Pro-Systems News March/April 2016 by Sun Circle Publishers

March / April 2016

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AV System Integration | Installations | Live Events | Studio PRO Audio

Cover Mumford Story & Sons Houses of Worship Feature ISE & Prolight + Sound Networking & IP Interviews: Crestron, Roland Greil, Nik Fairclough

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In This Issue EDITOR Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest, jam-packed edition of ProSystems Africa News. While the tough times go on for South Africa’s currency, and by extension for an industry dependent on much imported equipment, there is also much evidence of international support of and belief in the SA AV sector. With global heavyweights such as Christie and Crestron both recently affirming their commitment to the local market with direct representation here, we must be doing something right. An extensive news rundown in this issue is dominated by local developments. Along with the aforementioned Crestron Experience Centre opening locally, Christie’s local office is hosting open days for their local customers, and there is also news of local skills initiatives and distributor appointments for ProxioAv, who are the new agents for RGBLink integrators. I was lucky enough to grab an exclusive interview while at ISE with the global and EMEA CEOs of control and automation systems giant Crestron to get more in-depth behind their decision to open offices in SA. Our featured industry sector in this issue is a perennially popular one with many AV integrators – the Houses of Worship sector. Judging by the scale and variety of projects on the go, which we cover in this issue, it is indeed a thriving sector for the local industry. We open with a white paper on the changing face of AV in the sector, and then focus on different installation case studies. We close the feature with an in-depth interview with audio designer Nik Fairclough, on the sonic challenges some church installations give rise to, and how o deal with them. Following up our pre-show look at ISE, we have several reports highlighting local attendee’s experiences of the giant show in Amsterdam, and some of the many new products launched at the event. We also have a look forward to April’s giant Prolight +Sound trade show in Frankfurt Our live event coverage this issue highlights the interesting Mumford and Sons gigs from February, which provides us with our iconic cover image this issue. There is also an exclusive interview with prominent German designer Roland Greil, recently on tour as Adele’s LD, who was a guest of DWR Distribution in running technical workshops locally. We wrap up this packed issue with an in-depth look at one of the technical hot topics of ISE – AV over IP, and the related topic of networking protocols and control standards for audio.. Don’t forget that we’re here for you – as your resource for key industry information, trends and product news. If you want to talk about any of that, have suggestions, or comments on anything you read here and in our regularly updated website and newsletter, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m on james@sun-circle.co.za. Enjoy the read! James Sey

CONTENTS NEWS Crestron opens Johannesburg Experience Centre............................................... 3 SACIA breakfast offers discussions on ISE and industry future................................... 4 KSM8 Dualdyne – 77 years in the making......... 6 BMFL WashBeam debuted at Robe Roadshow.............................................. 8 Stage Audio Works quick out of Christie blocks........................................... 9 DWR and Prolyte assist in on-going training and skills development in South Africa........... 10 Prosound holds launch for Meyer Sound LEOPARD and 900-LFC...................................... 10 RGBlink appoints ProxioAV in South Africa...... 11 Ardian acquires d&b audiotechnik from Odewald and Cobepa.................................... 11 Prolyte sets a new standard............................. 12

INTERVIEW Crestron stays on savvy growth path.............. 14

ISE SHOW REPORT The A-Z of ISE 2016............................................. 16 Alcons Audio at play at successful ISE Audinate celebrates landmark Dante licensee and product growth at ISE................ 18 Sennheiser expands its range........................... 18 HARMAN Professional Solutions’ innovative building technology applications.................... 20 Bet on a Shure thing.......................................... 20 Kramer goes for gold......................................... 22 AV Stumpfl flies at ISE......................................... 22 Powersoft takes the high ground..................... 23 The Drones are coming..................................... 24

Integration & INSTALLATION Crestron case study........................................... 26

PROLIGHT + SOUND SHOW PREVIEW Prolight + Sound 2016........................................ 28 Prolight + Sound 2016 extends conference programme................................... 30 Prolight + Sound 2016: Guang Jian Gao, China’s leading set designer, to give keynote lecture.............. 31

Integration & INSTALLATION – Houses of Worship Feature Church doesn’t sound the way it used to...... 32 Churches see the video light........................... 33 Rivers church comes to life............................... 34 The meaning of community............................. 38 Electro-Voice offers a sound solution to the Kruiskerk......................... 40 Sounding out the NG Kerk................................ 42 Durban Christian Centre – the challenge of scale................................... 44 Martin Audio ups the game at St Johns Chapel............................................ 46

INTERVIEW Listening to spaces............................................ 48

Live Events Rigging and such............................................... 50 Roland Greil – design for all seasons............... 52 AV delivers for the queen of the land............. 54 Gearhouse and Rodriguez reunite for South Africa tour............................. 56 Mumford and Sons: gentlemen of the Voortrekker Monument...... 60

Studio PRO AUDIO Soundcraft Si Impact......................................... 64 Networking nirvana?......................................... 66

TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT AV over IP – the time is now............................. 68

Social Prolyte Rigging Training..................................... 70 M-Series Training at Electrosonic...................... 70 SACIA’s ISE Survivors Breakfast......................... 71 Prosound: Electro-Voice Innovations Academy....................................... 71 Crestron South Africa: Hampton Office Park Opening........................ 72

Contributors Elaine Strauss | A journalist and photographer, with experience in writing articles featuring a broad range of subjects, Elaine is also currently working towards completing her Masters degree in Visual Studies, while making her mark in the audio and AV industries. With a keen interest in lighting design and film studies, she is a peoples-person with a fascination for all things new and shiny. With experience in journalism, videography and marketing, she brings to her writing a passion for and understanding of various fields. Jimmy Den-Ouden | An entertainment technician based in Sydney, Australia. His qualifications and experience span a broad range of subjects and technologies. He writes and reviews equipment most of the week, and works freelance on various shows and installations on a weekly basis. Jimmy can be seen on most GEARBOX video reviews, available on YouTube.

David Davies | A journalist who has been covering professional AV and broadcast technology for 14 years. He is reelance managing editor of Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe and continues to contribute to a host of trade publications, including PSNEurope, PSNLive and Installation. He has also been a part of the team for The AES Daily, The IBC Daily and, since 2005, The ISE Daily, for which he served as an executive editor in 2013 and 2014. In addition, he is active as a copywriter and sub-editor.

Editorial Disclaimer The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Pro-Systems Africa News or any employee thereof. Sun Circle Publishers makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. Sun Circle Publishers reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner it sees fit comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, or is otherwise unacceptable. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

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Publishers & Projects

news

Crestron opens Johannesburg Experience Centre Crestron, the leading manufacturer of advanced control and automation systems, recently opened a new Experience Centre in the Hampton Office Park in Bryanston, near Johannesburg, to support the growing demand for its technologies in the southern African region.

Every Crestron Experience Centre is specifically designed to showcase the company’s latest corporate and residential technologies and provide Crestron’s dealers with the very best facilities, to demonstrate the full range and characteristics of Crestron solutions to their prospective customers. Worldwide the company views the centres as part of its ongoing investment to help its dealer community grow their businesses profitably. Visitors to the sleek corporate facilities at the centre will be able to see the latest solutions from the company, including: • Crestron Pyng®: The technology that makes it fast and easy to deliver luxury home automation on any scale. • AV Framework™: The ‘glue’ that enables all devices connected to it to work together. • Crestron Fusion®: energy management software to optimise energy use across networks and major technology investments. • DM® 3.0: delivers content anywhere on the network without loss of quality. • A wide variety of touch screens. • AirMedia®:complete wireless HD

presentation from any mobile device and any platform. • A range of audio technologies including amplifiers and speakers. Rupert Denoon, Regional Manager, Crestron South Africa, comments: “The opening of the latest Crestron Experience Centre in Johannesburg shows our commitment to our operations in the region. The facility is free of charge for our dealers to use and already it is a huge success with our dealers who are showing a keen interest in booking the facility for their existing and prospective customers.” The 230m2 facility has a spacious hospitality area complete with its own outdoor balcony making it perfect for hosting all types of events. It has a training room and 10-seater boardroom with the rest of the space having an open plan design to give greater flexibility to its usage. Situated near the intersection of three major arterial

roads – Mann Road, William Nicol Drive and the N1 freeway – and with plenty of parking available, it is ideally located to suit the needs of Crestron’s dealers. “South Africa is at the heart of the digital economy,” comments Robin van Meeuwen, CEO Crestron EMEA. “Our increased investment in the region stems from the growing demand we are seeing across the whole range of solutions that we offer. The technologies in the Experience Centre will help our dealers stay ahead of the competition and thrive in an increasingly global marketplace.” The new Experience Centre address is: Hampton Office Park, 20 Georgian Crescent, Ground Floor, Atterbury House, Bryanston, 2152 Johannesburg, South Africa. Reception: +27 (0) 10 0017340 Technical Support: +27 (0) 10 0017341

news

SACIA breakfast offers discussions on ISE and industry future

Mark Malherbe, Ian Vos and Stefan Mayer

The recent SACIA ISE Survivors Breakfast offered an engaging discussion about the ISE, as well as the development of local industries… The Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) held an ISE Survivors Breakfast in Johannesburg on 26 March. The aim of the breakfast was to allow attendees of Integrated Systems Europe, which took place from 9 to 12 February in Amsterdam, to discuss their experience at the event with industry individuals who could not attend themselves. Prosound Technical Director Mark Malherbe, Independent Music Professional Ian Vos and Corporate AV Integration MD Stefan Mayer led the ISE discussion during the event. They discussed the first four-day ISE, new developments in the industry and how South Africa compares to the international companies that attended and exhibited at the convention. “I am also a distributor and my suppliers took far more of my time than I anticipated. So that takes away from the amount of time you spend seeing what everyone else is doing,” Malherbe said. “What I’ve found this year is that we’ve almost peaked in terms of innovation, between the 1970s and now. So what I’m seeing now is a levelling out of that growth and more of a concentration, instead of AV looking ahead, on the integration between the services and I think that’s where the focus is now. From the supplier’s point of view, I’m seeing more of a

Kevan Jones and Collen Hlatshwayo

focus on support quality and differentiation at that level rather than emphasising products. People are looking at cost effectiveness and making it worthwhile for distributors.” Vos pointed out the competitiveness of South Africa, compared to other, international companies at ISE. “South Africa can definitely compete with the rest of the world and keep to a standard we can be proud of as South Africans. We are currently employing more than 350 people per year for the show from our local industry,” Vos said. Mayer remarked on the sheer size of this year’s ISE and also examined the increased importance of network technologies. “The biggest thing that caught my eye was the LG stand, which was just insane and the Samsung stand, which was an entire hall. Samsung had many innovations this year, but on a very big stand. The NEC stand was also very impressive. There were a lot of wireless and network AV technologies as well. Those were the biggest things at ISE,” Mayer said.

During the rest of the morning, SACIA Executive Director Kevan Jones also held an open discussion with South African Department of Arts and Culture Project Director Collen Hlatshwayo, about the future of the South African audio and visual industry. The discussion came down to the need, in South Africa, to experience and drive transformation in the industry, to create opportunities for smaller, black owned businesses to develop and become meaningful suppliers to the industry sector. “At the Department of Arts and Culture, one of our mandates is to work and develop the cultural creative industries and the focus tended to be more on the content and the artists, while the technical element of this lagged behind. The Department recognised this as a very important aspect and some years ago we initiated research and conducted consultations, which led to an outcome of recommendations from the sector of things that need to be done and subsequently last year we were able to develop a strategy with which the Department will drive its interventions through partnerships with the sector,” Hlatshwayo said. The discussion that followed offered various comments and suggestions from the members, bringing the breakfast to a close. “Please use this opportunity to engage with Collen and share your ideas, frustrations, visions and dreams, because we are working very closely with the Department of Arts and Culture, dti, MICT Seta and CATHSSETA,” Jones concluded.

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news

KSM8 Dualdyne – 77 years in the making

Model 55 Unidyne Microphone is the first single-element unidirectionall microphne

Unidyne III microphone becomes the first high-quality unidirectional microphone

For more than 90 years, Shure has provided the world with ground-breaking technology and innovative audio solutions. In 1939, the company developed the Unidyne cartridge, which became the world’s first single-element unidirectional microphone. In 1966, they took the Unidyne principle even further in the Unidyne III to create the SM58, which featured Shure’s unique pneumatic shock-mount system. Shure recognises the need for constant innovation. Product development doesn’t simply stop when a product is released — far from it. Instead, they continue to deliver new and exciting technology, while continually improving on existing designs. No longer is it 1939; nor is it 1966. The SM58 of today is not the same microphone that once graced the stage at Woodstock in its early years. Technology continues to evolve;

Shure further advances dynamic cartridge technology with the Unidyne III cartridge in the SM58

SM11 is the world’s smallest dynamic lavalier microphone

manufacturing techniques improve making old products more efficient and new designs possible. Through the years, Shure has embraced these technologies to deliver a broad range of new-to-the-world products across its entire portfolio, from wired microphones to networked audio and advanced wireless management systems. Most recently, the company’s continual commitment to developing ever more sophisticated audio systems can be found in the new KSM8 Dualdyne, announced at NAMM 2016. The KSM8 Dualdyne is the world’s first dual diaphragm dynamic handheld microphone – a ground-breaking feat of engineering that essentially reverses the flow of a dynamic mic. Just like Unidyne in 1939, the dualdyne is a major leap in microphone technology. At the heart of

By Marc Henshal

SM81 advances the durability of the condenser microphones

SM91 is the first unidirectional boundary-effect microphone

KSM8 is a new-to-the-world cartridge design with two ultra-thin diaphragms and reverse airflow. The result is a mic with virtually no proximity effect, exceptional off-axis rejection, and unprecedented vocal clarity with minimal need for EQ and processing. This advancement in technology marks a significant milestone in both microphone history and Shure’s continuous journey in the pursuit of perfection. The graphic below represents just a few select moments in Shure’s journey so far; it’s taken 77 years of continuous improvement to reach this moment and they’re just getting started. In the words of founder Sidney Shure himself, “We know very well that absolute perfection cannot be attained, but we will never stop striving for it.” Courtesy of Shure

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news

BMFL WashBeam debuted at Robe Roadshow

Josef Valchar and Harry von den Stemmen from Robe with DWR's Nick Barnes and Duncan Riley

The Robe Roadshow kicked off in Johannesburg on 8 February at DWR in Johannesburg, before moving to The Rivers Church in Durban on 10 February and finally closing at the Roxy Revue Bar at the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Cape Town on Friday 12 February.

The Roadshow emphasised Robe’s product philosophy of innovation, quality over quantity and offering more variety and multifunctional products. “One of the characteristics of our products at Robe is that they are always very innovative, because for us that is the means with which we separate ourselves from competitors and mass manufacturers that create generic moving lights,” said Robe Founder and General Manager Josef Valchar.

“With the speed of development and innovation we stay on top of the crowd. We pay a lot of attention to innovative solutions and as a result we have over 80 patents, either issued or pending. Every year we have five to six new patents, so we try to protect the technology that we are developing and fight against cheap knock-offs.” According to Valchar, Robe also places importance on lighting designers’ requests, as they strive to offer not only what these designers need, but more. “We work with lighting designers, from getting feedback and understanding what they need; what is missing, to building the products, providing something that does the job they require, but also making it broader, offering more than one particular use. Because at the end of the day we want to justify their investment in our products by offering products that are multifunctional and have specific features that lighting designers need,” he said. The Roadshow offered various products that emphasise this product philosophy, with the BMFL WashBeam making its debut.

The WashBeam, the latest addition to the BMFL family, is a hybrid fixture that offers more without compromising quality. “The BMFL WashBeam is the brightest fixture of the entire BMFL range, with an output of 300 000 lux at five metres or 50 000 lumens,” said Robe international sales director Harry von den Stemmen. Other products featured included the Robe Square, Viva, Robin DL7S Profile, DL4S Profile, Robe Strobe, PATT 2013 and Robin 1 000 LED Beam. According to Von den Stemmen, Robe also put emphasis on relationship building, stating that it is important for them to reconnect with companies and contacts while in South Africa. “It’s become a good series of Roadshows we’ve already done here in South Africa and the good thing for us is always to come back to see the people that we’ve come to know through the years,” said Von den Stemmen.

news

Stage Audio Works quick out of Christie blocks

Christie demo facility

Christie has wasted no time in making their demo and sales support facilities available and useful to their distributor base. The facility, which incorporates Christie’s Africa branch head office, opened in January this year at Northlands Deco business park in Johannesburg. It also includes the Christie University training facility, a fully equipped boardroom and an in-house warehouse for local stockholding.

