakarta but also Surabaya, Solo, Bandung, Kalimantan and even Bali.

The event saw a total of 9 informative presentation by V2's principals as well as entertainment, tons of lucky draw prizes and even a presentation by motivational speaker James Gwee to round off the event – to say it was not a typical AV presentation event would be an understatement.

RGBLink's International Sales Director, Ben Hu spoke about the visual landscape and what might be the future in his “Dynamic Connection, Evolving Markets” presentation.

Alex Zhang, Business Director of DiGiBird gave an overview about Image processors to help create stunning videowall messages.

Christie's Jonathan Lim, Director of Sales, Image Processing Systems, APAC, spoke on “The Art of Redefining Conventional AV” highlighting how more screens are being used in different settings and how image processors play

Gark Tan, General Manager of Mersive Asia-Pacific, in keeping to the theme of Discover the Future, gave an overview of the changing landscape in meeting and collaboration spaces and how technology like Mersive's Solstice is revolutionising the space by making BYOD presentations a reality with numerous advantages.

Dr Lothar Lou, CEO of Joyway spoke about the technological advancement in relation to outdoor LEDs that enables integrators and end-users to consider the instalment of LED panels where previously it would have been difficult.

Lightking Tech Group's General Manager Zeming Qi, expanded on the Outdoor LED theme highlighting to guests that there is more to be considered other

Brands also put up their solutions at the back of the hall for guests to see, experience and understand more about the technologies on display. Coffee, tea and lunch breaks also ensured that guests were taken care of well.

The event got off to a rousing start with an entertainment performance before the presentations. V2's principals flew down specifically for the event to add value with their presentation. The presentations were as follows:

(L-R) RGBLink's Ben Hu, DigiBird's Alex Zhang, Novastar's Aaron He, Christie's Jonathan Lim, Vivitek's Kevin Y.M.Shih, V2 Indonesia's CEO, Rudi Hidayat, Mersive Asia-Pacific's Gark Tan, Joyway's Dr Lothar Lou, tvOne's Ken Liu, Gefen's Rod Sommerich and Lightking's Zeming Qi.

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The event starts off with some lively entertainment

than pixels where outdoor installation is concerned.

Rounding off the presentations was Ken Liu, APAC Sales Manager for tvONE who spoke about a specific product from the company, ONERack, which puts the interest and needs of the installer in the Rack space. ONERack offers installers and end-users a much better, effective and productive way to rack small units such as receivers in the rack.

Guests were also pro-active with every presentation ending off with a lively Q&A. On the objective of organising this event, Rudi Hidayat, CEO, V2 Indonesia explained, “Every organization, company, either in public or private sector involved in business activity must be dynamic and prepared to take revolutionary action by knowing the trends with respect to technology in their business approach. That's the

More entertainment followed before the beginning of the afternoon session.

reason (why) we organise this seminar, to educate and share with customers.”

and feel their time was well spent as an investment to grow their knowledge.

“The more knowledge you share with the customer, the more they understand how technology can help their organisation and as a by-product they trust and like you. This is the key for us in building our relationship with customers.”

There is so much to be done, starting with choosing the main theme, then what would be the content, how to set-up the venue in terms of layout and other considerations, so that the event is not just another normal seminar.”

On creating a memorable event, Rudi added, “Organising a seminar is not just about putting it together. You must have a unique concept and ensure that it is not boring for the participants, so that they will stay throughout the event

“At V2 Indonesia our concept is never the same each time. We want to make customers feel excited when they get invited for the next seminar. Knowledge, Enjoyment and Excitement are the keys to V2 seminars,” said a pleased Rudi.

The event was without any doubt a success in transmitting knowledge, enabling participants to talk directly to the manufacturer reps and seeing the solutions. Kudos to V2 Indonesia for an informative, entertaining and wellorganised event. www.v2indonesia.com

Guests getting ready to be informed.

Guests getting additional input from the exhibits that was set up by each manufacturer.

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NEWS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Mindstec At InfoComm China 2016 CHINA: Global distributor of collaboration solutions, Mindstec Distribution recently exhibited their full range of collaboration solutions at InfoComm China 2016. A number of companies also joined the company at the show to showcase solutions.

These included Datapath, Cabletime, BTech, MTC, Realfiction, Polywall, GoGet, Muxlab & IRS Room Technology Solutions.

The participation of these partners combined with the global Mindstec brand, not only demonstrates commitment to providing clients with the latest of best of breed technology, but also their global reach, with local expertise.

“The show was a great success in terms of the visitors to our booth and the leads that we generated,” commented David Wu, General Manager, Mindstec China.

“We also just inaugurated our Beijing office and are creating an experience centre for our Channel Partners and clients to experience the state of the art AV products and solutions,” he added.

During the coming year, Mindstec will also be implementing radical and exciting revamps to their global distribution structure which will bring benefits to clients in the form of shorter lead times, improved service and a reduction in environmental impact. www.mindstec.com

Christie Engages Business Technology Professionals At CeBIT Australia difference to this innovative and fastmoving sector,” said Michael Bosworth, general manager, Christie Australia.

“Our featured products are champions in every class in terms of technology, performance, reliability, warranty and support, and there’s certainly a Christie product that can perfectly fit any business technology application.”

AUSTRALIA: Christie’s latest range of visual and collaborative solutions were on display to engage business technology professionals at CeBIT Australia 2016, which took place at the Sydney Olympic Park between May 2-4.

The Christie® booth featured an exciting lineup of leading technologies and solutions for business and educational applications that offers exceptional

performance and reliability. Over 15,000 attendees from government, enterprise, SMEs and startups participated in this three-day event.

“We are excited to be part of CeBIT 2016, which is one of the largest and longest running business technology events in Asia Pacific, by becoming a Bronze sponsor and showcasing the best lineup of solutions that will make a

Lin Yu, Vice President, Christie Asia Pacific, commented, “Our active participation in CeBIT Australia underscores our strong and continued commitment to the Australian market, which is one of our main contributors of growth in the Asia Pacific region.

Not only are we focused on engaging the business technology community, we are also dedicated in providing our end-users and customers with the best service and support. Our recent appointment of Dr Group Global as the authorized service centre for Christie products in Australia is a case in point.” www.christiedigital.com

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Lightware Opens China Operations Centre CHINA: In order to strength the sales and service platform in mainland China, Lightware Visual Engineering Limited recently acquired their agent in Guangzhou, Cheering Electronics, and effective on May 1, 2016, the entire team is now officially part of the Lightware China Operations Center. Lightware also took the opportunity to present the new team to the market at InfoComm China in Beijing. Lightware will soon also be opening offices in Beijing and Shanghai, directly facing the market and expanding to meet the needs of their customers.

growth internationally, and will serve to further solidify our stance in the market."

comprehensive fiber switching platform for Shanghai Disney© Resort.

Gergely Vida, President & CEO mentioned that "China is poised for steady growth in the long-term, and putting Lightware China in place is our commitment to the market and shows our esteemed customers our continued support and trust. The new office will play an integral part in Lightware's

As the inventor of digital matrix switching, Lightware quickly entered China to provide world-class video switching for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony, then continued to deliver superior solutions for the Shanghai World Fair, Han Show in Wuhan, and most recently provided a

Lightware researches and produces modular hybrid solutions such as matrix switchers, extenders, and peripheral equipment for the Corporate, Hospitality, Medical, Military, Education, and Live Events markets. www.lightware.cn

Flex Plex The New Flex Plex ships in a 24-inch roll giving you all the benefits of rigid rear projection without the challenge of an oversized shipping crate. Available with our eight standard coating options formulated to fit your application requirements.

FEATURES • Acrylic, lightweight rear projection screen • Ships in a roll • Permanently bonded coatings • Larger sizes available upon request

Includes frame, mounting t-track and trim

For enquiry asia.da-lite@milestone.com www.milestone.com

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Martin Audio: CDD-WR Weatherised Installation Loudspeakers Series

Previewed at ISE 2016, the new CDD-WR weatherised installation loudspeakers features patented Coaxial Differential Dispersion (CDD) technology and has met a rating of IP54.

The CDD-WR range also delivers improved coverage and consistency, with the need for fewer speakers than those with traditional fixed dispersion X° x Y° horns.

Key features include: • Designed for outdoor operation where it will be subject to changing environmental conditions, but sheltered from direct exposure to the elements.

• Weatherised water resistant grille made from zinc plated mild steel with a powder coated finish.

• CSX-WR subwoofers in the series have an IP24 rating and feature a zinc plated mild steel grille with powder coated finish, plywood cabinets with polyurea finish and are flyable with stainless steel fixings.

• Discreet design • Weatherised mounting brackets available.

Possible applications: For consistent coverage in outdoor environments such as outdoor stadia, transport hubs, concourses and theme parks.

Availability: Now https://martin-audio.com

RGB Spectrum: MultiPoint® Control Room Management System Express Also known as MCMS Express for short, RGB Spectrum's latest innovation is a hardware and software platform that integrates control of disparate systems over baseband video or IP (LAN/ WAN).

Built on the features of its Enterprise MCMS, the powerful MCMS Express is designed for collaborative work environments that allows up to three operators to share keyboard/mouse (KVM) control of up to 18 sources.

Key features include: • Designed exclusively for MediaWall V display processors.

• Integrated control station and server.

• Secure multi-user KVM control.

• Air-gapped security protects sensitive data from tampering, malware and viruses.

• Local and remote operators.

• Unified control of multiple applications.

• Drag and drop simplicity.

• Fully customizable capabilities.

• System integration without custom software.

Possible applications: Ideal for a range of mission-critical security and control room systems: command & control, debriefing centers, megapixel video surveillance, military reconnaissance, security operations center (SOC), emergency operations centers (EOCs), industrial/process control and SCADA system integration.

Availability: Now www.rgb.com

SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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Kramer: K-Touch ver3.2

Kramer has released its latest software upgrade for the K−Touch Control Platform, further simplifying the system design process and reducing the time it takes to build advanced, user− friendly room control systems over Ethernet for lights, screens, sound, any AV equipment, HVAC, thermostats, and more.

K−Touch 3.2 saves time on both new installations and upgrades of existing installations with support for Kramer’s new FC−28 Ethernet Gateway.

Key upgrades include: • Kramer FC−series I/O connectivity products allow non− Ethernet−based devices to be controlled over Ethernet.

• FC−28 has ten ports that include RS−232, GPIO, relays, and IR. Kramer RC−series button controllers can also be incorporated into any project to provide tactile operation.

• Reduces configuration time with a new programming feature called “Global Macro.”

• Scalable to 100s of devices, multiple rooms and multiple sites, all controllable from either an iOS or Android touch screen.

• Pre−designed graphical user interfaces that enable complex control of advanced room automation systems with no additional programming required. Modules include support for lighting, automation, security, HVAC.

Possible applications: Ideal for corporate environments, education facilities, entertainment venues, houses of worship, government agencies, and more.

Availability: New software upgrade now downloadable via Kramer website. www.kramerelectronics.com

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Sony: 4K Video Cam with High Sensitivity & Mobility Compact and lightweight, Sony's all-new UMC-S3C video camera offers both 4K resolution and high sensitivity in full colour – allowing users to capture details even in challenging low-light conditions. The camera also features tremendous flexibility and long duration video recording alongside 12 megapixel colour still image capture.

Key features include: • Highest sensitivity in its class with illuminance as under 0.004lx, ISO 4096001.

• Lightweight - at approximately 400g.

• Mounting points on the camera body enhances mobility - the stand-alone camera allows users to embed it onto moving objects including vehicles and robot with ease.

• Users can control the camera via multi terminal2, remote controller or compatible software.

• Can be fitted into any existing infrastructure and also allows various playback functions with the use of a PC as well as Live View via HDMI. • 63GB memory card slot – record up to 125 minutes of 4K footage at 30fps/60 mbps.

Possible applications: Suitable for a variety of applications including disaster responses; wildlife monitoring; mapping or surveying of landscape; surveillance, inspections and investigations; live camera; dashboard/professional point-ofview (POV) cameras, among others.

Availability: In Asia Pacific from July 2016 onwards http://pro.sony-asia.com

tvOne: CORIOgrapher v2.2

New features like "immediate mode" have been added to the software for CORIOmaster & CORIOmaster mini, which allow edge-blending and video monitor placement to occur in real time rather than clicking 'take' after each adjustment.

The new CORIOgrapher software also included new test generator patterns to help with system configuration and Ease in & Ease Out, which makes transitions smoother and more natural.

Key upgrades include: • Undo, Redo Configuration changes/settings in Wall Editor.

• Support Undo and Redo in Edge Blend Mode.

• Undo and Redo Wall Editor Selection as part of the Revision History.

• Wall Editor Immediate Mode sends changed values to the Device without pressing Take.

• Prompt for Take when entering Immediate Mode as there might be unsent changes.

• Change Window Snapping to snap to Display Viewable area only.

• Test Pattern - Global on and off option.

• Vertical Lines, Horizontal Lines, Bars n Ramps, and Solid Colors, Blue, Red, Magenta, Green, Cyan, Yellow, White.

• Added Network Settings view in settings tab • Input Cropping via Window Properties Pane.

• When Logging in - New prompts for Read, Send, or Just Connect to the Device.

• Change and View Ethernet Network Settings via Settings Page.

• FW/CG - Allow saving of System Settings independently to the Live Configuration.

• Dithering: Add On/Off option to all Inputs.

• Global Ease In/Out for transitions via General Settings.

Availability: v2.2 software download via tvOne website. www.tvone.com

SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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Chief: Custom Mount For Microsoft Surface Hub Chief has introduced a custom heavy duty flat panel mount designed specially for the Microsoft® 84” Surface Hub™ on walls. The PSMH2079 is a wall display mount option designed to quickly install the 84” Surface Hub. Chief already manufactures several mounts that can accommodate the 55” Surface Hub. Key features include: • Custom TV specific bracket design.

• +1.6° plum adjustment to help vertically align the panel.

• Exclusive Q-Latch Mounting System secures the TV to the wall.

• High weight capacity and rugged design.

• Offers quick installation and quick release.

• 76 mm lateral shift.

• Low profile of 64 mm.

For the 55” Surface Hub, Chief has the Fusion XSM1U wall mount, which comes with installer-friendly Fusion features.

For mobile applications, the Fusion XPAU cart works with the 55” Microsoft Surface Hub. The cart’s sleek aesthetics are suitable for multiple environments. A turn knob adjusts the height from 1.2-1.7 m. The cart also includes internal storage for rack mountable and non-rack mountable components. Tool free latching flags add padlock security.

Availability: Now. www.milestone.com/products/brands/chief

NO MORE

HEAVY LIFTING Fusion Dynamic Height Adjust Mounts increase accessibility.

Available in cart, wall and floor-supported solutions.

Fusion’s rigidity, stability and display adjustments ensure a superior experience. Smooth, fingertip height adjustment allows users to quickly and safely raise and lower the display with almost no effort.

Learn more at milestone.com/FusionDynamic

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Lightware: New Boards for MX Modular Matrix Family The new MX-4TPS2-4HDMI-IB input board is what Lightware calls the ’Half & Half’ board, offering four HDBaseT ports for remote and four HDMI ports for local sources. The board is available in six sub-versions (the other five being: -P, -AP, -SP, -A and -S) with analog and digital audio and PoE options. It is a great choice for those who want to upgrade their system in their existing or new MX chassis or simply have no need for a full line of eight TPS2 or HDMI ports.

Key features include: • HDMI extension supporting 3D and 4K. • Accepts HDMI + Ethernet + RS-232 over one CAT5/6/7 cable up to 170m distance.

• HDMI 1.4; DVI and HDCP compliant.

• 4K, UHD (30Hz RGB 4:4:4, 60Hz YCbCr 4:2:0), 1080p @ 120 Hz, 2560 x 1600, 2048 x 2048.

• 10/100 Ethernet transmission.

• Supports all HDMI audio formats.

• Digital or analog audio add-on option.

• Adjustable analog audio settings.

• PoE add-on option.

Availability: Now. www.lightware.eu

Extron: New Capacitive Screen TouchLink Pro Touchpanels The 12” TLP Pro 1220TG, 10” TLP Pro 1022T, and the 5” TLC Pro 521M feature capacitive and vibrant glass touchscreens that provide more responsive control surfaces and greater viewing angles.

Key features include: • Faster processing and more memory.

• The TLP Pro 1220TG features video preview inputs that support high resolution HDCP-compliant video from HDMI sources and Extron XTP devices.

• Touchpanels receive power and communication over a single Ethernet cable for ease of integration.

• Stylish designs and features make them ideal for control applications requiring fully-customizable touchpanels with flexible mounting options.

• TouchLink Pro touchpanels operate using standard network infrastructure and are easy to install with reliable and cost effective Ethernet cable.

• They are customized using Extron GUI Designer software.

• For mounting flexibility, the TLP Pro 1220TG and TLP Pro 1022T can be removed from their bases and mounted on a standard VESA mounting arm or bracket.

• The TLC Pro 521M TouchLink Pro controller features a secure and powerful built-in control processor and supports Ethernet-controllable devices.

• The TLC Pro 521M can also be mounted in landscape or portrait orientation on a wall, lectern, or any flat surface, including glass.

Availability: Now. www.extron.com

SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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Blackmagic Design: MultiView 4 The Blackmagic MultiView 4 is a new multi viewer that lets customers monitor 4 completely independent SDI video sources on a single display. Customers can monitor any combination of SD, HD and Ultra HD formats and frame rates all at the same time.

Blackmagic MultiView 4 can output to regular HD monitors, however, when plugged in an Ultra HD display, they will get four times the resolution of a simple HD only multi viewer.

Key features include: • Advanced multi view allows the use of Ultra HD television for twice the image sharpness.

• Display up to 4 SDI sources on a single HD or Ultra HD display via SDI or HDMI. • 4 multi rate 6G-SDI inputs with loop through outputs.

• Compatible with all SD, HD and Ultra HD equipment and formats up to 2160p30.

• Automatic frame re-sync allows simultaneous display of mixed SD, HD and Ultra HD formats.

• Standard quad split view.

• Supported output resolutions: 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160.

• Compact portable 1/3 width 1RU design with professional connections for easy installation.

• Built in 90V - 240V AC international power supply for use anywhere in the world.

• Remote control via Ethernet using the included Mac and Windows software.

• Supports power over Ethernet (PoE+) which can also be used as a backup power source.

• Blackmagic MultiView 4 can be looped for customized display arrangements.currently on the same monitor, with each view being full resolution HD with no scaling.

Possible applications: Ideal for live production, on set, in control rooms, or any place where space is tight and users don’t have room for extra monitors.

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SOLUTIONS UPDATE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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SOLUTIONS HIGHLIGHT Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

TeamConnect: Every Space Is A Meeting Space Sennheiser ushers in exceptional simplicity for stress-free audio conferences.

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lexible in design and simple to control, Sennheiser TeamConnect is a game-changing audio conferencing solution. A cutting-edge conferencing system consisting of speakers, mics, central control unit and a connectivity management programme integrated with “Bring Your Own Devices” (BYOD), it is a solution designed to meet the demands of the modern worker.

A winner of the Red Dot Design Award, Sennheiser TeamConnect first launched the wired edition at ISE 2014. Since then, the TeamConnect series has grown from strength to strength and in ISE 2016, the audio major introduced a revolutionary wireless addition to the family.

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With teams often spread across many locations, it’s mission-critical to successfully bring people together, because only a connected team can perform to its full potential. Yet despite this, too often conferences don’t run smoothly, hampered by technical challenges or offering poor sound quality that makes it difficult for participants to be understood. This has a direct impact on business performance: A new study by Sennheiser and Millward Brown released in January 2016 has revealed that successful companies have strong internal connections and run a higher frequency of meetings, while lower performers meet less often. The study also discovered that barriers in sound

quality and usability of meeting technology leads to lower frequency of meetings, with managers demanding that future solutions should be reliable, offering better sound quality and intuitive ease of use.

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SOLUTIONS HIGHLIGHT Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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The TeamConnect Family Overview:

No matter what programme/ application you are running on your devices (i.e. Skype, FaceTime, YouTube video, downloaded mp3 / mp4 file or a web streaming file), TeamConnect is able to sync seamlessly with the audio from the connected device.

For TeamConnect Wireless, the stylish portable solution is made up of four units – one master and three satellites that can be easily transported in a durable, easy to transport charging case. The units are wirelessly linked by a DECT connection and provide a flexible system that can be set up in virtually any room or table arrangement.

To set up TeamConnect Wireless, users simply need to lift the four units from the case, place it on the table and it will automatically power up and link together. The intuitive, touchsensitive control panel on the master unit allows users to connect devices and control calls by muting and/or adjusting volume, while the satellite units only have call control functions.

Uniquely, TeamConnect Wireless supports up to three simultaneous call parties, so additional callers can be joined to an existing conference by just connecting another device.

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Sennheiser wants to hear from you! Based on your needs, usage and budget, our team of engineers will work out the best possible TeamConnect solution that is designed specially for you. Whether you are a technology manager for a MICE venue or a SI looking to incorporate a high performance audio conferencing solution into your project, we will be glad to assist.

• Are you a leader of change and want to improve the quality of audio conferencing solution used in your organization?

For enquires regarding Sennheiser TeamConnect, you can email us at web.asia@sennheiser.com or visit our website at http://en-sg.sennheiser.com/integrated-systems

40

TECH TALK Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

AEC Technology Article Series: Part 1

Echo, Echo, Echo…The Anatomy of Acoustic Echo Cancelling Technology

By Marco Hendel

W

hen setting up a distance conferencing system, it normally includes one or more microphones and speakers in a room, connected to a POTS or VoIP telephone, or a Video Codec. The communication method doesn't matter – a common problem occurs with all of them: echo.

The microphone(s) pick up the voice of the near end, and the speaker amplifies the far end. The trouble starts when the voice of the far end, played back through the speaker in the room, is captured by the microphone and transmitted back to the far end. At that moment, the far end hears their own voice as echo.

If you have ever experienced that, you will know that it is extremely difficult to maintain coherence of thought. Our brains are unable to function correctly when hearing our own voice with delay - and the more delay between the near end and far end (often called “round trip delay”), the harder it becomes to have productive conversations.

Half Duplex communication was one of the first solutions to the problem, and indeed it is still used in some scenarios. This simple technique effectively mutes the near end microphone when the far end speaks, thus eliminating a path for echo to occur. But implementing a half-duplex solution means that the conference is no longer a conversation, rather a series of monologues, as the far end won't hear the near end until they finished talking. Interjections are not heard, and thus this isn't a true conversation.

Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) offers a solution to this, so let’s take a peek under the hood at the anatomy of AEC. Designing high-performance AEC processing requires a huge invest in engineering and in many cases details of the technology are proprietary to the company developing it. But it is generally agreed that most designs on the market rely on the following components:

Reference The AEC processor needs to know what audio should be removed from the microphone. That’s accomplished by providing a "reference" signal; most often, the far-end voice.

That way, the AEC circuit knows which signal is unwanted and, if the process works correctly, the far end will only hear the near-end conversation, and not their own echo.

Adaptive Filtering The adaptive filter is where most of the AEC complexity lies.

In simple terms, the AEC models an out-of-polarity signal intended to cancel out the far-end signal picked up by the microphone. Adaptive filters can be implemented in several

ways, including time and/or frequency domain adaptation, different sets of calculation forms, and the choice of filter type being applied.

Non Linear Processing (NLP) NLP is roughly equivalent to a sophisticated ducking technology used to suppress any residual echo that the adaptive filter did not cancel. While often required, it is worth mentioning that some AEC technologies can sometimes rely too much on the NLP, which results in over-suppression and/ or distortion of the near-end speech for both primary (close to mic) and secondary (far from mic) talkers. Excessive use of NLP can destroy the “ambience” of the near end transmitted to the far end.

Other Some AEC circuits may include additional processing, such as Filters (typically a High-Pass), Noise Reduction or even Automatic Gain Control (AGC), all designed to improve audio quality. As you choose your solution, it is worth comparing what is offered from each solution.

There are common terms used when referring to AEC. The following represent a core group of terms that will ensure a level playing field when comparing solutions:

TECH TALK Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Convergence Usually referred to as Convergence rate or Loss of convergence, it refers to how quickly the AEC processor models the room and adapts to echo path changes. AEC 'converges' when it efficiently adapts filter parameters and echo is removed. Loss of convergence occurs when the AEC circuit cannot track acoustic echo path changes resulting in echo being heard by the far end.

Residual Echo Residual echo are acoustic echo signal(s) that were not removed by the AEC technology.

Double Talk This occurs when speech is generated on both ends of the line.

It is the most demanding state for the AEC circuit correct and adapt for.

Tail Length Tail length refers to the maximum echo time delay that will be removed by the AEC.

Metrics In order to consistently gage and judge the performance of an AEC solution, the following metrics (usually measured in dB) are generally used: • Echo Return Loss (ERL): The ratio between the far-end audio arriving at the AEC reference input and the signal picked up by the microphone.

• Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE): The amount of echo attenuation or reduction introduced by the AEC process.

• Combined Loss (ACOM)/ Total Echo Reduction (TER): ACOM represents the sum of the ERL and ERLE, and indicates the total echo reduction that was introduced by the room acoustics (ERL), the AEC, and Non Linear Processing (ERLE).

Difficulties of Acoustic Echo Cancellation While acoustic echo cancellation brings amazing clarity to conversations and can reduce the stress experienced when using sub-par conferencing technology, cancelling one voice while keeping the other voices intact is extremely difficult.

41

Consider that in most cases, the acoustic echo signal picked up by the microphone is different from the AEC reference signal.

It has been amplified and played back in an unknown acoustic environment where acoustic reflections have further modified the signal, thus creating an effective filter is a significant challenge.

Additionally, the acoustics may be dynamic. Changing constantly through the use of a wireless microphone as the talker is moving around the room, or is there are people entering and exiting the room. This requires the AEC to automatically adapt to dynamic changes by updating filter parameters accordingly.

Signal Latency Because AEC is such a complex process, it can take processing time as adjustments are made throughout a conference call.

This latency is unavoidable, but different AEC circuits vary on how much latency can be added, from less than 20ms to well over 40ms in some solutions. This is important to keep in mind, especially when designing rooms that require local sound reinforcement.

Looking Ahead There is a lot that goes into engineering a robust AEC solution.

And while the above provides an initial overview on AEC, it is reason enough to continue this TechTalk to the next issue where I’ll discuss an equally important topic on how to successfully implement a distance conferencing solution with AEC. Until then, keep in mind that even the most sophisticated technology can be rendered useless without the proper implementation. Our ears are amazing tools and are very hard to trick. If challenging room acoustics or even a poor setup won’t allow AEC to work properly, the far end will notice.

Marco Hendel is an application engineer on Biamp Systems’ global application engineering support team, based out of Germany. He is interested in everything audio related and enjoys spending time working on his HiFi electronics and speakers. www.biamp.com

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TECH TALK Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

By Gerd Kaiser

Laser Technology: Destined To Become Standard!

Trends in projection technology promise a bright future for laser Laser, or Solid State Light Sources (SSL) – simply said, the light producing systems made up of either LED devices or Laser Diodes – have fast evolved from a point of consumer lighting applications to sophisticated professional applications of highest grade. The technology’s electroluminescence capability to produce high and long-stable brightness – as much as over 50,000 Lumens of light – and inherent quality of energy-efficiency even as it provides high-grade image quality has been a compelling factor for its increased adoption by the projection industry.

Given the way the domain is being explored, the technology stands to become an industry standard soon. Gerd Kaiser, Senior Product Line Manager, Large Venue Projectors, NEC Display Solutions Europe, shares his views on the technology.

L

aser, or SSL (Solid State Light Source) is stepping into the limelight: whilst it may have seemed a long way away from being widely available and the industry was somehow sceptical about laser technology, it is now a feasible investment for more and more projection applications. Until recently, lamps were installed in most devices but laser has now become the light source of choice in large venue projectors. Today, the belief that laser might be a steep investment, that it’s still in its early days, or that handling might be complicated because of laser regulations are only a myth. In fact, laser has matured very quickly to a point at which it’s now an easy-to-use working technology that quickly delivers good return on investment.

From a visual perspective, laser is an investment that is already paying off. Viewers rate the image quality of laser-based projectors as far better than those of traditional lamp models.

The DLP system, which is centred around a semiconductor with up to 8.85 million small, movable mirrors and combined with a light source, can project a bright image onto the canvas without loss of brightness. Laser light is characterised by a special property - it is extremely pure in colour, thus enabling a very wide colour gamut.

Laser Phosphor projectors are relatively compact but nevertheless very bright. In fact, up to 8,000 ANSI lumens with one chip DLP technology and 12,000 ANSI lumens for three chip DLP models are available already today and the possible brightness level will be expanded even further in coming years.

In the cinema projector area, generating 40,000 to 70,000

lumen with a slightly different technology based on pure RGB laser is possible without any problem. Most people have the perception that the laser light is even brighter than that of a traditional lamp. In addition, the laser light source will keep a high brightness output for a much longer time compared to traditional lamp based projector systems. This allows a constant light output operation for a very long period ensuring that the brightness level created from the projector is sufficient even after several thousand working hours.

Yet that does not make for a costly solution. Even today, projectors with around 5,000 ANSI lumens are a good alternative to traditional models without laser. In a total cost of ownership (TCO) calculation, laser based projectors are the clear winner.

With far longer replacement intervals the laser technology shows its advantages in many ways; firstly the costly lamp no longer needs to be included in the cost calculation as it is no longer required. Secondly, the act of replacing a lamp in a projector, for example hanging from a very high ceiling, ceases to be a time and resource challenge. Laser projectors are maintenance free for up to 20,000 hours, and coupled with lower power consumption the TCO calculation becomes even more attractive.

Lower power consumption is not only a TCO benefit, but also an environmental one. In addition, by eliminating mercury lamps from the projector, it further reduces the impact on the environment.

Once introduced into an organisation or education facility, laser projectors replace their traditional counterparts. This goes some way to explaining forecasts for 2020 that 74 per cent of all installation projectors will be laser-light source based*. Apart from existing fields of usage such as large meeting rooms, schools and universities, the technology is now becoming more and more interesting for other industries or applications such as indoor signage, control room and 3D model simulation.

Interestingly, one challenge in the brief history of laser is that engineers had to overcome the high cost of green lasers. With Laser Phosphor projectors, the red and green light is actually produced in other ways. By using a blue laser diode array that produces a light that hits yellow phosphorus, the emitted yellow light is, in turn, split by a prism into red and green light.

This way the red-green-blue colour source is created as it is needed for projection via DLP or LCD. RGB laser enables a colour space that exceeds that of traditional Xenon lamps and exceeds the DCI colour space used in the cinema industry.

In the future, it is expected that SSL technology will deliver

TECH TALK Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

43

Forecasts suggest that by 2020, 74% of all installation projectors will be laser-light source based higher and higher brightness. Whilst the technology might not be available now, it means that laser projectors will eventually be used across larger and larger areas such as in large rental and staging applications.

Installation of laser projectors has also been made easier, as classification changes mean that specially trained laser officers are not required – previously this would have added complexity and cost to the installation. Now, there are recommendations for health and safety but it is no longer in the realm of laser regulation. For early adopters of laser, this transforms the

installation process, making it easier, more cost-effective and faster.

With these laser myths overcome, and clear evidence of low total cost of ownership, reliability and advanced nature of the technology, more and more applications are covered by laser light source.

Whether education, cinema, or control room scenarios, laser is promising a brighter and brighter future. * Futuresource Consulting 2015

(SI Asia thanks the author for his thoughts on laser technology) www.nec-display-solutions.com

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SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

45

AV IN HOTELS - PART 1

Principal Challenges In Implementing AV Technologies In Hotels

H

otel development within the South East Asia region is expected to reach around USD20 billion in 2016. This should not really be surprising news as increased tourism arrivals as well as the ever-growing MICE events and festivals in the region are contributing for the need to have more accommodation. Obviously to cater to the different type of guests, the hotels in development are also spread from budget to high-end hotels.

What has all this to do with our beloved Audio-Visual Technology?