Hugh Overy: “it’s really great for us to have this facility. It means we can offer our clients better backup, more spares and better lead times for orders and spares. Christie shows a great deal of trust in us, even providing us with access to their office stock as backup product or as demonstration models. The presence of the facility also means a greater range of product is available. With Christie that’s important, since their product spectrum is wide, from their 12 000 lumens H Series, to the more entry level G Series at 5 500 lumens, as well as high end projectors like the new Boxer 4K series. It’s great to have all these to hand, and to be able to demo them for clients.” Christie’s Regional director Richard Nye adds: “A key role of the facility is inspiring

A recent ‘open day’ saw major distributor Stage Audio Works take clients and others through the facility, impressing on them the depth of product sales and technical support back-up available to them. Says Stage Audio Works’ projection specialist and Christie product manager

confidence in our distributor and client base, that we are here for them with whatever support they need and to help them do better business with their clients. Building that confidence and trust in our collaboration is one of the reasons we’ve cemented our operational base in South Africa. We want to make it work for ourselves and our clients.”

Hugh Overy Christie product manager at Stage Audi Works

news

Prosound holds launch for Meyer Sound LEOPARD and 900-LFC

Chris Mead, Technical Support Manager, Meyer Sound

Southern African Meyer Sound distributors Prosound held a launch for the Award Winning Meyer Sound LEOPARD System and 900-LFC at the Teatro Theatre at Monte Casino on 16 and 17 March. Each day had four different sessions to attend, where Middle East Technical Support Manager of Meyer Sound and guest speaker Chris Mead, gave a short overview of the company, as well as the LEOPARD compact linear line array loudspeaker and 900-LFC compact low-frequency control element, before giving a demo of the products. The point of the launch was to give clients and interested parties the opportunity to experience the products in the real world. “The main thing we’re doing with this launch is just to show people the speaker and let them listen to the speaker,” Mead said. “You can do presentations and talk about the drivers and everything else, but what it comes down to is people actually listening to the speakers. So the

main point of the demo is just to give people a chance, in a normal environment, to listen to what these speakers can do.” This point was emphasised by Mark Malherbe, Technical Director of Prosound. “From Prosound’s side, what we need to do is get the awareness back that Meyer Sound is a premium brand,” Malherbe said. “People tend to switch off to it because it is more expensive, so what we aimed to do with this launch is give people a reality check, to explain to why these products are worth it.” A big selling point for the LEOPARD is its power to weight ratio, according to Mead, who stated that size and weight is always an issue in rentals and theatres. “The other side of it is just the pure linearity of it and how good it sounds,” added Malherbe. For more information about the LEOPARD and 900-LFC, visit Meyer Sound at www.meyersound.com.

DWR and Prolyte assist in on-going training and skills development in South Africa Each year DWR Distribution, South Africa, kicks off with the Prolyte Rigging Training Course, an internationally recognised five-day course presented by Rinus Bakker from Rhino Rigs. This year the Prolyte course has been evaluated and is registered to provide 48 CPD (continuous professional development) credits that can be used to earn and maintain the CertAV professional designations. Kevan Jones, Executive Director of the South African Communications Industries Association (SACIA), explains: “In February 2015 SACIA was recognised by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) as the professional body for the broadcast and AV community across southern Africa. We have registered six professional designations and are in the process of developing additional designations for the theatre and live events

sector. In order to earn and maintain a professional designation, candidates are required to participate in on on-going programme of training and

skills development. “These training courses need to be validated to ensure they are aligned to international standards and specifically relevant to the needs of our local marketplace. The Prolyte course has been evaluated and is registered to provide 48 CPD credits that can be used to earn and maintain the CertAV professional designations,” adds Jones. In a market that is developing as rapidly as today’s modern AV environment, it is important for industry professionals to participate in on-going training and skills development. “The Prolyte rigging course is the first training programme to be validated by SACIA to provide CPD credits that can be used by AV professionals to maintain a SAQA-recognised professional designation,” he adds.

news

RGBlink appoints ProxioAV in South Africa Video scaling and switching manufacturer, RGBlink, has appointed Johannesburg based ProxioAV as exclusive distributor of RGBlink products for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Says RGBlink Sales Director Ben Hu, “ProxioAV is a great company and an established distributor, whom we know will provide a great service”. RGBlink have been formalising distribution agreements around the world as the company has grown, Ben continues, “Having strong distribution in South Africa is not only important to growing the business, but a key element in supporting the user base quickly and with the local understanding and knowledge that a company like ProxioAV has.”

Ardian acquires d&b audiotechnik from Odewald and Cobepa Together with existing management, Ardian, the independent private investment company, is acquiring d&b audiotechnik GmbH (“d&b”) from the investment companies Odewald & Compagnie and COBEPA. d&b specializes in acoustic systems and has operations worldwide. The participation in d&b is already the 13th investment by Ardian LBO Fund V, which is capitalized at €2.8 billion. As part of the transaction, the existing management team, led by CEO Amnon Harman, Markus Strohmeier (Managing Director, Technology and Operations), Frank Bothe (Director R&D), Kay Lange (Director Finance), Hans-Peter Nüdling (Director Sales & Services) and Sabina Berloffa (Director Marketing) will also take a stake in the company, thus ensuring continuity for the further successful development of d&b. With the support of Ardian, the company plans to further strengthen its leading global position. The parties have agreed not to reveal details of the transaction, and the conclusion of the transaction is still subject to approval by the

The distribution agreement was finalised at the recent ISE exhibition in Amsterdam with Richard Barnes from ProxioAV. “We see great possibilities for RGBlink products, are really pleased to be distributing RGBlink. RGBlink has been building a strong quality and performance reputation for their products – especially the newer X series range. We are really excited to get these in front of as many companies and people as possible to show the advantages and possibilities”, says Richard. In related news, Proxio AV has also announced their appointment by ABtUS Singapore Pte Ltd as their exclusive distributors in South Africa and the SubSaharan African continent.

ABtUS Singapore designs, develops and manufactures a full range of products providing solutions for Multimedia Educational Classrooms, Touch Screen Control Systems, Optic Fiber and CAT5 Signal Transmission Systems, DVI, HDMI and VGA Distribution Amplifiers, Switchers and Matrix Switching solutions, Presentation Scaler Switchers, Interface Panels, Mounting Solutions & Display Stands, Audio Systems and many others.

relevant antitrust authorities. Since the company’s acquisition by Odewald & Compagnie and COBEPA in 2011, sales have more than doubled from €44 million to €94 million in the financial year 2015. The number of employees has also risen sharply from 200 in 2011 to around 350 today. Working alongside management, emphasis was placed on the internationalization of the company, the management team was strategically expanded, and the sales team was strengthened considerably. One of the main growth drivers at product level was the strategic development of the market for permanently installed audio systems, which was vigorously pursued in recent years, building on d&b’s outstanding market position in the area of mobile systems. As part of the internationalization process, new subsidiaries were founded in Europe, the USA and Japan, and the company’s production capacity was more than doubled. In particular, d&b achieved strong growth in the USA and Asia. Today, d&b operates in a total of more than 70 countries. Amnon Harman, CEO of d&b, said: “Everything at d&b is about creating the best sound possible. We are therefore in an excellent position to benefit from the

increasing expectations of professional audio technology at events, concerts and large shows worldwide. Together with our new shareholder Ardian, we particularly want to further develop in the Asia-Pacific, South American and North American markets and further expand our leading position in our European home market. On the product side, we will continue to expand the business with permanently installed systems and the development of new, innovative audio solutions. We would like to thank our former shareholders Odewald & Compagnie and COBEPA for their support over the past years – they set the strategic course for our success today and specifically invested in helping us reach our growth potential.” Fabian Wagener, Director at Ardian, added: “Over the past three decades, d&b has become a premium brand in the professional audio technology sector and has shown outstanding organic growth. We are convinced of the company’s innovative strength, its results-oriented management team, its dedicated employees and the resulting growth perspectives. Together with management, we will refine the existing product portfolio and provide important impulses for the further international growth of the company.”

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Prolyte sets a new standard

The ribbon is cut at the new Prolyte factory at Piatra Olt, Romania

ProSystems reports from the opening of Prolyteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand new, state-of-the-art factory in Romania. Prolyte, the Dutch manufacturer of truss, roof systems and rigging hardware, is deeply committed to safety in entertainment rigging. To that end, the company devotes significant resources to training and education via its sales network around the world, and strives to manufacture product to the very highest standards of quality and consistency. Its new factory, opened in Piatra Olt, Romania, in early March, takes that manufacturing commitment to new levels. Romania is a leading European producer of aluminium, from the strip-mining of Bauxite ore, to the refining and production of primary material required by industry. Having operated a manufacturing plant in nearby Slatina, just across the river Olt from the site of the

new factory, for several years, Prolyte started its plans for a brand new, state-of-the-art production facility last year, with the aim to increase production output and improve the quality and consistency of its manufactured product. The longer-term business plans, however, were set in motion in 2010. The commissioning of the new factory is the final and most important phase of this

plan, consolidating all the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European manufacturing capacity into a 5 000m2 facility, with expansion room up to 16 000m2. The new production facility is accommodated with brand new automated production equipment, new welding jigs and state of the art product lines. In addition, the building contains industry-leading employee welfare and

environmental systems, as well as an in-house training facility for welding personnel. The complete bespoke factory, including all equipment, procedures and personnel has obtained a EN1090 certification in the highest execution class III and is further ISO 3834-2 certified by the International Institute of Welding. The total group manufacturing capacity will grow by 250%, which is vital for Prolyte’s continued worldwide sales expansion. Lambert Bouwmeester, Prolyte Group CEO, comments: “Prolyte has long been a market leader in production technology, which underpins our quality promise. We have pioneered some production firsts, such as automated jigging and robotised welding, and these innovations will continue in our new factory.” Mihai Hlihor, Prolyte Group COO, continues: "It’s very important to us to invest in Europe and in our markets further afield to assure our customers that we have the most efficient production facility, meeting our exacting standards. We’re very proud to have achieved this in such a short time span.” The new facility is large, clean and spacious, bathed in natural daylight and clearly with room for increased production in line with the company’s growth plans for the coming years. Quality control and efficiency are central to every stage of the manufacturing process: each batch of supplied material – the extrusions that form the various products – are spot-checked using spectrometers (measuring their precise elemental make-up) and tested for tensile strength. Once these tests are passed satisfactorily, production begins: double-headed saws cut extrusion lengths to ensure precision. Automated processes are used where possible, including in the welding of boss-ends to the truss lengths: machine operators are TÜV-certified. Cords are welded manually, but the jigs employed are ergonomically designed for consistency and efficiency – they raise and lower to suit individual workers; they rotate, locking in place at every 90° turn. Once welded, a state-of-the-art ultrasound system provides another level of quality control, seeing inside the weld to spot cracks or holes or other weaknesses. Each finished product is traceable back through each stage of its manufacturing process to its source batch, ensuring that errors – whether human or machine – can be traced and corrected. As a result of this unique level of attention to quality, Prolyte can manufacture structural aluminium products to EN1090 Execution Class 3 (EXC3) – the highest level for any company currently serving the entertainment industry. Backing up all this is Prolyte’s Campus initiative, currently providing skills training for over 1 000 people every year. As part of the company’s commitment to safety, it is inseparable from its thorough and sophisticated manufacturing processes: there is little point investing in the production of a premium product if the market does not understand the need for it. Prolyte’s South African distributor DWR Distribution recently hosted a Prolyte training course at its base in Johannesburg – a five-day course presented by Rinus Bakker from Rhino Rigs (see page 10 in this issue). Bruce Riley, who attended the factory opening on behalf of DWR, praised the value of the training programme, saying: “It gives our customers the skills they need to use the product safely, and it gives them the confidence to do more with it – it really helps their businesses.” Prolyte’s new facility is a clear indication of its ongoing commitment to quality and best practice in entertainment rigging, and will give its customers further reassurance that they can have the utmost confidence in the product. www.prolyte.com

INTERVIEW

Crestron stays on savvy growth path

Randy Klein, global CEO, Crestron

There are always a number of good reasons why some companies dominate their chosen market sectors. The strategies must change and adapt with the times and changing market conditions, but the success of such businesses is driven by a vision. Crestron is one of those businesses. The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading manufacturer of control and automation systems in many different markets, the privately-held company, founded in 1971, is in the interesting position of growing its business in different global regions, from its historical base in the United States, where it still locates its manufacturing capabilities. James Sey spoke to global CEO Randy Klein (RK) and CEO for the EMEA region Robin van Meeuwen (RvM), about Crestron and its future plans.

INTERVIEW

markets, especially in Africa, tend to be quite extreme. Recently, as all our clients know in southern Africa, the fluctuation of the Rand has complicated our business in the region. We’re hoping that our direct representation through our South African office can alleviate that situation somewhat. As that support through our direct presence indicates, our South Africa office is an important bridgehead for us to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa’s populous and stable markets. The experience the SA market has in terms of project integration and the ability to offer training stands us in good stead. In fact we still see a lot of potential in the SA market, not only the regional one. Our approach is not solely focused on products, but on offering solutions in all our sectors – corporate, residential, public sector, whatever it might be – so we want to involve our integrator companies in every step of offering a total Crestron solution. So our approach to growth in our international markets, including EMEA, is the same – to educate the end-user markets about integration and controlling their environments through technology and what we can offer to make it happen.

[JS] Crestron has a strong R&D philosophy, and is justly proud of its manufacturing capacity. How does this tie into growth plans?

Robin van Meeuwen, CEO, EMEA region, Crestron

[JS] The push for companies such as Crestron to grow their business globally is not difficult to understand. The large European and US markets have become saturated, with a competitive landscape that often forces decisions based on price. Competitive advantage and market share in such a scenario is difficult to maintain. Growing an audience and markets elsewhere in the world offers a solution to the growth conundrum, but it is at times a challenge. What is the outlook for international growth? (RvM) As a global business, our goal is to double our revenues every five years. That growth target is obviously affected by our biggest markets, and in Europe at least, the opportunities are happening in the UK and Germany. In emerging markets the outlook is more complex and fluid. We are fully committed to the African region in marketing and selling products, but our approach to the growth potential in these markets needs to be a little bit different. For one thing, which is not insignificant, the currency fluctuations in these

(RK) We’re seeing unprecedented levels of technological development in our era. Convergence is of course a strong tendency, and we see it across technology practices – for example between AV and IT – and across industries. Our industry is almost unique in the widespread uptake of sophisticated technology, and this is especially true in many emerging markets. Our strategy is to be relevant to these markets, and for us that means a concentration on and pride in designing and engineering our products ourselves. So we have a huge investment in R&D, with over 600 engineers, and full internal testing of all our products, something no other company of our size or in our industry does. But this product development has to be linked to growing our customer base across industry sectors. We want to offer products to our markets that have scalable value, that enable cour customers to run airports, universities, companies and houses, an approach that remains relevant in every corner of the world. At Crestron we believe strongly that to be a leader in your industry you have to develop how that industry understands itself and grows. We have had a consistent investment in growing our industry from the beginning of the era of digital media. We live in exciting times. Crestron has led the way in the move from analogue technology to digital. We’re ahead of the technology curve, and we’re totally focused on remaining a leader in our industry.

ISE SHOW REPORT

The A-Z of ISE 2016 ISE 2016 saw the benchmark trade show extended to four days, by popular demand. It was certainly jam-packed, with the fourth day given over to demos, lectures and CEDIA and Infocomm training and further learning initiatives. A major closing highlight was a keynote address from noted scientist and futurist Michio Kaku, speaking about the concept of a technology-enabled ‘perfect capitalism’. Elsewhere on the final day, panel discussions continued what had been the opening theme of the conference, and what was a major current running through the exhibition halls and the ISE’s associated training and conferencing initiatives – that is, the convergence of AV and IT. Many of the major corporate manufacturers and distributors dwelled on the theme, seeing a maturity in the technology lifecycle that means the AV/IT convergence has become a business reality. Elsewhere in this issue of Prosystems News (page 4) we discuss the impact of the show on the local market. Here we present some of the individual products launched at stands around the show, of relevance to the local market.