Ian D.Harris, C.Eng, BSc.Eng (Hons), MIET, CTS-D, Principal Consultant and Managing Director of ihD Ltd

Many hotel developers from the four-star level are intent on creating an unique experience for guests be it the deco, f&b and even technology.

Meeting rooms, ballrooms, guest-rooms have become key spaces where AV technologies can play a key role in creating the seamless experience for guests. There are of course many challenges as any consultant to integrator will attest to when it comes to implementing AV technologies in hotel. Ian D.Harris, C.Eng, BSc.Eng (Hons), MIET, CTS-D, Principal Consultant and Managing Director of ihD Ltd brings us through some of the principal challenges in implementing AV technologies in hotels specifically in relation to the APAC region.

Lots! As AV technologists, we of course study and become skilled in Audio, Video, Control, IT, and Power Supply, as well as the soft skills of successfully working alongside, and often negotiating with, Architects, MEP (Mechanical & Electrical), Lighting, and other Designers. But consider the following challenges enjoyed during the design and also installation process:

Ceilings Where the drop-tile ceiling allows simple cable-access, equipment installation, and maintenance later on, the painted or even gold-leafed gypsum/plaster ceiling does not.

Planning correctly and having cable containment and mechanical first-fix, as well as secondary-safety fixings, all completed ahead of the ceiling construction, is crucial to project success. Imagine coming to the installation of the Video Projector and lift, only to discover that there’s no cable or even conduit there, 8-9 metres above the concrete floor. Or that its first-fix is somehow not correctly-located:

The Asian hotel tends to be beautifully-finished and solidlybuilt, no drop-tile ceilings in Front-of-House (the guest areas), but gypsum and even in the Ballrooms, ornate fibrous plaster to create the multi-level, coffered ceilings. Walls very often are concrete, although partition walls may be cement block or similar. Gypsum IS found, however, in most guestrooms as the partition wall structure – 4 layers of it as well as Rokwool (fiberglass) infill, for the very practical acoustic reason that the most controllable and predictable STC (Sound Isolation) is achieved in this way. Finishes are almost entirely hard – marble from Italy, beautiful woods, mirror and glass – hard-wearing and resistant to the humidity and temperature swings that abound.

Budgets are tight, however, especially that Audio-Visual is not seen as a direct ROI (Return-on-Investment) vehicle, and there is a constant pressure to reduce costs and Value-Engineer. Bear in mind that very very few Hotel Operators (Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Starwood Group, Shangri-La, Marriott etc) actually CONSTRUCT hotels; they OPERATE hotels which are built by the OWNERS, i.e. Investors and property developers who fund and manage the whole 4-7year construction process, and continue as Owners – they are of course looking for fastest ROI on their investment. Every Dollar counts.

Typical Ballroom Section (1 of 3 in this case) with the motorised projector under installation

Another challenge is simple loudspeaker-placement. A whitepainted gypsum ceiling doesn’t sound that difficult, and once finished, doesn’t LOOK difficult either. But the sweat and tears that go into co-ordinating these ceilings is immense. The initial “its too big, you can only use 50mm diameter” response from the Interior Designer has to be negotiated (we CAN use small loudspeakers and then supplement with sub-woofers, but this costs more and still takes up ceiling real-estate). Having agreed upon more-affordable full-range loudspeakers, of a size

46

SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

which can reproduce lower frequencies (~50Hz for Ballroom, Restaurants, Spa, ~80Hz for most other areas), next comes the co-ordination with the fire sprinklers, Air-conditioning ducts and vents, lighting fittings, hanging systems (Ballroom), and projectors. Calculating the ideal loudspeaker-spacing for that +-3dB coverage will give a different spacing to these other services, and there is a high pressure to align the ceiling services. All this takes time and effort – we need to reach a consensus with the Owner and Design team and yet maintain our Sound Quality.

Typical Ballroom Ceiling; the “JBO” are loudspeakers for achieving 105dBA at ear level from a 9metre-high ceiling. Projectors/lifts; 6-8 metre-wide projection screens; 1,000Kg hanging points; PTZ Cameras and perimeter hanging rail all have to be co-ordinated with the sprinklers, lights, Air-conditioning, etc.

Budgets Before we continue with other technical challenges, note in the Ballroom layout above, the lowest Projector Lift. It has a note “Nice to Have”. This is an example of the budgetchallenge in almost every one of 150+ Ballrooms that we have designed – it will be tendered-out, but it may not be finallyawarded, as the owner may not agree to this (5th) projector in the Ballroom. And so, a significant challenge is how to design to meet the stringent Design Standards of the Hotel Operator, and yet satisfy the Owner. Another tightrope for all of us designing hotel AV! We need to stand firm to explain and reject substitution of our 80Hz -3dB loudspeakers with nicer-looking (smaller) and cheaper 160Hz ones. At times, software-equalising a well-known music track to sound like it would through the two loudspeaker types and distributing to the Design team helps no end, as everyone immediately understands their ears much better than talk of Decibels and Hertz.

Acoustics Many areas of the hotel are highly-reverberant due to the hard finishes employed. The Acoustic Consultant works hard to specify absorbent materials, but generally, it’s an uphill battle (costs and appearance, as well as fire-rating and durability, of the materials needed).

In the lobbies, corridors, and restaurants, this doesn’t affect the AV too much, as speech-intelligibility is only important

on a regular basis in the meeting spaces, and possibly the Lobby Lounge of some hotels. The Ballroom IS a big challenge here, how to achieve clear speech in a space with 2 seconds Reverberation time? (A typical Asian Ballroom may be 60metres long x 40m wide x 8m high). The Operable walls can't accept significant absorber as then they can’t stack away without much longer storage pockets. Here, the AV System CAN help. Use of beam-steered linear loudspeakers can save the day by reducing the wasted sound energy, i.e. by aiming to the audience rather than also the ceiling and (always reflective) back walls. Their lower-attenuation with distance also means that they can operate at lower Sound Pressure Level than conventional loudspeakers. Of course, budget suddenly becomes an issue again, and so the AV Consultant needs again to work on negotiation and persuasion to sell the design!

Acoustics matters too, in the Guestroom. The party walls are designed with unbelievably great effort as the floor area of a guestroom is critical to the Hotel specification and rating, making the thickness of the walls a highly-sensitive issue. And so, the walls are designed for typically STC55 sound reduction, BUT this standard applies only down to 125Hz. As such, the AV design needs to take care with sub-woofers for the TV/sound system in the room, and needs to use HOSPITALITY-grade AV equipment, which allows the hotel to set upper-volume limits and so reduce neighbouring guest complaints.

Data communication (IT) Every Audio-Visual designer naturally has studied and is proficient in IT including Networking techniques, and is able to co-ordinate with the client IT Group, or the IT Consultant for our Network needs, both for wired- and wireless-(WiFi) communication. However in the Hotel, it’s not quite as simple as this.

Pretty much every Hotel in the World uses the classical Fibre backbone/Copper Horizontal Data architecture, with Layer-3 Core switches in the Server Room, and Layer-2 Edge switches at each floor serving the UTP cable plant. Layer-2 is sufficient for all of 2016’s Hotel data needs, except for us, and is significantly lower in cost than Layer-3 switches. For a DANTEbased audio system its no problem as Dante runs Layer-2 just fine. However, enter AVB, QLAN, and other protocols, with their ability to carry audio and video provided the switches are Layer-3…We have a new challenge! The IT Group is NOT going to pay for upgrading all the Hotel switches, nor consider different switches dotted around the Network. And so, despite the ideal of using this in-Hotel redundantly-reliable, UPS-

SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

47

powered, rugged network, we can’t. We therefore have to design and have built a separate AV Network.

Now the next challenge, the wireless connectivity; the Hotel wireless network is highly-controlled using managed Wireless Access Points (WAP’s) in order to pass the Guests and Staff device connections from WAP to WAP as they move around the Hotel and its grounds, as well as handle the security, VLANs, and so on. The last thing needed is a competing set of WAP’s operating on behalf of the AV System for wirelesscontrol, with consequent increased co-channel interference.

This, we CAN resolve by carefully working with the IT Team for an AV Control VLAN both wired & wireless.

Guestroom TV There’s a need to enable the guest and also Meeting Room/ Ballroom user to wirelessly-connect their device to the Display System. The Meeting space has good solutions via the commercial device-streaming solutions, but Guestroom is…a challenge! Budget for a wireless presentation system is definitely not there (multiply even a USD1,000 equipment cost by say, 500 rooms…). So how to provide the guest with even today’s Miracast and Airplay options, let alone new ones which might appear during Hotel-operation? Currently, the Hospitality TV manufacturers DO incorporate Miracast

connectivity, but NOT Airplay. One solution is installing the dedicated Apple TV hardware in a dumb-mode out of sight near the TV, and creating a VLAN per guestroom to provide private-access to the interface, and another is to specify into the Hotel IPTV specifications into this connectivity. Legislation however in certain areas of Asia means that those countries cannot sell and in principle HAVE dedicated interface unit, which makes it difficult to have IPTV. This concludes our quick look at some selected challenges that we enjoy in the course of designing Hotels, the solving of which is of course achieved, and a part of the tremendous satisfaction in being an Audio-Visual designer. * All pictures and graphics in this article are supplied by Ian D. Harris.

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SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

AV IN HOTELS - PART 2

AV Consultants In India On AV Integration And Challenges In the Hotel Sector

Kelvin-Ashby King, Principal Consultant, T2 Consulting

Vineet Singh, Director, HMPL Consulting Group

Sachiin Jain, Director, Play Technologies

A

ccording to India Brand Equity Foundation website (www.ibef.org), the tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 15 sectors in India to attract the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). During the period April 2000-September 2015, the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 8.48 billion of FDI, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Current investments in the hotel sector include: • US-based Vantage Hospitality Group franchise agreement with India-based Miraya Hotel Management to establish its mid-market brands in the country.

With that in mind, SI Asia spoke to three consultants based in India about the usage and challenges faced in implementing AV Technologies in hotels in India.

• Thai firm Onyx Hospitality and Kingsbridge India hotel asset management firm have set up a joint venture (JV) to open seven hotels in the country by 2018 for which the JV will raise US$ 100 million.

What has been the greatest challenge in implementing AV technologies in Hotels?

• ITC is planning to invest about Rs 9,000 crore (US$ 1.35 billion) in the next three to four years to expand its hotel portfolio to 150 hotels. ITC will launch five other hotels - in Mahabalipuram, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Colombo - by 2018.

• Goldman Sachs, New-York based multinational investment banking fund, has invested Rs 255 crore (US$ 38.3 million) in Vatika Hotels.

• Japanese conglomerate SoftBank will lead the Rs 630 crore (US$ 94.5 million) funding round in Gurgaon based OYO Rooms.

Kelvin: I would say integration is a challenge where as you note interiors over rule AV design but this does not happen so much and we are always able to find a compromise. I also think that all the major brands now have the AV Consultant on board early enough as they now see this as a requirement and not an add one…….

Vineet: The biggest challenge in hospitality has been the gestation period of the projects itself to begin with. Projects take a long time to come to realisation, which of course are due to various factors governing the decision making process.

There is a general lack of ownership and lack of quick decision making which lets the project drag on for years sometimes.

This process of realignment during the project lifecycle leaves us with a lot of rework on designs and subsequently affects the build of the projects as well from an AV perspective.

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Sachin: Although the management and operator understands the value of AV there are a series of challenges such as the objective of trying to achieve the value at a cost that cannot deliver the desired quality which often ends up in compromised solutions or having the system designed by specialised MEP / IT / Security firms with little or no focus in AV.

What is the current AV usage trend that you are seeing is being most called upon by hotels?

Kelvin: Higher levels of energy management in the Guest Rooms, though technology seems to be dropping in terms of what is in the room with TV connections going all wifi and no more connectivity plates and of course internet - free WiFi and then purchased higher speed connections - but Digital Signage is coming to the fore in the Lobbies and certain indoor signage for meeting and ballrooms. Meeting rooms AV is still basically the same with basic facilities but we are adding WiFi BOYD to the rooms and in some instances collaboration. RFI card and ID readers for service desks etc are now a trend so that the restaurant hotels know your name when you approach as the ceiling mounted RFID reads your room card Vineet: The current trend that we have witnessed lately is digital signage, IPTV and streaming as one single system and platform. Clients are increasingly looking for ability of a system to support a range of media solutions and formats on a single platform.

Sachin: The recent hot trend is the In-guest room experience with complete automation. PA/Alarm System have always been there as a critical element of life safety.

How in your opinion can hotels leverage AV to its maximum potential?

Kelvin: Connected meeting facility with WiFi and Collaboration are where we need to provide value added services ‌.. seamless use of facilities and WiFi that is ubiquitous. I think the

JW Marriott in Pune. Picture courtesy of Play Technologies

issue is not in the meeting facilities but in the ballrooms where more technology needs to be provided but typically hotels do not have the trained staff to make use of this technology and again to provide a value add to the client ‌. they need to sell the AV services the hotel can provide.

Vineet: We see that lately most of the hotels are adopting brand standardisation across the board to maintain the uniformity and ease of use of the systems. This is an indication of the importance of right AV systems deployment which is also becoming a priority for these hotel groups. However, in the hospitality sector right acoustics treatment plays a very important role to let the users and the guests experience the optimisation of the overall AV solutions in totality and rightly.

Invariably the owners and management are looking to cut costs on that front which in turn leads to bad AV experience within their premises which compromises the best of the AV technology installed. Every hotel group must give prime importance to acoustics as well in order to leverage the most out of their state of the art AV solutions deployed within their facilities.

Sachin: The problem is the absence of personnel in the engineering team who understand AV. Till today hotels prefer outsourcing larger events to Event management companies and bringing in AV equipment on rent. This happens even if the hotel has installed AV that may be suitable for the event.

However absence of personnel to handle the installed AV and the fear of something going wrong during the guest event has been a hurdle.

A team of technician trained in AV can help the hotels leverage AV to its maximum potential.

Taj Damdama Resort Hotel At Gurgaon. Picture courtesy of T2 Consulting

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SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Audio On The Go

An example of Audio Everywhere's app dashboard. Credit: Audio Everywhere

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ith the proliferation of smart devices, tech innovators have been experimenting with different technologies to bring every individual a unique, personal experience. The concept of “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) spans across many applications and is especially prominent in the UC and collaboration industry. But how about audio solutions that also make use of these smart devices to deliver a personal auditory experience while you are on the go?

Recent innovations saw solutions where users can connect their smart phones and tablets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC etc., to a digital signage they see on the street or a public TV in a pub/museum and stream live audio from it. Instead of blasting loud audio in public spaces, these BYOD solutions provide a more personal, audible sound experience.

So what are the benefits of this BYOD Audio solution and what should you consider before implementing such technology in your premises? SI Asia's Shireen Ho gathered the thoughts of key players in the field for this special feature.

Personal Audio Experience We have heard a lot about BYOD these days. BYOD to meetings, BYOD to lectures, BYOD to work etc, but the BYOD technology we are talking about here is one that enhances your personal audio experience.

• Have you ever been in a sports bar, gym or even an airport waiting area where there are multiple TV screens playing different content but with the audio switched off or barely audible?

• Have you ever been in a foreign museum or attraction where the commentary is in a language you don’t understand and wish there’s something you can do about it?

From an end-user point of view, it is likely that they will think, 'Surely, all the venue operators need to do is to install more headphones, buy more audio guides or hire translators etc'.

But often for venue operators, that is just not commercially viable due to budget constraints and practicality – so what can you do?

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To address these concerns and improve the experience of their customers, an increasing number of venue operators have been turning to BYOD audio over Wi-Fi as a solution.

who would gladly share their knowledge and experience - it is no wonder that 31% of retailers in Asia Pacific have adopted some kind of mobile/wireless solutions in their stores¹.

“Whether it is in the gym or bar, people these days are much more careful with their Android or iPhone than they are with public equipments,” said Lance Glasser, President of Audio Everywhere, a leading provider of systems that stream audio over Wi-Fi.

“We see opportunities with firms in the hospitality and MICE sectors adopting BYOD solutions for small, mid or even large scale meeting events and conferences,” states Vince Tan, Head of System Solutions, Sennheiser Asia. “Entertainmentrelated businesses involved in films or theatrical productions can also adopt innovative BYOD audio applications either for enhanced entertainment purposes or assistive listening for various groups of audience.”

“In my gym, the maintenance person replaces about 20 jacks a month on broken public equipment. Also the economies of scale make the device you have in your pocket superior to anything else you can buy for twice the money.”

Opening Up Opportunities Not that it was not impossible a decade earlier, but streaming audio over Wi-Fi to your mobile devices can be costly and the experience can be poor due to subpar internet connection. It's not like we had 4G right from the start so that means GPRS was all we've got at the time.

Flash forward to present day, wireless technology has come a long way and so have mobile devices. According to IDC, the world's mobile worker population has reached 1.3 billion in 2015¹. With Asia Pacific consumers accounted for half of the mobile phones shipped globally at 527 million by 2015¹, mobile devices have become a necessity for many. Combine that with the fact that developing a mobile app is so simple these days - thanks to the open communities around the world

Lance also adds, “As BYOD are not only reasonably high fidelity, but they are also social - In-app messaging, branding, and so forth allows BYOD Audio to deliver far more value than their analog predecessors.”

How Does it Work?

Solutions like Audio Everywhere and Sennheiser's MobileConnect offer systems that support audio live streaming functions from TVs, digital signage or any other audio sources, over Wi-Fi to an end-user's smart phone or tablet.

The system typically comprises of three parts: the app (usually customisable and downloadable on iOS or Android devices); a connecting point that connects the audio sources to local area network in the venue; and a server that manages the overall system.

¹ The Rise Of Mobility by IDC. Infographic produced by IDC Asia Pacific Go-To-Market Services. http://infographics.idc.asia/mobility/Rise_of_ mobility.asp

Credit: Sennheiser

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SPECIAL FEATURE Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Credit: Audio Everywhere

“(For Audio Everywhere) the heart of the system is the ExXtractor that connects each audio source, such as a DirecTV receiver, to the Ethernet. The system works within the venue's public Wi-Fi system... Once audio is connected to the ExXtractor, it digitizes and packetizes it and sends it over the local area network and then over the venue's Wi-Fi,” explains Lance.

For Sennheiser MobileConnect, the core of the solution is a smartphone app that end users can use to connect to a Wi-Fi network.

“When installed at theatres, it can be used to access to additional soundtracks for audio descriptions, language subtitles, or even for assistive listening purposes,” said Vince. “With the proliferation and adoption of mobile phone applications today, BYOD solution can be used to make communication more inclusive for people from all walks of life.”

Challenges Ahead With wireless freedom and connectivity being a key trend today, manufacturers now have the task to find out what are the actual and future standards of connections and wireless transmissions. This is especially crucial for completely wireless systems and there are different challenges involved.

“Things like what kind of wireless transmission should be used (i.e. frequency issues, stable transmission, country specific frequencies) and what security of wireless transmission (i.e. encryption, transmission range), are questions integrators and end-user clients should ask themselves before implementing these solutions,” asserts Vince.

Besides transmission issues, Lance also shared that basic IT skills are important when it comes to field deployment of the

solution. “The biggest challenge in BYOD audio is dealing with the diversity of digital networks out there. 99% of our issues in the field are mostly IT-related, which is why it is critical that integrators develop or acquire basic IT skills.”

So for systems integrators quoting a BYOD solution to their customers, what are some considerations or factors they need to take note of?

“First, assuming one picks a great vendor, the biggest issue is the quality and robustness of the Wi-Fi system. The second issue is making sure that one takes into account where the

What's In The Market?

Audio specialists like Audio Everywhere and Sennheiser both have solutions for BYOD Audio over Wi-Fi, as well as Williams Sound with their Hearing Hotspot™ and Listen Technology's ListenWiFi. In our Dec-Jan 2016 issue, we also introduced Citrine, a Singapore-based technology startup for their installation at Gardens By The Bay. Other similar solutions include Flexicast and Eyesync.

Cases of Use In most cases, the solution has been adopted in sports bars, museums, digital signage in shopping malls and other public spaces. At the same time, there are also instances where BYOD Audio is used for accessible hearing in theatres, operas and musicals. “...People can experience culture through all of their senses in an easily assessable manner. Film lovers with a visual or hearing impairment will no longer have to forgo a trip to the movie theatre,” said Vince.

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audio sources are located. If it's in a rack at the back room with an Ethernet tap nearby, you are blessed, but if the receivers are strapped to the back of each TV, then costs will be higher and basic integrator skills such as running balanced audio lines become important,” explained Lance.

Where Is It Going?

Lance opines that BYOD Wi-Fi Audio is taking over the fitness/ gym industry. “There are new major adoptions announced everyday,” he said. “The next market we expect to see mass adoption will be Assistive Listening, where 20th century technologies such as inductive loop, FM radios and IR systems cannot compete with either, the economies of scale of BYOD Audio over Wi-Fi or its ability to deliver additional value (branding, marketing, social) on top of the basic audio delivery.”

Credit: LocalFitness.com.au

Vince also sees a similar type of growth for BYOD Wi-Fi Audio. “The system can be used for hearing support, audio description or language translation. (Within MobileConnect) we have a personal hearing assistant which is developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Germany, which provides intuitive sound customisation tools for people with hearing disabilities... With it, we hope to address more and larger target groups that focuses on hearing support.”

In other applications, BYOD audio can also be used to assist attendees of global conferences overcome language barriers.

Users can do away with bulky interpreter systems and access live audio interpretations through their own smartphones. www.audioeverywhere.com en-sg.sennheiser.com A typical sports bar environment with multiple TV screens.

EMOTIONS, ACCESSIBLY: MobileConnect @ Ernst Deutsch To provide assistive listening, Ernst Deutsch Theatre in Hamburg has implemented Sennheiser's MobileConnect that captures the sound onstage and streams it directly to your smartphone. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=t-P8x3g7nUk

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INTERVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Wizardry Blending With Expertise – I. E. VizExperts VizExperts! While the term sounds like wizardry blending with expertise, the story of the company bearing that name is nothing short of it. The Gurgaon, India-headquartered company that stands for ‘The Visual Computing Experts’ has carved a niche of its own in the Indian Pro-AV industry, and beyond with its visual solutions for a spectrum of high-profile customers. Leading the charge from front is its CEO Praveen Bhaniramka, a highly passionate 3D graphics exponent himself.

SIA talks to Praveen to know what is their visualization of future- for the company, and country.

Here are the excerpts: SI ASIA: Tell us about VizExperts- its genesis, evolution through the years, current positioning with professional competence…etc.

PRAVEEN: VizExperts was founded in 2006 with the objective of serving customers with high-end visual computing technologies/solutions. Since the beginning, we have been extremely passionate about 3D graphics and related technologies. Over the years, we got associated with various reputed Government and Defense customers who have regularly entrusted us with their complex data to decisions problems. We have worked with some of the most high-profile customers in these segments that included DRDO (Defence Research Development Organization) Labs, ISRO Centres, Indian Army, and Paramilitary forces like Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, amongst others.

As a company, we operate primarily in three domains– Pro A/V, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Simulation.

VizExperts has developed its core IP in each of these domains which has allowed the company to grow, and stay competitive in the industry. We thrive on challenge. Having expertise in these domains has also allowed us to offer turnkey as well as fully integrated solutions to our customers at extremely costeffective price points, with a very high quality delivery.

SI ASIA: What inspired you to choose this line of entrepreneurship? Against other promising lines?, PRAVEEN: Passion for the domain, to put it very simply.

Whether it was my desire to pursue higher studies in the USA with a specialization in 3D graphics; or the decision to join Silicon Graphics R&D teams in Mountain View, California; or finally to start VizExperts, it’s been my passion for 3D Graphics that’s been the driving factor for all my career decisions.

Fortunately, the 3D Graphics industry has been growing handsomely over the years and, I never had to reconsider my decision. Moreover, the kind of exciting problems that we have

been given to address/solve for our customers, we honestly haven’t had the time think about anything otherwise anyway!

SI ASIA: Was it like creating a hitherto unknown market, or tapping into an unexplored domain with offerings of new sophistication?

PRAVEEN: As a small but focused technology driven firm, we thrive on solving challenging customer problems. We started off with the intent of doing something ‘cool’ with 3D graphics technology. As we started interacting with various Government organisations, we soon realised that there was a dire need for experts like us in these domains and more to help them use visual computing solutions more effectively for decisionmaking.

So, it’s not like creating new market, or exploring newer one, but observing a huge need for something we possessed so strongly, and being able to put it to use in an effective manner.

May be, it’s case of competence coming to address the need.

SI ASIA: The visual solutions market appears to be getting more complex technologywise...digital vs laser vs Nano... your take?

PRAVEEN: I don’t quite think that the technology has been getting more complex. At least from a system integration perspective, modern visual solutions industry offers extremely powerful technology solutions with easy-to-use software tools and products. This enables system integrators to put together complex deployments with much more ease than before. Our VizDisplay technology – that drives the core display and media management functionality behind the Science City’s Digital Panorama project in Kolkata – is a product like that. It is a truly remarkable product that provides the user with an intuitive, portable touch interface to control and manage the complex installation from a single console!

SI ASIA: While VizExperts’ market looks pretty wide and big, what segment (vertical), accounts for largest share? and how much?

PRAVEEN: Clearly, the Government and the Defence markets are our biggest verticals accounting for as much as 90 per cent of our total revenues. Within the government business, our biggest customers come from Defence, Home, and Research sub-verticals.

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SI ASIA: Is there a segment/vertical that VizExperts is excited most about but doesn’t have a foothold? If so, what, and how?

PRAVEEN: As a company, we are extremely excited about the edutainment market especially when it comes to leveraging immersive technologies for teaching children on using fun-filled experiences. This is something we are extremely passionate about. So, when the idea for a 360-degree Digital Panorama at Science City came around, we decided to jump right in! The idea of doing a project which is one-of-its-kind in the world seemed really exciting! In some way, this project is a first step for us to foray more deeply into the edutainment market. In fact, we have set aside a team of extremely smart folks to look at new ways of leveraging modern Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies for the edutainment segment.

We are actively considering spinning this off as a separate business unit itself.

SI ASIA: What particular value-adds do you think VizExperts brought to Pro-AV industry, towards enriching experiences- in terms of contributing to skill sets, introducing new techs etc.?

PRAVEEN: Our expertise is really being at the convergence of multiple visual computing technologies. This helps us in using visual solutions that much more effectively in assisting organisations realise their goals. We leverage our experience across domains, innovate and deliver much more value to our customers. One good example is our approach of using immersive technologies in the GIS and simulation domains.

Using these technologies in an immersive virtual environment empowers traditional GIS and simulation users, with the power of 3D visualisation, object manipulation and intuitive user interfaces. In case of Defence forces, this greatly simplifies decision making through better field perspective, operation planning and training.

With our VizDisplay display management system for video walls and immersive visualisation systems, we have developed a truly world class Pro-AV product. VizDisplay removes the complexity of setting up a multi I/O points in an AV installation. Built as an integrated system, with a host of innovations that simplify set-up, configuration and source management, VizDisplay comes with a controller that works across desktop and mobile devices. These features provide an enriching user experience, right from the installation to day-to-day operation of the given AV facility.

SI ASIA: We also understand VizExperts seeking to expand beyond its core area (?) of defense and space? Could you elaborate?

PRAVEEN: I have just said about our passion to diversify to edutainment segment. Having said that, the visual computing industry has often followed this particular pattern, wherein innovation driven by R&D investments in the Defence and Intelligence market, eventually spreads over a period of time into other civilian applications. Our experience with the industry has been very similar. With technological

advancements bringing VR gadgets into the hands of consumers, we see a lot of applications for our IP in the Defence space, especially in Virtual Reality based training applications, playing a major role in the edutainment market.

The recent trends in consumer VR – which was featured in SI Asia columns recently – are very promising, and we are very excited about this opportunity.

SI ASIA: How do you compare the Pro-AV industry in India with those in advanced markets in harnessing visualization technologies?

PRAVEEN: We feel that the market for complex Pro-AV projects in India is still in its nascent stages, compared to other evolved markets. The technical knowhow for executing complex projects and the sort of multi-domain expertise that can really help such solutions deliver true value to customers, is something of a rarity in Indian market. Taking the example of immersive Virtual Reality labs, there are very few players who can really approach the problem from an integrated standpoint and use the technology to its true strengths, with a team of application developers who are well versed with system integration.

Moving a bit back to the point of our value-add to the industry, our efforts have primarily been to address this gap.

SI ASIA: Where would you want to see VizExperts, say by 2020?

PRAVEEN: Although, we have always had a strong product centric approach to visual computing with a focus on developing core IP across domains, our primary business model has revolved around executing complex turnkey projects. With our core IP maturing over the years, we have set up teams that can independently drive product development.

This, we hope will take our technology to a much larger spectrum of customers. By 2020, we see the product-centric business playing an equally large role as our solution-centric business. www.vizexperts.com

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EXHIBITION PREVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

Tourism Technology Asia & Pro AVL Asia 2016 Takes The Stage In July Photo Credit: Jimmy Chin

Creating Exceptional Experiences Through Technology

Tourism Technology Asia (TTA) / Pro AVL Asia 2016 Date: 20-21 July 2016 Venue: Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore

Revitalising the Industry – Tourism Technology Asia and Pro AVL Asia With the speed of software and hardware advancement, tourism infrastructure and spaces need to upgrade their technological capabilities to meet the expectations of the discerning consumer. Tourism Technology Asia (TTA) held in conjunction with Pro AVL Asia (PAA) educates the industry on how to use technology to optimise their operations and live events, and showcases the advancement in Pro AVL equipment that can bring out exceptional experiences for your customers.

The inaugural regional trade exhibition and conference aims to bring together the ASEAN market – specialising in technologies built for hospitality spaces, live events, large-scale venues like convention centres, stadiums, leisure attractions, entertainment, and F&B. The time for the industry to modernize new projects, and upgrade current developments is now as tourist arrivals into Asia is expected to be the highest globally at +5%. This includes both business and leisure travellers attending live events, visiting leisure attractions, staying at hospitality venues, using large-scale venues, and patronizing

Tourism Technology Asia 2016

Pro AVL Asia 2016

Tourism Technology Asia (TTA), held in conjunction with Pro AVL Asia, is an international exhibition and conference showcasing the latest technologies and products serving the modernization of the regional Tourism & Hospitality landscape and Live Events industy.

Pro AVL Asia, held in conjunction with Tourism Technology Asia (TTA), presents the latest professional audio, visual, lighting, LEDs, sound reinforcement and systems integration solutions for the modernization of the Live Entertainment, Events, and the Tourism & Hospitality infastructure space.

www.tourismtechnologyasia.com www.proavlasia.com

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Don't Miss These Featured Activities!

1. Tourism Technology Asia Conference – How Technologies Can Boost Competitive Advantage In Hospitality Event Spaces When? 20 – 21 July 2016 @ Innovation Theatre Room A (1.5 Day Conference) This conference will focus on optimizing meeting spaces with technologies as a competitive advantage in selling and maximizing the use of event spaces. It is critical for the hospitality industry to understand and explore technology which can: • Alleviate operational pain points Improve productivity • Reduce cost • Increase revenue or create a competitive advantage • In some cases, bring about a paradigm shift with certain disruptive technologies.

2. All about Live Sound Reinforcement When? 20th July: 14:00hrs – 17:00hrs @ Innovation Theatre Room C By? Daniel Foo, Founder/Director (R&D), GECKO Music Group • Learn about Live Sound Reinforcement from the experts, key topics: • Live sound reinforcement design and requirements.

• Why are there differences in sound quality on different makes of audio equipment when all of them are having the same technical specifications?

• Why are your loudspeakers not covering your venue well, even with filler and delay speakers installed?

3. Design Considerations for Audio, Video, Stage Lighting and Acoustics in A Performance Venue When? 21st July 14:00hrs – 15:30hrs @ Innovation Theatre Room B By? Robert Soo, Cogent Acoustics Hear and exchange ideas from an expert on how to make use of your audio, video, stage lighting and acoustics equipment for your Houses of Worship (Churches, etc.) to make your venue will come to life.

SMART Hospitality Technologies Showcase Over at the Exhibition Floor in Hall C, Swee Lee Projects will also be hosting a showcase that focuses on technologies in two key areas of a hotel - the Function Room and the Guest Room.