Alcons Audio at play at successful ISE ISE 2016 saws leading audio company Alcons Audio enjoy a comprehensive presence, with many product innovations on show. As one of ISE’s official technology partners, the company had different locations on the show floor, among which was the audio solutions theatre in Hall 7 where an Alcons LR7 micro line-array was on display alongside company seminar presentations. Alcons also mounted a “Pro-Ribbon Immersive Experience”; supporting their claim to bring high fidelity at concert SPLs in any size application. In a joint-collaboration with different suppliers, Alcons set-up a unique acoustically-optimised listening room on their stand, where a 13.1 channel pro-ribbon surround system was on the go. The system is based on the new CRMS Cinema Reference Monitor System, with CRMS Compact surrounds, both based on Alcons’ multiple-patented pro-ribbon transducer technology, and entirely AES3 driven by Sentinel digital amplified loudspeaker controllers. On the stand, and appealing to the CEDIA side of ISE, Alcons introduced three new products for the custom install cinema market, as extensions of the CRMS systems. This reference product group is designed for high-end home-theatre, screening room and studio

environments and has been installed, at Walt Disney, NBC Universal, Lucasfilm, Factory studios and a fast growing number of home theatres worldwide. These additions comprise the CRMS-SRIW, a two-way reference high-output pro-ribbon surround system with 8” woofer and 4” Alcons proprietary pro-ribbon mid/high transducer with 800W peak power handling for in-wall mounting, complementing the CRMS screen system. The CRMSC-SRIW is the in-wall surround equivalent for the CRMSCompact screen system, featuring a 6.5” reflex-loaded woofer and 2” Alcons proprietary pro-ribbon mid/high transducer with a surprisingly high 1:15 RMS-topeak dynamic range. A third addition is the CRMSC-SRHOR, which is the CRMSC on-wall surround in horizontally-arranged configuration, for lower-ceiling and/ or above-screen positioning. All CRMSC surrounds are acoustically identical to the mid-high section of the CRMSC screen system, offering imaging and tonal balance throughout the room. Alcons also showed the RR12 point-source array and the unique QR24 line-source column, designed for undistorted sound reproduction in acoustically-challenging rooms, without the need for electronic steering.

Technology that works the way you work Unproductive meetings and wasted resources cost organizations a fortune. Problems with room scheduling, AV, setup, and environmental systems are major contributors. Crestron has the solution. Powered by Crestron Fusion® and the remarkable new PinPoint™ app, Crestron end-to-end enterprise solutions clear a path for people to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. They can quickly access vital information, schedule meetings, and initiate secure communications and collaboration anytime, from anywhere. TO DOWNLOAD YOUR EXCLUSIVE COPY OF CRESTRON’S ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE VISIT CRESTRON.EU/PROSYSTEMS

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. ©2016 Crestron Electronics, Inc.

ISE SHOW REPORT

Audinate celebrates landmark Dante licensee and product growth at ISE Audinate® announced at this year’s ISE that 275 manufacturers have now adopted Dante™, the industry-leading audio over IP networking solution, and that more than 675 Dante-enabled products are now available worldwide. This represents a dramatic 145% increase in the number of commercially available products since ISE last year. To celebrate this unprecedented growth, Audinate brought its popular #DanteEverywhere social media contest to ISE, giving attendees the chance to win a variety of prizes by finding Dante partners exhibiting at the show. To participate, attendees just had to take photos of the “Dante Spoken Here” signs at any of the over 80 Dante partner booths and post them to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #DanteEverywhere. Prizes included free Dante T-shirts, Dante Via™ software and Bose QuietComfort® 20

acoustic noise-cancelling headphones. Audinate also previewed several upcoming features to its award-winning network management software Dante Controller. The new device lock feature brings additional security and peace of mind by employing a PIN-based system for locking and unlocking devices on a Dante network. Other features in the release of Dante Controller include Wi-Fi control and extended device filtering to better navigate larger Dante implementations. Visitors to the booth also experienced Dante Via, the recently unveiled software application that makes it possible to network any existing USB®, FireWire™ or Thunderbolt™ device, and eliminates the need for dedicated hardware endpoints.

Sennheiser expands its range Microphone guru and audio specialists Sennheiser participated at this year’s ISE with the launch of its new wireless conferencing solution, TeamConnect Wireless. One of two new additions to the TeamConnect family, TeamConnect Wireless delivers excellent sound quality and ease of use in a portable system for up to 24 participants. Sennheiser also launched TeamConnect Ceiling, an innovative ceiling mounted array microphone for fixed installations. The Sennheiser stand also featured a wide range of professional products for business communications and conferences, including its newly upgraded SpeechLine Digital Wireless microphone solutions, and Speakerphone series. These compelling new additions to its already strong range of offerings for professional speech applications and business communications broaden the company’s range considerably. Andy Niemann, Director Business Communication at Sennheiser explains: “Whether you are an audio engineer responsible for sound at a major conference, a manager seeking to set up more effective team conferences, or an individual demanding better sound from your business calls – we have an exciting range of solutions that excel through innovative features, unparalleled ease of use and Sennheiser’s characteristic high quality audio performance.” TeamConnect Wireless from Sennheiser is the first go anywhere, wireless audio conferencing solution that is so easy to use that literally any user can set up and host a conference for up to 24 people. The

portable solution is made up of four units linked by wireless DECT connections that allow the system to be set up in virtually any room or table set up. Also making its debut at the expo is Sennheiser’s new ceiling microphone, TeamConnect Ceiling. Freeing users from the limitations of table mounted mics, the fixed-installation, ceilingmounted TeamConnect Ceiling microphone uses beamforming technology that automatically focuses on whichever person in the room is speaking, wherever they are sitting or standing, ensuring great sound quality and flexibility. The company’s SpeechLine Digital Wireless range includes a new multi-room functionality, which makes it possible to adjust the transmission power to address different scales of installations for simultaneous use of multiple systems on the license-free 1.9GHz frequency. Also, the range is be compatible with Audinate’s Dante Network Protocol to support audio-over-IP networks. Sennheiser’s Speakerphone series, SP 10 and SP 20, was also on display at the show. Designed for the mobile business professional, the lightweight, portable conferencing solution facilitates personal and small group conference calls via PC or mobile/tablet with its user-friendly ‘plug in and talk’ simplicity and intuitive functionality. Certified for Skype for Business and optimized for major UC and softphone brands, Sennheiser’s stylish Speakerphones offer sound quality, voice clarity and echo cancellation.

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ISE SHOW REPORT

HARMAN Professional Solutions’ innovative building technology applications If you design and implement building and campus automation systems, then you should know that the HARMAN Professional Solutions suite of innovative education and commercial solutions applications — designed to demonstrate the many advantages of integrated technology — have been updated to include even more products from the HARMAN solutions portfolio. Available to download free of charge, from the App Store, Google Play store or Windows Phone store, these interactive applications are innovative visualisation tools, that take you on a technological tour of a virtual facility, filled with the very latest in collaboration or education-enriching systems. The apps demonstrate how classrooms, board rooms, lecture theatres and other collaboration spaces can be technologically-simplified with integrated HARMAN solutions including world-leading brands such as AMX, JBL, Crown, AKG and many more. As you navigate your way around state-of-the-art environments, you’ll discover how technology can control, automate, monitor and manage resources like never before; allowing for the seamless integration of technology into the lesson plan or meeting room. The HARMAN Professional app suite, available in seven languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian), were demonstrated exclusively on the HARMAN booth at this year’s ISE. They add value to a wide range of environments by simplifying the

way users interact with the technology around them with AMX touch panel-driven control. The technology can integrate seamlessly with other building-wide functions such as audio, lighting, even blinds and air-conditioning, so that users can manage their entire environment, locally and centrally, for maximum productivity and optimum operating efficiency. When used in conjunction with other technologies from the portfolio such as SVSI, Inspired Signage and products from the award-winning audio range, this technology can help HARMAN to deliver a complete AV and communications infrastructure. Contemporary classrooms and meeting rooms can be technologically complex places. The secret lies in taking control of the in-room technology, so that it doesn’t take control of the room. This is precisely what the HARMAN Education Solutions application or the HARMAN Commercial Solutions application are designed to do.

Bet on a Shure thing Internationally respected microphone manufacturer Shure returned to Amsterdam’s RAI this year, where it introduced several new products to the systems integration market. The main product news was the debut of a new networkable conferencing audio solution, Microflex Advance, designed to dramatically improve the audio quality for modern conferencing applications where speech intelligibility is of utmost importance. The Dante-enabled solution perfectly fits with any room aesthetics, provides seamless integration and ease of use and flexibly adapts to any room configuration. In addition, line extensions to a number of Shure systems were shown for the first time at ISE. These included: • two-channel versions of the Microflex Wireless System consisting of a new networked charging station and wireless access point transceiver for lower channel count applications; • the Shure DIS-CCU, one new central control unit for both the Shure DIS discussion and the conference system, plus the introduction of a new feature license model, which simplifies the existing 17 feature licenses down to five; • a new bodypack-version for ULX-D Digital Wireless Systems featuring a LEMO3 connector.

As in previous years, Shure also participated in the ISE’s programme of 20-minute ‘flash’ seminars, hosted by InfoComm, as well as seminars in the ISE Commercial Solutions and Audio Solutions Theatres. Staff discussed how advances in audio and DSP technology are improving meeting spaces, the influence of microphone polar patterns on sound and intelligibility and the use of ‘invisible’ mics in conferencing applications. “ISE 2016 is a particularly important show for us,” comments Nils W. Proesser, Senior Marketing Director at Shure EMEA “Our new A/V conferencing audio technology, Microflex Advance, is going to take that market to another level, and all the other introductions at the show made it the broadest ISE for us to date.“

ISE SHOW REPORT

Kramer goes for gold Kramer, the prominent manufacturer and global distributor of Pro AV products and solutions, was an official gold sponsor at this year’s ISE event, and debuted a raft of new products. “ISE is the meeting place for the audiovisual industry. Gold sponsorship of the event leveraged our presence and connection with visitors as well as other exhibitors at the show,” said Aviv Ron, VP Business Development and Strategy at Kramer. This year, Kramer’s ISE booth focused Aviv Ron on live interactive applications such as a Collaborative Classroom, featuring the debut of VIA Campus for education environments; Control Room, and Executive Meeting Room. All live applications included Kramer’s complete Pro AV portfolio – Presentation, Control,Collaboration, Connectivity and Audio. The stand featured detailed presentation insights into Kramer’s products and solutions, as well as live demos. The company usually has an extensive presence across the show and this year was no different, with Kramer featuring on the InfoComm Masterclass, Higher Ed Conference and Flashtrack. Kramer masters of AV presented three training sessions: BYOD to the Collaborative Learning Environment, Make Room for Success: Huddle Space Optimisation and How to Enable Collaboration in an IT Infrastructure. Kramer also hosted a panel discussion covering one of the hottest topics currently affecting the industry. The discussion was on “AV over IP – Opportunities and Challenges as AV and IT Converge,”, and featured panelists from AVI-SPL Limited, Crestron,Cisco, Harman Professional Solutions, Kramer, Reardon Advisors and Visual Acuity. The company also made several new product announcements, perhaps the most significant of which won Installation Magazine’s

Best of Show Award. This was Kramer Network, Kramer’s new IP-based enterprise management software platform for AV networks. The judges asserted that “[Kramer Network] brings consistency of interface, ease of use and convenience to business and educational environments.” With any laptop, PC or mobile device, Kramer Network lets IT managers and AV operators easily and remotely configure, control, update and manage any AV devices, room environments, and IP streams from any single point in the network via a user-friendly web-based interface. “Kramer Network’s scalability is unique in the world of AV/IT convergence with its flexible architecture and smart GUI, making managing a network of thousands of ports as easy as handling a sports bar or retail facility,” said Ron. “The platform is an intuitive and user-friendly solution for anyone tasked with streaming, routing, managing, and controlling a network of AV devices, whether it’s an IT or AV manager.” Kramer Network can be installed on standard, enterprise, virtual, or cloud servers for easy management and control of the entire AV and IP product range, as well as legacy AV, Dante™ and other devices. The platform features enhanced security with intuitive user-access management of specific audio or video sources, rooms and predefined scenarios. IT and AV managers can also easily monitor the system’s health status and track the connection between a source and a destinationKramer will also be making some exciting and ground-breaking product announcements. “Our product introductions at ISE 2016 promise to change the AV landscape entirely,” said Ron.

AV Stumpfl flies at ISE Austrian engineering company, AV Stumpfl® released new feature updates to their benchmark media server Wings Engine Raw at this year’s ISE. Wings Engine Raw offers uncompressed 4K media serving and has been deployed at an increasing number of high profile events worldwide. The company also showcased Avio Manager 2 control network and architecture software that intuitively recognises any systems device for easy set-up, maintenance and support. Systems are graphically wired by simply dragging lines between ports. The Avio Master show controller and FHD Player uses in-built Avio Manager 2, which was shown alongside the IObox solid-state show controllers and Wings Engine Stage and Play powerful and shock-proof media servers. In an industry first, AV Stumpfl presented a completely new Multi Master workflow for the Wings media server product range at the show. In real-time and regardless of location, multiple operators can work together collaboratively on projects using the same media server outputs.

This means that one operator can control background projection whilst another can add overlays or add or change content live at runtime, even while the show is running – a valuable live production tool. On the AV Stumpfl stand, a giant curved Fullwhite® projection screen was combined with the trade show stand construction and Inviframe screen backdrop creation system. Almoe AV Rentals in Dubai uses Inviframe for backdrops and presentations for various corporate meetings and presentations. The company showed their line-up of established screens including Monoblox®, Curve and motorized projection screens. AV Stumpfl participated in the ISE Commercial Theatre where Horst Damoser, head of media service sales, presented Real World 4K installations, and Oliver Hauser, head of project management and support, made a presentation on network and control architecture.

Powersoft takes the high ground Networked AV Change the Game! Powersoft arrived at ISE 2016 on the back of a year spent raising market share in global markets. The audio specialist business had success in concert touring with the release of the Dante-supporting Ottocanali series of multichannel amplifiers (12K4, 8K4, 4K4), and this has given them a platform for installers that in turn has enabled them to raise their profile exponentially. At the end of 2015 two Powersoft 12K4 amplifiers were specified and installed at global flagship brand the Ministry of Sound London, to drive the newly enhanced Dolby Atmos system in the main room, while across London at the same time Old Barn Audio were installing Powersoft at the Olympic White Water Centre and sister venue the Lee Valley Ice Centre, which also hosts several London Ice Hockey teams. But it has not only been the world’s leading dance club — and Olympic sports venues — that have been knocking at the Italian manufacturer’s door. Since the release of the new Ottocanali series they have increasingly been opening channels into the world of casinos and theme parks, theatres and concert venues. This escalating network was reflected in Powersoft’s stand design at ISE where they partnered with their Dutch distributor TM Audio, part of the Ampco Flashlight Group. Powersoft has injected typical Italian style and swagger, adopting a white, ‘building block’ Tetris-like theme that subliminally focuses integrator attention on the importance of interoperability and functionality between systems. Explains Powersoft’s Brand and Communication Director Francesco Fanicchi, “The slogan at ISE: ‘Install-dedicated amplifiers. Designed to always fit in’ sent a clear message to visitors at what is our main European trade show. This also links up to a new web campaign with links to major pro-audio websites.” Away from the booth at the trade show, the Italian company sponsored AV Magazine’s AV Academy, where Ottocanali DSP+D and the X Series featured in a range of educational seminars. Also, for the third consecutive year, Powersoft co-sponsored Dante AV Networking World, where in the midst of the Dante training workshops further Ottocanali and X Series product demonstrations took place. Of course, such mercurial growth has to be supported with solid infrastructure, global training academies and qualified human resource. To that end Powersoft recently recruited the hugely experienced Benelux-based Marc Kocks in the newly created role of Business Development Manager (Install Market) for the EMEA region – as a precursor to establishing a new Application Team.