Hotel function room customers are moving away from the simple presentational model of the last 20 years and towards the need for Guest mobile device connectivity and accessible content sharing/collaboration. The Smart Hospitality Technologies Showcase will provide a demonstration of an integrated Connectivity, Content and Collaboration solution (BYOD).

In addition, Hotel Guest Room Customers has increasing expectations in their experience at hotels – they will increasingly expect to be able to unlock doors, control thermostats, turn on TVs, turn off lights, and more from their mobile device. Even the ubiquitous alarm clock is increasingly obsolete, as most guests now use their smartphones for a wake-up call. SMART Hospitality Technologies Showcase will provide examples of new solutions in Guest Room automation.

Who Will Be There?

At Pro AVL Asia, expect to see professional audio visual leaders and key lighting specialists. From AV & video equipment manufacturers to video conferencing brands and touring/concert companies – this is the area for you.

Over at TTA, let technology innovators in the field of hospitality entice you with everything and anything that ranges from SMART technologys, robots, AI, In-room entertainment systems & software to communication systems and multi-property management.

For any show queries, please call +65 6702 3005 or email: Micheal Ng E: micheal.ng@giec.biz

Alyssa Seah E: Alyssa.Seah@giec.biz

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EXHIBITION PREVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

India's AVI Expo Shows Its Strength The 2nd Edition Of The Pro Av, Infocomm And Broadcast Technology Expo Attracts Strong Industry Interest

AVI Expo 2016 Date: 4th - 6th August 2016 Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

The Digital India and Smart Cities initiative by the Government is attracting huge investments which is driving the entire gamut of products from leading brands to be displayed at AVI. The need for tech solutions in Pro AV Integrated Systems in Education, Government, Health, Hospitality, Retail, Building and Infrastructure, Corporate and Broadcast sectors will be met at the AVI Expo.

A

Mr. Anil Chopra International Director, AVI Expo

VI expo has achieved in establishing a technology and industry platform for information communication in New Delhi. "Pro AV infocomm integrated systems are key to growth in a rapidly developing economy such as India's.

Corporate broadcast as also broadcast in education and applications for audiovisual connectivity installed and networked is witnessing substantial impetus from various sectors especially retail and entertainment. AVI has traction with the malls and multiplexes

and the live event industry. ABEC - organisers of ACETECH, Secutech have deep connections with AV integrators in sectors such as building and security. ABEC also organises the PALM Expo, the world renowned expo on audio, sound, lighting, display and projection, providing AVI high quality visitors from all these segments", Anil Chopra, International Director, AVI, stated.

Mr. Chopra shares his vision on the importance of AVI New Delhi. "Essentially an infocomm platform is imperative in the capital city New Delhi. Investment and project planning, with all Ministries in New Delhi, AV Consultants, system integrators, manufacturers and developers are based in New Delhi. A majority of audiovisual integration is motivated by

EXHIBITION PREVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

government initiatives and funds. All agencies deploying AV projects including special security, airports, metros, railways, and IT related communications networking operate out of New Delhi. Our vision is to provide sourcing and solutions on the AVI platform to this wide body of customers and consumers in India’s capital. AVI will emerge as a major technology exposition and convention for AV integration, infocomm networking and sound and video broadcast for multi-screen on internet, launching the latest products in display, projection, video, audio and video for install, display lighting, 3D and holographic technology for signage and interactive display.�

AVI will also establish certified training courses and technical workshops, standards and quality parameters, demos and recognition of excellence in audio visual integration.

An important feature of the expo is the AVI Tech Forum which will offer valuable opportunities for sharing expertise in design and execution. The forum will include a variety of informational seminar sessions, presentations and panel discussions.

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The forum will see the best of industry leaders and government officials speaking on technology trends in the industry.

The support of industry associations indicates a consensus on the emergent necessity of the AVI Expo in New Delhi.

Register Now To Visit! www.aviiexpo.in/register

For any other queries, please contact us at: Ramesh Chetwani

Vicky Menezes

M: +91 916 744 7440 E: rchetwani@palmexpo.in

M: +91 916 753 0095 E: vicky.m@abec.asia

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EXHIBITION REVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

InfoComm China 2016: Another Record-Breaking Year

I

nfoComm China was held from 13 to 15 April 2016 at the China National Convention Center. This year's expanded show floor hosted 287 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions, showcasing a wide range of professional audiovisual (pro-AV) and information communications technology (ICT) solutions, including those that help businesses tap on the potential of today’s hyper-connected environment.

Along with this exciting line-up was the inaugural Hospitality Technology Expo® (HTx®), whose co-location with InfoComm China brought about cross-show visitor traffic and business opportunities.

The number of unique visitors at the annual tradeshow reached 26,728, the highest in its history. This represents a 15% increase over the 23,347 visitors at last year’s show. InfoComm

China remains Asia Pacific’s largest showcase of professional audiovisual (pro-AV) and information communications technology (ICT) products and solutions, covering both leading Chinese as well as global innovations.

CAUTIOUS EXPECTATIONS Despite general consensus that the Chinese economy did badly for the past two years, the surge in visitor's attendance and exhibitor numbers have proved otherwise. Somewhat cautious about their expectations at first, the show organisers were eventually heartened by the fact they were able to present another record-breaking show.

“Given the economic circumstances, there still seems to be very strong demand for AV technology. The feedback we are getting from exhibitors seems to be turning around and we are seeing much more positive enquiries for businesses in early part of this year,” said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoComm Asia to SI Asia.

With signs indicating the install AV market bouncing back to life in Asia's biggest proAV market, it is no wonder that there has been an increase in both local and overseas exhibitors.

To them, the show is seen as an entrance to a premium marketplace.

“We are seeing more international exhibitors and visitors coming to the show as well. According to the 2014 InfoComm Market Research, 2016 is the year where Asia will surpass

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panel discussions over three days. DSMA Taiwan also took the opportunity to sign a MoU with Japan's Digital Signage Consortium (DSC), during the event. During the keynote session presented by Toshiba, there was an in-depth focus on Digital Signage and Smart Retail in the Southeast Asia market.

“Digital Signage in Southeast Asia has been growing at about 25% per year, which is a phenomenal growth rate. For that reason, we wanted to address this particular market sector, and secondly, we wanted to drive growth of attendees beyond North Asia,” Richard pointed out.

North America for the first time to become the largest AV market in the world. And within the context of Asia, China is by far the single biggest market... it is a market a lot of overseas manufacturers cannot afford to ignore,” Richard remarked.

A DIVERSE CROWD Beside increasing show numbers, InfoComm China is also beginning to see a more diverse crowd of visitors. This year in particular, the show welcomed more visitors from other parts of Asia such as Philippines, Vietnam and India. This is in line with the organisers’ goal of making the show an event beyond North Asia.

In terms of occupation profile, the show organizers responded that about half of the visitors were end-users from across all verticals; 35% were from AV channels; and 15% were from IT channels.

Richard commented, “This is an interesting change from previous years. We are starting to see more and more of our IT channel folks coming to the show and I think that is a reflection that AV-IT convergence has already arrived. Both AV and IT channels are finally recognizing and appreciating that and wanting to come together to see how they can provide endusers with a total solution that is not just AV or IT.”

SHARING OF KNOWLEDGE This year's show also included the inaugural Digital Signage Asia Forum. Hosted by Digital Signage Multimedia Alliance (DSMA) Taiwan, the forum featured keynote presentations and

Also running concurrently with the show was the InfoComm China Summit. This year, over 40 sessions were conducted, including 12 sessions in English – up from 6 sessions last year.

A total of 3,846 industry leaders, researchers, academics, innovators and technology managers attended the Summit, which way exceeded its 2015 attendance of 2,500.

TECH FOR HOSPITALITY A collaboration between InfoComm Asia and China Hospitality Technology Alliance, the inaugural Hospitality Technology Expo® (HTx) aims to promote technology used in the hotel industry. Solutions showcased included hardware sensors and mobile applications that facilitate end-to-end processes of engaging guests, facilitating check-in, access to room and making reservations of hotel facilities.

A fast-growing vertical in China, the show hopes to be a spark that will highlight the hospitality industry as the Chinese economy begins its transition from a manufacturing investment-based to one that is consumer-driven. And one way to promote local consumer spending is through local tourism.

Richard added, “The Chinese government want the Chinese to spend money vacationing within China rather than out of China. So this will have a huge positive impact on the local hospitality industry in years to come.”

But will HTx become a mainstay of InfoComm China? The show organizers have yet to decide but have expressed interest in other verticals as well.

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EXHIBITION REVIEW Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

ON THE SHOW FLOOR

RGBLink did a product preview of its first large matrix, the Venus X7. Shipping in June, the 32x32 matrix is 4K ready and features up to 64 mega pixels output splicing and a wide range of SmartSlot™ modules for input and output.

Prime Connections International (PCI) demonstrated its charm and expertise through introduction of innovative solution.

Its booth was divided into 4 sectors, namely Theme park solution, Digital Conferencing System Solution, Magical Movie Theatre and case demo of Q-SYS Core 110f.

Lightware presented its 25G Hybrid Signal Management, a unique solution that allows managing, switching and extending digital and analog video, audio, Ethernet and control in a new, inventive way.

ATEN showed visitors a control system solution that incorporates the VK2100 (Controller), the VK6000 (Configurator) and the ATEN Control System App.

Over at Mindstec booth, B-Tech AV Mount was present with its BTS310-B, a professional video wall mount with quick lock push system.

Atlona seized the opportunity to introduce its soft codec conferencing system, the ATUHD-HDVS-300-KIT to the China market.

Comprises of a RX and a TX, the system integrates PCs, USB webcams, mics for presentation and teleconferences.

Exhibiting with EZ Pro, Symetrix showcased its Prism series with 8x8, 12x12 and 16x16 at the 2016 show.

Christie captured attention with its projection mapping of a watch (driven by Pandora Box media servers). By allowing visitors to interact with the social media wall using WeChat, visitor footfall was at constant high.

BenQ demonstrated how projection mapping can be used to create an immersive experience at a restaurant with projectors PX 9210 and PU 9220. Anyone keen to dine here?

Crestron showcased its latest “IoT+” concept with Crestron Fusion® Enterprise

The centrepiece of Delta's showroom was the DVS-70, a 70” full HD DLP LED Video Wall cubes. It delivers an exceptional image quality with native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels in an aspect ratio of 16:9.

Over at Adder, we saw a sneak preview of FX150, a new product in the FX series.

Scheduled to launch officially at NAB, the extender now comes with fibre optic connectivity.

Management Platform, Crestron PinPoint™ Mobile App, DM®3.0, Interactive Classroom & Graphics, Crestron Pyng® & Lighting Control Systems.

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AFTER-THOUGHTS Beyond solutions showcase, what we found interesting was the enquiring behaviour of visitors. Unlike previous years where visitors were mostly seen walking around and picking up brochures and had less interaction with the exhibitors, what was significantly different this year was the level of interaction between visitors and exhibitors.

More conversations were made and visitors seems to be more willing to step up and ask questions. This was also reflected at the Summit where local Chinese visitors are seen attending the English sessions to gain more knowledge and insight into the industry.

“What we noticed is that, more people are researching about the product before the show. They are more informed and want to understand more about the deployment of the

solutions,” observed Jonathan Seller, Senior Director of Development, Asia Pacific.

Informed customers make smart decisions, which is definitely a good sign for the industry. It also helps that the local exhibitors are stepping up in brand management and image promotion with bigger booths and more live demonstrations.

As Chief Global Officer Terry Friesenborg, InfoComm International, expresses aptly, “I am pleased to see so many Chinese brands on the show floor. To promote local businesses has always been what we always wanted to do when we have shows like this.” www.infocomm-china.com www.ifcshow.com

Digibird

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PROJECT FACTFILE Client: Telstra Corporate Headquarters Segment: Corporate Location: Sydney, Australia System Integrator: Arup Design & Architect: Downstream & Lend Lease Task: To provide acoustical flexibility to hold a variety of meetings, concerts, and multimedia presentation in the same space.

Solution Highlight: Meyer Sound Constellation system

AUSTRALIA

Telstra Showcases Technology Leadership With Meyer Sound Constellation

Customer Insight Centre With An Aim To Inform & Educate

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Meyer Sound Constellation® acoustic system is helping Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications and media company, to inform and educate visitors at the company’s lavish Customer Insight Centre (CIC) in Sydney.

Installed in a 300-seat theatre, Constellation provides Telstra with the acoustical flexibility to hold a variety of meetings, concerts, and multimedia presentations in the same space, helping to connect customers with the company’s range of cross-platform technology solutions.

“The theatre helps us to engage customers in a way that provides more impact than watching a PowerPoint presentation in a meeting room,” explains David Woodbridge, general manager of the CIC. “In conjunction with our 4K LED screen, the immersive soundscapes created by Constellation allow us to adapt the space to best showcase Telstra’s capabilities.”

The CIC theatre has been busy with activity in the months since opening, hosting internal corporate meetings, product launches with key customers, concerts by pop groups and

chamber orchestras, broadcast and webcast events, and presentations by global luminaries including Oliver Stone and Steve Wozniak.

The Constellation system is programmed to create a variety of adjustable acoustical environments that include a cathedrallike reverberation for choral concerts, a full cinema surround mode, and a crisply supportive conference mode that allows everybody in the theatre to hear and understand each other without the use of local microphones.

“On one level, Constellation does present a ‘wow factor,’” reports Woodbridge. “We bring people in when Constellation is on, and they’re immediately impressed by the natural acoustical environment. Then we turn it off and you can see their jaws drop. Beyond that, the system reflects well on Telstra as a technology company—our business started with sound and voice communication, and Constellation demonstrates that we’re still working at the forefront of digital audio.”

The CIC theatre’s Constellation system uses 22 miniature microphones installed throughout the room to capture the

INSTALLATIONS Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

room’s acoustic and create natural acoustical environments using the D-Mitri® digital audio platform’s patented VRAS™ algorithms. The processed sound is then delivered via 22 UPM1XP, 19 Stella-8C installation, 10 MM-4XP self-powered, and 15 HMS-5 surround loudspeakers, as well as eight UMS-1XP and two MM-10 subwoofers. Meyer Sound’s Wild Tracks™ multichannel playback and SpaceMap® multichannel panning software provides immersive effects.

The system was conceived and designed by Arup under the direction of Nathan Blum and Ben Moore. Downstream and Lend Lease were the design and executive architects, respectively.

On-stage amplified performances in the theatre rely on a Meyer Sound direct reinforcement system of four JM1P arrayable, four UPJunior™ VariO™, and two UPA-1P loudspeakers, in addition to one 1100-LFC low-frequency control element.

Telstra’s 3,600-square-foot CIC also impresses visitors with the world’s first 360-degree, interactive, ring-shaped screen; a 4K-ready broadcast studio; collaboration areas; and “handson” technology demonstrations. www.meyersound.com

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AUSTRALIA

Sydney Church Echoes Pride With EV Audio Electro-Voice Flies High At The New Home of Sydney Central Presbyterian Church

PROJECT FACTFILE Client: Sydney Central Presbyterian Church Segment: Houses of Worship Location: Sydney, Australia System Integrator: Bava's Music City Task: To install a comprehensive suite of audio solutions for the church's Front-of-House, Seminar rooms, Canteen and Hallways that would best fit its needs.

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or too many years the members of the Korean Sydney Central Presbyterian Church wandered from suburb to suburb, and one hired church to another. Around four years ago the church executive and elders decided that it was time to settle and find a permanent home for their community.

After three years of planning and fund raising, a warehouse was purchased, on the boundary of residential houses and industrial buildings, in Granville’s south.

A year later, the Sydney Central Presbyterian Church opened its doors. Their first service just happened to be Christmas Day. Now, the venue is unrecognisable. Wooden floors and ceiling replaced concrete, rail tracks and a sheet metal roof. One giant workshop warehouse was transformed into a church hall, two medium sized halls for smaller services, a large canteen, library, cafe, a mother and baby room, plus twenty teaching rooms.

Why Electro-Voice?

Nick Bava, owner and General Manager of Bava’s Music City was hired by the Church to source a front-of-house sound system for the main hall as well as smaller PA and ceiling speaker systems for the remainder of the worship centre.