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ISE SHOW REPORT

The Drones are coming

A much publicised initiative at this year’s ISE was the unique Drone Arena. The new addition to the show was be hosted by marketing company Stampede Global. The indoor arena welcomed leading drone manufacturers and the latest product innovations across the market spectrum from professional and commercial to consumer applications and technologies. The arena featured education sessions and highly popular live demos on every day of the show. Drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles are still a relatively new proposition outside the military industry. By now, most people have seen a drone in action or have, at least, watched the kind of aerial footage they are capable of capturing. As the category expands away from its foundation in military, suddenly a world of opportunity opens up. However, there’s a problem, says Stampede Global’s President and COO, Kevin Kelly. The current lines of distribution aren’t set up to properly explore the market’s potential. A huge opportunity is knocking on the door of the AV/IT integration industry. “We’re on the front side of a very large innovation cycle that our industry hasn’t seen since the cell phone went from the military battlefield to the construction site,” explains Kelly. “That was the start of something big but at that time people didn’t recognise the opportunity for phone software and apps, and the tremendous innovation that occurred there. I think this is very similar, simply because of the number of applications that unmanned aerial vehicles can be used in is so high. “The DaVinci Institute cites 10,000 applications and that we’re on track for a billion drones to be deployed by 2030. When you think about the number of uses, the number of units already being sold now and the fact that the innovation is just starting with a lot of those use cases… it’s certainly a pun, but the sky’s the limit for this category.” Kelly believes that the AV/IT integration industry is perfectly poised to take advantage: “The great thing for our industry is, in a B2B world you need a consultative sales process to make this thing work. Not every end user has the same needs, desires or goals, and so it’s not something that can be satisfied through the normal retail channel. The companies that are operating in the military channel don’t have the right mechanisms in terms of the way they go to market, so it’s really perfect for our industry. Video and B2B is our industry; we’re already trusted advisers. “What we did with the Drone Arena at ISE this year is brought the attention to the opportunity for integrators to consider adding drone video systems in as a category to complement their total portfolio of products and services.”

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Integration & Installation ADVERTORIAL

Crestron case study

Crestron specialises in the corporate market, a growing one in the SA context for AV companies who are integrating with IT and other corporate functions. In this recent case study from the European market, Crestron demonstrates the value of close collaboration with AV integrators and installers in serving the corporate market. The project was the winner of a 2016 Integration Award for Best Corporate Installation.

Project summary CRH is Ireland’s largest company that has an annual turnover of €19 billion and 75 000 employees. They decided to move their global head office from Belgard Castle to a new office location in South Dublin. To ease the transition for the executives moving from a castle to an office space CRH spared no expense fitting out the new office with the best technology available. Scope AV won the tender based on past performance with the builder and competitive costs. After winning the tender Scope AV up-sold the client on the advantages of Fusion RV and Crestron room booking as well as the benefits of going with a complete Crestron solution. Every speaker and amplifier was changed to Crestron as a value add.

The project once completed comprises the following: • 21 meeting rooms all with Crestron control, Crestron switching, Crestron audio amplifiers and Crestron speakers as well as a 7” room booking panel outside of each room • 10x video conferencing rooms • A 7x2 55” video wall with a 16x16 video wall processor • IPTV system • Gym • Atrium high end PA system • Crestron RV

ADVERTORIAL Integration & Installation

Project details Scope AV was involved in the original design with the consultant. Scope AV pushed Crestron as the main control and video distribution system from the beginning and the client saw the value in having a high quality product to provide the reliability required for high level executives. During the early stage of the project, CRH brought up the fact that the meeting rooms were in very high demand. After showing them the abilities of a Crestron Fusion RV solution with room booking and occupancy sensors the client made a decision on the spot that this was an immediate requirement. The client had a legacy room booking system used in their offices around the world but were blown away by the additional functionality of a Crestron managed system. CRH has 21 meeting rooms and 10 of these have video conferencing. Each room is fitted out with a large format LCD display, Crestron DMPS switcher, Crestron audio amplifier, Crestron speakers, Crestron 10” touch panel, Crestron 7” room booking panel, occupancy sensor and lighting control. The rooms with video conferencing also included a codec, camera, audio DSP and wired table microphones. All rooms are monitored via Crestron Fusion RV and have email alerts that are monitored by the local IT team. With the addition of the occupancy sensor, if a room is booked out and no one turns up, the room will become vacant after 15 minutes. This was one of the main selling points for the client. There is a 7x2 55” video wall installed in the main reception of the building. The video wall comprises 14x 55” 1080p Samsung LCD displays. The screens have an ultra-narrow bezel of 3.5mm between each screen. The video wall is connected to a 16x16 video wall processor with a number of local and IPTV feeds connecting to it. The video wall is the first thing people see when they enter the building and is the cherry on top of an excellent project. The video wall is scheduled and controlled from a Crestron control processor over the client’s network. The Atrium also hosts a high end audio system with speakers on each floor. The speaker is typically located on the ground floor and all of the staff look on from the galleries. Using high quality speakers and full digital processing, Scope AV was able to get the best quality audio delivered in a challenging space. A Mediastar IPTV system was deployed around the building. The IPTV is feeding terrestrial and satellite TV to a number of displays

around the building. A total of 6x LCD displays are installed around the building and 4x feeds are connected to the video wall processor. CRH now want to standardise Crestron across all of their offices in Europe to provide users with the same user experience regardless of which office they may be in.

User benefits

“The roll out of Crestron Fusion RV has made our life a lot easier. This is down to our ability to diagnose any problems remotely and the way we can manage room bookings. Scope AV have provided us with an exceptional AV system.” – David F – CRH IT Team Benefit 1 A room booking system that fully integrates with the AV system. CRH’s legacy room booking system was a standalone room booking system that only integrated with their mail server. After showing the client a video of what Crestron RV can do they were immediately sold on the idea and approved the Crestron RV and room booking within 24 hours.

Benefit 2 The knowledge that most of the products integrated in each room was from one supplier. This gave the client a lot of reassurance that the design is backed by the manufacturer.

Benefit 3 The simplicity of use was key in this installation. The office is full of high level executives that expect everything to be working upon entering the room. The system is set up automatically based on the parameters outlined in the room booking page. If a video conferencing call is booked the room will have the display turned on and the call connected prior to the room being occupied. This feature has proved very popular and has almost eliminated any calls to the IT department from the meeting rooms.

PROLIGHT + SOUND Show PREVIEW

Prolight + Sound 2016

More than any other trade fair, Prolight + Sound offers a comprehensive overview of all products and services for the event sector. The high level of internationality and the extensive spectrum of products and services are the key factors behind the success of this event.

Trade visitors from all parts of the event business, including venue operators, planning companies, retailers, sound experts, lighting designers, stage designers, studio engineers, event-service providers and exhibition companies, come to Prolight + Sound to gather information about the latest technical developments, products and services – and to network. The trade show is supplemented by a wide-ranging conference programme and many awards ceremonies, including the Opus – German Stage Award, the Sinus – System Integration Award und the PIPA Award. 2016’s version of the benchmark show sees more halls and new outdoor-arenas, as well as a new calendar, all targeting specific themes make this unique industry meeting place an even more vital experience. At last year’s event more than 900 exhibitors welcomed over 42 000 visitors to their booths. In 2016, the event organisers have moved to the east of the massive Frankfurt Exhibition Centre in order to accommodate the increased scale of the event. In 2016, Prolight + Sound will also be held from Tuesday 5 April to Friday 8 April from 10:00 to 19:00 daily. This leaves planners, engineers, service providers and designers free for their weekend events

The fact that it is the biggest such show in the world means that there is a great breadth and depth of product, conferencing and educational offerings. Prolight + Sound 2016 is seeking to be the biggest ever international trade fair for technology and services in the areas of entertainment, integrated systems and creation. A key part of any trade show is the business opportunities it presents, and the Prolight + Sound organisers look to make it the perfect industry forum for face-to face discussions and for developing business networks. An important part of this value proposition is the business synergies to be gained from the parallel Musikmesse show. Prolight + Sound’s organisers, the international sales network of Messe Frankfurt, is able to leverage not only the scale of the flagship Frankfurt event, but across the world with 68 offices in 161 countries.

Views from the sector Joachim König

President EVVC (European Association of Event Centres) “From our point of view, the changes and developments regarding the sequence of days and the layout of the fair planned for this year represent a good opportunity to further boost the positive trends of recent years.”

Sacha Ritter

Head of the Finances & Operating Business Division, VPLT (Germany Association for Media and Event Technology) “The new location will enable exhibitors to develop their potential to the full. It also means more room for informal meetings, dialogues and outstanding conferences.”

Show PREVIEW PROLIGHT + SOUND

Oliver Braun,

Luca Galante

“Thanks to the new hall layout, we can position and present our brands in an optimum thematic setting. Moreover, the closed hall cycle permits a guided tour of all halls and results in short walking distances. For trade visitors, the new sequence of days, from Tuesday to Friday, is an excellent solution because many of them are busy at events on the weekend. We are really looking forward to seeing how the fair develops as a result of these changes.”

“We were very happy with our first participation at Prolight + Sound last year, so we decided to come back in 2016, the premiere edition of the fair with its new concept. We particularly like the new sequence of days, as we did the main part of our business during the workdays, when most people from the lighting and staging sector were present. We also see the new opening hours as a good choice. This makes the attendance more convenient for people who want to experience the whole fair on one day and have to take a flight in the morning.”

Marketing Manager, B&K Braun

Sandrine Pignon

Marketing Coordinator L-Acoustics “Prolight + Sound is a key trade show for our company, and the changes are very exciting to us. We are particularly satisfied with the change of halls, as the new hall will allow us to increase the size of our stand – making our presence at the fair even more effective. We are attending the fair for B2B purposes, so we are also very pleased with the new sequence of days, as our most important customers visit the fair during workdays. Moreover, the shifting of opening hours is clearly a benefit for us. In our experience, our exhibition stand is always particularly full during the later hours of the day. Moreover, the new hours of opening will make it easier for us to take part in business dinners in the later evening.”

Phillipp Wrede

Marketing Manager db Technologies “For us, Prolight + Sound is an important factor in our business year and we are pleased with the ‘fresh breeze’ that is set to blow through the fair thanks to the various innovations.”

Technical Manager Alfa System

Peter Schädel

Marketing Manager Meyer Sound “We are very excited about the changes to come into effect this year. The concept makes a very promising impression and is in line with the needs of the market. In particular, the new sequence of days reflects the realities of the sector.”

The PRG Live Entertainment Award is the official opening event of Prolight + Sound and Musikmesse 2016. Outstanding achievements of the event industry from Germany and, for the first time, Austria and Switzerland, will be honoured at a gala evening in the ‘Festhalle Frankfurt’ on 4 April 2016. This event is unparalleled in Europe and the almost 1 400 invited guests represent a cross section of the event industry. In 14 categories, concert promoters, agencies, artists’ managers and venue operators, in some cases with the stage artists, will be honoured for successful tours, shows, festivals and individual events and outstandingly managed locations. Renowned personalities from the sector will be in attendance in this Oscars of the Live Entertainment sector in Europe.

PROLIGHT + SOUND Show PREVIEW

Prolight + Sound 2016 extends conference programme One of the characteristic features of Prolight + Sound 2016 from 5 to 8 April 2016 will be an expanded and restructured seminar programme: this year over 70 expert lectures will be given by top speakers at the International Fair of Technologies and Services for Entertainment, Integrated Systems and Creation. “With modern professional-development formats and a broader spectrum of subjects, we aim not only to offer technical expertise but also to generate new impulses and creative stimuli for the sector. Thus, more than ever before, Prolight + Sound will be the leading information platform for the entire event industry”, says Prolight + Sound Director Michael Biwer.

As in the past, the seminar programme will be split into the ‘Prolight + Sound Conference’ for professional users and the ‘Eventplaza Conference’ for managers and organisers of events, congresses and conferences. New this year is the Manufacturers’ Forum, at which companies present the latest trends from the world of event and AV-media technology illustrated by specific projects. With the move of Prolight + Sound to the eastern section of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre, the seminar programme will be held for the first time in Forum.0 and Forum.1. Another innovation at Prolight + Sound this year is the Future Talents Day on the Tuesday of the fair, 5 April. It is aimed at students and trainees in the technical field, who want to find out about career opportunities in the sector. At the same time, companies have the chance to make contact with interested young people. On this day, basic and advanced professional development will be a focal-point theme in the seminar programme – with the seminars also being open to participants of the Future Talents Day.

Prolight + Sound Conference From technical basics to tomorrow’s trends: the Prolight + Sound Conference covers a broad thematic spectrum from lighting and laser technology, via audio and PA systems, to innovative network and AV technologies. This year, the programme of the Prolight + Sound Conference has been restructured and split into two thematic tracks: ‘Prolight + Sound Forum Basic’ and ‘Prolight + Sound Forum Advanced’. At the Prolight + Sound Forum Basic, participants have the chance to learn about various technical issues and to refresh their knowledge about important aspects. To this end, many top professionals from the sector have agreed to hold lectures on several days of the fair. Thus, Volker Ruf (satis&fy) will explain about planning and designing PA systems. Andrew Livine (Association of German Sound Engineers (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister – VDT) will give practical tips on

optimum miking while Thomas Giegerich (bright! GmbH) will discuss practical aspects of AV-media technology and media servers. Other topics to be covered include lighting design, rigging and energy supply for events. The Prolight + Sound Forum Advanced is a source of expert knowledge on technologies and challenges currently facing the sector. On the first day of the fair, the focus will be on training as part of the Future Talents Day, including the restructuring of the curriculum for event-technology trainees and international qualification standards. On Wednesday, the spotlight shifts to duties and powers in the field of event technology and demands on top events. Additionally, there will be a discussion of new international event-safety standards. Visitors can look forward to a broad spectrum of subjects on Thursday and Friday including 3D audio, statics calculations and radio frequencies.

Eventplaza Conference The Eventplaza Conference is an important professional-development platform for specialists from the field of corporate, consumer and exhibition events. Following the change to a new sequence of days at Prolight + Sound (Tuesday to Friday), the programme is now being held on all four days for the first time. As in the past, a component part of the Eventplaza Conference is the International Event Safety Conference (I-ESC) on Wednesday, 6 April. The focal-point theme in 2016: ‘Communication – the most important safety factor at events’. How can organisers explain dangers and risks? What communicative tools are available for use in crises? What should be done in the case of event cancellation or termination? These and other questions will be dealt with at I-ESC. Another important theme of the Eventplaza Conference is modern and effective event production and speakers will discuss, for example, tricks and methods that organisers of corporate and staff events can learn from the entertainment sector. The highlight will be the keynote lectures by internationally successful theatre expert and art director Guang Jian Gao of the Chinese National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing.

Manufacturers’ Forum The Manufacturers’ Forum at this year’s Prolight + Sound is a new professional-development programme that gives companies from the event sector the chance to pass on their expert knowledge and experience and enable visitors to learn about technical developments via best-practice examples. The companies and organisations that will be presenting successful projects and pioneering products include ALC NetworX, AV Stumpfl, Barco Entertainment, D & B Audiotechnik, DPA Microphones, ETC GmbH, Gerriets, Klippel, Lawo, Meyer Sound, Microtech Gefell, Osram and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology. The spectrum of subjects to be covered is correspondingly large and ranges from broadcasting and studio technology, via display and projection technology, to new standards for multi-media networks and audio over IP. The seminar programme is free of charge for Prolight + Sound visitors. Details about the programme and the lectures can be found at www. prolight-sound-programm.com.

Prolight + Sound 2016: Guang Jian Gao, China’s leading set designer, to give keynote lecture

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Guang Jian Gao, Designer-in-Chief and Art Director at the Chinese National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing, will speak at Prolight + Sound 2016. The internationally renowned theatre expert will hold a keynote lecture covering his many years of experience as a set designer and offering interesting expert knowledge for the sector. The lecture will be held in Forum.0 of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 15.30 hrs.

“Products and subjects relating to theatre and stage technology have gained greatly in significance for Prolight + Sound. Therefore, I am particularly pleased that, with this lecture by Guang Jian Gao, we can also present a special highlight for trade visitors from this segment at this year’s fair”, says Prolight + Sound Director Michael Biwer. “Our special thanks go to Florian von Hofen, CTO of Rouge AVE, who made contact with Guang Jian Gao and went to great lengths to make this extraordinary highlight possible.” Gao is China’s leading stage designer. He has been honoured many times for his work at national and international theatres. In the course of his 20-year career, he has been involved in numerous productions including works such as ‘Rigoletto’, ‘The Magic Flute’, ‘Don Pasquale’, ‘Nora’, ‘The Wager’ and ‘The Orphan of Zhao’. Additionally, he was responsible for the design of the opera ‘Turandot’ directed by Golden Globe winner Zhang Yimou. Their version of ‘Turandot’ was initially performed in Florence, then in the ‘Forbidden City’ in Beijing and subsequently at many venues around the world, such as the Olympic Stadium in Munich and, most recently the Chinese National Centre of Performing Arts and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. At the 2015 Quadriennale in Prague, Gao was presented with the gold medal for the best stage design. The keynote lecture by Guang Jian Gao is part of the extensive seminar programme of Prolight + Sound (5 to 8 April 2016). Last year, the trade fair was supplemented by ‘Stagery’, a special-interest product group that embraces products and services for the field of theatre and stage technology. The lectures offered also cover this subject area in depth.