Having sourced and installed a number of worship sound systems over the last decade, Nick provided the Church with quotes for an Electro-Voice solution as well as a competing brand.

The EV proposal was chosen for three reasons: Nick has been impressed with the support and product knowledge provided

by Electro-Voice product specialists, the system’s sound was preferred by the church in a shoot-out, and EV worship project references provided additional peace of mind.

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professional sound is appreciated by the band.

Danny Park, the band leader explains how the monitors help the musicians to perform as one: “Foldback speaker is one of the important tools to recognise and understand our harmony and sounds, you know, to make just our voice and instruments sound as one. This system is very helpful for every (one) of the singers, also for every instrument.”

Seminar Rooms, Canteen and Hallways Seminar rooms are used for several “kids” services and prayer meetings each week. These areas utilise portable PA systems using a mixture of EV ELX subwoofers and ZLX or ELX loudspeakers. Live music is performed at services held in the larger rooms.

Additionally, a Bosch PLENA matrix amplifier drives 24 EVID 8.2 ceiling speakers located throughout the complex.

Satisfied Customers The feedback from the church executive is that EV products have helped the church to settle down in the new home and serve its community. Joshua Kim elaborates: “Before we come to this place, we’ve been hiring other places, from one place to another, and we weren’t able to be settled down for good teaching and community service. Well, once we are here now, with such a good sound system, the speaking and teaching has been well transferred, and really enriched the members to settle down here so we can prepare ourselves for community service.”

“We chose EV at the end. They had the expertise. They had the knowledge, and they had the team that actually could support us,” stated Nick Bava.

Front-of-House System Electro-Voice EVA Line Array Modules with EVF Subwoofers comprise the main front-of-house system. These are amplified using EV CPS 230 V Amplifiers with the sound being processed on an EV DX-46 Speaker Controller. The FOH system gets a workout five times per week with two Korean services on Sunday (one traditional with a 40-member choir, and one modern with a band), two English services on Sunday, and one Korean service mid-week.

The Church building project manager and elder, Joshua Kim, is impressed with the end result. “Well, I don’t know much of the technical part of it, but the actual set up has transmitted the sound wherever you are, to the same level of sound effect.

Well, I’ve been to other churches, I’ve been sitting at the back or front, I found it that when I sat at the back I didn’t hear clearly. But at this church it’s been well engineered, well positioned, so that wherever you sit, you can hear the same level of the talk or sound effect very clearly, and I think the system is quite well set up.”

Foldback Monitor Speakers Eight ELX passive loudspeakers are used as monitors on the main stage. These are powered using EV CPS amplifiers. The

Mike Hwang, the sound system supervisor added: “Now we’ve got this sound system that we can rely on, which means we can concentrate on what we are doing, so we don’t have to worry about all the things that we used to do before. It actually saves us time as well, which is good. It’s a big, huge improvement.” https://asia.boschsecurity.com

Solution Highlights: FOH System: 4 x EVA2082S 90x6 BLACK LINE ARRAY MODULE; 2 x EVF2151D BLACK DUAL 15 SUBWOOFER SYSTEM; 2 x EVA-SG-BLK Hanging Grid for EV Innovations Array; 3 x CPS2.12 230 V Amplifier; 1 x DX46 230 V Speaker Controller.

Foldback Monitors: 6 x ELX112 Passive 12” Two-way Speaker System; 2 x ELX115 Passive 15” Two-way Speaker System; 3 x CPS2.6-II 230 V Amplifier.

Seminar Rooms PA Systems: 2 x ELX118P Powered 18” Subwoofer System; 6 x ZLX-12P Powered 12” Two-way Speaker System.

Canteen and Hallways: 12 x Pair of EVID C8.2LP Ceiling Speakers; 1 x PLM-4P220 4 Channel PLENA matrix DSP 220 W Amplifier.

Microphones: 2 x RE92H R92H Hanging (Choir) Microphone; 6 x N/D367S N/D367S Vocal Microphone.

www.VisualAsiaExpo.com

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PROJECT FACTFILE Client: Litore Resort Hotel & Spa Segment: Hospitality Location: Turkey System Integrator: Melomani Task: To install various audio solutions for different areas of the resort hotel.

Solution Highlight: D.A.S Audio 210A line array, 218A powered subwoofers, DR-512A bass loudspeakers, Arco 24T,Arco 4T, DR-8 and many more.

TURKEY

Litore Resort Hotel & Spa Outfitted with D.A.S

Melomani, D.A.S. Audio’s Distributor in Turkey Handled The Sound Installation

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he spectacular Litore Resort Hotel & Spa on Turkey’s Gulf of Antalya has recently been fitted out with professional D.A.S. Audio sound systems. This five-star hotel is located in the city of Alanya, one of the most popular tourist destinations on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The resort boasts 260+ rooms and a full range of first-class facilities spanning over 15,000 m2 of prime beachfront property.

Melomani, D.A.S. Audio’s exclusive distributor in Turkey, was called in to handle the sound installation for this upscale resort.

The Melomani sound technicians, faced with the challenge of providing audio for a range of different spaces, knew that the extensive range and versatility of D.A.S. Audio professional sound systems would be the ideal solution for adapting the sound across the resort.

The technicians opted to bring in D.A.S. Audio’s Event Line Array systems for Litore’s massive outdoor and pool area, where a stage is set up for the variety of performances and activities held for the resort’s guests. Specifically, three hangs of seven Event 210A line arrays each were installed as the main PA for the stage and surrounding outdoor area, along with three Action 218A powered subwoofers paired with two DR-512A bass loudspeakers to provide robust sound and the crucial low-frequency punch.

The massive 1,300 m2 swimming pool and swim-up bar were covered by DR-512A and Arco 24T systems, a perfect combination of design and function that blends seamlessly into the carefully selected décor. The entire outdoor system was completed with portable D.A.S. Avant and DR systems; these powered, full-range solutions can be easily configured to adapt to the requirements of the resort’s range of outdoor activities.

Inside, the Melomani technicians recommended a combination of systems from D.A.S. Audio’s Reference and Action series in Litore’s nightclub. Four RF-12.85 systems were installed together with Action 218A powered subwoofers, a combination that offers superb sound quality and power to ensure guests have a great time dancing the night away. The system was rounded out with a DR-512A bass loudspeakers and a D.A.S. DSP-23 digital signal processor to control and manage the signal for the entire system.

A total of 120 CL-6T and 30 Arco 4T and 24T systems deployed in the gym and fitness zone, and DR-8 systems were installed along CL-8T ceiling speakers in the resort’s three conference rooms to offer superb speech intelligibility, a critical feature in these types of spaces. With the variety and quality of its new D.A.S. systems Litore Resort Hotel & Spa can now offer guests first-class sound worthy of a five-star resort of this caliber. www.dasaudio.com

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INDONESIA

Indonesian Church Refurbishes With Allen & Heath

Allen & Heath’s dLive & ME Lends A Voice

Sound engineer, Wegig Satrija Puruhita, at the controls.

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s part of a major AV refurbishment, Bethany Salatiga Church has become one of the first Indonesian houses of worship to install Allen & Heath’s dLive digital mixing system, along with a ME personal monitoring system.

Located in the city of Salatiga in Semarang, Indonesia, the large capacity Church needed a system to manage FOH and monitors in the main sanctuary, which hosts several different traditional, modern and youth services each day, as well as broadcast feeds for its radio station.

“The church had the opportunity to update its AV equipment, and after much research, dLive came out on top,” explains member of Bethany’s technical staff, Samuel Aderiel Susanto.

He added, “Our church has been using a GL3300 every day for the past 13 years without any problems, so we know A&H is reliable. With the demands of a growing church community, dLive’s digital features ensure we are able to manage all of the audio challenges, such as live recording.”

The system comprises the flagship S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack, along with a ME-U and several ME-1 personal monitor mixers, provided by PT ProMedia Innovative Solution and supported by distributor, Kairos Multi Jaya. “dLive really makes my job easier. It’s state of the art, very easy to use and intuitive. Apart from having all the features you’d expect on a digital console, it also has many practical assets,

such as a port for the musicians’ ME personal monitoring system. As a bonus, the console also looks beautiful – you can tell that every knob and fader was chosen with great consideration,” comments sound engineer, Wegig Satrija Puruhita.

“This console is very user friendly, especially for a sound engineer that is new to digital mixing. The church hosts many different types of service and the engineer needs to consider the requirements of every musician and worshipper, which changes from one service to the next. With dLive’s recall options, the hard work is done, and audio can be consistent each time,” he concludes. www.allen-heath.com

PROJECT FACTFILE Client: Bethany Salatiga Church Segment: Houses of Worship Location: Indonesia System Integrator: PT ProMedia Innovative Solution Distributor: Kairos Multi Jaya Task: To install a system that manages the FOH, monitors the main sanctuary, and broadcast feeds for its radio station.

Solution Highlight: Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing system and ME personal monitoring system.

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Part 1

INDIA

A ‘Digital Panorama’ Of Life and Tech Wizardry Barco, VizExperts Create 360º Technology Wonderment At Kolkata Science City

By Ram Bhavanashi

On 6 April 2016, when India’s National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), opened to people its most ambitious project ever, the Science Exploration Hall, at the famous Science City in Kolkata, it meant not just a new launch; it meant etching a new ‘record’ in the annals of Indian, if not world’s scientific history; heralding a new era of harnessing digital technology for popularizing scientific understanding among people; unveiling the brilliance of Indian genius through a 360º panorama, audiovisually.

While the whole Science Exploration Hall with its three new galleries is holistically unique in its content and intent, the ‘Digital Panorama’ is something that speaks volumes in itself for Pro-AV people. An SI Asia Exclusive:

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es, the story of Science Exploration Hall – launched recently as a Phase-II ensemble of the gigantic Science City in the City of Joy (Kolkata’s nickname) – is an awe-inspiring script of evolution human species. But hold, the story of the 360º cylindrical wall surface on the top floor of the three-storey edifice being made into a practically seamless ‘Digital Panorama’ – encompassing a multitude of anecdotal wonderments – may be a jaw-dropping stuff for those technology buffs!

Imagine a canvas of static painting measuring 20m wide and 1.8m high, and being tasked to digitize the whole stretch of it, in a meticulously seamless fashion, as if it were one single frame – without giving an iota discontinuity of the frames – enhance it six times, without allowing even a fractional loss of clarity, and then projecting that huge image on to a cylindrical wall that measured as long as 122m in circumference, with a diameter of 39m, and height of 11m, post full acoustical treatment!

That you cannot capture an image of that size with one shot, you split that stretch into one hundred columns, and in ten rows- making up a whopping 1000 image areas. You then employ a Cannon EOS 7D Mark II camera, mounted on a Kessler’s slider to move in a perfectly syncing smoothness,

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PROJECT FACTFILE: Project Venue: Science Exploration Hall Project Location: Kolkata (Science City, Phase-II) Project Owner: National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) Project Segment: Autonomous (Government)/Museum Project type: 360º Digital Panorama; Content Projection (Design-Build) Project Concept: NCSM AV Consultancy: VizExperts AV Integration: VizExperts Acoustics Design-build: VizExperts AV Project Spend: Approx. 11 Crore INR (1.6 million USD approx.)

Project Commencement time: October 2014 Commission time: 06, April, 2016

to capture each of those 1000 images! (You are spec’d to do it with 30 per cent overlap so that you would not miss even an iota of detail!). Then synchronize the whole huge mass of images to clinical perfection using PT GUI software in a ‘semiautomated’ fashion!

Semi-automated because, a good 30 per cent of the canvas is simply sky area without much detail of the pre-historic fauna and flora; so, a mere algorithmic fare that the software is, it may get ‘confused’ with the sky area as if it was nothing, and doesn’t take to sync automatically, thus requiring some manual touch at those critical points.

This is all just one!

Take two: This digitally synchronized, and enhanced image has to be projected onto a cylindrical wall surface, painted in multiple coats with Screen Goo, in a seamless 360º panoramic fashion.

How do you do that?

You decide (or designed it) to project with 13000-plus/1200 pixel pitch at 30 fps (frames per second) to arrive at a whopping 14 million pixel space! While that being the surface pitch meant for projection, you decide to employ as many as eight Barco 3-chip DLP projectors (HDX W20 Flex) – mounted on a heavy central canopy – through a clinically meticulous projection mapping for beaming the calibrated image all round. That’s two.

Take three: It’s not just a huge static canvas turning into a digitally animated 360º graphical play! While the image will start appearing on the surface in the backdrop of a night-time darkness setting, it will fade out in about four minutes, and you will lead the spatial experience to a crescendo of excitement with a 13-minute movie on evolution of human species – right from the earliest to the modern, with focus on six essential species* – with an accompanying voice-over explanation in a SurroundSound environment.

To make it as compelling and authentic as it should get, you travel/organize professional teams to shoot the content digitally in South Africa – inside the ‘Cradle of Human Civilization’ land near Johannesburg – as well as India (Mathura, Gurgaon and Delhi), employing the Hollywood-favoured Red Epic Dragon camera with a 6K resolution sensor that captures highest resolution/ clarity video.

*Unfolding the Story of Human Species There are six essential human species featured in the digital movie. They are in the order of most ancient to most modern.

While the first three species were created by means of CGI, the last three have been designed, developed and shot live on the areas of their origin, in South Africa, and India.

• Australopithecus Africanus • Homo Habilis • Homo Erectus • Homo Heidelbergensis • Homo Neanderthal • Homo sapiens

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Size Does Matter According to reliable sources, the Digital Panorama inside the Science Exploration Hall at Science City Kolkata, is the world’s largest, at least of its kind- with a 360º projection mapping scaling to 1220 sqm. While a similar exploit had been made some time back in Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous County in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the canvas was said to be much smaller measuring mere 12m width and 4m height. The Chinese install made at the Jangar Culture & Arts Palace showcases the glory of Mangolian folk hero Jangar.

Take four: After high-technology packed processing and postproduction, you project the content through the eight edgeblended Barco 3-chip DLP projectors- but in three sections of 120º each- making up the full 360º encompassing.

While the content is set for a 4883/1200 resolution, which is more or less a 4K stuff, to make the whole setting of projected panorama more immersive, and reinforcing, you install as many as 89 perfectly designed mannequins, with British-South African expertise, are all over the diorama.

The result that you get is simply incredible, if not anything else!

A 1220-square meter canvas that is larger than the world’s largest IMAX screen, set up in Darling Harbour in Sydney, that measures 1060 sqm (35.7x29.7m)!

So, while beating the world’s largest IMAX, you also unveil the world’s largest, and first-of-its-kind giant digital panorama- at least in the domain of science museums. That’s a truly jawdropping story.

The stakeholders in this story are: • NCSM, the client, by default, and one with the original concept ideation • VizExperts, the chief solution provider whose job was actually a multi-tasking one- Technical Leadership for the Digital Panorama; content creation; AV integration; lighting system design; acoustic design and installation • Experts Committee with members coming from renowned R&D institutions, academia, Ministry of Culture • Chris Stringer, Research Leader, Human Origins, Natural History Museum, London, UK • Dr. Miranda Macquitty, Interpretation Specialist • Graham English & Company, Greater Manchester, UK • The Creature Shop, Johannesburg, South Africa • Barco India- for video; Harman Group (India) for audio; and Screen Goo (India) for screen paint provision

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There’s More to the Story…

Of course, yes. There is more to the story. More technological exploits for wider applications, more challenges (we haven’t spoken about them yet!), and impressions from stakeholders.

A story of this kind, and scale cannot happen without impressions of challenges and energisers. There are aplenty.

Will make them talk in the columns of next issue of SI Asia.

Do look out for it in our Aug-Sep issue!

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HONG KONG

Hong Kong International Airport Takes Off With Nexo Advanced PA solution for one of world’s most modern transport hubs

PROJECT FACTFILE Client: Hong Kong Airport Authority Venue: Mid-Field Concourse, Hong Kong International Airport Segment: Transportation Location: Hong Kong System Integrator: PCCW Hong Kong Consultant: ARUP Hong Kong Distributor: Top Plot International Limited Task: To install a Public Address system with matrixed zone grid, capable of relaying different messages and signals to different zones, through automated and live playback and emergency situations.