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Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Church doesn’t sound the way it used to By Dan Daley, Special to InfoComm International® The way that music has changed in some churches has been cause for joy for advocates of what’s known as the contemporary style of worship and consternation by traditionalists. But what’s certain is that the house-of-worship (HoW) sector has had a significant effect on the technology and market culture of live sound, and vice versa. Big American churches such as Lakewood — spiritual/motivational speaker Joel Osteen’s 16 000-seat church that was the former arena home of the NBA Houston Rockets — and Saddleback Church — home base for best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren whose 3 500-seat sanctuary sees 20 000 attendees a week — have installed sound systems that rival those in the best music venues in the world. The JBL VTX line array system in Lakeview and QSC KW self-powered system in Saddleback are routinely found on major rock and pop music tours and in venues like performing arts centres.

Churches and other houses of worship are now integral parts of sales strategies for pro audio manufacturers, some of which have dedicated personnel on their sales staff for this market. And in an industry whose profit margins on all but the most sophisticated new systems have been pressured by a plethora of lower-cost digitalbased products and global competition, the growing need for this technology in the HoW market is a welcome one.

Trends with benefits While extremely large churches understandably require sound amplification to fill them, two trends have compelled salient changes in sound system design and their implementation in churches. First is the shift in the last two decades to contemporary worship styles in a much wider range of churches, including many mid-sized ones. Electric guitars, synthesizers and big drum kits have brought an arena-rock level of event production into churches, requiring the same kinds of line array systems used in secular rock shows. As important but more nuanced shift is the heightened awareness around intelligibility — the ability for speech to be clearly understood in acoustically challenging spaces — which has historically been a euphemism used to describe many churches, especially those that use the traditional cathedral design, whose soaring naves provided inspiring natural reverb for Gregorian chants but often make spoken

words all but unintelligible. Churches are competitive with each other, particularly contemporary ones, with smaller churches often taking their technology cues from the larger ones. That’s helped foster entirely new product categories such as compact line arrays and columnar array speakers, the former scaled to fit into small and mid-sized venues but offering the same full-range response and patterndispersion control needed for music, and the latter a perfect fit for the support columns of highly reverberant environments like cathedrals, blending in architecturally and aesthetically as they also distribute more intelligible audio.

Good timing These new, smaller-scaled and more affordable products arrive at the perfect time. The most recent trend in the HoW culture has been the arrival of the “satellite church” — instead of building ever-larger churches, some congregations have turned to growth by establishing multiple locations in a city or region. Some manufacturers and AV systems integrators see the satellite-church trend as a potential bonanza, one that could help them make up in volume what they have been losing to eroding margins. And satellite churches come with another benefit: As churches become more technically savvy but remain financially cautious, they have learned the value of

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

buying the consistent technology platforms across all of their locations — the same brand and models of speakers, mixers, in-ear monitor systems and so on — because it makes maintaining and operating them simpler. But satellite churches are also exacerbating a chronic problem for churches in general when it comes to AV technology — a lack of well-trained people to run it. Only a very small percentage of churches, and generally only the largest ones, have full-time paid technical staff; the vast majority of the AV used in services every Sunday is operated by volunteers, and their training and ability can range from competent to barely functional. With the number of worship locations mushrooming, the pool of technical talent isn’t keeping up. That’s only added a new chapter to the narrative, however. Manufacturers have responded by developing platforms that are easier for entry-level users to operate but at the same time are designed to be scalable enough so that experienced users

aren’t constrained. The next frontier for houses of worship may be in filling up the spaces left empty by big-box stores as they continue to fall victim to online shopping and other retail market forces, like some churches going into former supermarket spaces. These spaces sound totally different from traditional churches, often having lower ceilings that make line arrays harder to hang. The number of people who describe themselves as religious around the developed world has been steadily declining. In the process of trying to win them back, many churches have been trimming the dogma and enhancing the experience of spirituality. Elaborate stage productions, full-range sound systems, huge video screens, moving light fixtures are all part of that. But sound has perhaps been the most fundamental aspect of that, because somewhere in the midst the entire AV spectacle, someone is trying to get a message across. These days, at least, the sound system is making sure they get heard.

Churches see the video light It’s sometimes hard to reconcile the putative mission of a church with what has become the technically sophisticated entertainment experience inside many of them. But irony hasn’t stopped many houses of worship from pursuing ambitious AV technology strategies in an era when video dominates media of all types. If anything, video technology has become more critical for churches, as the trend toward satellite locations continues to expand. Today, many churches grow by opening new outposts in towns, cities, and states — in contrast to the late 20th century growth model that ushered in the rise of the mega church. These satellite churches sometimes adhere to the cookie-cutter model of secular retail, whereby new stores look like smaller versions of flagship locations. When it comes to growing churches, if the main sanctuary has three screens, so will the satellite locations. That way the lead pastor looks exactly the same on Sunday mornings, regardless of where parishioners receive the message. The bottom line? More screens, more projectors, more video.

Changing times But there are several forks in the road as HoW video progresses. Most notably, many churches have pondered the choice between conventional lamp-based projection and increasingly affordable and ever-larger LED/LCD video displays. As LCD screens blow past 90 inches, they become practical options for small and mid-sized churches, or in much larger sanctuaries, as the screens that flank big, central projection systems. And as their bezels get thinner, flat-panel displays also are being combined into videowalls. Some churches around the world are even embracing stackable LED cubes, capable of 1,300 or more lumens and wirelessly controllable.

Projection pushes back However as a technology platform, conventional video projection still has scale on its side. While LED videowalls can get as large as 100-plus feet, today’s projection technology increasingly is being used to map entire stages, creating virtual environments from video “paint.” Such projection-mapping solutions may be used for weekly services, but they’re especially useful for seasonal productions that might have required substantial amounts of physical scenery in the past. Mapped video makes the experience more immersive and that makes the technology less distracting. Instead of the video as boxes on the stage, the video becomes part of the stage. Projection is being used to “paint” scrim and other architectural elements of the stage, allowing it to change as the nature of the sermon or music changes. Some video projection that churches use for weekly services has become so bright that it’s essentially merging with venues’ lighting, a phenomenon that touring entertainment productions have reported in recent years. In fact, many of the church’s video elements are now fired from the lighting console, with the video and lighting directors collaborating on the colour palette for music and other effects.

LED catches on But as flexible as projection has become, it’s apparent that LED is gaining mindshare in the HoW technology universe. The larger Houses of Worship can replace multiple conventional projection screens with a single large LED wall — one that can be reconfigured in any way imaginable using a server. In this way, AV professional can have images and other content across a single wide-format screen. Any image or piece of content can go anywhere at any time. And they are bright enough to ensure that the pastor will be seen easily from the back of the extensive arenas. The future, HoW integrators say, must also include video on personal devices, from smartphones to tablets. How that concept will integrate with the sense of shared experience that defines the word 'congregation' remains to be seen. But video’s pervasiveness in the larger culture suggests it will find a way.

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Rivers church comes to life The Rivers Church is part of the Hillsong spiritual family, and has two main campuses, the original campus in Durban, headed by founding pastors Andre and Wilma Olivier, and the newer, state-of-theart Sandton campus in Morningside. Having grown from a congregation of 70 to one of many thousands, the Sandton campus is a self-contained spiritual community, with an organic food market, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s church and play centre, and various breakaway rooms. These all centre around the main place of worship, a 3Â 000 seater auditorium which is geared to presenting crystal-clear and visually spectacular AV-driven sermons and musical performances. Well-known supplier, manufacturer and distributor of professional AV technology solutions, Johannesburg-based Stage Audio Works, was brought on board to provide sound and LED visual technology for the impressive auditorium. James Sey spoke to their technical manager, Nathan Ihlenfeldt.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

Our brief was to provide a turnkey audio and LED solution for which, amazingly, budget was almost of no object!” smiles Ihlenfeldt. “While the auditorium space is amazingly set up, its 3 000 person capacity is split into an extensive balcony area, seating about 1 200, and the remainder in the main seating area. In common with most auditorium-style spaces, there was no soundproofing in the building of the structure, so dispersal and even coverage through the space was a challenge. Of course we also had to maintain a high degree of speech intelligibility for sermons. It was also a challenge to ensure accessible lines of sight to the LED screens from anywhere in the space.” Adding to the complexity of the installation was the need to transmit audio into rooms outside the auditorium, where mothers in the congregation were looking after children.

The sound of worship “As our foundation for the system in the auditorium,” continues Ihlenfeldt, “we decided on a d&b audiotechnik V Series line array with array processing. We’re proud of the fact that we believe this to be the first large installation in the world with

trevor@matrixsound.co.za

www.matrixsound.co.za

SOUND FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE 35

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP d&b audiotechnik’s directed array processing. The throw distance of the system is around 30 metres, and the auditorium distance is 34 metres, so we were thankful we were within sec and budget! The dispersal and coverage are superb, with every seat in the auditorium within the same sound range. It’s really a high-end system, with rock concert-type SPLs, and unlimited headroom! “We opted for Yamaha CL series consoles, since the in-house technical crew at Rivers were familiar with Yamaha from using previous models – obviously this was a key aspect of running the services and music performances effectively. A larger desk laden with features was unnecessary, and we ran a separate Yamaha desk for the band monitors and for vocal monitors. The signals for the whole system were distributed entirely on a fibre optic Dante network. The consoles also handled all FOH requirements. “The microphone choices were also very important, considering the need for speech intelligibility and clarity for the sermons and worship leaders in the auditorium. We went with a Sennheiser solution, giving the extremely dependable and robust 5000 series mics to the worship leaders. The whole space is divided into thirty sound zones, covered by a QSC Q-Sys audio network. This suited the DSP system, which is based on Intel. It enabled easy programming of the QLAN network, for example, for automating time-based state changes on the system. We had QSC touch panels in each sound zone, with speakers and amps in each zone outside the auditorium from Audac. We communicated live audio over Dante, to the zones and to Q-Sys, so the technical team can access different signals across the fibre network.”

Seeing the vision The size of the auditorium meant that a screen solution of considerable scale was required, since the visual content of each sermon is of crucial importance. “We went with an LED solution from Unilumin,” says Ihlenfeldt. “The three screen arrangement is a common set-up for rock concert visuals, and the band’s performances and the worship leader’s services is broadcast as content at each sermon. The large centre screen we installed is 12.5 metres by 6.5 metres, comprising 325 LED panels. It is the largest indoor screen installation in South Africa. The two side screens for band and other video content, are both 9.7 metres by 5.7 metres, and are 170 panels each. The great advantage of the LED solution from Unilumin, as opposed to conventional projection, is in its build quality and their after-sales support. The screen system has a Lodestar processing system, and is also controlled by the in-house technicians.” “The whole system, especially the sound, represents a real technical triumph,” concludes Ihlenfeldt. “The array processing and the flexibility of the networks run over Q-Sys and Dante really helped with the integration of the whole communications system, a crucial element when coping with so many varied sound zones and environments. We’re proud of introducing a few firsts, and a lot of technical excellence, to a very worthy installation project.”

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

Full Kit List • d&b audiotechnik V Series line array with Array Processing • d&b audiotechnik V-SUB and J-INFRA subwoofers • d&b audiotechnik E12-D and 8S fills • d&b audiotechnik MAX2 floor monitors • d&b audiotechnik 30D and D80 amplifiers • QSC Q-Sys audio network • Yamaha CL-series consoles on Dante network • Netgear M4100 Managed Switch fabric • Waves Soundgrid system • Sennheiser 5000, ew500 and 2000 Series wireless equipment • Riedel Tango AVB Intercom with RSP2318 Smartpanels • Axxent 2wire partyline intercom for camera operators • Audac ATEO4, CS660 and HS208 loudspeakers in distributed audio system • Audax SMQ350 amps for above • Yamaha DXR10 speakers in breakaway rooms • Unilumin uTile 4.8 and uFix 6 LED screens

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

The meaning of community Since she was a child herself, Nereen Bradshaw, now a mother of two, has attended Maranatha Community Church in Kempton Park, Johannesburg. In a true example of what community values in Houses of Worship are all about, she is also the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighting designer, and in her case, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not about the kit but what she does with it. With only a basic lighting system at her disposal, she created a truly amazing Christmas concert at the end of last year. While Sunday services generally steer away from the rock and roll type feel, Bradshaw has a good eye, creating beautiful moods and looks to complement the worship.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

Nereen Bradshaw

There is a common thread that runs among many lighting designers – a passion for IT. It is no different for Bradshaw, a computer programmer by trade, who initially joined the church to programme and run the lighting on a part time basis. She was soon appointed permanently, and also took on video editing and media production. With no previous experience and no idea of what the equipment did, she spent a great deal of time just figuring it out on her own, seeing what all the different settings did on each fixture and making a lot of notes. “That was initially a bit scary because I’d have to get something ready for Sunday and I didn’t know what I was doing, actually!” she laughs. “But I’d say after about two or three months I had everything figured out." Some time ago the church had a small control board, but as they added more lighting fixtures they needed a larger control system and opted for a virtual screen with Light Jockey – which Bradshaw can now just about run with her eyes closed. “While I enjoy lighting shows, for me it’s important in our environment that the lights don’t distract people,” she says. “Our lighting is supposed to be an addition to the praise and worship. I don’t want the lighting to be so overwhelming that people focus on the lights instead of singing or connecting with God. At the same time we want to do a great job on a Sunday so that people enjoy it enough to come back for their lives to be transformed by God’s word.” During 2015, Maranatha purchased six new Robe Mini Points. “They are a lovely addition and are attached onto the balcony ledge in the double volume auditorium. I use them for texture on the back wall and for effects, a bit of eye candy.” Positioned above the back stage panels are 23 Robe LEDForce 7 RGBW, ten of which are statically placed over the stage for wash. There are eight Robin LEDBeam 100s over the pulpit and another eight on the stage deck for beam work. Lastly there are 10 Martin MAC 250s washes, that have served Bradshaw and the church services well over many years. Bradshaw works in the mornings, pre-programming the lighting for the three services on Sundays and for the other events that take place at the church. “I listen to the songs, select backgrounds and then do the lighting to complement the song in terms of movement, speed and colour, usually in that order. So if it’s a very gentle song I go for softer colours, if it’s a more vibrant song it will be funky and fun. On Sundays I also have volunteers. I’ve taught them how to lamp on the lights, open up the sequence panels and how to run the playback if

there’s multiple scenes in a sequence. I’ve given them basic understanding, but I’m always here.” Her lighting is clean, neat, straightforward, no mess and no fuss. “My husband, Mark, always moans at me because my background matches my lights,” she smiles. “He’ll ask, “Why don’t you do a contrast?” and I’m thinking, “You don’t get it, it’s supposed to match!” In fact, Bradshaw receives a lot of input from her husband, who is the Pastor of the music team, especially for special events such as Christmas concerts. “He is the pastor of the music team so he manages the band and is in charge of the creative aspect of what happens on stage in the auditorium while I help to manage the creativity upstairs, along with Pastor Kobus van der Merwe, who oversees all that happens in this department. Mark, Kobus and I chat a lot! Mark tells me what he would like and we try to do it as best we can.” In common with the approach in many smaller community congregations, this hands-on approach means that the sermon lighting is simple and static. The focus is on the preacher who is projected onto a screen. There is a feed to a chapel downstairs where moms with children who are not quite ready to go to Sunday School, can still feel a part of what’s happening in the auditorium. The church also does live streaming of the sermon. In addition Bradshaw assists a school on their premises, involved with lighting plays and award evenings. Maranatha Community Church in itself is a beacon of light, offering more than just a Sunday service. Outreaches are plentiful ranging from soup kitchens in the inner city to a team of young school leavers reaching out with plays and programmes at schools and even hospital visits. The church supports a medical clinic and orphanage in Embo, in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, they sponsor a preschool for special needs children in Grabouw in the Cape as well as supporting a couple who run missions in Iraq, Kuwait and the Middle East. “The church is part of TCN (The Christian Network), and as a church Maranatha hosts Progressive Pastoring, where we train pastors in other churches across the country, at minimal cost, in a wide range of topics including: relationship skills, running a ministry, preaching, music ministry, dating, marriage, financial management, Bible study, parenting, overcoming strongholds, living in the power of the Holy Spirit and even personality behavioural profiling. These pastors are then able to take all the information they have learnt and share it with their own congregation and apply it in growing their own churches from strength to strength,” concludes Bradshaw.