Solution Highlights: NEXO’s GEO S8 ultra-compact tangent array loudspeaker modules (GEO S805 and S830) ; NXAMP controllers

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EXO’s newly-installed public address solutions in one of the world’s most modern airports have exceeded targets and expectations. Now up and running in the Mid-Field Concourse of the Hong Kong International Airport (Chep Lak Kok), the PA installation is the culmination of a 6-year process, and is being described as a game-changer for public address intelligibility, quality and user experience.

The Mid-Field Concourse (MFC) is a new building which adds 30 gates to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

Initiated by the Hong Kong Airport Authority, the MFC is a key component of the airport’s expansion plans, which include the opening of a third runway and Terminal.

In 2011, acoustics and AV consultant Arup Hong Kong started the process of defining a future-proof strategy and design for the MFC’s public address capability, looking at all acoustic, technological and electro-acoustic approaches. Leading the project, Henry Chan for Arup HK was looking for a system with matrixed zone grid, capable of relaying different messages and signals to different zones, through automated and live playback and emergency situations.

With Cobranet infrastructure to handle the signal traffic, different messaging functions had to have distinct sound

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and acoustical performances, identifying, for example, live announcements in the Gates zone, or emergency announcements in the Fire zones, with seamless coverage across the entire terminal for General PA. Last but not least, the acoustic control of the PA design had to minimize any need for acoustic treatment, maintaining the aesthetic and architectural style of HKIA’s Terminal one.

Over 3 years, working closely to support Arup and the Airport Authority, NEXO engineers brought a design to life, providing acoustic and electronic simulations, live demonstrations and value engineering. The final validated design, a low-impedance system using NEXO’s GEO S8 ultra-compact tangent array loudspeaker modules and NXAMP controllers, went out to tender in 2013, and the installation contract was awarded to PCCW in Hong Kong, working in conjunction with Top Plot International Limited, distributor of NEXO products in China.

Nearly 200 line-source loudspeaker cabinets were used for the MFC project, each of which had to be concealed within a giant suspended ceiling of asymmetrical design. The exact angle and tilt of each cluster of GEO S805 and S830 modules had to be calculated. To do this for over 100 clusters, working inside an airport ceiling, amounted to nearly six months of installation work for PCCW. The positioning and spacing of loudspeakers has been calculated so that listeners close to the speakers, and others further away in the atrium space, would receive the same SPL. Moving on the travellators, airport users experience a seamless sound field along the centre line with great separation within each side. Live announcements at the gates are made in clearly focused sound with natural vocal presence, while general PA messages are audible as a background system.

The entire system has been programmed through NEXO’s proprietary Remote ESMonitor Control software, which manages all the NXAMP controller-amplifiers on the EtherSound network. Preliminary tests of the STI (measuring speech intelligibility) revealed between results between 0.62 to 0.7, well above the target of 0.55.

NEXO has provided deep and wide-ranging technical support for the HKIA project, from concept stages that involved Nicolas Kirsch of NEXO Asia and François Deffarges and David Hochstenbach of the Engineering Support Team in Paris, to on-site design input and back-up from Leo Ho of NEXO Asia.

Setting a new standard for the sound quality in airport terminals, the MFC installation is a blueprint for the future.

“We have clearly achieved excellent results, after many years of dedicated work and detailed design, and trust in the consultants’ and designers’ approach, “said Steven Tam, project manager for the Airport Authority. “We have totally reached our goal to create a sound quality way above Terminal 1 and 2. A new standard is established and this is probably the best-sound airport terminal in the world.” www.nexo.fr

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Re-imagining Collaboration At Bayer

By Ram Bhavanashi

INDIA

Actis Technologies Creates Collaboration Focused AV Infrastructure at Bayer Thane, Vapi

PROJECT FACTFILE The Project: Collaboration focused AV infrastructure Location: Thane (office) & Vapi (factory), Mumbai Project Owner: Bayer India Project Segment: Healthcare, Agricultural Innovation Project type: Design-build AV collaboration systems Architect: Hafeez Contractor AV Consultant: Actis Technologies AV Systems Integrator: Actis Technologies Project in brief: A 67-room networked AV solution at Thane office, and Vapi factory that allows AV signal distribution digitally over IP-based CAT5 infrastructure.

Project Highlight: Creation of a dedicated Collaboration Level (one whole floor) with Meeting Rooms, 10-seater Conference Rooms, 14-seater U-shaped room, Training Rooms, Boardrooms, and a 15-seater O-shaped Conference Room Project Last Commission Date: Early 2015

Major Systems Installed: Samsung Displays Epson Projectors dnp, and Draper screens Shure wireless, boundary and gooseneck mics Evoko Room Managers Crestron IR probes Panasonic, Sharp and Sony LCD Extron routers/switchers Actis Accessories

14-seater U-Shaped VC room-Thane

Success of any collaborative technology deployment in any organization is determined by both its size and scale; its ability to connect and aid not just the senior management but also the entire organizational establishment; and contribute to faster action turnaround.

Bayer Cropscience Ltd. – the agri division of Bayer Group India, the Indian concern of German healthcare and agricultural innovation major Bayer AG – took to exemplify this when it decided to lay a sophisticated audio-visual technology infrastructure that enables an effortless collaboration among its management and office staff at the newly created corporate headquarters at Thane, near Mumbai.

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ayer Cropscience Ltd, the agri-concern of the Bayer Group India, with a long-conceived idea of centralizing its operations from one location, had built its new corporate headquarters at Thane, some 27 km northeast of Mumbai. Accordingly, it had moved its offices at Powai in Mumbai, and Kolshat, a suburb near Thane, to its new HQ. The company’s objective was to have a centralized administration and integrated communication network for

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execs from various departments on the premises, as well as those from its factory located around 150 km away, at Vapi in Gujarat. To be able to achieve this objective, it wanted to have in place a collaborative audio-visual network that connects multiple numbers of meeting rooms for multiple groups, conference rooms, training rooms, and boardrooms.

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Lounge Area on 9th Floor

An important aspect of the ideation was to have an entire floor dedicated for Collaboration network that comprised multiple meeting rooms in multiple shapes and sizes, intended for diverse groups and requirements.

In all, a total of 67 rooms were to be networked in a manner that enables foolproof collaboration platform across the departments at Thane and Vapi.

Massive that the task was, Bayer approached and appointed Actis Technologies to realize their technology deployment vision.

The Task Collaboration…

Actis Professional Services Group swiftly moved through the diligence process and went about deploying the technology based on the design theme evolved, in consultation with the client.

“The brief or theme for the AV design consisted was simple,” says Abhimanyu Gupta, Director at Actis. “It was to create a centralized meeting system, where all the rooms are connected. Bayer also wanted to have collaboration, meeting, and training facilities for use by staff at their Vapi factory,” he explains. “They were looking to improve collaboration across the entire organisation and ensure that meeting spaces were well integrated for smoother management at all times. We worked out our solution with Extron’s XTP switching solution to design the right AV solution required for the situation,” Abhimanyu adds further.

As per the specifications of the brief, and the design, multiple Focus Room were created on each floor, intended for small group meetings. As part of the same, the specialty factor of an entire floor – the 6th floor of the 9-storey edifice – has

been converted into a dedicated Collaboration Level with the intended specs. The full installation, after completion, comprised: • 6 x 10-seat conference rooms • 1 x 14-seat U-shaped rooms • 1 x 15-seat O-shaped conference room • 2 x Training Rooms • 2 x Boardrooms • 36 x Focus Rooms Another important aspect of the Collaboration Level is that two Boardrooms and two Training Rooms are integrated to work – as and when required – on ‘combined mode’ to create one large Town Hall type space intended for large gatherings.

When used individually, these Boardrooms and Training Rooms are ideal for smaller groups to collaborate and learn. All the four rooms that make up the Town Hall space are centrally controlled via a common controller.

A special round-table Conference Room was also designed for better one-on-one interactions with one another in the room.

The AV Gear…

The AV set-up in each of the 10-seat small Conference Rooms is characterized by a combination of a 55-inch Samsung MD55B LED display, coming with in-built speakers, and a fouruser pre-configured digital collaboration system TeamWork 400i from Extron, along with TeamWork Analogue to Digital Conversion VGA Kit. The 14-seat U-shape conference room, on the other hand, is characterized by a ceiling-mounted Epson 4200 Lumens WXGA projector aimed at a 120-inch dnp Supernova optical screen. The audio component is taken by seven units of Shure MX395B/C boundary mics, besides a pair of two-way ceiling speakers, and stereo amplifier from Extron. The entire set of connectors, digital matrix switchers, receivers and transmitters are also addressed by Extron.

10 seater Meeting room-Thane

The 15-seat Round-Table room offers a different fare in shape, size and scale, designed for one-on-one interactions, even as they collaborate within the organization. The AV here features four units of 46-inch Samsung MD46B LED displays that are networked with eight units of Shure MX395B/C boundary mics.

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Cafeteria is equipped with two units each of Samsung 46inch, and Philips 42-inch LCD displays, mounted at different places from ceiling through customized mounts from Actis. The Executive Dining Room and Bristo Room feature one unit each of the same Samsung display.

The exclusive Reception on the Collaboration Level features one unit of wall-mounted Sharp 42-inch LCD, while the Lounge on the 9th floor feature one unit each of 42-inch Sony LCD, and an LG LED.

15-seater O-Shaped Conference room-Thane

Three pairs each of ceiling speakers and 15-watt per channel stereo amplifiers, apart from the digital matrix switchers and transmitters are from Extron- as a regularity factor.

The Training Rooms with Town Hall option have their video component done with two each units of Epson EB1945W 4000 Lumen WXGA projectors while the display component is taken by two units of dnp 100-inch Supernova Flex Classic screens.

These rooms also have the additional set-up for three units of 55-inch Samsung MD55B portable displays, removable by means of trollies. The audio is addressed by a pair each of SVX24/PG28, and SVX14/PG185 wireless mics from Shure, besides six units of SI 3CT LP ceiling speakers, and a pair of XPA 2001 mono amplifiers from Extron.

The Boardrooms were also done with more or less similar specs, but double the number of Epson WXGA projectors and dnp optical screens, besides an Extron stereo amplifier replacing mono amp. The control systems, digital matrix of switchers and transmitters is wholly by Extron.

The Focus Rooms, small in size but more in number, feature as many as 36 units of 40-inch Samsung ED40C LED displays with built-in speakers, and an even number of Logic LC401 cable cubbie connectors, besides 13 units of Evoko Room Managers meant for room scheduling.

Besides, a 46-inch Samsung MD46B display adorns the wall of the Managing Director’s cabin on the 8th floor.

AV at Vapi Plant: Part of the brief for the SI was to create Meeting Rooms and video-conferencing set-up at Bayer’s plant facility in the distant Vapi, in Gujarat. The VC room is done with a 65-inch wallmounted LED display and convenient connectivity interfaces for use for different types of presentation equipment.

There also is a Training Room at the Vapi factory, frequently used by the factory and administrative teams. High-brightness projectors and high-fidelity audio systems have been deployed for better trainer-trainee interactions. An iPad-based Crestron control system allows management of the environment – lighting, cooling, and audio-visual equipment inside the room.

Challenges of Scale An install of this size, couldn’t have happened without its own scale of challenges. “Indeed, there were challenges; some of them were big enough; structural and textural in nature,” admits the Actis Director.

According to him, one of the most important challenges was the issue of ensuring smooth connectivity flow. As per the design spec, the connectivity flows from each room to the central server, and vice-versa. Laying cables to and fro the central location was a real challenge, as was managing the signal correctly.

According to Abhimanyu, collaborative infrastructural network weaved on the dedicated Collaboration Level on this 6th floor stands out as a special feature of the whole, massive install.

“All the rooms feature as a common backbone a fully digital (IP-based CAT5) data and control infrastructure featuring latest XTP Solutions from Extron,” he explains, “this helps eliminate the need for multiple types of cabling, and simplifies both the installation and maintenance processes considerably.”

Moving out into the other spaces, such as general Reception at the ground floor, and an exclusive Reception on the Collaboration Level (6th floor), Cafeteria, Bristo, Gym, BMS room, and the Lounge on the top 9th floor- all are characterized digital signage displays, coming from diverse makes. The general Reception on ground floor features two units of Samsung 55-inch MD55C LED displays that can be fed content only through USBs.

12-seater Meeting room at Bayer Vapi

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Video Conferencing room at Bayer Vapi

Meeting room at Bayer Vapi

“We designed the solution to achieve maximum availability,” Abhimanyu reasons. “We used Extron XTP solution to design a room-based solution where every room in the building is controlled by the centralized control and switching system which is a chassis-based system with input and output cards providing necessary connectivity to all locations.”

While the edifice being a Green Building has given Bayer a prideful eco-friendly LEED score, it did pose a challenge to the integration process. The facade of the building was done in protective glass, with no walls which lets a high amount of natural and ambient light coming in rendering the screens inside looking washed out. “To address this, we roped in dnp Flexscreen that cuts off the ambient light, and helps the screen look bright,” explains the SI. Another potential challenge was the client wanting to make the training and boardrooms transformable into a large townhall type setting that challenged the audio-video distribution in the expanded space. The rooms were fitted with foldable and divisible partitions and are opened up in the event of a

big gathering. This setting posed a challenge to distribute the audio and video evenly throughout.

“We did this by installing a DSP mixer from Extron,” details Abhimanyu. “Also, we installed repeat monitors in these rooms, so that everybody can see the images clearly wherever they are seated.”

The ingenious fashion the issues were addressed has apparently won the appreciation of Bayer management.

“That’s a great show of skill and execution; in the given limitations of time and other factors,” says Jagannath Patil, Head-IT Operations at Bayer, Thane. “We are glad that we can rely on the solution provided by Actis; this will enable us to work in future where AV is concerned.”

Jagannath’s deputy Kunal Padwal, counts on Actis team’s attentiveness on the job, working long hours with dedication.

“Their contribution to seeing the project come on stream on time is great,” he lauds. www.actics.co.in

Training room-Gurukul at Bayer Vapi

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SOUTH KOREA

Bosch Lends A Voice To Democracy At Seoul's National Assembly Research Service The First Bosch CCS 1000D System In Asia Pacific

PROJECT FACTFILE Client: National Assembly Research Service (NARS) Segment: Government Location: Seoul, South Korea System Integrator: Hanyang Electronics Task: To deliver a conference system that is stable and provides crisp, clear audio during discussions.

Solution Highlight: Bosch CCS-1000D

F

ounded in 2007, the National Assembly Research Service (NARS) is an independent legislation and policy research institute that serves the National Assembly of South Korea. Established with the aim of strengthening the National Assembly’s legislative capacity and promoting parliamentary democracy, it provides research and information on all current and potential issues of national policy.

In line with its purpose, NARS regularly conducts critical meetings in its conference room with members and committees of the National Assembly. In order to ensure smooth proceedings, the client was looking for professional equipment that would deliver system stability and provide crisp, clear audio during discussions. Adding to the challenge was the client’s emphasis on product design to fit the tastefully designed conference room. To win the project, the Hanyang Electronics, Bosch’s conference partner had to not only display the quality of its audio equipment but also present strong unique features that of the products to stand out from the competition.

Taking into account the client’s requirements and the size of the discussion unit, Hanyang Electronics worked closely with NARS’ procurement department and sound system manager to find the best audio system. After reviewing several products, the client selected the CCS- 1000D series conference system for its user-friendly design and excellent speech indelibility. Hanyang Electronics also collaborated with Bosch team on the installation of the CCS-1000D system in the main conference room where seminar and press meetings are

conducted. The installation is one of the first Bosch CCS 1000D system installed in Asia Pacific since its launch mid last year.

With the new conference system in place, NARS is now able to enjoy superior sound quality during its meetings. The reliability of the CCSD-1000 series also means that critical discussions are not disrupted, ensuring smooth, effective proceedings.

In addition, the client benefits from the various features of the equipment including the LED indication for meeting participants, built-in audio recording on internal memory and/ or USB memory stick and advanced configuration and control via built-in web browser, which has enhanced productivity during meetings. As a result, the client is extremely pleased and satisfied with the performance of the sound system. www.boschsecurity.asia

A QUICK GLANCE • The CCS-1000D series was installed NARS’ main conference room where seminar and press meetings are conducted.

• The audio system was selected for its user-friendly system, state-of- the-art design and reliability.

• NARS now enjoys superior sound quality, effective proceedings and enhanced productivity during meetings.

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INDIA

NABARD Boardroom Breathes High-Tech Sophistication

SG Designs, Cosmos Business Machines Bring Home Arthur Holm

National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) – India’s apex banking body for institutional credits to promote agricultural and rural development – made a high-tech initiative of sorts when it recently implemented a very uniquely designed audio-visual systems integration in its Boardroom at its Head Office in Mumbai.

Mumbai-based architectural and AV consultancy firm Sandeep Govalkar Design Associates, and AV integration firm Cosmos Business Machines came together to share the honours. An SIA snapshot:

PROJECT FACTFILE Project: NABARD Boardroom Project Location: Mumbai Project Owner: NABARD Project Segment: Banking/Government Project type: Boardroom VC, presentation AV Cosultancy: M/S Sandeep Govalkar Design Associates, Mumbai AV Systems Integrator: Cosmos Business Machines, Mumbai Project Highlights: Premium Pop-Up monitor systems from Arthur Holm – India’s first such system – dnp’s 135-inch optical screen

By Ram Bhavanashi

N

ABARD, coming into being through a special instrumentation by Government of India, and Reserve Bank of India, plays an important role in boosting up the country’s rural and agrarian economy in that it reaches out the vast country side through institutional credit and promotional campaigns. That the target communities are apparently of huge scale, and its activities are voluminous, leveraging the benefits of technology is all the more indispensable for the institution, to be able to implement its programmes with desired activism.

As part of the same, the apex agri-bank decided to implement a very sophisticated audio-visual, and video-conferencing systems integration in its Chairman’s Office Boardroom.

Due diligence of the processes saw Mumbai-based architectural and AV consultancy firm Sandeep Govalkar Design Associates, and Cosmos Business Machines coming onboard the project as Consultant and Systems Integrator respectively.

“The requirement was to design and implement a video conferencing and seamless presentation system that is not only state-of-the-art in but also an accentuation factor the aesthetic appeal of the interiors,” recalls Sandeep Govalkar, Principal Architect-Consultant from the design firm. “While that was their wishlist, the ‘brief’ in particular was to ‘bring in the best, only the best.’”

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“It was both value for money as well as quality and easy maintenance,” chips in Pankaj Patil, Senior Manager, AudioVisual at Cosmos Group, the systems integrator for the project.

“First, it was about the quality equivalent to that of an LCD panel but with no bezel; second, of course, the cost- while there are cutting-edge solutions on the market, the cost factor was too high to be favoured, and problems of maintenance. Hence the choice of dnp that assures the quality and performance along with its low cost of ownership.”

According to him, it meant that there was no room for any compromise whatsoever, and they were tasked to design and bring in only the best such spaces were ought to, and befitted the institution’s positioning.

“We evolved our design accordingly,” explains Sandeep. “We scanned the domain to see what best fitted the client’s wish, and the situational requirement,” he said.

Challenges Converted into Opportunities There were three important considerations: size and shape of the hall; locationing of the space; and the client preference for specs that accentuated the interior décor.

Shape of the hall was oblong, with two pillars at uneven angles, rendering the interior aesthetics as well as acoustical precision challenging. That it was a hard concrete wall and pillared structure, nothing could be removed or reshaped; the only way to treat the surfaces with materials that could redefine the whole specs.

SG Designs sought to convert the challenge into an opportunity by making the pillars as part of the interior décor, and treated the whole interiors with a good mix of wood, vinyl, and acoustic fabric so that the ‘artcoustic’ factor of the space is accentuated by design.

The boardroom is created on the top of the seven-storey building overlooking the surrounding terrain through glass windows which rendered the space extremely bright with a high degree of natural light coming in. No regular screen could fit in such circumstances. Moreover, a front projection screen by design requirement would have asked for a ceilingmounted projector which could again impact the aesthetics, besides playing obstructive to certain sightlines.

“So, we chose to bring in dnp’s optical screen, and design a rear-projection spec,” informs Sandeep. Thus came in the 135-inch dnp optical screen adorning the facing wall of the hall behind which went a Panasonic DLP projector.

A 6000 Lumens Panasonic DLP projector DZ680 – mounted on a hold at 60º inclination facing the mirror – does the rear projection job from behind the optical screen. They had to create a small chamber for the purpose behind the wall mounted with the screen, so that the room looked spatially spacious, and comforting.

An equally important aspect here was the consultant’s choosing for pop-up monitors for the U-shaped conference table. “The client brief already specified that our design has to be aesthetic, and the AV spec, while being the best, has to contribute to the décor,” recalls Sandeep. “So we chose to bring-in 17-inch monitors from Arthur Holm,” he explains further. “The systems are not only exquisite in design and make, but also unparalleled in performance. We found them meeting the client’s requirement.”

The HD Professional 17.3-inch, wide screen, retractable data monitors with 200 of inclination have thus been integrated into conference room table. The UP/DOWN control buttons regulate the movement of the monitor up and down. That they are concealed under the table, and will pop-up only when required make them precisely functional even as they contribute to the aesthetic appeal of the space, explains the consultant. While the systems are admittedly premium, that the client apparently wanted such an exquisite treatment to the space, their expense wasn’t a big concern.

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“While having the high-end system in place, we also wanted to render it very user-friendly; we created a programme to control the entire system on an Apple iPAD,” explains Pankaj.

Alongside the Boardroom are two waiting lounges which are also equipped with Panasonic displays for rolling out digital signage content, as per the discretion of the client.

With so much attention and dedication being put in, the client was apparently happy about the systems designed and integrated.

Similar was the consideration for the audio system spec. beyerdynamic MCS-D Series digital array microphones with beam forming Revoluto technology were preferred as the best choice for the space for reasons more than one. The space thus has been equipped with beyerdyamic MCS-D200, MCS-D3123, MCS-D3121 models from the German audio major. They are high-performance units with option for on/mute the speaker, and the priority button for the Chair; they also fitted beautifully onto the conference table, and into the overall ambience.

The audio system also comprised two Tannoy QFlex-16 column speakers, coming in with four built-in microphones, mounted on the facing wall, flanking the optical screen.

“The choice for these speakers was their ability to deliver unilateral audio throughout the room by their array technology and backend software control,” explains the Pankaj. “The design envisaged an audio spec that wouldn’t impact the room’s look and feel,” he elaborates. “That the systems are not only cute in design and fitted well with the ambience, they also spread out a very pleasing audio, with a long-lasting aural experience to the in-mates.”

According to the consultant, their idea of the design was to deliberately play out the Tannoy speakers so that not only their performance comes out perfect, but also the brand appeal will speak for itself as adorning the space.

Fitting Video-Conferencing An essential part of the install was to have a high quality video-conferencing set-up. The designers chose to bring in Full HD Polycom video-conferencing solution, and by designincorporated two camera units on either side of the optical screen, and wall-mounted below the Tannoy speakers. The system is supported by a Belkin Wi-Fi router that powers the entire floor with wireless connectivity enablement.

Running as the central channelizing backbone for the entire audio-video processes is the Extron Digital Matrix Switchr XTP CrossPoint 1600 system – installed in combination with Extron IPCP Pro 550 – that supports 4K resolution in 3D, and also HDCP-compliant. That the power-packed system is capable of seamlessly transmitting audio and video feeds of large sizes, makes the whole set-up very high-end and distinguished.

Says P S Sunil Mohankrishnan, Assistant General ManagerDPSP Dept., at the NABARD: “the systems integrated are of superb quality and performance.” According to him, the AV integration made possible superb clarity and picture reproduction with seamless transmission and user-friendly experience.

The NABARD exec, perhaps, sounds more enthusiastic about the dnp screen when he says “my view about the dnp screen with single mirror is that the system has superb clarity, even with high ambient light.” www.cosmos.org.in

The Big Challenge If there was to be any one single/best instance in the whole AV integration process at the NABARD Boardroom, it was the installation of the 135-inch dnp optical screen.

For reasons more than one: That the install site was inside a concreted space on 7th floor of the building, the screen had to be carried all the way to that height- that’s one.

Two, that it measured as much as 135-inch diagonal, it couldn’t be taken inside the lift; it had to be carried by other means. Three- that the screen is optical in make, any little mishandling/tampering with the screen would have rendered it useless. So, it required some extremely sophisticated measure.

“It was Sunday; we couldn’t do it on week days for the simple reasons of people’s movement around,” recalls Sandeep. “So, getting work personnel on site was one, getting the screen without any damage was two. On top of it, I was running high fever, but could not complain.”

So the Consultant and the integration firm decided to summon a crane to lift the screen unscathed to the 7th floor.

Even there, they had to clear some window spaces to push the screen in, and then again repair the loosened window spaces.

Recalls Pankaj: “For me, probably, that’s the best part of the install, an endurance test for us to ensure everything happened as per plan.”

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A Conversation With...

Harry Lam, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of Crestron Asia Ltd

Having been with Crestron Asia for nearly two decades, Harry is responsible for finance, administration and logistics within the company. In his new role as the Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer (w.e.f. March 2016) Harry will also be leading the sales and marketing efforts in Asia, driving new business growth for Crestron.

SI Asia had a conversation with Harry recently to learn more about Crestron Asia's new business directions and plans for Asia.

SI Asia: First of all, congratulations on your new role Harry! So what are your plans now that you will be leading the sales and marketing team?

HARRY: Thank you Shireen. In recent years, I see that there is actually a lot of growth potential in Asian markets and we hope to capture all these opportunities. In addition, since our company has been growing continuously, we need a better management system to manage and fully utilize our resources.

To do so, several structural changes within Crestron Asia will be made. First of all, we target to build up a stronger relationship with our current and potential clients to keep the company in a leading position in the industry. At the same time, we will also market our products by providing comprehensive solutions to clients, rather than just selling products.

SI Asia: So these changes are also in line with Crestron International's global business direction?

HARRY: Yes, that's right.

SI Asia: What are some market opportunities you are looking at?

HARRY: In the past decades, we, as a complete AV solution provider, have been committed to providing direct sales and technical support to dealers and customers. In recent years, AV/IT system integration has become the new trend.

With significant AV systems deployment experiences, we continuously develop automation and control solutions, also integrating systems to provide greater comfort, convenience, and security.

SI Asia: So we can expect some new hires in time to come?

HARRY: Of course. We are definitely looking for the right people, in the right places. With experts, we are capable to capture more business opportunities. For example, we are looking for talented professionals with system design, marketing and/or sales background who can assist us to explore new markets and help business grow.

SI Asia: How about market segments?

HARRY: We are doing very well in corporates, enterprises as well as education and healthcare.

SI Asia: Thoughts on your new appointment?

SI Asia: Which are some of your biggest markets in Asia?

HARRY: It's quite a challenge for me as I was from Finance. I started with Crestron Asia in a finance role before moving over to legal, then corporate, and now sales. But I like challenges and I can see a lot of improvements in the company over the years. I'm a positive person, and I believe that only with good planning, a company can then be truly sustainable.

HARRY: I would say China, followed by India with the most potential.

www.crestronasia.com

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Let's Talk About Collaboration Tapping On One Of The Leading Minds In The Industry On Visual Collaboration

V

ideo conferencing has come a long way. From what was novel and interesting at first to be able see and chat with a person on a display, VC has now become a useful and practical tool in corporate boardrooms and meeting spaces. A veteran in the Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) industry / space, Polycom has come a long way, growing alongside with old and new technologies alike.

Moving forward, what kind of trends and developments can we expect from the UCC industry? SI Asia's Shireen Ho caught up with Michael Frendo, Executive Vice President, Engineering of Polycom to find out more.

The Changing Face of Visual Collaboration Over the years, video collaboration has become much more dynamic. The solution is no longer “one size fits all”. Traditional VC rooms which comprised of a screen and a camera at the end of a room and long table are beginning to see slower growth rate as the market becomes saturated.

“It's still selling and it's a good market, but it's not a market that is proliferating,” said Michael. “What the market now needs are solutions that can address work spaces more

appropriately according to their needs. When you consider what the spaces are used for and how they are being used, you open up a door to video collaboration in a much broader way... So you combine that aspect with the knowledge that people are much more comfortable with video now because it's everywhere – on your mobile devices, laptops and tablets.”

[...Historically, customers had to adapt to the way video was delivered, but now we are able to make visual collaboration tools adapt to the way people work.]

Workplace of The Future We have been talking about “Workplace of The Future” for a while now. However, in many experts' view, the “workplace of the future” is no longer in the future, but it is here, right now, happening in our offices and workspaces. How would Michael define this workplace and in his opinion, what are the main drivers of this revolution?

“From what I see, there are three dimensions to this. Firstly, technology. Looking at how technology has evolved, a great deal of it is about interconnectivity and mobility. The world is becoming hyper connected, and people are expected to be connected to everything all the time.”

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these are all mega trends in the modern workplace and the motivation behind Polycom's product innovations.

“The power of collective minds and collaboration is so much more powerful than an individual working on their own, but collaboration is not necessarily something people do in a room together. I mean they can and they still do, but with an increasingly globalised marketplace, companies are venturing out of their home country and have teams around the world. It's a very distributed workforce we have now.”

Augmented Collaboration Experience?

It's true, compared to slightly more than a decade earlier where email was king, today's communication channels have evolved greatly. We use chat applications like Whatsapp, WeChat and social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to connect with people and broadcast our thoughts.

As time goes by, we are now expected to be connected and responsive at all times.

According to Michael, the second dimension to workplace of the future will be the generational shift. As more and more people coming up in the workforce today are millennials, they are beginning to have more influence over the way we work.

In recent years, augmented reality has become a big thing for vertical markets and many companies have already started to explore how AR can help enhance processes and experiences.

But how would it affect collaboration in the long run, and is it something UCC leaders should look into?

“Absolutely. I think augmented reality will play an important role sooner than virtual reality. The idea of being in an augmented conference room where you can see information overlay with real-life objects and appears automatically is something people really look forward to.”

Pushing Forward: Enabling Technologies

“The millennials are expected to join the majority of the workforce in the next 5-10 years, and they are very different from previous generations. Being digital natives, they have been around technology since they were born. So their expectations and their comfort with technology is different,” he explained.

We know that millennials and innovative companies are two key drivers in revolutionising the modern workplace, but advancement in basic technology infrastructure such as DSP, bandwidth have also played an important role in enabling the quality and flexibility of visual collaboration we have today.

What is Michael's take on this?

Millennials eat, live and breathe technology. There is no resistance to use technology or try out new ideas / devices.

They are the first generation who embrace visual collaboration as a preferred means of communication – which is interesting because they somewhat skipped the audio conferencing stage and went straight from chat to video.

“There are a lot of factors that have to be there to make this work. There will always be a number of factors that will come into play that enable something to happen that couldn't happen before. For example, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This real-time communication in the internet space is something that was enabled by advancement in DSP horsepower and suddenly you could compress and do things with voice that you couldn't do before. In the 10 years before VoIP, those things were impossible not because you can't do it, but because cost was so prohibitive that you couldn't deploy end-points that way.”

“Because they are digital natives, the connected world is a place they are used to, hence they will bring that aspect of their personal lifestyle into their professional lives as well.

Things like checking their smartphones 3-7 times an hour shows their need to be constantly connected.”

Michael went on to elaborate the third piece: work space.

Impacted by the two earlier mentioned dimensions, the size of work spaces are also influenced by companies who want more collaboration between their employees.

The power of being able to cooperate globally combined with the fact that workspaces are changing – drives the need for smaller workspaces like huddle spaces, where people can get together and work locally through shared screens. To Michael,

He continued, “But then suddenly the evolution of technology gets to a place where something that was feasible but not commercially viable becomes viable. Video is very much the same. When you look at the way how optical network and bandwidth has evolved in the last 5 years, we have gone from optical fibre carrying 500GB of traffic to 8TB of traffic or more today. So now you have all these bandwidth and bandwidth is always a fundamental enabler for things to happen.” www.polycom.com.sg

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ON OUR WEB Systems Integration Asia June - July 2016

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