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Electro-Voice offers a sound solution to the Kruiskerk

The Moederkerk in Stellenbosch is the second oldest NG community in South Africa, established by Dutch settlers in 1686. The Kruiskerk is a part of the Moederkerk community, and serves the large student and young working people’s congregation. Situated in historic Van Ryneveld Street, where the oak trees are classified as heritage sites, the cornerstone of the current church building was dedicated in 1927, and was built in the characteristic cross-shape that gives the church its name. Prosound was contacted by one of the church leaders, Irenee Heyns, to upgrade their existing audio installation. The unique configuration of the church, with balconies on three of the sides, requires a well thought-out sound design to ensure the clarity of the spoken word, as well as an adaptable audio setup for any instrumental and vocal performance.

Heyns was familiar with Electro-Voice speakers and their ability to give a bright clear sound that makes speech more intelligible. After looking and listening to the existing system in the church, Prosound’s audio team decided on a design that would be both cost effective and cover all areas of the congregation. A set of three Electro-Voice TX1152 15” speakers, comprising the high sensitivity part of TourX line array system, was decided on. Concert monitors are arranged in a

central cluster with a pair of the new EKX12 12” speakers on either side of the stage to fill in the side areas both above and below the balcony. The EKX powered loudspeakers have easy-to-use Cardioid Control Technology which allows output to be steered towards the audience. The speakers also have two XLR outputs allowing for expansion. The existing delay system under the balconies was retained, since the Prosound installation team and Heyns decided that a replacement would be installed after the new system had been utilised for a while. Custom brackets were manufactured in-house at Prosound and the install took place over less than a week. Although most of the existing FOH equipment and amplifiers were retained, a new EV Q99 amplifier for the centre cluster and an Ashley 3.6SP signal processor were also installed. Prosound’s Technical Director Mark Malherbe, sound designer for Singing in the Rain took a break from rehearsals at Artscape to commission the system. Comments from the church are positive, saying that the sound is much clearer than the old system had been and there is great coverage throughout the venue, and that they are looking forward to their very full and well-attended student services being crystal-clear and intelligible.

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Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Sounding out the NG Kerk

While a full AV experience in churches is a fairly recent phenomenon, driven by the rise of charismatic and evangelical churches around the world, more traditional keepers of the faith also have AV requirements for their congregations. The NG Kerk in Tygerpoort, Gauteng, is one such congregation. Matrix Sound was called in to assist.

Some of the major installation challenges for AV, particularly for sound installation, in Houses of Worship come from dealing with the existing architecture and sonic properties of church buildings. Usually these have not been designed with quality sound coverage and clarity in mind, which becomes a problem when congregations grow to the extent that amplification is necessary for sermons, and live music is used to pep up the religious message. A case in point is the existing NG church in Tygerpoort. Established

in 1981, the surrounding area has grown to the extent that the church community now numbers 3 000. Well-known local AV business Matrix Sound was called in to help. Initially, when Matrix was asked to quote on a comprehensive upgrade of the church’s sound, lighting and video equipment, the first steps to be meticulously followed involved an analysis of what the church already owned in order to try and incorporate it in the total solution that Matrix would propose. It found that most of the equipment in the various venues inside the complex still worked but it was dated technology and was not, as the church themselves had expressed, delivering to the institution’s current needs. Matrix Sound’s Trevor Peters takes up the story: “The front of the church is dominated by a stage area, but the existing sound system was positioned in the only logical place that speakers could go, left and right of the stage against the walls. This meant that the speakers were playing over 60% of the stage to reach the audience. This is very often a challenge in the layout of houses of worship. We considered flying the speakers but due to the position of the FOH lighting bar and the placement of the main projectors, we decided to stick with the existing speaker positions. This meant that we had to find a speaker system that would throw to the back of the room without causing feedback on the headset and band microphones on stage.” Matrix Sound proposed their respected brand Dynacord, a choice

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

approved by the church. “We chose the DYNACORD TS400 vertical array enclosure and placed one of these per side of the stage,” explains Peters. “The TS400 has four 6.5” Neodymium woofers and a single 90 x 40 constant directivity horn. The mid frequency and high frequency elements are placed in the middle of the cabinet for a smooth transition of the mids to the high frequencies and to extend the coverage control. Each group of elements has its own band pass filter to optimise the array’s performance and provide good attenuation at 90 degrees off-axis and even coverage of the venue front to back with half the attenuation of a non 'steered' cluster. This solved the problem of clear and intelligible sound reaching the congregation in an evenly dispersed fashion. “The TS400’s are powered by DYNACORDS PSD218s which are high performance powered subwoofers. Each of the two PSD218s installed has an integrated 2-channel digital power amplifier with an internal 24-bit 1 in 3 DSP controller to optimize sound quality and provide protection for the entire system. One channel drives the sub and the other channel drives the TS400 enclosure. The internal amplifiers deliver 2 x 1 000watts into 4 Ohms and are protected against overheating, overload, short circuit, back EMF and open circuit operation as well as HF or DC at the output. This in effect makes up the main system in the church. “For the church delays and foyer / overflow delays we installed

Galaxy Audio LA4 line source enclosures, also driven by a DYNACORD PCL1415 four channel amplifier. We supplied Galaxy Audio DHTR radio systems with and Galaxy Audio powered HotSpots for vocal monitoring. The digital desk to control the system supplied was an Allen & Heath GLD-080 with stage rack running on CAT5 cabling. All processing and time alignment of the system is handled by the mixing console with no external units required.” With the new installation, and especially with the church band playing, the DYNACORD TS400 speakers throw to the back of the church intelligibly and comfortably and the delays are used primarily to reinforce the spoken word for the back section of the church and foyer overflow seats. Peters points out that by utilising groups on the mixer the operators have independent global control of the band, handheld microphones and ear-set microphones. This control includes attenuation, equalisation and compression and assists them in dealing with the challenges of the great dynamic range which is often encountered in praise and worship environments. “The entire previously installed sound system was reinstalled in the theatre venue, which adjoins the foyer on the opposite side to the church. The utilisation of the church’s existing system in this third space saved a considerable amount of money,” concludes Peters.

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Durban Christian Centre – the challenge of scale

The Jesus Dome of the Durban Christian Centre (DCC) is the largest aluminum dome structure in Africa. Fitting it out with flexible and adaptable AV systems was therefore a challenge for the local design and AV team of Nik Fairclough and Electrosonic.

If you drive into Durban on the N3 you can’t miss the DCC’s famous Jesus Dome: the largest free standing aluminium dome structure in Africa. Step inside the dome and the vastness of the structure will leave you breathless. A massive space like this needs good lighting, audio, and video: integral components for creating the right effects in large houses of worship. The DCC relies heavily on lighting, audio, and video to add value to their messages, and create a dynamic atmosphere for their sermons. Audio-visual is crucial for communicating a message that reaches into the hearts and minds of the congregation. The challenge is to integrate the three disciplines of lighting, audio, and video. They all have their own distinct propriety protocols, and there’s been limited crossover in the ability to control them from one central point, resulting in larger shows requiring separate video, sound and lighting technicians. Attempts to accommodate one discipline can mean another is compromised. These are the sorts of challenges that were facing the DCC when they approached Nik Fairclough of Northwind. By installing a state of the art lighting console (the Martin Professional M1ts Desk) and the Green Hippo Chipmunk Media Server, this challenge was partly overcome. There was a seamless integration of the two controllers; right down to the thumbnails of the footage on the lighting console screen. A single cue recall can activate a complete lighting and video state. Furthermore the M1ts is fully Midi-equipped, so that in future, if they do need to trigger lighting and video cues, this can be done from a

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation single midi-enabled track. Fairclough was appointed by DCC pastors John and Joy Torrance, to realise the churches’ lighting, audio and video aspirations. Through his company Northwind, Fairclough had the audio aspect under control, but needed the help of a theatre and stage lighting specialist. He had previously worked with Electrosonic SA on a number of high-profile projects, and did not hesitate to get in touch with Bruce Schwartz, head of Entertainment Lighting at Electrosonic SA. After a site visit in Durban they received a clear brief from Pastors John and Joy: to design and supply a world-class lighting system that would allow maximum flexibility and have sufficient capacity to accommodate overseas guest artists, without having to rent additional gear. It’s very easy to throw a whole lot of equipment at a job, but this almost always results in an inflexible system, which is confusing to in-house technicians, who are mostly members of the congregation, and are generally passionate volunteers. Fairclough wanted to move away from the traditional boxed stage, and completely re-designed the stage to include an arched lighting truss, in the process unifying stage and audience. Along with Schwartz, he refined the suspended arched truss system so that it would

complement the building’s dome structure and open up sightlines all the way up to the gallery. After consulting with Litec, the Italian trussing manufacturer, the design, which is unique in South Africa, was put to paper. The next hurdle was to make sure that the construction would be safe. A key value for all in the AV industry should be no compromise at all on safety standards. In this particular case the process of ensuring safe construction was a bit more complicated than anticipated. Electrosonic SA contracted the highly experienced, Durban-based rigger Kerry Wood to evaluate and report on the design. After studying the design and doing her calculations Kerry was not 100% happy. So, after much legwork, the team tracked down the designer of the DCC Jesus Dome. Because it is made of aluminium, normal rules for rigging did not apply. Mounting points could not be welded, steel slings could not simply be strapped over beams, and, the dynamic loading of the structure had to be meticulously taken into account. It was a joyous occasion when the structural professionals looked at the original drawings, perused the proposed construction design, and gave the thumbs-up. After a lengthy procurement process the equipment finally arrived on site, and the team of riggers took the design from page to stage. Slowly, but surely, the arch took shape and was hoisted into position. Allowance was made for the PA system, which still had to be installed. After checking all angles and sightlines the truss was locked into position. In order to give the client flexibility and options, two on-stage trusses were also hung. These can be raised and lowered via electric chain hoists. The design philosophy was to use LED based products wherever possible. This was achieved with the exception of the Martin MAC Viper Profiles. For critical white light applications the Martin MAC 401CT was used. This is a dedicated white light LED wash, with the added benefit of a motorized zoom. Due to the sheer size of the stage and venue, this was considered the best option as a high-output profile in the LED segment. The Viper Profile is generally considered to be an industry standard in the touring market: so, as the DCC’s brief specified the use of tried and trusted equipment, this choice seemed obvious. MAC Auras were used for colour wash and beam effects due to the wide range of zoom achievable on the Aura. Six Martin MAC 350 LED profiles were used onstage for gobo and beam work, along with some high-powered Versa-Light LED Cans. Pastor Joy had witnessed some amazing beams on her travels and wanted the same effect in the DCC Jesus Dome. She was thrilled to take delivery of an array of Martin Rush MH3 Beams. These fixtures thrive in a large environment with a bit of haze, and have a serious wow factor. In order to provide more flexibility four truss ‘totems’ were supplied and populated with Martin MAC 101s. These smaller fixtures were configured to allow the gaps in the stage to be filled on a production-by-production basis. A Martin M1ts Desk was specified to control the rig of automated fixtures; it was coupled to a complete new DMX512 network with full RDM capability (for vital feedback from the new fixtures). The progress from planning to execution took about a year. Phase 2 involved Electrosonic SA designing and implementing a control and content system for the new 6mm LED screens that DCC sourced. A Green Hippo Chipmunk media server will feed the LED screens and provide a truly dynamic backdrop to DCC’s productions and future needs. Fairclough comments: “A project of this size can go wrong in many ways. Putting together a strong team was my first task: a team with access to lots of empirical data, and lots of experience to draw from. It was also crucial to ensure that the mandate was clearly communicated. This resulted in a great outcome, with minimal snagging during the commissioning process. It has been a privilege to work on this DCC project, and apply our skills to the benefit of the client, and to be able to come up with solutions and watch them take shape. This project can be described as a challenge set, and a challenge met. "

Integration & Installation HOUSES OF WOrSHIP

Martin Audio ups the game at St Johns Chapel The iconic St John’s School in Johannesburg has a very well-used chapel, I which sound clarity and intelligibility was becoming a problem, thanks in part to a dated sound system. The school’s chaplain approached Audiosure via installer Rob Mills, for a bespoke Martin Audio solution…

St Johns is one of Johannesburg¹s oldest and most prestigious schools, designed by sir Herbert Baker, with a strong tradition of feeding leaders into South African society. Life at the school still revolves very much around daily masses and ceremonies in the chapel. The Chaplain, Jacques Pretorius, refers to himself as the iPriest, with a firm grasp of technology and how it can help in his work. Martin Audio was approached to help out with the sound in the chapel and according to Rob Mills, who was responsible for the installation, “They can¹t hear me in the back, can you fix it?” was the brief for this installation. The existing system comprised a simple powered mixer driving two conventional horn loaded PA speakers. “Chapels or churches, especially traditional structures are notoriously difficult spaces for sound reinforcement because they are typically highly reverberant and full of nooks and crannies. In this case, a long narrow space with a choir gallery, side chapel and sanctuary,” said Mills. The new speaker system installed comprises a Martin Audio O-Line 8 element array supplemented by a Martin Audio CDD10 differential

dispersion centre fill, with smaller fills in the sanctuary and side chapel. The differential dispersion unit works very effectively, covering the pews almost directly beneath it up to some 12 m away. “Thereafter, the O-line comes in, reaching into the farthest recesses at the back of the space and the choir gallery. Both units are unobtrusively positioned with the CDD10 hardly noticeable in the woodwork and the O-Line array, which is surprisingly small, nestled against a side wall,” said Mills. What makes the O-Line so unique for this kind of installation is that its vertical beam-forming is achieved by physically articulating individual array modules to curve the array. Then, in order to conform to each individual venue’s design, the actual array configuration is determined by powerful, patent pending optimisation software. This software makes intelligent judgements about the ‘goodness’ of the array’s SPL distribution against objective target functions. The system is driven by an Allen & Heath QU-PAC feeding a combination of line, wireless and wired microphone inputs to five separately equalised and delayed outputs. The QU-PAC allows for

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Integration & Installation

very precise equalisation, delay and separate mixes to the main line array and fills. The result is a remarkably consistent coverage of every nook and cranny of the space, including an external overflow venue. Martin Audio distributor, Audiosure, was impressed with what the system did for the chapel. According to Brendan Venter, Technical Manager at Audiosure, the O-Line was perfect for the job. “O-Line immediately solved various obstacles right from the inception. Maintaining historic aesthetics and not compromising the centre crucifix was a high priority. This forced the main speaker system to assume an asymmetrical position. O-Line handled this brilliantly while still providing correct imaging to the pulpit and a high degree of speech intelligibility,” he said. “The range ratio from the closest seat to furthest seat in the balcony demanded that the system not load the double volume space other than the seating areas. O-Line is very well behaved in its mechanical steering capabilities and the software predictions made this very simple to calculate. I leave impressed every single time.” The combination of carefully matched speakers and astutely equalised and delayed feeds to them makes for good localisation of sound sources referenced to the main pulpit and sanctuary area, according to Mills. “In short, this project achieved the objective of making the spoken word as well as musical performance clearly audible without drawing attention to the technology. It is simply and almost magically intelligible and often hardly noticeable as amplified sound. This is largely attributable to the remarkably effective combination of differential dispersion and line array technology,” said Mills.

INTERVIEW

Listening to spaces By James Sey

Nik Fairclough is one of South Africa’s foremost authorities on sound design in auditoriums. A studio owner, musician, producer and sound designer, he is uniquely qualified to provide some insight into some of the challenges of designing effective sound in spaces, like the churches we have foregrounded in this issue, which were perhaps not originally designed to be clearly resonant and intelligible spaces for sound.

“A key part to designing good sonic spaces,” opines Fairclough, “is for the sound designer to be part of the planning when building decisions are made. In many European countries and elsewhere, acoustics and electroacoustics experts are on board from the beginning of the planning process for a new building – whether it’s a church, a public space, or a concert auditorium. In South Africa it tends to be a decision left to architects, who don’t always have sound design uppermost in their minds! When sound becomes a component of the original design of spaces, elements such as sound dispersion and compression in speaker systems can be better planned.” The point is well made in the case of church buildings, many of which are either designed with sonically challenging large vaulted ceilings and many pillars in the case of traditional churches, or are repurposed buildings not chosen for their sonic properties, but with the need to communicate clearly, often to large congregations. Fairclough, from long years of experience, is well versed in the kinds of equipment necessary for the variable sound conditions in less-than-optimal auditoriums. “With microphones, which are a

Nik Fairclough in studio

crucial part of the sound mix for church spaces, equipment choices need to be made for the isolation characteristics of the mic, rather than just its tonal quality, since often the audience is hearing more of the space than the PA! Currently, and partly for this reason, I’m opting for Audio-Technica mics, which are really robust, come with lifetime warranties, and can handle a bit of knocking around if they’re being rented, as many churches do for their equipment needs.” “For speaker systems, I’m a fan of EAW – as much for its build quality and long warranties as its great sound. They have excellent back up, and the rental companies locally have lots of spares, so one can do a lot of build to order in different venues. This means that dispersion patterns can be manipulated to an extent to cater for the demands of different spaces. In venues too I tend to go for flexibility in my mixing console, so a Midas Pro or Digico desk; although I prefer an SSL console in my studio for album production.” Fairclough points out that, ideally, the role of a sound designer in the auditorium is an ongoing one. His own commitment to consulting on sound for a 4 000 seater arena in Mauritius, in which he was involved at ground level several years ago, continues now. “One learns that the key to designing effective sound in different spaces and communicating to audiences is the use of any systems that can reduce the noise of the space itself,” muses Fairclough. “And that means sound designers being involved, ideally, from the building design stage onwards.”

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LIVE EVENTs Expert OPINION

Rigging and such

By Rinus 'Rhino' Bakker

A dented truss module

Best practices – truss inspection To establish best practices in rigging it’s best to start with the basics. One of the basics is to work with checked and proper materials. After all, you send your car to a regular check up – so why not your truss? Truss is an important element in a great number of show designs, so we better make sure that it remains in its original condition. Furthermore, truss is a far more complex element than many people realise. It is comprised of individual types of components, like chords, connection parts, diagonals, vertical and horizontal braces, internal diagonals etc. Trusses can be part of a (temporary) building structure or – more critical – a (temporary) lifting structure. Obviously, if one of the modules is damaged or faulty, the risk of failure becomes greater if such a module is incorporated in the structure. The manufacturer is responsible for preventing faulty modules from leaving the plant, and normally we can rely on the fact that manufacturers won’t allow that to happen. But manufactures can make mistakes, and faulty modules might leave the plant

undetected. Users should therefore do a check on all new incoming goods, as well as trusses that are already in use or going out on a project for the first time. So prior to each use a visual check should be made by the user, making sure there is no visual defect and the specific item can safely handle the amount of load it will meet in that position. On top of all that a periodic inspection should be made on a specific list of parts or details in accordance to the specifications of the manufacturer. The results of such periodic inspections should be documented in a log.

Some examples of details and criteria Main chords: • No (visual) cracks anywhere along the round tube, in or near the weld area • No bending out of the axis by more than 1 degree • No holes except those made by the manufacturer for connection system purposes • Dents or other types of distortion of the cross section shall be less than 10% of change (dents in a 50mm chord shall be no deeper than 5mm)

Expert OPINION LIVE EVENTs

Diagram of truss parts

Connection parts:

1: Fine to use

2 – 5: Discard

• No dents, burrs, cracks or deformation; parts need to be clean and without apparent corrosion • Bolts shall be of the size and tensile strength as specified by the manufacturer • Spigot pins shall be manufacturer’s originals and free of burrs, etc.

Bracing: • No (visual) cracks anywhere along the round tube, in or near the weld area • No bending out of the axis by more than 5 degrees • No holes except those made by the manufacturer for connection system purposes • Dents shall be of a depth of less than 10% of the diameter

So, for all of you truss owners out there, please add this to your working practices and make the entertainment business a safe place to work! I’m sure there is some work to do…

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INTERVIEW

Roland Greil – design for all seasons

Renowned German designer Roland Greil recently visited SA to conduct a Lighting / Video workshop organised by DWR Distribution Titled ‘The Bigger Picture’, the exciting four-day training programme covered a full spectrum of design skills, from video mapping, production and lighting design, to programming, operating and production workflow. James Sey caught up with the multitalented Greil

Greil’s career trajectory reflects that of many achievers in the entertainment and media AV technology design fields. Starting at the bottom, he rigged lights, pulled cables and did basic programming, which means he can now recognise the difference between what is possible in a production design and what isn’t. Part of the DWR workshop Progressing from these beginnings, and putting his own prolific design ideas forward more and more, he has worked across numerous genres in the industry, including the live touring arena circuit, theatre, large scale events and television. As his reputation has grown, so has the quality of his collaborations, and he has recently worked with Patrick Woodroffe on the arena world tour for multi-platinum chart-topping Adele. Greil is not one to underestimate the power of collaboration and its importance in the industry. “I’ve been blessed to work with and learn from some of the best in the

industry, like Patrick.” He says. “I knew Adam Bassett, now Patrick’s business partner, and at some point Patrick needed a design assistant. As I learned from working with him, the collaboration has matured, and has grown into around 60% of my work, across many show-related genres. Patrick and I share many common design thoughts and approaches.“ With such an eclectic background and skillset, are there particular types of shows that Greil prefers? “I love working on live arena shows, I guess – such as last year’s Spandau Ballet tour. But I’m also really interested, from a design and programming point of view, in ‘cross-genre’ type shows, such as Cirque de Soleil, or a special immersive show I did last year in Egypt about the origins and history of Islam, which had amazing video projection mapping and great narrative power and much elegance. It’s on my bucket list to design, rather than implement, one of the big Cirque shows!” Greil has commented often about the necessity of design concepts and technologies to work with and in the service of the creative vision and energy of the artists in the show. It’s a subject he is passionate about as a designer: “People who have no technical background – the artists- have no limits to how they think about the

project. They don’t think about lighting projection or media servers, or anything else except the vision for the show. From that vision we can start to build a canvas, or a picture frame, for the artists to work on. That’s why it’s important not to have a particular technology or product set in mind when we start working on a show – and why we need to collaborate fully with the content artists, who have a free mind. It taught me to never use technology for technology’s sake, but use it to realise an aesthetic vision.” The concept of collaboration in the industry is clearly one that Greil has thought long and hard about. His position might change from designing entire productions to realising designs for another designer, such as Woodroffe. How does he deal with such shifting sands? “We have a lot of respect for each other’s abilities – and we tend not to have ego about working with different people. Many designers will hand the client relationship over to me because they know I will look after the relationship and not have ego about it. “Part of this attitude is about the pressure we are under on many shows. We have to be able to trust the people we are working with, because things can go wrong. At the Adele gig we did recently, the mic fell into the piano, onto the piano strings! Adele, and everyone else, carried on regardless. But it can get worse – half your lighting rig might go down! In those scenarios you need to know that you’re working with people who can cope and have backup plans. Again, the technology can’t be left to its own devices, even in big, one-off and largely time-coded shows. We recently did the Eurovision Song Contest, which was entirely time-coded. But we all needed to be awake enough to know exactly where something went wrong if it did, and to intervene so the show continues smoothly.” Does Greil have a favourite-ever gig of his own? “It’s a tough one to answer! I would say one I did last year on the Spandau Ballet reunion tour. Not a big gig, a reasonably small arena tour, and we did a gig at an amazingly beautiful place in Italy called Taormina, in Sicily. It was an ancient Roman amphitheatre, overlooked by Mount Etna, and, though the rig and design wasn’t big or complex, the gig just worked really well – everything clicked. And that’s what it boils down to. We just want to provide the environment for that connection with the audience to happen.”

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LIVE EVENTs REPORT

AV delivers for the queen of the land

Sun Internationa, which is the license owner of the Miss SA pageant and Miss SA Teen, contracted [sic] Entertainment to produce the televised show. [sic] in turn brought in Dream Sets to cater for the technical components, and Visual Frontier for the design. As with last year’s pageant, the AV team comprised head honchos Gavin Wratten from [sic], Eben Peltz from Dream Sets and Joshua Cutts from Visual Frontier, doing what they do best. The surreal and impressively dramatic opening saw flames and actors on stage in a 'dark circus' type carnival, acting as background to the Miss SA contestants gracing the ramp, adorned in elegant The 2016 Miss South Africa yet individualised designer apparel. pageant was staged at Carnival City The lighting then transformed to a classical look, the near Johannesburg, where this year’s AV audience captivated this time by clean lines on the set, with a minimalistic feel. theme had a robust feel as lighting and The event took careful planning. “We had teams creative designer, Joshua Cutts, made use of working 24 hours a day for six days because of the negative space and aimed to create a production which tight deadlines,” says Cutts. “Eben Peltz’s role is to make sure that everything comes together had the distinct flavour of a music awards event. As the design technically and he is remarkable. We had in fact and technical formula of the previous year’s beauty less time to create a bigger show than last year.” pageant had proved a big hit, the same technical This was partly because the venue moved this year from Sun City to Carnival City, a slightly smaller venue but team were contracted for the second with a whole new set of challenges. Eben Peltz talks about consecutive year to ensure a some of these. “We needed to pull in a much bigger team than dream occasion. usual to complete the set-up within the time available, as we had two days less than usual to get everything done.

REPORT LIVE EVENTs Another new challenge in this venue was building the tiered seating stands, which flanked the stage and ramps. This is a huge project on its own and had to be done at the same time as the set was going up. “It was awesome to watch the team in action! No task was too big and our guys had to put in long hours. But when we saw the results, and the show went off smoothly, it made it all worthwhile. As a team we are very proud of what we achieved,” says Peltz. The Arena at Carnival City worked out well for the more intimate feel desired for the pageant this year. The design and dimensions of the venue made everything seem more connected, changing the experience for the live and the TV audiences. “Gavin Wratten liked the idea of multiple arches with LED above the stage to create depth,” explains Cutts, “And we had a large LED wall with two doors. This made it appear as if the contestants were walking out of the LED Screen and onto the ramp.” With last year’s fashion show type feel working well, the team kept with the ramp idea in the design. However, this time Cutts, who was the set designer as well as

the lighting designer, included two ramps on either side of the main walkway, left and right, which meant models could continue walking without turning around to return to the back stage area. “Close friends and family of the contestants were seated between the ramps in the inner circle, something which we didn’t do last year,” says Cutts. For the ever-popular swimsuit category, each contestant was projected onto a water curtain. As the water curtain opened, it revealed the actual contestant standing behind the curtain. “LaserX provided the water curtain for us which was controlled by the grandMA 2 lighting desk, and which we also used to switch the water on and off with. It was a great idea and it actually worked. We were worried about projecting onto water but we got enough brightness with two 20K projectors which we piggybacked on the curtain.” Cutts also wanted something that would create a music awards feel, hence the layers of LED screens with layers of lighting in-between. “I was chuffed with the effect,” he says. “It gave a young and energetic feel. We had lots of negative space, but we aimed to create negative space that worked for us instead of against us.” He also had a fantastic lighting rig at his disposal. “The Robe BMFLs for me are one of cleanest profiles on the market and assisted in creating a very textured backlight and perfectly colour-corrected key light,” continues Cutts. He adds, “The Mythos lights were needed for their strong beams in order to cut through the negative space and they did their job perfectly.” To top it all off, the show included top entertainment by Prime Circle, Mi Casa, Sketchy Bongo and Shekhinah and was hosted by MC/Speaker ProVerb. The coveted crown went to accomplished beauty Ntandoyenkosi Kunene.

LIVE EVENTs REPORT

Gearhouse and Rodriguez reunite for South Africa tour

For a second time, Gearhouse made sure that the Rodriguez South Africa tour ran smoothly…

Over 12 000 people attended the sold-out Rodriguez concert at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg on 29 January, one of several performances during the artist’s South African tour to Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. It was the largest audience Rodriguez had ever performed for and fitting for the evening that the popular singer and songwriter recorded his performance on DVD. Rodriguez wowed the audience with hits including the ever popular Sugar Man, I Wonder and Forget It. The artist’s unique musical style was reflected in the lighting design for the concert, created by Peter Abrahamse, lighting designer at Gearhouse South Africa. “There was actually no specific requirements from Rodriguez

regarding the lighting, so I had a lot of freedom for the design,” Abrahamse says. “With a show like Rodriguez’s you’ve just got to know what your fixtures can do and for him I made very soft looks, because of his musical style. I used a lot of pattern lighting and colours, with slow movements, but some of his music is also kind of upbeat, so there was a whole bunch of stuff going on.” The concert itself was challenging but rewarding for Abrahamse, since there was no specific song order. “It’s quite a challenge, because you don’t know what he’s going to sing; he just goes for it. Whatever he feels like, he sings. I managed to find a list for the songs he could sing during the concert, that also

included covers, which I wasn’t even aware he was going to sing too,” he adds. To prepare for this challenge, Abrahamse spent the course of December and January, listening to the artist’s music and learning to identify the songs. He also spent a lot of time before the show setting up his different programmes for each song. “I listened to his songs, getting a feel for each one, and programmed the cues before the show,” he says. “During the concert it’s like playing Noot vir Noot, I hear the first few notes and then I know which song it is and I go with it. So throughout the concert, after songs I will jump to my blue out and then from there I have to sit here and listen to his next song and with all my pages laid out, choose the right cue for that song,” he laughs. The lighting kit was mostly made up of Robe products, including Robin 600s and Robin Pointes, but also included Mac Vipers, which allowed for vibrant colour mixing with a superior palette that included true reds, rich ambers, primary green and deep blues.

LIVE EVENTs REPORT

“The Pointes can be used for tight or 20 degree zoom and the output remains crystal clear and brilliant. It worked very well with the Rodriguez show, where the focus of the concert was on the artist, rather than on a busy stage with loads of activity,” says Peter. Jako de Wit, audio operations manager at Gearhouse South Africa and project manager for the Rodriguez concerts, had his own challenges for the show. Though De Wit also had a lot of freedom to work with, the small group of musicians accompanying Rodriguez for the concerts, meant very specific sound engineering for the concert. “Rodriguez required a very small, basic set up and due to the fact that he only had a bass player, drummer and guitar player with him, the concert had more of an unplugged vibe,” De Wit said. “Because of this, the keyboard and other background sound from the original music on his albums weren’t there and we had to make sure that the instruments that were there, were perfectly audible to the audience.” This being said, De Wit compared the concert to having the authentic sound of 20 to 30 years ago, even with modern technology. “The concert has a ‘back to basics’ feel and I feel positive that the audience really enjoyed it,” he says. “It is the second time we have worked with Rodriguez, while he was touring South Africa so we knew what worked and just kept it similar to the previous time.” The audio kit was dominated by L-Acoustics and included DV/KARAs and SB28s. While the specially designed 18’’ transducers of the SB28s provided exceptional cone excursion capabilities combined with low thermal compression, the K-shaped coplanar transducer configuration of the KARAs generated a symmetric horizontal coverage of 110° without secondary lobes over the entire frequency range, providing the

perfect audio to the ‘unplugged feel’ of the concert. Rodriguez’s history with his South African audience was emphasised by a South African flag as a centre piece on the stage back drop, the only décor on the stage. After a two hour performance, the artist appeared on stage again for an encore of two more songs for the packed audience. “Baie dankie! Johannesburg… I haven’t forgotten. We go back a while,” the singer said in closing, leaving behind a deafening roar from the audience.

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LIVE EVENTs REPORT

Photos courtesy @henrystock.co.za

Mumford and Sons: gentlemen of the Voortrekker Monument By James Sey

The recent Mumford and Sons South African tour was distinguished from the run-of-the- mill international artist tour by being staged in expressive and unusual â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;arenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;-type venues wherever possible. In Durban the band opted for the famous old Botanical Gardens. And in two sold-out shows for the culmination of their SA tour, the crew transformed the outdoor amphitheatre outside the evocative space of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria.

REPORT LIVE EVENTs

Well-known SA event production company Hilltop Live, justly famous for producing the annual Oppikoppi festival, had been in discussions about bringing Mumford and Sons to South Africa for years before landing the deal in December 2015. The band immediately made clear their wish to perform in smaller, unique venues with smaller capacity, but plenty of atmosphere, at each of which they would perform more than one gig. For the culminating concerts of the tour, at the Voortrekker Monument, Hilltop Live broke box office records, with the two shows accommodating around 25 000 fans each selling out within ten minutes of going on sale! Ed (Edward) Warren is the lighting designer for Mumford and Sons and did the lighting design for the Tour. He was ably assisted by Adam ‘Moon-Unit’ Morris as the universal lighting crew chief for Mumford. Hilltop had by this stage approached local crew, and local AV and lighting supplier Stage Effects was contracted to assist with the set-up. An immediate rapport was apparent between Theo Papenfus,

founder of Stage Effects, his right hand man Erik de Bruin, and Moon Unit Morris: “Ed and Moon Unit were great to deal with,” says Papenfus. “We slotted right in with the rest of the crew, under the guidance of show director Steve Price.” From his background in club lighting, and from formative experience in buying and using Martin Professional lighting products, Papenfus was happy to work with a rig on Mumford and Sons which was dominated by Mac Vipers and Quantums. “I placed my first order for Mac Viper Profiles with Robbi Nassi at Electrosonic without even having seen the fixture – that’s how confident I was in its abilities. Martin Professional’s reputation for build quality, optics and reliability meant that we went the whole hog, getting a set of 24 units. I’ve since rounded those out with Mac Viper Washes and Quantum Profiles. All of them came in handy on this gig,” says Papenfus. Stage Effects were also actively involved in the staging and rigging of the structures for the show. Says Papenfus: “One of the issues we had was a quite unique amphitheatre structure in front of the

LIVE EVENTs REPORT

Kit List • 26 x Mac Viper Profile • 12 x Mac Viper Wash • 22 x Mac Quantum Wash • 32 x Ayrton Magic Panels • Luminex DMX Data Distribution • 138 Pars (23x 6 Way Par Bars) • 13 x 4 Cell MolePhase • 8 x 1Ton COM Loadstar • 24 x .05Ton CM Loadstar • Chamsys Lighting Controller (as provided by lighting designer Ed (Edward) Warren) • 4 x JEM ZR44 Smoke Machines • 2 x JEM K1 Hazers • 2 x MDG Hazers • 2 x 6.4x 3.6 Viewpix P6 LED Walls

Photos courtesy @henrystock.co.za

Monument itself. On the lighting side we had quite a wide area to cover, but we were also challenged by Steve Price to provide ground tests for the rig tonnage and structures. There was an existing concrete ‘stage’ in the amphitheatre, and our initial fear was that it was part of the heritage structures of the Monument, and would therefore be protected. This turned out not to be the case, and we were able to bulldoze the structure and replace it with the specially designed rigging and structures for the show!” The set-up for the Pretoria shows was further complicated by the band deciding to record the gigs for a special DVD release. The filming of the set-up was done by local broadcast specialist Militia Broadcast, and featured a live to screen fibre optic workflow incorporating Blackmagic Design’s studio cameras, ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K and HyperDeck Studio Pro. Coverage of the shows consisted of five ground positions, including two Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K with 400mm and 600mm long lenses, two 24-105mm pit cameras on dollies as well as an interchangeable, shoulder mounted stage camera for capturing any down the line shots and pick ups. A Micro Studio 4K was also used to capture a reverse shot of the piano, alongside two Pocket Cinema Cameras on the drum kits. A lot of the success of the show depended on the close collaboration between the different crews, especially the design and lighting teams. As Papenfus concludes, “we had six shows to set up in nine days, with some quite unique challenges in terms of venues. Ed and Moon Unit made the process easy, without compromising on safety standards and quality. Our lighting fixtures can always be depended on in such a scenario!”

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Studio Pro Audio GEARBOX

Soundcraft Si Impact

By Jimmy Den-Ouden

We first saw the Si series as we know it in the Compact, then Performer and Expression ranges. The Impact is not so much the latest iteration of the console, but the latest addition to the line. An important distinction is that whereas models such as the Si Compact are available in several frame sizes, the Si Impact is available in exactly one configuration.

The configuration is that of a 40 input console with 31 output busses (LR/Mono, 20 sub-group/aux busses, and four mono/stereo matrix busses. The surface operates in four configurable layers, with any channel, bus master or VCA assignable to any of the 24 flying faders. The remaining two faders are masters for LR and Mono (or the selected mix bus). The 40 input channels include 32 mono channels, and four stereos onto which the effect engines return. The console supports up to 32-mic inputs on XLR, the last bank of eight inputs on combo jacks to provide a TRS option as well. 16 XLRs provide analogue outputs, with AES on a dedicated XLR of its own. Included with every console is a USB/MADI combo card which supports up to 64 channels across the two connectors – so you can connect 32 inputs via a Soundcraft stage box and use the remaining allocation to support the 32in/32out USB interface. Or you can plug all your mics directly into the console and share the preamp outputs

with another console via one cat6 crossover cable. If all that connectivity isn’t enough for you, there’s an additional card slot to give you even more options. The whole console is a light grey colour, not dissimilar to other consoles on the market. Previous iterations in the Si line have used large slabs of metal in their construction, and the Impact basically holds true to this. The plastic end pieces feel a bit naff and cheap, but on the flipside the touch screen looks better, is more centralised, and maybe even a bit bigger than on previous generations of Si console. It’s also more precise in its operation and hence easier to use especially for operations such as typing channel names. Within its frame size, the Impact is the most affordable Si console to date, and one of the ways this has been achieved is by the omission of rotary encoders for each channel. Thing is that this doesn’t really slow down operation of the console much – it’s certainly no slower to

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use than anything else of comparable specs. I found the Si Impact quite ‘snappy’ to operate, meaning that I can change pages on screens or layers on faders without having to consciously pause and wait for the action to take place. The Si Impact takes its time (around 46 seconds) to boot up, but once it’s running it works reliably and without any discernible interface lag. Some of the included features on the Si Impact are especially noteworthy. First up you get up to 500mS of delay on every input and every output. It sounds like a little thing but actually this function occupies a significant chunk of DSP power, so it’s nice to know Soundcraft hasn’t gone shy on processing capacity. Every output has a BSS graphic, and every fader has faderglow and a multi-colour electronic scribble strip. VCAs and mute groups are standard. The user interface on the touch screen will be familiar to users of previous generations of Si console, since it’s the same. Functions like ‘auto-complete’ in the patching menu save time. While there are no dedicated effect returns, the fact that they come back on stereo channels (or a mono one if you configure them as such) means that you get full channel processing on your effect returns. The absence of this feature on many consoles is a source of irritation to me, so I was very pleased to see it included. As with the Si Performer and Expression, the offline show editor for Si Impact is essentially an exact visual representation of the console. This means you’re forever trapped in a cycle of zooming in and out, and the buttons are all so tiny they require absolute precision cursor alignment to click. Names are shown above each channel strip, but you can’t just click the names to

edit them, instead you must navigate the virtual menu screen. Also it only runs on Windows. As offline editors go it’s frustratingly slow to use, and one of the worst out there. Of course, if you don’t actually need to build shows offline then this whole point is irrelevant! The iPad app on the other hand is well designed, responsive, and extraordinarily easy to get up and running. Connect a wireless router to the HiQnet port, check the HiQnet address on the console, punch that into the app, and you’re up and running. It’s fast, it’s responsive, and the navigation process is absolutely logical. Even while the console is being used to mix LR, the iPad can be used to mix to the other busses. I’ve always found the Si range of consoles very appealing for two simple reasons – they’re inviting to use, and they sound good. This much still holds true of the Si Impact. In spite of the horrible offline app, I think the console is great and the overall ergonomics seem to make more sense than on previous generations. I love that the USB interface is included for free, so you can just as easily use it for recording (or even as a multi-channel audio interface for your computer!). It’s a great little piece of kit, and certainly capable of more than its demure appearance gives away.

Brand: Soundcraft Model: Si Impact RRP: R90 000 incl. VAT Price correct at time of print and subject to change

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Studio Pro Audio NETWORKING

Networking nirvana? The recent publication of the AES70 control standard marks another significant milestone along the road to audio networking becoming accessible to all. David Davies wonders how close we now are to a fully standards-supported ‘networking nirvana’.

Audio networking isn’t exactly a term to set pulses racing, but even the most sceptical observers would have to concede that the last two years have been hugely eventful in this particular area.. While AoIP solutions like Ravenna and, in particular, Dante, have continued to report strong uptakes in adoption (with the latter now supported by 675-enabled products), standards initiatives such as AES67 have done much to secure end-user confidence for the long-term. Indeed, the importance of AES67 is difficult to overstate. Providing an interoperability standard for IP audio networking technologies, AES67 has achieved crossover into the industry mainstream with impressive alacrity – at least if the interviews this journalist has undertaken with engineers and integrators over the past year or so are anything to go by. In part its success must be down to the generally clear and concise messaging that has surrounded it – no small feat given the inevitable complexity of the networking issue. Now many in the industry will be hoping for a similarly smooth passage for the new AES70 standard, which was published in the first week of January 2016. Based on the OCA (Open Control Architecture) developed by the OCA Alliance, AES70 defines a scalable control protocol architecture for the control and monitoring of professional media networks. Whilst it should be emphasised that AES70 does not itself provide a means of media transport or enable the programming of a network device, the capabilities of AES70/OCA are extensive and enable the changing and monitoring of all operating parameters of a network device, including: the creation and deletion of signal paths, parameter adjustments for signal processing objects, network device firmware updates, and management of access control. It also makes it possible to restrict control to facilitate more straightforward ‘operator’ functionality – for example, level, mute, power on/off and fault indication. Crucially, the control architecture at the heart of AES70/OCA may

be used in conjunction with any available transport protocol, including Dante, AVB, CobraNet and AES67.

‘A very big step forward’ This is not the first time that prime movers within the industry have sought to generate a control standard with mass appeal, but AES70 appears to be a case of ‘right standard, right time’ as the transition towards full networking continues to accelerate. Wolfgang Schulz, product manager at d&b, one of the OCA Alliance’s founder members, is among those who believe OCA/AES70 to be “a very big step forward”. Recalling the origins of the project, Schulz says that “as a system solution provider and founding member of the OCA Alliance, d&b audiotechnik saw the necessity for a media networking system control standard for professional applications.” There was a requirement, he continues, for integrators and engineers to be able to “spend more time on understanding the needs of users and allowing them to develop valuable system features – rather than creating control schemes that work on different device-specific protocols.” Ratification of OCA as a public standard should help “a wider audience” to recognise that it is capable of providing “powerful, high-speed, low-cost and robust system control and monitoring for devices from different manufacturers, making it more attractive to integrators. In the future an OCA ecosystem will be able to exchange control data and information in ways that were previously not possible.” Will Hoult – product manager of another OCA Alliance member, Focusrite, as well as being marketing work group chair of the AES67-promoting organisation the Media Networking Alliance – also emphasises the role of AES70 in allowing vendors and integrators to look beyond interoperability issues and focus more firmly

on specific features. “The ultimate benefit of OCA/AES70 is that you get a control standard that is clearly defined,” he says. “So with any piece of AES70 equipment that is sitting on your network, your AES70 controller can interrogate it and determine that if it has compatible controls, and can take it over. It’s very clear that device X will work with device Y.” While Hoult acknowledges that – as with any standard – the roll-out and implementation process is likely to be protracted, it nonetheless holds the promise of “a situation whereby one can build a system based on product capacities and features rather than ‘will it work with this thing or not’. The end-result should be a far greater feeling of confidence.”

Hope you like our new directory Meanwhile, the number of OCA/AES70-compliant products is likely to increase dramatically over the next few years. For example, d&b audiotechnik confirms that its products are already AES70/OCAcompliant, and also points to a demonstration at ISE undertaken with Beckhoff. A new addition to the ranks of the OCA Alliance, Beckhoff’s PC-based control technology enables optimum integration of media technology, lighting control, building automation and control logic. Now the company has added support for OCA to its range of versatile interfaces. Demonstrations on the OCA Alliance booth at ISE 2016 also involved solutions from Bosch, Focusrite and others, with control simultaneously available from OCA hardware, an iPad app and Chrome browserbased GUI. In addition, Bosch Communications’ Jeff Berryman and Attero Tech’s Mike Simms gave a talk during the show about the OCA MicroDemo hardware reference platform and firmware stack – an initiative that could help drive adoption of AES70/OCA. But while the new standard looks set to enjoy a strong launch period, Berryman recently told me that work is already underway to create a directory standard with the expectation that firm proposals will exist within two years. All being well, the completion of that standard should finally bring the ‘ideal’ of a fully standards-supported networking approach to end-users throughout the pro-audio world.

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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT

AV over IP – the time is now Courtesy Kramer International

The transition to digital AV has created some amazing products and technologies. But it has also complicated matters. Now, instead of using big cables and racks of switchers to transport video and computer display signals, we have digital display interfaces that are supposed to configure the right resolution, check to see if copy protection is required, and piggy-back control signals, power, and even Ethernet traffic.

What’s also changed is that the tail wags the dog now. By that, we mean that the world of consumer electronics largely dictates what we’ll be using in the world of commercial AV products. A good example is the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), which launched in 2002 and is now installed in over a billion devices worldwide. HDMI, which was only designed to carry a signal from a DVD or Blu-ray player to a television, is now at the core of large, complex AV matrix switching products that include category wire extenders. There

are even ways to convert the transition-minimised differential signalling (TMDS) format used by HDMI to packets for transmission over structured wire and optical fibre. But is it wise in this day and age of 'everything over IP' to bet the farm on a proprietary display/audio format that requires frequent updating, and in fact is in danger of being outrun by ultra-high resolution displays that will be fed with 10-bit and 12-bit high frame rate video content? Would it not be a smarter move to configure AV and control signals to travel over fast public and private IP networks,

TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT

internal and external? First of all, can it be done? The answer is an emphatic “yes!” and it’s already being done by telecom companies and cable, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast TV networks. A combination of lower prices on telecom and internet switching gear, combined with lower-cost structured wire and inexpensive optical fibre with quick-crimp connectors is stimulating the installation of 1 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit networks. Next, how is it done? By employing the universal language of codecs, like AVC H.264 and the new High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) H.265. Both codecs can compress video signals down to much smaller sizes, resulting in manageable streaming rates to accommodate the available network bandwidth. And if the latency introduced by these codecs is an issue, then a 'zero' compression codec (JPEG2000) can be put to work to transmit full-bandwidth HD and even UHD video. These compressed and non-compressed video and audio streams travel as packets, 'wrapped' in a virtual envelope with Internet Protocol addressing to get them to where they need to be. Watching and hearing an AV stream is as simple as dialling up its IP address, and the system has a huge capacity for expansion. Now, we can do away with costly and complex proprietary matrix switches and employ garden-variety network switches to do the job. The only requirement is that these switches support Layer 3 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. That means that any Layer 3 switch can be used to build or upgrade an AV-over-IP network, and connections to displays and other equipment requires nothing more than a network interface card.

Okay, what about displays and other products that don’t use interface cards, but rely on standard display interfaces like HDMI, DisplayPort and even DVI? Simple: You add a compact, inexpensive outboard network interface box or card to convert the signal from AV-over-IP to the correct display format. Need to update or change an interface? Simply swap out the box or card. Now, all of your AV interconnections run through conventional network switches (which can be purchased from numerous companies) and you’re using just two types of wiring – category cable (preferably category 6 for faster speeds) and/or optical fibre – to connect everything in your network. You don’t need to worry about bandwidth limitations as long as your switch is fast enough and your cables are rated correctly. That’s future-proof reassurance. Granted, you’ll need to hone up on some network and IP knowledge and terminology to design and implement an AV-overIP system. But that will be time well spent, seeing as how the worlds of AV and IP gear are crossing paths much more frequently. And in installations where a company or institutional IT department has influence and/or control, AV-over-IP uses concepts that are very much in their comfort zone. And let’s be pragmatic about this. The rest of the world has moved or is moving to the AV-over-IP model. Packetising signals offers tremendous flexibility in multiplexing signals from a source to multiple destinations: You can multiplex video, audio, control, Ethernet traffic and high-speed data traffic all in the same cable. Leave the standards and format wars to someone else for a change. AV-over-IP: It’s here. Are you ready?

Rewriting the rule book

Specifications 96kHz as standard 24 mic line inputs 12 analogue outs 2 AES I/O (mono) Word Clock I/O 1 GPI and 1 GPO DVI out (for an external monitor) 2 DMI Card slots (up to 64 I/O per slot) 2 Ethernet connections for Networking 2 x 24 segment master/solo meters Touch sensitive rotaries with integrated switch & HTL 2 x multi-touch screens 21 x touch sensitive moving faders 4 x layers of banks of 10 faders Customisable bank and channel layout Snapshots Integrated USB2 Audio I/O interface for recording and playback of up to 48 channels

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FT15 Multi-purpose full range RMS Power: 400W Impedance: 8 ohms Average Sensitivity (1W/1m): 98dB Maximum SPL: 124 dB RMS / 130dB Peak Frequency Response (-6dB): 47~18000Hz Connectors: Two NEUTRIK Speakon NL4MP Cabinet Size (H x W x D) mm: 445 x 710 x 414 Weight: 25kg net / 28kg gross Cabinet Material: Birch Plywood Cabinet Finish: UltraTex (USA) Texture coating Low VOC waterborne paint

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